Confessions of an obsessive planner... Let the countdown begin!!

[-Hope-]

Karen and I finally got to walk today at the rec center near her house and afterwards we headed over to her house for our first movie day.

First, the walk- after walking for a while and my legs were already starting to feel itchy (a circulation thing that happens when I walk ) Karen turns to me and says, "Okay, we've probably made it to World Showcase by now!" I am sooooo out of shape that just walking to the park is wearing me out, much less actually being IN the park. It's a good thing we've got eight months to prepare!!

The movie was a lot of fun. Jace and I hadn't seen UP yet so we were really excited about it- and of course we weren't disappointed! What a great movie. I got teary eyed several times but overall it was cute and very uplifting. (Hah, no pun intended! ) I found some great things online for the kids to do and it just made the day even more fun!

Of course because it was Karen and I we had to start with some pics of everything looking pretty- which Jace refused to be in (you'd think he was tired of getting his picture taken or something )

After the posed pics we made the adventure books:

And then we watched the movie!

It was such a fun day- I can hardly wait until next week!!

 

[-Hope-]

Oh, and I almost forgot- I LOVE my Keens! I am out of shape and got winded, itchy, and a little sore from walking but my feet feel great!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Yay!!!!! (I've been sitting here hitting reload, waiting for you to post!)

We had a great time too and would LOVE to do it every week, but if you think it's too much, you must let me know! I feel guilty that you did all the prep work, making the booklets, printing, and making cupcakes. Maybe we should alternate weeks. Wait...you aren't going to stick me with Honey I Shrunk The Kids though b/c I already know there aren't any activities for that!

You got some good shots and were smart enough to bring your camera into the living room to get pics of them actually watching the movie! Sneaky!

 

[-Hope-]

We can alternate weeks if you want but I really don't mind- it was fun putting everything together.

I'm thinking that we're just going to watch Honey I Shrunk the Kids and send it back for something a little more party friendly. I'll check out the movie day thread and see what looks like fun.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Hope.....I've already posted on Karen's and now I'll post on yours.....

Thank you so much for doing a pretrip report and sharing your lives with us in cyberland. No one around me understands the Disney obsession, so I've been planning with you vicariously!! You really do make me feel like part of your trip!

 

[-Hope-]

Hi Hope.....I've already posted on Karen's and now I'll post on yours.....

Thank you so much for doing a pretrip report and sharing your lives with us in cyberland. No one around me understands the Disney obsession, so I've been planning with you vicariously!! You really do make me feel like part of your trip!

Awww, thank you for joining in- it is much more fun when you can share the madness. I keep waiting for you to catch the fever and start your own PTR. It really is great to have something to distract on those cold days when September seems sooooo far away!

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

Love the pictures from your movie day! I'm glad you all enjoyed Up!

Keep walking, and it will keep getting easier.

 

[-Hope-]

Thanks Julia! I know it will get better- it really wasn't so bad considering it was the first time I'd walked in a few months and before that it had been pretty sporadic.

I just have to say again how much I love my shoes! Yesterday I walked over to my parents (they live next door so a very short walk) but it was a muddy, slushy mess with all the snow melting so I wore some of my old shoes. In that short walk not only did my arches hurt but so did my lower back. I had none of those issues when I walked in my Keens. I think these shoes are going to make a huge difference in my motivation- well, my shoes and Karen.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

*giggle* The fact that I could be anyone's motivation is funny to me.

You are making me want those shoes Hope! I'm glad we have 8 months b/c I just may have to get some! I'm bringing a hat and gloves just in case it doesn't warm up much or in case it's really windy around the lake today!

 

[MagicMomentsMom]

the movie night looked great! I love the cupcake balloons and way to go on the walking!!

 

[-Hope-]

I haven't had the opportunity to post much lately- Jace is deep in the throes of creating a video game and he is on the computer A LOT!!! I'm hoping to get a Netbook soon so I don't have to share but we'll see- Disney is the first priority!!

Karen and I have walked twice now and it feels great to be out there! I have some issues with my back that I usually just push through. This time when I felt it I stopped and stretched and it almost immediately went away- I even felt like walking another lap around the lake and the pain didn't return.

The stretching made me think that perhaps my Wii Fit yoga a few days a week will help with the back pain so that's the new plan. I honestly LOVE Wii Fit yoga- I feel so great when I do it. For some reason though I rarely take the time to do it. I have a goal now though- to be in tip top shape for WDW!! I think by focusing on how I feel and keeping in mind that the better I feel the more I'll get to see and do with my family then the more motivated I'll be to keep moving.

I've also been combing through the Disney movie nights thread and have found some really great ideas. It is really fun to get into the planning for our Disney days because there's more instant gratification. Coming up this week we'll be watching A Bug's Life which I haven't seen in a while. I'll post more about that later- with pics of course!

Our next few days are BUSY so don't be surprised if you don't hear much from me. Tomorrow I'm meeting with Karen and two other friends to plan for the homeschooling conference we're attending in a few weeks. Our four families (moms and kids, no dads) are driving up to Sandusky, OH in February for the Winter Waterpark Gathering at Kalahari Resort- home of a HUGE indoor waterpark. Monday we are doing King's day of service in O'Fallon (about 100 miles from us) for GAD (Karen and I ended up at the same place for this too since there are so few choices for kids under 10). Tuesday we have our Disney day followed by Kya's dance class. Karen, you may just be sick of me after this week!!

Whew, I'm tired just from looking at that but in all honesty I NEED it. I get testy being cooped up in the house so its good for me to stay busy! Hopefully next time I'll have some insights and pics to post from our GAD experience.

 

[-Hope-]

We did our GAD today!

We signed up for King's Day of Service in O'Fallon about 2 hours from home.(Yep, for those of you reading Karen's PTR it was the same activity!) It was a great experience and it has me itching to do more volunteer work locally. I have a few ideas floating around in my head that I'm hoping to put into practice but one thing that we will definately be doing is volunteering to celebrate Martin Luther King Day every year. It just really struck me that the best way to honor a life of service is by serving others; not simply reading stories or watching videos about others who have served. Anyhoo... it was a great experience and I think WDW is really doing a great thing by encouraging people to get out and volunteer!

The cast today was the kids, my mom, and me. The GPS kept trying to take us in strange directions. This is why we call it Wanda... because sometimes you wanda around instead of going straight to where you want to be! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have it but sometimes yahoo maps is just really all you need.

We packed a lunch to eat in the car since it was such a long drive and we arrived at around 12:45. We met up with Karen in the parking lot and then went inside to get registered. We were then told to find a seat and we snagged the empty chairs at Karen's table- I hope she didn't mind us horning in on their family day because we didn't ask, just plopped ourselves down! The whole place seemed to fill up pretty quickly and I wondered how many people were there because of WDW- again, giving them props for inspiring so many people!

I got a few pics of the kids and the table while we waited for instructions...

None of us were really sure what to do with all the tissue paper and pipe cleaners so we just waited for directions. At about 1:15 we got instructions on how to make the flowers. Others were instructed on card making and some registration packets they were putting together. The flowers turned out to be pretty simple once we got the hang of it but some of those early tries...

We made A LOT of flowers! After a while everyone really started to get creative and some of them were turning out to be beautiful!

At around 2:30 we took a break and were offered chips and soda. While we were hanging out in the lobby Jace noticed a display case with a hole to reach through and touch the object inside. He wandered over to investigate and discovered that it was part of an I beam from the World Trade Center.

After the break we went in to get back to work and the kids had decided they really wanted to move on from making flowers. The adults had decided we'd finally gotten the hang of this task and didn't want to learn another! Karen asked one of the women if there was room for the kids to work on cards and she enthusastically said yes- apparantly they really needed more cards so it was good she asked.

We were supposed to stay until 5 but at about 3:30 they announced that we had surpassed expectations (and I'm sure they were running out of supplies) so we got to go home early!

It was a really great day and I'm so happy we took part in the GAD program! More than once I while making those flowers I was thinking about my great grandmothers who lived across the hall from each other in the residential care facility in our town. I remembered some of the crafty things they had in their rooms and them telling me about the people who brought them. I could tell then that they really appreciated the visits and the gifts brought were a daily reminder that someone had taken the time to come see them. I'm really proud to be a part of brightening someone else's grandma's day.

 

[-Hope-]

We had another movie day today! Our choice for this week was A Bug's Life.

We started off by walking at the park near Karen's house. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we took full advantage of it! Even though we've only walked a few times I am finding myself looking forward to it already. It helps when the weather cooperates! After our walk we let the girls play at the park for a while and then headed over to Karen's for our fun activities! (Jace opted out this week so it was just us girls!)

The girls started off by decorating their faces with stickers. We were happily snapping pictures when they decided they needed a mirror so off they went to the bathroom- only to come back a few minutes later with all the stickers off the page but only one on their faces! The little tricksters thought they were getting by with something because they knew we wanted pics and they are both sick of posing for us!

After the sticker fun they made antenna with headbands, pipe cleaners and practice golf balls.

They had some fun 'talking' with their completed antennae.

The antenna were followed by egg carton caterpillars.

While the paint was drying on the caterpillars we had some snacks- spiders and two kinds of ladybugs!

Karen printed out some fun activity packs that they worked on for a while.

And finally it was time for the movie! It was a cute movie that neither of the girls had seen (or at least didn't remember).

Another great day! Now I just have to figure out what we're doing next week!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Your shots came out nice! I have too many but I'm going to post them anyway! You aren't going to tell them of my valiant return of your camera that you forgot at my house?!?!?!?

I'm so glad the weather was nice, I'm sure it will turn bad again so I'm glad we are getting out while we can!

 

[-Hope-]

You aren't going to tell them of my valiant return of your camera that you forgot at my house?!?!?!?

I still can't BELIEVE I left my camera at your house!

I was rushing out the door to get Kya to dance and we were all worked up about issues in our homeschool co-op and I just left it there! It probably felt abandoned! I didn't even realize it until Karen called me (and rub it in that she would be posting her pics on the dis before me)! The worst part is that Karen and I live in neigboring towns but not the same town and to complicate it more Kya's dance class is ANOTHER neighboring town. Thank goodness Karen had to go to that town or I wouldn't have gotten my camera until Thursday! Woohoo, Karen saves the day!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Hi hope, I'm just coming over from Karen's PTR, don't know why ,but I didn't realize you had one going to until I just read about it! Your kids are adorable and that's really neat that you are going to disney with a friend. You guys are gonna have a blast!

Your bugs life movie night was super cute, I love the apple/peanut butter bugs, my girls would LOVE that. I may have to scoop up this idea!

 

[-Hope-]

Oh Disney, why must you change things?!? Yesterday several people, including Karen, received a pin code for free dining for mid-August to early October. This appears to be a good thing since it probably means these are the free dining dates that will be released to the public later. HOWEVER the pin code Karen got isn't for DDP it is for quick service. It appears that Disney may be offering quick service dining to the value guests and ddp to the moderate and deluxe guests. At first this PANICED me!! We have a budget, I have my plans all laid out, HOW COULD THIS BE!!!

I'm in the process of adjustin my itenerary but I have a few questions for you guys.

1) Does anyone have an CS ideas for us for our DHS day? The reason we planned for Sci-fi was because I'd heard such awful thinks about CS at DHS. I wouldn't be opposed to taking the ferry to Epcot or Boardwalk so suggestion there would be welcome as well.

2) Some of our evening meals were supposed to be part of our experience, not just dinner. I'm trying to keep that philosophy with CS meals and these are the ideas I've come up with.

• Go to AKL and eat at Mara (their quick service restaurant) and walk around to look at the animals there
• Get pizzas from Intermission at ASMu and watch the poolside movie
• Go to F&W Friday evening (the crowds! I know- but still, should be fun!)
• Head over to DTD to walk around and have CS there

Any other suggestions for turning a CS dinner into an event?

3) We'll be keeping one breakfast and one dinner TS and paying OOP. (And possibly a lunch if we don't find an alternative to Sci-fi). We know that the dinner we're keeping is Park Fare. We MUST have dinner with Cinderella and her family, no ifs ands or buts! For breakfast I'm torn. After seeing pictures of Tusker House I was really excited about it and I think my kids will enjoy Donald and friends more than Pooh and friends (although they'd still enjoy Pooh, just not as much). There is also no CS breakfast offered in AK so if we don't get to ASMu early then we'll miss rope drope as we'll have to eat at the resort before we go to the park if we aren't doing TS. HOWEVER, I was really looking forward to the early start at MK and the only CS breakfast offered there is Main Street Bakery which would mean stopping to eat before heading to Dumbo or backtracking. Of course the kids and I could do the Dumbo Dash while others got us some food and that would eliminate those issues. MK is earlier in the week though so we might not be as willing to get up early for an ADR later in the week- that could be adventageous though because if we HAVE to get up we will but if not we might miss rope drop at AK. Did you follow all that?? In short I want to know if you think we should do our oop breakfast at Crystal Palace or Tusker House.

 

[-Hope-]

Okay, I pretty much talked myself into Tusker House with my ramblings- mostly because I know we'll get up for rope drop at MK no matter what but by Friday we might just sleep in and miss rope drop at AK unless we have a reason to get up and get moving- like an ADR!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Very difficult but if that was my choice, I would go with the characters you think the kids want to meet the most. I would NOT get a CS breakfast on the day you cut out the TS, I would get a SNACK at ASMU and hit rope drop at MK or AK that day. This way you don't have to stop and get something while doing the dumbo dash.

Knowing YOU, I would keep Crystal Palace b/c you are a photographer at heart and your empty park pics of the castle will be priceless to you. If you arrive at rope drop you will have thrawls (is that a word? LOL) of people in your main street/castle pics.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Well, that makes sense...but don't try to eat on mainstreet at rope drop! Grab something quick first and then just plan on CS for lunch at MK.