Ten years, countless memories, and one unforgettable week at sea

Some vacations are about checking destinations off a bucket list, while others are about spending uninterrupted time with the people you love most. This year’s cruise somehow managed to be both. It marked our 10th annual cruise with the Cousino's, and after an incredibly busy spring and the whirlwind start to summer, seven days in the Caribbean was exactly what we all needed. The funny thing is that when we originally booked this itinerary, none of us were especially excited about another trip to Mexico. We had visited some of these ports before and wondered if this cruise would feel repetitive. By the end of the week, though, we all agreed it had become one of our favorite cruises in the past several years.

Our vacation actually started before we ever stepped onto the ship. We drove straight from Olivia’s swim meet in Denison after spending the afternoon hanging out with Bryan and Steph, headed to Cleveland, and flew to Miami that evening. We stayed at the same hotel as the Cousino's, making it feel like vacation officially began the night before embarkation. The next morning, everything went perfectly. We boarded the ship before noon, drinks in hand, and immediately settled into vacation mode. It is amazing how quickly the stress of everyday life disappears when you know your only responsibility for the next week is deciding whether to head to the pool, grab another drink, or find something good to eat.

One unexpected highlight of the trip was our balcony cabin. I don’t know if I can ever go back to an interior room after this experience. I loved sitting outside in the mornings with the ocean stretching endlessly in every direction or relaxing there after dinner while watching the sunset. Before we left, Steph handed me The Women by Kristin Hannah and insisted I needed to read it. She was absolutely right. Somehow I managed to finish all 500 pages by Wednesday, and it instantly became one of my favorite books. Between reading on the balcony, relaxing by the pool, squeezing in workouts at the gym, enjoying afternoons at the bar, and singing along most nights at the dueling pianos, life onboard quickly settled into the perfect vacation routine.

Our first port was Cozumel, where Jeremy and I decided to do something a little different from the Cousino's and booked an ATV adventure. The excursion started with snorkeling while I was perfectly content soaking up the sunshine on the beach afterward as Jeremy explored underwater. Then it was time to climb onto the ATVs, and they ended up being even more fun than I expected. My favorite part was flying through the water crossings, getting splashed from every direction as we raced along the trails. Afterward, we enjoyed a tequila tasting, learned more about the distilling process, and finished the excursion with a delicious Mexican lunch before heading back to the ship. It was the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation.

As much fun as Cozumel was, Roatán easily became the highlight of the cruise. We visited an animal sanctuary where we learned about conservation efforts protecting sloths, monkeys, and scarlet macaws, and getting to hold the sloths was every bit as incredible as we imagined. The funniest part of the day, however, involved Jeremy and one particularly opinionated monkey. For whatever reason, that monkey wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. After repeatedly making it obvious that Jeremy was not welcome, the guides finally laughed and asked him to step outside the enclosure. We have definitely not let him forget that moment. After leaving the sanctuary, we visited a chocolate factory where we sampled some of the best chocolate we’ve ever had. It was so good that we came home with an entire box. We followed that with a rum factory tour complete with rum cakes and tastings before finishing the afternoon relaxing at beautiful West Bay Beach. The crystal-clear water, soft white sand, and laid-back atmosphere made it easy to understand why so many people call it one of the prettiest beaches in the Caribbean.

Harvest Caye in Belize reminded us why we enjoyed this stop so much the first time we visited. The beaches are absolutely beautiful, but honestly, my favorite part was simply spending the afternoon floating around the pools without a care in the world. Sometimes you don’t need an elaborate excursion to have an amazing day. There is something incredibly refreshing about slowing down, enjoying the sunshine, and appreciating that you have absolutely nowhere else you need to be.

The biggest surprise of the entire cruise came during our excursion to Bacalar’s famous Seven Color Lagoon in Costa Maya. We must not have read the excursion description very carefully because we had no idea a boat ride was included. That unexpected addition ended up making the entire experience. We cruised across water displaying every imaginable shade of blue while the crew kept everyone’s drinks full—including plenty of tequila. They anchored in the lagoon and gave us nearly an hour to swim in warm, crystal-clear water that was only about waist deep. It honestly felt magical. Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, they took us to a local restaurant where we enjoyed some outstanding fajitas before returning to the ship. It was one of those excursions that exceeded every expectation we had and became one of our favorite experiences of the entire vacation.

The days at sea ended up being just as memorable as the ports themselves. We enjoyed endless sunshine, plenty of pool time, relaxing afternoons, great conversations, and nights filled with music and laughter at the dueling pianos. Those slower days reminded me that some of the best parts of cruising aren’t necessarily the destinations but the opportunity to disconnect from normal life and simply enjoy being together. There were no schedules to keep, no practices to attend, no emails to answer, and no deadlines waiting for us. It was seven straight days of simply enjoying the moment.

Even our trip home gave us one last memorable story. On our flight back from Miami, condensation built up inside the airplane so heavily that it literally looked like fog had filled the cabin. It was so thick we couldn’t even see the flight attendant during the safety demonstration. None of us had ever experienced anything like it, and it was the perfect ending to a week that seemed to provide one unique memory after another.

Looking back, this cruise reminded us that sometimes the vacations you aren’t expecting much from end up becoming your favorites. Between the incredible excursions, beautiful beaches, relaxing sea days, balcony sunsets, countless laughs with the Cousino's, and simply pressing pause on everyday life for a week, this trip gave us exactly what we needed. After ten years of cruising together, we’ve accumulated countless memories, but this one will definitely rank near the top. Now the only problem is waiting until it’s time to start planning cruise number eleven.

June: Busy, blessed, and a little bit crazy

 

Whoa, summer can slow down any time now. How is it the beginning of July already? It feels like we blinked and June disappeared. As the head volleyball coach at Elida, we kicked off our high school summer league, which runs every Wednesday night. My Wednesdays start at 7:00 a.m. making chicken sandwiches before taking the kiddos to summer swim practice in Wapak. Once I get home, I print off court sheets, make sure everything is organized, and usually stop by the courts around 2:00 p.m. to make sure everything is ready before games begin at 4:00 and run until 10:00 that night. To say my Wednesdays are wild is an understatement. June kicked off with youth volleyball camp June 1-3. We hosted the fourth through eighth graders for the first hour and a half and then the first through third graders for the final hour. It ended up being a great way to split the groups, and our high school players did an awesome job helping coach the younger kids. 

Olivia helped with VB camp every day except Wednesday, when she headed to Wapak with Isaac for their first summer swim practice. I only make them go there once a week since Olivia already has USA Swim practice every day. The second week of June also brought summer lifting, conditioning, and open gyms on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so volleyball is definitely getting plenty of attention this summer. As a first-year head coach, there has been a steep learning curve. Between making sure everyone is compliant to participate and planning practices, camps, and leagues, it has definitely been a lot of work, but I’m enjoying every minute of it.

The other major project this summer has been remodeling our backyard oasis. ChatGPT has been busy telling me what to change, what to buy, and where to buy it, and let’s just say Amazon, Wayfair, FedEx, and UPS have all become frequent visitors. It has been so much fun watching everything come together. We added new landscaping solar lights, Adirondack chairs a new patio dining set, a bistro table, coffee table, side table, storage cabinet under the TV, rugs, and cushions. The only thing left is hanging the string lights, and then I think we can officially call it finished. I absolutely love how it turned out and can’t wait to spend the rest of the summer enjoying it.

Isaac found a new love this summer…umpiring baseball. In addition to playing Junior ACME baseball, he has been asked to umpire several little league games. He absolutely loves it, and we’ve heard nothing but compliments from coaches and parents. One coach even gave him extra money after the game just to tell him how much he appreciated how clearly and fairly he made his calls. Jeremy, Maw, and I have all gone to watch him umpire at different games. Never in a million years did I think I’d be sitting in the stands watching my own kid umpire baseball, but it has been fun to watch him grow in confidence.

June 7-11 had us making another trip to Kenyon College for Total Performance Swim Camp. This time Olivia attended the Elite Sprint Camp. It was her first time going without knowing anyone, but thankfully her roommate was from Pennsylvania and she said they got along great. Her biggest complaint was definitely the dorm rooms. Temperatures reached around 90 degrees with no air conditioning, which made sleeping nearly impossible. Despite the heat, she loved every minute of camp. She really enjoyed the lectures on mental toughness, received compliments from an Ohio State coach on her starts, and even learned a new breathing technique for her 50 freestyle after watching an Olympian break down the race. She also came home with some fun measurements. Her vertical jump measured 21 inches, so she definitely inherited her jumping ability from her dad! Her wingspan measured 70 inches, too. We’re still hoping she has a little more growing left to do, but that’s already a pretty impressive reach.

On June 12, Isaac officially opened pool play for the backyard Whiffle Ball League that he created for our family, along with Maw and Paw. We all have to play one another before the tournament seeding is determined. Games are only two innings long, but don’t let that fool you because there is an extensive rulebook that Isaac wrote himself. He also made everyone come up with team names and even bought a scoreboard. Jeremy usually handles the music, complete with the National Anthem before first pitch and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” between innings. We all kind of dread actually playing because Isaac takes it very seriously, but we laugh so much every game that it’s become one of my favorite summer traditions. We combined opening day with a cookout where Isaac picked the first peppers from his garden to stuff and grill. Ironically, he doesn’t even eat the peppers, but he sure loves growing them.

Mid-June brought some Flag City fun in Findlay. I ran a 5K with Traci Sneary and Jazz, the athletic trainer. There were definitely no record-breaking times, but we had a great time. Afterward, I headed over to the pool to watch Olivia compete in her USA Swim meet. She had the opportunity to swim the 400 freestyle relay with the older girls and definitely held her own. They swam a great race and just barely got out-touched at the finish.

There was plenty of random summer fun mixed in as well. We’ve taken advantage of the Kids Bowl Free coupons, made homemade ice cream cut-out cookies just because, and I made crown-shaped cutouts for my godmother Sis’s birthday. Isaac used some of his umpiring money to buy himself a new Wiffle ball bat, and of course volleyball summer league continued each week. I also checked off something I had been putting off…my first colonoscopy.

Speaking of volleyball, the way summer league ended was about as dramatic as it could have been, especially for my first year running it. The morning before our championship tournament, our athletic director called to tell me the Red Cross had reserved the fieldhouse as an emergency shelter because severe storms were forecasted for that evening. The district decided to close all facilities at 4:00 p.m., which meant I had to notify every coach that the final tournament was canceled. Unfortunately, basketball had the gym reserved the following day, and the next week I would already be on a cruise, so there was simply no way to reschedule. The frustrating part? We barely got more than a rainstorm. After all that, summer league ended without a championship night for no reason at all. It definitely wasn’t my decision, but thankfully everyone was very understanding.

We then headed to Denison for another USA Swim meet before beginning our vacation. We packed everything so we could leave directly from the meet and drive to Cleveland to catch our flight for a week-long cruise with the Cousino's. We actually got a bonus night of vacation by spending Friday evening with our friends before Olivia swam again Saturday morning. The Cousino's flew out of Columbus while we met Grandma Barb in Mansfield to drop Olivia off with her before flying out of Cleveland ourselves. We clearly didn’t do enough research on airport parking because we ended up paying $170 to leave our car there. Lesson learned!

The cruise definitely deserves its own blog post, so I’ll save all of those stories for next time. While we were gone, both kids competed in a summer swim meet against Ada and swam really well. Isaac also headed off to his very first 4-H Camp. He was pretty nervous beforehand and had already completed more than ten hours of counselor training before ever leaving Lima. Once camp started, though, he was an instant hit with the campers. He wore his cowboy hat all week, and many of the kids simply called him “Cowboy.” By the end of the week he was absolutely exhausted, but he couldn’t stop talking about how much fun he had and already said he wants to do it again next year, as long as baseball doesn’t interfere. 

While Jeremy and I were cruising, Olivia competed in her biggest USA regular season meet of the summer at St. Xavier. Since her best friend Courtney and her parents were already going, we arranged for Olivia to be “adopted” by them for the weekend. St. Xavier is one of her favorite meets because swimmers compete in prelims and finals each day. We’re honestly starting to think she either swims better when she goes with them or maybe Jeremy and I should just stay home because she had an incredible weekend. By Sunday evening we returned home from our cruise, Olivia returned from Cincinnati, and Isaac came home from 4-H Camp. For a few short days we were finally all back together before packing up once again to head out for our Fourth of July adventures.