Kerby Family Reunion

We spent October 17-26, in California for a Kerby Family Reunion Cruise (Eric's mom's side of the fam). We had the BEST time! 

Since we were already going to be in LA to get on the cruise, we decided to go down a couple days early to go to Disneyland, along with Eric's brother's family (Patrick, Sally, Kevin, and Claire). I know our kids our a little young to remember much, but I just couldn't resist and I'm SO glad we did it. It was definitely a major highlight of the trip. We spent Thursday afternoon and Friday driving down to Anaheim, then spent Saturday and Sunday at the happiest place on earth. We all had a ball.  

The night before, exploring Downtown Disney...

We spent Saturday at Disneyland...

We all really like the Haunted Mansion, which was all decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas. It was amazing. But Sullivan's favorite part of the day was riding in the rocket ship with Aunt Sally. 

And we spent Sunday at California Adventure...

Sullivan's favorite ride was the giant Mickey Ferris Wheel, the Flying Wheels, and the Tractor ride. Eric's favorite was the Tower of Terror. My favorite things were Cars Land, the Pixar Parade, and the World of Color water show. My least favorite was getting completely drenched on Grizzly Rapids...I knew I should have sat that one out!? :)  And Eliza was just happy to be there, especially when we let her loose to walk the fence lines. Disney sure knows how to show a family a good time! Disneyland was fun, but California Adventure was our clear winner. We had so much fun there!

On Monday we boarded the Carnival Inspiration. Sullivan absolutely loved the "big boat." All he could eat ice cream cones and grandma and grandpa and cousins at his beck and call. We all had the best time.

After Sullivan spent the majority of our first night's dinner under the table, we decided he'd be more comfortable eating and playing at the kids club instead of sitting through a 2 hour formal dinner. He always had such a fun time there, and we only had one kid to wrestle instead of two (Eliza was too young for kids club). And I especially loved the pirate get-up they hooked him up with one night. Sullivan also discovered a new love...mini golf. He couldn't get enough.

On Tuesday, everyone in Eric's immediate family rented golf carts in Catalina and toured the island. It was so gorgeous and so fun! And then we let Sullivan play in the water on the small beach near the pier...in his undies. The day couldn't have been more lovely.

On Wednesday we ported in Ensanada, Mexico. We all made our way to the shopping are and did some haggling and shopping. Sullivan found a toy guitar, and I found a $2 scarf and some vanilla...we were big spenders!? :)

We ate some great food while on this trip...the kids especially loved the unlimited ice cream cones (they are definitely my children). 

And we all had so much fun playing together.

And we wore the kids right out, more times than we can count!?

And we LOVED getting to spend so much time with family!! I married into the best family, and I love them all so much! They're the best! And they were a blast to vacation with...we need to do this more often!?

And while we all had the best time, for the record, cruising with small kids is not quite as relaxing or luxurious as cruising without them. I ate chicken nuggets and chili dogs for lunch nearly everyday, just because that was the quickest line, it's what Sullivan always wanted eat, and with two kids, I was only going through one food line, even though I dreamed of waiting in line for the mongolian wok, or a panini sandwich. So, my lunches were kind of depressing. But on the flip side, everyone LOVES a baby on a cruise ship. Eliza was constantly gushed over.

And another small bonus, the kids were passed out every night by 9 or 10ish (of course), and I had never been happier to have nothing to do on vacation but watch tv in my cabin and go to bed early. And since there was no need for two of us to be room-bound, Eric was free to go to the comedy shows, midnight buffets, and hang out with his family, which he loved. It's embarrassing that I found so much joy in being cabin-bound, but I loved it. So, it worked out for us.

Eric and I did get away for one child-free hour on the trip, where grandma watched the baby and Sully was at kids club, where we hit up the hot tub...best hot tub ever!

It was such a wonderful trip, with so many fun memories. And while vacationing with kids isn't exactly relaxing, I still loved having them around and loved exploring new places with them. They make life interesting, and I love them...so much!  But next time, they're staying with Grandma. :)