Disney Cruise

Delayed in Philly - Luckily they have a bookstore and rocking chairs!!!

My kids - Is there anyhing sweeter?

Leaving Port Canaveral - Justin is on the big screen wearing a white rash guard. Can you find him? (Hint: He's between the "N" and the "T" in "Adventures Away")

Our sweet Diva!

Jammin' with Dad

Just 'Hanging around' - This explains her muscle tone

Nassau, Bahamas

The picture doesn't do it justice but this is the "Death Trap" slide that I'm proud I went down. Never mind the bruise I have on my calf from the water hitting me at 35 miles per hour!!!!

Mom and Justin racing - Justin is in the lead on the right. This is the slide I liked well enough to ride more than once.

Lunch with Dad

My toes in the sand - As good as it gets for this California Girl!

Hangin' on the beach - He's "Papa's Kid" since he lasted here for all of 5 seconds.

Heading out for a swim

Beautiful Bahamas!

Dinner Buddies - Hunter and Morgan with Justin and Annalise

I forced everyone to sit for this one - the kids were exhausted!!! It's the only picture of the four of us from the trip.

Let me set the stage. It was windy, rainy, cold and miserable outside. The dog had just puked on the floor, the kids were screaming at each other, and John disclosed the fact that he was studying with his buddy...at the pool! Whatever. I told him, "I need a vacation. Now." His schedule is always tough to maneuver around so I just cleared that problem up right away by saying, "I'm going on vacation - either you can find a time that works for you or I'll take the kids and go by myself!"

Oh, the patience of that man! Anyway, John started to do his research (are you noticing a trend as you read my stories?) and found a phenomenal deal on a Disney Cruise. By the very next day, I was on the phone with USAA and we were booked for a 4 day cruise. It was a wonderful feeling and, wouldn't you know it, the sunshine finally made an appearance to celebrate with me.

Skip Forward to May 15th.

We flew to Jacksonville and arrived just in time for John to take the kids to the hotel for pizza and a movie while I vegged out at the nail salon. On Sunday, we drove from Jacksonville to Port Canaveral and I started to get a little bit of a nervous twitch when I saw the signs for I-95 as it reminded me of the 17 million miles we drove up and down that highway over Spring Break. Luckily, the kids had been plugged into the DVD player during most of the long trip so they were seeing the landscape of Northern Florida for the first time. I even held it together as we passed the St. Augustine outlets for a fifth time without stopping!

Once we got to Port Canaveral, we checked in and proceeded down the "shrinking machine" so that we would be small enough to fit on the ship. I forget how this started but I do remember that Annalise was quite enthralled with the whole process and asked several questions about how we would all fit on the ship so John invented a shrinking machine. When we first stepped onto the ship, she looked up at the entryway and I think she really believed we had been shrunk because it is so amazingly huge in there!

The trip was amazing and I could talk for hours about it, but as a Mom, I was struck by one simple thing. It was "The Magic" that made me suddenly feel like the happiest family in the world! I had fully intended to park the kids in Kids Camp the moment we got there, move only from pool chair to pool and back again, only to pick them up again just in time to catch our flight home. Once we were on the ship, I had so much fun exploring with them that I forgot about that plan! We spent most of our time with them and I loved every second of it.

While there is so much to tell from this trip, there are really two moments that I hope I never forget. First, there was Pirate Night. We finished dinner and went up to the pool deck for the evening show. The kids were standing at the rail watching the stage below them and they looked so grown up that it was hard for me to take for just a second. Annalise got pushed out of the way and Justin put his arm around her shoulder to protect her. A minute later, the fireworks started and I closed my eyes for just a second and promised myself that I would never forget just how lucky I am. Annalise was snuggled in my arms (with her hands clapped tightly over her ears) and Justin was standing between John and I watching a fireworks show from the deck of a cruise ship somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Seriously, what else could a Mom ever need?

The other moment I hope never to forget took place on the last afternoon. John and I had spent a good part of the day at the "Grown Ups Only" pool enjoying our books and being waited on hand and foot. After our relaxing day with adult conversation, we were ready to brave the kids' pool again so we took Justin and Annalise to the water slide. Eventually they got tired and we settled in to "take a rest" on the pool chairs and watch a movie on the big screen over the pool. Annalise made it through most of The Little Mermaid before John took her down for a nap in our room. Justin stayed with me and we camped out in the chairs to enjoy Finding Nemo which was coming on afterwards. We watched the movie for a while, Justin ordered a smoothie, he joked with me a little bit and even talked about some things going on at school. The clouds rolled in and it started to rain. I hoped he wouldn't notice because it was really only sprinkling and I was enjoying myself too much. I said to him, "Didn't your mother ever teach you to come in from the rain?" He told me, "We're already wearing bathing suits so a little rain hardly matters, right?" I agreed and we sat through the rest of the movie together. As he grows up and I become less and less important to him, I have learned to hold on to quiet times like this that he is willing to share with me.

The other highlights of the trip included a trip to Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas where Annalise played in the kids' pool all morning. She was not pleased with water in her face but she eventually got brave and went down two of the slides! I was very proud of her. The reason she got so brave was that she had goggles on and she felt like those would protect her from anything scary. John and Justin did the big kid slides all morning before Justin dragged me onto the DEATH TRAP slide! I am proud of myself for having the guts to do it with him but once was plenty. He says, "Don't worry, the first time is scary but it's fun after that!" After the water slides, we had lunch and were treated by a wonderful local who loved on the kids, shared "real" conch fritters with us and explained island life to us. She was so amazing that I feel like I would book a week long trip at that hotel just to hang out with her again! After lunch, John played with the kids in the cool blue Bahama ocean and I napped in the sand. That was heaven...

Castaway Cay was also an amazing experience. John and Justin snorkeled for about an hour and they say they saw some goregeous fish. Annalise and I lounged on the beach, rented floaties, collected seashells and enjoyed the waves. After snorkeling, Justin played on the water gym, and after lunch John and I checked the kids in to camp long enough for a ... beach ... side ... couples ... massage ... holy ... cow ... sooooo nice!!!!

On our last night, John got us reservations at Palo, the "Grown Ups Only" restaurant on the top deck. While we were planning the trip, I hardly cared about this experience but John was right. The service was 5 Star and the experience was one that I needed. I relaxed, enjoyed my time with my husband, and was again struck by how lucky I am.

I try really hard to stay away from any kind of endorsement, suggestion, recommendation or opinion when I write, but I have to break the rule today. The Disney Cruise was incredible and I have to recommend it for any family! (Disclaimer: Look for a deal otherwise it's pricey). We've gone on several cruises but Disney has such a unique family environment that it's tough to beat.

Chef Keller

A picture with Chef Keller

Discussing very important life matters like Princess Barbi and Captain Rex

Waiting in line

John and I in the kitchen at Per Se

If you've ever spoken to a single Dolby even once in your life, you probably know that John has a passion for cooking. The kids both enjoy cooking with him very much and, in fact, Justin even discussed garnish for the dinner plates the other night with me. He wound up with some greens arranged in the center of the plate and "sauce" drizzled artfully around the edge of the plate.

Chef Thomas Keller is a name our family knows well as he is the inspiration behind one of our favorite movies, Ratatouille. Prior to the fame and fortune one receives as the inspiration of a Disney-Pixar film, he was John's favorite chef. When I met John, I heard about Thomas Keller and it became a goal (or project) of mine to take him to The French Laundry. I accomplished that in 2007 and the menu from our visit is framed and hanging on our wall. Chef Keller opened another restaurant in New York, Per Se, which is where we celebrated our 8th Anniversary.

While we were at Per Se, we were lucky enough to be invited into the kitchen for a visit. The scene was amazingly calm and relaxing, which is the complete opposite of what I had been expecting. I've often explained it as something similar to a yoga class because everyone was smiling, focused, and working hard to complete their own piece of a very complicated puzzle. The cadence with which they worked was soothing and precise, and it matched the very fluid, musical experience you have as a guest in the dining room.

Recently, I found out that Chef Keller would be at Providence Place this weekend doing a book signing. The signing was on Friday night at 6:00 and my kids were hungry, exhausted, and crabby when we got there. I had a bad feeling when I saw the line but we put on a brave face and took our place at the back. I let them play off to the side and they were engaged in a serious game of tag when someone from Williams Sonoma tapped my shoulder and asked if they were my children. After a quick mental debate on whether or not I should claim them, I said, "Yes...I'm sorry...." The man smiled and said, "Chef Keller would like to invite you to the front of the line."

WHAT??????

Chef Keller had given instructions that parents waiting with children should be brought to the front of the line so that the kids were not forced to wait so long. I was embarrassed and made them wait for 10 minutes or so before I gave in. When asked again, we welcomed the opportunity and my kids were given red velvet cupcakes to tide them over for another 5 minutes before we were face to face with Chef Keller himself. I had been expecting the usual rush experience so I asked ahead of time if I was allowed to take a picture and they told me, "Certainly!"

We were introduced to him by name and he took our waiting cookbook and set it aside. He chatted with the kids, asked them several questions, and waited while they got over being shy. We talked about John and both kids shared random facts with him while he smiled and nodded with amusement. The funniest moment under the sun was when my sleepy little girl blurted out, "My Daddy drinks beer and Coke!" and then started giggling at herself. She had the whole staff rolling and Chef Keller himself couldn't help but smile and get caught up in her moment.

Eventually, Chef Keller signed our book and took pictures with us. I shared with him that we had enjoyed an experience at both of his restaurants and that we had been invited into the kitchen at Per Se. He thanked me for my compliments and shook each of our hands before we left.

He is such a gentle man and it was an amazing experience to me because, while he is so accomplished at what he does, he signed our book with this comment: "It's all about family." I am not by any means as intrigued with cooking as John is (nor will I ever be), but I do have a new role model to follow after this experience. John will continue to study his technique and I will marvel at his personality, ethics, determination, and passion. It must be something very special that takes an individual with a raw talent, helps them become THE BEST, and reminds them to keep the basic core values that made them who they are.