All I Want For Christmas Is an Okapi, a Dinosaur, a Herd of Elephants and ...

[micandminforever]

Great news about your observation, and finishing up for the year.

I loved the OKW pictures, my favorite cousin is headed south today and staying 5 nights there starting tomorrow. Her family bought into OKW right after it open, and have loved it there.

 

[MeMom]

Ok, my 'vision' for your Mexico project was to have your kids make and decorate pinatas from cardboard boxes. Then you can give them all sticks to beat it with and you know how that will turn out!

I love the picture of Lilly on the bus! Very cute! And the ornaments on the OKW tree are pretty cool too.

I'll have a video camera handy if I decide to give my kids sticks. It will make for some interesting viewing....

and I'll need the evidence for the police reports.

Fortunately, Lilly got down and behaved herself before the bus driver had to say anything to her.

I'm going to have to get some of those fun ornaments for my den. We'll be home next Christmas, so we will decorate (a little), unlike this past year.

They Like you, they really like you!!!!! I hope they appreciate the lack of a dog and pony show and you keeping it real. I am like that too, you want to see what I do, then come on in. I will be doing what I always do and you can judge me on that. Congrats on a great observation and you can celebrate that you are done 'being watched' this year.

March, April, and most of May - then I better get busy enjoying a very short summer. Teachers have to report back the last week in July.

Hi Memom
Things have been crazy both at work and home. I have had so many work deadlines in the past 2 weeks that I am just burned out!!! Good thing I have a little get away planned . Plus I am trying to get summer clothes together for our trip. Have to get the totes out of the garage to get Chloe something to wear on our trip. It is going to be 87 degrees one day that we are there.

I am so sorry that you have such mixed memories from your trip. But, it is great that you have such wonderful memories of such an amazing lady.

Glad that your observation is over and it went well. I have a big meeting at work on Tuesday (right before we leave for the trip on Wednesday) that I am going
to have to work on all day tomorrow . The feeing of relief that it is over and that I can leave with a clean to do list at work will be wonderful.

Loved the AK shopping pics. Great way to start the weekend!!!

Jill was pulling out summer clothes today, as well. Bella sent me a picture of her wearing a polka dot Minnie dress. She was pretty cute.

I still get the wierdest feeling sometimes, like Joan is going to show up and have a good laugh at the craziness of the last almost two months. I think it will be a while before the day hits me that it is really final - for now, anyway.

A meeting the night before you leave is no good!

Congrats on the great observation. I knew you would get a great review.

Aw I did not know they sell little "Lily". Very cute pics of her on the bus but does look like she is getting out of hand.

When I think of Mexico I think about the hats. BIG hats. I am sure you will represent Mexico very well.

Have a great weekend!! By the way I have FINALLY updated my TR from Oct.

I don't think that is officially Lilly, but to Bella, all baby gorillas are Leely.

I have three sombreros. One of them is on a very large Eeyore, who will be going to school with me Monday. I almost got felt and pom poms to let them cut patterns and glue, but I decided to go for something I thought would be super cool. My super cool idea bombed, so I may be doing felt and pom poms.

I will check your report this weekend.

Love the OKW pics. I have only seen it from the ME bus, so getting there this summer is on my lists of must. It should happen since we are staying at SSR. I sure hope they have some resort gear for Vero... that is my #1 item on my list.

Morale hit a low this week when the cuts for next year were released. 140 teachers in my district, after two years of cuts already. I can barely stomach all the changes that will happen to get 140 cuts. We lost art, music and gym for next year, except for 30 minutes, one day a week in a rotation of the year. So we gained 30 minutes of core instruction.... but 8 and 9 year olds need to move, not be talked to for 30 more minutes!

I love the atmosphere over there. It is very casual and vacationy feeling to me.

We've lost a lot of 'extras' teachers, too. We have a bunch who are doing splits between two schools. The people who make the rules are far removed from the realities of the classroom.

Your pictures from OKW really took me back to December. We spent some time in that store since we stayed there for part of the trip!

The kids enjoyed pin trading with the CMs at OKW!

Congratulations on a solid evaluation! Administrators can spot a good teacher and they know you are the real deal.
Dog and pony shows can certainly backfire!

She didn't say good, now, she said solid.

Those OKW balloons were something else, weren't they??? I could POP do that POP job POP POP POP!!!

Not.

I can't stand the sound of a popping balloon, anyway, so I'd be if I even tried to twist one of those things!

My swahili is a bit rusty but I think it means media station (probably more like radio).

We have only been to OKW as a Magical Express Stop. It was nice to see those pictures.

I may have typed it into the Swahili to English dictionary wrong. I'll go with whatever you stay, because I don't have any Swahili to even be rusty.

You should try to walk around at least the main area of OKW sometime. It's really pretty out by the dock area.

We stayed at OKW during the Christmas season and it was such a pretty, peaceful resort. I love how your photos seem to get each piece of detail.

I was sort of out of it that day, so it's a wonder I got any pictures at all. One of my goals was to get over to OKW to get those Christmas decoration pictures. I didn't expect the others to go with me, but I am glad they did. I wish it had been light enough to have gotten outside pictures, too.

Great pictures! I love the new animal friends! Nice and small!

I can see we will be doing some shopping at the OKW shop in October! DH loves the resort specific stuff and the DVC stuff. I think we'll plan to eat once at Olivia's too. I've heard it is a bit of a hidden gem.

Yes, we approved of the little animals. Besides, how often do you get a chance to buy an okapi?

I wonder if DVC people buy DVC stuff, or if that seems braggy. Or maybe they just wear it back home and not in Disney World. That's probably what I will do if I ever get DVC points.

OKW seems so pretty and peaceful. I've thought about staying there before but it's never happened. I should do that sometime! I could definitely go for some of the items in the gift shop! Lily the gorilla seems to be having lots of fun on the bus ride! And I would love to see miss Brooklynn's pictures sometime!

As for Mexico, it makes me think of bright colours and music and sunshine and food and cocktails, fountains and carvings. I've never been to the real Mexico so that's more or less from the Epcot pavillion and other people's vacation photos! I think it would be a fun country to study at school!

I had big visions of using Model Magic to make some replicas of the Oaxacan carvings in the Mexico pavilion. Let me just go ahead and do this to myself. The paint will be returned tomorrow, and the open tub of clay will be donated to the Art Dept. at school. I couldn't even make a sea turtle or a snake look right, so I am sure not going to attempt a wolf or an armadillo!

Animal Kingdom looked SO busy! What a contrast to your Hollywood Studios morning. Aww, seeing Brooklynn's photos would be so cute!

I've never been to Old Key West, but I love the look and feel of it! I'm just drawn to anything beachy I guess, hahaha. I love the resort specific merchandise!

JILL, everybody wants to see Brooklynn's pictures!

Maybe she'll see that, in case I forget to mention it to her.

I like the tropical stuff, too - from the mellow OKW style to the brighter Caribbean Beach style to the lush Polynesian style.

Too bad your Mexican celebration is next week. Since I live miles from the Mexican border, we have all sorts of Mexican stuff around here. If I wanted it cheap, I could cross the border, but sorry... I haven't crossed in years (too much trouble & problems in Tijuana)or I could have to seen who was going and had them pick up some cute/cheap items. Let me know if you want me to be on the look out for something for you next year! But, it would be cute to have the kids make pinatas and then lots and lots of color! Could you make them some food....some homemade tortilla's (or just buy at the store), make some beans (pinto beans are pretty cheap & add in garlic seasoning), and then some spanish rice. Have fun... whatever you decide to do will turn out awesome!

Sorry about your sad ride on the train. So glad you got to spend time with her before she passed away. And you have such good memories of such a wonderful lady.

Loving the pictures. I REALLY want to go at Christmas. My oldest DD would like to go for either her 20 or 21st birthday. Of course her birthday is Dec 28.. the busiest day at Disney. I would love to pull off a mother/daughter trip with both my DD's for after New Years when it calmed down (and got a little cheaper). We will have to see what Disney offers in the next couple of years.

Have a great weekend.

We're going to have some food. The kids will get the cheap stuff - chips and salsa, rice and beans, etc. The teachers are going to bring a good lunch, though. I am making an enchilada casserole, and others are bringing various items. We'll chow down and have a feast during our planning time.

For the future, though, if you ever can get something free or cheap, I'll sure take it to add to my collection. I got a Mexican flag today at Party City. They didn't have much.

You can go during the busy time and just play things right. It is definitely festive, and no one does Christmas decorations like Disney does, of course!

Great news about your observation, and finishing up for the year.

I loved the OKW pictures, my favorite cousin is headed south today and staying 5 nights there starting tomorrow. Her family bought into OKW right after it open, and have loved it there.

Lucky cousin!
I hope the weather is awesome for them.


********************************************


After having spent the better part of the day researching Oaxacan carvings and shopping for ideas for Mexico, I discovered that a 'solid' teacher (not good, Wigd, solid ) should never attempt to make a ball of clay look like a form of Animales Fantasticos, or whatever that is.

Not a snake, not a turtle, not a snail.

Don't even dream of trying to shape a wolf or an armadillo.
It's an insult to the craft.
The clay went back in the tub.
The paint stayed safely in the bag. It returns to the shelf in the store tomorrow.

Now the question is, can a solid teacher cut out felt sombreros and glue pom poms on them?
We shall see, friends; we shall see.
Maybe the kids can do that one all by themselves.

 

[punkin413]

The budding photographer trying to get a tree picture.

Very cute shot!

I thought I quoted your second post, too, but I guess I didn't. Every time I see the OKW lobby all I can think about is me sitting there in September 2007 with Erin at around 1:00am waiting on Tara's ME bus to arrive so we could officially check in and me having to go tee-tee SO BADLY (what's the first thing you do after a long drive when you get to Disney World, other than jumping for joy?) and the CMs there wouldn't let me use their facilities b/c it was so late. (Was that a run-on sentence or what?) Yeah, that was fun. But other than that, we loved OKW.

I have the miniature versions of those H2O products in my guest bathroom. I took them from VWL. I thought people would be super impressed that I had them in my bathroom but I don't think anyone except dissers would even notice!

 

[slightly_obsessed]

I'm glad your observation went well and that you had a good evaluation! Solid definitely equals good in my book.

I'm sure the AK update was so hard for you to write. Joan sounds like she was such an amazing person.

OKW looks beautiful! We have only seen the tail end of Christmas decorations and never at any of the resorts. Resort hopping during Christmas is now on my (very long) to do list!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

If you want DVC merchandise, go ahead and buy it! Especially when you stay at the resort! Who knows when they may go away with it?
I have a tunic length sweatshirt that I wear at home and at WDW, plus some t-shirts that I wear mainly around home, for sleep shirts and to the gym.
I wish had bought the OKW shirt...

I really think they need to make the "future DVC member" shirts in adult sizes too!
So many people with for it in their futures!

Would you believe that I made an offer on more Beach Club points last week?
Nah, I didn't think you would....

 

[MeMom]

Very cute shot!

I thought I quoted your second post, too, but I guess I didn't. Every time I see the OKW lobby all I can think about is me sitting there in September 2007 with Erin at around 1:00am waiting on Tara's ME bus to arrive so we could officially check in and me having to go tee-tee SO BADLY (what's the first thing you do after a long drive when you get to Disney World, other than jumping for joy?) and the CMs there wouldn't let me use their facilities b/c it was so late. (Was that a run-on sentence or what?) Yeah, that was fun. But other than that, we loved OKW.

I have the miniature versions of those H2O products in my guest bathroom. I took them from VWL. I thought people would be super impressed that I had them in my bathroom but I don't think anyone except dissers would even notice!

That was very unmagical of them, huh? We need an upside down one of these: Pop bathrooms are always open, so I can't imagine checking in and having people who need to make a pit stop not being able to.

I have some of the little ones, too, but they aren't in my tub. They're just in a drawer with about fifteen of the cheap ones. I pull them out in an emergency when I get low on shampoo and I'm not going to be able to get to the store for a day or two. The H20 conditioner is good. I used it when we stayed at AKL. I thought about buying some more, but it's a bit pricey in the gift shops.

I'm glad your observation went well and that you had a good evaluation! Solid definitely equals good in my book.

I'm sure the AK update was so hard for you to write. Joan sounds like she was such an amazing person.

OKW looks beautiful! We have only seen the tail end of Christmas decorations and never at any of the resorts. Resort hopping during Christmas is now on my (very long) to do list!

As long as I have a job, I'll let them call me whatever they want.

Joan was one of the finest people anyone could know.

You will love resort hopping during the holidays! There are so many beautifully themed trees and cool displays to see.

If you want DVC merchandise, go ahead and buy it! Especially when you stay at the resort! Who knows when they may go away with it?
I have a tunic length sweatshirt that I wear at home and at WDW, plus some t-shirts that I wear mainly around home, for sleep shirts and to the gym.
I wish had bought the OKW shirt...

I really think they need to make the "future DVC member" shirts in adult sizes too!
So many people with for it in their futures!

Would you believe that I made an offer on more Beach Club points last week?
Nah, I didn't think you would....

I figures they were more to wear at home than when at WDW.

Surprised? Let's take a vote.
Is anyone surprised that Wigd is looking at more points?

Put 1 in the NO column for me.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Your little Lily figure was quite the adventurer on the bus!!

DBF would love to peek inside that "Key Lime Cooking" book at OKW. He loves anything and everything Key Lime!

How fun that you resort-hopped before DTD! I've never visited OKW, but it looks really nice!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Also, if it helps at all for your lesson, here is a picture of the little Animale Fantastical that we picked up on our last trip:

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yeay for your observation going well AND being done with all of that for the year! What a relief!

Big hugs for your AK post about the text about Joan.

Love all the OKW resort specific shirts -- those are very cute.

I hope Jill does post some of Brooklyn's pictures -- I would love to see how they turned out.

 

[Poolrat]

Would you believe that I made an offer on more Beach Club points last week?
Nah, I didn't think you would....

Surprised? Let's take a vote.
Is anyone surprised that Wigd is looking at more points?

Put 1 in the NO column for me.

I gave her a hard time when I saw she put points in for ROFR. I wtill emails for that thread but I am NOT looking. Well I peeked but nothing small is available.

I have some of the little ones, too, but they aren't in my tub. They're just in a drawer with about fifteen of the cheap ones. I pull them out in an emergency when I get low on shampoo and I'm not going to be able to get to the store for a day or two. The H20 conditioner is good. I used it when we stayed at AKL. I thought about buying some more, but it's a bit pricey in the gift shops.

I buy it online fromthe H2O website. Still pricey but it is one of the only conditioners to tame my hair, so I alternate between that one and a cheaper one I buy at Target.

 

[MHTeacher]

Enjoyed the update, especially the shopping pictures! You always have the best shopping pictures!

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Just uploaded Brooklynn's pics to photobucket. So here you go!

Brooklynn's view on the way to the airport

At the airport while we waited for John to park. Please ignore how ridiculous I look.

At ME

At Pop

Waiting for the castle lighting

Waiting for wigd's gang

Remember Brooklynn posed her daddy.

In line for Hollywood dark and early!

Hollywood tree

The AK tree

Gonna load our photopass pics and post them too.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

I'm glad you are a solid teacher! Nothing wrong with that.

Hmmm...when I think about Mexico, the bright colors come to mind.
Maybe your kids would find it fun to make tissue paper flowers to decorate the room with.
I think you have everything covered from the music to the food.

Lexi got the Three Cabalaros tee this past trip.
She like to wear her different Disney tees to school. It makes me happy to see them too.

It's always fun to go shopping...love the shops in AK.
Those are very cute little animal friends. Baby "Lily" is adorable!

Love the OKW pics! Somewhere I have never been. Looks like my kinda place.
Lexi would love to add that OKW Minnie tee to her collection.
Funny cause I just told her today that there isn't very much resort specific merchandise out there anymore.

We took a tour of the Caribbean Beach Resort one afternoon to see their decorations. Resort hopping is so much fun.

I wonder if the boat goes from POR to POFQ and then to OKW then DTD....

Brooklynn did a great job at capturing moments from the trip! We even got several pics of MeMom too.

I have some good news to share...we are now staying at POR in the Royal Room for our spring gettaway!!!!

I can't wait...the rooms look so amazing! Lexi and I watched a video of them the other night that changed my mind. because Tiana is her "right now" favorite it makes it that much more special.

 

[LookinUp]

Brooklyn has a good eye! She got the Christmas trees centered (mostly) and hardly ever chopped off their tops. That's hard even with higher tech gadgets than she had. And I do love those pics of John when she had him pose! But my favorite has to be the waiting-for-Daddy one. You might feel it's not your best look, but Brooklyn caught Bella and MeMom both looking their super-cutest. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[declansdad]

She did an excellent job with those pictures and I didn't realize that you and MeMom were so tall.

 

[reelmom]

Brooklynn did a great job with her pictures. I love the one with the not so hidden MeMom.

 

[MeMom]

Your little Lily figure was quite the adventurer on the bus!!

DBF would love to peek inside that "Key Lime Cooking" book at OKW. He loves anything and everything Key Lime!

How fun that you resort-hopped before DTD! I've never visited OKW, but it looks really nice!

Lily and Bella get along very well. Bella is a climber and tumbler, too.

I'm a key lime fan, too. Next time I'll open the book and get a picture of a good recipe.

We have been to OKW several times, but not at Christmas, so I was wanting decoration pictures specifically. I do wish it had been a little lighter so you could see those few outdoor shots better, as that is such a pretty area. I'll do another photo walk there this summer.

Also, if it helps at all for your lesson, here is a picture of the little Animale Fantastical that we picked up on our last trip:

It did, actually. You convinced me I could at least attempt to represent this craft through drawings. Rather than scrapping the whole idea, I am just going to have the kids draw and color pictures. I am going to see if Drew can make an animal that looks like an animal, and if he can make a few, I'll let some of the kids paint them. We'll display those and the drawn pictures together. If I had thought of this earlier, I could have asked the Art teacher to work with them on this project, but it's too late now. This will give me a new motivation and reason to buy one of the creatures for myself soon.

We seem to pick a different place every year. I wish we could have the same country for a few years in a row and build up a nice little display.

Yeay for your observation going well AND being done with all of that for the year! What a relief!

Big hugs for your AK post about the text about Joan.

Love all the OKW resort specific shirts -- those are very cute.

I hope Jill does post some of Brooklyn's pictures -- I would love to see how they turned out.

Yes, it is a relief. I don't have to dread this Sunday evening ahead. My papers are all graded, and I don't have any observation stuff going on. We're having Read Me Week in combination with Culture Week, so we should have some fun this week.

It was fun to see Brooklynn's pictures. I had forgotten about the one at the airport.

I gave her a hard time when I saw she put points in for ROFR. I wtill emails for that thread but I am NOT looking. Well I peeked but nothing small is available.



I buy it online fromthe H2O website. Still pricey but it is one of the only conditioners to tame my hair, so I alternate between that one and a cheaper one I buy at Target.

I don't think anything could help this hair!

When the time comes for me to get DVC, if that ever happens, it will probably set a record for the smallest contract ever.

Enjoyed the update, especially the shopping pictures! You always have the best shopping pictures!

I enjoy the photo shopping. I feel like I take a lot of the same thigs, but people change from report to report, so I like to get a mix of common things and more unusual things. I think where I slack is in getting things I am not personally interested in, so I try to remember the people with different tastes more and more each time.

Gonna load our photopass pics and post them too.

Good job, Brooklynn!!!

I'm glad you are a solid teacher! Nothing wrong with that.

Hmmm...when I think about Mexico, the bright colors come to mind.
Maybe your kids would find it fun to make tissue paper flowers to decorate the room with.
I think you have everything covered from the music to the food.

Lexi got the Three Cabalaros tee this past trip.
She like to wear her different Disney tees to school. It makes me happy to see them too.

It's always fun to go shopping...love the shops in AK.
Those are very cute little animal friends. Baby "Lily" is adorable!

Love the OKW pics! Somewhere I have never been. Looks like my kinda place.
Lexi would love to add that OKW Minnie tee to her collection.
Funny cause I just told her today that there isn't very much resort specific merchandise out there anymore.

We took a tour of the Caribbean Beach Resort one afternoon to see their decorations. Resort hopping is so much fun.

I wonder if the boat goes from POR to POFQ and then to OKW then DTD....

Brooklynn did a great job at capturing moments from the trip! We even got several pics of MeMom too.

I have some good news to share...we are now staying at POR in the Royal Room for our spring gettaway!!!!

I can't wait...the rooms look so amazing! Lexi and I watched a video of them the other night that changed my mind. because Tiana is her "right now" favorite it makes it that much more special.

Yay for a special room for Lexi! What fun she (and you) will have!

I hope you can find your way to OKW on one of these fabulous trips.

Wasn't CBR so nice and colorful? We really enjoy their food court. I love the music they play there, too. I am thinking ever so slightly on booking the tail end (maybe the last two nights) of our next spring break trip for CBR. I'm 99% sure it will be a 'me and a friend' trip (yeah, I know it is 'friend and I' ). Since Jill has stayed at CBR and I have not, it would give me a chance to catch up by one with her on resort stays, and it would give Kay a chance to experience another resort, as well. She has only stayed at values - Pop, All Star Sports, and All Star Movies - so it would be nice for her to get to experience a moderate other than just in visiting.

Brooklyn has a good eye! She got the Christmas trees centered (mostly) and hardly ever chopped off their tops. That's hard even with higher tech gadgets than she had. And I do love those pics of John when she had him pose! But my favorite has to be the waiting-for-Daddy one. You might feel it's not your best look, but Brooklyn caught Bella and MeMom both looking their super-cutest. Thanks so much for sharing!

I hope she will want to take her camera again this summer. I like seeing things from her view. It was fun to watch her try to get everything all squared up. I hope she will grow into a fabulous photographer through the years.

She did an excellent job with those pictures and I didn't realize that you and MeMom were so tall.

5'8"-ish in real life. In a Brooklynn picture looking up, we probably look six feet!

Brooklynn did a great job with her pictures. I love the one with the not so hidden MeMom.

She said picture, and I quickly tried to find a hiding place!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Anyone been to Star Wars weekends?

I just found out it starts the weekend we are there.

I am by no means a "fan" but it would be neat to see some of the stuff.
Lexi is mainly interested in getting a pic with Jedi Mickey.

I now have to scrap my original plans and re work things...surfweb

I may have a find copies of the Star Wars movies so we can at least know the good guys from the bad. That could be very embarrassing surrounded by all the mega fans.

I wonder if there's a cliff's notes on Star Wars.

 

[MeMom]

Anyone been to Star Wars weekends?

I just found out it starts the weekend we are there.

I am by no means a "fan" but it would be neat to see some of the stuff.
Lexi is mainly interested in getting a pic with Jedi Mickey.

I now have to scrap my original plans and re work things...surfweb

I may have a find copies of the Star Wars movies so we can at least know the good guys from the bad. That could be very embarrassing surrounded by all the mega fans.

I wonder if there's a cliff's notes on Star Wars.

We have been there during a Star Wars Weekend. I know nothing of SW now, and I knew less than nothing then. Watching a movie would probably be a good idea. The parade was cool to me because it was something different, but I didn't know who was who in it. I remember it feeling about 120 degrees that day, though, and wondering how those people were holding up in the costumes, especially the great big tall brown furry guy.

There are some Star Wars experts in DIStown, though, and they will help you study and be ready to know what is going on.

 

[Stasieki]

My post trip depression is sinking in, but catching up on your report and seeing your pictures will for sure cure my Disney blues

I wish I got in touch with you two days earlier. I would have loved to pick up some things at Epcot for you. We sat at the fountain and played the maracas and tried on sombreros. It was so relaxing.