Is 304 Days Too Soon to Start Planning??? (with chapter links!!!)

[ZFamily5]

13 days!! Love Skylar's swimsuit! So cute! She is really tan! And she's so tiny! Less than 2 weeks 'til WDW!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

WE. ARE. SO. CLOSE!!!!

We'll I e-mailed my on-line travel agent this morning per her instructions for if my Magical Express info does not arrive by August 1st. She checked with the printer (who is apparently a third party...not Disney) and was told the tags were sent out Friday around 1:40pm...so hopefully they are waiting for me when I get home tonight...or tomorrow! I will be so much happier having it in my hand...assuming it is correct. I did not even ask about the departure...I figured if these don't come correct, I can always stop at the Magical Express counter befte we head to our bus and get that corrected. No big!

We did not get any packing done this past weekend. We spent too much time at the pool getting burned...we'll pretty much mostly me...getting burned...even with sunscreen being applied about every hour or so...maybe this will be my base burn and I will be good when we get to The World...I guess we'll see.

Last week I was hearing a slightdrop in temp (to around 80) for our first few days with storms..but now we're hearing back to regular summer in Orlando weather...so that makes me happy...even knowing that it could change just that quickly again!

I cannot believe it is August 1st already...304 days seems so long ago!

Skye and I keep talking about what we will be doing at this time in two weeks...excited???? Not us!!!!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We're almost to single digits!!!!

Well, first day of football practice was last nght...I cannot wait till it's over!!!! Some of the kids Tyler has been playing with for seven years were making fun of him last night at practice...telling him he should dress up as Cinderella for Halloween becasu eof his hair and crud like that. They are the coaches twin sons who are little jerks anyway. And of corse every time I have said something about them calling people names (although it is not usually directed at Tyler) he has not heard anything of it! And Tyler would never dream of doing that to someone so does not know how to handle it...if he tells, it does not look good and if he mouths off back he gets in trouble, and if he ignores it, he looks bad again. I just don't understand why kids have to be rude and mean to eachother?!?!?!

Needless to say, we will be all that much more excited about vacation in 11 more days...becasue that means no football for two and a half weeks!!!

And we sat with the cheerleaders last nght (the team that would have been Skyler's if she were cheering) and I was reminded of the many other reasons, besides the main reason of time management, that she is not cheering this year!!!!

So, at 11 more days I am still waiting on one Magical Express package to arrive and I have not packed anything more than my Minnie box...which is not actually packed...it's just gathered!!!! Lots to do in the next 11 days!!!!!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

Aww, poor Tyler! Give him a hug for me! Hooray for 11 days!! The packing is one of the best parts, because it means you're so close!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Aww, poor Tyler! Give him a hug for me! Hooray for 11 days!! The packing is one of the best parts, because it means you're so close!

Thanx! He seems to have been dealt all the difficult cards...poor kid! And then he gets to watch his baby sister get everything so easily and everything just always seems to work out for her and everyone just loves her...that just makes it worse for him.

I know, I cannot wait to pack but I am really having trouble doing it. Skye has a ton of clothes so I am sure we could almost completely pack her. Tyler and Lou coudl definately pack their dressier clothes for signature dinners and now that it is football season and Tyler intends to spend all other free moments at the pool, I guess we could pack most of his other clothes. I could probably pack most of my stuff too...just leave a few things out (I have to dress business casial for work so shorts and tanks are not an option ). I'd like to pack Lou mostly and take his stuff with us so he does not have to check luggage but I guess I'll have ot see how much we acquire between the three of us before I decide if we can take his stuff too. I guess once I get started, it will probably go by quickly but I just cannot seem to start.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Well, football practice went better tonight. One of the kids involved in the incident last night apologized.

We're expecting a big storm overnight but it hasn't started yet so maybe it will miss us...hopefully!

No Magical Express package today. If it was mailed out Friday afternoon (1:40pm is what I think she said) then I would expect it by tomorrow at the latest, right? I hope so!

I think I am going to go start pulling SKye's clothes now. I think some may need ironing. I don't iron. But my kids seem to think drawers are to shove clothes into and I don't feel like looking at them for two and a half weeks in wrinkled clothes...so I think I may ne ironing before packing and then if packed correctly, they should be ok from there...

Talk to you tomorrow!!!!

11 MORE DAYS!!!!​

 

[ZFamily5]

Glad football went better today! It's storming here now...hopefully it will blow over soon. Pretty soon it will be single digits!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

[10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!
10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!! 10 days!!!!

​

Well, last night around 9pm Skye and I pulled all her stuff to pack. She went with a lot of dresses...and some shorts/tops. The girl is bringing ten, yes you heard me correctly, TEN pairs of shoes!!! Luckily they are a third the size of mine and that I like her to look cute...or this could be a problem! She is actually all packable...she was not even wrinkled, which supruzed me! She has two hats, ten pairs of shoes (nine pairs are flip folps or slave shoes and one pair of gym soes), three pairs of jammies, five bikinis, five pairs of socks ust in case (she is a flip flop girl but you just never know what is going to happen), 20 pairs of underware (cause again, you just never know!), and about twenty outfits. I think she's good. We also got out her first day of school clothes. They wear navy pants and white or light blue polo type tops. I want everytihng for the next day ready so I do not have to deal with anything when we get home except jumping into bed! We'll have to label school supplies before we leave but that will be quick.

I think tonight I will pull out what I can of my stuff...or at least attempt to. I am supposed to help the Cheer equipment manager size the girls for the new uniforms tonight after gymnastics so who knows if I am going to feel like doing it by the time I get home.

I am hoping my Magical Express info comes today otherwise I will e-mail my on-line travel agent tomorrow morning. And I just got an e-mail from the place that does the rewards for my work and they were told by FedEx that their investigation would be complete Friday and the person who I have been working with has put aside the bag I ordered to ship immediately upon receiving the confirmation from FedEx that they were not able to locate the bag so I should have it before we leave...she said it would only take one day to ship....I'll believe it when I see it!!! Without it, I think we'll be ok for this trip but I was thinking it would be nice to have.

I am starting to get nervous that I am forgetting something...not something for the trip but something that I have to do before it or that I have to make sure someone else knows they have to do for me while I am gone or something like that. Tyler's school registration papers are going with a friend...already paid on-line for supply fee. Gymnastics registration is the August 15th and I already have the registration form and the payment plan form filled out ready for Lou to take it in. Dance registration is in there somewhere but I dont' know when yet...supposedly we will know by the 15th at the latest...but that is a pain in my butt so I hope it is sooner. Bills will all be paid by then or set up on-line to pay at the appropriate time. I have all the kid's school supplies that I know they need (still unable to get a hold of a list for Ty). What am I forgetting????​

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok, so I bit the bullet and di dthe on-line check in for part one. It would not take my room requests of ground floor and close to transportation...I assume becasue I booked with a travel agent and they hold the reservation. That's ok...we're booked preferred for that part so we should be ok...now I just have to hope we get Fantasia looking over te main pool. I suppose we'll be ok if we don't but if that is not our assigned location, are we able to speak with a CM to discuss changing it? I hear no sometimes and yes sometimes... but I cannot imagine Disney would do something so absolute and risk making guests happy with something that simple...

Any experience with this???

WE'RE CHECKED IN TO ALL-STAR MOVIES!!!!!!

 

[ZFamily5]

10 days!! Sounds like Skye has lots of clothes! It seems like you have everything under control! Do Ty and Skye go to a private school? I think you can ask to talk to the manager (or a different CM) if you don't like your room location! Online check-in makes it seem so much more real! I was thinking, maybe we could get together for a DIS meet sometime...just a thought...let me know what you think!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

10 days!! Sounds like Skye has lots of clothes! It seems like you have everything under control! Do Ty and Skye go to a private school? I think you can ask to talk to the manager (or a different CM) if you don't like your room location! Online check-in makes it seem so much more real! I was thinking, maybe we could get together for a DIS meet sometime...just a thought...let me know what you think!

Ya, she does...but she's so little that she usually gets to wear things multiple years in a row and then of course wants the latest fashion for that season too...plus, since she is so little and grows so slowly (although has grown quite a bit taller in the last few months) she is able to shop clearence racks for the following year...so that works. In fact, she loves bikinis but I don't think sh ehas ever had to buy one at full price becasue this time of year around here we can usually find them for like $3-$4...so she has a whole drawer of them! You;d think we lived in a beach town!

No, they go to the public school but since we are so close to the city (we're about five minutes from Midway Airport) the schools have gone to loose uniforms in our district to avoid any gang problems. It's scary to think about, and luckily, it is not to rampant but things like the football field and big buildings get tagged by them a lot so I know they are out there. The uniform requirements are not too bad though. They can wear white or light blue tops with collars and navy or black pants or long shorts/capris or navy uniform dresses or jumpers. They are not too strict on shoes but they are supposed to be predominantly one color with laces to match. Honestly, it makes it easier and cheaper so I don't mind too much. The high school does not follow a dress code though so if they end up goin gthe public route (which they probably will) they will get to dress themselves then...

I hope that is true...I cannot see Disney telling someone "Tuff!". We're not usually too picky about room location but this time we really wanted ground floor looking over the main pool. Usually we'd like to take a dip in the pool at the end of a long day but the distance to the pool usually holds us back. We'd ike to be in the middle of things. Since we have a preferred room we shoudl be ok with proximity to the main building and transportation no matter where we are. We have stayed in the Toy Story section and loved it. We have stayed in the Fantasia section on the back side of the building and it was fine. We have never, in all the 15 or so trips since Tyler has been two, have we gotten a room overlooking any pool at any resort...that's what I want. Although Skye would be happy in the Dalmation building...we have not stayed there either...but I am not exactly thrilled with that prospect. It does make it seem just that much closer to being here now that we are checked into out first hotel...I think that' swhat made me do it...and if things turn out ok I can always do the online check-in for Caribbean Beach on my iPhone afterwards!

Ya, a mini-DIS-meet would be fun...the kids would love it! Well, have to work on that!

 

[ZFamily5]

We usually take 2 "big" shopping trips, one at the end of summer and one right after Christmas (don't buy anything, just make returns and exchanges), so we buy clearence stuff too! Skye's certainly got the build for a bikini! We can try to work out a DIS Meet when you get back from your trip! As my parents say, "that's the next big flame"!

 

[Arizonaboy]

I love reading these old posts and remembering what I was doing back then!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I love reading these old posts and remembering what I was doing back then!

????

 

[tyandskyesmom]

SINGLE DIGITS BABY!!!!!!!







And this is the closest to a reliable weather forcast as I can find right now...

"Aug 13-19 goes back to hot and humid with highs in the mid 90s and only isolated pop up thunderstorms."

...from my trusty other site weatherman. I am happy with that. Some of this week's forcast becasue of Tropical Storm Emily were not looking so fun but I am good with regular old summer in Orlando weather!

Oh, ans we forgot to check the mail until late last night and guess what was there???!!!!???

OUR MAGICAL EXPRESS PACKAGE!!!!!

And it is correct for me and the kids being dropped off at All-Star Movies on August 13 and being picked up on August 29...but Lou's still says pick up on August 28...guess he's going home early! . No, I think I'll drop my travel agent an e-mail to see if she can make the call to make sure we are all being picked up from the Yacht Club on August 29.

So now I have all our travel documents. All I have to do is pack and wait...and wait...and wait...the next nine days are goingt o feel sooooo lllloooonnnggg!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

SO....EXCITED....9....MORE....DAYS!!!!!!!!


And no football tomorrow...YEA!

So we sould be able to be all set to go by the end of the weekend...including cleaning up the house.

We're watching my parent's puppy for the weekend. She's here now and she's crazy. And Petey hates her. Dakota puts up with her...but she puts up with just about anything these days!

9....MORE....DAYS!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We are babysitting my mom's puppy. She is much better behaved than she used to be and even slept out of her cage

Skye had her end of Bible Club ceremony tonight. Usually she does the Vacation Bible School at that church but they cancelled it becasue their week is when the kids were still in school this year. Well, the bible club was a little more than what we liked Vacation Bible School..and was not run by the same people...not sure we'll be doing that again!

Tomorrow is packing day. Or at least that is the plan. I'll let you know how that turns out!

 

[mousetravel]

Getting caught up on your udates! Love the countdown!!!

When you get down to single digits, don't you wonder how you survived all the long waiting and anticipation??!!!

I can remember back to when my countdown ticker was at
1 Year 1 Month 1 Day

I thought that was so neat, then when it said
1 week 1 Day......

I was thinking, where did all that time go????

Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We've been playing the "This time next week..." game all day...like....this time next week we will be sleeping at All-Star Movies looking forward to our day at Magic Kingdom...

We got a lot done today. We got Tyler's gym uniform, paid the water bill, ran to Sam's Club for a few things we needed, hit Dominicks for groceries we needed for the week (and Gatorade was $.49 for the 32 ounce bottle-BARGAIN!), and then ran th the mall to waste the rest of our Disney Store Gift Cards and our Boarders gift cards. Disney Store has not been too thrilling to us lately but they had Vinylmations buy one get an Urban (which Ty is collecting) or Have A Laugh free (which Skye is collecting). Well, they did not have any of Skye's so she choose two Cuties Too and Ty got teo free Urrbans. Skye ended up picking the of the same...our first doubles. Ty got teo different ones but one was a double of one at home but they had one he did not have in his series in the trade box so he traded. Skye was not happy but I told her she could trade at Mickey's House. Then we got a recipe card box from Boarders (25% off and I had a $10.00 gift card). Then they got their free bite sized cookies from Mrs. Fields that the got coupons for from the Easter Bunny. Then we came home and cleaned and packed. Skye is all packed. Tyler is mostly packed except for shoes and a few pairs of underware.
Tomorrow we will pack as much of mine and Lou's as possible. But otherwise I think tomorrow we should get to relax a little.

We also watched the Phineas and Ferb Movie.

Now, at 11:30pm the kids just started playing Just Dance and Lou came home from work early...I hate that! The coming home from work early not the Just Dance...

So...7 MORE DAYS!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

This time next week we will be at Magic Kingdom!!!!!!

Well, after a late night playing Just Dance, we woke and made eggs, toast,a nd fruit salad. Skye cut up the Strawberries and Bananas for it and this was supposedly completely by accident...



...don't know that I believe her or not but I'm always game for creating Mickey!

And then I picked up two blueberries and a grape on my fork (completely randomly!) and got this...



...REALLY...it just pulled out of the bowl that way!

Then we spent the rest of the morning PACKING!!!!!!



I think we are almost completely packed. We have four large suit cases/duffels. And we are taking most, if not all of Lou's things...if anything, he will take a carry on with things that he could not pack. I think we have over packed a little but I wanted us to be able to have extra outfits in case we come back to the room all sweaty and hot and we don't want to put back on the same sweaty clothes from the morning. And the best news is...I dont' think I am going tpo have to do laundry!!!!! I am prepared if something happens and I do have to but I should not have to! And that is a great thing! We packed our first six nights into one bag. Our extra clothes and toiletried and shoes are in the other bags but for the most part we shoudl not need to be digging in the other three bags and then we can pack up the six night bag with dirty clothes and not have to deal with it till we get home. And we have figured out what we are wearing on travel day and I think I have covered all basses for if our room is not ready before dinner and the best way to carry things with us.


Now that leads me sort of back to my Magical Express dilema. I have three tags becasue they only send one per person even though on Southwest we still gt two chacked bags per person. So while I am within my airline's baggage allowence, one of them will not have the yellow tag on it. So I am going to be paranoid about luggage until it shows up in my room. I am thinking I will not tag one of the mixed bags with mine and thekids stuff so that we all have clothes if something were to happen. I am sure they deal with untagged bags all the time...buy it is not my untagged luggage. And we have had good lock with Magical Express Luggage delivery so I don't know why I am so worried. So do I just let them know at check in at the Magical Express counter that I have four bags and one is untagged?

It seems like we have so much luggage but really, we are there for 17 days so I guess it really is not a lot for four people...four bags isn't bad, right? I think we will have one rolling small duffel to carry on and a small Mickey backpack, a tinkerbell purse, and a laptop bag. But I feel like I am forgetting something. What could I possibly be forgetting????

So back to the countdown...we're having kind of a Mexical Cinderella day, food-wise. We're doing loaded nachos for lunch and carne asada seasoned sirloin roast for dinner. Should be good...I'll let you know if Mickey shows up again!