We Be Cruisin'

This one's for you Palmer. ;-)

We just returned from vacation part two, a cruise bookended by visits to Universal Studios and Walt Disney World. Have I mentioned how lucky Justin and I are to have two sets of wonderful parents to take us on such great trips??? And I am proud to say I already have finished all of our laundry and have about 90% of our stuff put away! Peace of mind/house orderliness about restored.

I have been thinking and thinking about the sticking point from the trip to write about and nothing in particular pops up- so you'll have to deal with some random musings instead, sorry!

The cruise we went on was a Disney Cruise, and I think I have realized that I will always be a Disney Kid at heart- cue the "Toys R Us" Theme Song. It is hard not to get wrapped up in the magic of Disney- yes yes I know they are really just out to get as much of our money as possible by convincing us that yes, we really do need a picture of us on every ride we went on at the park-- but they do it with such a warm smile on their face and in such a magical setting that it is hard to resist! Same goes for the cruise ship. The staff is all so genial and welcoming. I did not even break a sweat when one of the servers took Ainsley out of Justin's arms and held her while he went to the buffet! Each staff member called Ainsley "Princess", and we were so tickled when we took her to get her picture with Mickey and Minnie that they took her from our arms and held her on their lap to create one of the sweetest pictures I've ever seen. Once I get a copy from mom and dad's photo cd I will be sure to share. Perhaps I have outgrown some of the fantasy of it all, but now I get to reexperience the wonder of Disney all over again through Ainsley! It was so much fun walking through the parks with her, even though the highlight for her was the balloon we got her at the discount price of $10. :)

I love cruises because you can eat and drink all you want, and as it is all included in the cruise price, it feels like it is free. Sure I will take another mojito. The boat also offered a drink of the day each day, the most divine sweet concoctions of alcohol ever- although I had to abstain most of the time. This cruise experience was much different from when we went two years ago (when Justin and I got engaged). Last time we were in the bars every night, this time we were asleep by 10, but that is all right. Regardless, I still got to spend my fair share of time at Bingo- perhaps the world's greatest game ever invented! And although I failed to win, despite having the electronic game card which plays a whopping 24 (or was it 48?) cards at one time, it was still a good time.

I also safely survived our jetskiing outing. Last time Justin decided to be a whirling dervish on water, sending us careening what seemed like sideways and backwards over the waves- and eventually depositing us into the water. This time was much more subdued but equally fun. And after seeing a nurse shark swim by us while we were standing in knee deep water, I was all the more thankful that we managed to stay aboard the ski this time.

It was also great getting to spend time with my family--- have to say the trip was a success as there were no fights, no disagreements, and no threats of going home early (as was the case last year.) Who knew vacations could be volatile? I can honestly say I enjoyed every moment of the trip, even running the 5K on Disney's private island in the 90 degree heat coupled with 95% humidity. Talk about hot! Running through the Disney island was still so much fun, it took my mind off the misery of the situation. Perhaps this is why the Disney Marathon will always be my personal favorite....how can you be unhappy or suffer when you are at Disney World??? (yes this is a rhetorical question)

Disembarking the ship on Friday was a little sad- I was certainly tempted to stowaway in our closet. But the real world beckons, and so back to work I go, hi-ho, hi-ho.