Juan says "BAAAA!" - 12/24 - Our last few Disney hours. COMPLETE

[DreaGirl]

How was your crafty weekend? Do we get to see your handy work?

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hey everyone!
I had a GREAT crafty weekend! I was able to finish the entire album I brought along, which is of some of Henry's firsts/milestones. I am pretty happy with it all. Maybe this un-crafty girl does have some craftiness in her??? I took pictures of my work tonight and will be sharing those, along with doing replies, and an UPDATE soon. Last night I was exhausted and wasn't on the DIS and tonight I'm attempting to catch up on a few TRs. I hope to post a bit tomorrow and more on Thursday.

Thanks for your patience lately as I've been extra busy, and slow to update!!

 

[jordanyosh]

Hey everyone!
I had a GREAT crafty weekend! I was able to finish the entire album I brought along, which is of some of Henry's firsts/milestones. I am pretty happy with it all. Maybe this un-crafty girl does have some craftiness in her??? I took pictures of my work tonight and will be sharing those, along with doing replies, and an UPDATE soon. Last night I was exhausted and wasn't on the DIS and tonight I'm attempting to catch up on a few TRs. I hope to post a bit tomorrow and more on Thursday.

Thanks for your patience lately as I've been extra busy, and slow to update!!

no hurry.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Super excited to see your craftiness and read the next update!

 

[jenjolt]

Can't wait to see!! I have a crafty weekend coming up on Friday and I'm entering the world of Digital scrapbooking so I'm very very excited about that!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!

I'm really excited to see some pics of your work!! With your picture taking I have no doubt your layouts are going to be AMAZING!!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Glad you had a good time and things came out the way you liked! Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[thewesterberg]

Can't wait to see your craftiness! See, you did have it hidden in side of you all this time! Just needed to be cultivated!!

We'll be in your neck of the woods this weekend - Dave has a conference and the two of us are going to join him since the hotel room is already paid for. Pool time!

Hope you're having a great week!

 

[DreaGirl]

Wow, that is a lot to get done in one weekend! I can't wait to see it. :

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Yeah for you! I love scrapbooking and it feels great to get pages done, eh? I switched over to digital scrapbooking about 2 years ago so have you tried it yet? If I could find a way to link you to my last Disney digital scrapbook, I would...hmm

Can wait to see what you did!

Heather

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Yipppeee for craftiness Brook!! I can't wait to see it!

Your getting so close to your last day of work! You must be so excited!

 

[KatMark]

Can't wait to see your "craftiness" photos and an update to your TR.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I can't wait to see your scrapbook pages! I have been such a slacker in the scrapbook department. I still have to finish my Disney album from last December (luckily I only have a couple pages to go) and my mini NYC book.

Looking forward to your TR update too.

 

[moparop]

YAY!!! Glad to hear you had fun and got your crafting on! I can't wait to see your pages!

 

[ptcrn]

I am so far behind, but I wanted to pop in and say hi. I can't wait to see your scrapbooking pages- isn't it fun? I am way behind on that as well! I'm still working on David's newborn pages and he just turned 2! But I love doing it when I have the time- it is relaxing and so gratifying to finish a page!

I will try to catch up on reading your TR tomorrow!

 

[tinkerbells mum]

i'm loving your trip report, i have only just found it and read through all 25 pages in one go, it was well worth it!! can't wait to hear more, i love the pictures of Henry playing in the splash pool he is having so much fun. good luck with becoming a SAHM xx

 

[jessily]

Thank you! We love that pic too, and in the moment it was so funny how he just rolled right over!!

I'll have lots more pics of CSR throughout the report! It was a beautiful resort and we truly enjoyed our stay there. What other resorts are you looking at for January?

The bus service was outstanding. Truly awesome. On average we waited less than 5 minutes. Maybe once or twice a bit over and closer to 10. One night leaving MK there was a line INSANELY long (I'll document about it in the TR), and even that didn't really take very long-they were right on top of it!! I was very impressed with the buses.

Wow... I'm behind. I'm so glad to hear you had a good experience w/ the buses at CSR. We just settled on CSR for our January trip last night. We were debating between CSR, Pop and the Dolphin. Once Buy 4, get 7 came out, the Dolphin was eliminated. I've heard rumors that CSR might move into a "more deluxe" category since the refurbs were done. I can't wait to stay there and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of your photos and hearing more about your trip!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Love the new siggy. Have a great time scrapbooking, I try to go once a month.
I will answer for CP and say WE LOVE the giraffe carpet-oh my you are making me want to stay at Kidani.

Thank you! I just couldn't resist putting some pics in my siggy. I wanted to save them for the report, but well....

You try to go on a scrap-weekend once a month? That is awesome!! I can see why you would need to in order to keep up. There was a gal in our little group that goes about every other month on a getaway weekend. She has sooooo much gear, even a little Cricut (spelling?) machine! Very handy.

Kindai was awesome. Just thinking about it makes me even more excited for our upcoming trip!!! I love that giraffe carpet too-esp with the hidden Mickey's!

Kidani looks amazing.

Oh my goodness Bill and I are in love with Henry, this picture is fantastic!!

Aw, thanks!!! It was so much fun to watch him play. I really should get the bit of video Joe did downloaded off the camera!

Wonderful Kidani updates! We really need to make sure that we spend time exploring there when we stay at AKL! I am still annoyed about myself that when I stayed at POR in 2004, I never explored POFQ... Must not let this happen with Kidani!!!

If you can find the time, it will be worth it! Sometimes I know it's hard to squeeze stuff like that in...but then to get back there to do it on another trip is even harder! Both lodges are so beautiful, and similar, yet different feels to them. I think they are just about an 8 minute walk between the buildings from what I have read...

I love the detail in the splash pool! The tiles with the little animals on them! I know, it's a little thing, but they really did some nice attention to detail. Henry, the adorable Henry!! Those pics are what Disney is all about, the fun and joy in his face is priceless!

Good eye! I didn't even really take notice to that. I love that attention to detail too. It could have been plain, but just the added bit there sets the atmosphere and makes it so much more gentle on the eye.

It really was a wonderful time with him playing. He was FULL of giggles and screeches! A wonderful Disney moment for us all!

Oh.... those pictures of Kidani bring back such great memories of this summer. It really is such a beautiful resort. Love it.

I love the pictures of Henry in the splash area. He is having such a blast. When I see pictures of that it makes me correct people when they say their two year old is too young for Disney. Never too young, never too old!

I agree! Never too young, never too old! That is one of my favorite things about Disney - it appeals to every age, every type of person. Ahhhh, can't beat it!

What a wonderful trip "home"!

I would have flipped my lid if that little girl had sprayed me!

I would have too! Joe is much more, um...*ahem* reserved, than I am. He wouldn't of said anything even the second time! I couldn't not speak up. When I asked him about it later and why he didn't say anything, his response was something along the lines of "I didn't think she did it on purpose." Twice?! She was watching his reaction!!! She sooooo did it on purpose, and directly after spraying Henry.

He's just too nice.

So pretty... cannot wait! I see Henry and figure that will be Luke next summer!

It's a great age! They are a tad more opinionated on what to do, but that is half the fun. Seeing them experience new things, things they chose.

I totally agree with that sentiment!!!

But he'll have those two big sisters hovering over him at every step. You know they are going to have so much fun chasing after him and guiding him around when he is toddling everywhere.

That is so true! The girls are going to have a blast with him all over the World!

Kidani looks so nice! Loved all your pictures!

My daughter loves playing in those splash pads. I'm glad they didn't give you a hard time and let Henry enjoy himself.

Enjoy your scrapbooking weekend! For once in my life I am actually caught up with mine.

It's truly a beautiful resort. I think it's done very, very well. Very peaceful and relaxing.

I was glad they let Henry play too. I imagine if we would have been there for a long time, if there were other kids around, or let him actually "swim" it would have been a different story....I felt a tad guilty about it all-but he was finally cooled down-and look at that face! How can you say no?!

My SIL was scrapping from 2007 this past weekend! (of course, so was I )

Great pictures! I've never seen a photo of the little kids area at Kidani. I can't believe I've never been to Kidani and it is my home resort. I'm hoping to go next year sometime. It looks like so much fun for little ones!

I had never seen pics of that area either, so I was pretty excited to see it. Much more Henry's speed than the other areas. Everything looks just awesome though-kids will have a BLAST in there! I hope you are able to get over there, even if you don't end up staying, just to check it out!

Brook, these are great pictures! I love the pictures of Henry enjoying the water! He really is getting more and more cute! Once again I think you and Joe are great for going at Henry's pace...

Thank you! I have to stifle the commando in me sometimes, but it really does make for a much better trip when we go with the flow and soak in the moments like this. It made for a wonderful vacation memory!

Great update and fabulous photos.

Thank you! I keep meaning to PM you about all those blogs you mentioned on activities with kids...I just haven't read my PM's lately. Hope to get to that today at some point....

What a great update Brook! Your pictures are wonderful, as usual! Of course I enjoyed the Kidani pictures!! I can't wait for our first trip home! The pictures of Henry playing in the water are too cute!! I really think Ryan will enjoy Samawati Spring (did I spell that right?!) if it's warm enough in January!!

BTW, I just sent you a PM

No clue on the spelling either. I'd have to look at my picture and type it out slowly!

I hope it's warm in January-he will LOVE it! It really is a great area with so much to do-let alone the pool and slides!

I haven't checked my PMs yet...but I have a feeling I know what it's about...!

Thanks Brook for your pix of AKV! You took some great, unique pix that really give you a flavor of the resort. It gets me excited to stay there in Feb!

The water play area for small one and not-so-small ones looks like a blast.

I have found the DVC pool at VWL very small. It looks like the AKV one is bigger. It will be interesting to see how busy it is during the busy summer months.

I think the one at AKV is larger too, I remember looking at the WL one and thinking "teeny". This was a decent size. Maybe similar in size to SSR....slightly smaller perhaps....?

Glad you enjoyed the pics! I hope you like Kidani, I really think it's beautiful and so relaxing. The cool darkness of it, with the windows that allow the light to pour in, the animals-very serene.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Great update Brook! Loved seeing all the pics of our new home! We bought into AKV this past Saturday!! Maybe we will see you sometime down there!!

Kids can be so mean! What the heck is there agenda!?! I never know what to say to kids that are being mean to Aaron.

I don't consider it pool hopping especially since you own at AKV!

Whoa!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON DVC!!! And howdy neighbor!!!!!!!!! It would be GREAT to see you down there sometime. Perhaps after a certain cruise next year??? (We are actually talking BWV (if we can get in) for that trip...It's Joe's ideal resort...)

We have a couple kids at our church how aren't the nicest-they hit and push, and bite! I never know quite how to react when their parents are standing right there and not saying anything (usually they do...but sometimes they miss it), I usually just scoop up Henry and give him a squeeze. He's really starting to understand the difference now between naughty and nice, so I try to explain it. But, I still hope and wonder, how it affects him. It's not easy being Mommy, is it?!

Glad you don't consider it pool hopping! If it was, people here are being very nice about it and not flaming me!

I've finally caught up, Brooke. Awesome updates and great pics!

Thank you!!! I hope to get another update done today. It's been a busy afternoon-but I think I can still squeeze it in.

Henry looks like he had a blast in the splash area!!! You are such a good mama; I was so uptight when my first was that age! I never would have let him do that. I wish I could go back and redo stuff now that I know better!

Denise

Oh, no worries! We all have our areas we are uptight in. I know I've got my fair share. I freak about Henry climbing on things, like onto chairs and up the stairs, etc. He's becoming a pro, so I relax some, but still....makes me nervous! It's hard being that first time Mom and not knowing what to relax with and what not to.

The real challenge will be in December, if it's cool, do I let him play in the fountains, or not? And he'll most certainly make his opinion about it known I'm sure!

I actually saw the panda in Epcot at the outpost.

And yeah, I heard they were taking out the poachers story line.

I hadn't heard that about the poachers! I can see why though....it's time for a new story I think. But, it's kinda fun in its cheesy way. If we get a chance to ride it in December, I'll keep a sharper ear to see if they leave it out or not.

Love the update. That place is gorgeous! I wish I was there or anywhere in Disney right now. If only I would just win that dang lottery. Things would be alot easier to make several trips a year. LOL!

Oh me too, me too!! My co-worker is going in November (staying at Sports), he got airfare for $169 RT. Made me instantly price a trip! I can dream, right?!

Hi, Brook! What a lovely update about Kidani! You so make me want to purchase DVC with those photos!

"Mud hut with modern amenities" -- -- my kind of mud hut for sure!

Love the giraffe print carpet -- I think I need some in my house.

Henry is so cute playing in the fountains -- that look of pure joy on his face is just precious!

I am pretty sure I would have had to use my mean teacher voice on that little girl! Her momma should have been watching her better!

It's a lovely resort, CP.....Zebra Domes are probably in the cooler (I can't believe I forgot to look! ), animals, rocking chairs, African music....

Eh, you don't need any enabling do you? When the time is right, I hope you can take the plunge to DVC! Charles will just have to learn to like it.

I agree-that little girl's Mom was NO WHERE to be found. I looked around first, no one in the "big kids" area, or on a bench or anything...

Love the pictures of Henry in the water areas!! He was having so much fun- what great memories

It really was! Such a fun moment for all of us. We love to watch him laugh and play. I really should get that video downloaded (and uploaded) to share!

Henry is just adorable! What fun you had (splasher-girl notwithstanding.)

Ahhh, those pix of Kidani are just what I needed today! Thanks!


Kathy

Glad they helped give you a little "fix". It was a wonderful moment there with the fountain!

Your trip is sooooo close!!!

Woot!! I'm all caught up now Brook!! I just loved this update!!! What fun to be able to explore your home resort and let Henry have some fun time!! And what a fun time was had by him!! Those pictures of him enjoying the splash pad are just priceless...he had such a magical smile on his face!!!!

Can't wait to hear more about your DTD night adventure!!

Thanks Jen! It was a perfect Disney moment for all of us. Henry giggling-and Joe and I just like to watch him enjoy himself like that. I'm so glad we took the time to explore and play!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hey BE! I'm FINALLY getting caught up on my DIS-ing! WOW are there a lot of updates on here I missed. Like, well, all of them. Ahem.

Well, lets start with Coronado Springs. Awesome looking place, glad you liked it, thanks for the heads up on the weird eggs, loved that Henry wanted to interact with the topiaries.

AK - I was jumping up and shouting Hooah! when Joe scored his man pass.

Felt bad for Henry when wanted the forbidden hard hat, but glad the fountain provided a diversion.

I am SO with you on the need mealtime or AC at Animal Kingdom. Glad you enjoyed Pizzafari. It was a hit with us as well.

Loved all the shots of the beastly bums along Pangani Trial..

You day in AK sounded great! No lines, lots of walk-ons. If you could kill the heat, it'd be perfect!

You home resort pics were awesome! I can't wait to hear the details of your Dec Trip.

Henry looked like he was loving the splash area. Even with the splash happy 7 year old. (I could soap box about where her parents were and the basic responsibilities of watching one's child, ESPECIALLY around water, and especially when there are younger kids present, but I won't.)

And last, but not least, congrats on going back to FT mommyhood! I know that has to be an exciting thing to look forward to!

GB! Glad you joined in!!

It was a wonderful day at AK overall-despite the dripping hot heat. I was lovin' it in a way due to the very cool summer we had here. (and snow is already predicted in our forecast for Saturday! )

I'm with on the soap-box. I chose to remain off it as well....

Thank you on the FT mommyhood thing! I recall once I was working in the office for a Billy Graham crusade that came to a town I used to live in. One of the helpers had to fill out a form with basic info, I was putting it into a database. One of the lines was Occupation, to which she wrote "Housewife". The next line was Position Held: and she wrote "CEO". I cracked up! So, in just 8 days, (6 business, 4 days of daycare), I'll officially be the CEO of the Household.

Hi Brook! I'm back from the world and trying to get caught up! Loved your updates and the pictures of Henry playing in the water are so dang adorable! I could not believe the girl spraying water everywhere however! OMG!

Sorry if I over looked it but do the recent promotions help you at all or are you still in the blackout dates?

Heather

Welcome back!!! I hope you had a great trip! Are you doing a TR? I cannot recall if I asked...and I didn't catch if there was one in your siggy already....

We are still in the blackout dates on any sort of promotions. They extend through the 24th I think? But regardless, we don't get to use them because we are doing a DVC trip this time around-so no free dining or any of that qualifies. But, it's OK - we are doing most meals in the room and we are going to take advantage of either tickets through work, or through Undercover Tourist for discounts for the in-laws (our APs will still be valid). So, overall, should be a pretty good price on the trip! We were finally able to purchase 2 legs of the trip, just need the return from New Orleans now.

Great update Brook!! LOVE the happy pics of Henry playing with the water. He is so cute!! How can you not smile when looking at those pics?? Kidani looks great!!

Thank you! Looking back over them makes me melt....I love his huge grin! It was so much fun!!

How was your crafty weekend? Do we get to see your handy work?

Yep! You do!!! Coming very soon...

no hurry.

Thanks for understanding! Trying to stay updated on the TRs, plus writing you own isn't always the easiest thing, is it? Speaking of which, I'm sure I'm now about 28 pages behind on yours...

Super excited to see your craftiness and read the next update!

Craftiness coming very soon - update at some point today...I hope!

Can't wait to see!! I have a crafty weekend coming up on Friday and I'm entering the world of Digital scrapbooking so I'm very very excited about that!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!

I'm really excited to see some pics of your work!! With your picture taking I have no doubt your layouts are going to be AMAZING!!

I wouldn't say amazing...but, I like 'em. There was one gal there though and her pages were STUNNING. They could easily be in a magazine. Amazing, amazing! Mine were blah compared to hers, but I'm quite happy being it was my first real attempt.

The Digital Scrapbooking really intrigues me, being I'm a computer geek. I do like the 3-D element of real scrapbooking though, with various medias and textures....but digital would be so much cheaper too!

Glad you had a good time and things came out the way you liked! Looking forward to seeing the results.

Coming very soon...just need to download the camera.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Can't wait to see your craftiness! See, you did have it hidden in side of you all this time! Just needed to be cultivated!!

We'll be in your neck of the woods this weekend - Dave has a conference and the two of us are going to join him since the hotel room is already paid for. Pool time!

Hope you're having a great week!

I had to admit. Being around the other scrappy ladies did inspire me quite a bit. I began to get into a good creative swing early on Saturday-and from there on out I felt really good about it!

You are going to be in Hutch?! Or St. Cloud?! Score on the free hotel!! I'm guessing St. Cloud - I don't know if any Hutch hotels even have a pool, they are all LAME!

Wow, that is a lot to get done in one weekend! I can't wait to see it. :

It was a lot! One of the gals got over 40 pages done! My book was around 30 pages I think. Just 8x8 size too, so easier. But still pretty good for a newbie, right?

Yeah for you! I love scrapbooking and it feels great to get pages done, eh? I switched over to digital scrapbooking about 2 years ago so have you tried it yet? If I could find a way to link you to my last Disney digital scrapbook, I would...hmm

Can wait to see what you did!

Heather

I would LOVE to see your Disney Scrapbook!!!! Love, love, love to see it! Do you find that digital is cheaper? I would think it would be--I've even see a lot of great free downloads out there for it.

What do you think about the pages? The only element I can think of that I would miss is the mixed media of it all. I like the feel and texture of the page with the various stickers, brads, etc. I suppose you could print a digital page and then add those as well....

I like the no mess part of digital too. I'm even more interested in it now that I've done some real scrapbooking....I've looked at some of the links here on the DIS, and there is SO much - its a bit overwhelming, but with this FT Mommy thing coming up, perhaps, I can squeeze it in a tad better...hmmmm

Yipppeee for craftiness Brook!! I can't wait to see it!

Your getting so close to your last day of work! You must be so excited!

I am! Just this morning I had to deal with a silly, silly, silly thing and I told my co-worker, "I will NOT miss this stuff!" She agreed!

Can't wait to see your "craftiness" photos and an update to your TR.

Coming right up!!!

I can't wait to see your scrapbook pages! I have been such a slacker in the scrapbook department. I still have to finish my Disney album from last December (luckily I only have a couple pages to go) and my mini NYC book.

Looking forward to your TR update too.

If I scrapbooked all our real events/trips, I would probably be stuck YEARS behind all the time. Just from last December isn't too bad!!! A mini NYC book could be very very fun. I saw a lot of various sticker kits and stuff for NYC themed pages.

YAY!!! Glad to hear you had fun and got your crafting on! I can't wait to see your pages!

Coming very soon! I hope they aren't too much of a let down.

I am so far behind, but I wanted to pop in and say hi. I can't wait to see your scrapbooking pages- isn't it fun? I am way behind on that as well! I'm still working on David's newborn pages and he just turned 2! But I love doing it when I have the time- it is relaxing and so gratifying to finish a page!

I will try to catch up on reading your TR tomorrow!

It really is fun! I still wasn't "hooked" by mid-day Saturday, but I could feel the addiction starting by Saturday evening as I hit a good flow. It it so fun to look through them and remember the memories. One gal was making a book for her daughter (who is 2), so she was doing all sorts of pictures of their relatives they never see and writing stories about them, etc. What a neat keepsake for that little girl in the future!

i'm loving your trip report, i have only just found it and read through all 25 pages in one go, it was well worth it!! can't wait to hear more, i love the pictures of Henry playing in the splash pool he is having so much fun. good luck with becoming a SAHM xx

Thanks for reading!!! I'm glad you have joined us, and posted!

Wow... I'm behind. I'm so glad to hear you had a good experience w/ the buses at CSR. We just settled on CSR for our January trip last night. We were debating between CSR, Pop and the Dolphin. Once Buy 4, get 7 came out, the Dolphin was eliminated. I've heard rumors that CSR might move into a "more deluxe" category since the refurbs were done. I can't wait to stay there and I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of your photos and hearing more about your trip!

I heard those rumors on the Mod/Deluxe too. The food IS more expensive there, and possibly the souvies...I didn't even go into the giftshop once! I've never stayed at another Mod before, so I can't compare it to that...but I can see them creating a price point between Mod & Deluxe for CSR. It's truly a beautiful resort, I think you will love it!

Lots more CSR pics coming too....!