Disney Cruise

After unpacking in our stateroom I ask Tommy, "do you want to go to a party?"  He says, "a party?!...you don't have to ask!"

The bon voyage party got rained out but that gave us time to explore the massive ship.  Do you see that water slide going around the top?  It was called the Aquaduck, and was a definite highlight!

Dinners were a main event.  There were some great meals, some okay meals but definitely always a favorite part of cruising.  Especially since there is no cooking or cleaning up involved.  Amazing to think how they get the place ready for the next dinner after the mess we made.  Disney is magic in more ways than one!

Tommy loved this window, he even slept here most nights.

Roomies!  Could this be a foreshadow of college :)

Late night cookies anyone?

And all you can eat ice cream!  This picture is probably my all time favorite of the whole trip.  Ellia trying to be all nice to Lily and Lily like, "don't you come near my ice cream, it's mine!"

Pool time

Kids club.  We dropped them off 2 or 3 times and they loved it.

Formal night

This girl wanted to order from the adult menu.  She is getting too old.

My family.  Love them.

We attempted a picture of all the cousins before dinner...epic fail.  The second round, slightly better.  I absolutely love these though.

Cozumel, Mexico

Ruins, not sure the name.  Very cool though.

Rachel discovered the awesomeness of snorkeling!

The sand here was like butter.  And of course Lily tried to eat it, sadly it doesn't taste like butter.  But seriously, it felt amazing.

We got some chips and guacamole to snack on and were serenaded as we ate...so perfect.  And the guacamole and salsa were out of this world!!!  My big regret is not getting more food while we were there.

A GREAT day in Mexico!

Washing the sand off

Don't you love it?  Seriously this kid makes life so fun.

The ship had little shows in the center of the ship, which were always way too crowded to be able to see anything.  So we would have our own fun.  Kate as Cinderella dancing with her prince :)

Snowing on the ship!  Disney are the masters at making everything so magical!  Oh yeah and the ship was decorated for Christmas.  It was really beautiful but felt weird somehow since it was still early November and we were in bathing suits and at the pool or the beach every day.

Grand Cayman

These two girls had blast being knocked over by the waves again and again

Rachel heading out to go check out some fish and a sunken ship

The first snorkeling group was out for a long time and there were a few of us who wanted to go but decided we better not because we needed to head back to the ship.  But they pushed us to do it.  We went and had a great time, but we were a little anxious about the time.

The mess these kids made every night...yikes!

Jamaica!!!

I really wish we could have spent more time on this island.  It looked like a great place to explore.  We did have a fantastic time hiking the Dunns Falls.  It was such a blast hiking along these rocks with the water racing over your feet.  It was quite a sensation.  We were so proud of Kate, who seemed a little nervous at first but quickly started giggling and having a great time.

And here is where we said goodbye to Jake.  He paid a ridiculous amount for a taxi to take him all the way out to the airport and it was a rush too.  The toughest part of him leaving was the lack of communication.  Our cell phones had no coverage so I had no way of knowing if he made his flight, if he made his meeting, or anything!

Our taxi got a flat tire on the way back to the boat.  Pretty funny.  The kids were enthralled!  Luckily we had time to spare and he had a spare tire :)

Pirate night.

Meeting Anna and Elsa...what a little girl dream come true!!

And Cinderella, her favorite!

On this particular morning I saw Rachel running to the soda fountain to let cold water run on her arm.  She had tried to get herself some hot chocolate and missed the cup.  We were running all over the ship to find ice and to find the clinic.  We got her some ointment and she had to wear this and avoid swimming for a couple hours.  After that it was fine.

A nice day at the beach :) of Disney's island Castaway Cay

These two were having a great time.  Giggling and being crazy.  Not an unusual thing.

From the bottom

Sand fortress with Uncle Dan

We saw this giant gingerbread man house come together throughout the week.  Very impressive, and smelled amazing!

Tommy did these little projects in the kids club.  I left them in the stateroom when it was time to leave the ship.  He had an absolute melt down.  I was not going to go back and get them, but this boy can melt me.

After disembarking we spent the day with Dan and Amy and kids at Downtown Disney before they flew out that evening.

A little downtime at the hotel

One last good bye dance with Ellia

Goofy's candy shop

M&M MMMMMM

I asked my family one night at dinner what their highlights were of the entire trip:

Jake- Negotiating with the taxis, the excursions- the waterfall with Kate, snorkeling with Tom and jet ski with Rachel

Me- Free churros, the soft sand and the guacamole at Cozumel, Dunns Falls, meeting the princesses with Kate, and getting to know my nieces and nephews and watching them play together

Rachel- the islands, watching new movies, the aquaduck and eating ice cream

Tommy- "everything!" the aquaduck, getting a sling shot and sombrero

Kate- Going in the hotels and swimming pools

= Success!
Good times and great memories!!  Thanks again to everyone!!!!