{ Cruisin Disney style . . . part 1 }

I'm not sure exactly how I want to post about this trip. I usually do a day by day rundown, but I have so many pictures that I may just blog about specific events and post the pictures that go together.

We have been so excited for it to finally be October! When Papa told the kids they were going to ride on an airplane they were pumped! They have both been on a plane couple of times before, but they were very little and neither one could remember what it was like. Our flight didn't leave until later in the day so it was hard for them to wait.

They were very excited when it was finally time to go!

{ Grabbing a few donuts before we headed to the gate }

{ This is just the cutest pic! }

The 2 big kids were awesome on the plane. They ended up sitting on a row together while Logan and I tried to deal with Myla on the row across from them. She is quite the handful, especially when you are trying to contain her.

These 2 are so friendly, the ended up making friends with the older couple behind them. They were playing with them and I heard Ayden ask "What's your name?" The man said "I'm Tim and this is my wife Sue." Ayden immediately replied' "I'm Ayden and this is my sister Sophie." It was so funny. We saw them again later in the airport and both kids got all excited yelling "Hey look!! It's Tim and Sue!!" What goof balls.

Once we arrived in CA Papa and uncle Todd were at the airport waiting to pick us up. They had rented a minivan and the kids (especially Myla who didn't have a carseat) were pretty excited about it.

That night we stayed at the Vagabond Inn. We met up with the rest of the family and the kids were thrilled to see their cousins. They got to play for a little bit before the Buchanans headed to bed. They had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to catch their flight and they were exhausted.

Logan and I took the kids and walked a few blocks away to a KFC. It was super ghetto, but it was fun to have some time alone before the party began the next morning.

Logan got the kids to bed while I went to Jenny's room to color Laura's hair. It is always fun to have a little girls night with my Mom and sisters.

In the morning we met up the the whole crew at the McDonalds down the street for a delicious breakfast.

{ The kid table . . . madness }

{ The "grown-up" table . . . Papa, Gramps, Brian, Gram, Nana, Todd }

After breakfast the 2 drivers (Papa and Alan) made a trip to the dock to drop off all of the luggage, and then they came back and took all of the people.

{ Waiting for the vans to get back }

They dropped us off and we tried to go get on the ship but learned that unfortunately you can't enter until your entire group is there. So we hung around outside the dock for a while waiting for Papa and Alan to drop of the rental cars and get a taxi back.

It was a little anti-climatic, especially for the kids.

Once we got inside we went through security and the kids got their special wristbands. These wristbands cost $50 to replace so we figured out right away that they were pretty important. All their information was stored inside and when they went to the different play centers this is how they keep track of who they belong to. Pretty cool.

{ Sitting with my parents while Logan got the kids registered. I just love em. }

{ Staring in awe at The Disney Wonder }

{ Boarding the ship! Finally! }

We went in and had some lunch before finding our staterooms. Kids are always super excited to see the room. I don't know what they were expecting, but I guess this was better than that.

They were pumped!

{ cousin love }

{ the balcony }

{ uncle Alan from our balcony }

Each night on the ship you have a 4 course dinner at the same table (well with this big of a group it was "tables" 8 & 9) with the same servers. Our wait staff was awesome!

Our head server was YaYan from Indonesia.

{ YaYan and Papa }

And his assistant was Carla from Peru.

{ Carla loved baby Hannah }

And our Maitre d' was Tektas from Turkey.

He came around once or twice each night to make sure everything was going well. The first night he did a little magic trick and it was so well recieve that he came by with a different magic trick each night for the kids. I think Ayden was the most excited about it. He loves magic!

They had their work cut out for them with this group. 12 adults and 7 crazy kids. We are a wild bunch but they did a great job and were so cute and helpful with the kids.

The first night at dinner we discovered the incredible Mickey Bar. It was one of the dessert items offered to the kids but quickly became a favorite for all.

(pretty much a dove ice cream bar shaped like Mickey)

One night Trevor asked if there was any way we could get a Mickey Bar other than at dinner and Yayan brought him out 2 with his dessert. Then every night after that he would bring out a few extras and pass them around because he figured someone would eat them.

Man, I could really go for a Mickey Bar right now.

I think Myla was the biggest fan though. It was her favorite part of the day. Which leads to my favorite thing . . . pictures of her with the Mickey Bar.

After dinner that night we went to the welcome show in the big Mickey theatre. It got us even more excited for the things to come. We went to bed that first night exhausted but anxious to see what the next few days would hold.