Lets get caught up....Summer Cruise up West Coast

I am starting this blog a little later than I wanted and now have so much to catch you all up on. We have done so many fun things this summer so I will try and blog about a few of them and then do my best to keep you all informed about our daily adventures.

We booked a very unplanned cruise vacation last minute due to an amazing deal Brian came across. So our summer started off with a bang with a cruise up the West Coast. Our stops were San Francisco, Victoria Canada and Seattle. This was Brian and my 6th cruise, Jason's second and Jackson's first!!! We knew we were a little crazy taking our one year old on his first cruise but we had one amazing vacation. Brian's cousin Jared and his wife Lindsey (my best-friend) also went with us.

Some of the highlights were at our first stop in San Francisco. Our ship, before docking, had to travel under the Golden Gate Bridge. It cleared it by only 15 feet!!! It felt like a lot less when you are about to go under it and feel like we are going to crash into it. It was the boys first time to the city and Brian and I felt like we were back home (we lived here right after we got married for about 2.5 years) We did shopping at Pier 39, saw the sea lions (hundreds of them hang out on the dock) and walked and walked and walked everywhere we went. Jason legs hurt so bad the next day.

The boys each picked up some great new souvenirs and loved their day in the city. That night we also got to see the Golden Gate bridge all lit up when we went back under it. Jackson was too excited to sleep and was out on our patio to enjoy the view with us.

Our next stop was Victoria, Canada. This was a first for all of us. We wanted to do something fun here so we made a stop at Buchart Gardens. It is a very famous place in Canada. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I could post hundrends of photos of this magical place but you will just have to go see them all on our website, http://www.kirklands.me. Here are some of my favorites from that day.

Brian and I were excited we got a good picture of us so we thought we would grab one of the whole family. Well, lets just say the boys were done looking at floweres and were done with pictures for the day. We love this photo below....Jason is on the ground refusing to to smile for another picture, Jasckson is making a run for it, I dont know what I am supposed to do with my children and Brian is right there with me. Thanks for snapping a wonderful photo of our family Jared!!!



The next few days were filled with getting to know the ship, taking in some shows, boys went golfing on board and also got "tattoos" (air-brushed that is), and Jason had an amazing time in the kids program.

Our next stop was Seatle. We were so excited because Brian's Dad and Grandma Gail live there. They showed us around the city and the weather was beautiful!! We went to the famous Pike Place Market and did some shopping. I was excited to get a coffee from the "first Starbucks" and we ate some amazing seafood for lunch. We even go to see the famous fish market where they throw fish at you...watch out!!! Why did I enjoy this so much??

We all had an amazing vacation together. The boys got to see so much, meet new people and make new friends. They are both loving the "cruising life" at such a young age and we are excited to take them to many more places. They were such great travelers, we were amazed. They loved the adventure!!! Be sure to check out our website for LOTS more photos of our trip, http://www.kirklands.me.

Happy Cruising.....don't you love their shirts, how perfect!!!