Cruising through Easter

We spent our Easter holiday and Andrew's Kindergarten Spring Break taking a 7-night cruise aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship. We arrived Saturday morning, and quickly rode the Disney Cruise bus to Port Canaveral and by 1pm we were having lunch on the ship. Joining us were our friends Kelly & Susan, along with their son, Connor.

At the port terminal, awaiting our boarding....can you tell

Adelyn LOVES Mickey?! (you can click on the photo to make it bigger)

Andrew and Connor, excited to begin their vacation

Brotherly love (so sweet!)

Ready for a swim and we haven't even left port yet
(I'm getting the hang of this vacation stuff)

SPF 70, a hat and sunglasses--which I refuse to keep on, ready to tackle the Caribbean sun the best I can

Easter Sunday from the front

and from the back

Sailing, sailing all across the sea-- Day at Sea

Waiting patiently on my turn to visit, my favorite (I have my eye on her)--MINNIE!

Room with a view

Kisses for Mickey--did I mention, SHE LOVES the characters!

Connor and Andrew in port at St. Maarten

Even better than the tub, the clear Caribbean Sea (I can see my toes!)

So much to do with this sand....including trying to eat it

Andrew at Coconut Grove, St. Maarten--French Side of the Island

What a treat--Chocolate covered Mickey Mouse Ice Cream

(every night for dessert), so much for branching out

Daddy's Little Girl ?--no question

Disney's private island of Castaway Cay

I'm liking this place!

Pictures are worth a thousand words!

As tinkerbell said, "Till we meet again"

After our first three days asea, we finally docked on the shore of St. Maarten. We went to a nearby beach lagoon called Coconut Grove, for some soft waves and warm waters. Adelyn loved the sand...a little too much so as she placed a handful in her mouth. She also was happy to be splashing in the water. Mommy got a nice pair of Earrings here and we came back to the ship to enjoy Pirate Night, complete with fireworks over the sea. Mommy, Daddy, Susan and Kelly enjoyed dinner at Palo--the Northern Italian restaurant, while Andrew and Connor went to the Oceaneer Club and Adelyn to Flounder's Reef (the nursery). Next stop was St. Thomas (USVI) where we taxied to Magen's Bay for some more surf/sand fun and beautiful scenery. We enjoyed another day at sea, before stopping at Disney's private island of Castway Cay. This little island has every amenity that you could want -- we all wished we could have spent a couple more days there (or a lifetime)!

Adelyn did wonderfully on vacation. She is such a little trooper, adjusting to whatever came her way--including sitting in the dining room each night through several courses of dinner....then again, the baby does love to eat! She was flexible, napping on the beach or poolside (even with all the screaming kids). We were so grateful since we travel a lot to find her totally adaptable. She was on a rigid schedule at the babyhouse and had only been home for 2 and 1/2 months so we weren't sure what to expect. We felt so blessed having her on this trip with us....solidifying us as a family of 4!

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and we disembarked Saturday morning. We were able to extend the fun a bit, though, as we rented a minivan and spent most of the day at Downtown Disney (yes, Fawn & Susan got to do some shopping), before returning to the Orlando airport and settling back to reality.