~How TWO trips became...who knows? ~ It's a TRIP! and an upgrade.... 4/22

[hematite153]

I am also most worried about DHS crowds - it was SOOOO crowded the other day that we could not get down the sidewalk and Lauren would have been stuck.


It can be bad. We got stuck once in the middle of a crowd that just wasn't moving anywhere--it took us about an hour to simply get OUT of the street. Warning, if you do end up in the middle of something that you weren't expecting the rest of your group may need to surround Lauren. People were actually climbing on my DW's w/c and I imagine that kind of behaviour could have serious implications for Lauren (beyond the basic sense that people are rude!).

[ndloewen]

Congrats Lauren! :cool1: That is so fantastic!

I really hope things improve with the new contraptions for her chair though. :sad2: Nothing more important to a teenage girl than her hair and makeup, so that makes me so sad to hear that these things too are becoming more of a challenge.

[jenb1023]

Saying prayers for Lauren and the whole family. I really don't know how Lisa manages to stay sane. Tell Lauren good luck at the State Science Fair - we are all rooting for her!

[Sandy321]

:wave: Maroo!1

Thank you for texting me - and for sending the prayers!! SIL is all fine and dandy (minus a few parts - but now cancer free!! :goodvibes)


Lauren is so funny...she said she wants to save all of her money for college. :confused3

That child! WAY too responsible!!

How do you tell her that $250 seems like a LOT now and that she should spend it while it still seems like a lot of money?? :rotfl:

And yes...I am a year older now than I was last week. :) But...who's counting?

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!! :dance3:

So sorry to read about Lauren and her chair issues, as well as her neck of course, and Williams knee!!

any Science Fair updates??

[Millie12591]

Mary! I finally made my way over here!

Sorry to hear about Lauren's little brother, this poor family needs a serious break! How is Lauren hanging in? Last we talked I knew she was getting worse, I didn't realize it was to the point she couldn't hardly move any more. :guilty: Lord help this family, in a mighty, mighty way.

I hope Lauren's new parts for her chair are going to work out, a girl needs to be able to manage her own do for Pete's sake! ;)

I've been meaning to call you and I've totally stunk at doing so. Forgive me. When's a good time to try and get in touch with you?

Do I hear right? Are you going to Disney in May? Do you know the dates yet?

[that's nice]

Mary

OK are you read to get this TR back on track???

Hope Lauren's project came out good. :)

[maroo]

My apologies...

I am totally going to keep you guys hanging though....

I am HOPING...by Thursday night I can get an update...and I will update you guys on ALL of this!

For now...please pray that Lauren doesn't drive her parents completely crazy with a week that includes physical therapy twice, PROM (hair, nails, spray tan, a trip to get her dress altered), running for Vice President of her school, a BIRTHDAY (TODAY is Lauren's birthday!!) and regular life, which is already pretty crazy busy.

I am helping with many of the things listed above...which is why I can't seem to find time to upload the pictures so I can do a proper update.

As for Science Fair...well...I do have pictures! :)

[All7OfUs]

OH!! I need to get on FB and wish her a happy birthday over there!!!!

[jenb1023]

Happy Birthday Lauren!!!!

[eyor44]

Happy Belated Birthday to Maroo!

Happy Belated Birthday to Lauren!

Hope William's knee is feeling better.

Can't wait to hear about the Science Fair.

Want to see pics of Lauren's chair additions.

May? you are going in May? Dates?


Sandy123 - :woohoo: on SIL being cancer free! that's awesome!:banana:

PS - why are you mad at Disney?

[maroo]

I know I owe you about 3 updates....

Will this tide you over some?!!?

Hey guys!

I have a very exciting announcement that has nothing to do with DISNEY - except that we plan to CELEBRATE this in Disney!!!



Lauren ran for "Executive" Vice President - which is basically the Vice President of the Student Body - at her high school this week.

Lauren goes to a large High School of over 1,500 students in grades 10 - 12.

She ran against two of the most popular and well-known students in the High School. But neither of the students really did very many posters - I think they thought they had it in the bag. ;)


But Lauren had us (her Mom, Dad and I) making posters for her last week and when we didn't make enough of them (life is really busy), she decided to make stickers and bought a banner with her own money....

And


SHE WON!!!!!!!!!


We are so proud of her!!!

And I knew her "followers" on the DIS would want to know. :)


*I posted this in about 4 places...so sorry if it is a repeat!*

[mrsksomeday]

Congratulations Lauren!! That is fantastic!!

Maroo, we are dying for pictures here. Please upload some soon!

[ndloewen]

I know I owe you about 3 updates....

Will this tide you over some?!!?

Hey guys!

I have a very exciting announcement that has nothing to do with DISNEY - except that we plan to CELEBRATE this in Disney!!!



Lauren ran for "Executive" Vice President - which is basically the Vice President of the Student Body - at her high school this week.

Lauren goes to a large High School of over 1,500 students in grades 10 - 12.

She ran against two of the most popular and well-known students in the High School. But neither of the students really did very many posters - I think they thought they had it in the bag. ;)


But Lauren had us (her Mom, Dad and I) making posters for her last week and when we didn't make enough of them (life is really busy), she decided to make stickers and bought a banner with her own money....

And


SHE WON!!!!!!!!!


We are so proud of her!!!

And I knew her "followers" on the DIS would want to know. :)


*I posted this in about 4 places...so sorry if it is a repeat!*


Awww...that is fantastic. Congratulations Lauren on a job well done!! :hug:

[that's nice]

I don't know what thread to respond to so I will respond here! ;););)


Congratulations LAUREN!!!!!!!! :banana::banana: :dance3::dance3:

[jenb1023]

Congrats Lauren! You are one amazing young lady! :cool1::banana::yay::cheer2:

[eyor44]

Congratulations to Lauren!!! or would that be Madame Vice President...:banana::banana::banana:

[jordanyosh]

Lauren and I have something in common! Congrats to my fellow ASB VP!!!!

[maroo]

Lauren and I have something in common! Congrats to my fellow ASB VP!!!!

Woo Hoo!! Really?? I didn't know you were into politics? ;)

So...what is her job going to entail? :laughing:

Congratulations to Lauren!!! or would that be Madame Vice President...:banana::banana::banana:

We called her that all night last night thanks to you, Lisa! :) :thumbsup2

Congratulations Lauren!! That is fantastic!!

Maroo, we are dying for pictures here. Please upload some soon!

EEK! I know it.

I am way behind.

I *should* have something up tonight...I hope! Or maybe later today with my iPhone pics I have.

Awww...that is fantastic. Congratulations Lauren on a job well done!! :hug:

Thanks! I told her Noah's Mom said congrats and she was grinning ear to ear - he is famous, afterall!

I don't know what thread to respond to so I will respond here! ;););)


Congratulations LAUREN!!!!!!!! :banana::banana: :dance3::dance3:

yeah...well.... :blush: I was excited. :)

Thanks!! :)

Congrats Lauren! You are one amazing young lady! :cool1::banana::yay::cheer2:

Isn't she!!! I love that child.

I told her she couldn't do it...I told her she couldn't beat those ultra-popular kids and should concentrate her efforts (and ours) on a Sr Class office - boy did she prove me wrong! And that was the FIRST thing she said. :rotfl:

In fact...they didn't even need a run-off. There were three candidates and Lauren got over 50% of the vote! :thumbsup2

[kdzbear]

Congrats to Lauren! That is an amazing accomplishment! :woohoo:

[twinmum]

Please pass along our congratulations to Lauren as well. I just love Lauren's attitude - so much determination, always believing in herself. She is a wonderful role model - for anyone! Our Mark has been a bit down on himself lately, so we're trying to boost him up a bit, get him ready for the challenge of a new school in the fall. He was very proud to be the first physically disabled boy accepted into this wonderful, >175 year old school with a wonderful reputation...now the hard work begins.

I'll tell him Lauren's story, hope it encourages him.

Well done, Lauren!!!

Alison

[eyor44]

In fact...they didn't even need a run-off. There were three candidates and Lauren got over 50% of the vote! :thumbsup2
More :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

[maroo]

Well...for Mark! And for all of you guys wanting PICTURES!!


I will give ya some. In no particular order...

NONE of these pictures show her "stuff" on her wheelchair. Each time we were taking pictures we had taken the main head thing off - because she didn't want to wear it at any of these events.

I will start with Science Fair -

This was her project. She had already won 1st place in the Regional Fair (which includes the central part of Mississippi).

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2304.jpg

But she had some stiff competition in the State Fair.

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2308.jpg

She presented her project to the judges (which I have no pictures of...but imagine all of these people coming around dressed in suits and asking a bunch of questions!)

Then it was time for the Awards!

They asked her to come sit down on the floor of the Coliseum - which was a very good sign!

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2314.jpg

This is a really cool picture, because she plans to go to school at MS State and this was in their big Basketball Coliseum! So...possibly here at her future school!



And......




She WON!!! FIRST PLACE in her DIVISION! :woohoo:

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2344.jpg

There she is with her First Place Medal!

We were SOOOOO proud of her! She had never participated in science fair before and this was basically a testimony to her ability to communicate effectively with the judges. It was a great success!

So much so that she was invited to go to the School Board meeting the following week and get a School Board Achievement Award, too!


Then on that Friday, she was asked to speak on behalf of Make a Wish on the Radio...

This was so much fun!!

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/photo-54.jpg

(I took her neck thing off in that picture...but she does have her new seating there...can you tell she is sitting up really straight?)

We had a blast at the radio station and she did a great job explaining what Make a Wish does for families. And of course plugged Disney!! :cool1:


That night she was given BACK STAGE PASSES to the Toby Mac and Skillet Concert!

Her precious family waiting at the doors to be let in for a special event BEFORE the concert!

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2362.jpg


This girl can create a MIRROR out of ANYTHING! :rotfl2:

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2402.jpg


And their VIP seats. :thumbsup2

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2407.jpg


And someone in their band?? Anyone have any idea who these guys are?

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/IMG_2452.jpg

Then.....


It was time......


For the BIG NIGHT!!!


Her Junior PROM! :dance3: :cloud9:


She was just beautiful!


First...the bad pic, but it gives you an idea of what her neck looks like without all of the junk on her chair... :sad1::sad1::sad1:

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/photo-52.jpg


But then she transforms into .....

http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad174/marooTR/2010/Lauren%20MAW%20Prom/LaurenProm2010085.jpg

(We had some silk fabric rigged to hold her up straight!! Worked like a charm!)


Isn't she beautiful!

She has had a very successful and very busy three weeks! :faint:


Next up......

A JUNE Adventure into.......Outer Space?

[HeatherSue]

WOO-HOO, LAUREN!!!!! I didn't see that she had won until just now!! That is just awesome! :banana::banana::banana:

Tessa is loving Lauren's prom dress! Sequin and cheetah print!!! She is dying over here! :faint:

[All7OfUs]

Hey Little Miss Touring Partner!

Been a while since I've mosied over here- and lookey what I find!!

She is beyond gorgeous!! She really looks lovely and radiant!

Love the dress!


So many fun accomplishments for her lately- BIG congrats, Lauren!:thumbsup2

[jenb1023]

That dress is Jordan's dream come true (like Tessa's!) - sequins and leopard!

She looks radiant and I will say again how she truly impresses me with all she has accomplished and the things I know she will continue to accomplish!

[kdzbear]

Lauren in beautiful! I love her choice for a prom dress. She must be so proud of all of her recent accomplishments! Please tell her Congratulations! :banana::banana::banana:

[jordanyosh]

Great update on Lauren.

Skillet!!! Love them, but couldn't pick them out in a crowd.

She's really coming into her own! Prom. Radio. Awards!

She's putting the rest of us to shame.

Lauren, you rock!

[eyor44]

Finally got to see all of the pics. They are great and yes, Lauren has been very busy the past few weeks. Did she enjoy Prom?

[that's nice]

WOW Lauren has been busy...

Congrats on the medal for the science fair!!!!!

She looks so much older in the prom pic.. very pretty! ::yes::

[maroo]

WOO-HOO, LAUREN!!!!! I didn't see that she had won until just now!! That is just awesome! :banana::banana::banana:

Tessa is loving Lauren's prom dress! Sequin and cheetah print!!! She is dying over here! :faint:

:)

Lauren said to tell Tessa hello! :wave2:

Hey Little Miss Touring Partner!

Been a while since I've mosied over here- and lookey what I find!!

She is beyond gorgeous!! She really looks lovely and radiant!

Love the dress!


So many fun accomplishments for her lately- BIG congrats, Lauren!:thumbsup2

Lauren says, "HI LIESA FROM _________STAN!!!" And yes...it has to be in caps. She screamed it!

And she says thank you, too!

That dress is Jordan's dream come true (like Tessa's!) - sequins and leopard!

She looks radiant and I will say again how she truly impresses me with all she has accomplished and the things I know she will continue to accomplish!

I don't really know what possessed her to try it on...it is not her usual frilly dress...but it looked really good on her!!

She says to say hello to Jordan! Said that Jordan is "Muffin's friend." :rotfl2:



Lauren in beautiful! I love her choice for a prom dress. She must be so proud of all of her recent accomplishments! Please tell her Congratulations! :banana::banana::banana:

She is really excited about everything! She is doing really well!!

And she said thank you, too! And then she said, "Who is that?" :lmao:

I will explain later and show her your TR's. :)

Great update on Lauren.

Skillet!!! Love them, but couldn't pick them out in a crowd.

She's really coming into her own! Prom. Radio. Awards!

She's putting the rest of us to shame.

Lauren, you rock!

She had so much fun at that concert!! :) And you are right, she really IS coming into her own! :)

Lauren said thank you very much! And she said you are too popular for her to keep up with your TR. :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao: And she said I shouldn't write that. Whatever. HA!



Finally got to see all of the pics. They are great and yes, Lauren has been very busy the past few weeks. Did she enjoy Prom?

Yeah...sorry about being so late!

Lauren said to say Hi to Lisa from Mississippi! :wave2:

WOW Lauren has been busy...

Congrats on the medal for the science fair!!!!!

She looks so much older in the prom pic.. very pretty! ::yes::

Totally! She has gotten busy so WE have gotten busy!

And she has gotten old so we are getting OLD! :rotfl:

She says hello and to tell Juliana and Mel hello. (She forgot you! :rotfl2:) She is cracking me up. And she said not to type that either.

She is going to have to get her own user name if she wants to have editing privileges. :rolleyes1

[jordanyosh]

Tell Lauren that we Vice Presidents have to stick together. tell her one of my many responsibilities was all school elections...I also did daily announcements.

[jenb1023]

I don't really know what possessed her to try it on...it is not her usual frilly dress...but it looked really good on her!!

She says to say hello to Jordan! Said that Jordan is "Muffin's friend." :rotfl2:


Love all of Lauren's comments! And I agree - if she wants editing privileges she needs her own user name.

Jordan will be thrilled that a) a big kid knows who she is and b) that she knows her as Muffin's friend

[Millie12591]

Awwwwww...Lauren looks so amazing!!! I thought she would be all frilled out, but she chose va-va-va-voooom! :goodvibes

I pray more favor comes her way. :woohoo:

[eyor44]

Yeah...sorry about being so late!

Lauren said to say Hi to Lisa from Mississippi! :wave2:



Oh!!!!! :eek: I didn't mean it to sound that way, like I had been waiting forever for you to post pics. I meant I finally got to VIEW them. I read Dis at lunch at work and I can't view pics there cause of the firewall.:sad2: I have to wait until I am at home. Stupid firewall, but at least I can still get to the Dis!:thumbsup2

:wave: Hi back at ya Lauren. :goodvibes

[If U Had Wings]

The pics of Lauren are all wonderful. The science fair is a fantastic achievement, and she looks just glowing in her prom pics. Perfect!

[maroo]

Tell Lauren that we Vice Presidents have to stick together. tell her one of my many responsibilities was all school elections...I also did daily announcements.

I am pretty excited to see what her responsibilities will be for next year. She seems to have the idea right now that the whole thing is sort of run by committee, but I think she will find that she has more specific responsibilities as she learns more about what the position handles. I do know that she will be responsible for raising money for Make a Wish - which really fires me up!! And she is super excited about that. :)

Love all of Lauren's comments! And I agree - if she wants editing privileges she needs her own user name.

Jordan will be thrilled that a) a big kid knows who she is and b) that she knows her as Muffin's friend

Definitely! So...what should her user name be? She totally needs to sign up for one! :)

Awwwwww...Lauren looks so amazing!!! I thought she would be all frilled out, but she chose va-va-va-voooom! :goodvibes

I pray more favor comes her way. :woohoo:

lol

va-va-voooom is right! That child was even showing some leg! :rotfl:

Oh!!!!! :eek: I didn't mean it to sound that way, like I had been waiting forever for you to post pics. I meant I finally got to VIEW them. I read Dis at lunch at work and I can't view pics there cause of the firewall.:sad2: I have to wait until I am at home. Stupid firewall, but at least I can still get to the Dis!:thumbsup2

:wave: Hi back at ya Lauren. :goodvibes

Oh, no...I didn't mean that all harsh on my end! :hug:

I love that you can get to the DIS at work! :)

The pics of Lauren are all wonderful. The science fair is a fantastic achievement, and she looks just glowing in her prom pics. Perfect!

She was totally glowing all night!! :)

[jenb1023]

Definitely! So...what should her user name be? She totally needs to sign up for one! :)

Well, I always think of her dressed as Tink on her wish trip and there is a kids book called Pinkalicious that talks about how fabulous everything pink is so my idea for a user name is . . .

Tinkalicious - 'cause I love that Tink photo and Lauren is fabulous so she's Tinkalicious

[eyor44]

Well, I always think of her dressed as Tink on her wish trip and there is a kids book called Pinkalicious that talks about how fabulous everything pink is so my idea for a user name is . . .

Tinkalicious - 'cause I love that Tink photo and Lauren is fabulous so she's Tinkalicious

I think this would be a great name for her. It fits!:thumbsup2

[maroo]

Well, I always think of her dressed as Tink on her wish trip and there is a kids book called Pinkalicious that talks about how fabulous everything pink is so my idea for a user name is . . .

Tinkalicious - 'cause I love that Tink photo and Lauren is fabulous so she's Tinkalicious

I think this would be a great name for her. It fits!:thumbsup2

Lauren took the wind out of my sails about this yesterday...said she only has time for HOMEWORK. No DIS. :sad2: She was so adament, too!

Good grief! Priorities! :confused3

Maybe over the summer??? In preparation for our big November trip?

Maybe!

[maroo]

I have NEWS!!!!!


On the Trip Front!

This one is JUNE!

And nothing has been announced about it yet...so a formal announcement is due!

BUT.......


My friend Sarah - who you guys know from the Feb 09 trip - is back in the States! And she is dating a special someone....And he is a Star Wars fan! (She is too...and I am a mild fan.)

So...she wants to go to Star Wars Weekend!

The only weekend we can go (all three of us) is June 11-13.

I had us booked at an offsite hotel to save some money...and was trying to do this with just renting a car (I am flying, they are driving)...but when I realized that the Extra Magic Hours would really add a lot of value to our quick trip, I decided to see what would be available at the Swan/Dolphin or onsite. I was leaning toward the Dolphin because of the great location....


so.........



I called Disney to just check rates and availability and found out that I had......




wait for it....:rolleyes1




wait for it....:rolleyes1:rolleyes1





a PIN!!!!! :dance3: :cool1: :woohoo:







For FREE DINING!!! :woohoo: :dance3: :cheer2: :woohoo: :cool1: :yay:



Which works REALLY well!

Since we have to have two rooms - one of our rooms will have the dining/tickets and one of our rooms will have just me (Sarah will still bunk with me! ;)). Not sure how that worked, it was all the CM's doing, but it did!

We will only be in the parks for 2 days...so they are getting FREE DINING for their stay!!!

Of course, I am just the third wheel anyway...they already have dining reservations for just the two of them :rolleyes1 (solo time for me!!) and I was planning a trip to Universal during my solo time....

But that just got kicked out the window for now. Universal can't make up their mind when they want to open Harry Potter...so for now I am going to skip getting a rental car and just take the ME to our resort and stay on property all weekend long!


So...where are we staying????





POP!!!! :love:


I am going to try...for the 3rd time...to reserve and actually STAY at the POP. Do you think I can do it? Surely we won't get another upgrade! Heck, the FREE DINING is the upgrade to me!!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

[that's nice]

I swear.. you are the master!!! :worship::worship:

Sounds like a fun weekend!!!!

And YES... you will stay at POP this time! :lmao:

[All7OfUs]

I hope some of this insane luck you have will rub off/carry over to our Sept. stay!!!

I can't even believe how lucky you are!!!

I just hope you don't run out of days off before we get there!!! :scared1:

Yes, I think this time the POP will pan out for you. And I think you'll like it. Make sure to get the whole scoop for us-

[maroo]

I hope some of this insane luck you have will rub off/carry over to our Sept. stay!!!

I can't even believe how lucky you are!!!

I just hope you don't run out of days off before we get there!!! :scared1:

Yes, I think this time the POP will pan out for you. And I think you'll like it. Make sure to get the whole scoop for us-

We used 2 different PIN's and a bounceback for our Sept trip! :goodvibes I don't know how much more luck we can have. :)

The June trip uses 0 days off. I leave on Thursday after work and fly back on Sunday - so we are good there! :) (I have every Friday off. :))

I swear.. you are the master!!! :worship::worship:

Sounds like a fun weekend!!!!

And YES... you will stay at POP this time! :lmao:

I hope I get to stay at POP! It would be about time!

[jenb1023]

Woo-hoo for a trip and a pin code! You are the master!

We actually really like Pop so I hope you do finally get a chance to stay there.

Too bad we will miss you by a few weeks!

[All7OfUs]

Well, not only are you the queeny-poo of PINS, you are also the queeny-poo of upgrades, are you not?? So, let's be thinking that there may be some pixie magic for us too!!

[eyor44]

Hmmmm....can I make a quick trip up North? Maybe just standing next to Maroo a little pixie dust will fall on me for my trip NEXT WEEK!!!!!:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

How absolutely wonderful on the Free Dining!!!!! and :woohoo: for POP!!!:woohoo:

[eyor44]

Maroo
OT - I think I remember you saying that the Jackson airport is rather on the small side? Do I have that right?

Please say yes. My DS15 just got an offer to work for a week at a summer camp near Jackson. The kicker is, we will be on vacation and he will have to fly into Jackson by himself and someone will pick him up. Funny thing, I am not worried about him changing planes in Atlanta, he has been there so many times he knows the place. I'm worried about him getting off in Jackson and not knowing where to go. :sad2:

[Millie12591]

Way to go girl!! I'm so blessed by your pixie dust and it seems to be in abundance of late!! pixiedust: This is such great news, I think a weekend with some friends is just what you need. :goodvibes

[maroo]

Blast from the past! :woohoo:

I decided to resurrect this pre-trip report for a bit! :rolleyes1

Several of you guys have been following the adventures of Lauren and family and I have an announcement or two.

First of all - they were planning a trip in November which is currently on hold because Lisa lost her position at work - but she is in the process of figuring that out.

We are about to go on the yearly trip with the church performing youth choir. This year we are going to New Orleans!!!! :woohoo:

If you are in that area - we will be performing at some very cool locations on Memorial Day - so if you want to come hang out with us, let me know and I will give you details! :goodvibes We are so excited!!

[eyor44]

YAY!!! How wonderful!!

But bummer, I'll be in Iowa. I would love to hear the choir.

[eyor44]

How awful Lisa lost her job. Prayers that she finds something new soon. :hug: