Cruisin' With My Besties

In my second year of college at the University of Florida, I pledged a sorority.

I knew I wanted to be a part of a sorority to help make the massive campus seem smaller in a sense. I knew that I wanted to be a part of something special that would give me that feeling of "belonging" when I didn't really feel like I belonged anywhere at that point.

Little did I know that when I accepted that bid at Chi Omega, that I would not only gain a lifetime of memories, I would gain 8 of my closest life-long friends.

There are 9 of us, including myself, and we fondly call each other "The Toolshed."

I could go into a lengthy, hysterical (or at least we would think so) story about how that nickname came about, but I'll spare you.

The thing about this group is that I never feel judged by them. I always feel loved by them. And we always, always laugh till we cry. It's that kind of group. And I treasure them so much.

So, when one of our beloved Toolshed members got engaged last year and then announced that she would be getting married on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship, you better believe all 8 of us immediately booked our tickets.

Last month, all of us traveled to Port Canaveral and joined our sweet Chi O sister, Jill, as she walked down the aisle to join the love of her life in marriage.

I've never seen Jill look more radiant!

Of course all of us enjoyed the wedding - and I'm sure we made it quite apparent that we were planning to have a fun time!

We took this while we were waiting for the wedding to start (i.e. why Jill is not in the picture)

After the beautiful ceremony and reception, Brian and I headed to our room to unpack and get changed. Our room was very spacious and comfortable. We had a balcony this time, and boy did that make a difference!

Obligatory balcony selfie.

We had a little time to kill before the lifeboat drill, so we all relaxed out on the pool deck.

 

As I mentioned, our room had a balcony, so most evenings, we would pour a glass of wine and enjoy the gorgeous views while we got ready for dinner.

I mentioned to our room steward that I liked "a lot of pillows" and this is what we came back to that night!

We also took full advantage of the balcony in the mornings. We would order room service (included of course) and enjoy coffee and an array of breakfast foods while watching the sun come out. We felt quite spoiled!

(Don't worry, the bacon, eggs & hash browns are on the other table)

Of course we weren't all fancy and civilized the entire trip. :)

One day we spent the entire afternoon poolside enjoying the hot tubs and people watching. 

When the activities director announced they were having a belly flop contest, we somehow talked Keri's husband, Sam, into participating (what a good sport he is!!).

Sam in mid-belly flop!

Of course our group was hootin' and hollerin' from the hot tub and we managed to be obnoxious enough to vote Sam into 1st place.

Great job Sam - you deserved that medal!!!

One afternoon, a few of us went on a snorkeling excursion. This was the boat we took:

 Snorkeling was amazing! I truly felt like I was in a gigantic fish tank. The fish were so colorful and plentiful! We even saw an eel peeking out from behind some rocks. It was a fantastic experience.

On our way back to the cruise ship after snorkeling

Every night we would all get dressed up and meet up somewhere on the ship before dinner. It was so fun and relaxing to know that no one had to cook or clean up and that when we returned to our room that evening, it would be all tidied up with the bed turned down just waiting for a good night's sleep.

The final day of the cruise, we were supposed to go to the private island. A couple of us made it off the boat and onto the island, but not long after, they ushered us back to the cruise ship because of high winds. The ship was having difficulty staying stable and the tenders became unsafe.

But we were able to snap a couple pics before heading back onto the ship.

And although the cruise home the last night was super rocky due to the high winds, we still managed to have a wonderful time.

I am so grateful for the memories we created on this cruise and so happy for my girl, Jill! It was a fantastic trip and we're already planning our next vacation together to celebrate all of our 40th birthdays. Cheers to great friends!

Catching Up:Halloween Pictures

Phew! October was a busy month! I have barely had any time to post anything on my poor neglected blog. Between the zillion Halloween parties and being out of town, I feel like the month just flew by.

On Halloween, our evening was spent with a house full of friends eating chili and passing out candy. Payton went trick or treating on his own this year with a group of his friends (yikes - this mama was nervous!) and then met back up with us in our circle for a few more houses.

Both boys had a blast as usual, but I was secretly glad to see the holiday pass. It seemed that there were a LOT of activities during the month of October, so I was ready to move on to a slower-paced November and enjoy catching up on a few things (like my blog).

But before I say my official "goodbye" to October, I thought I'd post a few pictures for posterity sake...

Parker & his pal Riley at a Halloween carnival. Gender roles anyone??

My cuties at our local pumpkin patch

Making our annual Halloween gingerbread house. I love this tradition!

Payton and I ran our first 5K together. He did great and beat his goal time. Way to go Payton!

Halloween Night

Brian dressed up as a 90's Gator Fan for Halloween. Jean shorts, mullet, Blueblocker glasses and all.

Our good friends got in on the wig fun!

Had to serve our annual chili buffet for Halloween night.

Getting ready to head out for trick-or-treating. Parker in his panda costume and Payton was a "cereal killer."

Close-up of my cute panda (wondering if this will be his last year of cute costumes?)

Sorting and trading candy the next morning. One of my favorite things as a kid!

Okay, now that I've got Halloween recorded in the books, I can move on to another fun topic... our cruise! I will post all the pictures and details on our recent cruise next time on my blog. Stay tuned!