christypooh402
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2011
Backstory
I had to make the holidays extra special for the kids this year. DH was on a 12 deployment to Djibouti, Africa. We all miss him like crazy and could not imagine him not being home for Christmas. So, I asked the kids…”Do you want to do a small Christmas and go to Disney? Or do we want to stay home at Christmas and do all of our own traditions, or should we go to Aunt Shell’s?” Well, everyone was on board for going to Disney. Going to Aunt Shell’s was another matter. They wanted to stay home for Christmas so things would stay the same. I had to make them realize that no matter what we do, this Christmas is going to be different because we are missing a vital member of our family. So, after more discussions, a few tears, and lots of changed minds later, we decided to have Christmas at my sister’s house. I’m so glad we did too. The kids had a blast and being with their cousins, and my sister really didn’t give me much time to mope around, so that was definitely a good thing. . We ended having a great time with family and even got a phone call from daddy! It was so good to at least hear his voice on Christmas Day.
Two days after Christmas we headed home to repack everything .The next few days went by in a blur and before we knew it, we were getting ready for the neighborhood New Years Eve party. It was fun, but a bit depressing not having my husband there to start the New Year. So, the kids and I decided to add a day to our trip. Originally we were heading down to Orlando on Jan. 2 because that’s when value season starts. Well, we decided to stay off property one night and meet my oldest daughter’s friend and her mom over at City Walk that night. Sounded like a good plan to me! After meeting up with them for a couple of hours, we headed in search of our beds for the night. We stayed at Maingate Lakeside Resort. It was super cheap, and very clean. Also it’s pretty close to Disney property. Plus, there’s a Target and a Publix right up the road from them. We’ve stayed there a few times now and haven’t been disappointed.
Without further ado, here is your cast of characters on this trip, if you so choose to come along with us.
On this trip, we have Me-Christy (the big'un up in the front) Kim the oldest (16) right next to me. Yes, she has that look on her face on all of the rides. Get used to it. I have.
In the back we have Ashley (12) on the left trying to do a blank expression for the photo. And on the right next to Ashley is the baby, the boy, Christopher (10) I think he was trying for the blank look too. They both failed.
We are all thrill junkies, though you can't tell from Kim's looks of absolute terror. I promise I do not force her to ride anything. She swears she really likes it. Our first trip to Disney 2010 was with my sister and we were hooked. I have been obsessed by Disney since then. We took a big family vacation for 10 days before my husband left in May 2011, then this trip with the kids, and in Feb this year I went on a short trip with a friend to do the extra day of magic on leap day. I don't currently know when I'll get to go back but you can bet it will be on my ticker when I figure it out!
I'll post chapter updates in this thread so if you want you can go straight to a chapter. If your'e coming along for the ride, thanks a bunch! I look forward to getting to know many of you through trip reports! TTFN!!
Chapter 1: 1/2/12
Chapter 2: 1/2/12
I had to make the holidays extra special for the kids this year. DH was on a 12 deployment to Djibouti, Africa. We all miss him like crazy and could not imagine him not being home for Christmas. So, I asked the kids…”Do you want to do a small Christmas and go to Disney? Or do we want to stay home at Christmas and do all of our own traditions, or should we go to Aunt Shell’s?” Well, everyone was on board for going to Disney. Going to Aunt Shell’s was another matter. They wanted to stay home for Christmas so things would stay the same. I had to make them realize that no matter what we do, this Christmas is going to be different because we are missing a vital member of our family. So, after more discussions, a few tears, and lots of changed minds later, we decided to have Christmas at my sister’s house. I’m so glad we did too. The kids had a blast and being with their cousins, and my sister really didn’t give me much time to mope around, so that was definitely a good thing. . We ended having a great time with family and even got a phone call from daddy! It was so good to at least hear his voice on Christmas Day.
Two days after Christmas we headed home to repack everything .The next few days went by in a blur and before we knew it, we were getting ready for the neighborhood New Years Eve party. It was fun, but a bit depressing not having my husband there to start the New Year. So, the kids and I decided to add a day to our trip. Originally we were heading down to Orlando on Jan. 2 because that’s when value season starts. Well, we decided to stay off property one night and meet my oldest daughter’s friend and her mom over at City Walk that night. Sounded like a good plan to me! After meeting up with them for a couple of hours, we headed in search of our beds for the night. We stayed at Maingate Lakeside Resort. It was super cheap, and very clean. Also it’s pretty close to Disney property. Plus, there’s a Target and a Publix right up the road from them. We’ve stayed there a few times now and haven’t been disappointed.
Without further ado, here is your cast of characters on this trip, if you so choose to come along with us.
On this trip, we have Me-Christy (the big'un up in the front) Kim the oldest (16) right next to me. Yes, she has that look on her face on all of the rides. Get used to it. I have.
In the back we have Ashley (12) on the left trying to do a blank expression for the photo. And on the right next to Ashley is the baby, the boy, Christopher (10) I think he was trying for the blank look too. They both failed.
We are all thrill junkies, though you can't tell from Kim's looks of absolute terror. I promise I do not force her to ride anything. She swears she really likes it. Our first trip to Disney 2010 was with my sister and we were hooked. I have been obsessed by Disney since then. We took a big family vacation for 10 days before my husband left in May 2011, then this trip with the kids, and in Feb this year I went on a short trip with a friend to do the extra day of magic on leap day. I don't currently know when I'll get to go back but you can bet it will be on my ticker when I figure it out!
I'll post chapter updates in this thread so if you want you can go straight to a chapter. If your'e coming along for the ride, thanks a bunch! I look forward to getting to know many of you through trip reports! TTFN!!
Chapter 1: 1/2/12
Chapter 2: 1/2/12