Day 2

It was Groundhog Day. 

We did manage to sneak in a partial viewing of Phil Connors and Ned Ryerson. 

Husband took the two very antsy children to the airport shops. There are so many to choose from so they could browse and kill time. Then they checked out our balcony. 

Now I will say this: last time using Disney Transportation to the cruise was quite slick. This time it was convenient but there were a ton more people and the process from the Hyatt was very convoluted and not at all speedy. 

At a certain point I was also getting anxious as we were onboard last time about noon and we seemed way far behind that already. Though, looking back there was only about a half hour of difference in time so that's not really that big of a deal is it? Perspective. I didn't have some at the time. 

It could also be this one particular family was DRIVING ME MAD. I know gentle parenting is a thing. I'm even okay with it being a thing. But the whining about how they're hungry for an hour and a half wasn't funny or cute. Continually handing the young boy, about 3 Tootsie Pops was also not filling his tummy, it was making him hyper. 

Nevertheless, we got on board and headed straight to lunch! 

I do so love a Mickey themed anything. 

At 1:30 we were able to go check out our room. It was cute and in a great location. I would pick this room location time and time again, I loved it that much. 

Husband took the kids back up to the pool deck to swim and I took a nap. My goal for this trip was to never be overtired and I knew I needed a nap to get through the rest of the day with gusto.

After they swam and we got them dried off we went to the mandatory muster drill. 

And let me tell you, there is a lot of negative feedback that Disney is the only cruise line that makes you come to meet up at your location and check in. Rather than watching a drill on your TV or just going to scan in with a person. It didn't bother me and in fact I felt reassured that in the extremely rare event we would need to meet there everyone in the family would know what to do.

Admittedly the worst part of the muster drill is ours was all the way down on Deck 4 and the sail away party was on Deck 11. The sail away party was my favorite part on the Wish but I had seen enough videos to know the Fantasy's wasn't as fun. So we got a table and while Husband and I couldn't see much, the kids could and that was better than us fighting the crowds. 

After the sail away party we went and changed for dinner. (We switched into slightly nicer bottoms.) And then we took a bunch of pictures! 

We enjoyed our first dinner! I had preordered a bottle of Cloudem Blue a fancy sparkling cider that has like sparkles in it! A toast to celebrate being on vacation together. I just really love my family. 

Windy as heck but a gorgeous sunset!

We played trivia. (And came in like third. This would be a theme that would repeat all cruise long. Always close but no cigar.) 

For whatever reason, the kids were bound and determined to play shuffleboard. Like it was a must-do for them. Spoiler: they were terrible! But they did have fun so I am glad they played. 

After some more activities, we decided to head to bed. With a crab blanket and our nighttime chocolates.

We also ordered room service for a little late night snack because it's free and we underutilized that last cruise. (And really, the food at dinner skews a little fancy for us so... splitting some chicken tendies worked out well.) 

And that wrapped up our first day onboard. And while I would have been perfectly happy to repeat the day over and over again until we got it exactly right... it was still pretty great that it happened at all. 

Day 1

Flights are weird. In this case American changed the flight so many times that I was just glad we had seats. And I was a little on edge because of what happened in DC just 2 days before. But we arrived and parked and made our way indoors.

Our tiny little airport has an art gallery in it before security. There was an exhibit I was hoping to see but I decided rather than pay for short-term parking to do so we'd just arrive for our flight early. It worked out great. 

Aren't these darling little flower puffs?

I should note that we got to spend the entire morning at home, even having lunch. We had late flights. This was not ideal for my over-excited kids but worked out great for my overly stressed self to be sure we had everything we needed for the trip. 

After we made it through the easiest security line we've ever experienced we killed some time. 

Flight one was uneventful. M played wiki sticks and made this little example of our trip. I loved it! (That's her with her suitcase.)

She also took pictures of the clouds. 

We landed in Dallas in time for a gorgeous sunset!

After a fairly lengthy layover that included M being hangry that she couldn't wait for TGI Fridays to seat us, we ended up having Shake Shack. But whatever. Our flight to Orlando was late and we really hoped the kids would sleep. 

C managed to doze a bit.

Little Miss I can't sleep without a bed did not but at least she was cozy and relaxed. 

But the best part is that we have mastered the art of staying at the MCO Hyatt, so within 45 minutes of landing everyone was in bed dead asleep except for me. (I showered. And then went to sleep.) 

Admittedly, this is not the most exciting update on the trip but... that's okay. These are for me to remember and not because I am making any money off of this blog! 

7 days. 2 hours. 38 minutes.

7 days. 2 hours. 38 minutes. 

That is how long our car was parked at the airport. It says so on the receipt. 

We arrived home on Saturday from a really really great trip! We again sailed the seas with Mickey. 

We knew what to expect so much more than last time and even still it wasn't long enough! Though we did venture to Walt Disney World after we disembarked, we didn't go to a park at all this time. It was a little sad, but it was also the correct decision for us. 

Unfortunately, I got some airport cooties and so I am miserable and home today. Hey, at least it wasn't on vacation!

A Little Bit of Nothing

Seriously, we are clearly the most boring. On Saturday night there was a celebration of St. Paul to celebrate the feast of his conversion! We went. Here's proof:

And we kicked off Catholic Schools Week this week. This year we are doing a Penny War so I went to the bank to get $4 in pennies. 

And seriously I have taken no other pictures that would be even remotely interesting to blog about. 

Happy Monday!

An (Unexpectedly extra) Long Weekend

I just have to laugh to myself. I had to work all day Saturday at an out of town workshop. We got back with just enough time to have a little dinner and head out to M's hockey game. Well, she didn't play, but they were her Christmas present.

She also got to buy a jersey. She was delighted. We had so much fun at the game together!! 

Sunday we did next to nothing except go to Mass. Kind of the perfect day when you think about it. 

Yesterday, we had no school for MLK Day. C had rehearsal though so he went to that and M and I worked on her birds of prey project. All it needs are some pictures of the Crested Caracara and for everything to be glued down. 

But today it was so cold the kids didn't have school, which meant my office was also closed and viola! An extra bonus snuggly day. We all slept in. We read books. Practiced piano. The kids got out a lot of Barbies and did this... 

I don't know either but it's all good. 

I will certainly have to go back to reality tomorrow but this mini-break was amazing and just what my soul needed. I am also just relieved I didn't have to leave the house today. Husband was amazing and he even brought M to piano lessons for me so I could just stay home. 

17 Days In

Well, we're 17 days into this year and I have next to nothing to show for it. I have taken hardly any pictures of anything interesting. Truly. 

There's been a lot of evenings I haven't been home since everything hit the ground running in the new year. 

So when I left off, it snowed. It's been out of control cold but the past two days have been delightfully temperate and most of the snow is gone. 

School got started back up and M has been given the Crested Cara for her birds of prey project. So that's a thing we are working on.

We finished the second quarter on Wednesday and that's nice. 

Our family has been on a quest to get the kids to eat more recipes. So we've been experimenting with sliders. These chicken and waffle sliders held great promise and as it happens, I was the one who thought they were gross! 

I spent one day making a million of these stained glass windows for an event so the kids could make them. It was a lot of work but also delightful and fun. 

The very next evening was the Ladies' Craft Night which was a lot of fun even if all I have to show for it is this granny square perler bead creation. 

Then I chaperoned the 4th grade field trip to the botanical center and Bald Eagle Days.

Which, to be fair, when C went in 4th grade and told me it wasn't that interesting I didn't believe him. But, it actually wasn't that interesting! Still fun to be away from school for the day. 

After a lot of rehearsals, last night was C's Honor Choir performance and he was darling. I am glad he's found choir. 

I really wish I had something interesting to tell you, but alas, these 17 days have been busy busy busy, and without anything great stories to tell. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy New Year!

I took no pictures on New Year's Eve. That's okay. We went to Mass. Then home for an appetizer meal of BBQ meatballs, spinach dip, chips and salsa, pizza rolls, veggies and grapes while we watched Wicked. 

Then after the kids went to sleep Husband and I watched The Holiday as we always do. We have the DVD but it was available on Prime Video expiring at Midnight. We weren't going to finish by Midnight so we laughed about what would happen if it kicked us out. 

The internet told us we would be fine as long as we didn't pause or stop the stream. So we didn't and we were fine. But we were still prepared to switch to the DVD if need be. 

New Year's Day was a whole lot of nothing. And I am good with that too. Yesterday I had to work a half day and then go home right as the snow started falling. I sent the kids out to play while it was a novelty and not super cold. 

I think it's somewhere between 1 and 2 inches of snow. Not a lot but enough to make you shovel you know? 

M made a little snowman named Augustus. 

She played for almost 2 full hours. And after she came in she asked for my phone and went back out to take these pictures. She loves being outside. Whereas I am very indoorsy. 

But I was glad that I was able to go home to let them outside. (When they're home alone they're not allowed to play outdoors.) It was a nice way to spend an afternoon! 

Happy Friday!