Formal Night Magic

also taken Tuesday night: 

Day One Aboard Disney Magic

The kids patiently waited while the embarcation paperwork was completed.

We found and tried on our life jackets before the mandatory lifeboat drill.

and then immediately to the Mickey pool. :) 

(Liv is the blondie in the blue suit in the bottom left of the picture)

the rest of us watched from a cozy, dry distance. ;-)

The Mickey pool has a waterslide!!!

then some down-time in the stateroom before dinner. 

Pre-Cruise Travel

We flew out of San Francisco mid-day on Thanksgiving. 

A breeze....

Tia Christina picked us up at the Houston airport and we stayed with Dan and Christina until Saturday! 

Where the girls played in Tia's princess bed, and drew pictures and ...

played in the pool!!

and swam in the pool and practiced for swiming with stingrays!!

Getting Ready for our Adventure

We recently had the great good fortune to be invited to join our family - The Pfeiffers - on a Disney Cruise!!! 

In preparation for the big adventure we aquired pirate bandanas and some swimming and snorkeling gear! 

here are a couple shots of pre-cruise prep

more to come... promise!

Frozen Meal Swap

 A small group of my mommy friends planned a frozen dinner swap. 

Prep wasn't so hard...

My freezer shelf before the swap...

And after...

super bonus... got to hang out with my mommy friends!! 

but really, it's kind of 'cool' to have a freezer full of meals and it was a burst of kitchen inspiration that I've been missing for a while.

So this afternoon, I jarred a batch of pumpkin butter, cooked some Zuppa Toscana, baked some broccoli calzones, and have chicken broth simmering in the slow cooker.

One of these days, I'll figure out some kind of balance. LOL

Fish in a Bowl

I'm trying to figure out how I feel about these fish in a bowl on my kitchen counter. 

Sometimes, the first thing I see when they catch my eye, is "ugh, another chore. How did I get stuck with Another Chore! Taking care of dirty water, dirty bowl, feeding, not spilling, ugh."

Sometimes, it's "oooh! Look, something shiny!" (which is, I suspect what the dog and my kids see, too.)

And sometimes, it's just flat-out depressing to see a living thing trapped in an unnatural environment...