Walking on Sunshine : Celebrating Spring at Universal & SeaWorld - an April/May 2016 PTR

[bankr63]

LOL - I knew I was unleashing the beast when I posted that smiley link!

 

[dancin Disney style]

LOL - I knew I was unleashing the beast when I posted that smiley link!

I'm pretty sure if I used the ones that really amuse me I'd be sent to Disboards prison.

 

[bankr63]

Posting a link to a video of a great Canadian group, WOTE (or Walk Off the Earth) that had me thinking of Gina this morning:

And to quote/paraphrase another Canadian band, "What the heck is that on Gianni's head?"

Gina will need one for the trip, although I expect she'll rock it better than Gianni...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Ughhh I feel ya! We're supposed to get snow this weekend you're lucky you're so close to you trip, It'll be a nice escape!!

Well, we got the blasted snow they were predicting!! (I had pleaded with Mother Nature to let us off the hook this time, but apparently I was out of weather favours and the white stuff came down despite my negotiations)

This was the view from my front window this morning:





I think the Toronto area got it worse than we did, if Facebook pictures are any indication. Not sure if our eastern neighbours got hit worse as well..... @bankr63 , did you guys get much?

It definitely makes counting down to departure day that much more exciting!!!

Ewwwwww....-1?

my family is a lot like yours. We don't go to the movies ever, rarely eat out at places besides fast food, coupon etc when we do.
I've also cut down on my shopping, saves a ton of money not having an old navy card bill!

People wonder how we travel so much, and I say budgeting, and I have a part time job.

Yes ma'am, we all have extra part time jobs as well. Those are a huge help in funding our vacation adventures!

And yes, its c-c-c-c-cold out there today . It was -3 this afternoon when we came back from our swim at the Y. It sure doesn't feel much like spring!!

Yep Gina... I am so not looking forward to more snow this weekend. It's making the thoughts of vacation in 28 more sleeps that much sweeter!
I am happy to report I finally bought our new washer tonight! Now I am just waiting up to make our Epcot fastpasses at midnight.

Yay for the new washing machine! Doing laundry today must have been a real treat after having to hand-wring for so long!!

I hope you were able to get all the Epcot fastpasses that you were hoping for. Was the selection still pretty decent at 30 days out?

Aw, c'mon......you knew I was going to take your bait!

I'm pretty sure if I used the ones that really amuse me I'd be sent to Disboards prison.

But we would all be happy to visit you and write you letters . We promise .

Posting a link to a video of a great Canadian group, WOTE (or Walk Off the Earth) that had me thinking of Gina this morning:

And to quote/paraphrase another Canadian band, "What the heck is that on Gianni's head?"

Gina will need one for the trip, although I expect she'll rock it better than Gianni...

Hmmmm ......I'm not generally one for hats, but I might make an exception for a minion towel wrap.

Speaking of minions, I found a pair of men's minion swim trunks at Walmart this afternoon. I was thinking my big Steve would like mighty handsome by the Fountains pool sporting Stuart swimwear. Jake, well....I'm not sure he'll be quite as agreeable, but I may just run the idea past him as well. After all, what happens in Florida, stays in Florida....right?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Today we are officially at 20 days to departure.......tomorrow we will be in the teens!

I got a sweet little gift from Sunshine last Thursday that I forgot to share with you. She bought us minion tattoos for our Superstar Character Breakfast.....because minion t-shirts, ya know, just aren't enough . There's 40 of them all together......enough, she thought, for the guys to wear some too.....but if I was a betting woman, I'd say that probably it will only be us girls who will be sporting those tattoos as we head out that door that morning. Time will tell though, I guess....sometimes my big fellas surprise me.



Yeah, she also brought me that little bunny. I had admired him in the store before Easter and she wanted to be sure I had an Easter stuffie, too . She is a thoughtful one, that girl.

It was fun this weekend to do up the April calendar for the kitchen.....this calendar is our go-to resource for who's where (otherwise, with our schedules, we can't possibly keep track of everyone's comings and goings on a daily basis) and completely covers the upper door on our refrigerator. It was so awesome to be able to write ORLANDO on the month's plans......it really drove home the fact that our vacation is coming up FAST!!!!



I was able to finally pick up some sandals this weekend, so the only thing remaining on my pre-vacation shopping list are swimsuits. I am going to try and get that order in this week for delivery to Buffalo. I can't wait to get out the luggage.....I am getting the itch to start packing!

 

[ArwenMarie]

40 Minion tattoos! Awesome! I bet you will get some good Minion interaction sporting so much gear.

What a cute bunny!

That snow looks like of pretty, but yeah, enough already! It missed us but it did get really cold here. I refused to pull the winter coats out again and froze in a sweater all day LOL

 

[vrajewski10513]

Haha looks like my neighborhood!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Aw, c'mon......you knew I was going to take your bait!

That number made me want to vomit. Nearly $4000 for only the two of us and we spent half our time at the pool. Thanks heaven that I don't pay for park tickets. Then it would be

But we would all be happy to visit you and write you letters . We promise .

Will you bake me a cake with a 'special' filling?


We got a fair bit more snow that you did. I would estimate 8-10 inches are on the ground. We had to drive home from Vaughan( dance comp weekend) last night right in the thick of it all. It was a pretty slow drive and normally I prefer to be behind the wheel in bad weather but DH drove and I had DD and her friend to chatter with all the way. Grumpy Cat and her dance team had a fabulous first comp weekend. Winning several overalls, top scores, special awards and a huge scholarship trip to L.A. including airfare. I have yet to read the details of this scholarship but Disney is involved.

BRAGGING alert!!!!!!! Grumpy Cat finally won her solo categories for the first time ever. She has had many, many second place finishes and just once wanted to be top cat. No easy feat either, the categories were large and she had to dance after 10pm both nights.

 

[sk8jdgca]

We got a fair bit more snow that you did. I would estimate 8-10 inches are on the ground. We had to drive home from Vaughan( dance comp weekend) last night right in the thick of it all. It was a pretty slow drive and normally I prefer to be behind the wheel in bad weather but DH drove and I had DD and her friend to chatter with all the way. Grumpy Cat and her dance team had a fabulous first comp weekend. Winning several overalls, top scores, special awards and a huge scholarship trip to L.A. including airfare. I have yet to read the details of this scholarship but Disney is involved.

BRAGGING alert!!!!!!! Grumpy Cat finally won her solo categories for the first time ever. She has had many, many second place finishes and just once wanted to be top cat. No easy feat either, the categories were large and she had to dance after 10pm both nights.[/QUOTE]

That's an amazing scholarship to include airfare! I just love scholarships to NYC to attend Nationals for free! ( but you have to pay hotels, flights, food...so much for free)

We were in TO for the RAD challenge and to drop off my son at NBS ( with a class with Heather Ogden for my bunhead daughter) got hit with snow leaving the city but looks like we got away in time.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We got a fair bit more snow that you did. I would estimate 8-10 inches are on the ground. We had to drive home from Vaughan( dance comp weekend) last night right in the thick of it all. It was a pretty slow drive and normally I prefer to be behind the wheel in bad weather but DH drove and I had DD and her friend to chatter with all the way. Grumpy Cat and her dance team had a fabulous first comp weekend. Winning several overalls, top scores, special awards and a huge scholarship trip to L.A. including airfare. I have yet to read the details of this scholarship but Disney is involved.

BRAGGING alert!!!!!!! Grumpy Cat finally won her solo categories for the first time ever. She has had many, many second place finishes and just once wanted to be top cat. No easy feat either, the categories were large and she had to dance after 10pm both nights.

That's an amazing scholarship to include airfare! I just love scholarships to NYC to attend Nationals for free! ( but you have to pay hotels, flights

I know, usually you get a $1000 but the trip/classes cost $6000+. This looks like we would only need to pay for hotel and food. There is a good chance that it could actually be possible for her to go.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Ok what's up with the quotes? The above came out all weird.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

40 Minion tattoos! Awesome! I bet you will get some good Minion interaction sporting so much gear.

What a cute bunny!

That snow looks like of pretty, but yeah, enough already! It missed us but it did get really cold here. I refused to pull the winter coats out again and froze in a sweater all day LOL

We got hit with another dumping of snow again last night (I heard on the radio that we set a snow record for this date in April) and we're headed to a low of -10 tonight.....so like it or not, I had to pull the winter woolies out of the closet when I left for work today. I absolutely refuse to sweep off the car without a pair of gloves!!

Haha looks like my neighborhood!

All of yesterday's snow melted away in the sun during the course of the day, but here's what we woke up to this morning:







My daffodils :

That number made me want to vomit. Nearly $4000 for only the two of us and we spent half our time at the pool. Thanks heaven that I don't pay for park tickets. Then it would be

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php

Yeah, but you made some good memories with your girl. That's worth that price and more.

We got a fair bit more snow that you did. I would estimate 8-10 inches are on the ground. We had to drive home from Vaughan( dance comp weekend) last night right in the thick of it all. It was a pretty slow drive and normally I prefer to be behind the wheel in bad weather but DH drove and I had DD and her friend to chatter with all the way. Grumpy Cat and her dance team had a fabulous first comp weekend. Winning several overalls, top scores, special awards and a huge scholarship trip to L.A. including airfare. I have yet to read the details of this scholarship but Disney is involved.

BRAGGING alert!!!!!!! Grumpy Cat finally won her solo categories for the first time ever. She has had many, many second place finishes and just once wanted to be top cat. No easy feat either, the categories were large and she had to dance after 10pm both nights.

Wahoo!! Way to go Grumpy Cat!!

You must be so proud of her accomplishments. I hope you have something awesome planned to celebrate!!

 

[Lynne G]

Lucky no snow, but below freezing again, after below freezing on Saturday night. All we got was pretty big hail for a little while, which made everything icy, then freezing rain, which also helped with the icing, but then nothing. Rain will hit us every day for the next 5 days or so. Welcome to April Showers bring May flowers. Yep, I am hoping my budding tulip plants will survive.

Wahooo, it's the month you are leaving! Time is ticking, and it looks like all is in order. Very cute items Sunshine gave. I am sure she will really enjoy your trip.

Patiently waiting for you to say, we're here in sunny Florida.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Lucky no snow, but below freezing again, after below freezing on Saturday night. All we got was pretty big hail for a little while, which made everything icy, then freezing rain, which also helped with the icing, but then nothing. Rain will hit us every day for the next 5 days or so. Welcome to April Showers bring May flowers. Yep, I am hoping my budding tulip plants will survive.

Wahooo, it's the month you are leaving! Time is ticking, and it looks like all is in order. Very cute items Sunshine gave. I am sure she will really enjoy your trip.

Patiently waiting for you to say, we're here in sunny Florida.

Yuck, sorry to hear that your weather has been less than ideal, too. This "polar vortex" stuff really is the pits.

We are officially in the teens, as of today. 19 days until departure....I can hardly believe it.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Wahoo!! Way to go Grumpy Cat!!

You must be so proud of her accomplishments. I hope you have something awesome planned to celebrate!!

Can't afford to celebrate after seeing cost of my trip

 

[bankr63]

@bankr63 , did you guys get much?

Interestingly, not a flake of new snow here. It never made it this far north. Although we still have a goodly bit of unmelted snow still. However, Karma is coming to bite my but. I needed an oil change after the long trip south. Sully was reminding me about it every time I started the truck. So why not swap out the tires too and avoid a second trip; winter is almost over right? Came home and heard the forecast for Wednesday; 15-20 cm of snow. Karma.

BRAGGING alert!!!!!!! Grumpy Cat finally won her solo categories for the first time ever. She has had many, many second place finishes and just once wanted to be top cat. No easy feat either, the categories were large and she had to dance after 10pm both nights.

Well that's the thing. MOST teens go out dancing after 10:00. That's the right time for dancing! I bet Grumpy Cat is Smilin' Cat at least for a while.

 

[dyalizers]

It might be fun to take a few of those minion tattoos and give them to a few kids either at the breakfast or the park. I know something like that would entertain my three year old. It could fit nicely with the "pay it forward" theme of the trip. All that snow sure makes me glad to be a Floridian - in Jacksonville, we were swimming in the neighborhood pool on that day!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Well that's the thing. MOST teens go out dancing after 10:00. That's the right time for dancing! I bet Grumpy Cat is Smilin' Cat at least for a while.

I'm soooo tucking that one away. Next comp is late nights as well.

She's still smiling today after getting a couple of congrats emails.

 

[Callie]

Ewww snow! Looks terrible!
But yes, part time jobs sometimes aren't the most fun, but they do help the vacation fund! Hopefully you have a nice relaxation away from it all.

 

[pepperandchips]

Safe travels, my friend ...... may traffic be light and the drive be a smooth one! Don't forget to check in here from time to time with a photo or two. We'll all be living vicariously through you for the next week! Best wishes for low crowds, sunshine, and great memories!

Yes ma'am! Checking in... Tough to read about all that Canadian snow but both Atlanta and Orlando have had a strange cooler weather snap as well. Unfortunately it seems like the only day that worked for our beach day was the coolest day predicted this week, but it was still better than any day at home!

Gina, I saw this stuff in a gas station on the way to the beach and had to snap a photo for you. It reminded me of some of the weirder Florida "treasures" you and the boys have happened upon in some of the adventures off the beaten path... Like fried peanuts.

We ventured out to the Magic Kingdom yesterday and it was absolute insanity. I now see what everyone has been complaining about. It took us an HOUR to get from the parking attendant kiosks to the tapstiles for entry. We left the park around 10:30 to get to a brunch reservation at the poly and we literally could not cross the sea of people waiting in between the ferry exit and bag check lines, so we had to walk to the contemporary and take the monorail (we'd wanted to get on the resort launch but there was just no way to cross the mass).

Today is our resort day - already enjoying the Wyndham Bonnet Creek but especially so on this sunny, cool-ish Florida morning. 60F/16C and not a cloud in the sky. We are in tower 4 and loving it!