Vacation was a blast. Michael had a Fall Break from school so we took advantage of traveling in the 'off' season. The child is ready to cruise again. He loved it.

After sailing on the Destiny for the 2nd time, I will book a bigger ship or nicer cruise line for out next sailing. This is the same ship Dan and I went on for our honeymoon 9 1/2 years ago, and I'm not sure it's been updated much since.

On the way to MIA, we had a layover in MEM. Little Man couldn't find anything other than this cookie that would work for his breakfast. Oh well, it's vacation. He's going to eat so much ice cream this week that this cookie won't make a difference.

He never misses the change to ask the Capt. if he can check out the cockpit. He loves this stuff.

Finally in MIA and we have the afternoon to play. This is a huge tree at Bayside which across the street from our Holiday Inn.

Dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co for dinner in MIA.

Finally on the ship. The Carnival Destiny.


Waterslide fun.

Professional cruiser.

Exhausted. So much to do and so little time in the day.

Grand Cayman pirate adventure. Did I mention they tied me to the mast and poured a 5 gallon bucket of ice water over my head? Oh, no, not all at once. In 4 or 5 separate showers. Burr!

Dunns River Falls. Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Would definitely recommend this and would probably do it again. It was very cool.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. We will likely cruise again, but there are a ton of other places we want to vacation first.

Back to reality.

It's been too long...we've done too much...and I have WAY too many photos! Starting with school, Michael is liking eStem and has all A's for the first 9 weeks. Very proud of that accomplishment. It's a much harder curriculum on top of a new school, so I'm proud.

Of course, shortly after school starts, summer ends. We spent Labor Day weekend at Jack's on the White River. My SIL's family and friends have had this tradition for many many years. We were grateful for the invite and finally being able to join in on the fun. We had a splendid time! Michael and I lit out on Friday morning to get there, get the camper set up and get settled in before Dan arrived on Saturday morning. Everything went without a hitch...except for the 100 mile drive turning into a 250 mile drive. Mapquest =1 - Me = 0. We made the best of it and enjoyed the scenery. Whattayagonnado?!?!

Once Dan arrived on Saturday, we rented a boat and headed out on the river. Didn't catch anything, but had fun trying. After a bit of fishing, we headed to a gravel bar in Sylamore Creek and let the kiddos play. Fun was had by all.

While hanging out at the resort, the kids LIVE on the playground. There is an old school, heavy metal marry-go-round where they congregate. In the evenings, the grills are going, and a few beverages are consumed.

We will definitely do the Memorial Day / Labor Day thing at Jack's again. All of us had a blast.