Road Trippin', Cruisin' and Photo Bombin'-Our EPIC Family Vacation!NEW11/5-BIRDS..UGH
- Thread starter mommytothreeboys
- Start date
scrpbookr
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2013
- Messages
- 559
Just a little life update! Dan graduates on Saturday and things have been really crazy here!With school ending for the other two boys and all that brings...exams, trips, etc...and planning Dan's grad party, I have not been able to get an update posted. I have family coming into town this weekend for the festivities and we are having a big party to celebrate on Sunday. I am doing most of the cooking, so I'll be a busy girl this week. I have a scrapbook to finish, decorations to finalize, meatballs and chicken to cook, shopping to do....the list goes on!
Please bear with me.I promise I will be on to update next week after the craziness subsides a bit. I will post pics of the new High School graduate as well!
As I've been reading your trip report posts and loving your pictures I kept wondering if you're a scrapbooker. I think I got my answer in this post.
Love the trip so far! Thanks for sharing. Reading on now....
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,355
Helloooooooo Mrs. Suzy Homemaker! We miss you over here!
mommytothreeboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,504
Thanks Lisa! I think getting to EE so early was the key.
Love the updates! We are probably staying off site next year, so it is nice to hear you had a good experience.
Expedition Everest that many times?!?! I would LOVE to do that!!
I still consider myself and onsite girl, but I would consider doing an off site trip again if circumstances dictated. The space was the biggest advantage to being off site...so nice with a family of large boys!
Great update!
Yep...I don't scrapbook as much as I would like, but I was a Creative Memories consultant for 10 years and continue to work on my projects as often as I can.
UGH! Why is my life so CRAZY!! I got rid of one kid, you'd think it would be less chaotic! Writing an update now.....
mommytothreeboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,504
Following a great Safari, we had to go on another safari...to find the stroller! I have to say, all the arguments about whether or not a child is too young to go to Disney aside, the #1 reason to take a child when he/she is older is that the stroller is a PAIN! You have to park it, then the CMs who monitor the stroller parking move it as guests come and go, then you have to go BACK to get it from the exit of the ride, then you have to FIND it among everyone elses strollers! UGH! I know, I know
this is coming from a mom who has never had to take a stroller to Disney. We started going when my youngest was 6. Ive only ever known the unencumbered freedom of the no stroller crowd! I absolutely loved having Christian with us and wouldnt change it
.but Im so thankful I dont have to do the stroller thing on every trip!
Now that I have that off my chest .we are off to walk the Pangani Forest Trail to see if we can see the gorillas! For some reason, on this day, the trail was SO crowded.
We came to a dead stop just before the gorilla observation area and had to squeeze our way through the crowd gathered there to hear one of the CMs answering questions etc. Im not sure people knew you could just keep walking, but we did get a few dirty looks trying to get through. I have NO pics of gorillas so something tells me we didnt have much luck getting good view of them. I remember seeing one off in the distance, but it was not a good gorilla sighting day. Sad. 
We got through the crowds in the little discovery buildings and out into the fresh air. Christian LOVED the fish and you can see in these pictures that he couldnt be torn away!
As we meandered through the trail (the crowds seemed to have thinned a great deal at this point), we took advantage of the beautiful backdrops to take some photos!
And now a very chaste Disney kiss .
At the end of the trail, we had to make a decision about what to do next. Riding Kali River Rapids was next on the list, so we made our way toward Asia to see what the wait time was or to grab a set of fastpasses. Ahhh the Tree of Life. I love how beautiful Animal Kingdom is.
On our way through Asia, there was a CM teaching kids how to write their names in Hindi. Jonah was interested so we stopped. See how proud he is .
More photo ops!
The line at Kali was too long to wait, so we decided to get fastpasses and pass the time by walking the Maharajah Jungle Trek. It was hot though, so we stopped for some liquid refreshment first. Since were just standing we should take some pictures! And here is photo bomb number 2, compliments of Jonah!
This is more what I was going for .
Once our drinks were gone, we headed into the trail to see the BATS!
I also took some time to feed the Hidden Mickey Monster I had created by pointing this one out to Shawna. Do you see it??
The tigers are always a main attraction here so we spent some time checking them out they were very sleepy!
Again, I love all the little touches of theming in Animal Kingdom. It really feels like you have taken a trip to another place.
Now, I think Ive said before that my boys humor me and the fact that I love to take pictures of everything. I did try to make a more concerted effort to spend less time behind the camera this trip, but I just couldnt resist these! On our prior trips, I have taken pictures of the boys posed in the crazy poses that the statues are in. This time, Dan did not want to participate, but I got Nick to join in the silliness!
Monkey see, monkey do
Time for an emabarassing story....
If you have been on the Maharajah Jungle Trek, you know that at the end there is an aviary that is FULL of exotic birds. If you know me at all, you know this is the LAST thing I want to be a part of. I hate birds, they scare me to death and I really want no part of them pretty or not! SO I told Shawna when we got to the beginning of the aviary where you can get a little guide card with all the birds you may see, that I was going to make my way very quickly to the exit and that she could hang with the boys or come with me, but I was OUT OF THERE! She chose to bring the stroller and come with me. As we were making our way out I repeat, quickly .a large bird literally dive bombed me. I ducked and screeched and scared the pants off of Shawna! She also ducked and screamed just in reaction to my hysterics. LOL!
Once she recovered, she was cracking up laughing at me while I RAN the rest of the way out. THAT is precisely why I hate birds! My heart was beating fast and my adrenaline was pumping. UGH!! As I was trying to get a grip of myself, I felt something wet near the pocket of my shorts. I looked down and to my horror, that AWFUL bird had POOPED in my pocket. Not on my pocket or near my pocket
.IN my pocket! By now I am nearly crying and Jeff is out and trying to help me clean it up. The rest of the group is in tears, but for a very different reason
they cant stop laughing at me. 
Of all the people in that aviary, the bird chose me! GROSS!! Even Disney birds are nasty!
I finally recovered from my trauma and the group ceased their giggling. It was time to use our Kali fastpasses. YAY! I love this ride and its hot enough that I dont even care if I get wet! Nick has never been on before, and Shawna doesnt do water rides, so she sat out with the baby. It was Jeff, Nick, Isaiah, Jonah, Dan, and myself off on a Kali adventure! I love that you can all be in the same raft and one person will come off dry as a bone and one will be soaked to the bone! In our case, Jeff was the lucky one sitting in the seat that had the wall of water come up and over him like a tidal wave! He was soaked completely. Nick, on the other hand, was nearly dry! The rest of us were somewhere in between, but it had been a great ride. Poor Jeff its hard to tell from the picture, but he is wet from top to bottom and all the way through!
By this time, it is a little after 1pm and we are all getting a little hungry. We know we want to eat at Flame Tree Barbeque, so we decided to head that way and try to give Jeff some time to dry off! On our way, something else catches our eye .a little detour before lunch!
Now that I have that off my chest .we are off to walk the Pangani Forest Trail to see if we can see the gorillas! For some reason, on this day, the trail was SO crowded.
We came to a dead stop just before the gorilla observation area and had to squeeze our way through the crowd gathered there to hear one of the CMs answering questions etc. Im not sure people knew you could just keep walking, but we did get a few dirty looks trying to get through. I have NO pics of gorillas so something tells me we didnt have much luck getting good view of them. I remember seeing one off in the distance, but it was not a good gorilla sighting day. Sad. We got through the crowds in the little discovery buildings and out into the fresh air. Christian LOVED the fish and you can see in these pictures that he couldnt be torn away!
As we meandered through the trail (the crowds seemed to have thinned a great deal at this point), we took advantage of the beautiful backdrops to take some photos!
And now a very chaste Disney kiss .
At the end of the trail, we had to make a decision about what to do next. Riding Kali River Rapids was next on the list, so we made our way toward Asia to see what the wait time was or to grab a set of fastpasses. Ahhh the Tree of Life. I love how beautiful Animal Kingdom is.
On our way through Asia, there was a CM teaching kids how to write their names in Hindi. Jonah was interested so we stopped. See how proud he is .
More photo ops!
The line at Kali was too long to wait, so we decided to get fastpasses and pass the time by walking the Maharajah Jungle Trek. It was hot though, so we stopped for some liquid refreshment first. Since were just standing we should take some pictures! And here is photo bomb number 2, compliments of Jonah!
This is more what I was going for .
Once our drinks were gone, we headed into the trail to see the BATS!
I also took some time to feed the Hidden Mickey Monster I had created by pointing this one out to Shawna. Do you see it??
The tigers are always a main attraction here so we spent some time checking them out they were very sleepy!
Again, I love all the little touches of theming in Animal Kingdom. It really feels like you have taken a trip to another place.
Now, I think Ive said before that my boys humor me and the fact that I love to take pictures of everything. I did try to make a more concerted effort to spend less time behind the camera this trip, but I just couldnt resist these! On our prior trips, I have taken pictures of the boys posed in the crazy poses that the statues are in. This time, Dan did not want to participate, but I got Nick to join in the silliness!
Monkey see, monkey do
Time for an emabarassing story....
If you have been on the Maharajah Jungle Trek, you know that at the end there is an aviary that is FULL of exotic birds. If you know me at all, you know this is the LAST thing I want to be a part of. I hate birds, they scare me to death and I really want no part of them pretty or not! SO I told Shawna when we got to the beginning of the aviary where you can get a little guide card with all the birds you may see, that I was going to make my way very quickly to the exit and that she could hang with the boys or come with me, but I was OUT OF THERE! She chose to bring the stroller and come with me. As we were making our way out I repeat, quickly .a large bird literally dive bombed me. I ducked and screeched and scared the pants off of Shawna! She also ducked and screamed just in reaction to my hysterics. LOL!
Once she recovered, she was cracking up laughing at me while I RAN the rest of the way out. THAT is precisely why I hate birds! My heart was beating fast and my adrenaline was pumping. UGH!! As I was trying to get a grip of myself, I felt something wet near the pocket of my shorts. I looked down and to my horror, that AWFUL bird had POOPED in my pocket. Not on my pocket or near my pocket
.IN my pocket! By now I am nearly crying and Jeff is out and trying to help me clean it up. The rest of the group is in tears, but for a very different reason
they cant stop laughing at me. Of all the people in that aviary, the bird chose me! GROSS!! Even Disney birds are nasty! I finally recovered from my trauma and the group ceased their giggling. It was time to use our Kali fastpasses. YAY! I love this ride and its hot enough that I dont even care if I get wet! Nick has never been on before, and Shawna doesnt do water rides, so she sat out with the baby. It was Jeff, Nick, Isaiah, Jonah, Dan, and myself off on a Kali adventure! I love that you can all be in the same raft and one person will come off dry as a bone and one will be soaked to the bone! In our case, Jeff was the lucky one sitting in the seat that had the wall of water come up and over him like a tidal wave! He was soaked completely. Nick, on the other hand, was nearly dry! The rest of us were somewhere in between, but it had been a great ride. Poor Jeff its hard to tell from the picture, but he is wet from top to bottom and all the way through!
By this time, it is a little after 1pm and we are all getting a little hungry. We know we want to eat at Flame Tree Barbeque, so we decided to head that way and try to give Jeff some time to dry off! On our way, something else catches our eye .a little detour before lunch!
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,355
Yay! Missy's in the house!
I still go by those sea of strollers and say "I am so glad that we don't have to do that any more!". It's everything that you said it was and more.
Missy, I love ya but you know what I am about to say and do....................oh my gosh, I am laughing my behind off at the bird diving bombing you and then pooping in your pocket. Hilarious!
Okay, I'm sorry! I know that I'm not supposed to be laughing but it's funny. 
You know that hidden Mickey that you posted? That's the same one that Hunter has his picture taken by every year. Ya'll found Hunter's Mickey!
I still go by those sea of strollers and say "I am so glad that we don't have to do that any more!". It's everything that you said it was and more.
Missy, I love ya but you know what I am about to say and do....................oh my gosh, I am laughing my behind off at the bird diving bombing you and then pooping in your pocket. Hilarious!
Okay, I'm sorry! I know that I'm not supposed to be laughing but it's funny. You know that hidden Mickey that you posted? That's the same one that Hunter has his picture taken by every year. Ya'll found Hunter's Mickey!
mommytothreeboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,504
Yay! Missy's in the house!
I still go by those sea of strollers and say "I am so glad that we don't have to do that any more!". It's everything that you said it was and more.
Missy, I love ya but you know what I am about to say and do....................oh my gosh, I am laughing my behind off at the bird diving bombing you and then pooping in your pocket. Hilarious!
You know that hidden Mickey that you posted? That's the same one that Hunter has his picture taken by every year. Ya'll found Hunter's Mickey!
Laugh....it....Up! It's ok, I forgive ya. It was kind of funny....if you weren't being traumatized, of course!
JPFamilyMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2008
- Messages
- 1,600
So I just found and read your whole TR tonight.... being a mom of two young boys I'm loving reading about your big boys. Hope you continue, I've really enjoyed reading tonight
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