VR a celebration of rememberance:30th anniversary shouldn't you get to know us first?

Deesknee · Jan 9, 2012

This will be my first time attempting a planning journal. So, I will start with the basics...introductions.

me - 49 SOHM, disabled, WDW fan, but my favorite pass time is spending time with my kids.
DH- 51 system analyst by trade, but paying the mortgage working retail, he is the #1 Dad, will sacrifice anything for his family., the true disney addict. He is my Geek
DS#1- 21 college kid who has every inclination to be a director/producer someday, however it is his part time job as a radio DJ that he excels at. Will go any where for a family vacation, but doesn't consider himself a disney guy. He doesn't like the roller coaster world other than RNR, and would actually prefer to ride Tomorrow Land Transit Authority than most other rides.
DS#2 - 21 college kid who intends on being a public relation person for celebrities. He also has caught the Disney addiction. He maybe 2nd only to his Dad. proud member of D23. Loves all the wild rides.
DD#1- 21 college kid who's ambition in life is to be a psychologist for kids. She has found a new love for Disney since falling in love with a Disney nut.
DD#2- 9 She is a sensitive caring Disney freak who doesn't understand why everyone hasn't been to Disney as much as she has. Aladdins Magic Carpet is her favorite ride!!

I thought I'd break it down into segments, so you all can skip any of the boring stuff. ...now 9/26/12 that I reread what I wrote, most of it is boring stuff to others.

Deesknee · Jan 9, 2012

As this is an anniversary trip I thought I should add a little more background about us.
After having been at many of the same birthday parties as very young children, DH and I met again when we worked at the same small town grocery store as teenagers. Even though I had no interest in him at first, his sense of humor and honesty attracted my attention. During the 10 months it took him to gather the courage to ask me out, we became friends. A friendship that continues to this day.

It was very amusing when we realized his cousins had photos of us as toddlers sitting near each other at their birthday parties. My family's closest friends who I grew up calling my cousins were actually HIS cousins. Funny how life turns out.

Deesknee · Jan 10, 2012

Deesknee · Jan 10, 2012

so sorry. duplicate...again

Deesknee · Jan 10, 2012

Courtship engagement
The courtship would be considered uneventful to most. No world travels, no weekends away. We just became friends. We spent the first 1 ½ years learning about each other and each others families. It was on our way to my senior prom that he asked me to marry him. He says he thought it was a good idea, we would be dressed up, I was technically out of school, and we would be seeing our family & friends so we could announce it immediately, surrounded by loved ones. However, it went more like this... We finished the pictures at my parents house and were getting into the car he had borrowed from his mother.(since his was less than appropriate for formal attire) There was a small jewelry box on the seat. I assumed it was his sisters as she had been borrowing the car recently.I asked what his sister had purchased, as I began to pick it up. He panicked, grabbed it out of my hand and asked why I had to be so nosey. :sad2:

I, thinking he was being pretty over reactive and a bit mean, was caught off guard when he opened the box and pulled out my ring. He then asked if I would marry him. The tears of anger I had welling up turned to tears of joy, I squeaked yes. We got out of the car & showed my family.

Deesknee · Jan 11, 2012

The Wedding
Our wedding was beautiful. It was everything my mother dreamed of. But, I can honestly say, I have few regrets about the day. I wore the gown I picked out. The band was the one Mark and I chose, of the options we were given. The hall was a Sons of Italy hall. But the set up of it was perfect for dancing. The rest was picked by my Mom. And again, honestly, I was the only daughter, and she had a strict budget. Our wedding was more than I needed. I am grateful. Even though my first choice would have been on a beach somewhere just us & our immediate families & closest friends, I have no regrets. My parents were always very good to me, and if they wanted to see their only daughter at a wedding they had dreamt of since rocking me to sleep, that would be the least I could do for all they had done for me. A big church wedding it was.

Deesknee · Jan 12, 2012

The honeymoon
I had my heart set on a honeymoon in the Pocono Resort. My brother and his new wife had honeymooned there and to me it sounded perfectly romantic. I was 19. Mark was 21. He had been to Disney World and wanted to take me. I was fine with that, just not for our honeymoon. We went back and forth for a long time. More than which church we would be married in. Which speaks volumes since we were not of the same religion. Finally, I decided, I would give in and go to an amusement park for my honeymoon. But, for our 5th anniversary, we would go somewhere romantic.
So, the day after our wedding, on a 42 degree day I boarded a plane for the very first time and headed to an amusement park. At the time Eastern Airlines was the official airline of Walt Disney World. I enjoyed the experience very much. They gave us pins that were wings. Our travel agent had given us a book about Disney, which I had been reading. I felt spoiled. I was flying on a plane to FLA, with my husband. But, I must be honest; it was not Disney I was excited about. It was FLA. Again, I was 19. I had needed a written letter of consent from my parents to be married in the Catholic Church. (no lie). I was not legal to drink alcohol in my home state. In FLA I was. I had visions of champagne.
I really want to express how naive my now husband and I were. He had only flown once. Neither of us had ever stayed in any type of hotel. So, we land in MCO, a beautiful 82 degree day, get our luggage, get the rental car and finally get to the hotel. It was the he Americana Dutch Resort,(but would become Grosvenor @ what is now DTD area resorts). We parked our car. Then proceeded to drag our luggage up a hill to the door of the hotel. Yeah, we didn’t know about bell hops, or valet parking.

Deesknee · Jan 13, 2012

What, you would like more proof of how naive we actually were? Okay...
So, we spent the first day strolling around a little place called The Disney Village. I was very impressed with the shrubbery. It was in the shape of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. We strolled over to a restaurant on a boat named the Empress Lily. However, I had forgotten my dress clothes and we thought we were under dressed. So, we strolled back to the hotel. Mark made reservations at the restaurant in the hotel. We went there at our reserved time and sat and waited for our name to be called. We sat. and sat. We heard them call a name a few times, that caught our attention, but we didnt pay much notice. We sat some more. Finally an elderly couple chatted with us a bit. They suggested we speak to the hostess. Mark did. They didnt have our name. The elderly couple said they would wait, we could have their reservation. The beginning of the Disney magic had started.

As we sat chatting about how they could have lost our reservation, we realized the name they kept callingit was my husbands first name, Mark combined with our last name. Making our last name sound like an Irish or Scottish name, if you get the picture. Something like MacDougal, or MacMillan(not our real name). Apparently when my husband made the reservation he said his first and last name. If you combine Mark with our Boston accent, I guess it sounds like an Irish/Scottish name. So to them instead of (for instance) Mark Millan, they heard McMillan. Well, regardless we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. And, yes we had champagne. Now, fast forward to the bill. Again, we are young and naive. We pay the bill and the tip and are sitting enjoying the end of our beverage. The chef comes out to thank us. We thought that odd, but figured they heard it was our wedding. How nice. OR it could be because we didnt realize they had included the tip in and we left an additional 15% (remember this is 29 years ago). Like I said we were naive. Haha :blush:

Deesknee · Jan 13, 2012

My amazement with this amusement park called Disney

So, the first full day of our honey moon we head over to the Magic Kingdom, which btw, we refer to as Disney, because the only other Disney park in FLA at this time was EPCOT and that had been open for just about 1 month.
We take the bus, because my young husband is very nervous about getting lost.
We arrive at the Magic Kingdom. I remember my first moment of awe was the monorail system. I was baffled at the idea we were on a train in the sky. I remember trying to look out the window and down to see how it was staying on the rails. The next awe moment was more topiaries. Then, The Castle. But my REAL magical moment was Peter Pan. Now, the monorail I knew was technology. But when the ship went beyond the doors and suddenly you were lifted into the air on a flying ship, well that had to be magic. I was hooked. :cloud9:

Deesknee · Jan 13, 2012

BUILDING OUR LIFE TOGETHER condensed version
I will not bore you (more than I have) with all the details of our struggles in our marriage. Like most people married 30 years there have been deaths and births and heart ache and joy. But, I will touch on a couple that hit our marriage hard and became make it or break situations. Come together or fall apart situations.
1) Husband got hired by THE company he had dreamt of working for since he was a child. The company his father had worked for. But, he was REQUIRED to quit college. (no kidding he had to give the employer a written document by the college he was enrolled in saying he had formally withdrawn from classes) due to the 24 hour availability a directory assistance operator is required to be available for. The day he was to start the company went on strike. He now was unemployed until the strike was over, then he could start. Months into our 2nd year of marriage he was unemployed and was not enrolled in college. Would NOT have been my first choice to start our life. But, we got thru. He worked for that company until.
2) After making it thru years and years of layoffs he was let go. After 23 years of service for this same company. 2 years short of being able to retire with full benefits. This was only a few years ago, and we still struggle with this as he is middle age and in a field where more and more of its jobs are being sent overseas. But he works hard in a retail position, financially we survive, but emotionally it is much more difficult.
3) Somewhere in the middle of these two points in our lives we build a strong relationship and a family. We struggled to have a family. Struggles like
a) False urine pregnancy tests
b) Infertility
c) False blood pregnancy test
d) Infertility
e) An adoption of a child only to have the mother renege and legally take the child back after 1 day of us having him
f) Conceiving, but having to decide if we wanted to selective terminate one of the 3 we had conceived.
g) Delivering healthy triplets, but being on bed rest to do so, therefore losing a major income.
h) Raising healthy triplets (and all the ups and downs of parenting)
i) Conceived another child.(another surprise miracle. Doctors said it wouldnt happen naturallyever)

We have been separated for a short time after the loss of our adopted child. We have cried sobbing tears after the loss of my brother. A time when my husbands sense of humor reminded me the sun still shone. We laughed at the sight of one triplet using the others as human a ladder to get over the child gate. We fought over bills. We fought over jobs. We rejoiced in good fortune. We celebrated promotions. We worried when we realized the triplets had figured out they outnumbered us. We held each others hands in doctors offices, hospitals waiting for news. We embraced when that news was good, then embraced again when it was bad. We laughed when we realized the IV tube was kinked and my contractions went from nothing to hard labor in minutes. We cried tears of joy when I delivered another perfect baby. We struggled with the uncertainties and realization of my disability. We sat side by side saying goodbye to my Mom. We grieve the man his father was before Alzheimers. These are the vows we took nearly 30 years ago. Good times and bad, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Each has been a stepping stone to our good ole days and I wouldnt trade one, for each has made us individually a better person, and together a better couple

BridgetR3 · Jan 13, 2012

I came to the boards tonight in search of another PTR to read but never in a million years did I bargain for this. I LOVE IT!! Thank you for sharing your life with us.

I must admit that I was a little curious (o.k. a lot) when I realized that you had 3 21 year olds!!! I thought well that's an odd situation they must be a blended family until I read that they were triplets. GOD bless you!!! Surely just for that reason alone you deserve the Disney trip. You survived raising them!!! :rotfl:

I can't wait to keep up with your PTR and your trip to DW. popcorn::

Congrats on 30 years!!!!! What an achievement!

Deesknee · Jan 14, 2012

BridgetR3 said:
I came to the boards tonight in search of another PTR to read but never in a million years did I bargain for this. I LOVE IT!! Thank you for sharing your life with us.

I must admit that I was a little curious (o.k. a lot) when I realized that you had 3 21 year olds!!! I thought well that's an odd situation they must be a blended family until I read that they were triplets. GOD bless you!!! Surely just for that reason alone you deserve the Disney trip. You survived raising them!!!

I can't wait to keep up with your PTR and your trip to DW.

Congrats on 30 years!!!!! What an achievement!

Thanks! I've never shared so much information on any type of forum. I'm a bit nervous. I hope I haven't/don't bore people to tears. But, I figure they can skip whatever they find boring, and if it is all of the thread, my feelings won't be hurt.
Yes raising triplets has been a challenge. But, what many people don't realize is there are a lot of advantages. They always had someone to play with, they always had a peer in their corner. Raising the youngest, now that is challenging. :confused3

We are blessed. Thanks for reading along.

Deesknee · Jan 14, 2012

So, this is us. Now, as we approach our 30th wedding anniversary we want to have this marriage blessed again. We want to verbally renew those vows. To have our children sit and listen to each word, knowing they are not just words, they are life. Their lives, our lives. They are not always easy words to live by, but to live by them is to live a rich life, a committed life with another human being. And then we want to board a plane to the same destination we had traveled so many years ago. Not on the same airline, we will not stay in the same hotel, we will visit at least double the amount of parks, but most importantly we will be together with the dream we had all those years ago. With each other and our children, With, our family.
Well, this is where my planning begins. With the decision to have an anniversary trip to Disney.

So, let the planning begin!!! :cheer2:

BridgetR3 · Jan 14, 2012

What a wonderful way to celebrate 30 years!!!

Have you been back to Disneyworld since your honeymoon? I know last year when we went it was my first time ever!! I absolutely loved it!

Deesknee · Jan 15, 2012

BridgetR3 said:
What a wonderful way to celebrate 30 years!!!

Have you been back to Disneyworld since your honeymoon? I know last year when we went it was my first time ever!! I absolutely loved it!

Yes, we've been back. Even thought I thought I wanted to go somewhere else for our th anniversary...any anniversary we've gone out of state for...we've gone to disney. our 3rd anniversary, then not again until, until our 12th, then our 13th, 15th,17th,18th,20th,and numerous others. We are a DISfamily now.
Last year was your first? I am going to have to catch up on your TR.

BridgetR3 · Jan 15, 2012

Yes ma'am my first time ever!!! My parents weren't big "theme park" people so that kept them from Disney. Then as a newlywed through a couple years ago, I assumed we couldn't afford Disney and that it was only for "rich people". :lmao:

It wasn't until the big oil spill in the Gulf and the chance that our resort on the beach may shut down that I even once considered going. I looked into it and am now hooked!!!! It's cheaper than most of the other vacations we used to take!

Actually if you are going to pop in somewhere, join my PTR. I don't think I have a single reader!!! :confused3

You can read the TR too if you are bored or at least check out the cute kids :love:

but it's pretty much over!

Can't wait to hear more about your plans!

Deesknee · Jan 16, 2012

BridgetR3 said:
Yes ma'am my first time ever!!! My parents weren't big "theme park" people so that kept them from Disney. Then as a newlywed through a couple years ago, I assumed we couldn't afford Disney and that it was only for "rich people".

It wasn't until the big oil spill in the Gulf and the chance that our resort on the beach may shut down that I even once considered going. I looked into it and am now hooked!!!! It's cheaper than most of the other vacations we used to take!

Actually if you are going to pop in somewhere, join my PTR. I don't think I have a single reader!!!

You can read the TR too if you are bored or at least check out the cute kids but it's pretty much over!

Can't wait to hear more about your plans!

I am going to start on that, but I must warn.... I am a very slow reader. I actually put together my ptr gradually over time. I have been working on it slowly. :rolleyes:

Deesknee · Jan 16, 2012

So, this is us. Now, as we approach our 30th wedding anniversary we want to have this marriage blessed again. We want to verbally renew those vows. To have our children sit and listen to each word, knowing they are not just words, they are life. Their lives, our lives. They are not always easy words to live by, but to live by them is to live a rich life, a committed life with another human being. And then we want to board a plane to the same destination we had traveled so many years ago. Not on the same airline, we will not stay in the same hotel, we will visit at least double the amount of parks, but most importantly we will be together with the dream we had all those years ago. However we will be with each other and our children, with, our family.
Well, this is where the planning begins. With the decision to have an anniversary trip to Disney.

Even though all of us have been numerous times over the years, with family, with friends, this time will be different. This time instead of focusing on all the memories we are going to make, I will focus also on all the memories we have made. All the blessings we have been so abundantly given. I will recall my first trip to Disney in a very special way. Vow renewal & Anniversary trip planning. To anyone brave, and patient enough to follow along.Thank you. Let the planning begin!!

emmysmommy · Jan 16, 2012

What a beautiful, compeling, and touching life story you have shared. You are truly blessed and I congratulate you on 30 years of marriage! I look forward to hearing more.

Deesknee · Jan 16, 2012

emmysmommy said:
What a beautiful, compeling, and touching life story you have shared. You are truly blessed and I congratulate you on 30 years of marriage! I look forward to hearing more.

thank you.
It should prove to be good for insomnia.

Honestly, I can't believe I shared so much. I hope DH doesn't read it...we may not make it to 30. hehehe We are usually somewhat private people.

VR a celebration of rememberance:30th anniversary shouldn't you get to know us first?

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

Dreaming of Home

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

Dreaming of Home

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

Dreaming of Home

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)

DIS Veteran

<font color=blue>When we were kids (long time ago)