An almost-girly trip ~ February 2009 TR!

[Megablocks]

Welcome to my first pre-trip report!​

The TRIP report starts on page 15, post #222!​

PTR Updates​

Page 1, Post #2: Added a wish list on 11/05
Page 1, post #9: Added more pictures (mostly Pirate and Princess Party related) on 11/04
Page 1, post #13: Added pictures (non-Disney related) on 11/06
Page 2, post #17: Small update w/pictures on 11/11
Page 2, post #19: Small update w/pictures on 11/12
Page 2, post #20: Pictures from Bruins game on 11/13 added on 11/14
Page 2, post #23: Some pictures from April trip added on 11/19
Page 2, post #28: Mickey head countdown created! On 11/28
Page 2, post #30: Bowling night pictures added on 11/30
Page 4, post #59: Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert pictures! added on 12/12
Page 5, post #61: More TSO pictures; mini trip update added on 12/13
Page 5, post #65: Autograph book and SNOW!
Page 5, post #73: Kailyn's autograph book and Christmas eve
Page 6, post #78: More Christmas eve plus countdown update!!
Page 6, post #83: More April 2008 pictures added
Page 7, posts #93 & #94: 2008 in review
Page 7, post #104: One month to go!, April 2008 pictures added
Page 8, post #112: Old school (April 1994) pictures added
Page 9, post #123: Countdown update!
Page 9, post #131: April 2008 pictures
Page 9, post #132: Is the dog smiling?
Page 10, post #138: PARSAILING?!
Page 11, post #153: Countdown update & why we're ready for Florida
Page 11, post #158: This time next week...

Trip report updates!​

Page 15, post #222: Day 1, part 1 ~ The traveling & arrival


For now, I will start with a little background info, and some pictures from our April trip in order to put faces to the names and get an idea of the characters attending - Mom, Dad, Kailyn, and myself - Meghan. My brother Mike decided against going this year, but we respect his decision, and he's my brother, so he will still be included in the PTR.

My first trip to Disney World was in 1994, with my parents, my little brother, and my little sister, when I was ten, my brother Mike was six, and my sister Kailyn was one. I actually turned ten IN Disney World. We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort for that first trip. After that, we went every two years, staying at Port Orleans Riverside (back when it was still Dixie Landings!) Starting in 2003, we went three years in a row for a few days, over MLK weekend. In 2005, we tried someplace new, Pop Century, and fell in love with it. After that, there was a three year hiatus, and we didn't go back until April 2008. We stayed at Pop Century again and, once again, LOVED it. On this 2008 trip, there were two new things waiting for us: Expedition Everest and Mickey's Pirate and Princess Party!

Some pictures from our 2008 trip:

What we woke up to outside our rooms every day (We were in the 70's section, on the second floor of the building to the left of the Mickey phone.)

Mike and I before riding Everest

You will notice that we really enjoy finding photo ops. What might be a sign to everyone else, is a photo op for us.

Enter: another example of what might be something interesting or cool to most, but is a photo op to us. Clearly, us kids (well, mostly Mike and I), get this from my dad.

Pre-Pirate and Princess Party. This was SO much fun!

Kailyn and I, during the Pirate and Princess Party (which actually fell on our last night , but it was a GREAT way to end the trip.) I have another picture just like this one, from my camera, but Kailyn stuck her tongue out. I decided I'd post the "nice" one.

This was EASILY the highlight of my trip. I could go on and on about how great and in character he was, and how starstruck I was. He asked if we had a port at our house so he could visit us, and I blurted out that I could build one. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING I WOULD NORMALLY SAY!

We had a monorail car ALL. TO. OURSELVES once during the trip, and of course, my dad and Mike were not staying in one place, to say the least, so my mom and I were demonstrating the "right" way to sit on the monorail. Kailyn was also setting an example, while trying her hardest to stay out of the picture.

Continued in next post…​

 

[Megablocks]

Current trip info and ADR's! ​

This current trip came up quite quickly…as in, within a few minutes. I had just asked Kailyn if she'd consider saving up some money with me so that we could take a girly trip in a couple of years. I told my mom, and she asked if she could come. Long story short, we started talking, my dad wanted to go back, too (as I said before, Mike wasn't really feeling it), and it was decided that we'd be going IN 2009!

Next, we had to figure out when we were going. We had to go during a time that my mom and Kailyn had off from work and school, since my mom teaches toddlers in the same school system that Kailyn attends. It was either February, April, or June. June was quickly ruled out due to the heat, and April was also ruled out, because it turns out that my mom's and Kailyn's April vacation falls right on or around Easter, and that would likely mean it would be SUPER crowded. It was fairly crowded when we went last April, and it wasn't even a holiday. So, February it was! We also decided that February would be a great reprieve from the Massachusetts weather, and would give us something to look forward to after the holiday slump.

Our dates are Wednesday, February 11 - Wednesday, February 18. Our flight leaves around 10:30 AM, so we'll get to Orlando around 1:30. My mom and Kailyn will both miss 3 days of work and school, I'll miss a couple of days of class, and my dad and I have to ask that time off from work, but its always worked out.

We're taking advantage of the Magical Express, since we did it in April and LOVED it, especially the part in which we didn't have to deal with the baggage claim. We just packed anything that we might have needed (change of clothes, etc.), in our carryon bags, and went on our merry way until the luggage arrived. My mom also uses Garden Grocer, which has worked out fantastically for us in the past. She orders some small snacks, and rather than pay for a fridge, she also orders a Styrofoam cooler, which we fill with ice from the vending machines, and we're good to go!

I am not including an itinerary. This is because we've never had one. We just decide, day-by-day, what our plan will be, and what parks to hit. On the day that we get there, Animal Kingdom has nighttime EMH, so depending on how tired we are, we'll take advantage of that, and maybe hit a park after we get checked in, since it'll only be mid-afternoon. We do have one definite thing planned - a 9 AM segway tour at Epcot on Kailyn's 16th birthday!! Ever since my mom told me about this a year ago, I've wanted to do it, but since you have to be 16 to do it, Kailyn was still too young. We'll be there before it opens for the day, and ever since I saw workers at the Museum of Science zipping around on segways a few years ago, and have since seen mall security guards riding them, I have always wanted to ride one. I believe that my mother said that they do a riding lesson for about an hour, and then you go. (Anyone ever ridden a segway? I'm dying to know how easy or how difficult it is.)

ETA 2/7: Parasailing on Kailyn's 16th birthday, at 2 PM!

We also have a couple of dining reservations, and I have made up a to-do list.

ADR's​

Boma: Saturday the 14th at 5:55 PM
Le Cellier: Friday the 13th at 12:30 PM (added 12/05)
Chef Mickey's: Monday the 16th (Kailyn's 16th birthday!) at 5:20 PM​

Not sure if we will add more. Those were the two biggies for us, and we love the food court at Pop, so it's not a big deal if we don't have any other dining reservations. We ate at Boma in April just six days after my 24th birthday--it was my belated birthday celebration, because what better place to celebrate than Disney World? My favorites were the prime rib and the carrot-ginger soup. Kailyn is kind of a picky eater, and does not usually venture to try anything unfamiliar, but she managed to find things that she liked. She liked the salad, flatbread, and hummus, and I know that she found some desserts to her liking (that's my girl…) In April, we had a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's, but I do remember that there are plenty of things for dinner that Kailyn will eat.

EDIT 12/05: We added one more ADR! Le Cellier on Friday the 13th! Super excited for this one.

My to-do list! ​

subject to change...meaning add-ons.

Wishes
Mickey's Philhar-Magic
Earl of Sandwich
Soarin'
Carousel of Progress
TTA/People Mover
Festival of the Lion King
Toy Story Mania
Living with the Land
Off Kilter
Cinderella's Carousel
Country Bear Jamboree (added 11/04 after reading kschafer's TR)
Get an almond pretzel from Norway
Tonga Toast at the Poly
Meet the Mad Hatter! (Kailyn wants to, too)​

Edit 11/07: Evidently we've seen Wishes, Philar-Magic, and Country Bear Jamboree, I just don't remember it. What's wrong with meeee?!

My Wish List​

also subject to change/add-ons

Resort hopping (I'm dying to see the GF for real)
Pirate and Princess Party
Beaches and Cream (I want to see what the Kitchen Sink is all about...)​

I saw some dates on allears.net for the Pirate and Princess Party, and neither of the February dates fall during our time there. I haven't seen anything on the official WDW website, so I'm crossing my fingers for a date during our trip.

If anyone can think of anything else that we might want to add - place to eat, something to see, something to do - please let me know! These are things that I/we haven't experienced (Wishes, Philhar-Magic, Toy Story Mania, COP, Earl of Sandwich), haven't gone on or seen in a long time (TTA, FOTLK, Off-Kilter, Living With the Land, Cinderella's Carousel), or only got to do once (Soarin').


So, there you have it--the start of my first pre-trip and trip report! I will be updating as much as I can. The Dis is my go-to site when I am putting off homework. THANK YOU for reading along!

 

[Lei]

what fun family you have! I love the pics. I, too, love making every spot a photo op, but nobody else in my family does

 

[Megablocks]

Thank you!

Yeah, it's mostly my dad, my brother, and I that like to make every single sign or object a photo op--my sister is a little shy sometimes, and she has to be in the right mood for it. My mom used to HATE having her picture taken, but she's gotten better, so she'll sometimes get in a picture.

Thank you for reading and commenting! I'm going over to your PTR right now.

 

[snowwhite325]

I went on the Segway Tour in August and it was very interesting...I loved going into WS before it opened However, I did struggle with the segway since I am not the most coordinated person in the world Just make sure that you relax while you are on the Segway and you will be fine

I can't wait to read more

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Hi, glad to see you started your own Pre-TR. I love reading about all the plans and prep stuff others do before a trip. I wish I could be like you and not plan each day, who knows you may inspire me to change. Your family seems to know how to have fun. The photo op pics are the ones that probably make you smile the most. I've never been to Boma, it sounds interesting. We did Chef Mickey bkfst last year but I havn't tried dinner yet. We loved it. I look forward to seeing what you add next.

 

[Megablocks]

I went on the Segway Tour in August and it was very interesting...I loved going into WS before it opened However, I did struggle with the segway since I am not the most coordinated person in the world Just make sure that you relax while you are on the Segway and you will be fine

I can't wait to read more

Thank you for the info about the segway. I asked because I'm not super coordinated either, and I was a little concerned, haha. I'm really looking forward to it, though, especially being in the park before anyone else.

for reading!

Hi, glad to see you started your own Pre-TR. I love reading about all the plans and prep stuff others do before a trip. I wish I could be like you and not plan each day, who knows you may inspire me to change. Your family seems to know how to have fun. The photo op pics are the ones that probably make you smile the most. I've never been to Boma, it sounds interesting. We did Chef Mickey bkfst last year but I havn't tried dinner yet. We loved it. I look forward to seeing what you add next.

Hey! Glad to see you over here!

Yeah, we have a lot of fun. All the random pictures with signs and inanimate objects are my favorites. Sometimes we'll see a sign or something and go for a picture at the exact same time. Or my dad will say, "hey, take a picture of me *here*" and I have to tell him no, you're not supposed to go over there, or no, I really don't think you should do that. It's funny stuff, we do have tons of fun. I'm going to post an update with more pictures from our last trip, and photo ops that we come up with.

You should definitely try Boma at some point. We've only gone for dinner, but it's really good. We looooove Chef Mickey's--it's a tradition for us.

Thank you for reading!

 

[Lei]

Oh, I haven't commented on your plan taking the Segway tour! How cool! I've always wanted to do that. Yes, I read they'll give a riding lesson first (where people fall the most, or so I've heard. I hope you'll breeze through it, though!), then off you go on the tour.

 

[Megablocks]

So, I don't have anything due for school this week, AND I don't have class two days out of three next week. What better time to post more pictures?!

This was at the beautiful AKL before our Boma reservations. My dad's and Mike's feet did not touch the floor in those chairs, and they're both around 6', so it was really amusing to see.

This is one of the many things that I love about Disney--the attention to detail. I took this to note the child weight limit on the gigantic Big Wheel bike at Pop.

Another example of where Mike and I get our fondness for taking pictures with signs and/or inanimate objects.

Just because I can't get enough of these pictures

*sigh* ..... Okay, back to basics...

These guys were awesome, and funny.

They saw my mom taking the picture above, and then insisted that we get IN the picture with them. (Mommy, if you're reading this--I'm sorry for posting another picture of you! It's for the integrity of the report, or something.)

(Mom was not sure what they were doing behind her )


This was one of the three times that we got stuck on Splash Mountain, for about five minutes each time, making us think that we would miss the parade and the fireworks during the Pirate and Princess Party.

This was how I felt after.

Want to get drenched on Splash Mountain? Sit next to me. Seriously. I am a water magnet.

These are the ONLY two rednecked photos that came out for me. (Again, Mommy, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for posting yet another photo of you! I love you!)

Notice how in the Dinosaur picture, my parents and Mike are posing, but Kailyn and I aren't? Yeah. I love that ride, but it scares the crap out of me.


Next time (either tomorrow or the next day), I will post pictures that are not entirely Pirate and Princess Party related, I promise.

Have a good night, everyone!

 

[Megablocks]

Oh, I haven't commented on your plan taking the Segway tour! How cool! I've always wanted to do that. Yes, I read they'll give a riding lesson first (where people fall the most, or so I've heard. I hope you'll breeze through it, though!), then off you go on the tour.

Thanks--I am hoping to breeze through it too! I was so excited when my mom called to tell me that she got it. I am very glad that they give lessons before the tour. I'm telling myself that most people taking this tour have not had the opportunity to ride a segway yet, so I will NOT be the only one looking silly.

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

You probably already know about the new promo today, but in case you don't....you lucky girl can get 7 nights for the price of 4 and a $200 gift card. I hope you can book the reservation you want. Good Luck !!!

 

[Megablocks]

You probably already know about the new promo today, but in case you don't....you lucky girl can get 7 nights for the price of 4 and a $200 gift card. I hope you can book the reservation you want. Good Luck !!!

Thank you soooo much for reminding me about this! I called my mom to tell her about it, and she called me back about 45 minutes later to tell me that she got it, and ended up saving $445, in addition to the $200 gift card! The lovely gift card will probably pay for most of our Boma and Chef Mickey's meals--actually probably one or the other. That helps a lot, though!

When my mom called to redeem the code, I guess the guy asked how she knew about it "already" (and I guess that a lot of people were calling, because when she did, it said all the circuits were busy.) She told him that it was because of some Disney discussion forums. The Dis is so incredibly useful!

 

[Megablocks]

Thanks to CanadianWDWFan's reminder, we got to take advantage of Disney's latest promo -- 7 nights for the price of 4, plus a $200 gift card! More money for shopping...right?

Actually, I did a little bit of online shopping today. I need a pair of snow boots, because for the past few years, I haven't had any, and it rather stinks to wear your NOT waterproof sneakers outside in the snow. Especially when you are cleaning the really heavy, wet variety of snow off your car.

Naturally, I didn't end up buying snow boots. I will need to eventually, but I wasn't really feeling that today. Instead, I went on the Crocs website, because even though I don't particularly care for the regular Crocs that are so popular on the DIS, I've found that the Mary Jane ones have grown on me. Maybe because they don't look too Croc-like?

Anyway, I bought a pair. In black. I'm SURE that my family will enjoy pointing and laughing at me, but I'm happy with my purchase. And they were a heck of a lot cheaper than snow boots, AND the website only accepts Visa and Mastercard, and my debit card is a MC, so I didn't have to break out the credit card, as I would be tempted to do with the boots. Yep, it's a justified purchase.

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I decided to post some non-Disney related photos, just so that you can get more of an idea of us, and so I can prove that we are NOT only this crazy in Disney.

This was my boyfriend's idea. It should go without saying that he fits in wonderfully with my family.

We go to Ohio every summer to visit some of my dad's family that lives out there. There are about three antique shops on one street, so we wandered into one and found these glasses.

It was an incredibly well-spent $12. Kailyn and I took pictures around the hotel wearing them, but I think she'd kill me if I posted them here, and I'm not going to lie, the ones of me wearing them are really strange.


Typically, when we leave Ohio, we drive about halfway home, and then stop at a hotel for the night. We stopped in Rochester, N.Y., and Kailyn and I had a really hard time sleeping, so around midnight, we decided to amuse ourselves by taking pictures. Yeah, they were taken in the bathroom. We didn't want to wake anyone up.

"Look concerned"

I had NO idea what she was doing!

We were going to take pictures wearing the weird glasses, but I think they were left out in the van, so we couldn't.


And finally, one more from the end of summer, at a Red Sox game, where we stood on the Green Monstah! (My boyfriend, Charles, myself, and Mike)

Have a good night (or morning...depending where you are!)

 

[Lei]

Cracking up on your family pics!

 

[DisKate]

Hi!
Jumping over from MeMom's report! Sounds like you are going to have a ton of fun

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

So glad you got the promo!!! You saved a good amount. The gift card is so fantastic. Your sis will get one on her bday also. Now you do have more money to shop. Yeah!

I hope neither of us needs snow boots anytime soon. Yuck!
I havn't seen the MaryJane crocs, I am going now to have a peek. My DD loves her crocs and she even got a pencil case with holes that fit her various jibbits. Her classmates ask her where she got the Disney ones and she replies "at Disney of course"

Oh my goodness, those glasses are the funniest, imagine someone had to wear them. Poor thing. You girls have the best time together.

 

[Megablocks]

Cracking up on your family pics!

Glad you liked them. Ugh, I lost track of when you were leaving, but you're probably there right now! I hope the trip was wonderful and the Princess wasn't too difficult.

Hi!
Jumping over from MeMom's report! Sounds like you are going to have a ton of fun

Hey! Thanks for reading.

So glad you got the promo!!! You saved a good amount. The gift card is so fantastic. Your sis will get one on her bday also. Now you do have more money to shop. Yeah!

I hope neither of us needs snow boots anytime soon. Yuck!
I havn't seen the MaryJane crocs, I am going now to have a peek. My DD loves her crocs and she even got a pencil case with holes that fit her various jibbits. Her classmates ask her where she got the Disney ones and she replies "at Disney of course"

Oh my goodness, those glasses are the funniest, imagine someone had to wear them. Poor thing. You girls have the best time together.

My mom was SO excited about the promo. I didn't know that Kailyn got one on her birthday, too! Oh my goodness, we'll need to bring an extra suitcase to fit all the stuff that we could buy.

Once November rolls around, I start thinking about having to buy boots. It hasn't been anywhere near cold enough to snow lately, so I'm hoping that it will be a little while before I need to.

I like the MJ Crocs now, but I have to say that it took a little while for them to grow on me. Regular Crocs still have not grown on me. That's so cute about your DD It must have been kind of a silly question in her mind.

My gosh, I do feel bad for whoever had to wear those glasses. They have magnifiers in them, I think, so wearing them makes everything REALLY close up, and it's also kind of like being underwater. Very, very strange!

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Okay, for some reason, my Widget is telling me that we're leaving in 91 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes (and counting), but it says 92 or 93 on the calendar we have here at home. I'm going with mine, because it's telling me that we're closer.

My mother is lurking on my PTR (hi Mommy) and pointed out to me that in the picture of my boyfriend, Mike, and myself, that it looks like Mike is just a head. I've looked at that picture many, many times, and never really noticed it, but since she pointed that out, that's all I notice now.

I keep on checking back for Pirate and Princess dates between February 11-17, but no such luck. Oh well. I guess Mom and Kailyn and I will have to do lots of shopping to console ourselves. That makes sense, right?

I also decided that I'd like to take Kailyn horseback riding at Fort Wilderness. I think that we can do that even if we aren't staying there, but I'll have to call at some point and ask. Arrangements for that can be made up to 30 days in advance, but I'm not sure if I should call earlier. I had to run this by my dad, because he is severely allergic to horses, and even being around people who were on or around horses makes him itchy and sneezy, and I'm pretty sure that touching things that came in contact with horses can give him hives. If we do end up going, we're going to have to take precautions when we get back--not touch anything in the room, shower, change our clothes, and wash the clothes separately from everyone else's. We've done it before when we went riding, so it's really not a big deal, and his allergy is THAT bad, so we're not taking any chances.

I have a history paper to write for Thursday, but I'm justifying my time Dising by telling myself that I'm out of work at 3 tomorrow, and I have all tomorrow afternoon to work on it. As long as I write down some notes and mark up some pages in my books, I'll be good to go. School gets in the way of my Dis experience.

Just a few pictures...

One of the things that I love about Disney is their theming, even when it comes to resorts, like the golf carts disguised as a classic cars at Pop Century.

And the giant yo-yos.

Not anything to do with Disney theming, I just really love palm trees

I told him that he's my favorite aside from Jack Sparrow, naturally.

Have a wonderful day, especially if you have the day off from work or school!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Hi again, your sis can get a gift card for about $80 on her bday instead of the free admission offered in the "celebration" at Disney next year. I assume she will have park tickets. I also read that she could choose a special fastpass for the family for her bday instead. Sounds great, no matter which one she chooses.

Hi, to Mom incase you are reading.

 

[Megablocks]

Hi again, your sis can get a gift card for about $80 on her bday instead of the free admission offered in the "celebration" at Disney next year. I assume she will have park tickets. I also read that she could choose a special fastpass for the family for her bday instead. Sounds great, no matter which one she chooses.

Hi, to Mom incase you are reading.

Awesome! Still have to tell my mommy about this just in case she has not been following.

Yup, we will have park tickets. We always go for the park hopper option. I don't imagine any of us would be happy if we could only do one park per day.

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I finished my crappy history paper and the other assignments for that class, so now I'm just reeeeeelaxing. I'm also trying to work up the incentive to do the assignments for my ECE (early childhood) class. I am SO ready for this semester to be over, and to have a month off from school. I do need to get a little bit of stuff out of the way before tomorrow, and before Saturday. Tomorrow I'm going to a Bruins game with my dad, Mike, Charles (boyfriend), and Charles's dad, brother, and sister-in-law. Hockey is the only game that I really make it a point to get tickets to. I don't even usually go to Red Sox games, like everyone and their mother's uncle's brothers do. Saturday is a "Jeepers" event! A couple of months ago, my dad bought a Jeep Wrangler and joined a group of other dudes that have Jeeps and go out on trails and stuff. I went with him a few weeks ago, and it was SO much fun. I still do not have the pictures uploaded to my laptop but once I do, I'll post some. This time, Kailyn might be coming with us, and I am dying to see her face when we get bumped and jolted over rocks and stuff. Gonna be FUN! I wish I could drive, but I don't really know how to drive standard yet. I know how to stop, but as for shifting gears, forget it. I refused to take it out of first gear when my dad was teaching me.

So, over the weekend I'll probably have lots of Bruins and Jeepers pictures. I'm going to post a few pictures of our first night at Disney back in April. 90 days!


Okay this was actually when we were at the airport. I think he was saddened to see that he had finished his coffee already

This is how we claim our beds. We throw our stuff, or ourselves, onto a bed, and thus it becomes "ours."

Kailyn and I were pretending to know people in the itty-bitty pictures.

My birth year! Funny thing, I love the song "Thriller." I also enjoyed doing the dance a few years ago when we got off the bus after a late night.

This was at the big Mickey phone by our building. Yet another example of our fondness for taking silly pictures. I particularly like signs that dare to tell me "no."

I was never very good at this game

Hopefully, I will have some pictures from the Bruins game and the Jeepers event on Friday/Saturday. Have a good night!

 

[Megablocks]

Last night was the AMAZING Bruins game--Bruins vs. the Montreal Canadiens (also known as the Habs? I have no idea where that nickname came from.) It was such a good game. Charles, who has been to many games, said it was the best one he's been to, and I think Mike agreed. Bruins scored a goal not even 3 minutes into the first period, and I forget how many they scored after that. I remembered last night but I don't now.

Tomorrow is the Jeepers event, but my dad decided against going. It turns out that it's hunting season up in New Hampshire, AND the state now allows them to use high-powered rifles. Some of the other guys advised my dad to have Kailyn and I wear neon orange helmets if we got out of the Jeep. My dad was extremely concerned about this, and about the idea of being stuck in the woods with other people carrying high-powered rifles, so we're not going. Instead, I will have a day to sleep late......and do homework.

So, there will be no pictures from the Jeep event, but I have pictures from last night. Facebook FINALLY decided to let me upload them.

My dad LOVES the zanbonies (not sure how to spell that.) He would love to drive one around the streets.

When we were waiting for the subway, the camera strap came loose. Luckily my dad was holding it when it happened. Apparently I didn't put it on correctly.

I am not as short as I look in this picture. I'm 5'4 1/2" (and you better believe I hold tightly to that half inch ), and Charles is 6'5". I didn't realize that he was making a silly face until after I uploaded this!

Mike is not as short as he looks here either--he was bending his knees and leaning back a little. He's actually 6' tall. (That's Charles's brother in the back in the gray shirt, not some random stranger )

Now it's off to get ready for work. Have a fantastic Friday!