Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Another morning, another run around the promenade decks. Lighthouse of the Castillo San Felipe del Morro as the sun rises. Which offers an excellent view as we pulled into the Old San Juan cruise terminals. Our plan for the  day? Go find our way through the hilly cobblestone roads and out the to fort overlooking the northwestern corner of the isle. But first, breakfast and sunscreen. A beautiful day for time in San Juan. Those things in order, Kylee eagerly skipped down to the gangway and up the pier.  San Juan glows and glimmers.  Too bright. Too colorful.   Yet historical and stately. We headed straight for the fort that we had seen pulling into port and it did not disappoint. See the teeny tiny people? El Morro covers almost 70 acres. Sweeping fields. Walking up to the fort and lighthouse. Be aware that it is around one and a quarter miles each way to and from the fort. Expect some grumbling unless you have ...

In case you've been on a deserted island for the last two years, Which come to think of it, doesn't sound like such a bad plan. Frozen is kind of a big deal. It passed Toy Story 3 as the highest grossing animated film. It won two Oscars for best animated film and best original song for "Let It Go." The soundtrack went triple platinum and (in a totally non-scientific observation) almost every other girl dressed as Elsa for "Elsa-ween 2014" despite the movie being nearly a year old at that point. After drawing waits upward of 300 minutes (yes, five hours, not a typo) at Walt Disney World meet and greets, it only seems natural that you should be able to see Anna and Elsa on the high seas. Last summer, the sister visited guests aboard the Disney Fantasy, the Magic and the Wonder and finally in the last month, the Dream. So how do you get to meet the princess and the ice queen? Do you need FastPasses? Do they even do that on the ship or do the lines g...

"Good afternoon. We're gonna have a great jump today. Okay, first crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall. There's a screaming bottom curve, so watch out. Remember: rip it, roll it, and punch it." #SilentSunday

Since this was the kiddos fourth cruise, they fully understand that Palo is a place just for moms and dads. A very special place that they look forward to visiting on their cruises after their birthdays. When we let them know that they could try Palo, just because of our lovely concierge hosts, they were *very* excited. Chris, despite starting to have a hoarse throat (Long nights? Kids clubs? Air travel?), could hardly contain his excitement as he has heard tell of the legendary Palo chocolate soufflé .  Starters, Saladas, Antipasti, Breads and Risotto Our server brought in all of the appetizers, salads and starters at one time and promised to return with the main course and finally the desserts. The chef split the antipasti onto a plate of meats and cheese (or as the server said, this one is not for the vegans) and one of olives, pickled vegetables and artichokes. Two salads had been sent for Kylee and I while Ben and Chris mixed and matched from the risotto and the mozzarell...

After hanging out on the verandah for a while, Ben headed out to retrieve Kylee from the Oceaneer Lab. (With less kids in the clubs on port days, Kylee doesn't like to hang around long. She loves dropping in, but she wants to leave after only an activity or two.) Back out of the suite. Ben picked up Kylee for some daddy daughter time and a quick Cabanas lunch. As he sat looking out over the island, he started receiving texts. (Yay for US territories and our wireless plan!) Pictures of blue water, tropical hills and beaches. The house and pool from the opening scenes of almost every episode of Charlie's Angels. Yes, we were texting Ben pictures from our port adventure. Chris and I were back onboard the ferry and heading back to St. Thomas. Hi Dumbo! The coolest part about pulling into the port on the ferry is that it drops off directly under the bow of the Disney Fantasy. Pulling alongside the ship, you realize how gigantic they are in the scheme of...

Welcome Wordless Wednesday Blog Hoppers!              Thank you to Focused on the Magic for hosting!  

Chris and I boarded an open air bus at the port with our fourteen newest friends. Chillin' in my bus. Within minutes of leaving the port, our buses climb began paying off with beautiful views of foliage toward the interior of the island and then there was this... Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe this island. Our tour guide, Smitty, treated us to a colorful mix of history, points of interest and island rumor, all delivered in a inimitable part Caribbean part South African lilt. Knowledgeable, patient and interesting, he seemed pleased and proud to show us around his island.  Guess which one is Smitty? After several scenic overlooks and a brief look at a distant ruin of a sugar mill, we pulled into Cinnamon Bay Beach. Chris tossed his socks and shoes into the bus and  ran out on the pristine sand.  After an all too brief frolic in the sand and waves, it was time to head back to the bus and the port. The drive back from Cinnamon...

A few days ago I opened my email to a pixie-dusted surprise! It said congratulations! I jumped around in full on excitement mode. Ben asked me what it was. I said, clearly the Disney Parks Moms Panel decided they needed me after all. (Wishful thinking?) Nope, but I *did* get selected by Disney Side Celebrations to plan a celebration of my choosing! I can't help but dream and imagine which way to plan our ultimate #DisneySide party! I will receive free products in order to host the Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. I'm stuck between a Very Merry Unbirthday party, a Wilderness Explorer themed badge party for my daughter's girl scout troop (I love Up!), maybe a Mad Tea Party, a princess slumber party, maybe a dip into Disney history for our homeschool park group...the possibilities are endless! I guess I just need to patiently wait for my package to see what products I get to work with...If you could pic...

A few New Year's resolutions keep rising to the top. If you opt to skip the get heatlhy, lose weight route this year, I am a big fan of getting organized.   When I am organized, budgeting flows easier, because I know what I have, what I need, what I can do without and whether I have the money set aside.  An organized workspace makes me smile and want to blog. Or at least helps me feel less guilty when I spend inordinate amounts of time on Pinterest. When I am organized, my household is less stressed, because I don't go to crazy mom mode over realizing at the last second that we are late, missing a form or need to run out on an emergency errand to a store we just visited yesterday. When I am organized, I can keep from running around like a crazy person.   I finally hit critical mass sometime around when my second child made her debut. I just couldn't keep track of everything I needed to do on my humble wall calendar any longer. The Lillipu...