Grumpy and his wife and possibly the DIS Food Porn Queen are going to Disney

[SoonerGirl]

Oh Kathy, if you can swing the cost you MUST do MNSSHP! The parade and fireworks are amazing, we had a blast at the one we went to!

 

[KatMark]

I've been catching up on all my threads today and I so enjoy reading them all, but especially those who have young kids and it got me reflecting on our two boys and how fast they grow up. I guess it doesn't help that I'm home alone all weekend while Mark works, Andy is coaching his 13-year old travel team and Mark is coaching the youth Greco Wrestling State championships (and my baby turns 22 in two weeks )

So for those of you folllowing my PTR with young ones, grab and hold tight to your kids and ejjoy these very special times with them...they grow up too way too fast. Here's a few pictures of Andy and Mark through the years (I'm going to try scanning old family Disney pictures later, but here are Mark's and my pride and joy:

Andy's First Trip to Disney World:

Mark and Andy on an early trip to Disney:

Andy playing baseball:

Andy coaching baseball:

Mark wrestling in middle school (he's the one on top squeezing the poor other boy's head):

Mark with one of the young boys he coaches:

Continued in next post

 

[KatMark]

After Mark graduated from high school:

The two brothers after Mark's high school graduation:

After Andy graduated from college (and he is now back in school getting his teaching certificate and Masters):

 

[MHTeacher]

-- is there anything more beautiful than the MK at night?

I don't think so.

 

[racefanof88]

I don't think so.

I have to agree with Michelle.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Kathy, what a wonderful walk down memory lane. I'm all teary eyed now. I sure miss having little ones along for WDW trips - already looking forward to our first trip with Sophia. We are hoping to go when she is 3 or 4 - more likely 4. She is so shy we'll need to be sure she will enjoy the characters. The poor kid - her birthday is the day after age deadline for school, so she will always be a yr older. I feel so bad - one darn day!! I digress...sorry!

Back to your PTR!! YES YES YES, win on that scratch tkt and do the MNSSHP! I am not even a big fan of Halloween, but had so much fun! You've got to see the Headless Horseman - be sure to stand in Liberty Sq when he comes through. The fireworks are better than the MVMCP - these fireworks are with the price of admission - okay slight exaggeration, but the fireworks are fabulous.

Then there's the Trick or Treating - you guys will have so much fun. Never did I think I'd hear myself walking away saying, "Oh,look what I got!". We went around twice to some stands. Some CM's will drop one maybe 2 pieces of candy into your bad (supplied by Disney), but others drop in a handful - it is so much fun!

I just love your PTR - you are so organized, in a good way - wish I could take you both along with me sometime and you could do all the planning!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

LOVE this photo!!

 

[tinacaplan]

Nice photos, Kathy. Thanks for sharing them. Making me look forward to my own trip with my son all the more.

 

[KatMark]

I don't think so.

I have to agree with Michelle.

Great minds think alike.

Kathy, what a wonderful walk down memory lane. I'm all teary eyed now. I sure miss having little ones along for WDW trips - already looking forward to our first trip with Sophia. We are hoping to go when she is 3 or 4 - more likely 4. She is so shy we'll need to be sure she will enjoy the characters. The poor kid - her birthday is the day after age deadline for school, so she will always be a yr older. I feel so bad - one darn day!! I digress...sorry!

Back to your PTR!! YES YES YES, win on that scratch tkt and do the MNSSHP! I am not even a big fan of Halloween, but had so much fun! You've got to see the Headless Horseman - be sure to stand in Liberty Sq when he comes through. The fireworks are better than the MVMCP - these fireworks are with the price of admission - okay slight exaggeration, but the fireworks are fabulous.

Then there's the Trick or Treating - you guys will have so much fun. Never did I think I'd hear myself walking away saying, "Oh,look what I got!". We went around twice to some stands. Some CM's will drop one maybe 2 pieces of candy into your bad (supplied by Disney), but others drop in a handful - it is so much fun!

I just love your PTR - you are so organized, in a good way - wish I could take you both along with me sometime and you could do all the planning!

Mark said if we can afford it that we should definitely do MVMCP so we're keeping it in mind for the 18th of September.

Nice photos, Kathy. Thanks for sharing them. Making me look forward to my own trip with my son all the more.

I'm about to post some "old Disney pictures". I don't know why I'm in this "missing my boys going to Disney with me" mood. The last set of pictures that I'm about to post are from 2000--the last time both kids traveled with us -- 10 years ago.

 

[KatMark]

More going back in time when the boys traveled with us.

These are from 1992:

And big Mark still rides Dumbo!

Our last trip together as a family in the next post (2000 -- 10 years ago...my time flies by).

 

[dizneeat]

I LOVE all those photos! Keep them coming, keep them coming!!!!!!

 

[KatMark]

The reason we were at Disney this year was that Andy's travel baseball team decided to play in the Disney's Salute to Baseball Tournament. We did a lot of fundraising to take the team and the familiy's came as well. To show you how life goes on, nine years later, Andy took the 13-year old team he coaches to the same tournament. This is Andy on the main field at the Disney Sports Complex.

He is DEFINITELY his father's son.

Oh....to be that young (and slim) again.

This was a running joke every year we went to Disney--no matter how hard Markie tried, he ended up wearing more of the Mickey Bar than got in his mouth.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Oh, Kathy, I LOVE this photos too! Wish I had a scanner - would add of few of ours.

Sweet memories.

 

[KatMark]

I LOVE all those photos! Keep them coming, keep them coming!!!!!!

Oh, Kathy, I LOVE this photos too! Wish I had a scanner - would add of few of ours.

Sweet memories.

Thanks, Karin and Christine. It is fun to look back (and a little sad too) and relive the memories.

Christine, you will be interested to know (Karin I'm not sure if you and I had connected last July or not), but Andy is dating Nicole again. You'll remember they dated for about a year and then they broke up last August. Well, Andy came home last night around 6 and I asked what was on the agenda for the day. He said he was going to dinner with Nicole. I said, "wait a minute; this is the fourth time in the last five weeks you've gone out with Nicole. What is going on; are you dating again?" He said, "yes." I asked him what brought that on and he said he missed her. Who knows what will happen from here.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great pictures Kathy!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Christine, you will be interested to know (Karin I'm not sure if you and I had connected last July or not), but Andy is dating Nicole again. You'll remember they dated for about a year and then they broke up last August. Well, Andy came home last night around 6 and I asked what was on the agenda for the day. He said he was going to dinner with Nicole. I said, "wait a minute; this is the fourth time in the last five weeks you've gone out with Nicole. What is going on; are you dating again?" He said, "yes." I asked him what brought that on and he said he missed her. Who knows what will happen from here.

Very interesting, Kathy. Maybe he needed a break to clarify his thoughts/feelings about her - do I remember correctly that she was heartbroken about the break-up? I hope things go well for them.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Kathy, how did I not find this sooner? Oh well, better late than never!

Love all the pics, esp the ones of your family trips in 1992 and in 2000.

I am going to live through your thread because its not looking all that good for us to be back in WDW until October of 2011!

And too funny, I meant to ask you when we pm'd a couple of weeks ago if Any and Nicole were still broken up. You just never know, a little time apart may have made them inseparable from here on out!

ETA: Okay, I am all caught up (read each page, love all the pics!) and you guys need to go to MNSSHP. We have done that one several times now and some years we even did it twice. Halloween isn't my favorite but I do love that party!

I am such a bad friend, when is/was Mark's back surgery? Ever since Dan got laid off I am just zoned out and not paying enough attention to the more important stuff in life!

 

[KatMark]

Great pictures Kathy!

Thank you, Michelle.

Very interesting, Kathy. Maybe he needed a break to clarify his thoughts/feelings about her - do I remember correctly that she was heartbroken about the break-up? I hope things go well for them.

We shall see what happens. He just took a shower for them to go out again tonight. ?????

Kathy, how did I not find this sooner? Oh well, better late than never!

Love all the pics, esp the ones of your family trips in 1992 and in 2000.

I am going to live through your thread because its not looking all that good for us to be back in WDW until October of 2011!

And too funny, I meant to ask you when we pm'd a couple of weeks ago if Any and Nicole were still broken up. You just never know, a little time apart may have made them inseparable from here on out!

ETA: Okay, I am all caught up (read each page, love all the pics!) and you guys need to go to MNSSHP. We have done that one several times now and some years we even did it twice. Halloween isn't my favorite but I do love that party!

I am such a bad friend, when is/was Mark's back surgery? Ever since Dan got laid off I am just zoned out and not paying enough attention to the more important stuff in life!

I wondered when you were going to show up...I've missed you.

Mark's back surgery is in July (the 14th to be exact); I took a week off to stay home with him and take care of him.

If we can swing it we are definitely going to do the party.

I hope Dan finds something soon.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Great pics! I love flashbacks!!

 

[KatMark]

Great pics! I love flashbacks!!

Thank you. And for those of you that are new and are now reading about Andy and his girlfriend being back together, here is a pic when they were at Disney last year. When he broke up with her, I was heartbroken along with Nicole. I became very attached to her (she was here 6 days out of the week). This time...I'm keeping my distance; I can't handle the heartbreak again if something goes wrong.