SOOZE's Summer Fling-Mostly PICS! Update 11/15 p.7 LINK TO NEW PTR!

[belle8306]

I haven't seen UP yet. It has gotten such good reviews that I am thinking of just buying it when it comes out on DVD. I love the picture of Shae on the beach. So cute!

 

[jordanyosh]

The pix of Shae with Minnie=priceless.....

 

[Sooze]

I haven't seen UP yet. It has gotten such good reviews that I am thinking of just buying it when it comes out on DVD. I love the picture of Shae on the beach. So cute!

It is SUCH a great movie... the orchestrated montage at the beginning that shows the main character growing old with his wife is, by far, one of the greatest movie moments, ever!! Shae loves her beach shots!

The pix of Shae with Minnie=priceless.....

I agree!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

you have me excited to see UP have not seen it either, wait till the DVD comes out.

 

[Sooze]

you have me excited to see UP have not seen it either, wait till the DVD comes out.

Make sure you and Candi watch it together!

 

[praisehisname]

Shae got to meet with a lot of characters! That's too bad about Tyson's play set.

Denise

 

[Sooze]

Shae got to meet with a lot of characters! That's too bad about Tyson's play set.

Denise

She sure did! She is SO different from Tyson. When he was three, he wanted NOTHING to do with them. Shaelyn will wait hours to see them!

The good thing about the cheap-o toy set is that it taught Tyson a lesson about the 'pretty eye candy' that Disney has everywhere! I think the boy will think twice before asking to get something that he can't check out and physically examine first!

 

[Sooze]

Matt had to get up this last morning and catch a ME bus back to MCO at some unGODly hour. Of course, the kids didn't hear him, but I did. It was a sad goodbye. Lucky for me, I had another morning with the kids at MK. Matt was heading back to 'work'.

So here we go! After packing up the car, we drove and parked at the Contemporary and rode a monorail around to MK.

We started with a train ride:

There was hardly anyone there! This kinds CM spent a lot of time talking to Tyson about his birthday:

She gave him Mickey confetti/pixie dust.

Then she told him to make a birthday wish... and sprinkled the rest in his hair! It was such a sweet moment!

Shae had more fun with the Mickey confetti!

We hopped in the back car, hoping to be able to say "All Aboard".. but it just wasn't meant for us this trip. There was a family from Europe in the very back, and their child was chosen to say it. I'm all good with that...

Off we go:

Wanna ride with us?

We found ourselves in Toon Town. Since we didn't get to see any princesses at CRT (besides Cinderella),Tyson was kind enough to let his sister see some!

What a good sport! My handsome prince:

Onto Belle:

And, lastly, Aurora:

Honestly, I can't remember all that we rode. We piddled around Fantasyland and rode what we could. Tyson had fun in this little prop:

We decided to search out Jasmine, and found out she is often found near the flying carpets (duh!) On our way, we saw that the big ol' boat was ready to leave. You know, that's something I don't think I have ever ridden! So the 3 of us hopped on. I was amazed at the great photo ops you have on this ride!

CONTD NEXT POST....

 

[Sooze]

We found our way around to the Flying Carpets and found the little area where Jasmine and Aladdin would be. They were not going to be out for another 30 minutes. But it's the one princess Shae was really DYING to see.. and we were about to get in the car for a LONG LONG time! So, we waited.

I'm so glad we did. They were SO worth the wait. Aladdin was PERFECT!! He spoke in just the right voice, with the little 'crack' to his voice that Aladdin has. Plus his autograph was AMAZING. I'll need to take a picture of it and post it!

From all the pics I've seen of Aladdin on the DIS, I think this guy was the most handsome I've ever seen!

With heavy hearts, we headed away from Magic Kingdom and hopped a monorail to the Contemporary to pic up our car:

This was after being reminded that we were lucky to spend the time here that we did!! And after being reminded that we'll be back here for 8 days in the Spring!!!

You can tell Ty isn't buying it tho.. he's still depressed!

Quick story to finish up our trip. We had already had the car packed and ready to go. We were supposed to hop into it, get on the highway, and start zipping towards Indiana. Well...

Shaelyn has had her yellow lovey blanket forever. She sleeps with it every night and drags it anywhere we allow her. I was so proud this trip that I was able to keep it in the resort room every time we went to a park. I was finally able to NOT have to drag that thing to the parks.

That all bit me in the butt this morning. Since I wasn't worried about taking it with us to MK, I didn't confirm that we had it with us when we left SSR. As we left MK, and started on our way, Shae was ready for lovin' time with her blanket, and a heavenly nap. "Where's my beetie?" She asks.
"Ty, buddy, can you find your sister's blanket?"
......

I realize I had never taken it out of bed this morning. I knew that I had stripped all of the linens off of the sofa bed, and I KNEW that blanket was in there. I also knew it was well after lunch time, and those linens were long gone to some laundry facility by now.

We drove to SSR anyway. I won't bore you with the details, but the next hour was spent on the phone, talking to CMs, crying (all of us), waiting, talking to more CMs, getting frustrated that although the CMs were trying to help me... they really weren't LISTENING to me. They kept sending people to look in the room, but I knew it wasn't IN the room.. it was in the linens!!

After an hour, they told us there was nothing they could do. If they found the blanket, they'd notify us. GREAT... that certainly doesn't help ME as I begin a 15 hour ride home with a blanket-less three year old who needs a serious nap.

I called Matt to fill him in.. he felt so bad. We really didn't know what else to do but get in the car and start driving home. Shae did well for about an hour. We told her that her blanket wanted to stay at DisneyWorld. But then she started to get tired, and without that blanket to cuddle with, and rub on her face, and hold while she sucked her thumb.. she just turned into a restless mess.

Finally it came to me. I told Shae that we will stop at a WalMart and she can pick out her very own new blanket.

It worked out perfectly. The GPS lead us right to a store, and they had the most adorable Tinkerbell, soft fluffy goodness blankets. She fell in love instantly! Thank goodness!!!

We never did hear back from Disney about her yellow blanket. Surely the housekeeping folks found this poor little well-loved blanket as they were washing, folding, or putting on linens. I filled out a missing article form and everything. I'm very sad that they couldn't help up find this very important item.

But, that was that! It was a VERY long ride home. I'm so thankful we made such a huge trip safely with no complications.. other than said blanket!

I will come back and post some pictures of our adventures BEFORE we got to Disney, as some had requested. Then, it's time for my NEW PTR... Matt and I are leaving in THREE WEEKS for our adults only getaway!

Thanks for hanging out with me, everyone!

 

[dddisrunner]

GREAT updates Sooze! I am just catching up! Shae is SO PRECIOOUS with Cinderella, what a FUN night! I love all of Matt's facial expressions...they make me laugh! Hooray for Tyson getting all of those birthday cupcakes! What great pictures from the boat ride! We ahve never done that either. I was laughing at the last day monorail pics of the kids trying not to look too depressed! OH NO....poor Shae and her beetie! I am so happy for you that she LOVED her new Tink one. Did she ever ask for her old one again? How frustrating that the CM's weren't listening! I can't wait to hear all about your upcoming trip!!! AWESOME report as usual!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I can't believe that you are finished already! Loved your TR and your kids are adorable. Even with the "how lucky we were" and" just think, we'll be back in the spring" it's depressing to leave...
How exciting that you are going back so soon! Looking forward to reading all about your next adventure!

 

[Sooze]

GREAT updates Sooze! I am just catching up! Shae is SO PRECIOOUS with Cinderella, what a FUN night! I love all of Matt's facial expressions...they make me laugh! Hooray for Tyson getting all of those birthday cupcakes! What great pictures from the boat ride! We ahve never done that either. I was laughing at the last day monorail pics of the kids trying not to look too depressed! OH NO....poor Shae and her beetie! I am so happy for you that she LOVED her new Tink one. Did she ever ask for her old one again? How frustrating that the CM's weren't listening! I can't wait to hear all about your upcoming trip!!! AWESOME report as usual!

Glad you made it back over and for taking the time to read! After meeting Tim this summer, I realized how much my husband and he are alike! So funny!

Every once in a while Shae will say, "Remember yellow beetie?" We talk about how lucky it is to be able to stay in Disney all the time!

Come on over to the next TR when I get the link up! I'd love to have you again!!

I can't believe that you are finished already! Loved your TR and your kids are adorable. Even with the "how lucky we were" and" just think, we'll be back in the spring" it's depressing to leave...
How exciting that you are going back so soon! Looking forward to reading all about your next adventure!

I can't believe I actually got this one done in less than 4 months! It usually takes me forever!! Thanks for being here and for your comments. Hope to see you on the new TR!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Awwww, I'm so sorry about the blanket!! Makes me want to cry too. I just know how you felt while trying to get it back. When DS and I took a trip to Houston just the 2 of us to see the Jonas Brothers concert, I SWEAR I put his stuffed Shamu that he sleeps with EVERY NIGHT, in his bag but it is still nowhere to be found!! The hotel didn't find it....i'm sure they didn't really look. I am still trying to get my hands on a replica. For the most part he is over it but every so often he asks for it. I feel so bad. He picked it out all by himself during his first trip to Sea World when he was 2.


Anyway, I really enjoyed your picture TR. I can't belive it's over but I see that it works well for you since you have another trip coming soon! Hope you have a good time and can't wait to see more pics if you do another TR!

 

[timandlesley]

Hey Sooze,GREAT update as usual. The one of Matt on the boat made me think ONCE AGAIN "he and Tim would get along sooooo well!" We'll get there someday : )
The family photo with the UP characters is AWESOME, definitely frame worthy : ) I can't believe how OUT Shae was and then how she came back to life so quickly for the Buzz and Woody meet and greet, did she wake up for the Toy Story ride too? Was she cranky? She seems to recover really fast (my kids were never like that : )
So sorry you had to miss out on Illumination, I know how much you love it. Can't wait to hear about the magic at MK on your last day and OH NO about the drama to come about your trip home
Lesley

 

[belle8306]

Great pictures from the train. The look on the kids faces as they were leaving is exactly how I feel on the last day at Disney. Shae's blanket! I am so sorry she liked it but good quick thinking on your part to find a replacement so fast. I am going to follow you over to your pre-trip. I am super excited that your trip is so close. Ours is still 6+ months away.

 

[praisehisname]

I'm glad you were able to see the princesses (even Jasmine!) on your last day. It's a little easier leaving when you know you're coming back...

Sorry about the lost blankie...I'm glad the new one from Walmart did the trick!

 

[CW4DW]

I hate that the trip is over but glad the blanket tragedy was averted... Great last day - y'all got to see a lot of characters; Ty is a great sport and loves his little sister! You have a beautiful family!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

im glad the whole blanket worked our for the good

 

[Sooze]

I'm glad you were able to see the princesses (even Jasmine!) on your last day. It's a little easier leaving when you know you're coming back...

Sorry about the lost blankie...I'm glad the new one from Walmart did the trick!

I was glad, too! They were very worth the wait!
And it's not just a little easier... it's a LOT easier knowing that you're coming back. I fought my husband a bit on buying into DVC, but I am SO glad we did for that very reason... we always know we are coming back!

I hate that the trip is over but glad the blanket tragedy was averted... Great last day - y'all got to see a lot of characters; Ty is a great sport and loves his little sister! You have a beautiful family!

Tragedy averted... such a great capture of those events!! We did have a great last day even with no Daddy and lost beetie!! Thanks for your compliments! Hope to see you on the TR soon!

im glad the whole blanket worked our for the good

ME TOO!! Whew!

 

[Sooze]

A few folks asked to see pictures from our other 3,000 miles... so here are a few highlights!

1st state:

Hi Tim and Lesley!!

We stayed in Columbus our 1st night. We were visiting my college roomie, maid of honor, and best friend ever!
Here are Tyson and Shaelyn, and Julie's 3 darling girls:

And this is Jules and me with a few of our kids thrown in for good luck.

We were able to do a lot of visiting since our kids were old enough to run off and play by themselves! We also saw some fireworks that night. Well, not me and Shae because she freaked out and said it was too loud. So we ended up watching the in the car.

Next stop:

Well, technically we didn't stop here. In fact, we only drove in this state for about 15 minutes on our way into:

My oldest sister, Sandy lives here in State College. Her husband is an accounting professor at Penn State. She has 3 lovely daughters. (Poor Tyson had his fill of little girls!) Here we are enjoying a dinner in the beautiful scenery of PA:

Here are the cousins all playing in the pool:

The next stop was in Northeastern PA, where I grew up and went to HS. I was visiting my bestest friend (I know, I have lots of these!) in his apartment near Wilkes-Barre. This is Tony and me:

Side story... notice the glowing orb in the picture?! We had quite the spiritual experience when Tyson snapped this shot and we checked it out. If any of you have been with me since my 1st TR, you may remember that I lost a dear friend in a car accident a few years back. His name was Tom... and he, Tony, and I were INSEPARABLE during HS. Well, we think Tom made an appearance in our picture!

Here is Tony with my kids:

We stopped by my old High School and I showed the kids where I roamed the halls for 4 years. We also found the mural that I painted on the wall way back in 1991! It is STILL there... crazy! Check it out:

The next day we continued our Pennsylvania tour. We passed through the cool Lehigh Tunnel:

We made our way down to Allentown, where another dear friend and college roommate lives. We had not seen each other since college graduation in 1995. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, we reconnected and made plans to hang out for a day. She lives in the most STUNNING home with her gorgeous children (1 girl and 2 boys! YAY!) and wonderful husband. We had the most AMAZING time getting reconnected while the kids played and played and played in this fabulous pool:

Here is Carrie and me: (in my DisGreen Disney shirt... such a dork!)

And here are Ty and Shae with two out of Carrie's three children (one was at a swim meet!)

We packed the car AGAIN the next morning and headed off to Washington DC.

Yet another wonderful friend (I am so blessed) lives in Baltimore. He drove over to DC to meet us and be our little tour guide. We really didn't spend TOO much time here. We did park at the Washington Monument and we were able to see the WWII memorial, the Monument up close, and other things from a distance (White House, Lincoln Memorial, etc.)

Looking across the WWII memorial to the Lincoln Memorial:

Standing in front of the home state with my friend, Vincent:

I LOVE this picture that Tyson took of Shae. He was lying on the ground right next to the Washington Monument and took this picture looking up:

I also love this one. I mean, who wouldn't just bust out an arabesque when they saw the Washington Monument for the first time

Continued....