"I've Waited A Long Time for a Mother/Daughter Extravaganza" 9/8 Update!

[MomofCKJ]

Hey, Great update, I think your plans are totally shaping up! A mom daughter trip is a great idea -- she is really lucky, DC and Sea World included! FUN! Your dining plans and daily itinerary looks great. I love TGM too! Will sign up again for Christmas... Totally would love to hear about the DisneyWorld 1/2 -- I am seriously kicking around the Princess 1/2 as a solo trip... I am on my treadmill as I type So I am curious how the "non-runner" made it happen!!!!

I am about to start my mini TR within a PTR so I'll tell you all about it! It is totally do-able! Have you visited the WISH board here on the DIS? Great people and a great place to be inspired and encouraged.

Your plans look great and like they are really coming together!! You're on countdown! 38 days! WOW!!! It comes up soon!!!

Would LOVE to hear about the 1/2 marathon! I'm a new runner so I'd love to hear/see pics/etal about it!!!

Coming right up! And now it is 33 days! Woo Hoo!

Your plans are shaping up nicely! If I was going to Disney with the dessert party was being offered, I would totally be doing it. I think it would be fun. Desserts and Wishes =

I've hemmed and hawed on this one. It does look fun. However I think it just isn't going to work out for us this time.

Your plans look great!

Although I have to confess to a moment of panic on Belle's behalf at the thought of having to have birds/bees/boys/sex talk at WDW! Seriously, though, the talk needs to be had and it sounds like some special 1:1 time that would be perfect for that subject matter.

You guys are going to have such a great time!!

Love all your plans and can't wait to hear all about it. Can't believe you are so close!! 36 days!!

ROFL! Well I'll be sure not to announce on Pirates of the Caribbean or It's a Small World "So Belle, did you have any questions about what intercourse really is?" because that would surely be bad! LOL! I was thinking more of when we are alone in the room, maybe over a meal, we'll have sooo much time together, she'll be a captive audience and heck we are in Disney, I can use examples like "Well you know how Pergo and Perdita had all those puppies, well let's discuss exactly how that happened" LOL!

I forgot to include in my previous post that when I was 13, my Mom took the time to take me to that movie they had the Wonders of Life Pavilion in Epcot. Was it the Making of Me? Ugh. I vividly remember it and how embarrassing that at Disney of all places I had to think about that icky stuff. My dad and brother went off to do something manly while we chatted over smoothies.

Too funny! On a side note I wish that Pavilion was still open. It might be helpful right about now! LOL!

It's the Magical Express Tags!!! Hurray!!!

Yahoo!

WOOHOO!!!!!!!

Love opening the mailbox to that!

Allyson

 

[MomofCKJ]

So, 33 days away, almost 32. Whoa! It is coming fast! Belle got a text from a friend today who just returned from Hawaii. She sent her a photo of her kissing a dolphin, they did some kind of dolphin encounter thing there. I reminded Belle that she'll be doing that in a month! A month!

I went to the Sea World website and looked around a bit. We are not doing any but they have some pretty neat side tours and activities you can do. I think on a future trip they would be something I'd definately want to do. Things like a Beluga Whale Interaction or Dolphin thing. Fun stuff! There are lots of food options but I think since we only have one day there we'll just do a CS. I don't want to waste any of our time with a sit down lunch and we'll have plenty of Disney TS during the week. I looked over the rides, there aren't many, and the shows but I need to do so with Belle. I told her we need to have some semblance of a plan. She is not sold on Manta. It is her call I told her, her trip. It looks amazing yet I will say a bit scary too. Not sure how I feel about the position you are in but the things I have read say it is so smooth and really cool. We'll see, I don't know if she'll be brave enough!

As for the Wishes Dessert Party I think I've decided we won't be doing it this trip. If we did I was looking at Friday night. We have an ADR at Tony's at like 6ish. Wishes is at 9. I just can't see us eating dinner and then very soon after going to a dessert buffet. And I know that Belle wants to have dessert at Tony's. I'm a dessert lover but I can't see us doing this so soon after dinner and we don't want to ditch the ADR. I know this dessert thing was a trial run for Disney but perhaps if it has gone well they'll make it a regularly offered thing and we can try it in the future.

I booked our ride to the airport to go to Disney. Our flight leaves at 9:30 on a Sunday morning and Boston is about 1.5 hours away. Grumpy had no interest in driving us at that hour. Grumpy likes his sleep. Grumpy doesn't like Disney. Grumpy is not going to miss sleep for something to do with Disney! So Belle and I will get picked up by the company we have used numerous times. Town Car this time, no limo to her chagrin. Coming home we land in Boston at like 6pm on a Saturday and Grumpy will be picking us up. Doesn't interfere with his sleep pattern so it was doable for him.

Hmmmm, the other things on my to do list are to see if Belle wants me to make any shirts, if she is into the matching shirt thing (me thinks no but she can often suprise me so I'll ask) and make some tip envelopes. I'll enlist her help with this as she likes this sort of creative thing.

And I've been reading lots of other trippies and will come clean and say, I have bag envy. I have a trusty Baggalini. I love it. It has been on 4 Disney trips in the last 2.5 years and has served me well. I truly love it. But then I see these adorable bags on other trippies and think how cute, how stylish. I bid on a cute Vera on ebay but was outbid at the end by a measly .50 or so. Grrrrrrr. I'm not sure what I'll do but I am tempted by the cute colorful bag. My poor beige Baggalini will hate it if it doesn't come on this trip. What to do?

And my favorite Sketcher sandals broke last week. Both shoes, same spot (the piece between the toe) on the same hole at mini golf, I kid you not. I panicked. These sandals are my staple, so incredibly comfy. I went to the Sketcher site and found the closest thing to them as they were bought last year so I couldn't find the same model. I NEED these for this trip so I hope this new model feels as good as my old ones.

So coming up next post, a mini TR within a PTR---The Disney Half Marathon 2009 trip!


Allyson

 

[MomofCKJ]

So ala Charleston Princess I am going to do the Mini TR within the PTR move here for you.

This trip took place January 8-15 of this year, 2009, and was split between Disney World and the Bahamas. The cast of characters were myself and Grumpy and our best friends in the world, we'll call them Snow White (because she is just so nice and kind and generous and sweet) and Doc because he is wise and smart and an all around good guy. No kids!

Backstory: Doc and Grumpy and Snow all went to college together. Doc and Grumpy were roomies. So there is lots of history. We married the same year and each have 3 kids, all around the same ages. Our kids are like cousins they have spent so much time together. When we lived near each other we would have dinner one weeknight together, alternating houses, and often spent time together on the weekends too. They moved in 2007 to NC and it was so sad for us but the good news is they hope to be back in MA in 2010!

So with our dear pals (who we vacation with yearly in Maine) we created Life Lists, things we wanted to do together (the 4 of us) before we die. We each put 5 things on the list. The plan was we would take turns rotating items from the lists.

I went first and we all went to a Rick Springfield concert in May of 2007. I'm a huge fan and this was the only way I'd get them to a show!

So now it was Doc's turn. He chose from his list "run a race together". Well Grumpy and I laughed. Loud. We were not runners. We were not anything. We like the couch and the television. But we had to. That was part of the deal. However I countered with "Only if its Disney". I knew I needed something great to motivate me to make a major life change. They agreed. We researched online, found the details and decided to go for it. We are both blessed with grandparents willing to step in and babysit for things like this so childcare was covered. Now we had also always talked about doing a special trip within the year we all turn 40. My Grumpy was 40 in 2008, the rest of us will be in 2009 so we were in the window. Since we were already going to FL for a few days and had childcare we decided why not tack on the 40th birthday trip we had always wanted too? So that is how the Bahamas became attached. We ended up with flying to Orlando January 8th, running the race on January 10th, flying to Nassau on January 11th and coming home on January 15th. And since we were going to be there, and it was the year we'd both celebrate 15 years of marriage, we decided to make it a vow renewal too. We really know how to pack in a celebration! LOL!

So that is how the trip was born. How did the running go? Well I'll tell you!

I started exercising on our Gazelle January 1st, 2008. I used it for a month, just to get used to doing something with some regularity. Remember, I live in MA so it is cold and wintry that time of year. I did start running in February though and opted to start with the Couch to 5K program. You can Google it. I liked it a lot. I found a Podcast to go with it and that made it really helpful. The program is based on doing each week once but I did each week twice because I never felt quite ready to move on after one week. It began with things like "Run 30 seconds, Walk 2 minutes" and alternate. I had never, ever been a runner. This was hard for me! But I plugged along. I went to a running store and got fitted and bought my first nice pair of shoes. Grumpy got me a Timex watch for Valentine's Day so I could keep my time. I began telling people I was planning on the Disney Half. I figured that would help motivate me too. I didn't want to tell people I was doing it and then wind up backing out.

Okay, so we registered for the Disney Half online. That was done. Then we registered for a local 5K in our town for June. That was our first goal.

Advice Tidbit #1: Have a goal on your calendar. Find a local race. It is much easier to get out there and train when you have a goal in sight.

Advice Tidbit #2: Go to the WISH board here on the DIS. You will find seasoned runners, beginning runners, walkers, all sorts of people. It is an amazing place to learn and be encouraged. I found great support there and it was fun to get to know people who were training for the same race. I have several articles of WISH clothing I wear with pride. Their motto, which I LOVE, is "Dead Last Finish is Greater than Did Not Finish which Greatly Trumps Did Not Start"

Okay so I am a bit long winded here. So we spent the Spring doing the Couch to 5 K. Grumpy started in March. We rarely ran together just due to logistics. I decided the walk/run was really the way for me. If you Google Jeff Galloway you will find more info on this. He has written books about it. Basically it is when you walk/run in intervals and it is easier on your body. He has had people go from all running to walk/run and improve their time (read the book!). I also started reading John Bingham who is a very funny, very informative writer. Loved his stuff!

So we do the 5K in June. Our first ever race! I finished in I think it was 37:40. I was happy as I hoped anything under 40 would be good for me. It was our first taste of the excitement of a race!

Summer turned into fall and in September we really began our Half Marathon training. Up till that point we just found ourselves running 3-4 times a week. Usually 2-3 miles. In September I began the Walk/Run Half Marathon Training Program by John Bingham. It was two short runs, one long run, two cross training days and two rest days each week. The short runs were based on time, anywhere from I think it was 40-50 minutes at a time. The long run was once a week and went anywhere from 4 miles to a high of 10 miles. For the cross training I tried using a Pilates DVD and the Wii Fit but honestly I ended up blowing it off most weeks. Just couldn't get into a groove with it.

Okay, I need to wrap this up and get to the actual trip! I promise next installment will have the start of the trip, some photos and the story of the amazing upgrade!


Allyson

 

[Charleston Princess]

I think it is so neat that you made a list of things you wanted to do with your friends! I would love to run the Disney Half, but don't know if I would ever have the persistence to stick with the training!

 

[princess&her4princes]

WOW, I am SO impressed!! I'm like you, never been a runner (in hs, a bit, but that was *GULP* 20 years ago!) and I started the "Couch to 5K" program (loved this btw) this past March and ran my 1st 5K in May!!! I have some serious shin issues going on, but am plugging along....doing 2 miles at least 3 times a week and loving it! I can't wait to hear more!! Are you still running, need to find that other site on here that you mentioned, the WISH board? Love any info you can give me!!!!!

Btw, your trip sounds great, love all the plans so far and YAY for 32 days!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

ps-- dont know where you are in MA, I'm in Plymouth, care to share what company you are using for the trip in? My Mom and I are still trying to figure this out!!!

 

[MomofCKJ]

I think it is so neat that you made a list of things you wanted to do with your friends! I would love to run the Disney Half, but don't know if I would ever have the persistence to stick with the training!

If I can do it anyone can! It does take time though, the training, that was sometimes hard getting the time in for the long runs. And yes we love these friends so much! The tattoo was the most recent "Life List" item, we all got them together.

WOW, I am SO impressed!! I'm like you, never been a runner (in hs, a bit, but that was *GULP* 20 years ago!) and I started the "Couch to 5K" program (loved this btw) this past March and ran my 1st 5K in May!!! I have some serious shin issues going on, but am plugging along....doing 2 miles at least 3 times a week and loving it! I can't wait to hear more!! Are you still running, need to find that other site on here that you mentioned, the WISH board? Love any info you can give me!!!!!

Btw, your trip sounds great, love all the plans so far and YAY for 32 days!!!

Go here: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=109 and that is the Events/Competition section of the WISH board. It is right here on the DIS. A wonderful place and full of encouragment and support!

I am still running. Just did a 5K last month (the same one I did last year, shaved a minute off my time this year) and just signed up for the Tufts 10K in Boston in October with one of my childhood friends. That is my next race to work towards and look forward to.

ps-- dont know where you are in MA, I'm in Plymouth, care to share what company you are using for the trip in? My Mom and I are still trying to figure this out!!!

I am about a half hour west of Worcester so our guy is from the Southbridge/Sturbridge area. Don't think he'd be of much assistance to you over on the South Shore. The company is called Ruben's Transportation and we've used them many times for different things. I just was checking out the Channel 7 Website (I am in love with Pete Bouchard the weatherman!) and Friday is rain, rain and more rain. Can you believe it????


Allyson

 

[Charleston Princess]

If I can do it anyone can! It does take time though, the training, that was sometimes hard getting the time in for the long runs. And yes we love these friends so much! The tattoo was the most recent "Life List" item, we all got them together.

I am very intrigued to know what else is on this list!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Okay so it is fall, we are running and training. We buy a treadmill, we experiment with sport beans and gu and gels, we run and we run. Holidays come and go, long run comes and go, we are on the doorstep of our trip.

So it is 4 days before our trip and I get an email from our TA. We are set to be staying at CSR. The email says that Disney contacted her because they made an error and overbooked CSR. They would like to move us to The Yacht Club at no extra charge! Well twist my arm! I think I hit the ceiling when I read that! Now of course Grumpy being Grumpy and my friends not being the Disney freak that I am didn't fully understand the ramifications of this news! I had to explain that this was amazing and what a great location and SAB! I felt so pixie dusted!

So the day before we are packing and organizing. My Mother In Law arrives in the afternoon and I go over what was fondly called "The Manifesto" with her. All the instructions day by day of what needed to be done for the kids. Things like what time they had to be at school, what to pack in lunches, who was where on what day, etc. We also had to leave her forms giving her authority to take care of medical needs and our will as well. It was a big job leaving the kids for a week!

We wake up Thursday morning early, our ride is picking us up at 6, and it is snowing. AAUUUGGGHHH! Phone rings, 2 hour school delay. Oh gosh. What can we do. Our ride comes and off we go. Once we got off the back roads and hit the highway the drive was fine. We flew Jet Blue out of Boston and loved them! LOVED them! They had me at the TVs and the wider seats we had paid a little extra for. What a comfy flight!

We landed without delay and I think it was like 12:30. The line for ME was HUGE but moved rather quickly. There were so many marathoners! Hopped on ME and away we went! We got to the YC and oh how lovely! To be greeted at the door so kindly and check in was a breeze. I had park tickets already from my solo trio (bought a 10 day no expirie) but we had to get a 2 day ticket for Grumpy. They took care of everything rather quickly. Our room was ready and so off we went. I was excited to see it.

And so nice to see:

I was giddy checking out the whole room. Turns out we had a connector to our friends who had not arrived yet. Their flights got in later than ours. They were flying seperately. They always do when they go somewhere without their kids.

So we changed and headed out to take a walk. We found our way to Beaches and Cream which was a first for us. There was no wait to sit at the counter so we did. Fun place, we saw several Kitchen Sinks delivered. We each had burgers and fries, soooo good! And I had a real vanilla Coke the way it should be made with the syrup, yum! It was a nice way to start the trip. Once we finished we got a text that Snow and Doc were there. We went up to the room and were so happy and excited to see them!

We let them settle a bit and then all of us caught the bus to the Expo. We needed to go over (it was at the Wide World of Sports) and get our numbers and chips and goodie bags. It was not crowded and we didn't have to wait at all. It was Thursday late afternoon and I would recommend going Thursday if you can. I have heard Friday is much more crowded. We got the things we needed and then looked around just a little. There were many, many vendors selling all sorts of running related items. It was just neat to be around so many people who were all here for the same reason. A cool feeling to be a part of something so large.

With all our stuff we bussed it back to the YC and dumped our loot. Our friends were hungry so we wandered around the Boardwalk. That is something I definately loved about the YC, the location. To be able to get to Epcot and DHS so easily and the Boardwalk area was so great!

If I recall ESPN Club was packed so we found our way to the Big River Brewery and were seated after a short wait. Grumpy and I were not very hungry so I think we had something light like a salad. And a beer. When in Rome.

We got some folks to take our picture out on the Boardwalk afterwards.

That is Doc, Snow, Me and Grumpy!

I had read so much about Jellyrolls that we had to check it out. It was quite early but I promised them I had read that it gets crowded and fun as the night progresses. I think we were like the third party of people in there so it was quite empty. We had popcorn and drinks. And more drinks. And more popcorn and more drinks. It was a really fun night and the piano players were awesome! We laughed so hard, it did get crowded and they did play one of the songs I requested, Jessie's Girl. If you are there sans kids I highly recommend a night at Jellyroll's!

We decided to call it a night. Everyone was tired and so we walked back and went to bed. We had an early morning. They were travelling with me and that meant no lollygagging! We would be at Rope Drop for DHS the next morning to do the run to Toy Story Mania!

Allyson

 

[Charleston Princess]

Upgraded to the Yacht Club? What a wonderful way to start the trip!!!

Charles and I are planning to head to Jellyroll's on our first night of our October trip! I cannot wait -- we used to go to one here in Atlanta all the time before we had kids, and it will be fun to do it again! Glad to hear you had a great time!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

A month away from your trip! That's awesome!!

I'm so glad you're telling us about your half marathon trip. It sounds amazing. I've been thinking about starting running but so far have not progressed out of the thinking stage.

I can't get over the upgrade to YC!

I agree the location is just terrific. Beaches 'n Cream... YUM!!

Cute picture of the whole gang- how nice that you all have stayed in touch and that your families are growing up together! You must be so excited they are coming back to Mass!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Ooo, this is SO exciting!! An updgrade to YC!! Woohoo!! I'm so excited reading this mini TR....you're getting my wheels spinning!! Sounds like a great 1st night together and I think it's so great that you guys do trips sans the kids together! Our best friends like in PA, we moved to MA 4 years ago and see them a couple of times a year, but I love the idea of the list you made...can you tell me more about it? I'd like to propose something with our bff's...sounds fun!!!

 

[Happydog]

What a great update!!! So enjoyed reading all you had to say about the marathon, etc. I really am interested... We'll see! All the details about your trip sound great so far!!! Amazing!!! Upgrade? Best friends? No children??!!

Can't believe you are heading off to WDW in just about a month!!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Upgraded to the Yacht Club? What a wonderful way to start the trip!!!

Charles and I are planning to head to Jellyroll's on our first night of our October trip! I cannot wait -- we used to go to one here in Atlanta all the time before we had kids, and it will be fun to do it again! Glad to hear you had a great time!

I know, YC was a dream! Even though SAB was under rehab we still got to enjoy it as they only did it in sections. The location was just the best! And so glad you and Charles are hitting Jellyroll's! Fun place!

A month away from your trip! That's awesome!!

I'm so glad you're telling us about your half marathon trip. It sounds amazing. I've been thinking about starting running but so far have not progressed out of the thinking stage.

I can't get over the upgrade to YC!

I agree the location is just terrific. Beaches 'n Cream... YUM!!

Cute picture of the whole gang- how nice that you all have stayed in touch and that your families are growing up together! You must be so excited they are coming back to Mass!

If I can get ready and run the race, anyone can! I was that much of a non-excersiser before all this started. But there is something about Disney that can motivate you to do just about anything I think! We are very excited to have them come back, we've missed them so much!

Ooo, this is SO exciting!! An updgrade to YC!! Woohoo!! I'm so excited reading this mini TR....you're getting my wheels spinning!! Sounds like a great 1st night together and I think it's so great that you guys do trips sans the kids together! Our best friends like in PA, we moved to MA 4 years ago and see them a couple of times a year, but I love the idea of the list you made...can you tell me more about it? I'd like to propose something with our bff's...sounds fun!!!

I will share more about our lists since you and CP have asked.

I am a huge fan of date nights and making time without the kids. We do plenty with them but I have always thought it important to have regular time without them as well, so we can be Grumpy and I and not always Mom and Dad. I think it shows a good example to them too of a healthy strong marriage where Mom and Dad like to spend time alone. We certainly don't do week long vacations each year without them (we've only done that twice now) but we have regular date nights and try to have at least one overnight a year without them.

What a great update!!! So enjoyed reading all you had to say about the marathon, etc. I really am interested... We'll see! All the details about your trip sound great so far!!! Amazing!!! Upgrade? Best friends? No children??!!

Can't believe you are heading off to WDW in just about a month!!

It was a very amazing trip, one of my favorites for sure!
27 days today! Yahoo!


Allyson

 

[MomofCKJ]

So I was lucky that our friends just handed the reins over to me for the Disney portion of our trip. They knew I was a bit Disney obsessed, in the nicest way, and just told me to plan whatever and they'd go along with it. A Disney planner's dream!

So I told them we had to be at Rope Drop at DHS Friday morning for the Toy Story Mania run. We were all up bright and early and grabbed the boat to DHS. Another nice feature of the YC, taking the boat! We got there probably about 8:30 am and passed time chit chatting. Once through and the rope dropped we were swallowed by the crowds going to TSM. It is insane really, I wonder when it will die down? They got in line and I got our FPs. I had really wanted them to wait for me but they got in line. I felt bad sneaking in with them after I had the FPs. Shame on me. But they weren't too far into the line and no one shot me a dirty look so I guess it was all good. We loved seeing Mr Potato Head! He is great! This is what I look like having gotton up for RD at Disney vs Grumpy:

The ride was so fun and I beat Grumpy which made him want to ride again! Alas, we would have to wait for our FP time.

We stopped by Starring Rolls and grabbed a table outside. We feasted on some muffins, bagels, coffee and juice. I think someone had a yogurt too. Nice day, Disney World, your best friends, doesn't get much better.

From there I think we headed down to ToT and RnR. Memory is sketchy at this point but I think that is what we did. So much fun. Lots of laughs and giggles to go around.

From there it was back to TSM again and I think if memory serves me correctly I beat him again.

We went through One Man's Dream and I was happy they all wanted to stay for the movie. I think it is really a great way to learn about Walt and how it all began. Doc had good intentions but ended up napping. Oh well! I enjoyed it this time around again.

We headed over to the 50s Prime Time Cafe as we had a lunch ADR. I think it was 11:30 or so. We didn't wait long at all and were seated with a fun server, she was very into it which was nice. The last time we had been there, not so much. We had lots of ribbing about elbows and eating all our veggies. Grumpy, Snow and Doc all ended up with hats:

I, being the eternal rule follower, did not.

We enjoyed our food. I had the fried chicken and it was tasty. I really don't remember what anyone else had. I think we passed on dessert but I can't be sure? Maybe we shared something?

After lunch we headed over to see Lights, Camera, Action! Fun show, Grumpy had seen it before but the rest of us had not. It was pretty cool and definately action packed.

Star Tours was next, made our way to Endor. This ride I think is in need of an upgrade. I thought I read somewhere that this was being discussed. I like the ride but a new movie would be nice. I missed Goofy here as he loves this ride and the dump shop that follows!

We wandered the Streets of NY and just sort of moseyed around. I had my requisite Chocolate Covered Banana, the one treat I must have at Disney and that I only eat when I am there. Looking forward to having one in under 4 weeks now!

Decided we wanted a few photo ops in front of the Muppet fountain:

I think at this point we caught the Indy show, something I had not done in years. Grumpy I don't think had ever seen it. He kept commenting that Goofy would really like this (he would) and I think that was his moment of missing the kids. The show was good, as I remembered, and once over I think we still had a FP for ToT so we went back to ride again. I could never get enough of that one.

At this point we decided to head back. We didn't want to overdo it today and wanted to turn in early since we had to catch a bus to the race at like 3:15am. So back to YC we went via the boat.

I believe we rested in our rooms a short bit, we may have even went out to lay by the pool a little. SAB was under rehab but they were only doing sections at a time so there was plenty of room for us to be. I think the slide was the only thing closed at the time. SAB is great, I would love to be there with my kids.

After our rest we wandered the Boardwalk in search of an early dinner. We found ourselves at the ESPN club. By this time I was getting the nerves. Tomorrow was the race we had been talking about for 18 months, been training for a year. What if I couldn't finish? What if I failed? My mind was racing and I was feeling very nervous/quesy. I know I had some kind of salad with grilled chicken and picked at it. I couldn't tell you what anyone else had but we all enjoyed our food. Not in a need-to-go-back-there-every-trip kind of way but in a I-would-go-back-if-it-were-convenient kind of way.

Back to YC and bed. We stopped in the marketplace, at BC I think, and got some food for the very early morning. Snow wanted Rice Pudding but they didn't have it. She likes to eat that before she runs. We got bananas and bagels and peanut butter. We laid out our shoes, pinned on our numbers and got our chips tied on our shoes. We set the wake up call and the alarms on our phones and watches. It was almost here and it was nerve wracking!

We went to bed and 3am would come quickly!


Allyson

 

[MomofCKJ]

And on a current trip note our travel documents arrived today! We are good to go!

27 days away and I hope to start going through our toiletry bag soon and see what we have/what we need. Also need to sit down with Belle and the laptop and take a look at SeaWorld and formulate a plan.

I am still unsure how we are getting to DC and SW. I vetoed renting a car. I just honestly don't want to drive down there by myself. So our options are a shared Mears Shuttle (cost effective) or a taxi (faster but more expensive). My country mouse of a daughter (we live in a town of 5000 people, not even a one stoplight town, ours is a no stoplight town!) is afraid to take a taxi. Not sure what she is afraid of, that he'll kidnap us or what but the idea of a taxi freaks her out. Methinks she needs to experience a little of the world outside of our podunk little town and take a taxi ride! It is faster though I don't know how much more costly. The Mears shuttle they told me is like $18 per person round trip but being a shared shuttle I just don't know how long it will really take, how many hotels it stops at. There in lies my current dilemma. What would you do? I hate being stuck on a shuttle and wasting valuable time but if a taxi is a ton more is it wise?

Oh and not a great picture but this is the tattoo I got earlier this summer, I love it!

Allyson

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a great day you had at DHS! I love your Minnie ears! I would have been a nervous wreck about the race, but I know you must have done just fine!

LOVE the tattoo!!! Too cool!!!

 

[cuppycake]

I'm here! I love the idea of a trip alone with each of my girls when they are older...what fun!! I hope that it helps your relationship with your daughter...it's such a rough age.

Love the new shoes...I do hope they are as comfy as your old ones. How crazy that they both crapped out at the same time!

I'm digging your plans. Sounds like you will be jammed packed with FUN! It is getting so incredibly close, isn't it??!?!?

I, too, won the Universal pass, but (like you) just won't give up my Disney time (plus, let's face it, I'd have had to pay for three more people)!

As for the bag...I'm glad that it's one of the few things that I'm actually NOT obsessed with (YET!!). At least I can save that money for a slushie If you get a new one, you must post a pic!!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hi Allyson!!

I LOVE your tat!!!! Too cute!!!

I say take the cab....that's my vote and i'm sticking to it!!

 

[Happydog]

And on a current trip note our travel documents arrived today! We are good to go!

27 days away and I hope to start going through our toiletry bag soon and see what we have/what we need. Also need to sit down with Belle and the laptop and take a look at SeaWorld and formulate a plan.

I am still unsure how we are getting to DC and SW. I vetoed renting a car. I just honestly don't want to drive down there by myself. So our options are a shared Mears Shuttle (cost effective) or a taxi (faster but more expensive). My country mouse of a daughter (we live in a town of 5000 people, not even a one stoplight town, ours is a no stoplight town!) is afraid to take a taxi. Not sure what she is afraid of, that he'll kidnap us or what but the idea of a taxi freaks her out. Methinks she needs to experience a little of the world outside of our podunk little town and take a taxi ride! It is faster though I don't know how much more costly. The Mears shuttle they told me is like $18 per person round trip but being a shared shuttle I just don't know how long it will really take, how many hotels it stops at. There in lies my current dilemma. What would you do? I hate being stuck on a shuttle and wasting valuable time but if a taxi is a ton more is it wise?

Oh and not a great picture but this is the tattoo I got earlier this summer, I love it!

Allyson

I love all that prepacking fun! Can't wait to do it again

RE the tat, I LOVE IT!!! One really crossed the line when Mickey becomes a permanent fixture on the body!!! Sign me up!

Re the TR on the race, really fun reading, thanks for sharing...