How Do You Think We Stay So Happy?*Final Thoughts & Farewells* 10/7 p100

[camsmomE]

Oh. I wouldn't miss this for the world! (no pun intended... that time.)

 

[JPFamilyMom]

I'm in, sounds like this is going to be a very fun TR, girls trip

 

[chloe770]

Dover was so bad last night that you had to escape to AC. Did you have a good time? I bet there were some interesting sights there.

I actually live in Magnolia, so unless I try to go some place, it's not that bad. I never try to escape on race weekend, but alway seem too. Last year's May race was Disney. This year I had to settle for AC with the girls. It was fun acting like I was young again.

 

[Happydog]

HAVE not read at all, but I am finally here!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE that photo of my can in a can in a can drink!!! SOOOOOO festive!!!! CANNOT wait to read what I can only imagine was an amazingly fun fun fun time!!!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

This looks like so much fun! Joining in to read about your fabulous time.

 

[pooh'smate]

Joining in. It sounds like you all had so much fun.

 

[eandesmom]

HAVE not read at all, but I am finally here!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE that photo of my can in a can in a can drink!!! SOOOOOO festive!!!! CANNOT wait to read what I can only imagine was an amazingly fun fun fun time!!!

It's all about the presentation

 

[MEK]

OK - I need the geek squad. I can not get my siggie to line up again. What's the trick. Come on Cynthia, you are a self professed dork....How do I make it fit all nice and neat in a row????? ERRRRR!

 

[MEK]

Hi MEK!!! I found this....I love reading your TR's and I needed a good one to get me all excited for my upcoming trip....who better to feed my addiction???

Stranger! where have you been???? I haven't seen you on the boards for awhile. How exciting that you have an upcoming trip! I hope your trip to the airport is a lot better than that one you had a few years ago. Can't believe I remember that!

Oh there were tweaks...traded out heels for tennis shoes and keens and I actually did wash it all and then repack it but yeah, that did help. It WAS wrinkly though. Did you miss all the ironing I did? Oh wait, you were RUNNING. About 1000% more ironing than I ever do at home, that's for sure.

Which would be zero.

Come to think of it, that ironing board was out quite a bit!

I am getting so ready for our trip that I just cannot get enough of reports right now, knowing we are so close!

Fun intros ladies, I cannot wait to hear more!

Less than a month to go! WOOT! In some ways I really miss my summer trips and in other ways, well....I don't! Mostly because of the heat. I have gotten to be a heat wimp. I wait all winter for it to get warm and then complain about it all summer. YUP!

Oh. I wouldn't miss this for the world! (no pun intended... that time.)

camsmomE. We are all so happy to have you join in the fun!

I'm in, sounds like this is going to be a very fun TR, girls trip

Jessica! Thanks for joining us. Another expert on girl's trips here in the house!!!!!!

I actually live in Magnolia, so unless I try to go some place, it's not that bad. I never try to escape on race weekend, but alway seem too. Last year's May race was Disney. This year I had to settle for AC with the girls. It was fun acting like I was young again.

I think Magnolia is such a cute little town. Well, actually, it might not be that little anymore since I haven't passed through in quite a while.

Any opportunity to act young is alright in my book. Sounds like a great place to go with the girls!

HAVE not read at all, but I am finally here!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE that photo of my can in a can in a can drink!!! SOOOOOO festive!!!! CANNOT wait to read what I can only imagine was an amazingly fun fun fun time!!!

Happy Dog! Sounds like you have been a busy lady, so thanks for stopping by.

So is that what the drink was called? A Can in a can in a can drink? Ummmm...OK......Cynthia forgot to tell us the name or we would have laughed over that. All I know is that a blender was high on the priority list of things to bring. Thank goodness Christine decided to add one to her owner's locker. We got lots of looks (stares) when we took that blender to the pool. No worries - its WAS plastic!

This looks like so much fun! Joining in to read about your fabulous time.

jeremysdisneymom! Thanks for joining in! I hope we keep you entertained because we got a lot of stuff to write about!

Joining in. It sounds like you all had so much fun.

Pooh'smate! Thanks for joining in. It was a fabulous trip! Every DISer needs a girl's trip, preferably with DISers.

 

[eandesmom]

OK - I need the geek squad. I can not get my siggie to line up again. What's the trick. Come on Cynthia, you are a self professed dork....How do I make it fit all nice and neat in a row????? ERRRRR!

Yes, I am a self professed dork.

Sometimes it's as simple as playing around with your alignment and the line breaks till it flows. If you don't force the line breaks it can get wonky.

I also find that using the rotating tickers help free up space instead of the single ones.

 

[eandesmom]

So is that what the drink was called? A Can in a can in a can drink? Ummmm...OK......Cynthia forgot to tell us the name or we would have laughed over that. All I know is that a blender was high on the priority list of things to bring. Thank goodness Christine decided to add one to her owner's locker. We got lots of looks (stares) when we took that blender to the pool. No worries - its WAS plastic!

you had too many. I did tell you guys what it was called (and no, that's not it, that's just the description of how to make it) but then Melissa renamed our modified mango rum version "Beach Club Lemonade"

Actually we got a lot of comments, people wanting one, wanting to know what it was and one comment that coming down with a full blender was applause worthy. At least 2 folks asked to know how to make it.

The stares were in the lobby. Pool people seemed to think it was cool.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Pool people.

Beach Club Lemonade was definitely a hit. I'll be making it again in October, I'm sure!

And thanks, MEK, for pointing out that the blender (& glasses too) were plastic. We were drinking responsibly poolside.

 

[jenjolt]

LOL you guys are too funny!!!!! I'm sad to say I think Cynthia still has my cup from the night at Raglan Road booooo....I'll have to get with her and have her ship it to me LOL!!!!!

 

[MEK]

I know that Melissa has not posted her official introduction yet, but I thought it would be a good day for me to write my first installment. So, yeah, we are going a little out of order. I apologize. I am sure this won't be the last time things get a little out of sequence.

But first, can I have a proud mommy moment and post a couple pictures of Brian and his prom date? Even if you said NO, tough! I am doing it anyway!

Brian's date is actually a good friend of his. They have been going to school together since they were in grade school. They both decided they would rather go with someone they were friends with then bring an outside date.

I thought she looked stunning. Apparently her dress was ordered from somewhere in California and the alterations alone were $100. Yikes. This lovely young lady is actually moving with her mom and stepdad to Arizona once school ends. She will be attending the University of Arizona. I can think of worse places to move to. lol!
So back to our TR:

You see - Melissa arrived about 33 hours before me. I admire people who can get up and catch the first flight of the day. I really, truly do! I am not one of those people. I wish I was. But if I tried it, I would be going to Disney on 1 hour of sleep. So I avoid it whenever possible.

I mentioned that before I left for our girl's trip I had been pretty sick. Sick enough to take time off from work. That's not like me. I have to be REALLY sick to miss work. I'm not sure why I have this impeccable work ethic. I'm not sure if it's so much a work ethic as it is a need to never waste PTO on something other than fun. But I knew if I didn't bring all my activities to a screeching halt, I was going to miss the East Meets West trip all together. I was THAT sick!

So I took up residence on the couch. And that is never good because I started to complain and wine (maybe a little) and I eventually got on everyone's nerves. Plus it was spring break and I always worry about my eldest (Brian) during spring break. He tells me he is sleeping at a friends and then comes strolling in at 2am. Hate that! Being sick and worrying about what he could possibly be getting into was not a good combo.

So by the time I left for Disney world I "hated" everyone at my house and they "hated" me. Note that the quotations mean I am exaggerating, but you get the idea. We all needed a break from one another. So I told the kids and Denny not to call or text me unless someone was dying or the house burnt down. I was kidding. They took it seriously.

So when I was on ME on the way to POR I called Denny and Nicholas. Denny refused to talk to me. Nicholas said, "mom, you know you are breaking the code of silence, but I will still talk to you anyway". Gee Thanks!

The Code of silence was very effective in preventing unnecessary calls and text messages, so it did turn into a good think. I left all the parenting behind and happily bestowed it upon Denny. And we all survived! Amazing! They can survive without me!

Melissa, on the other hand, was not so fortunate as to be able to give up all her parenting responsibilities. Even from Florida she was managing all the events at her house. But we'll get to that in a minute.

So I had arrived. I checked out my digs for the next two nights. And I set off to buy a mug. I knew I was getting a mug in a couple days, but I wanted one now and I decided against using lasts years model. I figured two mugs wasn't such a bad idea. It was like I was prebuying one of them for my December trip. As it turns out, we may do the DxDP in December, so we will be getting EVEN MORE mugs. I might have to start selling them on ebay. KIDDING!!!!!

Treking in the opposite direction of the bus stop didn't seem very efficient, but I did it anyway. I was hoping that I could pick up a mug, suck down some lemonade and wonder over to my stop and be greeted with an Epcot bus. I am also known for taking TONS of pictures! How could I pass up an opportunity to take a few, maybe more, pictures of POR.

This was the view from my front door. Yes it was. And I wasn't using my zoom!

Acadia house lights

This is the building next to the Acadia house.....

A view from the bridge:

The main pool:

Who wouldn't want to ride one of these?

The boat to DTD

And, yes, that is a line of people waiting to go to DTD.

Note that we had a very active week with the Jesus sky writers. I actually like to be reminded of Jesus when I am in a place where I forget, but whenever I see this I always wonder who has the financial resources to do this degree of sky writing. It must be very expensive.

When I finally got to the bus stop it was like a ghost town. I am not kidding! There was not one person there but me. I figure it was close to 7pm by then and I was due to meet Melissa at Epcot. I sent her a text message telling her I was sorry, but I was STILL waiting for an Epcot bus. This made no sense to me since Epcot was the park with late EMH. So why did every other bus location pass me at least once?

Here is the dark and gloomy view from my seat at the bus stop (OK, so maybe I did photoedit it to fit my mood at the time, but you get the idea)

It was the only time at Disney I felt a little apprehensive, because it was a ghost town. It was a little creepy!

Fortunately a bus finally arrived and I was off to Epcot! I checked for my AP and made sure it was all ready to go. I hadn't used it since I had all those issues with it in September, so I was hoping there would be no problems at the turn style.

Wow - lots of crowds at the bag check and lots of crowds at the gates. I didn't stop to take one picture. I was speed walking and texting Melissa at the same time. I had visions of the lady who fell into the fountain at the mall. But I remained undaunted. Melissa gave me her coordinates and I was on the run to Mexico.

Would I finally have my first margarita at the Ditch or would something foil my plans????????

And just how many times did Melissa's family call her during dinner??????

 

[jenjolt]

YAY for your arrival!! What great pics of POR!! I so love that resort!!!

LOL glad the cone of silence worked for your trip that's always a good thing!!

YAY for making it to EPCOT!! Can't wait to hear about your first meet up with Melissa

 

[eandesmom]

Pool people.

Beach Club Lemonade was definitely a hit. I'll be making it again in October, I'm sure!

And thanks, MEK, for pointing out that the blender (& glasses too) were plastic. We were drinking responsibly poolside.

Some of us were. I seem to recall "ahem" someones drink perhaps spilling into the pool. It was mostly gone though. The dangers of noodling.

LOL you guys are too funny!!!!! I'm sad to say I think Cynthia still has my cup from the night at Raglan Road booooo....I'll have to get with her and have her ship it to me LOL!!!!!

I ended up with 2, as did Mary Ellen, one was yours but not sure about the other one. Sadly, due to a VERY overpacked Tink on the way home, one of them cracked. Hopefully Mary Ellen had better luck!

So by the time I left for Disney world I "hated" everyone at my house and they "hated" me. Note that the quotations mean I am exaggerating, but you get the idea. We all needed a break from one another. So I told the kids and Denny not to call or text me unless someone was dying or the house burnt down. I was kidding. They took it seriously.

So when I was on ME on the way to POR I called Denny and Nicholas. Denny refused to talk to me. Nicholas said, "mom, you know you are breaking the code of silence, but I will still talk to you anyway". Gee Thanks!

The Code of silence was very effective in preventing unnecessary calls and text messages, so it did turn into a good think. I left all the parenting behind and happily bestowed it upon Denny.

I was impressed with Denny's resolution in that area, glad to hear they survived!

When I finally got to the bus stop it was like a ghost town. I am not kidding! There was not one person there but me. I figure it was close to 7pm by then and I was due to meet Melissa at Epcot. I sent her a text message telling her I was sorry, but I was STILL waiting for an Epcot bus. This made no sense to me since Epcot was the park with late EMH. So why did every other bus location pass me at least once?

Here is the dark and gloomy view from my seat at the bus stop (OK, so maybe I did photoedit it to fit my mood at the time, but you get the idea)

that photo ed is funny!

Wow - lots of crowds at the bag check and lots of crowds at the gates. I didn't stop to take one picture. I was speed walking and texting Melissa at the same time. I had visions of the lady who fell into the fountain at the mall. But I remained undaunted.

I would fall into the fountain or run over a small child, no doubt.

 

[manntra]

so happy that you got Melissa's coordinates!!!
Beautiful resort and pictures! I can see why it is a favorite of so many.
Such a pretty dress on Brian's date...my how the times have changed
Too funny about Denny not wanting to talk to you and then Oy!! poor, poor Melissa!

Tracy

 

[dawnbu40]

I love the prom pictures. Brian and his date both looked great!

Your POR pics are lovely. I love how serene the atmosphere is there.

Looking forward to more

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Great update, Mary Ellen! I am still about Denny and the silent treatment. The rest of the gang may try the same tactic next time.

Very pretty resort pictures. I think that would probably be my pick of the moderates.

That bus stop does look pretty desolate. Were you wondering if they closed WDW and no one told you? It is a pretty rare thing to be all alone in "the world," especially at a bus stop.

Anxiously awaiting word of what happened when you finally got to Mexico!

Very nice prom pictures!!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Nice pictures of prom. Your son's date's dress was beautiful!

POR looks so nice. I will definitely have to stay there some day.

Can't wait to read more.