Spring Break - Disney!

April 2 

Spring Break! We flew to California with mom and dad to go on our Disney Cruise. 

We had a delicious lunch at Miguel's Cocina in San Diego. It was so good. Seriously, the best fajitas I've ever had. Same with their corn tortillas. They were the best corn tortillas! If I'm ever in San Diego again I'm stopping here to eat. :)

Miguel's was on Portside Pier. Someday...we just might make it back here. 

We watched Saturday's General Conference, did some walking around San Diego. 

Walking along the pier. 

The USS Midway aircraft carrier 

We watched the NCAA tournament while having dinner at Beach Hut. We practically had the place to ourselves watching all the tv screens. It was a fun place to eat while watching the game. 

We could hear the outdoor Blake Shelton concert that was next to our hotel and even saw some of it while standing on our hotel rooftop. 

Day one Aboard Ship! April 3

Sunday morning we had to get covid tested to make sure no one was sick. There was lots of waiting in line. Waiting in line to get the test, then waiting to get the results. Thank goodness we all tested negative! Then we had 15 minutes to get from the testing site at the hotel over to the ship terminal (it was across the street), then we had to wait in line to go into the terminal, then we had to wait in line to show our paperwork, then we had to go through security,  and THEN we were able to board the ship!

California was colder than we expected.

When we boarded the Disney Wonder Cruise line ship for the first time they announced us by name over the loud speaker as we were greeted by Mickey Mouse. 

We walked around the ship getting acquainted with the area. It's such a beautiful place. 

Adult swimming area

Family swimming area and Funnel Vision TV

Tiana's Place restaurant. We had dinner here two nights.

The Cadillac lounge. We didn't really go here considering it was really just a bar for drinking but seeing the place was fun. 

Walt Disney Theater

The window seats were a nice place to sit and see the ocean...once the ship got going. 

Buena Vista Theater

Mango cheesecake the first night...yum!

The smoke stacks were lit up at night. 

The blanket on our bed made into a crab and chocolates. 

Day 2 April 4

First full day at sea! The buffet was so good. The different walk up restaurants were open all day and late into the night. There was a soft serve ice cream machine so you could walk up and get unlimited ice cream cones all day! They had different flavors every day. It was fun to try the different ones every day.  

Going on a cruise in the pacific in April is still kinda cold. The further south we went we appreciated the sun and heat! Lindsey went out and laid in the sun and enjoyed the view when she could.

Tyler patiently waiting for us to be seated for dinner at Tiana's Palace. 

I enjoyed my time with Jaime. Being without internet while we were at sea was a nice break for Jaime. He couldn't receive or send work emails so he could spend more time with us. 

"Tiana" singing  for some entertainment during dinner. 

Tyler waiting for dinner

Our blanket, penguin with sunglasses. 

Day 3 April 5

I went for a run around the boat on the walking/running deck. Getting exercise is still important for me, more so mentally, when I'm on vacation. 

After breakfast we got off the ship in Cabo to go snorkeling. We got fitted with our scuba gear then headed out on the small boat. 

Riding around listening as the tour guide shows us sites. 

Lover's Beach in Cabo San Lucas

View to the Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Cortez

Arch of Cabo San Lucas

The hitch hiker---a guy who went for the gold in the cave was turned to stone. He is trying to hitch hike to get out of the mountain now. lol

Enjoying the boat ride. We had great weather!

The kids were so cute sitting together. They had a great time. 

Mom and Dad were worried it was going to be too cold that they wanted to cancel their reservations but it was too late to do so so they decided to still go. We're so glad they did! It was warm outside, we had wet suits so the water didn't feel too bad. 

While we were out on the boat we saw a mama humpback whale teaching her baby how to breech. When the guide said if they see whales they'll speed out for us to see them. I didn't think we'd actually see any! I worried we wouldn't be that lucky. I so wanted us to see whales, for Olivia. She's wanted to see whales so badly. And not only did we get to see whales but we got to see them up so close! Watching them jump and splash their tails, it was magnificent. Such an amazing sight.  After the whales we rode on further towards our place to snorkel and we saw rays jumping and flipping out of the water! It was so cool to see! It's the stuff I've only seen on nature shows. We felt doubly lucky. 

We didn't get pictures while snorkeling but we had a great time. We saw lots of fish, got to use water scooters to go faster under water, kids snorkeled for the first time, it was just a great time! I'm so glad the kids enjoyed it. It was a good bucket list item to check off, maybe add seeing whales up close in the wide and flipping sting rays too. :)

Coming back in to port we saw a lot of different boats and ships. Some giant yachts and even some pirate ships. Seeing all the different ships was pretty cool. 

Cabo San Lucas. 

After snorkeling we went to walk around Cabo. 

Tyler with his first experience of someone shoving something at him in order to get paid. A boy put the lizard in Tyler's hand, told me to take a picture, then asked for money. Walking the streets in Mexico was a new experience for these kids seeing how everyone tries to get you to buy their stuff. 

Aidan was given the lizard too. :)

I enjoyed walking around seeing the shops but I'll admit, I was happy to be back on the ship and not having people coming up trying to see me things or talk me into buying some thing. 

We saw this sea lion swimming and getting fed a snack. 

Back on the ship we changed and got ready for dinner. 

It was Pirate night at Tiana's Place for dinner. 

Waiter served up fries and tarter sauce for Jaime...not on the menu but for Jaime he made it happen. 

Caramel cheesecake tart

Blanket pirate

After dinner we went to watch a comedy/magic show. The boys were so enthralled with Jon Armstrong. The girls were interested to hear him say that he taught the magic tricks to Paul Rudd for the Aunt Man movie. Which really makes sense since he's on a Disney Cruise Line doing shows! Of course he works for Disney in other aspects than just doing magic shows on their ships. But really, he was great. Really fun shows. We saw multiple shows and even talked to him at breakfast and lunch. Tyler got a deck of cards from our room and took to show Jon some tricks he had. Jon in turn gave Tyler some tips and then showed him more tricks. It was a lot of fun. 

Meeting Jon Armstrong

Aidan and Olivia waiting for the firework show. It was a cold night!

Music with the fireworks made it feel so musical. 

They were pretty to see over the water. There wasn't a single light around us out on the big ocean. Just our ship and the fireworks was all that was around. 

After fireworks we sat outside and watched the movie Jungle Cruise on the big movie screen. They had Disney movies playing on the big screen all day from 8am to midnight. 

Day 4 April 6th

Disney Tunes Trivia competition. We got second!

The girls and I went to Disney tunes trivia. We did so good! But still only  placed second. The games were some of our family's favorite activities to do. Sports trivia - Jaime placed second, general movie trivia, Disney Pixar trivia - placed second, Disney hero trivia - we placed second, Disney villains trivia, Disney tunes trivia we placed second, decades music trivia - Lindsey placed second 2000's, and so many others!

We had a great table at Triton's restaurant for dinner.

Rack of lamb with Dauphinose potatoes, butter Brussel sprouts, green beans and a burgundy rosemary sauce. This is the second time I tried lamb. I don't love it but it's not bad. 

Strawberry shortcake sundae

the blanket animal for the night...turtle? Some sort of bird?

The boys' bunk

Our cruise stateroom. We had a good sized room and nice beds.

Mom took this picture of the girls. Olivia was taking a picture and moved Lindsey's head back. haha

Day 5 April 7th

Thursday was another day on land. We docked in Ensenada, Mexico and unboarded the ship. 

Walking Ensenada Mexico

It's a cute place to see. We didn't go do much here just walked the shops and bought some shirts and a few souvenirs. Again, I don't love shopping in Mexico, I hate the haggle. I almost bought two different things, a hammock swing, and a bowl. They were both very expensive and I got them to come down on prices considerably but I just couldn't get myself to still pay the money on something that I wasn't sure would really hold up at home long anyway. I got gipped on a purchase in Cancun last October and so it's really ruined me wanting to buy something from the Mexican street vendors. 

But I enjoyed being out in the hot climate walking around and enjoying the surroundings. 

 We got back to the ship and spent time relaxing, eating, and playing games on deck. After lunch, swimming, and time in the sun we left the pool area to go down to  the Azure lounge to do another trivia activity. 

We were finally the Winners of Disney Pixar Trivia competition! We were awarded the Mickey Medals. Olivia was tired of getting second so much. hahaha

Jaime and I gave the boys our medals. 

View of Ensenada out the porthole. The ship left the dock at 5pm and we were out to sea again by dinner time. 

Time for dinner!

Mickey Mouse at Animator's Palate restaurant. 

Butternut squash soup

Lemon thyme marinated chicken on sour cream mashed potatoes with roasted root vegetables and grain mustard jus. I still don't like beets. lol

Our last night on the ship housekeeping left this cool dude with a survey. 

Our last night on the Disney Cruise. We had a perfect sunset the last night. 

Such a good picture of Mom and Dad

I loved my time with these three. I took mom to the spa with me for a massage, I enjoyed trying new foods with dad, I loved exploring and going to new places with Jaime, and I enjoyed going on walks around the ship with all three .

Friday morning we docked and had breakfast then we got off the ship.

Farewell! It was a great trip.