"Do You Mind?" - Disney Adventures with Teens August Trip Report

[Charleston Princess]

I am really struggling with this binder. It is HUGE. I don't want to carry all this weight in my backpack on the plane. I also plan to that the UG and Passporter, plus my Chelsea Handler book, camera, cell phone, etc, so this is getting heavy.

I am thinking about taking out certain pages of the binder that we will need that night and leaving the rest in the checked suitcase. I'm also going to take some items out here at the house and leave them at home.

Any other thoughts?

Take what you have to have for the first night -- par the rest of the trip binder down to essentials and stick it in one of the suitcases -- I think your idea was spot on!

 

[swwake]

Good to know -- I may have to visit a nearby Party City soon -- it's never too early to start filling the trip drawer!

I can't believe you are leaving tomorrow! Is everyone super excited?

Ha! You're right - never too early!

Yes, Katie and Caitlin got home about 30 minutes ago after shopping all day. They have new clothes, swimsuit for Caitlin, bag for Katie. We are all thrilled!

Take what you have to have for the first night -- par the rest of the trip binder down to essentials and stick it in one of the suitcases -- I think your idea was spot on!

Great! That's what I'm going to do. Now I'm stressing over whether I need the Passporter and UG.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Ha! You're right - never too early!

Yes, Katie and Caitlin got home about 30 minutes ago after shopping all day. They have new clothes, swimsuit for Caitlin, bag for Katie. We are all thrilled!

Great! That's what I'm going to do. Now I'm stressing over whether I need the Passporter and UG.

Honestly? I never looked at either one while we were there -- but I would hate to be the one to tell you to leave them behind and then you wished you had them. I did like the Passporter for jotting notes on those pockets and sticking in all the receipts and stuff from each day.

 

[swwake]

Chris was out edging, getting ready to mow the lawn one last time before we leave for 10 days. Guess who came to visit?

Thumper...

and Thumper II...

and lastly, Thumper III

That's right. A little family of 3 baby bunnies right in our backyard. We don't know where Mom is. Caitlin and Katie wanted to hold them, but we wouldn't let them, thinking it might make the mommy bunny reject them, like birds do.

I just know these little guys were scared. They were so still, trying to hide in the high grass. We are hoping that, while Chris is mowing the front yard, they will crawl back down into their hole/home.

I am so glad Thumper (and Thumper and Thumper) came to visit us before our Disney trip. It's like Walt himself sent them to make sure we're packing. (Obviously, I'm not packing - I'm watching bunnies.)

A little later this evening, maybe Bambi will stop by for a quick pre-Disneyworld visit. Deer are a common occurrence on our property.

 

[Grandma Bonnie]

A little later this evening, maybe Bambi will stop by for a quick pre-Disneyworld visit. Deer are a common occurrence on our property.

Just a note to tell you that Bambi and Mama Doe ran in front of the car as I was driving back to the house about an hour ago.

Last night Chris almost hit a deer in the same spot, so I drove verrrrry slowly as I approach and saw the mother and fawn cross in front of me and off to the left were several other members of their family.

 

[swwake]

We are all packed up. Chris is about to load the suitcases with non-essentials into the truck. First, he has gone to check on the bunnies.

We packed one small overnight bag for tomorrow night at our friends' house. It has our toiletries, and this way we don't have to unload our "checking" bags at Troy's house. We'll just add our toiletries in.

Tate just stopped by to say goodbye to Katie because "he's sweet like that", as she says.

Katie, Caitlin and Mom are watching the Tivo of the finale of SYTYCD.

I am going through to-do lists.

My sister called to wish us well. She is going to check on the house while we're gone. She said "it's finally here - after all the months of planning". I remember she said a couple of weeks ago that her DH said I had lost it when I started posting pictures of my shopping finds and clothes.

It's all surreal.

I have purged the binder of all Florida non-essentials. Then I removed all Saturday essentials and put them into a manilla envelope that I will have with me at all times (flight confirmations, DME voucher, hotel voucher, ADR numbers, Caitlin's birth certificate and other ID, etc.). The binder is packed in one of our "checking" bags.

I have spoken to Katie's dad tonight, and also to his ex-girlfriend. Another story for another post.

We have tested the RCA cables from my computer to the in-vehicle DVD player and we are very excited that they work to run sound through. Now I can take my external drive with my 27,000 songs and we can play great music all the way to Memphis.

I am having my essential glass of wine now.

I have done alot more, but I don't remember it all. I am not stressed. Just very relaxed and ready for this wonderful vacation.

I will be posting updates from the road tomorrow. I have to work in the car, and will also surely be researching/planning the trip.

We're also excited to see our friends Troy and Jen.

 

[Native NYer]

Sometimes the Mom in Me comes out.

I have been collecting items for several months for this trip. Some of them, I have kept as a surprise for the girls.

Tonight, I will reveal them to you. I doubt the girls will read this thread tonight, so there is very little risk of spoiling the surprise.

I have packed these items in a gift bag to go in the truck for the drive tomorrow.

Disney invisible ink activity books:

Disney princess play putty:

Disney princess goody bags:

Can't leave Dude out - POTC goody bag for him:

Mad Libs (awesome for road trips!):

Invisible ink game book to share:

Katie found this book the other night and I told her she has to leave it alone - it's a surprise. She obliged. But she loves these books!

So cute!!! I loved the Invisible Ink books when I was a kid.

I am really struggling with this binder. It is HUGE. I don't want to carry all this weight in my backpack on the plane. I also plan to that the UG and Passporter, plus my Chelsea Handler book, camera, cell phone, etc, so this is getting heavy.

I am thinking about taking out certain pages of the binder that we will need that night and leaving the rest in the checked suitcase. I'm also going to take some items out here at the house and leave them at home.

Any other thoughts?

Could you just put the pages you really really need in a folder? It'll weigh a lot less.

 

[Native NYer]

We are all packed up. Chris is about to load the suitcases with non-essentials into the truck. First, he has gone to check on the bunnies.

We packed one small overnight bag for tomorrow night at our friends' house. It has our toiletries, and this way we don't have to unload our "checking" bags at Troy's house. We'll just add our toiletries in.

Tate just stopped by to say goodbye to Katie because "he's sweet like that", as she says.

Katie, Caitlin and Mom are watching the Tivo of the finale of SYTYCD.

I am going through to-do lists.

My sister called to wish us well. She is going to check on the house while we're gone. She said "it's finally here - after all the months of planning". I remember she said a couple of weeks ago that her DH said I had lost it when I started posting pictures of my shopping finds and clothes.

It's all surreal.

I have purged the binder of all Florida non-essentials. Then I removed all Saturday essentials and put them into a manilla envelope that I will have with me at all times (flight confirmations, DME voucher, hotel voucher, ADR numbers, Caitlin's birth certificate and other ID, etc.). The binder is packed in one of our "checking" bags.

I have spoken to Katie's dad tonight, and also to his ex-girlfriend. Another story for another post.

We have tested the RCA cables from my computer to the in-vehicle DVD player and we are very excited that they work to run sound through. Now I can take my external drive with my 27,000 songs and we can play great music all the way to Memphis.

I am having my essential glass of wine now.

I have done alot more, but I don't remember it all. I am not stressed. Just very relaxed and ready for this wonderful vacation.

I will be posting updates from the road tomorrow. I have to work in the car, and will also surely be researching/planning the trip.

We're also excited to see our friends Troy and Jen.

Katie and Caitlin must be beyond excited!

What kind of music do you have for the drive?

 

[swwake]

Could you just put the pages you really really need in a folder? It'll weigh a lot less.

I loved them too and I am secretly hoping they will share! Especially the "baseball" games.

 

[swwake]

Katie and Caitlin must be beyond excited!

What kind of music do you have for the drive?

They are excited. Very loud for 11:30pm.

We have all kinds of music. We don't particularly care for country, but I am bringing everything I own. I will post updates of what we're listening to

I'm gonna say mostly early 90's alternative. We may do some dance/techno music. Depends how we feel.

 

[swwake]

I mentioned earlier that we will be making a pit stop in Little Rock tomorrow. Here's the reason why. Warning - you may not want to read this if you have soft emotions.

If you remember from previous posts, Katie's father's ex-girlfriend has a daughter Paxton, who is 9 years old and has leukemia. She received a wish from Make-A-Wish back in May and Katie was able to accompany her for part of her trip to Disneyworld. This was such a blessing for both girls. They have been very close since Paxton was 4 years old.

Paxton is not doing very well today. She is in the hospital in Little Rock and we are going to stop to visit her tomorrow. I believe in miracles, and I think that seeing Katie just might bring about one of those.

Paxton's leukemia is in remission; however, the chemo has literally cooked her body. Her liver is functioning at full capacity and can't take any more. It is compressing her kidneys so badly that they are shutting down. They are keeping Paxton on nutrients and O2, and morphine, to keep her comfortable. Her mother says we won't recognize her.

Pax is sleeping most of the days. The doctors say that they could work to try to repair or replace the liver, kidney(s) or heart, but that would cause the cancer to return, so it's a lose-lose situation. Her mother is really struggling and I am just trying to be supportive.

We will stop tomorrow in Texarkana and pick up something Hello Kitty for Paxton. Katie wants to get her a huge stuffed kitty if we can find one. Paxton's mother is trying to keep the noise and movement down, so Katie and I only will visit her at the hospital. Chris, Caitlin, Mom and the dogs will find something else to occupy them for approx. an hour.

We are just hoping that Paxton is alert enough to know that we're there.

Anyway, it's bittersweet, but we are doing what we can to help Paxton and her mother. We need to see her for ourselves and for her. Honestly, I think that the fact that we're going (back, for Katie) to Disneyworld will be a celebration of Paxton's life.

She is such a sweet girl.

 

[scottny]

Have a great trip and cannot wait to hear about it when u get back.

there wa sa message for you too somewhere else. I don;t know if you got it or not.

 

[Native NYer]

I loved them too and I am secretly hoping they will share! Especially the "baseball" games.

Oh I remember those games. So much fun!

They are excited. Very loud for 11:30pm.

We have all kinds of music. We don't particularly care for country, but I am bringing everything I own. I will post updates of what we're listening to

I'm gonna say mostly early 90's alternative. We may do some dance/techno music. Depends how we feel.

Sounds like you're going to have a mini rave in the truck. Get out your glow sticks!

 

[swwake]

A couple of photos from Katie and Paxton's trip to Disneyworld in May:

 

[Native NYer]

I mentioned earlier that we will be making a pit stop in Little Rock tomorrow. Here's the reason why. Warning - you may not want to read this if you have soft emotions.

If you remember from previous posts, Katie's father's ex-girlfriend has a daughter Paxton, who is 9 years old and has leukemia. She received a wish from Make-A-Wish back in May and Katie was able to accompany her for part of her trip to Disneyworld. This was such a blessing for both girls. They have been very close since Paxton was 4 years old.

Paxton is not doing very well today. She is in the hospital in Little Rock and we are going to stop to visit her tomorrow. I believe in miracles, and I think that seeing Katie just might bring about one of those.

Paxton's leukemia is in remission; however, the chemo has literally cooked her body. Her liver is functioning at full capacity and can't take any more. It is compressing her kidneys so badly that they are shutting down. They are keeping Paxton on nutrients and O2, and morphine, to keep her comfortable. Her mother says we won't recognize her.

Pax is sleeping most of the days. The doctors say that they could work to try to repair or replace the liver, kidney(s) or heart, but that would cause the cancer to return, so it's a lose-lose situation. Her mother is really struggling and I am just trying to be supportive.

We will stop tomorrow in Texarkana and pick up something Hello Kitty for Paxton. Katie wants to get her a huge stuffed kitty if we can find one. Paxton's mother is trying to keep the noise and movement down, so Katie and I only will visit her at the hospital. Chris, Caitlin, Mom and the dogs will find something else to occupy them for approx. an hour.

We are just hoping that Paxton is alert enough to know that we're there.

Anyway, it's bittersweet, but we are doing what we can to help Paxton and her mother. We need to see her for ourselves and for her. Honestly, I think that the fact that we're going (back, for Katie) to Disneyworld will be a celebration of Paxton's life.

She is such a sweet girl.

I'm so sorry to hear Paxton isn't doing well. I'm sure your visit will make her feel so much better. And I hope you find the stuffed Hello Kitty.

Paxton is in my prayers.

 

[Native NYer]

Great photos!

 

[scottny]

that is sad and I will thinking of her. The visit sounds like a great idea.

 

[swwake]

Have a great trip and cannot wait to hear about it when u get back.

there wa sa message for you too somewhere else. I don;t know if you got it or not.

Wow! I am missing posts here and there. Had to scroll back.

Thanks for the well-wishes. Wow, I need to go check somewhere else. I don't get instant notifications. We need to fix that.

Sounds like you're going to have a mini rave in the truck. Get out your glow sticks!

I think we may rave. Too bad I shipped my glow sticks ahead!! I think the dogs will enjoy the rave. We will play lots of Snoop and we'll be sure to play "who let the dogs out?" Maybe I'll take pics and post from the road.

that is sad and I will thinking of her. The visit sounds like a great idea.

I know it's sad. I was in tears tonight talking to her mom. She was thanking me for "letting" Katie go on the MAW trip. I don't mean to bring everyone down. So sorry about that.

 

[Native NYer]

Oh a rave update. Do you think the dogs will like Snoop?

Fo shizzle!

 

[swwake]

Do you want to know if Katie and Caitlin are excited? I stole these from their Myspace bulletins:

Katie:
Subject: life is so exciting!
Body:
downtown shopping with caitlin!!
pineapple express later...

tomorrow drive to memphis
sat look at cars and fly to disney!!!

yay!

Caitlin:
Subject: FLORIDA
Body:
FOR 10 DAYS I THINK....

IM LEAVING TOMORROW

******
Ahhhh...the thrill in a Mother's heart....It's nice to be able to make this joy possible.

On another note, Chris went to check on the Thumpers and Magic followed. When she noticed there was a heartbeat, she snapped. He had to intervene to protect the bunnies.