Ringing in 2010, 6 months til we'll be back again

[MeMom]

A big congrats to Trent!
And many big to all who will miss seeing him all the time.
And an extra to the Mom who raised such an outstanding guy! Your post brought tears to my eyes.
I suggest your first visit should be in May-anytime between the 22-30th
We are here for you MeMom.

Thanks. Drew won't say much, but he'll miss him. He'll be happy to have a free bed (or floor) in Orlando, when he decides to travel south. Jill will miss him being here, for sure, but we'll probably check into all the Skype stuff to ease the transition.

I think our first visit may be a meet in the middle somewhere, but who knows. He's not even there yet. We'll have to see what kind of work schedule he'll have.

That's exactly what I meant when I said I was proud of you. Well, that, and you being strong and saving your tears for when he was out of the house.

I know you will all make extraordinary efforts to see each other as much as possible. I am sure Brooklyn will spend plenty of time on the phone with her Bubby.

I found this quote, which I thought was just perfect for the situation:

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
(Henry Ellis)

Brooklynn will have fun seeing him on Skype. She'll think that's pretty funny. I may have to get another job to afford plane tickets now and then, and she and I can run down to see Bubby.

If we can figure something out we'd love to change an ADR and take them out to dinner!

Don't change anything, because he has no idea of his schedule right now. Maybe you guys could meet in DTD and have a milkshake at Ghirardelli's or a sandwich at Earl's. I'd love for you to meet them.

You may have them both at your house every weekend!

You may see a slight increase in your grocery bill, if they do!

Okay, who am I kidding? A big increase.

You know what I mean!

I can't wait to see you the 19th...that is if you are still wanting to meet up. You will be getting lots of texts/pics while I'm there!

I would love to meet up with all of them, even though I don't really know wigd or Shocker.

I do know what you mean, and you are so sweet. I count you as one of my adopted children now. I love having my big family through the DIS.

We definitely plan to meet you on the 19th. We'll meet at the hippo again. We'll be excited to hear all about your trip! Maybe we can eat at the food court and hear about all of your fun, unless you guys have other plans.

Wigd and Shocker are awesome, and not a bit scary, I promise.
Maybe you guys can all meet in DTD. Keep that in mind, and when it gets closer, we can make some more concrete plans for you guys.

Well done to Trent for his new job! Can he send some new job pixie dust my way as my hubby is very unhappy at work and is desperately trying to find his way!

MeMom - just want to send you a HUGE hug xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for the sweet thoughts. Imagine what you would feel like if Toby was moving across the ocean! Sad, but happy for him if there were good things waiting for him. It is truly bittersweet, but so are many other things in life. I hope your husband finds a good job that suits him better.

 

[DisneyJoo2008]

Thanks for the sweet thoughts. Imagine what you would feel like if Toby was moving across the ocean! Sad, but happy for him if there were good things waiting for him. It is truly bittersweet, but so are many other things in life. I hope your husband finds a good job that suits him better.

Thankfully Toby is a long way off that! But I know I will feel exactly the same as you do.
Another big hug for you!
xxx

 

[MeMom]

Thankfully Toby is a long way off that! But I know I will feel exactly the same as you do.
Another big hug for you!
xxx

Treasure every day you spend with him. When things get overwhelming and you get exhausted and tired of hearing crying and whining, and when you trip over toys or think you can't stand the sight of another sinkful of dirty dishes, stop and say a prayer of thanks that you have the privilege of being the Mommy to that crying, whining baby who owns all those toys, and that you have a family to mess up a sinkful of dishes.

Have a good day across the ocean, Joo! I've got to get out of here and head to school.

 

[nowellsl]

You may have them both at your house every weekend!

That would be OK, but if they think I'm gonna cook like Memom does they will be sorely disappointed I do a mean takeout though

 

[mickeyfan71]

Congrats to Trent! and hugs for you Memom!

 

[praisehisname]

A little late, but I wanted to say congratulations to Trent! I'll be praying for all of you during this transition.

 

[DWGal210]

Congrats to Trent!!

And lots of to you, MeMom!!

 

[kschafer]

OK, I will admit to thinking a couple times during all of this that I will be happy to have MY house back when the boys finally leave then you go and write things like this

stop and say a prayer of thanks that you have the privilege of being the Mommy to that crying, whining baby who owns all those toys, and that you have a family to mess up a sinkful of dishes.

It actually brought tears to my eyes because I know someday I will be in your shoes and will have to let them go.

Stay strong MeMom and be proud knowing you have done an amazing job at raising such a wonderful young man. He wouldn't be who he is without you

 

[nowellsl]

If we can figure something out we'd love to change an ADR and take them out to dinner!

They love dinner

 

[tinkgurl]

I do know what you mean, and you are so sweet. I count you as one of my adopted children now. I love having my big family through the DIS.

We definitely plan to meet you on the 19th. We'll meet at the hippo again. We'll be excited to hear all about your trip! Maybe we can eat at the food court and hear about all of your fun, unless you guys have other plans.

Wigd and Shocker are awesome, and not a bit scary, I promise.
Maybe you guys can all meet in DTD. Keep that in mind, and when it gets closer, we can make some more concrete plans for you guys.

Aw, thanks. I definately see you as MeMom too.

Sounds good on the meet. We don't have any other plans so that will be fine!

Haha, glad they aren't scary!

 

[MeMom]

That would be OK, but if they think I'm gonna cook like Memom does they will be sorely disappointed I do a mean takeout though

If it has chicken in it, he'll like it. Grow a vegetable garden, and he'll be a happy young man,

Congrats to Trent! and hugs for you Memom!

Thanks from all of us.

A little late, but I wanted to say congratulations to Trent! I'll be praying for all of you during this transition.

We appreciate it. It'll be an interesting few weeks ahead.

Congrats to Trent!!

And lots of to you, MeMom!!

I'm gonna need 'em.

OK, I will admit to thinking a couple times during all of this that I will be happy to have MY house back when the boys finally leave then you go and write things like this



It actually brought tears to my eyes because I know someday I will be in your shoes and will have to let them go.

It wouldn't be nearly as hard if he were going to be a little closer. I really didn't picture any further than Atlanta, which is doable for a day trip, even. This is a little more of a shock, no doubt. We have a family on our block that has three houses - two next door to us and then one a few houses down and across the street. I'd love having my kids and grandkids that close. That's not the norm these days, though.

Trent had the honor of having a lot of good coaches in his growing up years who helped him become the man he is. I just muddled through as best I could.

They love dinner

And Trent likes lots of it.

Aw, thanks. I definately see you as MeMom too.

Sounds good on the meet. We don't have any other plans so that will be fine!

Haha, glad they aren't scary!

I hope it works out. Jill and I would love to see a picture of the six of you together. I can guarantee it be bring smiles to both of us!

 

[nowellsl]

Grow a vegetable garden, and he'll be a happy young man,

Well I'm pretty good with weeds. I could cook up a really bigggg pot of dandelion greens

I live in a duplex next door to my Mom (and my dad up until May of 09) I'm glad I'm close enough to keep an eye out for my mom! She tried living in a retirement village back in Nov. and moved back home a week later (definately a learning experience). My oldest sister lives in the same town, and my younger sister about 1 1/2 away. It's nice having family close by! 2 hours is as far away as I ever want DD to live, so I understand how you feel! It will definately be an adjustment period for you all! Good news about getting your living room back though! Looks like I'll have a spare room to store some clutter I need to get one of those "we haul junk" trucks and just back it up to the door!

 

[hlrababy]

I am super excited for Trent and Jamie!!!

MeMom...that means maybe you guys could meet up in Atlanta one day!! Yay!!! At least I get to see ya'll when you come down for Mary Poppins...my big ole belly and all!!

 

[MeMom]

Well I'm pretty good with weeds. I could cook up a really bigggg pot of dandelion greens

I live in a duplex next door to my Mom (and my dad up until May of 09) I'm glad I'm close enough to keep an eye out for my mom! She tried living in a retirement village back in Nov. and moved back home a week later (definately a learning experience). My oldest sister lives in the same town, and my younger sister about 1 1/2 away. It's nice having family close by! 2 hours is as far away as I ever want DD to live, so I understand how you feel! It will definately be an adjustment period for you all! Good news about getting your living room back though! Looks like I'll have a spare room to store some clutter I need to get one of those "we haul junk" trucks and just back it up to the door!

Trent has grown up doing things in the kitchen, so he can pretty much feed himself. I'm sure he'll enjoy some of your cooking and/or your mom's as often as you'll allow him to be there.

I guess won't officially get the living room back until the ginormous TV gets taken away. I told him to sell it and just get a new one later on, but he said he doesn't think he could get much out of it.

I am super excited for Trent and Jamie!!!

MeMom...that means maybe you guys could meet up in Atlanta one day!! Yay!!! At least I get to see ya'll when you come down for Mary Poppins...my big ole belly and all!!

Jill and I talked about Atlanta as a meeting point, too. I think it'll end up like this:

I'll drive to Alabama, and then we'll drive to somewhere in northern Florida for some meets.

Jill will come here, and we'll fly to Orlando for some Disney/Trent trips.

We will meet in Atlanta sometimes - maybe spend a day at the zoo.

They will drive up here some, and Jill will come here when they are here.

So, between all of those comings and goings, I think we can manage to make it work. Once I get my finances straightened out, there may be times when Brooklynn and I fly down for a long weekend or on a break, if Jill can't go. We just have to get him settled in down there and then see how things work best for everyone.

We are looking forward to May 1st. We had planned for it to be a day trip, but now that this is happening, we might possibly consider making it an overnighter. If Trent doesn't have to work that evening, maybe they could drive up to meet us in Perry. We could at least have brunch together Sunday morning and maybe find a mall to hang out in for a couple of hours. Perry is pretty much the halfway point between us, although there's not much to do there. If he has the time off and is willing to drive, then we may end up bringing John and the girls with us to Mary Poppins and going on to Perry later. Again, it's just all up in the air.

 

[disneyfan61]

Well I am just getting caught up. Congrats to Trent!! You seem to be handling this very well MeMom Sounds like you have some great plans on getting together. My oldest DS is 21 & will graduate from college next year. I do hope he finds a job close by but you never know. Of course my DH & I always say that my DS may never leave because he knows where he has it good. He commutes to college every day because we live about 25 min. from UNH so we are always joking that he will be with us forever. But you are right MeMom-we raise them the best we know how & then they need to live their lives & move on but I DO have a problem with letting go ( I guess that is why I tend to spoil them so much). I will be thinking of you all this week!!

 

[MeMom]

Well I am just getting caught up. Congrats to Trent!! You seem to be handling this very well MeMom Sounds like you have some great plans on getting together. My oldest DS is 21 & will graduate from college next year. I do hope he finds a job close by but you never know. Of course my DH & I always say that my DS may never leave because he knows where he has it good. He commutes to college every day because we live about 25 min. from UNH so we are always joking that he will be with us forever. But you are right MeMom-we raise them the best we know how & then they need to live their lives & move on but I DO have a problem with letting go ( I guess that is why I tend to spoil them so much). I will be thinking of you all this week!!

Depends on what moment you catch me. I have plans, but we'll see if they come through. It's going to take some give and take for everyone, and there's going to be a lot of money involved. That could tend to change things.

Trent commuted, too. He's very practical and didn't see the need to pay extra money for a place to stay when he could be at home. Sometimes he would stay with friends just to do some fun things. A lot of his friends were into drinking on the weekends, and that never appealed to him. He would rather be playing ball or hanging out with other people who didn't drink, so being at home suited him fine. Our schedules have been so different over the past couple of years that we come and go, so we haven't gotten on each other's nerves or anything.

The good thing about letting go is that they eventually come back and give you sweet little grandchildren.


****************************

So Drew and I ventured off into Animal Kingdom.

Some of you may want to close your eyes for a few feathered moments.

We decided to boldly go where tigers roamed.

This is also the home of our friends, the bats.

The tigers weren't doing much roaming on this day.

Such beautiful creatures.

This area has a neat story behind it about a temple being destroyed.

 

[Tink9721]

Hey MeMom! I'm back! We had an amazing trip! No flight delays, no problems with the room or ADR's or anything! We did have a slight issue with the return flight but it was resolved in about two minutes and we ended up with an extra 40 minutes in Disney As you heard from Meg, we had an awesome DIS meet!!! My mom can't do Dinosaur or Everest so it was nice to have someone to ride with! I took somewhere around 900 pictures And I took lots of shopping pictures! I even managed to get my mom into some character pictures There may be some candid ones of her too

I just got all caught up. Congrats to Trent and for you! I know what it's like to not be able to see loved ones very often! My cousin Sarah is my best friend in the entire world and I haven't seen her in 3 months. The saddest part is, she only lives an hour away! She's in college so she's really busy and doesn't have a car on campus. And I can't drive yet so I can't go visit her This is the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other! She's planning to visit soon though

Those birds at Pop are huge!!! The birds at Disney definitely aren't shy. When we were at AK on Saturday, there was a duck flying around almost at eye level and it was flying towards my mom and she screamed and jumped out of the way. It was VERY amusing. I started cracking up and so did the guy sitting on the bench we were walking by

 

[MeMom]

Walking on.

Drew taking a picture of this fountain.

My picture of the fountain.

A little shopping.

More feathers. Colorful this time.

Music.

Food. Not ours. I took a picture of someone else's food while they weren't looking.

A couple of waterfall pictures.

At Rainforest Cafe, we parted ways.

Drew was going back to the room, and I was going to meet the others at the Grand Floridian. I didn't take a lot of pictures that morning, since he was with me. I let his better camera do the work. I'll find those and get them on here soon.

 

[tinkgurl]

As you know, I really want to explore the trails more this trip. Where exactly are the tigers? I'm sure you mentioned it, but I'm still confused.

 

[MeMom]

Hey MeMom! I'm back! We had an amazing trip! No flight delays, no problems with the room or ADR's or anything! We did have a slight issue with the return flight but it was resolved in about two minutes and we ended up with an extra 40 minutes in Disney As you heard from Meg, we had an awesome DIS meet!!! My mom can't do Dinosaur or Everest so it was nice to have someone to ride with! I took somewhere around 900 pictures And I took lots of shopping pictures! I even managed to get my mom into some character pictures There may be some candid ones of her too

I just got all caught up. Congrats to Trent and for you! I know what it's like to not be able to see loved ones very often! My cousin Sarah is my best friend in the entire world and I haven't seen her in 3 months. The saddest part is, she only lives an hour away! She's in college so she's really busy and doesn't have a car on campus. And I can't drive yet so I can't go visit her This is the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other! She's planning to visit soon though

Those birds at Pop are huge!!! The birds at Disney definitely aren't shy. When we were at AK on Saturday, there was a duck flying around almost at eye level and it was flying towards my mom and she screamed and jumped out of the way. It was VERY amusing. I started cracking up and so did the guy sitting on the bench we were walking by

Can't wait to hear about your awesome trip! I'm so glad you guys had a great meet.

I won't tell if you sneak in pictures of your mom...
if you promise you will tell if Jill sneaks in pictures of me!