The Disney Grump is taking me on a DREAM vacation! TR Link, pg 30

[KatMark]

Michelle, I LOVE the countdown chain...it's terrific. Your pictures of AKL are making me all the more excited about staying there in September.

And CONGRATULATIONS to Justin on his award.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Ah, congratulations to Justin!!! That is so awesome that he was named Newcomer of the Year! I am glad he decided he wanted to go to the banquet!

I know! To think we thought about not going!

Oh, and I have to tell you a story about my silly little child. My friend that I walk with everyday is also the mother of one of Justin's best friends. I guess Justin invited a girl to go with him to the banquet not realizing that he had to buy her a ticket, when he found out about the ticket, instead of asking me if we could still get one for her, he just told her she couldn't go, *sigh* that child is never going to get a girlfriend that way

He has grown so much this past year! I can't believe how tall he has gotten!

I know, it's nuts!

Congrats to Justin! You sound like such the proud mama!!!

Thank you! We are quite lucky in that he gives us reason to be proud, in more areas than just sports

Congrats to Justin! That is such an amazing award to receive as a Freshman or at any grade. This shows that they see his hard work and his potential to be great! I bet you were one proud mommy!

Thanks! He was on cloud 9!

Justin must be such an talented young man! I think it's wonderful that the coach recognizes and appreciates his ability!
What a great evening! I'm predicting a presidency in your future....

He's really a natural athlete, and he's very interested in learning all the little things about his sport. From a very young age we would take him to OU basketball games and he could break down a play and tell us why it worked or why it didn't. Maybe he'll be a coach when he grows up

I don't know about the whole presidency thing, I think I'd rather get a job and get paid if I'm going to work that hard

Way to go Justin! It's so nice for parents to hear nice things about their kids, I've sometimes gone to conferences and wondered if they were talking about my kid I've been known to ask Patrick why he can't be that good at home

Jared behaves better at school than he does at home too! He has gotten citizenship awards each year since pre-k, and I'm always baffled that they are talking about the same kid I live with

Michelle, I LOVE the countdown chain...it's terrific. Your pictures of AKL are making me all the more excited about staying there in September.

And CONGRATULATIONS to Justin on his award.

Thanks Kathy, the countdown chain was a lot of fun to make!

I think we're both going to love AKL!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I know! To think we thought about not going!

Oh, and I have to tell you a story about my silly little child. My friend that I walk with everyday is also the mother of one of Justin's best friends. I guess Justin invited a girl to go with him to the banquet not realizing that he had to buy her a ticket, when he found out about the ticket, instead of asking me if we could still get one for her, he just told her she couldn't go, *sigh* that child is never going to get a girlfriend that way

I am equal parts and . Are you going to tell Justin to ask you next time instead of uninviting a girl?

 

[lovegrumpy]

The hardest thing right now is buying him clothes! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find dress slacks for a kid with a 28/29" waist who needs a 32" length?? Yeah, it wasn't fun, ended up having to spend $50 on those stupid slacks. I told him he was wearing them on the cruise whether he wanted to or not

We have that same issue. Took me forever to find my oldest slacks that would fit for church.

 

[MaryAz]

A big congrats to Justin!!

 

[RachelNinja]

Yup, I do remember there being a section for the WDW resorts in the Hidden Mickeys book because I know I thought, "Well, this doesn't do me any good." That was way before I knew I'd eventually stay on property at least ONCE and make it to some others because of the restaurants!

Congrats to Justin! I would've liked to see a picture of you and Don as your son's name was called!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Hey Michelle! I have a question for you. Which dolphin excursion did you book? I'm doing some research to figure out what we would like to do (hopefully we are cruising next year), but the descriptions on the DCL website are a little confusing. There are several different ones you can book, but they all seem basically the same even though the prices a very different?????? I can't figure out what the difference is between them??? TIA!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I am equal parts and . Are you going to tell Justin to ask you next time instead of uninviting a girl?

Yes, I can't believe he did that, I have no idea why he didn't come ask me about the ticket. Not gonna score many points that way now is he? Of couse, I'm not sure he knows why he didn't ask me either, sometimes I think teenage boys don't have the ability to think reasonably

We have that same issue. Took me forever to find my oldest slacks that would fit for church.

Frustrating isn't it?! Our church is pretty laid back when it comes to kids attire so he's always just worn nice jeans or shorts.

A big congrats to Justin!!

Thanks Mary!!

Yup, I do remember there being a section for the WDW resorts in the Hidden Mickeys book because I know I thought, "Well, this doesn't do me any good." That was way before I knew I'd eventually stay on property at least ONCE and make it to some others because of the restaurants!

Congrats to Justin! I would've liked to see a picture of you and Don as your son's name was called!

I may have to pick up the Hidden Mickey book then, or at least go by B&N and take a peak in it to see if AKL is covered in there

We probably looked pretty shocked!

Hey Michelle! I have a question for you. Which dolphin excursion did you book? I'm doing some research to figure out what we would like to do (hopefully we are cruising next year), but the descriptions on the DCL website are a little confusing. There are several different ones you can book, but they all seem basically the same even though the prices a very different?????? I can't figure out what the difference is between them??? TIA!

There are lots of options aren't there?! We are doing the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter. They also have a Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim. The difference being that in the encounter you are in the water, but just on a shallow ledge, the dolphins come up to you and you interact with them, but you don't actually get into the water and swim with them.

There are several dolphin options at Atlantis as well, both encounters and swims. They are sometimes coupled with other Atlantis excursions which is why you see so many different options on there.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi, Michelle! I have been watching a lot of footage coming out of Oklahoma from those storms on Thursday. I hope your town was spared and just wanted to check on you!

 

[MeMom]

Hi, Michelle! I have been watching a lot of footage coming out of Oklahoma from those storms on Thursday. I hope your town was spared and just wanted to check on you!

Jackie, when you go back to school, you need to change your major to Meteorology.



SoonerGirl - hope you are all okay out there in my homeland. We had some wicked weather this week, too. I hope none of our DIS friends had any damages.

 

[KatMark]

Michelle, just checking in with you to be sure you and all of your family are okay with the wicked weather.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hi, Michelle! I have been watching a lot of footage coming out of Oklahoma from those storms on Thursday. I hope your town was spared and just wanted to check on you!

Thanks for checking on me Jackie No storms in my part of the state thankfully, although we sure could use some rain. I have cracks in my yard so big I'm afraid I may fall into one, never to be seen again!

Jackie, when you go back to school, you need to change your major to Meteorology.

She should!!

SoonerGirl - hope you are all okay out there in my homeland. We had some wicked weather this week, too. I hope none of our DIS friends had any damages.

The really bad weather was all east of us, we got some crazy wind (gusts in the 50's and 60's yesterday!) but not a drop of rain

 

[SoonerGirl]

Michelle, just checking in with you to be sure you and all of your family are okay with the wicked weather.

Thanks Kathy, nothing but some strong winds where I live, but some really bad weather east of us. Thankfully, none of my family or friends were effected.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Before I talk about cabana's I need to mention that I am now the mother of a 15 year old. Justin's birthday was yesterday and he spent the day reminding me that he is just 6 months away from getting his driver's permit. Yikes!! This seriously scares the crap out of me, giving your kids that freedom and trusting that they will be safe.......yeah, I don't wanna do that - can't they just stay young forever?!

He had a good day, I paid for him and a group of friends to go to the movies last night and out for ice cream afterwards. We are having a family dinner tomorrow night, hoping that Don and Jared will be able to be there, Jared is playing in a baseball tournament this weekend and if they make it to the championship game it will interfere. It's impossible to plan anything with these boys though where there isn't a conflict somewhere!

Speaking of baseball, I just have to share this picture. One of the mom's of a kid on Justin's team took it

Looks like he's getting chewed out and doesn't want to hear it, doesn't it?

***********************

Ok, let's talk about cabana's!

I think the part of the cruise that I am most looking forward to is our day at Castaway Cay. I want this day to be as perfect as possible (part of my strategy to turn Don from a 'Grump' into a 'Believer' ).

I am nervous about finding a spot on the family beach where we can settle in for the day. I'll need plenty of shade (being very fair skinned I can't sit in the sun all day) so umbrellas are a must. Plus, I don't want to have to worry about our things, or lose our spot if we all get up to go do something together. So, I've been thinking about renting a cabana.

They are really overpriced, $499 for the day, but I think it may be worth it for us. They look really nice, check out this video I found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SdnRnM9xe4&feature=related

And they come with bike rental, snorkeling gear, floats & tubes, sunscreen, towels, a bowl of fresh fruit, snacks and a fridge stocked with drinks. Also, the beach area in front of them is roped off and for cabana renter use only. A day of total relaxation, not dealing with the crowd sounds sooooo nice!

Up until now cabanas could only be reserved in advance if you were staying concierge, well that changed this week. Online booking is now available for everyone. I checked this morning and there was just one family cabana left for our cruise, so I grabbed it! I have until 3 days before the cruise to cancel if I decide that I just can't swallow the price tag associated with it....

 

[MeMom]

Nice, but that's a whole lotta sand dollars!

 

[KatMark]

I love the picture of Justin getting "chewed out" (I have the exact same picture with Andy ).

WOW! That is a pricey cabana. But I think I'd go for it just to have the comfort of knowing you have something for all day to hold your stuff, keep you and your skin safe. Let us know what you decide.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Oh man, I just I just saw this! Wish I had known.... I want one too.
I'll be trying to snag one along the way! Looks delightful!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Or maybe if you only want to swallow half of the price we could share!

 

[jenbear123]

Hopping aboard! Sounds like quite the exciting trip you've got planned. Can you teach me the secret on how to convince a Disney hater to take a trip? My DBF is also anti-Disney but I've almost got him convinced to come to WDW with me. I can totally relate to your situation though. Good job on convincing your DH for another Disney vacation Plus you scored some nights at AKL too! Awesome!

 

[LilAnn]

Wow, that video tour of the cabana blew me away. That looks pretty nice! And you would have some snacks and drinks all set up? And a fan? I've never been on one of the cruises so I have no idea how worth it they are, but I know I'd be happy in one!