carissanboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2004
Hello Disers! 
It has been a while since I have been over on the TR board. My last trip report, Racing to Lose a Toenail ~ My Half-Marathon Weekend, ended and life got busy. We bought our first house, moved in, and I started taking classes again to earn my Bachelors Degree. Then my husband deployed--again.
I mentioned at the end of the last TR that I was doing the Marathon Relay during marathon weekend 2012. I'm happy to report I did complete that race and earned another medal.
I didn't take many pictures of myself that weekend (or none that I want to share anyway!), but I do have this one with my medal:
Those who followed along with my PTR, My Magical Journey to Running a Half-Marathon, will be disappointed to know that I stopped running and gained back all the weight I'd lost.
BUT! I am back on track and am returning to WDW next January for another half-marathon (and 5k). 
It was difficult to see all of my Duck friends down there this year and not be a part of the fun.
So, let's catch up, shall we? For those who have absolutely no clue who I am, my name is Carissa. I'm about to turn 39 and mother to three boys: Sullivan (12), Owen (10), and Connor (8). I've been at home with them since Sully was born and have been homeschooling for all but two of their school years. My husband Chuck is active duty Navy, but currently on terminal leave as he prepares to retire next month after 20 years of service. In addition to homeschooling, I am taking classes full-time online and by the end of this year will have a Bachelors Degree with a major in social sciences and a minor in human resource management.
The last time we went to WDW as a family was in March 2009. If you are so inclined, you can read that TR, What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? (And if you're REALLY bored, you can also read about our 2nd trip, Our 2nd Trip to Disney ~ Did It Measure Up? That last trip was our third trip in three years and we needed to take a break from Disney (mostly my husband felt we should take a break). But we talked about taking a trip in 2013 to celebrate Chuck's retirement from the Navy. So here we are!
Here is a picture of us on our last family trip:
As you can see, we had our friend Stitch join us on that trip and you can read all about that if you read our last TR. Stitch decided he wanted to join us on this trip as well. He's tired of the cold winter and wants to soak up some rays!
**Full Disclosure--This is not THE Stitch that went with us last time and we sent to Keith in California. This is another Stitch that we adopted.**
And here is the most recent family picture I have--taken Christmas 2011
This one of the boys was taken this past Christmas:
Who is S.O.C.K. you might ask? Well, they are my boys' initials in order of age: Sullivan Owen Connor K(last name). They started referring to themselves as S.O.C.K. a while back. We even have the letters hanging on the wall in our loft--their main hangout.
Now that all the boring stuff is out of the way, let's get to the details of this trip!
We hit the road on Monday, March 11th and drive straight to Orlando. We'll be staying the first night at a hotel offsite. I forgot to mention we'll have our dog, Baxter, with us.
Isn't he cute??
Tuesday morning we'll bring Baxter to the kennel on property, Best Friends Pet Care, and check in to the cabins at Fort Wildnerness. Some of you might remember my wish to stay at the Fort and it is finally coming true!
We'll be in WDW until Tuesday, March 19th. We will also be visiting Legoland and driving to Clearwater and the aquarium to visit Winter the dolphin from the movie Dolphin Tale.
Phew! That was a bit long, eh? Hope you're still with me and awake. I will probably post a few updates between now and our departure so check back often. I will post links in this first post to all updates in case you don't like to read through all the chit-chat. It's been known to get a bit chatty in here.
Links to updates:
Trip Prep Update
Almost Time!
Day 1
Day 2 - Part 1
Day 2 - Part 2
Day 3 - Part 1
Day 3 - Part 2
Day 4
Day 5 - Part 1
Day 5 - Part 2
Day 5 - Part 3
Photopass Pictures and Day 5 - Part 4
Day 6
Day 7 - Part 1
Day 7 - Part 2
Day 8 & 9--The End
It has been a while since I have been over on the TR board. My last trip report, Racing to Lose a Toenail ~ My Half-Marathon Weekend, ended and life got busy. We bought our first house, moved in, and I started taking classes again to earn my Bachelors Degree. Then my husband deployed--again.
I mentioned at the end of the last TR that I was doing the Marathon Relay during marathon weekend 2012. I'm happy to report I did complete that race and earned another medal.
I didn't take many pictures of myself that weekend (or none that I want to share anyway!), but I do have this one with my medal:
Those who followed along with my PTR, My Magical Journey to Running a Half-Marathon, will be disappointed to know that I stopped running and gained back all the weight I'd lost.
BUT! I am back on track and am returning to WDW next January for another half-marathon (and 5k). It was difficult to see all of my Duck friends down there this year and not be a part of the fun. So, let's catch up, shall we? For those who have absolutely no clue who I am, my name is Carissa. I'm about to turn 39 and mother to three boys: Sullivan (12), Owen (10), and Connor (8). I've been at home with them since Sully was born and have been homeschooling for all but two of their school years. My husband Chuck is active duty Navy, but currently on terminal leave as he prepares to retire next month after 20 years of service. In addition to homeschooling, I am taking classes full-time online and by the end of this year will have a Bachelors Degree with a major in social sciences and a minor in human resource management.
The last time we went to WDW as a family was in March 2009. If you are so inclined, you can read that TR, What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? (And if you're REALLY bored, you can also read about our 2nd trip, Our 2nd Trip to Disney ~ Did It Measure Up? That last trip was our third trip in three years and we needed to take a break from Disney (mostly my husband felt we should take a break). But we talked about taking a trip in 2013 to celebrate Chuck's retirement from the Navy. So here we are!
Here is a picture of us on our last family trip:
As you can see, we had our friend Stitch join us on that trip and you can read all about that if you read our last TR. Stitch decided he wanted to join us on this trip as well. He's tired of the cold winter and wants to soak up some rays!
**Full Disclosure--This is not THE Stitch that went with us last time and we sent to Keith in California. This is another Stitch that we adopted.**
And here is the most recent family picture I have--taken Christmas 2011
This one of the boys was taken this past Christmas:
Who is S.O.C.K. you might ask? Well, they are my boys' initials in order of age: Sullivan Owen Connor K(last name). They started referring to themselves as S.O.C.K. a while back. We even have the letters hanging on the wall in our loft--their main hangout.
Now that all the boring stuff is out of the way, let's get to the details of this trip!
We hit the road on Monday, March 11th and drive straight to Orlando. We'll be staying the first night at a hotel offsite. I forgot to mention we'll have our dog, Baxter, with us.
Isn't he cute??
Tuesday morning we'll bring Baxter to the kennel on property, Best Friends Pet Care, and check in to the cabins at Fort Wildnerness. Some of you might remember my wish to stay at the Fort and it is finally coming true!
We'll be in WDW until Tuesday, March 19th. We will also be visiting Legoland and driving to Clearwater and the aquarium to visit Winter the dolphin from the movie Dolphin Tale.
Phew! That was a bit long, eh? Hope you're still with me and awake. I will probably post a few updates between now and our departure so check back often. I will post links in this first post to all updates in case you don't like to read through all the chit-chat. It's been known to get a bit chatty in here.
Links to updates:
Trip Prep Update
Almost Time!
Day 1
Day 2 - Part 1
Day 2 - Part 2
Day 3 - Part 1
Day 3 - Part 2
Day 4
Day 5 - Part 1
Day 5 - Part 2
Day 5 - Part 3
Photopass Pictures and Day 5 - Part 4
Day 6
Day 7 - Part 1
Day 7 - Part 2
Day 8 & 9--The End
Karen!
I'm hoping he does okay.
)
