TammiMcMan
Ohana
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2002
- Messages
- 6,308
Your performers for this presentation:
Jim - hanging on to 39, does not help with the planning but he does write the check
Tammi - hit the big 4-0 on January 1st, can't think of anywhere else I'd rather vacation than Disney World
Prologue:
My husband and I started planning for our 20th anniversary over this past summer. We met in the fall of 1981, both of us just 17. I was in my senior year of high school and Jim was a junior. I didnt really look twice at him because he was introduced as a friend of my younger brother, therefore I assumed he was only 15 or 16. I later learned that he was in fact, just one month younger than myself. We started seeing more of each other and to make a long story short, we were married in the fall of 1983, both of us just shy of our 20th birthday. We walked down the aisle amid a chorus of itll never last. We still chuckle over that yet and while it hasnt always been perfect, we are truly soul mates.
When my husband first asked me where I wanted to go to celebrate this milestone, I didnt hesitate when I told him Disney World. He asked if I was sure, here was my chance to go on a cruise or to see Hawaii. Somehow I couldnt picture us anywhere else, except in the World. Its been so much a part of our lives. It was the first trip that we took together as a couple. There have been stays outside of the park, family gatherings of 15 when we would all travel down from Massachusetts together in an RV and sleep in tents at Fort Wilderness, to reaching a very comfortable financial position in our lives where stays at the Grand Floridian have become the normal for us.
The planning began and the big question became, when would we go? Our oldest daughter was heading off to her first year of college in Pennsylvania and our other two children are very involved in soccer, cheerleading and skating. Fall was out of the question and we looked towards the winter. Our oldest would be home for winter break and we thought the others would be between sports. With all that in mind, I took the plunge and contacted Dreams Unlimited. Ive always planned trips on my own, but this one was special and I thought that they might be able to give me some extra attention to detail. They did not disappoint and I highly recommend their services. I know that they now have a customer in me. With contact made, dates selected and my deposit sent in, I immediately set my trip counter on the Dis and settled in for the wait. Little did I know how much this trip would be needed and appreciated. The fall began. We had a teary send off with our college bound daughter and I was introduced to Pop Warner cheerleading for the very first time. Our youngest turned 7 this year and she has wanted to cheer since she could walk. Now the dilemma started. She was committed to 3 days a week, both her and my son play soccer and my son is also a competitive figure skater. How could I be in 2 or 3 places at once? My husband and I decided to both take a child. I took Casey to everything she needed to be at and Jim would take Colin to all of his things. I made the decision to return to work and got a job in the special education field. Jims company started a huge software upgrade that would take 9 to 12 months to complete and he was selected as the project manager. He still took Colin to where he needed to be, but that meant that he would have to work later hours and also go in on the weekends to keep up with his project. We saw very little of each other. Finally soccer and cheering season ended and we were coming up fast on the holidays. Thats when our son dropped the bombshell. He had received a call from the US figure skating association inviting him to skate at Junior Nationals. He had been an alternate and one of the other skaters had an injury. We had less than 3 weeks to make arrangements for him. Of course right about the same time, our final trip payment was due to Disney. It totaled about the same amount that was needed to send my son to Arizona for the competition. What a dilemma. Luckily we never had to make the cancellation call and we were able to do both. While my husband and son were in Arizona, my daughter and I got snowed in by 32 of the white stuff. It took them two days to get home and four days for a plow truck to open up our street. Disney was looking better and better. Christmas came and went and the ritual of suitcase packing began. I had been watching the extended forecast on a daily basis and it looked like we were in luck. They were calling for daytime temps in the high 70s and going down into the high 50s at night. A few final checks of the Dis to see what was happening and we were good to go.
Part 2: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=490001
Part 3: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=490937
Part 4: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=491272
Part 5: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=492170
Part 6: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=494229
Jim - hanging on to 39, does not help with the planning but he does write the check
Tammi - hit the big 4-0 on January 1st, can't think of anywhere else I'd rather vacation than Disney World
Prologue:
My husband and I started planning for our 20th anniversary over this past summer. We met in the fall of 1981, both of us just 17. I was in my senior year of high school and Jim was a junior. I didnt really look twice at him because he was introduced as a friend of my younger brother, therefore I assumed he was only 15 or 16. I later learned that he was in fact, just one month younger than myself. We started seeing more of each other and to make a long story short, we were married in the fall of 1983, both of us just shy of our 20th birthday. We walked down the aisle amid a chorus of itll never last. We still chuckle over that yet and while it hasnt always been perfect, we are truly soul mates.
When my husband first asked me where I wanted to go to celebrate this milestone, I didnt hesitate when I told him Disney World. He asked if I was sure, here was my chance to go on a cruise or to see Hawaii. Somehow I couldnt picture us anywhere else, except in the World. Its been so much a part of our lives. It was the first trip that we took together as a couple. There have been stays outside of the park, family gatherings of 15 when we would all travel down from Massachusetts together in an RV and sleep in tents at Fort Wilderness, to reaching a very comfortable financial position in our lives where stays at the Grand Floridian have become the normal for us.
The planning began and the big question became, when would we go? Our oldest daughter was heading off to her first year of college in Pennsylvania and our other two children are very involved in soccer, cheerleading and skating. Fall was out of the question and we looked towards the winter. Our oldest would be home for winter break and we thought the others would be between sports. With all that in mind, I took the plunge and contacted Dreams Unlimited. Ive always planned trips on my own, but this one was special and I thought that they might be able to give me some extra attention to detail. They did not disappoint and I highly recommend their services. I know that they now have a customer in me. With contact made, dates selected and my deposit sent in, I immediately set my trip counter on the Dis and settled in for the wait. Little did I know how much this trip would be needed and appreciated. The fall began. We had a teary send off with our college bound daughter and I was introduced to Pop Warner cheerleading for the very first time. Our youngest turned 7 this year and she has wanted to cheer since she could walk. Now the dilemma started. She was committed to 3 days a week, both her and my son play soccer and my son is also a competitive figure skater. How could I be in 2 or 3 places at once? My husband and I decided to both take a child. I took Casey to everything she needed to be at and Jim would take Colin to all of his things. I made the decision to return to work and got a job in the special education field. Jims company started a huge software upgrade that would take 9 to 12 months to complete and he was selected as the project manager. He still took Colin to where he needed to be, but that meant that he would have to work later hours and also go in on the weekends to keep up with his project. We saw very little of each other. Finally soccer and cheering season ended and we were coming up fast on the holidays. Thats when our son dropped the bombshell. He had received a call from the US figure skating association inviting him to skate at Junior Nationals. He had been an alternate and one of the other skaters had an injury. We had less than 3 weeks to make arrangements for him. Of course right about the same time, our final trip payment was due to Disney. It totaled about the same amount that was needed to send my son to Arizona for the competition. What a dilemma. Luckily we never had to make the cancellation call and we were able to do both. While my husband and son were in Arizona, my daughter and I got snowed in by 32 of the white stuff. It took them two days to get home and four days for a plow truck to open up our street. Disney was looking better and better. Christmas came and went and the ritual of suitcase packing began. I had been watching the extended forecast on a daily basis and it looked like we were in luck. They were calling for daytime temps in the high 70s and going down into the high 50s at night. A few final checks of the Dis to see what was happening and we were good to go.
Part 2: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=490001
Part 3: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=490937
Part 4: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=491272
Part 5: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=492170
Part 6: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=494229
