A Little Potter and a Lot of Magic - September 2010 Trip Report

[jlhill4444]

Subscribing!

Sorry for you loss, I too recently lost a pet/best friend. It seems so quiet around here even with two young kids. I don't think I will ever get used to opening the door and not seeing him greeting me.

Hope your dad comes out with good news!

 

[Dancegrl624]

I'm so sorry about Magic. We had to put one of our cats to sleep last December and it was the hardest thing we ever had to do...she was only 4 years old, but very sick.

I hope everything turns out ok with your Dad.

 

[lyncecelia]

joining.

I'm so sorry about your dad and Magic that's terrible :'(. Hope it all works out!

Can't wait to read more on your TR, loved WWOHP.

Hope everything is ok

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I'm totally in for this report!

Your pictures of the WWoHP make me SO excited for when we get to go visit next year! Oh my gosh!

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad and dog. Big hugs to you and your family!

 

[MHTeacher]

So sorry to hear about all your recent troubles, Susan. I hope your dad is healing up from his surgery, and that you got good news from his biopsy.

So sorry about your Magic. I'm sure that she had a great life with you, Chris, and Katie.

Hugs to you!

 

[Native NYer]

Susan, I am so sorry about Magic.
I hope your dad is making a speedy recovery.

 

[swwake]

Oh Susan, I am so sorry about the loss of your dog and your father's illness. Life really hasn't been kind to you and your family recently, I hope things will improve. I am sending lots of hugs, especially to Katie. I know what it is like when the family dog dies while you are away at college.

Thanks for your thoughts. Our family is stronger than we think we are, and we somehow hold it together. Did you lose a pet while off at college?

Sending you lots of hugs, Susan!!!

Thanks so much Jackie!

Hang in there Susan! So sorry to hear about your loss. Magic is resting peacefully with the rest of our lil' pet angels .

Thank you. Yes, we know Magic is at the Rainbow Bridge waiting for us with her dear friend Guess, who went before her.

I'm joining in

I'm so sorry to hear about the troubles your family has been facing lately...prayers are being sent your way.

I am loving your TR and cannot wait to read more whenever you get a chance to update

Thank for joining! And thanks for the prayers. I am uploading some pictures tonight, hoping to get back to the report in the next few days.

Thank you for the hugs!

Subscribing!

Sorry for you loss, I too recently lost a pet/best friend. It seems so quiet around here even with two young kids. I don't think I will ever get used to opening the door and not seeing him greeting me.

Hope your dad comes out with good news!

Yay another reader! Thank you for the thoughts. There is definitely a hole in our household and we notice Magic missing quite often every day.

I'm so sorry about Magic. We had to put one of our cats to sleep last December and it was the hardest thing we ever had to do...she was only 4 years old, but very sick.

I hope everything turns out ok with your Dad.

It's a very hard decision to make, isn't it? Oh no, such a young kitty. I'm sorry to hear that.

joining.

I'm so sorry about your dad and Magic that's terrible :'(. Hope it all works out!

Can't wait to read more on your TR, loved WWOHP.

Hope everything is ok

Thanks for joining in and for your thoughts. I'll try to get back to my TR soon.

I'm totally in for this report!

Your pictures of the WWoHP make me SO excited for when we get to go visit next year! Oh my gosh!

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad and dog. Big hugs to you and your family!

Oh you will love WWOHP. It is so well done. Thanks for the hugs.

So sorry to hear about all your recent troubles, Susan. I hope your dad is healing up from his surgery, and that you got good news from his biopsy.

So sorry about your Magic. I'm sure that she had a great life with you, Chris, and Katie.

Hugs to you!

Thanks Michelle.

 

[swwake]

Susan, I am so sorry about Magic.
I hope your dad is making a speedy recovery.

Thanks Jen.

 

[swwake]

I am back, sorta. Tonight I am uploading some pics so I can share them in my trip report in the coming days.

I am honored by all the newcomers who have joined my trip report and humbled by and appreciative of all of your thoughts and prayers.

Time is creeping by, and we really miss Magic. We find ourselves doing things like closing doors so she can't get into trash cans, checking under our feet for her before standing up, etc. We got her ashes the Saturday after we lost her, and we haven't had the courage to open the little gift bag that holds the box. That will come with time. Meanwhile, Harry is enjoying all the extra hugs and attention.

We heard from Dad a week ago, and unfortunately the biopsies on his lymph nodes were positive for cancer. It is breaking my sister's and my heart, because he is, at this time, refusing further treatment. He says he feels good and is going to complete his bucket list as quickly as possible. Dad has always been a "live-for-the-moment" guy. He's been in two wars, had two purple hearts, watched both his father and grandfather die of heart attacks at age 46, and so on. A very strong person who thinks his last 23 years have been lived on borrowed time already. He sees the oncologist next week, so we will see if they offer an option (likely chemo) that is low on pain and discomfort and gives him a great quality of life for the rest of his years, how ever many that may be.

I have been working on our tax return for the past two weeks. Chris owns his own business and I am a partner in a partnership, so neither of us has a W-2 and our taxes are pretty complicated. They went in the mail today, so I am thrilled!

Tomorrow we leave for Family Weekend at Colorado. Looking forward to spending the time with Katie. We did see her last weekend, as she was home for Austin City Limits Music Festival, but it will be fun to go see her on campus.

Between all of that, my new "hobby" is going to be trying to work through my trip report. So, stay tuned...

 

[swwake]

I think I promised some video of WWoHP, but I am going to hold those until Day 2 of our visit.

For now, I will continue our evening. We decided to explore the rest of Islands of Adventure, since this was our first time there. We rode Jurassic Park,m Spiderman, the Hulk, and Cat in the Hat. The lines were nonexistent, so we were able to walk on everything. Our hotel room express passes were unnecessary.

We did wait in line to ride the front of Hulk. It was fun, but not worth a long wait (and the $3 I paid because we rode twice and I overstayed my "locker" welcome).

I love roller coasters, but after Six Flags earlier this summer, I have decided that they usually hurt my head. The Hulk, however, did not hurt my head and I loved it.

We had scoped out the "wet" rides earlier and had decided to do them last, just before the park closed. So we rode Ripsaw and Bilge Rat Barges late. We were SOAKED after the Barges (similar to Kali River, only wetter).

Once suitably soaked, we left the park and walked back to Hard Rock Hotel for a quick shower and change before dinner. We had CityWalk Party Passes that came with our high room rate, and gosh darn-it, we were gonna use them!!

Next up - What's for dinner?

 

[lyncecelia]

It's glad to hear from you.

I can't imagine how tough it is to see your dad go through that. I know it's rough. My thoughts are still with you and your family.

I hope the loss of Magic gets easier soon. I know it's rough, but it will get better with time. We are all behind you...

 

[Linda67]

Hi Susan

You kindly gave a reply to a question I posted and I came to this TR from the link in your signature

I have so enjoyed reading along, your photos are beautiful and it's really interesting reading your report

Sorry that you are going through such a stressful time at the moment

I am sending you good vibes from here in England

 

[irishdancer86]

Hi, soory to hear about your dad and also magic, not a pleasant time i'm sure...

but i'm all caught up on the trip report and looking forward to reading along...already reliving some of our harry potter memories reading and looking at your photos...

 

[disneysis2]

wow, your descriptions of wwohp are great...we are going in 42 days and can not wait. love all of the great hints and pictures. is there anything that you would have done differently while you were at universal?

 

[Redbudlover]

I .

Time is creeping by, and we really miss Magic. We find ourselves doing things like closing doors so she can't get into trash cans, checking under our feet for her before standing up, etc. We got her ashes the Saturday after we lost her, and we haven't had the courage to open the little gift bag that holds the box. That will come with time. Meanwhile, Harry is enjoying all the extra hugs and attention.

I am so sorry about Magic. I lost my golden Ramses at 13 with tumors, seizures, and heart disease at 13 just 2 12 years ago. It took my golden China, now 5 , almost a year to get over losing him and get back to being her cheerful sweet self. Me too. HIs picture is still on my fridge.

We heard from Dad a week ago, and unfortunately the biopsies on his lymph nodes were positive for cancer. It is breaking my sister's and my heart, ]

Sorry to hear also about your Dad. I too lost my dad to lung cancer. Chemo gave him an extra two years after his surgery. Hope your father has lots more time. BTW - I too am in Austin. Maybe we will see each other some time!

 

[Charleston Princess]

So sorry to hear about your dad's prognosis!

The wait times at Islands of Adventure were awesome for you! I noticed that 20-minute wait for the Forbidden Journey! Wow!

 

[swwake]

It's glad to hear from you.

I can't imagine how tough it is to see your dad go through that. I know it's rough. My thoughts are still with you and your family.

I hope the loss of Magic gets easier soon. I know it's rough, but it will get better with time. We are all behind you...

Thank you so much for your thoughts. Magic has been gone for two months now and it is still very difficult. But time heals...

Hi Susan

You kindly gave a reply to a question I posted and I came to this TR from the link in your signature

I have so enjoyed reading along, your photos are beautiful and it's really interesting reading your report

Sorry that you are going through such a stressful time at the moment

I am sending you good vibes from here in England

Thank you! I hope I can keep you engaged. Thanks for the good vibes. They appear to be helping!

Hi, soory to hear about your dad and also magic, not a pleasant time i'm sure...

but i'm all caught up on the trip report and looking forward to reading along...already reliving some of our harry potter memories reading and looking at your photos...

Thanks for the thoughts. I enjoyed catching up on your report earlier today. I hope to get back to mine very soon. I have lots of pictures to share.

wow, your descriptions of wwohp are great...we are going in 42 days and can not wait. love all of the great hints and pictures. is there anything that you would have done differently while you were at universal?

Thank you - I'm sure it's much less than 42 days now! You will love it.

The only thing I would have done differently at Universal would have been to ride Rip Ride Rock-It the first day. Because it went down that night and never came back up. I am not sure if it's back in service yet, but if it is when you're there, I'd recommend riding it.

I would also like to see the animal show at Universal, but we just didn't have the time or energy.

Sorry to hear also about your Dad. I too lost my dad to lung cancer. Chemo gave him an extra two years after his surgery. Hope your father has lots more time. BTW - I too am in Austin. Maybe we will see each other some time!

We seem to have quite a bit in common. I have read recently that cancer is increasingly common in Goldens. I have now lost two in my lifetime to cancer. I have some news on Dad - stay tuned. But suffice it to say, it's good news.

Wow - in Austin! Again, more in common!

So sorry to hear about your dad's prognosis!

The wait times at Islands of Adventure were awesome for you! I noticed that 20-minute wait for the Forbidden Journey! Wow!

Thanks Jackie! Yes, we had awesome wait times the entire trip. A great time of year to go.

 

[Native NYer]

Hi Susan! How are you?
Hope all is well

 

[swwake]

I am back for a few minutes. I spent today catching up on a few weeks of what I've missed on the DIS boards. I have missed some people leaving AND returning from their trips already!

I still want to share all of my photos with you here, so I plan to get that done soon. But for now, a life update.

First, an update on Dad. He visited his oncologist two weeks after we found out the lymph nodes tested positive for cancer. He was told that only two of the biopsied nodes had tested positive, and they were the two in the lower part of the left lung - the lobe that had been completely removed. Other lymph nodes in the top lobe and surrounding areas had tested negative!! The doctor recommends that Dad have 3 rounds of light chemo, just since the mass was so close to the outside edge of the lung. So Dad has agreed to chemo (which he had originally decided against), and we are all very happy. This week, my twin 13-year-old nephews went to "Camp Paw Paw" (Dad's house in Jackson, TN) for lots of skeet shooting, quail, pheasant and duck hunting. Tomorrow they will drive back here to Austin. Dad will stay with us a couple of nights, then head back to Jackson, where he will begin his 3 months of chemo very soon. So thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Katie surprised me a little on Halloween. This college girl is the one who says "Mom, I don't like Disney. It's YOU who loves Disney." Well, take a look at her Halloween costume.

That just cracked me up. So glad she doesn't like Disney! This is her 3rd Minnie costume I can remember. She may have done more.

On to Thanksgiving. We enjoyed having Mom here and healthy, and all of the family over at our house for good food and football, along with some Yahtzee. Continuing our tradition (started by Magic in 2000, when she ate half of a pumpkin pie off the counter), Harry got his Thanksgiving dinner sampler plate.

Before you ask, yes, Dude is in pajamas. It is a family tradition that we all wear pajamas on Thanksgiving Day. More room for "expansion".

Harry also got to model his new Mickey ears.

My sister, Joann, and I took a quick trip to New York in early November. I had to go for a day of training, and I didn't want to go alone. Well, as luck would have it, the Manhattan Disney Store grand opening was the week we were there, and they wanted everyone in New York to have Mickey ears. So this is the pair my sister got (while I was in training). It was pretty neat to be there for the store's grand opening.

And the final thing I wanted to update you on. We have done some soul searching and some research and have decided to adopt another golden retriever. Harry is a rescue, but Magic was from a conformation show breeder. This time, for many reasons, we have decided to again adopt from Magic's breeder. (Incidentally, my first golden was from the same breeder, born in 1980, and I showed her in conformation, obedience and tracking.)

We thought long and hard, and I finally called the breeder. When I asked if she is still breeding goldens (she started in 1968), she said yes and happens to have a litter on the way due Wednesday, the 1st. (She is a very responsible breeder, and usually only does 1-2 litters a year.) So that was the first irony. The second is that this litter was apparently conceived on or within 2 days after the day Magic died. So we are wondering if this is really much of a coincidence, and whether we might get a little bit of Magic's spirit in our new puppy.

Regardless, we are pretty excited. We have placed a deposit on a little girl, and we will find out late this week how many puppies are in the litter, and what the naming convention is (the breeder always assigns a theme to the litters). Hmmm...what if it is Disney themed?? That would be so awesome.

The breeder's website is here: Laurell Golden Retrievers and it is uncanny how much the dog on the front page resembles our dear Magic.

I have to go figure out where I was on our trip report, and what pictures I have already uploaded, then get back to sharing our trip with you!

 

[swwake]

Hi Susan! How are you?
Hope all is well

Good and getting better! I think you're one of the ones who has been to Disney and back since I last posted! Did you have fun?