Girl's Trip- Lacey's 40th Birthday Cruise

 I just had the best time on a girl's cruise celebrating Lacey's 40th Birthday. 
Naturally, I had to make us all matching shirts. It was such a fun trip. It was a 5-day cruise and we left out of Galveston and went to Cozumel and Costa Maya. 

First things first, we had to start the cruise off right by getting delicious drinks. 
I started off with a "mango tango". 

We also went to the buffet and got some lunch while we waited for our cabins to open and our luggage to be delivered. 

Eventually we got changed into our swimsuits and hit the pool deck.

We even danced and partied during the "Set Sail " party. 

That night we explored the ship and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 

 

The moon on the water was so pretty each night. We loved it 

The next day was a sea day and we decided to wear our coordinating swimsuits. 

Instead of trying to find one suit that would look good on all our different bodies, we decided to just all buy red swimsuits in different styles. 

Besides being mistaken for lifeguards, it was pretty fun. We got so many comments. 

Night two was our formal night. We got all dolled up and took some pics together.

I'm so grateful for these sweet girls that I get to call my friends. 
I'm grateful to have wonderful friends to travel with, who I can laugh and cry with and who are so supportive. They are just the best. 

Day 3 was spent in Costa Maya. Costa Maya is so pretty but the port doesn't have a lot to offer. Most of the resorts you can drive to are getting run down and old. However, Royal Caribbean is building a new port there and so I'm hoping it will get better. 

We took a taxi to "The Crazy Lobster" and relaxed there for the day. 

Erin and I had to get pina coladas in fresh coconuts. No regrets there. 

The water wasn't a clear as usual, but the $25 massages were as good as ever. 

We had so much fun. We relaxed all day and enjoyed the day at the beach together. 

The next day was spent at Cozumel. 

We took a taxi to "Paradise Beach" and spent the day doing the inflatables and eating all the yummy food. 

It was such a fun day. We laughed so hard while doing the inflatables that it was hard to breathe. 
These mommas aren't as young as we used to be. But we still know how to have fun.

After we got back to the ship, we got dressed and ready for dinner. The theme was "White night" and we unknowingly all coordinate so well We had to get a picture to commemorate it. 
Also we took a picture with our fists under our chins to remember the ridiculous poses the ship's photographers would have us do. We were laughing so hard. 

Basically each night we just hung out, went to shows, played games and laughed until we cried. 

As always, we enjoyed our towel animals each night. 

We went to game shows, ice skating shows and karaoke in the evenings. It was such a blast. 

We also ended each night at the "Promenade Cafe" eating pizza. It was our nightly ritual and I'm pretty sure I gained 10 pounds from pizza alone. 

We did attend the dance party though and that helped to burn off some of the calories. 

On our last night I ordered an entire pizza. 

I didn't eat it all but I couldn't believe they just gave me a whole pizza when I asked. 

The entire cruise was just a blast and it flew by so fast. 

I seriously cant express how grateful I am to have such great friends. It makes all the difference as we navigate motherhood together. Happy 40th Birthday Lace! Love you!

Thanks for all the fun!

Labor Day in Branson

After Tanner's birthday party on Friday night, we drove up to Branson on Saturday. 

We didn't get in until late afternoon so we went straight to "Gettin' Basted" for an early dinner. 

This is always a hit. The servings are massive and we always take home leftovers. 

After dinner, we picked up our groceries and then checked in at our BlueGreen Resort. 

We swam on Saturday night and just played around the resort. 

On Sunday we went to church and Chris and I went to an owners meeting. 

We also go to attend a Tim McGraw concert with our friends, the Quales.

We had planned to just buy lawn tickets for the concert, but then Billy's job gave him four pit tickets so they offered two to us and we had the best time together. Billy works for Bass Pro and they own the arena where the concert was held. 

We had such a great time with the Quales. We sang along to all the songs and enjoyed being up close and personal with Tim McGraw. 

Before the concert, "The Golden Knights" performed and it was so fun to see them parachuting into the venue. 

 

"My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw is our wedding song, so we've always loved Tim McGraw. 

We were so close to the stage. It was awesome!

We enjoyed hanging out with the Quales and getting to chat and catch up. They moved to Nixa, MO last year and we miss seeing them. 

On Monday, we took the kids to play at "Fritz's Adventure". We had gone to "Fritz's" back in August with our Herb cousins and they had given us free tickets to come back again before the end of September. So it was a free day for us this time, which makes it even more fun. 

Chris and I enjoyed the massage chairs together this time.

The kids played and played. It was so fun to watch them explore and play together. 

We had to indulge in one of these massive pretzels too. It was so big! We definitely filled up eating it. 

Tanner and Bailey did the ziplining together and they were awesome. 
This was Bailey second time and she did so much better this time. They were able to keep pace with each other and scaled the whole place together. 

The younger boys did rock climbing too. 

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We played all day at Fritz's and then we decided to catch a late matinee and we saw "Superman". 

The movie was good and we all enjoyed it. 

After dinner we grabbed some dinner at Chick-fil-A and then we drove home. 

We had a great time in Branson and it was another successful Labor Day weekend.