What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? *Goodbyes* 12/17 p.114

[carissanboys]

It's a beautiful picture!

Happy Mama's Day!

Thanks Julie!

Great trip report just finished reading through from the start. I did skip most of the chatter but had to go back and take an extra look at everyones funny ride pics


HappyMother's Day!
Tosh

Thanks for reading!

I'm headed to your blog now......good luck with the move. I think one of the reasons we decided to put an addition onto our house instead of buy a new one was because I couldn't bear the thought of the work to pack up the house and unpack.

Thanks for stopping by Heidi - I know how crazy is for you right now! Hope you had a lovely Mother's Day as well.

Happy Mother's Day to you!

Thanks!

Love the picture of you and your boys. Happy Mother's Day! Oh, and I checked out your blog. I spent way too much time reading yesterday. I learned a lot.

You learned a lot in general or you learned a lot about me and now you think I'm crazy??

I'm finally making my rounds this evening to wish everyone a late in the day Happy Mother's Day. I hope you had a beautiful time with your boys. Before you know it, those three little guys are going to be big muscle-bound food-guzzling young men who will show their affection for you by picking you up and tossing you around just to hear you squeal. That's what mine have been known to do, anyway!

That's a great picture of you and your boys. As I have said before, you are blessed. All of us who have been given the privilege of raising children are very, very blessed.

Thanks MeMom! I'm starting to realize that I don't want the years to go by so quickly. Trying to enjoy them while they're still "little."

Thanks Carrie!

Nice to meet you too Don. Thanks on the offer of assistance...much appreciated. I am hopeful for a relatively smooth transition from one place to another...never know though. Our trips always have some excitement...wanted or otherwise.

All of the "excitement" makes for fun stories to retell later.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Good morning Carissa! Beautiful picture of you and the boys! I love it!

I hope you had a WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!

Homeschooling 3 boys should be interesting! Can't wait to hear all about it! I'm glad you made some decisions, though...I'm sure that's a relief. Sounds like the moving plans are going well. This will be a crazy month for you!

I need to head over and read your blog at some point...note to self to do that soon!

I see Scrappie is planning a 'non-kid' trip to Disney for her anniversary...I've been trying to get Jeff to agree to that for our 20th in 2012. Seems far away, but time flies around here! I think my kids might have a fit....but Dan will be 17 by then, Isaiah will be 15, and Jonah will be 12. They'd get over it!!

 

[carissanboys]

I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday and wanted to share a few pictures with you all.

My day started off with Chuck making muffins and bacon (we were out of eggs). I also received a card from Chuck and one from the boys. I decided I wanted to go letterboxing with the family so we picked up Subway sandwiches and drove to a nearby park.

We had a lovely hike through the woods and found the three letterboxes planted.

Finished with our letterboxing, we headed over to the playground and had it to ourselves. We played for a good long while and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

On the way home:

Chuck made dinner - pasta fagioli with garlic bread. Yumm!

We finished the evening watching Bedtime Stories (the boys and I had already seen it, but Chuck hadn't).

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Before I continue with the trip report, I forgot to mention that before we left our room that morning, Chuck had given me my birthday present (I told him not to spend much since part of my present was our trip to Disney!). It was a really cute Eyeore shirt. But, it was a man's size and cut and long sleeved. It looked huge on me. It would have made a great shirt to lounge around the house, but I wanted to be able to wear my present out at the parks. So, Chuck gave me the receipt and told me I could exchange it. You'll see what I exchanged it for later on.

So, we finished our dinner at Kona and played on the beach for a few minutes. Then it was time to head back over to the Magic Kingdom. We decided to leave our van in the parking lot and take the monorail over to MK. I guess because we already had a parking pass for POR, we didn't get one when we came into the Poly. Normally when we've stayed off property and gone to a resort, they give us a parking pass that is good for 2 hours or so. Since we didn't have that, I figured we were okay to stay parked. There was another reason why I wanted to do this which I will talk about later.

This is what the park looked like when we arrived:

I was getting worried that we wouldn't be able to find a place for the parade. We continued walking and headed over to the Hall of Presidents, which is where we sat on our first trip for Spectro.

We found a great spot with only a few people already behind the rope so we headed in there. Now, when Kathy had sent Stitch to us, she had sent along some glow sticks and asked us to pass them out during the parade. That was such an awesome idea because the boys had so much fun! There was one dad who seemed confused and asked Sully, "Are you selling them?" It allowed us to start talking with another family (who had 4 girls) and we ended up sitting with them.

I should have asked the woman if she happend to be on the Dis, but I didn't. And since I don't have permission to post their pictures, I'm using some stickers to cover their faces. They were a very nice family!

And my one and only picture of SpectroMagic:

I don't seem to have a lot of luck with nighttime pictures, so I just enjoyed Spectro and Wishes without taking pictures. Sorry!

I did take a short video.



The last picture of the night:

When Wishes finished, I was fully expecting a mad dash of people leaving the park. What I didn't realize is that they had extended the hours and the park was open for another hour. Getting out wasn't too bad at all.

Now, one of the reasons why I wanted to stay parked at the Poly was because I knew we could take the resort boat directly there instead of dealing with the monorail which was crowded. The boat ride back was very peaceful (although a bit cool).

We got to our van and drove back to POR and we were all in bed by 10:15. Our only late night of the trip. But, that was okay because the next day was an "off" day.

What a wonderful 35th birthday I had!

Up Next - A Migraine, Laundry, and a Surrey Ride - Oh My!

 

[carissanboys]

Good morning Carissa! Beautiful picture of you and the boys! I love it!

I hope you had a WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!

Homeschooling 3 boys should be interesting! Can't wait to hear all about it! I'm glad you made some decisions, though...I'm sure that's a relief. Sounds like the moving plans are going well. This will be a crazy month for you!

I need to head over and read your blog at some point...note to self to do that soon!

I see Scrappie is planning a 'non-kid' trip to Disney for her anniversary...I've been trying to get Jeff to agree to that for our 20th in 2012. Seems far away, but time flies around here! I think my kids might have a fit....but Dan will be 17 by then, Isaiah will be 15, and Jonah will be 12. They'd get over it!!

Hey Missy! Thanks! I hope you had a great weekend too.

That would be a wonderful way to celebrate your 20th and you're right - time flies by!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!! You should be a very proud mama!

Some little boys never grow up!

Chuck made dinner - pasta fagioli with garlic bread. Yumm!

YUMMMMMMM!!! Pasta fagioli is one of my faves!



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We got to our van and drove back to POR and we were all in bed by 10:15. Our only late night of the trip. But, that was okay because the next day was an "off" day.

I had to laugh when I read this about being your "late" night! That would have been an early night for us! LOL! My boys are die-hards! On school nights at home they are in bed at a decent time, but on vacation, whether it's camping, Disney, etc...they can go like the Energizer bunny. Except Dan which I will talk about later in my TR.

What a wonderful 35th birthday I had! [/COLOR]

I'm so glad you had a good birthday! What a great way to end it at MK!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I think watching Spectromagic from Liberty Square is the best spot to catch it.

Sounds like a wonderful birthday!

 

[torsie24]

Awww, glad you had a wonderful birthday!!

Don't worry - I am awful at night time photos! We even have a firework setting on our camera and they still come out really bad!!

 

[cjackearl]

You learned a lot in general or you learned a lot about me and now you think I'm crazy??

A lot in general and a lot about you but not that you're crazy. I want to try a few of your posted recipes and I'm intrigued by letter boxing. Sounds like a great way to spend family time outdoors. There are not a lot of boxes near us, but I think we may try it. Interestingly, the city with the most boxes by far around here is an Amish community.

Glad you had a nice Mother's Day. That soup looks delicious.

Good thinking on your parking strategy. It's always good when you can avoid the stress of dealing with the masses.

 

[KathyRN137]

Great picture!!

I'm so glad the boys had fun with the glow sticks!! They're a great way to break the ice...

Don't feel bad... my Spectro pix never seem to come out right, either! Oh well, sometimes its best just to sit back and enjoy!!

Kathy

 

[Lady Lallie]

I meant to ask...what exactly is letterboxing?

 

[Emma's Dad]

Nice to meet you too Don. Thanks on the offer of assistance...much appreciated. I am hopeful for a relatively smooth transition from one place to another...never know though. Our trips always have some excitement...wanted or otherwise.

Life would be boring without the occasional "otherwise" excitement, right?

 

[irene_dsc]

Glad you had a great birthday - sounds like you had fun! And happy belated Mother's Day to you!

When I have some time, I'll have to check out your blog...curious to hear what made you decide on homeschooling, but I won't make you repeat it. I'm sure you'll be great at it, though! You are waay more organized than me...

 

[LaurenMic]

All caught up! Great updates Carissa! Glad you had a great birthday...and an awesome Mother's day! Looks like Chuck is quite the cook

 

[soulmates]

Just loving this report!!

 

[mousescrapper]

I see Scrappie is planning a 'non-kid' trip to Disney for her anniversary...I've been trying to get Jeff to agree to that for our 20th in 2012. Seems far away, but time flies around here! I think my kids might have a fit....but Dan will be 17 by then, Isaiah will be 15, and Jonah will be 12. They'd get over it!!

Yes I can't wait!!!!

we are already talking about a behind the Scenes tour at 3 of the Parks or the Epcot one and the Cirque Noube (msp?) show plus dinning at places we wouldn't w/ the kids like Cal Grill, Brown Derby, Le Cellier...you get the idea

I think the kids will be slightly bummed...but with taking them just this past June, this yr March and next year Nov....it should be good we know we'll plan to go back agian w/ the kids in 013

You MUST DO IT!!!!!


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Carissa looks like you had a lovely Mother's day...love all the pictures!

What is letterboxing though?

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Nice MK update....my version of the night will be coming soon....too bad we were so close to each other on the parade route and didn't know....Mihcael would have love to hang w/ your boys!

J-

 

[momrek06]

FABULOUS!!! That Goof...he is one awesome Goof!!


I LOVE KONA!!! Your meal looked wonderful, Carissa!!!

Awww.....Carissa, what an absolutely lovely photo of you and your three boys on Mother's Day!!! Cherish these times, Car...before you know, you will turn around and all three boys will be towering over YOU!!!


I think that is a wonderful idea to homeschool the boys, Car!


A migraine... DS#2 suffers with them. They are not fun. I hope you are not going to say someone had a migraine in WDW.


OT; Love the NAVY logo in your siggy, Carissa. Both my DS' are thinking of joining the Navy. They have been to the Recruiting Offices here in SoCal and have spoken to the Recruiters and have taken the test. If they sign on they would head to Newport R.I. for Officer Candidate School in October. DS#1 has a Master's in History, the signing bonus is outstanding. He is really contemplating this move. He is very interested in Logistics.

 

[carissanboys]

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!! You should be a very proud mama!

I am!

I had to laugh when I read this about being your "late" night! That would have been an early night for us! LOL! My boys are die-hards! On school nights at home they are in bed at a decent time, but on vacation, whether it's camping, Disney, etc...they can go like the Energizer bunny. Except Dan which I will talk about later in my TR.

Owen and Connor are normally in bed by 7 p.m. every night (Sully is 8 p.m.) so staying up that late is really hard for them. Even when they stay up late, they don't sleep in. My plan for this summer and when we're homeschooling is to have them still go to bed at the same time, but let them read for up to an hour.

I think watching Spectromagic from Liberty Square is the best spot to catch it.

Sounds like a wonderful birthday!

I was surprised there were spaces open over there since Main St. was so packed! I don't think most people realize the path it follows.

Awww, glad you had a wonderful birthday!!

Don't worry - I am awful at night time photos! We even have a firework setting on our camera and they still come out really bad!!

I even read a book about my camera on the drive down, but didn't really get a chance to try it out. Someday!

A lot in general and a lot about you but not that you're crazy. I want to try a few of your posted recipes and I'm intrigued by letter boxing. Sounds like a great way to spend family time outdoors. There are not a lot of boxes near us, but I think we may try it. Interestingly, the city with the most boxes by far around here is an Amish community.

Glad you had a nice Mother's Day. That soup looks delicious.

Good thinking on your parking strategy. It's always good when you can avoid the stress of dealing with the masses.

I'm glad you enjoyed my blog. We LOVE letterboxing! It's such a great way to get to know an area and I can't wait to do some down in Virginia.

Great picture!!

I'm so glad the boys had fun with the glow sticks!! They're a great way to break the ice...

Don't feel bad... my Spectro pix never seem to come out right, either! Oh well, sometimes its best just to sit back and enjoy!!

Kathy

Exactly!

I meant to ask...what exactly is letterboxing?

Here's a link to an entry in my blog titled "Letterboxing 101." It should explain it.

Letterboxing 101

Glad you had a great birthday - sounds like you had fun! And happy belated Mother's Day to you!

When I have some time, I'll have to check out your blog...curious to hear what made you decide on homeschooling, but I won't make you repeat it. I'm sure you'll be great at it, though! You are waay more organized than me...

I didn't go into all of my reasons for deciding to homeschool (trying not to get too political ), but more the general reasons. One big reason that I didn't mention is that I feel strongly that Sully has dysgraphia, but the school isn't doing anything about it.

Hope you had a great Mother's Day Irene!

All caught up! Great updates Carissa! Glad you had a great birthday...and an awesome Mother's day! Looks like Chuck is quite the cook

He is - and it's nice to have someone else take over once in a while.

Just loving this report!!

Thanks so much!

Carissa looks like you had a lovely Mother's day...love all the pictures!

What is letterboxing though?

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Nice MK update....my version of the night will be coming soon....too bad we were so close to each other on the parade route and didn't know....Mihcael would have love to hang w/ your boys!

J-

I posted a link above that will take you to my blog and explain letterboxing. It's a lot of fun and a great family activity!

That does stink. We had more glow sticks to share!

 

[carissanboys]

[OT; Love the NAVY logo in your siggy, Carissa. Both my DS' are thinking of joining the Navy. They have been to the Recruiting Offices here in SoCal and have spoken to the Recruiters and have taken the test. If they sign on they would head to Newport R.I. for Officer Candidate School in October. DS#1 has a Master's in History, the signing bonus is outstanding. He is really contemplating this move. He is very interested in Logistics.

Really? That's cool Karen! If he likes to travel, it's a great life. Chuck is in Logistics.

 

[liznboys]

Sounds like you had a nice Mother's Day! That dinner looks so yummy, especially right now...it's really chilly and dreary out.

You sat where WE sat together for Spectro. Everytime we're in that area I think of our time there together.

You did have a wonderful birthday!

 

[mnkyboy24]

After shortly missing a tornado on our way down to Disney, I'll take a pass on the "otherwise" excitement. It definitely makes you feel uneasy, I can't even imagine how people who actually went through that tornado felt!

Life would be boring without the occasional "otherwise" excitement, right?