Now a Trip Report!!! Will We Stay or Will We Go? A Thanksgiving Pre-Trip/Trip Report

[jillyb]

I sent the Travel Verification form to my TA Tuesday and had an e-mail first thing yesterday morning that my deposit has been made. I'll also be making weekly payments. We've told the girls about the trip and they will be earning and/or saving spending money, which will be put on Disney gift cards. I wanted for us to get together and look over the various restaurants so everybody could pick a place they'd like to eat but that didn't happen. Alison goes back to her Mom's this morning so it'll be two weeks before we see her again. Oh well...we've got plenty of time! LOL

I talked to Katie yesterday. Howard went for his 2 week chemo treatment yesterday but when the doctor saw him he said he wasn't going to do the treatment. I haven't seen Howard in a while but, according to Katie, she's noticed that his eyes look kind of sunken. Also, he's been really sick. They've been chalking that up to the chemo but it may be that plus the cancer. Howard goes for a CT scan this morning to see if the chemo is doing anything. Katie feels like the doctor knows that the chemo really isn't working. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

 

[jillyb]

The girls will be carrying their own stuff this year and with all the talk on Wigd and CP's TRs I had to go check out the VB site. They have the hipster and mini hipster on sale. They'll both be carrying a poncho and a few snacks. Hannah will have an autograph book, or at least autograph cards, and a pen. I may get both of them a disposable camera so they can take their own pictures. Which one do you think would be best for the girls to use in the parks?

 

[Alice1386]

Yay! I am joining! If all things go according to plan we both will be at WDW at the same time and hopefully no one else will be there with us LOL!!!

 

[jillyb]

Yay! I am joining! If all things go according to plan we both will be at WDW at the same time and hopefully no one else will be there with us LOL!!!

Thanks for joining in! I hope you'll be able to go and here's hoping that we both have crowd free parks!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for the deposit being made, and I will definitely be keeping Howard in my prayers.

The hipster is probably the better option -- the mini one does not have room to carry much of anything.

 

[jillyb]

My Mom told me last night that she had talked to Katie and the CT results were not good. The chemo has not shrunk the cancer at all and it has grown rapidly. He's now retaining fluid. He'll no longer be receiving chemo. The doctor told him that he has anywhere from 4-6 weeks to live and hospice is being called in.

I spoke to Katie last night and she is heartbroken. I'm heartbroken for her and there's nothing I can do to fix this. She said Howard had a breakdown when they got home from the doctor's office yesterday. Last night he told his son and daughter. Katie has been preparing Madison for this as well. Right now she's at her Maw Maw's house (her biological father's parents). Katie is going to take a leave of absence from work.

Please pray for peace for both of them.

 

[Charleston Princess]

How very, very, very sad, Jill!

 

[jillyb]

How very, very, very sad, Jill!

Yeah...it pretty much sucks.

 

[micandminforever]

Prayers for Howard, Katie and your family.

 

[MeMom]

My Mom told me last night that she had talked to Katie and the CT results were not good. The chemo has not shrunk the cancer at all and it has grown rapidly. He's now retaining fluid. He'll no longer be receiving chemo. The doctor told him that he has anywhere from 4-6 weeks to live and hospice is being called in.

I spoke to Katie last night and she is heartbroken. I'm heartbroken for her and there's nothing I can do to fix this. She said Howard had a breakdown when they got home from the doctor's office yesterday. Last night he told his son and daughter. Katie has been preparing Madison for this as well. Right now she's at her Maw Maw's house (her biological father's parents). Katie is going to take a leave of absence from work.

Please pray for peace for both of them.

Prayers for the family and all those who care for them.

Yeah...it pretty much sucks.

I just said that today about another situation.
Sometimes, those words just seem to fit.

 

[jillyb]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. My parents, Clay and I are going up to see Howard and Katie today. Hannah is going to spend the night with a friend. Hospice is in and Howard has been put on oxygen.

Now up to happier things! It's been very busy at our house the past few weeks. Between work and keeping up the house it seems like all I do is go, go, go. While Clay was off from work this week he put 4 ceiling fans and 3 light fixtures. Now we've got a ceiling fan in the living room and in our bedrooms. There are two new fixtures in the kitchen and finally, after living her for four years, we have a light over the kitchen table. Now Hannah will have adequate light when she's doing her homework.

Here's some pictures from Easter and some miscellaneous pictures from our every day life:

Hannah and Madison:

Madison in my Year of a Million Dreams Mickey Ears:

Daredevil Hannah:

Madison:

Alison not wanting her picture taken:

My three girls:

Hannah and her BFF:

Me and the Easter Bunny:

Dave and Clay:

Hannah's Easter basket:

Alison's Easter basket:

Alison and Taylor:

My Minnie Mouse shirt:

I was boiling water for tea one day and after pouring the water from the kettle I look down and see this:

Seriously....what are the chances of having a Mickey head water spot??!!! Clay asked me why I was taking a picture of the stove top. I couldn't bring myself to tell him and open myself to ridicucle. So I'm doing it here instead!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I laughed out loud when I saw the Hidden Mickey water spot!!!

Looks like you have been having lots of fun! Hannah has gotten a lot taller since last summer, hasn't she?

 

[jillyb]

I laughed out loud when I saw the Hidden Mickey water spot!!!

Looks like you have been having lots of fun! Hannah has gotten a lot taller since last summer, hasn't she?

Tell me you didn't see that Mickey water spot!!!!

Hannah has gotten much taller since last summer. Her BFF, Donna, turned 8 in January and Hannah doesn't turn 8 until June but she just towers over that Donna. My Dad is 6'0" and Clay is 6'4" so I'm thinking she's going to be around 5'10". She's going to be taller than me!

 

[jillyb]

Grrrrr....double post

 

[jillyb]

I went to Wal-Mart on Sunday to get groceries for my Mom and I found some of the cutest shirts and outfit for Hannah. She can wear them now and, hopefully, it will be warm enough in November that she can wear them during our trip.

Here's what I got for her:

I just love this shirt! It would be perfect on an AK day! Hannah saw it tonight and had a fit over it.

She wore this to school today:

She liked these too!

Alison mentioned that she'd like for her and Hannah to have matching shirts for the trip. Yes! I can do that! LOL

Clay is traveling this week so what's a girl to do? Why go through "the binder" of course! It really needed to be cleaned out so I could put new stuff in it!

Here's "the binder":

Front view:

Back view:

And just so ya'll can see how HUGE "the binder" is, here's a view with it flat:

Told ya it was huge didn't I??!!! LOL

When we were in the beginning stages of planning Clay said he wanted to drive all night instead of stopping half way like we did before. After some discussion he told me to just add a night to our stay so (hopefully!) our room would be ready when we arrived at the crack of dawn. When I priced an 8 night/9 day MYW package and told him how much it was he said "Find something offsite then but be sure it's close." I can do that!

I went to Mousesavers and looked at all of their recommended offsite hotels and finally decided on the Holiday Inn - Main Gate East in Kissimee. So, we've got a one night stay with a queen bed/2 bunks kids suite for a very reasonable price. But, the more I thought about waiting until the school day was over and then driving all night, the more I didn't like that idea.

Clay and I had talked about this before and he really didn't want to push his luck with telling his Ex that he was going to be taking Alison out of school early. Well that was just sticking in my craw. LOL The girls would sleep on the way down and by the time we got to the hotel they'd be wide awake. Meanwhile, Clay and I would be wiped out. The last thing I want is for those two to be sitting in a hotel room, bored, while Clay and I are sleeping. So, Wednesday night (Alison's last night with us), when we went to bed here's our conversation:

Me: "When are you going to tell Ex about our trip?"

Clay: "I guess I better tell her when she picks Alison up tomorrow."

Me: " That would probably be a good idea. *pause* I really wish you'd just tell Ex that we're taking Alison out of school early on the 19th."

Clay: "I thought we'd already talked about this."

Me: Pause "Yeah...we did...but I still wish you'd just tell her."

Clay: "We've already talked about this. Why are you bringing it up again."

Me: "I know. I'm just saying I wish you'd tell her."

Both of us:

Imagine my surprise when I call to check in while at work and he tells me that he told Ex about the trip and that we'd be picking Alison up early from school and that she said "OK". Yeah...translation of that is "I'll deny this conversation ever happened and will do everything I possibly can to make it hard on you, if not downright impossible, to get Alison out of school early." We'll see if that's right or not.

Last night Hannah was jumping up and down saying "We're going to Disneyworld! We're going to Disneyworld!" Then, she grabbed my hands and we both were jumping up and down saying "Yay! We're going to Disneyworld!" I'm not sure but I think she's excited! LOL

I'm dying to start making my ADRs and planning our park days. Sadly I have to wait until May 24th before I can even make the first ADR. *sigh*

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh, how I wish that giraffe shirt came in my size! The other clothes are adorable!

You put my binder to shame! What do you have in there???

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the Ex does not put a wrinkle in your plans by being difficult.

 

[jillyb]

Oh, how I wish that giraffe shirt came in my size! The other clothes are adorable!

You put my binder to shame! What do you have in there???

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the Ex does not put a wrinkle in your plans by being difficult.

It would be nice if that giraffe shirt came in an adult size! There was also a really cool shirt that was orange with a large lion head on the front. It'd be perfect to wear while watching FotLK. That's the first shirt I saw but when I saw the giraffe shirt I knew it was the one.

Ahhhh...."the binder"! Right now it contains the following:

1. Our GAD vouchers
2. Park maps
3. Our reservation confirmation for the Holiday Inn
4. Our reservation confirmation from the TA
5. TourGuideMike's Least Crowded Park Chart from November 2009
6. Tentative itinerary
7. Dining information - CS places we ate at on our first trip, TS places we ate at on our first trip and any other CS/TS meals we might like
8. Information on the parks and attractions in each park
9. Pressed Penny information and locations of Pressed Penny machines
10. Pin trading etiquette

In other words, anything and everything I could think of!

 

[jillyb]

My Mom called me at work this morning to tell me that Howard is in the hospital. He was sleeping when Katie took Madison to school this morning. When she got home she couldn't wake him up and he was unresponsive so she called for an ambulance.

I tried to talk to Katie during my lunch hour but she was in the hospital so it was a bad connection. All I know right now is they have him on morphine and she believes this is the end.

 

[micandminforever]

Thoughts and prayers are with Katie, Howard and family.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Lots of thoughts and prayers!