Dream house = No Fantasy Vacation, says who?

[travelwith2]

Okay....I've never done a PTR before...and honestly I'm not sure if I'm doing this for anyone's reading pleasure or to help me along the way. The reason I say that is because booking this trip 74 days in advance seemed okay at the time...then I realized how much I had to do not cruise related in that time... First, I want to introduce you to my precious little family, me = April, DH = Adam, DD = Jordyn, and finally DD = Kendalyn.

This will be our second DCL cruise banana and we already have a third one booked! DH and I have done numerous other cruises on other lines and DDs have done one other cruise, but last year after going on the Dream, we were hooked...

So a little background as to my title is simply this: we have been trying for 2 years to sell our house and buy our "dream" house.

Then in February of this year, blessings poured down on us. Not only did we sell our house...the buyers gave us full asking price and paid their own closing costs. I'm sure most of you know that does NOT happen in todays economy. Contract accepted on our home = a quick need to get one on a new home. By miracle, the first house we had looked at last year and fell in love with was still on the market. Not only did we get the house, we got it for WAY less than the original asking price. : So, because of this, my DH said "April, this year we need to scale back on vacation, NO Disney cruise." That was that....or was it.... As you can see, we had more blessings coming our way. Case in point, this PTR! Okay, enough of all that, next update will be the event(s) of booking this Fantasy Cruise.

 

[travelwith2]

So, at the beginning of summer dh and I started thinking about what we wanted to do for our big family vacation. Since we were thinking low scale, our options were limited. A drive to the beach, a trip to Pigeon Forge, or maybe a cabin in Blue Ridge. I refused to put those plans in motion until time because I kept holding out hope. Everyday at work I would sit and try random dates on DCL...to no avail...I knew those prices would blow the budget. That was until I came across an opening on the August 29 Dream Cruise just a little over budget. I placed a hold on it and came home to tell DH. He said "NO". Then the next day he sent me an email at work with the confirmation from the booking. I always knew he loved me too much. I started planning right away. A few weeks later though I decided it was best to cancel and just go to Orlando for a week. We could stay at the Nick Hotel (I know, I know, but we are going to WDW for Christmas for the VERY first time), go to Sea World, and do some other interesting things. So, I called to cancel our Dream crusie. I then started planning for our Orlando trip. Little to my husbands knowledge I was still looking at DCL EVERYDAY. I just knew something was going to happen. Then it happened!!! I looked at the Fantasy for August 25 and it was on target for what he said he would spend for a 7 night cruise. Yes, it was a little over budget....but it was SEVEN nights on a Disney cruise... Well, dh was in San Diego for the week working and I had to act quick. Book first then ask/tell him... And so that is how this all started!

Next update: our CRAZY BUSY schedule before the cruise.

 

[Cheryl726]

Congrats on booking your cruise, and your new home! You will be very busy, but it will all be worth it!

 

[travelwith2]

Congrats on booking your cruise, and your new home! You will be very busy, but it will all be worth it!

Thank you so much! We are all very excited!

 

[travelwith2]

We will be cruising 6 weeks from today!!! We are all starting to get really excited about our vacation. Today I have a lot to do. My oldest DD has a gymnastics meet next Saturday we are getting ready for.

Jordyn is an amazing gymnast and dreams of going to the Olympics in 2016. Both dds are downstairs right now training in our gymnastics gym. You would think 16 hours at the gym training with the team would be enough each week...
I don't have any free weekends between now and the cruise. With Jo's meet Saturday morning, my dear friend's bridal shower that afternoon, and my dd's friend's birthday party that night....I'm pretty sure I'll be exhausted next weekend. Then on August 4th is dear friends wedding... Then on August 11th is dd Jo's 10th birthday party. She of course wants a dance party. This morning I hired a DJ and now we are going to order invitations and cupcakes and all the other fun stuff. So it looks like I may be able to pack on August 18th. I'm sure by the time the cruise gets here I will be more than ready to relax.
I'll keep you posted as to how all these events go! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[travelwith2]

Guess what???? Our cruise documents came in the mail. I do believe I was way more excited that the girls though. I kept telling the girls mail from the mouse is always a good thing! Anyway, this past week we have tried to finalize a lot of things for the trip. Our original plan was to drive to save on money....but last week Southwest dropped prices and for the four of us to fly roundtrip was only $470.00. But wait, that's not even the best part!!! Last month dh had to go to San Diego for a work conference and on the flight home he took a voluntary layover which resulted in $455 worth of flight vouchers. We applied those and we shall fly for way cheaper than driving. We decided to take the DCL ground transfers, so now the girls are so excited to ride the "Mickey" bus. We have just a little over a month left to go now. This weekend after dds gymnastics meet, dear friends bridal shower, and dds friends birthday party, I am going to take/drag my husband shopping. I just need a few more things and the girls need new dress shoes for formal night. Well, that's about it for this short update! Have a great day!

 

[travelwith2]

AHHH where has the time went? The gymnastics meet last weekend went great. Of course it was the first time some of the family had ever seen her compete, so it was a lot of and as they watched her do back handsprings on the beam or fly from one bar to the other. This weekend we took the girls to see Aladdin Jr the musical at the local theater. It was cute, but nothing compared to what we will be seeing in less than 4 weeks now. The girls are getting really excited. They keep wondering why I haven't packed yet. This weekend we have a wedding to go to. I am excited about this but dh not so much. Then next weekend is dd BIG 10th birthday... I'm not so excited about that. Where have those years gone? So it looks like we will be packing the weekend of the 18th. We will also be school shopping that weekend along with house cleaning and doing all last minute vacation stuff. Hectic? Yes! Will I be wore out? Yes! Will it be worth it the minute we step on the Fantasy? OH YEAH! Until next time, have a great week!

 

[trish.]

Can't wait to see pictures of the ship!

Congrats on your beautiful new home!

 

[travelwith2]

Can't wait to see pictures of the ship!

Congrats on your beautiful new home!

Thanks! I can't wait to get on the ship and take lots of pictures. My husband says I tend to be camera happy and I take way too many random shots of nothing, haha.

 

[travelwith2]

What???? We leave in 16 days? Are you sure? That is exactly how I feel at this moment. We have had so many changes over the past week....some good, some not so good, and one VERY major bittersweet change.... We will start with the major change...DD Jordyn quit gymnastics.... She decided that turning 10 this weekend would be the start of many new things for her... She was/is/was an amazing gymnast...with Olympic dreams....but now...not so much... I guess I should be happy because each year I contribute about $5K to all her fees , but I'm still a little bummed. But saving the $5K this year means more vacation money, right??? I think that her goal is to try out for the middle school cheer team in May....who knows... Anyway, we also had to change child care providers from my sister to my sister in-law... Not a bad change, just not as convenient. I do have good news though...school shopping is DONE! This weekend will be DD's bday party and a weekend full of fun for all the girls.... Next weekend I MUST pack. Not sure where just breathing will fit into all that needs to be done, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

 

[trish.]

I do have good news though...school shopping is DONE! This weekend will be DD's bday party and a weekend full of fun for all the girls.... Next weekend I MUST pack. Not sure where just breathing will fit into all that needs to be done, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

Ugh! I haven't even really started school shopping. I think I am in denial...

You are getting so close!

 

[travelwith2]

We leave in 1 week!!! Our house is abuzz with excitement! We have the suitcases out and ready to pack this weekend. I just need to find the motivation to do it. Our flight leaves Friday afternoon and believe it or not....my workaholic husband and myself plan on working a little that morning. He will work from home as he always does, but I will go to the office just to make sure everything will be in order. We are all ready for this. I've been thinking about going to DTD Friday night to eat, but haven't decided for sure yet. The kids are just excited about the cruise so they could care less if we ate McDonalds that night... This weekend I plan on cleaning as I always do on Saturdays, doing all laundry, and packing, packing, packing... We will need to pick up the travel things such as sunblock, toiletries, and maybe a few last minutes items for myself... Oh, I did score youngest dd two new swimsuits (the rash guard ones) for $8.00 at Kohl's. Anyway, I must get busy....just too much to get done in a week! Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

[travelwith2]

And we are off to the airport in the morning!!!!! Yes, that's right! The short wait has come to an end and we are finally going to be heading out early. The girls are so excited . Literally doing just that over and over again. We are just about completely packed and the house is in order to be left. A little dance class tonight, some take out, and then it's a sleepless night from excitement. Here is to hoping those storms vanish! Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will be back with pictures in a week!