About a month ago we went on a cruise to Mexico with our good friends Gerret and Sarah. Gerret and Sean have been best friends since they were 15, they were both groomsmen at each others weddings, we got to be there the day their first baby was born, and now we live 5 minutes down the street from them! They've helped us out a lot over the years, and have been such good friends to us, we feel so blessed to live so close and see them so often. Sean said he and Gerret would always joke around about marrying hot girls and living right next to one another when they grew up. Dreams really do come true! Ha ha! This is the first vacation we've taken with friends, so we were pretty excited!
We were also excited not to have to fly to our cruise port this time. Galveston, Texas has a cruise port-and it's only about 5 hours from us! Sean served his mission in Houston, and hasn't been back since, so we thought it would be nice to go visit some of the places and people he was close with while we were down there.
This is the Sealy family that we visited with, and Sean's friend Charles he helped convert.
Charles has an amazing conversion story. His family was against him joining the church, but he stayed strong to his beliefs and got baptized. I've heard a lot about him, and it was nice to finally meet him.
Boarding the ship, SO EXCITED!
This was Sarah's first cruise, we were all so stoked for her!
1st meal! The beginning of stuffing our faces :)
Exploring the ship
First sunset.
On our last cruise, Sean won the free throw shooting competition and got some medals which he was VERY excited about. This time he won the sports trivia (I think) and got a trophy. VERY SERIOUS.
First night at dinner!
Our din din table
It was so nice to have a girlfriend with me, Sean HATES laying out. Thank you Sarah!!!
Don't worry...it was a virgin strawberry daiquiri :)
Look how blue the water is, beautiful!
The one and only time Sean layed out with me. It had to be documented so someone would believe me! :)
Formal night!
What a good looking group!
The always delicious dinner time...
Waiting for the show to start.
On the bus to the Mayan ruins.
Sean and Gerret LOVE taking pictures. They didn't complain once. :)
Chichen Itza!!!
It was amazing.
The ruins were like nothing I had ever seen before. Totally worth the 4 hours on the bus, the humid/hot weather, and all the harassing from the locals!
One of the seven wonders of the world.
I was pretty excited to get some Mexican snacks and a peso!
Mini golfin' it up
Sean and Gerret with all their friends at the poker table :)
Dinner time
The waiters gettin' freaky on the tables
Cozumel!
Our ship
We had booked a snuba excusion, but the waves were too choppy so it got cancelled. :( I was super bummed, but we rented a scooter for the day and had tons of fun anyways!
Yes!
Yes...eternity.
Exploring around the island...
Oh no...Sean found a golf course. He took this one for you, Nate. :)
Sean driving crazy on the scooter!
Me getting a "trial massage" on the beach to see if I really want one :)
Loving the scooter!
Later that day...somehow we convinced Gerret and Sarah to get a scooter too!
One of my favorite pictures of them from the whole trip.
Found some hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, pretty dang good too!
We found this cool little place down the coast. It had a beach, some shops, a pool, restaurant, and massage therapists. What more could you ask for?!
Sean and Gerret frolicking in the water.
Love this pic!
Decided to get the massage!
Serenity? I think so!
Back on board!
Sean trying alligator...or some nasty food. They always have weird different food that Sean always loves to try on our cruises. Frog legs, alligator, snails...you name it.
Sean definitely sick of the pics by this point.
My favorite towel animal! Stingray, so creative :)
Our last night :(
On the way back home we stopped at the Houston temple to do a session. I love going to new temples, it was really pretty.
Perfect ending to a perfect trip.
We're so glad we were able to vacation with our friends! It was definitely a new and fun experience. I honestly love cruising. I'm totally convinced it's the best way to vacation. We're excited to travel with more of our friends and family as we get older.
Cruise #3, success!!!
