A whole new World... UPDATED with Animal Kingdom Day

Linda,
I've enjoyed your PTR and your kids are so cute. The video of Lydia singing Jesus Loves Me just brought tears to my eyes. Then her getting excited about mickey mouse is just to cute for words. I can't wait to read more.

becca

Oh, thank you Becca!!! I have to agree that she is a cutie, but then again, I'm probably pretty biased. :rotfl: I read your TR too and quite enjoyed it! :)
 
You are so welcome. There is a special bond with "Heart Families" We recently learned of a baby born to a young family in Kentucky that has very similar issues to Karlyn. His daddy works for the company my husband works for. Seeing the picture of that darling baby with all his wires, tubes, ventilator and everything just made us cry as we know the agony that comes with those pictures. However strength comes and comfort can be found.

About your darling Lydia's hair...sure you can do it with bangs. Just start the parting behind the bangs. A good spray bottle with water in it will be your best friend. When Karlyn goes to the hospital for a "sleepover" Lindsey always try to do her hair this way before so that it will not be in her eyes and will look ok for several days and be out of the way for the doctors.

Have a great day.

Denise

Yes, there is definitely a bond there. We met a few other families in the hospital when Lydia was having her surgery and it was so easy to get to know each other and talk and talk.

I should really try the hairdos with Lydia for our trip. That might be able to tame her crazy hair! :rotfl2: I don't know what's with that hair. I think she has so many waves in it that it just won't be orderly. :rotfl: I could see her putting up a stink, though, while I'm doing it. :laughing:
Thanks again!
 
Lydia's middle name is Khalana (hence my screen name ;) ). DH read some sort of fantasy books and there was a person named Khalan and later he changed it to Khalana and gave me that nickname when we were dating. We liked the name Lydia and I was suppose to be a Lydia, and then my parents changed their minds at the last moment and I became a Linda ;) . So when I was pregnant with her we knew she would be a Lydia Khalana. :)

I love the name Rose... Just as timeless and elegant as Lydia, really.
I've been reading the first few days of your TR and laughed out loud so many times!!! :lmao: You are a really funny and creative writer!! I'll have to keep on reading the whole thing in the next few days. It's too bad about the FGIT that were so grumpy! Not fun!!:sad2: But it seems you had a great time otherwise! :)

As I was writing this, I lifted Tobias up on my lap (he was whining...) only to discover that he had poop all the way up his back!!! :scared1: No wonder he was whining!! I have no idea how long he's had it and I have no idea how much of the stuff got spread around...! :eek: He's changed now (and my hands are SCRUBBED!) but I'm going to have to... gulp!... sniff around :eek: to see what he... left behind. :scared1: Oh, well, poop happens! ;)
Sorry to end on such a "dirty" note. :rotfl:

Oh what a BEAUTIFUL name! When I was little, I always wanted to name a little girl Liliokhalani (I probably really messed up the spelling of that! She was a Hawaiian princes, I think) and Lydia Khalana souns very similar! Darn, had I been thinking, I could have named her Lydia Kahlani!

Thanks for reading my TR!!! It's fun to write, it's kind of like reliving it all! I have been working on my next installment (which actually means I've been thinking about it and went over the notes I took!).

UCK about the poop!!! I always hated when that happened!!! You made me laugh about sniffing around the house though!!!!! :rotfl2:

I put Lydia's hair up in the little ponies today, like Karlyn's. I use to do that with Arminda's when she was little, and when I saw it in Denise's TR, I had to try it with hers. Actually, I did it Thursday morning, and it stayed fairly decent with just a little redoing until tonight. Lydia has bangs, and it looked really cute. I only had little black rubberbands though. I need to get some more pretty ones!
 
I wasn't sure if I should be the one announcing this (please tell me Teresa and Heather if I'm breaking posting protocol here :) ) but we are SO EXCITED TO BE PART OF THE BIG GIVE!!!!!!!! :yay: :woohoo:

I feel so blessed and humbled that ladies that are practically strangers are willing to spend time and money on MY children..... :sad1: Just amazing!!

So now we are jump-up-and-down EXCITED!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

Thank you again amazing Big Give Group!!!!!!! You have no idea how much you bless us. :hug:

I'll be posting an update later today (after I've stopped my son from digging in the garbage.....!)
 

I wasn't sure if I should be the one announcing this (please tell me Teresa and Heather if I'm breaking posting protocol here :) ) but we are SO EXCITED TO BE PART OF THE BIG GIVE!!!!!!!! :yay: :woohoo:

I feel so blessed and humbled that ladies that are practically strangers are willing to spend time and money on MY children..... :sad1: Just amazing!!

So now we are jump-up-and-down EXCITED!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:

Thank you again amazing Big Give Group!!!!!!! You have no idea how much you bless us. :hug:

I'll be posting an update later today (after I've stopped my son from digging in the garbage.....!)

That's perfectly fine!! We love praise!!! :rotfl2: Everyone is really excited to whip up a few things for your family!

I love your honest candor about poop and garbage. You crack me up! We've all been there!

Shameless plug: Hey, if you need another trip report to read, I updated mine last night. :thumbsup2
 
That's perfectly fine!! We love praise!!! :rotfl2:

I love your honest candor about poop and garbage. You crack me up! We've all been there!

Shameless plug: Hey, if you need another trip report to read, I updated mine last night. :thumbsup2

I'll get right on it! :) I love reading TRs!! :) And just if you didn't get the message: THANK YOU!!! ;) :woohoo:
 
Oh what a BEAUTIFUL name! When I was little, I always wanted to name a little girl Liliokhalani (I probably really messed up the spelling of that! She was a Hawaiian princes, I think) and Lydia Khalana souns very similar! Darn, had I been thinking, I could have named her Lydia Kahlani!

Thanks for reading my TR!!! It's fun to write, it's kind of like reliving it all! I have been working on my next installment (which actually means I've been thinking about it and went over the notes I took!).

UCK about the poop!!! I always hated when that happened!!! You made me laugh about sniffing around the house though!!!!! :rotfl2:

I put Lydia's hair up in the little ponies today, like Karlyn's. I use to do that with Arminda's when she was little, and when I saw it in Denise's TR, I had to try it with hers. Actually, I did it Thursday morning, and it stayed fairly decent with just a little redoing until tonight. Lydia has bangs, and it looked really cute. I only had little black rubberbands though. I need to get some more pretty ones!

Thank you, Teresa! :) I like the Hawaian name and it really is pretty close. :) I look forward to reading more from your TR. :) I'm going to have to buy some rubberbands soon. :thumbsup2
 
We had decided not to do any Character Meals and then yesterday I had sudden change of heart (I think it had something to do with DH thinking it was a great idea, I was sure he wouldn't like it) but alas we couldn't get a ADR for the Crystal Palace at lunch that Wednesday (and that's our only MK day). :sad2: I'm thinking maybe I should try for the Norwegian restaurant with the Princess meal, but it's probably too late there too... Oh, well. I was hoping maybe me and DH could go out by ourselves on the Tuseday night (when Grandma and Grandpa will be there) but I'm not sure where. I'd like to see the Wilderness Lodge (I've heard it's beautiful at Christmas time) but Artist Point is a tad expensive (and probably already booked) so I was thinking Whispering Canyon. DH would like the food there better anyways, lol. But maybe they're also booked. We're such noobs at this!! :lmao:

I've also looked at our intinerary (again! :rotfl: ) in more detail and tihs is what we have so far:

Friday - arrive and get settled. Set up sleeping arrangements. If we have time and feel up for it, enjoy the Pirate and Princess Party at the Village.

Saturday - Universal Studios
We'd try to eat breakfast right at 8am (there is an earlier continental breakfast, but we like a good hearty breakfast as it seems we get more energy for the whole day that way. We'd rather eat a smaller lunch). At the Studios we'd like to see the Barney show, the Animal Actors and the Fievel's Playground. That will all depend on the show schedules. But we hope to be done before lunch time, and then either have lunch in the park or at the Ice Cream Palace at the Village (they have sandwhiches I think). Then the kids (and me!! ;) ) would have a napin our villa. In the later afternoon, I've been thinking of taking Tobias shopping at the WalMart nearby for things we'll need during the week (DH and Lydia would play at the playground etc at the Village) and then eat supper at the Village. There is a Birthday Party for the Village mascot, Mayor Clayton, that evening at 7:30 After that the kids will have a bath and then bedtime.

Sunday - Islands of Adventure
This day we're going to try to not go back for naps (we'll see how that works...). As soon as we get to the park, we'll go to Seuss Landing and probably spend most of our morning there. We'll have lunch and then move on through the other Islands, just enjoying the scenery. There are not really that many other rides that the kids will enjoy but we will go check out the Jurassic Park area and possibly the Me Ship the Olive. At some point the kids will (hopefully) nap in their strollers while me and DH just walk around and look at stuff (that's one thing I really enjoy doing, just looking around and exploring). We'll probably be back around 5 or so and have supper at 6. In the evening we'll have some downtime and then an early bedtime.

Monday - Epcot
There is a meet and greet with Disney characters this morning at the Village :)
We're hoping that Lydia will be tall enough to ride Soarin'. She is 40 inches now but I've hard those bars are a bit higher than the actual height. So, we'll see. Otherwise I guess we'll have to do the baby swap with both of them. Then we'd like to maybe do the Living with the Land ride. Afterwards we'll head on over to the Living Seas and do the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. After that we might have some free time to explore the nearby things. Sometime before lunch we'll head on over to the Norwegian Pavillion and take a look around. We'll have lunch here (probably at Kringla) and then head back for a nap at our villa. The early afternoon will be open to relax at the Village and then we'll eat supper at 6. At some point in the evening DH will have to pick up his parents and drive them to their hotel.

Tuesday - Animal Kingdom
We'll head out right after breakfast and the Grandparents will be joining us for the next two days. :yay: First we'll ride the Safari. Then we'll do the Pangani Forest Trail. After that we can do any activities (Maharaja Jungle Trek or look at some of the smaller animal exhibits) until 11:30 when Finding Nemo starts. We'll watch that and then have lunch (either we'll go back for lunch or eat in the park at a counter service place). We'll head home for naps. Then I'm kind of unsure of what we should do... I'm sure that with all we'll be doing every day, half days are probably the best but it feels like we're "waisting" park time by not going back in the late afternoon. But from what I've understood it takes so long just to get back into the park that I'm not sure that is worth it. If we were going to go back, we'd probably go to MK in the early evening (4:00). If we end up not going back (most likely) we'll have the Grandparents babysit in the evening and we'll go out somewhere. At 7:30 there is a Nickelodeon Meet and Greet thing at the Village. Lydia hopes Dora will be there. :)

Wednesday - Magic Kingdom
We'll try to head out early this day . We'll head straight for Fantasy Land and ride Dumbo, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan right away. Then we'll do Small World. If Tobias needs to run around after that we'll go to Pooh's Playful Spot. Later on we'd like to tour Toontown and have lunch at some point. We also would like to do the Space Ranger Spin (I hope our kids will like it) and Jungle Cruise. If we are going to Adventure Land we'd like to try out Dole Whip (yum!). :thumbsup2 Hopefully our kids will nap in their strollers after lunch at some point. If we lots of time, we'd also like to go to Tom Sawyer Island and do the Railroad or redo any rides they loved. At 6:30 we'd like to find a spot to watch the Spectromagic (7pm) and then the Fireworks (8pm). After that we'll be exhausted and just drop into bed. ;)

Thursday - SeaWorld
We chose SeaWorld for this day because we are probably not going to see a lot of the shows (Tobias can't sit still for that long, but we do hope to catch Believe) and there's a Christmas party that night at the Village with Sanata and presents and all. :) Otherwise we'd like to just explore that park. I might come up with more of a plan for this day later on. We'll eat lunch in the park and then head back or naps and packing. Christmas will be great, I think, and tehn we'll try to get an early bedtime as I think our flight will be early the next day.

Friday - go home :sad1:

That is all I have for now. :) :surfweb:
 
Sounds like a great, very well thought out plan!!! I think you guys are going to have a really good time!! Definitely call to see if you can get into Akershus! It always worth a try and a character meal is such great interaction!!
 
Sounds like a great, very well thought out plan!!! I think you guys are going to have a really good time!! Definitely call to see if you can get into Akershus! It always worth a try and a character meal is such great interaction!!

Thanks Melissa! :) I just hope we're not trying to do too much. I know my little ones are used to their routines and also stay at home with me most of the time (the most exciting part of the day is a walk to the grocery store ;) ) so I hope they won't be too overwhelmed. I'll get my DH to call about Akershus when he comes home (I really dislike calling, especially about these things :) ).
 
Wow, I can't believe that in only two months we'll be there!!! :banana: That is so exciting!!!

On a sad note, me and DH went to the mall today after seeing the Norwegian Consul (sp?) about my passport (that will be ready in a few weeks! :)) and just witnessing someone recieving CPR... It was really brutal. Right in the middle of the food court this man was lying on the floor with 5 guys working on him... A woman, possibly his daughter (he was in his 60s or 70s) sat there looking all dazed. I think she was in shock, she almost looked like she was smiling. She phoned someone on her cell and two younger guys (in their 20s) came running a few minutes later. They were all crying. I couldn't even watch the actually process, it looks really rough. He was all grey... After about ten or fifteen minutes or so, they left with him on the stretcher not doing CPR anymore, but they were walking fairly fast and there was no sheet covering his body so I hope he was okay. There was a whole crowd of people there, watching, stunned. It just really makes you think, you know. Life can be over in a second... There are no guarantees. We just get so busy in our daily lives with stuff and forget about these things, life and death. Just wanted to share...
 
It just really makes you think, you know. Life can be over in a second... There are no guarantees. We just get so busy in our daily lives with stuff and forget about these things, life and death.

It definitely isn't something that you want to see but is an eye opener to us all. My husband is an EMT here and he said he never gets used to seeing it. Same thing when he was in Iraq. He always said that it wasn't the place for him to be.

I am so glad you are only two months out. The time will fly by. Please give the kids a squeeze from me!
 
Wow, I can't believe that in only two months we'll be there!!! :banana: That is so exciting!!!

On a sad note, me and DH went to the mall today after seeing the Norwegian Consul (sp?) about my passport (that will be ready in a few weeks! :)) and just witnessing someone recieving CPR... It was really brutal. Right in the middle of the food court this man was lying on the floor with 5 guys working on him... A woman, possibly his daughter (he was in his 60s or 70s) sat there looking all dazed. I think she was in shock, she almost looked like she was smiling. She phoned someone on her cell and two younger guys (in their 20s) came running a few minutes later. They were all crying. I couldn't even watch the actually process, it looks really rough. He was all grey... After about ten or fifteen minutes or so, they left with him on the stretcher not doing CPR anymore, but they were walking fairly fast and there was no sheet covering his body so I hope he was okay. There was a whole crowd of people there, watching, stunned. It just really makes you think, you know. Life can be over in a second... There are no guarantees. We just get so busy in our daily lives with stuff and forget about these things, life and death. Just wanted to share...

Wow, that must have been really hard to see. I just can't imagine how his daughter and grandsons (I'm just going to assume that's who they were) were feeling. It instantly made me think of my dad. My parents are 65 and I hate to think that they're getting older. They are both really active, but you never know. :sad2:

I meant to comment on your schedule! I think you've got it planned out really nicely. I don't think I could wait that long to get to the Magic Kingdom, though! But, that's just because I always feel I "must" see the castle as soon as possible! :lmao:

As long as you keep in mind that you can leave whenever you want, it won't be the end of the world. I used to think I HAD to stay the whole day because I'd be wasting my money if I didn't. Then, I realized that as long as we had a great time while we were there, we weren't wasting anything! If you're all exhausted, it's probably time to go! But, with your little kids, they may even nap in the stroller!
 
It definitely isn't something that you want to see but is an eye opener to us all. My husband is an EMT here and he said he never gets used to seeing it. Same thing when he was in Iraq. He always said that it wasn't the place for him to be.

I am so glad you are only two months out. The time will fly by. Please give the kids a squeeze from me!

Very true. I was thinking when I saw the people working on him, how much I admired them. Theye were calm but efficient, and they took such great care of the family, explaining things to them. They really are heroes. So tell your hubby that: he's a realy hero! :) I'm sure it must have been so brutal in Iraq... I can't even imgaine. Brave people that face that kind of hardship every day. My sil's boyfriend just came home from Afghanistan and he said it was really hard.

You know, I was just thinking the other day how blessed we are to live in countries where we can feel safe almost all the time. Can you imagine having to flee with your children, while bombs are going off and people are dying around you? *shudder* I just thank God that our children live in a peaceful part of the world. Not all mothers are as lucky... :sad2:

Sorry about the dark tone my TR took all of a sudden. :)

We are really excited to know that we have less than 2 MONTHS left!!!! :woohoo:
 
Wow, that must have been really hard to see. I just can't imagine how his daughter and grandsons (I'm just going to assume that's who they were) were feeling. It instantly made me think of my dad. My parents are 65 and I hate to think that they're getting older. They are both really active, but you never know. :sad2:

I meant to comment on your schedule! I think you've got it planned out really nicely. I don't think I could wait that long to get to the Magic Kingdom, though! But, that's just because I always feel I "must" see the castle as soon as possible! :lmao:

As long as you keep in mind that you can leave whenever you want, it won't be the end of the world. I used to think I HAD to stay the whole day because I'd be wasting my money if I didn't. Then, I realized that as long as we had a great time while we were there, we weren't wasting anything! If you're all exhausted, it's probably time to go! But, with your little kids, they may even nap in the stroller!

Hi Heather! :)
Yeah, those things are hard to think about... I don't usually even go there... :sad2: You can only live one day at a time.

I know it will be SO hard to wait until the end for MK, but I just didn't want to be disappointed with everything else after seeing that. :rotfl: We kind of wanted to save the best for last. We are going to try to see how the kids will nap in their strollers on some days and that might work great. I think I'll be in need of a rest too though in the middle of the day. Would you know how long it usually takes to get from the parking lot to the inside of the park at Epcot and Animal Kingdom in the low season (or early December)? If it wasn't too much of a hassle, we might want to go back in the late afternoon and then stay until bedtime after going home for a nap after lunch (I need that nap myself :rotfl: ).
 
I just wanted to show off the new bathing suit I bought Lydia for our trip (hopefully we'll be able to use it at least once, they do have a heated pool at GKTW). I just fell in love with the roses on it. :) I think it'll look cute on her. :yay:

bathingsuit.jpg
 
I'm sorry I haven't updated much the last couple of days. We've been pretty busy here: a city trip and two birthday parties in two days. :) But the big news is that WE GOT SOME PIXIE DUST IN THE MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!! :woohoo: :yay: Thank you so much, Amber!!!! Lydia LOVED it!! She started coloring right away and I think I read the book (great book!!) 6 times tonight. :rotfl: Tobias was playing with the Donald until his big sister confiscated it, the bully! ;) Here are some pictures of her reactions:

Disboardpics17.jpg


Disboardpics18.jpg


Disboardpics19.jpg


Here is Tobias with his Donald (he was still strapped into his car seat from our birthday trip, poor guy! We were too excited opening the mail too get him out! :laughing: )
Disboardpics20.jpg


Lydia wanted to dress up for her birthday party yesterday and decided she HAD to wear the dress that is way to big for her! :rotfl: But I think she did look cute still. :lovestruc

LydiaandTobiasFall2008055.jpg


LydiaandTobiasFall2008056.jpg
 
The bathing suit is adorable!! She's going to look so cute! I can't get over how beautiful your kids are!! Lydia looks like a little princess in her dress!

BTW, I don't think that your doing to much in your plan. You have lots of down time and bedtimes. The key is not to burn the candle at both ends! With little ones you can't start at rope drop in the morning and close the park at night. It will make from very uphappy, cranky kids! Just do what you feel is right as the Mommy! If you think they've had enough your right! If you think they's like to go a little more your right! As long as your not the crazy parent dragging a child who looks completely exhausted and miserable through the park (believe me I've seen it numerous times, it's terrible!) and your still having fun all is good!!

:dance3: 2 months!!! Yippee!!
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom