Formal Nights

Even since the last time we took a cruise, formal nights are less formal. But that didn't stop us from getting dressed up for the two formal nights! Marshall outfitted many boys with ties and everyone looked so great. Fun to have a reason to take it up a notch. 

Quantum of the Seas

Our cruise adventure started Monday midday. We spent the morning sleeping, getting final items for the trip and grabbing some breakfast. Drake helped with Nana and Pop and the first group got the room situation all figured out - even though painful.  

We enjoyed our days at sea - we basically had four of them and busied ourselves with all the various activities- from trivia and cards to karaoke and enjoying live music. With such a large boat, there were also lots of "sporty" activities as well - ping pong, rock wall, sky diving, flow rider, as well as pools and hot tubs.  I also enjoyed video poker with mom and turned the $10 from Mom into $20. 

Somehow the days filled up quickly with lots of people doing various activities throughout the day. I enjoyed the silent discos and we all enjoyed watching Drake participate in the sexiest man contest. 

Of course, eating was a big part of the day as well - where and what to eat! Our sit down meal was at 7:30 and we had two tables of eight. The service is quite incredible on these ships and our servers were wonderful - the kids enjoyed them. Hard to capture all the moments, but here are a few. 

Karlen Clan in Seattle

A fun family gathering at the Karlen Seattle house (aka the Schreibers). We enjoyed an amazing view, yummy food and catching up with Ann and Steve. Jaima and I stick around for a bit more time with Ann. I'm glad it worked out to get together before we headed on the cruise. 

C-attle

We were fortunate enough to spend a couple of days in Seattle with the LeBeavy family before our Alaskan cruise. We took a water taxi to downtown, walked around a bit, checked out the gum wall, explored Pike's Peak Market, grabbed some lunch and got salmon to cook at their house. We then took the taxi back and grabbed a drink with a view of downtown from West Seattle. 

There were ping pong battles, a gorgeous sunset, exploring and some yummy bahn mi sandwiches enjoyed. What a treat to have local guides take us around Seattle before we departed.