Gratitude will never be a big enough word.....(LONG post)

So another big secret is out!  We have been keeping a secret from the girls for about a month now.  It has been torture!  Thankfully the men involved didn't spill the beans before a plan was put together to tell them.



Let me just say as I will many times again, we have the most awesome, generous, fun, amazing best friends ever!

Oh yes, James and Sandi Gibbons are the bomb!  And James always looks a bit blurry because he is crazy and he and Dan have the same sense of humor.  So just put those two together for even an hour and imagine the trouble they can create.

 So the big surprise you ask?  James and Sandi are taking us on a week long Disney Cruise with them.  Yes, taking us, not invited us to join them, encouraged us to book the same cruise, I mean they booked and paid for us and when I say us I mean all 6 of us.  So party of 12 for a week long Disney Cruise!  I am so touched and emotional about it and beside myself excited!

So just some back ground on our Disney Cruise experience. First of all Disney is where it is at and AWESOME to cruise with. So Dan & I have been on 1 other Disney Cruise before.  Of course with James & Sandi, but we went dutch that time, and left all 8 kids at home.  We went on a 7 day cruise in November of 2010.  I still count it as one of the best weeks of my life. During that cruise we talked about how awesome it would be to bring the kids next time.  James & Sandi did. In January of 2012, they took their 4 kids on a Disney cruise.  We had been invited but our life was in an uproar due to the big move to Las Vegas so we weren't able to make it happen.  So fast forward to about 2 months ago.  Sandi and I were on the phone doing what we do best..talking. Sandi mentioned that they had booked a 7 day cruise for Tyler's senior trip.  I was super excited about it.  Then about a month later James sent Dan a text message to call him.  I was freaking out that something was wrong because James just doesn't text and say hey call me.  I mean seriously they are men and talking on the phone to each other is not how they bond. So later that night Dan filled me in.  James & Sandi had decided that they wanted us to come with them, because cruising is so much more fun with friends!  James told Dan that all we have to worry about is getting to Houston, and spending money.  I am still in disbelief. How lucky are we to have such amazing, generous,awesomely great friends! 

So party of 12 for the 7 day Disney cruise to the Bahamas!  We will fly to Houston on December 12th, board the Disney Wonder on Saturday December 14th in Galveston and then after the cruise spend a few more days in Houston and then fly home to Las Vegas on Christmas Day. 

So not only will this cruise be Tyler's senior trip, it will also now be Shelbylyn's senior trip, and she will also celebrate her 18th birthday on board as well. 

Blessed to have such wonderful friends!

So I just realized that I haven't explained how we told the girls.  If you have a Disney vacation booked you can have a Disney character phone you and tell you how excited they are that you are coming to vacation with them.  So the plan was that since today was Father's Day it would be a good day since all 12 of us would be home during the same time.  As a side note only our girls didn't know about this.  So I made the girls all get up and make Dan real breakfast, set the table and then bring me their cell phones. Since Courtney doesn't have a cell phone I had a house line phone next to her plate.  So I am texting with Sandi to let her know we are all ready.  It is shortly before 8:30 our time.  So one of the messages she tells me the calls will come at 8:30, then a second says ok not until 9:00.  So at this point everyone is done eating and wanting to leave the table. NOT SO FAST!  I suggest that since we are all still home and Dan didn't have to leave for bishopric meeting until 9:45 that we should do scripture study.  So of course Dan can make scripture study last forever for a grand total of 5 minutes today.  So then we made them load the dishwasher and then come back to the table.  During this time I had to keep telling them to put down their phones.  Finally 9:00 happened and all 4 phones rang at the same time.  Two girls got the news from Goofy and two from Mickey.  Then the Gibbons called and on speaker phone told the girls a little about the trip.

Everyone is now so excited!  Renae & Courtney spent most of the afternoon online doing "research" and asking me questions.  Delanie is excited but more reserved, she says since it is 6 months away it's too soon to be too excited. (I think she is wrong! :) )  Shelbylyn has asked some questions and I can feel her excitement really building.

I think the Dads are the most excited.  Kudos to them for keeping the secret as long as they did.  I can't tell you how many times I had to shush & kick Dan's shin to keep him from spilling the beans.  James was far enough away that his shins remained safe, although there were a few Facebook comments that just about gave it away.

So watch out Disney Wonder... 6 months is really not that long and then The Gibbons's & The Slattery's will be on board for a week that will be unforgettable.