Ethan's Magical Make-a-Wish WDW PTR (November 11-17, 2012):

[aym4Him]

Just a couple comments here. If transporting your SIL interupts your day, could your SIL arrange to have Mears pick her up at her motel and take her to the airport?

As for Sea World after the wish trip. If you can't get the magic of the button extended, don't worry. Sea World is very good at accomodations. Just stop into guests services (it's just past the reservation desks) and they will give you their version of a GAC. It's a piece of paper that you take to each place. The only thing with Sea World's is that they only permit 1 additional person with theirs, where Disney allows up to 6.

We watched MSEP and Wishes for the first time in 2 years, last night!! I forgot how great they are. I hope you get a chance to see both!

As for those characters, I would suggest going on to Kennythepirates character blog and seeing what time and where those characters are out at DHS. I have seen Handy Manny outside of Playhouse Disney having a M&G.

I think we can figure out transport for her. The whole thing is knowing what the plans are so MIL & FIL have proper tickets (good gravy..I sound British!?! ). I suppose if we do decide to see a park that day they can buy theirs at whatever park we go to.

That's great to know about Sea World!

I do, too!! It kind of stinks that it might not be til the Monday of Thanksgiving week, but we'll just do what we can and what E feels like doing, of course! Kinda wish we were staying onsite for that reason (since we won't have access to the wish lounge for him to rest in).

Thank you! I'll be sure to check that website out!

Oh my goodness!!! I can't wait. This is all so overwhelming & exciting! (Can't do any fancy emoticons b/c I'm typing on my phone).

 

[aym4Him]

Just a quick update.

We are all well. E's teacher had some good news when I picked him up Monday. Apparently, one of his friends got hurt on the playground & while the teacher was trying to comfort him/her, she said Ethan came up and started singing a lullaby *awwwww*. I love my boy! Despite being an emotional time bomb lately, I'm proud to say only 1 tear managed to escape.

Um. David is home now. There's nothing more the doctors can do to help him. We are in the midst of planning some special moments for his family. The focus is on making every moment count. We created a Facebook page to that end & are working on bringing Halloween & Christmas (maybe even his fav Toy Story characters) to him soon. *sob* He could go to Disney but he isn't really strong enough.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue!!!

 

[onceagain1]

Wanted to say that I love the pic of him with the wish links (that's what we call them) on the stairs.

So sweet, him trying to comfort his friend, I'd be right there with tears too

So very, very sorry to hear about David, the poor boy and his family... my heart goes out to them. Thanks for the update.

Just a quick update.

We are all well. E's teacher had some good news when I picked him up Monday. Apparently, one of his friends got hurt on the playground & while the teacher was trying to comfort him/her, she said Ethan came up and started singing a lullaby *awwwww*. I love my boy! Despite being an emotional time bomb lately, I'm proud to say only 1 tear managed to escape.

Um. David is home now. There's nothing more the doctors can do to help him. We are in the midst of planning some special moments for his family. The focus is on making every moment count. We created a Facebook page to that end & are working on bringing Halloween & Christmas (maybe even his fav Toy Story characters) to him soon. *sob* He could go to Disney but he isn't really strong enough.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue!!!

 

[aym4Him]

Wanted to say that I love the pic of him with the wish links (that's what we call them) on the stairs.

So sweet, him trying to comfort his friend, I'd be right there with tears too

So very, very sorry to hear about David, the poor boy and his family... my heart goes out to them. Thanks for the update.

Thank you!!!

I'm really hoping it doesn't rain Saturday b/c we are getting someone to truck in some real snow for David's Christmas celebration. No rain! No rain! No rain!

We took a "family day" yesterday and went to the state fair. Ethan doesn't have school on Wednesdays and Dillon had a few vacation days to spare PLUS you could get in for $2 by donating 3 cans of food! E got to ride his first roller coaster and the big ferris wheel before sacking out in the stroller for a little while. After he woke up, he actually rode two rides all by himself (yay!) and had a really nice time. I'm glad we got a discount on the entrance tickets b/c we spent a fortune once we got in the gates He won himself a huge sock monkey by popping some balloons. We tried to avoid the games like the plague but they are EVERYWHERE around the kiddie rides!! They have a way that you can "ensure" that the child wins by buying enough credits. Well, I actually don't think we needed to buy the extra credits b/c he popped 4 balloons! The monkey is taller than he is and has a big red heart on it (that's the only way I agreed that he could play! I'm a sucker for things with hearts on them). He got to show everyone his scar and we ended up meeting a worker whose daughter had ASD/VSD surgery 21 yrs ago! They made a really big deal when E popped his last balloon and the carnie announced via microphone that Ethan was his biiiiiig winner. That kind of freaked E out just a bit b/c it got everyone's attention, but it was very sweet

Anyway, today he and his classmates took pictures holding up signs that said, "Smiles 4 David" and made some cards and a big poster. I'm a bit on the teary side today so that nearly put me over the edge!! This will be the first little guy I've known personally who will lose his fight to CHD. I'm really praying hard that he is able to see the REAL Christmas with his family, but I can already tell a big difference in how he is physically...it's so hard to see.

Ok, so I'm done writing about that now. I need to take E to get his hair cut!

Love all of you!

Amy

 

[onceagain1]

Thank you!!!

I'm really hoping it doesn't rain Saturday b/c we are getting someone to truck in some real snow for David's Christmas celebration. No rain! No rain! No rain!
Trucking in snow? Seriously??? That's fantastic!!
We took a "family day" yesterday and went to the state fair. Ethan doesn't have school on Wednesdays and Dillon had a few vacation days to spare PLUS you could get in for $2 by donating 3 cans of food! E got to ride his first roller coaster and the big ferris wheel before sacking out in the stroller for a little while. After he woke up, he actually rode two rides all by himself (yay!) and had a really nice time. I'm glad we got a discount on the entrance tickets b/c we spent a fortune once we got in the gates He won himself a huge sock monkey by popping some balloons. We tried to avoid the games like the plague but they are EVERYWHERE around the kiddie rides!! They have a way that you can "ensure" that the child wins by buying enough credits. Well, I actually don't think we needed to buy the extra credits b/c he popped 4 balloons! The monkey is taller than he is and has a big red heart on it (that's the only way I agreed that he could play! I'm a sucker for things with hearts on them). He got to show everyone his scar and we ended up meeting a worker whose daughter had ASD/VSD surgery 21 yrs ago! They made a really big deal when E popped his last balloon and the carnie announced via microphone that Ethan was his biiiiiig winner. That kind of freaked E out just a bit b/c it got everyone's attention, but it was very sweet
Ohhhh....that's so sweet!
Anyway, today he and his classmates took pictures holding up signs that said, "Smiles 4 David" and made some cards and a big poster. I'm a bit on the teary side today so that nearly put me over the edge!! This will be the first little guy I've known personally who will lose his fight to CHD. I'm really praying hard that he is able to see the REAL Christmas with his family, but I can already tell a big difference in how he is physically...it's so hard to see.
I know what you mean, it happened for me. A heart child in our community was going for their Fontan surgery, the one (of 3) that Maia had several years ago. Well, post-surgery, the child did not recover well, they were not entirely sure why. He did end up passing away, which I found extremely difficult for me, because I knew that it could have just as easily been us. And while I'd had to face that possibility prior to each of her surgeries, having it actually happen to a child/mother that I knew, more than words can describe.
Ok, so I'm done writing about that now. I need to take E to get his hair cut!

Love all of you!

Amy

Hugs, so happy to read nice things happening to a deserving child, and a deserving family. I found myself muttering a few days ago...to myself, about how I was getting tired of the perfectly healthy people in their perfectly wonderful worlds. Others have to deal with so much more, and there are so many, many more complex thoughts that enter into our heads throughout each day...I could go on...I generally try not to think like this. But it had been a challenging week, seeing/reading bad things happening. Ok, I'll stop rambling now. hugs

 

[alyssaswish]

I started packing this past weekend! The whole bed is full of outfits while I try to coordinate for each day. Only 19 days! Who's excited? I am!!!!

 

[aym4Him]

Hugs, so happy to read nice things happening to a deserving child, and a deserving family. I found myself muttering a few days ago...to myself, about how I was getting tired of the perfectly healthy people in their perfectly wonderful worlds. Others have to deal with so much more, and there are so many, many more complex thoughts that enter into our heads throughout each day...I could go on...I generally try not to think like this. But it had been a challenging week, seeing/reading bad things happening. Ok, I'll stop rambling now. hugs

From all the pics I saw, David's Christmas was pretty magical. I'm having a hard time even typing about him these days and I'm out in public so I had better stop b4 the waterworks hits!!

Hugs to you & your sweet kiddos!!

 

[lovethattink]

My heart just goes out to David's family. My thoughts and prayers as well.

 

[aym4Him]

I started packing this past weekend! The whole bed is full of outfits while I try to coordinate for each day. Only 19 days! Who's excited? I am!!!!

Haha!

You are SO on top of things! I'm kind of freaking out. I haven't begun to pack but its been on my mind. Are y'all going to wear your MAW shirts? I'm torn b/c I want E to wear his Disney shirts we bought (one of our church friends is sending us some appliqués too) but I also want to "represent!"

I'm gonna make him some autograph cards with index cards & stickers. I hope they hold up!! I just don't want to make anything extravagant b/c 1. We are low on funds and 2. I'm afraid HE will be too shy/afraid of the characters. Worst case, I can use them to journal on.

My inlaws are meeting us down there (We are flying different airlines from what I understand- different departing airports, too. I don't know our plans, tho, b/c we haven't gotten any info yet). They bought their WDW park hoppers and our MVMCP tix. They need to get Universal/IOA tix. Does anyone know if its better to purchase those ahead of time, too? I also learned that they are two separate parks so how does that work? Is it like WDW where u can buy a park hopper?

Are y'all bringing water or water bottles?

I'm a chronic over-packer but I'm gonna try and be good!!! E has just started to get into Star Wars so I'm hoping he's not going to want to bring too many "accessories." His red DV light saber might have to travel with us...as well as his costume. *Sniff* He was supposed to be Buzz this yr (He was Woody last yr) :-(. I guess our MAW chapter is gonna get a new costume for their dress up chest!!

Wow. It's gonna be here before we know it!! We have our last 2 soccer games and family pictures and then we leave the next weekend!!! Yikes!!!

 

[alyssaswish]

Haha!

You are SO on top of things! I'm kind of freaking out. I haven't begun to pack but its been on my mind. Are y'all going to wear your MAW shirts? I'm torn b/c I want E to wear his Disney shirts we bought (one of our church friends is sending us some appliqués too) but I also want to "represent!"

I'm gonna make him some autograph cards with index cards & stickers. I hope they hold up!! I just don't want to make anything extravagant b/c 1. We are low on funds and 2. I'm afraid HE will be too shy/afraid of the characters. Worst case, I can use them to journal on.

My inlaws are meeting us down there (We are flying different airlines from what I understand- different departing airports, too. I don't know our plans, tho, b/c we haven't gotten any info yet). They bought their WDW park hoppers and our MVMCP tix. They need to get Universal/IOA tix. Does anyone know if its better to purchase those ahead of time, too? I also learned that they are two separate parks so how does that work? Is it like WDW where u can buy a park hopper?

Are y'all bringing water or water bottles?

I'm a chronic over-packer but I'm gonna try and be good!!! E has just started to get into Star Wars so I'm hoping he's not going to want to bring too many "accessories." His red DV light saber might have to travel with us...as well as his costume. *Sniff* He was supposed to be Buzz this yr (He was Woody last yr) :-(. I guess our MAW chapter is gonna get a new costume for their dress up chest!!

Wow. It's gonna be here before we know it!! We have our last 2 soccer games and family pictures and then we leave the next weekend!!! Yikes!!!

We have family theme shirts for almost every day. DH and I don't have anything for Seaworld or LEGOLAND so we will probably wear the wish shirts then if we get them. The kids might wear theirs down to the pool or something like that. Our send off party is Nov 8th but I have no clue about what they are doing. I don't know if we get shirts or if the kids will get a little gift.

I do have water bottles for each kid. I think they will come in handy. FYI - Walmart has some glow-in-the-dark swords in the halloween section. I bought wands for Alyssa and swords for Chase for only $.97/each today.

 

[lovethattink]

1. Does anyone know if its better to purchase those ahead of time, too? I also learned that they are two separate parks so how does that work? Is it like WDW where u can buy a park hopper?

2. Are y'all bringing water or water bottles?

We have annual passes to all the major central FL theme parks.

1. It's usually cheaper to buy them online. It's two separate parks, but they are not too far apart. You can walk from one to another in about 10 minutes. Yes, you can buy a 2 park pass.

They also have meal deals there too. You can buy a meal deal for 1 park or both. It includes an entre and a dessert. The desserts are gross though. It does not include a beverage. We did the meal deal this summer and it saves us about $40, no kidding.

2. We always bring water and frozen water bottles. Universal/IOA/Sea World all have restrictions on the size of cooler you are allowed to bring in the park. It has to be collapsable and meet a certain height and width criteria.

 

[aym4Him]

My heart just goes out to David's family. My thoughts and prayers as well.

Thank you so much.

We have family theme shirts for almost every day. DH and I don't have anything for Seaworld or LEGOLAND so we will probably wear the wish shirts then if we get them. The kids might wear theirs down to the pool or something like that. Our send off party is Nov 8th but I have no clue about what they are doing. I don't know if we get shirts or if the kids will get a little gift.

I do have water bottles for each kid. I think they will come in handy. FYI - Walmart has some glow-in-the-dark swords in the halloween section. I bought wands for Alyssa and swords for Chase for only $.97/each today.

I'm not sure if E is having a send off or welcome party but I do know that our chapter does tshirts and a backpack. No books (I had asked if there was a chance he'd get an autograph book b/c I was thinking of making one and I didn't want to slave away on it if he was going to be getting one anyway).

We have annual passes to all the major central FL theme parks.

1. It's usually cheaper to buy them online. It's two separate parks, but they are not too far apart. You can walk from one to another in about 10 minutes. Yes, you can buy a 2 park pass.

They also have meal deals there too. You can buy a meal deal for 1 park or both. It includes an entre and a dessert. The desserts are gross though. It does not include a beverage. We did the meal deal this summer and it saves us about $40, no kidding.

2. We always bring water and frozen water bottles. Universal/IOA/Sea World all have restrictions on the size of cooler you are allowed to bring in the park. It has to be collapsable and meet a certain height and width criteria.

Thank you!! I will relay this info to the in-laws. Hmmm...I bet they will want a meal deal...I'll look into that, too.

Ok. Thanks for the cooler requirements info. I haven't decided if I will bring a fabric "cube" type or if I'll bring the "bag" type that I use for the pool (to haul towels, sunscreen, etc in but it's insulated. I use it for the wet stuff b/c it won't sweat on the outside and get the car wet!). I don't want to overpack, that's for sure. I'm pretty famous for that. Actually, DH is worse than I am....

 

[blessedmom4]

Wish Mom Alumni here...when I had time (eons ago) I always posted happy pics for all. Taking time to do that this morning for my fellow Wish Families...it WILL be the most magical trip!

 

[aym4Him]

http://www.glitter-graphics.com

Wish Mom Alumni here...when I had time (eons ago) I always posted happy pics for all. Taking time to do that this morning for my fellow Wish Families...it WILL be the most magical trip!

Thank you!!! Hope y'all have a Happy Halloween too!! E is Darth Vader (or "Darth the Vader" as he says!). He was Woody again for one party but he's sticking to Vader for tonight. We are going to our church's fall festival.

I can't believe we leave next Sunday!!! We arrive in Orlando around 2 and fly out on the 20th around 7pm! Can't complain there!!! There was some confusion amongst his wish granting volunteers (they thought we left on the 20th!) so we are having a little send off party this weekend at a local pizza parlor. The owner has served our heart families many times and I found out he's footing the bill for Ethan's party! Such a nice guy!

I'm overwhelmed with what to pack and what itineraries to go with but I'm excited! I just hope everyone gets along (inlaws are joining us)! ;-) We need lots and lots of pixie dust ;-). I just wish our little buddy, David, could go with us! He's getting over pneumonia and his mommy has a injured neck from lifting him daily. He's had some good days though, so I'm glad!

Well, gotta go get ready for the festival!!

 

[angel's momma]

Ethan is adorable. So sorry that your family has gone through so much. Very happy that Ethan is getting his wish. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[carebearkidney]

I'm back and caught up - still saying prayers for David and his family.
Is it SUNDAY yet?? Do you have ANY plans that day?? I thought there was something on your calendar, that maybe you were busy... maybe not???
Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!

 

[aym4Him]

Ethan is adorable. So sorry that your family has gone through so much. Very happy that Ethan is getting his wish. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Thank you!!!

I'm back and caught up - still saying prayers for David and his family.
Is it SUNDAY yet?? Do you have ANY plans that day?? I thought there was something on your calendar, that maybe you were busy... maybe not???
Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!

Thank you. He had a bit of a setback yesterday. Parents think he had a mini stroke but CT scan didn't show anything. He has a history of seizures so the drs think that's what he had (but his right side drooped, etc). The only way to know for sure was to do an MRI but he'd need to be sedated and they'd rather not mess with that. If it was a seizure, he should be symptom-free today. Til then, he'd been doing pretty darn well.

As for me...I'M FREAKING OUT! A couple of heart families we know went to Disney this summer for their wish trips and they both wore their wish shirts the entire time. That's great for saving luggage space (we are flying American and have to pay baggage fees. YUCK) and they said it really helped with being accommodated (easier to spot out in a crowd) but one of E's teachers from church made him some appliqued shirts for the trip. I had bought a few, too, when the Disney store had them on sale. What to do?

Sunday- we wil be at GKTW that day. We'll probably go to Wal-Mart at some point. Does anyone know if we need to bring our own shampoo? I am not picky while on trips so the less I have to worry about the "3 oz rule," the better!

Here is our "itinerary" (subject to E's mood!)
Sunday- GKTW
Monday- Magic Kingdom (though it closes at 7 but we are hoping to do the Halloween Party at GKTW after)
Tuesday- Universal/IoA
Wednesday- AK/HS (thoughts on this?)
Thursday- sis-in-law flies out at 6:30am. GKTW day and then Christmas that night** (unless we come up with something for during the day)
Friday- Had bfast at Cape May for 10:10 but may cancel due to cost and the fact that we will be at the MK from 4pm-12am that day for the MVMCP
Saturday- MIL/FIL leave. Sea World?
Sunday- Bfast at H&V at HS (tentative- this is if it's the only way E can see Oso and if he still wants to)
Monday- Magic Kingdom on our own dime Lunch at Crystal Palace, maybe.
Tues- DTD and then fly home.

We had our send-off party this past Sunday. I'll get some pictures up as soon as I'm able. I'm kind of like a chicken with my head cut off right now . They gave us our check and shirts and info packet (parking for the airport, etc). I'm about to go start packing our bags, just so I get an idea of what we're bringing, etc.

EEEEK!!! I hope that our plans turn out to be good ones. I'm so nervous!

Here's a rundown of the "essentials" I'm packing:

sunscreen, moleskin, bandaids, anti-chafing stick, glow sticks/bracelets, autograph cards/clipboard, sharpies (must buy), filtered water bottles, hat for DH, sunglasses, lanyard for E to attach his wish button to, soft-sided cooler, small flashlight (our phones have an app but it can run the battery down), extra duffel bag, chargers, headphones, memory cards, camera(s)- wishing I also had a camcorder, extra shoes (for me ), activities for the plane, ponchos, E's costume, shout wipes.

I'm sure I'm missing something. I have a box-o-stuff for this trip-as I thought about it, I'd just chuck whatever I thought might be trip-worthy into a rubbermaid container.

Oh man. On top of packing, I wanted to get our house organized so that, while we are on the extended part of our trip, my inlaws could come over and set up our Christmas tree as an extra surprise for Ethan. That's not gonna happen!! LOL. I'm now thinking it'll be fun to set it up as a family .

I'm a go-with-the-flow type person but there's something about reading plans and people's TRs that makes me panic that I haven't mapped out our days WITHIN the parks. Will focus on that on the plane if I don't get to it this week.

EEEEEEK!!!! The time is going to FLY BY this week!!

 

[carebearkidney]

Oh honey, it's all nerves and chaos before you leave, and then the Disney magic settles into your soul and you let out that breath you had been holding for several weeks and just relax. (wow - or have you old English teacher slap your wrist for such a long run-on sentence)
I would imagine that they either have shampoo bottles like most hotels or those squeezy machines on the wall. I wouldn't worry about shampoo - if not, you grab a couple of travel size ones at the Walmart and leave them there for the next family.
Splitting AK and HS is very do-able. We've done it with the boys before. At AK, you can control the pace with how many tours/paths you take to see the animals in Asia and Africa. There are not as many rides and some of the rides were either too intense for my little ones (like Bug's Life) or they were too small (Primeval Whirl) to ride. The best time the boys had at AK was digging for fossils at the Boneyard play area! We ran into the same issues with HS, more intense rides or my kids on the "shrimpy" side. Of course we did Toy Story Mania! This time we want to do Star Tours since both boys have seen the original movies now.
I've been glancing in the bargain bins at Target for stuff to carry on to the plane. I know on the way back, they will either be exhausted or want to play with a new toy that they got there... so that's not an issue. Just something cheap to hold their attention for an hour or two once the "newness" of take off and actually being on a plane wears off. I found these stick em magnet sheets (4 sheets and 30 magnets). I got William the Cars one and Matthew the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one. I'll give them those on the plane. Luckily for us, we have Christmas first. Matthew will be getting a new Mobi-go game and William a new Leap-pad game. So that should handle that too.
Can't wait to see pictures from the party!! I'm so excited for you!! Happy dance!!

 

[angel's momma]

EEEEK!!! I hope that our plans turn out to be good ones. I'm so nervous!

You'll have a wonderful time, no matter what.

 

[aym4Him]

Wow!! The day is almost here! I'm not packed yet, but the laundry machine is whirring and I'm sorting in piles on the bed. Progress .

My heel has been bothering me a bit this week and I noticed it was down near the base of my achilles. Irrational fears of it rupturing or worse came to mind (You know- all things crazy happen just before the trip of a lifetime!). I've had problems with that foot before- plantar fasciitis- but the pain was in a different spot. I finally decided to call my podiatrist (whom I haven't needed to see since 2006! Thank you, Birkenstocks!). He's out of town. Posted an APB on Facebook and got a few responses. Called one- busy and then the next day they only do surgeries. Called another. Had an appointment but they don't take my insurance. FINALLY, I found one that's really close to our house and they had an appointment yesterday afternoon. Yay! Tendonitis and bone spurs. Really? REALLY??? The good news is, it's manageable with rest and stretching. I know...rest?? He said I should be OK for Disney as long as I did my exercises and wore a heel lift he gave me. The problem is, it won't fit into my shoes properly. You guys know I've been stressing over what shoes were going to be nice to me so this is not good. I figure I may just have to forego the heel lift b/c I can't stop and adjust it every 5 seconds and, if it shifts in my shoe and I ignore it, I'm going to either injure something else or probably get a blister.

Hehehehe. I'm not even going to say what I'm glad about NOT happening b/c, as soon as it leaves my fingers, it will happen. Let's just say that I'll take my foot being persnickety to anything else that could happen.

My computer still doesn't like the pictures I took the other day so I'm still trying to figure out how I can edit the ones I took at his send-off party. iPhoto keeps saying the files are unrecognizable (they are .jpg!). I don't get it. I'm about ready to throw all my technological gadgets out the window.

Ethan is down to 2 links on his chain...he is so funny. He will refuse to tear one off some days (in fact, I had to sneak and tear off 8 after he went to bed b/c he just stopped caring about it). I will tell you why he's not as excited (and this is parental error). On Fridays, we had super heroes or Star Wars people "visit" our house and leave Ethan little gifts. The countdown links SHOULD have been connected to these special Fridays but I didn't have the foresight to do something so brilliant!! Today, he had 3 links left and reluctantly tore off one. I tried, later, to get him to remove a 2nd one but he said no. Ha! He is a STINKER sometimes!!!

We bought some blue wish shirts so we'll probably wear them for the flight tomorrow. Well, E has his white one b/c the blue was too big. I'm not sure if we'll wear them during our park visits or not. Ethan has a few cute shirts that were made for him (they are a little big, too) that I'd like for him to wear. It's such a hard choice but a fun hard choice to have!!!!

I finished most of E's autograph cards last night. What I didn't find stickers for I printed on the 4x6 index cards (my printer has a 4x6 tray- handy dandy!). The problem is, my ink decided to be disobedient and says it's low. Frozone and Eeeyore printed out in pink hues instead of blue!! Oh well..Most of them turned out good enough. Of course, making autograph cards wasn't exactly #1 on the priority list but it was more fun than packing!! I still have to clean our water bottles and do a few other small things- I don't even have an idea of how many bags we'll be taking but I'm going to try to keep it to as few as possible b/c of American's baggage policy. I really want to pack as lightly as we can- it's something I always strive for but rarely do I attain it! Will be taking a spare duffel for sure.

Ok. Laundry's done! Time to get back to it!