Happy Birthday to Joe, May 2011. . Trip Report Link

[Moira222]

What?!? I am so jealous that you got all those great goodies with your play sport. Where did you get it from? My DH was also less than thrilled that I got purple, but hey, I was the one who did the buying, so I picked the color that I wanted!

My DS's bday party was today and I got to use ours. Now I just need to transfer the video to our laptop and play around with it a bit to see how much I really like it. I think I'll post part of the video we made on my PTR so people can see a sample of what it does.

I agree - she who shops picks the color!!! He should be glad i didn't find pink!! I ordered mine through Amazon. DH went to Walmart but they had none in stock so ...my turn! The Camera actually came from a place3 called "Beach Camera" in Jersey -- $159 and it came with 8GB sd card, little tripod (its so cute!!), soft case, a v cool USB stick that you put in your pc that transfers data from the SD card right to your pc. (this is will work with our digital cameras too which makes it even better for traveling with! ), and a USB/AC charger (one end plugs into wall, one end is usb plug)

I used it on Saturday. I am a lousy videographer to be sure but the videos were pretty clear. One tip, if you have not already figured it out. even though its small, don't hold it sideways!! I am so used to my phone auto adjusting for the camera, that i guess I thought this would do it too. so now i have really clear but sideways footage of DD on the beach. (the party was at point pleasant -- can't go that close to the beach and not say hello to the ocean!)

I will see if I can upload some too later on tonight. On Saturday I was too tired from all the driving.

Oh, and I love your shirts. I think they turned out great! You guys are going to get a lot of attention wearing those in the parks!

Thanks for the on the shirts. I like them, and hope that they last for more than one wearing! I am trying to find a way to help secure the decals a little better. I have one more set of tees to make and think this time I will try putting aluminum foil behind the shirt to help boost the heat. we'll see!!



ok I am busted for popping onto the DIS in the morning before I have even gotten ready for work. Gotta go,

I owe I owe, its off to work I go.....

 

[blessedmom4]

LOVE your purchases and those shirts are AMAZING!!!!!! I love them! I just posted this somewhere else; however, I had to give it to you as well after seeing those shirts!!!

 

[Moira222]

LOVE your purchases and those shirts are AMAZING!!!!!! I love them! I just posted this somewhere else; however, I had to give it to you as well after seeing those shirts!!!

LOL THanks Judy. Love the rocking Stitch!! I am now working on our second set of tee's at home. I'll post when they are done, too.

 

[Moira222]

So here I am at work, with 4 windows open so that as a page saves and another loads I can read up on trip reports & live through everyone else's trips.

This morning instead of getting ready for work I made our second set of tee shirts. I told DH this morning that as if its not enough that we will be there for his birthday, its not fair that HIS shirts came out the best of everyones!


Truth be told, I was originally going to make us each a red Incredibles shirt, but then decided that its enough that we will match with red shirts & mickey heads, Katie & I could do our own favorite.

First Joe's, my very own Mr. Incredible

I designed my own Tink -- but think it came out a bit dark with the red tee

and Katie has a Mickie Princess for this one.

She and I together designed a Mickey head with Vidia for her that will go on a white shirt. Didn't do that one this morning. in case you don' know who she is:

I have to say I have noticed a rather scary trend in that my darling little girl

always seems to favor the "bad girl" in the Disney movies. Happily she sees that even they come around (Sharpay in HSM, Vidia in TInkerbell, Alex Russo of course, oh and Tess Tyler in Camp Rock) but still, should I be worried?

I also need to point out on the Tiara iron on that it very clearly is Kate NOT Katie. can she be growing up that fast already? dang!

Ok back to work , just wanted to post a quick update!

 

[reelmom]

Hey, I'm loving you PTR. First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on the weight loss. You both look amazing.

Your shirts look great. I love to make shirts using the Creative DISigns. Lots of talented people and very thoughtful to take the time to make them for the creatively challanged people like me. One tip I got for the transfers is to wash the shirts before transfering but do not use fabric softner when you dry. It will cause the transfer to not go on properly.

I just got a PLAYSPORT also. The purple one ,too! I have played around with it a little bit but have not transferred any video. I hope that it is easy to do since I'm kinda a computer dummy.

SWW- We went for the first time last year. I don't know much about Star Wars but my DH and two sons are big fans. I really enjoyed it though. They aren't joking about getting there early. DH was not happy that I made us get there at about 7:40 to the turnstiles until we were there. There were already people lined up. We were about 5 families back. Which worked out great because we were back far enough to watch the opening show. If you are first at the turnstiles, you can't see up on the roof. Plus, there are diehard fans that camp out overnight to get in the FP's line to meet the stars from the movies. So it gets crowded early. My kids just wanted to get pictures of certain characters, like Darth Vader and Darth Maul so we didn't experience a lot of the crowds. We mainly just went for those few pictures and for the parade, which is amazing! Get to your parade spot pretty early( I waited for about 1 hour while DH took the kids to see Darth Maul). There is not much shade so be careful in the heat. We probably didn't do half the SWW stuff but I would be glad to answer any questions you might have, if I can.
Here is a link to a site about SWW. It has last years map and times guide so you can get an idea of what to expect.
http://sww.studioscentral.com/main/content/events-planned

Look under the 2010 events schedule to see. There is also a character meet and greet schedule.

 

[creativeamanda]

Your t-shirts are awesome! We did SWW last year, and the biggest tip I can give you is to be there EARLY.

 

[fadingjamie]

Helloooooooooooooooooooooo! I'm finally here! Ya know, the first post of your PTR looks familiar. I think I've been here before and just didn't hit subscribe for some reason! I know I was very interested in what you had to say about the CS menus. I finally sat myself down and read it... at work (don't tell the boss!)

Congrats on the weight loss. Since we booked our trip in January, I've been saying to myself that I really need to get more active before we go or I'll hate moving by the time we get back to the room. I'm so overwhelmed with doing my student teaching, night class, and work this semester though that all I want to do is pass out by the time I get home.

Umm what else.. ooh! Coral Reef. We went there in 2009. Our server moved us up to a table right on the aquarium glass. It was fantastic! The food wasn't anything special but not bad either. I think the experience is worth it if you're using DDP.

Loving the shirts btw! When I first read you were making shirts, I thought of sponge painting and glitter but these are fabulous!

 

[Moira222]

So as we ate dinner in an uneventful day, I say kindly "Two months from today we'll be at Epcot, having dinner at the Biergarten"....to which Katie and Joe respond "Ticky tacky ticky tacky OY OY OY!"

Katie has told us that is going to be her new cheer of excitement about something.

nothing like throwing a little Disney into every day life, eh?

So with that thought I have to admit that this is the last day of our WDW trip that I have to write out. boo hoo.

Our last full day at the world is Saturday May 21.

We will do some swim time and some play time Saturday morning and spend the afternoon and evening at the Magic Kingdom. We 4:55 dinner ressies at the Crystal Palace (one last first for us!)

I am sure the park will be crowded but that won't stop us from watching Wishes one more time. I haven't checked for updated park hours recently, but at this point MK is open till 11 pm which gives us a pretty late night to ride all of our favorites and get our fill for another year or two.

Sunday morning we will have to pack up and maybe enjoy a little swim time before UnME picks us up around 11 a.m.

Up next....

is it time to pack yet?

 

[Moira222]

Hey, I'm loving you PTR. First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on the weight loss. You both look amazing.
thanks!
Your shirts look great. I love to make shirts using the Creative DISigns. Lots of talented people and very thoughtful to take the time to make them for the creatively challanged people like me. One tip I got for the transfers is to wash the shirts before transfering but do not use fabric softner when you dry. It will cause the transfer to not go on properly.

shoot I wish I had read this before I did the second set@! oh well katie had one more shirt that she'd like her Vidia design to go on, maybe that one will turn out best.

I just got a PLAYSPORT also. The purple one ,too! I have played around with it a little bit but have not transferred any video. I hope that it is easy to do since I'm kinda a computer dummy.

I'm not that talented with video for sure!!! Usually I make DH program the DVR

SWW- We went for the first time last year. I don't know much about Star Wars but my DH and two sons are big fans. I really enjoyed it though. They aren't joking about getting there early. DH was not happy that I made us get there at about 7:40 to the turnstiles until we were there. There were already people lined up. We were about 5 families back. Which worked out great because we were back far enough to watch the opening show. If you are first at the turnstiles, you can't see up on the roof. Plus, there are diehard fans that camp out overnight to get in the FP's line to meet the stars from the movies. So it gets crowded early. My kids just wanted to get pictures of certain characters, like Darth Vader and Darth Maul so we didn't experience a lot of the crowds. We mainly just went for those few pictures and for the parade, which is amazing! Get to your parade spot pretty early( I waited for about 1 hour while DH took the kids to see Darth Maul). There is not much shade so be careful in the heat. We probably didn't do half the SWW stuff but I would be glad to answer any questions you might have, if I can.
Here is a link to a site about SWW. It has last years map and times guide so you can get an idea of what to expect.
http://sww.studioscentral.com/main/content/events-planned

Look under the 2010 events schedule to see. There is also a character meet and greet schedule.

HI! Thanks for coming along! I appreciate the heads up for the crowd. good to know that first inline is not the best spot for the rope drop show...not that we are likely to be there first I like to get up early but take my time welcoming the day.

I will be cruising the SWW guide, thanks. I feel sort of lost without some idea of a schedule

Helloooooooooooooooooooooo! I'm finally here! Ya know, the first post of your PTR looks familiar. I think I've been here before and just didn't hit subscribe for some reason! I know I was very interested in what you had to say about the CS menus. I finally sat myself down and read it... at work (don't tell the boss!)

I usually have about four windows open, with the dis boards down low so i can pop off really fast@!

Congrats on the weight loss. Since we booked our trip in January, I've been saying to myself that I really need to get more active before we go or I'll hate moving by the time we get back to the room. I'm so overwhelmed with doing my student teaching, night class, and work this semester though that all I want to do is pass out by the time I get home.

ok i am tired just listening to your schedule

Umm what else.. ooh! Coral Reef. We went there in 2009. Our server moved us up to a table right on the aquarium glass. It was fantastic! The food wasn't anything special but not bad either. I think the experience is worth it if you're using DDP.

Loving the shirts btw! When I first read you were making shirts, I thought of sponge painting and glitter but these are fabulous!

on the DISign board I saw directions for making these awesome looking tie dye Mickey head shirts but I am sure mine would turn out awful .....

 

[AKL LOVER]

on the DISign board I saw directions for making these awesome looking tie dye Mickey head shirts but I am sure mine would turn out awful .....

There are directions on the DIS to make these? Something else I can add to my list to research while spending time on the DIS. (not like I needed another reason to spend more time on here. I swear I will NEVER run out of things to research or look up!) I have seen these shirts posted on other threads and think they are so cute. I may have to give them a try. Boy my to pre-trip to-do list is getting quite long...

Up next....

is it time to pack yet?

I'm going with YES .....

....For the meer fact that if it's time for you to pack then that means it's DEFINITELY time for me to pack. Truth be told, I've been thinking about starting already, but didn't want to admit it yet , because that makes me seem more crazy obsessive than I already seem.

 

[pinkxray]

Hi

I just found your pre-trip report and I am joining in. I have only read the first page but I will be back to catch up later. Unfortunately I have some errands to run, I hate when real life and grocery shopping get in the way of the Dis.

We are renting points at the VWL for the first few days of our trip. We check in May 14. I looked over your schedule on the first page and don't see any overlaps, but maybe we'll see you at the pool. Then again, if you are anything like me your plans on the first page are nowhere close to the plans you have now.

 

[Moira222]

Welcome! We will have to at least plan some coffee & pool time. My Katie (DD7) would be SOOO excited to have a friend to play with at the resort and your DD is only a bit younger. Do you call her Katie too?? Oh I will have to PM you my cell so that we can find each other!!!

There are directions on the DIS to make these? Something else I can add to my list to research while spending time on the DIS. (not like I needed another reason to spend more time on here. I swear I will NEVER run out of things to research or look up!) I have seen these shirts posted on other threads and think they are so cute. I may have to give them a try. Boy my to pre-trip to-do list is getting quite long...

.

I found the tie dye directions....see if you are brave enough:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2028914

I'm going with YES .....

....For the meer fact that if it's time for you to pack then that means it's DEFINITELY time for me to pack. Truth be told, I've been thinking about starting already, but didn't want to admit it yet , because that makes me seem more crazy obsessive than I already seem.

really I have been wanting to start packing for weeks I have a little corner of the office/guest/disaster room reserved for Disney stuff that will be packed. I too have held off lest I seem a little too crazy I have friends that are already a little worried about me

 

[pinkxray]

Okay, I am all caught up.

First of all, congrats on the weight loss. That is awesome! I would love to drop 20-30lbs but just lack motivation for some reason.


I am so jealous that Katie is so tall. Caitlin is like 46”. I think she is one of the shortest kids in class. I blame DH, his whole family is short. I wish she would have hit the 48” mark so that she could go on Forbidden Journey in Universal but I don’t think she is going to grow 2” in 2 months.


We will probably run into you on our arrival night. As long as our room is ready by the afternoon my plan is to hit the pool and then head to EPCOT. We have an adr at Via Napoli that night.


I have been looking for a site that has the entertainment schedule on it and found it on here. It will be much easier to plan the day when I know what time the shows are.


I really wanted to check out AK late EMH this trip. I can’t believe they don’t have any listed yet. What’s up with that?


I’ve been trying to find sandals to alternate with my sneakers. I just ordered the Nike Comfort ones. Are those what you have in the picture?


The shirts you made look great. I made a bunch of shirts for our trip last year and I swore I was going to do it again this year. Too bad work has been really slow this month, b/c now I have extra time to fill. I just got my iron transfer paper in the mail, along with some T-shirts. I just need to narrow mine down. I am only making a few for Star Wars Weekend and one Tangled for Caitlin.


Too cute that Katie always likes the bad guy. I always pick the bad one too. Darth Vader, Professor Snape in Harry Potter, Squidward from Spongebob. The bad ones are just more interesting.


Ha, yesterday I was saying two months from now we will be having dinner at Via Napoli. I was really considering Biergarten too, but I was outvoted. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.


I have kind of started packing. Over the weekend I went through the closet and took out our shorts (we most likely won’t need them for awhile in CT) and I took out all of the Disney themed T-shirts DH owns (not like he would ever wear them outside of Disney). I ordered tons of clothes for Caitlin from Children’s Place and Justice so once I get that her stuff will get packed too. I can’t wait!



Oh yeah, one last thing. We will be at SWW the same day as you. We are going to have an early lunch at Sci-Fi and then dinner at Mama Melrose. We did SWW last year and it does get very busy but it is very fun. The parade is great and I have seen videos of Hyperspace Hoopla (missed it last year) and that looks very fun. You are lucky that you have another day at DHS to get most of the main attractions done. Our only DHS days will be SWW days. DH insists on stealing 2 of my Disney days for Universal.

 

[creativeamanda]

Okay, speaking from someone who is already packing, I have to say that no, it is not too early to pack.

I love Crystal Palace and think you will like it, too. It's real fun for the kids, and a must do for our family!

 

[laashley]

Loving the shirts you have made. I see you are as addicted as I am!

Your last day looks like fun!

 

[Moira222]

Okay, speaking from someone who is already packing, I have to say that no, it is not too early to pack.

I love Crystal Palace and think you will like it, too. It's real fun for the kids, and a must do for our family!

LOL I am looking forward to Crystal Palace -- we've heard from lots of folks how nice it is. We tried to get in as walk ins last year but it was too long of a wait for my family (when DH is hungry he is more Shrek Like than Prince Charming like)

Loving the shirts you have made. I see you are as addicted as I am!

Your last day looks like fun!

I am a little out of control with the shirts....I have been debating attempting the tie dye though I don't think that I could even PAY DH to wear a tie dye shirt.

Okay, I am all caught up.

First of all, congrats on the weight loss. That is awesome! I would love to drop 20-30lbs but just lack motivation for some reason.


I am so jealous that Katie is so tall. Caitlin is like 46”. I think she is one of the shortest kids in class. I blame DH, his whole family is short. I wish she would have hit the 48” mark so that she could go on Forbidden Journey in Universal but I don’t think she is going to grow 2” in 2 months.

We are excited that Katie will be able to do all the big girl rides this time. she is SO excited about doing TOT! her favorite ride at Hershey Park is the frogger ride --- it bounces you up & down like TOT
We will probably run into you on our arrival night. As long as our room is ready by the afternoon my plan is to hit the pool and then head to EPCOT. We have an adr at Via Napoli that night.
I was getting dizzy reading your changes last night!! You are arriving Friday, right? or are you back to Saturday?? We will be in the pool Friday to night for sure, and likely Saturday night as well. I think Saturday we are MK in the morning & Epcot after dinner at 1900 Park Faire. Did I tell you how excited Katie was to hear about Caitlyn? she is excited to have a new friend to play with at the resort

I have been looking for a site that has the entertainment schedule on it and found it on here. It will be much easier to plan the day when I know what time the shows are.
I have that site bookmarked somewhere, i will look in between work today. they don't publish the schedule till about 2 weeks out

I really wanted to check out AK late EMH this trip. I can’t believe they don’t have any listed yet. What’s up with that?
I have never experienced late EMH at AK. and DH is not a fan so I am sort of limited to one day there unless I ditch he & DD and go alone (not a bad idea!)

I’ve been trying to find sandals to alternate with my sneakers. I just ordered the Nike Comfort ones. Are those what you have in the picture?


The shirts you made look great. I made a bunch of shirts for our trip last year and I swore I was going to do it again this year. Too bad work has been really slow this month, b/c now I have extra time to fill. I just got my iron transfer paper in the mail, along with some T-shirts. I just need to narrow mine down. I am only making a few for Star Wars Weekend and one Tangled for Caitlin.
Put aluminum foil underneath the tee & Iron the tee first before putting down the transfer -- it works better, I learned

Too cute that Katie always likes the bad guy. I always pick the bad one too. Darth Vader, Professor Snape in Harry Potter, Squidward from Spongebob. The bad ones are just more interesting.


Ha, yesterday I was saying two months from now we will be having dinner at Via Napoli. I was really considering Biergarten too, but I was outvoted. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.
We LOVE german food, and we at there in '07 so it was never a debate n my family. Ticky Tacky Ticky Tacky OY OY OY!

I have kind of started packing. Over the weekend I went through the closet and took out our shorts (we most likely won’t need them for awhile in CT) and I took out all of the Disney themed T-shirts DH owns (not like he would ever wear them outside of Disney). I ordered tons of clothes for Caitlin from Children’s Place and Justice so once I get that her stuff will get packed too. I can’t wait!
Katie & I hit the Reading outlets this weekend, so I have some new things purchased, and have a few things that I can now fit into after a few years so I will be pulling up the suitcase this weekend I think...I will post !!


Oh yeah, one last thing. We will be at SWW the same day as you. We are going to have an early lunch at Sci-Fi and then dinner at Mama Melrose. We did SWW last year and it does get very busy but it is very fun. The parade is great and I have seen videos of Hyperspace Hoopla (missed it last year) and that looks very fun. You are lucky that you have another day at DHS to get most of the main attractions done. Our only DHS days will be SWW days. DH insists on stealing 2 of my Disney days for Universal.

I saw your Universal days. and the cove. how exciting...but i would be sad to take those days away from my WDW trip. I would want a SEPARATE trip

 

[blessedmom4]

Only time for a Quick note ( I am cooking dinner). LOVE the shirts!!! I will be back.

 

[Moira222]

Only time for a Quick note ( I am cooking dinner). LOVE the shirts!!! I will be back.

lol you are as bad as me, popping over whenever you have a few spare moments. its a sad but fun addiction!

 

[Moira222]

So this is totally NOT WDW related but I just had to share with you all ....

my BFF sent me this e-mail in honor of St. Patrick's Day:

What it Means To Be In An Irish Family.


1) You will never play professional basketball.
2) You swear very well.
3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds political
office. And you have at least one aunt who is a nun or uncle who's a priest..
4) You think you sing very well.
5) You have no idea how to make a long story short!
6) There isn't a big difference between you losing your temper or killing someone...
7) Many of your childhood meals were boiled. Instant potatoes were a mortal sin.
8) You have never hit your head on a ceiling.
9) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer.
10) You're strangely poetic after a few beers.
11) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.
12) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine or Eileen .... and there is at least
one member of your family with the full name of Mary Catherine Eileen.
13) Someone in your family is very generous. It is more than likely you.
14) You may not know the words, but that doesn't stop you from singing..
15) You can't wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking.
16) You're not nearly as funny as you think you are ... but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.
17) There wasn't a huge difference between your last wake and your last keg party.
18) You are, or know someone, named Murph.
19) If you don't know Murph then you know Mac. If you don't know Murph or Mac, then you know Sully. And you probably know McMurphy
20) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.
21) You have Irish Alzheimer's... you forget everything but the grudges!
22) 'Irish Stew' is a euphemism for 'boiled leftovers.'
23) Your skin's ability to tan.... not so much. (Only in spots!)
24) Childhood remedies for the common cold often included some form of whiskey.
25) There's no leaving a family party without saying goodbye for at least 45 minutes.
26) At this very moment, you have at least two relatives who are not speaking to each other. Not fighting, mind you, just not speaking to each other


and so now I feel compelled to share this:

What it Means To Be In An Irish Family.


1) You will never play professional basketball. yeah I am 5'6"...the "Tall" people in my family are 5'11"
2) You swear very well.ahem....i won't make you blush like I have to other sailors, truckers, and prison guards
3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds political
office. And you have at least one aunt who is a nun or uncle who's a priest.. DH is a LEO, my great aunt is a nun, and frankly my dad spends so much time at the bar that he SHOULD own it
4) You think you sing very well.well I did till one day I was singing along to my cd player and DH came in the room to see who was killing a cat
5) You have no idea how to make a long story short!
6) There isn't a big difference between you losing your temper or killing someone...I learned early to control my temper...until I had a mini-me for a daughter now I am back to square 1
7) Many of your childhood meals were boiled. Instant potatoes were a mortal sin.a few years back, after all the kids were long since grown and moved out, my mom was planning to make a big meal in honor of my sister's family being in from Colorado. she had the potatoes, the ham, the veggies. Then she said to me (in the presence of my father) oh crap, I don't have a potato masher any more. can I borrow yours? My dad said What do you mean you don't have a potato masher? How did you make potatoes last night? My Hungarian mother was BUSTED!
8) You have never hit your head on a ceiling. (see #1)
9) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer.my knees are flat on the top I swear!!
10) You're strangely poetic after a few beers.Isn't everyone?
11) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.
12) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine or Eileen .... and there is at least
one member of your family with the full name of Mary Catherine Eileen.mmm my name is Mary Ellen Catherine....my Dd is Kathryn
13) Someone in your family is very generous. It is more than likely you.
14) You may not know the words, but that doesn't stop you from singing..see #4
15) You can't wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking.SO MEE!!!!
16) You're not nearly as funny as you think you are ... but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.whatever dyou mean I am not funny?
17) There wasn't a huge difference between your last wake and your last keg party.really? there's a difference?
18) You are, or know someone, named Murph.does my friend's dog count?
19) If you don't know Murph then you know Mac. If you don't know Murph or Mac, then you know Sully. And you probably know McMurphyoh okay then we are covered
20) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.apparently that is where my german heritage comes in, I can keep a secret
21) You have Irish Alzheimer's... you forget everything but the grudges!
22) 'Irish Stew' is a euphemism for 'boiled leftovers.' id didn't know there was a difference.
23) Your skin's ability to tan.... not so much. (Only in spots!)HEY! in the summer my makeup coverup goes from Ivory to Light...that counts as tan, right??
24) Childhood remedies for the common cold often included some form of whiskey.adult remedies, too!
25) There's no leaving a family party without saying goodbye for at least 45 minutes.HA! I've got it down to 30 minutes now
26) At this very moment, you have at least two relatives who are not speaking to each other. Not fighting, mind you, just not speaking to each otherthat would be my older brother not speaking ro my sister or me, or perhaps my DH not talking to my parents or BIL??

enjoy my short story

 

[Moira222]

Aaah nothing like a Saturday without craziness. Slept in (well, 7 am IS sleeping in compared to 5:45!! Got to enjoy some coffee while I folded a bazillion loads of laundry, walk the dog in daylight (yeah!), and surprise my girl by picking up one of her friends to sleep over.

Poor DH worked midnight - 8 am last night, and is now working 4 pm - 8 am tomorrow morning, so I kept her out of the house so he could sleep, and figured with him working, he won't mind little girls playing and giggling. win win for me!

So, while the girls played out side on Moonshoes and the pogo stick, I stole a little time to take some photos for the next phase of trip planning: packing! I have sort of been working up a list (we camp a lot, so I sort of merged my previous Disney Packing Lists with our camping packing lists) though I need to really finalize the list print it and begin crossing off things that have been purchased/prepared and then packed.

First, my fellow planners will appreciate that I spied this Samsonite luggage set last fall at Sam's club.

I knew we'd need new luggage (our 5 year old $80 set from Target is dying a slow death) and thought that this nice red $120 set would hold up well for more than five years, even with Joe manhandling some of them (naaah, no one ever jams carryons up on the over head bins, right?)

So we are very psyched that three of the four pieces of this set all count as carry on luggage. yippeee. Now I am sure that most kids who travel take their cute little tiny over night bags as their carry on. NOPE! Katie's carryon is just as big as it can be, and then she brings a "personal item" of a back pack for things to keep her occupied on the plane. The carryon from our old set is still good enough for another trip or two so we'll be able to bring that and the new one and the duffel back as a carry on for Joe -- with a $20 per bag fee each way, we'll be trying to stuff what we can into carry ons, and keep the big suitcases for the bulky stuff and the stuff that can't be carried on (important stuff like Captain Morgan!!)

I also have been doing some clothing shopping for all of us but mostly for Joe, who has dropped a LOT of sizes even since the end of last summer, and for Katie who just refuses to stop growing!!!

Last Sunday Katie, I and one of my BFFs hit the outlets for some shopping.

Joe needed a new swimsuit (can't have the boys flopping out ya know) so I picked up two for him: one blue and one with his hawaiian print. then sticking with his Hawaiian theme we picked out a really nice black shirt (we laughed when we told him it was a Charlie Sheen shirt, as seen on 2 1/2 men) and some jeans. I bought myself a few new tops for WDW (along with some for work) I also need a new swimsuit but only tried one on to be sure of my size (yeah smaller than last year!). I saw a nice one on sale at Sam's club....I am hoping it is still there when I can finally get there. I hit a different Sam's location today and they did NOT have the suit I wanted. bummer.

I did finally find the sandals that I want to wear, and wore them all day this past Friday. comfy. hooray!

Anyway, other shopping finds that I have for early packing are glow stick wands for Katie (for a dollar as opposed for $10 at the parks),

some tinkerbell expanding wash towels, sunglasses,

rain ponchos, an over the door shoe holder, for holding all of our (ok my) toiletries and sundries in the hotel room that we will call home for 9 nights.

Naturally purse packs of hand wipes & lip balm are a must in the parks for a week.

I have a $1 find at Target - a red scrap book but a small one.

I am planning to some how fashion this into a great autograph book. I did buy a back of unlined index cards, but I am not quite sure how well it will work taking it tothe parks. I bought thick sharpies for the characters to use, just not sure if the index cards will work or if they'll get lost.

Finally i found these very cool Mickey banadanas.

I am thinking of cutting one to cut out the mickey heads and shapes and using fabric glue to decorate the autograph book. So far I am just working on it in my head so once I actually do something for real I will post it. I'm taking ideas if ya have any! I get so many great ones from here on the DIS boards, I love it!

So that is step one to getting packed. I am off to cruise the boards a bit and then crash (if I don't fall asleep with my fingers over the keyboard as I tend do to lately!)