Last week we went on vacation! The Carnival Pride left from Baltimore. The night before we left we had dinner with one of my old college roommates and her family (Fun fact: she is actually the one who introduced Kevin and I!). Kaitlyn had a lot of fun playing in the hotel room that night.
She told me the pillows were cake. Apparently she thought she was making a cake by stacking them. Guess she watches too much Cake Boss with me :)
Our embarkation photo…
The first day of the cruise, we had to go to a Camp Carnival orientation to make sure Kaitlyn was registered and get their schedule of activities for the cruise. At the end, they raffled off a “Funship Freddy” doll. Kaitlyn won!
Camp Carnival also does a “Beary Cuddly” which is their version of a Build A Bear. The bear Kaitlyn got all the proceeds went to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Stuffing the bear… 
The finished product…
Monday was a fun day at sea. We watched an ice carving demonstration.
Kaitlyn spent some time at Camp Carnival. She made a princess crown and a “candy” necklace out of fruit loops.
Monday was also elegant night. So we got to get all dressed up and g0t family photos. Here’s one of Kaitlyn before we headed out to dinner…
Little Miss Attitude… 
Kaitlyn loved coming back to the room and finding the towel animals every night.
Tuesday was also a fun day at sea.
The first of several “Cheeky Art” (aka face painting) days at Camp Carnival.
Wednesday we docked at Port Canaveral. 
We could see Kennedy Space Center from the ship!
We took an airboat ride to see the “gators”
Showing off the teeth!
Sampling the alligator. Of course, she thought it was a chicken nugget!
Some more Cheeky Art from Camp Carnival…
We took a horse and carriage ride around.
Then we introduced Kaitlyn to Senor Frogs!
It was a Carnival day in port apparently. Our ship was the one in the middle. The Carnival Ecstasy and the Carnival Fascination are the other two ships.
Kaitlyn is already learning fun things at school…
Kaitlyn’s favorite part of the day was the beach…
Shopping! And yes, we brought home some rum and rum cakes. Yummy!
Some more cheeky Art from Camp Carnival… 
Friday we docked in Freeport, Bahamas.
First we went to the Garden of the Groves. It was beautiful! 
Watching the fish…
Checking out the little lizard.
Counting the ducks.
Afterwards we checked out the shops at Port Lucaya Marketplace.
We stopped for a little snack and sampled the conch.
And Kevin sampled one of the locally brewed beers.
Saturday was our last day and of course it was a sea day as we headed back to Baltimore. Kaitlyn went to Camp Carnival while Kevin and I took the Behind the Fun Tour on the ship. Because of the nature of the tour, they only allow 16 people on the tour (they only did the tour twice on this sailing) and you are not allowed to bring cell phones and cameras. Because you go to restricted areas, they even have ship security wand you with a handheld metal detector! It was awesome though. Because we could not bring cameras, Carnival photographers actually met us as a couple of stops and snapped photos for us. Some of the highlights were the backstage of the theater, the engine room, the beer cooler :) and the galley.
Here we are with the Chef. The guy to the left of the chef actually did the fruit carvings on the table as decorations for the chocolate buffet. He also did the ice sculpture carving from earlier in the week.
And of course, the best part was meeting the captain on the bridge! The view was incredible.
The whole group… Kevin and I are standing behind the captain and our tour guide, Alexandra, is standing on the right.
Kevin and I steering the ship with the Captain. He liked my Bruins t-shirt!
Our final stop was at the ship’s steakhouse where we had mimosa’s and they gave us this… It is a swan carved out of soap…
When we got back to our room, we found this from the Chef thanking us for visiting the galley.
Kaitlyn enjoying her pudding.
That night we went to the farewell party. Kaitlyn danced and sipped fruit punch, while Kevin and I enjoyed the free alcoholic beverages :
I swear it is just fruit punch! 
Our Kaitlyn’s last night at Camp Carnival, she made a t-shirt and had her own little farewell party. She looks unhappy because she knew it was her last night going.
Now we are home. Kaitlyn insisted on wearing her muster station bracelet up until this morning. Apparently, she thought if she continued to wear it, she could get back on the boat. She is continually asking Kevin and I if we are going back on the boat soon. So, I guess Kevin will be planning another cruise vacation. And of course the most important thing… Kaitlyn doesn’t get sea sick!
