Keeping Tabs on the Todds: Weekly Happenings

2015 Spring Break was one for the memory books! It definitely had some rocky parts but all in all it was a great vacation!

On Friday, 3/13, we had a very early flight so we were up around 2:30. Around 2:45 Garrison called for us so we went up to check on him - yep, he had thrown up all over his bed! So Daddy promptly gave him a bath while I stripped the bed and started laundry. Peyton managed to sleep through it all until we woke her up to leave for our flight around 3:15. Luckily, Grammy & Grandpa had a much less eventful morning and were waiting for us at the airport. Grandpa & I got our luggage checked while Daddy went and parked the car. We all got through security and were able to board with our boarding group. Whew! We were off!

We arrived in Orlando around 9 in the morning so we still had most of the day ahead of us! We grabbed breakfast and then were off to our resort. The rooms weren't ready yet but we came prepared and went to check-out the pool before lunch. The pool was awesome and both kids LOVED going down the two big slides! After lunch, our room was ready and we were able to get settled a bit before heading to Downtown Disney for a little shopping, ice cream and then off to the Polynesian resort for dinner. We arrived a little early for dinner but the kids weren't disappointed - they had a great time playing in the sand - cartwheels, digging and overall getting dirty and having a great time! Then it was time for dinner at O'Hana. Wow, this was an amazing dinner - fantastic salads and appetizers and the main course was served on skewers - fun! Then the dinner was wrapped-up with pineapple coconut bread pudding - incredible! Then it was time for bed!

On Saturday we went to the Magic Kingdom! We started our day bright and early and the crowds were not near as bad as we feared which was fantastic! After we arrived we went down Main Street and then peeled off to Adventureland. Right away we were able to ride the Jungle Cruise, Aladdin's Carpet Ride and the Pirates of the Caribbean, all with no waits! Then it was time to head to Fantasyland for some more fun, starting with Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, and Ariel's Under the Sea ride. Then it was time for a new ride for our family - the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride. Peyton decided she didn't want to give it a go so she stayed back with Grammy. The rest of us, however, had a great ride and Garrison LOVED his first roller coaster ride! Next up was makeover time for the kids. Peyton was transformed into Princess Tiana from Princess & the Frog while Garrison chose to become Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates! They both looked amazing and had such a fun time with their makeovers! We were able to snag a reservation at Be Our Guest for lunch and it came at the perfect time! Garrison fell asleep on my shoulder for a much needed rest while the rest of us enjoyed our tasty lunch in a nice, cool restaurant! Although maybe not our smartest decision, we took on the tea cups next which are a fan favorite with our family! Buzz Lightyear's ride was next on the list and probably the ride Garrison was most looking forward to! We then ran into Buzz and had a great character meet & greet with him! We enjoyed dinner at Casey's At The Bat - yummy hot dogs, corn dogs and fries - before relaxing around the castle and then heading to our last Fastpass - a preferred spot for the Electrical Light Parade! The kids were in awe of all of the floats and it was so fun to take it all in with them! All in all, we logged almost 8 miles and over 12 hours straight at the park.

On Sunday we started a bit slower and arrived at Epcot around 9:30. We had reservations at Askerhaus in Norway for breakfast with the princesses but we had enough time for a ride - Journey with Figment - and to explore some of the Flower & Garden exhibits, including a fun butterfly house! Breakfast was fantastic and although Garrison didn't want his picture taken with the princesses, he had a lot of fun and Peyton was in heaven! Next up was Soarin' which was amazing as usual but Garrison didn't quite make the height cut so he was disappointed! But he & Grammy had a good time. Since we were close, we then rode The Land before checking out parts of the Innovations buildings, riding Ellen's Energy Experience (Garrison LOVED the dinosaurs), Spaceship Earth (Peyton's favorite), Finding Nemo (twice), spending some time looking at the animals in the aquarium and getting ready for dinner at The Coral Reef! We had an amazing meal while taking in views of the sharks swimming by as well as a couple of Sting Rays - very cool! Since we were heading to the ship the next morning, we went back to the resort for a swim and time to pack.

On Monday, we enjoyed breakfast before heading to the main location for our resort for our pick-up - A LIMO! The kids were so surprised and had such a great time riding to the port watching Monsters University stretched out in the limo - it was great!! We arrived at Port Canaveral and our security, check-in and boarding processes went so very smoothly! We were on board the Disney Dream before we knew it and the relaxing part of our vacation was about to begin! We grabbed lunch for everyone, registered for tickets to meet the princesses & Sofia & Jake and then it was time to swim! The kids had a great time swimming and I loved getting in the pool with them! They also checked-out the Mickey Slide and watched a little of a movie on the big screen by the pool before it was time to go find our rooms. We had beautiful balcony rooms and enjoyed a little quiet time and time to register the kids at the kids club before the muster drill. Before we knew it we were on the deck for the Sail Away party (which we got a front-row spot for!) and our ship was on its way! Dinner at The Royal Palace was up next and it did not disappoint. Garrison was ready for some quiet after dinner so we went back to the room and Peyton wanted to go for another swim before bedtime. Grandpa, Daddy & I took her up to the pool and we found that is the BEST time to go on the Aqueduck! What an amazing waterslide around the top of the ship. Peyton was hooked! Then it was off to bed for the oldest and youngest of the family while Chad & I took some time to explore the ship, enjoy a nice drink and relax! Peyton & Garrison loved sleeping in their "magical" beds in Grammy & Grandpa's room - beds that only appeared at night! And even better, they were bunk beds!

On Tuesday, we woke-up in port at Nassau, Bahamas. We had a relaxing breakfast then went to join our tour to The Atlantis to meet the dolphins! This was an amazing excursion and one of the kids' highlights!!! Missy was our dolphin and her trainer was fantastic. We all got to hug, kiss and talk to Missy and Peyton & Garrison even got to ride on her for a short distance - so cool! Garrison also asked the trainer if he could feed Missy and he got to do so several times. Missy even put on a show for us at the end of our session - so fun! We explored The Atlantis a bit more before heading back to the ship. This is where things turned a little south for me - I started not feeling well and by the time I could see the ship and we were getting close I started to get sick. :( For about the next 12 hours I was very ill and missed the rest of the afternoon, dinner and all evening activities that night. Everyone else enjoyed dinner at Animator's Palate which sounded amazing. Peyton decided to join Grammy & Grandpa for part of the Broadway like show - Villan's Tonight while Garrison hung back with Daddy.

Wednesday was Castaway Cay day and it was amazing! We again enjoyed a nice breakfast in the dining room before heading to the island and man the island did NOT disappoint! It was absolutely goregous! We decided to try-out the 2nd beach away from the ship and quickly found a set of chairs not too far back from the open beach area. We spent the day just relaxing in the sun and having a good time. Garrison LOVED playing in the sand - building and shoveling to his heart's content. Peyton's favorite was playing with a tube that Daddy went and rented for us to use. She also checked-out the Pelican's Plunge slide with Daddy and thought that was fun but didn't love the wait! Grandpa even had an excursion on the island - parasailing! We didn't see him parasail but he said it was amazing and had the most breathtaking views! The lunch at "Cookies Too" was also super yummy (as I hear, I still wasn't feeling the best)! All in all it was a great day! When we got back to the ship it was time to get ready for Pirate's Night! We brought outfits for the kids but neither were too excitecd about dressing up but we did all enjoy our Pirate's Night dinner at Animator's Palate! After dinner, we all went up to Deck 12 to take-in the Pirate's Night show which was a lot of fun! Chad & I went to the later party that started after 10 - it was a great show that ended with fireworks which were a lot of fun to see!

Thursday was our day at sea and we had a great day! This morning we ordered room service so we could enjoy breakfast on the balcony which was a bit hit with the little people! We started with lots of character meetings - Jake, Sofia and Doc McStuffins were up first followed by Snow White, Belle and Cinderella. Our meetings were capped with Elsa & Anna! It was a busy morning but lots of fun. We also stayed busy this day with some swim time on the top deck, Peyton took a visit to the kids club while Garrison rested with Grammy & Grandpa and Chad & I went to a Mixology class. The class was a ton of fun and we learned how to make 4 different drinks (and enjoy them too!). It was great! Dinner was at the Enchanted Garden this night and we took formal family pictures on the grand staircase before dinner. We also went to see Captin Mickey again which was so fun for the kids. Unfortunately, this night is when Grammy came down with what I had earlier in the week - not fun! She spent most of the evening / night ill so the kids spent the night in our room. Luckily by morning she was starting to come around a bit and the worst was behind her. But I know it wasn't fun. :( After the kids were down for the night, Chad & spent the rest of the evening walking around the ship relaxing and enjoying a few drinks at the many bars on ship. Given most of the people traveling were with little ones, the "night scene" was pretty quiet but it was fun spend time together.

Friday was our back to reality day. We had to be at breakfast at 6:45 so it was an early wake-up time. The kids did great, though, and we were ready to get off the ship by around 7:30. The disembarkation process was very simple and we got through customs with no issues. And by 9, our limo had arrived to take us to the airport - this time it was a stretch Lincoln Navigator and it was great! We watched Brave on the way back to the airport.

It was an amazing vacation and a great way to spend Peyton's first Spring Break!!