A Dolphin Day!

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So I haven't posted about our Western Caribbean Carnival Cruise this summer, but I wanted to go ahead and post a few pictures from one of the highlights of our trip...our dolphin day! I use my blog as a scrapbook/photo album/memory book for my family, so I try to write and post pictures of almost everything that we do together. When we first told the kids that we were going on a cruise to the beach for vacation, LilliAnn said, "and I'm gonna kiss a dolphin!" Every time she heard us mention vacation to someone she would tell them, "and I'm gonna kiss a dolphin!" Great. Most of the dolphin excursions that I had read about did not allow young children to swim or "kiss" the dolphins. How was I going to call this vacation a success if Lil doesn't get her dolphin kiss? Thankfully, I found the answer. Dolphinaris. This amazing little dolphin cove in Cozumel is kid-friendly and oh so fun! 

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The kids were SO SO excited to swim with the dolphins! The Dolphinaris trainers put us in a group of eight and led us into our own private little cove with our dolphin. 

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This was my second time to swim with the dolphins, but it was even more exciting this time around because I got to experience it with my kids! The dolphins felt so smooth, almost like rubber. 

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She wasn't so sure at first about being this close to such a big fish!

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Reid's kiss!

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Look! Lil's kiss! She got to go on vacation and really kiss a dolphin! I cannot even explain how excited she was!

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A dolphin dance!

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Mommy even got a kiss!

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Daddy's kiss!

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And a dance with daddy!

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Isn't daddy just the cutest dolphin dude?

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Reid did great with the dolphins! He was definitely all about it!

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Now it was time to really swim with the dolphins! Reid held onto Jeb's back and Jeb held onto the dolphin's dorsal fin. Reid was smiling so big and thought this was the coolest thing ever!

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Next it was LilliAnn's turn. I was a little worried about the water splashing in her face and thought she might let go of me, but she held on like a champ!

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It was truly a magical day for the Ruckus! We absolutely LOVE Cozumel and Dolphinaris was the perfect place to take our children for a dolphin encounter. Dolphinaris provided lunch after our swim, and then Nana and Papa picked us up in the Razors they had rented to drive us around the island.