Princess Ashlyn's Birthday Trip - That's 2 For 2! September 2010 PTR (Started my TR!)

[annegirl]

I love her dress for the tea party. That is so cute!
I was trying to think of a good dessert to tell you but I am drawing a blank. Maybe something french because the castle chef is french. I can't remember if he makes any desserts or not. Or you could make a cake and decorate it like a beach? Maybe put an ariel doll on it..

 

[BabyEeyore]

I love her dress for the tea party. That is so cute!
I was trying to think of a good dessert to tell you but I am drawing a blank. Maybe something french because the castle chef is french. I can't remember if he makes any desserts or not. Or you could make a cake and decorate it like a beach? Maybe put an ariel doll on it..

Oh I love that dress! I've had it forever because I found it on sale at The Children's Place when she was smaller and I couldn't pass it up! I just got it a couple of sizes up since she had plenty of clothes for the other sizes.

Oh, something French is an awesome idea! I don't believe they mention any dessert in the movie, just his stuffed crab, but I'm sure he's made a dessert or two. That really is a unique idea, I'm going to play around with that. Thank you!

The cake as a beach is a good idea, too. I had thought about doing that with cupcakes but a cake would just be so much easier. Like I said, I'm really interested in the French dessert idea, though.

We actually don't have any Ariel dolls. I know, but we don't exactly have a Disney Store around here and I would like to let her pick it out herself. I have a feeling we're going to spend an arm and a leg on toys because she'll fall in love with something and we will just melt. Oh well, it's her birthday trip so we can spoil her a little bit. Because we NEVER spoil her otherwise. Ah, who am I kidding... she's definitely spoiled!!!

 

[lexmas]

Another great countdown update, I love it! So cute that you had your own storytime and tea party!

I'm sure it will be weird with Aaron gone for a few weeks. I think I would go crazy, I need that "daddy's home from work" thing at the end of the day to look forward to! At least it sounds like you have plenty to do.

And so cute that Ashlyn and her friend have the same birthday! I want to see Elmo cake pops! I tried to make cake pops because I was inspired by you and they just turned out horribly. I don't know what I did, but it was kind of gross. And I ate them anyway, which is probably more gross.

 

[-Hope-]

I just love your countdown updates- you guys do such great stuff. The tea party was adorable and I especially love that you schedule your family walks so you get to be sure to fit it in. It's the little things.

I'm sure it will be wierd for Aaron to be gone but just think how great it will feel when he gets back.

I did a beach dessert when we did Wall-E (it was an eco-friendly theme) and I just used blue jell-o and graham cracker crumbs.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Another great countdown update, I love it! So cute that you had your own storytime and tea party!

I'm sure it will be weird with Aaron gone for a few weeks. I think I would go crazy, I need that "daddy's home from work" thing at the end of the day to look forward to! At least it sounds like you have plenty to do.

And so cute that Ashlyn and her friend have the same birthday! I want to see Elmo cake pops! I tried to make cake pops because I was inspired by you and they just turned out horribly. I don't know what I did, but it was kind of gross. And I ate them anyway, which is probably more gross.

Thank you! Yep, Ashlyn was born on island but our friend had to be sent off island months before she gave birth because she was having pregnancy issues. We didn't meet them until after they came back. Ashlyn is about 10 hours older than our friend's daughter but is about a head shorter!

I will definitely post pics of the cake pops. I'm hoping they look okay! I'm sorry your cake pops tasted bad. I feel bad for being the inspiration and then you didn't like them.

I just love your countdown updates- you guys do such great stuff. The tea party was adorable and I especially love that you schedule your family walks so you get to be sure to fit it in. It's the little things.

I'm sure it will be wierd for Aaron to be gone but just think how great it will feel when he gets back.

I did a beach dessert when we did Wall-E (it was an eco-friendly theme) and I just used blue jell-o and graham cracker crumbs.

Thank you!! Yeah, we would keep putting off stuff like the family walks if we didn't have it scheduled. Even then sometimes! Aaron just likes to come home and relax so he doesn't always feel like it after a long day. But Ashlyn hasn't been in a stroller really since our last trip in March so we need to get her used to it again. So far she's doing okay.

When I was first writing down ideas for movie nights that I saw on here or randomly thought of, I wrote down putting gummy fish in blue jello for either Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid. But they don't sell blue jello here so I'll just have to do it one movie night when we're back in the states.

ETA: Forgot to say... you're right, it will feel wonderful to see him when he gets back! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

 

[Charlefours]

Cute tea party!! Ariel dessert: what about a mini wedding cake as that is the only dessert in the movie I believe.

 

[BabyEeyore]

Cute tea party!! Ariel dessert: what about a mini wedding cake as that is the only dessert in the movie I believe.

Thanks! A mini wedding cake is a really cute idea, too! I knew I would get some great ideas from everyone on here.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

i love the tea party!!! My one little girl brought in this disney princess tea cart and tea set and it was the cutest thing. She would wheel it around the classroom during "free time" offering tea or coffee to her friends!

 

[BabyEeyore]

i love the tea party!!! My one little girl brought in this disney princess tea cart and tea set and it was the cutest thing. She would wheel it around the classroom during "free time" offering tea or coffee to her friends!

Awww, how cute!!!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Whoops! It's been awhile since I've updated. I meant to update a few days ago (when I hit our 30 day mark! ) but Aaron was leaving the next day for his 2-week school so I was spending time with him. And now the internet is being stupid so it's taking forever to upload pictures. Oh well, I will be updating today and starting/catching up on a countdown of the 30 things I am most looking forward to for our trip (got the idea from Stephanie... the idea).

I've been a little down today. Like I said, Aaron left yesterday. I know that it's only going to be 2 weeks, and it could be a lot worse considering he's in the military (he did a lot of deployments before we met so we haven't had to do that yet), but I've never been away from him for any real amount of time so it's weird. We have already talked on MSN Messenger twice, though, so that's been nice. He did tell me that our favorite jewelry store in Virginia (he got my engagement and wedding rings there, along with a few other things) went out of business. So that's a bit of a bummer. AND my best friend and her family (her daughter is Ashlyn's best friend, too) are moving in a couple of weeks. I think I'm just extra emotional today. So I'm glad that I'm starting that 30-day countdown as well as having more Disney stuff come up in our countdown calendar to keep my spirits up. Wow, that's a long update without really being an update. I guess I just needed to vent a little. Thanks for listening! I'll be back with some real updates later today.

 

[-Hope-]

Aaron will be home before you know it. And I'm sorry your friend is moving, that must be tough.

I'm stealing the countdown idea from Stephanie too. Of course I'll be tweaking it a bit and I won't begin for a few more days but we're all getting so close!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Okay, I got most of the pictures I wanted uploaded and they'll just have to do! So, here.... we... GO!

39 Days: Another family walk. It's always nice to get away from all the distractions at home and just talk.

38 Days: We made pillowcases for the three of us plus my dad during our March trip. It was a hit (I actually kept it a secret from everyone! Well, Aaron knew about them but didn't see them) and I decided to make my in-laws pillowcases for this trip. Aaron and I will use the ones we already have, but I also asked Milliepie to make a new name fill for Ashlyn. I will post a picture of that when it's done.

37 Days: Story time again.

36 Days: Since this was a Saturday, we were supposed to have our movie night. But we decided that Sundays are just going to be better for our movie nights since we go grocery shopping and everything on Saturdays and that cuts into decorating time and all that stuff. We'd rather it be relaxing and not just running around making sure everything is ready. So...

35 Days: The Little Mermaid movie night! Here's was our table:

We hung tissue paper (there is nowhere to buy streamers on island, but tissue paper worked out) and some sea critters Ashlyn made on the ceiling so we could dine under the sea! I'm not sure if you can see them, but she colored a crab and seahorse, and I helped her make two paper plate fish.

Of course Ashlyn dressed for the occasion! From her ocean-themed shirt and Ariel hair clip that I made (sorry you can't see it in the picture)...

... down to her Ariel socks!

For dinner we had chicken salad in a pita boat sailing in a sea of green bean seaweed alongside a shore of cheesy shell pasta.

For dessert I decided to make something French (thanks for the fabulous idea, annegirl!) since the chef was French. So I made crepes. Aaron had mentioned making something red (before the crepe idea) because of Ariel's hair, so I made strawberry creme crepes! They were really good, but I forgot to take a picture.

34 Days: Ashlyn and I listened to a few Disney channels on Live 365. I love doing that... always puts me in a good mood.

33 Days: Nothing too exciting, just made sure to empty all the pictures off of the camera onto the computer and organize them so I don't have too many to do when it gets closer.

32 Days: I read Ashlyn this really cool Princess and the Frog book we got awhile back. You put in these tiny discs into this flashlight type thing and it will project a small image on the wall. Each disc has 4 or 5 images and there are 4 discs. Then throughout the book it shows you which picture to show when. It's really cool.

31 Days: I chose this day to make a sign to decorate our door or window at POFQ. But we were all busy getting things ready for Aaron to leave so I never got around to it. I did find a few DISigns I liked, though, and emailed them to Aaron so we'll decide on one and print it out in the next couple of weeks.

30 Days: One more month!! Unfortunately our one month mark was spent getting luggage packed and paperwork all together so Aaron wouldn't have to worry about it the next morning.

29 Days: I had planned to make a special breakfast for Aaron but we made one together.

28 Days: Today! We spent some time outside and blew bubbles. Always fun!

Well, Ashlyn woke up from her nap while I was writing this and is now enjoying a nice snack, so I will put up the first few of my "30 Day Countdown" in awhile. See ya real soon!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Aaron will be home before you know it. And I'm sorry your friend is moving, that must be tough.

I'm stealing the countdown idea from Stephanie too. Of course I'll be tweaking it a bit and I won't begin for a few more days but we're all getting so close!

Thanks, Hope. I think I'm just extra emotional for some reason today. Everything just happens all at the same time, doesn't it? Oh well. Thanks for the support.

I know, Stephanie has some of the best ideas and questions for her PTR! I am always inspired by that and was always inspired by your movie nights!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Well, I guess my plan of posting again last night didn't work out! Oh well, stuff happens sometimes, right? Ashlyn is now taking a nap so I wanted to get on and start my 30-day countdown!! Yeah, I know I'm at 27 days woohoo but work with me here. My list is in no particular order.

Thing #30 To Look Forward To:

PICTURES!!!

It may sound like an obvious thing, and it is, but Aaron wanted me to put it on the list because he is really looking forward to taking pictures of EVERYTHING. I love taking pictures and after thinking about this addition to our list, I completely agree that it belongs on the list. We get very caught up in the moment (which I wouldn't want to change) but we sometimes forget to take pictures of the details. Who knows when we'll get to WDW after this trip. Sometime in September we'll be starting to pick orders. We're hoping to get California but you never know. So I'm going to treat this trip like I may not get to WDW for awhile and take more pictures than usual!

Oh, and another thing I'm looking forward to that is related to this... Photopass pictures! We've never really stopped to take that many and have never bought one. I'm going to try and get as many Photopass pics as possible and hopefully we'll like one enough to buy it.

 

[BabyEeyore]

#29

ENJOYING THINGS GTMO DOESN'T HAVE!!!

It's been awhile since I've been able to cruise around the mall or eat Panera Bread! I really do miss being able to do things like that practically whenever I want. There are a lot of things I will miss about GTMO, but I am SO looking forward to shopping in person (online shopping has been our best friend these past couple of years), taking Ashlyn to children's museums, etc. But for right now, we get in as much as possible during our trips off island. We fly into Florida on a Saturday and, since we have a doctor's appointment to go to, won't be driving to Disney until Wednesday. Those early days will be spent doing what we can't here! I am super jealous that Aaron is enjoying that stuff right now (well, this minute he's in school, but you know what I mean). In fact, when I talked to him yesterday, he said he made sure to get some Starbucks when he and the other guy from here that went to the school went to the mall so he could tell me. What a goober! Oh well, I'll be getting mine soon!

 

[BabyEeyore]

#28

WATCHING MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE IN THE MORNINGS!!!

**note: I just decided to go ahead and list the things that we are looking forward to that are not necessarily Disney specific.** Okay, this may seem like another silly thing to include, but I'm excited about it. We don't get the Disney Channel in GTMO and Ashlyn LOVES this show. We have a DVD of some episodes, but I know she's going to enjoy watching it each day. So I'm excited because I know she'll be excited.

 

[BabyEeyore]

#27

SEEING AARON'S PARENTS!!!

I am very blessed to get along really well with my in-laws. It has been awhile since we've seen them. We had such a blast at WDW with my Daddy in March that we knew we had to invite them to WDW in September! If they couldn't go, we would have been traveling to Alabama to see them instead of Disney, so I'm pretty happy that they decided to come!

They have seen Ashlyn a few times, but the last time was when she was 5 months old!

So by the time we see them, it will have been 1 1/2 years! They get pictures and video of Ashlyn all the time, but they are going to flip when they physically see how big she's gotten and how her personality is shining through more and more every day.

*whew* Now I am caught up on our 30-day countdown. I'll be back tomorrow for #26!

 

[lexmas]

Sorry you've been down lately. It must be tough being alone for a few weeks. Really, I am SO glad I've never had to do that...I'm worried about being alone for a few days at disney! I very much rely on DH coming home at the end of the day to give me a break! I hope you're keeping busy. I'm sure it doesn't help that your friends are moving. That's always difficult, it's hard for someone to leave. Hopefully thinking about disney will keep you in a happier mood!

How adorable are those pillowcases? I love it! The dinner looks great! You are so very creative about those meals! How cute are those ariel socks peeking out from under her shoes? Oh, and how do you make hair bows? Sydney doesn't have enough hair yet, but I would love to make them in the future!

PICTURES!!!

Pictures ARE so much fun. They help you remember the fun after you're home. The problem I have is I spend too much time trying to take pictures to capture it all and not enough time just enjoying myself. I always take tons of pictures at the beginning and not so many at the end though. I am going to try and take advantage of photopass too, especially my first two days. Remember that they will take a picture with your camera too, if you ask them!

#29

ENJOYING THINGS GTMO DOESN'T HAVE!!!

I bet you do miss it! Too bad Aaron is rubbing it in your face already! I bet he wouldn't do that if he didn't know that soon, you will be having it too! We kind of do the same thing, since we never ever eat out or eat prepared foods or anything, so it's luxury on vacation to just have other people make our food for us, and to eat whatever!

#28

WATCHING MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE IN THE MORNINGS!!!

I never thought about them having the disney channel. We don't have cable, so my kids only see disney channel stuff on DVD. It will be nice to just turn on the disney channel!

I love the updates! Can't wait to see what else you're looking forward to!

 

[BabyEeyore]

Sorry you've been down lately. It must be tough being alone for a few weeks. Really, I am SO glad I've never had to do that...I'm worried about being alone for a few days at disney! I very much rely on DH coming home at the end of the day to give me a break! I hope you're keeping busy. I'm sure it doesn't help that your friends are moving. That's always difficult, it's hard for someone to leave. Hopefully thinking about disney will keep you in a happier mood!

It is tough, but I also know that I am very lucky that we have gone this long without a deployment. Like you said, though, I'm hoping Disney will keep me in a happy mood. And I definitely am trying to keep busy!!

How adorable are those pillowcases? I love it! The dinner looks great! You are so very creative about those meals! How cute are those ariel socks peeking out from under her shoes? Oh, and how do you make hair bows? Sydney doesn't have enough hair yet, but I would love to make them in the future!

I love all the name fills Milliepie has ever done for us! She just finished Ashlyn's new name fill today and I can't wait to put it on her pillowcase!

I found instructions online on how to make hair bows from ribbons. I'll have to find the link and send it to you if you're interested. I only have instructions on Ariel and Cinderella. I just got in the yellow ribbon I need for Cindy's hair, so I haven't made her yet. I'm going to sometime this week, though!

Pictures ARE so much fun. They help you remember the fun after you're home. The problem I have is I spend too much time trying to take pictures to capture it all and not enough time just enjoying myself. I always take tons of pictures at the beginning and not so many at the end though. I am going to try and take advantage of photopass too, especially my first two days. Remember that they will take a picture with your camera too, if you ask them!

We always take a lot of pictures, but I want to take more pics of details around the park. We definitely hand off our camera to the photographers, too!! I treasure the ones where all of us are in the pictures.

I bet you do miss it! Too bad Aaron is rubbing it in your face already! I bet he wouldn't do that if he didn't know that soon, you will be having it too! We kind of do the same thing, since we never ever eat out or eat prepared foods or anything, so it's luxury on vacation to just have other people make our food for us, and to eat whatever!

We don't eat out much, either. Well, of course not, since there aren't many places here. But now that I'm a SAHM I cook every night and will continue to do so even when we move. I'm really looking forward to more of a variety in the grocery stores, too!!!

I never thought about them having the disney channel. We don't have cable, so my kids only see disney channel stuff on DVD. It will be nice to just turn on the disney channel!

We didn't have cable until about a year ago. We were doing just fine without it. We still would be, but decided why not. I was missing my What Not To Wear. But the cable here just doesn't include the Disney Channel. It would be nice to be able to just turn it on, like you said! You know, I just realized that it probably sounds like I hate it here. Not at all. It is beautiful and has been a wonderful place to start our family. There are definitely things I will miss here, too.

I love the updates! Can't wait to see what else you're looking forward to!

Thanks! I am already looking forward to posting an update tomorrow!

 

[-Hope-]

Loving your countdown so far! We already have some overlap, lol. Pictures are going on my list too.

Aaron's parents must be so happy to be seeing you guys and especially Ashlyn.

We don't have cable/satellite either. We do have Netflix though and most of what our kids enjoy (Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc.) is available on instant watch through them. My kids are still excited though because the Disney Channel is one of the things they miss the most from our pre-tight budget days.

I love that your going to be able to enjoy some of the things that we take for granted that aren't available where you are. Enjoy!