From Pop to the Top - Funtastic Adventures in the Summer Sun!

[scottny]

Hey, Scott! We want to cover every holiday at Disney World, as well. We've been there on Christmas Day (arrived in the evening and made it to Magic Kingdom! ), Thanksgiving Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter week, Fourth of July (more than once), and New Year's Day and Eve. We want to do them all!

wow u r way ahead of me. Now that we r DVC members I will start going at different times.

All caught up again. BLT looks really nice, I will be checking it out when we go down as well as the Treehouses as friends r staying in both so I must be nosey.

Great updates and pics. Look forward to more.

 

[MeMom]

I loved out loud when I read your post, MeMom! The end could very well be near! Not only is Drew doing such unbelievable things as tagging Disney pictures, wishing his sister happy birthday, and coming up with bookworm, but I will add my own evidence. Charles bought a new pair of tennis shoes the other day, and after showing them to me said, "I thought they would be good for Disney."

Well, just in case it's the real thing, I am going to be really nice to everybody for the next little while. What's that expression - Wonders never cease!

Headed there tonight. I have a coupon for a free burger for my birthday!

Ah ha, but Brooklynn changed the party plans! Although her own birthday can last for a week and have 2-3 parties/meals involved, since Jill's actual birthday was over, Brooklynn changed the whole birthday venue to Casablanca instead of Red Robin. Red Robin has always been the birthday place, so I guess Jill's birthday was totally unofficial this year.

Holy cow! I'm gettin' right with Jesus because it is surely the end of the world!

I'm telling ya - you better be nice to people!

That reminds me! I have my own evidence. I thought the world was coming to an end when my Charles suggested over the summer driving to NY to meet up with Katie and Patrick.



My friend has ADHD, and she is much the same way. She still has problems in some areas, but she has gotten much, much better in other ways. I sat next to her when I went to see the musical Wicked last night with her, Charles and my sister, and the entire thing actually held her attention -- she only whispered to me once during the entire show, which was impressive b/c she has a hard time not being able to talk at the movies!

I hope that Jill can get those days! It's pretty easy for me to get days off from work, but I know it's definitely not the same for everyone. I hope she can get on with Brooklynn's new school, too. When my mom went back to work (when my sister was in kindergarten, I think) she chose to work where she did b/c it is part of the school system Kailyn would be in, so she gets the same vacations and even the same snow days. Worked out very well while planning Disney trips.

See, these men are just surprising us right and left. It's a sign, I'm tellin' ya!

Drew can focus on what he wants to focus on. He can tell you the engine in every car you pass on the road and all about its tires and how much it costs, etc., but he can't remember to turn out lights at night after he comes in. It took me years of having him go back into the bathroom every night to drain the tub and clean it out before he finally did it on his own. Towels get tossed near the hamper, but not in. If he washes dishes, he almost always has to come back and do half of them again because he halfway does them, yet if he is putting a bike together, which he can do from scratch, he will have the parts lined up on a towel in order right beside him and do that whole process with great care. It's so annoying, but after almost 22 years, I've just come to accept it. He's much more like an 18 year old than a 22 year old. The ADD (he doesn't have the H part of it) and him being the baby of the family have combined to make him less mature than he should be.

I want Jill to get on with the school system because the girls will be there for many years to come, and she can have the same holidays as they do without worrying about it. She will be good, no great, at anything anybody could do at school, like an Educational Assistant or office worker.

Okay, you all are cracking me up. Drew's antics and Charles' comment about his shoes are hilarious. Are we in bizarro world?

Several of us appear to be.

As usual, I was 10 pages behind...so I'll sum it up in 3 quick statements:

Wonderful BLT pictures! You are making me even more excited for March!

Looks like a very fun way to spend the 4th of July.

Brooklynn's hair cut is ADORABLE!



YOU CRACK ME UP!!!!!!!!!!!! Between the bit about Drew and being warped in a magical way...I'm going to be giggling all afternoon as I clean the house, thank you!

So glad we could offer you some fun for your afternoon of dusting and such.

Way to go Drew!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sure he will blindside me with something in the near future to bring me back to reality. He takes two steps forward and one step back, but I guess that's better than the other way around, so I will be grateful.

HILARIOUS...MeMom, thanks for a good laugh tonight!

We're all about the laughs around here. I laugh at my students all the time. I was trying to teach some map skills yesterday to my lower group, and it was a comedy. You'd have to see video to understand how hard it is to get things through to some of these kids. I literally have to say, "Go to the yellow highlighted word. Copy the sentence." Some of them still don't get it. It's sad, but at the same time, you have to laugh not to get depressed about it. Some of these poor kids have five or six strikes against them before they ever get started good - drug babies, alcohol babies, etc. just aren't able to get those wires in their brains to connect sometimes, so everything is a struggle for them, and it's not their fault. When I look at some of their answers, I just grin, because they didn't have a clue as to what I was asking. I told them yesterday, "I love you guys, and you just crack me up sometimes!" They love to be loved.

wow u r way ahead of me. Now that we r DVC members I will start going at different times.

All caught up again. BLT looks really nice, I will be checking it out when we go down as well as the Treehouses as friends r staying in both so I must be nosey.

Great updates and pics. Look forward to more.

Now that we are DVC members...

what lovely words!

My guidance counselor at school who was just down there a few weeks ago said her son says they are staying in the Treehouses next time. They stayed at Wilderness Lodge Villas this time. I'd like to take a tour inside of one of them.



*******************************

Just some news and notes for our DIS family:

Jill is supposed to get a half-day off today, so if she puts up pictures through the July 5th, I think that's all we'll get done of this trip until after we get back. School has me really, really bogged down right now, so I am getting very little DIS time.

Please keep Jarvis in your thoughts and prayers. He is in Michigan, and his mom is not doing well. The doctor thinks it is not looking good for her. He's the baby of a whole bunch of kids, and it looks like he is about to lose his Mommy. My heart just breaks for him. Trent called both Jill and me the other night, and he was in tears for his good buddy. I think he and Brandon are headed to Michigan tomorrow.

A fellow teacher at school has a two year old grandson who is dealing with neuroblastoma. They just found a new spot on his brain. He underwent surgery a few days ago. Keep that family in your prayers, too.

Please throw out your prayer requests to us any time, too. We want to always support each other in hard times and rejoice with each other in good times. I know some of you have lost love ones recently and are going through difficult events. Let us be here for moral support.

Fun news -

Wigd is having a baby shower this weekend for a new grandson.

Brooklynn is going to the pumpkin patch next week.

And Disney World is on the horizon for some.

Anything fun going on for you guys?

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Jumping on for a very quick second to say thank you for all the birthday wishes! John last day at his old job was yesterday and he starts with his new company today so I have been slightly stressed out with that reality. One week from tomorrow we arrive in Orlando!!! Guess I better find time to pack!

 

[disneyfan61]

My thoughts & prayers are with Jarvis I know what it is like to loose your mother.

 

[momof2TNboys]

My thoughts and prayers are with Jarvis and his family. Also, with the family from your school. I know what it is like to lose someone close. My brother died almost 2 years ago (on Cooper's birthday). My father is very ill too and it is always touch and go with him. I will keep everyone in my thoughts.

On a happy note, I almost think I have convinced my DH to go in December. I cannot believe my vacation has went from 4 months to 2 months! The good thing also is that we have March to look forward to also!

 

[punkin413]

so funny about drew! he reminds me so much of brett. the other day brooke said she was at the gym on the treadmill and brett called her. she talked to him for a minute and then she asked if she could call him back later, that she was running on the treadmill at the gym. he said, "yeah, that's fine. you're not fat. love you. bye." SOOOOOOO not like him! he usually jumps on any opportunity to call brooke fat even though she's not. we were all floored that he was nice.

i will keep jarvis in my prayers. so sad. and i will be thinking of your school friend's little boy too.

i do actually have a person that you can say a little prayer for. my friend rebekah is due in december with her first baby. she and her hubby have been trying to get pregnant for a long time now. anyway, apparently the baby isn't gaining the weight they want her to and so they think she'd do better if they took her early. rebekah is only 29 weeks at this point. they started giving her steroids last week to get the baby's lungs, etc. stronger in preparation for birth in a few weeks and rebekah started having contractions in response to the steroids. they got them stopped but now she's on bed rest and they are just hoping she makes it to 30 weeks before the baby has to be born. she's in good spirits but just having had a baby myself, i can't imagine what she's going through right now. i'm sure she'd appreciate any prayers!

oh, and speaking of fun, i am meeting erica, will and her parents for lunch on saturday as they pass through atlanta on their way to orlando! i'm excited to see them and for will and erica to meet seth.

my dis time has been limited lately so in case i don't "see" you guys before you leave, have a magical trip!!! feel free to text me any updates. i love those little doses of disney!!!

 

[DWGal210]

Happy Thursday, friends!

MeMom & Jill, (or anyone else) close to Franklin, TN? I just found out today that I am taking a work trip there on October 21-23!

 

[Megablocks]

I will definitely be thinking of Jarvis. That is SO sad...poor guy. I'll also be thinking of the family from your school.

*******************************

Please throw out your prayer requests to us any time, too. We want to always support each other in hard times and rejoice with each other in good times. I know some of you have lost love ones recently and are going through difficult events. Let us be here for moral support.

I do have one...my boyfriend Charles's grandmother (his mother's mother) has congestive heart failure and is in renal kidney failure. She was taken to the ER on Monday b/c she had a routine blood test done and something (I honestly forget what) was at a critically low level, so she was taken to the ER for a blood transfusion. She ended up getting four pints of blood, but we found out on Tuesday that she is being moved to a hospice. She told Charles's mother that she's a little sad and is afraid of missing people, but she hopes that Heaven is all that she thinks it is. She's been having a lot of health problems for a while but this is still all very hard on Charles and his family.

Fun stuff: Christine and I have our fake EPCOT meet next Sunday, when you'll be at AK! I'll PM you my cell phone # as soon as this posts. This Sunday, Charles and I are going in to Boston just to walk around and take pictures of the foliage. I was holding out for a day trip to New Hampshire b/c I LOVE North Conway, but he talked me into just staying local. We found out over the summer that there are a LOT of tolls between here and that area, and coming back from NH into MA is So it's a lot cheaper and easier to just drive to the train station in our city and pay the $5.50 for all-day parking. I'm sure I'll have lots of fun pictures from both of those!

 

[999ghostslover]

Well, I wouldn't want to short you a long weekend, and we couldn't end things right before a Disney trip , so I talked to The Man Upstairs and asked for a little more time.





I don't think I'll ever figure that boy out. He is opposed to reading for the most part, but yet he diligently reads the Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines that my co-teacher's dad hands him down. In other words, he reads what he wants to, but in school, he never 'wanted to'! He also watches historical stuff on TV. He seems like an 'unbright crayon', as one might tease, but he watches some pretty intense and intricate stuff on TV. He also likes to think he's hardcore, but he loves Andy Griffith and still sleeps under a Mickey Mouse comforter that's about a thousand years old. That thing is so worn and dingy that you can hardly see anything of it, but he's got in broken in and likes it just fine.





Everybody is busy, busy, busy, LL, so don't worry about it. School is piling it on for us right now, and I have a list a mile long to undertake in the weeks ahead. My planning times have been taken up with meetings, so my planning and preparation is being done after school and at home these days.







What a wonderful way to end a day! I'm glad you were able to walk on. We have cousins who just got there yesterday, so I hope it stays that way for them.





I'll have to look it up.

The Disneyness in me came out, of course, as I was making the game. I had these cards that were popcorn boxes and the popcorn at the top, so you could put whatever on them - Math facts, words, whatever - to match. Here are some of my words. See if you have any Disney association.

You will.

gingerbread
playground
riverside
airport
downtown
jellyfish
lifeguard
thunderstorm

Anyway, those were some of them. There were others.
I could make a Disney connection with each of them.
I think I am fully and certifiably warped.
In a magical way.





When I get a cough, it lasts for a month. Thankfully, I only get about one a year. It's so annoying for it to perist, and my ribs hurt from coughing so much.

Jill didn't get to go out to eat on her birthday. I'm sure John will take her out at some point, and I'll buy her a birthday meal in Disney World.

Our mornings have been in the 40's here, which feels cold now. When it is 12-15 in a few months, 40's will be sounding fabulous!





Drew is smart about the things he wants to be smart about, and he tunes out what he is not interested in. That's the ADD in him.

We leave next Friday! I was looking at the flights for March. Southwest must not be happy with us planning a March trip, because they are just being ugly about their prices! Jill is going to talk to her boss today and see if she can get some more days, because we may end up having to drive. I'm flexible and can change my days around to fit the cheapest flights, but Jill can't. She needs those weekend days, and the weekend flights are expensive. I may get those cheap flights and plan to go ahead and take Brooklynn, and our friend, Kay, and Jill and Bella can get and be there when they can, but I am going to hate it if it has to be only for a very short time for her. Maybe her boss will be understanding about the situation and give her 3-4 days. If she gets to go to Disneyland in January or February when John travels for business, that would make me feel better and make up for a shorter time in March, so I hope either one of those options work for her. I am hoping she can get on with the school Brooklynn will be going to next year, and then she will have her holidays, breaks, and summers off.

Hugs and prayers to all in need. MeMom, that is so sad about your student with NB. My best friend's son died from pediatric brain cancer and so we are very dedicated to that cause. October is a hard month for me with that because while the pink everywhere looks very pretty so much of it is hype and does little for a worthy cause while September was pediatric cancer awareness month and nothing is noticed year after year. PEdiatric cancers are so much more preventable and curable that breast cancer but it gets a smidgen of the public's attention and dollars. So every September and October I make a donation in my friend's son's name.

 

[reelmom]

Now I'm beginning to think that the End of the World is coming. My DH just called and asked me what plans I had for the weekend. We have Monday and Tuesday off from school so that means a 4 day weekend. After telling him what I had planned, he told me to cancel all my plans because he booked us a trip. Where you ask?

DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in complete shock! I am so excited but freaking out too. We leave tomorrow afternoon. The kids have no clue and I think I am not going to tell them until we pick them up at school and are on our way. We are staying at All Star Sports. He tried to book POP but couldn't with the Fall/Winter Special Offer. I told him I don't care where we stay, I am just so excited to know that I will be on Disney property tomorrow night. Now I have to go pack and plan without the kids finding out what I am doing. Still in total shock! I think my DH has been converted but doesn't want anyone to know.

 

[reelmom]

Please tell Jarvis that I will keep him and his family in my prayers.

 

[tinkgurl]

Oh wow, I will keep both Jarvis and that little boy in my thoughts.

I still can't believe you're going back to WDW again. Seriously, I need to come with you this time. School can wait.

Let's see..what is exciting coming up for me? Well this weekend, we are having Fiance's sis's birthday party..she is turning 16 next week!! And then next weekend, we are having a pumpkin carving and hayrack ride get-together at my Grandma's. Next Friday, Fiance and I are taking Little Guy to this pumpkin patch to pick out a ton of pumpkins to bring. He is very excited. He also told me he wants to paint a few. I asked him what he wanted to paint on them and he said, "The sky...and clouds...and a big yellow sun!"

Also..he doesn't know about this but at the end of this month, I can order Disney on Ice tickets!! I have been dying to take him to a show and he's finally at that age where I think he'd really like it. Plus, it would be a good Disney fix for all of us!

 

[micandminforever]

Now I'm beginning to think that the End of the World is coming. My DH just called and asked me what plans I had for the weekend. We have Monday and Tuesday off from school so that means a 4 day weekend. After telling him what I had planned, he told me to cancel all my plans because he booked us a trip. Where you ask?

DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in complete shock! I am so excited but freaking out too. We leave tomorrow afternoon. The kids have no clue and I think I am not going to tell them until we pick them up at school and are on our way. We are staying at All Star Sports. He tried to book POP but couldn't with the Fall/Winter Special Offer. I told him I don't care where we stay, I am just so excited to know that I will be on Disney property tomorrow night. Now I have to go pack and plan without the kids finding out what I am doing. Still in total shock! I think my DH has been converted but doesn't want anyone to know.

Maybe after the Dis meet at Town Center, he realized he had the Disney virus. He was exposed to all those Disney people at one time.

Have a great time filled with pixie dust. Then write a trip report.

 

[stace208]

My heart goes out to Jarvis. I know all too well what it is to lose a mother-especially at a young age. Thoughts and prayers also to everyone else that is in need.

I'm so jealous that you guys are leaving next week!! I wish I lived closer so I could hide in your luggage. I could so go for a trip right now! We hit the 70's today on our Dec. trip countdown but it seems a lifetime away.

We have our city's annual festival-The Peanut Fest- this weekend. We always go Friday night to see the demolition derby. The kids love it! Saturday Ben has his first swim meet of the season. We have to travel to Elizabeth City, NC though so it will pretty much take up the whole day.

Hope you all have a great night and wonderful Friday!!

 

[Spartangirl]

Prayers are with Jarvis and the little boy...wow...

On a good note, you leave for Disney really soon! I wish I was going back too!

Happy Friday tomorrow!

 

[micandminforever]

Jarvis and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.

My heart and prayers also go out to the little boy and his family.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Sending out good thoughts and prayers to all who need them.

 

[jillyb]

Jarvis and his family are in my thoughts and prayers as is the little boy and his family.

 

[hlrababy]

Poor Jarvis...I am saying some prayers for him and also for all who are putting their prayer requests!!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Now I'm beginning to think that the End of the World is coming. My DH just called and asked me what plans I had for the weekend. We have Monday and Tuesday off from school so that means a 4 day weekend. After telling him what I had planned, he told me to cancel all my plans because he booked us a trip. Where you ask?

DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in complete shock! I am so excited but freaking out too. We leave tomorrow afternoon. The kids have no clue and I think I am not going to tell them until we pick them up at school and are on our way. We are staying at All Star Sports. He tried to book POP but couldn't with the Fall/Winter Special Offer. I told him I don't care where we stay, I am just so excited to know that I will be on Disney property tomorrow night. Now I have to go pack and plan without the kids finding out what I am doing. Still in total shock! I think my DH has been converted but doesn't want anyone to know.

So excited about your trip! Have fun!!!


MeMom, sending prayers to Jarvis and his family. So young to be losing his mom....

Thinking of and sending prayers for your co-worker's grandson. How frightening to be dealing with such a devastating illness.

Also prayers for the other dis requests as well...

I'm so excited for your trip to be coming up so soon! I hope somebody got to Old Navy to pick up those perfect Halloween t-shirts!!! I just checked online and you can always still go there and order them if you want to! Be sure to look at the other Minnie Mouse t-shirt!
I know, bossy, bossy, Wigd.