"Reach for the sky!" We're finally getting there in JAN 2012!!!TR LINK PG 69!

[PixieMama]

That's some good news!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I really wanted to comment yesterday, but my stupid idiotic laptop is so infested with worms, trojans, bubble bees, caterpillars and every other virus under the sun that I couldn't log on....arrrgggg!!!!

I am soooooooooooo happy for you to have "extra" money coming!!! I know it's not extra, but you know what I mean! Wow!!! What a relief! I know Rey thinks he was just going to replace it, but they just don't get it!! You didn't want to touch that money at all so replacing it is just not the same. I get it!!! That is such awesome news!!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

That's some good news!

Thanks!!! I'm now stalking the homeschool tickets site just waiting to purchase those tickets!

I really wanted to comment yesterday, but my stupid idiotic laptop is so infested with worms, trojans, bubble bees, caterpillars and every other virus under the sun that I couldn't log on....arrrgggg!!!!

I am soooooooooooo happy for you to have "extra" money coming!!! I know it's not extra, but you know what I mean! Wow!!! What a relief! I know Rey thinks he was just going to replace it, but they just don't get it!! You didn't want to touch that money at all so replacing it is just not the same. I get it!!! That is such awesome news!!!!

I'm sorry your laptop is having so many problems! Do you have a computer shop you can take it to and let them look at it? I would be out of my mind if I couldn't do what I wanted, when I wanted, on my computer!


Pssst! Today is a Disney Day! I'm headed to Hope's house in a bit!

 

[MARsMama]

That is awesome that you didn't have to dip into your Disney funds!!
Can't wait to hear about your Disney day today, I always look forward to your creativity and seeing what you've come up with

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So last Disney Day we did something new! We had the girls write out Disney Day ideas that they would like and we drew one to do this week, Phineas & Ferb!

We went to Hope's house, so Kya & Jace were both there and I brought Savannah & Leslee. Since Phineas & Ferb is about summer vacation, we used that for our decorations as well. They had all kinds of printable stuff on DisneyFamily for P&F, so it made it really easy.

There were head thingies (LOL) and a maze that I printed out. I also printed out a pic I found of Alison Stoner & P&F at Disney World. Savannah loves her and I wanted a pic of P&F at the parks since they weren't there the last time we went.

Hope & Kya just re-decorated Kya's bedroom in a Paris theme and they just happened to have a rockin cool Eiffel Tower! Go figure! We had P&F on it, naturally.

On the Disney family site they had these monster calendars that could be printed out and taped together for 104 Days of Summer. We made one for each of the kids.

Hope made PB&J's and we had s'mores and "sunshine" sherbert/orange things (I'm doing great articulating myself tonight!)
Of course they didn't even TOUCH the PB&J's!

They made the s'mores in the microwave and apparently that makes them REALLY REALLY REALLY gooey! It was a riot watching them try to eat them.

The kids played most of the afternoon after that and Hope and I sat on her back deck enjoying the gorgeous weather. I think we sat there too long b/c I'm sunburned tonight!

Later, not too long before leaving, the kids made a roller coaster out of this tubing stuff (yep, I think I need a dictionary tonight!) and a marble. They had fun figuring out how to make the marble go all the way upside down in the twist...I'm gonna stop now, I just can't find the words to describe stuff tonight!

It worked out really well with picking one of their ideas at random, so we did it again and this time we picked....oops, almost told you!

 

[exwdwcm]

Karen- yeah on the surprise check and so glad your disney fund is getting back to where it was! awesome on the gift cards too. Send me a pm iwth your referral info and I'll sign up and use you as the referrer- it sounds like a great program and i do shop online a lot!

another great themed day too- my son loves P&F! i can't wait to see the new characters at the parks too.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Shew! It's getting to be that time of year, I'm sure all of you are busy too. Nothing major, just lots of stuff going on, warmer weather can do that! Fine by me b/c that means the summer will be busy and full of fun...October will be here before we know it. But not too soon, I still have a lot of saving to do!!!

I've actually been doing a LOT of planning and revision, I actually made some ADR changes yesterday, 130 days out! Rey finally talked to me about the plan and how he's getting there. The span of the trip, because we have to drive two days down and two days back, is 11 total days. He cannot take that much time off, so he's leaving his truck in MN (where his work is located) and flying down to meet us!

I didn't really think about how he wouldn't be there the whole time. We arrive on Friday and he won't arrive until Sunday evening. We did find out that he could get a Mears shuttle included in airfare, that would take him to one of the many resorts, including DTD, so he's going to have it take him there and we'll meet him. I made a dinner ADR for House of Blues that night.

THEN, when I tell him that he won't have to endure AK (he doesn't like it) b/c we are going Sunday, he says since he really only has three park days he wants to do Epcot and MK. What??? Listen buddy, I already have the days planned and ADR's made!

So, it was mostly the ADR's that I changed, I think we'll still keep almost everything the same. EP on Monday, MK on Tuesday, DHS in the morning on Wed, and then we'll go back to EP for him on Wednesday night. Then he'll leave on Thursday. I'm still working on it, I'm just shocked by the prices of food when I start trying to budget and add stuff up. Just the amount of money for driving there and back is astounding! I have my RFC and Subway giftcards, but I'm going to need more! I also think we may pass on Boma. For the six of us to go (Leslee included here), plus tip, it's going to be about $280!! We can get MNSSHP tickets for that much money!

Stay tuned for some of the changes, I'm still working out the kinks, but I added a few ADRs that we didn't previously have and omited some.

Oh and did I mention we're not going to WDW for our Anniverary trip?!?!?!? We've decided to go to Vegas instead. I know, I'm a disgrace, but I've never been and I'm pretty excited about going to "Rey's disney world", that's what he calls it.

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi Karen,

getting caught up here...

first sorry but glad things are working out w/ your financial needs and not neccessarily needing to pull from exisiting Disney funds...I get you on this 100%...we scrape the bottom of barrel just about every pay check too but Disney and this family time is beyond important to us/ME...I need it...honesty ...but I don't need to explain myself on these boards

I have alot of savings to gather too for Oct and mostly Jan next yr...so a that we can keep our household and Disney budgets in check~

Fun P&F day for the kids

and I am looking forward to hearing about your changes

J~

 

[Kari-B]

Looks like a fun night! Love the sunshine treat!

 

[PixieMama]

I don't think we'd be true DISers if we didn't change plans and ADRs before trips!

DH and I have been to Vegas... but not together. It's definitely an experience... something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime!

 

[DrMomof3]

Hooray for an unexpected check!!! I'm very happy for you!
Nothing quite like making and then changing ADRs. I'm a pro at that!
Vegas is a great choice! We went for Tom's 40th and had a blast.

Amanda

 

[Parla]

First off, I hope Rey is okay!

I know what you're feeling with the money though. Honestly I'm just planning on charging the trip and hoping to pay off as much as possible before the six months is up. I did hope to have some money saved for things like party tickets and the like but it's hard. The locks on my van passenger door broke (did you know that each automatic door lock has a motor) and when I went in to get it fixed I was reminded that it was time for the 60,000 mile maintenance where they found two leaks. When he first mentioned the maintenance though I said I was waiting for a coupon so he did offer 10% off the entire visit. Still, it was close to $800 by the time I got out of there and my butt was sore from sitting in that chair for five hours. No extra savings for Disney this month... or next.

When we were at my son's last band concert of the year a girl in front of us had an ipad and I was pointing it out to DH saying how cool I thought they were. His response was we could all get one if we didn't go to Disney. Some days the only thing that gets me through is knowing we have our trip coming up. I know there are other things we could be spending our money on but in I'm in agreement with mousescrapper, it's a special time with the family. We couldn't recreate all those emotions staying here for a week and going bowling or to the zoo.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hooray for an unexpected check!!! I'm very happy for you!
Nothing quite like making and then changing ADRs. I'm a pro at that!
Vegas is a great choice! We went for Tom's 40th and had a blast.

Amanda

Where did you stay Amanada? We're probably staying at The Signature @MGM Grand. The rooms are a little more condo-ish and bigger.

First off, I hope Rey is okay!

I know what you're feeling with the money though. Honestly I'm just planning on charging the trip and hoping to pay off as much as possible before the six months is up. I did hope to have some money saved for things like party tickets and the like but it's hard. The locks on my van passenger door broke (did you know that each automatic door lock has a motor) and when I went in to get it fixed I was reminded that it was time for the 60,000 mile maintenance where they found two leaks. When he first mentioned the maintenance though I said I was waiting for a coupon so he did offer 10% off the entire visit. Still, it was close to $800 by the time I got out of there and my butt was sore from sitting in that chair for five hours. No extra savings for Disney this month... or next.

When we were at my son's last band concert of the year a girl in front of us had an ipad and I was pointing it out to DH saying how cool I thought they were. His response was we could all get one if we didn't go to Disney. Some days the only thing that gets me through is knowing we have our trip coming up. I know there are other things we could be spending our money on but in I'm in agreement with mousescrapper, it's a special time with the family. We couldn't recreate all those emotions staying here for a week and going bowling or to the zoo.

Thanks Parla! Yep, it looks like it's just going to be me on pins and needles until the trip. One day I'll feel like I've got this and then the next I'm concerned I won't be able to save what we need. I'm a worrywart! Luckily we have a busy summer, so that will keep my mind busy!

I love how WDW takes us away from everyday life so we can spend quality time together. We can do this at home, but it's not the same and the distractions are there. We had a great day here yesterday, actually! Rey is home for the weekend and Savannah & I pulled out all our boardgames (which FILL a closet!) and decided to do a game marathon. Before we knew it, everyone had joined in and we spent the whole day playing. It was really nice! After the guys joined in, I think we got stuck playing Monopoly for about 3 or 4 hours!

Here's a couple pics...

You sunk my Battleship!

 

[-Hope-]

That looks like fun! Glad you guys had a good time with Rey home.

 

[Pixiedust530]

I absolutely LOVE playing board games! Unfortunately Wayne is not much of a game player....unless it's a video game!

We play a lot of Rock Band and racing games on the PS3! Game nights are so much fun. We used to do that quite a bit when I was a kid. I miss those days!

I did manage to get Wayne to play Toy Story UNO with me and Caden the other night and he said "I forgot how much fun UNO is!" Silly boys....if they would only give games a chance!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I absolutely LOVE playing board games! Unfortunately Wayne is not much of a game player....unless it's a video game!

We play a lot of Rock Band and racing games on the PS3! Game nights are so much fun. We used to do that quite a bit when I was a kid. I miss those days!

I did manage to get Wayne to play Toy Story UNO with me and Caden the other night and he said "I forgot how much fun UNO is!" Silly boys....if they would only give games a chance!

We used to play boardgames all the time, I miss it! We had over 100 games at one point and it was what we did as fun family time when Rey came home, but over time, as the kids got older, I think mostly we just got tired of the games! I think we should get some new ones, and I may just make game night a staple for when Rey comes home.

 

[MARsMama]

Our kids love to play games, especially the card versions. Monopoly Deal and Life are their two favorite card ones, and it's easy to get in a game or two when time is limited as they are shorter!

 

[DrMomof3]

We stayed at the Bellagio. I really liked the hotel but I think we could have enjoyed someplace less expensive just as much. I booked the trip as a 40th birthday surprise for Tom and it was at a time when our marriage wasn't in a very good place so I think I wanted to "impress" him by staying at the Bellagio. It was a great trip! We ate several fantastic meals (Tao, Olives, and a few other fancy ones that are slipping my mind right now).
Nathaniel is old enough for board games and Jessica is getting there but not Zachary. Jessica and I have played Monopoly Jr a few times but it's not as much fun as the "real" Monopoly.

Amanda

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Our kids love to play games, especially the card versions. Monopoly Deal and Life are their two favorite card ones, and it's easy to get in a game or two when time is limited as they are shorter!

Yep, we used to play a lot of card games, but most of them got lost and then replaced by regular cards b/c my boys and Rey love poker. So now, we play poker often, but I miss UNO and some of the other silly card games we used to play!

We stayed at the Bellagio. I really liked the hotel but I think we could have enjoyed someplace less expensive just as much. I booked the trip as a 40th birthday surprise for Tom and it was at a time when our marriage wasn't in a very good place so I think I wanted to "impress" him by staying at the Bellagio. It was a great trip! We ate several fantastic meals (Tao, Olives, and a few other fancy ones that are slipping my mind right now).
Nathaniel is old enough for board games and Jessica is getting there but not Zachary. Jessica and I have played Monopoly Jr a few times but it's not as much fun as the "real" Monopoly.

Amanda

I've gotten a few offers from Bellagio, but the only thing that really draws me there is the fountain and you can ensure that you are on that side of the building. The Signature at MGM Grand is condos, so you can actually rent one and you know exactly where it's located. That's a bonus for me since I'm such a control freak!

We started playing boardgames when my boys were itty bitty. I remember that hi-ho cherry-o game and other simple games and as they got older we added more, I think that's why we ended up with so many! They really did acquire a knack for it, I remember many times having friends over and they just didn't get how to play some of the games that my kids were already playing, probably b/c my kids played them so often, it seemed simple to them.

 

[-Hope-]

We used to play boardgames all the time, I miss it! We had over 100 games at one point and it was what we did as fun family time when Rey came home, but over time, as the kids got older, I think mostly we just got tired of the games! I think we should get some new ones, and I may just make game night a staple for when Rey comes home.

Have I told you about our Christmas Eve tradition? The kids both get new games every year for Christmas Eve and then we play them that night plus we have new games to enjoy so we don't get tired of our old ones. Board and card games would make really great solstice gifts...