Disney Princesses (part 4)

So for our last full day on the boat, there were no ports of call, just some time at sea but that didn't mean there wasn't anything to do--on the contrary, there were many things we'd wanted to do and just hadn't found the time so we had a very full day!

After breakfast was an AMAZING experience, we stood in line for the appearance of 6 of the Disney Princesses!! I've been to Disneyland and know that just seeing one or two is an accomplishment but on the Disney Dream--it's a DREAM come true to get to pose with this many at one time.

Sam wasn't thrilled with the idea so he didn't bother getting into the pictures but we met: Snow White, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Ariel, Belle (who was SO NICE and really genuine--one of my favorites), and Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) who was another sweet one who really took time with meet my girls. And then Lindsey was super excited to meet her favorite--Cinderella!!

I know it sounds cheesy but it was just magical. All week long we kept telling our kids how special of a trip this was and how blessed we were to do this. But while this princess experience was happening, I had a little "moment" with Stephen's parents who were looking on and watching their granddaughters have these "dreams come true"moments and we all got a bit misty!

Then because Tink's appearance was about to happen, we hung out, while this little guy took a nap. But it was okay, he needed his rest, The Diaper Dash was next!!

DREAM part 3

CASTAWAY CAY (pronounced key) was our port of call on Day 3 of the cruise, it's Disney's private island, they maintain it and it's really an extension of the care and attention to detail that we experience on the ship. The beaches are pristine, there are chairs, hammocks and umbrellas a plenty, lunch is provided on the island--a BBQ like none other, towels, showers and bathrooms conveniently available.

Again, we spent ALL DAY frolicking in the sand and sun. I was pretty obsessive about applying sunscreen (and did so like 3 times to each of my kids--we were NOT going to spoil our trip by getting burned) and for the most part it worked, sure we got some sun but no one was burned too badly.

I started off the morning by running a 5K fun run around a bike trail on the island--it was quite a bit hotter than I was used to so my time wasn't great, but I finished and it helped to burn off all those calories I'd been eating on board.

Then it was off to for some fun--this little guy (don't you LOVE this shot?) dicovered that sand is fun and was pleasantly entertained with shovels for hours. Even after we'd strapped him into the stroller for the walk back to the ship he stretched far enough to get a shovel and then from his stroller was leaning down to dig some more--he was an ANIMAL! And so was Lindsey who got herself buried!

Kaitlyn and dad enjoyed swimming--the water was so calm, so clear and so refreshing, it was perfect for them to play in. (See that hat? We lost it this day--Stephen is still sad about it.)--isn't that water gorgeous! It was so clear we could even see schools of fish large and small that swam around our ankles.

Aunt Rachel and Aunt Sarah were fun to be with!! And the Birthday boy was really enjoying himself!

We really wore ourselves out...then that night was the Pirate themed night, we got these bandanas and were encouraged to dress up like pirates. The dinner menu had pirate themed names and our waiters even got into it with us. That night there was a party on the top deck and fireworks, which we missed because we were SUPER tired! but it was such a good day!!

Disney DREAM vacation part 2

We woke up Monday morning in Nassau, Bahamas--could this get any better?!?! The weather was perfect~ and we got a slower start but finally got off the boat with swimming suits and WALKED, and WALKED until we found a nice little beach.

Our children had never been swimming in the ocean or played on a beach, let's just say they all took to it pretty well--except for Matthew who didn't really care for the sand at first and wanted to be held.Sam quickly got to work building a sand castle:
Lindsey cracked us up with getting drenched in the water, and then rolling in the sand and then running back to the ocean to get washed off, silly girl!!After spending the morning basking in the sand and sun, we boarded the boat and had some lunch. Not before us women folk stopped to spend some time with the street vendors. I got straw purses for the girls, some coconut shells turned into wind up turtles for the boys, and a couple of cute necklaces.

We then dropped our kids off in the wonderful kids area while Stephen and I took a break and let Matthew take a nap. It was so nice to just sit and relax and read, our room had a 4 foot in diameter window with a seat and I loved just sitting and looking out into the most blue water!! Here we are with Nassau in the background!

Dinner that night was memorable at the Animator's Palate. We were surprised when the TV screens came to life and started interacting with us! They even singled Matthew out and named him "Nemo" because he was wearing an orange romper with white stripes. He LOVED the attention and laughed and clapped his hands!

That night it was my turn to take Kaitlyn to the show featuring some of the Disney Villains. And got home just in time for Stephen to go watch "Tron" in 3D with his brothers. We slept well and couldn't wait for the morning~~CASTAWAY CAY!!

Our DREAM Vacation Part 1

Mothers Day 2011 began the BEST vacation I could have ever imagined for my family. We were celebrating the 60th birthday of Stephen's dad Carl and in total there were 7 kids and 9 adults off for the adventure of a lifetime!

2 days in the car to Orlando were pretty uneventful, the kids were super excited to see the Mississippi River and glimpses of the ocean, we told them that if they thought THAT was a lot of water, they were in for a big surprise. We also kept telling them that the boat was really big, but they didn't know what that meant. We passed the time by listening to "Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary, watching an air show with dive bombing airplanes from the window, and Matthew tried to sleep without a crib in a hotel--it was a long night.

Sunday morning (Mothers Day) we attended a sacrament meeting in Orlando and then if was off to Port Canaveral to board our boat. Nothing could have prepared us for the magnitude of the boat this size:We went through the crazy process of getting us all on the boat, it was as smooth as could be expected when you consider we were on this boat with 4,000 new friends, and then we got on our boat. Lunch was an AMAZING, the Cabanas buffet up near the top deck with beautiful views.

Things were a bit hectic until the majority of the boat got opened for business. We tried to go swimming but found that everyone else had the same idea. We went up for the casting off party and lost Kaitlyn for a brief moment, she made me proud when she went and found a "mom with kids" who then found us.

Dinner blew our socks off, as it did every night, a 2 hour 5 course meal. The Royal Palace was beautiful and we saw glimpses of a few Disney Princesses too. And Stephen ordered escargot for an appetizer and I ate two of them!!

Sam HATED getting dressed up every evening, the requirement was no shorts so he wore his pajamas to the meal, then he had been begging me to go to bed, he practically dragged me back to our room where he slept a solid 12 HOURS!!

Dad took Kaitlyn and Lindsey to the first of many wonderful shows. This one called "The Golden Mickeys". We were wowed with our rooms and the turn down service and fun folded towels with chocolates! We couldn't wait for the morning when we'd be in the Bahamas!!!