An elf, a suprise and a Christmas Do-over....Our Dec. 2010 PTR

[disneydreamer1970]

That's us too. We need to have lights up by Thanksgiving Eve (?) because that's when the city has its Christmas nightime parade. Then of course there's Black Friday shopping. That's when I usually start putting out decorations but this year we'll be heading to WDW.

I love how much Christmas spirit everyone has here...and I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!! My sister-in-law and I go every year together, and even though I will have most of my shopping done before then, I'm sure I'll be able to finish up that day.

Trish

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Payton has had a trip to the American Girl store for her last two birthday's and the birthday before that she got Molly. Of course, she has decided that she wants Felicity this year. Ken and I told her that she will not be going to AG because she is turning 10 and wants to have a big friend party with a sleepover. She was fine with that but is still asking for Felicity. Ken and I were really torn and wanted to get her something different, especially where she is turning 10, so we decided on getting her a stereo and some CD's for her birthday....which I know she will love. There will be alot of in her room.

Earlier this week I got the e-mail from AG stating that they were going to retire Felicity , so Ken and I decided today to order the doll for Payton and give it to her Christmas morning. She is only going to be a little girl for a short time longer, so why not? She will be thrilled and of course since hearing that Felicity will be retiring, she wants her even more. It will be a nice suprise for her. I also snagged 4 books, one of which was $3 and the other 3 were $2. They will make great cheap filler Christmas morning, since they are getting the bulk of their Christmas the day that we leave for Disney.

I am so excited that we were able to get the doll for her and can't wait to see her face on Christms morning when she opens her!!

Have a great day!

Trish

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

I tried to get everything up before Thanksgiving (U.S Thanksgiving) last year but it didn't work so I rushed to get everything up when we got back. This year I have till the 9th so it should work out better

Ha Ha!! See you got those few extra days with pushing the trip back... Me I leave the 3rd and my the time I get back we are talking about the 13th of Dec and that is way too late!!!

We always get our tree and decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. Payton is turning 10 on Black Friday and will be having a Twilight party (including a sleepover) the Saturday after T-day. That means that will be getting our tree and decorating on Sunday. What a great excuse to have the girls picked up by 10am! Did I mention that we cut down our tree? DH just loves walking with me until I find the perfect tree NOT!!....he likes them skinny and I like them FAT!! It is quite an expedition...lol I love decorating for Christmas too, especially since it is a family event. We all work to get it done.



Good luck with that. It is such a crazy season, isn't it? I just love it though!

Trish

I like to try to get everything that weekend too and the tree usually goes up the first weekend in Dec, but since I will be in Disney this year. Everything has to get done Thanksgiving weekend!

Black Friday is one of my FAVORITE days of the year I literally shop sunrise to sunset!!!

Oh I love Twilight!!! They are going to have a blast!!!

Oh heck no!!! NO cutting down a tree in this family!!! We have a fake one. I am allergic!!! But I bet that is a fun family occasion thou!

So true! It is the most wonderful time of the year after all!

 

[disneydreamer1970]

I just looked and see that we leave in 77 more days or....11 weeks from tomorrow!!!!

Where has the time gone??

I can't wait to see this:

Payton and Caleb on the plane to Orlando. Look how long and curly Caleb's hair was. We were waiting for him to have his first haircut at Disney, however, he wanted no part of that, so the first real haircut did not happen until we got home.

Here is another angle with the long hair:

I love the long curls but DH hates them and now keeps Caleb's hair short. Oh well, he looks cute no matter what! Geesh look at the sunburn that the little guy has. He lost his hat that day and not matter how much sunscreen he had on, he burns so easily. This trip I already have extra hats ready to pack and SPF 75. I litterally keep him in a long sleeved swim shirt during the summer.

I want to start picking up snacks to take with us and last night talked to mom about what we should get. I find it much easier to throw some things like granola bars and crackers in my park bag so that I have things on hand when the kids need soemthing quick.

Have a great day!!

Trish

 

[disneydreamer1970]

So before a big trip, I always have what I call anxiety dreams. One of the ones in the past when we went on our Disney Cruise, was that we got onto the ship and we forgot to pack a swimsuit for Payton and we searched and searched all over the ship to try and find her one.

Well I can say that the dreams for this trip began last night. I dreamt that Ken had changed his mind and decided to go but when we got to the airport to leave, we realized that we did not have a single thing packed for him....nothing. So I sent him back home to get some stuff and he missed the flight. The rest of us continued on to Orlando, but once we got there we were trying to figure out what flight Ken was able to get on.

Oh the dreams have certainly begun. Does anyone else have them?

Trish

I almost forgot.....our trip begins 11 weeks from today!!!!

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Ken finished up a 50 hour shift at the fire station, so we decided to take the kids apple and blueberry picking today. We had a great time and I thought that I would share a few pictures from today so here goes.

First up is a picture of our pretty girl, Payton

Here is a picture of Ken helping Caleb to reach the apples

While we took a break in between picking blueberries and apples, there was a guy there singing and playing guitar. Ken asked Payton to dance

and finally....Ken put Caleb up on a branch. He is not looking at us, but I just love how this one turned out

We had a great day and now I have tons of apples and blueberries...guess I better get baking some yummy things!

Trish

 

[disneydreamer1970]

So this morning when we put the tv on there was a show on the ABC family channel about Disney Vacation Club. Payton was asking questions about it and I told her that is is pretty expensive to own and that as much as I would love to have a membership, it just isn't in the cards right now. She looked at me and said "I promise when I am rich and famous, I will buy you one!" She is so stinking cute!! I told her that I am going to hold her to that.

Have a great night!

Trish

 

[Tinkermom76]

So this morning when we put the tv on there was a show on the ABC family channel about Disney Vacation Club. Payton was asking questions about it and I told her that is is pretty expensive to own and that as much as I would love to have a membership, it just isn't in the cards right now. She looked at me and said "I promise when I am rich and famous, I will buy you one!" She is so stinking cute!! I told her that I am going to hold her to that.

Have a great night!

Trish

Awwww that is sweet!

What are you baking?

 

[mrsksomeday]

That is adorable that she said that about DVC!!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

So this morning when we put the tv on there was a show on the ABC family channel about Disney Vacation Club. Payton was asking questions about it and I told her that is is pretty expensive to own and that as much as I would love to have a membership, it just isn't in the cards right now. She looked at me and said "I promise when I am rich and famous, I will buy you one!" She is so stinking cute!! I told her that I am going to hold her to that.

Have a great night!

Trish

Payton is a keeper!! I think you should get her to say it again and record it for the future! She is too sweet!

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Awwww that is sweet!

What are you baking?

I am going to make an apple crisp when I get home tonight, but will make some pies and maybe even some apple brownies.

Ken and the kids love, love, love homemade blueberry muffins, so those are definitely on my list.

Oh and what was I thinking of trying to start a diet today. I want to lose 15 pounds before the trip!!

That is adorable that she said that about DVC!!

She is so cute and loves Disney as much as I do!

Payton is a keeper!! I think you should get her to say it again and record it for the future! She is too sweet!

Now this is a great idea!! I am totally going to do that so I have proof when she is "rich and famous"!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Trish

 

[taramoz]

I just got all caught up on your plans! WOW, you are so organized. I am only doing gifts in the room each night, and I feel so behind looking at all your stuff! Your kids will be so surprised.

P.S. I cried when I read about your dog, I kow I am late to your PTR, but I am very sorry to hear this. I am sure he is missed.

 

[disneydreamer1970]

I just got all caught up on your plans! WOW, you are so organized. I am only doing gifts in the room each night, and I feel so behind looking at all your stuff! Your kids will be so surprised.

P.S. I cried when I read about your dog, I kow I am late to your PTR, but I am very sorry to hear this. I am sure he is missed.

to my PTR!! This has been so fun planning it. I really don't think that they have a clue....and I hope to keep it that way! My mom and I have had so much fun.

We miss Blaze terribly. It is still hard to be in our big house without him, especially when my husband works those 24 hour shifts, but it gets a little easier each day. Thank you....

Trish

 

[2kids2luv]

I just got caught up again. The pictures of Caleb with his curls are adorable. Hope you kept some of his curls from his first hair cut.

Apple and blueberry picking - what a fun family outing. Apple crisp is my favorite dessert. Apple bread is DD's favorite.

Payton is too cute!

 

[20thingamabobs]

I'm here and all caught up! I can't wait to hear all your plans, we'll be there the same time! I can't wait to hear what kind of mischief that little elf is about to start!

 

[disneydreamer1970]

I just got caught up again. The pictures of Caleb with his curls are adorable. Hope you kept some of his curls from his first hair cut.

Apple and blueberry picking - what a fun family outing. Apple crisp is my favorite dessert. Apple bread is DD's favorite.

Payton is too cute!

We definitely have some of those curls from his first hair cut!

I'm here and all caught up! I can't wait to hear all your plans, we'll be there the same time! I can't wait to hear what kind of mischief that little elf is about to start!

Patches the Elf will be arriving in a little over a month! I can't wait for the fun to begin!!

Did I mention that we will be heading to Disney World 9 weeks from tomorrow?!! The trip is getting so close I can hardly stand it!!

Trish

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Okay...I cannot believe that we will be leaving for Disney in 60 days!!!

I am so excited. The time is flying by...and I think will continue to do so with Halloween approaching and also Tyler will be coming home next month! We are planning a party when he is home and also Thanksgiving!

Oh and we will be having Payton's 10th Birthday party the weekend before our trip. We are having a Twilight party. Does anyone out there have any good suggestions for this?

Happy planning!

Trish

 

[disneydreamer1970]

I received an e-mail this morning that showed JetBlue having a sale, so I checked our rate and found that it was $5 less this morning per person than what I paid. I called JetBlue and was issued a credit for each of our tickets. It is not much, but I'd rather have in my pocket to put toward a flight next year!

The customer service rep told me that she had received a telephone call earlier today from a woman that paid $179 per ticket yesterday and this morning they had dropped to $39!!

For the fun of it, I checked our Delta rates for the return trip (knowing that they do not issue credits) and that rate has gone up to $401....ONE WAY!! I am so glad that we bought those up at $99.

Go check your JetBlue rates!

Trish

 

[Woth2982]

Just checked my JB rates. Still the same I am gonna keep obsessively looking though lol. We are flying SW down and JB back. Two completely different airports.

 

[20thingamabobs]

I love flight credits! I booked my mom and I's flights to Disney and they were $136 each way! I checked a month later and they were $59 each way! WE're flying southwest so I rebooked and go the credit to use for mine and my boyfriends flights down to Disney for the half marathon!