Cruising Along

With more than a casual interest, we watched the christening of the new Disney cruise ship, "The Disney Dream" this morning. It was interesting watching the traditional prayer over the ship, and watching characters such as Mickey, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear bow their heads as the reverend prayed over the ship.

The ceremony entertained Madison, who was able to watch it with us live on our computer at the house - a unique experience. All the Disney Princesses were there, which added to her excitement about it. We've been chatting about doing a Disney Cruise again, now that Madison is old enough to really appreciate it. One thing we haven't had an opportunity to do with Madison is take her to a proper beach on the ocean, which is something we could do at Castaway Cay. That'd be her first time at a real beach.

We've done a Disney Cruise before, and we've done other cruise lines as well. You can imagine that we would tend to pick the Disney one as our favorite. It was a few years ago that Ye-Ye and Nana bought the entire family cruise tickets, long before Madison was in the works. It was a very special occasion, one we always look back upon fondly.

Hopefully, we'll be able to do it again someday. It is nice to relax on a vacation!

Today, Madison is with Mommy, again unloading the house. Moving stuff back and forth can be such a chore. Lesson learned: don't collect a lot of stuff. Either that, or don't plan on moving!

MADISON'S BOOK CLUB

We've been reading a lot lately - certainly when the snow kept us indoors more so. One book that was appropriate - that we're still reading - is called "Katy and the Big Snow." It is by the author Virginia Lee Burton, who also did "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." Her artwork is unique, and quite detailed. I suppose it can seem dated when matched up against these newer children's books with so much color and modern methods of illustration. The book was made in 1943, yet it is timeless to both Madison and myself. With the flood of children's books out there at full saturation, her books still stand out on a shelf when browsing.

The story is neat too. Madison and Daddy have taken to reading on the couch in the great room as of late. We'll pick about three books - Daddy will select one, and Madison will get two to choose. We'll sit and read, and it's wonderful to see her as excited about reading as she is watching some new television shows.

We sure could have used Katy and her snowplow around here last week with all that snow. Yet, then again, maybe that's why she didn't pop by: she gave us a chance to rest and read more books indoors.