disney cruise: embarkation day

Our embarkation day didn’t get too early of a start which was kind of nice… had ourselves a lot of breakfast foods and relaxed till it was time for the shuttle to take us to the port. Once there we got through security before awaiting our boarding group to be called. And then came the big announcement I’m sure you’ve seen around here or there… staff line each side of the entrance and they announce your name and clap as you come aboard, all with Mickey overseeing. The magic just starts immediately!! We got some foods before settling in to our rooms which was a disaster in my room since I packed outfits for all in each different bag. Logistical nightmare! Then we had our muster station drill and dinner to round out our very first night. And of course character meet and greets! We sent the kids to the Oceaneer’s Lab (the kid’s camp) for a pajama party but the boys didn’t last as long as hoped…. We also found our favorite bar, the Skyline Lounge, where the “window” view changes to another European city every twelve minutes. And if you look closely the photos move!

disney cruise time: first, cocoa beach

How do I begin to even recap this vacation or vacations? It is a daunting task to be sure. Over 1,200 photos and videos daunting. So I’ll start slowly and take it a day at a time. The first day started at 1:30 am in fact. We rolled out of bed and went to my parents’ where two big vans were waiting to take us and all of our many pieces of luggage to the airport. A quick stop at my brother’s house and we were well on our way. It went so quickly… perfect timing at the airport with a quick breakfast before boarding. Another two vans took us from the Orlando airport to our hotel in Cape Canaveral and thankfully one room was available at that time for said luggage. Breakfast. Beach. Pool. It was a great way to start the vacation! The beach does a Olsen body good! Later that afternoon my Floridian friend Kerri and her man friend came to visit and we had a lovely dinner out and balcony hangs before calling it a night. It is like no time has passed at all with that one, I’ll tell you what! It was a long day but such a good one! 

These photos may be slightly out of order and while that fact bugs me it does not bug me enough to fix them. Did I mention 1,200 photos?

friends exchanging gifts

It took us a little bit but we finally were able to get together with this group and the kids got to exchange the gifts they picked out for each other. Secret Santa style. It was so much fun for them and cool to see for me how well they knew their friends. Favorite colors. Candy. Football teams, etc. Across the board. We had quite the brunch too because we can’t get together without food am I right? And now it is time for all the Christmas decor to go away… until next year!

cousins reunited and it feels so good!

The cousins got together for the first time in weeks this past Sunday! And after breakfast Beth and Colton used one of their guest passes to get them into our gym so they could practice their snorkeling skills…. The kids had so much fun being together and I think some of my kids loved being out in public amongst PEOPLE. But I’m also glad we had another day to rest. Winter pool time takes a lot of you I think.  

life lately…

Has been dominated by the flu. New Years Day brought with it a trip to Urgent Care for Dom… and they swabbed him while he was there which led to a flu strain A detection early the next morning. And so begins two weeks of the flu. All plans cancelled. Hunkering down for the next two weeks….. Matt and Letty have also tested positive for it… and David had two days of a random fever. We have played a lot of Life… and broken out whenever we could. I won’t say we are in the clear because I don’t want to jinx myself but…. Here we are. No fevers since last Tuesday late night. Four out of five of us sick and on the mend… lots of snuggles and liquids and early bedtimes and naps and quite the pharmacy set up on my counter. Did I forget to mention Lysol? That too. 2023 started off with a real kicker!

happy new year!

Have we recovered? Because I feel like personally I did not. Break was far too short! Even with the unexpected Monday off it was still not enough. But I digress. New Years Eve! Typically we are with family on this night… but some of us had some friend invites too so we improvised! Dinner at my parents’ house first! With poppers!

urban air

Oh the lights. The music. The chaos! This new indoor trampoline (and a million other things) park is quite the rage lately! Dom has been invited to three birthday parties there in the past two months alone! But not all of the cousins have had the opportunity to check it out, and when my parents learned of the great Black Friday deal they jumped on it so everyone could go together. They were definitely more short staffed then when I’ve been there on other occasions but the kids got to do every little thing they wanted too. Including laser tag! Multiple times! It was an epic five hour long day… thank you Nonna and Pop!