Other March Happenings

Besides Katie's graduation trip in March...

1. John went to California with some of his golf buddies.  

2. I planned an escape room for our youth group kids.

We handcuffed Pastor Bryan and the kids had to find the key to free him.  

3. John's niece Bekah and her beautiful little family came to visit from Canada.

Her little girls were so sweet, got me excited for grandkids...someday.

4. Keith continues to be a favorite in the Hiemstra Household.

5. More progress on the Love Shack.

6. cRaZy weather in Sioux Center!  Sam went from wearing his winter jacket to shorts in two days!

The last OG Hiemstra family vacation probably ever #5

When I booked our cruise, I thought four days would be a good amount of time for that much family togetherness - especially with all three kids in one tiny cabin.  The night before we all agreed we weren't ready to leave the Navigator of the Seas!

After we disembarked, we had a couple hours to kill before we could check into our hotel so we headed to Venice Beach.  The water was pretty chilly so Katie was the only one who was brave enough to go in.  John rented her a boogie board and she loved it!  

She got pretty good at it and the rest of us cheered her on...

And enjoyed the sunsine.

When we saw our hotel had a robot that would deliver things to your room, we requested an additional towel even though we didn't need it.

We tried to go out for pizza but the restaurant was busy so we brought it back to the hotel lobby and ate and played some cards.

The next morning Holly flew out about an hour before us.  John, Sam, Katie and I got back to cool, rainy Washington in the early afternoon.

Sam had a couple days at home before him and Paige flew back to Dordt.

AWESOME last OG Hiemstra family vacation probably ever!

 

The last OG Hiemstra family vacation probably ever #4

Our third day at sea we slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and hung out onboard for the morning.  Sam and Katie played in a pickleball tournament.  John and I had played singles one morning.  It's a whole different experience playing pickleball on a ship!

We could just walk off the ship in Ensenada.  We didn't have anything planned to do but the kids (especially Katie) really wanted to experience Mexico so we eventually got off.  

And took a cheesy photo.

The weather wasn't quite as nice - cool and a little windy but no one was complaining.  

I told the kids the night before that I planned our own Hiemstra Family excursion.  I gave them each $20 and told them to go barter with the locals.  It was so fun watching them!  They all have a unique style and definitely lived up to their Dutch heritage!  

Katie bought a couple trinkets and got her hair braided.  Sam had a guy make him a bracelet with his future mother-in-law's name (she always says she can't ever find anything monogrammed), bought Paige some souvenirs, and got himself a giant Packer's mug.  Can't even remember all the crap  treasures Holly found.  

I'm sure there are some really nice parts of Ensenada.  We didn't really find them.  

After they spent their money, they were ready to get back on the ship.  We came back to find this guy hanging in our room!

We changed into our swimsuits and went on the waterslides and then in the hot tub.  Katie rode the Flow Rider again.

Sam and Katie tried out the climbing wall.

And we played some cards by the pool.

It was Caribbean night in the dining room.  Katie looked the part with her new braids!  Sam showed off his pull up abilities on the staircase.

 

Watched another dance show after supper.  

The last OG Hiemstra family vacation probably ever #3

We woke up to another beautiful day with an incredible view of Catalina Island.  I got a table right by a window for breakfast.  These two joined me after morning trivia.  Pretty sure Holly was there too. Sam, not a chance.  As I was waiting, drinking my vanilla latte, and people watching; I noticed two guys drinking beers at the bar.  Drinking beer at eight o-clock in the morning.  Yuck.

You had to tender onto the island, and we didn't sign up ahead of time for a particular time slot so we just hung out and enjoyed the empty ship until we could go.  

Once on the island, I had read about a short hike up to a good viewpoint, so we headed up.  Lots of other people had the same idea but fairly sure we never saw another person hiking - everyone was either in a tour bus or had rented a golf cart.  Not the Hiemstra family.

We got a great view of our ship in the harbor.

And the cute city of Avalon.

It took a lot of tries of John balancing his phone on a pile of rocks to get this one.  Also, the rocks we are sitting on were super pokey, so we sort of look like we are in pain...because we were.

We took a slightly different route back down and happened on this pet cemetery.

Visiting cemeteries on vacation has kind of become a thing with us so we had to check it out.  Some of the markers were hilarious.

We then headed into town to do a little shopping and just walk around on land for a while.

Until we got hungry since we were used to eating approximately every 90 minutes.

Watched an amazing ice-skating show after supper.  Since I had attempted to skate the day before, I really appreciated the talent.  It's tough enough to skate but then doing flips, lifts, jumps and spins on a moving ship - crazy.

Went to a lounge to play some games after.  The bar tender was also a magician and showed Sam some card tricks.  

The last OG Hiemstra family vacation probably ever #2

Monday morning, we took a shuttle from our hotel and boarded our ship.  Smoothest boarding experience we ever had.

Before we knew it, we were enjoying our first buffet aboard the Navigator of the Seas!

We splurged and got the drink package.  

Katie's were mocktails of course.

We couldn't get into our rooms yet but everyone had packed their swimsuits in their backpacks (smart cruise hack) so we hit the waterslides right away.  The girls tried out the Flow Rider, a surfing simulation thing.  They both did really good!

The rest of the day we spent exploring the ship, laying in the sun, getting unpacked, eating, and eating some more.  Before we knew it, it was time for supper so we could eat again.

I had told the kids beforehand that we didn't need to spend every minute together during the day (and we didn't) but I wanted a nice meal in the formal dining room every night together.  They obliged.

Sam ordered escargot the first night.  He's not my adventurous eater but we talked him into it.  I'm not sure he was real happy when the waiter brought him two servings!

We all ate one.  John and I had eaten them before.  No one was particularly impressed.  It's not like they taste bad (when you drown something in butter and garlic, it's bound to taste okay) but just the thought of what you're eating kinda ruins it.

I couldn't decide on just one dessert!

We went to a dancing show after supper.  The girls were tired so went back to the cabin after - every party needs a pooper.  John, Sam and I had another drink (or two) before turning in.

The girls are early to bed but early to rise.  They got up for morning water aerobics.  John and I were taking a stroll around the ship and we spotted them.  They said it was super fun but cold!

We met the girls for breakfast (I'm not sure we ever saw Sam at breakfast).  Katie decided to try an eggs benedict.  She wasn't a fan, but I love it that she likes to try new things.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our "at sea" day.  We discovered that Katie really embraces the cruise ship experience.  She wanted to do EVERYTHING - trivia, spa pamper party, Spanish lessons, teen tournaments, mini-massages...she did it all.

The kid's cabin.  I wasn't sure how it was going to work with them all squished in an inside cabin but it was no problem...except the night Sam tried eating pizza at 2:00 a.m.

I love the towel animals!

Sometimes we joined Katie at her activities.  Sometimes we just sat in the sun.

First place in the teen table tennis tournament!

Ice skating!

Where I discovered I'm not as young as I think I am.

John and Sam played in a dodgeball tournament (Katie tried to join but it was adults only).  John was by far, the oldest one participating and I am proud to say, he was the last man standing on his team!  

Supper that night.

Entertainment that evening was a comedian.  We convinced the girls to stay up later and play some music trivia in one of the lounges.  

A great day at sea!