[vacations: The Oasis of the Seas]

Well.   We've been back for over a week - and it really feels like it was a lifetime ago that we were on the Oasis of the Seas.  Why is that?  Why is it that whenever you come back from somewhere, it feels like you never even left?  Not sure - but the reality of snow and cold and power outages and the rest of it came smacking me in the face last week.  Now - I'm pretty used to things again ... although looking through these pics gave me an ache in my tummy for somewhere warm ... 

This vacation was 2 years in the planning.  When our cousins went with us on the Liberty of the Seas, we had such a fantastic time that we immediately started planning our next cruise together.  Shortly after we came home, I found out I was pregnant with Katia, and so we did the math ... when she was 14 months old we'd be ready to have a few days away.

Our cousins and us decided on the Oasis of the Seas - the most incredible ship on the water to date - and we really didn't care about where it went.   As long as it was HOT, we were going to be happy!

We started in Fort Lauderdale, and there I met up with a friend of mine who I traveled to Nicaragua, El Salvador and Belize with ... it's been over a decade since I saw her, and it was like no time had passed.  How I wish she didn't live on the other side of the continent ... or maybe, how I wish I lived closer to her - it's a lot warmer in Florida *grin*!  I hope she knows how much I love her ...

We arrived a day early so we could get used to the time change and have a bit of "down time" before we boarded the ship.  Our day in Fort Lauderdale was lazy and quiet - and we had a fantastic dinner in town ... it was warm and lovely.

We boarded the ship on Saturday morning - and we were so excited.  Can you tell??  (Oh, and I'm not in a lot of pics ... the memory card I have from my cousin's camera won't fit into my computer so I haven't seen the pics she's taken yet ... )

... checking out the back of the ship called the "Boardwalk" ... this is where the carousel is, the donut shop and candy store, some restaurants and surf shops and the amphitheatre - where the diving show takes place.

... our home away from home, on the ship.  We had adjoining rooms with MandC.

... the view from our balcony - overlooking "Central Park".

... as we were heading out to sea, we met up with the "Allure of the Seas".  Her maiden voyage is this coming weekend - and it was a media frenzy as they planned to have both ships side by side.  There was a helicopter filming the two sister ships, there were tugboats spraying water into the air ... people cheering and we got really close to the Allure.  If you go to the Oasis of the Seas website, there are some pics up there of the whole thing ... I'm the "dot" on deck 15 *grin* ... 

... the dining room.  Our table was in the lower left corner of this pic ... you can see C's shoulders *grin*.

We had three stops ... our first in Labadee, Haiti.  This is where we went ziplining last time we stopped here two years ago.  This time, we chose to just sit, read, listen to our Ipods ... and my hubby - he was happy with a cold drink and the sunshine ... 

... dinner.

The diving show was incredible.  Jumping into a pool of water on a moving ship - a little insane, I think.

We also stopped in Costa Maya, Mexico.  And we had a fantastic day sitting at the beach  ....

One of the highlights for me, was being able to work out every day - and not have to figure out how it was going to work into my day.  I did a lot of running, I have a race coming up in 4 weeks, but I also took advantage of the swanky equipment in the ship's gym ... 

... more pics around the ship ...

We also went to Cozumel, Mexico - but it was raining and so I didn't bring my good camera.  I used my cousin's - and that memory card is staring at me as I type this ... trying to figure out a way to make is fit in the slot *grin* ... 

... and than, all too fast - the last night *sob*.

... and waiting to be filed off like cattle.

As to be expected, I have about a million pics - so when I look at the 20 that I've chosen, it doesn't seem to quite cut it.  But that's a taste of what our week was like ... 

I am so thankful for both sets of our parents for moving into our home and looking after our three kids for us.  Of course, when we came home the kids were happy to see us - but there were tears when they realized their grandparents were moving out.  I love that our kids have a great relationship with both sets of grandparents ... and without them, NONE of this would've been possible.  I'm so thankful that they see the value in my hubby and having some time away, and that they also see the value in having one on one time with their grandkids.  I love you all!!

And I was talking with my cousin C and we think that going away for one week on our own each year is something worth planning.  If our parents will help us out, it may be something we can consider again for next year.  That would be incredible.  

If not, hopefully in two years we can go again ... we are so grateful for the time we've had, and the doing it again one day is definitely something we'd love to do ...  we shall see.

Have a great one!