July 4th vacation

We booked a cruise for the 4th of July weekend.  The only problem- the cheap, convenient flights out of Springfield were right in the middle of Chad's workday which had long been scheduled out.  I reassured Chad that I was tough and would be fine for a few hours of flying then driving with our three small boys. So we booked the flights and a separate flight for Chad to fly in that same night.  But then more vacation surprises surfaced.  We literally found out I was pregnant a few days later!  Yikes!  Did I mention that my morning sickness would be in full force during our vacation?!

Even though there were moments where morning sickness slowed me down, it was still a fun trip & I'm glad we went!

A trip to Disney Springs with Papa & Momo Guerra after the flight & drive to Orlando.





This was our first time sailing with disney (actually, it was our first cruise on any other cruise line. We've only cruised with carnival). There were some cool things about disney...but honestly, I don't know that the price jump merited the upgrades. I'd be just as content cruising Carnival. Besides, we all really missed the chocolate lava cake carnival serves each night as a dessert option. Yes, it is that good!
A day a sea & then dinner that night. Each night Disney accommodates you in a different themed dining room. This one was princess themed.


First cruise port- Nassau, Bahamas.









Dinner in the Finding Nemo themed restaurant. It was also Pirate night and we were each supplied with these bandanas to wear that night at dinner.



Mickey Bars!

Cruise port #2- Castaway Caye (Disney's private island). I once asked a women we met on another cruise who was a "platinum" cruiser (aka, she's been on a LOT of cruises!) what her favorite port was. She said she loved Castaway Caye, so I was so excited to experience it for myself! Although it was cool and set up to be very convenient for families (there was a tram waiting to take us to the beaches that were already set up with free umbrellas & chairs, rentals for equipment were cheap and close by as were bathrooms, showers and food), it was not my favorite. There's just something magical about a beach with crystal clear water and a tide coming in and out. This water was more murky and in a cove with no waves coming in and out.




The free buffet lunch- man I wish I didn't have morning sickness & could have more thoroughly enjoyed the endless cookies!







Other things not pictured, that we also enjoyed while onboard (morning sickness made me a little lazier with my camera) were the splash pad & waterslide (although Liam & Chad were the only ones to brave the hour+ line), onboard new release movies (we caught Finding Dori but never squeezed in the BFG), Disney Broadway productions (I only made it to one show...again, morning sickness), the kids club (Liam loved it...Chad & me not so much.  I was disappointed to go in there and find my son all alone interacting solely with an iPad.  We could have done that for much cheaper!  Although Carnival didn't have a mock Millenial Falcon & endless video games & iPads  in their child watch area, at least my kids were interacting with humans), & the free videos on demand (virtually an endless library of disney movies...I enjoyed that because most nights I was too sick to do anything else so I got to crash and watch movies).

Here's us saying our goodbyes to Disney Dream!

But hello Disney's Hollywood Studios!














Max is my Mr. Tough guy who was determined to give those storm troopers a piece of his mind!


Indiana Jones

Jedi training


Max was slightly confused.








Liam, anxious to fight off Kylo Wren, had to fight the urge to pick up his light saber. Way to go Jedi Liam! You didn't give into your fear and hatred and were able to use the force to throw them out!

Oh, Max...if only looks could kill.