Disney Cruise!

This was a fantastic trip that we had been anticipating for about a year! The kids talked about it for what seemed like forever. To total strangers they would say, "Did you know we are going on a cruise?" It didn't disappoint!
I would recommend going with people you know and like. We went with our friends, Jen and Marty, and their kids, Addison and Carter. I don't know if we can go on any vacations without them, from now on! They were perfect travelling partners. It was especially nice for Max and Lilly to have their friends on board. Max and Lilly are going through a phase (I hope it's a phase!) where they fight like cats and dogs. Having friends their own ages made that a non issue. There was peace and happiness all around...that could also have something to do with the fact that we rarely saw any of our children. Disney makes it super fun for kids to hang out, away from Mom and Dad.
We did start the trip with some drama, however. Because my dear husband was born in New Zealand, he doesn't have the same kind of birth certificate as most US citizens. He has dual citizenship but getting his passport proved difficult. They made us jump through lots of hoops. We had to get his parents marriage certificate, his Mom's birth certificate, and his Dad's naturalization paper...not to mention his NZ birth certificate. We hadn't heard from the passport office and started to panic! We were leaving on Friday and didn't have his birth certificate or a passport. Alan would not be able to get on the ship! On the passport website it finally showed that he had been approved and his passport was mailed. It had only been mailed the day before and was set to arrive on the 16th of Nov. We were to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean that day. We called my Mom who house sat for us and asked her to keep a watchful eye on the mailbox, Saturday. If the passport arrived we would have her overnight it to our hotel in LA. Our mail usually comes by 1:00 but it didn't arrive until 5:30! The passport miraculously arrived though! My Mom used Delta Dash and 85 dollars later we had his passport on it's way. He picked it up at LAX at 10:00 am and we boarded the boat without a hitch. PHEW! That was a nail biter!

The rest of the trip was a breeze! The food was yummy, (5 extra pounds on my middle testifies.) We had great entertainment on the boat. We had a lovely trip to swim with dolphins in Cabo San Lucas. A lazy day on a Mexican beach. All the soft serve ice cream we could eat. And time away from the kids. It was heaven!

At the kick off celebration. The horn was then sounded ("When You Wish Upon A Star" was the horn!) and we left the port.

Max was dancing his heart out! Little Addison always looks so cute!

We had just set sail!

Lilly and Tiana

The big man himself! And Mickey, of course!

Alan's hair after snorkling! Hilarious!

They had so much fun playing o the beach. The sand and the surf was almost more fun than the boat!

On the last night of the cruise we got a special card, delivered to  our room, inviting us to a farewell party. A few of the characters friends were invited to a special meet and greet for 20 minutes. We had not idea that our befriending of  Peter Pan (AKA Collin) had hooked us up! We arrived at the party to find that just a handful, like 30 people, had been invited to meet the characters! It was AMAZING!!! The princess were waiting to meet US! The ids were in heaven, meeting everyone they wanted to without a line in site. What a way to cap off our trip!!! We love you Peter Pan!

Max and his favorite character! Max was feeling sick and wanted to go to sleep in our room. He said meeting Stitch made him feel better!

Somehow, Tiana convinced Max to kneel and ask for her hand in marriage! They make a cute couple!

Our trip may be over but the memories will last forever!