Cooper Visits the Bahamas (Atlantis)

Beautiful Atlantis! Take a deep seat folks, there are half a million pictures coming your way. Seriously. Oh my, I don't even know where to begin! So I'm going to start with a few quick Atlantis Travel Tips!

1. Don't go during peak season! We visited Atlantis in September during what is technically hurricane season (but it didn't rain a single drop while we were there) so we were very fortunate not to have to deal with the insane crowds that typically flood Atlantis. Never once did we stand in a line more than 5 people deep to ride a slide or order food. 

2. Save LOTS of money by staying at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island! I feel the need to say that again because this is seriously a stinkin' steal of a deal… The Comfort Suites is RIGHT next door to Atlantis (it's actually closer to the main part of Atlantis than most of the Atlantis hotels!) and when you stay there you get Atlantis Day Passes that includes everything you get if you stay in an Atlantis hotel - but for HALF the price. (I so wish I was getting paid for this endorsement but I'm not… it's just a friendly travel trip from a girl that likes to ball on a budget when she travels!) And Brandon's favorite part - breakfast is included in your stay! Bonus jackpot!

Alright, now to the fun stuff… First up, AQUARIUMS!

Atlantis has a-mazing aquariums around every. single. corner! Cooper instantly started chirping "Ish! Ish!" The aquariums are HUGE and the fish, sharks, turtles, whatever they have in those gigantic tanks are fabulous! There were a few tanks that we walked by multiple times a day, but we couldn't help but stop every time and just stand in awe. 

The last picture of Cooper's little silhouette in front of the tank makes me laugh… The sweet Little Prince was mesmerized by the quick, sparkling fish that darted around the tanks. This particular tank was at the end of a hallway and as soon as he saw it he took off in full speed (or as full speed as a one year old can go) and ran straight into the glass! Soooo, now we can check first nose bleed off the list! 

This. Kid. 

Seriously, you guys are witnessing the happiest child on the whole entire planet. And the most smitten momma, literally, ever. Cooper loved that every pool was a wade-in so he could touch! He loved running and splashing and chasing and getting chased and hugging on his mommy. I realize that's like ten pictures of the same picture, but that's why I couldn't pick just one - he's smiling and having so much fun in all of them!

Cooper wasn't the only one having great fun… Momma, Daddy and Pops were like kids in a candy store! We rode the slides non-stop (like to the point where it probably should have been embarrassing) because it was so much fun!! MommyShawna even rode the slide that went through the shark tank!! Oh and our favorite ride was the not-so-lazy river. We thought we were getting on the lazy river ride but it turns out we weren't and Brandon and I got smoked right out of the gates! It was great fun!

Cooper was at such a great age for this trip - he's always moving and exploring but he still wasn't quick enough to really get away from us. Regardless of what we were doing, he thought it was the most fun ever! 

SHARKS! We loved this quick ride - it zigged and zagged and didn't ever make you feel like you were about to drown or die and then it ends with a slow ride through the shark tank! Pretty cool. Coop wasn't big enough to ride but he enjoyed watching us!

Oh, the kid slides!!!! They brought us so much joy! The first one we put Cooper on was teeny-tiny and we were so unsure of whether or not he was big enough to do it by himself… and he L.O.V.E.D. it - instantly signing "more! more!" By the end of the trip we were just tossing him on big kid slides and not thinking twice about it. Occasionally he'd tip over and once he rolled all the way over and tried to climb back up! Great, great fun!!

Did I mention that Atlantis is like crazy beautiful? Because it is. We wanted to take a picture every five steps.

Cooper King loves, loves, loves his Daddy.

We also spent a lot of time resting. It's really nice to have nothing pressing to do and just actually rest. After bouncing from house to house for a few months, then getting all moved in, throwing a birthday party and Daddy starting a new clinic we needed to sleep! 

One of my favorite moments on the trip happened when Cooper was wondering around the pool and I was curious to see just how far he would go before looking back for me (Answer: it didn't happen, he would still be walking if I hadn't gone and got him). Anyway, there was a lady asleep face down on a lay out chair and Cooper crouched down to look at her. I was hurrying to get to him before he touched her but didn't want to call out to him for fear I'd wake her up when much to my surprise Cooper yelled "Aaaagh!" right in her face. She JUMPED up and Cooper just looked at her like she was crazy and then walked off like nothing had happened. I pretended like I didn't know him and walked quickly the other direction. Ha!

Our last day at Atlantis was bittersweet - we loved the beach, we loved the slides, we loved the sun and yummy food, but most of all we loved spending uninterrupted, quality time together. So thankful for another fun adventure with my precious people!