Disney Cruise 2013!

We splurged on a Disney Cruise vacation in November of 2013. It was fantastic and we can't wait to go again.
Our ship (Disney Wonder) departed from Galveston on November 9th (the day they decorated the ship for Christmas). Within a couple of hours after getting on board, we were treated to a great big send off by all the Disney Characters.

 We stood in line for almost all of the character greetings. The kids loved getting their pictures taken with them and all autographs were collected in a special book.

 We ran into Peter Pan in the hallway. He was nice enough to take the time to sit with the kids and was thrilled with the "pixies" in Owen's light-up shoes.

 We had a formal dinner on board. The family picture below became our Christmas card photo!!

 Even Mickey dressed up for formal night. We were always amazed that the characters had the perfect outfit for the day/event!

Two days later after our cruise started, we docked in Key West. We did not get off the boat that day, but we enjoyed very little crowds at the pools and restaurants.

 The next day, the boat docked in Castaway Key, Disney's private island. It was beautiful and we enjoyed the day at the beach.

 Of all the characters to hug...Avery chose to hug Captain Jack Sparrow!!

 Our selfie on our balcony before dinner!

 Lilo and Stitch were on board! Owen was dressed as Woody since the on-board show that night was "Toy Story"!

 The next day we docked at Nassau. We took a ferry over to a beach and enjoyed a second full day on the beach. That night was Pirate night! We got suited up and waited in line to meet Captain hook before dinner.

Some people think you should "disconnect" on vacation...but the kids really enjoyed playing on our devices while we waited in line to meet the characters.

 On our way back to Galveston, the Princesses gathered and sat with the kids for pictures. They were beautiful!

 Our second to last breakfast on board was our Character breakfast. Minnie, Mickey, Chip and Dale came to breakfast. It was fun seeing them mingle with all of the people on board during breakfast!

 On the last day, Owen got to participate in the "Kids Club" show called "Friendship Rocks". He had to go to a little practice and then we got to see the show!

Halloween 2013

For Halloween, Owen wanted to be "Johnny Football" (the QB for Texas A&M at that time). Johnny won the Heisman Trophy in his freshman year at the University, but then had gotten into some media trouble when he was accused of accepting money for providing autographs. There were also "party" pictures of him circulating the web and social media. Needless to say, Momma was not too impressed that Owen wanted to be "Johnny Football". But Owen was SO passionate about it, and of course it made Daddy's year! 

Since this was probably the last year that I could make the kids "match" for Halloween, I sought out a Texas A&M cheerleading costume for Avery. Gram and I made her pompoms out of tablecloths from the dollar store. They were cute!!