Beast. The awesome PTR of awesomeness June 2012 last update: Universal Resort

[lumpy08]

The berries look yummy! Maybe next weekend I can check out strawberry picking. We had a lot of rain this weekend. We went to Walmart last night and bought the mist fans. I need to get on the ball this week and gather our stuff for our trip.

 

[momabaarjo]

YUM-O on the blackberries!

Good luck on your trip to Wally World for last minute items...

 

[BrerMama]

This is such a drive-by post, but I have to share my latest creations. I am starting to work on my preplanning pages for my scrapbook and wanted some subtle journal cards that I could use on each day to "introduce" the day. I came up with this for our Disney portion:


klund_journalcardblue1 by miss kim 09, on Flickr

I'll do something like this with it...


plan_journal card 3 by miss kim 09, on Flickr

Actually, I'm probably going to have to go back and change that card to the new card I created because I'm just crazy enough to need it all to flow.

Anyway, then I was thinking that the Mickey head wouldn't work for the Universal portion of our trip. So I was trying to think what "icon" I could use for those cards. I came up with this:


klund_journalcardgray3 by miss kim 09, on Flickr

Gah. I'm in love. I so love the minions.

Anyway, I'm so excited to start using these to introduce each day of our trip. Today I worked on the page where I summarize all the planning we did, and got a headstart on the countdown page I'm doing. Yes, I'm crazy but I like the idea of doing those pages before we leave while it's all fresh in my mind.

So I just had to share. I'll be back in the morning with more chatting. Right now, I'm ready for bed!

 

[momabaarjo]

OMG....you take planning to an entire different level, thinking about scrapbook pages before you even leave!

 

[smile5sunshine]

My foot is much, much better. In fact, I can barely tell there was ever any pain. However, my shoulder and neck are now my big problem. I picked up one of the little guys we were testing on Thursday because he wouldn't leave to go to the playground and he was just a little bitty thing. Seemed faster just to pick him up and get him out there. I normally wait out a fit, but when you've got 90 minutes with a child... Anyway, felt it Friday. Been stretching it and taking Advil all weekend. Still sore today.



The bigger problem is the enormous zucchini my mom bought Brady. He wants to make zucchini burgers. I don't know how to do that, let alone freeze them for future use. Not sure if it's better to make them as burgers now, then freeze... or freeze shredded zucchini and then let him make the burgers when he's ready to eat them.

Anyway.... we're getting close. I'll finish up my daily plans this week hopefully. Just made some exciting changes for the Universal portion. I'm stupid excited.

Glad you foot is feeling much better. Hope that your shoulder/neck follow suit.

As for the zucchini, I say make the burgers THEN freeze them. I'm not sure if the zucchini would behave the same way, but whenever I make black bean burgers it helps if I DO freeze them because they tend to stick together (in a patty) and not crumble as much as opposed to when they are freshly made.

LOVE the minion journal card! your scrapbook is going to be AWESOME!

Sunshine

 

[lumpy08]

klund_journalcardblue1 by miss kim 09, on Flickr




klund_journalcardgray3 by miss kim 09, on Flickr


These are AWESOME! Love the Minion!

 

[BrerMama]

The berries look yummy! Maybe next weekend I can check out strawberry picking. We had a lot of rain this weekend. We went to Walmart last night and bought the mist fans. I need to get on the ball this week and gather our stuff for our trip.

Mister fans! I knew there was something I'm forgetting. I'm actually thinking I may wait and hope they have them at the Walmart where we'll do our grocery shopping after arriving in Florida. Mostly I don't want to be the one who has to carry them. Maybe we'll survive without them...

YUM-O on the blackberries!

Good luck on your trip to Wally World for last minute items...

We got it all except a nail clipper. I wanted a new one to take with us and I didn't make that clear on my shopping list. Kiah had the list, so it didn't get bought. Still have to go to Dollar General this week for wrapping paper for Tater's birthday gift -- apparently a trip to WDW isn't an acceptable gift when his sisters are also getting the same gift -- so I'll pick up the clipper then.

OMG....you take planning to an entire different level, thinking about scrapbook pages before you even leave!

Well, I wanted to do the planning page before we left while it was all fresh in my mind. And doing that page got my creative juices flowing. I design templates still (you can get them through The Daily Digi email list) and used to design kits, so when I want something for my pages and can't find it, I just make it. I was playing around with different mickey heads and came up with the journal card... and it just flowed from there. I'm a big believer in not stopping myself when the creativity is going. That's why I love summer!

Glad you foot is feeling much better. Hope that your shoulder/neck follow suit.

As for the zucchini, I say make the burgers THEN freeze them. I'm not sure if the zucchini would behave the same way, but whenever I make black bean burgers it helps if I DO freeze them because they tend to stick together (in a patty) and not crumble as much as opposed to when they are freshly made.

LOVE the minion journal card! your scrapbook is going to be AWESOME!

Sunshine

I did end up making the burgers and then freezing them (even baked them first) for one batch. For the other 2-3 cups of zucchini I just wrung out all the excess water and then froze it shredded. It will probably end up in zucchini bread after we get back from vacation. Maybe in soup. If Tater wants more zucchini burgers, I'll just buy more zucchini. It's plentiful here in the summer.

These are AWESOME! Love the Minion!

Isn't the Minion so fun?!? I was trying to think of a classic symbol at the Universal parks. The Despicable Me ride opens this week (and how cool is that?) and I just booked us a character meal with the Minions, so it seems like a Minion is very appropriate. I wanted something Seuss-ish, but couldn't find anything amazing and this makes me so happy.

 

[momabaarjo]

I so hear you about the creative juices flowing and not wanting to stop...I am doing that with the scrapbooking pages I am doing...once I get started I just find myself 4 hours later still at the computer.

I am off to set up the staff development trainings I am doing for the next 3 weeks for teachers in our district with math. I am glad school is over, I love training teachers and trying to make it worthwhile for them to give up a week in there summer. The end of the month I am headed to Nashville for some training myself in math...Math Recovery Leader...I am taking the training so I can come back and train teachers in my district.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

Wow! Just read the entire thread. Sorry, I took a break from Disney planning to focus on our Branson trip. Now that is over I am back to all Disney. I just looked at your ticker and didn't realize how close you are I love that period of time right before you leave. So much excitement.

I am waiting on Disney to release 2013 packages. As soon as they do we will be booked for next year.

 

[MHTeacher]

I'm back and trying to get caught up on all my subscribed PTRs!

You are getting very close, and I know you must be excited. I had to laugh out loud when I read what you wrote about the last Ariel you saw in "The Little Mermaid" show. We watched the show this trip, and left thinking that she wasn't a very good one.

 

[BrerMama]

I'm back and trying to get caught up on all my subscribed PTRs!

You are getting very close, and I know you must be excited. I had to laugh out loud when I read what you wrote about the last Ariel you saw in "The Little Mermaid" show. We watched the show this trip, and left thinking that she wasn't a very good one.

And you've already got a new countdown going! What is up with the Ariels? I could sing those songs by heart. I guess they probably don't want me up there singing, huh?

Wow! Just read the entire thread. Sorry, I took a break from Disney planning to focus on our Branson trip. Now that is over I am back to all Disney. I just looked at your ticker and didn't realize how close you are I love that period of time right before you leave. So much excitement.

I am waiting on Disney to release 2013 packages. As soon as they do we will be booked for next year.

We are so super close. I had a hard time sleeping last night and every time I woke up, I had Disney on my mind.

I so hear you about the creative juices flowing and not wanting to stop...I am doing that with the scrapbooking pages I am doing...once I get started I just find myself 4 hours later still at the computer.

I am off to set up the staff development trainings I am doing for the next 3 weeks for teachers in our district with math. I am glad school is over, I love training teachers and trying to make it worthwhile for them to give up a week in there summer. The end of the month I am headed to Nashville for some training myself in math...Math Recovery Leader...I am taking the training so I can come back and train teachers in my district.

I don't mind giving trainings, but they're not my favorite. In fact, anything not involving kids kind of drives me a little whacko. Today I went in, spent a half hour setting up my classroom. Then I sat and wrote reports for 2.5 hours straight. My brain hurts. As does my rear. I am not used to just sitting still when I'm at work. However, I know that every report I get written brings me that much closer to vacation....

 

[BrerMama]

Chapter 33

Day 9 Blizzard Beach


Oh, I really enjoy Blizzard Beach. Last trip, our BB day was the most magical day of our trip.


6a00d8341c881553ef00e54f1b6e0e8833-800wi by miss kim 09, on Flickr

I apologize right now for any sudden nausea that may be caused by seeing me in a swimsuit. Note how I stood in the back and hid behind my kids? Me = not stupid. (Although I did just misspell stupid. Caught it, thankfully.)

I know this trip Ches probably won't be picked to be ski captain. And even if they are still doing that and she is picked, she's probably now old enough and smart enough that she might just refuse. Still, just being there is going to bring back so many memories.

Without the Ski Captain duties obligating my family, I doubt anyone will do Summit Plummit. While they enjoy water slides, that thing is crazy. So we'll head off for the rest of the slides... which includes the most awesome family raft ride ever, Teamboat Springs.


6a00d8341c881553ef00e54f2f977b8834-800wi by miss kim 09, on Flickr

I lovelove this photo. I have no problems showing off Dan in a swimsuit. He'd die if he knew how many times I've posted that photo. It's hard to see here, but you can see both Hollywood Studios and Epcot in the background. How many people get this photo? Not many, I'd guess.

We will take the chair lift up. Brady can walk by himself if he doesn't want to ride it.

We argued about this last trip. Can you tell?

As we're experienced water park people, we'll follow the "ride the slides first" mentality. When the slides start getting busy, it's Cross Country Creek and Melt Away Bay. When those things get too full, and/or I get too cranky, we'll leave. Unlike our local water park, this park has a variety of snacks and adult beverages. We might stay longer than I think.

No evening activities tonight, although I seriously considered an ADR for Ohana just so we could go to watch fireworks. I think by this point in the trip, we may need a night at the condo. I can catch up on laundry. Kids and Dan can swim. We only have 2 more Disney days, so getting laundry clean before our move to Universal will be a priority. Repacking everything for that move may also require some thought on my part. I'd like to have one or two bags with just the things we'll need at Universal... and then everything else packed in bags that won't be touched during that part of our trip. So tonight might be my night for thinking about how to accomplish that goal.

 

[Angies1274]

Love your photo challenge!! What a good idea!

Your DHS and Blizzard Beach days sound great!! We've never been to Blizzard Beach. But.. now that the boys are getting older I'm sure it will be going on our list for next trip! Sounds like a fun day!

You're getting so close!

 

[smile5sunshine]

TEN DAYS!!!!


your day at BB sounds great! You all are going to have a blast and I think taking the evening off is a really good idea so you can all rest and regroup! Disney is EXHAUSTING!


Sunshine

 

[BrerMama]

Love your photo challenge!! What a good idea!

Your DHS and Blizzard Beach days sound great!! We've never been to Blizzard Beach. But.. now that the boys are getting older I'm sure it will be going on our list for next trip! Sounds like a fun day!

You're getting so close!

I'm so hoping Kiah sticks with the photo challenge. I've created a little photo challenge for myself this week... more on that later...

TEN DAYS!!!!


your day at BB sounds great! You all are going to have a blast and I think taking the evening off is a really good idea so you can all rest and regroup! Disney is EXHAUSTING!


Sunshine

We talk almost daily about how much we can do in a day. Will we need to rest? Or because we are now a family of teens, can we handle some long days? I don't want to be exhausted, but I think this year everyone understands that it's going to be a long time until we get to do this again. We want to do as much as we can and savor every moment. So yeah, the planned rest time might be necessary.

OK... another update momentarily....

 

[BrerMama]

Chapter 34: Day Ten Countdown Photo

Seriously, could time go any slower? Worked from home today and I swear the day took twice as long as any other day.

I let the girls talk me into going with them to the pool this afternoon. My latest inspiration is to do a countdown photo every day from 10 to 1. I have the scrapbook page already in my head, and it will lead into the rest of the album. I thought it would be fun to take photos of my kids holding up the right number of photos in interesting places around our house... showing how we're trying to keep ourselves busy to make time go faster. So today's was at the pool...


ten by miss kim 09, on Flickr

 

[lumpy08]

Great photo! I love the idea of a photo countdown. I have been taking photos of the kids with our countdown chain, but this is our third trip and I think they are getting bored of it. How are you planning on using Project life for your trip? I just ordered refill pages for my Passporter. I just love the envelopes. I just take the envelope to the park and slide the park map inside. I typically don't carry the book since i bring my Dslr.

 

[BrerMama]

Great photo! I love the idea of a photo countdown. I have been taking photos of the kids with our countdown chain, but this is our third trip and I think they are getting bored of it. How are you planning on using Project life for your trip? I just ordered refill pages for my Passporter. I just love the envelopes. I just take the envelope to the park and slide the park map inside. I typically don't carry the book since i bring my Dslr.

We kicked around a couple of different ideas for the countdown photos. Thought about trying to find or make numbers out of things we see everyday, etc. but inspiration hit yesterday when I realized we had something to "special" going on almost every day until we leave. We're going to be stretching for Tuesday and Wednesday next week, but we'll figure something out.

As for Project Life, I'm planning to digitally "plan" my pages using the digital templates from JessicaSprague.com. However, I have the actual binder, plastics, and journal card set. I'm taking the journal cards on the trip and using them instead of an autograph book. When we get home, I'll edit photos then go through and figure out what stories I want to tell. I'll preplan my pages using the templates, then send off the photos to be printed. I'm planning to print journal cards here at home -- I have lots of ink and white cardstock. I considered several options for my album. I did the last two trip albums all digital and I just really wanted to get back to something paper that would allow me to include memorabilia. I'm sure I'll share more of my process once I'm putting it together (in my trip report), but for now here's one of the layouts I have preplanned:


plan_page1b by miss kim 09, on Flickr

Just imagine those each as a separate piece in a PL plastic, and you've got the idea. The other side of this page will be our countdown photos, which is why I decided to use this style of protector... exactly enough spaces for 10 countdown photos, plus the title card.

OK, off to work. IEP meetings today. Back this evening with another day of plans and our countdown photo for today!

 

[lumpy08]

Thanks for sharing! Great idea for that page protector. It is a pleasure to read a TR with scrapbooking together. For the days that you don't have countdown photo how about printing your ticker at the bottom of your post. Can't wait to see the rest of your countdown photos.

 

[smile5sunshine]

We kicked around a couple of different ideas for the countdown photos. Thought about trying to find or make numbers out of things we see everyday, etc. but inspiration hit yesterday when I realized we had something to "special" going on almost every day until we leave. We're going to be stretching for Tuesday and Wednesday next week, but we'll figure something out.

As for Project Life, I'm planning to digitally "plan" my pages using the digital templates from JessicaSprague.com. However, I have the actual binder, plastics, and journal card set. I'm taking the journal cards on the trip and using them instead of an autograph book. When we get home, I'll edit photos then go through and figure out what stories I want to tell. I'll preplan my pages using the templates, then send off the photos to be printed. I'm planning to print journal cards here at home -- I have lots of ink and white cardstock. I considered several options for my album. I did the last two trip albums all digital and I just really wanted to get back to something paper that would allow me to include memorabilia. I'm sure I'll share more of my process once I'm putting it together (in my trip report), but for now here's one of the layouts I have preplanned:


plan_page1b by miss kim 09, on Flickr

Just imagine those each as a separate piece in a PL plastic, and you've got the idea. The other side of this page will be our countdown photos, which is why I decided to use this style of protector... exactly enough spaces for 10 countdown photos, plus the title card.

OK, off to work. IEP meetings today. Back this evening with another day of plans and our countdown photo for today!

First off, I LOVE the countdown photo you posted yesterday and can't wait to see the rest of them. I think that is going to be such a neat addition to your book.

AND I think it will be better to have the paper version of the scrapbook. There is something so different between thumbing through the pages of an actual book vs. sitting at a computer screen. Yes, the pictures might be the same, but the feeling is different. Not to mention that I am a sap and I can just imagine your children sitting on either side of you as you sit on the sofa and relive your memories from the trip. No??? You say teenagers don't DO things like that anymore??? Fine, DREAM KILLER.

(sorry, sometimes I have an "interesting" sense of humor)

Hope your IEP planning goes well and you are able to get a lot accomplished.

Sunshine