My better late than never TR

[punkin413]

isn't it so much nicer to just sort of let your plans go and do what your mind and body tell you???? i learned that on my first trip. not EVERYTHING is going to go the way you played it out in your head and so you just have to go with it or you'll be miserable!

 

[Happy Elf]

Ahhh the pool! What a nice relaxing way to end the day! The kids looked like they had fun with Woody and Jessie. That is a cute thing they do with the kids!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Glad you didn't loose your camera.
I look back at our trip back in '04 and there are so many missing pics I wish I took. I was so busy taking it all in and I forgot to take my camera out alot of times. I got better last year but, I have so many pics I want to take in the future.
FastPass is the Greatest thing ever !!!
I am a true believer in taking a rest during the day, something I also learned the second visit. I want the next trip to be longer so I can relax even more. My kids said I am a bit of a comando? Not me, couldn't be.
I just love the idea of a dip in a private pool and hot tub at the end of a WDW day.

 

[Megablocks]

I'm so glad that your brother had the camera--losing something important like that (or even just thinking you lost it) is such a scary feeling.

Having a private pool and a hot tub to go to after a long day sounds wonderful. Especially when you consider all the people that are in the resort pools, especially during the hot weather. We went in April, and my sister and I only went to the pool once, because it was just SO crowded all the time.

I think I'm going to add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list for our next trip, because it looks cute! I don't care about it being "dated," I would think that's what makes it fun, even for people like me who have not seen it.

 

[kschafer]

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report! Pooh and friends are favorites of mine too!

Welcome Rozz!! Thanks for joining us

I look back at our trip back in '04 and there are so many missing pics I wish I took. I was so busy taking it all in and I forgot to take my camera out alot of times. I got better last year but, I have so many pics I want to take in the future.

The number of pictures declined steadily as the trip went on. We eventually did make it to spectromagic and wishes and I don't have a single picture. I was really just enjoying the moment with my boys DH however did take video of them and I am so grateful for that! I occasionally just play them on my computer to get a little pixie dust in my life!

I do wish I knew if it is possible to capture a still image from digital video in order to make prints, it feels like a void in my album

isn't it so much nicer to just sort of let your plans go and do what your mind and body tell you???? i learned that on my first trip. not EVERYTHING is going to go the way you played it out in your head and so you just have to go with it or you'll be miserable!

I am a true believer in taking a rest during the day, something I also learned the second visit. I want the next trip to be longer so I can relax even more. My kids said I am a bit of a comando? Not me, couldn't be. .

Yes, we quickly realized the value of the afternoon break. Particularly in June when it is hot and crowded during the middle of the day and with late hours that time of year, you can just wear yourself out. DH and I even would say to plan a day off for every 2 or 3 park days (and to enjoy a leisurely visit to DTD, relax at the pool or resort hop)

I was much more commando in my planning than my execution. I left a little disappointed at what I missed but probably enjoyed the moments we had more than I would have if I had tried to press on.

I guess more pics and missed attractions just means I need to take another trip

I just love the idea of a dip in a private pool and hot tub at the end of a WDW day.

Ahhh the pool! What a nice relaxing way to end the day!

Having a private pool and a hot tub to go to after a long day sounds wonderful. Especially when you consider all the people that are in the resort pools, especially during the hot weather. We went in April, and my sister and I only went to the pool once, because it was just SO crowded all the time.

Honestly, I am not a huge pool person. I am typically just as happy to take a break by parking my butt somewhere cool with a refreshing drink. We spent 4 days later in the trip at OKW and never made it to the pool once. BUT there was something refreshingly different about having your own pool right out the backdoor that made it seem like so much less work than going to a community pool.

And a dip in the hot tub with a refreshing beverage was a recurring event with my SIL and I.

I think I'm going to add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list for our next trip, because it looks cute! I don't care about it being "dated," I would think that's what makes it fun, even for people like me who have not seen it.

Ooh, you should make the time in your upcoming trip (did I read somewhere you are headed there in Feb?) It's just a classic Disney show and our kids loved it and clapped and bounced around like I probably did as a kid too. Entertainment throughout the generations, Walt would be proud!

The kids looked like they had fun with Woody and Jessie. That is a cute thing they do with the kids!

This was really neat. I only caught the beginning of it but I'm glad they got the kids involved.

 

[MeMom]

Good installment. I'm glad you remembered about the camera. I would have had a momentary panic attack, as well.

The pool looks great, and on Day 2 of 10, it was probably the best idea just to go with hanging out and turning in.

I think the stockade is going to have to be lowered just a wee bit for Patrick.

 

[Megablocks]

Ooh, you should make the time in your upcoming trip (did I read somewhere you are headed there in Feb?) It's just a classic Disney show and our kids loved it and clapped and bounced around like I probably did as a kid too. Entertainment throughout the generations, Walt would be proud!

You did! We're going Feb. 11-18. It was really a surprise because it was decided upon SO quickly, but I'm thrilled.

I actually did add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list last night, right after I read this. My mom tells me that we saw it once years ago, but I don't remember it. She also tells me that we saw PhilarMagic once (another thing on my list), but again, I don't remember it. I have to refresh my memory by seeing them again, I guess.

 

[kschafer]

Good installment. I'm glad you remembered about the camera. I would have had a momentary panic attack, as well.

The pool looks great, and on Day 2 of 10, it was probably the best idea just to go with hanging out and turning in.

I think the stockade is going to have to be lowered just a wee bit for Patrick.

Yes, the thought of losing the camera sent me into a panic not just because of the pictures on it but also it was brand new, bought just for this trip!

The pool was wonderfully refresing after the crowded, hot day we had!

Yes, Patrick is just a bit too short. If you look back to page 1, you will find a picture of my dad holding me up to reach the stocks (and I think both of my brothers in the leg stocks)

You did! We're going Feb. 11-18. It was really a surprise because it was decided upon SO quickly, but I'm thrilled.

I actually did add Country Bear Jamboree to my to-do list last night, right after I read this. My mom tells me that we saw it once years ago, but I don't remember it. She also tells me that we saw PhilarMagic once (another thing on my list), but again, I don't remember it. I have to refresh my memory by seeing them again, I guess.

Yippee for an upcoming trip!! Country bears is just an old fashoned classic, Philharmagic is technically AMAZING. I love that you get both in one place




Can someone explain how I have never found Radio Disney before today? I decided to click on the link off the Dis main page and hear I sit listening to Illuminations at work!

 

[kschafer]

A few random pics for a rainy Thursday morning (at least it's not snow...yet)

Patrick's 2nd grade picture. Can you tell how proud he is to be missing those teeth?

A halloween picture

We had thunderstorms yesterday morning and the boys decided to snuggle together

And finally, the new van

I hope some of you are having better weather than we are. We started today around 50 degrees and rain. Temps are supposed to drop as the day goes on and we will have snow by tomorrow. YUCK

 

[Happy Elf]

That is a really sweet picture of the boys!

Congrats on the new van!!!!

 

[sunny_stace]

What a cute picture of the boys snuggling during the thunderstorm! That seems so cozy! It makes me wish I had a sibling....or a kid....or a husband...Granted, I'm terrified of storms so I'm generally cowering in the basment with a flashlight and blanket over my head!

 

[MeMom]

The boys are cute in all the pictures. Being a third grade teacher, I'm accustomed to kids losing teeth. I keep a box of zip-lock bags for them to take them home in.

The van is nice, and the tree it's parked by is pretty. It's looking very fall-ish at your house. It is here, too. There were some amazingly beautiful trees out at Opry Mills a few days ago when I was over there with a friend.

I love to stay in and snuggle under the blankets on a rainy day, too. They had the right idea!

 

[kschafer]

That is a really sweet picture of the boys!

Congrats on the new van!!!!

Thanks. I read about what happened to your student today on MeMom's thread. I hope you have a better day tomorrow to end your week!

What a cute picture of the boys snuggling during the thunderstorm! That seems so cozy! It makes me wish I had a sibling....or a kid....or a husband...Granted, I'm terrified of storms so I'm generally cowering in the basment with a flashlight and blanket over my head!

Aw Sunny Stace If it makes you feel any better, sometimes I wish I was single and free to do as my heart desires. I always have had a bit of a wandering spirit. I would love to just head out and see what life gives me. BUT I ended up marrying a man who likes stability! I quit my teaching job in May and didn't get my new job until August. I was fairly relaxed about the whole situation until my last paycheck arrived, believing that when one door closes, another one opens. I was hired the next day for my current job. My hubby on the other hand was close to panic much of the summer.

Next time you get a storm, hop on the Dis and chat with your friends!

The boys are cute in all the pictures. Being a third grade teacher, I'm accustomed to kids losing teeth. I keep a box of zip-lock bags for them to take them home in.

The van is nice, and the tree it's parked by is pretty. It's looking very fall-ish at your house. It is here, too. There were some amazingly beautiful trees out at Opry Mills a few days ago when I was over there with a friend.

I love to stay in and snuggle under the blankets on a rainy day, too. They had the right idea!

Patrick lost his first tooth the last week of school last year. He wanted SO bad for it to fall out in school because the nurse has plastic treasure boxes for kids to bring teeth home in. He actually knocked out his second tooth on the playground this summer and I took him to the dentist to have him checked out and he got a second treasure box there. His accident loosened the teeth on each side (the 3rd will probably fall out any day) but because they didn't fall out naturally, the adult teeth have not started to grow back yet, he's going to have a BIG gap for awhile on the top.

Yes, it has really been a lovely fall here in Iowa. The past week we have seen temps in the 60's and even set a record in the 70's on Tuesday. (it was in the 60's for trick-or-treating which is practically unheard of!) It has been good for the farmers because we had such a cool, wet spring, planting was delayed. This long fall has given a normal growing season in length. It looks like that will come to an end soon but it will happen eventually! Sure wish I had a trip to Florida planned to ease the pain

 

[Megablocks]

Yes, it has really been a lovely fall here in Iowa. The past week we have seen temps in the 60's and even set a record in the 70's on Tuesday. (it was in the 60's for trick-or-treating which is practically unheard of!)

We had weather in the 60's on Halloween, too! Highly unusual for MA. A few years ago, we had snow showers the day after Halloween. It's been a strange fall here. It goes from being in the 60's to being in the 40's in the span of 24 hours. I should be used to the strange weather, but I'm not.

The pictures of your boys are great, they are so cute! I really like your new van, too, it looks nice!

 

[sunny_stace]

Well, we're supposed to get rain like crazy tomorrow with a nice drop in temperature so we could be in for a storm...wish I could Dis but I will be at work! But I'll take that over the snow we're do for on Monday...so odd! Today I'm wearing capris and flip flops and by Monday I'll be back in my winter coat for our second round of snow so far!
I do have a bit of a wandering spirit myself. I love to just pick up and head off on a road trip here and there. I love to vacation on my own and moved across the country solo a few years ago! Of course I wound up coming back home but I did do it! But I am getting to a place in my life where I'm ready for something more. Especially when I see families like yours! I've decided that if I'm not married by the time I turn 30, I'm gonna start filling out adoption papers (I'm 27 now I guess we'll see what happens!)
Thanks for your kind words

 

[kschafer]

We had weather in the 60's on Halloween, too! Highly unusual for MA. A few years ago, we had snow showers the day after Halloween. It's been a strange fall here. It goes from being in the 60's to being in the 40's in the span of 24 hours. I should be used to the strange weather, but I'm not.

The pictures of your boys are great, they are so cute! I really like your new van, too, it looks nice!

You aren't alone, I have lived in Iowa basically my whole life and still hate the yo-yo that comes with the changing seasons. In all honesty though, I have lived temporarily in places with less seasonal changed and I missed it.

I am a bit partial but I think they are pretty cute myself!

Yep, the new van is quite spiffy. DH and kids had today off from school and I have to work so they "borrowed" the van for a small roadtrip. Honestly, I think DH just wanted an excuse to play with the new music system (it has a 20 gig memory that you can rip CD's onto then not have to carry CD's again, basically a really big I-pod!). The kids were waiting for an excuse to use the DVD players because we immediately made a "not for in-town trips" rule about them.

Well, we're supposed to get rain like crazy tomorrow with a nice drop in temperature so we could be in for a storm...wish I could Dis but I will be at work! But I'll take that over the snow we're do for on Monday...so odd! Today I'm wearing capris and flip flops and by Monday I'll be back in my winter coat for our second round of snow so far!
I do have a bit of a wandering spirit myself. I love to just pick up and head off on a road trip here and there. I love to vacation on my own and moved across the country solo a few years ago! Of course I wound up coming back home but I did do it! But I am getting to a place in my life where I'm ready for something more. Especially when I see families like yours! I've decided that if I'm not married by the time I turn 30, I'm gonna start filling out adoption papers (I'm 27 now I guess we'll see what happens!)
Thanks for your kind words

We got a dusting of snow this morning. Patrick looked out his window then ran to find his boots so he could go outside (yes, still in jammies!) It is of course gone already so I figured what the heck!

I hope your prince charming comes along. If not, the definition of a family is broad enough to make it what you want it to be.

 

[HLDisney]

I've decided that if I'm not married by the time I turn 30, I'm gonna start filling out adoption papers (I'm 27 now I guess we'll see what happens!)
Thanks for your kind words

Stacey, do it!! Adopting my daughter as a single mom was the best thing I ever did!! I started thinking about adoption when I turned 30, too, and ended up adopting my DD just before I turned 36.

Oops, sorry about hijacking this thread like this. I just found this TR yesterday and finished up to here right now. Sounds like it was a great trip! Oh and my DD has the same fireman's outfit in her dressup trunk!

Helen

 

[Happy Elf]

I read about what happened to your student today on MeMom's thread. I hope you have a better day tomorrow to end your week!

He ended up having to have 6 staples, poor kid! I feel so bad even though it was an accident! Luckily today was smooth sailing...a nice way to end the crazy week I have had!

 

[kschafer]

Stacey, do it!! Adopting my daughter as a single mom was the best thing I ever did!! I started thinking about adoption when I turned 30, too, and ended up adopting my DD just before I turned 36.

Oops, sorry about hijacking this thread like this. I just found this TR yesterday and finished up to here right now. Sounds like it was a great trip! Oh and my DD has the same fireman's outfit in her dressup trunk!

Helen

Welcome Helen!!

Feel free to join in at anytime with comments related to the TR or not. That's something I have come to love about the Dis, people start out a strangers with a common passion and find out things about each other to become friends. It's the beauty of the internet!

He ended up having to have 6 staples, poor kid! I feel so bad even though it was an accident! Luckily today was smooth sailing...a nice way to end the crazy week I have had!

I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend with your little ones!

Update coming tomorrow!

 

[kschafer]

Day 4 – Thursday, June 12

Today was a scheduled free day. We set aside 3 days during the week for people to do as they please. Families could decide to go to the parks, go somewhere else, or just hang around the house.

I honestly don’t remember what we did during the day. I suspect we slept in as late as we wanted, watched movies and enjoyed the pool. Not a bad way to spend a day

Oh yeah, and we watched the news. It was either this day or the day before that we woke up to see the morning national news reporting from the town where my older brother lives. You may recall Iowa had a couple weeks of MAJOR flooding in June. We actually had flooding already before we left, in fact, one of the roads to the Des Moines airport was closed due to water over the road on the day we left but things got worse! 100 square blocks of Cedar Falls were evacuated and the next day a similar situation downstream in Cedar Rapids.

At some point on this day Mom and Dad thanked us for lunch at Crystal Palace the day before and told us they did not want to go to our planned dinner at Biergarten the next night. I think they thought we had paid too much. I was bummed because I was really excited to go here and knew our family would love the entertainment and food but it is their anniversary trip so I called and cancelled.

My younger brother and his family decided to go to MK on this day specifically to visit toontown. Ellie met some princesses

Apparently, Mary was in line too

My SIL is a social worker and has a young client who loves the princesses so she had them each autograph a sign for her. I thought that was really sweet.

They met some furry friends

And checked out Mickey and Minnie’s homes

This evening was mine and DH’s date night. We had agreed ahead of time with my younger brother to switch child care duties for a night, this was their night to watch the boys. The last time I was at Epcot I was a dreamy-eyed lovesick teenager. I remember walking around with my parents dreaming of the day I would return with a boy. Well, it took almost 20 years but here was my time! I figured this was our chance to do a “grown-up” ride and really take the time to wander world showcase and enjoy the ins and outs.

Mom and Dad rode along for their own date night. We had a few pics taken together before splitting up.

And Mom and Dad

Greg and I headed to Mission Space.

We debated about which side to ride and decided to play it safe, green side. This was a really fun ride and we debated trying the orange side but I have an inner ear condition and am prone to dizzy spells and I just didn’t want to risk it. SO we headed over toward WS

More to follow