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[Dugette]

Wow, that's a lot of character meet-and-greets! Blakers is quite the cutie, posing with them all, especially the Mickey pose! I have to say that I have no clue on the Handy Manny characters...oh, well! Glad there were no more table collapses!

 

[AprilRenee]

Okay, so it wasn't someone from A Bug's Life. It was Jiminy Cricket. You've already done that one. I just asked John and he said that I thought Andrew's was a bug but couldn't figure it out that day. I suppose I was right about the bug part anyway! Crickets are bugs, right? I still need to find a way to store or display these pictures, but they're so big!

Good luck on planning not to plan to do everything! I'm sure you'll be able to relax more if you don't have first timers along for the ride.

LOL!! Yep! I've done Jiminy! lol and yeah...he's a bug...it counts!
I know...I'd love to find a way to store them too. I just end up taking a pic and putting it in my scrapbook. That way I don't have to deal with the big page but I keep the drawing.

Haha! And thanks for the luck. We'll see how it goes. I think it will be easier without newbies though.

 

[CAStevens218]

Those pictures of Blake with Mickey are great!! That little guy is just too cute for his own good!!!!

Genie is great!! One time we were lucky enough to meet Genie, Aladdin and Jasmine all at one time in EPCOT! I love that picture!!

Andrew's pictures of the characters are great. I love the angle....it really shows how big those characters are when you're just a little guy!

 

[jc040404]

Wow, that's a lot of character meet-and-greets! Blakers is quite the cutie, posing with them all, especially the Mickey pose! I have to say that I have no clue on the Handy Manny characters...oh, well! Glad there were no more table collapses!

We did see a lot of characters that day! The boys were happy to get them all, minus Mickey, addded to their books.

Those pictures of Blake with Mickey are great!! That little guy is just too cute for his own good!!!!

Genie is great!! One time we were lucky enough to meet Genie, Aladdin and Jasmine all at one time in EPCOT! I love that picture!!

Andrew's pictures of the characters are great. I love the angle....it really shows how big those characters are when you're just a little guy!

Lucky!! I'd love to meet a group of characters at once like that! I don't recall seeing Genie out anywhere before, so that was awesome for us. (Unless we actually saw him on the last AP year..? )

I loved Andrew pics of the characters. It's nifty to see things how he does. Getting him a camera was such a great idea, even if I still just let him use mine a lot!

LOL!! Yep! I've done Jiminy! lol and yeah...he's a bug...it counts!
I know...I'd love to find a way to store them too. I just end up taking a pic and putting it in my scrapbook. That way I don't have to deal with the big page but I keep the drawing.

Haha! And thanks for the luck. We'll see how it goes. I think it will be easier without newbies though.

For some reason I thought crickets were something else. Maybe it's spiders? I have no idea what I'm thinking..

I confess that I haven't put a whole lot of work into finding anything for those pictures. I only looked in Target. haha.. I should take better pictures of all of them and do something like that, too! I know I skipped taking a pic at all a couple of times.

I'm sure your trip is going to be great, even if you fall into old habits.

 

[arubio0801]

Can't wait to see Andrew as a pirate! I haven't been on alot lately been so busy. They called my husband again and he got the transplant!! We're all very happy and feel very blessed hes recovering and is home and doing well! We plan on a trip next yr to celebrate! How is Andrew liking school?

 

[eecteacher82]

Just wanted to say that Olivia and I are back from our girls trip and the pics of her spelling her name at the pool at Pop came out great! Now I just need to find an easy program to stitch them together! Thanks again for the idea! Olivia had a blast doing it!

 

[PirateKate]

Looks like some great Blake time! He's so cute, meeting all the characters and doing his Micky pose. What good luck, finding Frozone and the Genie!

Are all of those characters and the Animation Academy all in the same building? I feel like I should know that, but we've never done those things. Probably too busy riding ToT.

 

[jc040404]

Just wanted to say that Olivia and I are back from our girls trip and the pics of her spelling her name at the pool at Pop came out great! Now I just need to find an easy program to stitch them together! Thanks again for the idea! Olivia had a blast doing it!

Yay! So glad she liked doing it! I can't wait to see how it turned out in your TR! (which I'm totally trying to keep up on, but I can't seem to find two seconds to myself lately!) I need a better program to edit pics, too. What I put in my TR was just put together on photobucket! Someday..

Can't wait to see Andrew as a pirate! I haven't been on alot lately been so busy. They called my husband again and he got the transplant!! We're all very happy and feel very blessed hes recovering and is home and doing well! We plan on a trip next yr to celebrate! How is Andrew liking school?

I'm so happy for you and glad he's doing well!! You definitely need a celebration trip for this!

Andrew LOVES school! Kindergarten sounds pretty awesome so far. They seem to spend the entire day playing! I knew he'd do great. Blake and I are still kinda lost without him around here all day, but it's going well so far.

Looks like some great Blake time! He's so cute, meeting all the characters and doing his Micky pose. What good luck, finding Frozone and the Genie!

Are all of those characters and the Animation Academy all in the same building? I feel like I should know that, but we've never done those things. Probably too busy riding ToT.

So you're one of those crazy ToT people, huh? They are all in the same building, minus the Disney Junior characters that were outside near the show building. You probably knew that part anyway. We've seen quite a few nifty characters in there!

 

[eecteacher82]

Yay! So glad she liked doing it! I can't wait to see how it turned out in your TR! (which I'm totally trying to keep up on, but I can't seem to find two seconds to myself lately!) I need a better program to edit pics, too. What I put in my TR was just put together on photobucket! Someday..

You did that on Photobucket? I am so picture editing challenged! I cannot figure out how! Guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow!

Don't worry about not keeping up! I am horrible at it! I usually manage to keep up with the reading for the most part, but the commenting....

 

[jc040404]

You did that on Photobucket? I am so picture editing challenged! I cannot figure out how! Guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow!

Don't worry about not keeping up! I am horrible at it! I usually manage to keep up with the reading for the most part, but the commenting....

It is mostly the commenting. When I get behind, I don't know how to jump back in! I'm trying to keep a journal and a running photobook of Andrew's school days, so any free time is moving in that direction instead of the DIS now. I'm reading your updates right now anyway!

The collage stuff was super easy. If you're going to try photobucket for this, just click on "edit photos" and then "create a collage" to accomplish what I managed. They're cute enough, but I wonder how well they would print. I'm not inspired enough to really get into doing picture stuff like that. It just makes me want a new camera.

 

[jc040404]

March 8th, 2011 * day twenty-five

Aargh!! It’s pirate day! Today is the day that Andrew would leave the rest us to go on an adventure all by himself. I’d signed him up for the CBR kids’ pirate adventure cruise and he was thrilled about getting to do this. John got him fed, dressed, and they were off! I’d decided to have a slower morning and let the boys handle this. He promised to take lots of pictures for me.

Since I wasn’t actually there for this next part, I only know what they told me and what I saw on the video he got!

Andrew was checked in and started to get ready to board the pirate ship. Pirates Adam and James helped him with his bandana and life vest! They had a bit of trouble finding a vest that would fit the little guy. I never thought he was that tiny, but only the smallest they had actually worked on him! John paid for the cruise here and I’m pretty sure he had to fill something out to pick up Andrew later, too.

Before jumping on the ship, all of the children practiced being pirates. Their “Aaargh!” was more than a little weak, but good enough to get on the open sea!

And that was it! My little Andy-Roo was off on a brand new adventure. I was a little worried about letting him do this, but knew he’d be just fine. John said the CMs in charged were excellent and it looked like he’d have a great time. We’d find out soon enough!

Before walking back to the room, he walked around and took a few more pictures of the pirate signs.

Back in the room, Blake and I didn’t have quite an adventurous morning. Instead, we were completely lazy and watched cartoons. I think we even watched Handy Manny that day! We’d planned to hang out in the room until John returned, but forgot about that idea after a bit.

Before we could make it outside, Blake had to find his special room key. He was so excited to have gotten one during this trip! I’ve never quite understood why, but there seems to be no reason to whether or not he gets one. I suppose a two years old doesn’t really need one, but I’ve always found it interesting. It’s a huge deal when he does and we couldn’t leave until it was in his hand.

We didn’t make it very far away from our building when I spotted my husband walking our way. Blake hadn’t noticed, so John ducked beside some stairs. Blake loves being surprised this way, so I casually directed us toward the hiding spot.

“Blake!” John jumped out at us.

The little guy jumped and started laughing. He’s too silly. He immediately ran behind the steps to scare his father back! Not questioning where brother was, Blakers started us on a CBR adventure of our own.

Our first stop was the playground on Caribbean Cay! Both of the boys had been looking forward to checking this out. Blake loved it.

While he was playing, he dropped his special room key on a slide. I picked up, but he never noticed it was missing. This would be cute later on.

We wandered out of the play area and checked out some cannons!

CBR is a cute resort, despite everything bad that happened here.

Aruba! So ugly, but the location was nice.

We looked around and played on hammocks for a while before Blake finally realized he’d lost that card! We had to get back to the playground quick. I smiled at John and we both decided to keep it’s new location a secret. Blake could find some treasure today, too.

We looked through the playground while I carefully hid it where he was sure to look. The expression on his little face was so cute when he spotted it! Hooray! He really didn’t think we’d ever be able to get back in our room. Haha..

Next up was some pool time. Well, checking out the pool time anyway. No one was dressed for swimming. I wasn’t sure if this week was going to be quite warm enough for us to consider swim time, and parts of it were just cold! This day was awesome though and I wish I’d changed him for some water time while Andrew was on his cruise.

While we were checking out the pool area, we spotted pirates

They were about to come to shore just where we were going next! Not wanting to be captured (or distract Andy-Roo!) our plans changed. We explored in a different direction until they were out to sea again.

We made it just a bit farther than there before giving up on the “walk the resort” idea. CBR is so big! I could see a bridge ahead and assumed the pirate room buildings were out that way. I would not want to stay there! We decided to go back and grab a drink and a snack instead.

John spotted an odd fish closer to the pool. Why do people do this??

 

[jc040404]

Blake loved these! Can you really mail a coconut to someone?

“Oh, there you are, Perry!”

John was quick to tell me that finding Perry isn’t a “Where’s Waldo” game. He’s no fun. Andrew and I still say this whenever we see him!

We made a couple pressed pennies and checked out the arcade next.

It was pretty big!

Letting Blake be in charge, he picked out a bottle of juice and a snack for the three of us to split. Well, he picked cookie, and I chose what kind of cookie. The macadamia nut ones are my favorite! They’re huge enough for all of us to split as a snack, too. We paid and found a bench outside to enjoy it. It was almost time to collect our little pirate.

So it wasn't quite an even split. Blake took the big section and gave me the "next big" part. Poor John didn't end up with much!

While we were splitting our giant cookie, John asked Blakers if he was ready for brother to come back. The little guy said no! I couldn’t help but laugh. He was really enjoying this brother-free time with mommy and daddy. It’s funny how things changed as soon as brother was gone at school everyday. He can’t wait until time to pick him up now! Haha..

“I see pirates!”

John left us to go get Andrew. Since he had been the one to drop our little man off, he was the only one who would be allowed to pick him up. Blake and I stayed at the table to wait, seeing no need to add to the confusion at pick-up time.

With an empty spot at the table, it seemed that someone else thought it was time to join us with that cookie. A bird slowly made his way to the table..

“Go away, bird!!” Blake shouted at him.

It didn’t really work. Bird found another place to watch us. As soon as something hit the ground, it was ready to pounce!

“He is looking at me!”

Blake was beginning to worry about this bird now. He quickly gobbled down the rest of the cookie.

“Do birds like juice?”

Blake was suddenly really worried about this. He finally decided that juice had a cap on it so the bird couldn’t get in, even if it was the best juice ever. Before Andy-Roo ran up the steps to us, bird flew off to bug someone else.

Next Up!! Pirate treasure & Andrew's thoughts on his adventure!

 

[IheartDDuck]

How cool that Andrew went on his own pirate adventure!

Blake and the key card is so adorable. Love how he thought there was no way you would get back in the room without it.

 

[always]

Love the update. I've never been to CBR and it's great to see pictures of the grounds.

 

[GaRain]

What a great Blakers adventure!!!
Can't wait to hear Andrew's review....

 

[CAStevens218]

Well I've been without power since yesterday morning at 6AM, so I was pretty excited when we got it back to come on and see an update from you!!

Andrew looked so excited in his pirate gear! I hope he had a blast!

I love that you guys "hid" the key card so Blake would find it! He must have been so excited that you wouldn't be locked out of the room forever!!! What a relief!

I can sympathize with Blake about that bird! When we were at Sea World a couple of years ago I was feeding the sea lions and one of those swooped down and snatched the fish out of my hand!! It scared the you-know-what out of me!!!!

 

[Dugette]

Cool that Andrew and Blake each had their own adventures this day! Cute that you let Blake find the key card! Can't wait to hear what Andrew has to say about his pirate voyage!

 

[jc040404]

How cool that Andrew went on his own pirate adventure!

Blake and the key card is so adorable. Love how he thought there was no way you would get back in the room without it.

He's a silly guy. I guess he forgot that John and I both got one, too!

Love the update. I've never been to CBR and it's great to see pictures of the grounds.

CBR looks great. I never had much interest in it before, thinking it would just be like the rest of Florida. I guess it mostly is, but it's a pretty and peaceful resort.

What a great Blakers adventure!!!
Can't wait to hear Andrew's review....

Coming up soon!

Well I've been without power since yesterday morning at 6AM, so I was pretty excited when we got it back to come on and see an update from you!!

Andrew looked so excited in his pirate gear! I hope he had a blast!

I love that you guys "hid" the key card so Blake would find it! He must have been so excited that you wouldn't be locked out of the room forever!!! What a relief!

I can sympathize with Blake about that bird! When we were at Sea World a couple of years ago I was feeding the sea lions and one of those swooped down and snatched the fish out of my hand!! It scared the you-know-what out of me!!!!

Oh no! How are things where you are now?? You're in CT, right?

I loved Blake's "I found it!" moment with that card. He would've been so upset if we lost that thing.

Birds stealing food are the worst! They are too scary sometimes. We had a food thief scary incident at Sea World once, too! Mine was with a dolphin! John and Andrew (then 2yrs old) were feeding one while I held the tray of fish. Guess I had it a little too high because the dolphin tried to jump the tank to get to me! I was sooo terrified! The Sea World lady wasn't very happy about it. Oops..

Cool that Andrew and Blake each had their own adventures this day! Cute that you let Blake find the key card! Can't wait to hear what Andrew has to say about his pirate voyage!

I think they were both thrilled to get a break from each other, too. I couldn't believe Blake said he didn't want us to pick up Andrew!

 

[CAStevens218]

Oh no! How are things where you are now?? You're in CT, right?

I loved Blake's "I found it!" moment with that card. He would've been so upset if we lost that thing.

Birds stealing food are the worst! They are too scary sometimes. We had a food thief scary incident at Sea World once, too! Mine was with a dolphin! John and Andrew (then 2yrs old) were feeding one while I held the tray of fish. Guess I had it a little too high because the dolphin tried to jump the tank to get to me! I was sooo terrified! The Sea World lady wasn't very happy about it. Oops..



Yeah, we are in CT...we got off easy at our house (pretty much just leaves in the pool!), but there were a lot of trees and power lines down in the neighborhood...and many many people around us are still without power. So I will count my blessings and go fish leaves out of the pool this afternoon!!

That dolphin incident sounds awful!!!! I've never really like that they let people feed the animals at Sea World. Don't get me wrong, its a lot of fun and I do it, but it just doesn't seem like the safest option for the guests or the animals. Now, I'll continue to doit was long as they let me...but I wish they would stop!!!

 

[jc040404]

Oh no! How are things where you are now?? You're in CT, right?

I loved Blake's "I found it!" moment with that card. He would've been so upset if we lost that thing.

Birds stealing food are the worst! They are too scary sometimes. We had a food thief scary incident at Sea World once, too! Mine was with a dolphin! John and Andrew (then 2yrs old) were feeding one while I held the tray of fish. Guess I had it a little too high because the dolphin tried to jump the tank to get to me! I was sooo terrified! The Sea World lady wasn't very happy about it. Oops..



Yeah, we are in CT...we got off easy at our house (pretty much just leaves in the pool!), but there were a lot of trees and power lines down in the neighborhood...and many many people around us are still without power. So I will count my blessings and go fish leaves out of the pool this afternoon!!

That dolphin incident sounds awful!!!! I've never really like that they let people feed the animals at Sea World. Don't get me wrong, its a lot of fun and I do it, but it just doesn't seem like the safest option for the guests or the animals. Now, I'll continue to doit was long as they let me...but I wish they would stop!!!

So glad it wasn't too bad for you. I'd definitely take leaves in the pool over all the damage I've seen from it! That was awful.

The dolphin thing was all my fault and would totally support what you're saying. I wasn't holding the tray correctly, though I don't really remember how. I don't see myself ever participating in something like that again, though John and Andrew both want to.

This made me check out the pics again. It was the one closest to me. It just looks scary, right?