{ Self-note: Much of this blog is like a yearbook. Sorry for the length of this post. }
This May will mark a year since Gigi passed. My Dad decided rather than investing the inheritance from her deed, he would give our family an experience in Grandma's honor. For six months now we have been planning, preparing and getting excited about our family Disney Cruise.
It wasn't until a couple months ago that we started to become worried about how it would be made possible with my sisters health. If there was anything she wanted more than her health, it was to see our family go on this cruise. She was adamant about this trip happening. Traci loved to go on cruises and having her nieces and nephews there to experience the fun gave her such joy to look forward to.
We took off from Seatac airport one month exactly after she passed; the wheels leaving the ground almost to the minute she passed. I tried to hide the tears, but this was truly a reality that things happened and my sister would not be with us on this trip.
Miss Bee had to stay behind as she's not quite ours yet and doesn't have the clearance to leave the country. We have the most AMAZING respite care givers and friends who love our girl like their own. Just a couple of weeks prior, as we were in Portland, Chris and Karla cared for Miss Bee when she got sick in the car, the bed and took her to the doctor. Thankfully, this visit was met with our happy, cheerful chatty gal who slept great and wasn't sick at all this time! Knowing she was well taken care of made being away from our baby for ten days a little easier.
I don't need to tell you that driving away from our baby girl I had tears there as well.
This was an emotional trip. This trip was hard, busy, overwhelming and reflective, BUT it was also joyful, filled with laughter and one where we made new memories with our new normal.
This trip became one where we remembered Gigi and also our Traci.
Here's a glimpse and a few pictures (I'll spare you the other hundreds of pictures...) from our time at sea with our family.
{ Animal Kingdom }
Animal Kingdom was a perfect introduction to our family Disney Cruise. Once we had coffee in hand, we took to the African Safari where we saw many animals from our land cruiser. Hippos, giraffes, rhinos, birds, elephants, deer, crocs and much more. There were characters to meet and many rides to explore. The favorite was Mt. Everest which took you on a fast, twisty, sometimes backwards roller coaster ride. On the last run the gang sat right behind the voice of Olaf and his friends! Myriam's face doesn't show her love for the ride with the look of panic, but if you ask her, she'd tell you she enjoyed it! After our paws were tired from walking we headed back to the Disney Resort to relax by the pool and enjoy the outdoor movie theater where they served you a fun size personal bag of popcorn. Myriam and I watched Zootopia on the first night there. She loved it! So was the random guy in the back who recited every word for word with much enthusiasm at a noise level that overtook the movie itself. Had a little chuckle with myself over that entertainment.
Sunday morning we loaded the cruise shuttle and headed for Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wonder. This was our first cruise so the process was all new to us. I was impressed with the organization and ease of getting our family checked in, luggage in our rooms and making it personal to our family. The barrage of food started already that night at dinner where the pictures came to life at the Animators Palace. If you wanted one of everything you could. Self control come dessert time usually ran a few deep with bites from all options. And let's talk about the soft serve ice cream for a moment.
At any moment you can grab a cone and go. There may be withdrawals from that option.
Once we were well underway, the sea churned enough to make the boat sway as you laid in bed. That first night I had one in tears from the unfamiliarity of the big sea and another on sensory overload. Thankfully the next day was much calmer!
{ Castaway Island }
Our first destination was Castaway Island, Disney's private Island, where we found inviting sand and warm, crystal clear waters to greet us. The beach we found home for a few hours had roped off areas that never went over the kids' heads. Smart. Funny how one bucket and a shovel entertained the kids for hours. There was the water slide, snorkeling and jet ski rentals we took part of as well. Addison tried snorkeling for the first time and did great! The mask with braces took some adjusting, but once we got in the water she took to the hobby quickly. Now to get her in more open waters with more variety. In the afternoon, Tim thought it would be fun to take the big kids out on jet skis. I was a Nellie Newbie being a little nervous having to operate my own machine plus keep the kid on the back. If I had known how rough the ocean was going to be and how cold I'd get, I would have opted to stay in my chair in the sand with my toes dipped in the water. Now I can say I did it...and I think I did quite well for never doing that sport before. If anything, I impressed my hubby by trying something new!
Oh and don't forget...they had a soft serve ice cream machine on the island so we wouldn't have withdrawals on the beach.
The dinner theme later that night was all about pirates which we had planned before to have these shirts made. There were moments that evening where the memory of Traci was just too tough, but it was always met with, "She would want us to enjoy this trip!"
{ Tougher than Cancer. }
The next day was a day at sea where the kids played in the pool, Tim and I read some books, Mango Mojitos filled my cup, met some characters, had more soft serve ice cream and in the afternoon watched the new Beauty and the Beast. Addi and I caught Myriam crying when the beast died...she gets so into her movies! If you haven't seen it we recommend watching it.
At night during dinner, Savio and Emma served our table with smiles and the need to please our busy table of kids. Emma was amazing doing magic tricks and setting up table games for the old and young. Savio knew exactly what we wanted and even made a connection with Tim as they figured out he's from the town Tim will be traveling too later this year! Now that we've been home for a couple weeks, Myriam reminds me at most meals how she misses Savio and Emma. I'm sure she does because with every plate Savio would make Mickey ketchup for the french fries and cut whatever food needed to be made smaller. Guess I don't have the table service up to par here at home like they do on a cruise!
{ The Van Dyken Family }
It's hard not to post the others from our little family shoot because Myriam's expressions are priceless. These were from our formal night. Oh, and Myriam looks upset in the one above because she wanted to stand by Auntie when I said she had to stand by me. She won but with a forced frown.
{ The Broersma Five minus Miss Bee...don't worry, her matching dress is at home! }
{ Atlantis }
There was simply not enough time here at Atlantis to see and do all that they have to enjoy at this resort. The kids really wanted to swim with the dolphins so Tim took the older kids to the deep water swim as they got to kiss, wave, high five, open swim and be pushed by and with the dolphins. Myriam and I went to the shallow water swim, but our's didn't last long before it became too much for her and we had to cut it short. We managed to get a few pictures of hugging, kissing and standing by the dolphin before we just sat "quietly" with Nana. After the dolphin experience we walked over to the water slide area where some took to the big slides and others hopped in the lazy river on inter tubes. Myriam got to ride with Papa and she loved it! With our time to board the ship fast approaching, our little family walked around to find the shark experience where you can walk underneath the shark tank. Yep, meet saw tooth. He swam right over us as we were walking by. This place had so much to see and we barely got to see any of it...if you asked the kids what their favorite thing at Atlantis was they'd say the dolphins and lunch! Haha, we found a delicious BBQ rib house on our way out of the resort.
{ Myriam meeting the characters. Charlie getting into the characters on the last night. }
{ Remembering }
Disney Cruise Line was incredibly respectful to our family refunding Traci's package completely and allowing us a private moment of remembering on the last night. They arranged to have a bouquet of pink flowers for us to toss overboard while cruising through international waters. (Tossing anything overboard is a huge no-no so we felt privilege to be allowed this moment.) It happened to be perfect timing with an incredibly stunning sunset. Savio made sure to have our glasses full as we left dinner and crew members met us on deck four giving us the space needed for our moment. With our flowers passed out, we toasted our sweet sister (sorry Gigi, we didn't even toast you on your trip!) and at the same time released flowers into the sea.
My parents were a mess; I found Charlie weeping as well. We all miss Auntie Traci. We didn't say much, but all felt her presence in this sacred moment. I feel it gave way to closure on this trip that at times we seconded guessed going because it would be too hard. One of the flowers got stuck on the deck as we let them go; as if Traci was saying, "I'm here and don't want to leave you either."
But then the sunset...her reassurance that Jesus had her safe and secure; resting whole and healthy in His arms. This was a beautiful moment.
The next morning we had docked back at port and debarked the ship. My parents and brothers family headed for the airport as we had planned to stay a couple extra nights with just our five. I'm glad we did. Our hotel room was much welcomed with silence coming from a high paced, busy past few days on sea. After we grabbed some lunch, we managed some pool time and early to bed. Friday we spent all day at Disney World. (I have no shame with Miss Monkey preventing our flight child from taking off. She requests it so no judgement.) We introduced Myriam to Splash Mountain and a few other bigger roller coasters. No small World for us; our kids say they're too grown up for that!
In the afternoon, Myriam and I watched the parade of characters with our special treats; cotton candy and jelly bellies which Tim hand picked only the fruity flavors for me as they were Traci's favorite. We had churros, ice cream, burgers and never played it safe with our food choices.
Folks, we were on vacation and enjoyed every bit of our taste buds!
Disney Cruise Line was incredibly respectful to our family refunding Traci's package completely and allowing us a private moment of remembering on the last night. They arranged to have a bouquet of pink flowers for us to toss overboard while cruising through international waters. (Tossing anything overboard is a huge no-no so we felt privilege to be allowed this moment.) It happened to be perfect timing with an incredibly stunning sunset. Savio made sure to have our glasses full as we left dinner and crew members met us on deck four giving us the space needed for our moment. With our flowers passed out, we toasted our sweet sister (sorry Gigi, we didn't even toast you on your trip!) and at the same time released flowers into the sea.
My parents were a mess; I found Charlie weeping as well. We all miss Auntie Traci. We didn't say much, but all felt her presence in this sacred moment. I feel it gave way to closure on this trip that at times we seconded guessed going because it would be too hard. One of the flowers got stuck on the deck as we let them go; as if Traci was saying, "I'm here and don't want to leave you either."
But then the sunset...her reassurance that Jesus had her safe and secure; resting whole and healthy in His arms. This was a beautiful moment.
The next morning we had docked back at port and debarked the ship. My parents and brothers family headed for the airport as we had planned to stay a couple extra nights with just our five. I'm glad we did. Our hotel room was much welcomed with silence coming from a high paced, busy past few days on sea. After we grabbed some lunch, we managed some pool time and early to bed. Friday we spent all day at Disney World. (I have no shame with Miss Monkey preventing our flight child from taking off. She requests it so no judgement.) We introduced Myriam to Splash Mountain and a few other bigger roller coasters. No small World for us; our kids say they're too grown up for that!
In the afternoon, Myriam and I watched the parade of characters with our special treats; cotton candy and jelly bellies which Tim hand picked only the fruity flavors for me as they were Traci's favorite. We had churros, ice cream, burgers and never played it safe with our food choices.
Folks, we were on vacation and enjoyed every bit of our taste buds!
{ Disney World }
Saturday morning I had my 5k race a little outside of Orlando where the kids cheered me on and supported their mama. On the way back, we found a hidden gem of a play park with an old school wooden roller coaster, dangling feet coaster with the option of making it a virtual coaster and a 250 foot swing Tim, Addison and Charlie dared they go on. Myriam found a new friend quickly as they went on the dragon kiddie coaster seven times in a row laughing with their hands in the air. This place had no lines, clean park area and a great mix of rides for the small entrance fee.
And good thing it wasn't too busy because I still had my running clothes on!
{ Fun Spot America }
After lunch and milkshakes, we headed to the pool and later that night made the kids catch up on some homework at the hotel. We had an early flight the next morning and by this time we were all ready to see Miss Bee again! Our kids did great on both flights to and from which made traveling that much easier.
When we met up with Karla to pick up Bee she squealed with delight seeing her family again. The rest of the day she was full of giggles, snuggles and more happy noises as we were once again all together...busy doing laundry.
Thank you Mom and Dad for giving us a life-time of memories and the opportunity to experience this trip together.
Traci would have loved to be with us, but her spirit was there.
Gigi would have been proud of the time we had together finding our joy once again.
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