Our Grand Gathering Adventure:Surprising the Boys! 9/17 WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

[hhockman]

Okay, I know it's a little early to start a Pre-Trip report for a trip that's just over a year away. I'm not kidding anyone, am I? It would be early if this wasn't the DIS, but it is, and I'm willing to bet that there are several PTRs on here for trips even farther away than mine is. :rolleyes1 Anyone want to fess up?

I was actually going to wait a little longer, because I need to finish my TR from the trip we took last September, but I haven't posted on there since last April, and now for some reason I can't post on it anymore, so I have nothing left to do, but start this Pre-Trippie.

C'mon, seriously. I'm not the only one planning when we have over a year to go, right? Well, I'm going to go on as if the answer to that question is 'no'.

Here are the details, such as they are currently:

We are planning our trip for September 18-26, 2009. There is a very important reason for starting so early...we're are ferverently hoping Free Dining will be offered again, but figuring it will end on the 19th. So we have to check in before that. The kids are out of school for Fall Break from the 21st-25th. Normally it would be the week before, but they've pushed it back a week this year for some reason. Being an out-of-work teacher that is PRAYING for a job next year, I'm going to need to go that week too. So there you have the dates.

The players:
Me (Heather)-currently 32, but I'll be 33 by the time of the trip (pretty much everyone has a birthday between now and then-my brother actually has 2). I have a Masters in Education from the University of Florida, but have stayed home with my kids, for the most part, since my oldest was born 6 1/2 years ago. I've tried to get a teaching job the last two years, but have been unsuccessful, so I'm subbing for now. I am praying by the time this trip rolls around I will actually have a full-time job. I was born in Florida, and mostly raised there, except for ages 6 months-8 years when I moved around thanks to the Air Force. I was dragged kicking and screaming to North Georgia a little over two years ago when DH was promoted to a management position (that has since then let him go-I knew we shouldn't trust anybody who wanted to move us away from Florida!). I am used to being able to go to Disney several times a year, but have only managed to get back ONCE (Sept. 07) since we've been here. I am going through serious withdrawl. I am also seriously into scrapbooking and photography. I will probably come home with 2000 pictures (and that's a conservate estimate).

DH (Mathew)-currently 31, will be 32. Matt is basically in Sales/Customer Service/Management/Distribution. He worked for Pepsi and then an air conditioning filter company until they let him go last May when they were bought out. He is currently working for a local hospital as an Inventory Specialist (I think that's his title), but hopes to be moving up soon. He is a great dad and a great baseball coach, who pretends to "tolerate" my love of Disney, but every once in a while slips up and asks when we're going again (or lately whether it's Sept. 2009 yet). Matt was born in Alaska and also moved around thanks to the Air Force, but was raised in Florida from the age of 8 or so. It should probably be noted that Matt is a Bama fan. This is important because the rest of us are huge Florida Gator fans, but we figure everyone is entitled to one fault.

DS1 (Will)-currently 6 1/2, will be 7 at the time of the trip. Will is old enough to remember the fact that we went to Disney several times a year when we lived in Florida. We don't mention DW around him often, unless we want to endure constant begging for weeks. He is in 1st grade (but will be in 2nd...you know where I'm going with this) and loves baseball (he's very good-he was on All Stars this past summer) and NASCAR (Dale Jr.). His is also a big fan of Disney, especially Phineas and Ferb and HSM (yes, it's okay for boys, especially young ones, to be HSM fans...especially girl-crazy 6 year olds who have crushes on Vanessa Hudgens). He also likes Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana (for the same reason as HSM) and Suite Life of Zack and Cody. So, I guess, basically Disney.

DS2 (Christian)-currently 3, will be 4 at the time of the trip (man, not happy about that thought!). He's the baby, and he knows it. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for the rest of us) my brother and SIL are having a baby in January so he will no longer be the "baby". He doesn't really understand this fact yet. He's in preschool and loves it. He absolutely loves Phineas and Ferb and pretty much anything on Nick Jr. or Noggin. He also really likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but isn't much into the rest of Playhouse Disney anymore (well, most of the time he still loves Little Einsteins). He is playing soccer this fall....and probably in the Spring....and next fall, because he's not quite old enough for baseball. Misses the cutoff by a month. I hope he likes soccer. He still likes to cuddle when he's hurt or tired, but this may not still be the case by the time the trip gets here.

Cole-currently 6, will be 7 at the time of the trip. Cole is a friend of Will's from baseball. He is not 100% as things can change, but his parents have already given the okay, so I'm planning for him. I'm so excited that Will has the chance to bring a friend of the trip. I always enjoyed bringing friends (although I never did so until high school) and Cole is a sweetie. He only increases the price of the trip about $300 for the whole week (not counting extras, of course, just the package), and when you're spending $3000, what's an extra $300, right? Okay, it's a room upgrade. I was considering the Pirate room at Caribbean Beach for this trip, but we're going to forego the upgrade and bring Cole instead. He's worth it. He also loves baseball and apparently HSM (judging from the fact that he knows every word of the soundtrack as well as Will).

Here's a picture of us (sans Cole) that we had taken last time we were at Disney (or rather two pictures):

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/image539.jpg
Me and Matt

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/image542.jpg
Will and Christian

That's the end of our "group". Those staying with us all the time in our room. There are others going though. Here are the rest of our "Group" "with a capital G".


My brother (Billy)-he's the one with the tricky age. He's 30 currently, but by the time of the trip he will be 32. Well, actually ON the trip he will be 32. His birthday is September 20th, so he'll celebrate while we're there. I think I'll make him wear a birthday pin that day...or the whole trip. He is at least as OCD as I am (probably more) and loves Disney, but probably again not as much as me. He works in Human Resources at the hospital where Matt works. His favorite thing to do seems to be playing World of Warcraft, but that will change in January. He also graduated from the University of Florida.

SIL (Valerie)-currently 25, will be 26 at the time of the trip. Val is awesome. I couldn't ask for a better SIL. She is a great friend and will be a great mother. I just wish she'd get into scrapbooking. She is also a big Disney fan and is going through withdrawl herself. She was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. She also plays World of Warcraft, but not as much lately I think. She is not a reader, but is currently working her was through the Harry Potter books for the second time-thanks to her SIL (me) who is a reader. She finally decided after seeing the 5th movie that she needed to know what else was going on that the movies left out. She will soon be a first-time mom. :yay:

Player-to-be-named-later-currently growing inside his/her Mama's tummy, will be about 8 months old at the time of the trip (due January 28, 2009). Billy and Val are expecting their first child in late January. So the baby will be making his/her first trip. They are supposed to be finding out the sex of the baby on the 18th of this month, so I will update this in a couple weeks with a name.

Mom (Carol)-currently 56, will be 57 at the time of the trip-YIKES :scared1: (don't tell her I said that!). She is mom to Bill and me and Grandma to all the kids except Cole. HUGE Disney fan, HUGE Florida fan. She hasn't said for sure that she's going on this trip yet, but if all her grandkids are going, she will be there. And they will be glad she's there because her favorite thing to do is spend money...especially on them.

Dad (Bill)-currently 55, will be 56 at the time of the trip. Hates Disney (I'm not sure I can use that phrase here). How about really dislikes. He doesn't like the heat, doesn't like the lines, and really doesn't like the amount of money he has to spend to go....or the amount of money my mom spends on shopping. He wouldn't go at all if the grandkids weren't go, but will go (and enjoy it-though he'd never admit it) because they are there. He doesn't even like the Disney channel. He does, however, like the Disney golf courses, and he, Matt, and Billy will probably end up there one of the days.

It's possible that one or both sets of my grandparents will also come. There is an extremely good chance that at the very least my grandmother (my mom's mom) will be there. It's been a while since they've gone too, and she's been wanting to go. My grandfather will probably come if my grandmother comes, but he'll probably spend most of the time in the room or at the hotel. I'm not sure about my dad's mom and her boyfriend. IF they come, it will probably just be for the day, as they live in Polk county and can be there in less than an hour.

The PLAN: As you can see, we have a total of 9 paying attendees, so we are officially a Grand Gathering. Whether or not we take advantage of the Grand Gathering experiences is yet to be decided, but I'd really like to at least do the Safari thing because Christian is (at least right now) a HUGE animal fan. We will be getting Park Hoppers (which we usually get, but didn't last time) and Water Parks and More upgrades (the kids haven't been to Disney Quest since they were too young to care). Matt and I are currently planning to take advantage of Simba's Club or one of those places one night so that we can go to Pleasure Island (I've never been). We will definitely do Sea World for at least one day (Will has loved whales since before he could talk), and possibly Aquatica if I can swing it (I love water parks). We might do La Nouba (Matt, Will, and I have seen it mulitple times but love it-Christian and Cole have not seen it). These "plans" only refer to the top 5 of us. I'm not sure what my brother's family and my parents will or won't be doing.

I have already preordered the 2009 Passporter, so I should get it pretty early next month (I hope). I am planning to give one to my brother's family as part of their Christmas present (Passporters are AWESOME by the way). We are all excited and ready to start planning. I hope you will indulge me as I come back to post the things I am picking up along the way for the kids, and the different plans that are made and changed. I can't wait to share this journey with all of you. It will be a long one...but a fun one! :wizard:

[GRUMPY D]

party: sounds like a party to me , and im sorry to say this but plesure island is closing sept 2008 :furious: and just like you never bin there walk throw it never stop , and i allredy started to plan are next trip in 2010

[rentayenta]

:wave: I'm in. We early trippers need as much support as we can get! :goodvibes Cute family!

[hhockman]

I have guests! :banana: :yay: :cool1:

:welcome: I'm so glad you're here.

GRUMPY: :mad: :mad: about Pleasure Island closing! How did I not hear about that? Any news on what they're going to replace it with? I think we'll still let the kids visit Simba one night. We can always just go have a nice dinner or something.

rentayenta: I'm off to read your pre-trippie. We DO need to stick together. I'm glad to see I'm not the only "crazy" one here! :dance3:

[hhockman]

:wave: I'm in. We early trippers need as much support as we can get! :goodvibes Cute family!


Okay, I just had to say one more thing...I just started your Pre-Trippie and it will take until MY trip to read it all. You guys are CRAZY and funny! And I'm jealous you're going before me. :snooty: But happy for you. ;)

[rentayenta]

Okay, I just had to say one more thing...I just started your Pre-Trippie and it will take until MY trip to read it all. You guys are CRAZY and funny! And I'm jealous you're going before me. :snooty: But happy for you. ;)



:blush: I started to do an index but I admit there is so much insane chatter in between snippets of planning. We are closer now, only 240 days away and when I began we were over 500. :rotfl2: You are not alone is your early planning! :goodvibes

[hhockman]

Okay Jenny (see, I've been reading, I know your name now!), I want to know (because I can't read that much tonight!) how you guys have written 75 pages in the last 3 months?! I'm :scared1: to see what the actual TR is going to look like!

[rentayenta]

Okay Jenny (see, I've been reading, I know your name now!), I want to know (because I can't read that much tonight!) how you guys have written 75 pages in the last 3 months?! I'm :scared1: to see what the actual TR is going to look like!


Oh my heck, my trippie moves slowly. ;) You should see some of them. :surfweb: They are great but very hard to keep up with. :hyper:

Have you figured out how many days left? :goodvibes

[hhockman]

Have you figured out how many days left? :goodvibes

Uh, yeah. :headache: With the help of my wonderful ticker (DUH!)...1 year and 8 days, or rather...

373 days!

Except that I *think* when I did my ticker I said September 19th, and I *THINK* we're actually planning to get there on the 18th now...so in that case it would be...

372 days!

I'll change my ticker when I figure it out for sure. ;)

[hhockman]

Okay, so I know it's late and I should be in bed, but after reading through a couple of PTRs and TRs, I'm feeling all Disney-fied, so I'll do a quick little update.

Our current plan for the hotel (I mean Resort-I worked for the Disney Travel Company for about 4 months when we lived in Florida, we were NOT allowed to call anything on Disney property a hotel, they are RESORTS!-just so you know :teacher: ), is POR. I was thinking about CB in the Pirate rooms (because those look super-cool!), but then we decided on our little tag-along, and he took the extra $$$ I was planning for the upgraded room. Plus, he makes 5, which won't fit into one room at CB, but can fit in one room at POR.

We have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (just incase there are some that don't know abbreviations yet) many times...even back when it was Dixie Landings. Disney and I have a history...and it's fairly long...dispite the fact that I've never taken the time to add all of my trips to my signature. It would take too much time...and the whole signature space.

ANYWAY...

So we know this resort. I affectionately refer to it as the "Deluxe Moderate". It feels like a Deluxe resort (except for the full size beds), for the price of a Moderate. It's not the kiddiest of resorts (though it does have a cool pool, and honestly, with two 7 year olds and a 4 year old boys, I could do the whole Tom and Huck thing and they'd think it was {insert current term for something really cool}. At least I hope they will.

We've stayed Deluxe before. We did AKL for Will's 4th birthday (and truth-be-told, I would LOVE to stay there again, but the budget just pretty much isn't going to allow it). Of course, that was also only a year after I worked for Disney, and I still knew people I worked with, so I got it at the cast member rate...or maybe the AP rate...I forget, but the point is, it was a GOOD rate. One that AKL will probably never see again. Which is why we'll be doing moderate. Which IS still a step up from the Value we did last year (the boys were 5 and 2 and we didn't have Cole with us. BIG difference! And MUCH cheaper!).

While it's quarter to one in the morning, and I'm feeling like rambling, I'll just do a run-down of the resorts where I've stayed previously.

Just so you'll know.

In case you want to know.

(You know you do!)

Deep breath...All-Star Sports...All-Star Movies...All-Star Music...POP Century...Fort Wilderness (in a Pop-Up tent)...Port Orleans French Quarter...Port Orleans Riverside...Caribbean Beach...Coranado Springs...Animal Kingdom Lodge...Wilderness Lodge...Contemporary...Yacht Club...whew (I did that all in one breath!). I think that's it. My parents have stayed at Grand Floridian. I'm hoping to get to Boardwalk, Poly, and Beach Club one of these days (but not this trip).

Where was I? :confused3

Oh yeah. So we're planning on POR. My brother is too. I'm not sure where my parents will stay. It might depend on whether my grandparents come on not. I'm not sure. It's been a long time since my mom has gone (she used to go 3-4 times a year too, and loved spur-of-the-moment trips...{Quick call and see if so and so has anything for next weekend}. I like the feel, and they'll like the pool, and I like the boat. It's my favorite moderate, so that's the current plan. And now all of a sudden I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.

I'm not sure what I'll do next. Maybe ADRs. Or some of them. The problem with ADRs is that Disney has a new DDP that just has CSs and snacks. And we're betting that that DDP will be the "free" one next year. But we might upgrade. Depending on how much it costs. Or we might not. Which means we might not have many ADrs. Not sure. SO I might do something else. I'll think about it. Hope those of you in a different time zone than me (that are still awake) have a good night (why don't they have a yawning smilie on here?)

[Bev1016]

Subbing . . .
Cute boys!
It sounds like you have a fun trip planned--can't wait to read more! popcorn::

[rentayenta]

:faint: You have stayed at a ton of resorts! What did you do when you worked for Disney?

We stayed at the POR and it's the most costly option for a party of 5 except for renting DVC points. I don't know if you have thought of that but I have been chatting with a very nice and legit couple who may have some points to rent. Just a thought. You can fit 5 in an AK one bedroom and maybe even their studios.

We liked the POR for the most part. The grounds were gorgeous :cloud9: and the food court rocked! The only I didn't love was the bus service. Our line was double the size of any other at all times. :headache:

[hhockman]

I was one of the people that answered the phones when you called to make reservations. :) Seriously. Disney has a building in Orlando and one in Tampa where calls are routed. I have no idea what decides where the calls go. Training was awesome and a lot of fun, but then reality hit and it was a lot like any other place that does that kind of thing. We had quotas we were supposed to meet, and I am just not a salesperson. Plus I found out I was pregnant with Christian just about a month into training. I was driving about an hour each way, and I had a fair amount of morning sickness. My training hours were fairly normal, like 7 to 3 or something, but then I ended up on "evening" shift (which meant closing, like 11pm) and I was exhausted driving home pregnant through downtown Tampa (we lived in Clearwater). So I finally quit a couple of days after Christmas (yes, I had to work Christmas, of course. No seniority).

The perks were good, and I liked the people I worked with. I was what they call a "Worldphile" (isn't that an appropriate name?) which basically means I know a lot about Disney, so I could help people that know a lot about Disney (when you do that little survey at the beginning of the phone call about How many times have you gone, and when did you go last? That's how they route the calls). I was also able to do Grand Gathering stuff. It was really fun in some ways, and not so much in others.

(Can I get in trouble for giving this stuff away?)

As far as renting the DVC points, it did cross my mind, but we are *HOPING* for free dining, and if I rent through DVC we can't get a package, so no free dining. I don't know yet if the trade-off (staying at AK) would be worth it or not. I am definitely keeping the idea in the back of my mind, though, if I ever get a teaching job and we manage to go at another time of year, so I'd love info on legit DVCers if they don't mind you sharing. :thumbsup2

[hhockman]

So as I was reading Bev's PTR last night (or the night before, or whenever), I was going through her itenerary and read the words "Expedition Everest". In another TR I've read recently I read the words "Kali River Rapids" and with the two phrases together tumbling around in my head, a thought occurred to me...

Here's a little long-winded background of that thought. Last year when we went Christian was not tall enough of Kali River Rapids, so we didn't go. The height restriction is 38 inches and he was about 36 inches. As of August 20th he is now 39 1/4 inches(he was 35 1/4 inches at his 2 year checkup, so he grew 4 inches in one year). So he now makes the height requirement, which means next year will be no problem.

However...(anyone see where I'm going with this?)...the thought suddenly occurred to me to check the height requirement on Expedition Everest. So in the middle of Bev's PTR, I opened a new tab and hopped over to Disneyworld.com.

Uh oh.


You guessed it (if you didn't already know it)...


44 inches. (I believe Space Mountain is the same thing, so it's really rather a double Uh oh...or an UH OH!) :sad2:


Now Christian has grown 4 inches in the last year (he's in the 90th percentile for height and the 95th for weight and comes up to his 6 1/2 year old brother's chin), but I'm not sure he's going to manage that (and MORE) again this next year.

Here's the problem: Christian is the daredevil out of the two boys. Will, not so much. Last year Will refused to ride the BARNSTORMER when I took Christian (who was tall enough for that). Will was 5.

(interesting side note: Matt did drag Will on Expedition Everest! And even though he was terrified, he said he enjoyed it. He also refused to go again. I'm not sure if I got that far in my old TR. I don't think so. But I'm thinking I'm going to start a new thread to link to my old thread on my TR, so I can finish it, so the story will be there eventually).

I don't know whether Cole does roller coasters or not, but Christian is NOT going to be happy about missing out in EE and Space Mountain (he WILL be-he almost is now-tall enough for ToT, but that's not happening at the age of 4, no matter how much he...or his father...begs!). Someone tell me why 40 inches is tall enough for ToT but not for EE anyway?


Okay, enough rambling for now. I'll probably be back later, if I'm not asleep (need that yawning smilie again). I need to keep up with all the TRs and PTRs I'm subscribed to, right? :thumbsup2

[Bev1016]

How does Christian feel about wearing platform shoes? :idea: You could turn him into a little disco boy--no one would ever know!

It's funny what things kids are afraid of. When we took our nieces to DL my youngest niece was three and she went on every ride that she could go on. She was so light that we almost lost her on BTMRR! :scared1:

But then when she was six and we went to WDW, she wouldn't go on anything! It was nice for me since I had company (I was pg and couldn't go on a lot of stuff), but it was weird how everything suddenly freaked her out.

[GRUMPY D]

Hi jenny disney announce the closing of pleaser island about july or so and is doing away with the clubs and is putting in more shops and restaurants if you search dis news or disneys web site you can find out more on what is staying and what is closing

[hhockman]

Hey ya'll. I didn't realize I had a page 2. :cool2:

I haven't kept up with anything well this past month.

Nothing much to report, of course. I pre-ordered a 2009 Passporter to give to my brother for Christmas (I pre-ordered mine last May).

Mostly I just wanted to post so that I could see that my ticker is now UNDER ONE YEAR! It'll be triple digits, but I'm okay with that...for now.

Hope you all are having a somewhat less hectic September. :)

I'll post again when I think of something else to say. LOL

UGGG! My ticker isn't working. I guess I don't get to see it...

[hhockman]

Okay, so I've been away for a while. A long while. Like almost 2 months. But I'm noticing that a lot of people seem to have drifted away for a while lately.

My ticker says my trip is still more than 10 months away.

So there's still nothing to do.

My Passporter still isn't here (they're working on it though!)

Free dining for next fall won't be announced for months (though it looks like it will be announced eventually with all of the specials they are having right now).

And so there's nothing much to do except discuss the trip at length with my brother...offline...because as much as he likes to talk Disney, he just won't come here.

Anyway, hi to everyone. Hope you're enjoying your fall! Until next time...

[hhockman]

I'm back again just for a minute. I wasn't even planning on posting, just wanted to see where I left off.

I did our taxes tonight and we're getting way more than I expected, so this trip is definitely ON...if they ever announce free dining (well, let's face it, free dining or not, we're GOING). The thing is, I found out since last September that they don't DO the thing where if you check in during a promotion you get it for your whole stay anymore. So what am I going to do if Free Dining ends on the 19th? We can't change the dates. I'm thinking we'll just have to live without it, but hoping they will either extend the dates, or offer something else just as good (or better!). I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Uggg. I hate waiting.

I've started reading the Passporter, but haven't gotten far as I have lots of other things to read too (I'm trying to get through Inkheart before we see it at the movies on Saturday. I have not started-nor do I intend to-Twilight. However, abovemention SIL has read them all-twice-so she may talk me into it this time).

Player-to-be-named-later was born last Saturday (and I never even came back to tell you boy or girl!), the 24th. HIS name is William (yes, my brother went there, even though I already have a William...his William is named after him...and my dad...and my grandfather...he is the FOURTH!). He is currently called Little Billy (as my brother is still Big Billy). Can't WAIT to take him to Disney!

Other than that, there's not much to report. I'm hoping to get on here more often as we're now down to LESS THAN 8 MONTHS!!! I know, it's still a long time...but SO much less than a year.

Anyway, it's late, and I'm tired. I don't have that permanent teaching job yet, but I am doing a long-term sub thing for a 7th grade teacher and those kids wear me OUT!

So I'll be back. Soon, I hope. :) Stay tuned.

Oh, one more thing...I'm off to change my signature. I had a birthday so I'm now 33. I'm getting old.

[trinaweena]

I'll be following along with your report, we are going a Grand Gatherings in July and I also have PTR going for my March trip so it will be fun to follow along with yours!

[hhockman]

:welcome: It's so fun to have readers! I will definitely be updating more often now that it is the new year. I can't make reservations yet (until they announce whatever "deal" they are going to have for the fall...free dining...cough...(I hope), but I'll still be planning.

I've made two purchases so far for this trip. I bought the boys Bolt t-shirts a couple months ago (the only one at the Disney Store I could find that had two Ms and a S-plus Will and Cole both liked the movie). I also bought them some Disney (Pixar) tatoos from the dollar section at Target. My boys are totally obsessed with tatoos, so I thought it would be better and easier (and cheaper!) to bring them from home.

Nothing really new to report today. I would include a picture of our new player, but I'm not sure how his parents would feel about it, so I won't, for now. Hope everyone is having a great night!

I'm off to get some much-needed rest...and to TRY to finish Inkheart before we see the movie on Saturday.

ETA: I just changed my boys' little "signature" pictures to Darth. They are so obsessed with Star Wars right now, they would think it was the coolest thing in the world that they have Darth icons. :) So easy to please at this age!

[hhockman]

Okay, so I'm posting quickly tonight because I'll be posting for real tomorrow. In my email tonight I found a real...live...PIN CODE! pixiedust: I've only ever gotten these things once or twice, and always when there was no way in the "world" (sorry, I'm tired, I know that wasn't really funny) I could make reservations.

But guess what? No, really. Guess.

Okay, nevermind. I'll tell you. We are scheduled to get our income tax refund tomorrow. And guess what half that refund is going for...okay you didn't guess the first time, I'm not expecting anything this time either.

I figured I'd have to wait until AT LEAST March and probably April to make reservations because I was WAITING on Free Dining. And here it is February
5th. And I just got a pin code for FREE DINING. I'm so full of adrenaline that I can't sit still. Or sleep. I need to sleep. Desperately.

So provided the information I received is correct and we are, in fact, getting our return tomorrow, I will be making ressies TOMORROW!

(My brother is so jealous!)

Then again I'd be jealous of me too if I wasn't me.

Okay, it's obviously really time for bed. I'll be back tomorrow. :cool1:

[hhockman]

Okay, so I didn't come back the next day. But I DID make reservations! I called first thing in the morning on the way to work and talked to a very nice lady that got me all set up...but didn't give me a reservation number. Then she went to check with the Grand Gathering people to see if we could set that up. And we could. So she transfered me to the Grand Gathering people and I talked to a very nice gentleman...who had to redo my entire reservation because I didn't get a reservation number the first time. :)

But that turned out okay because the nice gentleman I talked to say that my brother could use my PIN Code. And we could use if for one other room (total of 3). Which was supposed to be my mom. Except that she had to use it by yesterday, and she still hasn't made her reservations. Her loss, I guess.

So I called my brother as soon as I got off the phone. And woke him up. Remember they are the ones with a newborn (who is 3 weeks old today, but wasn't quite 2 weeks old last Friday). He asked me, in what I imagine was the nicest voice he could muster, to call me back later that afternoon.

So I did. And he said he needed to talk to my sister-in-law so they would make reservations the next day. Which they did.

And so, here is where we currently stand:

My family, plus Cole, is staying at POR for 8 nights Sept. 18th-26th. We won't get there until about 1am on the 18th, but we want to be able to get up and go first thing on Saturday, so we're going to drive straight through on Friday. Plus we get extra dining credits.

...Oh....and I forgot to mention. We are getting free REGULAR dining. Not the new cheaper thing with 2 CS and 2 Snacks, but regular dining with 1 TS, 1 CS, and 1 snack each. So I get to make ADRs! I mean I would have made a couple anyway, but now we get a BUNCH!. :cool1:

Anyway, we're staying at POR and we have Park Hoppers and Water Parks and More. Though I think we're going to do Sea World that first Saturday, but my friend, who lives in Gainesville, has Sea World passes. But they aren't out of school that week like we are. So they would need to meet us on a weekend. Plus the rest of my family isn't going to Sea World, and they will all be driving on Saturday. Do the first thing we are going to do on our Disney vacation is go to Sea World. :dance3: But that's okay, 'cause we like Sea World too.

My brother and SIL and the baby will be arriving on Saturday (the 19th) and leaving on Friday (the 25th). They are also staying at POR with Park Hoppers and Water Parks and More.

Don't know what my parents are doing, but I wish they'd hurry up and make reservations before Disney decides we aren't really a Grand Gathering since we're one paying person short....even though we will be a GG. Even more than a GG. Because SIL's mom is now coming too. And she wanted to use my PIN code last week to make reservations for herself. But I was saving it for my parents. Who didn't use it. :sad2: My dad still doesn't want to go (but will). I'm pretty sure Granny will go, but Papa may or may not stay home. But we will-one way or another-definitely be over the Grand Gathering requirement. Just maybe not until April now, since my mom missed out on the PIN code and will wait to make her reservations. :headache: Some people I just don't understand.



ANYWAY...I ordered Disney crocs for the Will and Christian last week and they should be here any day. But I'm saving them for the trip (I'm not sure if they'll fit before then anyway-I ordered them on the big side). And I've decided we're going to let the boys do the Pirate Cruise. Anyone's kids done that before? I can't make reservations for that until the end of March, but I'll be making them as soon as I can.

We're toying with the idea of the Sunset Safari too (since we can use dining credits). Has anyone been on that? I'd have to talk my brother and either his MIL or my parents into it too if we're going to go. And since they will all have less dining credits than us, I don't know if they'll want to. But we'll see.



So I guess that's all for now. The ressies were the exciting thing, and since that was over a week ago, I'm kind of past the adrenaline stage now (though still SUPER exciting of course!). I'll be back soon with another update.

Have a great Valentine's Day! :love:

[hhockman]

Okay, I'm talking to myself again. :confused3 That's okay. There's nothing terribly important going on right now.

Today I bought 3 Pirates of the Caribbean (I can't ever remember if that has 2 r's, 2 b's, or both) Pix Clix 3.0 MP digital cameras. I couldn't find any reviews to tell me if they are any better than the older version that don't have a picture viewer on the back or a flash (this has both) or a small number of megapixels (this one has more). Supposedly they also play Mix Clips and Max Clips so I figure we can grab a couple of those and these can do double duty as camera and line boredom busters. They were $19.99 each with free shipping, so I don't feel too badly about my purchase. I wavered between whether I was going to get one for Cole, but I didn't want him to feel left out and I didn't want him to always be asking to borrow Will's. Hopefully they will actually use them (and the cameras will actually work).

I also went to Target to get the High School Musical 3...Extended Edition...for the boys :rolleyes1 SERIOUSLY...Will's been asking for it for months. And being the nice Mommy that I am, I'm going to sit down and watch it with them in just a minute. popcorn:: 'Cause I'm so nice :flower3: (Monica and Michelle and the others that know me from last year are totally not buying this...)

My mom told me this morning that she'd "discussed the trip with Dad" so we'll see where that leads.

And I guess that's about it. I'll be back later. :)

ETA: I just changed my banner. It was off by one day (I previously thought we would get there on the 19th) and I just couldn't have that, could I? So guess what? TOMORROW it's going to change to 6 months and some odd number of days. Or maybe it will say 7 months and no days. :confused3 Either way, that is TOTALLY closer than the over-a-year I had when I started this thing. And that's just cool. :cool1:

[DisneymoonJess07]

Love your trip planning so far. I might need to pick your brain later for planning advice, since I this is my first trip that I am planning by myself!!

[hhockman]

Okay, so not doing so great on the updates, am I? And, yes, it is in fact 2 in the morning. I fell asleep in Christian's bed and just woke up. I'll be going back to bed in a minute, but I wanted to do this while I was thinking about it. Ignore any spelling mistakes or other such silliness...(isn't there a YAWN smilie somewhere? I can't find it).

Anyway, so, yesterday I found the free dining code. I went to the website to see whether the Pirate Cruise (which I discovered stops at our hotel, how awesome is that?!) pirate: could be scheduled at 180 days or whether we had to wait until 90 days (I couldn't find an answer, anybody know?). And there it was, Free Dining. Free REGULAR dining (lucky for my mom!). So I promptly called my mom. Who was in a meeting. And didn't call back for a long time. And wasn't particularly excited when she did. :confused3 And she still hasn't made reservations. She hasn't decided exactly when they want to be there. I'm hoping to get her to make some decisions this weekend. 'Cause I'm still a little worried about Disney deciding we're not a Grand Gathering.

Speaking of Grand Gathering, I talked to my brother and he wants to do the Safari thing...on his birthday...which is the Sunday after we arrive. :cool1: I'm excited about that and totally :cool2: with using dining credits for it. And I'm still jealous that he's going to get that extra $70 or so to spend that day.

I ordered myself some crocs the other day. They are supposed to be here on Monday (the crocs site was having a good sale and I got some chocolate/pink minnie "mary janes" and some Gator flip flops...I almost got the Minnie ones in black and red to match the boys, but let's face it, I'd never wear black and red shoes again...especially here...'cause those are Georgia colors and we just can't have that...not thrilled about the fact that the boys' are black and red...just have to remember that those are MICKEY colors...okay totally off topic!). I've never owned any crocs, but I have been assured that they are, in fact, the most comfortable shoes in the world. Looking forward to seeing for myself.

I pretty much confirmed on Sunday that Cole will be going with us...as his parents are planning a child-less cruise for that week (I think his sister is going to their grandparents). So that's good news! :thumbsup2 Now I need to order him some crocs...

And I guess that's about it. I'm still looking through the Passporter and trying to decide on ADR's (and we're not sure about Sea World now because we don't want to spend another $400 on tickets...if we can get them cheaper we may still go, but we might just be spending another day at Disney...not a bad thing!). I'm sure as we get closer I'll be on here more.

My brother called yesterday to ask how much longer we have. And I didn't know off hand (which is why I came here in ther first place), but I was SUPER excited to see that my ticker says it's only about 5 1/2 months! WOW! I thought we were more in the 6-month-range and that half a month makes a difference. Now I just need to figure out exactly how many days that is. 2 1/2 months till we can make ADRs...

So now I really need to go to bed. Hopefully soon I'll have some more interesting things to report so I'll get my readers back. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like, those of you that said you have questions. ;) See ya real soon!

Oh...one more thing...I forgot to add the sad fact that I also have to go change my signature again. Will turned 7 last week :sad1: How DO these kids grow up so fast?!

[hhockman]

Okay, I'm back. Talking to myself A-gain, but that's okay, because I like to go back and read it all. :thumbsup2

So I finally got to make my parents' reservations tonight. My dad and I were talking this afternoon and he said something about Free Dining being back. I responded that Free Dining has been available for two weeks now and Mom still hasn't decided on anything. He said the decision would be made by tomorrow. She decided tonight. Finally.

So I called the Grand Gathering number and game them my information and made their reservation. My mom had planned to stay at a Value resort, but my dad wasn't having any of that and said that they were staying where my brother and I are staying (I think my mom and I were both surprised that A) my dad is this interested in getting the reservations made, and B) he wants to spend extra money to stay at a Moderate resort-you all remember he wasn't totally keen on the idea of this trip to begin with). So I booked them at Port Orleans Riverside from the 19th-24th. 5 nights, which is the minimum for the free dining. My mom still hasn't decided exactly which dates my grandparents are coming, but it will be less than 5 nights so their dining will have to be out of pocket.

The good news: We are finally OFFICALLY a Grand Gathering. 6 adults, 3 kids and an infant. For now. The bad news: Somehow the information I'd found (or not found, as the case may be) was incorrect and Grand Gathering Experiences can be booked at 180 instead of the 90 days that Disneyworld.com states. So everything is booked already. I was told to call back, that people cancel, so that's what I'm going to do. It's just a little frustrating. I really wish they'd stop changing things back and forth from 180 to 90 days and back again. But we'll live without the experiences if we have to. It's not as if there's not plenty for us to do, right? :goodvibes

In other news, I've all but decided the boys are not going to do the Pirate Cruise. As much fun as I think it would be for them, it adds up to about $100 and we've decided to try to get the money together for Sea World after all. A friend of mine that lives in Gainesville came to visit last week and my boys and her girls got along great (just like the first time they met). They have Sea World passes and have agreed to join us on Saturday, the 19th (when everyone else will be driving) if we manage to go, so that's all the more reason I really want to get there. They didn't know about the Pirate thing before anyway, so they'll never miss it.

I just noticed on the website as I was browsing (does anyone else think it's gotten awful hard to get around on the Disneyworld.com site? I just can't ever find what I'm looking for anymore. Like how many "options" you get with the Water Parks and more-I know it's based on how many days of tickets you have, but I don't know how many you get with each number of days. And which restaurants are included on the Disney Dining Plan. I know there are other websites with this information, but it's supposed to be on Disneyworld.com too and I just can't find it. :confused3), anyway, so I noticed that MNSSHP tickets go on sale May 1st. :hmghost: We have every intention of going, but I've got to figure out where the money for THAT is coming from too. And I've got to figure out if my brother wants to go. If he does, we'll go on the 22nd. If he doesn't we'll go on the 25th when both he and my parents will be gone. I'd rather go on the 22nd, because I know Tuesday will be less crowded than Friday, but we'll see what he says.

So I got my Crocs in and I'm not terribly impressed. I think part of the problem is that it looks like I actually need a size 7, instead of the size 8 that I ordered (the Minnie crocs weren't available in 7). I wear an 8 in most shoes, so I didn't realize I needed a smaller size, but there aren't any Minnie shoes still available in 7 except PINK ones (I don't do pink) and the Gator crocs aren't available in 7 anymore either. Oh well. I'll either get them somewhere else, or deal with the 8s, which aren't that bad. The other day I decided to open the box that contained the boys' Crocs, and that turned out to be a good thing as I discovered I ordered Christian the correct size, but apprently ordered an INFANT 2/3 for Will instead of the kids' size 2 he needs (Christian's are 10/11, so I didn't realize Will's would be just 2). Luckily, 2/3 is just about the size Little Billy will be at the time of the trip, but it meant I had to order Will another pair. I found them on Amazon for $9.99 plus $5 shipping and I had a $10 GC for Amazon, so I got the last size 2 they had and they are already here. Still have to get Cole's though...

Anyway, I think I'm going to go look through the Passporter to see if they have any of the information I need, and then make myself go to bed. We've baseball and tball tomorrow and then Matt and I are going to Outback and 17 again. :cool1: We were supposed to go last week for our anniversary, but my mom and I were out so late shopping for Easter outfits, we didn't get too.

My ticker will change to 4 months, some number of days on Sunday. Can't wait! :dance3: Hope you all have a great weekend!

[DisneymoonJess07]

We will be at POR just about two weeks before you!

I'm glad that your parents made a decision! That must feel good, even if you can't get a lot of the Grand Gathering stuff. I do hope that someone cancels though!

I haven't been to the Disney site lately. I remember finding the info on the dining plan linked on the reservations page (where you make the choices about which dining plan you want) so maybe that will help!

Looking good for planning though!

[hhockman]

Just a quick update since, as usual, it is bed time.

I just came over quickly to check my ticker and GUESS WHAT! :cool1: It now says: 3 months and 30 days! THREE MONTHS (okay, really almost four)! How's that for less than a year. In just 30 days we can make ADRs. Guess we'd better starting thinking about where we want to go.

I'm about half way through the Passporter now, but really haven't REALLY started planning yet.

Sea World is pretty much out again. We have a long summer of All Star baseball ahead of us and pretty much can't swing the extra $400, but we are going to try to meet my friend and her daughters at a waterpark instead.

I'm thinking we may be skipping MNSSHP too. We'll just have to see.

Oh, just FYI, my mom increased their reservation by one day about a day after they made them. So they are staying the same dates as my brother: the 19th-25th. Still no word about my grandparents.

Nothing much else to report. I'm sure I'll have an ADR update soon. I'm back with my 7th graders, so there's not much looking-over-the-passporter time, but school will be out in two weeks.

Hope I still have some readers yet!

I'll be back SOON!

[hhockman]

Hey ya'll. Second to the last day of school and we're watching the last part of The Outsiders. For me that means watching the movie 5 times in 2 days. Which is why I'm here. It's humerous though, because anyone anywhere near my age would know this movie and every star in it, but these kids don't recognize anyone but Tom Cruise and "that guy that was in Ghost". Amazing the difference 20 years makes.

I'm just about done with the Passporter (which honestly didn't say a whole lot that I didn't already know...and said some stuff that has changed since it was published-like it says that ADRs can be made 180 days out, and now it's back to 90....but I still love reading it). I've made a list of a few restaurants that I know we want to go to, a couple of which we've never been to, but I haven't decided everything yet. Does anyone have any suggestions?

We're definitely doing Teppan Edo (which we've never done, but are very excited about), Whispering Canyon Cafe (which we've also never done), T-Rex (though of course that won't count as a dining plan credit, of course), Tusker House for the Character Breakfast (we always used to do it at Restaurantosaurus), and well, I guess that's all I know for sure. We have 8 sets of credits each (which is two more than the rest of my family that is coming a day later and leaving a day earlier).

We're thinking about doing the Hoop-de-do-Revue, which we've never done (unless we can get one of the Grand Gathering experiences we wanted, but which were all booked when I called). Does anyone know if we still have to pay for it with a credit card beforehand if we're using credits?

I'd love some suggestions for some must-do restaurants, especially unusual ones. I read about Trail's End on someone else's PTR, and I'm definitely thinking of adding that somewhere. Otherwise, we've done all the big ones. Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's, 50's Prime Time, Hollywood & Vine, Chip & Dale's, Sci-Fi Drive-In. I'm thinking about Le Cellier or San Angel Inn, or Coral Reef. We've done all but Coral Reef (where we almost ate once, but had a really bad experience having to wait until the point where my brother's girlfriend at the time-who was diabetic- was getting sick from low blood sugar-and yes, we told them she was diabetic). So I'm open to suggestions. What do you guys think? Keep in mind that Cole's never been.

One other small thing...Matt has decided he doesn't want to arrive at 1:00 in the morning. So the kids are skipping school that day (we've already talked to Cole's mom) and we're leaving in the morning. That means they won't be sleeping on the way down, but hopefully it won't be too bad. Matt wants to do something when we get there that evening. I'm thinking about DisneyQuest.

Also, we were talking out loud a little too much and I think my kids are starting to suspect. A couple of days ago Will says "I want to ride that mountain roller coaster with Cole". I tried to cover saying "When do you think we're going to Disney World with Cole?" but I'm not sure it worked. Gotta be a little more careful. :scared1:

Christian's 4 year check up is in two weeks and we'll get an official height. Last time I unofficially checked he was about 42 inches. I REALLY need him to grow 2 inches in the next 3 1/2 months, but I just don't know if that's going to happen. That conversation I had with Will in the previous paragraph? Christian's answer was "I want to ride the mountain rollercoater TOO!" GRRR :sad2: The kid has GOT to grow (even though he's already tall for his age).

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. I still have two more periods of The Outsiders, so I guess I'll go back to reading. Bring on those dining suggestions...only 23 more days until I can make ADRs! :goodvibes

Oh...one more question. On a TR I was reading someone said they were thinking about getting the colored hair at the barbershop OR the "new pirate thing". Anyone know what the "new pirate thing" is? I was thinking about letting the boys do the boy thing at the BBB, but we might just do the barbershop instead. So what's the Pirate thing and which of the three should we do?

I'll be back soon (like probably tonight). :3dglasses

P.S. I'm switching to a blue font to see if it's easier to read.

[hhockman]

Nothing much to report today, but I'm here for two signature related reasons.

First to relish the fact that in THREE days we will be in double-digits. Three days. :cool1:

Second, I am relishing the fact that the second little Darth Vader in my signature says "3". Because tomorrow it will say "4". For one more day I have my "baby". Tomorrow I can't even call him a toddler anymore. Of course, who am I kidding, he hasn't been a toddler in two years. But officially tomorrow he really is a little boy. :sad1: No more babies for me. I know it's an awful lot of fun to have little boys, but just for today I'm going to be a little sad.

There's been so much baseball here lately that I've barely even thought about restaurants. I know :scared1:, but I haven't gotten any input so I'm still not sure what we're doing. Just 12 more days until we can make ADRs. I guess I'd better get on it.

Anyway, much to do here. Birthday tomorrow and my grandparents are flying in too, so I have cleaning to do. And of course, baseball practice tonight.

I'll be back...

[hhockman]

This is just a quick post because it sounds like my kids are about to break through the ceiling and I need to go check on them but...

I have to do the DOUBLE DIGITS DANCE!!! :cool1::banana::dance3:

Somehow I missed it yesterday, but as of today we are at 98 days?! How's that for a PTR that started with more than 365 days?!

I'll be back later to discuss ADRs...again. Gotta go make sure the roof doesn't collapse. :thumbsup2

ETA: You will notice that the second little Darth does, in fact, have a 4 next to it now. :sad1:

[crocko]

Yay...I found another PTR of someone who is going to be there when my family will be (Sep 17-26). It's great to be in double digits!!

[longing2Batdisney]

signing on...seen you on mickeytoontown TR...thought I would join in the fun... will be back to read; later

[mickeystoontown]

Told ya I was coming over! I'll come back and catch up in just a bit. The ghosts are calling me right now.

[longing2Batdisney]

just caught up! can't wait to find out what your ADR's will be ... what about your pirate tour...maybe you rementioned it and I missed it, what have you decided with that...congrats on being able to get the GG rate ...and Happy belated 4th Bday to your baby boy (or big boy, now-;) ).
looking forward to following along...when I did my PTR I felt like I was talking to myself or one other person all the time--LOL!!!

[hhockman]

First I want to say :welcome: to all of you! I can't believe I have readers. :)

Yay...I found another PTR of someone who is going to be there when my family will be (Sep 17-26). It's great to be in double digits!!
Where are you staying? Are you doing anything special? We wanted to do MNSSHP, but I think it's just going to cost too much for 5 people. We're really paying more than we have for a trip before since we're staying Moderate instead of Value, and we don't have the extra for other things.

signing on...seen you on mickeytoontown TR...thought I would join in the fun... will be back to read; later
I read about your son. It was after the surgery before I saw your thread, but I am SO glad he came through with flying colors! Glad you made it back to catch up. :) (more comments below)

Told ya I was coming over! I'll come back and catch up in just a bit. The ghosts are calling me right now.
Your ghosts CREEP me out. :eek: Let me just tell you...I don't even like it when I'm in the "elevator" at Haunted Mansion and they tap me on the shoulder. Gets me EVERY time. :scared1:

just caught up! can't wait to find out what your ADR's will be ... what about your pirate tour...maybe you rementioned it and I missed it, what have you decided with that...congrats on being able to get the GG rate ...and Happy belated 4th Bday to your baby boy (or big boy, now-;) ).
looking forward to following along...when I did my PTR I felt like I was talking to myself or one other person all the time--LOL!!!
Thank you for the Happy Birthday. It is bitter-sweet but totally worth it when we have nights like tonight where my boys were playing catch in the front yard. It's nice to have him big enough to do stuff like that now...and big enough to ride most of the rides (though he is going to be MAD about Space Mountain and Expedition Everest!). I'm still thinking about ADRs. I'm planning to work on it tonight...only 6 days until that phone call! As far as the pirate: cruise, I'm still thinking they're going to skip it. Mostly because there's other things I want to spend the money on...but I'm not 100% sure yet. Thanks again for following me. I know what it's like to talk to yourself. I promise to read your threads from now on too! ;)

There's not really anything to report right this second, but I wanted to welcome everyone! I'm working on a semi-schedule for ADRs tonight. I'm not going to have much time to work on it this week with baseball this week, and I want to be prepared to call first thing Saturday morning. I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow with ADRs. I'm off to read some of your threads now!

[crocko]

Where are you staying? Are you doing anything special? We wanted to do MNSSHP, but I think it's just going to cost too much for 5 people. We're really paying more than we have for a trip before since we're staying Moderate instead of Value, and we don't have the extra for other things.



We're staying at the Kidani Village at AKL. We won't be doing the MNSSHP...kids are yound and daughter gets scared by "bad guys" easily....plus, it is expensive.

Not doing anything particularly special that I can think of....just doing everything we can to give the kids a great trip :wizard:

[mickeystoontown]

I'm all caught up now. A lot of planning, changes and birthdays have occurred since you started your report. So, just so I know, tell me again what your latest plans are.

[hhockman]

We're staying at the Kidani Village at AKL. We won't be doing the MNSSHP...kids are yound and daughter gets scared by "bad guys" easily....plus, it is expensive.

Not doing anything particularly special that I can think of....just doing everything we can to give the kids a great trip :wizard:

I LOVE AKL! It's my first choice, but we're staying longer and bringing a tag-a-long this time, so it wasn't in the budget. And you're right MNSSHP is expensive...which is why IT isn't in the budget this time either.

I'm all caught up now. A lot of planning, changes and birthdays have occurred since you started your report. So, just so I know, tell me again what your latest plans are.

I promise I haven't forgotten you. Summer is in full swing, which means almost full time baseball...which somehow means that I am four days away from making ADRs and I STILL haven't figured out where we're going and when. I'm working on it right now actually. I hope to have an update tonight...I'm running out of time. Which is a good thing, right?! :thumbsup2
I'll be back tonight.

[hhockman]

Okay, I'm still working, but here's one last PLEE (now that I've got a few readers) for any dining suggestions. We've been A LOT but there's still a few places we haven't eaten and I want to try to hit anything we haven't been to that's good. So if you have a FAVORITE restaurant. You know, a CAN'T miss, please let me know.

Also, if anyone can tell me where I can find Fantasmic, Illuminations, Wishes etc times for September, I'd be forever grateful. Can't find it myself on the site.

Back to working on the schedule.

[longing2Batdisney]

the hours: if you look on the top of the dis page you will see a link for theme parks you can access the fireworks and parade times there; if you go to the WDW site and go to hours and search Keyword fireworks or parades it worked for me when I was planning.

I'm sorry I can't help w/ADR's our next trip will be the first time we do a food run...but, from all the pics and reviews I've seen I would like to try Tutto's that is the one that sticks out the most. Everyone seemed to like Tony's from what I've heard. And, Danny said he wanted to try Mexico (he loves mexican and itiatlian). Gwendolyn & Joe said Japan was just OK--not great!

What about character meals??? I would like to try Ohana's, we loved Crystal Palace, and we would like to try Tusker House.
Good Luck! I'm soooo excited your for ya'll, you are getting soooo close :yay:

[hhockman]

Thanks longing2Batdisney :goodvibes

Well, as it is after 10pm and I have to take the boys to the dentist at 8:30am (have I ever mentioned that I am NOT a morning person?), I won't be completely finishing the schedule tonight. I really can't believe that I don't have every day planned already. :eek: What kind of DISer am I anyway?

But I will put up what I have so far...which is not much. As of right now we've decided against anything that will cost more than what we're paying for our package EXCEPT that I am still planning to take the boys to TRex and I know that's not on the dining plan. Right now Sea World, MNSSHP, and the Pirate Cruise are all out. All of the money for those types of things will be spent on a hotel for a week in July when we have to go to Will's baseball tournament.

Okay, so, the CURRENT plan is that on Friday, September 18th, we will leave fairly early in the morning. Fairly early is 8am-ish. We were going to leave after school, but decided instead to just let the boys skip school. Will gets sick AT LEAST once every fall and spring, so he's never going to get Perfect Attendance anyway. Cole's mom has given him permission to skip school that day too.

I don't think Will has ever had an "unexcused absence". Do you think they will take a note from Mickey?

Yeah, I didn't think so either.

It is about an 8 hour drive, so we figure we'll get there around 6pm with bathroom breaks and stopping for lunch. Or maybe as early as 4 if we eat in the car....which we might do....because Matt and I are THAT anxious to get there (and might just be THAT tired of riding with two 7 year olds and a 4 year old).

We'll check in and haul all of our stuff to our room and let Cole look to his heart's content. For that matter, I guess we will all look to our heart's content because Matt and I haven't been to POR in forever (like, since it was Dixie Landings I think) and our boys have never been to POR either. At some point we'll get on the boat (LOVE that there is a boat!) to DTD and make our way over to Disney Quest. I love Disney Quest. I've loved it since I first read the concept before it opened. But the boys were young enough the last time they went that they don't even remember it. Trust me, they will join me in my :love: of the place. We may just have to drag them out of there kicking and screaming. We'll probably eat dinner inside. Easy, and it only takes a QS credit. Then we'll go back to the hotel and go to bed.

At some point.

On Saturday, the 19th, we are planning to go to a waterpark. Probably Typhoon Lagoon, although that is not set in stone. Matt likes Typhoon Lagoon better and as I love all things water-park-like, I don't care which we visit. We'll hang out there all day and go back to the resort in time to welcome the rest of the family who should be arriving at some point in the evening (depending on how late my mom actually got out of the house that morning). Once everybody is all settled, we will probably go out to eat somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Possibly TRex if I can talk them into it. Possibly not. There is a good chance we will go back to DTD, though, because it's easy. Maybe Planet Hollywood. Hmmm. Not sure. Still thinking. We'll come back to the resort and relax after, though. Maybe even swim. I love PORs quiet pools.

Sunday, the 20th, is my brother's birthday. I am TOTALLY jealous that we will be there on his birthday and he gets that voucher for $70-something (since he will already have multi-day tickets and won't be back in the next year). :mad: The CM who took our reservations suggested he give it to me since I shared my free dining pin code, but my brother didn't go for it. :confused3

I asked him where he wanted to eat most and he said Teppan Edo (we all recently tried Hibatchi dining for the first time and even though he doesn't normally do Asian food, he is really looking forward to this place), so we will spend Sunday at EPCOT.

My mom is planning on flying her parents in on Saturday so that they can pick them up at the airport on the way in, so they should be there. My dad is going to tell his mom and her boyfriend to come on this day too, so it will be "family day". I'm going to set up a Photopass Portrait Session at the Beach Club for some time that morning (can't make ressies until 30 days out). My dad has been REALLY wanting a family photo to give to my grandmother, and this seemed like the perfect time. Especially since I already bought the Photopass CD (so we'll just have to pay part of the fee instead of the whole thing). I'm planning to just walk over there once we get to EPCOT and then walk back, but we'll see.

Anyway, we'll spend the day at EPCOT and eat at Teppan Edo (hopefully) and probably hang around for Illuminations (maybe) and then the 5 in my family will probably go to the Magic Kingdom for EMH while everyone else goes back to the resort.

And that's as far as I've gotten. I know. If I'm this detailed in the PTR, what will the TR be like. I'll tell you now: long. I'm a talker, and you'll find that out if you hang out long enough.

Anyway, it's now 11pm (had to hang out with the kiddos a bit to get them to sleep), so I'm headed to bed. If I get anything accomplished tomorrow, I'll be back to add the rest of the plans. Keep the suggestions coming! :thumbsup2

[longing2Batdisney]

Great planning so far! I vote for t-rex (only because I think the boys will enjoy it!!--I want to take Ashton next time, he is a dino freak).

Congrats! on the B-ball tourney. I completely understand about the extras $$$. That is why I can't wait to go back and only have to pay for Danny & I and Ashton. :yay: I wanted to add SeaWorld to our trip in May and the money just was not there. Not, with Ashton's surgery...

Sounds like a fun family gathering; can't wait to see the pics

I can be a talker also; but, lately seem to be talking in broken sentences w/triple dots...

:laughing:Connie

[crocko]

Teppan Edo is very good....went there in December and thought it was delicious....very filling, too.

We will be at Epcot on the 20th as well.....doing the World Showcase that day. :banana:

[mickeystoontown]

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan worked out there! Hopefully, you can get ADRs for Teppan Edo. Our kids are not adventurous eaters so we never make ADRs there but I'd like to one day when it's just my husband and I. We are planning on going to T-Rex the day we arrive. That's the only time I could fit it into our plans. So, I am hoping it won't be too busy on a Thursday night.

Hope everything goes well at the dentist office.:eek:

[hhockman]

Okay Connie and Lisa (and anyone else who's lurking), I've got my first rough draft.

WARNING: This is going to be L-O-N-G. Just so you know.

And incidentally, Lisa, I totally didn't know that was your name until today. I promise I haven't been thinking of you as "tooth lady", but I didn't realize I didn't know your name either. :confused3

Here we go:

Current plans, subject to change.

Friday, September 18th
Leave the house about 8am. I hope. Pick up Cole and head to the Interstate. Try very hard to beat the morning rush hour traffic that will be headed to Atlanta. Hmmm. Maybe we'd better leave at 7:30. Pray that the boys (all three of them) stay entertained or sleep and don't have to go to the bathroom until we stop for lunch. They will all three have Nintendo DSs (the boys each have one-or will, as soon as we replace Will's-and Cole can borrow mine). Christian has a Leapster and Will has a Didj. We have two separate portable DVD players. Crayons, coloring books, activity books, travel bingo, and my iPod which has a "kids music" playlist. The car has an "auxillary" jack. Hopefully this will all be enough. If not, I will pull out my "mean" card and tell them that whoever uses the word "bored" will have to do a workbook page on whatever subject they like the least (for example, Will hates Reading Comprehension).

I don't think I'll hear "bored" much.

'Cause I can be mean.

Even on the way to Disney.

Which leads me to the fact, that I'm still not even sure when we're telling them about Disney. I know that if we haven't spilled the beans by this point, they're going to be wondering where we're going in a car with Cole. And they might even guess. I might make a game out of it. Not sure. I'll have to do some more thinking...

We'll stop somewhere about halfway for lunch and get out and relax a little. Make sure everyone uses the "potty" and all that good stuff. I'm not sure where we're stopping yet, and we may not know until we actually stop.

I expect we'll get there somewhere between 4pm and 6pm. Like I said last night, we'll check in first thing and bring everything to the room and get it organized. When we're staying for more than a couple of days (which is pretty much always now), I like to unpack and put clothes in drawers and stuff. I'm weird that way. We'll chill for a while and then get on the boat to Downtown Disney. I plan to head straight to Disney Quest and spend the rest of the evening there. Possibly until they close (11pm on Fridays), but we'll see how tired everyone is. We'll eat dinner at the Quick Service restaurant there (I know what it's called, but the name escapes me right now...(okay, someone tell me how there is no YAWN smilie on here...or am I just missing it?). We'll head back to the resort at the end of the night.

And that's Day One.

Saturday, September 19th
Okay, this days plans have already changed a little bit (how much do you think I'll change between now and September?). When we wake up in the morning we'll get swimming stuff on and head to Typhoon Lagoon. Hopefully at a resonable hour. We'll eat breakfast in the room and I'm planning to eat a Quick Service lunch of some kind at TL.

Some time in the afternoon we'll head back to the resort and change.

I'm hoping to make an ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe for around 6pm. The rest of my family is supposed to be arriving at some point on this day, but I have no idea what time. Especially if my parents have to stop and get my grandparents from the airport. I'm guess the rest of the group won't make it to Whispering Canyon, but you never know.

After dinner we'll head to the Magic Kingdom, which is open until 10pm, mostly to see SpectroMagic (at 8pm) and Wishes (at 9pm). We have, of course, seen these (and Wishes usually scares the bejeebers out of Will, who hasn't liked fireworks since the 4th of July after he got tubes in his ears...which would be his 3rd one-he was just over 2 years old, but I'm hoping he will do better this go-round), but Cole hasn't, and it's been a while for the rest of us. Especially for SpectroMagic. I don't plan to get on a whole lot of rides at this point, if any, but SpectroMagic is only showing on or two other days during our whole trip, so I wanted to make sure we caught it. I will tell my family our plans, and tell them they can meet us if they want to, but I don't know if they will want to.

We'll stay until Magic Kingdom closes, and then head back to the resort and go to bed.


***SIDE NOTE: I just remembered that Saturday, the 19th, will more than likely be the Florida vs. Tennessee game. If I haven't mentioned how big of Gator fans we are (and I probably have), I should (except my husband who is a Bama fan first, and a Gator fan second). Anyway, point being, we're going to have to find somewhere to watch at least part of the game. We usually do ESPN Club when we're at Disney, but that kind of messes up ALL of my plans, so we'll have to see. Might work though. The game is usually at 3pm. We might just have to move Whispering Canyon to a different day. Okay, side note over.***

Sunday, September 20th
This is my brother's 32nd birthday. I've already made sure I mentioned it to every CM I've talked to, and I will continue to do so as I make more plans. I'm hoping they will embarrass him, as I'm still jealous of the voucher he'll be getting that morning. :mad:

As this is my brother's birthday, we have basically designated it "Family Day". I have a feeling we will mostly stick together for most of the trip, except for when we leave everyone every night, but this is the day we will make a special point to stick together. We're going to EPCOT for the day, because my brother chose Teppan Edo for his birthday meal. Hopefully I can get and ADR for everyone. It seems like I remember a stipulation (from when I worked in reservations) for large parties, but I can't remember what it was, so I guess I'll find out when I call on Saturday. My Sister in Law's mother is also planning to join us for some of the trip, and there's a good chance she'll be here too, so it will be a large party (my mom is also trying to talk a couple of cousins into coming down, but I don't know when they'll be at Disney, if they come at all).

ANYWAY....

So, we spend the day at EPCOT. I'm planning to make a Photopass Session reservation for about 10:30 at Beach Club (can reserve until 30 days out). I explained all this in the previous post, so I won't go into big details, but hopefully we can walk to the boats, ride over there and walk/ride back (we won't walk over there or we'd all be hot and sweaty for the pictures). If I haven't mention this before I am a picture FANATIC and I am SUPER excited about doing this again. Especially if I can get even ONE good picture of my immediate family (the four of us) and even better if we can get those big family pictures my parents want.

The rest of the day we will hang out at EPCOT and eat dinner at Teppan Edo. I'm NOT planning to stay for Illuminations, though the rest of my family might. I'm planning to come back for Illuminations on Wednesday. I have a feeling the rest of my family will head back to the resort after EPCOT. However, the 5 of us are planning to head to the Magic Kingdom for evening EMHs if we're not too tired. We'll go back to the resort after that, of course, and go to bed.

***Another Side Note: I just checked the Florida football schedule and we are, in fact, playing Tennesee on the 19th. There is no time listed yet, but it's almost always 3:00. SO...rather than go back and figure out where I need to change what I'll just tell you here that I'm changing lunch on Saturday to ESPN Club, dinner to QS at the Magic Kingdom, and Whispering Canyon will be saved for later in the week. Hope I didn't confuse anyone!***

Okay, whew, I'm really getting tired. Would ya'll be mad if I just did one more day and then finished the rest tomorrow? I hope not (even though you basically already knew the first three days...but then I just changed it some didn't I?). So, here's Day Four.

Monday, September 21st
Animal Kingdom has morning EMH and Hollywood Studios has evening EMH and I'm going to foolishly try to take advantage of both. We'll get to Animal Kingdom early and I'm hoping to get and ADR for the Tusker House character breakfast. We've done Restaurantosaurus on every trip and it is always a favorite of ours, so hopefully it continues to be so even in the new location.

We'll spend how ever much time we want to spend at Animal Kingdom before we're ready for a break. I doubt we'll be there for the parade. We'll probably leave sooner. I'd never seen it before last time and I wasn't terribly impressed last time, so it's no biggie if we don't see it, except for the fact that Cole (and my extended family) hasn't seen it.

I plan to go back to the resort and spend an hour or two relaxing. Maybe swimming, who knows. Whatever the boys want to do.

I want to make an ADR for Boma at some point, and my plan right now has it on this day as we exit Animal Kingdom (it's so out of the way if we're not already at Animal Kingdom or Blizzard Beach, but I'm dying to try it), BUT I'm not sure we'll be at Animal Kingdom late enough to need dinner when we get out (Boma doesn't open until 5pm). If we are, we probably won't get to "rest" but will go straight to Hollywood Studios after an early dinner (earliest ADR I can get).

Then we'll head over to Hollywood Studios, which have the evening EMH. I'm not sure where or how we'll go, but we will make it to Star Tours at some point. We may not ever leave there after that, so I'll probably try to make it somewhere near the end. My boys are Star Wars freaks and after seeing this area we'll be lucky if we get to venture to any other part of WDW for the rest of the trip. We'll stay at HS until they close, I'm sure (though I don't know what the rest of my family will do). Then we'll head back to the resort and to bed.

Okay, I'm almost half way through. I know there aren't a lot of cute smilies, and I don't have any pictures, but hopefully you've made it this far. Any comments or suggestions? Obviously I've been before and know my way around. However, with a party as big as we'll be, there are bound to be changes, so I'm sure my TR, whenever it comes, will look quite different.

I'm headed to bed. I'll try to finish this up tomorrow morning. We've got a 7:30 game tomorrow night, so I doubt we'll be getting on at night. There's a couple more PTR/TRs I want to check out tomorrow anyway.

Have a good night!

[longing2Batdisney]

Ok! I read over really quick. But, I think I got it all. Great plan so far...I'm sending pixiedust: now so your first day is uneventful and you are able to get on the road unlike our diaster...;).

I like your thrid day...we planned our trip that way this year...taking advantage of EMH in the morning and evening...except we were unable to swin in the middle (it rained:eek:) so we had lunch and naps. I really think and ADR at Boma is a great idea to split the day.

More later:flower3: having fun traveling and planning through you until its my turn again...:upsidedow

[mickeystoontown]

Good morning! It looks like you have a really good plan so far. I guess I missed something 'cause I could have sworn you weren't doing hoppers. (You know how bumfuddled I can get though with all my ghosts.;)) I guess you will have hoppers 'cause you got plans to go to more than one park on a day.

We usually get to the Animal Kingdom at or near opening and are finished before park closing. That's the night, I try to make a late ADR at a resort restaurant or a Downtown Disney restaurant.

Looking forward to reading more plans.

[hhockman]

Thanks for sticking with me girls. :goodvibes

We do have park hoppers, actually. And the Water Parks and More. The only time we have ever been without hoppers is our last trip. We're used to having APs and going wherever we want. So we got the full ticket this time. And I fully intend to use it.

I've got a couple of errands to run, but I'll be back this afternoon with a little more planning info. I think I'm going to spread it out a little so it's not too much to take in at once. I wish I had some pictures to post, but there really isn't anything to take pictures of.

Have a great day everyone!

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for sticking with me girls. :goodvibes

We do have park hoppers, actually. And the Water Parks and More. The only time we have ever been without hoppers is our last trip. We're used to having APs and going wherever we want. So we got the full ticket this time. And I fully intend to use it.

I've got a couple of errands to run, but I'll be back this afternoon with a little more planning info. I think I'm going to spread it out a little so it's not too much to take in at once. I wish I had some pictures to post, but there really isn't anything to take pictures of.

Have a great day everyone!

Told you I could be all wobbly headed sometimes. Prime example: You do have hopper and the water parks and more option.

[hhockman]

UGGG. So I was supposed to be adding to my itenerary, right? And I haven't yet. And I've noticed after reading other PTRs that I'm going into quite a bit more detail than other people do on PTRs, so I'm thinking that I'm going to cut the detail down a bit. After all, this isn't even stuff that hasn't happened yet, right? And I don't want to bore you all.

But it won't be tonight anyway. It's 1am and I've got to get to bed (early ballgame). Matt looked over my itenerary a couple nights ago and made a couple of small changes. Other than that I'm good to go making my ADRs tomorrow morning (before the 10am game-I hope!), I just have to check with my mom RE: my grandparents. Even without them I'm making ADRs for 10 (or 11 with my SILs mom, who is probably coming) most days. I'm a little nervous about this, but we'll see what happens.

I made two purchases today: I bought Cole's crocs ($9.99 w/ free shipping on the crocs.com site-can't pass that up!) and I bought 3 SD cards. One for each of the kids' cameras. I really need to start finding some cheap shirts. And getting together the rest of the stuff. Got some good ideas off of momtothreeboys's PTR, now I just have to put them to good use.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. I'll check in tomorrow and let you know how the ADRs went. Tomorrow (today) is 90 days! :banana:

[longing2Batdisney]

I love the crocs.com website; I had found great deals for us. I also found great t-shirt deals on the disneyshopping.com site and at the disney store. As for your details that's ok if you want to talk it out we don't mind. I hope your ADR's go as planned! Hope the kids have a great day at the b-ball games.

[hhockman]

Okay, I know you all thought I'd show up here yesterday with ADR news...and I do have ADR news (and did yesterday, but didn't get here), but I've been spending a lot of time trying to catch up on some TRs (and PTRs) I've found. I'm figuring out that the more TRs you read, the more people read yours, so I'm hoping to get some readers over here (not that I don't love you two, I do :love: I promise!)...so I didn't get to the ADRs yesterday...

however, I DID make them :cool1: and got all but one that I wanted.

I decided, from reading some other PTRs, that it might be a better idea to give you an overview of our trip, and then come back with individual day plans. Then I can add pictures from other trips and stuff like that. I think this PTR is getting a little boring without pictures.

Also, I made some purchases today (we met my SIL and her family at Chuck E Cheese-they were passing through on their way from Ohio, home to Florida) and we made a side trip to the mall. I will wait until I take a picture before I let you in on the purchases though. :rolleyes1

Okay, so basic plan including ADRs (you guys should have the first three days memorized by now)...

Day One, Friday the 18th-Drive from home. Arrive and check-in. Chill at the hotel for a while. Head to Downtown Disney and look around. Go to Disney Quest. Food will be on the road and Quick Service at Disney Quest.

Day Two, Saturday the 19th-Wake up at a decent time and head to Typhoon Lagoon. Hang out until about 1:00 or 1:30. Head back to the room to change. Go to ESPN Club for lunch to watch the Florida vs. Tennessee game (this plan could change a little if the game turns out to be at a different time than 3:00 like I expect). After the game head to Magic Kingdom for the evening, especially for Spectromagic and Wishes (family may meet us here depending on what time they get in and how tired they are). Breakfast will be in the room. Dinner will be Quick Service at Magic Kingdom (tentatively Pecos Bill's but that could easily change).

Day Three, Sunday the 20th-My brother's 32nd birthday (I am 20 months older). We will spend pretty much all day at EPCOT, although I'm hoping to get an @ 10:30am appointment with the Photopass photographers at Beach Club. There will be approximately 15 people in our party on this day, with the possibility (but not probability) of more. Should be fun. :headache: LOVE my family...really I do!...we'll make the best of it and I'm sure it will be a great day. Dinner is at Teppan Edo. My immediate family (the 5 of us) is hoping to head over to Magic Kingdom Evening EMH after dinner. We'll do Illuminations another night. Breakfast in the room (or a snack in the Food Court). Lunch at Sunshine Seasons (I figure there is a LARGE variety here for the million people that will be with us).

Day Four, Monday the 21st-We're taking advantage of EMHs today. We'll do the morning EMH at Animal Kingdom (I HOPE, I am NOT a morning person, but am hoping to turn myself into one while on this trip...temporarily :wizard:). We'll do the character breakfast at Tusker House first thing and then spend the day in the park (we love AK). I plan to just snack for lunch because we have an ADR at Boma for an early dinner. Then we'll head to Hollywood Studios for Evening EMH.

Day Five, Tuesday the 22nd-This is the only day that's really dedicated to just one park (kinda). We'll spend the day in the Magic Kingdom and stay until our ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe in the early evening. After dinner we plan to go back to Disney Quest or hang out in DTD. Breakfast will be in the room. Lunch is Quick Service (tentatively Columbia Harbor House).

Day Six, Wednesday the 23rd-A rest day (kinda). We'll hang out at Blizzard Beach for most of the day. In the late afternoon we'll head back to the resort, change and head over to EPCOT for Evening EMH. We have an ADR at San Angel in the early evening (Matt wanted Le Cellier, but they didn't have anything. This was the only restaurant where we didn't get what we wanted. I even tried just a party of 5 and they didn't have it). We'll see Illuminations and quite possibly stay until they close at midnight. Okay, so it's 1/2 a park day. ;)

Day Seven, Thursday the 24th-this is the rest of the family's last full day. We're going to do Magic Kingdom Morning EMH and then head over to Hollywood Studios. The one restaurant Matt specifically requested (except for Le Cellier) was Hollywood and Vine, so we'll have a late lunch/early dinner there. The park closes at 7, so I'm planning to go back to DTD this night too, though I'm pretty sure the rest of the family won't. Breakfast will be a snack at the Magic Kingdom and we'll grab a snack at DTD if we're hungry later in the evening.

Day Eight, Friday the 25th-the family is leaving today, so we'll be back to a party of 5 for the rest of the trip. We're not sure what we'll do in the morning. Relax. Hang out at the pool. Go back to Typhoon Lagoon. Or maybe go to EPCOT (Food and Wine Festival starts today! :thumbsup2). Later we'll do Evening EMH at Animal Kingdom. The more DTD or Disney Quest in the evening. Breakfast will be Quick Service at the Food Court. For lunch I have Flame Tree Barbeque written down, but we may not be at AK by lunch, so it may be Quick Service elsewhere (possibly EPCOT if we're there). For dinner I'm planning to take the boys to TRex.

Day Nine, Saturday the 26th-Departure Day. :sad2: I'm not planning to leave terribly early, though. We have a very early ADR at Cape May (it was either really early or really late, and they didn't have a really late breakfast ADR, so I went with really early). We'll take the boat to Hollywood Studios for Morning EMH (if we finish eating in time) and then when we're ready we'll head to the Magic Kingdom one more time. Lunch will be Quick Service (Cosmic Ray's is written down, subject to change) and dinner will be on on the road. :sad1:

***Note: We're planning to do the Winter/Summer Land mini-golf on one of those nights I have DTD written. Just not sure which one right now. We'll figure it out when we get there. :goodvibes ***

So that's it, in a nutshell. I will return to expounding on these plans tomorrow, along with adding some photos of last time and of a couple of recent purchases. I've got to go check on the kiddos-who should be asleep...but aren't. And then go back to trying to read these million page TRs.

Please feel free to leave any and all feedback. popcorn::

....until tomorrow!

[hhockman]

Teppan Edo is very good....went there in December and thought it was delicious....very filling, too.

We will be at Epcot on the 20th as well.....doing the World Showcase that day. :banana:

Okay, I somehow TOTALLY missed this post. Don't know how. :confused3

Did you get your ADRs already? I'm assuming yes, since you arrive the day before we do. Maybe we'll see you! ;)

[hhockman]

Okay, I just went back and looked and this thing is PATHETICALLY devoid of pictures, so here's a couple just because there should already be more. Here's one of us the last time we were there:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/image47.jpg

and here's a current picture of the boys:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/288.jpg

Matt coaching:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/IMG_9114.jpg

Me (not a great picture-but there are fewer of me):

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/IMG_7163JPG.jpg

Will:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/IMG_6935.jpg

Christian:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/IMG_1105.jpg

Okay, hopefully that helps until next time. :goodvibes

[longing2Batdisney]

Great plan so far! I started last nite but Ashton told me I was sleepy which meant time for bed. I created a monster he will not go w/o me. Than I started reading this am and now he is sleeping on my lap (typing w/ one hand:laughing: )
Love the addition of the pics...boy did Will crack that bat! excellant shot w/ the camera ;)

[mickeystoontown]

Checking back in with you. We went camping this weekend so I have to get all caught up on my subscribed trip reports. Love the new pictures!

[hhockman]

I know I promised some more pictures tonight, but I came home with a migrane after baseball practice and just can't do it. I don't have any plans to go anywhere tomorrow, so they'll be on here tomorrow for sure!

Hope ya'll are having a good night. :goodvibes I'm going to bed as soon as the kids go to sleep!

[longing2Batdisney]

hope you feel better after a good night's rest; I usually have a hangover the next day from a migrane thank goodness I don't get them often...

[hhockman]

Great plan so far! I started last nite but Ashton told me I was sleepy which meant time for bed. I created a monster he will not go w/o me. Than I started reading this am and now he is sleeping on my lap (typing w/ one hand:laughing: )
Love the addition of the pics...boy did Will crack that bat! excellant shot w/ the camera ;)

That is SO cute! Christian always wants me to "sleep" with him too. The problem is, half the time he isn't really ready to sleep...so I'm in there forever. The last two nights, though, I didn't get in there until he was already asleep. I felt so bad. :guilty:

Checking back in with you. We went camping this weekend so I have to get all caught up on my subscribed trip reports. Love the new pictures!

It sounds like you had a lot of fun on your camping trip. We want to take the boys camping sometime. We kept saying "when they're older", but now they're 4 and 7, so they are probably old enough. We don't have a lot of extra time in the summer with All Stars, though, so maybe sometime in the fall. :)

Oh, and I saw your thing about your ebay guy on momtothreeboys's TR. Can you PM me the name. I haven't found anyone that cheap and I'm thinking of letting the boys try pin trading.

Did you find your MK pictures?

hope you feel better after a good night's rest; I usually have a hangover the next day from a migrane thank goodness I don't get them often...

Most of the time when I get migranes they aren't TOO bad. Enough to make me stop looking at a computer screen though. I'm okay today. Thanks. :goodvibes

[hhockman]

Okay, here are a couple pics for you of purchases we've made in the last couple of days. It's funny, I've had a hard time getting totally excited about the trip because we've had so many other things going on (*cough*baseball*cough*), but once we hit 90 days and I made those ADRs there was no looking back. Matt just shakes his head. I keep insisting on getting stuff, so I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself in August when we actually get closer.

Anyway...here's some stuff I bought in the last couple of days.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/261.jpg

These are muscle shirts I got for the boys at Target. $3/each. I'm going to make up iron-on designs to put on them. I haven't decided what yet, but you guys will be the first to know when I do. Any suggestions? I'm thinking on one of them I will my "My favorite character is..." and then have a picture of the character. We'll see though.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/262.jpg

Got these in the $1 bin at Target. I thought they would be cool for the Spectromagic, and whenever we're in the park at night. I want to get some more cheap glow stuff, but I'm not sure what yet.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/264.jpg

I got this at the Disney Store for Christian for $2.99. I would have gotten one for all three boys, but they only had one size. They had a Cars version and a Buzz Lightyear version, but the Cars one was too small for any of them and I don't think Will or Cole would wear Buzz Lightyear (Will actually would probably if it was just us, but if Cole said it was lame he would agree and it wouldn't get worn, so I didn't get it). I'm having trouble finding shirts for Will and Cole. There were some on "sale" for 2/$15, but those are only $2 off the regular price of $9.50, and I'm not ready to resort to that yet. I know I can get them for at least $4.99 (and wish I had the last time they were that cheap). Christian has quite a few that are hand-me-downs from Will that are still in good shape (and a few that aren't in good shape that I won't be bringing), so he's not really a problem. I really like to do the matching thing, though, so that will probably be the ones I'm making. I'm hoping to get a set of ringer tees (probably at Old Navy) for everyone too. There are some shirts I really like for me on the Disney Store online right now, but I just can't bring myself to pay those shipping prices. I'll have to look at the Disney Store in the mall again next time we're there.

Okay, here's the last picture:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/263.jpg

I'm really excited about these because I've been back and forth a hundred times on what to do about swimsuits. They boys (except Cole) have suits that fit. Christian has several (hand-me-downs again), but I wanted DISNEY suits since we'll be at the waterparks at least twice (if not more) plus the pool. Christian actually even has Disney suits, but not one that would match the boys. I've seen these online but had trouble finding sizes and again, didn't want to pay shipping. They are finally down to $7.99, but that's still $48 if you're buying three suits and three rash guards. Finally we decided to just get these suits, which go okay with the white rash guards I've already gotten Will and Christian from Old Navy. They didn't have the matching rash guards in their size (except for Christian) anyway. I still have to get Cole a rash guard, but I believe they're going to be $5 at Old Navy this weekend. Will really wanted Power Rangers, but 1. Power Rangers was more expensive. 2. I would have had to get Cole WALL-E which wouldn't match a white rash guard. 3. Those two didn't really have a third that matched (except maybe Cars which also didn't match the white rash guard). Of course these only had two that matched too, so I finally decided to let Will and Cole match (Will flatly refused Nemo anyway). Will picked out the Stitch sunglasses (after I told him no Power Rangers-I just really don't like Power Rangers for some reason, never have. Don't know why) and we got Cole the same ones (the sunglasses were $1.99!). Christian wanted Mickey so I suppressed my OCD and let him have the sunglasses that didn't match his swim trunks :rolleyes1 (he did NOT want green Nemo sunglasses, even though he did pick out the swim trunks).

So there you go. My Disney purchases. 87 days to go today. :thumbsup2

I'll be back with the beginning on my indepth explanations later.

[mickeystoontown]

Hey pictures of Disney stuff! I love 'em. Tell Matt to just keep his mouth shut. That's what I tell John. I know we are going back to Disney every year so I start buying stuff offseason and a little at a time. That way, we can have all new clothes and it doesn't feel like it hits our pocketbook quite so hard.

I was at Bath and Body Works a couple of weekends ago and they had a 75% off sale. I was able to get those new metal water bottles for just $2.50! I was so excited because I thought I was going to have to pay $10.00 for them at Old Navy. They look like they'd be really good for keeping water cool during the day. And, they have a clip on them so we can clip them to the backpack.

Our daughter played softball from 7 years old until she hit 9th grade so I totally relate about spending soooo much time at the ballpark. The only thing I miss is the interaction with the parents. We used to have so much fun cheering on our girls. Hunter hasn't ever wanted to play baseball so I've been spared the hot Summer ball. He does, however, play football and here in Louisiana it's still hot when they start practicing.:headache:

[hhockman]

Hey pictures of Disney stuff! I love 'em. Tell Matt to just keep his mouth shut. That's what I tell John. I know we are going back to Disney every year so I start buying stuff offseason and a little at a time. That way, we can have all new clothes and it doesn't feel like it hits our pocketbook quite so hard.

I was at Bath and Body Works a couple of weekends ago and they had a 75% off sale. I was able to get those new metal water bottles for just $2.50! I was so excited because I thought I was going to have to pay $10.00 for them at Old Navy. They look like they'd be really good for keeping water cool during the day. And, they have a clip on them so we can clip them to the backpack.

Our daughter played softball from 7 years old until she hit 9th grade so I totally relate about spending soooo much time at the ballpark. The only thing I miss is the interaction with the parents. We used to have so much fun cheering on our girls. Hunter hasn't ever wanted to play baseball so I've been spared the hot Summer ball. He does, however, play football and here in Louisiana it's still hot when they start practicing.:headache:

What metal water bottles? Man! Now I need to take a trip to Bath and Body works. I've been meaning to get there anyway, with all of the sales going on, but I'm not that much into girlie stuff, so I don't usually buy there unless I'm buying gifts. Now I have a reason to go check out the sale.

Will keeps telling me he wants to play football. I keep telling him No Way (even though it starts at 5 here). He's too little. He said last night he was going to play soccer this fall, but he's back to baseball again as of this morning. We love to follow him around to his games (and it appears Christian will follow in his footsteps), but MAN we're having a HOT summer (and I grew up in Florida so it's not like I'm not used to the heat).

Didja find the MK pictures?

[longing2Batdisney]

great finds!!! :thumbsup2 I do like Lisa and shop on the off season when I can. I have four b-days in July (Ashton, the two little girls I watch and another little girl--all w/in 6 days) well :scared1:Crazy or not I bought them all (the girls) ponchos w/matching hats --I don't know about ya'll but my kids really need clothes for the next season (at this point in the season)and everyone will be giving them clothes for the summer. Anyway, I love the disney outlet site but I know what you mean about the shipping alot of times I will think I can get in the car and head to gulfport outlets and spend in gas what I will spend on shipping and have more fun actually browsing the stuff in person;). I love Old navy also you an always find great finds there!!! too bad Dayne thinks Old navy is sooo uncool but, Gwendolyn and Joe doesn't mind. So, I have become a sale shopper in the back of all the stores...I walk in and head straight to the back:rotfl2:don't even look on the regular shelved esp. in Hollister and Aber Crombie & Fitch (that's Dayne's stores--if its not under $20 he CAN"T have it:rotfl:).

I love the iron on idea--try and let them choose maybe it can be lots of fun to do it together:upsidedow

[mickeystoontown]

What metal water bottles? Man! Now I need to take a trip to Bath and Body works. I've been meaning to get there anyway, with all of the sales going on, but I'm not that much into girlie stuff, so I don't usually buy there unless I'm buying gifts. Now I have a reason to go check out the sale.

Will keeps telling me he wants to play football. I keep telling him No Way (even though it starts at 5 here). He's too little. He said last night he was going to play soccer this fall, but he's back to baseball again as of this morning. We love to follow him around to his games (and it appears Christian will follow in his footsteps), but MAN we're having a HOT summer (and I grew up in Florida so it's not like I'm not used to the heat).

Didja find the MK pictures?

They are a little taller than a water bottle and they are metal. They are used by bicyclers (spelling? 'cause it looks funny but I don't type bicyclers much:rolleyes1) and are supposed to hold in the cold. It'll be the first time we've used them but I've seen them at Old Navy, Bath and Body Works, Bass Pro Shop and they were even in the Visitor's Center at the campground this weekend. I'll try to remember to take a picture and post it for you.

I think Summer's gonna be a hot one this year in Louisiana. I am sure that Connie can attest to that.

I just found some of my Magic Kingdom photos on the photobucket site. They were moved around somehow? Hoping to get a bit more posted on my trip report in a bit.

[hhockman]

Hey, guys. Just checking in. I know I need to move on to the next day, but I've been busy reading other TRs. :)

I should be able to add some more today.

I went to Bath and Body works to look for the water bottles, but couldn't find any. I did get a bunch of anti-bacterial stuff for fairly cheap to take with us (wipes, small bottles of hand sanitizer, and some soap for the room). I saw the bottles on BBW's website, but they were $13, which is way too expensive.

Lisa, I loved your MK pictures. Some days it seems like forever until we go and some days I think...hmmm...85 days, it's already been 5 days since Saturday! I can't believe it's July next week. Anyone know where June went?

Connie, I tend to buy clothes off season too. Thankfully my boys haven't discovered Abercrombie or Hollister yet. I can stick with Old Navy, Kohls, and Target (though I'll do Gymboree and Gap if I can get a REALLY good sale...or get my mom to pay for it!).

Thank you guys for sticking with me. It's nice to have readers. :goodvibes

[mickeystoontown]

Hey, guys. Just checking in. I know I need to move on to the next day, but I've been busy reading other TRs. :)

I should be able to add some more today.

I went to Bath and Body works to look for the water bottles, but couldn't find any. I did get a bunch of anti-bacterial stuff for fairly cheap to take with us (wipes, small bottles of hand sanitizer, and some soap for the room). I saw the bottles on BBW's website, but they were $13, which is way too expensive.

Lisa, I loved your MK pictures. Some days it seems like forever until we go and some days I think...hmmm...85 days, it's already been 5 days since Saturday! I can't believe it's July next week. Anyone know where June went?

Connie, I tend to buy clothes off season too. Thankfully my boys haven't discovered Abercrombie or Hollister yet. I can stick with Old Navy, Kohls, and Target (though I'll do Gymboree and Gap if I can get a REALLY good sale...or get my mom to pay for it!).

Thank you guys for sticking with me. It's nice to have readers. :goodvibes


Phooey! I forgot to post pictures of the water bottles but it looks like you now know what I am talking about. I wouldn't pay $13.00 either. Do you have an Old Navy nearby? If so, you may be able to find the water bottles there. The regular price was $10.00 but one weekend, they had them for $5.00 and I forgot to go back and get a couple.

I can't believe that we're almost through June either. My countdown ticker is slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller. Since I work, I tend to think "how many weekends do I have until we leave". I buy one or two things per weekend.

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures.

I buy offseason all the time. Everyone makes fun of me for being able to find a clearance rack in any store. All you have to do is go to the back of each section (kids, men, women, etc.) and there's usually a clearance rack. Right now, Hunter doesn't care where his clothes come from. I am thinking that attitude probably won't change because Lacey never really cared either. As a matter of fact, even at 22, she doesn't care. If she found something in a thrift store, she'd wear it if she liked it. Ahhhh! I trained that girl right.

[mommytothreeboys]

Okay! I'm finally here and I've caught up on your PTR from beginning to end...ok, not end...current. LOL!

My oldest sons also like HSM for the Ashley Tisdale factor.....ditto Zack and Cody except that now she's not on anymore...a fact that did not go over well in my house! :rotfl:

Your trip sounds great! You are go-go-go'ers like us...we like to be in the parks as much as possible, up early to bed late! :thumbsup2

We LOVED the waterparks this year....and DisneyQuest. SO glad we added the Waterparks and More option. Definitely worth the extra money! :woohoo:

Well, it's getting late and I have to go to the dentist tomorrow. I better rest up for that...UGH!

I'm officially on board! :goodvibes

[hhockman]

Okay! I'm finally here and I've caught up on your PTR from beginning to end...ok, not end...current. LOL!

My oldest sons also like HSM for the Ashley Tisdale factor.....ditto Zack and Cody except that now she's not on anymore...a fact that did not go over well in my house! :rotfl:

Your trip sounds great! You are go-go-go'ers like us...we like to be in the parks as much as possible, up early to bed late! :thumbsup2

We LOVED the waterparks this year....and DisneyQuest. SO glad we added the Waterparks and More option. Definitely worth the extra money! :woohoo:

Well, it's getting late and I have to go to the dentist tomorrow. I better rest up for that...UGH!

I'm officially on board! :goodvibes

Yea! Missy's here. :banana:

:welcome: to my PTR. Can't wait for your input, 'cause I know you have it having just BTDT.

As far as what we were discussing on your TR. Yes, I have seen 17 again. Saw it the weekend it came out. :rolleyes1 Dragged my poor DH along. We missed going out the weekend before for our anniversary, so that's what we did. Dinner and 17 Again. He thought it was decent. I *ahem* enjoyed it.

And while we're making confessions, I might as well go ahead and admit to my boy band, um, interest too (I'll do this one here, on my PTR, where there are a lot less people and it's, well, less embarrassing).

I have always been into boy bands. New Kids on the Block (when I was actually a preteen/teenager and therefore it was socially exceptable, somewhat), Hanson (they aren't THAT much younger than me), Backstreet Boys (some of THEM are OLDER than me-never really got into NSYNC though), and currently...you guessed it...Jonas Brothers.

Now I should probably explain that with the exception of NKOTB (I was 12, or 13, or something like that!), it hasn't been so much a physical attraction thing :rolleyes1 as it was the fact that I'm just a sucker for bubblegum pop (I really am, but most of these groups do have at least one cutie).

So there you go...it's out...I listen to Jonas Brothers more than pretty much anything else on my iPod (except sometimes HSM). At least they're a Disney band, right? Thank goodness DS7 really likes them too.

Hey Will, look! I got you (and me) the new Jonas Brothers CD. I get my music and am a cool mom all at the same time. Gotta love iTunes. :thumbsup2

ANYWAY...that should be it as far as confessions. I'm slightly weird, but what can you do?

[mommytothreeboys]

LOL! You are cracking me up! :lmao::lmao:

I am not so much into the boy bands...although I do think those Jonas boys are adorable! I haven't really listened to the music much...except what I hear on the Disney Channel. I am a sucker for the bubblegum pop too, so I do like the little that I have heard!

I was in college during the NKOTB phenomenon..in Boston, no less so they were all the rage! I never really paid too much attention, though.

LOVED 17 Again...first for the obvious 'hubba, hubba' factor, but also because I graduated from High school in 1988 so all the humor hit very close to home for me! I laughed A LOT! :rotfl::rotfl:

I think we are going to get along just fine! I will give tips and hints whenever I can....bring on the planning! :thumbsup2

[hhockman]

Okay girls (and any lurking guys), I KNOW I've been a slacker. I've been spending all my DIS time reading other TRs (I'm almost caught up on the ones I've subscribed to now-I think), and haven't gotten back here.

Having done that I've come to the decision that I don't need to flesh out all of the gory details of each day plans into a mini-novel. That's what the TR is for. Instead I'm going to start making lists. I know you guys like lists. And I'm going to need them anyway, right? :thumbsup2

I've been trying to decide between MUST SEES (and not-so must sees) for each day and MUST DO (as in my to-do lists) and I've decided to start with a basic Must Do today. Because there are some things I really MUST start DOING. I'm just winging it here right now (though I will most likely copy/paste the list into a Word Document), but such as it is, here is my first TO DO list:

Can do now:
-Start working on designs for the boys' shirts (and possibly a matching one for all 5 of us...which leads to getting 5 Ringer Ts for us)
-Get Matt and Cole a second swimsuit (Cole will be keeping most of what I'm buying for him, but the "second" swimsuit he will just "borrow" and I will save it for Will for next year). Old Navy has swim stuff for $5 this weekend, so I'm hoping to get there tomorrow. Also get myself a second swimsuit, hopefully from the DisneyStore online. My mom is possibly ordering from there this weekend, which will save me shipping.
-Make a packing list for each of the 5 of us
-Start getting together the stuff for the boys' "car bags". And mine.
-Finish copying all of our reservation information onto my Passporter pockets and decide if I also need a binder or if the Passporter will be enough (I had a binder last time, but not a Passporter)
-Make a First Aid Kit list and start getting the stuff together
-Remind Matt to buy Will's Nintendo DS (somehow he ruined Will's so we have to get him a new one)
-Figure out what we're going to do with the dog(s). We have a dog and my parents have a dog. We also have a cat. My brother is bording his, but I'm thinking of asking friends of our to come over and feed them twice a day and let them out and in. It will be cheaper and the dogs will be happier. But I have to find out if they will be here or out of town that week. Remind me to post a picture of Jordan and Pepsi.
-Figure out when the guys are golfing and make a tee time.
-Make a list of things that I want to keep in the bag we're taking into the parks and start collecting those things.
-Buy our "park bag"
-Make a list of stuff we need for the car ride

I know there's more, but I can't think of anything else right now. Anyone?

Things to do closer to the trip:
-Start packing
-Buy DVDs for the Camcorder
-Buy a set or two of rechargable batteries (we have some, but I want more)
-Get an extra memory card for each camera
-Get a medical release form from Cole's mom (they are going on a crusie and will be out of the country while we're gone)
-Program my phone will Cole's grandparents' phone numbers
-Put together the First Aid Supplies
-Put together our "park bag" (I'm planning to get one of those cinch sack backpacks. There's a Gator one I like on the UF website, but I'd like a Disney one if I can find one. We don't need a lot of "stuff" with bigger kids. But I want something lightweight to carry around what we do need. I don't want a messenger bag or a real backpack. Too bulky and heavy. And I don't do the waist packs. So this is what I'm planning to use this time).
-Charge all three Nintendo DSs (each boy has one and I have one)
-Pack the "car bags"-including a change of clothes for each, just in case
-Charge batteries
-Find and pack all the "plugs" we need

What else? I know there's more. Any suggestions?

Christian is wanting to work on his Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten, so I have to go for now. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the boys at the pool yesterday. Neither can swim. When we got there Christian wanted to "stay on the steps". By the time we left he was saying "Get off of me" because he could "swim" with his vest on. Mr. Independant.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/049.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/047.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/057.jpg

I'll be back later tonight! :goodvibes

[mkluvsmickey]

Hey Heather! :hippie: I haven't been on here much lately but saw your PTR and wanted to stop by and say hello. Sounds like you and your family are doing well.

Your trip is getting so close now! I'm sure you are all getting super excited. :cool1:

The boys are getting so big! I'm enjoying all the pictures.

Looking forward to more of your plans and of course the TR when you return. :goodvibes

[hhockman]

MICHELLE!!! I'm so glad to "see" you! :banana:

Thanks for stopping by. How are you?

I'm headed out for a long day of baseball practice and a pool party, but I'll check in tonight.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

[brandand]

Planning a Disney trip is soooooo much fun. I have enjoyed reading your Pre-Trip report. We have a BIG family trip coming in 14 days.:banana:
Just wondering??? where did you get the swim vest for Christian? It looks great. I too have a 4 year old.

Thanks for the good reading material. I have a pre-trip report as well...North and South Take on Disney. Not as long or as detailed as yours.

I was going to suggest making a countdown chain with links to remove each day that it gets closer...but if it is a surprise for the boys that won't work. Oh, well maybe another trip. We have loved the chain. We started with 50ish links and now we have 14. :cool1: It's fun to watch it get smaller and smaller.

Thanks for writing and I'll keep readin.

[mommytothreeboys]

I SO love a good list!! Yours looks great...have you crossed anything off yet??


We get our nephew to "dog-sit" for us when we go away. You are right..it makes for a much happier dog. I hate taking her to the kennel....I do it if I have to, but much prefer to leave her home. Hope things work out for you!


Fun pool pictures! :thumbsup2

[mickeystoontown]

Good morning!

Looks like you've started some great lists. Don't forget to put super glue on your list.:lmao: Comes in handy some times, I know for a fact.:rotfl2:

Lisa

[longing2Batdisney]

Great list; I love list--if you remember from my report. I kept redoing mine. I think the last two weeks before I left did I finally just start crossing things off. But, it proved to be worth it I didn't forget anything--unlike Danny! :rotfl2:

Great pool pics! Ashton loves his vest--we startedhim with it last year and he remembered that he had to have it when we were at disney:thumbsup2
Now, that he is finally able to go back in the pool ours is green. The ball on the pump split and Danny just keeps putting it off. Sooooo, I guess no pool for us this year:sad: He didn't have time before and just kept shocking it while we were dealing w/Ashton. Maybe, if I pout enough or show him some fun cool pictures he may get on the ball.:lmao:

Have a good day at the pool and b-ball games!

[hhockman]

LOL! You are cracking me up! :lmao::lmao:

I am not so much into the boy bands...although I do think those Jonas boys are adorable! I haven't really listened to the music much...except what I hear on the Disney Channel. I am a sucker for the bubblegum pop too, so I do like the little that I have heard!

I was in college during the NKOTB phenomenon..in Boston, no less so they were all the rage! I never really paid too much attention, though.

LOVED 17 Again...first for the obvious 'hubba, hubba' factor, but also because I graduated from High school in 1988 so all the humor hit very close to home for me! I laughed A LOT! :rotfl::rotfl:

I think we are going to get along just fine! I will give tips and hints whenever I can....bring on the planning! :thumbsup2

I think we'll get along just fine too. I can usually sense a "kindred spirit" (had an Anne of Green Gables moment for some reason).

I can't believe you were in Boston during the NKOTB crazy. Boston is my absolute favorite city anyway, and I think that is part of what started my, well, obsession. My dad's from New Hampshire and I've been up there a few times. I've always followed all things Boston. Plus I'm a big history buff and the American Revolution is my biggest interest. I could go on, but let's just say I'm still a big Boston (the city, not the band) fan!

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the 17 Again DVD. Once just wasn't quite enough, but we don't get to the movies often, so I didn't manage to see it twice.

If you like bubblegummy pop you really should check out the Jonas Brothers. I really like their music. Personally I like their last album better than the one that just came out, but it may be that I just haven't "gotten used to it" yet. Who knows.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to your help. I know you're a good list-maker.

Planning a Disney trip is soooooo much fun. I have enjoyed reading your Pre-Trip report. We have a BIG family trip coming in 14 days.:banana:
Just wondering??? where did you get the swim vest for Christian? It looks great. I too have a 4 year old.

Thanks for the good reading material. I have a pre-trip report as well...North and South Take on Disney. Not as long or as detailed as yours.

I was going to suggest making a countdown chain with links to remove each day that it gets closer...but if it is a surprise for the boys that won't work. Oh, well maybe another trip. We have loved the chain. We started with 50ish links and now we have 14. :cool1: It's fun to watch it get smaller and smaller.

Thanks for writing and I'll keep readin.

:welcome: I will totally check out your PTR! I love reading other people's stories.

I thought about doing some kind of countdown, but we really want to try to keep it a surprise, so any countdown I do will have to be a thing just for me and DH. Thank goodness I have the one in my signature!

As far as the vest, I'm sorry, but I have no idea where it came from. If I can find out I'll let you know, though. We're borrowing it from Christian's old preschool teacher until we can get one for him, and I really like it. He really likes it too. ;)

I can't believe you're going in just 14 days (or rather more like 11 or 12 now)!!! That's awesome. :cool1::banana::yay: Wish I was! I guess I'd better get over to your PTR before you leave!

Thanks for reading!

[hhockman]

I SO love a good list!! Yours looks great...have you crossed anything off yet??


We get our nephew to "dog-sit" for us when we go away. You are right..it makes for a much happier dog. I hate taking her to the kennel....I do it if I have to, but much prefer to leave her home. Hope things work out for you!


Fun pool pictures! :thumbsup2

I know you love your lists. You were my inspiration. I'm am going to be list crazy this time. I just keep thinking of things I need to make lists for. List making is one of the things I like to do when I have time to kill, so I'm glad I have a bunch to make. :)

Good morning!

Looks like you've started some great lists. Don't forget to put super glue on your list.:lmao: Comes in handy some times, I know for a fact.:rotfl2:

Lisa

I am definitely bringing super glue just for you. I'll think of you every time I see it in the bag. ;) Hopefully I won't ever have to use it!

Great list; I love list--if you remember from my report. I kept redoing mine. I think the last two weeks before I left did I finally just start crossing things off. But, it proved to be worth it I didn't forget anything--unlike Danny! :rotfl2:

Great pool pics! Ashton loves his vest--we startedhim with it last year and he remembered that he had to have it when we were at disney:thumbsup2
Now, that he is finally able to go back in the pool ours is green. The ball on the pump split and Danny just keeps putting it off. Sooooo, I guess no pool for us this year:sad: He didn't have time before and just kept shocking it while we were dealing w/Ashton. Maybe, if I pout enough or show him some fun cool pictures he may get on the ball.:lmao:

Have a good day at the pool and b-ball games!

I'm sorry about your pool! I hope Danny gets it fixed sometime this summer. We don't have a pool (not even a neighborhood one, which most neighborhoods around here have), but we're getting to swim a lot this summer one way or another.

Is Ashton's two weeks almost up?

[hhockman]

Well, I was sitting here waiting for Matt and Will to get home from Transformers 2 (yes, I let my DS7 go to the movies at 9:45pm-with his dad-to see a movie I'm not entirely sure he should watch. But he's seen the first one and all the Star Wars movies and all of the Pirates movies, etc. What am I going to do? He's 7 and he's a boy. I do have my limits, I promise)...but anyway, they just got home and I'm pretty tired (we got home after midnight last night) and want to read a little before bed (I'm rereading for the I-don't-know-which time the Harry Potter series in anticipation of the 6th movie in a couple of weeks), so I'll keep this kind of quick (if you haven't learned already, I don't do anything that involves talking "quick").

So, for the couple of changes...

After reading on Lisa's report that she made TRex ADRs I remember that I wanted to do so too (I have no idea why I didn't do it when I called originally-guess I thought you couldn't). So I hopped over to the Disney site and put in the date we wanted to go. And all I could get was 10pm (little boys who are 4, 7, and 7 are NOT going to wait until 10pm to eat dinner-no matter how cool the restaurant is!). And 10pm was just about all I could get most of the week. So I went back and put in arrival day...and got 10pm. So I tried earlier, and earlier, and almost TOO early...and got 3:30pm.

The problem with this?

We're going to have to leave at about 6:00 in the morning now. :eek:

Yes, I know. All you flying people are saying, "So?" :confused3 WE left in the middle of the night and got to see the SUN RISE from our airplane!

Seriously. I am not worthy. :worship:

I also am not a morning person. And while it's not-so-hard to get up out of a Disney bed...it is pretty hard to haul myself out of my bed when I know I have an 8 hour drive ahead of me (if you're wonder, I CANNOT sleep in the car, even though Matt pretty much does all the driving. I just can't do it. Can't relax enough).

BUT it puts us at Disney 2 hours earlier :cool1: so it's all good. Gives us a reason to get

OUT

THE

DOOR!

(Let's hope there aren't any forgotten wallets)

Oh, and we're hoping to have Cole spend the night Thursday night so we don't have to go get him that morning.

The other change, which is related, is that I also made a reservation for Planet Hollywood on our last night (Friday the 25th) to replace the original TRex plan. We won't have any dining credits left (well, we'll have 1 but we need it for breakfast on Saturday), so we'll have to pay OOP, but we'll have the $15 credit voucher thingy from the package. If we decide we don't want to pay OOP, we'll just do CS because I'm pretty sure we have one left over.

Okay. I hope all that rambling makes sense.

Missy, I think I forgot to answer you, but no, there really isn't anything off the list yet. I didn't put anything on the list that I'd already done. I did get the "extra" bathing suit today (the one Cole will "borrow") and I did get one for Matt, but one size it too big and the other is too small, so I'm back to the drawing board for him. They were out of rashguards, so I didn't get Cole's, and I haven't ordered mine yet either.

So nothing crossed off the list yet.

I did want to ask, quickly, does anyone know if they have those Drawstring Backpacks that I want to use AT Disney World? You know the kind I'm talking about, right? I was going to get a UF one (and may still), but if they have a Disney World one there I'll just wait until we get there and get it after we eat at TRex. Usable souviener. Anyone know?

Okay, I'm headed to bed. Baseball practice tomorrow, and hopefully a haircut for me, and I think Matt is going to do something with Christian since he took Will to the movies tonight. We've got our State baseball tournament this weekend, so LOTS of practice this week.

But I'll be back with a list of some kind tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great week (I'm so :yay::cool1::banana: that I have readers! :love: you guys!).

P.S. I never "officially" mentioned it, but I did change Matt's age from "31" to
"32" this week. Wasn't nearly as sad as when I had to change Christian's earlier in the month.

[longing2Batdisney]

Yes, they do have cinch bags at Disney. ;)

I'm glad you were able to get T-rex ressie's. I can't wait to hear what the boys think of it. I want to try it and rainforest next year; we passed on all resturants this past year. I would really like to have a sit down a day weather for breakfast or dinner next time we go.

Rash guards I always find them at Old Navy, Target, and the Disney Store...that is the only places I am ever able to find them. Good luck!!!

check back with you later; have a great day!!!

[longing2Batdisney]

Is Ashton's two weeks almost up?

I think this week would be OK. But, Danny wants me to wait one more week--I may make to Wednesday:rotfl:. It is getting to be really boring finding things to do inside. The three kids and myself are going stir crazy. You can only do so many worksheets, read so many books, and dance like your crazy.:rotfl2:
Def. by the weekend!!!!

[hhockman]

Yes, they do have cinch bags at Disney. ;)

I'm glad you were able to get T-rex ressie's. I can't wait to hear what the boys think of it. I want to try it and rainforest next year; we passed on all resturants this past year. I would really like to have a sit down a day weather for breakfast or dinner next time we go.

Rash guards I always find them at Old Navy, Target, and the Disney Store...that is the only places I am ever able to find them. Good luck!!!

check back with you later; have a great day!!!

COOL! :thumbsup2 Thanks for letting me know. :) So I can kinda check that off my list, since I just won't get the bag until we get there.

Okay, lots to do today. I'll be back later.

[mickeystoontown]

Heather:

I have one of the cinch bags that I bought off the Disney Outlet site. I'll use it during our travel days and probably at Downtown Disney but I don't like the fact that it doesn't have pockets. I gotta have pockets for our stuff.

[hhockman]

Heather:

I have one of the cinch bags that I bought off the Disney Outlet site. I'll use it during our travel days and probably at Downtown Disney but I don't like the fact that it doesn't have pockets. I gotta have pockets for our stuff.

I think I'll be okay if it doesn't have any pockets, but we'll see. I have a POC messenger bag that I brought last time that I will probably bring in case the backpack doesn't work out. I'd rather have something smaller and lighter though.

[hhockman]

Okay, I promised you a list. What should I list now? Before I start I bought a small First Aid kit at Walmart today. Very small. It has a couple bandaids and a couple of ointment packets in it and that's about it. It was 97 cents in the "travel section". I figure I'll open it and customize it with a couple of other things, and then refill it every day as needed. It's a nice size to go in my bag. I also bought a Mickey Mouse t-shirt at Walmart for $5. I really liked it. :) But, I got the largest size (XXL) and I'm still not sure it's going to fit. I don't do well with Junior sizes. Maybe it will fit by then. I am walking every day. I really need to do more though.

Anyway, a list.

Since we've been talking about the "park bag", why don't I list what I plan to put in there. This is just a rough off-the-top-of-my-head list, so if you have any comments/suggestions, please feel free!

Park Bag List
*First Aid Kit (to include: bandaids, neosporin, tylenol/ibuprofen, not sure what else)
*That moleskin stuff to prevent blisters (anyone know where I get that stuff?)
*Autograph books and pens
*The boys' cameras (I need to post a picture of them...if I haven't already)
*A workbook each (the local teacher store has small 7"x5" workbooks and the boys all love to do them. There are fun ones and skill practice ones. I'll get them fun ones of course. They are great at TS restaurants while we're waiting) and a pencil each
*An electronic Yahtzee game
*Hand sanitizing wipes/hand sanitizer
*Cleanteam wipes
*Three hot wheels type cars
*My camera if I bring the small one. If I bring the SLR it will be around my neck (although sometimes I keep my camera in my pocket-depends on the shorts)
*A coin holder with pennies and quarters
*A pressed penny book (we'll just have the boys share)

Okay, guys, what am I missing? I know there's stuff missing here, but it's getting late and I can't think. :confused3 Anyone want to chime in?

[longing2Batdisney]

Only thing I have to have whenever I go anywhere from past experience is Benadryl pills, liquid and cream (actually I like cortaid for a cream--no burn like benadryl sometime has). Can you tell I have allergies! anyway you never know when you may have a bug bite, or reaction to a plant you brush or the detergent being used at the resort.

[mickeystoontown]

Uh, excuse me!!!! Aren't you forgetting my favorite thing? Huh?


SUPER GLUE!:lmao:

[hhockman]

Only thing I have to have whenever I go anywhere from past experience is Benadryl pills, liquid and cream (actually I like cortaid for a cream--no burn like benadryl sometime has). Can you tell I have allergies! anyway you never know when you may have a bug bite, or reaction to a plant you brush or the detergent being used at the resort.

I had planned for some kind of allergy cream/spray but it won't fit in the first aid box and I just plain forgot to add it to the list after I put the first aid kit. It's on the list now!

Uh, excuse me!!!! Aren't you forgetting my favorite thing? Huh?


SUPER GLUE!:lmao:

Man! I TOTALLY mean to put Super Glue on the list just for you! I really did. I was so tired last night. Super Glue is definitely going on the list (and I'm really bringing it too...just in case!) ;)

[longing2Batdisney]

I had planned for some kind of allergy cream/spray but it won't fit in the first aid box and I just plain forgot to add it to the list after I put the first aid kit. It's on the list now!

I don't carry it all in the parks; I only carry what will fit in a snack size ziplock bag so that would be what is in your kit and least 4 aleve or tylenol (rolled in another snack bag--not the prettiest but it is compact). I leave the benadryl and cream in the room to use upon return.

SUNSCREEN-- don't remember seeing it on your list--don't forget it--we went through 3 bottles while there and Joe still seemed to get sunburn--I don't think he used it one morning


Man! I TOTALLY mean to put Super Glue on the list just for you! I really did. I was so tired last night. Super Glue is definitely going on the list (and I'm really bringing it too...just in case!) ;)
:lmao:

[mickeystoontown]

Don't you know that your readers who haven't read my trip report are saying....."what the heck do you need to pack super glue for?":rotfl2:

[longing2Batdisney]

Don't you know that your readers who haven't read my trip report are saying....."what the heck do you need to pack super glue for?":rotfl2:
That's funny, cause the first thing I thought of when I read the list is the "superglue" is missing. I thought of that before the benadryl...I even laughed that that is what came to mind...Lisa you have corrupted our minds...:lmao::rotfl2:

[mkluvsmickey]

Your list looks good to me! Maybe you should get some inexpensive bag for the boys to carry around their own stuff. Sam has a little princess mesh backpack thing and I now make her carry her own things - autograph book, pressed penny money, etc.

[mickeystoontown]

That's funny, cause the first thing I thought of when I read the list is the "superglue" is missing. I thought of that before the benadryl...I even laughed that that is what came to mind...Lisa you have corrupted our minds...:lmao::rotfl2:

I may have corrupted you guys but if a tooth/crown ever falls out, you've got the super glue to fix it.:lmao:

[hhockman]

:lmao:

SUNSCREEN! :headache: I know better. I TOLD you I was tired last night. We are all over the sunscreen because we need it for ball just about every day. I will be bringing plenty. I am almost crazy about sunscreen. I even make the boys wear rashguards. They are fair skinned and I worry about them burning. We will definitely have sunscreen.

Don't you know that your readers who haven't read my trip report are saying....."what the heck do you need to pack super glue for?":rotfl2:

I don't think I have any readers who aren't reading your TR. :lmao: Maybe Michelle. Michelle, are you reading Lisa's TR? I only have about 5 readers right now. But I :love: you all!

Your list looks good to me! Maybe you should get some inexpensive bag for the boys to carry around their own stuff. Sam has a little princess mesh backpack thing and I now make her carry her own things - autograph book, pressed penny money, etc.

Michelle, that's a great idea. I'm a little afraid I'd spend half my time making sure they have their bags, but it still would be easier on me. I'd say I'd carry Christian's, but he will want to be like the other boys. I think I'll get us all "park bags". I'll just have to watch them with them.

I may have corrupted you guys but if a tooth/crown ever falls out, you've got the super glue to fix it.:lmao:

I only have one crown and Matt doesn't have any. My brother has one or two I think. His and mine are back teeth. My parents have plenty though. It would be hilarious if one of theirs falls out and I say "Here you go! I learned this on the disboards!" :rotfl:

Gotta go to ball practice. Our first State game is Friday at 6. I'll be back tonight!

[mickeystoontown]

If they made a hip holster for super glue, I'd be all over it! I'm telling you I never ever have it far from my reach.:lmao:

Michelle: Hope you'll come over and join my trip report. It'll make my super glue comments make sense and you'll also get a few other chuckles along the way. Lisa

[hhockman]

UGG, I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up, am I? I'm not doing great with the other PTRs/TRs I'm reading either.

I have some pics to show you guys (as soon as I TAKE them...and then upload them). I went to the Disney Store yesterday after my Dr.'s appointment and did pretty good if I do say so myself.

Then DisneyStore.com started their 4th of July sale today and I ordered from there too.

Twice.

And I'm a little upset with myself about that because if I'd remembered to order the stuff I ordered second in the first order I would have saved myself $9 in shipping, plus I'd have reached the 30% off level and saved about another $10. Oh well. I'll tell you all about THAT stuff when it gets here.

I'm going to make myself take pictures and post a GOOD update tomorrow. We'll be doing baseball all weekend (I HOPE! We definitely play once Friday and once Saturday, but if we win and keep winning it could go as long as Wednesday. He's hoping for Wednesday!), so I won't be on nearly as much, if at all, so I want to get a good update in tomorrow.

79 days as of today! :banana:

[brandand]

Can't wait to see what you got from the Disney Store. I love the Disney store. Sad part is my oldest is 9 and he loves Disney but has outgrown the "animated" character stuff. He likes the movies but where the characters is just not COOL. :sad1: It's something all parents dred...kids growing up. We look forward to it but then we want to go back in time. Good news is I still have a 4 year old that is still a big Buzz, Woody, Peter Pan, etc...pirate:

Thanks for reading my report. I am having so much fun writing it. I can't wait to write the trip report when we get back. Thanks again.:love:

[hhockman]

Can't wait to see what you got from the Disney Store. I love the Disney store. Sad part is my oldest is 9 and he loves Disney but has outgrown the "animated" character stuff. He likes the movies but where the characters is just not COOL. :sad1: It's something all parents dred...kids growing up. We look forward to it but then we want to go back in time. Good news is I still have a 4 year old that is still a big Buzz, Woody, Peter Pan, etc...pirate:

Thanks for reading my report. I am having so much fun writing it. I can't wait to write the trip report when we get back. Thanks again.:love:

I know. I am totally headed there myself with DS7. He will still wear a lot of stuff...mickey is fine, but he doesn't do Cars or Buzz or anything like that. I'm having to make sure everything is "cool enough" for this upcoming trip because his friend is coming and a lot of stuff he will wear if it's just us, he won't wear if Cole deems it "uncool". Of course I'm getting all of Cole's stuff too, so he better not think anything I've gotten for him is uncool, or he'll just have to deal with it.

Can't wait to read more of your report!

[hhockman]

Okay, I've been trying to watch but somehow I MISSED my 500th post! I'm at 504 (well, this will be 505) now.

So I'm finally

FINALLY

a DIS Veteran.

:cool1::banana::dance3:

It's been a long time coming. :goodvibes

[longing2Batdisney]

we will still be here if it's after Wednesday before you can update...
can't wait to hear/see what you were able to pick up...
I remember those days when Dayne started growing out of Disney:sad1: ; when Ashton came around and I started Disney shopping Danny just rolled his eyes :rolleyes1"here we go again"pirate:

Have great weekend!!:smickey:
Good luck on the b-ball hope he goes to Wednesday:cheer2:

[hhockman]

Thanks! Once we get through baseball in the next couple of weeks, we'll be down two about 2 months and I'll really have to get busy.

Thanks for the good wishes! Our boys really have the talent to win State, but we've had a hard time getting them to all play on the same day. We'll see . :)

Hope you have a great weekend too! Get Ashton in that pool!

[hhockman]

Okay, I know you have all been waiting on the edge of your seats for my post...

*ahem*

I had a lot to get done tonight since I'm really hoping we're going to be gone all weekend. I didn't quite get done with everything (still need to update my blog and make a couple of digi layouts for a Creative Team I'm on...but I downloaded the kits anyway!), but I got a lot done. I have journals I keep for the boys and I hadn't written to them in about 3 weeks. It took me a while to catch up on that...

Okay I'm rambling, I know. I do that when I'm tired. And it is 2:40am!

So here's some pictures of the stuff I got one Tuesday:

The rashguard that matches Christian's swimsuit. I broke down and got it b/c he wanted it and I think it will be cute on him. They didn't have the Stitch one is Will and Cole's sizes.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/118.jpg

Another set up sunglasses for each of the kids. They were like $1.67, I couldn't resist. Plus, Christian didn't want the Nemo glasses before, but I got the Stitch glasses for the older boys and as you'll see (if you don't already know), I'm OCD about some things and matching is one of them. I don't care if Christian only wears his while he has his swimsuit on. The were less than $2! I have no idea if Cole will like the WALL-E ones. I finally just grabbed something b/c I didn't know what he would want.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/120.jpg

These shirts DO match the boys' swim trucks. Will and Cole's anyway. They had a Nemo shirt that would have matched Christian's but they had a 4 and a 10/12. These shirts look big and the 4 might have fit Christian, but I've been getting him 5/6, so that's what I got him. Plus I'm planning for them to wear these to the parks one day and I like the Mickey and Stitch shirts. Orange and Blue. GATOR colors. :thumbsup2
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/117.jpg

Okay, I know you've already seen one of these shirts, but this is a different size. It doesn't say it's a different size (I got Christian a Small and this says "Small"...but it's not. It's actually bigger than the Medium (7/8) shirts I have, so I'm guessing it's actually a Large. I hope it's not TOO big for Will. The Cars is for Christian, Power Rangers for Cole. NO idea if he knows anything about Power Rangers, but it was that or Buzz and I figured he's prefer Power Rangers. These shirts were $2.99! They are all the same style, with stripes on the sleeve.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/119.jpg

I got these at Walmart for 97 cents each. I'm trying to get as much CHEAP light up stuff as I can before we get there. I need to get to Dollar Tree.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/121.jpg

Oh, and this is the HUGE reusable bag I got for $2.50 when I bought everything. It's really big. I think it will be perfect for the waterparks (though I didn't think of that until AFTER I bought it):
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/122.jpg

Finally, here is a picture of the boys I took tonight sporting their new VERY SHORT :scared1: haircuts. I am not a fan of short hair on my boys. On some kids it looks great, but I do not like short hair on my boys. However, it has been in the 100s here too and the poor boys are just too hot with a full head of hair. Especially poor Will who has his father's THICK hair and who has to wear a baseball cap all the time. So I let them cut it short this time so that it's short for State and World Series. I am sincerely hoping it is somewhat grown out by the time he starts school.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/116.jpg

I got ship notices from the DisneyStore.com today for both of my orders. The first one is scheduled to arrive TOMORROW. How's that for fast service?! So I'm sure I'll have a lot more pictures to share in the next couple of days.

Hope you all have a SUPER SPECTACULAR 4th of July weekend!!! Best of wishes to you all. Be safe.

[mkluvsmickey]

Love all the Disney "stuff" pictures! It is always so much fun to buy before a trip!

Sam won't wear Disney stuff outside of the parks anymore. :sad2: She turns into a Disney freak when we are there with head to toe Disney though. :)

Have a great 4th of July weekend! I hope the baseball team does well!

[hhockman]

There's more Disney pics to come. Although, I'm afraid they'll all be done before we even get close. I've already got so much. :)

I'm sorry Sam is already outgrowing everything. How old is she again?

Thanks for the good luck wishes! Hope you guys have a great 4th!

[hhockman]

Just wanted to let you all know we WON tonight. The boys were awesome.

Two games tomorrow, so I won't be here. :)

Wishing EVERYONE a fun and SAFE 4th!!!

[longing2Batdisney]

just wanted to let you all know we won tonight. The boys were awesome.

Two games tomorrow, so i won't be here. :)

wishing everyone a fun and safe 4th!!!
congratulations!!!

[mickeystoontown]

Just wanted to let you all know we WON tonight. The boys were awesome.

Two games tomorrow, so I won't be here. :)

Wishing EVERYONE a fun and SAFE 4th!!!

Woohoo! Go team!

[hhockman]

We're home. Thanks for all of the good wishes! :goodvibes

We won last night and lost this afternoon. So they went 2-2. They played very hard and never gave up, so we are very proud. Now we have a week and a half "break" (where we have 4 practices and 2 scrimmage games scheduled) and then it's on to the World Series! I am SOOOOOO going to get behind on the DIS that week. I really REALLY (really) need a laptop!

I planned to get a list of some kind on tonight because I haven't taken pictures yet of the large box (and small bag) of stuff I got from the DisneyStore.com on Friday. Yes. I ordered on Wednesday and it got here on Friday. :thumbsup2 I'm sending two things back. One I need a different size, the other I didn't like how it fit. Hopefully the exchange won't take too long.

We are at 75 days today! :cool1: Time seems to be going by really fast and I have a feeling it's going to fly from here on out. I don't necessarily want it to fly...even though I can't wait to get to Disney. I'm having a difficult time with the idea of DS7 going to 2nd grade (though next year will be worse, when he goes to 3rd grade and DS4 starts Kindergarten! :sad1:). Disney will be a nice diversion about the time I am getting used to it all.

I know I am totally off my planning. I'll try really hard to get something plan-worthy up tomorrow (no practice tomorrow or Tuesday, remember?). Hope you all had a great weekend!

[brandand]

Congrats on the baseball. What a busy season!!!! We will be gearing up for Brandon's sport of choice...football!!!! He begins practice in August and plays through to November. Good Luck in the World Series!!!!

[longing2Batdisney]

Congratulations! on the World Series!!!:cheer2:where are you traveling for it???
Keep on enjoying thoses boys of yours...they grow so fast...it seems like yesterday that Dayne was entering Kindergarten and he will be a senior in high school this year. Gwendolyn already a senior in college. I dread Ashton even going to school--homeschool is starting to sound great to me, again :upsidedow(did it for three years w/the older two).

Have a great week!:flower3:

[hhockman]

Congrats on the baseball. What a busy season!!!! We will be gearing up for Brandon's sport of choice...football!!!! He begins practice in August and plays through to November. Good Luck in the World Series!!!!

Thanks. :goodvibes We play baseball almost year-round. Will usually plays Spring, All Stars, and Fall (I say usually, this is his second year doing that...though he's played Spring since he was 3). He has mentioned something about soccer this fall (which is what Christian will be playing...not old enough for Fall Ball at our park yet), but he will probably go back to baseball. That goes from late August to early November. Then he will be playing basketball for the first time (Christian isn't old enough for THAT either. Next year)...which goes right up until Spring baseball practice starts. My boys love their sports.

Congratulations! on the World Series!!!:cheer2:where are you traveling for it???
Keep on enjoying thoses boys of yours...they grow so fast...it seems like yesterday that Dayne was entering Kindergarten and he will be a senior in high school this year. Gwendolyn already a senior in college. I dread Ashton even going to school--homeschool is starting to sound great to me, again :upsidedow(did it for three years w/the older two).





Have a great week!:flower3:

Thanks again. :goodvibes Our World Series this year is just outside of Chattanooga. It was last year too, though we'll be at a different park this time. Next year we go to Mississippi, which is a whole different ball game (excuse the pun). Until they are 10, they don't have to "qualify" for the World Series, but we still have a lot of fun while we are there.

I don't even want to think about Will being a senior in high school. I don't even want to think about him going into middle school! That's why I'm not wishing the summer away. Most of my family is reading to go to Disney NOW (except my dad, who doesn't really want to go at all). I'm happy for it (and the kids' first day of school) to take it's sweet time getting here. ;)

[hhockman]

Okay I've lost all my readers. That's what happens over a holiday weekend in the summer....

and when I'm not saying anything interesting.

I promise I'm going to have more pics of Disney stuff. I just can't seem to get my camera the five feet over to my box to take them. And I'm upset that my swimsuit didn't fit (even though I KNEW I was ordering it too small when I ordered it), so I kinda want to wait until I get it back...except that I haven't even sent it off to exchange yet.

But I WILL have more pictures. Lots of them.

I found a website where I can get some drawstring backpacks really cheap. They are canvas and I could do iron-ons on them, but they come in a set of 12 and a) I don't know what I'd do with TWELVE of them and b) They seem to be best for ages 3-6, which would be fine for the kids, but probably too small for me. So I can't decide. Plus I really want to get a DisneyWorld one for me. Oooh. I just thought of something. I think I'm going to get them for the kids. I'll figure out what to do with the other's later.

Now I'm excited.

But you guys will have to wait until I'm DONE with them to see what I just thought of. :hyper:

Okay, I'm going to order them. Hang on...

...okay ordered. I hesitated a little bit because I'm not SURE I want to do my idea, but I probably will. I hope they aren't too little, but I think they'll be okay because I don't really want them to be big. Just big enough to carry their stuff. I paid $12.41 including shipping and tax for 12 bags. That's barely $1 a bag, so that was awesome.

ANYWAY...what to discuss tonight?

Has anyone ever used Mouse Manager? I'm going to download the software in just a minute just to see what it is.

I'm also thinking about getting the book Guide to the Magic for Kids for the boys. The problem: I'd have to get three of them which will cost about $82. Just not sure I can swing that before we go. Even if the books do look SUPER cool.

In other news, we (I) made the decision today to let Christian do the FREE state Pre-K in the fall instead of sending him back to his preschool where he's been since he was 2 and where Will did Pre-K. I'm sad, but we just can't see spending over $2000 when he could be going for free. I just hope I can get him in somewhere. I'm on a waitlist at a Montessori (which I previously toured and is a pretty cool place) but I don't know how long it will be until I know. It's my first choice, but I don't know how much time I'll have if I wait a week or two only to find out he didn't get in. School starts here August 3rd (the preschool we were going to send him too wouldn't have started until the 17th, but the state run programs go with the public schools). :headache: I just wish I knew one way or the other. This does tie into Disney, by the way. I've been stressing about how we were going to manage the registration fee plus August and September's tuition and still have $$$ to take with us on the trip. Now I don't have to worry about the tuition. And knowing what the preschool offers for PreK, Christian will probably be getting MORE out of the free one anyway. Still, it was a tough decision...

Have I mentioned that the kids are STILL up (it's 11:23pm). And Cole is here. He's been here since Monday and will probably stay until Friday. Matt is practicing baseball with them in the mornings and his house is just too far to drive to every day-twice. So he's staying for pretty much the whole week.

Okay. Disney. (I promise) :rotfl:
Let's go with a preliminary must do list for me at each park (because I haven't asked Matt yet, and I'm not asking the boys...that might be a little TOO obvious and Christian doesn't remember the rides anyway). Tell me whatcha think:

Magic Kingdom:
Pirates of the Caribbean
Buzz Lightyear
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
Peter Pan's Flight
TTA (seriously, I love the TTA)

Animal Kingdom:
Expedition Everest
Festival of the Lion King
Kilamanjaro Safari

Hollywood Studios:
Toy Story Mania!
The Magic of Animation
Rock N Roller Coaster
High School Musical show

EPCOT:
um, everything!
and that's not even really an exaggeration, well kinda...okay MUST do
Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
Maelstrom
American Adventure
Visit ALL of the countries
Innoventions East and West

Okay, I guess that's it. It doesn't seem like very much with all there is out there, but I'm more looking forward to watching and experiencing with the kids than I am seeing a particular thing for me (though I'm BUMMED Space Mountain is closed!).

Anyway, I don't seem to be saying anything important, so I guess I'll go back to reading other TRs. I'll try to have something a little more interesting for you tomorrow. ;)

[longing2Batdisney]

I found a website where I can get some drawstring backpacks really cheap. They are canvas and I could do iron-ons on them, but they come in a set of 12 and a) I don't know what I'd do with TWELVE of them and b) They seem to be best for ages 3-6, which would be fine for the kids, but probably too small for me. So I can't decide. Plus I really want to get a DisneyWorld one for me. Oooh. I just thought of something. I think I'm going to get them for the kids. I'll figure out what to do with the other's later.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!!

Now I'm excited.

But you guys will have to wait until I'm DONE with them to see what I just thought of. :hyper:

Okay, I'm going to order them. Hang on...

...okay ordered. I hesitated a little bit because I'm not SURE I want to do my idea, but I probably will. I hope they aren't too little, but I think they'll be okay because I don't really want them to be big. Just big enough to carry their stuff. I paid $12.41 including shipping and tax for 12 bags. That's barely $1 a bag, so that was awesome.

ANYWAY...what to discuss tonight?


Tell me whatcha think:

Magic Kingdom:
Pirates of the Caribbean
Buzz Lightyear
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
Peter Pan's Flight
TTA (seriously, I love the TTA)
MONSTERS LAUGH IN??
the boys should get a kick out of it

Animal Kingdom:
Expedition Everest
Festival of the Lion King
Kilamanjaro Safari
Dinosaur or do you think they will be scared

Hollywood Studios:
Toy Story Mania!
The Magic of Animation
Rock N Roller Coaster
High School Musical show
the stunt car show==what is the name cant think must need to go to bed

EPCOT:
um, everything!
and that's not even really an exaggeration, well kinda...okay MUST do
Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
Maelstrom
American Adventure
Visit ALL of the countries
Innoventions East and West

Okay, I guess that's it. It doesn't seem like very much with all there is out there, but I'm more looking forward to watching and experiencing with the kids than I am seeing a particular thing for me (though I'm BUMMED Space Mountain is closed!).

Anyway, I don't seem to be saying anything important, so I guess I'll go back to reading other TRs. I'll try to have something a little more interesting for you tomorrow. ;)

About pre-k we moved here from the southshore to use the public schools; now we have decided Ashton will be going private so I know where you are coming from:eek:. Can't wait for the car to be paid for and the two older ones to be out of school (we pay car insurance while they are in school). I told Danny we will be able to pay off our house 5 yrs ahead of schedule after handing them their car insurance:rotfl: just ratteling so I'll sign off till later:upsidedow
Connie

[mickeystoontown]

You haven't lost me as a reader. I'm still here.

Congrats on getting the canvas bags so cheap. I bought a cinch bag off the Disney Outlet quite some time ago but I am not really sure if I'll use it. Lacey probably will if I don't. I need something with pockets and the Disney cinch bag doesn't have one.

Bummer about the swimsuit. I ordered a Disney suit last year and the smallest I could order was an 8. I usually wear a 2 or 4 but I ordered it anyway because it was offseason and it was really cheap ($9.99). It fit perfectly so the Disney swimsuits must run really small.

I totally understand your concerns about taking Christian out of a place he has known for a long time.

Lacey attended private daycare/school (it goes from bedbabies to 12th grade) until she was in the 7th grade. When Hunter came along, we put him in the same daycare/school. There were several years when I had two kids in private school. I was working simply to keep them in private school.

The year Lacey was to start 8th grade, the school announced they would be closing the high school portion of the school. So, we made the decision to put her in public school in 8th grade so she could get use to public school before hitting high school in 9th grade. That decision wasn't so tough. When we made the decision to put Hunter in public school last year, it was really tough. But, again, we wanted to get him used to public school while still in elementary school, not middle school. He still goes to church with a lot of his private school friends since the school is sponsored by our church. And, he plays on the private school football team.

Since Lacey attends missionary college there is just one place to apply for financial aid and that's it. Because it is mission/religion based, there is the whole separation of church and state to deal with and nobody wants to even give you a student loan. Her tuition is over $10,000.00 a year and 3/4th of it comes out of our pocket. None of the students can have a job because they are constantly traveling, doing missionary work, etc. Thank goodness, the church that runs the mission is letting her work off part of next year's tuition by being their children's church leader.

Sorry for the long spiel. I didn't realize it was so lengthy.;)

Let's get back to the subject at hand. I like your lists of must dos. I would suggest that you add in Mickey's PhilarMagic on the Magic Kingdom day and Festival of the Lion King and Kali River Rapids on your Animal Kingdom day. Oh, and what about Jedi Training Academy, Star Tours and MuppetVision on your Hollywood Studios day.

[hhockman]

About pre-k we moved here from the southshore to use the public schools; now we have decided Ashton will be going private so I know where you are coming from:eek:. Can't wait for the car to be paid for and the two older ones to be out of school (we pay car insurance while they are in school). I told Danny we will be able to pay off our house 5 yrs ahead of schedule after handing them their car insurance:rotfl: just ratteling so I'll sign off till later:upsidedow
Connie

It's okay. I like rattling on my PTR/TRs. Haven't you noticed I do it all the time? If we still lived in Florida I would be finding a way to have both kids in private. Even as a teacher I feel like Florida public schools leave a lot to be desired. But we're in a good county here and I'm okay with the public schools. It's just tough to pull him out of somewhere he's been.

You haven't lost me as a reader. I'm still here.

Congrats on getting the canvas bags so cheap. I bought a cinch bag off the Disney Outlet quite some time ago but I am not really sure if I'll use it. Lacey probably will if I don't. I need something with pockets and the Disney cinch bag doesn't have one.

Bummer about the swimsuit. I ordered a Disney suit last year and the smallest I could order was an 8. I usually wear a 2 or 4 but I ordered it anyway because it was offseason and it was really cheap ($9.99). It fit perfectly so the Disney swimsuits must run really small.

I totally understand your concerns about taking Christian out of a place he has known for a long time.

Lacey attended private daycare/school (it goes from bedbabies to 12th grade) until she was in the 7th grade. When Hunter came along, we put him in the same daycare/school. There were several years when I had two kids in private school. I was working simply to keep them in private school.

The year Lacey was to start 8th grade, the school announced they would be closing the high school portion of the school. So, we made the decision to put her in public school in 8th grade so she could get use to public school before hitting high school in 9th grade. That decision wasn't so tough. When we made the decision to put Hunter in public school last year, it was really tough. But, again, we wanted to get him used to public school while still in elementary school, not middle school. He still goes to church with a lot of his private school friends since the school is sponsored by our church. And, he plays on the private school football team.

Since Lacey attends missionary college there is just one place to apply for financial aid and that's it. Because it is mission/religion based, there is the whole separation of church and state to deal with and nobody wants to even give you a student loan. Her tuition is over $10,000.00 a year and 3/4th of it comes out of our pocket. None of the students can have a job because they are constantly traveling, doing missionary work, etc. Thank goodness, the church that runs the mission is letting her work off part of next year's tuition by being their children's church leader.

Sorry for the long spiel. I didn't realize it was so lengthy.;)

Let's get back to the subject at hand. I like your lists of must dos. I would suggest that you add in Mickey's PhilarMagic on the Magic Kingdom day and Festival of the Lion King and Kali River Rapids on your Animal Kingdom day. Oh, and what about Jedi Training Academy, Star Tours and MuppetVision on your Hollywood Studios day.

I certainly don't mind the long spiel. I like to get people's point of view about everything. I really thought I was going to have to put my kids in private school too, but we're in a really good county here in Georgia (about the ONLY county I'd let them go to public school in Florida is the one we grew up in-and it's still a little behind most of the rest of the country). It was hard to make that decision, but I think it will be for the best. At least it's taken a little of the money stress away.

I'm still not sure about the bags. I don't know how small they're going to be or whether iron-ons will work on them. But we'll see.

I still haven't sent the swimsuit back. The post office is across town and I just can't seem to get there. Good thing we still have a couple months before we go. ;)

I didn't REALLY think I'd lost my readers. :goodvibes The boards just seem to have gotten a little slower. Probably 'cause it's mid-summer and everyone is busy. I'm going to be gone myself for almost a week next week. I so wish I had a laptop!

Gotta go take the kids to the ballpark to practice (and then we have team practice tonight), but I will be back later.

Thanks for :laundy: in there girls! :love:

[DisneymoonJess07]

Just caught up with your PTR!! I might have stolen your to-do list and your backpack list - I am collecting them to try to get a better idea of what I need to do!

[hhockman]

Just caught up with your PTR!! I might have stolen your to-do list and your backpack list - I am collecting them to try to get a better idea of what I need to do!

Feel free to "share" anything you like. I'll be adding more lists over the next couple of days because I feel like I need to be doing something!

Just hopped over to your report. I don't know why I didn't get there before. :confused3



Let's get back to the subject at hand. I like your lists of must dos. I would suggest that you add in Mickey's PhilarMagic on the Magic Kingdom day and Festival of the Lion King and Kali River Rapids on your Animal Kingdom day. Oh, and what about Jedi Training Academy, Star Tours and MuppetVision on your Hollywood Studios day.

Thanks for the suggestions. :) As far as "MUST DOs" I was just listing mine personally. I'll add Matt at some point, and what I *think* the boys would say. ;) Maybe tonight even. Mickey's PhilharMagic does need to be on the list and I think I already put Festival of the Lion King on there (didn't I? I meant to). Kali could go on my list. I was wavering on it. We are definitely going, so I guess it's a "must do". Jedi Training (which I STILL can't find anywhere to tell me exactly what this is) and Star Tours are "must dos" on the boys' lists. MuppetVision :3dglasses will be on the list, I'm sure, but I'm not crazy about it. Matt likes it and I know the boys will, so we'll go, but the Muppets have always annoyed me a little (especially Miss Piggy) shhh! Though I do like Kermit.

I'll be back tonight with more lists of some kind and maybe some pictures.

Maybe. ;)

[hhockman]

Okay, I JUST realized I didn't have an Avatar. How is it possible that I made it all the way to Dis Veteran without and Avatar?! I have one now...

Anyway, I know I've been MIA. It's always harder to get here on baseball practice days for some reason. No practice tomorrow, though so I'm hoping to get some pics up. I'm going to try to get to the post office tomorrow...and thanks to Lisa, I also have a THIRD package coming from the Disneystore.com. This one is coming from the outlet. I wasn't able to use the code she so graciously posted, but I still found shirts for $3.99-5.99. So I got two shirts for me, one for Matt, and one each for Cole and Will. For $30 shipped. Gotta STOP going to that darn site!

Since it's late, and I don't have pictures to add yet, I figured I would post everyone else's MUST DOs (that are based on my guesses because I haven't actually asked any of them). So here is what I think the MUST DOs for Matt, Will, Christian, and Cole will be:

MATT:

Magic Kingdom:
Carosel of Progress (he REALLY loves this-I don't know why-I mean I like it too, but he really :love: this ride)
Buzz Lightyear
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain

EPCOT:
Test Track
Soarin'
Mission Space (Maybe. He'll be doing it on his own unless my brother decides to go. I don't like it much and I won't let the boys do it. Even if they are tall enough. I might do the "less intense" version, but he'll want to do the real thing. I've done it and I don't mind it. But I'm not crazy about it, so I don't see a really good reason to go.)
German Pavillion (his family is German and he LOVES all things German)

Hollywood Studios (easily his favorite park):
Tower of Terror
Rock N Rollercoaster
Toy Story Mania
Star Tours
Magic of Disney Animation

Animal Kingdom:
Expedition Everest
Fesitval of the Lion King
Kilamanjaro Safaris
Kali River Rapids

He may have a couple more MUST DOs, but these are my guesses for him. One of these days I'll actually ask him, but he's not home from work yet (I don't think) and I don't want to ask with the kids around.

Okay, now Christian:

Magic Kingdom:
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain (he wasn't tall enough for either of these last time!)
Buzz Lightyear
Peter Pan
Mickey's Philharmagic
Winnie the Pooh
Barnstormer (he WAS tall enough last time and loved it!)

EPCOT:
Soarin' (again not tall enough last time)
Test Track (same thing)
Kim Possible Adventures
The Seas with Nemo
Turtle Talk with Crush

Hollywood Studios (probably will also be his favorite):
STAR TOURS (wasn't tall enough last time and had yet to develop his current Star Wars OBSESSION)
Jedi Training Academy (still haven't figured out exactly what this is!)
Toy Story Mania
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular (recently started playing Lego Indiana Jones too, and now loves Indy as well)
Magic of Disney Animation
HSM 3
Playhouse Disney (maybe...I'm not sure if he's outgrown this one, but we haven't seen it since the show changed, so we will probably go this time...especially because it may just be our last time...Will and Cole will have to suffer!)

Animal Kingdom:
Kilamajaro Safaris
Kali River Rapids (wasn't tall enough for this last time either)
Camp Minnie Mickey
Festival of the Lion King
Dinosaur (maybe-might be scared-wasn't tall enough...)
The Nemo show (forgot what it's called)
Conservation Station
(Christian is going to be MAD :mad: that he can't go on EE!)

Now for Will:

Magic Kingdom:
Buzz Lightyear
Pirates of the Caribbean
It's A Small World
Peter Pan's Flight
Splash Mountain (maybe)
Mickey's Philharmagic
Tomorrowland Speedway (loves race cars and usually wants to go here more than once)
(He is not a daredevil and I don't know if the roller coasters would be on his MUST DO list, but he is going to do them)

EPCOT:
Spaceship Earth (he LOVES SSE)
KP Adventure
Living with the Land (LOVED this last time)
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Soarin' (I think-he went last time)
Test Track (went on this last time too-he loves race cars-he was a little nervous, but did okay)

Hollywood Studios (probably his favorite too):
STAR TOURS (loves Star Wars as much as his brother, but was not into it last time so he hasn't ridden it either)
Jedi Training Academy
Toy Story Mania
HSM 3
Magic of Disney Animation
The car stunt show thing (whose name escapes me at 1:30am)

Animal Kingdom:
Kilamanjaro Safaris
Expedition Everest (his dad MADE him go last time and he insists he wants to go again, so he's going...we'll see what happens)
Festival of the Lion King
The Nemo show
Dinosaur (maybe-he hasn't seen it before I don't think)
Kali River Rapids

And finally Cole:
I'm not going to do a big list for Cole because I really have no idea what he will want to do. He's never been and he doesn't have any particular Disney favorites (he said his favorite character is Pluto :) ). There are certain things I am pretty sure he will like:

Toy Story Mania
Buzz Lightyear
Kilamanjaro Safaris
Pirates of the Caribbean
Test Track
Dinosaur

You know, boy stuff. But he is kind of wimpy (like Will) so I don't know if he will like rollercoasters, or stuff that goes up high (like Soarin'), or anything like that. He might love them. But I really don't know right now. He doesn't like Star Wars like my boys do (though they are slowly somewhat converting him-he actually asked to watch one of the movies the other day), and he MIGHT think some of the stuff is babyish (might not). So you'll just have to wait for the TR to see what he thinks of everything.

I KNOW Hollywood Studios will by my boys' favorite park (and I'm including Matt in that). Matt loves the rides, my boys love (LOVE) :love: Star Wars. We'll be lucky if I can convince them to do ANYTHING but ride Star Tours once we've been there. I'm just happy to see them all happy.

So there's your lists for today. I need to get to bed, but I should have some more pictures tomorrow and maybe another list or two. 72 days to go!!!

[longing2Batdisney]

:thumbsup2--I still think you need to add Monster's Laugh Floor--I think the boys are going to love it !!

I was on the disneyshopping.com site yesterday. Put quite a few things in the cart now I need to place the order. But, I went to Kmart today and bought $60 of toys and clothes that were 50% off (well most of the stuff was). I have four 3 yr old b-days in the next three Sat.(one of which is Ashton's) the thing is I have already bought clothes from disney store and .com over the year as it was marked down. They have a really great gift bag put together:cutie: Wanted to Christmas shop but had Danny w/me:rotfl:

I really liked the Nemo bating suits you had for the boys, so I placed in the cart the nemo and stitch ones.for next year skinny mini won't fit in them this year; unless I take them in...
C

[hhockman]

Oh, I have every intention of doing Monster's Inc. We did it one time...maybe last time. Can't remember. But we will do it. I'm just not sure it would be on their lists if I asked them...not sure if they would remember it.

I really have every intention of doing EVERYTHING...I know it won't happen...but that's my intention. :rotfl: I've got to start working on tourning plans one of these days.

It sounds like you got some great deals at Kmart! The closest one to me isn't really close, so I don't go often. We'll be going right by it on Tuesday, but I'll have the kids with me, so I don't plan to stop. I went in there a couple weeks ago looking for Disney clothes for the kids (BEFORE the 4th of July sale at Disneystore.com) and I didn't find much of anything except for toddlers. There's some GREAT (and cheap, even just on sale, not clearance) stuff for my nephew, who we be 8 months old (and probably in 9 mo or 12 mo clothes) at the time of the trip, but my kids are out of all toddler clothes. Christian can wear a 4T in shorts (and even some 3T) because he's a skinny-bug but he needs at least a 5 in a shirt. I'm glad you found some stuff though.

I just found out today that my mom got each of my boys two more shirts from that 4th of July online sale. But she didn't get any for Cole (and she'd have complained if I asked her to), so now he has two less than the others. I'm going to try to get to the mall tomorrow and see what they have, but I don't have much in the way of $$$ because we leave for World Series on Thursday.

I'm also hunting for a Stitch rash guard for Will. I promise I'll post pictures tomorrow (I uploaded them tonight, but I want to get in bed in a minute), but I got Will and Cole the Stitch rash guards to match their suits. I got Will a 7/8 (M)-which is the size of their suits, and I got Cole a 10/12 (L), because he's just a little "huskier" than Will and I was afraid the M would be too small...and it is. It's almost too small for Will. It fits him just fine, but it's skin-tight. Which I know rash guards are supposed to be, but I don't like it. The last time I was at our store they had a bunch of really little sizes and one L. I'm doubtful it's still there, but I'm going to look. Online is out of L now. I'm mad at myself for not getting L in the first place for Will, but I seriously thought 10/12 would be HUGE. If they don't have it, I guess he'll just have to wear the one that just fits. Hopefully he won't grow too much between now and then. :headache: Thank goodness I got Christian's a size too big (I got him a 5/6 (S) even though his swim trunks are 4 (XS) ). I also want to see if they still have the Nemo t-shirt that matches his trunks. I got him the Mickey to go with the boys' Stitch, but now I'm thinking I want them to wear their trunks and that shirt to AK in case they get wet. If I can't find the Nemo (they only had a 10/12 and a 4 last time I was there, but the 4 looked big), then either he'll wear the Mickey and won't match, or he'll wear his rash guard that day (though the other boys won't).

ANYWAY...I need to get to bed. 10:00am baseball practice tomorrow.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

[longing2Batdisney]

You have to see this... pixiedust:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2227119

[hhockman]

That

was

AWESOME!

Wow. I wish I could get my family to do that. My kids would cooperate, but not so sure about DH. Although he's just a big kid himself, so maybe.

I couldn't get the video done that well though.

[hhockman]

Okay, I know I've been MIA...and I will pretty much continue to be so for about the next week. The "end-of-season" party is next Friday, the 24th (we leave for World Series tomorrow and will be back sometimes between Tuesday and Thursday). At that point I will be able to concentrate on Disney a little bit more...for a couple of weeks. Fall ball (and I think Christian is playing soccer) starts at the end of August. And we start school on August 3rd. But I promise to get back with all of those pictures I've taken (and even uploaded!).

I need to start working on a touring plan too.

If you haven't seen that video that was posted above GO SEE IT!

I'll be back....

[mickeystoontown]

Okay, I know I've been MIA...and I will pretty much continue to be so for about the next week. The "end-of-season" party is next Friday, the 24th (we leave for World Series tomorrow and will be back sometimes between Tuesday and Thursday). At that point I will be able to concentrate on Disney a little bit more...for a couple of weeks. Fall ball (and I think Christian is playing soccer) starts at the end of August. And we start school on August 3rd. But I promise to get back with all of those pictures I've taken (and even uploaded!).

I need to start working on a touring plan too.

If you haven't seen that video that was posted above GO SEE IT!

I'll be back....


I'll be here when you get back.:surfweb:

[longing2Batdisney]

:rolleyes:Ditto!!!! to what Lisa said popcorn::

[hhockman]

We're back from the World Series. We went 2-3 and lost out last night. But we made the Championship Bracket (not the Consolation Bracket) and I think ended up top 20 out of 57 teams. So much better than last year.

I'll try to get an update in tomorrow. Lots of stuff to do. Will (and maybe Christian if I can find him a spot) starts school two weeks from today.

Thanks for hanging in girls!

[longing2Batdisney]

Congrats! on the great job the boys did! :yay:
I can't believe school is starting already. :eek:

[mickeystoontown]

Heather: Tell the team we are proud of them! 20 out of 57 is not bad at all. School here will actually starts soon too. Hunter will miss the first day because we will be in Disney World but I don't figure he'll miss too much the first day.

[aaaateamsgrandma]

We're back from the World Series. We went 2-3 and lost out last night. But we made the Championship Bracket (not the Consolation Bracket) and I think ended up top 20 out of 57 teams. So much better than last year.

I'll try to get an update in tomorrow. Lots of stuff to do. Will (and maybe Christian if I can find him a spot) starts school two weeks from today.

Thanks for hanging in girls!

Heather, I have read your whole report now. You have lots of good plans. We were a grand gathering also and we had all three of our rooms next to one another. It was great. We had such a good time and Disney could not have been better to us. When Mike had his birthday he chose the fast pass option instead of the money. You couldn't spend the money anywhere except a disney store. Not resorts stores. So the FP worked best for us.
Have an awesome time.
Ginny

[mkluvsmickey]

Just checking in here Heather. Congrats to the baseball team - that is fantastic! :cool1:

[longing2Batdisney]

OK! I'm back! ready when you are...

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hi-I just came over to read your PTR-just started-your boys are beautiful!:goodvibes

[hhockman]

Heather, I have read your whole report now. You have lots of good plans. We were a grand gathering also and we had all three of our rooms next to one another. It was great. We had such a good time and Disney could not have been better to us. When Mike had his birthday he chose the fast pass option instead of the money. You couldn't spend the money anywhere except a disney store. Not resorts stores. So the FP worked best for us.
Have an awesome time.
Ginny

I WISH my brother would choose the FP option. He won't though. Is it mean of me to say he's selfish? :rolleyes1 Seriously though, he wants his giftcard. Thanks for joining in. I getting ready to update right now. OH and here's an official :welcome:

Hi-I just came over to read your PTR-just started-your boys are beautiful!:goodvibes

Hi! :welcome: I was just getting ready to add an update. Thank you so much for the compliment. I agree, but then I'm slightly biased.

[hhockman]

Okay, so you guys have been hanging in half of forever waiting for an update. I've been promising pictures for weeks and I just keep finding other things to do (mostly read other people's TRs). So I put off reading all of everyone else's update so that I can get you one of my own.

Finally.

I've got a couple of different sets up pictures to share, and I couldn't decide which ones, but I finally decided I'd share the Disney loot I ordered a couple weeks ago during the 4th of July sale because, well, I just got another box today. So I figure I'd better show you that stuff first.

Okay, first, here's the crocs I have for the boys. Will has worn his once because there was one day before I got their summer flipflops that he just had to have slip on shoes and those were all he had. He's probably forgotten them by now. I found out last week Cole's grandparents bought him some. But they are green. He'll be wearing these. I think.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/236.jpg

These shirts are for Cole and Will. Christian has an old one of Will's that is still in good shape that is grey with Phineas on it. Close enough.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/238.jpg

This is a bunch of stuff I've collected from the $1 section at Target. Some of it they actually got in their stockings last year and have never opened. I'm pretty sure they'll think it's new.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/239.jpg

Each of the boys has one of these. I know they don't take great pictures, but I'm excited to get pictures from their perspectives. Plus this will hopefully keep Christian from constantly wanting to use mine.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/237.jpg

New autograph books and big pens. I was going to try to make autograph books. Then decided not to.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/240.jpg

Rash guards for Will and Cole (remember I showed you Christian's earlier). I got Will a M and Cole a L because Cole is a little stockier. Turns out the M is pretty small and I wished I'd gotten Will a L too. Of course when I went back to check online the L were all gone. The M will fit him, but there's no extra room. At all.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/241.jpg

$75 giftcard for TRex. So we don't have to worry about whether or not we'll have the money. 3:30pm ADR on arrival day!
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/243.jpg

I asked the kids one day who their favorite Disney characters were because I have those muscles shirts I was going to make for them (remember?). Will said Goofy, Cole said Pluto, Christian said Mickey. So I bought the shirts instead. (Knowing this take another look at their pens above too)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/244.jpg

We got shirts like this last time and Will and Christian still have them, but they are a little worn (and a little different). There were five different colors and I was going to get one of each, but couldn't make myself like the neon green and neon orange with the primary colored "Disney". So I went with Navy and Grey. Christian and I have the grey.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/245.jpg

Shirts for Matt and his swim trunks. He HATES the Donald one, so we won't be taking it. It's a XXL, anybody want it? Incidentally, Matt has lost about 40 pounds since April and the XXLs look a little big for him. He'll be wearing them a little big.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/246.jpg

Shirts for me. FYI, I like Eeyore. He's not my #1 favorite character, but I like him. That's not the reason I have 3 Eeyore shirts, though. They were just cheap. Same reason Matt has Grumpy. :rolleyes1
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/247.jpg

Okay. So that's it for this time. There is much more to show you. I've bought a couple things at the actual store. And ordered more. And am making some things. There's just a bunch more. I'll TRY to get another update up soon. (REALLY, I will!)

We only have 51 days to go (I'm stealing Lisa's formula of not counting today or the day we leave)!!!

[longing2Batdisney]

great update! love all the loot!!!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I'm here for the Pre-trippie! I haven't read all of it yet, but I wanted to comment what adorable boys you have. Also, I love the fact that you have photographed all of your gear! My son would LOVE to have a Phineas shirt like that. I'll have to check out Disney's website.

Don't you just love their clearance sales?

[hhockman]

I'm here for the Pre-trippie! I haven't read all of it yet, but I wanted to comment what adorable boys you have. Also, I love the fact that you have photographed all of your gear! My son would LOVE to have a Phineas shirt like that. I'll have to check out Disney's website.

Don't you just love their clearance sales?

:welcome: Mel!!!

Check the Disney Store at the mall too. They usually have most of the same shirts and there is no shipping.

And yes, I *ahem* love the sales...though DH doesn't. :confused3

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Mitchell thinks a trip to the Disney store is like going on a trip to Disney!

[hhockman]

Sometimes it's not much cheaper!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Sometimes it's not much cheaper!


Ain't that the truth? :rotfl:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Love the update Heather. I so miss buying all the Disney clothes. When my grandkids were smaller and we had a Disney Store in our mall I was their #1 shopper for sure. Now they don't care. All their shirts have to be Texas for Andrew, any sports or Hurley for Austin (he also likes Affliction, but at $58 each they are special) and Alex has gotten hooked on underarmour thanks to his dad. And you think Disney stuff is high!

I enjoyed looking at the pictures just to help bring back those memories. You are getting so close.

Ginny

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Love the update Heather. I so miss buying all the Disney clothes. When my grandkids were smaller and we had a Disney Store in our mall I was their #1 shopper for sure. Now they don't care. All their shirts have to be Texas for Andrew, any sports or Hurley for Austin (he also likes Affliction, but at $58 each they are special) and Alex has gotten hooked on underarmour thanks to his dad. And you think Disney stuff is high!

I enjoyed looking at the pictures just to help bring back those memories. You are getting so close.

Ginny

Ginny, you are not making me feel better about the cost of living with a boy! :goodvibes See what Connie, Heather, and me have to look forward to? Not to mention all of the rest of us that have boys! Guess we better start saving now, huh???

I don't even want to think about what a girl costs. LOL.

[longing2Batdisney]

See what Connie, Heather, and me have to look forward to? Guess we better start saving now, huh???

I don't even want to think about what a girl costs. LOL.

Girl, I'm already there!:headache:
Dayne only wears t-shirts from Abercrombie and Hollister (at least they have a sales rack:cheer2:). We finally talked him into to wearing any jeans, khakis, and he usually has those nylon basketball (Nike) shorts on.
Gwendolyn was frugal; never did have the problem of the big name brands with her:thumbsup2.

[mickeystoontown]

Yeah! Pictures! I love pictures! I really am not a big Eeyore fan either but, hey, if the shirts are really cheap, I'd wear them too.

I'm really lucky so far, Hunter doesn't give a hoot about what he wears so long as it's not too short. He doesn't like his shorts too short or his shirts too short. Wait a minute, I take that back, he did ask recently if we could try to find him some shirts that made his arms look buff.:lmao:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Austin only shops at the Buckle. He won't do Abercrombie or Hollister cause that is where all the kids around here shop. He marches to the tune of his own drum. Always has. He also has a shoe fetish. As do his mom and I. He probably has 20 pair that he alternates. He has been in a size 12 since he was 11 so he is easy to buy for and he likes Nike thank goodness. For a while it was strictly Puma. Ouch. He normally finds them on line cause he wouldn't want what someone around here alread has.

Andrew is easy but he can only get pants at American Eagle cause he is in a 28 waist and 34 length. No one else carries that small of a waist with the length.

Who would think boys would be such an issue. When they were smaller they wore anything you threw at them. I don't envy you girls at all with boys now days.

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Girl, I'm already there!:headache:
Dayne only wears t-shirts from Abercrombie and Hollister (at least they have a sales rack:cheer2:). We finally talked him into to wearing any jeans, khakis, and he usually has those nylon basketball (Nike) shorts on.
Gwendolyn was frugal; never did have the problem of the big name brands with her:thumbsup2. Funny how your girl was the easy one and your boy likes the name brands!

Yeah! Pictures! I love pictures! I really am not a big Eeyore fan either but, hey, if the shirts are really cheap, I'd wear them too.

I'm really lucky so far, Hunter doesn't give a hoot about what he wears so long as it's not too short. He doesn't like his shorts too short or his shirts too short. Wait a minute, I take that back, he did ask recently if we could try to find him some shirts that made his arms look buff.:lmao:

Buff! That's funny. He needs a ringer tee, then, so that the arm band will stick to those muscles!

Austin only shops at the Buckle. He won't do Abercrombie or Hollister cause that is where all the kids around here shop. He marches to the tune of his own drum. Always has. He also has a shoe fetish. As do his mom and I. He probably has 20 pair that he alternates. He has been in a size 12 since he was 11 so he is easy to buy for and he likes Nike thank goodness. For a while it was strictly Puma. Ouch. He normally finds them on line cause he wouldn't want what someone around here alread has.

Andrew is easy but he can only get pants at American Eagle cause he is in a 28 waist and 34 length. No one else carries that small of a waist with the length.

Who would think boys would be such an issue. When they were smaller they wore anything you threw at them. I don't envy you girls at all with boys now days. I like individuality! That's awesome! And expensive! :thumbsup2

[nu2wdisneyw]

Hey there!
I am loving all of your Disney finds!!! I am thinking the same about the autograph books...we will see. I would like to turn them into a photo book (saw it on someone else TR)!! We will see. I am soo behind in planning, but I have to get on the ball now. Hopefully I will be able to make another trip out to the Disney store again this week. Thanks for reminding me of the Crocs again...I SOOOO forgot to order them...gotta do that now!!! Can't wait to read more.

[PracPerfPatricia]

Ok-caught up...

I love all the dis stuff you bought...(our dis store in the closest mall closed...:sad2:-which in some ways is probably better for our budget...)

We LOVE Phineas and Ferb here-DS is crazy for them...(and I can probably go through all the songs more than I'd care to admit...:confused3)

It's funny when you were talking about your boys liking different kinds of rides-my DD just caught up with her brother this year...and she is 7 years older than him-he'd always go on whatever he was tall enough-and she's just gotten into the more adventurous stuff in the past year...

Its going to be so nice to be going with extra family-I'd like to do that maybe next year for DD's BD...

[hhockman]

Would you believe I started to respond to everyone yesterday (or the day before, I forget) and got called away from the computer for some reason? Seriously I haven't exercised in the last two days either (well, I walked-with my mom and Christian-half way down the street yesterday, and then we had to hussle back to the house because the skies were about to open up!).

I'm REALLY REALLY hoping to get back into DISWorld here in the next couple of days. For now:

Love the update Heather. I so miss buying all the Disney clothes. When my grandkids were smaller and we had a Disney Store in our mall I was their #1 shopper for sure. Now they don't care. All their shirts have to be Texas for Andrew, any sports or Hurley for Austin (he also likes Affliction, but at $58 each they are special) and Alex has gotten hooked on underarmour thanks to his dad. And you think Disney stuff is high!

I enjoyed looking at the pictures just to help bring back those memories. You are getting so close.

Ginny

I've gotten really good deals on all of the Disney stuff (or I wouldn't have bought it), but GOOD DEAL+GOOD DEAL+GOOD DEAL still = MORE MONEY THAN I SHOULD BE SPENDING. So I'm trying to cut back. I was going to make the boys a couple of shirts, but it's at the point where I'm not sure they need them. My mom's bought my boys a couple of shirts too. If Cole doesn't match a couple of the days, it's no big. I'll just alternate my boys shirts so they're always wearing Disney even if they don't match.

You're in Missouri, right? I guess that's not TOO far from Texas. We're trying to brainwash my children into Gator fans, but Will alternates with who he wants to please at the moment (Matt is a 'Bama fan).

I am not looking forward to the day when they outgrow all this (I have no illusions that it will be any cheaper at that time). I'm glad I could bring back a few memories. ;)
Ginny, you are not making me feel better about the cost of living with a boy! :goodvibes See what Connie, Heather, and me have to look forward to? Not to mention all of the rest of us that have boys! Guess we better start saving now, huh???

I don't even want to think about what a girl costs. LOL.

I don't want to think about what a girl costs either. I love my boys and I'll happily get whatever they want when they are teenagers (nobody save this okay-I don't want them to have any proof) because it still MUST be cheaper than what a girl would be! Though, who knows, the boys have gotten as fashion conscious as the girls.

Girl, I'm already there!:headache:
Dayne only wears t-shirts from Abercrombie and Hollister (at least they have a sales rack:cheer2:). We finally talked him into to wearing any jeans, khakis, and he usually has those nylon basketball (Nike) shorts on.
Gwendolyn was frugal; never did have the problem of the big name brands with her:thumbsup2.

It's interesting that your boys is more worried about brands than your girl. I guess it's good that you didn't have to go through it with BOTH of them. Ashton seems to me like he's going to march to his own beat. Maybe you'll miss this mess with him too!

Yeah! Pictures! I love pictures! I really am not a big Eeyore fan either but, hey, if the shirts are really cheap, I'd wear them too.

I'm really lucky so far, Hunter doesn't give a hoot about what he wears so long as it's not too short. He doesn't like his shorts too short or his shirts too short. Wait a minute, I take that back, he did ask recently if we could try to find him some shirts that made his arms look buff.:lmao:

It's the muscle shirts that make their arms look buff. They're the sleeveless ones that aren't tanks. I LOVE muscle shirts on my boys ('cause I think they're cute on little guys), but Will used to hate them. Thankfully, he's outgrown that. And Will actually does have some muscles on him, surprisingly. One day he was showing me-and they're really there (he didn't realize it, he was just being a superhero or something). Apparently swinging a bat and throwing 9 months out of the year will do that-who knew? :confused3).

I can't stand when my boys' shirts are too short. To the point where I usually end up getting them a size bigger. Christian is tall for his age so I'm having to get him 6s and 6/7 in shirts so that his belly doesn't show when he raises his arms (I HATE THAT). My mom says their clothes are too big, but I'd rather too big than too small (and doesn't she know big is IN for boys?). Right now a lot of Will's shorts are a little short (I only buy cargo or carpenter, so they won't look like that guy in the picture on your TR or anything) and some of Christian's are (today I think Will was wearing a size 5-or maybe that was yesterday-and Christian a size 3T-Will wears an 8 or 10 in a shirt depending on how small it runs and like I said Christian usually wears a 6) because they are so stinking skinny. Buying pants is a nightmare. Seriously. Will is usually not quite slim enough for slim but too skinny for regular with the adjustable waist (the greatest invention EVER) for the length he needs, and Christian could do slim, but half the companies don't MAKE a slim until size 6.

Wow. I got sidetracked. You guys really wanted to know everything there is to know about what size my kids wear, right? :rolleyes:

ANYWAY...I think Hunter dressed just fine!

Austin only shops at the Buckle. He won't do Abercrombie or Hollister cause that is where all the kids around here shop. He marches to the tune of his own drum. Always has. He also has a shoe fetish. As do his mom and I. He probably has 20 pair that he alternates. He has been in a size 12 since he was 11 so he is easy to buy for and he likes Nike thank goodness. For a while it was strictly Puma. Ouch. He normally finds them on line cause he wouldn't want what someone around here alread has.

I have been somewhat introduced to Abercrombie and Hollister by my soon-to-be 12 year old niece (she'll be 12 {gasp-it's AUGUST-this month}. Not that I ever set foot in those stores. Thankfully I have a few years before I have to worry about it.

I hope!

Size 12 since age ELEVEN!!! Super WOW!

Andrew is easy but he can only get pants at American Eagle cause he is in a 28 waist and 34 length. No one else carries that small of a waist with the length.

See, I'm not the only one talking about pant sizes.

Who would think boys would be such an issue. When they were smaller they wore anything you threw at them. I don't envy you girls at all with boys now days.

Hey there!
I am loving all of your Disney finds!!! I am thinking the same about the autograph books...we will see. I would like to turn them into a photo book (saw it on someone else TR)!! We will see. I am soo behind in planning, but I have to get on the ball now. Hopefully I will be able to make another trip out to the Disney store again this week. Thanks for reminding me of the Crocs again...I SOOOO forgot to order them...gotta do that now!!! Can't wait to read more.

Yeah, I was going to make the autograph books, but decided to make something else...:rolleyes1. I've always liked theirs anyway. I'm going to try to make up the ribbon-thingy (that IS a word) that I've seen on other TRs so that the autographs are only on one side and I can add pictures.

We'll see if I get to it.

Thanks for reading and :welcome: (I didn't already welcome you did I?) :flower3:

Ok-caught up...

I love all the dis stuff you bought...(our dis store in the closest mall closed...:sad2:-which in some ways is probably better for our budget...)

We LOVE Phineas and Ferb here-DS is crazy for them...(and I can probably go through all the songs more than I'd care to admit...:confused3)

It's funny when you were talking about your boys liking different kinds of rides-my DD just caught up with her brother this year...and she is 7 years older than him-he'd always go on whatever he was tall enough-and she's just gotten into the more adventurous stuff in the past year...

Its going to be so nice to be going with extra family-I'd like to do that maybe next year for DD's BD...

:welcome:

Unfortunately the online store is hurting my budget lately as much as the local one. I don't get up to the mall much because it's a whole 8 miles away.

I love Phineas and Ferb. Who doesn't? My Disney-very-much-disliking-Dad likes Phineas and Ferb. He wants a t-shirt but we haven't been able to find one in adult sizes. I almost didn't buy those shirts for Cole and Will because they were sized "tween" and were the ONLY piece of clothing on the whole site that was sized "tween" and looked like it was for boys. So I was afraid it was really a girl's shirt. And it really might be...but who would know, right? shhh

I'm looking forward to spending time at Disney with my family...but I don't plan to stay with them all ALL the time. We'll break off. For my sanity. And Matt's. And because we'll want to do more than everyone else. But it will be fun to be a big group. I don't think I've gone with both my parents and my brother since the kids were born...well, maybe once. But they were very little. I don't think Christian was actually born. I know we went to MVMCP when Christian was a baby, but my brother wasn't there. Or my grandparents. I know my grandmother has been with Will once or twice....

ANYWAY! I am definitely tired because this has been total rambing. I have more stuff to take pictures of, and I'm working on a few projects, but I'll try to post more often.

The boys start school on Monday (We got a spot for Christian!), so I'll have plenty of time while they're at school and I'm sitting at home missing them until I finally start getting called to sub (though I'm hoping that is SOONER this year than last year).

Just 48 days to go (by Lisa's way of counting! ;) ). 7 weeks.

Okay, I'm off to catch up on all of YOUR TRs. Have a great weekend everyone!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I love that you said you put your little boys in clothes that are a little big for them. I can't stand too small shirts or ones that are too short. I'll always buy Mitchell's a little big, too and I like his shorts to go past the knee. I'll allow it if it's right at the knee, but they're still not my favorite. They look more boyish when the shorts go past the knee, but that's just me!

I love the sleeveless shirts on the boys, too. I bet that was surprising to see that your little boy actually had muscles! They grow up so fast that we don't even see it happening!

[hhockman]

Will and Christian start school tomorrow. I can hardly believe it, but somehow Will is starting 2nd grade and Christian is starting PreK. We moved here from Florida 3 years and about 1 week ago. When we moved here I was frantically trying to find Will a school for PreK.

Now all of a sudden it's Christian going into PreK. :sad1:

Somebody tell me how it is taking FOREVER for my September vacation to get here, but the last THREE YEARS have gone by so fast?

(Okay, I know our trip is coming fast too...46 DAYS!!!...but it still feels like forever).

A couple of months ago Matt and my brother were both whining that the trip wasn't coming soon enough. I kept saying that the trip could take it's sweet time because by the time of the trip my babies would be in 2nd grade and PreK and I wasn't in any hurry for that to happen...

...well, it's happened...so my trip can now get here as fast as it pleases!

To celebrate the last day (really, weekday) of summer we went bowling last Friday. There are a lot of downsides to the fact that Matt works nights, but one of the upsides is that he's home during the day in the summer (doesn't help during school because he has to leave for work just about as soon as the boys get home), so the four of us were able to go bowling last Friday and we had a GREAT time!

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty140.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty149.jpg

Matt and the boys:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty138.jpg

Me and the boys:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty139.jpg

The boys:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty148.jpg

Christian:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty151.jpg

Will (he lost a tooth the night before and was showing me his teeth-it might be hard to tell, but it's the one just to his right-our left-of his top middle teeth):
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty134.jpg

Our shoes when we were done:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty168.jpg

I can't believe how great a time we had and it makes me all the more excited about how fun Disney is going to be with the boys at this age!

It also tells me that we really need to do more things together as a family (outside of baseball...though we all love baseball).

Well, it's late, and I have to get up EARLY :scared1: tomorrow, and I'm sure there will be some crying on my part, if not on the part of either of the boys. I will be back tomorrow I'm sure, because I have to figure out something to do for the 6.5 hours they are at school. :teacher: Pray that I will get called to sub soon. And that I will actually HAVE a teaching job this time next year!

And while you're praying, my doggy could use some prayers too. She's barely eaten the last two weeks and we're not sure what's wrong with her. We took her to the vet last Wednesday and he ran a bunch of tests and only found a bunch of 'fecal matter' (sorry tmi) in her colon. He cleaned that out, but she still isn't really eating and she vomitted again last night (after FINALLY eating some dog food). She's kept down a couple milkbones, a little applesauce, and a few noodles tonight. She is looking so skinny and we are worried, so prayers would be appreciated.

I'll be back tomorrow. Only 2 MORE DAYS LISA!!! :banana::cool1::dance3:

[longing2Batdisney]

I hope you have a good day, while they are away it gives you time to plan your disney trip!

I'm trying to decide if I want to sign up to sub again this year or just wait until next year when Ashton goes to pre K.

Hope your doggie feels better soon!! I know how hard it is when you don't know what is wrong.

Have a great day!

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Good morning Heather. Looks like you had lots of fun bowling. We like to do that when the nine of us get together. I have several pictures on my facebook page from New Years. Your boys are just cute as buttons. It is really hard when your little guy starts PreK. They grow so fast. Don always worked nights when our girls were small. It was hard. But luckily he was home in the day with them so we didn't need a sitter. I worked 7-4 and he left at 4:30. We pretty much met in the drive. Seems like years ago now. I know it was tough at the time.

I hope your doggie is doing better today. Our Princess got sick right before we went to Disney. We always keep the dogs at Sheri's and our friend comes and takes care of them. So she ended up having to come to both places. Princess is better and ornery as ever.

Have a good day. At least with both the boys gone you will have a moment to breathe.

Ginny

[longing2Batdisney]

Heather
Dana just shared this site it this the type of bag you are looking for (the 2009 one is the one I had told you about--the prices at the resorts are cheaper than this site)
http://www.treasurekingdom.com/CTGY/Backpacks.html
Connie

[mickeystoontown]

Well Heather, I guess you are at school with your new precious boys. Hope you have your tissues handy 'cause it sounds like you are going to need them.

I actually never had problems with the kids starting school. I think part of it had to do with the fact that the daycare they had attended since being bed babies was also the school that they would attend. It goes all the way from bed babies up to 12th grade. Everybody knew everybody. It was really nice.

Hunter starts middle school this year and is really excited. He will miss the first half day of school since we'll be in Disney. I really don't think it'll hurt anything for him to miss. We are lucky in that we know the school office manager. She's like a second Mama to Lacey. She told Lacey and Hunter to come to the school today and they could walk around the school and check it out ahead of time. Hunter's stoked about that.

Really cute bowling pictures. I couldn't tell you the last time we went bowling. Long long time ago. We may just have to go again 'cause it looksl like ya'll had a lot of fun.

Hope you'll fill us in on how today's activities went.

[hhockman]

Lisa, the boys actually started school yesterday but I've been so bad about getting on here, I'm not surprised you thought it was today. I spend so much time reading everyone else's TR I never seem to update mine.

I'm hoping to rectify that since we're getting so close.

Here's a couple pictures of the first day of school:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool031.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool032.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool033.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool034.jpg
This is NOT the best picture ever of me...by far :sad2:

These last two are at the end of the day:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool053.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool057.jpg
I'm still just a little upset (especially looking at the 20 kids in this class) that Christian isn't going back to his old school. Will went there for PreK and Christian had been there since he was 2. There are only 12 kids per class and I love the teachers and the director. Christian would have had the same teacher Will had. But we just couldn't afford it. It's really hard to justify over $2k in one year for PreK when it could be free (or rather $800 for meals). He has had a good time the last couple of days, but he is still asking about his teacher from last year (who he wouldn't have had this year anyway, but he would have at least seen her). When Will started PreK a place called about a week after he'd started at this school and said they had a spot for him in the free PreK, but I REALLY wanted to leave him there and my mom said she'd help if she had to (we weren't living with them at the time). She would have done it this time too if we couldn't find him a spot, but since he got one...I hope it turns out to be the best thing for him. It's so hard to make these kinds of decisions.


Oh, and here's a picture of what I bought yesterday:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool058.jpg

I started reading it right away and I'm loving the readability. I also went and looked up the crowd levels for when we're going to be there. Right now we have 4s, 5s, and 6s, so not too bad. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of a "touring plan" (which we've never had before in all of my trips) and how I'm going to "herd" somewhere between 10-15 people on each of these days through the Touring Plans (although sometimes it will just be the 5 of us :thumbsup2).

I feel like I still have so much planning to do. It seems like I've barely started. And we're running out of time (though that's a good thing!). I can't figure out what I should work on next (I'm also working on making things, which I'll reveal when they're done). Guess it's a good thing I have all day when the kids are gone (but it still makes me :sad1: I MISS them!)

Anyway, it's getting hard to get up in the morning so I'm going to head to bed. Here's a couple of final pictures from today. Will has gotten into Pokemon on his Nintendo DS. He doesn't READ anything it says (like he should!), so he often runs into trouble, but he's pretty close to the end of the game (if you're interested he's playing the Diamond version). He's frustrated right now because he's stuck so he decided to "help" Christian, who just started a really old version today (so old it's for the Game Boy Advance-and he doesn't get why he can't use his stylus because he doesn't know what a Game Boy Advance is). He hasn't a clue what he's supposed to do, but he likes the fighting, so he's good. I am playing the newest version (Platinum) myself and Will brings me my Nintendo all the time wanting me to play so he can watch (I don't play it that often-I've got other things to do! We're going to DISNEY in 44 days...of course he doesn't know this).

So, without further ado:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool060.jpg

I made them look up and smile:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/FirstDayofSchool062.jpg

Tomorrow I'll add some more purchase pictures...or perhaps a project I've been working on. Haven't decided yet. Hope you all have a good night! :goodvibes

[longing2Batdisney]

great first day shots!!! I think I may make Dayne take first day shots this year (Sr. year)-LOL! we have not done that since they were really little...and will have to remember to have Gwendolyn next year when she starts her 'last" semester :yay:

pixiedust: sounds like you need a list --of a list to get you started--I'm a list person; I make a list of the list I need to get accompished :laughing:

Have a great day!!
so happy you found me on FB!!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Oh my goodness, your boys are so cute! My son would just die for that Lightning McQueen BP your Christian had on. Though our love for the the red race car is waning a bit, he still points at everything Lightning McQueen that he sees! And he pulled out ALL of his cars when the movie was on the Disney Channel on Sunday!

Loved the bowling pictures. I think we need to take Mitchell bowling soon. You made me realize that he is FINALLY old enough!

[mickeystoontown]

Awww, what good first day of school pictures. We always take first day of school pictures. All fresh and clean with the new backpack.

In all of our 13 trips to Disney (soon to be 14), we have never had a real touring plan. We just know what we want to see and do those things first. After that, we just kinda go with the flow.

We are leaving for Disney today after work so I won't be checking in for a while. Have fun planning while I am gone!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

There she goes again, Heather, rubbing it in!!! :goodvibes

Have a good trip, Lisa! We will MISS you!

[hhockman]

I KNOW. Geez Lisa come on. You're so mean. :snooty: :rotfl:

Seriously, you know we hope you have a great trip. We'll be thinking about you and I'll be praying for a safe trip. Hope 5:00 comes fast!

Mel, that backpack is actually from last year. You see how little wear it got. He doesn't need a backpack this year but insists on wearing it, so there you go.

You should take Mitchell bowling! He's definitely old enough. As you can see, Christian doesn't even use the "helper" thing they have anymore. He has to push the ball. And it barely makes it down the lane. And we have to use bumpers. But it's fun (plus the bumpers are good for Will and he can say they are only there b/c his brother needs them! :thumbsup2). And it's cheaper than the movies!

My boys are the same way about their cars. Christian LOVES the movie and Will loves anything Nascar. He has about 50 of the actual Nascar cars (the ones that run $3-5 at Walmart and Target) and he can't watch a race without getting his cars out. He knows EVERY driver by their number. He amazes me. I think Cars is one of Disney's best movies ever. Even if it is a little on the long side. popcorn::

[nu2wdisneyw]

Hello Heather!
Thanks for the wlecome...well I did make the autograph cards anyway!!! :rolleyes1 We will see how they work out. Back to school already, huh? WOW, that's early...I remember that when we live in GA. Now the boys don't go back to school until 9/8. I look forward to reading more...and I think that I may have ready the UG like twice already!! :rotfl:

[hhockman]

Okay, how 'bout a few more shopping pics. If I can figure out photobucket on my dad's Mac.

Shorts I bought for the "wet" days. Like AK and maybe MK. They are running shorts so they will dry fast. Plus I can use them to....run. Imagine that.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty368.jpg

A couple shirts for me I picked up on sale at the Disney store. The blue one is a tank. The only one I have so far. I'm going to burn up, I know.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty369.jpg

"Organic" shirts. Figured we'd wear them all the same day. Maybe at AK. The beige one is Matt's, the white one is mine. The middle one I got at the Disney Store. I haven't decided yet who is going to wear it because my mom got Will and Christian shirts from the website (I was going to order Cole one but they didn't have one in his size by that time). So I'm not sure if I'll have Will and Christian match or Will and Cole.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty370.jpg

Three new beach towels. Cars, Power Rangers, and Wall-E (I had Nemo instead of Power Rangers, but they ran out before I ordered). We have tons of Disney beach towels, but a couple could use replacing. And they were cheap. Of course.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty371.jpg

Random shirts. The Mickey one on the right is Matt's. The Nemo one matches Christian's swim trunks, but I'm afraid it's going to be a little small. It's XS (4). They ran out of S (5/6) before I could order. Plus the 5/6 Mickey shirt I got him in the store in the same style was huge. Guess sizes run different even with the same shirt. The one all the way to the left is a sweatshirt I got Christian on the outlet. They didn't have the bigger boys' sizes.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty372.jpg

I'm not sure if I've shared these or not yet. They were the very first Disney purchase I made back in, like, October. The problem is, they are black, which is quite possibly way to hot for September. Might let them be "sleep shirts".
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/BowlingandTonysParty373.jpg

I got Matt one more shirt on Monday, but I haven't taken a picture of it yet.

Okay, I'm going to come up with something to list...be back in a minute.

[hhockman]

Hello Heather!
Thanks for the wlecome...well I did make the autograph cards anyway!!! :rolleyes1 We will see how they work out. Back to school already, huh? WOW, that's early...I remember that when we live in GA. Now the boys don't go back to school until 9/8. I look forward to reading more...and I think that I may have ready the UG like twice already!! :rotfl:

Well that's something! :thumbsup2 I'm working on a couple of projects, but right now I'm kinda waiting for some stuff to get here so I'm back and forth on them. And I still haven't quite figured out if I'm making shirts or not (we have so many now-though I just saw a design I really like).

We do start early, but they are out of school the week we're going to Disney, so I don't mind at all. They were ready to go back anyway. I miss them, but I'll be fine once I start getting called to sub...whenever that happens.

Do you have the Passporter? I love my Passporter. I'm not even making a binder because I think it will be enough. I'm only on about page 50 of the UG, but I'll get there. Even if I have to read it on the trip. Christian asked me yesterday what kind of book it was and I didn't answer, I just showed him the front. He said "Oh. It's a safari book!" Sure. Whatever you want it to be, as long as you don't know it's a DISNEY WORLD book! :thumbsup2

[hhockman]

Okay, it took me a few minutes to find it, but I've decided to update the To-Do list. Things that are done will be in RED, things still To-Do in BLUE, and new things I'm adding to the list will be in GREEN. Here you go:

Can do now:
-Start working on designs for the boys' shirts (and possibly a matching one for all 5 of us...which leads to getting 5 Ringer Ts for us)-decided, I think to just do 1 iron-on, we should have enough "bought" shirts.
-Get Matt and Cole a second swimsuit (Cole will be keeping most of what I'm buying for him, but the "second" swimsuit he will just "borrow" and I will save it for Will for next year). Old Navy has swim stuff for $5 this weekend, so I'm hoping to get there tomorrow. Also get myself a second swimsuit, hopefully from the DisneyStore online. My mom is possibly ordering from there this weekend, which will save me shipping.
-Make a packing list for each of the 5 of us
-Start getting together the stuff for the boys' "car bags". And mine.
-Finish copying all of our reservation information onto my Passporter pockets and decide if I also need a binder or if the Passporter will be enough (I had a binder last time, but not a Passporter)
-Make a First Aid Kit list and start getting the stuff together
-Remind Matt to buy Will's Nintendo DS (somehow he ruined Will's so we have to get him a new one)
-Figure out what we're going to do with the dog(s). We have a dog and my parents have a dog. We also have a cat. My brother is bording his, but I'm thinking of asking friends of our to come over and feed them twice a day and let them out and in. It will be cheaper and the dogs will be happier. But I have to find out if they will be here or out of town that week. Remind me to post a picture of Jordan and Pepsi. (Our friends are going to come feed them).
-Figure out when the guys are golfing and make a tee time. (not necessary-they are not golfing)
-Make a list of things that I want to keep in the bag we're taking into the parks and start collecting those things.
-Buy our "park bag" (will be doing this when we get there)
-Make a list of stuff we need for the car ride
-Finish reading the UG
-Make a Touring Plan (maybe) or at least make some cards with the "Must-Do" lists and put them in the Passporter.
-Finish my "projects"
-Make window designs and print them
-Buy Matt some new tennis shoes and a couple pairs of shorts
-Print out menus for the restaurants where we plan to eat, plus the list of what counts as a snack credit where
-Try to come up with a couple of "special surprises" for the boys while we're there.
-Make up some "in case I get lost" labels for the boys and figure out exactly where they will wear them and what they will say.


I know there's more, but I can't think of anything else right now. Anyone?

Things to do closer to the trip:
-Start packing
-Buy DVDs for the Camcorder
-Buy a set or two of rechargable batteries (we have some, but I want more)
-Get an extra memory card for each camera
-Get a medical release form from Cole's mom (they are going on a crusie and will be out of the country while we're gone)
-Program my phone will Cole's grandparents' phone numbers
-Put together the First Aid Supplies
-Put together our "park bag" (I'm planning to get one of those cinch sack backpacks. There's a Gator one I like on the UF website, but I'd like a Disney one if I can find one. We don't need a lot of "stuff" with bigger kids. But I want something lightweight to carry around what we do need. I don't want a messenger bag or a real backpack. Too bulky and heavy. And I don't do the waist packs. So this is what I'm planning to use this time). I'll have to just get the stuff together and have it somewhere so I can put it in the bag after I get it at DTD.
-Charge all three Nintendo DSs (each boy has one and I have one)
-Pack the "car bags"-including a change of clothes for each, just in case
-Charge batteries
-Find and pack all the "plugs" we need
-Call the Beach Club photographers and make a reservation for our family photo shoot (can't do this until 30 days out)
-Email/write a note to the boys' teachers to let them know that they will miss school on Friday, the 18th.

Okay, there you go. Some additions. Some deletions. And some things that just plain aren't done yet. I know there's more to add. Maybe I should start doing this weekly. Just 43 days to go!!! :cool1:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

You should take Mitchell bowling! He's definitely old enough. As you can see, Christian doesn't even use the "helper" thing they have anymore. He has to push the ball. And it barely makes it down the lane. And we have to use bumpers. But it's fun (plus the bumpers are good for Will and he can say they are only there b/c his brother needs them! ). And it's cheaper than the movies!

I've been known to use the bumpers too. Only after 3 margarits tho. Love the first day pictures. Isn't it amazing how fast your day goes with them gone. Seems like you make lots of plans and then they are home. Your time is getting close.

Yes, Lisa is rubbing it in like crazy. I don't know what we are going to do with her. I guess wish her safe journey.

Ginny

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I love the Mickey Tank you got. So cute! Of course, I LOVE MICKEY! Wal-Mart probably has some Disney themed shirts, too. SOmetimes you can catch them on clearance.

And I adore the organic shirts. I think that AK would be a wonderful park to wear those to. They'd fit right in. I have the Mickey hugging the earth bag from the Disney Store and the water bottle that came with it. Now you've made me want to go back and the shirt, too.

I may have to quit looking at your TR because my pocketbook is sobbing over here! :rotfl:

[hhockman]

I love the Mickey Tank you got. So cute! Of course, I LOVE MICKEY! Wal-Mart probably has some Disney themed shirts, too. SOmetimes you can catch them on clearance.

And I adore the organic shirts. I think that AK would be a wonderful park to wear those to. They'd fit right in. I have the Mickey hugging the earth bag from the Disney Store and the water bottle that came with it. Now you've made me want to go back and the shirt, too.

I may have to quit looking at your TR because my pocketbook is sobbing over here! :rotfl:

My pocketbook quit crying a long time ago...it finally just keeled over and fainted.

[longing2Batdisney]

for your lost tags:
name of resort & room #
mom & dad's cell phone (if you plan to carry)
and a location to meet in each park

that is what I would list on boys their age...:wave:

[ScotsMinnie]

All caught up and really enjoying your plans so far! You have 2 gorgeous boys! Love the shopping pics. Cole is so lucky that you are buying things for him too.

Your plans sound great - busy - my kind of trip! ;) Can't wait to hear more!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

My pocketbook quit crying a long time ago...it finally just keeled over and fainted.

:rotfl2: I understand!

Hey, also noticed that you and Lisa have the same avatar!

[hhockman]

All caught up and really enjoying your plans so far! You have 2 gorgeous boys! Love the shopping pics. Cole is so lucky that you are buying things for him too.

Your plans sound great - busy - my kind of trip! ;) Can't wait to hear more!

:welcome:
Scotland? AWESOME! I want to go there someday! Thanks for the compliment on the boys. :blush: I'll keep 'em.

Thanks for reading! I'll be checking your TR out tonight after the boys are in bed. :)

:rotfl2: I understand!

Hey, also noticed that you and Lisa have the same avatar!

I just changed my avatar yesterday. That's just one of the "standard" ones the site offers. I'm going to design myself one, but I haven't yet.

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I just changed my avatar yesterday. That's just one of the "standard" ones the site offers. I'm going to design myself one, but I haven't yet.

I wondered if you guys may have taken a picture from the same vantage point. I liked the animated one you had before. I even tried to do one myself, but couldn't get it to work. Were you on the JK+8 thread by any chance? I thought I recognized you from over there, but I wasn't sure.

[longing2Batdisney]

BTW: I really like the t's you have so far...I can't wait to see what you make (if you go that route)
:wave:

[DisneymoonJess07]

Your t-shirts are great. I posted the link to the one you really liked of ours! Hope you can use it! It's really nice and looks great on the shirt!

[DisneyMomLiz]

Hi Heather, followed you over from mousescrapper/Julie's TR. Just read through your PTR to date :thumbsup2

You have some great ideas, maybe have to borrow a list or two or three :) :rotfl:

Your boys are adorable! They do grow so quickly. I just changed my siggie on Monday b/c by DS turned 3...he starts Pre-school for the first time in Sept. He's always been with my grandparents, so school will be new for hiim. :scared1: where did the time go?

What is it about real time going so fast and countdown to Disney going so slowly?! :rotfl:

Just wanted to let you know "I'm in..." popcorn:: and I'll let you know if I find out anything about the username change (I'm that Liz ;))

[mousescrapper]

Hi Heather....

well what do you know you have groopies...me and Liz :rotfl:

decided to pop over here before your trip happens and meet your family

so :wave2: Heather and family....nice to meet you all!

Kinda funny both our DH's are Matt's ;)

Our first big trip to WDW w/ the kids was an extended family operation much likes yours.

I need to weed my way thru all your pages to find out what has been going on...but I read your to do list....I was always adding stuff to mine too :rolleyes:

oh and another HP moment for you....

yesterday I stopped at the library w/ the kids as we generally do each Tuesday afternoon cause Aldine has cello lessons, but I had my nephew w/ us too cuase my sister went to the lesson (I'm getting to the HP part....:rolleyes1) cause her and Aldine are playing music for my DBro wedding next March....so when I asked Michael if he wanted to check out books today he declined, but Aldine wanted a new audio book so I figured I wouldn't leave him out and got Year 3 on CD for him (he's read up to 6 so far) and well he basically layed on his floor all day today except to eat and do that other thing ;) and listened to all 6 discs


:rotfl2:

thought you'd appreciate that!

Scrappie (J-)

[hhockman]

Hi Heather, followed you over from mousescrapper/Julie's TR. Just read through your PTR to date :thumbsup2

You have some great ideas, maybe have to borrow a list or two or three :) :rotfl:

Your boys are adorable! They do grow so quickly. I just changed my siggie on Monday b/c by DS turned 3...he starts Pre-school for the first time in Sept. He's always been with my grandparents, so school will be new for hiim. :scared1: where did the time go?

What is it about real time going so fast and countdown to Disney going so slowly?! :rotfl:

Just wanted to let you know "I'm in..." popcorn:: and I'll let you know if I find out anything about the username change (I'm that Liz ;))

Thank you for the compliment. :blush: My boys are cuties, I know. Not sure exactly where they got it...but they are (luckily they look enough like me and DH that I can claim them!)...of course the fact that they just both got out of bed...at 10pm...on a school night...because they were messing around and one of them got hurt...

not so cute. :headache:

I won't post that picture (okay, I didn't really take a picture, which you will find, is unusual for me)

I so know about the sadness :sad1: of changing ages in the signature. Just about killed me when I changed Christian's from 3 to 4.

Really.

Wait until next year. 4 is SO much bigger than 3 (that is just about a direct quote from my 4-year-old)

As far as time...I'm with you there. I keep just chuggin' along on the wait-to-Disney. It's about as slow as the Magic Kingdom railroad (which is nice for the railroad, not-so-much when you're waiting to get TO the railroad). But somehow my kids have grown three years overnight. Nevermind the fact that I'M three years older (didn't bother me much to change DH's age in June as he's about 17 months younger than me and it was nice to finally see him turn 32).

Anyway :welcome: and thanks for "popping" (uggg, what a bad accidental joke) over. I'm adding more pics in just a minute. Mostly for Scrappie's benefit (okay, really for everyone's...) :rotfl:
Hi Heather....

well what do you know you have groopies...me and Liz :rotfl:

decided to pop over here before your trip happens and meet your family

so :wave2: Heather and family....nice to meet you all!

Kinda funny both our DH's are Matt's ;)

Our first big trip to WDW w/ the kids was an extended family operation much likes yours.

I need to weed my way thru all your pages to find out what has been going on...but I read your to do list....I was always adding stuff to mine too :rolleyes:

oh and another HP moment for you....

yesterday I stopped at the library w/ the kids as we generally do each Tuesday afternoon cause Aldine has cello lessons, but I had my nephew w/ us too cuase my sister went to the lesson (I'm getting to the HP part....:rolleyes1) cause her and Aldine are playing music for my DBro wedding next March....so when I asked Michael if he wanted to check out books today he declined, but Aldine wanted a new audio book so I figured I wouldn't leave him out and got Year 3 on CD for him (he's read up to 6 so far) and well he basically layed on his floor all day today except to eat and do that other thing ;) and listened to all 6 discs


:rotfl2:

thought you'd appreciate that!

Scrappie (J-)

:wave2: back from my family to yours.

I thought the same thing when I saw that your DH was Matt. Makes it easy to remember anyway. Kinda funny that your DS's middle name is Michael too. I don't have a Michael, but I would have if I'd had one more boy. My DS's middle names are Mark and Mathew. Michael was next on the list (although I'm not sure what the first name would have been...just had to keep the M's going...unless I decided to go with Luke. Wasn't sure if I'd do the "M" thing or the apostle thing...anyway...rambling...)

:welcome: to my humble PTR. It's been almost a year in the making, although the first 200 days are on pages 1 and 2 and the rest has just been since June. :lmao: That's what happens when these things get close.

Was your big family thing an adventure or a disaster? As you'll see when you read, DH, the boys, and I live with my parents. My brother and his family lives about 15 minutes away. I'm not altogether sure I WANT to spend my vacation with my family at my favorite place, but that's why we have separate rooms and tickets and can, well, separate if we need to. I also just booked my grandparents' room. Either my mom is just like my grandmother or my grandmother is just like my mom. Whichever way you look at it...we'll need some time away. But I also think it's going to be fun to be in a huge group (my brother's MIL is also coming), and it will be really nice for my kids to get to experience Disney with grandparents and great grandparents. So it's all good. :thumbsup2

See, I knew Michael was my kinda kid! What I wouldn't give for a day to lay on the floor of my room and listen to Prisoner of Azkaban from beginning to end (still my favorite, even after being through the whole series several times). I don't have the HP audio books, though I've wanted them for a while. I have all of Narnia on my iPod, but haven't gotten HP yet (SO expensive). One day. Have Michael and Aldine seen the movie yet? I thought I remembered seeing something about them going, but can't remember when. I was pretty disappointed in the movie, but I'm so loyal to the books it's not a surprise.

Anyway, thanks for stopping over. Just remember, I've been to Disney many many times...but this is my first PTR (and my TR will only be my second...with a first that was never finished). So, I'll do my best!

[hhockman]

I just booked my grandparents' room (POR 9/19-9/23-my mom insists it's not worth it if they aren't there for at least 3 days of parks...my dad insists they are never going to see us b/c my brother and I aren't going to want to be with my grandparents the whole time...they are both a little right, but not completely)...

while I was looking for rates and such for my grandparents (knew we weren't doing a package for them b/c they're Florida Residents and they won't eat enough to make dining worth it for them when we can get discounted tickets and rooms) I came upon the Military Salute offer.

"MOM!" I called...and then began to explain.

In the end I save my parents about $400 (between savings on their tickets and my grandparents'-my mom is paying for everything for my grandparents).

So my brother gets the Birthday GC, and I just saved my mom $400. How come none of these things work out to be for ME?! Humph.

If you don't know about the military deal it's basically that Active Duty and RETIRED military personel with ID Cards can get a FREE 5 day pass that includes Park Hopping and Water Parks, Fun, and More. In addition they can buy up to 5 more 5 day basic passes for $99. The Park Hopping and WPFAM can be added to that pass for $25/option. My dad is retired Air Force (and we specifically asked about Retired b/c Sea World's miltiary thing is only for active duty), so when we called to get my grandparents' room we changed my parents to a 1 day basic pass (so they could keep their free dining-plus they needed 6 day tickets and this pass is a 5 day so it works out perfect, they just can't Park Hop on one of the days). Now the rest of my dad's ticket is free, and my mom's is $125-150 (depending on whether she just gets park hopping or gets both options). In addition, my grandparents will also get the tickets with Park Hopping. It was going to cost $170 for a 3-day FL Resident Park Hopper, so she is saving $300 on her tickets and my dad's plus $50 on each of my grandparents tickets.

Aren't I wonderful? :angel:

Now technically my dad can buy 2 more of those tickets, but we have 8 day Park Hopper/WPFAM tickets and there is no way I'm changing them to 3 day and getting another ticket and all that hassle. Especially b/c with the price of adding the PH/WPFAM to a 3 day ticket, we wouldn't save much anyway. I'd rather have my tickets when I check in and be ready to head out.

But it's good for my parents.

Anyway, how 'bout some pictures. I was saving these because I'm working on something similar for the boys and I wanted to show you all at once, but it's taking me a while to get theirs done and I don't want to wait any longer so here you go.

What I made is a book (it's 6x6) for me to record my favorite memory of the day every night when we get back to the room. I found this travel paper I LOVED at Archivers and I thought it would be fun to have a "Disney" book that doesn't have any Disney on it. That's right. There's not a single little Mickey head on here (doesn't mean there won't be by the time I'm done filling it in). There is enough room for the 9 days of my trip, plus an intenerary on the first two pages, two pages in the middle for just pictures, and four pages at the end for Overall Favorites from the trip. I've got a photo sleeve inserted between each of the trip days so I can add a photo of my favorite thing to each days journaling.

I know, I know. You're thinking "how will you pick just ONE favorite thing?" :confused3 It will be hard, but you've got to remember (and so do I) that this isn't the extent of my scrapbooking or journaling about this trip. This is just a book that is specifically for daily favorites (and a book that will be done except for printing a couple of pictures by the time I come home! Which is a big deal because I never seem to finish any of my albums).

I so much loved :love: how my book turned out, that I decided to make one for each of the boys. Theirs WILL be Disney themed (I'm waiting for some paper I ordered to get here-even though I already have a ton) and personalized. I even have a couple packs of stickers to give them when I give them the boys that they can add wherever they want. But it will be the same thing. A place to write their favorite memory from each day and then we can fill in pictures later (they each have cameras they are bringing-3 MP which should be big enough for 4x6 pictures-plus I will, of course, be taking pictures). Then their books will also have 2 pages in the middle for little pictures and 4 pages at the end for overall favorites (I think I'm going to do categories like My Favorite Ride, My Favorite Food, My Favorite Character, My Favorite Park etc). I will let them fill it in each day as I'm filling mine in (I'm sure I'll have to help Christian, but that's okay. It will still be in his writing and his words).

Aren't they going to be INCREDIBLE? I'm so excited. :yay:

So I'll show you the boys' when they are finished, but without further ado, here's mine:

FRONT COVER
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday005.jpg

INSIDE COVER (the calendar is for the itenarary) and DESCRIPTION PAGE:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday006.jpg

DAYS 1 and 2*
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday007.jpg

DAYS 3 and 4*
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday008.jpg

DAY 5 and an extra page (maybe mid-trip thoughts? not sure)*
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday009.jpg

MIDDLE SECTION FOR SMALL PHOTOS (probably 2x3)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday010.jpg

DAYS 6 and 7*
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday011.jpg

DAYS 8 and 9*
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday012.jpg

END OF TRIP THOUGHS AND FAVORITES*
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday013.jpg

LAST PAGE and INSIDE BACK COVER (overall trip thoughts)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday014.jpg

BACK COVER
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday015.jpg

All put together (except I think I'm going to add some ribbon to the rings, but I have to find what I want first)
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Everyday017.jpg

*There is a photo sleeve between the pages marked with an (*) for a total of 6 sleeves (12 pictures).

So there you go. I really need to get busy on the boys' though. I've got the front page of Cole's done, but that's it and nothing except the words cut out for the front page of Will's and Christian's. I'll probably work on it tomorrow.

I'm going to go read some TRs and some UG and then maybe actually go to sleep. I'll be back tomorrow!

[DisneymoonJess07]

I really love your journaling book! What a great idea!!!!

[MICKEY4EVER!]

That is AWESOME! You are so creative!

[DisneyMomLiz]

Thanks for the welcome :flower3: Congrats on the savings and your grandparents being booked :goodvibes

I love your journal, so neat. Can't wait to see the ones for the boys :cool1:. That is such a great idea to have it all prepared and work on it while you are there so you can have a finished product by the time you get home.

[hhockman]

I really love your journaling book! What a great idea!!!!

:thanks: :goodvibes

That is AWESOME! You are so creative!

I have my moments...but they don't come all that often (which is why this idea is getting repeated...*ahem* several times).

Thanks for the welcome :flower3: Congrats on the savings and your grandparents being booked :goodvibes

I love your journal, so neat. Can't wait to see the ones for the boys :cool1:. That is such a great idea to have it all prepared and work on it while you are there so you can have a finished product by the time you get home.

Thanks! :flower3: It would be nice if I could find some savings for myself, but I guess being unselfish is a good thing? :littleangel:

I'm definitely excited about the idea of a finished product when I get home! My 2004 Disney album is only half done...2005, 2006, 2007? Not even started. :sad2:

[longing2Batdisney]

Great journal!!! can't wait to see what you do for the boys.
we went on the "Military Salute" in May it was great we were able to save ooooddles of money. We were going on the 4/3 deal and w/ the 40% off the rooms we saved more...
my dgt keeps telling me how much DDbf saved us; I keep telling her I KNOW without it they would have had to pay their own way:laughing:

[DisneymoonJess07]

I'm definitely excited about the idea of a finished product when I get home! My 2004 Disney album is only half done...2005, 2006, 2007? Not even started. :sad2:

I am working on my albums for 2003 through now - since I just got into scrapbooking, I have a lot of backlog to work through. Luckily (or not) I don't have that many pics for 2003. But it's going to be interesting the later on I get - we've gone on a couple of great trips that have resulted in lots of pictures!

[dismagiclover]

Hi Heather. Popped over to check out your report. First of all your boys are adorable:goodvibes They are at such fun ages;) Next, my DS 7 has a pair of black Mickey crocs and I have an Eeyore ringer shirt you posted a while back. Maybe we are twins separated at birth:rotfl2: And lastly the UG is giving you 4, 5, and 6's for your dates:worship::worship::worship: I can't even imagine. We had 8's and 9's for our June trip. I honestly wouldn't worry too much about a touring plan with those numbers. Especially with 15 people:eek: Just be smart and don't head straight to Carousel of Progess at rope drop.:lmao: Can you imagine? I wonder if anyone ever does that? Anyway, can't wait for more.

[hhockman]

Hi Heather. Popped over to check out your report. First of all your boys are adorable:goodvibes They are at such fun ages;) Next, my DS 7 has a pair of black Mickey crocs and I have an Eeyore ringer shirt you posted a while back. Maybe we are twins separated at birth:rotfl2: And lastly the UG is giving you 4, 5, and 6's for your dates:worship::worship::worship: I can't even imagine. We had 8's and 9's for our June trip. I honestly wouldn't worry too much about a touring plan with those numbers. Especially with 15 people:eek: Just be smart and don't head straight to Carousel of Progess at rope drop.:lmao: Can you imagine? I wonder if anyone ever does that? Anyway, can't wait for more.

:welcome: it's great to have you here! Told ya we have a lot in common. Our boys would have the BEST time playing together (as long as there were enough lightsabers to go around!).

The 4s, 5s, and 6s would be the reason we go in September (no SWW, though, and I think my boys would prefer the crowds if they could have the SW). We started school this week, so they get a week off the week we are going. That's what I love about this county. My kids get a week off during one of the best Disney times of the year. It's slightly cooler than June (but only slightly), less crowds, and free dining. The only time of year that beats it is the first two weeks of December (and the last week of November if Thanksgiving is early). Unfortunately, they aren't out of school then, so this is when we go.

Actually, my DH loves Carousel of Progress. I'm sure we'll ride it at least once. Will it be the first place we head when we get to the Magic Kingdom? Uh, no. ;)

[dismagiclover]

:welcome: it's great to have you here! Told ya we have a lot in common. Our boys would have the BEST time playing together (as long as there were enough lightsabers to go around!).

The 4s, 5s, and 6s would be the reason we go in September (no SWW, though, and I think my boys would prefer the crowds if they could have the SW). We started school this week, so they get a week off the week we are going. That's what I love about this county. My kids get a week off during one of the best Disney times of the year. It's slightly cooler than June (but only slightly), less crowds, and free dining. The only time of year that beats it is the first two weeks of December (and the last week of November if Thanksgiving is early). Unfortunately, they aren't out of school then, so this is when we go.

Actually, my DH loves Carousel of Progress. I'm sure we'll ride it at least once. Will it be the first place we head when we get to the Magic Kingdom? Uh, no. ;)

Bring your boys on over. We have light sabers to spare in our house;) That is so awesome you get a week off in September. That would be our Disney time too. My kids get all of Thanksgiving week off, but that is a crowded time though the weather is much cooler. And I'm not knocking Carousel of Progress. We've ridden it every trip. It's particularly nice mid afternoon when I'm feeling a tad sleepy;)

[hhockman]

Bring your boys on over. We have light sabers to spare in our house;) That is so awesome you get a week off in September. That would be our Disney time too. My kids get all of Thanksgiving week off, but that is a crowded time though the weather is much cooler. And I'm not knocking Carousel of Progress. We've ridden it every trip. It's particularly nice mid afternoon when I'm feeling a tad sleepy;)

:rotfl:

very true...it's so cool, and dark, and that singing can just lull you to....zzzz

We get the week in September, the whole week of Thanksgiving, two weeks of "Winter Holidays", a week in February, and a week for Spring Break. Basically a week every month except October and March. That's the reward for starting two weeks early. They call it "modified year round". Totally worth it to me. :)

[mousescrapper]

Heather

that is very cool about the special tickets you were able to get for your family...how cool!

and your little memory/journal book is awesome!

did you buy the board book or do you have one of those book makers?

very fun idea! I'm going to make 1st trip books for my BFF kids when they go to Disney next June as a suprise, this would be a great format!

can't wait to see the boys and then when they are full of pictures and stuff!

[hhockman]

Heather

that is very cool about the special tickets you were able to get for your family...how cool!

and your little memory/journal book is awesome!

did you buy the board book or do you have one of those book makers?

very fun idea! I'm going to make 1st trip books for my BFF kids when they go to Disney next June as a suprise, this would be a great format!

can't wait to see the boys and then when they are full of pictures and stuff!

Thanks Scrappie!

I bought these books. They are made by 7 Gypsies. I got mine at Archivers but then they were out of the 6x6, so I ordered the rest online. I really like the thickness. The photo sleeves are made for the Bind-It-All and they come in a pack of 6. I got them at Archivers too. They aren't 3-hole punched, they are punched for the Bind-It-All (like a spiral notebook), but they still worked okay.

I have a Bind-It-All too, but I haven't used it yet and when I saw this book I thought it would be perfect. Like I said, I like the thickness. Plus, they are easy. Take the rings out, put them back in. They have 10 pages which is perfect for a 9-14 day trip.

I can't wait to see what they boys' look like when they are done too...guess that means I should get busy on them! I'm excited about having these books with their handwriting and their pictures. :thumbsup2

The other plus is that they are not huge (6x6) and there is only one page per day, so it's not overwhelming to try to put it together. And they are small enough for little hands. :)

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Heather that book is awesome. Daughter Sandi got me the albums they sell at Disney that is a book for each park holding 50 pictures each. of course it isn't filled yet but I did get all my pics from snapfish when they had their big 4th of July sale. Super cheap.

That is wonderful about saving the price on the tickes for your parents and grandparents. Stinks you couldn't get a better deal for yourself. But you will still have fun and not even let that enter you mind while you are visiting each of those parks. We always get at least separate rooms but Austin always shares with us. There is no reason for Sheri's room to have four and us just 2. We've always done it that way unless Andrea went the she would stay with us and the boys stay together. We done lots of family trips. Don and I lived with Sheri and Mike a few years ago for 9 months while we waited for the people we bought our house from to get moved out. It was supposed to be from June to Oct and it ended up being till Valentines day. We didn't care. I loved it. Being with those kids everyday. I was in Grandma heaven.

[mousescrapper]

I bought these books. They are made by 7 Gypsies. I got mine at Archivers but then they were out of the 6x6, so I ordered the rest online. I really like the thickness. The photo sleeves are made for the Bind-It-All and they come in a pack of 6. I got them at Archivers too. They aren't 3-hole punched, they are punched for the Bind-It-All (like a spiral notebook), but they still worked okay.



thanks for the info...I was thinking of ordering some (most likely cheaper version) thru Oriental Trading Co....they have tons of not so badly priced scrapping stuff too....

I always eye that Bind-It-All...but have yet to take the plunge....I'm actually quite proud of myself, not spending any money on scrap stuff this year yet...I recieved several Archivers g/c for Christmas last year and still have about $50 left on one...been being good w/ using my stock :thumbsup2

[hhockman]

thanks for the info...I was thinking of ordering some (most likely cheaper version) thru Oriental Trading Co....they have tons of not so badly priced scrapping stuff too....

I always eye that Bind-It-All...but have yet to take the plunge....I'm actually quite proud of myself, not spending any money on scrap stuff this year yet...I recieved several Archivers g/c for Christmas last year and still have about $50 left on one...been being good w/ using my stock :thumbsup2

I SOOOO need to use my stock, but I discovered Digi Scrapping in December and I've been doing a lot more of that. One of these days I want to actually do hybrid. I think that's what I'd like best because I miss the 3D-ness when I do Digi.

Of course I don't do any scrapping at all on a regular basis. I don't buy stuff very often either...cause I know I'm not using it. I have bought a few Disney things lately for the boys' books though. And I have yet to take the Bind It All out of the package. I almost took it back. I got a good deal, though. Got it at Hobby Lobby (which is cheaper than Archivers anyway) with a 40% off coupon. Just need to take it out.

I hinted to anyone that would listen that I wanted Archivers GCs for Christmas and I didn't get one. I think my mom said something about "I meant to get there..." At least she got me Photoshop Elements. Maybe they'll remember this year. ;)

Does Aldine scrap at all?

[hhockman]

Great journal!!! can't wait to see what you do for the boys.
we went on the "Military Salute" in May it was great we were able to save ooooddles of money. We were going on the 4/3 deal and w/ the 40% off the rooms we saved more...
my dgt keeps telling me how much DDbf saved us; I keep telling her I KNOW without it they would have had to pay their own way:laughing:

Just realized I didn't respond to you here. Sorry. :blush: I didn't realize there was a hotel discount too. We got the FL Resident discount which was, I think, 36% or something so I'm not changing their reservation again. I've saved her enough money...and she didn't even say thank you (though she is still talking about it and mentioned today something about my brother and I getting the other two tickets...I think I already explained that it would just not work for me and my brother won't go through the hassle even if it would save him a little. Oh well).

I'm glad you guys did so well! And you know what, I remember something in your TR about military tickets. I guess I either didn't realize it was still going on, or didn't realize it would apply to retired. :confused3 Oh well. I found it eventually.

Heather that book is awesome. Daughter Sandi got me the albums they sell at Disney that is a book for each park holding 50 pictures each. of course it isn't filled yet but I did get all my pics from snapfish when they had their big 4th of July sale. Super cheap.

That is wonderful about saving the price on the tickes for your parents and grandparents. Stinks you couldn't get a better deal for yourself. But you will still have fun and not even let that enter you mind while you are visiting each of those parks. We always get at least separate rooms but Austin always shares with us. There is no reason for Sheri's room to have four and us just 2. We've always done it that way unless Andrea went the she would stay with us and the boys stay together. We done lots of family trips. Don and I lived with Sheri and Mike a few years ago for 9 months while we waited for the people we bought our house from to get moved out. It was supposed to be from June to Oct and it ended up being till Valentines day. We didn't care. I loved it. Being with those kids everyday. I was in Grandma heaven.

I'm not sure what photo albums you're talking about, but I'll be looking for them! I'm all about anything that has to do with pictures. I buy the scrapbook with the year on it every time I'm there (I have 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007-and only 2004 actually has anything in it :sad2:). I'll be looking for the photo albums too.

We are all staying at POR, but my immediate family has to stay in the Bayou because we're a group of 5. I know my brother wants the mansions, so I'm hoping my parents and grandparents get the mansions too. :rolleyes1 My parents and grandparents will probably ask for adjoining rooms.

As far as the money, as soon as we're there you're darn right I won't care. I'd be spending it there anyway. I'm just not sure how much spending money I'm going to actually end up with. Not much, but as long as the boys have theirs I'm good.

As much grief as my mom gives me, I don't think my dad even wants us to leave. He loves having my kids around every day. The year and a half we were on our own when we first moved here, it was a little weird. I've lived with my parents more of my adult life than on my own...but it's so nice to have our own space and to not hear "When are you going to remember that this is still MY house" from my mom all the time.

Someday.

[PracPerfPatricia]

Your sons really are too darned cute for their own good-don't you love how kids love to show off their missing teeth/loose teeth?:goodvibes

My own DS is turning 7 tomorrow and I can't believe it...:confused3-for some reason the skip to certain ages feels extra big...I can see 3 to 4-I felt that way too and 5 to 6 was that way for me also...I'm kind of ok with 7 but then 8 feels much bigger...

your journal is simply gorgeous-I was going to ask the same questions about where you got things as Scrappie-but you already answered those...

My problem is when I see papers I want to buy them even though I haven't "officially" started scrapping and aren't even sure what I'm going to do with them...I just love the look of them...:confused3...

The thing with your journal is that it would lent itself nicely to a variety of different trips/events...

I'm afraid these boards are turning me into a bit of an idea thief...:rolleyes1 but I do believe someone said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...;)

[hhockman]

:thumbsup2Your sons really are too darned cute for their own good-don't you love how kids love to show off their missing teeth/loose teeth?:goodvibes

My own DS is turning 7 tomorrow and I can't believe it...:confused3-for some reason the skip to certain ages feels extra big...I can see 3 to 4-I felt that way too and 5 to 6 was that way for me also...I'm kind of ok with 7 but then 8 feels much bigger...

your journal is simply gorgeous-I was going to ask the same questions about where you got things as Scrappie-but you already answered those...

My problem is when I see papers I want to buy them even though I haven't "officially" started scrapping and aren't even sure what I'm going to do with them...I just love the look of them...:confused3...

The thing with your journal is that it would lent itself nicely to a variety of different trips/events...

I'm afraid these boards are turning me into a bit of an idea thief...:rolleyes1 but I do believe someone said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...;)

Thanks. I agree, they are pretty darned cute. ;)

I'm with you on the scrapping, actually. I buy WAY more stuff than I ever use. It's all just sitting there. Even the boys' books are just sitting there right now. I keep starting to work on something...then I stop.

The buying is an addiction...you might want to be careful.

I don't think 7 really bothered me TOO much either (Christian going from 3 to 4 is still bothering me), but I know 8 will. I'm not liking the fact that he's in
2nd grade, but 3rd I just refuse to think about. 3rd grade is kind of like when "real" school starts. They get "real" grades (instead of Os, Ss, Ns, and Us) and the state test determines if they pass and all that. I'm trying to hang on to him being a "little" boy for one more year but it's not really working...

Feel free to "borrow" whatever you want from me. A lot of it was probably borrowed previously from someone else anyway.

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Heather! I didn't realize how long I had been MIA on your PTR....so sorry! I'm all caught up now!

LOVE all the Disney shirts you purchased! You are going to be the best dressed family at Disney!

I enjoyed the pics of your boys celebrating the end of summer. We always try to do something special too. Bowling is always fun! Your boys are very cute...and I personally love their haircuts!

First day of school pics...AWWW!! Mine don't go back until September 8 so we have a way to go but I have one starting 3rd grade, one starting 7th (jr. high!!) and one starting 9th (HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!) Oh my!

Your journal is fabulous! You are very talented! :thumbsup2 I am thinking of doing a digital scrapbook for this last trip to Disney...I have had not time to even think about that yet, so I still haven't really decided.

Now that I'm caught up I can't wait to hear more about your plans! Only a little more than a month to go! WOO-HOO!! :woohoo:

[hhockman]

Hi Heather! I didn't realize how long I had been MIA on your PTR....so sorry! I'm all caught up now!

LOVE all the Disney shirts you purchased! You are going to be the best dressed family at Disney!

I enjoyed the pics of your boys celebrating the end of summer. We always try to do something special too. Bowling is always fun! Your boys are very cute...and I personally love their haircuts!

First day of school pics...AWWW!! Mine don't go back until September 8 so we have a way to go but I have one starting 3rd grade, one starting 7th (jr. high!!) and one starting 9th (HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!) Oh my!

Your journal is fabulous! You are very talented! :thumbsup2 I am thinking of doing a digital scrapbook for this last trip to Disney...I have had not time to even think about that yet, so I still haven't really decided.

Now that I'm caught up I can't wait to hear more about your plans! Only a little more than a month to go! WOO-HOO!! :woohoo:

Missy! No problem. I know you had a lot of catching up to do, and you've been just a little busy. ;)

We did have a lot of fun bowling and I can hardly believe the first week of school is over. But that also means only 6 weeks until our trip. By the time your kids start school, we will only be 10 days away! WOW!

You should definitely do a digital scrapbook. I'm doing a lot more digital than paper lately, because I spend so much time at the computer, it's just easier to do it digital. I am going to a "crop" with a friend on Friday. It's the first time I'll have gone to one in about 3 years. I'm trying to get some stuff together to do. :confused3 I just have too much to choose from.

I can't even imagine my boys starting middle and high school. I don't even want to think about 3rd grade! Is your Jr. High just 7-8 grade (there are so many different versions, I never know)?

I'm hoping to post a little something tonight, but who knows.

Thanks for catching up! I hope VBS goes well next week. :)

[hhockman]

I just wanted to mention quickly, for your entertainment, how completely CLUELESS my kids are...

-I am on this website and other Disney related sites almost constantly, and don't bother to close the window when they come into the room.
-I carry the Unauthorized Guide around every where I go so I can read it and although both kids have asked what I'm reading, they have taken the vague answer I gave them (Christian thought it was a safari book-AK is on the cover-and I just told Will "a book" and he took that answer)
-There are two large Disneystore.com boxes on my computer room floor that are packed with stuff (almost all of which is Disney-themed). Neither child has asked about anything in the box
-They were with us when we bought their swimsuits and sunglasses. Neither has ever asked for the swimsuits (I think they forgot about them) and they only asked for the sunglasses that day (and never again after I put them off)
-The stuff to make their books is laying all over my scrap table (which is right next to the computer). Neither has asked about any of it
-Matt and I talk about the trip almost daily.

Seriously, all that around them and neither one has said a world. They are 4 and 7 (nearly 7 1/2). I would totally be guessing something was up at Will's age. I think this is definitely the last time we'll be able to surprise them like this, but it sure has been easy. :goodvibes

[longing2Batdisney]

Too funny...
I couldn't do it I am horrible at surprises and I always figure it out before someone can get me

[hhockman]

Connie, I just have to tell you this. When I first saw your username I thought it was
Longing to bat Disney

I could not for the life of me figure that out. I've since figured out that it's supposed to be

Longing to BE at Disney (hence the captial "B")

but for some reason I still think "longing to bat Disney" whenever I see your name. :confused3 Sorry, but I think that's kinda funny, so I just had to tell you. ;)

[longing2Batdisney]

:lmao:Connie, I just have to tell you this. When I first saw your username I thought it was
Longing to bat Disney

I could not for the life of me figure that out. I've since figured out that it's supposed to be

Longing to BE at Disney (hence the captial "B")

but for some reason I still think "longing to bat Disney" whenever I see your name. :confused3 Sorry, but I think that's kinda funny, so I just had to tell you. ;)

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:
now that is funny!!!! and here I was thinking I had done a good job with a play on words and letters:rotfl:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I'm glad they don't know yet. There is nothing better than surpising your children with something so fun

[aaaateamsgrandma]

:lmao:

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:
now that is funny!!!! and here I was thinking I had done a good job with a play on words and letters:rotfl:

That is my current method of shorthand. Interchanging letters and numbers. :rotfl:

[dismagiclover]

Of course your kids are clueless. They are 7 and 4 year old BOYS.:rotfl: If either one was a girl, they would have figured it out long ago. If it doesn't involve a video game or food my boys have absolutely no interest:laughing:

[hhockman]

Of course your kids are clueless. They are 7 and 4 year old BOYS.:rotfl: If either one was a girl, they would have figured it out long ago. If it doesn't involve a video game or food my boys have absolutely no interest:laughing:

EXACTLY! Video games and food. Well, that's Will anyway. I can't even get Christian interested in food. They have been ALL about Pokemon (the DS game) the last couple weeks though. To the point of driving me crazy. Thank goodness Will doesn't know there's a card game (I'm afraid all that will change when we hit the Japan store). Pokemon, Star Wars, and G-Force (which we saw yesterday). What's funny is when they try to combine them. ;)

If it had been me at 7...but then I'm a girl.

It's more fun this way, though. It's definitely going to be a surprise.

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I'm not sure what photo albums you're talking about, but I'll be looking for them! I'm all about anything that has to do with pictures. I buy the scrapbook with the year on it every time I'm there (I have 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007-and only 2004 actually has anything in it :sad2:). I'll be looking for the photo albums too.

We are all staying at POR, but my immediate family has to stay in the Bayou because we're a group of 5. I know my brother wants the mansions, so I'm hoping my parents and grandparents get the mansions too. :rolleyes1 My parents and grandparents will probably ask for adjoining rooms.

As far as the money, as soon as we're there you're darn right I won't care. I'd be spending it there anyway. I'm just not sure how much spending money I'm going to actually end up with. Not much, but as long as the boys have theirs I'm good.

As much grief as my mom gives me, I don't think my dad even wants us to leave. He loves having my kids around every day. The year and a half we were on our own when we first moved here, it was a little weird. I've lived with my parents more of my adult life than on my own...but it's so nice to have our own space and to not hear "When are you going to remember that this is still MY house" from my mom all the time.

Someday.

Those albums are 4 with each park on the binder and front. Small to hold 50 4x6 photos, then they slip in a case that says something about the parks with a Mickey doodad on the front. I will take a picture and attach it tomorrow.

[longing2Batdisney]

I bought the 2009 photo album this year; it holds 200 photos it's blue w/2009 and the main Characters on it...in fact its on the same link that I gave you for the bag; I bought the album and the 2009 picture frame (that I wish I wouldn't have--I like it but when I got it home and found photos to fit each of the 4 openings I found it just didn't do it for me any longer :laughing:
:wave:

[hhockman]

I'll be getting the 2009 scrapbook. I get the "year" scrapbook every time we go. I have a feeling it will be similar to the photo album you go. I know what it looks like. It's on the Disney Store website.

I got a collage frame last time we went that I really liked. But I've since learned how to make templates in Photoshop, so I don't think that will be necessary this time. ;)

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Here is the pictures of the album. Cell phone, sorry.

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss4/vlpruitt/1249876012.jpg

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss4/vlpruitt/1249876011.jpg

[hhockman]

Those look cool! Thanks. :)

Incidentally, it's interesting that they still have all that "Four Parks One World" stuff. I found some of the pressed penny coin holders that we got on one trip or another that say that ("Four Parks, One World"). There are four of them, so each of the boys can have their own. Something else I don't have to buy. Of course, I am going to have to get them some pennies and quarters...

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Those look cool! Thanks. :)

Incidentally, it's interesting that they still have all that "Four Parks One World" stuff. I found some of the pressed penny coin holders that we got on one trip or another that say that ("Four Parks, One World"). There are four of them, so each of the boys can have their own. Something else I don't have to buy. Of course, I am going to have to get them some pennies and quarters...

That will be fun for them to do. A little secret. I put the pic in last night before I took the pic and there is not another pic in the books. I have about 300 prints just havn't put them in yet. That is why I don't scrapbook. I am the best procrastinator in the world.

[hhockman]

I'll bet I could give you a run for your money. I'm horrible about actually getting projects finished. That's why I like this book I made. It will be almost finished when I get home...if I ever get the pictures printed for it.

I love to scrapbook, but it takes me forever to start anything. I love kits and projects. Something where someone says "Use x,y, and z and you need pictures of this, this, and this". That I can do.

[mousescrapper]

I SOOOO need to use my stock, but I discovered Digi Scrapping in December and I've been doing a lot more of that. One of these days I want to actually do hybrid. I think that's what I'd like best because I miss the 3D-ness when I do Digi.

Of course I don't do any scrapping at all on a regular basis. I don't buy stuff very often either...cause I know I'm not using it. I have bought a few Disney things lately for the boys' books though. And I have yet to take the Bind It All out of the package. I almost took it back. I got a good deal, though. Got it at Hobby Lobby (which is cheaper than Archivers anyway) with a 40% off coupon. Just need to take it out.

I hinted to anyone that would listen that I wanted Archivers GCs for Christmas and I didn't get one. I think my mom said something about "I meant to get there..." At least she got me Photoshop Elements. Maybe they'll remember this year. ;)

Does Aldine scrap at all?

I have not done Digi scrapping...I'm not techi enough for that...besides I spend way to much time in front of this computer as it is :rolleyes1

OOHHH Hobby Lobby, we do have one not to far from us...have to keep that in mind. The not spending factor also helps since my closet Archivers closed down ealier this yr...so I really have to want to go there...

Aldine...yes she dabbles w/ me mostly. But we haven't actually finished anything. We started working on a small 4 x 6 album that I bought her (& the other 2 older kids) from Disney in 08 but haven't finished it, but I'm thinking of suggesting she add some pictures from 09 now too. Plus we are working on her Josefina book from this trip. I'm hoping to do some more of that this week, plus it get's me down in my room too :thumbsup2 and it's nice to sit and chat too together.

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Those are cool pics, Ginny! I love that there are four albums, one for each park.

Yes, Heather, you'll definitely need your pennies and quarters. Mitchell wanted to stop at every penny machine we saw! When we went to Six Flags, that was the first thing he wanted to do. He's totally hooked! :goodvibes

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I'll bet I could give you a run for your money. I'm horrible about actually getting projects finished. That's why I like this book I made. It will be almost finished when I get home...if I ever get the pictures printed for it.

I love to scrapbook, but it takes me forever to start anything. I love kits and projects. Something where someone says "Use x,y, and z and you need pictures of this, this, and this". That I can do.

I can so top that. When I was pregnant with Sandi in 1969 I started to crochet a dress for her. So cute. I had it almost done but not quite. In 1973 when Sheri was 2 I ripped it up and made her a poncho. I used to be quite crafty. I did make the girls a lot of matching outfits. Sandi was smaller than Sheri even tho she is 2 1/2 year older so everyone thought they were twins. Then I did a lot of needlework after I quit sewing. I think the last thing I actually made was an embroidered quilt for my mom's 60th birthday. I did half, my sis did half. We put it together and had it machine quilted. My mom is now 85 so what does that tell you. A few years ago mom gave the quilt back to me cause she was downsizing some of her stuff. It has been in my attic for 3 years.

I did make a new photobucke account last night for all my cousins to post family pictures on and tag so we can share what is going on in our lives. Pretty crafty, huh?:lmao:

[longing2Batdisney]

HI! Heather,
sounds like a lot of work; but, I bet it is so rewarding when complete. I have a photo album for Gwendolyn, started on for Dayne (did not take as many photos) and Ashton is on his third, not to mention he family albums. I don't scrapbook! Probably would like it just never tried.

Well, hope packing and getting things to together is flowing...
have a great day!
:wave:

[hhockman]

I have not done Digi scrapping...I'm not techi enough for that...besides I spend way to much time in front of this computer as it is :rolleyes1

OOHHH Hobby Lobby, we do have one not to far from us...have to keep that in mind. The not spending factor also helps since my closet Archivers closed down ealier this yr...so I really have to want to go there...

Aldine...yes she dabbles w/ me mostly. But we haven't actually finished anything. We started working on a small 4 x 6 album that I bought her (& the other 2 older kids) from Disney in 08 but haven't finished it, but I'm thinking of suggesting she add some pictures from 09 now too. Plus we are working on her Josefina book from this trip. I'm hoping to do some more of that this week, plus it get's me down in my room too :thumbsup2 and it's nice to sit and chat too together.

I can't believe I forgot about Josefina's scrapbook. It's so fun that you'll get to do that with her. :) A 4x6 album is a good place to start. Not too much work. :)

I didn't have a CLUE about Digi scrapping 6 months ago either. I got Photoshop Elements for Christmas and took a few classes. Now I really enjoy it...since I can't seem to get out from in front of the computer no matter what I do. :rolleyes1

I really like Hobby Lobby most of the time. Their prices are a little lower and they have good sales. Sometimes it's hard to find what I want though.

I saw where you posted on someone's thread (I think Carissa's?) that Michael is really into Gerbils/Hampsters etc right now. Did they see G-Force? ;)

Those are cool pics, Ginny! I love that there are four albums, one for each park.

Yes, Heather, you'll definitely need your pennies and quarters. Mitchell wanted to stop at every penny machine we saw! When we went to Six Flags, that was the first thing he wanted to do. He's totally hooked! :goodvibes

I remember that Will really liked it last time we were there (he was 5 1/2) and both kids are really into "collecting" so I'm planning to be prepared. We'll probably just get them each a roll of quarters at the bank before we leave.

I can so top that. When I was pregnant with Sandi in 1969 I started to crochet a dress for her. So cute. I had it almost done but not quite. In 1973 when Sheri was 2 I ripped it up and made her a poncho. I used to be quite crafty. I did make the girls a lot of matching outfits. Sandi was smaller than Sheri even tho she is 2 1/2 year older so everyone thought they were twins. Then I did a lot of needlework after I quit sewing. I think the last thing I actually made was an embroidered quilt for my mom's 60th birthday. I did half, my sis did half. We put it together and had it machine quilted. My mom is now 85 so what does that tell you. A few years ago mom gave the quilt back to me cause she was downsizing some of her stuff. It has been in my attic for 3 years.

I did make a new photobucke account last night for all my cousins to post family pictures on and tag so we can share what is going on in our lives. Pretty crafty, huh?:lmao:

Sharing pictures is crafty no matter how you do it. The whole point of scrapbooking is to share pictures/stories. Or at least that's how I do it. One of the new "trends" in scrapbooking is to make semi-scrapbooks out of regular photo albums. You just put the pictures in and every so often you put in a 4x6 card (decorated or undecorated) that explains what's going on in the pictures. I might do that with those albums if I get them. Helps the future generations have a little more of a clue. ;)

HI! Heather,
sounds like a lot of work; but, I bet it is so rewarding when complete. I have a photo album for Gwendolyn, started on for Dayne (did not take as many photos) and Ashton is on his third, not to mention he family albums. I don't scrapbook! Probably would like it just never tried.

Well, hope packing and getting things to together is flowing...
have a great day!
:wave:

It is very rewarding when I finish something...especially as it happens so rarely. I love to go back and look at my pages...and the kids love it even more. I don't really scrap chronologically. I don't have 1st year albums for either of the boys (though I do have a few pages of each). I tend to want to scrap my favorite pictures, so I just do whatever I'm in the mood for. Something is better than nothing.

Most importantly I TAKE the pictures. Even if I don't get to scrapping them until I retire (of course, I have to actually GET a job to retire from it), at least I have the pictures. And I write a journal to the boys (they each have one) every so often (it usually ends up being about once a month, but I try to do it more often). Between that, my own journal (which I get to about twice a year), my blog, and message boards like this one, most of the stories are written down somewhere when I get ready to scrap them.

I finished working on a couple things in Photoshop tonight. I might be able to share them tomorrow if I actually do something other than FALL ASLEEP (which is what I did today) when I get back from walking tomorrow. :goodvibes

[hhockman]

37 days out and I've disappeared....I know!

I was supposed to get some pictures of a project (not the boys' books yet, unfortunately) today, but I haven't taken the pictures yet...because I haven't finished the project.

I unexpectedly got to WORK today (yes, I said "got to" even though it involved a phone call at 5:50am), so I didn't get to work on the project (something I have to do when the boys aren't here). If I don't GET to work tomorrow I'll get it done and take pictures (after a PTA meeting and my walk/run, which I also missed today-just did a quick walk in the evening).

Lots to chat about. Well, I can always chat lots, just not tonight.

EXHAUSTED

must get to bed. I'm not even posting on other TR's tonight. I can't keep my eyes open. And just in case I get another 6am phone call I've got to get some sleep.

So I'll check in tomorrow and I'll have some pictures if I don't have to work.

Hope you all have a good night!

[longing2Batdisney]

I had been subbing for years...since Dayne was in kindergarten. That was the only thing I did not like was the EARLY morning calls. I had finally gotten to a point I would get up with Danny, shower and put on makeup for just in case.

After the teachers and principal started to like me I would finally get set up for a week at a time...thinking of resigning on to sub again this year for the days I do not watch the little girl I watch; every Wednesday and every other Mon & Tue. haven't decided yet...

good luck with it; hope they call you lots ;)
can't wait to hear your final plans and see what you have put together...
:wave:

[longing2Batdisney]

dbl post sorry
:wave:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

37 days out and I've disappeared....I know!

I was supposed to get some pictures of a project (not the boys' books yet, unfortunately) today, but I haven't taken the pictures yet...because I haven't finished the project.

I unexpectedly got to WORK today (yes, I said "got to" even though it involved a phone call at 5:50am), so I didn't get to work on the project (something I have to do when the boys aren't here). If I don't GET to work tomorrow I'll get it done and take pictures (after a PTA meeting and my walk/run, which I also missed today-just did a quick walk in the evening).

Lots to chat about. Well, I can always chat lots, just not tonight.

EXHAUSTED

must get to bed. I'm not even posting on other TR's tonight. I can't keep my eyes open. And just in case I get another 6am phone call I've got to get some sleep.

So I'll check in tomorrow and I'll have some pictures if I don't have to work.

Hope you all have a good night!

We missed you today for sure Heather. Glad you "got" to work today. Whatever it takes. Have a great day tomorrow. We will chat if possible.

Ginny

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Hi, Heather! We're here, so just pop on when you can! :wave2:

-MEL

[hhockman]

Well, I'd hoped to get on here earlier, but I got to reading everyone else's TR, so I'm just now getting here.

So there won't be as much chatter as there could have been. Because I really need to get to sleep. (need a YAWNING smilie).

But I promised some pictures so here you go. First there are couple more things I've gotten here and there. A shirt for Matt and a bathing suit for me.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff088.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff087.jpg

And then a couple of my "projects". I was going to wait until I could show everything that's going to go inside these, but that probably won't be until I'm actually packing, so here they are now. I got the idea when Michelle said the boys should carry their OWN backpacks. I got the bags off a school supply site for $1 each (in a set of 12). I messed one up, but I still have 8 left that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff083.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff084.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff085.jpg

The iron-ons aren't really as big as I wanted them to be, but I'm not redoing them. The boys won't care. Here is one of the things that are going into the bags (a mini project):

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff086.jpg

I made these on my cricut and put them together. They were so easy. Each one has 24 sheets of paper for drawing, writing, whatever. I couldn't find notepads I liked so I made them.

Other than the notepads I'm putting the boys' cameras, a pencil pouch with pencils, a sharpener, a pink eraser, and colored pencils, a fun workbook, probably an electronic Yahtzee game (I need to get 1 or 2 more), the pressed penny books, handsanitizing wipes, a hot wheels car, some bandaids, their water bottles (which are SUPPOSED to be no leak) and a fandex (I'm hoping to get Star Wars, Dinosaurs, and Presidents before we go and they can take turns with them). Possibly a couple other things I can't think of off of the top of my head at midnight). This way they have things to do in line and things to do at the restaurants, and (like Michelle suggested) I don't have to carry their stuff. If I can find the bubbles that come on a carabinder, I'll clip those to the bag straps. Their sunglasses will hopefully be on a string around their necks.

I know this means I'm going to have to pay attention and make sure no one leaves a bag behind, but I'd rather do that than have to haul all their stuff myself! I guess we'll see how well it works.

So there's some pictures for you. Before I go, since I haven't previously, I figured I'd post a picture of that original "player to be named later" who is now my 6 1/2 month old nephew. I wasn't sure my SIL would want his picture posted, but since he's all over facebook, she probably doesn't care.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Disneystuff056.jpg

That was taken last Saturday. About 2 hours later they took him to the Urgent Care Center and found out he had Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. I think today was the first time he smiled since that picture. Thankfully, at least so far, it doesn't look like either of my boys caught it!

I know this isn't quite as much chatter as you are all used to from me, but it's midnight and I've got to get to bed. I'll try to get something else up tomorrow. Just 35 days to go!!! (that's so much less than 373!!!) :cool1:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Love your swim suit. Very cute. The bags are great. Perfect size for young men to carry. This is a great thing you have done to make such a wonderful trip for your family. The little guy is such a cutie pie. Hate it he had that icky illness. It used to be very common. Didn't know it still was.

Have a great day tomorrow.

[longing2Batdisney]

Heather, love the bags you did for the boys, your bathing suit is adorable, and believe it or not I have that shirt you have for Matt. I buy the men's t-shirts because I think the womens are to thin/and I'm too heavy. :yay: on 35 days to go...

[mousescrapper]

Love the bags and little notebooks....I so need to get some Disney circut things...one of my very good friends has one and she said I could use it...hmmmmaybe a b-day suggstion in the works.

Love the idea of having kids carry their own loot and once you are down there you can adjust what is needed in the bags etc.

so fun. I can't wait to start on fun little projects for our trip :thumbsup2

almost 1 month to go :woohoo: and yes 35 is way less than 373...I'm still in the 400 range....:rolleyes1

[DisneymoonJess07]

you are getting closer and closer!

[PracPerfPatricia]

Very nice bags & adorable note pads-wow- you have all kinds of fun scrapping supplies at your house-don't you?:cool1:

Poor little nephew...:sad2:-that is actually more common than you'd think...there was a little outbreak of that at DS's nursery School-...:sad2:

[hhockman]

Love your swim suit. Very cute. The bags are great. Perfect size for young men to carry. This is a great thing you have done to make such a wonderful trip for your family. The little guy is such a cutie pie. Hate it he had that icky illness. It used to be very common. Didn't know it still was.

Have a great day tomorrow.

Thank you. :blush: You're so sweet. Yeah, my nephew's a cutie...not sure he's quite as cute as my boys....

Heather, love the bags you did for the boys, your bathing suit is adorable, and believe it or not I have that shirt you have for Matt. I buy the men's t-shirts because I think the womens are to thin/and I'm too heavy. :yay: on 35 days to go...

I buy men's shirts sometimes too. They fit better, and sometimes I just like the styles better.

Love the bags and little notebooks....I so need to get some Disney circut things...one of my very good friends has one and she said I could use it...hmmmmaybe a b-day suggstion in the works.

Love the idea of having kids carry their own loot and once you are down there you can adjust what is needed in the bags etc.

so fun. I can't wait to start on fun little projects for our trip :thumbsup2

almost 1 month to go :woohoo: and yes 35 is way less than 373...I'm still in the 400 range....:rolleyes1

400 days will go quicker than you think! Believe me. I have the Mickey Font cartridge, but not the shapes cartridge. I'm not sure how much I would use the shapes, but I LOVE the font cartridge. I've used it a lot. In fact, I haven't actually used any of the other 3 cartridges I have yet. Hope you get it for your birthday!

you are getting closer and closer!

Very nice bags & adorable note pads-wow- you have all kinds of fun scrapping supplies at your house-don't you?:cool1:

Poor little nephew...:sad2:-that is actually more common than you'd think...there was a little outbreak of that at DS's nursery School-...:sad2:

I do have lots of fun scrapping supplies...they don't usually get a lot of use, but I have them.

Christian had a fever tonight while I was scrapping at a friend's house. When I checked on him a little while ago he was not warm, but I guess we'll see how he is tomorrow. My nephew was HERE when I took that picture, so I'm really hoping Christian did not catch it! We're supposed to go to the Braves game tomorrow and I'm praying Christian won't have to miss it.

JUST THREE DAYS FOR YOU!!! I'm so excited for you!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I'm going to bed. Tired. I'll try to post those lists I wrote out on Wednesday tomorrow.

[hhockman]

you are getting closer and closer!

Yikes Jess, I missed you! We're both getting closer...but you're even closer than I am. Lucky! ;)

[MICKEY4EVER!]

My thoughts: That Mickey shirt, I want it!!!! Your bathing suit: I want that, too! Those backpacks? You guessed it! I want one! LOL! :goodvibes

Adorable little notepads. Adorable nephew! I'd take him home if your SIL would let me! ;) Mitchell had hand, foot, mouth at that exact same age. What a miserable thing for those sweet babies to have to go through!

You've been really busy with all the planning. Those boys are going to have a blast! I'm so excited for you. A little over a month away, and hopefully, the time will fly!

[hhockman]

My thoughts: That Mickey shirt, I want it!!!! Your bathing suit: I want that, too! Those backpacks? You guessed it! I want one! LOL! :goodvibes

Adorable little notepads. Adorable nephew! I'd take him home if your SIL would let me! ;) Mitchell had hand, foot, mouth at that exact same age. What a miserable thing for those sweet babies to have to go through!

You've been really busy with all the planning. Those boys are going to have a blast! I'm so excited for you. A little over a month away, and hopefully, the time will fly!

Thanks.

You can have a backpack if you want one. I have 8 left and no idea what I'm going to do with them!

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I think Mel wants everything. Hey Mel, you want Don today. He is bored and driving me kookoo

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Thanks.

You can have a backpack if you want one. I have 8 left and no idea what I'm going to do with them! I don't know what I'd do with it, either, to tell you the truth! I love them. You did such an awesome job!

I think Mel wants everything. Hey Mel, you want Don today. He is bored and driving me kookoo :rotfl: You're so funny, Ginny! I'll let you keep your husband. Mine's off at work for a little while, so I've got the house AND the computer to myself! Woo Hoo! :woohoo:

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Oh, but I will give away a CRAAAAZY kitten if anyone's interested. Got her shots and everything! WHAT was I thinkin' bringing home a cat? I didn't know they were so WIERD. You can't even touch her half the time - she'll claw your arm off and bite you. :mad:

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Ok, I'll keep Don today. He's better. He just talked to his Mom and she is doing great. Makes me waaaay happy.

No cats for me thanks. Princess might like one for a snack. She gets moles, birds, squirrels whatever she can catch. Such a good girl. She brings them right to me.

[dismagiclover]

Cute bags! Your kids will love them:goodvibes And I love your Tinkerbell bathing suit. The Tinkerbell on the skirt is the perfect touch:goodvibes

[DisneymoonJess07]

Yikes Jess, I missed you! We're both getting closer...but you're even closer than I am. Lucky! ;)

It's true - I can't believe how close we are!!! It's really insane! The only problem is that now I'm starting to worry about the weather!!

[lisalonglash]

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I'm in! :thumbsup2 Great stuff so far, can't wait to read more :banana:

[hhockman]

Cute bags! Your kids will love them:goodvibes And I love your Tinkerbell bathing suit. The Tinkerbell on the skirt is the perfect touch:goodvibes

Thanks. :) I'm not a huge Tinkerbell fan, but I thought the color would go well with the kids' suits. And I couldn't find the Mickey one, which was black and purple. ;)

It's true - I can't believe how close we are!!! It's really insane! The only problem is that now I'm starting to worry about the weather!!

I KNOW! I always forget we're getting into hurricane season. And I lived in Florida most of my life. I've been during September a few times, though, and it's never been that big of a deal. We should be okay. Hopefully. Disney has only closed once because of a hurricane. :thumbsup2 (that makes you feel better, doesn't it?)

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I'm in! :thumbsup2 Great stuff so far, can't wait to read more :banana:

:welcome: It's always nice to have new readers. I should have some more lists tomorrow. And a couple of pictures. I meant to get them up tonight, but got to watching a movie with DH. I've "seen" you around on several TRs. We must "run" in the same circles. :dance3: ;)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to bed, but I'll be back tomorrow. Hope you all had a great weekend!

[DisneymoonJess07]

I KNOW! I always forget we're getting into hurricane season. And I lived in Florida most of my life. I've been during September a few times, though, and it's never been that big of a deal. We should be okay. Hopefully. Disney has only closed once because of a hurricane. :thumbsup2 (that makes you feel better, doesn't it?)


Raif was talking about TS Claudette this afternoon, and I was like, you do realize that we now have to start paying attention to these things because they could effect our trip into or at Disney. He looked at me with a deer in the headlights kind of look, and said "You're right!" and kind of was quiet for a second. So I'm keeping a closer eye on the Atlantic than I normally do, considering I live in Illinois.

Hope you had a great weekend!

[DisneyMomLiz]

The bags are so cute...love the cricut notebooks too! :thumbsup2 Can't wait until my DS can carry his own gear :) then I can get one of those VB Hipsters, just for my stuff :rotfl:

[lisalonglash]

:welcome: It's always nice to have new readers. I should have some more lists tomorrow. And a couple of pictures. I meant to get them up tonight, but got to watching a movie with DH. I've "seen" you around on several TRs. We must "run" in the same circles. :dance3: ;)

Great stuff so far! :thumbsup2 Yep, I've "seen" you around too - we run in the same pretty cool circles :laughing:

[hhockman]

Raif was talking about TS Claudette this afternoon, and I was like, you do realize that we now have to start paying attention to these things because they could effect our trip into or at Disney. He looked at me with a deer in the headlights kind of look, and said "You're right!" and kind of was quiet for a second. So I'm keeping a closer eye on the Atlantic than I normally do, considering I live in Illinois.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Yeah, after being out of Florida for 3 years, I've almost forgotten to watch what's going on in the Atlantic myself. We have friends in the Clearwater/St. Pete area and the Gainesville area and family in Jacksonville and on the Panhandle, so I usually hear about it eventually, but I've kinda forgotten to watch for it. Guess I will be now. :rotfl:

The bags are so cute...love the cricut notebooks too! :thumbsup2 Can't wait until my DS can carry his own gear :) then I can get one of those VB Hipsters, just for my stuff :rotfl:

Thanks. :thumbsup2 I'm not entirely sure they are ready to carry their own stuff, but we're going to try it. I will still have my bag with snacks, first aid, wipes, etc. I'm actually hoping for it to be more of an "entertainment" bag for them. I know, they need an entertainment bag at Disney? But it's mostly just in case the lines are long and to give them something to do at the restaurants. And so they have their own cameras without me having to take my bag off every 5 seconds....but I'll still have to watch them because I don't want them to loose the cameras either! We'll see if the plan actually works.

Great stuff so far! :thumbsup2 Yep, I've "seen" you around too - we run in the same pretty cool circles :laughing:

I just finished reading your PTR. We have a few things in common, even if we do live on opposite ends of the continent. I didn't realize until I started reading it that we are going about the same time ('cause I didn't bother to look at your ticker! DUH!) Did you end up getting the Guide to the Magic? Are you just getting one for the boys to share? I think I'm going to get one for my three to share (since they all have their own journals to write in), but I have to "find" the $$$ first. Hopefully it will come from somewhere. Are you waiting until you get back from your trip to start the boys' schooling back?

[hhockman]

I know I promised you all an update tonight, but my lists are actually upstairs and I don't want to go get them (sorry).

I also haven't taken the pictures of the two things I wanted to post, so I can't post that either.

We are officially at ONE MONTH! By Lisa's way of counting. Hard to believe. I feel like I still have so much to do, and yet when I'm sitting here thinking of things to do, I can't think of anything. I know I still have to get the boys' journals done. I finished filling in all of the blanks that I could in my Passporter last night. I've bought a few "snacks" for the room, but not all of them by any means.

I'm thinking I'm going to start packing tomorrow if I don't get called to sub. I've got a PTA meeting in the morning and I'll get my usual walk/run in, but other than that I don't have plans, so packing sounds like a good idea. The boys haven't seemed to notice the boxes in here, but I wonder if they'll notice that they're gone? Hope not.

Oh, just thought of some pictures I could add...

Last Friday was "50s Day" at Will's school. Here he is in his VERY easy costume:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Braves030.jpg

And a picture of him with Christian for good measure:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Braves032.jpg

Will at the Braves game on Saturday:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Braves038.jpg

Christian at the game:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Braves055.jpg

How Christian spent innings 6-9:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Braves099.jpg
He didn't even wake up when the whole stadium was screaming as the Braves won in the bottom of the 9th (Matt took him just as the batter that hit the winning single got up).

Christian and Matt after Matt finally woke him up:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/Braves173.jpg

Somewhere around the 8th or 9th inning the boys started trickling down to the walkway between our section and the lower section. No one ever made them move. Here's the two that are central to this trip report (out of the boys on the Allstar team):
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/IMG_1882.jpg

And just for nostalgia's sake...this is from about 2 1/2 years ago:
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/hhockman/disboards/AprilMay2006091-1.jpg
Excuse the editing. I did it on photobucket. They had last names on their shirts when they were 5. ;)

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. Hope to have something current for you tomorrow!

[dismagiclover]

I'm impressed you made it through the whole baseball game. We're lucky to make it to the 7 inning stretch with my gang!