The Fabby LapuLapuettes Part IV: My Pineapple Needs a Refill!

[trixiequilts]

Here's some more AKL pics before I start my trip summary for you.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh please let a 4/3 AKL room open up!!! Oh please let a 4/3 AKL room open up!!! I need to stay there!

Fantastic pics, Trixie!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Your pictures are amazing, Trixie!! AKL is officially on my resort list!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Here's a quick pic I took in honor of Heidi. Thanks, I never would have noticed it on my own!

Great shot! Isn't fun to know something special when 100 people around you haven't a clue!?!

 

[MegansMom]

Okay Trixie---those pics were AWESOME!!! Give us more details, scoop, synopsis, etc.!!! We want to know it all!

 

[LegoMom3]

A little humor for those who are dreading the start of another work week....remember, Friday will be here before ya know it!

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[Lady Lallie]

A little humor for those who are dreading the start of another work week....remember, Friday will be here before ya know it!

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Legomom, before I saw this I was just thinking I'd like to wear ear plugs to work. So I am cracking up.

 

[MegansMom]

Happy Monday Gang!! I hope everyone's weekends went well!!! Ours were busy, but fun---although I felt like I hardly saw my hubby all weekend, but that is always the case in our family during Super Bowl weekend---every year, he and his buddies go to this annual Euchre Tournament on the Saturday before the SuperBowl, and then our one good friend Kevin has a HUGE SuperBowl party at his place on the big day. I am telling you, this is NO ordinary SuperBowl party either---it has to be the BEST one out there! There are tons of games that go along with the game, the commercials, etc., many costumes, and the highlight of the evening is the Graveyard Gridiron that takes place during half-time. WAY too much fun, and way too difficult to explain all that takes place, but it seriously is non-stop fun!!!! This was actually the 19th year for the SuperBowl party---yes, it was actually started way back in high school, but it grows bigger and better with each passing year. In our large circle of friends, this is the one event no one misses because we so look forward to it all year. I will try to find some pics for you at some point, but I did not take any so they will have to come from some of my other friends. So, our weekend FLEW by!!!!

 

[jenjolt]

Holy Moly you mean to tell me there are other people out there that play Euchre...man we love that game in our family it is a tradition with our inlwas...and it can get down right nitty gritty sometimes...that game can be cut throat...but we always have fun!!!

Wow..sounds like the SuperBowl party to end all SuperBowl parties...hopefully you'll post some pics it sounds like you guys had a great time!!!

 

[trixiequilts]

Holy Moly you mean to tell me there are other people out there that play Euchre...man we love that game in our family it is a tradition with our inlwas...and it can get down right nitty gritty sometimes...that game can be cut throat...but we always have fun!!!

I thought everyone played Euchre. No?

 

[jenjolt]

I thought everyone played Euchre. No?

You know what I seriously think its a Michigan thing...growing up in Kansas I had no idea the game even exisited until I met Phillip and my in laws...but I love the game now!! Gotta love when your partner picks up red and you have an all black hand and says "for my partner" LOL that's awesome LOL!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I have no idea what Euchre is.

 

[MRYPPNS]

I thought everyone played Euchre. No?

I haven't a clue what it is....off to google it now.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Hey LL....
I've been meaning to ask you.....did you ever go to the Fertility Doctor?

 

[Lady Lallie]

Hey LL....
I've been meaning to ask you.....did you ever go to the Fertility Doctor?

Funny you should ask that. I didn't end up going. I feel as though I need to get healthier before I become pregnant. I'm not ready for fertility treatments. I'm giving myself 6 months to a year and then see how I feel. I am trying to lose weight and exercise so that's where it stands right now.

 

[jenjolt]

Funny you should ask that. I didn't end up going. I feel as though I need to get healthier before I become pregnant. I'm not ready for fertility treatments. I'm giving myself 6 months to a year and then see how I feel. I am trying to lose weight and exercise so that's where it stands right now.

Me too LL!! I think its a great idea and I'm also all about getting healthier before I get pregnant!!

 

[trixiequilts]

Here't the rest of the beginning of our trip...For any of you that don't know, my DD9 has anxiety and panic disorders. She is doing pretty well right now, but has had severe issues in the past. She is on a lot of meds and goes to counseling. This trip was a huge deal for our family. Just the fact that we could plan to go was a victory, but I still was very concerned about her and how she would deal with everything.

The day before we left, I had to find some clothes, do some errands, and pack myself and the bathroom stuff. Seems simple enough, right? It was the day from you-know-where. Needless to say, my day went way too fast. My parents came after the girls got home from school to say good-bye and that really threw off my train of thought. By that point, I had everything except the clothes laid out of the living room floor with our suitcases, carryons, quart bags, and the Disney bin. And I didn’t know what to do. We hadn’t flown since all the new regulations took effect, and it was very confusing at the time. I couldn’t pack the way I usually packed! And I had to plan ahead for only what we’d need at BIL/SIL’s house that night and the next morning, because we didn’t want to take all of our luggage out of the car. Anyway, it all seems very simple now, and like it shouldn’t have been stressful, but it was really stressful to me at the time. I was a mess (my mom even told me so after we got home)! I remember totally losing it and just crying while I was helping DD9 in the shower. She kept saying, “You’ve got to stop this, I can’t handle you being like this!” I am a horrible mother. I was supposed to be helping her not freak about flying and the trip in general, and I couldn’t even control my own emotions. I got it together after that, believe me!

Our flight left at 8:50 a.m. the next morning and the airport is 2 1/2 hours away, so we planned to spend the night before at my BIL/SIL's house close to the airport, and they would drop us off. We left our house at 8 p.m. and got to their house at 11:10 p.m. Not so good. Of course the girls had slept most of the way there (which I was hoping they wouldn’t~a good reason for leaving earlier) so when we got them into bed, they couldn’t sleep. Neither could I…neither could DH. It was a horrible night. The girls were on two couches and DH and I were on a mattress on the floor between them. So everytime either one of them moved, we woke up. I remember DD9 asking me at 2:15 if she could turn on a light and look at some books. Sure, whatever it takes. So DD7 got up too, and they read to each other for a while. Our alarm woke us up at 5:45 a.m. The morning went very well. We left their house about 6:50 a.m. ready to go. We got to the airport fine and then I freaked a little again. For some reason the whole check-in process and security thing got to me. There are just so many things that can go wrong! The workers in the Detroit airport were not very nice, either. It was just overwhelming. DD7 was more upset by the security screening than DD9. I think we were so worried about DD9 that we didn't prepare DD7 enough. But we made it just fine, no problems at all.

When we got to the gate, the temperature in Orlando was 32 degrees. WHAT??? That’s too cold!!!

Our flight was on time, DH was keeping the girls really busy before boarding, and we were getting close to leaving! But the closer it got, the more nervous DD9 got. At one point she said, “I can’t go!” I told her she had no choice. I sat by her (she had the window), and DH and DD7 were in the same seats as us but a row ahead. I just kept reassuring her and we took off. She loved it! Once we got above the clouds she said, “I love it up here!” All things considered, I thought she did fantastic! DD7 too for that matter. I didn't fly until I was 16 and I remember having stomach problems for a whole week before the flight!

The flight was uneventful. The best kind! DD9 pretty much just played with her Nintendo DS and DD7 colored and played with her DS. The actual flight was just over 2 hours, which goes really fast. When we landed, the temperature was a balmy 36 degrees. Not a whole lot of improvement if you ask me. We found the Magical Express, checked in and waited, and waited, and waited. We finally were able to get on the 3rd bus for our line. What’s up with that??? Is that typical? We stopped at POP, CSR, and then made it to AKL. We were all very impressed with Disney property, but the grass along the highway was brown. I wanted green everywhere!

[Insert the part you already know here.]

At some point when we were in the lobby, DD9 made a comment about being sad that she wasn’t going to be able to pin trade. SURPRISE! I had bought 20 pins from e-bay about a week before we left. I thought they would be a great bribe to get her on the plane if need be. I got a great price of like $1.89 per pin including the upgraded shipping I paid for to get them fast. What a deal! They were so excited! We bought their lanyards, autograph book and pen, and the girls were each given a brand new Tink pin by the cashier. I thought, "Our good luck continues" (even though they probably do that for everyone, it still felt special).

We got ready to head to the GF for our 1900 Park Fare dinner. I made a mistake here, I think. We headed for MK, thinking we could just quick take the monorail to GF. It seemed to take forever! First, our bus to MK was the longest wait we had all week (which in reality was probably 15 minutes). I thought to myself that if that was how bus service was going to be, that we should have rented a car! The bus finally came, we made it to MK, and then I thought about the boat to GF. DD9 was an absolute NO GO on that. Not going to happen. So we headed for the monorail. Little did I realize that the monorail stops work like this: MK, CR, TTC, Poly, GF. I was getting a stomachache! I realized at this point that for all the preparation I did, it still wasn’t enough! We were 10 minutes late for our ADR. Not too bad. When we walked into the GF there was a band in the lobby playing the theme song from the Muppet Show. DH looked around, heard the band and said, “We should have stayed here!” I explained to him that we couldn’t afford to stay there.

We were seated right away. Our server wasn’t very good, and I was surprised how small the buffet was. It wasn’t great. Just okay. I did really like the strawberry soup though. It was at this point that I learned how chaotic character meals are. The step-sisters weren’t really as funny as I had expected them to be, but the girls didn’t really interact with them very much, I think they were a little nervous.

I knew that a DISfriend of mine and her family were supposed to be there as well, but it took me a while to find them. Actually I saw her DH first. It seemed as though they were almost done, so the girls and I headed over to say hello. It was very strange to meet someone face to face that you’ve only known online. It’s like you know everything about this family except how to act around them! They were very friendly and her boys welcomed my girls with open arms. The first thing my friend asked me about was how the girls (especially DD9) did on the plane We knew that we’d see each other the next day, so we said hello good-bye and they left to continue their exciting day.

After dinner, we took the monorail back to MK. I thought so that we could get some tame rides under the girls’ belts before we expected them to go on RNRC the next morning. DH thought we were going just for fireworks. At this point, I realized that communication was going to be very important if we wanted this trip to be a success. We pretty much gave up on all our plans as it was very dark and many things seemed to be closed? And it was so COLD! We decided to find somewhere warm to wait and then watch the fireworks. I think we may have been inside Casey’s, but I’m still not sure. The girls watched some old cartoons on a huge screen with about 18,927 other kids. Everyone was trying to stay warm.

So just before 8 p.m. we headed out to Main Street and saw Wishes for what I thought would be my first time. It ended up being my ONLY time. I have to admit that I teared up a little. I couldn’t believe after all the planning and worrying, we were really standing here, watching the fireworks at the castle. Wow. When DD7 saw Tink fly, she totally freaked! “I saw Tink, I saw Tink! Tink was flying! Did you see her?” Yes, in fact I did, and I was quite surprised that she was out as it was below freezing at that point! DH was videotaping the show and his battery died right before the finale. I wasn’t too upset about it because I thought we’d be there 2 more times. I didn’t even take any photographs, as I had forgotten to bring my new little tripod. There would be plenty more chances, or so I thought. As soon as the fireworks were done, we took off as fast as we could and made the first bus to AKV.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Trixie, I finally had time to read about your first day!! For a first family trip, I think you did remarkably well!! I hope you keep telling us more, I really want to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Hi everyone! Hope I'm not in any danger of having my pineapple revoked as I've been away for so long.

Life has been a bit hectic lately and something just had to go. Unfortunately it was my Dis' time, but I should be having more free time again now. Work has been stressful lately. Last week they laid off 20 people in my office/200 people nationwide. Very scary. Luckily my department didn't lose anyone, but the moral at work is really low.

I've been back on my diet for two weeks now. I lost 10 lbs the first week, and a half lb this week. I blame the Super Bowl party I went to on Sunday. Still I'm happy with the results. I can really feel the difference already. I stayed over at my brother's house after the party, and loved having my nieces wake me up in the morning. Luckily they don't realize how loud they were when they were planning to pounce on me, so I had some time to prepare myself before they pole vaulted onto my bed. I just didn't let them know I was already awake.

Trixie, your photos are making me so home-sick for Disney. I'm almost wishing I had booked at AKL for next year. December is seeming so far away.

 

[jenjolt]

WOW...what a great first day Trixie!! I know it was cold I was there and it was so cold!!! I'm so glad to hear both your DDs did a great job on the flight I'm sure that was a huge relief to you!!

I also wasn't the biggest fan of 1900 Park Fare either but I'm glad you were able to meet up with a fellow DISer and her family!!!