Couples Cruise, Part 1

 Last Fall, Matt and I began toying with the idea of booking a cruise for our couple's vacation for the year. We had put off cruising for years because of all the COVID restrictions and fears of being quarantined at sea away from our kids. But with the restrictions lifted, we were ready to go and we convinced four of our favorite friends to join us. 

Since we generally vacation in the Spring and Fall, we decided to try out a winter cruise, and Matt insisted that we make it a birthday cruise for me. With all twelve of our kids safely cared for for the week, the six of us left Broken Arrow at 3:00 in the morning and set off to Galveston for a relaxing and refreshing vacation. 

Our boarding time was slightly delayed, so we took a quick detour to Buc-ee's on the way. 

There's trouble in Bucc-ee's!

We made it to Galveston and saw our home for the week.

After looking forward to the cruise for months, we finally made it!

Matt's first stop was the ice cream machine- no surprise to anyone

After our early morning adventure, we all needed an afternoon pick me up (coffee, not alcohol, ha!). This was the first of many times, where we felt our age on the ship.

We changed and freshened up and enjoyed our first dinner of the trip. 

We're smiling so big because we don't have to plan, cook, or clean up any meals for seven days!

The best part of a Carnival cruise- the warm chocolate melting cake! I had been dreaming of this cake for over our decade since our last Carnival cruise. 

After dinner we tried out a comedy show- that was a huge bust. It was so bad we left in the middle of the show. 

We had two days at sea before our first port, and our first sea day was my 38th birthday. It's a birthday that will be hard to top!

Again, we showed our age with shuffle board that morning. 

My plans for our sea days included a lot of reading, relaxing, napping, game playing, and snacking. We accomplished everything on my to-do list!

If I counted right, this was my 23rd birthday to celebrate with this guy. He's my favorite. 

Reading and relaxing, check! I have such a hard time reading for pleasure in my everyday life, so I thoroughly enjoyed it on the cruise. 

Our room steward spoiled me with birthday surprises. 

Game playing, check!

The whole cruise dressed up for my birthday, ha! It was good timing that my birthday fell on the formal night. 

These sweet people made my birthday evening such a special time. They shared memories and special things about me, and Matt gifted me with a beautiful crystal bracelet. That evening was such a special evening. I'm so thankful for these precious friendships and the way they loved on me as I walked through my first birthday without my mom. 

Warm chocolate melting cake was a pretty great birthday dessert. 

My 38th birthday may go down as my favorite of all. 

Day two at sea was pretty similar to day one. 

It included towel animals and ice cream. 

We explored the ship a little more on Monday and tried out some of the attractions. 

We also relaxed, read, and napped a fair amount too. 

And we enjoyed lunch at the Asian restaurant on the ship. 

And of course, we played some games in the afternoon. 

We enjoyed a yummy dinner.

And spent the evening playing games. 

The forced relaxation on a cruise is one of my favorite things. No chores to do, no things to plan, we didn't even have Internet to connect us with reality. We had nothing to do but have fun together. It was the best!