Story Time with Miss Elle

It just happened to also be "Pirate Day" and "Pajama Day" at our house during this story time! ;)

And her audience ... was all ears!

Fall Break ... part 5

Our final full day on the ship, last Wednesday, was a "day at sea."  We put all the kids in their kids' clubs in the morning and did some shopping - we do have two kiddos with birthdays in December and we had a little princess who would really like a princess doll!  T and I also took the free time to shop for pictures.  They have professional photographers walking around taking candid shots as well as posed shots with characters. 

On Pirate Night, we stood in line for the kids to get their picture taken with Pirate Mickey - just as I was about to snap the picture I noticed it was blurry.  I took it anyway and could have cried at the results.

We wanted to buy this picture and see if there were any other good pictures of the kids.  They really do a good job getting lots of pictures!

They were also taking some pictures at dinner too, and we couldn't resist this one of Pirate Elle and her "hook."  I think her braids with the beads on the end look absolutely adorable under her cap.  But hey, that's just my opinion.  I think her face is precious as well, but I'm her mom! :)

After shopping, and hiding the purchases in our stateroom's closet, we gathered up the kiddos. Quintin had been in Stitch's Great Adventure and Elle and Colin got to march with Mickey and listen to Snow White tell a story.  It was so precious to hear Elle tell us all about Snow White - she was in awe!

Prior to going, I had read that if new movies are due in the theater while on a disney cruise, they'll show them in one of their theaters.  It wasn't a new release to the theater that we saw, but one that came out on video while we were out at sea - UP!  I had seen this movie earlier in the summer with Quintin and Elle and I was eager to have T and Colin see it too.  We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the theater with 2 cousins (boys, ages 16 and 15 - their faces were hysterical as they listened to Elle tell of her adventures with Snow White!)  Bonus - Up in 3-D!

We have so many wonderful memories of this vacation and thanks for letting me share them with you.  I'll finish with a few more pictures I couldn't fit in anywhere else, and some of our other memories!

Early Sunday morning, as we were dressing the kids to get ready to leave for the airport, I pulled Colin's favorite short sleeved shirt out of his dresser and asked T, "Is this one okay?"  I was asking because it was short sleeves, but it was good I asked.  T answered, "No, that's not a good one for a plane ride."  I was puzzled for a second until I re-read his Fourth of July t-shirt, "KABOOM!"  LOL!!!

One time while walking around Elle asked, "Why is everything Mickey?"

And while waiting for our plane to take off (waiting for over an hour ... after an unexpected, extended layover in Charlotte, NC), Elle asked, "When are we going to blast off?"

Quintin heard a man with a strong accent talking to T and me.  After the man left, Quintin looked at us and said, "I could understand everything he said and he was speaking Spanish."  We chuckled and explained the man was speaking English, he just had an accent - and it wasn't even a Spanish accent!

Colin was pretty quiet on this trip, taking it all in.  He earned back his nick-name of "Velcro" because he wanted his daddy to carry him EVERYWHERE!

This was my first Disney experience ever - I enjoyed the low-key, not very overwhelming experience the cruise provided.  Maybe one day, we'll experience a theme park with the kids!  But for now, we've got some amazing memories to keep us going!

Fall Break > part 4

I want to post today about the food service aboard the Disney Wonder.

INCREDIBLE!!!

If you choose to dine in the restaurants for your evening meal, they rotate you through 3 different ones - which were all wonderful!  You don't have to eat in the restaurants - you could choose to eat on Nassau (didn't have to be back on board until 7pm) or any of the several pizza, burger, chicken places on the top deck.  We chose to eat in the restaurants all four evenings and rotating with us was our entire serving staff.  We had the same waiter and assistant server every night.  And let me tell you, these two guys created so many wonderful memories for us!

This was taken on our second night in the restaurant Parrot Cay - it was Pirate Night!!

These two guys were fantastic at learning about their guests.  We'd come to dinner and 3 chocolate milks would already be on the table!  They did some magic tricks for the kids, did origami with the kids' placemats as well as challenged each table with brain teasers!  Our families all sat close to each other each evening - so it was fun to watch these guys interact with the whole family.

They even came out to sing when presenting T's parents with a Happy 45th Anniversary cake!

Our families (there was a mix-up the first two nights and Quintin sat with his cousins at T's sister's table - his cousins are 6 and 10 - he was in heaven!)

T's sister has 5 children - 12, 10, 6 and 4 year old twins.  This sister is closest in age to T, he's the baby of the family.

T's other sister, second oldest, also has 5 children, 21, 16, 14, 6 and a 1 year old that stayed at home with her paternal grandparents.

T's brother, the oldest, has 4 children, 16, 15, 11 and 9.

And then our little family of 4 before they moved Quintin back to our table at our request.

These pictures are also from my mother-in-law's camera and were taken on our second night - formal night.

Dinner was always a fun time and we shared lots of laughs together.  Even though the entire family didn't spend all day together, this was always a fun time we looked forward to. 

We learned from these men that they work 7 months straight and then have a month off.  They were counting down the days until their break beginning December 6.  Our head server has a 5 year old son in Peru and he could not wait to get home to see him.  It made us appreciate them all the more and the hard working ethic that they have.  These men were excellent at their job and had a fun time doing it!  I will be thinking of them on December 6 and their reunions with their families.

Fall Break - part 3

Also located in the Bahamas, is Disney's private island, Castaway Cay (pronounced "key").  After googling google, I found out that Disney bought the island, used as a location in the classic Disney film "Splash," to create a private paradise reserved for Disney cruise line guests.

A paradise it was!! BEAUTIFUL!  I think everyone felt we could have skipped the day at Nassau and been at Castaway Cay for 2 days!!!

Since we didn't swim at Nassau, we had some eager children ready to hit the sand and waves!

(Look closely, he's wearing his necklace from the Straw Market)

(The "bracelets" were their entry/exit "keys" for the children's clubs.)

As we exited the ship, T and I spotted two familiar faces - but not so familiar to our children.  Colin wanted to keep shouting, "Okay! Dave!" thinking it was Alvin, Simon or Theodore!

As we continued to the beach area, we passed the Flying Dutchman, a pirate ship used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. 

And who should we spy at a picture spot in front of the ship?  None other than Captain Jack Sparrow, himself!  (Had it been Johnny Depp, I would have been in line for a picture too!!)

Beautiful water!  Blue water!  Clear water!  We had fish swimming past our feet when just a few yards into the water.  There was a snorkeling area that a lot of T's family tried out, including T!  He said it was awesome - I took his word for it! :-D

I must credit my mother in law for this next picture - gorgeous!!  I think it looks like a postcard!!

A fun time to play with cousins...

Ahhh, that water!  It was a week ago yesterday that we were there ... hard to believe!
Quintin saw another Oceaneer's club activity he wanted to participate in while on the island - Captain Hook's Treasure Hunt!

We boarded the ship around 3, trying to beat the rush that would come when everyone had to be back on by 5.  We found Minnie greeting everyone as we came aboard. 

Every 15 minutes, a new character arrived.  We didn't stay long enough for more pictures, but we did enjoy watching from our balcony while the kids rested.  You could always find Disney movies on the TV in our stateroom - we took advantage of it, as it allowed for some much needed rest time.

One last look at the island before departing.

My favorite picture (and currently the wallpaper on my computer). Our first experience of a sunset over the Atlantic ocean.

Fall Break ... part 2

We set sail on the Disney Wonder late Sunday afternoon.  This was the first cruise for T and me - so it was truly an exciting time for our family of 5.

(Yes, Elle was crying - did I mention we were up at 3am Sunday morning???)

The 4-night Bahamian cruise took us to Nassau, Bahamas early Monday morning, in fact, our family was enjoying a buffet in one of the main restaurants.  This restaurant featured nice, large porthole windows.  While eating, we were able to watch as the boat pulled into our first destination.  Beautiful blue water caught my attention as the children excitedly shouted, "Land ho!!!"

We finished breakfast and planned to venture onto Nasssu for a short time.  We'd heard how wonderful the Atlantis hotel was to view, but we really didn't want to venture all over the place with 3 young children when we had a boat full of fun activities.  While waiting as the Bahamian officials reviewed paperwork, we chatted with a woman of some rank, wearing a white sailing suit.  She pointed out the famous "Straw Market" and we decided we'd head that way.

The Straw Market was a flea/street market with sellers willing to weave straw into anything and everything.  The older children both found necklaces they liked and Elle got a Hello Kitty purse with "Bahamas" on the back and "Elle" in pink straw.  Unfortunately, our camera broke or I'd share pictures of those. :( 

Items are not priced and it leaves you with the opportunity to barter - not somehing I'm real great at, and we probably got ripped off anyway, but that's what memories are made of!  HAHA

We enjoyed the buildings in Nassua as they reminded us of Bermuda (we went there in '01).

It was tempting to walk in all the stores advertising their diamonds, but I resisted!!

Before heading back to the ship, we had one last stop. 

Just 3 simple braids on each side of Elle's face.  I can't believe I didn't take a picture right after she was finished!!  I have a good one of her that I'll share later this week.

We headed back to the ship because Quintin had seen  "Ratatouille's Cooking School" listed in the Oceaneer Club's list of activities.  He not only made some new friends, he also made chocolate chip cookies! Sign me up! ;)  We took Colin and Elle up to the pool which is where we caught up with Mickey and Pluto.

I walked around the top deck of the ship just enjoying the amazing views and feeling the need to pinch myself because I really was in the Bahamas!  The hotel below, is the Atlantis.

After supper, the children and I enjoyed "Toy Story: The Musical" while T enjoyed Monday Night Football on the gigantic screen on the top deck.

Then it was off to bed as the ship sailed towards our next adventure.

Fall Break: part 1

Early, very early, last Sunday morning, we backed out of the garage with 3 very awake and very happy children ... about to embark on a trip filled with lots of new adventures.

Why?  We were traveling with T's family to celebrate his parents' 45th wedding anniversary!  Yes, 45 years!! (And, W&J, if you are reading this, don't get mad at me for posting this picture!!  Love you both!!!)

After driving a little ways, our children got to experience their first trip in an airplane!  Included for their enjoyment was the 30 minute delay due to the coffee pot malfunction on our first plane - have I ever mentioned I don't care for coffee? ;-)

Spread out on 3 different flight schedules was our group of 26.  We were fortunate to travel with T's parents and appreciated the help they offered while traveling with three young children.  We thought it best that the kids learn at a young age that flying is a lot of "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!  And then, wait!"

With a layover in Atlanta, we reached our final flight destination of Orlando, Fl in the afternoon.  We boarded a bus covered with "Mouse ears" en route for our final destination. 

...more tomorrow!

Only a week late!

After my computer difficulties for the past week, I'm just happy to be posting at all, from home, even if it is a week late!!

The kiddos got their trick or treat outfits on Friday morning for the annual photo!

From left to right: Construction worker, cowgirl and Indiana Jones

Quintin was the easiest to outfit this year - he knew what he wanted to be right away and already had the hat and satchel.  We went to buy the IJ whip but no one had it.  So, he decided to put the money we were going to use to buy it towards buying Operation and Monopoly - I thought it was a better buy anyway!  He's a giver!

Elle had been planning on being a vet and then we were going to pull our wagon full of stuffed animals.  She and I had a morning to ourselves and went to purchase the pattern and she picked the cutest fabrics.  But, when it came to sewing it, I just couldn't make heads or tails (pun intended) of the pattern.  I let her know of our situation and after her initial sadness; she graciously accepted my offer to finish it after the upcoming holidays.  She even added, "Maybe we'll have it finished before next Trick or Treat!"  Wow!  She graciously gave me a whole year!  What a sweetheart!

As we were first figuring out what/who they were going to be, we were still unsure about Colin.  Daddy kiddingly asked, "Who wants to be a quarry worker like me?"  Of course Colin, who's all about his daddy, raised his hand and said ME!!  We planned on the hard hat and I even suggested throwing some stone dust all over him so he could look like Daddy too! ;-D  Once the hard hat came home, Colin decided it was too heavy (since they have an abundance of hard hats at work, we didn't go buy one - besides, the child ones aren't OSHA or MSHA approved ... hahahahahaha  [msha is the same as osha, just mine safety]. 

Colin wasn't really digging (yep, that one was intended too) the look.  We spent the morning visiting Grandmas and he left the hat behind.

When evening rolled around, and I questioned even heading out to the neighbors as I saw the abundance of candy from the grandmas (and the candy from the sweet ladies from the office my mom was working at), we decided to just visit a few houses.  Daddy was packing up his hunting gear to drive to the cabin to archery hunt on Sat.  BINGO!  We had a new idea for Colin, and he still got to go as Daddy!!  Four houses later, we were back home.  I let the kids pick a movie, so we watched Polar Express and enjoyed popcorn!