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

[cjackearl]

Yea, I'm sure Ian for certain will have energy to burn! Maybe a frisbee in the trunk?

Oh, and by the way lady, I blame you for our Cracker Barrel dinner tonight! George tracked down one in Kalamazoo for me. The kids were thinking ihop, but I overruled and all were happy in the end.

 

[carissanboys]

Yea, I'm sure Ian for certain will have energy to burn! Maybe a frisbee in the trunk?

Oh, and by the way lady, I blame you for our Cracker Barrel dinner tonight! George tracked down one in Kalamazoo for me. The kids were thinking ihop, but I overruled and all were happy in the end.

What did you have?

 

[cjackearl]

What did you have?

The skillet with chicken and hash brown casserole. Yummy!

 

[carissanboys]

The skillet with chicken and hash brown casserole. Yummy!

That's what Chuck had.

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

I'm subscribing. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I really like what I have read so far. I'll finish later.

Thanks for including me in your planning.

 

[cjackearl]

Hope everyone had a very blessed Easter wherever they happen to be. Ours started at our church's sunrise service, at which I played piano for the few hymns we sang. After breakfast we came home and set up for our egg hunt. Living in Michigan, we never know if this will be an indoor our outdoor activity. This year it was outside! Here's how I tortured my older egg seekers: Each kid was searching for eggs in 2 different colors, and the eggs of those 2 colors were numbered 1-14. I hid the eggs all over the back and side yards. When the girls each found their first egg, I "remembered" a rule I had "forgotten" to tell them. They needed to find the eggs in numerical order! It was so funny to see the girls picking up egg after egg looking for their next number. Ian just needed to find all of his eggs of the rights colors. He's too young to torture quite yet.

After they opened up eggs, we had a snack and then moved on to basket seeking. We helped a little with hot or cold clues. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy Easter baskets? Madeline immediately put her CD, Krystal Meyer, on her ipod and we went downstairs to watch Marley and Me. I have to say that I loved the movie but I was an emotional wreck for the rest of the afternoon. We got our cats just a few months after we got married and had to put them down last year at age 15. In fact, LL, our big guy Paddington, looked a lot like Sully except for being all orange. They were there as our family grew and evolved, just like Marley.

After the movie we had a big dinner, took a walk and got geared up for going back to school. I miss my clan today, but I know the rest of the year is going to fly, with kid activities and getting ready for Disney.

 

[cjackearl]

Ah Epcot. My family loves this park, maybe even best of all. We took a friend's advice in 2005 and went to Epcot first, thinking that it would be disappointing to the kids after the more "kid friendly" parks. No worries. I was surprised at how much we all enjoyed Epcot. Here are some pictures from our 2005 trip:

Mary Poppins was the very first character we met.

Madeline volunteered to be the professor's assistant in the Kodak demonstration in the Imagination pavillion(?), after the Figment ride.

The girls with Baloo.

The character bus in WS

Madeline and Amelia got quite involved in their kidcot masks. We've still got them.

George with our stroller brigade in front of the lagoon.

 

[cjackearl]

I can't even describe how excited we all are to get back to Epcot this trip. We missed a lot last time, but this trip I've got a plan and a list! What are not to be missed for the Earl clan?

Rides:

Soarin'--This one just oozes Disney magic. It's my very favorite ride in all of WDW
Test Trak--Missed last time, due to long lines.
Spaceship Earth--We can't NOT do this one
Universe of Energy--Ian will like the dinosaurs. Last trip it was a good ride for nursing.
Mission: Space--maybe? We all liked it alright last trip, before there was a green version. We'll see.
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience--We liked all of the Disney 3D movies.
The Seas with Nemo--Gotta try it


Food

Shwarma platter from the Moroccan CS restaurant
Fish and chips from English CS restaurant
Grey goose slushie
Sweet pretzel from the Norweigan bakery
fillet and cheddar cheese soup from Le Celier

Activities

Kim Possible Adventure--my kids will love this!
Pick-a-Pearl in Japan--Amelia talks about this all of the time

Souvenirs
Tiles from Morocco-Thanks CP!
Bottle of Rose Regale from Italy-yummy sparkling wine

That's the list for now. Any suggestions for additions?

 

[cjackearl]

I'm subscribing. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I really like what I have read so far. I'll finish later.

Thanks for including me in your planning.

Glad to have you along!

 

[carissanboys]

Wow! You're really creative with the Easter eggs! I'm so lazy about the whole holiday. But, my in-laws do a lot when we go there so I don't really feel pressure to do more. That may change next year when we're not so close to family.

We love Epcot too! Loved your pictures.

 

[carissanboys]

Oh - and I did the pick-a-pearl on our last trip. It was fun.

 

[cjackearl]

The Dis is being all dictatorial and not letting me quote your posts. Yea, I love Easter and my kids love the egg hunting the most. Glad you liked the pick a pearl. Did you get your pearl set?

 

[carissanboys]

The Dis is being all dictatorial and not letting me quote your posts. Yea, I love Easter and my kids love the egg hunting the most. Glad you liked the pick a pearl. Did you get your pearl set?

Here are the pictures from our picking out process:

I had it set at the stand in DTD that night (they had a better selection). This is what it looked like:

The chain ended up breaking when I got back home and I can't find the pearl/setting.

 

[cjackearl]

Aw, sorry its lost. I remember seeing that picture now that you post it, when I followed your link to your Raglan Road review. Did you follow that? It's super pretty.

 

[carissanboys]

Aw, sorry its lost. I remeber seeing that picture now that you post it, when I followed your link to your Raglan Road review. Did you follow that? It's super pretty.

Yes, I knew what you meant.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Epcot is our FAVORITE park! Your list looks great! And I LOVE the pics from 2005...your girls are adorable!

I didn't do the pick-a-pearl last trip....maybe I should add that to this year's to-do list. Looks cool....but I do tend to lose jewelry! We'll see!

We are so looking forward to the Kim Possible Adventure! I think my kids, who already enjoy WS as it is, will really like it!

 

[cjackearl]

Epcot is our FAVORITE park! Your list looks great! And I LOVE the pics from 2005...your girls are adorable!
Thank you! I love to look at my Disney scrapbook. It only took me 2 1/2 years to finish..
I didn't do the pick-a-pearl last trip....maybe I should add that to this year's to-do list. Looks cool....but I do tend to lose jewelry! We'll see!
I think the ceremony looks really neat. I'm the same way with jewelry, so we'll probably stick with inexpensive settings.
We are so looking forward to the Kim Possible Adventure! I think my kids, who already enjoy WS as it is, will really like it!

I can't wait to read about your experience with it! Do you know if there is an age minimum? Ian would really like to get one of those communicators in his hot little hands.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I can't wait to read about your experience with it! Do you know if there is an age minimum? Ian would really like to get one of those communicators in his hot little hands.

I don't think there's an age minimum - it sounds like a family type thing. If they don't want to give him the Kimunicator, they'll probably hand it to you, then you can do whatever you want with it. I'll report back about it to - we are hoping to try it out - at least once.

 

[cjackearl]

Thanks Amy! Can't wait to read about it. Not to rush your trip or anything

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

Ok I am all caught up. WOW, you have been busy.

Your children are adorable. Seeing Disney through their eyes is what makes it all worth it.

We will be there at the same time. WL June 16-23.

We are going to the clambake at BC, so I will get to see the resort. I've only seen it from a distance.

Your ADRs look good as does your intinerary. We have picked some of the same days for the parks. We will park hop though. My girls are older and they seem to really like it. I will need to get walking a lot more to keep up with them.

I like the way you have your drive planned. We drive from PA. Like you we have one long day and then one short day. We have less to drive, but we have major cities to deal with. (Baltimore, DC, Richmond, Jacksonville) The traffic can be tough here.

I am very jealous of your Mary Poppins pic. She is my favorite. I have also never seen the character bus at WS. Where have I been???

Can't wait to hear more about your trip.