60 Candles, 30 Million Lights, Best Friends&Family at Disney--Priceless (New 5/23)

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Wednesday, December 5

So after what had to be the longest day in history at work, it was finally time to catch the train and meet Mark. I was taking him to Steak & Shake so that Andy and Des could get everything set up. Luckily, Andy had a cancellation of a private lesson, otherwise, he wouldn't have been ready until 7:45 p.m.

We finally pulled into the driveway at around 7:05 p.m. My stomach was killing me...really bad pains, but I assumed it was just the stress of finally revealing the huge secret. I texted Andy that we were home and would be up in a minute. So the poor kid started videotaping. Little did we know, that after my husband took his shoes off, emptied his pocket, went to the bathroom that he would have to go and turn every single Christmas light on in the house. He was killing me...and Andy! :crazy2:

We finally got upstairs and he then proceeded to "his" bedroom to turn on the Christmas light in that window and then headed to Andy's room. I stopped him in the knick of time...Andy and Des had their suitcases in there all packed. :scared1: I said, leave it...let's get changed...the dog is heavy (I was holding Cookie).

We got to our bedroom door and Mark saw this:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning001.jpg


He walked in the bedroom confused and then saw the suitcase on the bed with a poster and just shrugged his shoulders as if saying "what the heck is going on?"

He proceed to read Poster #2

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning002.jpg


and the fun began. As many of you already know, I couldn't post the video on the DIS because my wonderful husband decided to slip and say two profanity words. For those who have not seen it on FB and want to see it, send me a PM and I will send you the link for the Youtube video.

Andy put this little guy in the suitcase to add to the excitement:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning003.jpg


Mark asked if Nicki and Todd were coming and I told him that Todd had his Christmas party and it was a two-day event over the weekend and they couldn't make it. :rolleyes1

After all the excitement, hugs and kisses, we changed our clothes and drove over to my mom's so I could give my brother my car. He was bringing himself and mom over on Thursday to stay at the house with Cookie while we were gone.

We got back home and it was time to pack. I have NEVER in my life packed so hastily and ended up forgetting a few things...but, luckily, nothing vital.

The kids were watching a movie, but I needed to get to bed because my stomach was really hurting and I had to be up at 5:00 to get ready and finish the last minute packing and then be sure everyone else was up and ready to leave around 6:30.

Thursday, December 6

I was up at 4:45 because I couldn't sleep...my stomach still hurt pretty bad but I hoped it would go away once we got moving and we were on our way. Poor Mark said he didn't sleep at all...he was too excited. We were out the door at 6:20 and our first stop on the way to Midway Airport was here:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning005.jpg


We arrived at Midway in plenty of time and parked the car in the long term parking garage (Andy and I would split the $84 charge for the nights we had the car there). Our parking spot which we noted because we knew we'd forget:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning006.jpg


Some decorations from the airport as we moved to the Southwest counter to check our bags:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning007.jpg


SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning008.jpg


Bags checked, it was off to security and our gate.

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning009.jpg


IMG_1230.jpg


We zipped through security in under five minutes...it was awesome.

Mark, Andy and Des went to get some coffee while I sat with the carryons. We had about 45 minutes left to boarding when they came back.

Our transportation to Orlando:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning011.jpg


Do you think someone was excited about this surprise trip?

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning012.jpg


We took off right on time and had a smooth flight all the way. After we reached the proper altitude, they came around with snacks and Mark decided to be creative:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning017.jpg


Some pictures while in flight:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning021.jpg


SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning023.jpg


I listened to my :music: on my Ipod and soon we were hearing the magical words: we are about to start our descent into Orlando, so please put your table tops up, put your seat in the upright position and fasten your seatbelts.

We landed about 5 minutes early and I immediately texted Nicki that we had landed. It took a while to get off the plane because we had a handicapped person in front of the plane that they had to assist, but it wasn't long before we were off the plane.

The fake monorail:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning025.jpg


Me with our wonderful son, Andy in front of MCO's Christmas tree:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning028.jpg


First Mickey sighting:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning029.jpg


Then I found some "Goofy" people:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning030.jpg


We found the sign to lead us to the ME and Des was trying to contain her excitement:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning031.jpg


And we followed the Mickey heads:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning032.jpg


Before we knew it, we were here:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning034.jpg


Up next, do we get a REAL ME bus and we give Mark surprise #2.
 
KatMark said:
Update coming up.

I wrapped presents, baked cookies, wrote out Christmas cards, cleaned house and downloaded the rest of my pictures. Plus I ordered the photopass CD which I should have this week...I'll take it a little slow until I get the photopass because we have pictures on it from the first day.

That is a full weekend! Can't wait to read an update, but with the holidays, it does make it hard to juggle everything .
 
I totally forgot to save a page for the index, so I have the index for updates at the end of the first post (the introduction post).
 
I'm so glad the suprise went well and I really enjoyed watching the video! Looks like your trip is off to a great start!
 


KatMark said:
Wednesday, December 5

So after what had to be the longest day in history at work, it was finally time to catch the train and meet Mark. I was taking him to Steak & Shake so that Andy and Des could get everything set up. Luckily, Andy had a cancellation of a private lesson, otherwise, he wouldn't have been ready until 7:45 p.m. :faint:

We finally pulled into the driveway at around 7:05 p.m. My stomach was killing me...really bad pains, but I assumed it was just the stress of finally revealing the huge secret. I texted Andy that we were home and would be up in a minute. So the poor kid started videotaping. Little did we know, that after my husband took his shoes off, emptied his pocket, went to the bathroom that he would have to go and turn every single Christmas light on in the house. He was killing me...and Andy! :crazy2:

We finally got upstairs and he then proceeded to "his" bedroom to turn on the Christmas light in that window and then headed to Andy's room. I stopped him in the knick of time...Andy and Des had their suitcases in there all packed. :scared1: I said, leave it...let's get changed...the dog is heavy (I was holding Cookie).

We got to our bedroom door and Mark saw this:

He walked in the bedroom confused and then saw the suitcase on the bed with a poster and just shrugged his shoulders as if saying "what the heck is going on?"

He proceed to read Poster #2

and the fun began. As many of you already know, I couldn't post the video on the DIS because my wonderful husband decided to slip and say two profanity words. For those who have not seen it on FB and want to see it, send me a PM and I will send you the link for the Youtube video.

Andy put this little guy in the suitcase to add to the excitement:

Mark asked if Nicki and Todd were coming and I told him that Todd had his Christmas party and it was a two-day event over the weekend and they couldn't make it. :rolleyes1

After all the excitement, hugs and kisses, we changed our clothes and drove over to my mom's so I could give my brother my car. He was bringing himself and mom over on Thursday to stay at the house with Cookie while we were gone.

We got back home and it was time to pack. I have NEVER in my life packed so hastily and ended up forgetting a few things...but, luckily, nothing vital.

The kids were watching a movie, but I needed to get to bed because my stomach was really hurting and I had to be up at 5:00 to get ready and finish the last minute packing and then be sure everyone else was up and ready to leave around 6:30.

Thursday, December 6

I was up at 4:45 because I couldn't sleep...my stomach still hurt pretty bad but I hoped it would go away once we got moving and we were on our way. Poor Mark said he didn't sleep at all...he was too excited. We were out the door at 6:20 and our first stop on the way to Midway Airport was here:

We arrived at Midway in plenty of time and parked the car in the long term parking garage (Andy and I would split the $84 charge for the nights we had the car there). Our parking spot which we noted because we knew we'd forget:

Some decorations from the airport as we moved to the Southwest counter to check our bags:

Bags checked, it was off to security and our gate.

We zipped through security in under five minutes...it was awesome.

Mark, Andy and Des went to get some coffee while I sat with the carryons. We had about 45 minutes left to boarding when they came back.

Our transportation to Orlando:

Do you think someone was excited about this surprise trip?

We took off right on time and had a smooth flight all the way. After we reached the proper altitude, they came around with snacks and Mark decided to be creative:

Some pictures while in flight:

I listened to my :music: on my Ipod and soon we were hearing the magical words: we are about to start our descent into Orlando, so please put your table tops up, put your seat in the upright position and fasten your seatbelts.

We landed about 5 minutes early and I immediately texted Nicki that we had landed. It took a while to get off the plane because we had a handicapped person in front of the plane that they had to assist, but it wasn't long before we were off the plane.

The fake monorail:

Me with our wonderful son, Andy in front of MCO's Christmas tree:

First Mickey sighting:

Then I found some "Goofy" people:

We found the sign to lead us to the ME and Des was trying to contain her excitement:

And we followed the Mickey heads:

Before we knew it, we were here:

Up next, do we get a REAL ME bus and we give Mark surprise #2.

I loves the reveal video!

I hope your stomach was ok and not something more than nerves/excitement

Very nice cookie creation that Mark made ::yes::

I love that tree in front in mco and the pic of you and Andy in front if it is wonderful!.

Great start!!!
 
fun photos of your departure day! hope your stomach finally settled down!

Mark does look like one happy dude! and I love the photo of you two on the plane :)
 
Oh no! Not stomach pains before a Disney trip. Hopefully, they were gone by the time you got to Orlando. Everybody looks so excited to be headed to the most magical place on Earth!
 


Little did we know, that after my husband took his shoes off, emptied his pocket, went to the bathroom that he would have to go and turn every single Christmas light on in the house. He was killing me...and Andy! :crazy2:
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao::rotfl2::rotfl::lmao: It's almost like he knew.

As many of you already know, I couldn't post the video on the DIS because my wonderful husband decided to slip and say two profanity words.
I don't even know what would come out of my mouth if my DW ever surprised me with a trip to WDW.:rotfl:

We were out the door at 6:20 and our first stop on the way to Midway Airport was here:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning005.jpg
Show of hands... who's surprised????

Our parking spot which we noted because we knew we'd forget:
I take that picture every time I fly too. :lmao:

Up next, do we get a REAL ME bus
If not, you should refuse to board until they give you a real one. :rolleyes1
 
So, when exactly DID you stomach stop hurting - the moment you were in the air and there was no turning back????? ;)

I love your surprise and Mark looks thrilled to be taking an unplanned trip to WDW. That's so awesome.

I love the MCO Christmas trip. Let see - there's the MK tree, the Epcot tree, the HS tree, the AK tree AND the MCO tree. Can't forget that one!
 
Love the pictures and the video is hilarious. Too bad for Mark's free flowing mouth. :rotfl2::rotfl2:

YEAH!!!! Flight was on time! :cool1:

I can't say that I am surprised that Starbucks made the first update. :stir:

I can't wait till MArk finds out about Todd & Nicki. Oh wait... I saw that too. :rotfl2:
 
Subbing! Can't wait to hear about your trip. Bummed we didn't meet up! I think I actually saw you guys at the Osborne Lights, but I was in line for a photopass and you were too far away...of course, after we were done, I didn't see you again! I'm sure you had an amazing time though!
 
I sure hope that your stomach didn't bother you for the whole trip! I'm so glad it's underway, I can't wait to hear about the trip
 
Loved the reveal info (even though I already saw the video and literally :lmao:). Sorry your stomach was bothering you, hope it felt better once you landed!

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you that you stopped at Starbucks on the way to the airport :rotfl: Glad you had a good flight and made it there early even. Can't wait for the next update!
 
We finally pulled into the driveway at around 7:05 p.m. My stomach was killing me...really bad pains, but I assumed it was just the stress of finally revealing the huge secret. I texted Andy that we were home and would be up in a minute. So the poor kid started videotaping. Little did we know, that after my husband took his shoes off, emptied his pocket, went to the bathroom that he would have to go and turn every single Christmas light on in the house. He was killing me...and Andy! :crazy2:

:sad2: :rotfl2:

He walked in the bedroom confused and then saw the suitcase on the bed with a poster and just shrugged his shoulders as if saying "what the heck is going on?"

He proceed to read Poster #2

and the fun began. As many of you already know, I couldn't post the video on the DIS because my wonderful husband decided to slip and say two profanity words. For those who have not seen it on FB and want to see it, send me a PM and I will send you the link for the Youtube video.

Love it! I loved the video too. SO glad you guys were able to pull this off! :woohoo:

We got back home and it was time to pack. I have NEVER in my life packed so hastily and ended up forgetting a few things...but, luckily, nothing vital.

Understandable. As long as you had your boarding passes, everything else is good.

We were out the door at 6:20 and our first stop on the way to Midway Airport was here:

Yay, you went to FiveBucks! :rolleyes1 :rotfl:

We took off right on time and had a smooth flight all the way. After we reached the proper altitude, they came around with snacks and Mark decided to be creative:

SurpriseNightandArrivalMorning017.jpg

Hmmm...this reminds me of something. Hang on, I'll get it.
 
oh no on the tummy pains! I really hope they resolved quickly. You guys look so happy in the pictures, I can feel the excitement!
 
The video is great. My laptop acted up the first few times I attempted to view it, but third time was a charm.

I'm sorry you forgot a few things, though I'm sure you remembered the suitcase, unlike some people I know.

Cute Mickey cookie sculpture by Mark.

I feel bad for Mark that he was told Nikki and Todd wouldn't be there, a 2 day Christmas party huh? Can't wait to see how things went when he saw they were celebrating his birthday with him.
 
Fantastic update!! I was so excited reading about it and I already knew what happened!! :rotfl2:

Again...love the video reveal! Love that Andy hid Mickey in the suitcase...so cute!

Great pictures on the plane and at MCO...you all look so happy. :goodvibes

And Starbucks? Again? No kidding!! How many do we have here in Chicago? A million? Let's pick one already and meet!! There is always something happening and Christmas time is no exception but we must stop for a bit and have some coffee....or hot chocolate...or tea. Soon! :coffee:
 
Yay for pulling off the surprise! Sorry your stomach hurt! Hopefully it went away soon.

Jill in CO
 
YAY!!!! You pulled it off! I would never have been able to keep my mouth shut.

Lanie is so excited to be "reading" this with me and she said to say she loves Mr. Mark's "Mickey Pants" hat. Stylish choice (4 year old approved!)

Bummer about your stomach. Hopefully it calmed down with it's usual dose of Starbucks. :thumbsup2

Too cute that Mark couldn't sleep because he was too excited. I'm still the same way too.
Love that Andy and Des are along, too bad Mark & Alicia couldn't make it.
And I love that Todd had a two day work thing...:rolleyes1

Your family is so awesome!
-Stefanie
 
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