Thursday wa
s our last at sea day. We ate breakfast at Enchanted Garden (our favorite spot for that meal), met characters, and had all 4 children go to the kids club while Hubby and I exercised and signed us up for our next cruise! Watching M dance her heart out and getting chosen to dance with Mickey Mouse was pure joy. We all went to the magic show, where the children were very impressed even though Hubby and I were not and M chose story time with Mrs. Claus while the others went swimming with Hubby. As a surprise, more characters came at the end for photos and M was thrilled to get a picture of Minnie Mouse in her winter outfit.
The show Believe was my favorite and made me laugh and cry. The message was so powerful: childhood doesn’t last long so prioritize your time. One thing I have loved about spending a week on a boat is a full disconnect from phone, emails, and texts. Really makes me think I should ditch the phone when I get home! I also had nightmares about my volunteer work, causing Hubby and I to have a serious conversation about just how much volunteering I should be doing. This vacation was a life changer for me, no exaggeration. I have been so much calmer since coming home and saying the word 'no' and deciding to opt out of a lot of holiday activities has greatly simplified and enhanced our lives. As I see stressed out parents running their children this way and that and trying to fit so much into one day I realized this generation of parents are literally killing themselves to give their children an ideal childhood. And the saddest part is, I don't think the next generation is any happier than we were as kids.
The grand finale/most relaxing day is spending a day at Disney's private island in the Bahamas. D and I were super happy to be able to participate in the Castaway Cay 5k. It’s so easy to breathe at sea level and my double knee braces kept those joints happy. D beat me by over 10 minutes since my calves locked up on me because I was silly enough to forget to stretch before starting. When the race was over, D and I headed back to the stateroom to change, join up with the family, and head out on the island together. It was so wonderful to relax at the beach after getting our last two character autographs. Hubby went snorkeling with D and I went with M. So much fun! The kids couldn’t believe we really spent 6 hours there. We were having so much fun the time just flew by! Castaway Cay might just be our favorite place on earth. Hubby packed while K, D and I enjoyed Thor Ragnorok since Hubby and D had already watched it one night when us girls were asleep. I knew it was going to be good because Hubby told me he was going to buy it when it came out and, oh my word, I think this movie may be my new favorite Marvel film. I loved Captain America Winter Soldier and I'm super excited about Black Panther coming out but this Thor film was soooo good! I am grateful my husband was willing to stuff suitcases before our last dinner on the ship. We lucked out and got to eat at our favorite restaurant 3 times and the last night did not disappoint. You drew your own character and then they were put together into an animation on the wall screens. What a neat experience to be a part of! And the kids loved decorating their own cupcakes for dessert. I must say the service on our Disney cruise was amazing. There are 4,000 passengers on board and 1,600 cast members. They go above and beyond in every case I have seen. The food is amazing and when my server discovered my dietary needs, he had the chef specially make me things like GF/DF desserts so I could partake in all that delicious food they are so famous for. Now if only the Dole Whips were free of charge like the ice cream cones, I would seriously be in heaven but this cruise is about as close to perfect as I think is humanly possible.
Saturday meant our last meal, getting off the Fantasy, and renting a van so we could go to Kennedy Space Flight Center. N was so excited to go and was thrilled to wear her astronaut jammies and costume at NASA. There really was something awe inspiring about seeing those bay doors open on the Atlantis. I think it is amazing it only took 12 years to create the space shuttle. The first shuttle launched when I was a baby and the last shuttle came home before my youngest child was born.
And to end on a funny note, my most embarrassing moment is a tie between me complementing the janitor on how much we love the clean bathrooms and N adding "yeah because our house is always dirty" and forgetting to stretch before the 5K and having to hobble around the rest the trip. lol. Our journey home was care free and we are so grateful we were able to enjoy such a magical vacation. Hubby and I are thrilled to go back to the Caribbean the winter of 2019!
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