Disney Cruise day 3 - Castaway Cay

After our day at sea we woke up and saw land!!

A few years back I watched a Food Network special that went on a Disney cruise. I remember watching that special and wanting to visit Castaway Cay. I just never thought I would because you can only go by boat! So I was beyond excited to be on this island!!!

We got up, ate breakfast, and made our way down to get off the boat. We rode a tram and found some beach chairs to enjoy our day at the beach! 

The water was so pretty! But so cold!! The high that day was 74. The air was warm but the water was chilly. 

I checked a few things off my 40 things list on this day! I visited an island. I was out of the country! (I have never left the USA!) 

Just watching the girls play and swim!

 It's no secret that I adore Hadley and Harper but I wouldn't have them if I didn't have my best friend Jennifer! She is pretty awesome and didn't hesitate when I said "hey, can we go on a cruise for my 40th birthday!" Sitting by the water and watching the girls play in the sand is probably one of those memories I want to keep in my head and heart forever!

I was up to trying new food on the trip for my 40 things. I tried Mahi-Mahi. I was not a fan of this fish. 

Just a tropical paradise! 

Of course I listened to my favorite song on the island - Old Blue Chair by Kenny Chesney! 

Before we headed back to the boat we had to stop and get a fun drink! 

Just a few beach bums heading back to the boat.

I think they had a pretty good time on the island!

That night we got ready and had dinner before going to watch the stage show of Frozen. 

The girls loved the shows and Frozen did not disappoint. 

It was a lot of fun to watch their faces during the shows. The magic wowed them each and every time! Mom and I enjoyed watching the Disney magic through the eyes of a seven year old! 

(picture taken by Hadley)

Notice the sea bands. I could not have survived this trip without those. 

Day 3 of the cruise did not disappoint! It was probably my favorite day on the cruise. We headed back to our room after the show to head to bed. Our luggage had to be out by our door by 10:00 pm so they could get it off the ship. We had a early wake up call. Breakfast was at 7 am and we had to get off the boat. Early wake up calls on vacation are not fun! 

Just a few thoughts - 

I decided that maybe cruising wasn't that bad! I am glad that it was only a three day cruise. I just don't know how my friends do the seven night cruises! 

I was very worried I would get sea sick on the cruise so I went prepared with sea bands and loads of motion sickness medicines. I did get sick a few times. When I was in the spa and didn't have on my sea bands and when we were leaving port at Castaway Cay. 

I have laughed and told my friends that they did not prepare me for the toilets on the boat. Flushing the toilet was wild! I felt like I was going to be sucked into the ocean! 

It was nice to be away and not really worry about anything. I didn't check social media, my store, and I was not online for three whole days! I was worried that I would not be able to handle that but I think we all need a break from social media for a while. 

Since I have never been on a cruise I can't compare Disney Cruise lines to anything else but I will say that Disney is great at what they do. They really know how to look into details of the little things! Of course I am a Disney girl and I loved it! 

Everyone has asked me what my favorite part of the trip was and it is hard to pick just one thing. But if I did it would be being with my favorite girls on my birthday in a magical place! 

xoxo

Disney cruise day 2 - Out to Sea

On day two of our Disney cruise we woke up in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!

We had some special appointments to meet some Princesses! 

After we met the princesses the girls decided they wanted to check out the kid's club. 

At this point I still wasn't sure if I was impressed with this cruising thing!
Jennifer and I decided to sit  on our balcony and enjoy the view off of our balcony! The water was beautiful! I got very brave and stood next to the railing. (This was a huge accomplishment for me! Ha!)

The girls sent a message they were ready to leave the kid's club and we picked them up and grabbed some lunch! 

I tried some orzo pasta for the first time. I was trying to knock some of those 40 things off my list! 

There are so many activities on the ship so after lunch we separated and did our own things.

I went to the spa to enjoy the rainforest room. My fabulous travel planner Jennifer had gifted me a spa pass! 

I spent some time relaxing and then I caught up with the girls just in time for them to participate in the Mickey 200. They had to design and create a derby car out of veggies! 

Showing off their car!

And guess what?!? Those girls won the Mickey 200! 

I ran up to the salon and had a blow out! Nothing makes me feel better than having someone else wash and dry my hair! 

That night we had dinner at Tiana's place and it was Pirate night! 

I started with a wedge salad! I had to snap a picture because my friend Lesa loves a wedge salad! 

The girls had a pirate makeover for our Pirate night! The party starts at 10 pm on the deck. Well this group didn't make it that late! When we told Hadley what time the party started she said, "Well that's not happening!" 

I ate a beignet for the first time - another 40 thing! 

The cutest pirates around! They loved this makeover. They got their own lip gloss and nail polish! 

After dinner we headed to the theater and watch another fabulous show, Disney Dreams! 

Disney really knows how to put on a show! 

I went to bed excited about the next day - Castaway Cay! 

xoxo

Disney - Cruise day 1 and Birthday

You only turn 7 and 40 once in your life!

So why not celebrate big!?!

Never in a million years did I think that I would ever go on a cruise. I am afraid of the water. I am a terrible swimmer. I have a fear of drowning. I have an irrational fear of going over a bridge in a car. So when I told some of my closest friends that I was going on a cruise for my 40th birthday I think they thought I had lost my mind!

I do have a lot of friends who are cruise people and they swear its the best vacation they have ever been on. So I figured I would try it out for a few days and decide if they were right or just delusional.

I decided to try Disney because I love Disney and I have heard Disney cruises were the best. 

In December I asked the girls if they wanted to go with me on a cruise and they were like Yes! As long as their mommy got to go too! 

Our sail date was set for April 20th! 

We were ready to go. Since we were staying at a Disney resort we arranged to have a transfer to the port. We had time to kill around our resort.  Hadley and I took a selfie to remember our birthday breakfast! 

Cutest seven year olds I know.

Jennifer took this video of us while we were walking onto the ship.

Once we were on the ship we found our room, found a place to eat lunch, went to the mandatory safety drill, went to dance party, and got ready for dinner!

We were excited to be on the ship and ready to figure it all out! 

We had the early dinner at 5:45! We rotated each night to a different dining room. Our first night was at Animator's Palate. 

The room started black and white and eventually turned to color. The food was amazing! We had this truffle pasta that was out of this world! Hadley asked for it every night. 

At the end of dinner Mickey Mouse came out and greeted us! 

And of course we celebrated our birthdays with chocolate cake! 

I love sharing a birthday with these sweet girls! 

I am very lucky and blessed that I have these girls in my life.  I hope Hadley and Harper know just how much they are loved! Being their Aunt Moe is one of the biggest blessings in my life. 

After dinner we headed to the show that was on the ship that night, The Golden Mickey's! It was so good! Disney really knows what they are doing! 

We got back to our room and the girl's beds were set up and ready for the night! 

Happy Birthday sweet girls!  

By this time the ship was making its way out to sea. I was worried about being sea sick. While we were at dinner I could feel the ship moving. It was such an odd sensation. Thank goodness for Sea Bands! 

The first day was fun but I still wasn't convinced that cruise life was for me! The next day was a day at sea and we had some special appointments early in the morning! 

I like to set goals and have some challenges. When I booked the cruise I started to think about new adventures. So I decided to set a challenge for my 40th year. I was going to try 40 new things for my 40th year! I felt like the cruise would be the first new thing. #moes40for40

xoxo

Disney 2017 - Epcot and Animal Kingdom

On our second day at Disney World we headed to Epcot and Animal Kingdom. We started the morning with fast passes to the new Soarin ride.  Soarin has always been one of my favorite rides and  the new Soaring did not disappoint. The only thing I didn't like is that it didn't have the orange smell! 

After we rode Soarin we made our way over to the new Frozen ride in Norway. 

We got to the ride and saw this...

a 55 minute wait! We got in line and waited our turn. 

While we were waiting we took some pictures. 

Sweetest little girls I know!

I love a good ride picture and this one did not disappoint! HAHA!

The girls were not big fans of the ride! It was cute but probably not worth the 55 minute wait. 

It was the Epcot flower and garden festival. The flowers were beautiful around the park! 

The girls got to meet Daisy Duck when we were headed out.

After Epcot we caught the bus to Animal Kingdom. We were excited to watch the Lion King show. We even managed to get front row seats. They told us to have our cameras ready! 

So close to the show!

Unfortunately the show came to a quick end because a performer got hurt. They quickly ushered us out and we didn't get to finish the show. Needless to say we were so bummed out. 

Harper told us that they needed to get us out so they could find the guy's mommy. 

It was hot and we decided to take a snack break!

We looked on our Disney app and it said the safari ride had a 15 minute wait. We headed over to ride around the pride lands. 

It was late in the day and we ate a quick bite for supper and rested. 

I snapped this picture  - last day as 6 year olds and a 39 year old!!!

xoxo