Disney Cruise #2, because 1 just isn't enough

Yes. We went again. And we know, we are insufferably spoiled. That said, it was the freaking time of our lives. Again. This time we got to go with my parents Tom & Judy, my nephew Grant, my brother Tom, his wife Jenni and their three kids Megan, Tommy and little Allie. There was something for everyone to do all the time. We had a blast and will share more pictures in the next few posts.
This is us on deck at the casting off party. Lot's of music (which fondly recalls high school dances... ie: older stuff) that makes little Allie dance her pants off. I need to blog on her and just her, soon. She is the center of our family universe right now.
Prom night! I love Disney for giving me a chance to dress up. And I love Forever 21 for having darling cute dresses for reasonable prices. Are little foreign children making these for pennies a week? Possible, but let's not think of that. I want to think of the amazing bargains I get. And the photo ops on the boat. Isn't Clayton the cutest man alive?
On deck four. We are sitting on the reserve life vest bins/bench. We suckered our 15 year old nephews Tommy and Grant out to take pictures of us, only to turn the cameras on them for a boy band photo shoot. See next blog.
Still not turning photos. Oh well. This is a banyan tree in Key West.
This is the ocean just below the Tulum ruins. Swimming in crystal clear warm water with ancient ruins above you is pretty cool. Just saying.

On the tram at Cataway Cay. It takes you to Serenity Bay. The adults only beach. Ahem. Which is not what it sounds like. It is just a magical beach where there are no children, and barely any people, so it is quiet and secluded and lovely.

Hot Boy Band Action

We bribed the boys with $5 onboard credit to take their pictures with Peter Pan. They not only did so as soon as possible, but they came up with stories to tell the actor. Like how they have loved Peter Pan since they were kids and were so excited to have their picture taken together. Didn't crack a smile, totally made it believable. I love my nephews. They are so dang funny and were a blast to hang out with all week. They even made cute Wendy scoot so they could get some shots with just the boys. However, she is too adorable to leave out.
We coaxed them into classic cheesy hair band shots. Nothing like a little virgin pina colada to loosen them up.
Oh. Lest anyone thinks I am trying to embarrass my nephews, my husband got into the act far too willingly. Hot.

As two 15 years old boys on a giant ship with moderate supervision, they had explored every nook and cranny by the first night. Amid their travels they found an abandoned stuffed heart toy that said "Happy Anniversary". In the spirit of Peter Pan they presented it to each other lovingly for my camera.
Here they are cleaned up for Prom Night. Aren't they so cute? The teenage girls onboard were soon found hanging around our cabins. Seriously. Oh to be 15.
We signed up for gingerbread house making, and convinced the boys to come along. Tommy and I went into overdrive and Grant did an awesome house as well. Tommy and I are both detailed oriented perfectionists at this kind of project so it was a perfect team-up. We even took it back to our cabin to work on it some more. Can you say dorks? Ya, we don't care.
Here are the boy-warriors trying escargot. As two teenagers that generally prefer burgers or chicken strips, we were excited to see them try about every odd thing on the boat. So brave.
A little more of the rock star action.
Back to back air guitar. They really cater to their fans.

Adorable Niece Part 1

This is my niece Megan. She is a seventeen old cheerleader and all around doll. Here she is with her dad. She was so much fun to have on the boat. Someone who appreciates all of my celebrity gossip, my need to suntan (futile), and watched Enchanted with me twice! (We have been quoting it ever since.)
Here she is walking darling Allie down the stairs. She is so good with her baby sister and is a major help to her parents.
Hot mama in Key West. I avoided any swimsuit shots for fear that perverts might find her pics. But trust me, she is darling and not someone you want to be photographed next to.
Here she is walking Allie on the deck. Mac still wont permanently turn my pictures. I've searched online and it seems to be a very common problem. Grrr.
Prom night.
Ready for sinking.

Tommy actually fell asleep at dinner. (Again, 15 year old boys with an entire boat to explore meant late nights.) Megan prepared to wake him up for dessert.
Megan and Allie on deck 10. Allie tries to do anything Megan does. So do I, but it isn't quite as adorable. More sad really.

Adorable Niece part 2

This should read adorable sister in law and niece. Here they are at breakfast. Allie would get absurdly excited as they had cottage cheese. She LOVES cottage cheese. I love Disney for having everything you could dream of.
Allie and the happy over sized cookies.
Her life vest was in fact a life suit. I think she was excited by everyone dressing up, it kind of seemed like play time.
On deck with Disney flags to wave.
In the tiny baby pool. The only one she was allowed in as she isn't diaper free yet. (She's only 14 months) She loves the water. She loves the sandy beach even more.
Nibbling on the gingerbread houses. I love her tip-toes.

All the rest!

Our beautiful boat!
Clayton, Grant, Marianne & Megan at the Southernmost Point in Key West.
At the Tulum ruins. These four guys just pop off this pole and start spinning down. It's bizarre and really cool.
Me and Clayton at the Tulum ruins with the ocean in the background. So gorgeous it all looks fake.
Jenni and Tom on deck 10 as we left Castaway Cay. Can you believe a couple this good looking have teenagers?


Mom & Dad (Tom & Judy) on deck for cast off.
Mom and Dad with Percy (Peru) and Dobrinka (Bulgaria). They were our servers all week and they were awesome! The meals were fantastic. PS. Wow my parents can tan. How come I didn't get that gene?
Tom, Allie and Jenni in the life boat drill. Ours was held in a theater. Not sure what that meant for our chances at a boat if we were to sink, but oh well. We are pretty strong swimmers.
Tom, Jenni and Allie at sunset our first night on board. Aaahh. Over too soon.
Pirate Night! Ahrrrrg! Ahoy, avast and so forth. We got free bandannas at dinner. Then they take your picture which we didn't buy. But here it is! Magic!

Our house is happier

This was our bathroom. Some time in the late 90's (the condo was built in 96, about 4 years after ivy was hot in home decor) someone painstakingly hand painted ivy all over the bathroom. All over the bathroom. With a matching hunter green, vinyl covered, foam toilet seat and super awesome ivy shower curtain. I got rid of those ages ago but the walls were here to stay.

The walls were an icky shade of yellow-white. The kind of color that looks eternally dirty. I decided to paint the walls and trim white and then paint just the walls blue.


I love the detail she put around the toilet. All around like a frame. So much work. SO had to go. So I headed over to home depot and got to work. It took forever to paint over the ivy. I should have used primer, but I thought the white would work. It did eventually. About seven layers later.

So clean looking! So much better. My advice to anyone painting is to leave the ceiling the heck alone. Seriously. If it doesn't match, oh well. Let it go. It took forever and was only marginally worth the effort. But still I was thrilled with how it looked. So the next shot is the blue. I went very pale. I wanted subtle and serene. I love the results. Sadly two nights ago I was touching up the walls and fell off the chair. As I fell, I fell onto the chair. It really hurt. I went to the doctor and found out I either pulled the muscle between the ribs or fractured a rib. Good times. So I can not work for a week or two. Not too sorry about that, but you know. I am actually only going to miss three days of work as we are going on another cruise on Friday. I know, one Disney cruise? Good for you. Two? You guys suck. We found an insane deal and are going with my brother, his wife and kids, my parents and another nephew. Super excited. That will probably be our next blog so feel free to leave rude comments. We won't mind.
But doesn't the bathroom look so awesome? (Aside from the clutter around the sink, it will go soon.) Maybe not worth a rib, but I am not sure. That ivy was pretty bad. Now I want to paint every room in the house. Any suggestions for colors?

Disney Cruise!!!

Our Disney Cruise! I wrote the following four posts out of order, so you can start here and read down. I know, I'm just really considerate. We took an Eastern Caribbean Cruise from October 13th through the 20th. It was heaven on earth. I highly recommend for anyone to save their pennies and go. We loved it all, and will bore you to tears with our stories if you are slow enough to bring up any key words to us. Like: Boat, Ocean, Island, Tan, Gecko, Pineapple, Ice Cream, Happiness etc... Example: Boss-"Clayton, do you have that report ready for the meeting?" C- "Hey, did we tell you about how the ship's captain would report on the weather in..." Ya. We are now cruise snobs. Me monsters. But really, it was Magical. This is the artwork above our bed. It's hard to avoid the Disney fever that makes you want to decorate your entire home in all Disney. However, our one-day nursery will be riddled with the stuff. More later!

Disney Cruise!!! Part 1

One of the huge portholes to enjoy. Ours in our room was only a bit smaller. See here below!
Told ya. This is half our stateroom. We loved our room. They show non stop Disney classic cartoon movies on one channel, new Disney cartoon movies on another and fairly new releases on five others. It was so refreshing to watch any channel and not worry about what you'd see.
Prom night (as Clayton kept calling it) at Animators Palette. The entire room goes from black and white sketches to filled with color. And if you know me, you know I love any excuse to get dressed up.
In front of the elevators. The design on everything on the boat kept with a classic Queen-Mary type of vibe.
Here we are docked next to another (inferior) cruise ship at St. Martin's. We rented a car to drive around the island in. It was something else! It was a tad old, filled with napkins and assorted small garbage, and the roof wouldn't stay on when we drove too fast or down a hill. We think it might have just been someones personal car. The rental place took only cash. Hmm. Also the locals drive like maniacs. But what a gorgeous island.