Dinner Night 1 - Animator's Palate

We dressed up and headed to dinner at 5:45 on our first night.

Disney now does a cool dinner rotation where you eat with the same families (I will share about our table mates in a minute) and the same dining staff each night but you get to eat in a different dining room each night. We went to Animator's Palate, Enchanted Garden, and the Royal Palace. Of all the nights.... the first one was our favorite, as well as the only night I remembered to take any pictures.... Oh well - The food was good and we had fun.

The family that we sat with was also a military family, a mother and her two sons age 11 and 7. Sadly, they were enjoying some time away following the passing of their father, who had been overseas fighting. We enjoyed sharing our meals with them.

A quick picture before our meal began

Shortly after we ordered our food, the lights dimmed and the pictures on the walls came to life.

Shawn wasn't sure what to think at first!

Another quick pic "under the sea!"

The main character was the turtle from Finding Nemo.

He played picture games with the kids and interacted with the dining room.

He was hilarious.....

Isaac was thoroughly engaged.

and then the fun began.

The Turtle was interacting with a man a couple tables away and we all got a good chuckle.

Then he began talking to Chris (who in his awesome teen mood thought he was talking to someone else).

It wasn't until I said "Chris he's talking to you!" that we finally saw some expression.

Chris could not stop laughing!

He tried to avoid eye contact.... but it didn't work!

He was sucked right in.

Check out that face!

Laughter!!!Taking the oath to never eat fish again

(The turtle asked what Chris' favorite food was.... his reply....SHRIMP!)

Even Isaac took the oath!

Anyone remember that commercial about the teen daughter who goes on vacation with her family. The parents show her participating in multiple activities with a glum look on her face.

Then, a boy looks her direction or something and she smiles.

The catch line is something about catching that moment.... well - This was our moment!

It made the whole first night worth it, and it broke the tension about Chris' overall grumpiness for the first night.

Sailing Away Party

Saying good bye to the shores of Florida

and Hello to the Fun Times at Sea!

We danced and jumped and sang and just had a great time.....

It was hot, but we had made it and we were finally on VACATION!

It was time to let loose.

Be Silly.

Have Fun.

Be a family.
Spend time together.....

For most of us anyway!

More pics from our first night on the ship

Safety Drills

Tickle Drills

Sitting by the Movie Theatre....
This is where we saw shows after dinner each night!

Checking out the Ship....

The ship was fit for a King.... or two or three.

From the biggest King to the smallest.... there was always something to do!

They even showed movies at sea on a giant screen. They played the brand new Pirates of the Carribean one of the nights and had a pirate night (more pictures to come of that!)

But not all the pirates were especially chipper about the activities .... (see picture below!)

I will apologize in advance.... there are not many pictures of Chris. This is not because we avoided taking his picture but rather that he chose to sit out for most of the activities because they were "not cool" for someone his age. Ya - you get the point... he's a teen!

In the Oceaneer lab (for kids age 3 - 12), they had tons of cool activities. Shawn had a blast there and went a few different times on his own. We all took a tour on the first night.

This station,

was a simulator as a captain of the ship. You had to drive the ship and then you could dock it at the ports and maneuver it through the different canals. As you can see... even the big kid liked it!

They also had a big dance floor that changed colors. Isaac liked this part the best!

He was a dancing fool! There is a video from later on in the vacation of his dancing. He had soooo much fun! I think he actually had the most fun of all the kids and he was the one we worried the most about!

More to Come! (LOTS LOTS LOTS more to come!)

Waiting in the Airport.....

We spent over 7 hours in the airport waiting to leave for our family vacation. Got to the airport around 2:00 and finally left Omaha around 9:00 p.m. It was a lllloooooonnnnnnngggggg day to say the least. The kids handled it well.... the adults.... well - we stressed until we were finally off the ground and on our way. It was not a great way to start off but....

Good moods prevailed and everyone survived!!!

This was taken at the Orlando Airport just before we got on the bus to drive to the ocean.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Will there be enough room? First comes I and S...then double A C. Isaac's on the coconut tree.

This is one of the many reasons I LOVE the Bellevue Public Schools Welcome Center. Such a fun project....and Isaac loved wearing his hat and telling everyone about his name on it. Thanks Miss Mary!!!

Wax Museum

Can you guess what Famous Person Shawn chose to "be" for the Wax Museum?