Disney Vacation - Day 4 (Castaway Cay)

Day 3 of the cruise was my favorite. We woke up to the beautiful island of Castaway Cay (Disney's private island). There's so many amazing things about this island, but one of the best is that the boat docks on the island, as opposed to needing to take a small boat to the island like on other cruise lines. First thing that morning there was a 5k "race" on the island. A group of us met in one of the lounges to discuss the race and then headed off the ship. It was fun to meet other people on the ship - if you run, you know there's a camaraderie among runners that is fairly instantaneous. The race is timed with a time clock, but not a chip and everyone was very supportive of each other. At the halfway point, cruise staff was there with water and encouragement. My time was 38 something...at one point I had to stop because I wasn't sure I was going the right way (that's what happens when you're one of the sloooow runners). It was also super sunny with no shade (coming from 40 degree weather in Maryland). But it was a lot of fun and a neat way to see the island. We all got "medals" at the end and everyone was very kind to each other. Great way to start the day!

I could have stayed here several more days. It was absolutely beautiful. 

After the race, I got back on the ship (this is the great thing about not tendering!), ate breakfast (Evan brought my special gluten-free breakfast back for me), took a shower, and we were ready to hit the beach. There are plenty of shore excursions, but we decided to just hang out at the beach. Of course, Disney's private island is amazing and they've thought of everything. There's servers to bring you drinks (alcoholic and non), plenty of chairs and umbrellas, beach toys for sale (reasonably priced), water slides for older kids, several places to eat - covered pavilions to partake in the buffet lunch. There's an adults-only beach (we didn't see it) and the island has its own Kid's Club. While, for safety reasons, the kids can't swim in the Kid's Club, they have their own splash park and plenty of sand and beach toys. They have tons of cruise staff to keep the kids entertained (and fed). And, of course, there's plenty of characters walking around for photo ops.

Marino had a good time building sandcastles with Gramma. 

The water was a bit cold, but Marino didn't mind. 

Marino spent a couple hours in the Kid's Club but was sleepy and ready for a nap by mid-afternoon. 

We went back to the room and took a nap to get ready for a special pirate dinner and party!

A 5k and a 1st Birthday

Last weekend we headed to NJ to visit Sonia and the girls. Sonia invited me to run with her in her first 5k, the Big Chill at Rutgers University to benefit Toys for Tots. I was really excited to be able to run this race with Sonia. She was amazing (do you see her body? She has 3 kids under 5!), ran through a belly cramp and beat me by almost 2 minutes. It was a lot of fun and I was so happy to get to run her first 5k with her!

Marino came with us. Wil was nice enough to push the jogging stroller so Sonia and I could run (there were some hills that would have killed me with the stroller). Of course he was still MUCH faster than us. Marino was really well behaved and had a lot of fun. He particularly enjoyed the cadence chants from the ROTC.

The kids always get along great (except when they want to play with the same toy). Here they are looking like they are doing a great job sharing ::wink::

The big kids got busy decorating cupcakes for Alana's birthday. They loved it, of course. My boy has no interest in "art" unless it involves food!

Sweet girlies.

And this happy, sweet girl turned 1. Time flies. And this girl is a twin of her big(gest) sister.

Marino had a great time with the big kids. EJ, Sonia and Wil's nephew, is 12 and Marino thought he was so awesome. As soon as he walked in, Marino asked me "What's his name? Why isn't he talking to me?" Later EJ said to me "That kid is cool. Most kids that age are just, like, babies. But that kid is awesome."

Instagramming fun with Uncle Wil.

Love these girls!