Disney Dream Day 3: Nassau & Pirate Night

Picking up where I left off on our most recent Disney Dream cruise is our day at Nassau which also included Pirate Night. We were not used to a "backwards" itinerary of Castaway Cay as the first stop, so this day felt a little off to us. Nonetheless, we still had a great one!

If you missed any posts from our recent cruise on the Disney Dream, check out these links below:

Disney Travel Day: Wine and Dine Expo & Animal Kingdom
Disney Day 2: Wine and Dine 10K & Kids Races & Hollywood Studios/Epcot
Disney Day 3: Wine and Dine Half Marathon & Magic Kingdom
Disney Day 4: Boarding the Disney Dream
Disney Day 5: Castaway Cay
Disney Day 6: Nassau
Disney Day 7: At Sea Day
Disney Day 8: Disney Springs and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Initially, we didn't plan any excursions for Nassau and we weren't even sure we would get off of the ship. A couple of our travel buddies told us they had never been to Nassau, so instead of staying on the ship all day, we decided to disembark and walk around the port area to explore the town a little bit.

For starters, we began the day with breakfast...which included Mickey waffles, of course!

We literally had zero plans for Nassau, so we disembarked the ship and began to wander. The straw market that I remember encountering directly off the ship was under construction, so I'm interested to see what that looks like once we return next time!

We shopped around a bit and I found a some "authentic" cadbury chocolate to take back home with me. (It's so much better than the stuff made in the states.) I also purchased an Alex and Ani bracelet with the Bahamas logo on it.

We really didn't spend much time in Nassau (maybe a couple of hours), and our final stop was at a Starubucks!

We couldn't pass a Starbucks and not stop!

I've never had a chance to "wander" around Nassau and although we didn't go very far, we still enjoyed seeing a little more of the island!

Right outside of the parliament area was a few park benches where we sat and enjoyed the gorgeous day!

Of course, we had to take a few pictures on our way back to the ship.

A HUGE plus for us with cruising Disney is the hospitality when returning to the ship. We were met with ice cold towels as well as fruit infused water and juice!

This was so refreshing on such a warm day!

That afternoon, we enjoyed lunch, took a couple of rides on the aqua duck, swam in the pool, and had a nap! It really was a productive vacation day in my books!

For Pirate Night that evening, we all dressed in (somewhat) matching shirts and Brayden was our little pirate!

I love how our shirts turned out!

The Pirate Night meal on Disney Cruise Line is one of my favorite menus and offers so many delicious choices. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm sad for the loss of the pot-stickers (dumplings) off this menu, but there are so many other delicious choices to choose from!

After dinner, we walked up to deck 12 to catch the fireworks. There was a huge crowd and we were quite late, but we still managed to snag a decent spot to see the show!

My sunglasses were the star of the show for the towel animal display that evening!

See those gold coins? I have a funny story to tell about them in the next cruise blog post - we still laugh about it when we talk about it today!

I love the Disney cruise ships all the time, but especially at night! It all just feels so magical!

Oh yes, and one other funny story that happened that day - so as I was walking around passing out fish extender gifts, I happened across this cabin where he was asking for funny jokes. Jason helped me think of one, so I sent it and this was my response....

Isn't that too funny? I wonder if he received any other jokes the rest of the cruise? :)

Stay tuned for our final day on board the Disney Dream - our at sea day with brunch at Palo!! :)

Relay for Life Weekend

Happy Monday!

As y'all know, I'm a big Relay for Life fan and am a part of our local Relay for Life Event Leadership Team. Well, we had an event leadership conference this past weekend, so that's where I spent my Friday evening and most of Saturday!

It all began at a dinner on Friday night, honoring the top fundraisers, events, and teams in the state. I was invited because our Lake Charles relay was the top #7 in the state as far as dollars raised!

We had a great dinner and enjoyed networking with others!

On Saturday morning, we needed breakfast and coffee...so I might have convinced my travel buddy to ride along to the nearest Target with me.
#1 - I needed to check out their Chip & Joanna section...ours is kinda small.
#2 - I NEEDED to check out their dollar spot because it's WAY bigger and less picked over than ours!
#3 - There's a Starbucks inside of their Target - ours doesn't have this luxury.
Hello - we accomplished 3 goals at once...enough for me!

Although I didn't purchase any Chip and Joanna items, I did rack up at the dollar spot - Brayden's stocking is done!

Oh yes, and Starbucks...there's that!

We even arrived in plenty of time before the event began!

One of the highlights of the conference was a "branding" class. They made these boards to show the difference in "service" you receive from various companies (Disney World was up there too). On the airlines section, someone decided to make their own "Southwest" section and started placing sticky notes on the blank wall! I might have followed along as Southwest is my airline of choice....although I do fly United and Delta when Southwest isn't available.

On Sunday morning before church, I hit the roads for my long run. I tried to time it so I would finish before Jason had to leave for church, but that didn't quite work out. It was time for him to leave around the time I hit 8 miles. Since Brayden was awake at that point, I got out the jogging stroller and together, we finished the final 2 miles.

It was nice and cool although I was slightly overdressed.  In all, it was a good run and seemed to go by pretty fast!

Sunday morning smiles!

This outfit cracked me up! I'm just loving the tie!

After lunch, we realized it was close to 2 p.m. which meant buy one get one free holiday drinks at Starbucks! Our restaurant connected to the Starbucks parking lot, so it was a no brainer! We had about 10 minutes to spare, so we waited around, then drove through the drive thru!

I might have also ordered a snowman cookie! It was yummy, too!
 

We sat in the car with our drinks because Brayden was asleep at this point for his nap. In all, it was a fun little surprise mini-date! Sometimes, you gotta take them when you can!

Last but not least....LOOK at these PJ's! Aren't they precious!? I saw them and was instantly in love!

Well, that's it for my weekend!

I hope you all had a great one, too! :) Have a great week!

Post-Race Pampering, runDisney Style!

Training for and running a race is not an easy task. By the time a race is complete, runners have lots of time on the road/treadmill/etc under their belt, they've logged tons of miles, and they have sore muscles and maybe even a blister or two to show for their hard work.

Once a race is complete however, that's when the pampering can begin! I mean, what better way to reward yourself for all your hard work than with a few indulgences?


#1 Eat a good meal and enjoy a snack or two

One of my favorite things to do after running an event at Walt Disney World is to eat dinner at Ohana. We've kept this tradition alive for years now and I suspect we will do the same after Dopey in January!

Mickey waffles and Starbucks for the win!

#2 Indulge in a post-race massage

 

After completing Goofy's Challenge in 2013, my friend Melissa and I headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Zahanati Spa for a 50 minute Swedish massage.

 
There are several resorts located throughout Walt Disney World that include a spa and fitness center...I highly recommend checking them out! 

#3 Hang out at the pool

What better way to relax after a tough race than hanging out at the pool? Just remember to wear sunscreen! :)

#4 Go on a cruise! 

We've done this twice so far and I HIGHLY recommend it! Running a race followed by a cruise is a great way to relax and get a little chill time in before the next training cycle kicks up!

You might even want to run another race while on said cruise...aka, the Castaway Cay 5K! :)

#5 Buy yourself a gift! 

This one is kind of self-explanatory! After each major race, I always buy myself a small item to commemorate my accomplishment.  An ornament, an Alex & Ani bracelet, or a Pandora charm have been my go-to here lately.

What's your favorite way to pamper yourself after a race or big accomplishment? 

Today's Friday Five was actually a freebie topic, but I decided to go with last week's topic of "Pampering" since I missed out!

 

Link up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup!

Christmas, Football, and the Weekend

Last week was a bit crazy around my house. We had something to do outside of our home almost every night of the week last week and I had to plan a big church function that I oversee which took place last night. Needless to say, I was exhausted every evening and went to bed as early as possible (hence the sparseness of my blog posts last week). This weekend however, we had a blast!!

On Friday afternoon after work, I had a few tasks to complete. Brayden's 6 month pictures were ready, so I picked those up on my way home. I love them, especially considering how cranky he was that morning!

I also put together several Operation Christmas Child boxes to ready them for delivery. The girls group I'm in charge of at church sponsored these boxes with the kids bringing items to stuff them with. We have been teaching them about foreign missions and how it's possible to impact a life right here from home. I love this organization and the cause! We were planning on five boxes, but the girls brought enough items to stuff seven boxes! I'd say that's a win win!

My last task of the day was to help Jason get the Christmas items out of the attic. I know it looks like a lot of stuff, but it's stuff I've accumulated over 10 years and there's a few boxes in the mix that we no longer use. I definitely need to take the time to throw away, donate, and downsize. Maybe one day!

When Saturday morning rolled around, so did a COLD front! It was in the 40's for our run and I was at a loss on how to dress. It's been so long since I've had to deal with really cold weather! Yes, that's REALLY cold to me! 

My running buddy Heather and I ran our last really long training run before our next half marathon! We ran 12 miles and it was an amazing run...I'll tell you all about it later this week! :)

After my run, I stopped at Starbucks for my usual Saturday morning coffee. I'm so hooked on their new Chestnut Praline Latte. It's a Christmas beverage and oh so delicious! I might have also picked up a snack for later in the day. :) Yay for red cups, too!

Brayden has a few Thanksgiving outfits so he had to start wearing them early! :) This is one of my favorites. Well, I lie...I love them all! These pants are especially adorable - they have a little turkey on the butt and they have turkey faces on the feet!

I spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon and night setting up our Christmas stuff. This Mickey village takes a while to setup, so that was my first big task and I tackled it during Brayden's nap time. So far, the entire inside of the house is complete minus the tree...I'll get to that this week!

My dad and mom are season ticket holders for our local university's football games. Well, they were unable to attend the game on Saturday night, so they gave their tickets to us! Bonus: we all (my dad, mom, Jason, myself) graduated from this school! Fun times!

After dinner, we bundled up and headed to the stadium. It was SO COLD, y'all. Thankfully, I had a blanket, too.

Brayden LOVED the game. Jason and I took bets on how long he would last and we were both WRONG! He loved all of the movement on the field during the game, ate some puff snacks, then intently watched both bands during halftime (a total of 5 songs). Our band even played the theme from the Incredibles! How fitting for our little Disney guy at his first football game! :)

He started getting restless after halftime, so we decided to call it a night. I couldn't believe he lasted 2 quarters plus halftime - it was definitely past his bedtime too!

Remember that cold weather snap I mentioned? Yeah well, it was enough for us to turn on the heater AND I got to wear my hoodie footie pajamas for the first time! My dad bought this pair for me last Christmas and I love them!! :)

For our "Thanksgiving Sunday" morning, Brayden wore his fall/Thanksgiving outfit.

On Sunday night, we had a function at church for our girls program and I spent most of my afternoon working on last minute things for the program. We also dropped the Operation Christmas Child boxes off at a local church.

Whew. I definitely slept well last night!

Here's to another fun week! Hope you all have a great week! Happy Thanksgiving prep!