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

[cdotla]

Hey Michelle! Just got caught up on your plans and latest updates! I can't believe your trip is getting so close!

That is so clever hiding money in the eggs for those hard-to-interest teenagers!

I am so glad you are doing this cruise, and giving me the low-down on how it is done before I book one!

That video of the cabana looks wonderful. Was that the owner of the cabana, or just a CM that came upon the videographer?

I would probably not have have the stomach to shell out $500 for the rental, but what a fantastic plan splitting with another family! Sounds like a blast!

Let me see....awesome food 24 hours a day, great shows, the AquaDuck, and now laying in paradise in a private cabana??? I will have a hard time believing Don won't enjoy this one!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great update Michelle. I swear that ... lately... every time you post a picture of your boys they seem so much TALLER and older!

Sounds like your plans are coming together...and I can't wait to see food porn from Boma, whichever way you decide for your ADR time.

They seem taller and older to me too, and I see them everyday!

One thing with food porn that I don't think I could bring myself to do is to take pictures of the actual buffet, I'd feel too weird taking my camera up there and snapping away! I will take pics of our plates though, we'll try and get a wide variety

Hi, Michelle! Finally catching up on everything. Justin's cookie cake looks delicious, and the boys look quite pleased with their Easter goodies. Your niece is just adorable!

Boma -- mmmmm! So yummy! Your room on the Dream looks fabulous!

Hey Jackie, you had quite the eventful week! Glad things have calmed down for you

The cookie cake was good, too good, I ate way too much of it - not good for the pounds I'd like to drop before vacation!

Michelle! I'm finally here!!!!!! Sorry it took so long. However, I'm just drooooooling over your plans! AKL, Boma Breakfast, the Dream, a dolphin excursion, the cabana... It's all so wonderful! You guys are going to have an amazing time, and I do hope it rubs off on Don a bit. Perhaps Mr. Shocker will as well.

Congrats to the boys on all their sports accomplishments! How proud you must be!!! I just cannot get over how much your kids grow from trip to trip. They really are becoming young men!

Great idea on stuffing the eggs with money. I'm storing that one away for when Henry declares he is too old!

Hey Brook!! So happy you're here

The plans are coming together nicely, I think, I'm getting very excited! I sure hope some of Shocker's love of Disney rubs off on Don, that would be perfect!

The boys are growing up so fast, Justin especially, it seems like he changes almost daily. I have a new worry with him too, he has a girlfriend! I had to buy his baseball banquet tickets the other day and he told me to be sure and buy an extra one for her.....

I must admit, I stole the money in the eggs idea from my SIL's mother, I think it's brilliant!

Great update! Love that you are going for the cabana! And WigD and co is exactly the group to share it with. I am sure you will get use out of it, especially in the heat of summer!

We're sure to have a great time! I think Anita and I should park ourselves on those comfy looking loungers and have Don and Marc wait on us

Your plan to have a Boma breakfast sounds great! I like the plan! I'd keep the time you have, too... remember 15 minutes they'll hold your reservation, so you should be fine. Everyone will likely be excited to get to the ship, so I am sure you won't have too many sleepy complaints!

I think I will just keep it as is, I know I won't be sleeping in! Really though, the more I read the more I think getting to the port early isn't the way to go, I'm just worried about the Palo ressie mostly. Do you remember what time they opened to start taking the reservations?

I hear you on the planning and packing front... I have more time than you, but MAY is one of the busiest times of the year for me... so I am afraid time is going to get away from me.

I've got two weeks before I leave for Minnesota so I'm going to try and get all my ducks in a row and packing lists finalized before then. I'm also trying to make my mom a DVD of the photos from our trip last May for Mother's day - I've barely started on that, gotta get busy there!

Easter looks like great fun at your house!!! I laughed at your junk cupboard. I have like two or three and a few drawers to boot!

I may have a junk drawer or two as well.......

Cute niece. I keep saying if we decide to go for #3 it better be a girl!!! Matt says we couldn't afford another girl in the house! The clothes for little girls are WAY cute!!!!

I would totally go broke buying little girl clothes if I had one! I think God knows that for my finances sake, a girl wouldn't have been the best thing for me

I bet you will feel the boat but only in a limited way -- that first night, because of the speed, and then from CCay to Canaveral. That is where I noticed it most, but then it wasn't bad... We took Bonine daily. But we didn't need it on the Costa cruise we took in Europe... well, only ONE day. Not sure why the sea was not as calm as we came around to Greece, but no one was ill, and bonine definitely did the trick.

I'm hoping Bonine will be enough, I really don't want to wear that patch.....

 

[Happydog]

Hey! They started taking reservations at 1pm... I'll confirm on my old navigator... I want to confirm the location again, too, btw... it was at the restaurants in Feb, they may have moved all of this to the D lounge this time.. not sure. I'll be checking to make sure I know my plan, too!

Also, saw the shoe holder/clutter organizer, and I agree, I think it will be perfectly sized. The doors can't be that narrow!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I absolutely love the picture of the boys with their easter baskets.. especially the funny face in the background..

Jared is the king of funny faces!

HECK- I'll do the money easter egg hunt! hehe That is a really great idea! We use to have egg hunts at my Gmas with all the grandkids and some of them had money and we use to get soo excited when we found those!

I got the idea from my SILs mother, it had her girls hunting eggs until they finished college!

I'll be excited to hear about your breakfast experience at Boma. This is probably my favorite place to eat in terms of food quality. I have only ate there during dinner though.. so I'll be excited to see what they offer and how it is. I'm going there this trip and can't wait!!

We've only done dinner too, but I've heard great things about breakfast as well, can't wait to try it!

My parents said that after this trip, they want to plan a cruise together as a family. They are like cruise fanatics like we are Disney. They have been on 2 cruises and swear by them. I talked to them a few times about the Disney cruises.. but recently my dad brought it up and said he didn't want to go on Disney because there will be a tons of kids. I told him of the adult areas, but he said even when they went on the cruise- the adult areas always had kids too. He thinks it will be jam-packed with kids. But I suppose I'll settle with any cruise!

I don't know, we'll see. I think with the adults only pool and bars and if you request the late dinner seating, being around a lot of kids can be avoided, they will be there though, it is Disney afterall. Maybe you could cruise another line until you have grandkids for them to take

I believe you have hit the one month mark, correct?!?!

You are correct, my ticker now says 'days' instead of 'months'!!!

Hey Michelle! Just got caught up on your plans and latest updates! I can't believe your trip is getting so close!

That is so clever hiding money in the eggs for those hard-to-interest teenagers!

I am so glad you are doing this cruise, and giving me the low-down on how it is done before I book one!

That video of the cabana looks wonderful. Was that the owner of the cabana, or just a CM that came upon the videographer?

I would probably not have have the stomach to shell out $500 for the rental, but what a fantastic plan splitting with another family! Sounds like a blast!

Let me see....awesome food 24 hours a day, great shows, the AquaDuck, and now laying in paradise in a private cabana??? I will have a hard time believing Don won't enjoy this one!

Hey there Trish!! I know, it is close, it totally crept up on me!

I'll be sure and take good notes for you on the cruise so hopefully I can give you a good report when I get back

I'm pretty sure that was a CM that came upon the videographer, I spied one of those fancy name tags that they wear I think that video came from someone on the christening cruise, I know they invited a lot of travel agents and the like on that cruise and they opened up the cabana area for them to see so that they could be knowledgeable about them for their clients. The cost does seem really high, but sharing it makes it fall into the reasonable category, I think.

I have a feeling that Don will really enjoy this trip, hopefully enough to let me book another cruise while we are on board, I've heard they offer some really good incentives to rebook before you depart.....

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hey! They started taking reservations at 1pm... I'll confirm on my old navigator... I want to confirm the location again, too, btw... it was at the restaurants in Feb, they may have moved all of this to the D lounge this time.. not sure. I'll be checking to make sure I know my plan, too!

Also, saw the shoe holder/clutter organizer, and I agree, I think it will be perfectly sized. The doors can't be that narrow!

I thought I remembered 1pm! I wish they would decide on a protocol with all this stuff! The check in, boarding passes, reservations - it seems to change from cruise to cruise, makes it really hard on an uber planner like myself

Ordered it today, thanks so much for all your insight with that!

 

[SoonerGirl]

It's been another busy baseball weekend around here! Jared's team was playing in a big tournament in Ardmore, which is about an 1 1/2 south of us. Their first game was at 5:00 on Friday so we checked Jared out of school around noon then he and Don headed out about an hour later. I had to stick around because Justin had his last game Friday night as well. Don and I were texting each other updates back and forth all night and I'm excited to say that both boys won! Justin's game was much more exciting, we won 7-6 in extra innings. Jared's team won easily, 13-2. Justin's team finished the season 24-6, not bad at all. Now he's got 3 weeks until summer ball starts, whatever are we going to do with all our free time??

Justin and I were initially going to drive down to Jared's tournament after his game, but one of the players who lives right by the ball field was having a cookout for the team afterwards that Justin wanted to go to, plus his girlfriend was at the game and he needed to hang out with her. So, we decided to wait until Saturday morning to go.

Now, I have to brag a little bit on Jared's team. We go to this tournament every year, it's huge, many of the best teams from Oklahoma and Texas are there, plus several from Kansas and Arkansas too. There were 42 teams in our age bracket alone. I'm proud to say that after pool play ended on Saturday night we were 3-0 and had earned the 6th seed, 6 out of 42 ain't too shabby! Of course, here comes the bad part, bracket play got rained out today so we didn't get to play. First time we've ever made the championship bracket in this tournament and we didn't get to see it through. Needless to say we had some pretty bummed out boys!

Here are a few pics I took of Jared doin' his thing!

MeMom, I had good intentions of driving by the old Air Force Base and grabbing some pictures for you, but I never did find time yesterday and today was a wash out, it was pouring

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As RinkyTinkyTinky pointed out earlier, we leave this month for vacation!!! Which means we are starting our 30 day countdown calendar! Here it is:

I got the background from one of the DISigners on the DISigns board, I'm not positive, but I think it was milliepie??? Anyway, I loaded it into photoshop and added the gridlines and days. I think the little sailor Mickey at the bottom was her design too - I've downloaded so much stuff I can't remember where I found it all!

I mounted the calendar onto a manila envelope and inside the envelope I've placed Disney or trip related things to do, like 'play a Disney board game', 'pick out a Disney movie to watch', 'go to the store and pick out snacks for the trip', 'make and decorate Mickey head cookies', things like that. Each day the boys will take turns marking a day off the calendar and then pulling a 'task' out of the envelope. We've done this before and it was a fun way to pass the time leading up to a trip. I don't have 30 tasks in the envelope however because I will be gone for 8 days to Minnesota this month and The Grump wasn't interested in playing along.

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I've also been doing a bit of online shopping for some needed items for the trip.

I am certain that Don will come through with my waterproof camera so I ordered this floatable strap to attach to it

I also got 2 small waterproof pouches

I thought Justin could carry one and either Don or I could carry the other one. Just something to keep our stateroom keys and the like in while were at the pool or beach.

I ordered this shoe organizer to use for toiletries

There is not just a whole lot of counter space in those stateroom bathrooms, so I thought this would be a good way to keep all of our stuff organized and contained. There are towel hooks on the back of the doors, I think this will hang nicely from it.

I also needed a new beach bag

Those of you reading Jackie's PTR might recognize this. It is very similar to the one she bought, just a different color. I got it awhile back and was very happy with it when it arrived - so cute!

And finally, I ordered a few books to take. We haven't read Kingdom Keepers III yet, so I picked that up, plus a couple of other books, Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze. I think I read about those on Jackie's PTR too, I know they are older, but I've never read them and they sound very beachy to me, perfect vacation reading, I hope!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Hmmmm, do we need to come up with a list of duties for our "cabana boys"?

I read Marc your comment to Happydog and he said "not likely".
We shall see about that!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

You were posting when I was posting!
First of all congrats to Jared's team. Not a bad showing in that big tournament at all, they really should be proud of themselves!

Great purchases and I love your countdown calendar!
I do have one of those shoe organizers in my purple locker and it works so well for toiletries... You will enjoy having it!
I can't even think about getting ready for the vacation, I have a graduation open house to give in two weeks.
I'm not even close to being ready!!!

We really need to think about getting a camera to use in the water though.

 

[KatMark]

Congrats on the baseball wins by the boys. So sorry the championship got rained out; I used to hate when that happened.

Love the beach bag...very cute.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Love the purchases, great idea on the shoe rack for toiletries, a great way to use a small space

cute bag

congrats to your boys

 

[JenAusty]

great finds! I love the bag! I have wayyy to many bags- otherwise I would be searching for a new one. That reminds me- I need to purchase a waterproof camera! Thanks for the reminder.

You have a great camera- it takes great actions pictures of your boys playing sports!

 

[MeMom]

It's been another busy baseball weekend around here!


Now, I have to brag a little bit on Jared's team.

I'm proud to say that after pool play ended on Saturday night we were 3-0 and had earned the 6th seed, 6 out of 42 ain't too shabby!


MeMom, I had good intentions of driving by the old Air Force Base and grabbing some pictures for you, but I never did find time yesterday and today was a wash out, it was pouring

Brag away - the boys deserve it!

Now I will never know where I was born. I feel like such an orphan.
Maybe next year. It would be cool to see where it all started.

30 days is a big day in counting down, I think. When it gets to 30, it just seems to fly for me. It feels like this has been a really long school year, so it's exciting to see everyone gearing up for these summer trips.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Congratulations to the boys!!! What great achievements!

I really, really, really like your countdown calendar idea! I may well have to borrow that for a future trip!

Love all the trip shopping. I keep looking at my beach bag and getting impatient to use it! It's just begging me to be filled with things. Is yours doing that, too?

You will love Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze -- in fact, I love anything by Mary Kay Andrews, and you are right, they are the perfect vacation reading.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm having a flashback moment to this time last year when we were talking about Baggalini vs Vera Bradley bags on the various PTRs....and y'all were debating which one to get and what colour.
I sat there enviously reading and commenting that I couldn't get either in Oz and International shipping was a killer.


I'm STILL envious!!

That is one GORGEOUS beach bag!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Woo hoo, this month! How exciting.

Love the new beach bag. That is really cute! Kingdom Keepers are such fun books. I just got the 4th one but haven't started it yet.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on the boys winning their baseball games!! I actually don't know much about the game but sounds like you all enjoyed watching the two games. It's a shame about the rain.

Love the countdown calendar and the idea of putting tasks into the envelope! What a fun way to make sure things get done before you leave.

Hope Don comes through with the waterproof camera and I am in with the beach bag!! I love the design, colours and size of it!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Congratulations to your boys! I know you are so proud of them! And bragging is perfectly acceptable!

Love all your shopping finds! I have decided to wait until you get back from your trip to buy a waterproof camera. I'm going to let you be the guinea pig! I want a very honest and full review when you return, ok.

I am so glad that you posted the waterproof ID holders b/c I had thinking of something like that myself. I wouldn't really want to leave our KTTW cards on the beach while we are in the water. And I know something like that will be needed for the dolphin swim too. We've also decided to get the passport cards, so that will be great for those too when we get off the boat in Nassau. I'll be buying one of them for sure. Where did you find it?

I need to get one of those Kingdom Keepers books too. I haven't read any of them and I've heard good things about the series.

LOVE the countdown calendar and the activities idea! Very cute! And to the Grump for not wanting to play along while you are gone!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Congratulations to the boys! I know you are very proud and should be! Too bad they didn't get to play in the championship round.


Yay, for 30 days! Love the countdown idea. I may have to take that one from you.

Love your new purchases.

Oh, you are going to have so much fun. I can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[Happy Elf]

Congratulations to the boys! Sounds like they are great baseball players!

Love the countdown calendar! Great idea to put it on an envelope and have fun things inside!

Love the beach bag....I looked at a Vera one, but ended up with a cheap one from Target instead!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I loved going to the boys' games when they were younger. It was so much fun. Congrats on their wins.