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

[photographymom517]

Hi there! Popping in to say hello and will be coming back to catch up

I'm so glad you stopped by!!! I was just thinking that I need to catch up on your report! I am so sorry, I have been sooo behind on my subs recently!!!

Whoa shopping!!! Have you blown the entire budget yet???

I was pages behind...so....

And you can eat as many as you'd like!!!! Love the Wishes Dessert Party!!!

LOVE that first dress! It's a perfect cruise dress!

about Luke taking pics with you. Good training.

And I like your Coach bags! My most expensive bag is a Nine West that I bought at a resale shop. But, I DO like the higher-end ones....someday! While I was in Orlando last week I went the Premium Outlets and they have a Dooney outlet store...several were 40% off. So many cute ones!!!! I had never really seen Dooney's other than the Disney ones (which were included in the sale!), and man, I think I'm a Dooney girl myself! But, I went with a Vera wristlet...$20 was more my current budget!

You did AWESOME on those Coach bags though-total steal!

Soooooo cute!!!!

And Christy's card was routed to MALAYSIA?! That's crazy! And hilarious!

I LOVE all those pics of Luke in the garden. He's so stinkin' cute in his overalls workin' his Tiny Tims. And, even though I love living in the City and didn't garden when I had the yard even, I am still jealous of your huge garden with so many crops! What a great thing to teach Luke and so many fresh veggies and fruits. YUM.

Baby goats. I love goats! LOL And babies are even better! So, so cute!

As for doing an ADR on arrival day - we do NOT. We are just always a bit worn from traveling-especially if we have an early AM flight- and want to have zero agenda in case we crash out early. We learned we don't do well on that first day (usually) the hard way. But, if you guys are normally not zombies after arriving so early/getting up so early, I'd say go for it!

Hope you are having a great weekend!!!!

Welcome back, Brook!!!

I've enjoyed your pictures from the first day of your trip as well as your review on the new vs. old rooms at All Star Movies!!! I also read your review on La Hacienda on the MWT blog! Thank you because I added it to our QS list for this trip! I'm sure we'll eat there an evening or two since we're so darn close to World Showcase!!!

I haven't blown the budget yet! Luckily for me (and my wallet) I only shop when I find a deal! But, other than buying a few last minute things for Luke's "gift bags" (which I will post an update about soon!) I am done shopping until I arrive at the airport! I've never shopped at MCO before so its on my "to do list" this time around!

I am super excited about the Wishes Dessert Party -- although my doctor put me on a diet last week, so I'm a little worried about my food consumption on our trip now!! I think that I'll be fine since we walk so much in the parks -- swimming is also an excellent form of exercise! I had bloodwork done & everything came back normal but he says that my BMI is borderline. He wants me to lose at least 10 pounds in 4-5 months & he's even made a follow-up appointment for me to "make sure" that I lose it!!! I've been doing Weight Watchers and drinking Slim Fast for breakfast & an evening snack. So far, so good. I lost 4 pounds the first week but that was before my doctor's appt so I still have 10+ to go! My personal goal is to lose 17-20 pounds, but I'll be happy if I can make the 10 pounds by November!

I saw the picture of your Vera purchase (and Anita's many Vera purchases! ) You got amazing deals!!! Last year I used the Vera Pink Cupcake Tote as my park bag! Stephanie was also kind enough to send me one of the hipsters to match & I will definitely be using it this trip!!!

Yes, Christy's card DID get sent to Malaysia first! We have no idea how it happened as she clearly marked "USA" on it! Oh, well -- we both got a good laugh out of it once it finally arrived!!!

I'm glad that you liked the pictures of the garden & Luke working in it!!! He's so cute, he wants to do everything that mommy & daddy do!!!

We really LOVE to garden!!! We even planted a garden when we lived in the city & we only had a tiny little lot!!! I have NO idea how we found the room, but somehow we managed! We didn't have room to plant everything we wanted to, so we mostly had zucchini and cucumbers. I'll have to see if I can find pictures of it!

We love living out here in the country (we both grew up in the country) -- but its also a lot of work! We lived in the city for 4 years when we purchased our first house. It literally took us 5 minutes to mow our "yard" in between our house & garage. Back then, we missed things like gardening, letting the dogs play in the yard, etc. But its funny because now that we live out here, I miss pizza delivery, being close to stores/restaurants, and having my mail delivered to my front porch! We constantly work outside in our yard (a little under an acre) and yet it seems like we are never done. I guess that the moral to my little rant is that there are pro's and con's to both the country and the city! I used to think I was a country girl, but I honestly think I'm a little part of both!!!

Next time we make it to the animal park, I'll make sure to take pictures of the baby goats! I'm sure they've grown since the last time we visited!

As I told Lauren, I did make an ADR for arrival day but I won't be upset if we have to cancel it. After looking over our schedule, I decided that having one ADR per day was more than enough so I changed some other things around as well (update coming shortly!) We aren't used to having a schedule & we want to see more shows/ride more this trip.

As for arrival day, we are usually exhausted! We have an hour drive to the airport, followed by waiting 1.5 to 2 hours at the airport, a 2 hour flight, then waiting for ME & heading to the resort. All together, travel takes around 6-7 hours! I'm not sure how we'll feel by dinner since we're arriving close to noon. We've always taken mid-day flights in the past, so we've never arrived at Disney prior to 3pm. If our room is ready when we arrive (which I'm not counting on -- but am hoping for! lol) we will definitely have time to relax before dinner! We'll just wait & see how we feel that evening. I'm worried because Luke has been napping around 5pm, especially after an early morning, and I made the ADR for 5:35pm. His nap schedule seems to change every few months, so I'm waiting until mid-August to change the ADR time!

It was chillier here yesterday! Kinda strange! Today is beautiful though. We spent earlier today in the sun and I'm ready to get back out there and soak some more of it up!

Last week was gorgeous here, but it was a chilly weekend! This week, the forecast is in the mid-90's so we'll definitely be spending more time outside! We also have a playdate tomorrow with some friends at the park!

OMG all those merchandise piccies are getting me excited for our first Wal Mart/Target shopping trip So much cool stuffs, love the Squinkies so cute

Oh Stefy, you will your first Target/Walmart trip!!!!! I can't wait to hear about it!

 

[photographymom517]

100 MORE DAYS UNTIL DISNEY!!!!!!!​

​

 

[photographymom517]

I have a few updates to post, but first changes to my plans! After some thought & more planning (I've been working on our Touring Plans!) I decided to change a few ADR's (are you surprised??? )

I changed times, added restaurants, deleted restaurants, changed dates, etc. so I'm just going to repost the entire schedule! To keep track of my ADR's, I print out a blank calendar & then use post-it notes to write the confirmation number, date, time, restaurant of each one. That way, whenever I change something, I just throw away the old post-it & put on a new one! After I make "final changes" I then add the info. to my planning chart/calendar that I take to Disney with me.

When it gets closer to the trip & I've made more plans, I will post day-by-day plans as many DISers do! But for now, I'll just write the park we're visiting along with the ADR!

Wednesday (Arrival Day) -- Free day
* Arrive at resort around noon
* ADR @ Captain's Grill 5:35pm (possibly)

Thursday -- Epcot Day
* ADR @ Garden Grill 5:45pm

Friday -- DHS Day
* ADR @ Sci-Fi Dine In 11:30am

Saturday -- MK Day
* ADR @ Crystal Palace 1:05pm

Sunday -- AK Day
* ADR @ Tusker House 9am

Monday -- Downtown Disney Day
* ADR @ Cape May Cafe 9:15am
* Late lunch @ EoS (obviously no ADR needed!)

Tuesday -- Resort/MNSSHP Day
* ADR @ Kona Cafe 2:35pm

Wednesday -- Epcot Day
* ADR @ Les Chefs de France 1:00pm

Thursday -- DHS Day
* ADR @ San Angel Inn 6:15pm (evening @ Epcot)

Friday -- Departure Day/possible MK or AK day
* No ADR's
* ME picking us up @ BC around 6pm

 

[photographymom517]

And now, a gardening update!!!

These were the last pictures that I posted on my report! These were taken about 2 1/2 weeks ago!

And these pictures were taken this weekend! We added a row with more zucchini & an eggplant. We also have a few small tomatoes growing, I can see the difference in the lettuce, and Luke's Tiny Tims have tons of flowers on them! Once the Tiny Tims grow a few little tomatoes, they grow like crazy!!!

The 2 new rows we planted

In a week, we went from having 1 tomato to having 3!

Luke's Tiny Tims!

I also took some pictures of my lilies that I planted (the tall ones were planted last summer & the little ones were bulbs that I planted this summer).

End of May

This weekend

I have a few more "life updates" to write as well as more info on the trip! I'm going to attempt to catch up on my subs tonight & tomorrow & then post another update Thursday or Friday!

Have a great week!!!

 

[stephielela]

Catching up!

How's the diet going? I am starting again today, and so far it hasn't been too bad! The Dessert party is awesome! I guess I missed that post, but you are going to love it!

I have looked in 3 Targets (2 super Targets) and found everything but the pretzels. They would have been perfect for Cars night!

I plan on making changes to my itinerary up until the day I leave, so I understand the "plan changing disease" that spreads through all Dissers!

Love your garden pics! I wish I was more talented at things like that. Jack likes helping my mom water the flowers, but that's about the extent of our gardening this year.

 

[jenseib]

I think I saw that at Meijers, but I can't swear to it

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Your garden looks so nice. Makes me really miss having one.

Your ADR's look great! You have some nice choices.

 

[lbuzz52]

target... my second favorite subject!
i'm with you, the better deals are the week before. actually, i end up gong about 3 times that week usually. the first day of the 4 day ad, the last day of the 4 day ad (to pick up all the things that will be on sale on black friday), and then right before closing on black friday to get my price adjustment and get anything that wasn't out. last year, i was all set to go get my dh's gift from there, but it was cold and rainy so i decided against camping out. luckily, amazon posted the same deal!
your ADR's look great! i'd really be happy to be sitting in Epcot, with a drink and some mexican food right now!

 

[photographymom517]

Catching up!

How's the diet going? I am starting again today, and so far it hasn't been too bad! The Dessert party is awesome! I guess I missed that post, but you are going to love it!

I have looked in 3 Targets (2 super Targets) and found everything but the pretzels. They would have been perfect for Cars night!

I plan on making changes to my itinerary up until the day I leave, so I understand the "plan changing disease" that spreads through all Dissers!

Love your garden pics! I wish I was more talented at things like that. Jack likes helping my mom water the flowers, but that's about the extent of our gardening this year.

The WW diet is going ok so far. I lost 3 pounds the first week & 3 pounds the second week...well I'm only counting the weeks that I've actually tried!!! LOL I was able to run 2.5 miles on the treadmill last week & I walked a mile the other night. Unfortunately, because of different scheduled events/meetings, I haven't had the time to run/walk more. Luke & I did take a shopping trip yesterday to Michael's Craft Store and Walmart -- and would you believe that I was just a plaza away from Target & didn't go inside? Luke was having a bad day yesterday, poor little guy, and I just didn't feel like yelling at him & making both of us have a bad day. We opted to just go home instead which ended up turning out great. I left him with my parents the day before for about 2 hours & boy was he MAD at me when I came back to pick him up!!! He looked at me when I walked in, gave me a really dirty look, and then turned his head. He refused to look at me or hug me -- but when he finally did hug me, he wouldn't let go! I took his diaper outside to the garbage can & he about had a fit thinking I was leaving him again! He definitely has some separation anxiety issues that I need to work on since he'll begin school next September!

I can't wait for the Dessert Party!!!! Someone wrote negative comments about it on the Vinylmation website that I'm a member of & I was in shock! I've heard nothing but good things about it on the DIS! I guess its just like anything else -- I mean, after all, my parents weren't fans of MNSSHP -- how can you not be????? LOL I still think they're crazy! I don't care what anyone says about the Wishes Dessert Party -- I know I'll love it just because I can eat all that chocolate!!!!

I'm sure I'll be making more changes as well! I just started working on our itinerary so I may adjust ADR's once I look over the schedule for shows/parades/etc. I also want to make sure we hit all the popular rides first thing in the morning so that may change some of my breakfast ADR's. I'm unsure what I want to change because I've always gone during the most crowded times of the year -- I've NEVER been to Disney in September when the crowds are so low! A part of me doesn't want to make any plans at all & just "go with the flow" and relax! But the other part of me wants to plan, plan, plan!!! I think I'll make a general schedule and then a more structured schedule. We can decide day-by-day which one we want to use!!!

I thought of you yesterday when I drove by Target! I thought to myself -- "Stephanie would be shocked that I didn't stop here!!!"

I think I saw that at Meijers, but I can't swear to it

Thanks Jen! I'm not sure if there's a Meijers near me, but I'll check to see if they have a website. I'm sure they'll pop up either on the Disney Store website, at my local Disney Store, or at Target or Walmart soon!!!

Your garden looks so nice. Makes me really miss having one.

Your ADR's look great! You have some nice choices.

I took more pictures of the garden last night because we planted a row of watermelon!!! Last year, we only planted 2 very small watermelon plants, but this year we have at least 20 plants! Luke loves watermelon, so I hope they grow this year!!!

target... my second favorite subject!
i'm with you, the better deals are the week before. actually, i end up gong about 3 times that week usually. the first day of the 4 day ad, the last day of the 4 day ad (to pick up all the things that will be on sale on black friday), and then right before closing on black friday to get my price adjustment and get anything that wasn't out. last year, i was all set to go get my dh's gift from there, but it was cold and rainy so i decided against camping out. luckily, amazon posted the same deal!
your ADR's look great! i'd really be happy to be sitting in Epcot, with a drink and some mexican food right now!

I wrote back to you! I didn't think of it, but I'll PM you my email address. I don't get on DIS everyday but I do check my email everyday, so that may be a better way to contact me.

I know what you mean about Black Friday shopping! I love those deals the week before!!! I am a crazy one who "normally" has all of my Christmas shopping done by mid-July. Yes, July!!! And it has nothing to do with "Christmas in July" or anything like that! LOL I just pick things up here & there when someone mentions they need/want something or if I see a good sale. I am a huge shopper for sure, but I never shop without coupons or discounts of some sort! Over the past 3-4 years, I've unfortunately stopped my summer shopping and now I'm lucky to have it finished by Christmas Eve. Normally I don't like waiting that long -- this past year, I was wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve an hour before leaving for dinner! I think its just harder with all the kids in the family as parents & grandparents are constantly buying them things. If I don't wait until the last minute, I'll end up buying them things they already have.

 

[photographymom517]

This will be a quick update! I'm supposed to be working on quotes for clients, but the reservation sites are all down right now (as you know if you've attempted to call Disney tonight & got an hour + wait time!). I figured I would catch up on DIS a little while waiting!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I spent an afternoon watching Disney YouTube videos with Luke! I wanted to get his reactions of the rides/shows to get a general idea of what he's afraid of. I did this once before, but we didn't watch that many. I'm planning to do it again closer to our trip because what he likes & what he is afraid of has changed a lot recently.

These are the rides/shows that we watched & the reactions that Luke had to each!!!

The Grand Fiesta Tour

This was one of the first videos that we watched. Luke seemed to enjoy watching it & he watched the entire thing. He laughed everytime he saw Donald Duck & would usually make a comment like “Look, there’s Donald Duck – look there he is again!”

It was also funny to me (because Goofy is one of my favorite characters) because everytime he saw Donald Duck, he would say “Where’s Goofy now?” I’m not sure which part this was about, but he noticed some kids at one point in the video & he said “Those kids don’t live on the ride.” I really have no idea what made him think of that.

IASW

He didn't say anything during IASW. I was surprised because there are so many different colors, kids, animals. But he didn't say a word! He watched the whole thing & smiled/laughed so I think he really enjoyed it! He most likely remembered it since we rode it 3 or 4 times last year!

Monorail

Everytime he sees a picture of the monorail, he says that he wants to ride “Mickey’s train” – he calls it that because of the Mickey-shaped balloons on the windows.


The Seas with Nemo & Friends

When he saw the beginning part of the video, which showed the outside of the ride, he said “Look mommy ducks!!” (he was talking about the pelicans!) He really, really liked this one & he named the majority of the characters as they were shown. He smiled or laughed the entire time. This didn’t surprise me at all as we’ve ridden The Seas multiple times on the past 2 trips. Nemo was also one of his very first favorite Disney characters! He even has the sheet set on his toddler bed.


Mad Tea Party

When I first showed Luke the video of the Mad Tea Party, he just screamed “Noooo!” but today when I was going through my pictures, he saw himself on them. He started to smile & then said “Mommy, I really want to ride on those cups!”

Figment

I don't have a picture of Figment, but I do have one of the Imagination Pavilion!

When he first saw the sign outside the pavilion, he said “I want to go there.” The first few times that Figment appeared, he said “He’s a dinosaur mommy. He’s a little one.” He was quiet throughout most of it, unless Figment was talking, and he watched the entire thing contently. He seemed very interested in it!


Norway

I showed him the video for Maelstrom, even though I knew we probably wouldn’t be riding it. I was actually very surprised as he was very excited at first! During the first few scenes, he screamed “Whoa!!!” and would laugh as the Viking ship moved around! But when it came to the part with the big eyeballs, he screamed & ran to hide underneath the covers on his bed.

Peter Pan

I also showed him a video of Peter Pan. I don’t have any pictures of it since we didn’t ride the past 2 years. I actually have no memory of ever riding Peter Pan. Luke watched the entire video but he would repeatedly ask “what’s that noise?” a lot. The background is mainly sounds, not music, and everytime he heard a new sound, he would ask me about the noise/sound. He didn’t seem scared, just curious.

Dumbo

We also missed riding Dumbo last year! The line was just craaaaazy both of our MK days & even the evening we went to MK late. This year, I definitely want to ride it because Luke never experienced it yet! When I showed him the video of Dumbo, he said “Mommy I want to ride the baby one!” I looked at the video over & over to see what he meant, but they all look the same size to me! LOL

I should get the video camera out when I watch the videos with him! His facial expressions are sometimes funnier than what he says! And during the rides/shows when he is completely silent, he is constantly smiling/laughing or looking terrified! It's my favorite part of going to Disney -- watching the expressions on his face!

My background on my computer is a picture I took last year of the castle -- every single day, Luke says "Mommy, I want to go there! I want to see that castle!!!" He actually thinks that all tall pretty buildings are castles! We went out to dinner the other night & there are a few large churches near the restaurant. He kept pointing to them & asking me if he could go inside the castles! He also was looking through my Disney pictures & saw the buildings in Italy, Germany, and France -- of course they were all castles too!!! It seems that just about every building can be turned into a castle in Luke's eyes!!!

I'll be posting another update next week because our plans have changed yet again (are you really surprised??? )

We now have another guest coming with us to Disney in September and because of this change of plans, a ton of things are now different!

It should be an interesting update . . .

(and for those of you who already know...shhhh for just a few more days )

 

[MeMom]

for tomatoes and watermelon!

And all of the Disney planning, too, of course, but I'm pretty pumped up about watching this garden grow.

 

[PopArtGal]

I'm still here.

But I haven'T read your PTR in a while. That's planned for thursday and the days after, when I am done for the school year

 

[Megablocks]

I think my dad's trying to grow watermelon. Not entirely sure how well that's going b/c I haven't checked. He had to give up on the strawberries b/c some critter kept on getting in & eating them, which was really disappointing b/c I would have loved strawberries from the garden!

That's a really good idea to watch the videos with Luke to gauge his reactions! One thing I remember Kailyn not liking on the Grand Fiesta Tour when she was little were the "fireworks" -- she was absolutely terrified of the real ones b/c they are so loud & I remember her always asking my mom if the ones in the ride were real. I watch YouTube videos of rides all the time, but just b/c I miss the real thing. We're definitely going back in January, but we don't have solid dates or anything booked b/c we're waiting to see if Disney releases any room-only discounts or packages. I can't wait!

I think it's so cute that Luke calls the monorail "Mickey's train"! I'm totally gonna think of them as that from now on

 

[stephielela]

I'm shhhhhhhhing My lips are sealed!

The only thing I will warn you about is that the Figment ride didn't scare Jack either... Until the giant burst of air that shoots at you and then he was hysterical. So just be ready for it. The second time I was holding onto him and covered his face during that part!

 

[Stefy]

Your garden is looking great

Looks like Luke is up for trying out a few rides, he'll love them

 

[SoonerGirl]

I think you are going to have so much fun with Luke this year! He's at an age to 'get it' a bit more, I can't wait to hear how he does!

Shhhhh, I'm being very, very quiet

 

[photographymom517]

for tomatoes and watermelon!

And all of the Disney planning, too, of course, but I'm pretty pumped up about watching this garden grow.

I was actually just thinking of you as I looked out the window at the garden!!!

Wait until you see my pictures of the garden!!! You will be thrilled!!! I so wish I could send you some of it -- we always have waaay too much!

It is growing soooo much!!! I took pictures at the end of last week & when I went out the next day, we had a million more little green tomatoes & peppers!!! We planted 2 or 3 types of peppers this year -- the really hot ones & the regular green ones.

We had a lot of rain this week & a good mixture of sunshine too -- so its groooowing!!!

Tomatoes are my FAVORITE! Luke & I go outside & eat them right off the plant! My grandfather had a 100+ acre farm & I wish I had pics of HIS garden to share with you! I'm going to see if my gram ever took any. It was very impressive! He had an entire field just of corn for us to eat & then a separate field of corn for the cows to eat!!! And then a giant area for sunflowers & a separate place for the actual garden. It just went on & on forever! I would bet his garden was at least an acre or two!

I'm still here.

But I haven'T read your PTR in a while. That's planned for thursday and the days after, when I am done for the school year

I don't blame ya -- I have trouble keeping up with my own report sometimes

I am sooo far behind on all of my subs that its crazy! I catch up on one or two & then get behind on all the rest.

I think my dad's trying to grow watermelon. Not entirely sure how well that's going b/c I haven't checked. He had to give up on the strawberries b/c some critter kept on getting in & eating them, which was really disappointing b/c I would have loved strawberries from the garden!

That's a really good idea to watch the videos with Luke to gauge his reactions! One thing I remember Kailyn not liking on the Grand Fiesta Tour when she was little were the "fireworks" -- she was absolutely terrified of the real ones b/c they are so loud & I remember her always asking my mom if the ones in the ride were real. I watch YouTube videos of rides all the time, but just b/c I miss the real thing. We're definitely going back in January, but we don't have solid dates or anything booked b/c we're waiting to see if Disney releases any room-only discounts or packages. I can't wait!

I think it's so cute that Luke calls the monorail "Mickey's train"! I'm totally gonna think of them as that from now on

That's sad about the strawberries, but I understand completely. When we first moved here, the previous owners had a giant herb garden & also a few patches of strawberries. They're the tiny little ones & boy would I LOVE to eat them! But every year the same thing happens. I think its the bunnies that get them but I've seen birds eating them too.

Poor Kailyn with the fireworks! That's the funny thing about Luke -- he is scared to death of loud noises & not a fan of the dark -- yet he LOVED the Grand Fiesta Tour last year! He really, really loves fireworks so I'm thinking thats why! It doesn't make any sense that a kid afraid of loud noises & dark would like fireworks but he's loved them since his very first summer when he was only 7 weeks old on the 4th of July!!! I remember being terrified of taking him out & telling everyone he would be scared to death. But he sat there & watched & smiled at them

Woohoo for January!!!! I hear its a wonderful time of year to go because of the low crowds -- but make sure to take a jacket or hoodie just in case it gets cold at night!

I'm glad to hear you like the "Mickey's Train" aka monorail thing -- because I explained it multiple times to my mom & she still doesn't get it!

I'm shhhhhhhhing My lips are sealed!

The only thing I will warn you about is that the Figment ride didn't scare Jack either... Until the giant burst of air that shoots at you and then he was hysterical. So just be ready for it. The second time I was holding onto him and covered his face during that part!

Thanks for shhhhhing

We rode Figment last year but I don't even remember Luke's reaction to it at all. I think he was at that stage where he was immitating everything we did/said -- so whenever the skunk smell part came up, we said "ewwww" and he repeated us! Oh and he really liked the houses at the end but didn't understand why they were on the ceiling! LOL That's all I remember though. I forgot about the burst of air -- I'll have to write that in my notes because I do think it would scare Luke!

Your garden is looking great

Looks like Luke is up for trying out a few rides, he'll love them

Glad you like the garden!

Yes, I really think Luke will enjoy more rides & shows this year! We haven't attempted any Disney shows with him so I'm looking forward to it! I think we'll start off with Nemo since he loves the movie & has the DVD of the actual Disney show!

I think you are going to have so much fun with Luke this year! He's at an age to 'get it' a bit more, I can't wait to hear how he does!

Shhhhh, I'm being very, very quiet

Haha -- you are apparently doing an excellent job of "shhhhing" because you wrote that soooo small that even I completely missed it the first time I read your reply!

I definitely think you're right!!! I think Luke will enjoy Disney this year more than he ever has before!!! I'm looking forward to his reactions to everything & seeing what he really likes. Up until this point, we've just gone on the rides we "think" that he'll like. But he's to the point where he has his own opinion now! He'll tell us where he wants to eat dinner & where he wants to go (zoo, store, restaurant, etc) so I definitely think he'll point things out to us at Disney!!!

Did I post about the turrets yet? What a cute/funny story! He just recently began to tell me that castles have turrets! I had NO idea he knew that word! He points it out to me randomly throughout the day, when he sees pictures of the castle, and everytime we watch a Disney DVD (since the castle is at the beginning of every DVD!)

 

[MeMom]

I was actually just thinking of you as I looked out the window at the garden!!!

Wait until you see my pictures of the garden!!! You will be thrilled!!! I so wish I could send you some of it -- we always have waaay too much!

It is growing soooo much!!! I took pictures at the end of last week & when I went out the next day, we had a million more little green tomatoes & peppers!!! We planted 2 or 3 types of peppers this year -- the really hot ones & the regular green ones.

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.

 

[Megablocks]

Poor Kailyn with the fireworks! That's the funny thing about Luke -- he is scared to death of loud noises & not a fan of the dark -- yet he LOVED the Grand Fiesta Tour last year! He really, really loves fireworks so I'm thinking thats why! It doesn't make any sense that a kid afraid of loud noises & dark would like fireworks but he's loved them since his very first summer when he was only 7 weeks old on the 4th of July!!! I remember being terrified of taking him out & telling everyone he would be scared to death. But he sat there & watched & smiled at them

Woohoo for January!!!! I hear its a wonderful time of year to go because of the low crowds -- but make sure to take a jacket or hoodie just in case it gets cold at night!

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

 

[Tink9721]

Hi!!!

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