Alaska

For my parent's 70th birthdays this year they wanted to celebrate with having our entire family go on a vacation together.  After months of researching and looking into different locations it was finally decided that we would venture on a cruise to Alaska in August 2019.  There was so much excitement leading up to the cruise and everyone got involved in the planning which made it even more fun. We decided to fly up a day early (on my birthday!) to Seattle and spend the night so we weren't worried about flying the morning of the cruise.  It worked out fine although our flight was delayed out of San Diego for a few hours so we didn't into Seattle until late but we were able to check into our hotel without a problem and thankfully everyone fell asleep quickly.  The next morning, we enjoyed the hotel's breakfast, which the kids just loved, and a quick swim in the hotel pool before we grabbed an uber to the cruise ship terminal.  

 

We pulled into the cruise terminal and saw Bubs and Hollie immediately which got everyone so excited!  Then we spotted Nani and Poppa and the Zicklers and once we got on the ship found the Ozecks so we were ready to go!  The setup was so perfect for us for the week!  We all had rooms right next to us and some of them were adjoined at the balcony.  Our family had 2 rooms since you can only have 4 in a room so the extra space was nice and we ended up rotating sleepovers nightly. It’s going to be hard to put into words and pictures how amazing the week was but hoping this will trigger all sorts of incredible memories from the week for years to come.  Honestly, everything just worked out perfectly...the cruise itself, the excursions, the weather, the company-we couldn't have asked for a better week together!  

The first two days were spent on the ship so we had plenty of time to check everything out and enjoy all that the ship had to offer.  The days went by fast though as we tried to experience everything and worked our schedules around meal times :)

Almost all of us got to experience Ifly on the ship which was super cool.  I was a little hesitant to try it at first (becoming more cautious in my old age) but I am so glad that I did, especially since I was able to experience it with Joseph, Ella and Julia.  They were so brave and loved it!  It was so great to cheer everyone on and to watch all of their expressions.  I was a little nervous watching each of the kids go and Julia looked scared out of her little mind but she said that she "really liked it" after. 

 The ship was a dream for any kid!  From Ifly to rock climbing, a boogie boarding simulator, roller skating, bumper cars, video games, 2 pools, water slides, all you can eat ice cream, the most amazing buffet, and, of course, towels folded into animals at night-it truly was a dream come true.  Throw in spending the week with your cousins and they were basically living their best life ever!!!  

 

 

These are either views from the treadmill or from our balcony as we were going into the Alaska Inside Passage on the first day! So awesome!! 

 The first day off the ship was spent in Juneau.  As soon as we docked, all 17 of us hopped on a bus that took us straight to Glacier National Park.  We decided not to do a formal excursion that day but instead spent the day exploring the national park on our own which was amazing!  We hiked out to the glacier and the waterfall which were so neat!  Since we had plenty of time we also spent a good amount of time in the visitor center learning about the glacier and the history of Alaska which was very informative. We walked around the park a little more checking out the huge salmon and on the hunt for bears (no such luck though) and then took the bus back into the city of Juneau.  Once we got back there we roamed around a little bit and did some souvenir shopping before getting back on the ship.  It was such a beautiful day and an awesome experience.  

The following day was also a port day and we arrived in Skagway, Alaska early that morning.  We had an excursion for a train ride that afternoon so we spent the morning hiking with the Ozecks.  Laura found this hike close to the port so we were able to walk to the trailhead and then hike.  It was beautiful and the kids did amazing!  We hiked for about 2 hours (roundtrip) and ended up at a lake on top of a mountain.  I'm so thankful I brought the carrier for Charlotte as she hung out in it a lot during the trip (on and off the boat) and it came in super handy.  

 

After the hike we went back on the ship to grab lunch and to change and then walked into the cute little town of Skagway to catch the train.  The train brought us through White pass and the Yukon Route railroad and the scenery was breathtaking! It probably could have been a little shorter for the kid's sake but they did great and keep one another entertained.  There was a little space in between the train cars where you could stand outside which Joseph absolutely loved.  There were a few spots where we were literally on the edge of the mountain or going over what seemed to be a very rickety bridge but we made it back all in one piece and hopefully the people behind us weren't too annoyed with our very loud and large group!

 

 Hanging out with the moose after the train ride in Skagway!

 

The following day was another ship day but in the morning we went through the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier which was spectacular!  We were even more thankful to have a room with a balcony today as it was so great to sit on the balcony all bundled up and to enjoy this beautiful view! 

The final port day was in Victoria, British Colombia.  The kids' first experience being out of the country, which really didn't seem any different, especially considering they didn't need their passports or do anything special.  It was another gorgeous day so we spent the morning exploring the downtown part of Victoria before our whale watching excursion that afternoon.  We walked ALL over the city and the kids did incredible!!  The carrier for Charlotte came in super handy again but the other three seriously were awesome!  Having the cousins with them definitely helped!  We hung out in front of the parliament building for some time people watching and enjoying the beautiful gardens there.  We spotted a few of the dancers from the cruise who were doing all sorts of stunts and taking photos which, of course, prompted the girls to want to do the same!  

 

 We then attempted to find a playground but after a good walk we realized that the playground was tucked inside this massive botanical gardens park so stopped in front of the gorgeous flowers and then headed back towards the downtown area to get ready for our excursion.  

The whale watching excursion was definitely a highlight of the trip!  We were on this speedboat that held about 30 people -5 rows of 6 and we were just all over the place!  I knew it was going to be a fun time when they gave us some serious winter gear to put on before getting on the boat.  AT first we were all like, we aren't going to need this since we were hot in short sleeve shirts, but boy were we thankful we had it!!  Joseph, Julia and Cole all started to feel nauseous on the boat about halfway through but thankfully nobody got sick.  Julia fell asleep for a little bit which helped and the captain was great and brought us to calmer waters for a while which helped, too.  

The movement on the water had Charlotte asleep in no time.  It actually worked out really well because it would have been challenging to keep her entertained (and safe!) for the entire 2 hour ride and she woke up just in time to see whales! 

Amazing!!! 

We also saw a bunch of seals and a bald eagle!

 

 

 

 For my parent's 70th birthdays this year they wanted to celebrate with having our entire family go on a vacation together.  After months of researching and looking into different locations it was finally decided that we would venture on a cruise to Alaska in August 2019.  There was so much excitement leading up to the cruise and everyone got involved in the planning which made it even more fun. We decided to fly up a day early (on my birthday!) to Seattle and spend the night so we weren't worried about flying the morning of the cruise.  It worked out fine although our flight was delayed out of San Diego for a few hours so we didn't into Seattle until late but we were able to check into our hotel without a problem and thankfully everyone fell asleep quickly.  The next morning we enjoyed the hotel's breakfast, which the kids just loved, and a quick swim in the hotel pool before we grabbed an uber to the cruise ship terminal.  

We pulled into the cruise terminal and saw Bubs and Hollie immediately which got everyone so excited!  Then we spotted Nani and Poppa and the Zicklers and once we got on the ship found the Ozecks so we were ready to go!  The setup was so perfect for us for the week!  We all had rooms right next to us and some of them were adjoined at the balcony.  Our family had 2 rooms since you can only have 4 in a room so the extra space was nice and we ended up rotating sleepovers nightly. It’s going to be hard to put into words and pictures how amazing the week was but hoping this will trigger all sorts of incredible memories from the week for years to come.  Honestly, everything just worked out perfectly...the cruise itself, the excursions, the weather, the company-we couldn't have asked for a better week together!  

The first two days were spent on the ship so we had plenty of time to check everything out and enjoy all that the ship had to offer.  The days went by fast though as we tried to experience everything and worked our schedules around meal times :)

Almost all of us got to experience Ifly on the ship which was super cool.  I was a little hesitant to try it at first (becoming more cautious in my old age) but I am so glad that I did, especially since I was able to experience it with Joseph, Ella and Julia.  They were so brave and loved it!  It was so great to cheer everyone on and to watch all of their expressions.  I was a little nervous watching each of the kids go and Julia looked scared out of her little mind but she said that she "really liked it" after. 

 The ship was a dream for any kid!  From Ifly to rock climbing, a boogie boarding simulator, roller skating, bumper cars, video games, 2 pools, water slides, all you can eat ice cream, the most amazing buffet, and, of course, towels folded into animals at night-it truly was a dream come true.  Throw in spending the week with your cousins and they were basically living their best life ever!!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are either views from the treadmill or from our balcony as we were going into the Alaska Inside Passage on the first day! So awesome!! 

 The first day off the ship was spent in Juneau.  As soon as we docked, all 17 of us hopped on a bus that took us straight to Glacier National Park.  We decided not to do a formal excursion that day but instead spent the day exploring the national park on our own which was amazing!  We hiked out to the glacier and the waterfall which were so neat!  Since we had plenty of time we also spent a good amount of time in the visitor center learning about the glacier and the history of Alaska which was very informative. We walked around the park a little more checking out the huge salmon and on the hunt for bears (no such luck though) and then took the bus back into the city of Juneau.  Once we got back there we roamed around a little bit and did some souvenir shopping before getting back on the ship.  It was such a beautiful day and an awesome experience.  

 

The following day was also a port day and we arrived in Skagway, Alaska early that morning.  We had an excursion for a train ride that afternoon so we spent the morning hiking with the Ozecks.  Laura found this hike close to the port so we were able to walk to the trailhead and then hike.  It was beautiful and the kids did amazing!  We hiked for about 2 hours (roundtrip) and ended up at a lake on top of a mountain.  I'm so thankful I brought the carrier for Charlotte as she hung out in it a lot during the trip (on and off the boat) and it came in super handy.  

 

After the hike we went back on the ship to grab lunch and to change and then walked into the cute little town of Skagway to catch the train.  The train brought us through White pass and the Yukon Route railroad and the scenery was breathtaking! It probably could have been a little shorter for the kid's sake but they did great and keep one another entertained.  There was a little space in between the train cars where you could stand outside which Joseph absolutely loved.  There were a few spots where we were literally on the edge of the mountain or going over what seemed to be a very rickety bridge but we made it back all in one piece and hopefully the people behind us weren't too annoyed with our very loud and large group!

 

 Hanging out with the moose after the train ride in Skagway!

 

The following day was another ship day but in the morning we went through the Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier which was spectacular!  We were even more thankful to have a room with a balcony today as it was so great to sit on the balcony all bundled up and to enjoy this beautiful view! 

The final port day was in Victoria, British Colombia.  The kids' first experience being out of the country, which really didn't seem any different, especially considering they didn't need their passports or do anything special.  It was another gorgeous day so we spent the morning exploring the downtown part of Victoria before our whale watching excursion that afternoon.  We walked ALL over the city and the kids did incredible!!  The carrier for Charlotte came in super handy again but the other three seriously were awesome!  Having the cousins with them definitely helped!  We hung out in front of the parliament building for some time people watching and enjoying the beautiful gardens there.  We spotted a few of the dancers from the cruise who were doing all sorts of stunts and taking photos which, of course, prompted the girls to want to do the same!  

 

 We then attempted to find a playground but after a good walk we realized that the playground was tucked inside this massive botanical gardens park so stopped in front of the gorgeous flowers and then headed back towards the downtown area to get ready for our excursion.  

The whale watching excursion was definitely a highlight of the trip!  We were on this speedboat that held about 30 people -5 rows of 6 and we were just all over the place!  I knew it was going to be a fun time when they gave us some serious winter gear to put on before getting on the boat.  AT first we were all like, we aren't going to need this since we were hot in short sleeve shirts, but boy were we thankful we had it!!  Joseph, Julia and Cole all started to feel nauseous on the boat about halfway through but thankfully nobody got sick.  Julia fell asleep for a little bit which helped and the captain was great and brought us to calmer waters for a while which helped, too.  

The movement on the water had Charlotte asleep in no time.  It actually worked out really well because it would have been challenging to keep her entertained (and safe!) for the entire 2 hour ride and she woke up just in time to see whales! 

Amazing!!! 

We also saw a bunch of seals and a bald eagle!

I have to include a section on the restaurants and food on the ship since everything was so amazing and we had the best service.  From the memories at the Windjammer "Washy Washy" to our buddies, Normandy and Jim at the dinner restaurant everything was so special.  There were a few nights where we had the kids go to the kids’ club for dinner so we could have an adult dinner which was a nice treat.  The kids preferred to be in the restaurant with us so the last night we brought everyone, except Charlotte and Finn, since they are the hardest to wrangle at dinner!  There were dance parties, magic tricks and lots of bathroom trips every meal (ha!)

 A little marcarena post meal

 The kids table!

On the last day on the ship our travel agent treated us to a special "behind the scenes" meal at one of the restaurants that you had to pay to eat at on the ship.  They gave us a tour of the kitchen and then it was a 3 course meal representing the best of the food from the ship.  We all enjoyed the special meal and the VIP treatment! 

She looks pretty good holding a champagne flute!

Cheers Charlotte!

 

 Dessert!! Yum!

 

 The rest are just some random pictures from the week that I wanted to be sure to include!

It was so nice to not to worry about cleaning, cooking or entertaining for the week and just to enjoy one another's company.  Rich and I even enjoyed coffee on the balcony a few times while the kids were entertained elsewhere!

There was a family dance party which everyone loved!  One of my other favorite memories was when the kids did the "learn a dance routine" workshop. It was so fun watching them learn the moves and for days we were saying "body roll, body roll" 

 So much fun, but not much luck at the money machine...until we got kicked out by security for having minors in the casino!  Oops!

 We surprised the Ozeck kids with books that we made for them about our favorite thing about each of them for them to take to Virginia with them.  We presented the books to them on the last night of the cruise-we sure are going to miss having them so close!

These two!! 

So many stairs over the week!  We almost always opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator but we were normally a hot mess of 17 going up or down! Lots of running, jumping and piggy back rides.  Charlotte refereed to go barefoot or in Julia's flip flops for almost the entire trip, due to a blister, and on the last few hours on the ship she lost one of the flip flops…what are the chances?!

The cruise ended Friday morning and although we were so sad to see it end we thankfully had another night in Seattle to enjoy! After a minor mishap, we ended up in the same hotel as the Ozecks and had fun exploring the city with them and spending time with Nani and Poppa before they flew out and hanging with Aunt Hollie and Uncle Brian for most of our 24 hours there, too (the Zicklers headed straight to Vancouver to visit Paul's family.)  Seattle is a great city and we walked all over the place! First stop was the Public Market to see the fish throwing, the gum wall and the first Starbucks (although we're pretty sure Poppa pointed out the wrong one to us, ha!)

Charlotte found the perfect sleeping spot in the hotel!

We took the tram to the other side of the city to see the Space Needle and played at an awesome park for awhile.  We then roamed around that part of the city and came upon a huge grassy area where they were setting up for an outdoor concert later that night so enjoyed the rehearsal and a Starbucks while the kids ran and danced around.  We met up with Bri and Hollie that night for dinner before having one final boy/girl sleepover with the cousins.  So much fun!  The next morning we were all up early so decided to walk to the Public Market again for one final visit.  We ended up splitting up with the Ozecks since we decided to uber it the airport since we had so much luggage but met up with them again for the flight home!  It was such a great way to finish out such a wonderful family vacation!  I know this post won't capture all of the wonderful events that took place that week but we are so grateful to my parents for such a wonderful week of priceless memories.