Operation Surprise Denny for his 40th!

My love turns 40 this year in June and I decided to surprise him with something big! I planned a 3-night cruise all on my own. It was really fun surprising him and pulling it off, but it was HARD to keep the secret! I wanted to share it with him so badly!!

I knew I was going to have to wake him at 4AM on Friday morning so at the beginning of January I told him this was a big year for him and there would be 1 surprise per month until his actual birthday. That way he'd believe me when I told him to get up at the crack of dawn and take a shower! It worked!

I had our luggage and Josh and Holly's bags in the car by the time D arrived home from work Thursday. Friday morning we only walked out with a backpack. I requested him off work and packed his clothes, everything went just like I wanted! 

He didn't know we were going to the airport until we were almost there. He didn't know we were going to Orlando until we printed our boarding pass and he didn't know it was a cruise until we were almost to the port! He suspected a cruise once we got on the plane, but he wasn't sure!

We left port at 4 PM Friday and were in Nassau by 7 AM Saturday. We had the whole day there and left at 11 PM. Us 4 did an excursion where we took a boat out to Rainbow Reef and snorkeled and then had an audio tour of homes on the way back in. It was neat to hear about which celebrities owned which mansions!

Then we walked for iced coffee and bought a few trinkets for our kids. Then it was back to the ship for short naps and getting ready for 'fancy night' at dinner. The sit down dinners every night was one of our favorite parts. We had the best conversation, food and so much laughter! It's wonderful to have leisurely dinners where you can chew slowly and not have to tell a little person to sit down or eat their food!

 Denny and I absolutely love these two people! They are fun, kind and love the Lord. They show us how to be better spouses and parents. We are thankful our last small group brought us together!

The 3rd day was at Cocoa Cay, Royal Caribbean's private island. Basically, it was a beach day! That is our ship out at sea. We took a small boat to the shore, where they had fun activities like snorkeling, water slide, volleyball and chairs to lounge in. We just relaxed and got some sun. Lunch was provided on the island.

Sunset on the last night was gorgeous! We had another great dinner and then watched some karaoke.

We are very thankful for the opportunity to take a trip like this with wonderful friends. We had so much fun, we decided to do a long weekend getaway with them every year!