Looking forward to a crowd-free Disney Trip! **Update 9/4**

[photographymom517]

A perfect case for having DIStown. I could come over and help you weed and pick, and you could give me some of the yummy harvest.

Corn - aaah, I love fresh corn! I used to buy it from a guy at church. He'd meet several of us down at the church parking lot with a truck full of corn. He passed away a few years ago, but every time I see a truckload of corn at a roadside stand, I think of him.

One of these days, maybe when I retire, I will have a garden.

Sounds great to me!!!

I'd love to have the extra help & also the company!!! We could weed & pick veggies & talk Disney! Plus, we always have soooo much extra, it would be nice to give it away to someone who would be sooo thrilled to have it!!!

Your corn story made me cry!!! That reminds me of my grandpa! He passed away back in 1999 and wasn't able to farm for a few years before his death due to his illness (cancer). He used to take veggies & corn to our church & pass it out in huge bags to everyone there! That story sounds so much like him -- thank you for sharing your story & for reminding me of my grandpa

Maybe when you get a garden, you can figure out the Mickey shaped vegetable thing for me

Oh, yeah, didn't you guys watch the fireworks on your last trip? I totally forgot about that. I don't think Kailyn was a fan till a lot later. Now she watches Wishes and cries with me.

I'm so excited to go in January. We'd be going after New Years and before MLK weekend, something like January 4-11, or 5-12. The marathon is the weekend before MLK weekend but it will still be totally doable for us. We're used to Presidents' week and spring break crowds, we can handle anything! I'll definitely be taking a jacket and multiple hoodies. For myself, and for Kailyn, of course

Apparently the past two years, I should've gotten a lot of advice from you on the crowds!!!

I wish I would've made a better touring plan last year. 2009 was insanely crazy, we didn't do anything because we just assumed we couldn't with an infant. We had no idea about Baby Swap or anything else family-related since we had never gone with a child before to Disney.

I heard January crowds are sometimes about the same as in September, so maybe you'll be ok with that! Regardless, you're right -- you guys can handle it for sure!!!

So, you're the older sibling taking care of the younger one, too? You sound a lot like me!

Hi!!!

I'm sooo ridiculously far behind on your PTR I promise I'll try to keep up from now on

Seriously -- not your fault! I never update and then all of a sudden, I post like five at once!

Besides, I am so far behind on all of my subs I basically quit posting & just read late at night!!! No worries!

 

[photographymom517]

Just a quick update! I've been taking pictures of the garden for weeks & haven't posted them yet. It's really growing!!! We have a TON of little Tiny Tims & regular tomatoes! Both types of peppers are growing -- we have at least 20 peppers so far. I'm not sure how many tomatoes we have -- but on some of the plants, there are 10-20 and some of the Tiny Tim plants have at least 30-40 each!

Here's a picture of our first 3 tomatoes!

Tiny Tims growing!

Watermelon

The "Tiny Tims" -- they aren't so tiny anymore!!!

Tomatoes growing on the Tiny Tim plants

 

[photographymom517]

Pictures from June 18th

Sunflower growing!

Eggplant -- first flower on the plant!

First peppers

Picture of the whole garden -- June 18

Picture of garden -- June 22

Tiny Tims

Tomatoes -- we can barely walk through the rows now!

Lettuce

Cabbage

Peppers

I hope you enjoyed the garden pictures!!!

There was a HUGE change just within a few days -- we had a TON of rain and sun! It seemed like the perfect mix for a growing garden!!!

I'll have another Disney/life update for you at the end of this week!!!

 

[Stefy]

The garden is coming along really well Bet you can't wait for them to be done so you can try them

 

[PopArtGal]

Seems like I've been away forever. Ok, I'm reading from the first page today.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Nothing better than tomatoes right out of the garden - yum!

 

[PopArtGal]

Page 4- ok so I thought I wouldn't change anything from our ADRs and now you got me thinking about going back to sci-fi. We have been there a few times. But last time we had the worst server and she gave us almost raw hamburgers. Wich we wouldn't really eat. And we haven't been there since. Maybe we could try it again.

My first time at Columbia Harbor was during a tour. And I was gladly surprised. I'd go back there. I liked the feel of it. If you can, go eat upstairs. It's quieter.

Such a pity that they were out of schoolbread. My mom and I love it soooooooo much!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Hope, what kind of camera do you have?? Your pictures are beautiful but I'm assuming you are a semi-pro since you ARE photographymom! I JUST bought us a Nikon D3000 for our anniversary as a surprise for Tom. It's hiding under the bed right now but I am sooooo excited to have my first DSRL! We always try to take great pictures and I just don't think there's going to get any better without a more professional camera so hopefully this won't be to difficult for us to navigate. I'm going to buy a "Nikon D3000 for Dummies" or something like that...

 

[PopArtGal]

We have never gone to Mama Melrose. It looks nice. But it looks a lot like Tony's Townsquare to us. And we'd prefer Tony's any day of the week

 

[Megablocks]

I so envy your garden! Nothing is really growing in my dad's "Boston gahden." He DID get one pepper, which he picked as soon as he could & is actually just sitting in our fridge, since I guess he can't bear to eat it.

Have a great Fourth, Hope!

 

[PopArtGal]

Reminder to myself. I'm on page 12.

 

[stephielela]

Reminder to myself. I'm on page 12.

You crack me up! I am always trying to remember what page I am on! You are so smart, I might steal your idea

Hope- Your garden is awesome! I am not much of a gardener, but I am jealous! I hope you are enjoying a nice 4th of July weekend!

 

[PopArtGal]

You crack me up! I am always trying to remember what page I am on! You are so smart, I might steal your idea

Thanks

 

[PopArtGal]

I understand what you mean about resting on vacation. It's a vacation. That's what I keep telling myself. Which is why I don't feel bad about resting and reading by the pool. After all, why invest in a resort (other than a value) if not for enjoying it. So we sleep in and don't do that many EMH. I do like it at MGM though... well DHS since it's my least favorite park, and if I go by rope drop, I can do most of it in half a day.

 

[PopArtGal]

ok, I'm on page 20 now

 

[photographymom517]

Reminder to myself. I'm on page 12.

I understand what you mean about resting on vacation. It's a vacation. That's what I keep telling myself. Which is why I don't feel bad about resting and reading by the pool. After all, why invest in a resort (other than a value) if not for enjoying it. So we sleep in and don't do that many EMH. I do like it at MGM though... well DHS since it's my least favorite park, and if I go by rope drop, I can do most of it in half a day.

ok, I'm on page 20 now

That's a great idea to make yourself a note of which page you're on!!!

Yes, I definitely want to rest more this vacation. Well, as you know I don't have much of a choice in that matter now -- but we'll discuss that more on another day!

I completely agree especially when staying at a Deluxe! Our first stay at a Deluxe was at AKL and I don't feel that we enjoyed it as much as we could have. Well, we did spend quite a bit of time relaxing in the room & on our balcony -- and I visited the gift shop a few too many times! LOL But we didn't really enjoy the restaurants, the pool, the fitness center, just being outside & walking around! They have those amazing wooden rocking chairs & we only sat in them once! I definitely recommend taking a good book & just sitting there sipping coffee (or tea) for hours! It's so relaxing! They also have a night-viewing of the animals which we didn't do -- and they have some type of reading around the fire in the evenings. It all looked very interesting & I kept saying "oh maybe tomorrow night..." but then we never did it.

My goal this trip is to enjoy the Beach Club! That beautiful beach, the pool & sand, walking to Epcot, renting a boat from the marina, walking over to the Boardwalk, etc. Somehow, I need to find the part of me that will relax more than run around constantly! I know its going to be hard fighting the temptation of walking over to Epcot every single night -- so we'll see how I do!

Originally I planned on getting rid of the water park AND park hopper options -- but I kept the park hoppers mainly for two days. The one day we're going to DHS and eating dinner at Epcot so we'll need the hoppers that day. And I recently made a change, but I'm not sure which day -- we want to split a day between either Epcot and AK or DHS and AK. We LOVE AK and spend 2 days at all the other parks and only one at AK. So I figure since it closes at 5pm in September, we can go there for the morning & go to a park with EMH for the evening.

I honestly just need to stop planning. I'm trying to make it more relaxing -- but if I keep adding things, that isn't going to happen!

I'm glad you were able to catch up! I wish I could catch up on all of my subs -- unfortunately I am so far behind on all of them! I apologize to everyone for that!

 

[photographymom517]

You crack me up! I am always trying to remember what page I am on! You are so smart, I might steal your idea

Hope- Your garden is awesome! I am not much of a gardener, but I am jealous! I hope you are enjoying a nice 4th of July weekend!

What a great idea she had to keep her place on my report! Please feel free to do the same, Stephanie!

I'm glad you like the garden! I am actually REALLY behind on posting pics of it. You should see it now!!! We got our first red tomato -- well two of them but Luke took the one with us today to Kmart, the pizza place, Walmart, etc. and it got lost somewhere along the way!

The garden is huge now & we can't even walk through the rows anymore! Luke's sunflower is also now taller than my husband who is 6'2" tall!!! I wanted to take pictures of Luke standing beside the sunflower at least 3 times a week -- but unfortunately he wouldn't cooperate so I only got ONE picture today!

I had a great 4th of July weekend! How was yours? I hope it was great too!!!

I'm really hoping to post an update on here tomorrow or Friday morning!

 

[photographymom517]

The garden is coming along really well Bet you can't wait for them to be done so you can try them

Nothing better than tomatoes right out of the garden - yum!

I'm sooo glad that so many of you are enjoying watching our garden grow! We enjoy it so much & I'm so happy that I can now share that excitement with you!!!

I LOVE tomatoes right out of the garden, Michelle & I cannot wait until we get red ones!!! Luke's Tiny Tims are bite-sized so they're perfect! I think he probably has at least 100 of them on the plants this year! They grew a lot better than last years plants!

I need to post more pictures!!!

On a side note, I was weeding the flowers around the house the other day & Luke came over, picked up the hose, & I saw that he was filling up his watering can. I asked what he was doing & he said "Oh I'm just watering my sunflower -- I don't need help" -- and I watched as he went back to the garden & watered it! He came back with the big watering can & told me he was going to water the lettuce too. I'm with him everyday & it still amazes me how independent he's become!

Seems like I've been away forever. Ok, I'm reading from the first page today.

Page 4- ok so I thought I wouldn't change anything from our ADRs and now you got me thinking about going back to sci-fi. We have been there a few times. But last time we had the worst server and she gave us almost raw hamburgers. Wich we wouldn't really eat. And we haven't been there since. Maybe we could try it again.

My first time at Columbia Harbor was during a tour. And I was gladly surprised. I'd go back there. I liked the feel of it. If you can, go eat upstairs. It's quieter.

Such a pity that they were out of schoolbread. My mom and I love it soooooooo much!

Thanks for the advice on the restaurants! I remember you telling me about eating upstairs at Columbia Harbour House before -- but I didn't write it in my notes! I'll write it down this time!!! Good tip!

It's sort of like Cosmic Ray's -- everyone complains that its crowded but we've never had an issue. Actually last year, we sat outside on the balcony by ourselves! Everyone was fighting over the tables inside because they wanted in the air conditioning! But we walked right outside & got to pick whatever table we wanted! We like the view of the castle, walkway & water area from the balcony!

I REALLY want to try the schoolbread. Everyone talks about it so much that I NEED to try it! But now with all this talk about Cloudberry Horns, I'm really torn! Good thing I have Luke with me -- he can get one & I can get the other and we'll share both!!! Sounds like a plan to me!

Hope, what kind of camera do you have?? Your pictures are beautiful but I'm assuming you are a semi-pro since you ARE photographymom! I JUST bought us a Nikon D3000 for our anniversary as a surprise for Tom. It's hiding under the bed right now but I am sooooo excited to have my first DSRL! We always try to take great pictures and I just don't think there's going to get any better without a more professional camera so hopefully this won't be to difficult for us to navigate. I'm going to buy a "Nikon D3000 for Dummies" or something like that...

Thank you for the compliment, Nikki! I really appreciate it!

I have a Canon Xsi (the same camera that Brook and Michelle also have!) A few of my friends recommended it to me as they have the Canon XS or Ti (the Ti is the updated version & they also have a T2 out now too -- but from what I've heard, the only difference is the quality of video which I don't use the DSLR for at all). I have a separate video camera (a Kodak waterproof) so I'm not concerned with the video.

Anyway, up until about a month ago, I've only been shooting in "Auto" mode. I really wanted to take time to read my "owner's manual" that came with the camera, but I just never seem to have time. I use a few different photography websites to get the majority of my tips. I can email you the main ones that I use if you'd like -- but PLEASE send me an email & remind me if I don't get them for you by this weekend. I also bought a few books from Amazon about digital photography and found that they were very helpful! I can recommend some of those titles to you as well!

I'm sooo excited you got a Nikon D3000 -- my dream is to someday own a Nikon camera! I use Nikon lenses so for now, thats as close as it gets!!! I'm glad to hear that you got it now. I would definitely recommend using it before your Disney trip so you get familiar with the camera. We're going to see fireworks this weekend and I plan on taking my DSLR! It will be the first time I've ever shot fireworks with it so I need the practice before Hallowishes! LOL

We have never gone to Mama Melrose. It looks nice. But it looks a lot like Tony's Townsquare to us. And we'd prefer Tony's any day of the week

Right now I don't have reservations to either Mama Melrose or Tony's -- but you know that could always change!

You never know what I might cancel & add -- I've changed so many ADR's that I don't even know my schedule without looking at it!

I so envy your garden! Nothing is really growing in my dad's "Boston gahden." He DID get one pepper, which he picked as soon as he could & is actually just sitting in our fridge, since I guess he can't bear to eat it.

Have a great Fourth, Hope!

Your dad got a pepper already? Wow! I was actually really amazed when you said that because I know of a bunch of people who planted their garden before we did & they don't have peppers yet. Tell him not to give up on it yet -- it will grow, give it time!

I literally live 2 minutes away from my MIL and we planted our garden about 3 weeks before she planted hers! We actually bought her plants for her because she wasn't sure if she wanted to plant one or not. She had these tiny little zucchini plants and ours were bigger than hers -- well, last night she made me fried zucchini! And guess what? My biggest zucchini is the size of my pinky finger!

I honestly don't understand because we pretty much take care of our garden the same way she does and we definitely have the same weather (rain/sun) as we live 2 minutes apart!

I really hope your dad's garden grows & you can all enjoy the delicious veggies! Also hope you had a great 4th!!!

 

[Stefy]

Aww bless him looking after his sunflower, he's becoming a right little man

 

[photographymom517]

Aww bless him looking after his sunflower, he's becoming a right little man

Thanks!!!

It was actually pretty funny the other day because when Luke was on his way to the garden to water all the plants, I kept thinking "Wow, all of our DIS friends would be so proud of him right now!!!"