A No Snooze Bar Christmas, Harry & Mickey are Waiting..it is done

[shocky5]

Keep going..... you really do have a knack for storytelling - must be where Ab gets it!

The reveal video is great! You did a great job putting it all together! And I'm so happy that your kids did not figure it out!!!

 

[momabaarjo]

Keep going..... you really do have a knack for storytelling - must be where Ab gets it!

The reveal video is great! You did a great job putting it all together! And I'm so happy that your kids did not figure it out!!!

Translation...I am full of hot air! Thanks friend...I appreciate you following along! I hope some day we meet...I wish you lived closer than 6 hours...our families are way too alike and I think we would all be fast real friends!

Do you guys ever head to Red River, NM?

 

[FosterA]

How fun!! loved the video, you did a great job. I thought the Disney part would be revealed in this segment but I guess that's in the 3rd part right? I'm guessing at the Denver airport, you'll surprise them. Can't wait!!!

 

[21hearts]

That was awesome.

 

[lovethattink]

Love the reveal!! Anakin watched it with me and he wants his Christmas presents to come with clues.

 

[veggiemama]

What an Awesome reveal! loved the you tube video of it

The kids almost seemed frustrated by the amount of presents inside of presents at one point

 

[shocky5]

Translation...I am full of hot air! Thanks friend...I appreciate you following along! I hope some day we meet...I wish you lived closer than 6 hours...our families are way too alike and I think we would all be fast real friends!

Do you guys ever head to Red River, NM?

I agree! We have never been to Red River but talk about taking our kids every year! Eddie's family is just north of you 2 hours. And my aunt lives in Amarillo so one of these days I just need to make a point to get over there and get in touch with you!

But most definitely our families would click very well!

 

[swwake]

I don't know if we will look at Disney or 'another cruise line' but we've never been on one and it is appealing! So any tips you may have...

I can help you with cruise tips. Just give me a starting point - questions? (Maybe we should take this to your TR or FB? - haha)

Okay, both of you way to make me jealous...other than the work traveling it is going to be a quiet summer...all I see in my travel plans is in the truck back and forth to the cabin! So I guess I will have to live through you and your travels cause I need a new car, the cabin needs to be expanded, and oh yeah I need new living room furniture (but if I buy that from Ashley Furniture...they always run a summer trip promotion if you purchase...so maybe there is hope).

What Ann may go to WDW this fall and now Susan...I guess I will just wait until 2013 to go with all of you!

But you have a cabin!!!!!

 

[swwake]

Just watched the reveal video. Awesome! I don't know how you got all that done and were ready to fly at 7:15! Can't wait to hear about their reactions when they found it it wasn't snowboarding.

 

[petals]

Love the reveal video.

And snow on Christmas. Love it I'm still waiting for our snow that was meant to come last October to arrive

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

What a cute idea. I can't wait to see how they find out where they are really going.

 

[annmarieda]

Ann/Tammie - we've been looking at cruises, too... probably be a July trip but funny that all of our minds have shifted in that direction. Surely it's becasue of Susan's girls cruise not too long ago!

LOL, don't read too much into me looking into cruises. True, I am very intrigued by them... but I am always looking at airfare and stays..somewhere. I think being a travel agent would be the best job in the world!

I'm looking at cruises too, but not a Disney cruise. I will include more about that when I get to the end of my TR. I can't plan anything as far as personal travel until we get our Germany trip confirmed, or confirm we're not going to Germany. Should know that in a couple of month. Then I may add a short cruise or a Disney F&W trip in the fall. Not sure yet.

AH! Looks very likely that we are going in the fall. If both of us do..and our dates are the same... we HAVE to plan a dismeet, kay?

I don't know if we will look at Disney or 'another cruise line' but we've never been on one and it is appealing! So any tips you may have...

You are such the world traveler! I love that! I would love to do the F&W... oh wait... Oct. 2013!

for 2013!!

Reveal Phase 2​

Remember at the start of the Advent Countdown (Phase 1), Kirby tipped the kids off that the present they get on Christmas would give them lots of lift...So the kids are still thinking we are going skiing and our plane does route through Denver…gotta love that and we need to get around and out the door before 7:15…how am I going to manage this?

[ENTER PRESENT, CHRISTMAS TREE RIGHT]​

Finally, Goo realizes that there is a present next to the tree and Boo quickly lets him know it is for all 3 of them. The boys demand to open it, but Ab is still ready to go back to bed, and of course I promised her that once Santa and stocking was over she could go back to bed...all eyes turn on her and Goo gives his best puppy dog eyes. Will she give in and stay up a little longer? She can't resist her littlest brother, with those eyes... She agrees and the kids ask us if they can open it...and of course we agree cause I am looking at the clock and projecting that it is going to take 30 minutes for this gift (you already know why from my lasts posts). Well here is what happened...and for those of you trying to read the cards...the kids will tell you what they say.

I apologize now for the poor video quality...I forgot to turn on more lights than just the tree, a table lamp, and the television...but you will get the reaction from them. Remember that Goo and Boo have never been on a plane before.

LINK TO YOUTUBE VIDEO OF PHASE 2​

Put it all together and you get…Plane Ride to Denver today at 7:15 am. They then opened their gifts and found new ski hats…well it might get cold in Orlando at night, right and they still do not know that is final destination...Denver is just a layover and a plane change.

Reflections: Okay so to start if off there was a tape flaw...I have no idea why they could not open into the 2nd box (I swear I did not use that much tape). Next, reading issues...honest Boo is a very good reader...I just happened to use the Walt Disney Font and it was a little difficult to read. I love that Goo started shouting Disneyland (we have been working for a year to get him to understand the difference, and you can see without luck). Then my silly little one got silly and the giggle fits...see what I deal with EVERYDAY, no wonder why I have gray hair! Who knew dad was going to head to the boys bathroom right when they were instructed to go brush teeth and comb hair? By the end you know that my brilliant daughter is a true blonde to the roots...I am still amazed that she could not but the puzzle together...and she loves puzzles. I was so happy with the excitement that I shut the camera off and lost a lot of fun reactions and conversations about getting out the door and to the airport.

So after the shock wears off, we have 15 minutes to quickly clean up the living room, get things to the dumpster, and get the kids out the door.

Will Ab want to go back to bed?

Will we get out the door or will my nightmares come true?

Did I mention that I had been tracking the weather for months...did I mention that snow is steadily falling outside?​

First.. kinda sorry to hijack there above..

Second!!!!! That reveal was awesome. I can't wait to see how the rest of the day unfolds!! I had dd watching the video with me and she begged me to surprise her next time. That is kinda hard to do since we are always dreaming up our next disney trip here in our house.

 

[lovethattink]

Just adding my two cents on the cruise comments. A Disney cruise is awesome!!! I preferred the Disney cruises we went on to the WDW stays we have had.

 

[Sara1Babe]

I cant wait to hear how the kids reacted when they found out they were going to WDW and HP.....eeepppp this is edge of your seat stuff

 

[momabaarjo]

Please forgive me for not doing a good job lately on posting new updates...trying to still get back on some type of schedule. I have typed a bunch of updates...so look for lots of new posts over the next couple of days!​

 

[momabaarjo]

Will This Flight Get Off?
Let it NOT Snow, Let it NOT SNOW​

I have to tell you that once the video went off the funny stuff started happening...dang missed all that! Ab started questioning me what I had packed...teenage girls and their clothes (this is the first time I can remember that she worried about clothes since being used to uniforms the discussions, err arguments, always seem to surround purchasing regular street clothes). I assured her that her new ski outfit was packed and then she wanted to know when I packed. Much to my children's shock they had not realized that I took a day off from school this past week and while they were at the movies yesterday I finished up. We managed to get out the door with 5 minutes to spare only to have my fears begin to mount when I saw how much snow was actually falling. This had me worried...how many Christmas has it been brown but the Christmas I want to fly out we are having a white Christmas....figures....and probably serves me right for stalking Farmers Almanac and the weather channel since October! During our drive my cell phone goes off, who on earth would be calling me at this time (other than family)…it comes up a Florida number?! I answer hesitantly and it is Tony our hired driver. He must of thought I was some kind of nut case because honestly I was not thinking of our arrival just yet and I was not sure how to disguise the call with the kids listening in the back seat. Somehow I managed to stumble through and tell him to call back in about 30 minutes. The rest of the trip to the airport (all 15 minutes of it was pretty much a blur of me reassuring Ab that I packed this or I had packed that and calming Boo is suddenly insecure about flying...for once my non-stop talker Goo was quiet...new ipod did the trick, remind me to thank Santa). We got to the airport and I had already thought ahead as to what I would do once we got to the check in counter so the kids did not know we were going to Orlando (I had a note saying...Shhhh our final stop is Orlando with our flight information). Guess what I did not need that, the kids sat down on seats while Jeff and I went through the check in line...we have a small regional airport and the person checking us in, Melissa, just happened to be a friend from church and she already know about the surprise! Check in went really smooth...considering I was sweating the luggage weigh in part...but we were okay (I think Melissa gave us a pass)!

Our next stop was security, which always is a challenge even with a 1 check point line and a husband that wears work boots and 2 boys that had really never been inside of the airport carrying travel bags stuffed (a TSA agents worst nightmare to scan). I quickly explained to the boys what was happening, sent Ab through the line and then the boys while Jeff struggled with his boots...of course I wore slip ons! But this is Texas so the boots never phase TSA...and of course I did a lot of nagging about lighters and pocket knives prior to the trip (keep that in the back of your mind) so we did not have to worry about that mess. Just as I go through the line, Tony is calling back. I point Jeff towards the gate area with the kids while I lingered behind trying to find all my flight information to confirm with Tony. Being that this is a small regional airport we have 1 terminal, if you can call it that it is simply 4 gates in one huge room. I was pretty excited about seeing th new terminal...it just opened this fall and had been underconstruction for almost 3 years (prior we had 2 typical terminal wings at each end of the airport and lots of unused gates). After confirming with Tony, I found everyone rummaging through their bags near our gate...

(A much better picture of the hats that they got in the reveal...of course someone needs to tell my children that they are inside not outside.)

(Don't you gut love the sunglasses at 7:45 in the morning along with being inside plus the fact of their size and color...teenage fashion statement. )

(About the only time the next 10 hours he is quiet!)​

... it was then that my fears began to mount once again as the snow pile up outside...if it is snowing here, what is it like in Denver? I quickly made a call to my mom north of the Denver area and wish her Merry Christmas and check on the weather...yes they have snow but only a dusting...looks like if we get out of our town to Denver we should not have issues. I notice on the flight board that the flight that I had originally booked for later in the morning was now showing cancelled...our plane is at the gate (left from last night) so at least we have a plane here. Joseph and I walk over and watch another flight prepare to leave the gate…and then watch it being de-iced.

Melissa who is now serving as gate agent assures me that our flight will take off and sure enough right on time we begin boarding. I go ahead first trying to explain to the boys what is happening and how to find their seats…on this flight all the kids get a window seat for this flight the plane is only 3 seats across. Ab and Jeff sit in seats in front of us while I am in the center between the Boo and Goo. Boo starts getting nervous while Goo is being his usually non stop talking self asking questions and making fun of Boo freaking out. And Ab is not helping the situation with her being the authority on flying over her brothers and of course Jeff is being a typical dad ignoring all around him...I am a wreck! We pull out of the gate on time, but what happens next threatens my timetable once we land in Denver. Remember it is snowing and by this time not lightly anymore!

 

[veggiemama]

Ah Tammie, you are the queen of cliff hanger endings!!

Can't wait to find out how flying went and I can't even imagine the kids excitement once they find out that they are actually going to WDW. I honestly don't know how you managed to NOT tell them!!

 

[lovethattink]

Definately the Queen of Cliffhangers. Boy, how I wish I knew the tag fairy!!! She needs a tag! Oh tag fairy, where are you?!

Glad the snow didn't thwart your start. Hanging to the edge of my seat to see how Denver went.

 

[reelmom]

I do not like flying either. I don't know what I would do if it were snowing while I was taking off.

 

[midwest2wdw]

Enjoying your report. Looking forward to what happens next.