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

[momrek06]

Just a quick update. Chuck leaves tomorrow for Florida and will be gone 4 - 5 months while he goes to school. So, things for me should get back to normal after that.

We are all settled and enjoying our new home.

I should have another installment tomorrow morning.

Carissa and the boys:
Have a great day today with Chuck!! Lots of kisses and hugs!! He will be in all our prayers as he heads to school with the USNAVY!!!

 

[MagicShell]

Sorry to hear Chuck will be gone so long. I hope the time passes quickly.

 

[carissanboys]

That's great that you have planned some trips to see each other. Whenver DH goes to DC everyone always asks if he flys home on the weekends. I can never find airfare cheap enough. Everyone else acts like they do it all the time.

I'm really excited about the trip down there. I'm thinking about renting a place on the beach for the week.

I must've missed something. How long will he be gone for?

Chuck has orders on board the U.S.S. Eisenhower out of Norfolk, Virginia, but first he has to do 4 months of school down in Pensacola. So, this separation will be the first of many to come in the next three years.

Carissa and the boys:
Have a great day today with Chuck!! Lots of kisses and hugs!! He will be in all our prayers as he heads to school with the USNAVY!!!

Thank you, Karen. We've both been taking turns running errands before he has to leave. We did enjoy some coffee this morning while sitting out on our swing. We'll have some more quiet time together tonight.

Sorry to hear Chuck will be gone so long. I hope the time passes quickly.

Thank you. This time apart won't be so bad because we can still talk on the phone every day and visit. The hard part will come once he's actually on the ship. We're not sure how much time (if any) he'll have at home once he finishes school before he has to be on the ship.

 

[Emma's Dad]

I'm still getting caught up on your TR, Carissa. Unfortunately, I don't get to see the pics while I'm at work (they block them), and I haven't had much time at home to get caught up on much of anything (except maybe a quick FB update ).

Hopefully things are going OK with Chuck heading down for training. You certainly have kept busy! I think you've visit VB more in the last week than I have all year!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great installments, I loved all the pictures on your walk. I love POR so much, thanks for sharing.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Carissa - I'm sorry Chuck is going to be gone so long... I hope the time goes by smoothly & you get to enjoy your trip down to see him. You said Florida, right? Any special plans while you are there?

 

[MeMom]

Just checking in to say I hope you are all doing well and keeping busy. I know this hasn't bene the greatest week for any of you. Hopefully, we (your DIS friends) can try to keep you smiling with all of our craziness in the months ahead. Too bad we're not closer, 'cause I'd absolutely volunteer to babysit so you could have a girls' night out sometimes.

Wonder if it would be any cheaper for you guys to meet in the middle once or twice. If he got a cheap flight halfway up and you drove halfway down? Something to think about, anyway, if the going gets rough.

Just know that we all are thinking of you. My Air Force dad was gone many times for many months at a time when I was growing up, so I know what it's like.

 

[Goofster57]

just passing through

 

[dddisrunner]

Hi Carissa, I am so happy to hear that you are getting comfortable in your new home and community!! I wish you lots of happiness while you are there!

 

[jordanyosh]

so sorry to hear that time with Chuck will be off and on over the next 3 years...

we'll keep u company...

 

[jordanyosh]

just passing through

Can you do that on my PTR?

 

[carissanboys]

I'm still getting caught up on your TR, Carissa. Unfortunately, I don't get to see the pics while I'm at work (they block them), and I haven't had much time at home to get caught up on much of anything (except maybe a quick FB update ).

Hopefully things are going OK with Chuck heading down for training. You certainly have kept busy! I think you've visit VB more in the last week than I have all year!

No worries. I haven't been very good about keeping up with TRs and PTRs lately!

Great installments, I loved all the pictures on your walk. I love POR so much, thanks for sharing.

Thanks

Hi Carissa - I'm sorry Chuck is going to be gone so long... I hope the time goes by smoothly & you get to enjoy your trip down to see him. You said Florida, right? Any special plans while you are there?

No - Disney World will not be in our plans. Pensacola is still pretty far from Orlando. Not to mention - I don't do the World in the summer!

Just checking in to say I hope you are all doing well and keeping busy. I know this hasn't bene the greatest week for any of you. Hopefully, we (your DIS friends) can try to keep you smiling with all of our craziness in the months ahead. Too bad we're not closer, 'cause I'd absolutely volunteer to babysit so you could have a girls' night out sometimes.

Wonder if it would be any cheaper for you guys to meet in the middle once or twice. If he got a cheap flight halfway up and you drove halfway down? Something to think about, anyway, if the going gets rough.

Just know that we all are thinking of you. My Air Force dad was gone many times for many months at a time when I was growing up, so I know what it's like.

Thanks MeMom I had a tough day today. I guess it's all just hit me - how long he's really going to be gone and that this will continue for the next 3 - 4 years. I know we'll get through it - just feeling a bit down about it today. Meeting halfway is a good idea!

just passing through

Hi Carissa, I am so happy to hear that you are getting comfortable in your new home and community!! I wish you lots of happiness while you are there!

Thanks Diane

so sorry to hear that time with Chuck will be off and on over the next 3 years...

we'll keep u company...

I'm counting on it!

Can you do that on my PTR?

I think I can allow that as long as Keith always stops by here first.

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I know I said I'd post another installment like two days ago. I've been busy working on my blog and it's taken up a lot of my time. But, I PROMISE that I will post an installment first thing tomorrow morning and start trying to get caught up again on TRs and PTRs.

 

[jordanyosh]

I think I can allow that as long as Keith always stops by here first.

Deal

 

[thadarkslayer]

So, I just started reading your TR (later is better than never, right?), and I've thoroughly enjoyed it so far.

It's really making me want to stay at POR again.

 

[Goofster57]

Can you do that on my PTR?

I think I can allow that as long as Keith always stops by here first.

Deal

What PTR?

I am so far behind on keeping up on these broads I'm ahead of myself...

 

[carissanboys]

So, I just started reading your TR (later is better than never, right?), and I've thoroughly enjoyed it so far.

It's really making me want to stay at POR again.

Sometimes coming in late is better than early because you don't have to wait for updates.

What PTR?

I am so far behind on keeping up on these broads I'm ahead of myself...

Who you callin' a broad?? I'm offended by your slang term for the female gender.

 

[carissanboys]

(I just discovered the Auto Fix button at photobucket and I'm in love! However, that coupled with some other issues I was having over there made it very time consuming to get this update completed.)

~ April 1st, 2009 ~

When I last left you, we were all sleeping - dreams of our lovely carriage ride in the rain still fresh in our thoughts. I woke up around 6:15, got ready, and rounded up the rest of the gang. We decided to head over to the food court again this morning and use more snack credits for breakfast.

With full bellies, we got in the van and drove over to Epcot. I was really excited to see the Flower and Garden Festival! Once again, we made it before opening and were there for rope drop. I don't really remember much of anything special happening, but it's always good to get there early.

We decided to go ahead and get a single stroller since Epcot is such a big park. I wanted to get a double because I knew Old Man Owen would eventually get tired. But, Chuck really didn't want to spend the extra money. And I agree that having a single stroller is much easier to navigate through the crowds than a double.

Here are a couple of pictures of the new stroller (which is smaller than the old one):

While Chuck was getting the stroller, I took some time to take pictures.

With Belle about to be hit by the oncoming monorail:

And with Belle safely out of harm's way:

I forgot to mention that right after we arrived at Epcot, Sully and I headed over to one of the stands at the entrance and purchased the really cool visor he's wearing in the above picture (to replace the hat he lost).

At this point, we decided to split up. Owen and Connor didn't want to ride Test Track, so Sully and I headed over there while Chuck took Owen and Connor to ride Nemo. I wonder who got the better part of the deal there??

Along the way I had to stop every few minutes to take pictures of the amazing topiaries.

We finally made our way over to Test Track (with minimal "Come on Mama!" 's from Sully). I had been on TT twice on our first visit, but had stayed with the little ones on our 2nd trip so that everyone else could ride (my parents were with us). I really enjoyed myself this time. It's such a fun ride.

The plan was to meet back up with Chuck and the boys at Soarin'. We leisurely made our way to The Land pavilion, but along the way had to stop in and see the butterflies.

I reluctantly tore myself away from the picture taking and we headed inside to Soarin'. I was expecting Chuck and the boys to be there waiting, but they were nowhere to be seen. So, we took a bathroom break and had a seat on the bench to wait for them.

Silly me had left my phone back in the room thinking I wouldn't need it. I really wish I'd had it with me. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. I finally decided to get some fastpasses. I don't really remember what my reasoning was because the return time on them was right around the time we were to be at Le Cellier for lunch. And I knew we wouldn't be making our way back over to that area later in the day. I ended up giving the fastpasses away to a lady sitting next to us.

So, we continued to wait - wondering where in the heck those boys were!

Up Next - First Class Passengers

 

[jmskinner]

Another great update. You did take a lot of pics. Love the monorail and Belle pic.

I never saw those boxes in the water by Nemo. We never went that way and how many times did I got to Epcot during the F&G Festival?????

 

[carissanboys]

Another great update. You did take a lot of pics. Love the monorail and Belle pic.

I never saw those boxes in the water by Nemo. We never went that way and how many times did I got to Epcot during the F&G Festival?????

I'm still not sure what they were - but they were so pretty! I'm glad I was able to show you something you haven't seen before.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I love the F&G Festival!! Sounds like a nice start to the day at Epcot - but where are those boys??