Cam & Howard's Vow Renewal PJ -1/12/09 - WP&WH--p.98: TRIP REPORT BEGINS

[Valentine]

The Welcome bags were AMAZING!!! I am still relishing some of the treats that were in there.... I carry the mints in my bag!! Such love and personalization went into each and every one of them!!

[Kewz1]

THURSDAY – PART 3 – DINNER WITH MY FAVORITE MOUSE and DRINKS WITH MY FAVORITE FROG!
When we got to JR, we met up with our dear friends Kevin (our officiant) and Kristen, whom we hadn’t seen since January 2008. Kevin is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and is “away” a lot – we keep him and his family in our prayers constantly. They are precious to us and I cried when we saw them.
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon%20weekend/IMG_0333.jpg

I'm pretty sure I cried too. More than once, now that I think about it! You all are very special to us. :grouphug:

The Welcome bags were AMAZING!!! I am still relishing some of the treats that were in there.... I carry the mints in my bag!! Such love and personalization went into each and every one of them!!

Kathy is right! Loved the bags. I have eaten all my treats though. Weeks ago. Oink. :upsidedow

Kristen

[keenercam]

Very fab beginning!!!!! And you volunteered at the full marathon??? Unbelievable :goodvibes

Lisa -- That was such an awesome experience, but it was probably one the one "bad" schedule decision I made. I was just so wiped out all day Sunday and going in to Monday. Truly worth it, though-- what a great time! Wait til you see the pictures!

Cam I am LOVING your TR!! You are so detailed and organized! :worship: Everything is just so awesome and I want to be a guest too!! Kathy what a fantastic friend you are for helping so much! Cam is very lucky to have you as I am sure you feel your are very lucky to have her.

I can't wait to hear more!

Laura -- I'm glad you don't mind all the detail in my TR. I remember reading TRs during my planning process and I devoured the details and made a gazillion notes in a master file in my computer that I emailed to myself every couple of days. It became a good starting point for my "notecards" -- the smartest thing I did to keep myself organized. And yes, Kathy's among our blessings!

Kristen -- I am so glad you guys enjoyed your snacks!

[Valentine]

Lisa -- That was such an awesome experience, but it was probably one the one "bad" schedule decision I made. I was just so wiped out all day Sunday and going in to Monday. Truly worth it, though-- what a great time! Wait til you see the pictures!



Laura -- I'm glad you don't mind all the detail in my TR. I remember reading TRs during my planning process and I devoured the details and made a gazillion notes in a master file in my computer that I emailed to myself every couple of days. It became a good starting point for my "notecards" -- the smartest thing I did to keep myself organized. And yes, Kathy's among our blessings!

Kristen -- I am so glad you guys enjoyed your snacks!


Awwww.. I didn't even see that lovely note.. Thanks Laura!! That was sooo sweet.. but.. I am the lucky one :) Cam and Howard are 2 of the most wonderful people in the world!!!! And their kids are true reflections of them...

Cam... You are just AMAZING... I Love Love all the details ... Yay can't wait for more!!

[Lynn5700]

CAM!!!!!!! I LOVE your siggy pic!!! Girl you looked gorgeous!

Cam Howard is so handsome, he looks like a sweetheart! You're family is beautiful.

Your welcome bags were so nice aww!

I can't wait for more! Hey are you running in any of the marathons next year? I'm doing the half marathon in Jan. Can't wait.

xoxox
Lynnie

[keenercam]

Lynn -- I am so excited that you are doing the half-marathon in January!!! So am I! We definitely have to see each other before then, of course!

Thank you for all your kind words. Our "wedding day" was the most amazing, beautiful, FUN day of our lives. I can't wait to share more details!

[Lynn5700]

Lynn -- I am so excited that you are doing the half-marathon in January!!! So am I! We definitely have to see each other before then, of course!

Thank you for all your kind words. Our "wedding day" was the most amazing, beautiful, FUN day of our lives. I can't wait to share moe details!

YAY you are I will have to see you and say hello!!!
I'm running with a couple other disney brides too, actually there is a big group of us lol. I'm so excited!

Cam you're so cute, can't wait for more.

[Flurbee]

Cam,

Well, I have seen you all over these boards on other PJ's and I have to say it struck me how kind you are!! :angel: For whatever reason, I am just now beginning to read all about your VR. Even though I am only on page 6, I plan on reading this constantly for the next few days so I can actually get to the wedding!!! I am also having a VR, so I am excited to read all about your plans and then see how they played out on your big day!!

[keenercam]

Maure- That is such a sweet thing to say. :flower3: Thank you! How are you feeling these days? I don't think I've seen you around and I remember when you were doing your PJ before you postponed your date (I STILL love your rings!! :) ). (BTW, the longer the planning process, the better! Everyone here shares awesome ideas and you get to collect them all and decide what works for you. PLUS you get to watch for great sales at places like the Target $1 spot and Michael's and buy supplies at your leisure. :banana: )
Thank you for reading. I love sharing the wonderful time we had planning and through the vow renewal and "honeymoon". :cloud9:

[keenercam]

The plan today was that Howard and Andrew would run the 5k (Andrew very graciously and generously urged me to sleep in rather than to go cheer him on); Kathy would bring Jenn and Ade back to our studio to change clothes and get ready to go to AK once Andrew was back and dressed; and I was to sleep in (try to catch up on some sleep) until it was time to leave for my 10:00 pedicure appointment at SSR Spa with Rhonda.

I was up long before 8 and working on the placecard holders. They were gorgeous little paper chairs that we'd mostly assembled at home -- I "built" and taped them and embellished them (gotta have the bling! ;) ),Andrew had filled them with Disney mints, and I packed them very carefully and brought them in my carry-on. All that was left was to tie the bows and attach the names to them (LOVE glue dots!!!) and package them alphabetized to be delivered to Franck's. But they were/are very delicate because of the pretty chair “back” and I was concerned about them getting smashed in the process.

By the time everyone arrived at the studio, I had the chairs done and was packing/organizing the boxes for Franck's. Howard created "bumpers" for around the chairs in the box and took over the organizing so I could get a shower, and then he drove me to SSR for a very relaxing hour with my dear friend and race partner, Rhonda.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon%20weekend/IMG_0335.jpg

HINT TO BRIDES: pack a back of supplies like bubble wrap, tape, glue sticks, glue dots, glue gun & glue sticks, scissors, pens, markers, extra pieces of all your ribbon, etc. -- you will not regret it!)

While at SSR I tried to schedule a facial for any of the spas, and was able to get an appointment at GF for 1pm. I've never had a facial before, but my skin was so dry it was actually flaking on my cheeks, so I decided to take the leap. After the pedicure, Rhonda and Michael (her DH) drove me back to BCV. I stopped at the front desk and they were able to get us into a 2 BR on the 4th floor (the studio was on the 3rd floor). Once again, everyone at the front desk was SOOOO nice and very eager to do whatever they could to help us get into our new villa so I could get wedding stuff organized.

Howard and I moved ALL of the stuff (except what was going to Franck's) from the 3rd floor to the 4th floor with no luggage cart and no help from the kids who we'd foolishly sent off to the parks. LOL!! It took Howard and me (no exaggerating) no less than 15 trips to move everything. Howard also made a number of trips to the van to put everything in it that had to go to Franck's. (That is one of the things we really, really enjoy about Beach Club Villas – there is a parking lot very close to the villas and a door that leads right to the elevators, unlike GF or WL where we would stay later in the week and burn MANY calories going back and forth to the van parked in sometimes remote locations. While at GF, we used valet almost all of the time) It took us more than 90 minutes to relocate to the 2BR, and then it was time to head to the GF spa.

Side note: You’ve heard me mention my notecards. This is where they came in really handy. When you are in a rush, it is easy to forget things – it was so nice NOT to have to make a second trip to Franck’s since there was a card listing everything that had to go to Franck’s and how stuff was to be grouped (i.e., Ceremony: program vase tied with bow and filled with beads, programs, memorial candle (to be lit before ceremony); Floral (to be delivered to Laura Kidd) – Jenn’s bouquet jewels; GF Bakery (Lenox cake topper castle); PreReception/Reception: Items for guestbook table (guest book, special markers, table tent asking guests to find their page and sign the guestbook, teddy bear), placecards, cake serving set, Precious Moments figurine, menus, table number holders & table numbers, etc. etc. Stuff was grouped with instructions taped to the top. I saw one DIS Bride that did a mock-up of her guestbook table and took a picture so that DFTW would know how it was to be set up – I think that was so smart, but we didn’t have a strong preference, so we left it to their discretion, and everything looked wonderful. My kids joke about “Mom and her lists” but everyone has accepted that that is just the way I am and it makes things run smoothly and makes me less :crazy:

Anyway, everything ended up looking fabulous on the “big day” (here’s a preview from friends’ pix to make up for my lack of other pix here. LOL!):
http://gi85.photobucket.com/groups/k70/DE41H6OL96/kathy--placecards.jpg
http://gi85.photobucket.com/groups/k70/DE41H6OL96/kathy--guestbooktable.jpg
http://gi85.photobucket.com/groups/k70/DE41H6OL96/kathy--caketablewithoutcake.jpg
http://gi85.photobucket.com/groups/k70/DE41H6OL96/Marathonweekend2009083-1.jpg
http://gi85.photobucket.com/groups/k70/DE41H6OL96/100_4953-1.jpg
http://gi85.photobucket.com/groups/k70/DE41H6OL96/100_4968-1.jpg

Howard drove me to GF spa, dropped off everything to Franck's, went to Gasparilla's for lunch (I'd still only had a leftover nutri-grain bar, a cup of coffee and some Mickey pretzels; Howard had about that much AND had run a 5k, so we were both hurting), and came back to pick me up. We were back at the resort by 2:30 and I grabbed a veggie wrap at the Marketplace. Howard carried Jenn’s gown, the tuxedos & shoes/accessories and all the stuff from the safe in the studio to the 2BR by himself (poor guy! He’d started his day at 4 a.m. and had already run a 5k with a half marathon and marathon ahead of him). Howard continued to organize the studio for his family’s arrival (I wanted to be sure there was cold bottled water and microwave popcorn, plus their welcome bags, etc. and we swapped out the used towels from the studio with fresh ones from the 2BR), I got us unpacked and started making a pile by the front door of everything we needed for the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and the dessert party. (That’s another one of my quirks – must have a “launch pad” where everything gets piled that has to go out the door with us when we are going somewhere. LOL)

Soon, it was time to head to the WISH meet at the POP Century Food Court. YAY!!! :banana: :woohoo: :goodvibes We would be seeing so many of our friends there, some that we hadn’t seen in a year and others that we hadn’t seen since the Minnie Marathon in May, the Philly half-marathon in September, Marine Corps marathon in October, or the Philly marathon in November. I missed so many of our WISH teammates so much and couldn’t wait to get to POP!! :cloud9:

[Donald'sGirl]

Cam the menus and favors came out beautifully! Wow Howard is superman, I would have been dead doing all that after running the 5k! You have such a special guy!

BTW: Thanks for the tip! :thumbsup2

[Pooh_Girl]

WOW!!! Cam, you are super organized!!! I am very impressed. Hopefully if I can talk DH into a VR, I hope I'm as organized as you are. I might be PM'ing you for tips!!! :rotfl: Great update. :thumbsup2 The chairs were so adorable!!

[AlternateEgo]

You and your family are so cute! I am loving your trip report ;)

[figmentfan814]

I just got caught up on your wonderful start so far. First, I love your ears from Tokyo Disney!

The shots from assembling the welcome bags and of shopping for supplies brought back some great memories from last year. Isn't it so much fun putting them together!

I completely understand how you feel about having to hand off the programs to your friend. Sometimes it just gets so overwhelming. It sounds like Howard was wonderful as usual. I can't believe he ran the 5K and was ready and able to help move to the other room and to take everything to Franck's!

I love the chair place cards which are so cute. I just can't wait to read more, I have a feeling I will have a lot of catching up to do after I get back from Disney (we leave on Saturday for our anniversary trip.)

Did you figure out how to upload all of your pictures at the smaller sizes? I know you mentioned you were having problems resizing.

Another question- did you have any anniversary Disney graphics that were generic? I'm hoping to make a sign for our door this weekend.

Thanks!

[keenercam]

Thank you for your kind words, Laura, PoohGirl and AlternateEgo! It is so much fun reliving those days while I share them with everyone.

Vanessa -- So many of my ideas came from earlier DISBrides, including you. I still am so appreciative that you shared your newsletter and water bottle templates. :hug: We didn't use any anniversary stuff at all and stuck with wedding and honeymoon. I did find romantic graphics by doing a google search for "Disney wedding clipart". WOW! I cannot believe your one-year anniversary is coming up. Where in the world did the year go? How exciting for you and Kris to be returning for your anniversary! :lovestruc

[keenercam]

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but we had an AWESOME weekend surprising our friend Charlie belatedly for his birthday. :grouphug:

Our pictures are up on Randy's website and I've now gone through them 3 times. LOL!! I'm bummed that I had on no makeup for our dessert party and couldn't do my hair. Long story made somewhat short -- after doing the 5k, 1/2 marathon and marathon, Howard was hurting so badly Sunday that Kathy had to drive me over to the GF to check in and await my dress. Howard never made it over there before the rehearsal which was before RD which was before the dessert party. So, I only had my clothes -- no makeup and no hair stuff and I looked SOOO bad for the dessert party. So, you can skip right over those and go right to the wedding day ones where I look almost as good as everyone else, having been "prettied up" by the wonderful Ana and Lili. ;)

Go to www.chapmanphotography.com and search Cam and 3 sets come up (if you search "Howard" there are other couples' pix that come up too, but I'm the only Cam on his site ;) ) The pix should arrive here tomorrow and I will post the very carefully selected ones we like best. :goodvibes

By the way, I think you should get to have a practice wedding day so that you can look at the pictures and see what stupid expressions you WOULDN'T make when it counts. Oh, and you'd make sure that every time your gown slid up your body so that it looked like you had no neck, you pulled it back down. And when you see that you hunched your shoulders in most of the shots, you could remind yourself not to do that either. ........ Despite all that, Randy got some great pics and really captured how much FUN we had on our VR day. :faint:

[Pamlur]

Cam, your pictures are wonderful! And you didn't need makeup at your dessert party, your happiness was shining on your face.

[DisneyLaura]

cam you look great with or without makeup. The pictures are awesome.

[jennifaerie]

I feel like I was there. You looked gorgeous in EVERY SINGLE PICTURE, Cam. Truly. Your joy is making me feel like I'm wrapped up in a very toasty blanket.

[toystoryduo]

Oh Cam,:hug:

I am so excited to be reading your TR!:cheer2: Everything looks wonderful!:cloud9: I'm crying happy tears for you and Howard all over again.... I am so glad that you were able to do this. :hug:

I look forward to checking out your pictures...I'm hoping my dial-up internet lets me! ;)

I can't wait to read more!!!!!:goodvibes

[keenercam]

Thank you so much, Pam and Laura and Jen and Tracy! I really appreciate all your sweet compliments. I am so excited about how many great pix there are of us with our guests, our guests with Mickey, etc. I will be able to order pictures to put in the "thank yous" that I have yet to write. I guess I probably need to unpack from our trip and get that project started -- it is so hard for me to express how profoundly grateful we are to everyone who came and shared our celebration and just completely surrounded us with love. Hopefully, once I start writing, the words won't sound goofy to the recipients. :goodvibes

[Honeibee]

NO ONE LISTEN TO HER!!

Cam is a very beautiful woman no matter what she tries to tell you. Don't believe her sillyness. She's GORGEOUS! :cloud9:

[Kewz1]

NO ONE LISTEN TO HER!!

Cam is a very beautiful woman no matter what she tries to tell you. Don't believe her sillyness. She's GORGEOUS! :cloud9:

I second this! And she's just as beautiful inside. :hug:

Love, love LOVE the pics, Cam! I plan on ordering a few myself!

Kristen

[pjstevens]

I second this! And she's just as beautiful inside. :hug:

Love, love LOVE the pics, Cam! I plan on ordering a few myself!

Kristen

And I third this!!!

[UGAFan0829]

Cam-Those pictures are AMAZING! You were gorgeous in EVERY one of them!
I have to say though-the one of you looking across the water to the Wedding Pavilion nearly brought me to tears. Something about that one was just so precious and sweet!

[traceycooper]

HELP Cam!!!
i cant find your pics & have been sooo waiting to see them!!
i cant find anywhere to search for 'Cam' & now its asking for a password :(
plz plz help

[Kewz1]

HELP Cam!!!
i cant find your pics & have been sooo waiting to see them!!
i cant find anywhere to search for 'Cam' & now its asking for a password :(
plz plz help


Click on Cam's link in her post. Then click "menu" followed by "My photos." On the right is a place to put in name and date. I just typed in Cam (no date) and hit enter.

Hope this helps!

Kristen

[Pinkerbell1983]

Wow Cam, your pics are amazing! I love the one with the monorail, did you have to ask Randy for that? and I love love love the one of the WP with the fairy dust on it! How did you do that?

[padisneyfour]

cam just wanted to say congrats on beautiful pictures of what looked it be a wonderful VR! you and your family all looked wonderful! congrats , beautiful memories for a lifetime:goodvibes

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Wow! you pics are fantastic! Plus all the little details you had, AMAZING looks like you really had a fairytale day!

[29apr00]

Cam your pictures are fantastic!! everyone is right, you couldn't take a bad photo if you tried! your love shines thru in each one! :love:

[ArelysAdriana]

Cam, I haven't had a chance to get on here and congratulate you and tell you how wonderful everything looked. You and Howard are such a beautiful couple with a beautiful family and you both are an inspiration. All your hard work really payed off and you guys had the most gorgeous VR I have ever seen. You are pretty much a planning and organizing machine :worship:

The half marathon was a bit crazy for me and I didn't catch you then, but I'll be running again next year. Maybe I'll see you then :goodvibes

[toystoryduo]

Oh Cam...

You have such a beautiful family! The love that you have for each other definitely shines through. :goodvibes Your pictures are wonderful! :flower3:

[pink_tink8i8]

No worries Cam, the more details and pics for your TR, the better! For some reason I can't see your pics but I'm sure they are fantastic! :goodvibes

[tiggerrifficheidi]

Cam--the pics are beautiful!! You looked amazing. I love how proud Howard was of you!! He was ready to show off your pic on his cell phone when we met!

Here's the pic!

http://gallery.me.com/heidi.anne/100024/P1170031/web.jpg

[Angel16]

Cam, You look so beautiful. The love in both your and Howards eyes made me tear up. :goodvibes Thank you so much for sharing your vow renewal. I am looking forward to reading your next installment. Day three! :yay: :cheer2: :yay: :cheer2:

[Tink&PirateMama]

I just found your PJ- I LOVED your Randy pics! All are very, very beautiful!!! I'm going to go through for inspiration, we are planning a VR at the WP with Randy too! THank you for writing your journal and sharing!!!!!

[MarriedToAPrince]

Hi Cam! I just wanted to say that your pictures are stunning!!! You and Howard look so much in love!!! Your VR was gorgeous and it gave me lots of ideas. My DH and I would love to do a VR in WDW for our 10th or 15th wedding anniversary. Congrats!!!

[keenercam]

Oh my goodness! You guys totally spoil me with all of your sweet compliments! :cloud9: Thank you so much! :grouphug: I am so excited about the prospect of writing more installments but have been totally swamped at work. This weekend my major project is taxes. EEKKKK!! Once I get that project behind me, I have LOTS more to post and LOTS of pictures.

In the meantime, if anyone is interested in seeing our Magic Kingdom photos, they are at http://collages.net/consumersite/clientspecificpages/disney/login_fairytaleweddings.aspx.
Our username is Keener VR Bridal Portrait and password 1971

I'd love to hear which you like best! As you can see, I was so nervous and not very comfortable at first and all I see in the carousel pictures are my white knuckles (I kept slipping forward on the horse because of all the beading and crystals on the back of the gown's skirt. :rotfl: ).

Thank you again everyone for all of your love and kindness! I can't wait to share more with you. I remember every detail like it happened yesterday. :love:

[MegKate]

Just lovely Cam!! :lovestruc

My favorites are the ones where you are Howard are walking away together hand in hand. :thumbsup2

[Tink_Kel]

Beautiful wedding and pictures Cam! I especially love the picture of you two looking at each other on the carrosel! :lovestruc

[keenercam]

Just lovely Cam!! :lovestruc

My favorites are the ones where you are Howard are walking away together hand in hand. :thumbsup2

Thanks, Meg! Once we get the keepsake prints, we will probably order one of those is they can photoshop out the two castmembers who are cleaning. LOL! I really like the last couple where we are walking down Main Street with the castle behind us, especially the one where we are kind of laughing at each other. The other one we loved was in front of that wooden door where I am looking at Howard and we are laughing -- I was saying to him that I wouldn't like the ones of me looking up and into the distance, that I would look Goofy, and I was laughing about that and "snap!", Amy got the shot. I love it because we were having such a great time at that moment.

Beautiful wedding and pictures Cam! I especially love the picture of you two looking at each other on the carrosel! :lovestruc

Thank you so much, Kel! I just wish I weren't clutching the pole so tightly. Is there a way to photoshop white knuckles away? :rotfl: :rotfl:

[padisneyfour]

Cam , your MK pics are beautiful ... I love the ones walking up main street and the ones in front of the castle w/ the dip You both looked like you had a wonderful time! Congrats!:goodvibes

[DisneyLaura]

Cam I have a couple that I really like - the one with you guys with the castle blue in the background looking at each other, the one with you guys walking down main street holding hands and I love the ones by the fountain.

But really all of them are just beautiful.

[keenercam]

Cam , your MK pics are beautiful ... I love the ones walking up main street and the ones in front of the castle w/ the dip You both looked like you had a wonderful time! Congrats!:goodvibes

Thank you, Tammy! :hug: As soon as I got past being nervous about having my picture taken, I started having a really good time. As you might have noticed in the first couple, it had rained overnight -- a lot -- and I was also nervous about keeping the top layers of my dress dry.

Cam I have a couple that I really like - the one with you guys with the castle blue in the background looking at each other, the one with you guys walking down main street holding hands and I love the ones by the fountain.

But really all of them are just beautiful.

Thank you, Laura! :hug: I thought the ones near the wishing well were sweet, too. They'd be especially well-suited if we'd had a Cinderella or fairy-tale themed wedding/VR.

[traceycooper]

GORGEOUS pics cam :)
i love the night shots around the castle :)

[keenercam]

GORGEOUS pics cam :)
i love the night shots around the castle :)

Thank you, Tracey!

Our album and keepsake prints arrived to my office yesterday. I am so glad Howard drove me in through the snow because I'd have been disappointed if they'd arrived yesterday and I wasn't here. Thank God they were packed in plastic inside the box because the box was dripping wet. :eek: The album is nicely done, but we'll want to choose some of the prints for larger pictures. Now that I've seen the clarity of the pictures other than on a computer screen, I feel better about placing an order for some portraits for our home and both of our offices.

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

How beautiful everything is. I am enjoying your TR so much right now!
I love all the thought put into those bags too!! Beuatiful!

[KeenHo]

I think someone needs to get back to this thread soon. :rolleyes1

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I think someone needs to get back to this thread soon. :rolleyes1

You tell her! :laughing: popcorn::

[Tiger Lily 03]

I think someone needs to get back to this thread soon. :rolleyes1I think so too!

[Flurbee]

Cam,

I have finally finished reading your PJ!!!! WooHOO!!!!:cool1: :banana: First of all, I love all of the little details and LOVE that you put into everything for your guests!! Your friends and family are definitely blessed to have you! :lovestruc Your welcome bags were beyond awesome, now I have even more ideas for mine. I am feeling ok these days. I have many things to update in my PJ. I have been a real slacker when it comes to that...I get so caught up in everyone elses that I forget to work on mine! I am appreciative of the extra time that we have now to plan and buy things. Your MK photos are gorgeous. I am off now to look at your Randy pics. Can't wait to hear more about your weekend now that I am finally caught up...:)

[29apr00]

trying to patiently wait for more pics!!!

[pink_tink8i8]

aw Cam, your pictures are beautiful!

[2BoysMom]

I think someone needs to get back to this thread soon. :rolleyes1

That's funny, I was thinkin' the same thing...:surfweb:

[Honeibee]

I think someone needs to get back to this thread soon. :rolleyes1


Well, maybe if you'd stop distracting her! :rolleyes1


:lmao: ;)

[keenercam]

Well, maybe if you'd stop distracting her! :rolleyes1


:lmao: ;)

Yes, it's all Howard's fault!! :goodvibes If I didn't live with such eye candy, I might be able to pull myself away from looking at my gorgeous husband in the MK proofs, the Randy proofs and my group photobucket album. :lovestruc

Actually, my personal goal is to supplement my online album with some Randy proofs this weekend so that I can get more installments up. Work has been crazy and I'm "supposed" to be training for a half marathon and trying to lose about a gazillion pounds. LOL! I PROMISE there will be MUCH more here by the end of the weekend. Thank you so much for sticking around and WANTING to hear more of my blabber. :grouphug:

[Angel16]

:goodvibes Yeaaaahh I knew it wasn't over! I just knew it wasn't over. Cam would never leave us hanging. :flower3:

[zoegirl]

CAM!!!!!!!!
I can't believe I stayed off the boards so long that I totally missed your vow renewal!! I stumbled across your PJ the other day and saved it so I could read every single bit of it. And I've almost done it in one day!
I see that you have been doing well, still running (way to go!).
I can't wait to read the rest of your story!!

~bree~

[MegKate]

We <3 your blabber Cam!!! More I tell you, more!! :goodvibes

[bonzie1]

Oh Cam! We've never met, but I want to let you know How I've enjoyed your posts, and your wonderful journey of life, love and blessings... trials and triumphs! :lovestruc

Thank you fo letting us "strangers" into your life. It's beautiful to feel a part of the process and your excitement, and undeniable love for each other.

I soaked up the details of your planning and smiled as I read of your choices. They are all so precious... your cake ropper, your little chairs, your welcome bags complete with endless surprises for your guests. :goodvibes Everything you've done is an outpouring of the love you share with your DH. That love overflowed into all of your VR plans. May God bless you and your family as you continue your journey together. Thank-you, Thank-you for sharing!

Your sharing brings back fond memories of a dear friend's Disney FTW VR. It was a once in a lifetime event for us. I know you provided that for your guests as well...:cloud9:

[keenercam]

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get back here to post the next installment. Even now, though, I can’t quite figure out why I don’t have some of the pictures I thought I’d include here.

The last installment was part 1 of Friday (day 2). It is here at post 1510
day 2 part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1659796&page=101)
So, here is Day 2 Part 2 and it picks up with one of the happiest couple hour segments of the entire trip – the WISH team meet at POP Century Food Court. I just can’t describe how much I look forward to the POSITIVE energy that comes from the WISH team. You walk in the room and you are surrounded by friends, regardless of your athletic abilities. You share the goal of training to be fit and everyone is so respectful and supportive. This year, I was doing the Half-Marathon which would be the next morning (I have promised myself that having finished the Disney FULL marathon twice, I’ll NEVER do that again!) So, this was an opportunity to see everyone who had run the 5k that morning, like Howard, and those who would run the ½ marathon Saturday (like me and Howard). Some of our teammates weren’t running until the full marathon on Sunday, so they were a bit more relaxed than some of the rest of us. I only have a couple pix from the WISH meet because I was so busy gabbing that I never remembered to take pictures.

These are some of my dearest friends in the world (5 of the 6 other Minnie Girls – poor Judy was wiped out and needed a nap to prepare for the half-marathon, so I didn’t get to see her that night)

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0336.jpg


And here are our guys – We call them the “Muffins” -- that started as the Minnies’ Muffins, but some of them insisted that “Minnie/Mini” just was not a term they wanted associated with them ( :laughing: ), so they renamed themselves the Stud Muffins. LOL! These are truly, without-a-doubt, six of the BEST men in my world. Truly everyday heroes and all-around good guys. I know that no matter where I am and what I need, I could call these guys and know I can depend on them. And what I love best about them is that they treat their wives, my dear friends, like gold. I am so appreciative of the fact that my friends are so well-loved and respected and adored by their husbands.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0342.jpg

After we’d been there a while, my MIL, SIL and BIL arrived, and we hung out with them for a while and all got dinner at the food court. Once again (and as always), I was so proud to be a member of the WISH team when some of our teammates came to where we were getting ready to sit, to urge us to come sit with a huge gang of our teammates. I wondered whether Howard’s family would be okay with that, but everyone was so friendly and Howard’s Mom and Sister made a point of saying “Everyone is so nice. You have really nice friends.” Yeah, we know. Blessed, right?

After dinner, we gathered the lasagna stuff from Martha & Craig’s car and headed back to BCV. We showed my ILs their room and said good-night to try to get a good night’s sleep. Jenn, Andrew & Ade were back from their foray to the parks by then and we helped them get their race gear laid out and then all headed to bed early.

Next up: Day 3 – A Half-Marathon and Lasagna Dinner

[mla1977]

Yay! An update! I know what you mean about heading to a WISH meet. It is so different from a regular DIS meet.

[keenercam]

DAY 3 – HALF a MARATHON and a MOUNTAIN OF LASAGNA!!


Well, I can tell you for sure that 2:15 a.m. comes very early, and if you are worried about your own ability to finish a race without getting swept and also worried about 2 20 year olds who hadn’t had time to train, sleep is even more elusive.

So, at 2:15, we all got up and dressed in race gear. I walked the girls through getting themselves fueled and hydrated and getting all their gear together. We met up with a lot of the WISHers at the start, but Howard and I left after just a couple of minutes to attend the prayer service. Unfortunately, it was delayed several times and then went longer than it has the past 3 years and we were late getting back to the meeting spot. We had time for a few pix at the meeting spot and at the start:

Here are our friends Matt and Kevin. Matt decided to provide course support for the half-marathoners and was all over the course, cheering people on and being absolutely amazing in that Sorceror hat and those wonderful, smile-inducing Mickey gloves. At one point, I saw him up on an overpass and he screamed something along the lines of “Cam, Look at you running!! Every time I’ve seen you, you are running!” and he encouraged me so much. What a great guy! Kevin wears these really fun running tights as a show of camaraderie for our team and to make us all smile. Two really wonderful WISHers! Seriously, what awesome guys!
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0347.jpg

I have no idea why my cheeks were so red, but here I am with my girls at the start

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0348.jpg

And then we were on our way! I knew my hip was hurting that morning and it usually lasts for a duration of time, rather than distance. Rhonda, who has been my race partner at every Disney race was fine with me trying to get as far ahead and build a time cushion as possible. My dear Kathy took Jenn and Adrienne under her wing (she is nowhere near as selfish as I am), so I was free to make a break for it and try to get well ahead of the sweepers. I had my best race ever in that I was able to jog most of the way. I was astounded at how healthy and energized I felt. I was wearing my Tokyo Disneyland bride ears and everyone was so sweet, congratulating me. Patty had helped me do iron ons for my tee shirt and though I cant' remember exactly (and the shirt got ruined when I washed it), the back said something like “Marrying My Prince Charming All Over Again” with our two wedding dates. The front said “Marrying Him Once Was Not Enough" with both our dates (I stole this from the slogan Howard had come up with for his honeymoon tee-shirt)

It was so amazing to run past the Grand Floridian:
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0353.jpg

And the Wedding Pavilion:
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0354.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0355.jpg

I stopped for lots of pictures along the way but I look so goofy in all of them with my red cheeks and ear to ear grin, that I’m not going to embarrass myself by posting them. LOL! One of the highlights was seeing Kevin and Michael (Heather and Rhonda’s hubbies) in the Magic Kingdom on Main Street. What a wonderful surprise! I still can’t believe I was still jogging at that point, stopped for pix, and took off again. Soon, I saw Judy, but she quickly blasted past me – she is so fast!!!

My race time was not great. Truly, my time was pretty bad, but I had the BEST TIME!!! I got to see so many WISHers along the course and our Scream Teamers were beyond amazing. And best of all – Rhonda and Heather caught up with me in EPCOT and we were able to finish together. Actually, they finished just ahead of me – they still were so strong and fast at that point, and I was not. But finishing with them was just the cherry on top! :cloud9:

It was great to see everyone at the end of the race, but I was wiped out and still had lasagna to prepare for about 60+ people, so we soon headed to the line for the resort buses. We waited a really long time for a bus back to BCV. Howard quickly showered and headed out to meet some WISH friends at Macaroni Grille. I was so jealous that he'd see some of my favorite people, but I knew he'd give them my love and hugs and take lots of pix. And he did:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0356.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0357.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0358.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0359.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0360.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0361.jpg

[WithDisneySpirit]

Sounds like you had an awesome race, Cam! I never fail to be impressed thinking of all you did that trip - WOW!! Got a medal too :goodvibes :worship:

[Honeibee]

YAY! A new installation! :banana:

Oh Cam, you're too funny! I may be a lot of things but "fast" is not one of them. :laughing:

[figmentfan814]

Cam~ I really enjoyed reading about your day running the marathon; it sounds like you had a lot of great support. Kris keeps bugging me for the two of us to train to run in a 1/2 marathon too, but I keep saying only if its one at Disney ;)

[pjstevens]

Actually, my personal goal is to supplement my online album with some Randy proofs this weekend so that I can get more installments up. Work has been crazy and I'm "supposed" to be training for a half marathon and trying to lose about a gazillion pounds.

Hey there, what's this 'supposed' to be!!!???? You are! :cool1:

[zoegirl]

Cam I can't believe everthing that you did over that weekend. Between the race, being the "hostess with the mostest" and your wedding I'm surprised you didn't pass out from the stress!!!
I can not wait to see your wedding pics because I know they are going to be beautiful.

and who cares about race times anyway??? Don't sell yourself short on the time you finish....it's that you "have the courage to start" right? I think when you're having fun it makes all the difference, and it sounds like you did.
I have made a vow to stop wearing a chip during local races just so the pressure will be off....I'm never gonna win anything anyway. :laughing:

[keenercam]

Aw, thank you Angel and Meg! :hug: I wish I were an entertaining writer like my dear friend Jen (jennifaerie) -- I could read her PJ and TR over and over! :goodvibes

Georgie -- Thank you so much for your kind words. :hug: We were so fortunate to have so much time to plan this that we were able to search out the things that meant so much to us, like the cake topper. And we LOVED having the time to plan some wonderful surprises for our guests (details coming up about the pre-reception and the guestbook :love: ). I am hoping that our guests took with them memories to last a lifetime (including memories of dancing with Mickey and having pictures taken with him! :faint: )

Bree -- It is so wonderful to see you here. I can't believe how big Luke is getting! Isn't he gorgeous? I still love the pix I have of the three of you from the Boardwalk meet at marathon weekend 2008. He has only gotten cuter with time! How cool that you have taken the pressure off yourself so that you can love running. :cool1: I love John Bingham's philosophy -- I'm gonna get the very same medal as the fourth place finisher, so I might as well take my time and enjoy every minute out on the course. :laughing:

Megan -- I'm so glad that you agree that WISH meets are awesome. I've never met a more generous group of people in my life, and the fact that every one is an athlete totally blows away my prejudices about athletes being introverted, ultra-focused and too competitive to be warm and loving. Just WAIT until you see the pictures from our dessert party -- what an AWESOME bunch!!! :thumbsup2

Thanks, Lisa! Looking back, I wonder where I left my common sense and I wonder why someone didn't tell me how crazy I was to volunteer for the full marathon water stop, but I'll get to that soon. What in the world was I thinking? LOL! :sad2:

Oh, Judy, sure! Play all "Miss Modest" but aren't you the one who took a real-live restroom break and STILL blew past me to finish more than 15 minutes ahead of me? Not fast. Kerplewey!

Vanessa -- You and Kris totally have to sign up to the do the Disney half marathon. The one in January is awesome because it isn't likely to be as warm, but the new princess one in March sounded really awesome too. Then, there's always Disneyland -- that one's over Labor Day weekend. You could even start with something a bit shorter -- the Race for the Taste 10k or the Tower of Terror 13k. Any one of them would be so much fun, especially if you two train together and do it together. After your miraculous recovery from your car accident, I am totally convinced you could do ANYTHING you set your mind to, sweetie! :hug:

Okay, Patty! I guess those 4 miles on Saturday and 3 miles this morning officially count as the start of a structured 1/2 marathon training plan. Can you tell me again why we are running a half marathon in Delaware in May? :scared1: LOL!

Seriously, thank you everyone for reading. I'll get more up as soon as possible. I am even going to raid Jenn's shutterfly pix if I can to find more fun pix of WISHers to share. :lovestruc :cloud9: :cutie:

[Disneymoon0909]

Cam,

I just wanted to say that reading through your entire thread has been so amazing- I feel like I know you! You are an inspiration to me as I struggle to lose weight and hope to one day be able to run in the races at Disney! I also hope that my wedding in September and Disneymoon are as beautiful and as magical as yours. I look forward to more!

Holly

[bonzie1]

DAY 3 – HALF a MARATHON and a MOUNTAIN OF LASAGNA!!

...but Howard and I left after just a couple of minutes to attend the prayer service. Unfortunately, it was delayed several times and then went longer than it has the past 3 years and we were late getting back to the meeting spot.

Wow! A prayer service. Do you know if they have one prior to all of the races, or just the main marathon weekend? That's great to know. :thumbsup2 Thanks!

Putting all of this together for us to read is a labor of love. Know that your efforts are appreciated. Your thread is providing joy... :goodvibes

[2BoysMom]

We met up with a lot of the WISHers at the start, but Howard and I left after just a couple of minutes to attend the prayer service.....


Here are our friends Matt and Kevin. Matt decided to provide course support for the half-marathoners and was all over the course, cheering people on and being absolutely amazing in that Sorceror hat and those wonderful, smile-inducing Mickey gloves. At one point, I saw him up on an overpass and he screamed something along the lines of “Cam, Look at you running!! Every time I’ve seen you, you are running!” and he encouraged me so much. What a great guy!
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii221/keenercam/marathon weekend/IMG_0347.jpg


Cam-
I wanted you to know that I did my first Half Marathon at the inaugural Princess Half a couple of weeks ago. I wish I had known about a prayer service, I would love to have done that.:lovestruc

Matt was there, and after he sped ahead of all of us, he went back and cheered the rest of us on our way, still wearing his big Mickey Wizard hat (I didn't notice the gloves, he may have had them). He even did the overpass thing again, cheering people on. I can't tell you how inspiring he was and how much fun. Because I am new to the WISH team, he didn't know or remember my name, but he kept calling out "Hey WISH-girl" whenever he saw me. He made me laugh so much, and always inspired me to start running again whenever I saw him.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, I just wanted you to know that your dear friend Matt was at the Princess and still inspiring others.:wizard:
He was truly one of the highlights of my Half Marathon experience.

-Donna

[DisneyFairy19]

Cam I am plannng to do the 5K next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[traceycooper]

Thanks for posting some more of your TR Cam :)
one day i hope i'll be with you running in WDW :cloud9:

[Flurbee]

Cam,

Hey there....I am finally caught up on your thread!! I love it!! I posted something a while back when I got done, but I think you may have missed it...:) Anyways, looking forward to more...:surfweb:

[29apr00]

yay another installment!! I'm so proud of you Cam!!

[KeenHo]

*Ahem... how can this have slipped to the second page? Hmmm. :confused3

[DisneyLaura]

Just checking in and saying I'm finally caught up with your TR. I lost my computer for a couple of days almost a week and I have a lot of DISing to do.

[Flurbee]

Is Cam's TR somewhere else?? I haven't heard anything for a while, just wondered if I was missing something....:confused:

[keenercam]

Hi, guys! Sorry I haven't been around. Have been so busy with work and I'd promised myself I'd get all our thank-yous done before I did more of the TR here. Well, the Thank-you's are well under way, and then I have to find a couple more pictures and put together our package to send to Stan for our video, and THEN I am going to work on the TR.

I think I was a little overwhelmed (okay, a LOT overwhelmed) to get CDs containing over 3600 images from Randy and trying to decide what to upload to include in the TR.

AND our friend Kathy has some of the best pictures taken of the entire day and I need to get them from her to include some here, too. She captured moments that no one else was around to see and moments that few people know me well enough to have noticed. I can't wait to share them here.

I am off to WDW for a long weekend with my dear "Minnie Girls" and am so outrageously excited about it. I will catch up here soon. Thank you all for caring! :grouphug:

[figmentfan814]

Don't worry, we understand. After all I'm still working on my honeymoon report a year after :goodvibes Have a wonderful time this weekend :smickey:

[Flurbee]

Cam,


Have a wonderful trip!!! Don't worry, we will be waiting patiently for your return...:)

[Tricia1972]

Loving your story Cam!

[Angel16]

I just wanted to thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your vow renewal. Looking forward to whenever you have the time to finish the romatic adventure. :hug:


Angel16

[keenercam]

I am so excited to have finally sent our materials to Stan for him to do our video. We had fun choosing the music for the montage at the beginning and some instrumentals for througout the rest of the video. I am really hoping it won't take very long to get the finished product. I can't believe that it has been more than 9 months since our VR!! I still remember it like it was yesterday.

My goal for the weekend is to start going through the over 3600 images that Randy sent us on CDs and start picking out the best. When we have glanced through them, I was amazed at how many images there are of each shot, each just a bit different as far as lighting, angle, etc. I know that it will take us literally hours to go through them and choose our favorites. This is the first weekend since the VR that we have nothing on our calendar. Isn't that ridiculous? No marching band activities, no house guests, no place we have to be. I am really hoping to settle in, in a comfortable pair of lounge pants and my "Disney Fairy Tale Bride" shirt with lots of good coffee and playing my ipod playlists that I created titled "Dessert Party", "Wedding Morning", "CD for DJ", "Honeymoon", and "for Stan". It will be so much fun!!!! :cloud9:

I'll definitely be back next week to post a ton of wonderful "art" created by Randy and our many friends who have blessed us by sharing the pictures they took. :grouphug:

[MegKate]

Yay Cam!!

I can't wait to see them all! :goodvibes

[29apr00]

yay Cam!! Have a great weekend working on your pictures!! just make sure you don't make plans between now and friday!

[keenercam]

Thanks, Meg!! I hope I look half as gorgeous in my pictures as you do in yours.

Jen -- You know me so well, sweetie!! LOL! It is so hard when there are so few hours to do the fun stuff. :)

[lpizzuro123]

Ok Cam - you are a better person then I am. I still have not gotten all my stuff to Stan. I swore I would a few weeks ago and then started a new temp job and have not had the time. Can't wait to read more.

Linda

[keenercam]

Linda - I am so mad at myself for procrastinating so long, because Bonnie said to be prepared not to have it before Christmas. It took us a while to find time to sit down and listen to LOTS of music before we found what we wanted. Instrumentals were difficult because we had to find a version we liked of songs we wanted. I ended up buying many pieces on itunes that we didn't end up choosing because the composition wasn't quite right. And for some of the songs, we edited out the introductory bars if we didn't like them.

The worst of it came when I tried to find my baby pictures and came face to face with boxes of stuff I "inherited" from my parents' house when they died 16 days apart in 2005. For some reason, that process was sadder than I'd ever anticipated and it was rough going for a while. After going through many boxes, I had to conclude that I may never find any of my baby pictures. So, in light of that sad realization and since this was a vow renewal and not a wedding, we decided to start the picture montage with the weekend we met, then our engagement picture, our wedding picture, one of Jenn at 7 months, one of Andrew at 8 months, and a family portrait on the Disney Wonder summer 2008.

Getting everything to Stan also forced me to finally unpack some of the stuff we brought back from Orlando in January (LOL!) to find one of our invitations to include in the package. Pulling it all together was quite the experience!

I'll let you know when Stan sends the final product, so you can estimate how long it is taking. I fed exed everything to STVS and they got it all on October 23. Hey, maybe I should sent up a "wedding video watch". ;)

[padisneyfour]

I am sure it will be beautiful in the end filled with wonderful memories!:goodvibes

[LKD]

I'm about to start reading through this whole thread!
I'm looking forward to it! From what i see, you looked very beautiful!

[lpizzuro123]

Hey Cam - one of the things I was waiting for was I have a picture of me at around age 5 on a horse. When Sheldon and I first got together we found out that he had a picture of him at about age 5 on a horse. Now, we both grew up in the city and way back when there used to be a man that walked around with a horse (ok maybe a pony) and took your photo on the horse - generally infront of your house. We had those photos of us in a double frame for many years and then the frame broke and we put it away SOMEWHERE. We really wanted those two photos in our photo montage at the beginning of our video. I could not find it for anything. I looked in every closet, drawer, in the attic and everywhere. I finally found it about two weeks ago in the back of a drawer. It was in a single frame with Sheldon's picture. Sure enough, my picture was hidden behind his picture. Now I can finally get all the photos to Stan.

Sorry to hear it was so hard going through all your photos but I am sure it is a good thing also. I lost my mom 4 years ago and I found some great photos of the two of us from when I was around 2 years old. One of those is definately going in the montage.

I feel so bad about Stan and Bonnie. Hopefully I will call them by the end of the week and let them know what we are up to. I would love to get the video before the holidays. Keeping my fingers crossed for the both of us.

Linda

[keenercam]

Linda -- I remember you telling me about those "pony" pictures when we all had lunch together back before your wedding. :) I am SOOOO glad you found them and can include them in the montage. Have you decided on the music yet?

LKD-- Thank you for reading!! It's wonderful to have you here. Welcome to the DISBoards!!! :sunny:

[lpizzuro123]

Not 100% yet. For the montage we were thinking about the Kodak song - the one that used to play before "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience". I also have a song on a Disney CD (can't think of the name of it at the moment) that I really like.

We definately have to do lunch again with our Misty pictures and your Stan pictures. I saw on some thread that you know Lisa. We were going to try to meet last year - they were married in October on the DCL and we were down there when they got off the boat but we never ended up getting together. Would love to meet her one day also.

Linda

[keenercam]

Not 100% yet. For the montage we were thinking about the Kodak song - the one that used to play before "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience". I also have a song on a Disney CD (can't think of the name of it at the moment) that I really like.

We definately have to do lunch again with our Misty pictures and your Stan pictures. I saw on some thread that you know Lisa. We were going to try to meet last year - they were married in October on the DCL and we were down there when they got off the boat but we never ended up getting together. Would love to meet her one day also.

Linda

I like your ideas for music. :)

I can't wait to see more of your pictures! Howard and I still have to decide which of our Magic Kingdom photos we want to have printed for home and our offices.

Oh, you HAVE to meet Lisa!! She is such an absolute darling!!! I felt like I'd known her forever before I met her on July 11 and then once I met her, I realized she was even more wonderful than I'd thought. We definitely have to plan a get-together. Patty (pjstevens) is one of my dearest friends and lives near me; it would be so great if we could coordinate a time for the four of us to get together and share pictures.

[lpizzuro123]

Sounds good to me. I think Lisa might be in Disney now - or soon. We were going to try to meet up down there but we are now not going down until February.

Linda

[Honeibee]

popcorn::

[Lori1960]

My husband and I are renewing our vow this dec.We bought matching micky mouse shirts for me my husband and 2 kids.I want us to wear these hats that my daughter and I bought whne we were in dsineyworld in 2008 but dieny won't shipp personalized hats.The hats were blue and the ears had mickey and goofy and the front had a patch that said 2008.But cause thats a personalized hat disneyworld won"t mail them.