Disney Cruise-The day we set sail

I didn't forget about finishing up our Florida vacation posts. You know how I am. Sometimes you just get the scoop a while later. I made myself sit down tonight and at least start the post because if I wait too much longer, I am going to start to forget details that I do not want to forget.

We left my grandparents when Ruby laid down for her nap. It worked out to be perfect timing for her, us and my grandparents. I admit, I was fighing back the tears as I laid her down. She is my baby. And as much as I needed the break, I knew that I would miss her like crazy. I think that the hardest part was, we weren't going to be talking with my grandparents unless it was an absolute emergency. We never had our cell phones switched so they would work while we were in International waters. (Ruby did fabulous anyway and barely missed me while we were gone, but more on that later!!!)

Oh, did I mention that it was pouring from the moment we woke up that morning, too? It was an awful downpour all day. It seriously never let up. We drove all the way to Port Canavaral in the pouring down rain. It just wasn't the nice, pretty weather we wanted to be boarding a cruise, you know? It was awful and I will be honest, it kind of put me in a bad mood. I kept thinking, "what if rains the entire cruise???" My Aunt kept reassuring me that it never rained on cruises.

So, we arrived at Port Canavaral, checked our bags and hung out until it was time to board the big boat. I just could not believe how massive this thing really is/was. I have pictures to share of the ship, but you will see those on day #3. As soon as we boarded the ship, we found our room , but didn't have much time before we had to be in the theatre for a safety demo that is required to listen to. After this part, we headed back to the room to freshen up before dinner. They did have a cast off party, but it ended up being indoors since it was still raining buckets at this point, which was still a big bummer. The rest of the cruise made up for it though.

Reyna was kind of hitting a wall before dinner, but livened up a little when she realized it was time to put on one of her princess gowns. My aunt surprised Reyna with three (Ariel,Belle,Tiana) new princess dresses from the Disney Store complete with new shoes & head pieces. They are GORGEOUS! Reyna loves them. She chose Tiana that night, which was a good thing because guess who she ran into? Princess Tiana herself. She was not stopping to do any kind of autographs or pictures either, but turned around when she saw that Reyna was dressed like her. It brought tears to my eyes to see the joy and excitement in Reyna's face. Reyna was the only one she stopped and talked with.

Anyway....the first night we ate dinner in the Royal Palace. Not only was it gorgeous, but the food was divine!

After dinner, we didn't do too much else. Reyna was suuper tired and we wanted her to get in a good night sleep so she would be well rested for the rest of our cruise.

Daddy & Reyna while we were checking in.

This was in our room on our balcony.

This was the building that we checked into. Even that was nice.

The main area of the cruise ship. They had two sets of stairs leading down to the main area of the middle of the ship.

It was breath taking!

In one of the few stores they had on the ship.

Reyna thought daddy looked better in her tiara.

Meeting Princess Tiana.

Telling her how old she is.

She was in Heaven.

Reyna's cupcake desserts.

+her Mickey ice cream bar. (She had one every night brought to her..Our waiters didn't even have to ask. They just knew she wanted one after dinner was finished.)

The light fixtures were beautiful!

My creme brulee was to-die-for!

The molten cake. Oh.so.yum.

Jade & I couldn't decide, so I also ordered this...cannot remember what it is called.

And, our bed was turned down when we came back from dinner. It had this pillow each night before bed with a towel folded into a different sea creature. The eyes of the sea creatures were Sleepy from the 7 dwarfs. I tell you, Disney and their personal touch!

And for memories sake:

• Jade & I could not believe how beautiful the ship was when we saw it the first time. It was truly gorgeous.
• Reyna was in Heaven, especially when she found out she could have soft serve anytime her little heart desired.
• Our room was so nice. It exceeded my expectations.
• It rained and rained and rained some more. I prayed the entire time we were on the cruise it was not going to be this crummy. ((It was not, thank God.))
• It was so nice unplugging...no cell, laptop etc...
• I had the filet at dinner that night & Jade had lamb chops. I ordered Escargot for an app. and I cannot remember what Jade had. We ate so much delicious food and I want to try and remember it.

More to come!!!!

Florida(Magic Kingdom-Ruby's hair)

As you can see, Ruby was not too keen on the whole getting her hair cut thing. I wish she would have known how fun it would have been to see her smiling and having fun thru this, but such is life....

We couldn't get her hair cut when we first arrived at the park due to issues with their sinks. They were closed for plumbing problems. Instead, we waited an hour at the end of the day when both babes were tired and ready to leave. Reyna didn't mind waiting, they had quite a few activites going on around us that she was able to enjoy. At this point, Ruby wanted nothing to do with anything or anyone.

After we waited for about an hour, it was finally her turn. She was okay for about 30 seconds until the lady started spraying her hair to wet it down then all hell broke loose. Being the mama's girl she is, I needed to get out of the there, so I ended up sitting down where she couldn't see me and watching from there, while Jade tended to Roobs and my Gran took pictures! ha. I swear. The second Jade picked her up and started clapping, feeling her hair and saying, "all done, all done." I do not think it was the haircut itself that pissed her off, it was the sitting there after a long day that set her over the edge.

I am so glad that we have pictures, locks of hair carefully wrapped and sealed with a Mickey sticker and Mickey ears for both girls from where they had their first hair cut. I know they will not remember, but it is such a fun memory that we have and I look forward to sharing this story with the girls when they are older.

Florida(Magic Kingdom)

After Chef Mickey, we headed to Magic Kingdom to spend the rest of the day. Our main reason for heading to Orlando was the cruise, have time with family, but we did want to squeeze in Disney for a day or two, especially for Ruby since she would not be cruising.

BUT, my MAIN reason to head to Magic Kingdom was to have Ruby's pretty little locks cut for the first time @ the Barber shop on Main Street just like we did for Reyna. I have always had this thing with treating both girls equal. I have purchased double of many things just so they would each have one almost as if I have treated them as twins? Is it because they are the same sex? Am I weird? Do you do this? Anyway, it was a must that Ruby get her hair cut so they would both have the first hair cut certificiate from Magic Kindgom, their first locks packaged with mickey confetti and the mouse ears that have "first haircut" stitched on the back. (More on the haircut later. It will be a post all in itself.) 

We headed straight to Fantasy Land when we arrived at Magic Kindgom. It was pretty crazy at the park. It was pretty much prime time spring break though. We let the girls (well, Reyna) decide what they wanted to do. We did not drag them around and try to squeeze as much stuff in as possible. We took our time and it was definitely the best way to go. I can see how kids can get "Disney-ed out" quick. After riding several rides, we headed to Main Street for the Wishes Parade. I am pretty sure this was the girls' favorite part. The girls' got balloons for the price that could have paid off our mortgage, but they were totally worth it. We also stopped by Edy's ice cream and I induldged myself in Casey's Hot Dog's, which were oh so tasty. 

After the parade, we headed to the Barber Shop to put our name on the list for a hair cut. They only take appointments from people who have meal plans and who are staying at one of the Resorts, so the rest is walk-in.  We waited quite a while, but it was definitely well worth the wait. More on that later.

A few bullet points about Magic Kingdom and this post.

• Reyna refused to look or smile in any pictures I attempted to take. She had fun, I swear. You could never tell by the look on her face though.
• Yes, she is wearing her favorite dress, once again! Yes, it was washed a couple of times @ my grandparents.
• Ruby rode a horse on the carousel for the first time and loved every minute of it.
• Reyna's favorite were the tea cups. She had been talking about riding them since we told her we were going. She calls them "the chips." (You know, chip from Beauty & the Beast)
• Reyna was scared on the Snow White ride & Ruby loved it. They did a role reversal.
• The day we went, there was a pretty high chance of thunderstorms. It was gorgeous all day until the moment we got into the car, it started pouring. It was perfect timing.

Florida-Chef Mickey!

My fabulous Aunt Janette made reservations @ Chef Mickey's before we headed to Magic Kingdom. If you have not been there and you are headed to Disney soon, I strongly recommend you checking it out. The girls loved it and the food was so yummy! I am cracking up as I post these pictures because in every picture Miss Ruby has her head turned away. She refused to look at the character, but was not afraid of them in the least. She just would turn her head when they talked to her!

The best part of this meal? I ate my ENTIRE meal in peace. :) The characters and the rest of the haps kept my babes happy as clams. I think all restaurants should be this entertaining. What do you think???  And, square waffles from home are now boring. I miss my Mickey shaped waffles! Sigh...