'We Get to Trick-or-Treat with Mickey?!?' - A Pre-Trippie (w/ pics)

[1Princess1Prince2006]

45 days!?!? Your trip is SO close!!!

Thanks! It really truly is very close!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

WooooooooHooooooooooo!!! Congrats on your last payment and hitting your 45 day mark!! It's so exciting, isn't it???

​

Yes it is!!!

I keep telling myself after these next 15 days are up then we'll have 30. And then after another 15 days go by, we'll have 15 days left. And then after 5 more days we'll be down to 10 days! And then pretty soon it'll be 3...2...1!!!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

My dad is a golfer. Every night after work you will find him on the links. He lives for spring and the nicer weather to go golfing. I think he gets a little depressed in the winter time because he has nothing to do to occupy his time. LOL

I know we have a few days where we plan to leave the pakrs a little early and call it a day or just have a few days of relaxation. We are on vacation afterall!! Did I just say that???

So, I booked my dad two days worth of golfing. He'll be playing on the Magnolia course Friday morning and the Palm course Saturday morning. Now, why you would want to get up at 7AM to go and golf I don't understand, but like I said...he's on vaction too and this is what he likes to do, so he's gonna get to do it!

That's my update for today!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

DH has been gone with the National Guard for about a month now and the kids and I miss him each day he is gone. He is currently in IN training, and we at least know he's close, but hard that we still can't see him.

But, before he left we took a little road trip in March to FL so we could spend sometime with him before he left. So, since this is a trip containing Disney I decided to put it here in my trip report. Plus, just a little tribute to my better half since he will be missing our wonderful trip!

*******************************

What happened to our weekend trip???


When DH (Denton is his name) and I decided to try and make things work between us we took a family vacation. What turned out as a weekend trip turned into a wonderful (and much needed) 3 week vacation! We traveled from Washington, DC to Lake Arthur, LA to Disney World!!!!

Denton was a Sr. Operation Manager for a large outdoor outfitters company. He worked his butt off and moved up in this company very quickly. While it was nice to be earning a VERY nice salary and for me to be a SAHM, we NEVER saw him. This job took over everything in his life and unfortunately he almost lost his family over it. And, for lack of better words, he finally pulled his head out of his butt and realized this. He quit his job and moved back home to OH to be with us. It was very nice to have him home and especially nice to be able to spend the time with him before he left for Kosovo. We all of course miss him and wish more than anything that he could come with us, but I’m already planning a trip for when he gets home in 2009!

I’m sure y’all didn’t want to know all that or even want to hear about this trip that we went on, but I’ve been missing DH lately and I just thought that this would be a nice way to live some (and share) some memories of him.

3/16-19 – Washington, DC
Denton and I both LOVE this city! He was in the Marines prior to civilian work and was stationed in Quantico, VA for 4 years. He got out of the Marines, and we still live in the Northern VA area, but after 9/11 he was recalled back in and we moved closer into DC. We had so much fun living there! Just all the things to do and see was just wonderful! We (well, I LOL) then became pregnant with our DD and decided to move back home to OH. A little less fast paced, less crowded, and less expensive. Plus, we’d be closer to family. Needless to say…we LOVE Washington, DC and have many GREAT memories here!

We decided to head there for the weekend to visit with his brother and wife. His brother was at Walter Reed for medical reasons so we got to spend time with him and his wife (who I had never met before). We ate at a lot of great places, shopped at some great places and did a lot of fun things! My BIL and SIL took the kids to the zoo one afternoon while DH and I had time to ourselves. We took the kids into DC one day and did some meusems. Our absolute favorite thing to do is to go into DC at night and just drive around and see the monuments at night. It is so nice and beautiful to see! We did that our last night there and just had an over all good time being a family.

Washington Monument

US Capitol Building

A quote from inside one of the Smithsonians (I think Natural History??)

Daddy and DR on the way to the Air & Space Meusem

Mommy, Linds, and DR on the merry-go-round at the Mall

All of us at the Hard Rock Café…Me, Lindsey, DR and Denton



On our way home to OH, Denton got this idea in his head to rent an RV and drive cross country. OK…great but we are in our car and how are we going to find a place??? He pulls out his cell phone, dials 411 and next thing I know we are on our way to an RV place. Well, we get there and they have RV’s to rent but they are the HUGE ones and we really didn’t want something that BIG! Oh well…it wasn’t too out of our way and started to head home, again.

But, wait!!! Why don’t we go see my grandmother in Lousianna?!?!?! Ok……sure but we don’t have the right clothes to go to LA. (DC had been FREEZING!!! Driving home we had winter coats, sweaters and jeans on. Our first day in DC we had SNOW!) ‘Oh don’t worry about it! We’ll buy some new ones if we have to,’ he says. (This will later bite him in the butt LOL). But we are only a few hours from home. I could run inside grab a few things real quick and then be on the road again to head there. Nope…he was not hearing it, we were already south so we might as well keep heading south. So off we went to LA with winter coats, sweaters and jeans.

3/19-21-Travel Days
We didn’t get too far that day. LOL I think we only made it to the WV/KY boarder…maybe into TN?? LOL Between having to stop for gas, bathroom breaks, food and spending a good chunk of time in Target for clothes and such we really didn’t get too far. We finally stopped someplace in either KY or TN for the night and had a good nights sleep to be on the road again to head to LA. Once again we didn’t make such great time because of the stopping that we stopped in MS for the night. I think we got up early the next morning and were finally in LA by noon!!

DR bein’ a goof one of the days we spent in the car


OK...enough boring back story for now. DR needs to go down for his nap and Lindsey is begging me to watch Clifford with her. She LOVES that big red dog!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

We got our Magical Express tags and vouchers in the mail today!!!! YAY!!!

37 Days to Go!!!!!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

3/21-3/24 – Louisiana
We finally made it here!! We were here to see DH’s grandmother but had the bonus of seeing his mother as well. (To say the least this was not a fun trip to LA. I really envy people who get along really well with their MIL’s. Me…I do not!) We showed the kids around the big town of Lake Arthur (if you have ever been here it’s a little one stop light town on the bayou. Cute and nice in the spring time…dreadful in the summer!). Went shopping quite a few times. (Remember how DH said it would be no problem to shop for clothes??? Well after walking out of Target and dropping about $500 in there he was not a happy camper. You should have listened to me buddy! That hour at home could have just saved ya $500!) . Celebrated DR’s 2nd birthday. Had mine and the kids 1st ever crawfish boil. DH’s brother came into town from England right before we left so we got to spend some time with him. Spent some much needed alone time with Denton and just had a nice visit overall.

Lake Arthur, LA

Celebrating DR’s 2nd Birthday! You know he’s thinking…’Mine!!! All mine!!!’

YUM…crawfish!!! Or should I say…Ewwwwwww!!! LOL

The kids helping daddy fill up the coolers

The whole time being there though, Denton and I contemplated on driving to the west coast to see his dad and step mom in CA. We could do Disney out there, go to the beach and do some shopping in Beverly Hills, but nixed the plan when it took us 3 days to get to LA when it really should have only taken the 1. We didn’t really want to go home yet, so what now??? Well, let’s go to FL!!!! It’ll be kind of on the way home, we can still do a couple days of Disney and some other things. So, the plans had begun!

We tried booking a room with the Shades of Green but they were booked solid so they said they could get us a room at one of the All Stars or POP. While that would have been OK we just decided to stay off property. We found a hotel online that was a 1-bedroom suite with a kitchenette for a really good price that was perfect. So, we booked it and off we went.



3/24-Headed to FL!!!
We left LA early in the morning on the 24th and had planned to stop about halfway for the night. But, by the time we got halfway we decided to drive all the way through to Orlando and see if we could check in a day earlier. We got to our hotel around 10 PM, checked in with no problem and headed straight for bed.

***Sidenote…We had to drive through Gulfport/Biloxi, MS and decided to stop at one of the casinos. Denton wanted to gamble a little bit and we needed to stop for the kids anyway. So, we stopped at a casino and dropped DH off and then I took the kids to the beach area for a bit. He ended up losing money but the kids and I had a good time. LOL But, that area is still not 100% from Katrina. The Hard Rock casino was there and they were still putting in windows. Some signs still had not been fixed. The one bridge was still being worked on. It was so amazing to see this and something I will never forget.***

3/25 – Relax Day
We thought we would have been traveling today so we just decided to take it easy and relax today. The hotel had a really nice pool and hot tub area. It also had a sandy beach area for the kids to play in. We did some grocery shopping and cooked out that night for dinner. It was nice to have the kitchenette and be able to cook dinner instead of going out. We had been eating out ever since we started our journey so it was nice to have a semi-home cooked meal. LOL

Up next...what else did we do on our little not so much a weekend trip anymore!

 

[kindakrazy2]

You have such a beautiful family, thanks for sharing your stories with us as you plan for your next trip!

I'm loving the report of your last adventure together! Keep it coming!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

You have such a beautiful family, thanks for sharing your stories with us as you plan for your next trip!

I'm loving the report of your last adventure together! Keep it coming!

Thank you so much and thanks for reading!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

A few more days to add to...

3/26 – Downtown Disney!!!
During the day we didn’t do too much. I think went out and looked at the sights around us and then headed over to DTD for the evening. We were only 2 exists away from the Disney property and I found it easy enough to get around. Once there, we walked around and drunk in all the sights it had to offer. Did a little browsing in the shops, took photos everywhere, and had dinner at the Rainforest Café. The kids love eating here and we knew we couldn’t get away with NOT eating there. Had a wonderful (but over priced) dinner and it made the kiddos happy. I LOVED the pin shop there and hope to do a little pin trading on this trip. I also really liked the scrapbook store and can see myself spending a TON there on this trip also! DH really liked art store (I forget what it’s called). Some of the crystal in there is BEAUTIFUL! The kids enjoyed the spitting Stitch and had a blast getting ‘spitted’ on. LOL After that we headed back to the hotel for a peaceful night.

3/27 – Medevil Times
We slept in this morning and spent our afternoon shopping, by the pool and playing in the sand. We had reservations tonight at Medevil Times. I have been to a few of these, along with DH, and I find them kind of cheesy but Denton loves it, so we went. I didn’t know how the kids would do and if they would sit still long enough to watch it. But, they did wonderful and enjoyed the show. DR kept calling it the ‘Oooooooooooo’ show and all the horses were called ‘Oooooooooo’s’ because everyone would always go OOO and AHH for all the horses. It was just too cute! Lindsey was picked to be the ‘Princess’ for our section. We were in the Black and White section and had a GREAT knight! We got our picture taken with him afterwards and Lindsey just ate it up!

Up next...our day at Disney!!!!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

3/28 – Disney!!!!

(Excuse the bug guts on our front window…)

We got up early this morning and headed to the TTC to take the monorail into the MK. We got a really good parking spot and walked over to the TTC. We were going to take the ferry across but it wasn’t open yet so ended up taking the monorail. I had wanted to see if I could get the kids up front but it was way too crowded so we just took what we could get.

Daddy and Linds on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom!!

We went through the gates in record time, made it through security and was just trying to make our way through the crowd when what do we see and hear??? Why it’s the morning singers and the train! So, we stopped to watch and the kids were just mesmerized to see Mickey!!! I had tears in my eyes because I was so happy to be there and sharing this moment with my family.

We make our way under the tunnel and down Main Street. We stop and get pictures in front of the castle and let the kids take in the scenery.

C’mon let’s get this show on the road!!!

We hadn’t had breakfast yet so we stopped at Sleepy Hollow to get some muffins and some juice for the kiddos. After they were done we headed into Fantasyland. The first words out of Lindsey’s mouth was, ‘I want to do Dumbo!’ Denton and I took one look at the line and said maybe later. We ended up doing Peter Pan instead and that just tickeld Lindsey pink. I didn’t know what or how DR would do on the rides. But he just sat there mesmerized and took it all in. Everything was new to him and he and I both thoroughly enjoyed our day seeing things through his little eyes.


After that, we did It’s a Small World, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, the Carrousel, and the Mad Tea Party. By then it was getting to be afternoon and we decided to take a break and head back to the hotel for a nap. We took the ferry back to the TTC and it was a beautiful ride! I showed Linds where we would be staying in September and got excited! Lindsey did not want to leave but fell asleep on our way back! LOL

After our much needed nap and lunch we headed back over. We of course had to say goodbye to our close parking space that we had earlier in the day and parked out in the middle of no where. We caught the tram to the TTC and decided to take the monorail back over. It wasn’t crowded this time and we got to sit up front with the driver. The kids LOVED it and had a blast! I have no idea why I didn't think to take pics of this?

We got back to the park just as the afternoon parade was starting to come down Main Street. We had a perfect view standing there by the train station. We could see it coming down Main Street and then passing directly in front of us. It was magical to get to see my kids faces light up as they saw the characters.

After the parade we headed over to Adventureland. Denton wanted to do the Jungle Cruise but the wait was over 40 minutes so we said maybe later. We then went onto the Pirates of the Caribbean. We had maybe a 20 minute wait and the kids did really well in line. I thought they would have been bouncing off the walls but Disney has so much for them to look at that they were never bored. We enjoyed this ride and Denton really thought that the Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrows were real people. I had to keep telling him no but he didn’t believe me. LOL

After that we took the kids through Swiss Family Tree House and then did Liberty Square Riverboat. Don’t ask me why??? DH wanted to do it!!! Next he had us go into the Hall of Presidents. I enjoyed it and can remember seeing it as a kid, but DR did not enjoy it. LOL I had to take him outside about halfway through the show.

Yeah…this is what my kid did the entire time we were on that boat!!!


After that we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. The kids were scared of course but did pretty well. Denton was with Lindsey and said she was scared at first but warmed up to it about halfway through. DR went with me and did OK. He was fine until we broke down for about 2 minutes by the dining room scene. He kept creeping back in his seat further and further and closer and closer to me as the 2 minutes went on. He didn’t cry, but was kind of spooked by it all.

After this we decided to get dinner. Columbia Harbour House was close by so we went to that. We sat upstairs in the bridge between Liberty Square and Fantasyland and had a good time people watching. I had the fish and chips. It was good but a little greasy. Denton had the tuna fish sandwich and he said it was really good. The kids both had mac-n-cheese with sides. They both ate all the grapes and Lindsey ate all her carrots and DR all his applesauce but hardly touched the mac-n-cheese. Go figure!!!

After dinner was over we headed back into Fantasyland to do the Carrousel again and to see if Dumbo was any shorter or the line to Ariel. Neither was so we skipped them and went into Mickey’s Philharmagic. The kids really enjoyed this show as well as Denton and I. Lindsey loved trying to catch the jewlrey and DR squealed with glee.

We decided to head up Main Street to do a little shopping and get our places for Spectro Magic. We once again sat by the train station. I didn’t know it started right there so it was absolutely perfect! While we waited they had little ones jumping rope. Lindsey wanted to try but we said no. (Mean parents!) Instead we got them some Mickey bars and they sat and enjoyed those and people watched. Afterwards I took them to the bathroom to get them cleaned up and when we got back the parade started. PERFECT timing!!! Lindsey loved the Ariel float and squealed with glee that Ariel waved to her!

Once it was over we headed back down Main Street to stand in line for ice cream and a snack. Saw the line and decided to look around the stores. We ended up getting the kids some cotton candy in a store and went back to our train station spot to watch Wishes. By this time the kids were really acting up and not listening so we decided to just leave and call it a day. As we were heading out Wishes started and we decided to take the ferry back to the TTC. We could see the fireworks from the ferry and it was beautiful. I was a little mad that we couldn’t stay for them, but knew we would be back in September so it made it a little better.

We arrived back at the TTC, took the tram to our car, headed back to the hotel and collapsed into bed. I think DH may have headed over to the hot tub but the kids and I crashed. We had a truly magical day!

 

[Msslaydbug]

Lori -
I am loving the pre-trip report !

 

[mom2l&t]

Hi! I love your pre-trip report!

We are going to WDW for the 1st time next month from the 10th to the 17th ~ 25 more days to go! My DS's are 4 (turning 5 on our trip) and 20 months.

Looks like we will just miss each other! I love all your pics, too!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Lori -
I am loving the pre-trip report !

Thank you!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hi! I love your pre-trip report!

We are going to WDW for the 1st time next month from the 10th to the 17th ~ 25 more days to go! My DS's are 4 (turning 5 on our trip) and 20 months.

Looks like we will just miss each other! I love all your pics, too!

Oooooo...how I wish I could be saying we have 25 days left! LOL Oh well, I guess I'll just settle with 31 days! Hope you have a great time on your 1st trip and that your kiddos have a magical time!!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

3/29 – Off Day/Relax Day
We slept in a little later today and just decided to stay at the hotel again for the morning/afternoon. We did the pool thing and the kids played some more in the sand. We cooked out again at the hotel for dinner and my DH started talking with another family who was staying there. They were from England and had just gotten in a few days ago. They were going to be there for 2 weeks and do this every spring break.

Yes…my son has a tattoo. No, it isn’t real! Dad thought it would be sooooooo funny!!!

After dinner we decided to see if we could go and explore some hotels. We decided to go to the Grand Floridian first. OMG…that place is UNBELIVABLE!!! We walked around a bit and then took the monorail over to the Contemporary. I wanted to see what that looked like and check it out for September. DH said he didn’t like it and definitely liked the Grand Floridian better. (Ummmmmmm...who wouldn't!!! LOL) We didn’t get a chance to stop at the Poly. I really wanted to but the monorail was getting crowded with people leaving the MK so we decided to call it a night. We headed back to the hotel, did a little night swimming and hot tubbing, and then went to dream land.

3/30 – Grand Floridian breakfast/Beach day
While at the Grand Floridian the night before we made breakfast reservations at the Grand Floridian Café for 9:15 AM. So, we got up nice and early, got ready and headed over to the Grand Floridian again. We had to wait about 5 minutes before we were seated and got a table right at the enterance. The food was really good and my kids ate everything on their plate! Both kids had the Mickey pancakes…delicious!! I had the Maple-Vanilla French Toast. It was OK, but not the greatest. I should have gone with the stuffed French toast. LOL And I think DH had the American. He said he liked his and DR helped him out some. (My son…always so helpful when it comes to food!).

After breakfast we walked around the hotel a bit, out to the beach and then by the pool. The kids so wanted to go swimming there but we said no, not here.

We decided then though to head to Tampa and go to the beach. When we left Orlando it was overcast, cloudy and cool. By the time we got to Tampa, it was sunny and hot.

Lindsey has only been to the ocean once and that was when she was a little over a year old. DR has never been and we didn’t know how he would do. We parked our car and headed to McD’s for lunch before heading to the beach. After lunch we made our way to the beach and Lindsey went running for the water and just about dove in as soon as we got there. We were on the Gulf of Mexico and I thought the water would be a little warmer than it was. It was a little on the cool side, but not too bad. DR didn’t know what to do at first but once he saw his sissy he went right in. We didn’t bring swimsuits with us so the kids went right in with their clothes on. I didn’t care as long as they had fun. They played in the sand and water, collected shells and just had a blast!

It was getting late so we decided to head home before rush hour traffic hit Tampa. We were stuck in some, but it wasn’t too bad…maybe 20 minutes of it. We finally got back to our hotel and relaxed a bit. We decided to head back to DTD that night for dinner, shopping and another look around. We were going to do the Rainforest Café again but the wait was unbearable so we skipped it and did Earl of Sandwich. I don’t even remember what we had here, all I know was that is was GOOD!!! We looked in a few stores and then headed back to the hotel. I still needed to pack and Denton had to get the car packed as well. We wanted to leave early, early, early. After I had finished doing my job I took the kids to the sand pit one more time before they headed to bed. Denton finished his and headed to the hot tub for one more dip.

3/31 – Our trip is over!!!
We left early the next morning. I think by 6 AM?!?!? The kids slept until about 9 when we stopped at McD’s for a gross breakfast. We stopped a few times at the rest areas in Flordia and they were so crowded!!! They were filled with senior citizens who were from NY, NJ, PA all on their way home from their winter bird vacations. I just found it so funny!!! LOL So, we just avoided rest areas in FL all together until we got out of the state.

Not too much to tell. We decided to drive all the way to OH in one day. We were going to stop in SC for the night, but decided to just to get home and into our own beds. Denton did most of the driving. We have a deal…I will read to him if he drives. He is a big Harry Potter fan and he hadn’t read the sixth book yet so I read that while he drove. It works for me because I hate to drive on long trips and I don’t mind reading while driving.

We got home that night around 11PM. It was a long, long, LONG ride and we were just happy to be home!

We had a really great time and had many great memories! Thanks for letting me share this little trip report with you!

 

[Marion]

I loved your trip within a trip report! Fabulous pictures.... I want to go NOW! hehehehe You must be getting really excited... it's close!!!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I loved your trip within a trip report! Fabulous pictures.... I want to go NOW! hehehehe You must be getting really excited... it's close!!!

Thank you! I want to go NOW as well and September seems like it will NEVER get here!!! August seemed to have flown by, but now its dragging. Thanks for reading!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

A wonderful BIG blue envelope from Disney!!!!

OMG...it is getting sooooooo close!!!

29 DAYS!!!!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I made the kids a scrapbook but will probably not be taking it with us into the parks. I ended up buying them a 4x6 spiral bound index card notebook that the characters can sign and I will tear those out and put in the scrapbook I made along with their picture once we get home. I think as an activity on the plane they can decorate the outside cover and pages with stickers and that'll keep them a little busy. But, I just wanted to show off my handywork...

I made a page for each of the characters we will be dinign with and then there are blank pages left for me to fill in when we get home.

 

[elderfam]

I have spent the evening reading your thread and just want to tell you how proud I am that you and your husband are choosing to reamain a family. Its not always easy to married, but if you tough out the bad times and keep working on ways to make each other feel special ....well it just worth it. Your teaching you children what a commitment looks like. kuddos to you both.

I am also reading your trip report and just enjoying the heck out of it. I look forward to future editions

My husband is also in the service (navy) so know how hard it is to be away from him. You are doing the right thing by traveling and enjoying life..he wants you to. I have a suggestion, I have a friend who still has a polaroid camera. She keeps a journal where she takes one photo of her everyday and writes what going on...she likes to write the funny stuff that life throws her way, make a daily photo album of all the times and places you guys miss him on this trip. blow up a photo of his head at kinkos, and attach it to a paint stick from home depot. hold up a photo of his head when you take photos. Let him know he is very much with you in spirit,