We Started Out

Even though Ed and I have cruised before, you forget how massively huge the ships are.  And while our previous cruise was nice, Disney Cruise Line knows how to make the entire process from start to finish - amazing.  Quick and easy on the boat, with Minnie waiting with open arms!  Josie was smitten from first sight.

Our stateroom was a fairly standard verandah room, which was quite a bit larger than the equivalent rooms on our previous cruise.  It was a perfect fit for the three of us, with a double bunk even! 

One of our first stops was to sign Josie up for the Oceaneers Club.  We could have left her there day and night if we had wanted (we didn't ;)), Disney made it super easy, fun, and secure for parents to drop kids of any age off, at any time.  The first night they allowed families to come into the Club to check things out.  Andy's room, really cool. Pixie Hollow and a ton of other play areas kept Josie on the run and quite happy :)

On our second day, we were docked in the Bahamas with no intention of disembarking - we enjoyed our day aboard at the pool, eating unlimited ice cream, watching funnelvision (jumbo screen, pools side with Disney movies all day) Food, ice cream, characters, Andy's room - made for an overwhelming day of choices on what to do next.   That's Nemo playing now...

The boat had two pools, several slides, and even a water "ride" the Aqua Duck.  You can see the tunnel above Josie in the next picture. 

And completely perfect for the munchkin set - Nemo's Reef - a splash pad with many interactive areas.  A good afternoon was wasted away here.

Did I mention an ice cream bar, unlimited, a dozen flavors... walk right up, help yourself.  yes. and thank you.  My diet started today, true story :)

I think we all napped. Every day of the trip. 



Home At Last

We're home! We survived! It was an amazing first family vacation. We. are. tired.

 I know people do it all. the. time. But traveling with a toddler comes with challenges all it's own, but I think we handled it all well and JJ exceeded our expections and then some.  We couldn't have done it without the help of lots of candy, the help of the iPod and iPad for those trying moments.  And when in doubt, nap. When all is said and done, she's a great traveler and we're already planning where to next!

I'm excited to weed through all the photos from our amazing week.  The boat was incredible, exactly what a Disney experience should be.  Disney World, on the other hand, no comment.

The Last Sleep

Tonight is our last sleep before we head off for vacation.  We're all packed up and excited to head out in the morning for the big adventure.  I think I've equipped myself with enough puzzles, games, treats, ipad apps, and suckers to get us through (the flight, if nothing else ;)).  I tell myself people do this all the time, two well equipped adults vs. a three year old.  Nooo problem.

We spend the next night in Cocoa Beach near Port Canaveral before heading out on our Disney Cruise.  We'll round out the trip with a few nights at the Happiest Place on Earth before heading home in time for my first 10k Turkey Trot and Thanksgiving dinner with the family.  Let the adventure begin. 80 degrees and sunny, yes please thank you.

Halloween 2011

3, is that the age when all the holidays really come to life?  I think so.  Don't get me wrong, the first and second rounds of Christmas were fun, Easter too - but looks like round 3 of the holidays are when it really all makes sense and it's excitement all around, for all of us.

We were pretty bummed Halloween fell on a week night, a week day that I work = thus making it a rush and a wee bit stressful to insure we made the most of Halloween night. 

One thing we knew for sure, real trick or treating wasn't going to happen on our street of a mere 6 houses.  It's the one day of the year I lament living in the country.  So we quickly took our obligatory family shot on the porch before heading to our real ToT destination.

She made a cute cupcate.  Surprisingly, we only saw one other like her out of the hundred other costumes out this week!

Our real destination was downtown.  Yep, we're one of those families that drives in and mooches off of the neighborhood.  We'd considered a few locations, but downtown, right off the city square, old quaint homes with brick walkways, mature tree lined streets (sugar maples no less!), one house after another decorated for the Toter's.  Several homes with firepits roaring and music all around! Perfect. 

 I was a little worried we'd get some less than happy folks, considering we weren't neighbors - but turns out, everyone was delighted to see a cupcake at their door.  This street was and will continue to be the best ToT spot of my life, I think I enjoyed it a little too much.  Not only did I get to take a closer look at all of the cute historic homes that I drive past and admire daily, but the setting was just perfect. 

Perfect for pictures, perfect for a 3 yr old to hop out of the wagon and just a few steps to each house.  I can't tell you how many people we passed commented how smart we were to bring the wagon, must have been a novel idea to first timers ;)  The wagon did indeed save us and made it easier to hit as many houses possible before Halloween 2011 closed for the year.

I'm sure, thanks to the wagon, she never tired of hoping out and walking up to each door.  Towards the end, she caught on to the homes with spooky decor and spooky creatures out front and we had to pass those up.  This cupcake seems to be a natural at this whole Trick or Treat concept.

And while we hit the streets early, the sun was already setting.  I'd had a master plan of all the shots I wanted to get. All the sugar maple leaves strewn about the streets, sidewalks and paths - couldn't have been more picture perfect.  But in the end, the sun was setting quick, I couldn't push my iso any higher, my photos were getting blurry and I decided to live the memories instead of shoot them from behind the camera.  Best decision of the night.  Christmas, oh boy... it's going to be fun.

The Great Pumpkin Carve

Or not.  What was I thinking?!  I thought they'd love carving pumpkins, scooping out the goop and drawing out their picture of choice. 

Turns out, one touch of the guts on their hands and they were done.  There was no amount of coaxing and convincing that would change their minds.

I stepped in and did all the scooping and cleaning while they watched the seeds and goop come out.  I knew once I started, I was stuck doing the dirty work and finished up the job. 

Looks like I'm on my own if there's going to be more pumpkin carving.  I had high hopes for some wonky pumpkin faces.  We tried!