Tag Archives: Florida

Disney Cruisin’

We went on a Disney cruise, and it was surprisingly awesome. I knew my daughter would love it, and she is the reason we chose to embark on a cruise rather than fly to Hawaii or the Virgin Islands. My little girl will be a five-year-old only once, and what better time than now to sail away on the Disney Dream? What I didn’t expect was how much fun my husband and I would have. We were pretty depressed that last morning when the ship’s broadcast system informed us that the ship had been cleared by Customs and it was time to disembark.

This week and next, I’ll be sharing tales from our cruise. I’ll give you the scoop on everything from the stateroom to food to the ports-of-call that we visited in the Bahamas. First up will be our verandah stateroom…stay tuned later this week.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of our adventures aboard the Disney Dream:

Disney Dream: sailing away party

With Mickey Mouse on a Disney cruise

The Disney Dream docked next to the Disney Magic.

The Aquaduck. Disney Dream.

Castaway Cay

A Very Intimidating Mouse

If you’ve visited the About page of this blog, you’ve seen this picture of a perfect-moment-gone-wrong at Disney World.

Luckily, our visit to Disney World corresponded with E.’s second birthday last year. We watched as her face lit up on her first Disney ride, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We giggled at E. and her cousin B. who wore matching Disney Princess shirts, and we took an almarming number of pictures. However, this was one of the most highly-anticipated events of the trip: meeting Mickey Mouse.

As you can see, E. wasn’t particularly thrilled to pose with Mickey for a picture. She whined, squirmed, and tried to walk away. She finally calmed down enough that we were able to take a photo, but a major meltdown followed. Take a look at this:

Tantrum at Disney World, 2009

E. was so beyond the point of logic and reason that we decided to just let her get it out of her system. Nick stood watch as E. screamed and cried, red-faced, on the floor.

So, there it is. Photographic proof that travelling with children isn’t always perfect. Yet, we have lots of good memories from the trip to Orlando, and we can laugh at the not-so-good times. Isn’t that what parenthood is all about?

P.S. Letting your child “cry it out” is always a judgement call. We took her to the opposite side of the building, away from Mickey and the line of children waiting to see him, so that she would be less of a distraction. After a few minutes, she stood up, dusted herself off, and went about the business of having fun.

Photo Friday: Another Reason Why We Travel

Last week, I wrote a guest post as part of the “Why We Travel” series at The World is my Jungle Gym. I talked about travel as a way to introduce my daughter to people and places that are different from what she sees in our own neighborhood. However, there’s another reason why travel is important to us. It allows us to see family members who don’t live nearby and helps E. form solid relationships with her cousins even though she doesn’t see them on a weekly–or even monthly–basis.

We’ve been able to go on a few trips with extended family, which includes seven adults and three kids…a total of four generations! E. adores her two cousins, and I hope they’ll remain close. I think travelling is an important part of forming lasting memories that the three kids will remember when they’re older.

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E. gets a big hug from her cousin B. at Disney World.

For more Photo Friday fun, check out the family travel blog Delicious Baby.

From My Daughter’s Point of View

It’s come to my attention that I take lots of pictures of the back of E.’s head. Sometimes this is on purpose, but not always. I’ve noticed that it’s really difficult to get a good picture of her these days…I’ll get the perfect shot all lined up and then–poof–E. is running away and my neatly-composed moment is gone.

So, here is a collection of pictures of the back of E.’s head that actually turned out better than they might have if she had looked at me and said, “Cheese!”

Here she is outside of the Guenther House in San Antonio:

And here she is at Disney World this past spring:

In this photo, E. checks out a horse in Bandera, Texas:

This is one of my favorites. E. is standing in front of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.

I took this picture of the back of E.’s head on purpose when we were in Hawaii:

However, this most recent one, at Love Creek Orchard in Medina, Texas, was an accident:

Remember to check out Photo Friday at Delicious Baby for fun travel pictures that are actually properly-composed!

Relaxing in Florida

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florida 009

These are some of my all-time favorite pictures of E., travel-related or otherwise. I took them in Florida just minutes after we arrived at our hotel. She looks so happy! The next day would bring 14 hours of Disney excitment, and later that week she would see the ocean for the first time.

It was a very busy week…

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For more Photo Friday fun, check out DeliciousBaby.com!

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