Disney Day 5 - Nassau, Bahamas

We woke up Monday morning, docked firmly in Nassau, Bahamas. My tummy was grateful that we were anchored. I woke up feeling fine and ready to hit the breakfast buffet! We got everyone ready and headed up to our favorite onboard breakfast location. We stuffed ourselves with made-to-order omelets, Mickey waffles, fruit, bacon and every other breakfast food you can imagine. Then we headed to meet for our day's excursion. We had booked a trip to the Atlantis hotel on Paradise Island. We were going for the day to explore their beautiful beaches, endless pools, waterpark and aquarium. As a bonus, this momma to 3 girls, got to thoroughly explore their public restrooms.....7 times in a 6 hour period!!!

This place is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen. The beach is my heaven-on-earth, so I was happy to find a group of lawn chairs and set up camp for the day. Gracyn loved the water and splashing around in the shallow section and Reagan loved digging in the sand. Addison was the adventurous one, alternating between swimming, a few water slides and the not-so-lazy river of rapids!

Ahhhh.....a moment of relaxation between bathroom trips!

Addison took of to the smaller water slides with Pappy and Miss Debra. She loved it! Later she went on the one-mile ride through the roaring-rapids river. She went once with me and once with Tommy. I wasn't too big on the thought of getting on any water slides after just getting over my motion sickness, but Tommy and I did sneak off for one ride together. We went in a double tube on a slide that starts out like your typical water slide. After winding, quickly through the slide, it drops you in a tunnel, that is in the middle of their shark tank. You then glide slowly through a clear tunnel while sharks swim all around you. It was really neat.

Later I took the girls exploring, there are shark tanks everyone and they loved watching people shoot down the really steep, fast slides, while Tommy and my parents hit all the attractions!
We actually never made it inside to the aquarium, we had seen it on a previous trip and I couldn't bring myself to go inside out of the sunshine!!!

Here is my little Gracie flirting like crazy with a lifeguard. We laughed all day at the lifeguards....quite different than the serious, attentive guards you would see in the States or onboard the boat. They were barely paying any attention. While on the river, we even passed one, who had left his chair and was picking coconuts off a nearby tree.

Around 3:30 we decided we better head back to the boat for our 5:45 dinner time. Gracyn and Reagan both slept all the way back and woke up ready for more fun. We got everyone showered and cleaned up and got the girls ready for dress-up night. It is one of my favorite evenings, all the little girls are dressed in their princess dresses! Tommy and I actually had reservations at Palo, the adults only restaurant. We took Gracyn to her nursery and dropped our little princesses off at the kid's club. They were so excited as they waited for Belle to arrive for storytime.

Tommy and I crossed our fingers that everyone would be content for 2 hours or so and headed off to our dinner. I am not a very adventurous eater, so I was just happy to be at a quiet dinner with my husband, but Tommy was loving the food experience. Towards the end of the meal, we were anticipating a chocolate souffle that is the restaurants specialty. It is made fresh, served to you hot and then doused with chocolate sauce at your table. The chef and wait staff are very serious about timing this dessert perfectly. Ours was on its way to the table when we got a page. Tommy, looked at the pager, shook his head and asked me if I could guess which child they were paging about. Gracyn was my first guess and Reagan my second, but alas it was Addison this time.....

It seems my little princess was tired of her fancy shoes! After a couple of bites of divine chocolate, we left to bail her out!

That evening, I was thrilled to be feeling okay!!! I picked Gracyn up and put her to bed, and then Tommy stayed with her, while I took the big girls to the show. We met my parents and saw Toy Story, the Musical! It is AMAZING!!! Addison and I had seen it last year, but this was Reagan's first chance and she loved it. The costumes are so elaborate and beautiful. They really put on a great show.

On the way back to the room, we stopped to pose with Minnie in her ball gown and get an autograph.

Donald and Daisy were all dressed up, too!

I think it was 10:30 when we snuck back into the room. I got the girls into bed and they were asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow! It was a very long, full and fun day!

Disney Day 4 - Bon Voyage

Sunday morning, we woke up and headed to the boat. We had a few hours to hang out at the hotel that morning, and then the bus was leaving to take us to Port Canaveral at 11:00. Honestly for a few hours on this particular morning, I was wondering what in the world we were thinking. Gracyn hadn't slept well, Reagan was tired, I was having a hard time getting all the luggage repacked up and where it needed to be (since all my tired crying children were attached to me) and it was COLD. But, thankfully we got everything done and we all cheered up quickly!!! Once we were on the bus to the boat, our troubles were forgotten!

We arrived at the boat terminal about 1:00, and thanks to the sweet Castaway Cay privilege for return cruisers, we had a quick check in line and were onboard and at the lunch buffet really quickly. Tommy and I had been anxiously awaiting the cruise food and it was fun seeing my Dad and Deb experience it for the first time. It is just so good and there is so much of it!!! The service is amazing and the staff goes out of the way to make your trip perfect.

After lunch, we headed out to the deck party. This is always a blast! They gave the kids streamers and everyone was pumped up.....lots of singing, dancing and a cheerful countdown to sail. The characters come out for a big performance on the stage and there are fireworks. The girls were so excited. Thankfully this was the only cold day we had, but the wind was blowing like crazy and it was freezing, so we didn't stay out there too long!

After the deck party, we headed in so the girls could visit the kid's club. I can't say enough good things about the children's programs on Disney Cruise. My girls are BIG Mama's girls and don't really care to leave me, but they beg to go in this room and when we come to pick them up, they don't want to leave. Reagan wasn't quite old enough (it starts at 3) but since she was potty trained, they took her right in with Addison and let her come and go throughout the trip. During the course of the stay they had plenty of playtime in there. Some of their favorite structured activities in the club were Storytime with Belle, Dance Lessons with Snow White, Magic Carpet Riding lessons with Jasmine, Adventures with the Little Einsteins and Hide-and-go-Seek with Tinkerbell.

Gracyn went to the Flounder's Reef Nursery each night from 5:30 to 9:30. It is baby heaven in there, with all the toys you can imagine and plenty of room to crawl around. It was great for her to do that each evening while we went to dinner and a show.

Here is Gracyn climbing on the play equipment in the big girls club. We have each of the girls' picture at about the same age in this same spot!

Addison checking out the toys.

After exploring their club, we went back to the room to get settled in. This was our first time to have a room with a window and the girls loved watching the ocean.

We got ready for dinner, fed the girls room service, took them to their play areas and then headed off to enjoy an adult dinner with my parents.

This is where my evening went DOWN HILL!!! I had been thinking that I felt a little funny, but the farther out at sea we went and the more the boat started rocking the worse I got!!! I ended up going back to the room after dinner and going to bed with Reagan and Gracyn, while Tommy and Addison went to the show. I was so sad, because watching the live Disney shows with my girls is my absolute favorite part of the cruise. It was nice for Tommy to see it with her, since he is usually in the room with a sleeping little one, but I was bummed. I laid in bed forever that night, wondering when the rocking would stop. All future cruises will include much perscription medicine on my part!

Here are the girls saying hello to Mickey at some point during the day.

They each had an autograph book and they were very serious about getting the characters signatures.

Finally, after the show, Tommy and Addison ran into Princess Tiana in the hall. Addison was thrilled to meet her!

Even despite my sea-sickness, we were so happy to be back on the boat. It is the most amazing vacation for a young family.....they treat you so well, love your kids, and make it wonderful down to every last detail. I am not sure we heard the words "no" all week!

Disney Day 3 - Magic Kingdom

Saturday morning, we woke up for our second day at Magic Kingdom. There was rain in the forecast, but apparently that doesn't stop anything at DisneyWorld, you just buy their $7 ponchos and keep going. Thankfully we arrived early and the rain didn't start until late in the afternoon, so we got to do alot and then head back to the hotel.The girls loved touring Mickey and Minnie's houses. Then Daddy took them on Goofy's roller coaster, while I let Gracyn nap.

While I am on the subject of roller-coasters, Addison loved them!!! She was a crazy girl....riding with hands in the air, screaming happily and big smiles. She rode Big Thunder Mountain twice and Space Mountain twice. We were so surprised with her bravery, she is only 1/2 inch over the height requirement for Space Mountain, but she loved it. I almost threw-up riding it with her, but she loved it. Apparently I have developed some serious motion-sickness in my "old-age".

Here they are playing on a very expensive playground!!!

Daddy and his girls on the carousel.

The girls went to visit Peter Pan. Hopefully he wasn't offended that they ran right up to him and asked him where Tinkerbell was. They were thrilled when he told them to give her a message from him! I hope they pay that guy well to stand around in those green tights all day!

Chip and Dale with a few of my favorite people!

When the rain started we ran for the hotel. I took Reagan and Gracyn to the room for naps, while Tommy and Addison went to check out the hotels craft-time and arcade. As we napped, I got a text from Tommy that said, "let usin". I couldn't figure out what that meant, so I went back to sleep. Turns out he left without a key and meant to say "let us in". As a result of our miscommunication and his not wanting to wake up sleeping babies, Tommy and Addison spent some time sitting in the hall outside our room. Turned out not so bad, because before long, they spotted Pappy and Miss Debra coming down the hall. The hotel had upgraded them to the room next to us. Pappy couldn't wait to see the girls, so he quickly woke the napping babies! We showed them around the hotel and took them on the boat ride to see Cindrella's Castle. Gracyn really took to my dad this trip. She loved hanging out with him.

That evening we went to dinner. Deb let the waitress know that my Dad recently celebrated his 50th birthday. She then disappeared to take a phone call, while the entire restaurant sang to my Dad. He begged them not to, but they showed him no mercy!

Finally, for posterity, Tommy took this picture, to document what my dinners are like. This was a late dinner, and by the end, my girls were DONE! Addison is fixing my hair, Reagan is crying in my lap and Gracyn is somewhere across the table crying for me.

Disney Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

We woke up Friday morning to a beautiful day! The weather was perfect, and Magic Kingdom was actually not too crowded. We never waited in line more than 5 or 10 minutes for any ride. The girls loved the parades, shows and characters around every corner. We actually spent about 7 hours there, which was way beyond my expectation.

Here are Gracyn and I waiting for the boat to Magic Kingdom. This girl was a trooper throughout the entire trip. She just hung-out, while we drug her from place to place. She especially seemed to like Magic Kingdom. There as much to see from her view in the Bjorn. I will go ahead and say that I am "Super-Woman" for caring her around like this! The child is 20 pounds and we haven't used this carrier in months, but is just worked here! If you see me and I am looking a little bulky in the shoulders, you will know why!

We are on our way and ready for the fun to begin!!!

Cinderella's Castle

The parade was in route as we came in. Somewhere in that picture, Reagan, Gracyn and I are in a conga-line with some of her favorite characters.

Reagan loves Toy Story 2, especially Jesse the Cowgirl. I had shopped all over the place at Christmas, looking for a Jesse doll, but there were none to be found. As we were strolling the park, I spotted a booth with a stuffed Jesse doll and we ran right over to buy it for her. Just a few minutes later, we saw Woody and Jesse out greeting kids. Reagan was thrilled to meet them, and Jesse autographed Reagan's doll.

Daddy took one for the team and rode the tea-cups with the big girls. Mommy and Gracyn watched from more stable ground.

Here we are on Snow White's ride. This was one of Reagan's favs. Again, the Bjorn was great. Gracyn stayed strapped right to me as we jumped on and off rides.

My sweet little family in front of the castle. That black stroller was the best purchase of the trip. Due to space limitations on the cruise, we only took our singe McClaren stroller with us. A friend told me about a stroller rental company where you could rent these double joggers. The company delivers them to your hotel room before you arrive and picks them up after you leave. Addison and Reagan rode in it all day long, which was great.....it made me a little crazy when they were up walking in the crowds.....I was always worried they would get lost, so I was happy to push them around in there. Regan and Gracyn each had several naps while riding.

After a long day at the park, we took the girls back for a quiet dinner at the hotel and an early bedtime.

Disney Day 1

I want to blog about each day of our trip, for our own memories, so bear with me....it might get a little long. I already feel like the first part of the trip was forever ago....I better start getting it all down, before I forget.

The first day was a LONG day of travel. Orlando is a 3 1/2 hour flight for us, and the girls did great, but that is just a long time to sit still. Gracyn had her first lollipop (actually 2) in order to help keep her quiet. Thankfully I had anticipated this and gotten sugar-free, organic suckers for her. Grand total of travel, from our front door, to our hotel room was about 7 hours.

When we finally arrived at the hotel they were thrilled to see everything and run around for a bit. We stayed at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and loved it. It is designed after Yosemite National Park. It is really wooded with beautiful pools and landscaping. It has a geyser that erupts every hour and boat dock with transportation to Magic Kingdom.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that we had a first floor room with a patio to the pool. It was great to have that outdoor space. We were thrilled to be soaking up the sunshine and Tommy and the girls often played out there while I was getting us ready for the day.


We took the girls out to see the pool and they were so excited to find it warm enough to actually swim. We had dinner reservations coming up quickly, but I told them they could put there fit in. The next time I looked down, Reagan was dropping her clothes! The lifegaurd was laughing....apparently she was going skinny-dipping.

The girls favorite part of the hotel was there bunkbeds!!! They loved it, more than I could have imagined. They took turns each night on the top and bottom. It was so sweet in the morning, when they would peek over the side and look for each other.

Finally, after we settled in, we headed over to another hotel on property for our dinner reservations. We went to the "Spirit of Aloha" luau. We didn't think the food was that great, but the entertainment made up for it. They had hula dancers with all sorts of beautiful costumes. The girls even got to go on the stage and hula! The grand finale was a fire dancer. This man was amazing! He had two sticks with fire on each end. He did all sorts of dancing and twirling. It was amazing! As we were leaving the luau we saw the fireworks from Magic Kingdom. It was a great way to kick-off vacation!

Back to Life....Back to Reality...

We are just getting back from 8 glorious days at Disney! We had a blast, now for the hard part. My children have to get used to not being addressed as "princess", I have to make my own bed, and there won't be enormous food buffets every few hours!

I can't wait to write all about it, but first I must wade through piles and piles of laundry and get some food in the house to feed my family!!!