ahh, the monster post that is ....Disney!

"mommy Goofy is soooo funny!"

I think Goofy enjoyed my mother as much as mom enjoyed him!


The party like ONLY Disney can throw, the wonderful "Sail Away party"























not a whole lot of excitement to be found on the island mom and I agreed.....but leave it to her to create some












Chloe and her Italian crush for the week.....I think it was mutual. :)






Abigail at the princess ball


next to home...this is our favorite place in the whole world!!





















my children find a way to boogie and draw a crowd where ever they go....what can I say but I think for 3 generations now it's our thing! During lunch they couldn't resist the steel drum music

first real experience w/ ice cream...it was a success



now that's one happy Bit



we could have spent the entire trip in this splash zone, it was an absolute blast










I love this shot

I think our waitress and waiter must have spent some time with their other tables but....not much :) we were buds by the end of the week!


you can't see the little squirt but Abigail is in there dancing too


every time he caught a break Allen was back over talking to the kids, had this been anywhere but Disney Cruise line Brian would have told him to back off! But it was sweet and helped keep them happy. :)










Chloe made herself right at home in the room
Well at least she ate some strawberries and whip cream....for breakfast






ahhh....deck 4











some much needed alone time w/ my Bit, a stormy swim then some ice cream

Nothing like taking a bath in the middle of the Atlantic huh Chloe?



that giggle on Abigail's face is because they were partners in crime with "helping" us pack our bags
one great thing about kids....you're up for beautiful sunrises!!!




sweet farewells for a great time!


Well time to capture the memories of this wonderful vacation before I forget them. It was a wild and crazy adventure that we got to share as a family. God is so good to bless us with these trips that are just a wealth of memory making events. 2 days after Thanksgiving this year we headed once again down interstate 95 to our favorite vacation spot Disney. This time we opted to travel on "Mickey's boat" as Abigail lovingly refers to it. We did something different this time, we brought along my sweet mom. Dad was so sweet to let her come even though I know it was a stretch after so many of their own vacations. He knew it would mean the world to her to get to experience this with her granddaughters. And I know that it did, me included.
We were a little scared they wouldn't let us on the boat with out the proper documentation for Chloe. Brian did his Google magic and with a LOT of prayer God provided a way with a birth affidavit from the US Dept of Immigration site. We absolutely held our breath and worked around the normal boarding standards. They even said they were going to add our paperwork into the Disney training manual since they had never seen that type of documentation. Whew hew! With a quick mommy tear up that I hid from the rest of the fam, I breathed a sigh of praise and relief and we boarded onto the Christmas decorated Disney Wonder ship with big toothy smiles.
It was lunch right away in Parrot Cay. Goofy made his rounds making all the children laugh. He whipped out the famous Hot Dog dance from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I hollered it out to him from across the dining room. He pointed at me and waved. I think he was impressed that I recognized it because he ventured over and sat down at our table to eat off Abigail's plate. He stayed for a while and we all got a big old kick out of his silliness. Especially Chloe who was just busting with belly giggles at him. We squeezed in a quick nap, endured the life jacket and evacuation drills (which Abigail wailed in tears through, the girl does NOT like to wear something not pretty) before heading to the best party in the world. They do such a wonderful job with the Sail Away party on deck when we leave port. I admit, I cried again when they blew the "When you Wish Upon a Star" fog horn. Sucker I am. I know the cast member (what they call all their workers) who was dancing in front of me when they blew the thing must have though I was an idiot. Ok, so I am an emotional basket case in my old age. The girls had a ball and mom boogied right along with us. Brian hopped around like Steven Spielberg videoing the whole thing. Adorable! Top that off with a nice big Bahama Mama drink poolside and it was a perfect send off.
This time aboard was different then our last visit. Abigail was old enough for the Oceanears Kids Club this year. It was a little piece of heaven for 4 yr old princesses. She made lots of little friends and begged to go back. Several times I would go to pick her up she didn't want to leave yet so I would walk away w/o her. :) We hit some shows. We took turns who was on Chloe duty. The little muffin had to get all her naps and bedtimes in on time. I never minded though. Any time with the little sweetness is welcome always. Chloe got very into the characters who posed all over the ship. We weren't sure how she'd do with them. But it was so adorable, the first time we found Mickey decked out in his Christmas best she waddled up to him like only Chloe can do, open armed and into a big mouse embrace! Oh my word it was cute. Abigail was so sweet to introduce Chloe to them all. "Sissy this is Mickey, Goofy, Minnie." Uhh, sweet moments for sure. :)
Disney is very accommodating to hosting little ones. Every morning and night we had warm whole milk delivered to our stateroom on a plate with a little doily. Our own Diaper Genie was ours for the week too. They always put a rush on our order when we told them the 1 yr old was waiting for it.
Brian and I took a little time for ourselves one night. We headed out to deck 4, my personal favorite spot on the whole ship. It rarely has anyone else on it. Just a long row of antique looking lounge chairs and a great view of the ocean. It's the deck you can walk the perimeter of the ship so it wide and spread out. I absolutely love it. It's the place you can really enjoy the quite beauty of the ocean and really feel like you're on the Titanic (well on it's good day). We didn't get much time before we headed to watch Abigail in her princess ball. Sometimes all you need is 20 good quality minutes alone to recharge you. We didn't even talk much, just held hands and leaned a head on his shoulder. A quiet moment. 10 yrs together and we don't need to say much. It was a sweet highlight for me.
Our first port was Nassau. Mom and I ventured off alone for this trip. Brian didn't really have an interest in seeing the island so we went it on our own to see some shops, and basically say we'd been there. We didn't stay too long. But we did have fun scooting into the little shops along the main streets. I did have to keep a close eye on her when we were out and about on the street. I must say Dad had a point when he asked me to make sure she was ok. She gets a little distracted amongst the touristy glitz. More then once I had to pull her arm back onto the sidewalk to keep her from getting plowed by a speeding Bahamian bus. It was fun though.
The second port of call was Castaway Cay. Like I said under the photo, next to our house it's our favorite place in the whole world. It is pure Disney paradise perfection! Mom was awestruck, right on cue. I loved sharing it with her! Chloe had a glisten in her baby eyes too, she knew she was somewhere special. It was wonderful to see it all decorated for Christmas. There is just something wonderful and bizarre about seeing a big Christmas tree in the middle of a Caribbean island setting. The tree was right out our window when we woke up docked and ready that morning. Brian took a million pictures of it. It's like God knew he would appreciate it the most so he put it out of his window. :) The water was a little on the chilly side so I didn't get all the way in. But Mi Mi and the Bit didn't let that stop them. They swam for a long time in the clear green water. Mom even slipped away for a while and swam alone. Truth is, I think she really enjoyed the time alone on this trip. She seemed to revel in the solitude at times. I get that trait from her. :) Chloe finally got introduced to the ocean when she decided to finish her morning nap in the shade. She was fascinated with the sand. I wouldn't say she was crazy about the experience but it was adorable to watch her learn and explore it all. Lunch was perfect and after we stuffed ourselves, and the girls entertained us with dancing with our waitress who found us in the pavilion, we found an awesome play area for the kids to go crazy in. We could have spent the day in the splash zone we found. The girls were having the time of their lives playing on the squirting water with all the other kids. Chloe felt free and all grown up waddling from spray to sprout. It's like she either didn't know or didn't care that she was only 13 months old. She squeezed right into the middle of those big kid huddles. The joy on their faces was priceless. We finally dragged their frozen exhausted bodies out to head back to the ship. A few tears didn't last long since they knew on a trip like this there's bound to be something else wonderful waiting just around the corner again.
Meals were tricky but fun. The several course meals tried the girls patience but they did ok. After the first night we learned to let Abigail eat fast then Brian took her to kids club to play while we finished. She was more then happy to get to spend time there, even though I admit by the end of the week I stuck my lip out when she left. I missed her but couldn't compete with the wonder that is kids club! Chloe didn't have that option but she got the queen treatment from the waitress and waiter who were so smitten with her all she had to do was whimper and they were at her side bringing her lemons and more rolls to keep her busy. I think they were both sad when we ended our trip and said our good byes. Our Italian waiter Allen had so much fun swooning over her all week he told her in his beautiful accent "Chloy, these last 4 days have been the most wonderful of my life". He looked at me with a big frown and said he always met perfect women who were either 20 yrs to old or 20 yrs too young. It was adorable. And Chloe seemed equally smitten with him. Maybe she'll be destined for a dark Latin man one day. I told her if she found someone who talked like that she's be in trouble!
We headed home squeezed into mom's explorer (literally), loaded with pictures and memories of a wonderful 5 days at sea together. I was so glad to get to take mom with us. I know she had fun with her girls. Brian and I got a much needed break. I asked him if this trip would hold his addiction at bay for a while, he just smiled. The man loves his mouse. :) We are so thankful to kick off the holidays in such style. It was a blast plain and simple. And ok, I too can't wait to do it all again!!