I Want to Sell Tee-Tee to Other People!!! - July 2013 TR *UPDATE 4/29 pg. 73*

[IheartDDuck]

I stumbled across your trip report today and read the thing all way through to your current update. Oh my goodness, I just love your family! It totally reminds me of our trips to Disney World and all the craziness that ensues.

It's always so funny how kids are just SO FULL and can't take another bite, but when dessert is brought up, they instantly feel better and can eat more. My kids try to pull that one all the time! Mama don't play that game

Thank you so much! We love having a good time together and I am so happy that we all get the opportunity to do it.

I know! They're funny like that. You bring dessert to the table and they're all ready for it. We definitely don't play that game either.

I love the Duffy pics!

I love Duffy too. I'll need to buy one. Well I did buy the one with the key ring and put it in my Christmas tree hehe

Glad you did what you had to with Gavin. Children need boundaries. Otherwise they become hard teens. And I deal with the teens (I'm a high school teacher) and can totally see what kind of parents they have by their attitudes.

He's just so cute! I have a few of the limited edition Duffy's, but don't have a regular one yet.

They do need boundaries, exactly! It's when you don't give them any that they become more and more difficult. It always makes me laugh, because I tell myself "isn't the point of raising kids making them the best adults they can be? Then why would you give in the them all of the time, when we all know that as adults, we don't always get what we want?" The whole concept just floors me.

Just caught up on the last few posts. I think you might have the two best nephews in the world. They are just so cute! And applause, applause, applause for sticking to your word with Gavin. WAAAAAAY too many parents give in to their kids - I see it as a teacher, kids think they can get away with anything. Kids will never learn to be honest AND that you can't always get what you want with parents like that. Good for you!

I do have some pretty great nephews, I have to say. I love them to death.

I could imagine that teachers see that all of the time. Lying is never acceptable in my world, so using the stomach hurting thing is just not cool when it's not the case. Then you get into the whole "crying wolf" thing, and when it's actually hurting or they're actually having issues, you won't believe them, because they've lied to you about it before! They just can't get it through they skull.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Morning dawned again. Our last day with us all together had arrived.

The plan this morning was to go to Blizzard Beach. Warning again. Thar be bathing suit pictures again.

A little backstory. I lost 40 pounds over the course of the six months leading up to the trip. I was pretty proud of what I'd accomplished, and so was Jeni. Now, I still have a ways to go, but I'm the kind of person that likes to celebrate what I did in life. So yup. I rocked a bikini on this day, and I was proud of it! I came a long way. I still have a ways to go, but I was pretty stinking proud of myself. Okay, that little side story is now over, let's move on!

We ate some breakfast and then headed out for the day. Soon we were arriving, and I made sure to get some pictures.

Yeah, so sorry for the finger in the picture.



The boys really liked the snow family.



Our mission first was to find a place to set up our things for the day. It took us a little while, but finally we found a spot in the shade. First stop? Wave pool. This wave pool isn't as good as Typhoon Lagoon, but it's still pretty cool.

That's Jeni's finger in this picture. I have NO IDEA what she was pointing at.





After we got acclimated to the water temps, we figured it was time to head out and ride the family raft ride.



Okay, if you want to get your work out, go to Blizzard Beach for the day. There are lots of steps to get to any of the slides, and that's a great way to work out for the day. We all opted for this. Mainly because Mom and Jeni did not want to take the ski lift.



This is the best family raft ride ever, in my opinion. See how high up we are?!



The first time around it was Mom, Dad, Gavin, and myself in one raft, and Jeni, Jason, and Joaquin in the other.

Proof that we survived.





We found some slides for the kids in the area at the base and hung out there for a while. They had tons of fun here.



Gavin.



Joaquin.



Gavin and Joaquin really wanted to do the iceberg climb. Or whatever you want to call it. You know, where you hang on the ropes and then climb across the icebergs in the water.

Rules were that if you fell off twice, you couldn't continue. That was Jason's rule, mainly because there were lots of kids wanting to do it, and we figured if you kept falling off, other kids would have to keep waiting to do it.



Gavin was first to start.



Joaquin was behind him.



And we come to fall number one.





Gavin was still doing really well. In the meantime though, Joaquin had already suffered from fall number two.





Joaquin had been told that he couldn't keep trying, because other kids needed a chance, and he kept falling off.

Clearly, he was not taking it well.......and me being the AWESOME Tee-Tee that I am....had to take some pictures of my nephew's pain. LOL.





Gavin was still hanging in there.



Continued in next post:

 

[IheartDDuck]

Continued from previous post:

Gavin successfully made it across all of the icebergs! I was so proud of him. He's not always the most coordinated, but he did not fall off one time. Go Gavin!



The PP photographer got some pretty good shots too.







There were some other slides in the area that the boys really wanted to go on. We figured we needed to cheer Joaquin up at that point, since his dreams of climbing across the icebergs had been shattered.

Proof that he was in a better mood.







Family race!!!!



Jason won because he's the biggest.

We decided to stop for some lunch at that point. We went to Lottawatta Lodge, but not without taking some pictures on the way.



My nephews. Gotta love em.



This pretty much summed up what everyone got. Basic stuff, sandwiches and the like. I didn't take any other pictures oddly enough.



You like how I use the ketchup containers the way they are intended to be used? If you weren't aware, google is sometime. It's eyeopening. Hahaha!

After lunch, Jason, Gavin, and Popadon decided that they wanted to go on Summit Plummet. Joaquin is not tall enough, and I'm not generally a fan of the double wedgie that Summit Plummet can create. The wait time was going to be considerable for them, so Jeni, Mom, Joaquin, and I figured it was a good time to just lay around in the lazy river. Sorry for the fact that the pictures are hazy. It's a downside of a waterproof camera. The lens can get a little fogged at times.



Clearly I was enjoying myself.



Yeah, apparently I was enjoying myself a lot.



The wait time for Summit Plummet was about 60 minutes at that point. However, Gavin really wanted to do it, so we obliged. The rest of us went around the lazy river once, and went back on the family raft ride. At that point, they still hadn't made it to the bottom.

Jeni and I went to the waiting area at the bottom while Mom hung out with Joaquin for a little while. We wanted to make sure we could be there to congratulate Gavin.

The deal was that Pop would go down first, then Gavin, then Jason. That way, if Gavin tried to chicken out, Jason would be there to make sure he would go down.

Pop was finally coming!





Followed by Gavin. I think he does look a wee bit nervous here.





And finally Jason.





Continued in next post:

 

[IheartDDuck]

Continued from previous post:

Jeni and I had a very serious conversation while we had been sitting in the stands waiting for the boys to come down Summit Plummet. See, we had seen these ice cream sundaes that were in sand pails. And we had both decided that would be a treat for the day. They just looked so good! And it was so hot outside!

After the boys came off of Summit Plummet, we grabbed some sand pail sundaes and took a break.

Totally looks amazing, doesn't it?



We got a few to share. You certainly cannot eat one of those yourself. Well you could, but I'm going out on a limb here and saying it's not a good idea.

After our sand pail sundae break, Mom and Dad said that they were going to head back to the hotel. They were leaving early the following morning since they were driving back, and Mom wanted to get some things packed up before our dinner reservation that night. However, before that happened, we all took one final ride on the family raft, at Joaquin's request.

Video below. Enjoy. And the mid video when I start laughing? That's Jeni and I butting heads.



After that, the rest of us still wanted to stay for a little while, so we said we would take the bus back to the resort.

We parted ways with Poppy and Ommi, and decided we would head back into the wave pool for a little while.

The beauty of underwater cameras.







Jason was in control of the camera at this point, so I'm not sure what he was planning on taking pictures of. Hahaha!









There were some clouds rolling in at this point that didn't look very nice. But we hung out for a little while longer.















Okay, seriously, this picture just cracks me up, because I have no idea what Jason was trying to capture.



At this point, the clouds were looking really ominous. The adults decided at that point it was time to wrap it up before the rain came in. This was much to the disappointment of the littles, but we knew it would be best.

We packed up as quickly as we could and headed out. As we reached the exit of the park, the rain started to come in. And by the time we were getting close to the bus stop, the skies had parted and the deluge began.

It was crazy! Like, we just made it under the bus stop awning, and it was a torrential downpour. Insane. People were running everywhere like crazy people, trying to find cover. Which I found odd.

I mean.....you're at a water park. You're wet already. Really?

I had kept the towels in the bag and they had stayed relatively dry. So I covered the boys in one of them, and Jeni and I took another. Jason said he was fine. The problem with the rain is that it made it kind of chilly. The bus took a while to get there, and the rain stayed pretty heavy all the way back to the hotel. Thankfully, it was lightening up a little bit when we got to the hotel.

Even with the rain though, we had so much fun at Blizzard Beach. The boys had an absolute blast, and I again was grateful for my waterproof camera.

Up next: Pose like a prince!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Congratulations on your weight loss! 40 lbs?! YOU GO GIRL! Can I ask what you did? Was it a program or just good 'ol clean eating and hittin' the gym? I think you look awesome!

Blizzard Beach looks like a blast! I love the video of yall going down on the family raft slide. Gavin is BRAVE for going down Summit Plummet. I love me some roller coasters, but for some reason, I just CAN'T do a straight down water slide like that. And I think it helps that the boys don't get the wedgies nearly as bad as us girls do. IT BURNS!

OMG THOSE SUNDAES!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Congratulations on your weight loss! 40 lbs?! YOU GO GIRL! Can I ask what you did? Was it a program or just good 'ol clean eating and hittin' the gym? I think you look awesome!

Blizzard Beach looks like a blast! I love the video of yall going down on the family raft slide. Gavin is BRAVE for going down Summit Plummet. I love me some roller coasters, but for some reason, I just CAN'T do a straight down water slide like that. And I think it helps that the boys don't get the wedgies nearly as bad as us girls do. IT BURNS!

OMG THOSE SUNDAES!

Awwww, thank you so much!

When I first started, I began with just cutting calories. I used my Fitnesspal to track my food and cut myself down to 1,200 calories a day. I didn't limit myself too much. If it fit into my calories for the day, I allowed myself to eat it. However, we all know that normally, you can't eat bad things eating 1,200 a day.

I then incorporated the gym. I started running, which I really enjoy.

At this point, I'm at a plateau. I've maintained this weight for almost a year, but I haven't been able to move the scale much, which is aggravating me. So at this point, I overhauled my diet again about two weeks ago. I've gone with a more clean eating approach and more macrobiotic, in the sense that you have to eat a certain level of macros each day. Counting the calories, it still ends up being 1,200 per day give or take, it's just cleaner food. I think this will be the long term answer overall. It's a long journey, but I'm willing to take it.

I'm currently working to run the Princess Half Marathon in February 2015. This is going to mean a heftier training schedule, but I really want to accomplish it.

The wedgie situation is exactly the reason I'm not a fan of Summit Plummet!

 

[plutofan0902]

Just found your trip reports and am enjoying all of your adventures and stories. Kudos on the weight loss! Your nephews are hysterical. Thanks for sharing!

 

[courtneybelle]

Hey, you look awesome! You go, girl

You can tell in the group pics that Joaquin and Popadon are related...they make the best faces.

Yeah Gavin!!! That looks pretty fun, not going to lie.

I love me a lazy river.

I have always wanted to try those sand pail sundaes! They look soooo good.

"You're at a water park. You're wet already." so true though! Like, you're prepared for the water, your hair is probably already wet, just deal with it.

 

[Poolrat]

I love that you stuck to your guns about Gavin and dinner. You are right he needs to know where that line is and too bad that he got caught in his own lie.


BB is always fun day. I have a strategy about Summit Plummit. You cross your ankles and press your heels down and arch your back a bit to bring your shoulder blades down a bit.
That parts the water at your feet and away from wedgie territory. It prevents the worst of the Atomic wedgies.


Good job on getting out of there in the nick of time.

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

That snow family is too cute!

Very cute photopass pics!!

It looks like Gavin really enjoyed Summit Plummit!

Looks like you all had a fun day at Blizzard Beach!!

 

[teekathepony]

What a great day at Blizzard Beach! I've never been there, I'd like to see it. The theming looks so cool.
I'm so happy when I read such success stories like yours -- not only about the weight lost (fantastic job, by the way) but I really admire your confidence. And you look fantastic in your bikini!
Ohhhh yeah, no I wouldn't do summit plummet either. Did the typhoon lagoon one (can't remember the name! My mind has suppressed the memory! ) ... Wedgie doesn't even cover it!
Those sundaes are so cool! I know my DH would want one, he loves making sand castles!
What a great day, sounds like a lot of fun!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[MEK]

It was crazy! Like, we just made it under the bus stop awning, and it was a torrential downpour. Insane. People were running everywhere like crazy people, trying to find cover. Which I found odd.

I mean.....you're at a water park. You're wet already. Really?

Nick and I ALWAYS crack up about this sort of thing. We especially love when people start making a run for it after 2 or 3 raindrops.

I love that you had a water proof camera to capture the day's events. How fun!

I love the family raft ride. Denny and I were there in October and we had to ask a family if we could ride with them because there were only two of us and you have to have at least four. You should have seen us trying to figuring out who to ask. It was rather comical.

I love all the PP pictures. I did not see one PP photographer in October. Bummer. Great pictures.

I am seriously impressed that Popadon did the summit plummet. Wow! He is my hero! No way. Never. Ever. will I do that!

The kids look like they are having so much fun!

For future reference - they have a really good adult beverage there - its like the GGS in Epcot and its made with Grey Goose only its an entire CUP FULL! Put it on your bucket list!

 

[sunnysideup3]

Congrats on the weight loss! You looked great.

The waterpark looked awesome. We hope to go this next trip. I can't remember which is typically open in January and it may be a wee bit cold to do that anyway


Bummer it's the last day

 

[ElenaJane]

Congrats on all your hard work!! 40lbs is a huge accomplishment!

I've never been to one of the Disney water parks. Thanks to your water proof camera, I think that is the most I have seen of one!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I've never been to either of the water parks, so it's all new to me!! I have to wonder if/when Blizzard Beach will get some form of Frozen overlay.

Great group photo plus, how cool is that raft???

Awesome job by Gavin to make it across with no falls!!!! And wow, they even have PP for this. Nice bonus.

Oooh that Summit Plummit looks cool. And again, complete with Photopass. Wow.

Bahahaha, I find that hysterical!!! I guess water coming from the sky is somehow wetter? Ahhh people are stupid.

 

[goofy kelli]

Congrats on your weight loss!!

Great update! We haven't been to a waterpark in so long, maybe we should add it in on our next trip. It looks like you guys had so much fun! What a great day for Gavin accomplishing the giant waterslide and the rope walk. Those kids are completely awesome. They are goofy and fun but really well grounded at the same time.

So sad that the trip report is coming to an end soon.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Just found your trip reports and am enjoying all of your adventures and stories. Kudos on the weight loss! Your nephews are hysterical. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for joining!

Hey, you look awesome! You go, girl

You can tell in the group pics that Joaquin and Popadon are related...they make the best faces.

Yeah Gavin!!! That looks pretty fun, not going to lie.

I love me a lazy river.

I have always wanted to try those sand pail sundaes! They look soooo good.

"You're at a water park. You're wet already." so true though! Like, you're prepared for the water, your hair is probably already wet, just deal with it.

Thanks!

Oh you can definitely tell that those two are related. Can't take them anywhere. LOL.

Those sand pail sundaes are amazing! Just what you need on a hot day at the water park.

It's so true, isn't it? Like, get over the fact that you're wet dude.

I love that you stuck to your guns about Gavin and dinner. You are right he needs to know where that line is and too bad that he got caught in his own lie.


BB is always fun day. I have a strategy about Summit Plummit. You cross your ankles and press your heels down and arch your back a bit to bring your shoulder blades down a bit.
That parts the water at your feet and away from wedgie territory. It prevents the worst of the Atomic wedgies.


Good job on getting out of there in the nick of time.

Hahaha, yeah, he did get caught in his lie, but what can you do right? He realized the error of his ways.

Ooohhh, I'll have to try that strategy! I actually enjoy Summit Plummet, my problem is actually more from the pain you get from it, not the slide itself.

 

[IheartDDuck]

That snow family is too cute!

Very cute photopass pics!!

It looks like Gavin really enjoyed Summit Plummit!

Looks like you all had a fun day at Blizzard Beach!!

The snow family is really cute. I had to make sure I got some good shots while we were there.

He did really like it! I was surprised, based on his track record up to that point with the rest of the rides.

What a great day at Blizzard Beach! I've never been there, I'd like to see it. The theming looks so cool.
I'm so happy when I read such success stories like yours -- not only about the weight lost (fantastic job, by the way) but I really admire your confidence. And you look fantastic in your bikini!
Ohhhh yeah, no I wouldn't do summit plummet either. Did the typhoon lagoon one (can't remember the name! My mind has suppressed the memory! ) ... Wedgie doesn't even cover it!
Those sundaes are so cool! I know my DH would want one, he loves making sand castles!
What a great day, sounds like a lot of fun!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

The theming is pretty cool. I prefer Typhoon Lagoon, only because it's a more visually appealing park, but the slides are good at either place.

Awww, thanks so much! I came so far at that point, that I figured, why would I be ashamed of the things I've accomplished? Am I perfect? Absolutely not, and I never will be. But it doesn't take away from what I did, and I embraced it. It took a while though.

You are absolutely correct, the word wedgie doesn't even begin to describe what happens when you go down Summit Plummet.

Nick and I ALWAYS crack up about this sort of thing. We especially love when people start making a run for it after 2 or 3 raindrops.

I love that you had a water proof camera to capture the day's events. How fun!

I love the family raft ride. Denny and I were there in October and we had to ask a family if we could ride with them because there were only two of us and you have to have at least four. You should have seen us trying to figuring out who to ask. It was rather comical.

I love all the PP pictures. I did not see one PP photographer in October. Bummer. Great pictures.

I am seriously impressed that Popadon did the summit plummet. Wow! He is my hero! No way. Never. Ever. will I do that!

The kids look like they are having so much fun!

For future reference - they have a really good adult beverage there - its like the GGS in Epcot and its made with Grey Goose only its an entire CUP FULL! Put it on your bucket list!

I know! Like, come on people, you've been at a waterpark all day! Get over it, you're getting wet.

That waterproof camera was one of the best purchases I've made. I'm so glad that I did it.

Oh, you had to ask someone to ride? They'll pair you with someone at the top if you don't have enough to get in the raft.

Pop loves stuff like that. He'll do just about anything.

Really?! How did I miss that drink!?

 

[IheartDDuck]

Congrats on the weight loss! You looked great.

The waterpark looked awesome. We hope to go this next trip. I can't remember which is typically open in January and it may be a wee bit cold to do that anyway


Bummer it's the last day

Thanks!

Honestly, I can't remember which one is open in January either! Shame on me. I don't go unless it's really warm out, because I'm kind of a pansy.

Congrats on all your hard work!! 40lbs is a huge accomplishment!

I've never been to one of the Disney water parks. Thanks to your water proof camera, I think that is the most I have seen of one!

Thank you!

If you ever get the chance, they're a fun change of pace, especially if you go during the super hot time of year.

I've never been to either of the water parks, so it's all new to me!! I have to wonder if/when Blizzard Beach will get some form of Frozen overlay.

Great group photo plus, how cool is that raft???

Awesome job by Gavin to make it across with no falls!!!! And wow, they even have PP for this. Nice bonus.

Oooh that Summit Plummit looks cool. And again, complete with Photopass. Wow.

Bahahaha, I find that hysterical!!! I guess water coming from the sky is somehow wetter? Ahhh people are stupid.

Hmmmm, a Frozen overlay huh? That would be interesting.

The picture at the bottom of the raft ride is definitely fun. Depending on the day, sometimes they have a lot of PP photographers around. It's nice.

Yup, Gavin made it all the way across with no falls. It took him a while, but he made it.

Congrats on your weight loss!!

Great update! We haven't been to a waterpark in so long, maybe we should add it in on our next trip. It looks like you guys had so much fun! What a great day for Gavin accomplishing the giant waterslide and the rope walk. Those kids are completely awesome. They are goofy and fun but really well grounded at the same time.

So sad that the trip report is coming to an end soon.

Thank you so much!

I love the waterparks. Anytime we're there during the summertime, we always go. I like the change of pace.

They're really good kids. We're very lucky.

 

[KatMark]

Now, do I post my responses here, or do I go and post them on MEK's TR? Sorry...I just couldn't resist.

I love the photos of the boys with Duffy...they are just really cute and you can tell they were enjoying their time with the Duff!

You were completely right in how you handled things with Gavin at dinner!

Let me just say you are rockin' that bikini, my friend. I am so proud of what you have accomplished.

We've not been to a water park since 2000. We WON'T climb those stairs to any of the slides and we'd end up in the lazy river the entire day. To me, it's not worth the cost of the ticket. But that being said, I am going to a water park with the girls next month. I'm hoping we go to Typhoon Lagoon because that one is my favorite.

What a wonderful last "everyone together day" at the water park. With the exception of the disappointment at the Ice Berg thingie, it looks like everyone had a great time. And that sundae in a bucket looks really good too.