Disney Cruise 2009

This year we decided to change things up a bit from our normal vacation to Destin. Back in January we learned that Shane had won a trip for the family for doing so well with State Farm. We talked about doing something that we had never done and we knew we wanted to go to the beach. We talked about Savannah, Ga and some other neat places, but finally decided on a Disney cruise. We received an incredible deal and thought that a cruise may not be so bad with 2 young kids and being able to tie in the Disney experience without having to travel to the theme park and long lines. So, we booked it and started the countdown. (On a side note, at the time of booking, we had no CLUE that I was pregnant. It turns out to travel on a cruise ship, you can't be more than 24 or 25 weeks and after finding out, we ended up making it right under the cutoff. Whew!)
We decided to make the drive down to Cape Canaveral instead of flying because we were going to stay in Destin a few extra days on our way back. We packed up the car and headed on an adventure that was sure to be a memorable experience!!!
The boys were great in the car considering how much time it took. Caleb was so excited and couldn't wait to see the cruise ship. This was also a first experience for Shane and myself. Our itinerary included the Bahamas and Disney's own private island Castaway Cay. It was a blast!!! From the moment we departed to the time we got back to port, we had a great time. The boys loved meeting the Disney characters and weren't scared of them at all. The activities were great and the food was fantastic. We did some theatre shows a few nights and the boys really seemed to enjoy them. We went to the island of Atlantis in the Bahamas and the boys LOVED the animals and sea life. The beaches and water were beautiful and crystal clear. We could have stayed there a few more days. We also enjoyed a day at Castaway Cay and had a blast. Caleb finally braved the water alone with his water wings and kept telling everyone he was a diver and he could swim all by himself. Go figure! On our last night on the boat and on our way back to Fl, we ran into some heavy storms and HUGE waves. It was incredible to see how big the waves were and to know that you were right smack in the middle of them. That was definitely an interesting evening, and it took a few days to get my equilibrium back to normal from all of the rocking. All in all, we had a fabulous time and feel so blessed to have been able to have this experience to share with the boys while we are still just a family of four. :)
Here are some pics from the trip.