They were more like guidelines, anyway...

[indimom]

Well, I found my error in the Universal park hours.
I just assumed that both parks had the same hours.
They don't.
IOA is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
USF is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (And the night show is at 9:45 p.m.)
That makes much more sense.
When I looked up their calendar the first time, I didn't realize I was looking at the calendar for IOA only and had to scroll down to get the USF calendar. Doh!
Glad I checked.
You think that's intentional so that both parks aren't emptying into citywalk at the same time??

 

[lsenquiz]

Well, I found my error in the Universal park hours.
I just assumed that both parks had the same hours.
They don't.
IOA is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
USF is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (And the night show is at 9:45 p.m.)
That makes much more sense.
When I looked up their calendar the first time, I didn't realize I was looking at the calendar for IOA only and had to scroll down to get the USF calendar. Doh!
Glad I checked.
You think that's intentional so that both parks aren't emptying into citywalk at the same time??

At least you found it now and not after you were there. I do think they stagger the hours on purpose because it would get very congested in city walk if both parks let out at the same time.

 

[indimom]

Ugh, sorry, no pictures again. It's been another crazy couple days and I feel like we are running out of time to get everything done. Only 5 more days!!!!

We set up the tenting stuff one last time, and this time we had some trouble with the tarp. The wind picked up and I'm afraid that's going to be an issue unless we've got some sturdy trees to help anchor the whole thing. I guess we'll see how that goes. I hope Matt didn't put all that work into the tent poles and we can't even make it work. We're choosing not to get worked up about it. If we can't make it work and have to deal with the leaky tent entry, we'll just deal.

We also took the car in for a tune up Friday, and Matt asked them to check the tires (he thought two were getting old) and he was right. But, the other two were wearing some also and they had a better deal on a set of four than two, so four new tires for us (and we're keeping the two that weren't completely lifeless to use as spares). So, another appointment to deal with this week, I get to take the car back in the morning to get the tires. Yeah for safe tires. Boo for the cost of four tires.

When Matt took the car in, he told the manager that we wanted everything checked for a roadtrip, and the guy (making conversation) says "Oh, where are you going?" And Matt told him Florida. So, when I went with Emily to pick the car up, what does the guy say RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER???? You guessed it: "Have a great time in Florida!!" Well, if she didn't suspect, now she knows. lol. At least Matt didn't tell the guy "Orlando" or worse "Disney World."

I had a nice girls day out with my lil sis, niece and Emily on Saturday morning. The girls spent some of their birthday/babysitting money and Em picked up a couple new things for the trip. It's funny watching her shop when she has to spend her own money. She's much more choosey.

Since football season gears up while we're on vacation, Matt and Garren will go pick up his football gear Monday night. Wednesday, Matt and I are going to a Nursing Program meeting (they recommend you bring someone with you). And, on Friday afternoon Garren has his sports physical for Football. That effectively ended any discussion of Matt taking off work early so that we could leave early. We'll be busy right up to the end of the work week now.

In addition to working with the tent, we started getting our clothes together, and are finishing laundry tomorrow so that we can pack early.
We had to do a little last minute shopping this afternoon because both of my boys needed a couple pair of shorts (hmmmm, strangely the girls had plenty clothes ).

The rest of the week will be focused on the meal prep, making the beef jerky, cancelling the mail, contacting the house sitter, and the usual pre-trip odd jobs. It's starting to feel real! FINALLY!!!

Have a great week everyone! Let's help the time flies until Friday, then slows to a crawl for the following week!!!!

 

[golf4miami]

Ugh, sorry, no pictures again. It's been another crazy couple days and I feel like we are running out of time to get everything done. Only 5 more days!!!!

We set up the tenting stuff one last time, and this time we had some trouble with the tarp. The wind picked up and I'm afraid that's going to be an issue unless we've got some sturdy trees to help anchor the whole thing. I guess we'll see how that goes. I hope Matt didn't put all that work into the tent poles and we can't even make it work. We're choosing not to get worked up about it. If we can't make it work and have to deal with the leaky tent entry, we'll just deal.

We also took the car in for a tune up Friday, and Matt asked them to check the tires (he thought two were getting old) and he was right. But, the other two were wearing some also and they had a better deal on a set of four than two, so four new tires for us (and we're keeping the two that weren't completely lifeless to use as spares). So, another appointment to deal with this week, I get to take the car back in the morning to get the tires. Yeah for safe tires. Boo for the cost of four tires.

When Matt took the car in, he told the manager that we wanted everything checked for a roadtrip, and the guy (making conversation) says "Oh, where are you going?" And Matt told him Florida. So, when I went with Emily to pick the car up, what does the guy say RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER???? You guessed it: "Have a great time in Florida!!" Well, if she didn't suspect, now she knows. lol. At least Matt didn't tell the guy "Orlando" or worse "Disney World."

I had a nice girls day out with my lil sis, niece and Emily on Saturday morning. The girls spent some of their birthday/babysitting money and Em picked up a couple new things for the trip. It's funny watching her shop when she has to spend her own money. She's much more choosey.

Since football season gears up while we're on vacation, Matt and Garren will go pick up his football gear Monday night. Wednesday, Matt and I are going to a Nursing Program meeting (they recommend you bring someone with you). And, on Friday afternoon Garren has his sports physical for Football. That effectively ended any discussion of Matt taking off work early so that we could leave early. We'll be busy right up to the end of the work week now.

In addition to working with the tent, we started getting our clothes together, and are finishing laundry tomorrow so that we can pack early.
We had to do a little last minute shopping this afternoon because both of my boys needed a couple pair of shorts (hmmmm, strangely the girls had plenty clothes ).

The rest of the week will be focused on the meal prep, making the beef jerky, cancelling the mail, contacting the house sitter, and the usual pre-trip odd jobs. It's starting to feel real! FINALLY!!!

Have a great week everyone! Let's help the time flies until Friday, then slows to a crawl for the following week!!!!

You really are close! I can't imagine what I'm going to feel like when my countdown rolls around to 5 days left. I'm already feeling anxious about it just reading your post about it.

All of that hard work that Matt put in to try and throw Emily off the trip has now been ruined but at least he didn't say Disney, that would have really blown it. Sounds like you guys have a busy week ahead so hopefully that will help this week fly by for you.

 

[lsenquiz]

I agree it would be such a bummer if you did not get to use the new tarp. Sending for a nice shady spot with some large trees.

The trip we took this past May was the first trip in a long time that we have not needed to put some money in the car for one reason or another right before vacation and that was only because the new car was just 2 months old. I hate spending money on things like tires. What fun is that

Bummer about the mechanic spilling the beans. It is the little things that get you when you have to keep a secret for this long.

I know what you mean about the kids being more careful when it is their own money. I give both of my older children $100 for their birthday. I have been doing that since they first became teens. I swear I can go 6 months without giving them another penny because eveytime they ask for something I say you have to spend your own money and they are just not willing to do that.

Sounds like you have a very busy week ahead so I am sure time will just fly by. Good luck with meal prep and take pictures if you can (put Emily in charge of the picture taking since the meal prep is not a secret). You can always include the pictures in your TR and Emily may even want to pin the beef jerky recipe to pinterest. I am sure lots of people who camp at disney would want to know tips on preparing dinners in advance!!! Heck, I do not plan to ever camp but I would love to know some tips also. Unlike most, we really do not care that much for the food at Disney so I would love some ideas on bringing meals with me. I am especially interested in how you make your own beef jerky. My two older kids are beef jerky fanatics but I hate to get them the store bought kind.

Can't wait to pop back in an wish you guys a safe and awesome trip

 

[HoosierJoy]

I am so impressed with you keeping all these secrets. I was going to try to surprise my kids with Club Level at HRH and I blurted it out to my son when we were talking about the hotel. It sounds like such a great trip! I can't imagine the planning for the camping. Good thing you are such an experienced camper. I have a friend whose family camped every summer at Fort Wilderness and they loved it.

 

[indimom]

You really are close! I can't imagine what I'm going to feel like when my countdown rolls around to 5 days left. I'm already feeling anxious about it just reading your post about it.

Yeah, chaos is fun! lol. And you've got a HUGE surprise to pull off.

All of that hard work that Matt put in to try and throw Emily off the trip has now been ruined but at least he didn't say Disney, that would have really blown it. Sounds like you guys have a busy week ahead so hopefully that will help this week fly by for you.

Yeah, luckily we didn't actually say where in Florida. I think Isenquiz nailed it. It's the little things that trip you up when you are lying. lol.

I agree it would be such a bummer if you did not get to use the new tarp. Sending for a nice shady spot with some large trees.

Thanks. Seems kind of silly to be this worked up over a tarp. ha. We're going to Disney World and Universal! Who cares about a tarp.

The trip we took this past May was the first trip in a long time that we have not needed to put some money in the car for one reason or another right before vacation and that was only because the new car was just 2 months old. I hate spending money on things like tires. What fun is that

Agreed. It sucks. Of course, I would have needed them anyway, especially since I'll be commuting to school for the next two years. But, it always hurts when you get those big bills. Bleh.
Travel always makes us worry about the vehicles. We had a couple years where we just rented a car because we were worried about how well ours would do. It didn't have any problems we "knew" about, but it was 8 and 10 years old, and it just didn't seem worth it to risk it. Especially with rentals so cheap. Well worth $100-150 bucks to travel in comfort with no worries!

Bummer about the mechanic spilling the beans. It is the little things that get you when you have to keep a secret for this long.

You are absolutely right.

I know what you mean about the kids being more careful when it is their own money. I give both of my older children $100 for their birthday. I have been doing that since they first became teens. I swear I can go 6 months without giving them another penny because eveytime they ask for something I say you have to spend your own money and they are just not willing to do that.

Why didn't I think of that? What a great idea!

Sounds like you have a very busy week ahead so I am sure time will just fly by. Good luck with meal prep and take pictures if you can (put Emily in charge of the picture taking since the meal prep is not a secret). You can always include the pictures in your TR and Emily may even want to pin the beef jerky recipe to pinterest. I am sure lots of people who camp at disney would want to know tips on preparing dinners in advance!!! Heck, I do not plan to ever camp but I would love to know some tips also. Unlike most, we really do not care that much for the food at Disney so I would love some ideas on bringing meals with me. I am especially interested in how you make your own beef jerky. My two older kids are beef jerky fanatics but I hate to get them the store bought kind.

The beef jerky is super easy, if you've got a couple odd kitchen tools. I get a lean roast or steak, freeze it until it's about 3/4 frozen. Then I slice it using my MIL's old meat slicer. That thing is awesome and makes the job super easy. It's just a miniature version of the type used in delis.

Once it's sliced, you just marinade it overnight in 3 c. soy sauce, 1/2 c. and 1/2 lb brown suger. (Nuts right?) Then, put it in the dehydrator for 24-48 hours until it's dried to a crisp.

Honestly, nothing to it if you have a slicer and dehydrator. Ours is marinading tonight. I'll put it in the dehydrator tomorrow and it will be done by Thursday, just in time.

Can't wait to pop back in an wish you guys a safe and awesome trip

Me Too!!!

 

[indimom]

Another day down, only three and a half to go.

I take Emily to get impressions for her retainer this morning.
Yesterday, we got 95% of the laundry done for the trip. We probably shouldn't have done it so early, it's going to get wrinkled, but it's nice to have it out of the way.
Dad has six outfits so we'll definitely have to do laundry. Garren and I have got seven (so close) and Emily has..... drumroll please....

TEN.

And she had to pull some outfits out of her pile.
Oh, yeah, I've got a teenage girl alright.
She wants to bring combat boots for one particular outfit. (A long black tank top and funky hot pink leggings (or no-pants as Matt calls the style).
Makes me glad I'm not a teen anymore.

Tomorrow the kids and I are focusing on the electronics and prepping meals. We need to find the car chargers for the Ipod and DS. We don't have one for the kindle, so we're going to see what we can do about that.

We need to charge the camera batteries, and pull out some extra batteries, just in case. We also need to find all the memory cards. We tend to just use the one in the camera and download often when we're taking pictures at home. But, since we're not bringing the laptop, we won't be able to do that on this trip. We're going to need to bring a couple so we don't run out of storage space.

I also want to find a couple disposable water cameras for our water park days. I really enjoyed having Photopass for the water parks on our last trip, but I figure we can make this work. Only problem, they didn't have any at Walmart this weekend?? I hope this isn't something that's so uncommon they do not stock them in stores anymore. Maybe I should have gotten them on line weeks ago?? I hope not.

The meals will be easy. It's mostly browning meat and bagging things for the freezer. Nothing too difficult. I'll see if I can get Em to take some photos as we go. She's going to think I'm crazy. But, hey, what's new?

I reviewed all my park hours last night.

Sunday, July 21st. DHS. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
(If we changed parks, MK has magic hours 9 a.m. to 1 a.m.)

Monday, July 22nd. BB. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tuesday, July 23rd. Epcot. 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Including Evening magic hours.)

Wednesday, July 24th. TL. 9a.m. to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 25, 26, and 27)
IOA 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (EE 7 a.m.)
USF 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (EE 8 a.m.)

And the only ride we will do that does not have express pass is Forbidden Journey, the new ride in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so we should be able to go with the flow on these days and have plenty of time to swim or do some putt putt. We'll just play it by ear.

I'm pretty happy with how our days worked out, so I hope the kids are happy too!

 

[lsenquiz]

Not surprised about the number of outfits Emily has. I am totally impressed by the fact that she got them all washed before she goes. Just wait until she is out of the house and responsible for her own laundry. Last year when we brought our daughter with us to disney we stopped and picked her up from college on the way (her college was exactly half way between us and Disney) she got into the car with 3 suitcases full of dirty cloths She basically brought everything she owned and figured she would wash it when we got there.

Thinking Emily might regret the combat boots but I would be a hypocrite to say I was not the same way at her age.

As for the Kindle - you may want to look for one of those chargers that you plug into the cigarette lighter that turns it into a regular outlet. We have about 5 of them laying around the house. I know you can get them at Walmart but not sure about the cost.

I think bringing a bunch of memory cards for the camera is actually a very good idea. We have one big memory card that holds 8g of pictures but we prefer to use the smaller ones at Disney and pull them out every day or so. That way if something happens to a memory card you do not lose all the pictures of your entire trip. That happened to a friend of mine. The camera was lost on the last day of vacation and she had been using the same memory card for the entire trip. She got over the loss of the camera fairly quickly but still morns the loss of those pictures

My sister just bought some disposable water cameras at walmart here in Georgia last week. I was actually surprised you could still get them.

I hope you get pictures of the food prep. Hopefully Em's creative side will not think it is weird to document the process. I mean teenagers take pictures of everything now right????

I think your park plans look great. Can't wait to hear what you thought of Harry Potter's area. Gabriel has recently gotten totally into the Lord of the Rings so I am wondering if he might be my first child to like Harry Potter

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the kids will be thrilled with this vacation. You have done a great job planning everything out and making sure everyone has an incredible time.

 

[Kaykool101]

Wow you have a busy week this week and only, what? 3 more days?

Too bad about the mechanic slip up. Can you have someone else "accidentally" spill the beans for some where else? That would really confuse her.

Won't be long now...

 

[indimom]

I am so impressed with you keeping all these secrets. I was going to try to surprise my kids with Club Level at HRH and I blurted it out to my son when we were talking about the hotel. It sounds like such a great trip! I can't imagine the planning for the camping. Good thing you are such an experienced camper. I have a friend whose family camped every summer at Fort Wilderness and they loved it.

Oops, how did I miss your post before?? Sorry about that.
I'm not sure I'm keeping all that many secrets anymore. But, hey, I tried.
I've almost let the cat out of the bag soooo many times myself. It's getting harder every day, because that's all I can think about anymore.
Thanks for popping in. I can't wait to read your report from Universal. I hope you have an amazing trip!

Not surprised about the number of outfits Emily has. I am totally impressed by the fact that she got them all washed before she goes. Just wait until she is out of the house and responsible for her own laundry. Last year when we brought our daughter with us to disney we stopped and picked her up from college on the way (her college was exactly half way between us and Disney) she got into the car with 3 suitcases full of dirty cloths She basically brought everything she owned and figured she would wash it when we got there.



Thought "she" would wash them when she got there or "mom" would wash them??? That's sounds like a sneaky trick one of my boys would have played on me cause they know I'm a sucker.

How'd you like riding in the car with all that dirty laundry??

Thinking Emily might regret the combat boots but I would be a hypocrite to say I was not the same way at her age.

Yeah, I told her if we had room she could bring them, but I'm thinking the same thing.... She's NUTS!
She asked if the outfit was too hot because of the leggings, and I said no, they're thin, the tank top is super loose and flowing, it's fine.
Then.... she mentions the boots.
I was like "um, well, I know the outfit doesn't go with tennis shoes, but, uh...."
Seriously, don't you think flip flops sounds like a better option than combat boots??

As for the Kindle - you may want to look for one of those chargers that you plug into the cigarette lighter that turns it into a regular outlet. We have about 5 of them laying around the house. I know you can get them at Walmart but not sure about the cost.

Yeah, that's what we were thinking.
Of course, we spent half the day trying to find the kindle charger which appears to have gone missing, so it may be staying at home anyway.
I don't know what that kid does with his stuff. Grrr.
He swears he didn't do anything with it, but he's really the only one who uses the kindle. Sometimes Matt, but only in the living room, he doesn't take it anywhere.
I just hope he didn't leave the cord at the doctor's office. That's the one place (outside the house) he always takes the kindle because he has to sit around for 30 minutes after his allergy shots and he gets bored.
Hopefully it turns up when they are cleaning the house tomorrow.

I think bringing a bunch of memory cards for the camera is actually a very good idea. We have one big memory card that holds 8g of pictures but we prefer to use the smaller ones at Disney and pull them out every day or so. That way if something happens to a memory card you do not lose all the pictures of your entire trip. That happened to a friend of mine. The camera was lost on the last day of vacation and she had been using the same memory card for the entire trip. She got over the loss of the camera fairly quickly but still morns the loss of those pictures

Ugh, I should have read this before I went to the store today. I bought a 16G memory card thinking it would save trouble to just have it all in one place. I never even considered what might happen if we LOST that card. Well, at least with this warning, I'll be extra, extra cautious about the camera. I agree with your friend, you can replace a camera, but you never get those pictures back.

My sister just bought some disposable water cameras at walmart here in Georgia last week. I was actually surprised you could still get them.

Found them. I stopped by a ShopCo today and they had them so I picked up two (27 shots each). I think that will do it. Of course, the stupid things were crazy expensive. I paid more for those two disposables than for the 16G card I'll use over and over again for years.

I hope you get pictures of the food prep. Hopefully Em's creative side will not think it is weird to document the process. I mean teenagers take pictures of everything now right????

I tried. I told her to take some pictures to "try out" the new memory card and make sure it worked. (Yeah, well, I needed some sort of excuse, and she thinks I'm a technology moron anyway, so she wouldn't question a stupid idea like that from me... lol.) And she took them. Well, I just loaded the card into the laptop and, guess what? She deleted them afterwards. I guess she figured we would need the space and they were just practice shots anyway. I can't win.

I did get most of the cooking done today. Not that there was a lot to do. Just prepping the taco meat and spaghetti sauce, putting the beef jerky in the dehydrator, etc. I also picked up the foodstuffs that I wasn't sure I'd be able to find in Orlando or the things I already had at home. So, that's another mission accomplished. We're getting close!

I think your park plans look great. Can't wait to hear what you thought of Harry Potter's area. Gabriel has recently gotten totally into the Lord of the Rings so I am wondering if he might be my first child to like Harry Potter

Your son has great taste! I'm a Lord of the Rings fan also. Is he watching the movies or reading the books? If it's the books, I'm impressed, they are a good read, but I'd consider those a hard read for his age bracket! The movies are very well done. I've really enjoyed all of them. And if I were to ever travel overseas, I'm going thereto New Zealand. Those movies made me fall in love with the scenery. What a beautiful country!!

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the kids will be thrilled with this vacation. You have done a great job planning everything out and making sure everyone has an incredible time.

Ahh, thanks, I think so, but I always worry.

Wow you have a busy week this week and only, what? 3 more days?

Too bad about the mechanic slip up. Can you have someone else "accidentally" spill the beans for some where else? That would really confuse her.

Won't be long now...

Yes, three more days. Woo Hoo! Or maybe 2.5 now! (Even better.)
That is a hilarious idea. I may have to set someone up to pull that off. lol. I wonder what she would think then? Maybe that we are doing both locations?? Hmmm, who is a good enough liar to pull it off? That's the question. lol.

 

[indimom]

2.5 Days Left!!!

Tomorrow is my nursing meeting. No idea how long that will last, but it will probably eat up all my free time, so I won't be getting much done for the trip. I am going to make the kids clean the house while I'm gone. Timed that one out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Thursday, we have another appointment, hopefully it won't be a long one. I wouldn't think so.

Emily had an orthodontist appointment this morning to have impressions made for her retainer.
Well, when she was done, they told me, we need to make an appointment early next week to fit the retainer. I told them we were going on vacation and the nurse's eyes bugged out.
Apparently, they had taken off the two last brackets (which they were using to hold a rubber band and keep her teeth in place until the retainer was done).
She runs off to the back and comes back and said, can you make it in early Saturday morning.
Uh, nope, we're leaving Friday.
So she runs to the back again and says, can you come in Thursday???

So, we've got another appointment and Emily should have her retainer and be braces free. Woo Hoo!
In my defense, I didn't realize they would take off the brackets or I would have warned them about the trip.

Thursday, the kids and I are going to clean the car and do any last minute shopping.
Finally, on Friday, I'll finalize the packing and cooking and take Garren to his football physical. Nothing to it. We're almost there!!!

On a side note, Matt and I are sooo not on the same page with those tent poles. I thought we were still bringing them, and he now says no. ??? You got me, but that's his domain, if he doesn't want to bring them, that just means I have more room to pack. lol. I hope we don't regret it.

 

[golf4miami]

Do you have someone in your family or a close friend that can disguise their voice? Have them call your house or Emily's cell phone or something saying they wanted to confirm your travel plans for Destin or something. That may throw her off.

 

[indimom]

Do you have someone in your family or a close friend that can disguise their voice? Have them call your house or Emily's cell phone or something saying they wanted to confirm your travel plans for Destin or something. That may throw her off.

Another good idea. I might be able to pull that one off. I've got co-workers who would love to do this and my daughter has never met them. Thanks!

 

[Kaykool101]

Tomorrow's the BIG DAY!!! You are going to have so much fun! I am going to miss your PTR though. So be sure to start your TR as soon as you get back.

Have a trip!!!!

 

[disneylvr4vr]

Tomorrow's the BIG DAY!!! You are going to have so much fun! I am going to miss your PTR though. So be sure to start your TR as soon as you get back.

Have a trip!!!!

I agree! You must start it as soon as possible! And I hope you have a GREAT time!

 

[indimom]

Wow! The final day! I can't believe it's finally here! (About time, lol.)
We are leaving in just 14 hours. Then another 16 to Orlando, and ...
LET THE MAGIC BEGIN!!!

So, lets see, yesterday and the day before, we:

Did the nursing meeting Wednesday, criminal history checks, drug screens, immunizations scheduled, physical scheduled, first book bought (15 chapters to be read and four pages of notes to memorize BEFORE the start of school, got us starting out with a bang. lol), uniforms ordered, id made, 8,0000 rules and regulations given, etc, etc, etc. That was one crazy busy day.
Met my classmates. I was surprised how many people were my age. I was expecting, two maybe three (out of 22). Instead there were about 7 my age! I feel better now.
I was also amazed to discover that there are 6 people from my local little town (a 45 minute commute from the school) so there may be some potential for car pooling. That will be really nice if it works out, since it's five days a week for the first month (cramming sessions) and then four days a week after that. A dollar saved, you know.

Em got her retainer. Done.

Matt found the kindle cord. (In about ten seconds, after we spent half a day searching. sometimes I hate him. ) He also got a really nice adaptor/inverter (whatever you call that thing) for the car so garren can plug in his toys.

Em's bringing the boots. Couldn't talk her out of it.

Talked to the housesitter and took care of the mail.

Matt and Garren washed and waxed the car.

Today, the kids and I will do a final cleanup of the house and a bit of laundry, just so we don't have it when we get home. I'm hoping to run to Walmart for a couple more food items (things we may snack on in the car, as well as the last frozen items I think will fit in the cooler - the more frozen items we have in there, the longer it will stay cold - I think.

We'll pack up those last minute loose items you don't want to forget like tooth brushes and my straightener, etc. We'll visit Matt's parents and mine around lunch time, if we can manage it.

Garren has his football physical after lunch. AND...
Matt's taking a half day (told you he wouldn't be able to stand it ) and will help pack the car while we're at the doctor. He is so predictable when it comes to the final day before vacation. This is when he gets really excited, while the rest of us have been bouncing around for days and weeks on end.

I never had time to arrange any tricks for Emily, so I just left it be.

Oh, and for those of you who remember.... no laptop will be coming with us on this trip. It's actually been on the fritz for the last couple weeks (probably picked up a bug somehow) and Matt has been ready to shoot the thing so it wasn't hard to convince him we didn't need to bring it. (We will have the kindle and my jet pack so if we need to research anything, we can, but it's not that fun surfing the net on there so I know he won't overdo it. )


So, we should be able to hit the road a little earlier than I expected, maybe around 3 p.m. Hard to believe that it's finally here. And I'm trying to avoid thinking that means it will soon be over. (I guess that's what Trip Reports are for, to make it last just a little bit longer).

I will start a trip report as soon as I can when we get back. It would probably be best if I finished it before school starts. I doubt I'll have a lot of time to devote to it after Aug. 19th. Yikes! So, I hope you all have a great week next week and that I have lots of magical and entertaining stories to tell you when we get back!

 

[lsenquiz]

I hope I did not miss the opportunity to tell you to have an AWESOME trip.



Can't wait to hear all about it when you guys get back!!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Have a great trip.

 

[lsenquiz]

Thinking about you and hoping you guys are having an awesome time