(WE ARE BACK! TR LINK!) The-BFF-Birthday-bash PTR turned ANNIVERSARY trip

Oh, Karen, your new car is so cute!! And I love how Trollie has his own space. Love the color! So, rolling up the windows by hand can save thousands?? I'll have to remember that for next time. You must be getting so excited for your November trip! I'm excited for you! :cool1:
 
Oh, Karen, your new car is so cute!! And I love how Trollie has his own space. Love the color! So, rolling up the windows by hand can save thousands?? I'll have to remember that for next time. You must be getting so excited for your November trip! I'm excited for you! :cool1:


Thanks Ann! I think it's cute too! I'm not sure about ALL types of cars, but the Ford Fiesta is definitely cheaper. They have three models and the basic model (which is a good 3000$ cheaper than the next model up) has roll up windows. It was worth it to me, but I still got to add a CD player/MP3 player/remote key entry package to it for a small amount extra, so that was nice! :thumbsup2

Today is 45 DAYS!!!!!! WOOT!!!!
 
ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!!

31 days! Exactly one month from now, Rey & I will be arriving at the airport! I'm excited, and trying not to stress, we've had some financial setbacks when it comes to food/souvenir money, the biggest involving a new gas water heater. The old one had been in the house since before we bought it and it was leaking and ruining the floor in the laundry room! It had to be replaced immediately, so that bill will take ALL my food/souvenir money. :scared:

I don't care, I'll eat PB&J if I have to, I'll be at Disney! ;)

This will be picture heavy from here on out! We've had a busy couple weeks with parties and get-togethers. The biggest party was a Wonderland themed party for a friend, Savannah & her friends had a blast. (she's in the purple top hat)

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Then we did our yearly photo shoot. Savannah will be 12 in just a couple weeks, so we like to do an official shoot right around her birthday. Yes, I'm aware she doesn't look like she's about to be 12. ;) She is who she is, however, and I think she's perfect! :lovestruc

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I got in on the photo action just a bit too! :)

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My favorite Mother/Daughter shot:
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That's it! I'm excited for the trip, but hoping time slows down a bit so I can make sure we have some money to eat! :p I'm trying not to be discouraged, it seems no matter how long I plan and pay things off in advance, something always happens and we can't really ever go without worrying about money. Some day I would like to just go and not have to pinch pennies and worry about how much we have to spend. First World problem for sure! :rolleyes2
 
Yes, first world problems but they're YOUR first world problems and you're allowed to be frustrated/disappointed. I know you'll have a fabulous time no matter what you eat, hopefully once you're there everything else will melt away. pixiedust:

Love all the pics- but you already knew that. ;)
 

I'm soooo excited for you and Rey!!! You will have so much fun together! And I absolutely LOVE Savanah's photo shoot! Awesome work, Karen! :thumbsup2
 
Yes, first world problems but they're YOUR first world problems and you're allowed to be frustrated/disappointed. I know you'll have a fabulous time no matter what you eat, hopefully once you're there everything else will melt away. pixiedust:

Love all the pics- but you already knew that. ;)

I'm soooo excited for you and Rey!!! You will have so much fun together! And I absolutely LOVE Savanah's photo shoot! Awesome work, Karen! :thumbsup2

Thanks Ladies!!!! AND!!!!!!!!! Guess what just came in the mail?!?!?!?!?! :cool1:


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I just got caught up on your trip (trips). It's so close! All your updates are very exciting! And your kitchen looks AWESOME! (and totally DIS appropriate). I wish I was that creative/handy!

I can't believe your daughter is just 12. She's beautiful..... and you capture her spirit wonderfully through your amazing pictures! I swear I saw those pics and thought she was at least 15.

Congrats on your final countdown to the November trip! (and then February!)

I think your trip reports are my favorite of all I've stalked. You have a great gift for writing & pictures!

Nicole
 
I just got caught up on your trip (trips). It's so close! All your updates are very exciting! And your kitchen looks AWESOME! (and totally DIS appropriate). I wish I was that creative/handy!

I can't believe your daughter is just 12. She's beautiful..... and you capture her spirit wonderfully through your amazing pictures! I swear I saw those pics and thought she was at least 15.

Congrats on your final countdown to the November trip! (and then February!)

I think your trip reports are my favorite of all I've stalked. You have a great gift for writing & pictures!

Nicole

Nicole, flattery will get you EVERYWHERE! :lmao: I'm SO excited to do a TR for this upcoming trip! I have a little journal already to pack, I have to write everything down at the end of the day, it helps me remember!

I'm also renting a really cool lens for this trip (wide angle lens) so I hope to have some really fun and different shots from this trip too! :thumbsup2

I just went to look and it's 136 days until my trip with Savannah! Those discounts for February better come out next week like predicted!!! :scared:
 
24 DAYS!!!!!!!! :cool1:

Little check-in here, I'm crazy busy right now and will be until right up to the trip! I'm training for a 5K that Dallas & I are running on the 27th, yesterday I got my running outfit/costume all ready and Rey took some pics of me. :) It's a costume run, so you know I had to be something Disney!

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It will double for my Halloween costume too! Perfect!
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Savannah's bday is in little under a week and I have photo shoots, petsitting, and Rey's physical therapy continues! I'm hoping the next 24 days fly by! I'm so excited!!!
 
Sooooo close! I think from now on we just need to plan to be out of town at the same time. ;)

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The pictures you took of Savannah are gorgeous! She’s such a pretty little girl :cutie: Your running outfit is too adorable! I’m so excited for you! Less than three weeks away! :yay:
 
2 WEEKS!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, 2 weeks from now, Rey & I will be at the airport, getting ready to board the plane!!! :woohoo:

I haven't even had time to be excited about it! Saturday was Savannah's birthday, so it's been a weekend of Birthday-girl-fun, and last night was her party. It was a huge success, I think the kids had a blast!

It was Day-of-the-Dead themed, with a little zebra thrown in there. ;) We had tons of decorations, sugar skulls to decorate, a day-of-the-dead face painting contest, a fire, and tons of junk food. Here are a few pics:

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Day-of-the-Dead makeup contest:
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I really cannot believe that it's just two weeks! Since we had to replace our water heater (we pay cash for everything), I still haven't really saved any money for our food and souvenirs! :eek: I have a big petsit right before we leave, so I know we will have some money, just not sure we'll have much. We joked about packing PB&J, but we aren't checking a bag, so I don't think we can do that. :p

It will all work out and now that we're past the Birthday party, everything will go towards the trip. I should do a preview of what our plans are, but they are VERY loose plans, so they might be a wee bit boring! Stay tuned for that!
 
Oh. My. Goodness! You made the infamous Kit Kat Cake! I’ve had that pinned on my cakes board ever since I joined Pinterest! :lmao: I can’t believe you actually made one! It turned out well! :thumbsup2 I like the zebra cake on the inside. I made a zebra cake for my daughter’s birthday too. It was a pain but I might do it again for Halloween. Anyway, very cute pics! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun for Savannah’s birthday! A Day of the Dead theme was a good idea. I can’t believe you are only two weeks away from your trip :yay:
 
Oh. My. Goodness! You made the infamous Kit Kat Cake! I’ve had that pinned on my cakes board ever since I joined Pinterest! :lmao: I can’t believe you actually made one! It turned out well! :thumbsup2 I like the zebra cake on the inside. I made a zebra cake for my daughter’s birthday too. It was a pain but I might do it again for Halloween. Anyway, very cute pics! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun for Savannah’s birthday! A Day of the Dead theme was a good idea. I can’t believe you are only two weeks away from your trip :yay:

I found it on Pinterest as well, but Savannah actually requested it before I knew it even existed! The kitkat cake was SO easy, made icing it a breeze and Savannah wanted Reeces instead of M&M, so that's what we used. It tasted great too! :rolleyes:

I cannot believe it's 2 weeks either, I'm a bit in denial...anyone who knows me will realize how in denial I am...I have not pulled out the suitcases or packed a SINGLE.THING. Truly out of character for me! :eek:
 
I found it on Pinterest as well, but Savannah actually requested it before I knew it even existed! The kitkat cake was SO easy, made icing it a breeze and Savannah wanted Reeces instead of M&M, so that's what we used. It tasted great too! :rolleyes:

I cannot believe it's 2 weeks either, I'm a bit in denial...anyone who knows me will realize how in denial I am...I have not pulled out the suitcases or packed a SINGLE.THING. Truly out of character for me! :eek:

I don’t know you that well, but I know you well enough that you are normally almost completely packed by now! :laughing:
 
The PLAN:

So, it's a VERY laid back trip, no touring plans or schedules for this couple! Yes, totally against my nature, for those of you that know me. :lmao: I'm actually looking forward to a leisurely trip, and for anyone who has read my trip reports, Rey LOVES to be leisurely! :rolleyes1

BUT...there are some tentative plans and ADR's, naturally! You didn't think I would just go in blind, right? ;)

Monday, November 5th-
We have to wake up around 3am (this is no biggie for me, I'm up early all the time!) :thumbsup2 The drive to the airport is an hour and 45 minutes and we have to park and take a shuttle. Our flight leaves at 7am! Starbucks is on my list, I have a giftcard and everything. ;)

We have to fly to Chicago first, layover for an hour, and then fly into Orlando. That's the price of dirt cheap flights, I guess! Rey says it doesn't matter, we'll be together. :lovestruc We arrive in Orlando at 1:09!!! :dance3:

We will be headed HERE...
(this is not my photo, but I hope to get some amazing shots while there, maybe not as nice as this. It's a stunning shot)

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I'm incredibly excited about AKL! Never thought we would be able to swing staying here, but renting points was totally doable!

We are going to be in a bit of a rush b/c our airlines changed our flights and pushed it a little later. We have an ADR (b/c I'm gonna be hungry after flying all day!) at Sanaa at 2:45!! YUMMY!!! We didn't want to spend much time at ADRs for such a small trip, but I REALLY wanted to eat at Sanaa. The food looks right up my alley!

After lunch/dinner (Linner?) we will grab a bus to DTD! The rest of our evening is devoted to just enjoying DTD, shopping (well, window shopping! LOL) and relaxing.

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I think there could possibly be a little Gharadelli's in my evening as well! ;)

Tuesday, November 6th-
The first of our two park days! HOW am I going to only do two park days?!?!? We're getting up and heading to Rey's favorite breakfast, Crystal Palace!
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We have an 8:25 ADR, that will give us time to get some pics by the castle.
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We're in no hurry for rope drop, so we can just enjoy breakfast. After breakfast??? I have NO.CLUE. what we are doing! :scared: :rotfl:

Rey cannot ride much (or anything, really) with his back, but I think I might grab a FP for Big Thunder b/c it's my fav at MK. We will most likely just enjoy the smaller/calmer rides, and just walk around enjoying! I'm thinking HM and PP are on my must-do lists, but that's really it! Since I'm going with my ride-junkie (Savannah) in February, I'm not really concerned about the rides. I know...WHO AM I???? :rolleyes:

We plan on leaving by lunch, not sure if we will head back to the resort for lunch/swim or if we will just monorail to Epcot. I'm guessing this day we will go straight to Epcot! :thumbsup2

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Our plan is to eat-around-F&W both Tuesday AND Wednesday, so not sure where we'll start, but I know I'll have one of THESE:
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and possibly one of THESE:
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oh and I'm sure others. :p I will be taking MANY pictures from F&W! We plan on finishing the night out at Epcot!
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2nd and last day coming right up!

 
Wednesday, November 7th-
Our last park day already?!!? Short trips are lame. :rolleyes:
This morning, we had an ADR for Kouzinna for breakfast, but I think we're actually going to get room service breakfast and enjoy breakfast in the room. Then we will be headed out to DHS briefly! We will probably grab a FP for TSM, but I'll have to ask Rey, not sure if the jerking would be good for his back.

Maybe do Animation class again?
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No thrill rides, so I'm guessing Rey wants to go here to shop. :rotfl: I don't even think we'll make it to lunch at DHS, but I may pick up one of these beauties!
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This time, we will probably head back to the resort. The plan is to spend the rest of the day at Epcot and it's PM EMH, so we'll be there late and probably need a break. Unless we get off to a late start and then we'll just take the boat over to Epcot! That would be perfect b/c we would be near France!

I need to REVISIT this picture. First off, Rey's hair is cut, he's lost weight, and he's shaved. I have lost 25 pounds since this picture, so I'm excited to get a new one with my slimmer self!
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We did not get photopass, but I'm planning on getting one there and then having the photographers use my camera for a shot each time I use photopass and I'll decide when I get home if it's worth it to get the pics from PP. My camera is the same camera that they use in the parks, so I don't think I will need to. :confused3

Another afternoon/evening spent at F&W! We are so looking forward to it!
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We will finish out EMH, I think the booths close, so maybe we'll jump on Soarin or explore some shops. We'll head back for our last night at AKL. :sad2:

Our flight leaves at 12:40 the next day, so I'm pretty sure Disney will want us to head to the airport at some ungodly hour, like 8-something. :headache: We'll probably just go down and have a CS breakfast and just enjoy the balcony and one last look at the animals. We have another transfer, so we don't arrive back to St. Louis until 5pm and then have to drive all the way home! Long travel day, and even though the trip is going to be short, it's MUCH more time than we normally ever get alone, so we're excited! :goodvibes

 





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