145 Middle Schoolers: Wicked Awesome or Epic Fail???DeParting-Such Sweet Sorrow p. 76

[luvpoohandcompany]

Whew all caught up after 2weeks away Turns out jet-lag can be useful for DIS-time Probably would be better if I did the responsible parent thing and did laundry but not nearly as much fun
Love that you had such a great morniing at HS. I've never done RnR because I live with a family of chickens and I can only bully my eldest son onto so many "scary" rides that we havent made that one yet!

So happy that you had fun this day

 

[natebenma]

Here's a few more pictures of the men of the Plastic Brigade- these are from 2010, this is the only time I have seen their "show"

 

[natebenma]

I was a couple of updates behind but I'm caught back up again. You look so happy to be sitting off in a corner all by yourself and eating your lunch. Even though I know you're having a great time with the group, I know it must have been a nice break.

Look at you...beating your Toy Story Mania opponent! I never win at games either so I'm doing a little for you!

I have always enjoyed a few moments of solo time during my trips to Disney. My DH is very good about hanging out with the boys while I go off for a little bit. I didn't think I would get much time to myself during the class trip, but this was a fantastic opportunity to seize some!

Yes, I beat him, but the scores were still pretty dismal. I wouldn't have had a chance if he hadn't been a rookie!

Glad it wasn't the sushi!!

Last year one of the GAM snuck up on my husband....it was hilarious and happened so fast that I couldn't get my camera out in time. I love "surprise" character meets!

Stealth missions must definitely be in the training manual for G.A.M.- this guy was totally in my face before I noticed him.

I love the Green Army Men! They really know how to play their character perfectly. I would love to do that job, except those green costumes look REALLY hot! Yikes. I'd probably have a panic attack with that green mask across my face!

You are right, the costumes do look incredibly uncomfortable! But those really are the best shoes ever!

These children appear to be faceless

This is a new breed of teenager. Our district has started to produce them without mouths so they no longer can make smart-aleck, snarky comments to their parents and teachers (or chaperones)

Enjoyed the update. Especially the little kiss from the GAM! How sweet!

You're the second TR I've read recently where there's a puking story! I've kind of been glad--strange I know--because we had our own little incident during this past trip!

The kiss really made my afternoon! It was a great interaction!

Unfortunately there is more cookie-tossing coming up later in the report.

 

[natebenma]

Whew all caught up after 2weeks away Turns out jet-lag can be useful for DIS-time Probably would be better if I did the responsible parent thing and did laundry but not nearly as much fun
Love that you had such a great morniing at HS. I've never done RnR because I live with a family of chickens and I can only bully my eldest son onto so many "scary" rides that we havent made that one yet!

So happy that you had fun this day

You get your own little back!

Hope you had a fantastic vacation!

We had a really nice morning at HS. Sorry to hear you haven't been able to give RnR a go yet! Maybe you can get yourself some solo time on your next trip.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

You get your own little back!

Hope you had a fantastic vacation!

We had a really nice morning at HS. Sorry to hear you haven't been able to give RnR a go yet! Maybe you can get yourself some solo time on your next trip.

Aw thanks Dee for the welcome back We had a great time (I even plucked up the courage to say hello to Teena )! My solo time tends to be on the balcony in the mornings-I love watching the world come to life I'm hoping the youngest will be braver than the others with time but if not I'm going to either adopt Ben and bring him or go it alone! What do you think? Is Ben so desperate for disney he'd consider adoption

 

[natebenma]

Aw thanks Dee for the welcome back We had a great time (I even plucked up the courage to say hello to Teena )! My solo time tends to be on the balcony in the mornings-I love watching the world come to life I'm hoping the youngest will be braver than the others with time but if not I'm going to either adopt Ben and bring him or go it alone! What do you think? Is Ben so desperate for disney he'd consider adoption

Oh, I am so glad you had a chance to say hello and hopefully have a little chat with Teena!!!

I do solo time in the morning on the balcony too, or in the case of my stay at AS Movies, around the resort, but it is the bonus solo time at the parks that is really special!

Well, I'm glad you are interested in helping Ben achieve his Disney dream, but he is not the daredevil you are looking for. He isn't a big fan of ToT and he hasn't been on RnR yet, although he does claim he will go on it on our next trip.

Want Nate?

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

1 teenage son at a time is def enough (need I say more)

 

[alexxussss]

I am a middle school teacher and say "Kudos!" for taking so many teens to Disney!

 

[MEK]

These children appear to be faceless

Can I just say that the faceless children in this photo really works with the green man! I'm just stopping back to check pics tonight because I couldn't see them at work!

 

[natebenma]

1 teenage son at a time is def enough (need I say more)

A girl's gotta try! But yes, I totally know what you mean!

I am a middle school teacher and say "Kudos!" for taking so many teens to Disney!

Well, yes, I could have called the trip report "Brave"

But "Kudos" back at you. I only had 5 days with the teens. You are with them every day during the school year.

I have so much admiration for everyone in the teaching profession. Teaching our kids is one of the most important, and underappreciated jobs, in the world. Especially middle school teachers- I know the students at those ages have so much going on in their lives, and school is not always top priority.

Can I just say that the faceless children in this photo really works with the green man! I'm just stopping back to check pics tonight because I couldn't see them at work!

I didn't notice that until you pointed it out, but you are totally right! I wish I knew more about how to edit photos. All I know how to do is crop, touch up (which was what I did here) and fix red eye. But if I knew how to do it, I would have copied the G.A.M's face and imposed it on all the teens.

 

[emmysmommy]

Awwww Dee, a smooch from a green army man - how cute! I love those characters.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Sign me up for that new breed of Teen. Mouthless means they have a much harder time cleaning out the fridge too!

~NM

 

[AnjieNet]

So jealous. We have yet to run into a Green Army Man.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Sign me up for that new breed of Teen. Mouthless means they have a much harder time cleaning out the fridge too!

~NM

 

[natebenma]

Awwww Dee, a smooch from a green army man - how cute! I love those characters.

I really, really enjoyed the interaction with the soldier!

Sign me up for that new breed of Teen. Mouthless means they have a much harder time cleaning out the fridge too!

~NM

Great point! I think we have something here.

So jealous. We have yet to run into a Green Army Man.

Bummer! I hope you see them on your next trip. I just checked my times guide for HS and they don't list the appearance time for them. I wonder if you asked a CM if they know when the G.A.M. are doing meet & greets. I know that CMs are supposed to be able to tell you when/if a character is out- there is some sort of hotline.

I agree!

 

[jenseib]

I notice the 2010 army men don't have the plastic pieces on their feet like 2012 guys do.

So glad you won. I have only rode that ride once so far. I need to get back on it again. I just hate the lines and we seem to never make rope drop.

 

[pixarmom]

I briefly considered getting a cupcake, but the tart won out and I'm not sorry.

Your excursions sound like a lot of fun. I know the boys will love the Dog Sled trip.

Will you guys be paddling the boats? I row. Canoe?

I'm so glad you liked the update. I know you were very concerned after the first lunch episode. We shall here-to-fore call that little piece of real estate "Dee's Corner".

1) Good choice on the tart - I would have done the same!
2) They will particularly love the dog sledding trip because they love dogs and we do not have one.
3) We WILL be paddling the canoe (along with fellow travelers.) I love kayaking, but based on our recent kayaking experience with the boys in Florida, this should be interesting. As you know, our oldest is not an athlete, but he's good at rowing. Middle son IS an athlete, but was stuck in a tree on the shore in Florida. (He's fine - and it was pretty funny - even to hi at the time.) Any tips for us?
4) Dee's Corner will be a new photo op for us at DHS!

And those green army men - fun photos! Congrats on the TSM victory!

 

[natebenma]

I notice the 2010 army men don't have the plastic pieces on their feet like 2012 guys do.

So glad you won. I have only rode that ride once so far. I need to get back on it again. I just hate the lines and we seem to never make rope drop.

Thank you for pointing that out about the G.A.M. feet. I didn't notice that until you said something!

We are rope drop people so we have had the opportunity to ride this quite a few times- usually at least two times each visit. During the Give A Day, Get A Day promotion, we went to HS and my son and I rode TSM 4 times before noon.

1) Good choice on the tart - I would have done the same!
2) They will particularly love the dog sledding trip because they love dogs and we do not have one.
3) We WILL be paddling the canoe (along with fellow travelers.) I love kayaking, but based on our recent kayaking experience with the boys in Florida, this should be interesting. As you know, our oldest is not an athlete, but he's good at rowing. Middle son IS an athlete, but was stuck in a tree on the shore in Florida. (He's fine - and it was pretty funny - even to hi at the time.) Any tips for us?
4) Dee's Corner will be a new photo op for us at DHS!

And those green army men - fun photos! Congrats on the TSM victory!

1) And you would not go wrong, either. The tart was perfect.

2) Can't wait to hear about it. Have they followed any of the Iditerod or read any books/seen any movies? Nate's class studied the race one year.

3) I actually was kidding about rowing. I'm not very good. Just passing along a joke that works much better when spoken rather than written:

I row kayaks. Canoe (Can You?)

4) I'll try to get a "Dee's Corner" plaque commemorating my wonderful lunch spot before your next trip!

 

[elphie101]

Finally all caught up! I also love the themeing in Star Tours, it's one of the few times when I don't mind being in the outside queue, since you're in the forest! Sorry you felt a little queasy though.

I don't remember if I noticed the sushi at Starring Rolls, I'm always interested in trying sushi but reluctant to spend my money on something that I might end up not liking. Have you tried the sandwiches, they're delicious! Starring Rolls is definitely my new favorite CS in Studios.

Good for you for getting some alone time and getting to do Disney your way! I never seem to remember to get any photopass pictures (which is probably why Kevin and I have very few pictures of the two of us).

Congrats on winning on TSM! I haven't won yet, but I do feel great when i beat my best score! And I'm glad you posted the GAM pic - without faces those boys are GAM in training!

So glad I caught up and can't wait for more!

 

[natebenma]

Finally all caught up! I also love the themeing in Star Tours, it's one of the few times when I don't mind being in the outside queue, since you're in the forest! Sorry you felt a little queasy though.

I don't remember if I noticed the sushi at Starring Rolls, I'm always interested in trying sushi but reluctant to spend my money on something that I might end up not liking. Have you tried the sandwiches, they're delicious! Starring Rolls is definitely my new favorite CS in Studios.

Good for you for getting some alone time and getting to do Disney your way! I never seem to remember to get any photopass pictures (which is probably why Kevin and I have very few pictures of the two of us).

Congrats on winning on TSM! I haven't won yet, but I do feel great when i beat my best score! And I'm glad you posted the GAM pic - without faces those boys are GAM in training!

So glad I caught up and can't wait for more!

I like the forest, too, but this was the longest I have ever been in line there. It was pretty humid. I felt a little queasy when the ride was over, but I had packed some Bonine non-drowsy nausea pills and I took one of those. Between that and the lunch, I was fine.

That was my first time at Starring Rolls, so I haven't tried the sandwiches. But I would totally do that with my family. The kids could get sandwiches, my husband and I could get sushi and we could all share. Our usual lunch spot is Sci Fi, though, and I'm not sure I can steer the kids away from that.

If you have a local supermarket that sells prepackaged sushi, you could try that. It would be a less expensive way to try it out to see if you like it. California roll (fake crabmeat with avocado) is a good starter sushi, since it is not raw. It won't be as good as something you could get from a Japanese sushi place, but it would give you an opportunity to figure out if it is your "thing" or not.

Loved the alone time!!!

I always preorder the photopass so I like to get my money's worth, but sometimes my family gets annoyed when I suggest stopping for a photo. You may notice that I haven't mentioned that my group has stopped for any PP pictures. We hadn't really had an opportunity when we were all together.

You probably know that the photopass photographers will take a picture with your camera after they use theirs, if you ask. Sometimes they even offer before you ask. That way you can have a few pictures of the two of you.

I just had to post that picture of the G.A.M and the boys!!!

I need to get over to your trip report to get caught up.

I'm going to post my next installment now, and then my excuses about why it has been so long between updates and for me to stay caught up on everyone's reports.