. I was planning on packing 2 outfits in their carryon and then another 3 outfits in the "main" bag. There's about 8 outfits that I want to bring! I know that they will want to wear the same few outfits over and over (hence the reason we book a room with a w/d
) so it is pointless to overpack. 
. I have about 3 pairs of nylon, running-type shorts. They're so comfy for the hot, humid weather, and they look great with my running tanks (also perfect for summer in Florida!), but do I really want to look like I've just come from the gym
? I know, there's not exactly a dress code at the theme parks (and we aren't doing any signature dining) but still...
) so that is one thing crossed off my list. 
....
...
...We can't find the carseat carrier (backpack) for Emilee's car seat! I bought it in 2008 when I flew with DD2 but I held on to it specifically for this trip. I promised my sister that I would carry the backpack and be in charge of it if she agreed to use it on the airplane. Now, it's AWOL. I had it out about a month ago to wash it. Then, I brought it over to my sister's house to make sure the car seat and the Bumbo seat both fit in it. I *swear* I left it there for her...she said that it sat at the top of the stairs for "weeks"...now she can't find it. Neither of us can remember if I brought it back home...I don't know why I would have done that. She thinks that maybe she brought it over to the parents' house, but I checked there...nope. It's HUGE so it's not like it could be hiding in a drawer or something. She is at work now and doesn't get home until 9pm so she said she will check the basement when she gets home. She said that there is a possibility that DBiL brought it down there for "safekeeping". 
. Since I promised that we'd have it, I feel obligated to provide it. It's only available online so if we can't find it soon, I'll have to order it.
. She was showing me the stuff she was going to pack. First, she hauls out a suitcase the size of a sofa
. I told her that it is so big, she better make sure that it won't be considered oversized. She said, "Oh, it won't be over 50 pounds". Oh dear...I have a little educating to do
. Out comes the tape measure...62 linear inches empty. It might be close since AirTran's limit is 64". My mom, still a little confused, says, "Kris, 64 inches is over 5 feet! This isn't even close to 5 feet tall"
Aye carumba
... It's not like she's never flown before. They went on an Alaskan cruise 3 years ago and not a lot has changed since then.
. Again, mom needs a little remediation. The tricky thing with mom is that she has an implanted spinal cord stimulator so she will set off the machine at the airport. She already knows that she'll be subject to a pat-down so she is prepared. I told her that she may want to leave for the airport about 30 minutes before everyone else because she will definitely cause a traffic jam at security. We'll probably all go through and act like we don't know her
.!
. Luckily, I was able to cancel the order from Amazon since it hadn't shipped yet. Let me tell you, this took a huge load off my mind
. I had a feeling that I was the one responsible for losing it and I really felt obligated to provide it as promised. DH was NOT happy when I told him I spent $40 to order a new one
. We have ZERO use for it so I understand why he was upset. Finding it this morning was a great start to my day...
!!! I guess my bike riding and lettuce diet paid off. (Ok, it wasn't just lettuce...but I have maintained a strict 1200-calorie/day diet for the last 2 weeks) The lowest I have been in the last 15 years was the 153 that I weighed last Easter when we went to HHI. I was back up to 164 pounds as of 2 weeks ago so I was a little depressed about that
. I would love to drop 2 or 5 more pounds but I am not going to stress about it. I know that I will probably gain 8-10 pounds while I am there so I want to start out as low as possible without being unhealthy
.
. 
...
! My nephew turns 9 on Tuesday so his party is today. The only person that can't make it to the party is my DH...he has to work.. I need to vaccuum my truck and actually pack the bags (for real, no more practicing) but otherwise, we are pretty much good to go
.
) and then go with mom and my DD's to get pedicures on Thursday.
.. I got up at 7:30am today and I'm waiting for the girls to get ready for church. After church, my parents take the kids and I boogie on home to try and catch a nap from 11:30-1pm. Then, it's off to work I go...2:30pm until 4:30am, if I'm lucky. DH is working today, but he is off tomorrow so I will get to sleep in until noon. Then, I get to work another 14 hours. Normally, these two shifts would be a breeze and I would just put myself on auto-pilot, but the scheduling gods lined up against me. I am a field training officer, which means that I am assigned brand new paramedics, fresh out of school, as my partners. I have to put them through a 3-5 month training program. As luck would have it, my new partner starts with me TODAY. The first week with a new hire is always the most stressful which is why I am not really happy that they waited until my last 2 days before vacation to assign him to me. My brain checked out last week. So, hopefully I can muddle through the next 44 hours without too much drama.
.
.. It's time to haul out the bags and pack them...FOR REAL., but I just can't bring myself to do it. Hopefully, we'll be nice and busy and the shift will fly by
.
Now, it's time to really get moving on those final preparations. I got the suitcases out into the living room and they are opened and waiting to be filled. 
.
.
) while DD scooted around on her scooter
. When I was done, we headed to the car wash so I could vaccuum out the truck and then we got it washed..
. 
.
.
!
. Dad is going to go online and upgrade one family at the same time that I do the other family. So far, the BC section is still wide open so I am optimistic that we will be successful.
...
. Everyone was very impressed by their suite. The hotel did a great job! My brother and his family are right next door to us. Across the hall is my sister and her family, next to my parents. . She returned her carrots all over my WHITE zip-front hoodie that I am planning on wearing all week, including on the plane tomorrow. Well, since I had to throw the swimsuits in the dryer anyways, I just did a quick load of laundry too. 
and DH is reading a bedtime story to DD6. I still have another 15 minutes before the laundry is dry and then I will take some melatonin and try to get some shut eye too.. We are planning on walking out the door at 9am to head for the airport. The hotel serves a continental breakfast so we'll "fill up" before we leave..
that the room will be ready when yall get there!! Keep us updated if you can.
