The Earls meet the Princesses:A June PTR *6/13 WE LEAVE IN THE MORNING!*

[cjackearl]

On to less emotional topics. Mail for Disney! While not quite as exciting as mail directly from WDW Travel, it still made my heart go pitter patter just a little. The post lady delivered this gem today.

What's inside? Well, maps.

Also, pretty, pretty guide books.

And finally, the oh so informative trip tik!

I also got a piece of Disney mail yesterday. It stated "After review of your former Disney Movie Club Account #blah, blah, blah, we have found that you have a merchandise credit for 4 DVD(s) available to redeem. Please make your selection of 4 and return this notice to: Disney Movie Club + address. Unexpected Disney movies. Woo-hoo! I told my kids they could each pick one and I'd pick the 4th. If I hadn't been so excited I could have thought straight, picked the 4 myself and saved them for our drive. Oh well, too late. Yea for movies!!

Next post on Sunday or Monday re: the newest member(s) of the Earl family.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yay for the Trip Tik!!

Thanks for sharing your story! I don't think anyone would think badly of you for the emotions you went through when you found out you were pregnant. I'm sure it took a lot of thought to close the door on expanding your family... and then to have it forced back open must have brought up a lot of mixed emotions. I don't doubt that you love you son as much as your daughters. It sounds like he has added a lot to your family.

 

[cjackearl]

Yay for the Trip Tik!!
Thanks for celebrating with me!
Thanks for sharing your story! I don't think anyone would think badly of you for the emotions you went through when you found out you were pregnant. I'm sure it took a lot of thought to close the door on expanding your family... and then to have it forced back open must have brought up a lot of mixed emotions. I don't doubt that you love you son as much as your daughters. It sounds like he has added a lot to your family.

Aw, thanks. It was a turbulent little while but I wouldn't trade Ian for all the world (most days)

 

[cjackearl]

My husband had the same procedure in December and I have to tell you that I would have had the same feelings you did if I found out I was pregnant. I think that is totally natural. I know I have said that if that happened I would not think God's sense of humor was funny! Of course you adjusted and you LOVE Ian, but an adjustment period to the obvious change in plans is understandable! Leave it to the kids to see what's really important and embrace it! Ya gotta love em!

Thanks! Telling the girls really did turn everything around. They didn't worry about all of the changes. All they thought about was having a new baby to cuddle.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Awww, thanks for sharing about Ian!

Yeay for mail! Those guidebooks look great!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love how much this trip means to you! Thanks for sharing with us.

WOO HOO for maps and guidebooks.

 

[cjackearl]

Awww, thanks for sharing about Ian!
He's a great little guy.
Yeay for mail! Those guidebooks look great!!!

Unfortunately, the guide books are more lists of hotels and restaraunts than area "things to do" guides, but I still enjoy looking at them. They're just pretty, ya know?

 

[cjackearl]

I love how much this trip means to you! Thanks for sharing with us.
I thought it was relevant. Thanks!
WOO HOO for maps and guidebooks.

I was so excited to see that package! Gotta love AAA.

 

[cjackearl]

Well, after much deliberation, we decided to add to our family, and the newest little Earls are......














chicks!!!!

I've tried to get this picture to resize, but no luck.
We have been talking about getting chickens since last summer when the girls went to an amazing camp in central Ohio called the Country School Farm. They tended several types of animals, milked goats, made cider, churned butter, etc. I would love to send them again, but the price is prohibitive considering we're going to Disney this year. Anyway, they came home feeling so self assured since they were allowed so much responsibility taking care of the animals. Amelia first tried to convince us we had enough room for dairy goats. Um....noooooo.....but chickens, maybe. We live on an acre and 1/2 outside of the city, so we decided we'd give it a try the following spring. That would give us plenty of time to research what we needed for chickens, considering my husband and I we both raised in the city. Turns out, you don't need much, at least for awhile. TSC was supposed to get the chicks on Sunday, so we've been waiting anxiously. Today was the day! Here are some photos of our newest babies.
Ian's in love. He named HER Joey.

Amelia named her chick Gwinn.

Madeline's chick is named Yoko. Thanks i-Carly!

Each family member got to pick a chick, so we had five when we went to the cash register. The cashier told us we needed a minimum of six, so we got an extra! The kids named her Trixie, because trix rhymes with six. George, after trying out names like Fricasse, Marsala, and Nuggetnamed his Halo. He says its because of her light head, but isn't there a video game called Halo.....I haven't named mine yet. She's got stripes on her back that look like a fawn's. Hmmmm...
The kids with all 6 new babies.

All of the chicks are girls, so in a year we should start getting eggs. Maybe next Easter we'll have our own eggs to color!

How is all this Disney related? Now we have to add Find Chicken Sitter to our Disney to do list!

Next post: Epcot looking forward and looking back

 

[Lady Lallie]

Oh my goodness! They are just the sweetest little things ever! That camp the girls went to sounds absolutely amazing. What a wonderful experience for them.

 

[cjackearl]

They are amazingly sweet. Amelia keeps picking them up just to rub their soft fuzz on her cheeks. The camp was such a unique experience for the girls. I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Those chicks are just precious!!! What a great addition right at Easter!!!

 

[cjackearl]

Those chicks are just precious!!! What a great addition right at Easter!!!

I think so too. We should have some fun Easter pictures.

 

[DisMomAmy]

How is all this Disney related? Now we have to add Find Chicken Sitter to our Disney to do list!

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the chicks!

They are so cute! And that camp sounds amazing!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Awwww....the little chicks are cute! If you've read my PTR you know how I feel about birds, so I can say they're cute right now but when they get to be big, nasty, pecking chickens......not so much!!

That camp sounds amazing...how cool that the girls were able to experience that.

I got the iCarly reference right away! My boys love that show!

Oh..and I love George's names for his chick! LOL! My friend had chickens and she wouldn't let her kids name them at all unless it was something like Nugget! Too funny! (They also had a pig I affectionately called Sausage!)

 

[cjackearl]

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the chicks!
I'm hoping the neighbors might be up for trying something new.
They are so cute! And that camp sounds amazing!

The camp WAS amazing! The girls had never been to camp and they said they felt so comfortable there, they were never homesick at all.

Awwww....the little chicks are cute! If you've read my PTR you know how I feel about birds, so I can say they're cute right now but when they get to be big, nasty, pecking chickens......not so much!!
I know. I thought of you when they were pecking chick starter out of our hands yesterday!
That camp sounds amazing...how cool that the girls were able to experience that.
The farm owners are former Montessori teachers, so they believe that children learn the most through experiential learning. The farm was very much like a nineteenth century farm, with a summer and a winter kitchen, etc. I could go on and on. They have a website if you want to know more. It's tscfarm.com. Ok, advertisement over.
I got the iCarly reference right away! My boys love that show!

Oh..and I love George's names for his chick! LOL! My friend had chickens and she wouldn't let her kids name them at all unless it was something like Nugget! Too funny! (They also had a pig I affectionately called Sausage!)

Too funny indeed! The kids quickly vetoed all the food related names, so then he moved on to video games.

 

[carissanboys]

I've subscribed and I'll be back to get caught up.

 

[carissanboys]

Okay - I'm caught up!

You have a beautiful family Christine!

I love the Lolly/Adverbs song!

As for your drive...

When I travel to Maine I always leave around 4. That way I avoid the traffic and get some good headway and I arrive at my destination early.

I love McD's yogurt parfaits.

You said you were planning on stopping every 4 hours - did you mean you'd just be switching drivers every four hours?? There's no way I could go that long without stopping (you've read about my tiny bladder, right? ), but I can't imagine the kids going that long either.

Oh - you asked about hoppers. We've never done the hopper option. There are times when I thought it might be nice, but honestly - we're at the parks at opening and we do so much walking that by evening we're so tired. Every family is different though.

I'm excited for you to experience the magic of Disney through Ian's eyes.

 

[cjackearl]

Okay - I'm caught up!
You have a beautiful family Christine!

I love the Lolly/Adverbs song!
It's catchy, isn't it?
As for your drive...

When I travel to Maine I always leave around 4. That way I avoid the traffic and get some good headway and I arrive at my destination early.

I love McD's yogurt parfaits.
I love that the fruit is frozen/slushy. Mmmm..
You said you were planning on stopping every 4 hours - did you mean you'd just be switching drivers every four hours?? There's no way I could go that long without stopping (you've read about my tiny bladder, right? ), but I can't imagine the kids going that long either.
Wishful thinking, huh? We've honestly never driven more than 6 hours with the kids, so I'm just guessing. I usually have a large fountain cup in the car. Actually it came in handy once outside of Chicago. Girls+bottles=uh uh. Girls+big gulp cup=
Oh - you asked about hoppers. We've never done the hopper option. There are times when I thought it might be nice, but honestly - we're at the parks at opening and we do so much walking that by evening we're so tired. Every family is different though.
Thanks. We're leaning toward not adding them at this point and just making sure to hit lots of rope drops.
I'm excited for you to experience the magic of Disney through Ian's eyes.

Aw, thanks. Me too!

 

[carissanboys]

The stopping isn't just for peeing, but to stretch legs and kind of get a change of scenery for a few. It doesn't take long to stop if you do it at a rest area off the highway and are quick about it. It's the sit down meals that can take up a lot of time.

I've driven the boys to Maine by myself a couple of times and I can do it in 10 hours. We stop every 2 - 3 hours, but rarely for more than 10 minutes (unless it's for lunch).

I love that the yogurt in the parfaits tastes like whipped cream!