It looks like the three of you had a really nice day.
Hmmm it might be a toss up who's bigger that pumpkin or Laura... although Laura is certainly cuter...
We did! It was just a really fun day! The pumpkin is a little bit bigger! Haha! It was 15lbs and she's only a bit over 11! But, still much, much cuter!
That wine certainly has a cute label... I'd love to know what it tastes like...
I will post an update on how it is when I get back from PA! Hopefully they aren't out by then
Is that a little camo sleeper....lol...cute....
It is! It is!! That was actually the very first baby thing we got after we found out we were expecting Laura! John came home from work with it the day after my test at the hospital! He was just so excited!!
I don't follow football or basketball so I can't say I'm particularly sad about the Eagles-Steelers game but baseball and to a lesser extent hockey are a different story...The Phillies made me so sad this year...
I'm not a huge baseball follower, but the Phillies really did have a sad season this year![]()
John did not look like he was messing around while he was cutting that pumpkin... he looks like a man on a mission...![]()
Another audience member pulling up a chair for the ring-side Oct 2013 planning!
Great to have you reading along!!
I think I'll be there the same time you and your beautiful family will be there.
October is just such a wonderful time to visit!! And thank you
Looking forward to the countdown....and the planning, planning, planning.
Me too!! I can't wait!
Your pumpkin patch kid is adorable!
Thank you!!!![]()
Hi!!!
I am loving your PTR so far~!I love your story.
Laura is just precious! I can't believe how much dark hair she has... Both of my girls were baldies.
You're sweet, thank you![]()
I think 15 months is a great first age to be in Disney - she won't remember it at all, but you will create some very wonderful memories with her.
Absolutely! That's really the reasoning that won John over! And she'll be able to look back on those pictures when she's older and have a glimpse into those memories we have with her. My sister still loves looking at the pictures of her first trip when she was 15 months. Come to think of it, she was also born in July and we went the year after! How cool!
Sorry, I can't comment about flying with an infant... I hope your flight goes/went well, and I am sure it will be awesome to be "home" among your family and friends.
Thanks, and yes, they did. I honestly couldn't have asked for better flights. Laura did better than I ever dreamed! She only fussed when she was hungry. Other than that, she slept or just sat in my lap and looked around the plane!
Home is always a wonderful place, for sure....it is great to be back here again, even if only for a little while!
Thank you to your DH for his service. We are a military family too (retired)... My DH was full-time National Guard, and then a DoD civillian, and now he is IT at the VA hospital here in MN. We only did one (16 month) deployment, but that was enough for me - since he wasn't deployed as his MOS (they were kind enough to make him a truck driver in Iraq) - so, yah - that was enough. I miss seeing him in his ACUs every morning, but it's so nice to not have to worry anymore.
A BIG thank you to your DH as well!I completely understand: one deployment is enough...and a 16 month deployment is more than enough!
My girls and I are also planning an October trip - DH is not a Disney fan- not sure if we will be there at the same time, sounds like we might? Our tentative dates are the 12-19th (POFQ).
I had so many other comments to make, but I can't remember all of them right now.
I can't wait to hear about more of your plans for your first trip with Laura - it's sure to be an amazing time.
Yes, we're definitely looking at those dates, or at least a few of them. Since I've been home, my mom and I have been checking out a few things, so hopefully I'll have an actual Disney update soon with some semi-definite plans! We're trying to narrow down dates and a few other details. So stay tuned for sure!!
D~
Great PTR so far!!!! You have a gorgeous family!!! It makes me think of our family. DH is NH Air National Guard and full time civilian DoD employee. We deal with deployments every two years or so.
Thank you andGod bless your family and so many deployments! John has just gotten so lucky. He was offered a voluntary three month deployment a month before our wedding, which he declined. Then in February or March (I can't remember exactly) a deployment rotations list (I'm not sure to where, however) went out at his shop and because Laura was due in July, they kindly put him at the very end of it. But, people have been going left and right so, it really is only a matter of time.
![]()
My DH is my high school sweetheart as well and we just celebrated our 10 year anniversary in June, after 18 years of being together
Congratulations! So exciting to hear stories like this!!
I'll be reading along...I have a PTR as well going that I did have a link to on my siggie but took off because I wasn't keeping up as much as I wanted, but its pretty current now.
It's here: http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2981263
Count me in!!
Enjoy the visit in PA. We'll still be here when you get back.
It sounds like you are having a wonderful visit... I can't wait to hear about how all your plans are coming along.
D~
Yeah for being in PA! Let's do the PA dance...
It's been a very pretty Fall here too... except for those rainy days...
Hope you have a great visit and I'm glad that your flight was so smooth...
Take lots of photos...![]()
Congratulations! That is one fantastic discount for CL at CR. You're just going to have such a great time and especially given that you've added a day to chill-ax beforehand. That's a great strategy.
And stay safe. Hope things are okay with anyone in the path of Sandy.
Congratulations!!! Bummer that you won't be there in OCt...
Thank you!!Just so excited! And yeah, I'm a little bummed we won't be there in October, but at least we're going!!
I know - I am totally kicking myself for the military discount, as well - it is a killer deal, and one I would love to take advantage of... Maybe I will pay off our Oct trip, and then book one during summer break to take advantage of the discount, LOL. Doubtful, but fun to dream about.
Yeah, I know what you mean. We would have booked for October anyway if CL wasn't available under the discount for September, but there's no way we could pass it up! You should definitely also book for the summer! Haha! Oh, how great two trips in one year would be!!![]()
How awesome that you got CL at the Contemp... That will be a magnificant trip for all of you!
And AoA looks awesome too - if we ever decided to stay there, I would definately do the Cars rooms... Now I woulnd't normally say that, since I have 2 girls who really don't "get" the whole Cars thing... but have you looked at those rooms? The Cars ones are by far the coolest ones of all of them. IMO.
I have looked at the Cars rooms and I agree with you, they are really cool! I like the looks of them a lot!! (I think the Nemo's are my favorite though!) That being said, I'm kind of letting the room choice up to the rest of the family...so far we have one vote for Lion King (from John and I was shocked! I thought it'd be Cars because he loves those movies!!), one for Nemo, one who isn't sure, and one who hasn't given an opinion yet....then there's Laura who at the moment is too tiny to say. I have no idea which one we'll end up in...
I just wanted to add, that you can only do one discount per room, so I believe it's only the military or free dining, but I am 99% sure you can't do both. Regardless - 40% off is waaaay better than FD anyways, at least for a Deluxe resort.
I'm thinking you are probably right about that...I could have sworn I read somewhere that the military room only was the exception to the rule...but I can't remember where I read that...I may have dreamed it and just thought I read it?That's happened before
I hope you all are safe from Sandy, and you enjoy your extra few days with friends and family. Take care!
Thanks we got really lucky! Didn't get hit near as bad as expected where we were and definitely did enjoy the extra days!
D~
Hey,
So exciting about the Contemporary... (that's on my bucket list... well actually my 10 year old is desperate to stay there... it's in the works for his 12th birthday so I can't wait to hear your opinions on it...- AoA looks awesome as well... the decor is so larger than life...
Oh, that's great that you're looking to stay at the Contemporary for his birthday! It's just such a fun place and I think you'll like it! I have always enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the main concourse (that you see from the rooms and monorail). I know some say it's noisy, but it's just something we love about staying there (and I honestly can't ever remember a time when we couldn't sleep or anything because of the restaurants and/or the shops downstairs...but that's just us). We've stayed there every trip (with the exception of our first two) and love it...I'll definitely give an updated report after the trip, though!
That's why I'm so excited that we decided to add on an extra day at AoA at the start of the trip without park tickets or anything so we could stay somewhere else but still be able to stay at the Contemporary for the remainder of the trip! I can't wait to see the resort and report back with pictures and everything!!
Good for your discount - you guys deserve that and more for your DH's service...
Thank you! It's just really nice that Disney supports the military like that and are willing to give back with such an awesome deal.
My brother was supposed to fly in from California in today to Philadelphia for a business meeting... but thankfully he cancelled -he had to go back Tuesday-which is supposed to the height of the storm... Glad you could reschedule... that's really the decent thing for the airlines to do...
That was a good thing that he cancelled then or he would have been stuck! It was very nice that US Air did allow the reschedule, especially since the flight ended up being cancelled anyway! On Saturday both our flights had open seats. We ended up in a row to ourselves on both flights, which was great!
Stay safe during the storm...Hugs to you and Laura![]()
I hope that you all are doing OK through the storm. (((Hugs))) Hopefully you'll check in to let us know how you're doing.
I also stopped by to wish you a Happy Halloween!
Sorry I missed you on Wednesday! Happy Late Halloween!! And happy November! Can't believe it's November already!!
D~
Hi; I see you've joined my TR, and I am now returning the favor.
I will be back tonight to catch up on what I've missed so far.
Hi; I see you've joined my TR, and I am now returning the favor.
I will be back tonight to catch up on what I've missed so far.
****I'm back and all caught up.
Oops! I missed that you added more!!
I loved your introductions, and your daughter is absolutely beautiful.
Aww, thank you!![]()
Where in Illinois do you live? I assume down South since you are flying out of St. Louis for your trip home to see your parents?
We currently live in Belleville (stationed at Scott AFB). And we're about 30ish minutes from St. Louis...give or take with traffic. This is all changing though...I still can't believe it! More in my next update!
![]()
Congrats on booking your resort (we used to stay at the Contemporary a long time ago) for your dates (that's the time we usually go to Disney, but next year we are going in August to get another use out of our annual passes.
Wow!!! Lots of big news!
Glad you and Laura made it home safely and your family didn't suffer any damage.
Congrats to John for a better job!
Thank you! He's pretty happy! This job is basically what he's been trained for (not that his now isn't important and necessary) and what he wants to do!And so many people we've talked to that have worked where he'll be working have loved it! I don't think we've heard anything negative yet...at least not that I can think of right now!
And how awesome that your move will bring you closer to your family and to Disney.
My excitement for both of these things cannot be measured! I'm thrilled to be closer to the ones I love and to my favorite place!
That's a bummer about your house - but you can always build it again.
This is very true, and we figure next time we build, it'll be even better! Though I don't think we'll do that again until we're in a more permanant location!
I agree - at least you are together - that is most important.
HUGE
Can't wait to hear all about your new adventures... I have a few good Dis friends that live in GA.
There will definitely be a lot to share in the near future that's for sure!!
D~
WOW... really WOW...
That's a lot to process...You really have to be flexible and resilient to be a military family... I give you guys a lot of credit...
Thank you! I can't pretend it's easy...there are a lot of times it is very, very difficult. But, the only way to get through the icky times, is to focus on the good things...and they out-weigh the bad by a huge margin!![]()
Moving again...not too much fun...
I do not like the actual moving part at all...I haven't lived in the same place for more than two years at a time since 2007. Packing is the worst! But it's so great that the military does that for us when we change duty stations! Makes it a lot easier on everyone!
But being together...priceless...
So, so, sooo wonderfully true!
It's good to have such a positive attitude... It really gets you far...and since it's happening anyway... it makes it smoother for you...
Absolutely...and this is sometimes SO hard...but, I have to stay positive about things. HAVE to! I don't function too well otherwise. So staying positive, planning something: trips, outings with John, Laura, and I, visits back home, etc., etc., etc., are ways to do that! It's not always easy, but it definitely does make things smoother!
Yeah for a better job...
and yeah for being within drivable distance to WDW...
These two deserve a:![]()
First, glad you made it home safely.
I'm sad you are leaving my home State (I know the Belleville area), but being in Georgia certainly has a LOT of advantages.
I'm a bit sad about it, too, actually, but SO many advantages, yes!!!Where in IL are you from? This is a pretty nice area...it's been a good two years here!
To answer your question about September at Disney, it is hot...I will not lie. We had 90's when there a couple of months ago and quite a bit of humidity. But, truthfully, it doesn't bother us all that much. We just drink lots of fluids (mostly water), keep a cool washcloth on our neck, take breaks, etc. We also need to get used to it if we are moving there, as planned, in three years.
Hmm...that is one thing I'll miss about not going in October...bit lower temps. However, we've been in June, July, and August, so hopefully it's maybe a little tiny bit better...if not, that's what we've been used to our last three trips, so we'll definitely manage....and drink lots and lots of water (and some non-water drinks too!![]()
), for sure!!!
Do you know where about in Florida you'll be moving yet? My parents are also looking at moving there after my mom retires in a year and a half and will definitely be within either walking or a very short driving distance to the beach! The hard part is picking just one beach! My mom loves so many down there!![]()
Hope you're having a FANTASTIC trip right now! I have been keeping up on your TR even though I haven't commented of late and was SO excited for you and your DH Wednesday night!!