When you wish upon a star, a FAMILY trip comes true. May 2011 UPDATE 6/21 p.10-2posts

[JenAusty]

Hello Disfriends!! I don't have a lot of time to post this morning. I just wanted to share the sweet story about how this trip came about. Also, I wanted to mention- I do have "Table of Contents" for all my posts- at the end of my Introduction page. I hope this makes it easier for you to read!

OK, Well this story is very simple and actually I wish I would have figured this out earlier because I would have used it.

It was a Sunday at my parents, and I was taking a nap/watching "The Sound of Music" in the spare room. All of a sudden my mom comes in and says "Jen- disney is on tv", I say "Ok, I'll be out there in a minute (in a sluggish I just fell asleep mode), and like 30 seconds later my mom starts yelling "Jen... Jennifer" and finally returns to the room, "Jen, your dad wants you to come out, he wants to know what this is on TV". So I get up and walk out to the family room, and on the travel channel is a WDW special.. and they happen to be on AK. My dad said, "This park looks awesome, I would love to see all those animals and go on that safari". He began asking me all these questions about the park, and being an avid fanatic of disney and taking every opportunity I get to talk about disney, I glady answer his questions. When the show was almost over, he asked me "So how much does this cost?". I think for a moment I was caught of guard because he has never asked me anything about costs before. So I told him how much our trip cost the last time, explaining we got a great deal. He then said at the end of our conversation, "We need to plan a family trip to Disney".


I WAS SO ECSTATIC! I wanted to jump up and down and hug everyone! I couldn't believe that after all these years of me saying "I want you guys to go to disney with us", "I want to take a family vacation to disney", "We should plan a disney vacation"....etc!! that he watches a special on the travel channel on Animal Kindgom and that works?!!! Geeess... all my persuasive- "disney is amazing" talk didn't work but that did. Who'd a thunk it!

So after that, I kind of blew it off- not that I didn't want it to happen. But I didn't know how serious he really was. But he kept bringing it up, and finally I said that I wanted to return in 2011 for either spring break or for my graduation- I wanted to go more for my graduation but would take either. And then we started planning out costs and everything.. and here we are over a year later.

We originally decided to do this like Nov. 2009ishh.. because the Christmas of 2009 I bought my parents their very first Birnbaums Disney travel book. Which.. I'm sad to say, they haven't really read it- but they have looked through the pictures.. So they aren't like me.. I'm hoping after this visit they will become planners like me. But we didn't actually book it until Aug. 2010. We had to wait until I knew my student teaching information and when I was graduating and I had to wait until almost Aug. to figure this out.

I have to say, I was very excited about having this trip with my parents. I thought "I finally have other people to plan with" and I was excited to have planning days, and choose places together.. and welll... this didn't really pan out. My parents common saying is "we don't care- we trust you", which is great in all but I was kind of EXCITED to have them pick. When it came to resort choosing- my parents wanted the Value resorts to save costs, which is fine with me, I love the value resorts. And I told them from the beginning that I wanted THEM to CHOOSE the resort. Austin and I have stayed at Pop and ASMovies and the only request I made was no ASSports. But guess what?! When I showed them pictures and talked about the different resorts- and said "which one do you guys want" they said "we don't care". Well START CARING!! because I made them choose. I finally said, I want you guys to choose because this is your first time, and this is part of the fun.. or suppose to be... and they ended up choosing ASMovies.. because of 101 Dalmations. My parents had a dalmation named Chance.. and they had to put him to sleep about a year ago. So they kept saying, "Where staying at 101 Dalmations resort".. no, nooo were not. I'm just hoping that if I make a special request- maybe disney will work their magic and let us have a room there. The good news is, I finally got them to realize it's the movie resort and has 101 dalmation buildings. But my mom keeps asking "do you know where were staying at yet?" Even though I've told her, we won't know til we show up!!

I have more to talk about in terms of dining.. but I will leave that til I post my QS list of choices!

 

[Corrine 1973]

That's so funny. I guess a picture is worth a thosand words!! Not every one can be obsessed as us fine people here on the DIS. Just one picture of any of the theme parks gets me all excited inside and a smile just magically appears.

Do you have Netflix? They have the Disney Parks specials on there and maybe that will help them get more into the planning. It worked once maybe it will work again

 

[JenAusty]

That's so funny. I guess a picture is worth a thosand words!! Not every one can be obsessed as us fine people here on the DIS. Just one picture of any of the theme parks gets me all excited inside and a smile just magically appears.

Do you have Netflix? They have the Disney Parks specials on there and maybe that will help them get more into the planning. It worked once maybe it will work again

I am the same way with anything Disney. I have been really stressed lately with graduating, finding a job, buying another car, etc.. and I started researching and reading Disney stuff more and its honestly helped me relieve stress and I'm super excited about my trip now. However, doing this has made me so excited that its all I think about. hehe Idk if I'll make it to May.. hehe

Yes I do have Netflix.. and I have already watched all of them- even the history channel special on Walt Disney's life. I love having access to those shows anytime I want because I can watch them over and over.

 

[JenAusty]

I read disneyfan61's post and realized that today, I can finally say....


I'm going to Disney World next month!!!

 

[tinkgurl]

Aw, I'm so happy for you! That's so exciting your parents finally want to go.

 

[JenAusty]

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful Sunday.. I of course am stuck inside because it decided to snow/rain..but I had to write my final unit plan for student teaching and I need to clean my room.. its a disaster. Next week is my final week for student teaching and then I just have to wait to graduate I'll be excited to spend lots of time planning for disney, posting on the dis, hopefully enjoying warm weather, and looking for employment.. oh and I suppose working more too.

Anyways, on to whats most important- DISNEY!

As I wrote in my last post, we are staying in the All-Star Movies Resort.

I am very excited about this because this is where Austy and I stayed our very first trip to disney in 2005! This is when my love for disney came alive. I remember being devastated when we were leaving. We were only there for 5 days and it just went by soo fast. I didn't want to leave because I didn't know when we would ever be able to return and I wanted to return by the next year at least. I remember as we walked out of our hotel room, we stood by the door and made a pinky promise packed that we would return within the next 2 years. Well.. it didn't exactly happen.. we planned it a few times- but things kept happening and coming up. We finally returned for our 1 year wedding anniversary and it was even more amazing.

I have a few questions about my resort and planning that I hoping you all will be able to help!
1. Has anyone made a building/theme request and had it come true? I need to make a request for 101 Dalmations, but I'm worried we won't be placed there because 1. we have the standard room and I think all of those rooms are preferred, 2. We haven't gotten a request yet.
I think I'm going to tell them 101 Dalmations, Toy Story, or Fantasia... those are only ones I want- NO Mighty Ducks or Love Bug for sureee!

2. Fridge Dilemma: My mom really wants a fridge in the room and being a value resort- they don't have coffee makers or refrigerators in the room. I found that for $10 a night you can get one, but that keeps kind of pricey for a fridge for the week. (That's $80 for the week), I would MUCH rather spend that one something else. My mom said that she would pay it or that we could split the price. But honestly, I would rather go without. The problem here is, that my mom is a diabetic and can't just eat granola bars for breakfast and stuff like that. But we are trying to save money- buy purchasing food for the room for snacks and breakfast. I also read that you can get the fee waived for medical reasons, but I don't think this would work because she doesn't take insulin or anything. BUT what I'm asking this is because I remember reading about a "fridge swap" thing that was on the disboards- and you could request a fridge during your dates, you picked it up at the front desk when you arrived, and then returned it to the front desk when you left. I would love to do that- I figured its either free or way cheaper. Does anyone know anything about this?!

I hate posting without pictures.. so I decided to share some photos of the resort..
(All of these pictures are from google.com/images search and are from several different websites).

Lobby:

The amazing food court: I always loved how bright it was.

Building themes I like:
101 Dalmations

Toy Story

Fantasia I

Building themes I don't like:
Love Bug

Mighty Ducks

Fantasia 2000

The wonderful bathroom theme- that I LOVE so much. I always tell Austy that if we ever have basement with a 1/2 bath or something I want to decorate it like this team.. it might be a little gaudy.. but idk its from Disney! and it has STAR wallpaper!

The rooms: I loved this lights too. I was disappointed with Pop! when it didn't have the star lights.. hehe

Random question: Has anyone purchased the Vibram Fivefingers shoes?http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm I really want a pair- the ones that you can wear exercising, in water, yoga, and stuff. But I am wondering how wonderful these would be to wear to the park. See I'm not really a shoe person, especially when its warm- and I definitely don't wear tennis shoes. I can't stand my feet sweating and they get to hot. I'm deciding if I should just purchase a new style of crocs or if I should buy those. I'm not sure if I'll be able to purchase both before we go.. as I have 7 more disney shirts to purchase as well as many other things.. hehe

 

[klacey1]

Hi, I'm joining in! (I saw you on Kristen and Tinkgurl's thread-- another stalker, lol) Congrats on graduating college-- it's an amazing feeling!

 

[Moira222]

I love how you came to plan this family vacation....I can totally picture my in-laws doing this ....not listening to us but then seeing a show on Travel channel. have to say we sat down and watched a program recently that got us even more psyched--showed the construction of the Tree of Life, indoor peeks at TOT, lots of insider peeks. but I am laughing at your stories of your folks. Now that you've tried to get them involved, just plan & surprise them....it will be the best trip ever!

I LOVE those shots from All Star--I've never been and it looks very cool! I just read you shoe question. Would you believe I ordered and returned about 6 pair of sandals from Zappos.com before I found a pair that I loved in the Kmart a mile down the road!! I thought I'd share that 1) Zappos free shipping makes it worthwhile to order shoes by mail, because you really can try them on and package them right up again and 2) Don't discount the X mart down the street LOL!

 

[tinkgurl]

Actually, I should say- that one of the main reasons why I FINALLY decided to try it was because of your pics from one of your last trips.

I just read this, wow girl! I feel honored to have an influence on your decision!

 

[disneyfan61]

I read disneyfan61's post and realized that today, I can finally say....


I'm going to Disney World next month!!!

Isn't great being able to say that??? The only thing better will be when we can say we are going "this" month!!

All Star Movies holds a special place in my heart as that is where we stayed on our very first trip in 1999. We really enjoyed it there. Of course we had nothing to compare it to at the time. That will be so great if you can get the Dalmation building. That way your parents can say they stayed at the Dalmation resort.

 

[JenAusty]

Aw, I'm so happy for you! That's so exciting your parents finally want to go.

Yes, I know! I have wanted to have this trip for so very long.. and for the longest time my parents would say, "we will go back, maybe next year we can plan" and every year turned into another and so forth. Then finally, DH and I went back in 2005 and it was soo very amazing. The whole time I was there I kept thinking "mom would like this" or how much fun they would have. I really tried pushing it more and more but it wasn't until my parents went on as cruise (my dads boss paid for) 2 years ago- that they realized how important big vacations were. After many years, we are finally going.. with my push.. hehe and I'm sure they will be VERY surprised!

Hi, I'm joining in! (I saw you on Kristen and Tinkgurl's thread-- another stalker, lol) Congrats on graduating college-- it's an amazing feeling!

HELLO, Welcome and Thank you! As I stated before, I dont' mind the distalkers.. hehehe Yes, graduating is an amazing feeling.. but I never realized how stressful it would be. Here I thought it would be weight off my shoulders, but I've become so stressed with finding a job, possibly relocating, and all of this. hehe

I love how you came to plan this family vacation....I can totally picture my in-laws doing this ....not listening to us but then seeing a show on Travel channel. have to say we sat down and watched a program recently that got us even more psyched--showed the construction of the Tree of Life, indoor peeks at TOT, lots of insider peeks. but I am laughing at your stories of your folks. Now that you've tried to get them involved, just plan & surprise them....it will be the best trip ever!

I LOVE those shots from All Star--I've never been and it looks very cool! I just read you shoe question. Would you believe I ordered and returned about 6 pair of sandals from Zappos.com before I found a pair that I loved in the Kmart a mile down the road!! I thought I'd share that 1) Zappos free shipping makes it worthwhile to order shoes by mail, because you really can try them on and package them right up again and 2) Don't discount the X mart down the street LOL!

Yes, I have thought about that as well. My hope is that they will be really surprised with everything, and they will see all the plans I did and understand the importance of it. DH was kind of like that we went, and then when we arrived- he said "This is the best vaca I've ever had- thank you for planning it all". and I knew that my hard work was worth it!

Oh I don't knock Kmart.. my mom swears my that store.. hehe and they are getting a variety of styles in their fashion dept. hehe

I just read this, wow girl! I feel honored to have an influence on your decision!

Isn't great being able to say that??? The only thing better will be when we can say we are going "this" month!!

All Star Movies holds a special place in my heart as that is where we stayed on our very first trip in 1999. We really enjoyed it there. Of course we had nothing to compare it to at the time. That will be so great if you can get the Dalmation building. That way your parents can say they stayed at the Dalmation resort.

Yes, we are finally at the" 40s" day mark. We have stayed at all of the value except sports- and I am going to see if its still my favorite.. I liked a lot of things about POP, but there were things I didn't like either. So we will see.. this trip.

 

[JenAusty]

Hello Everyone! This is my last week student teaching (tomorrow is my last day.. and ) so I've been really busy this week.. but I wanted to say hello.. and I will definetely post by this weekend.. I have some news...

It's not really good- not bad- just kind of weird and confuses things.. and little annoying. But I guess we are taking it day by day and "taking it as a sign".. I know this probably confuses you all.. but I swear I will explain it in my next post.

Heres a few clues.. not approved for vacation days, relocating, finding a new job, goodbye 50 days til disney...

 

[SoonerGirl]

I'm finally caught up Jen (I did come over and post on the first page, I think you may have missed it though - just wanted you to know I've been here )

You're last post does not sound good, now I'm going to be stalking your PTR until you come back and tell us the news

Going back a little, on your dilema between WCC & Sci-Fi, why not do both? Not at the same time of course, lol! We like to go to Sci-Fi for lunch, their burgers and milkshakes are good, and the atmosphere is really fun. We always pay OOP here and split a burger and fries, it's plenty for two people.

 

[xoktenox]

Hello Kristen! I'm glad your here! I'm also glad to be back I wanted to return earlier just no time. I'm excited to have this PTR short lived or not! Also, I would love to meet you! I think that we might be going offsite though throughout the trip because my Gma and my best friend live in FL. But if its not during those times- for sure!

I just looked over your plans which I will comment on in a minute but it looks like we'll both be at Epcot the night of the 3rd! We'll have to exchange phone numbers before we go and try and see what we can do. I think our men will get along well

Also, I saw you guys are flying down early to save $$...so are we! I just changed our flights and got us a cheap hotel offsite for the first night before we head to Disney. Gotta love getting to FL earlier!

Lunch- undecided
Dinner- Cinderella's Royal Table @ 5:25pm. This was my mothers request, and we are actually NOT using our dining for this because it takes 2 table service meals... so we are just paying. But my mom insisted... "we have to eat at Cinderella's Castle".. so we are. and I'm excited, I'm kind of ashamed to admit I've never eaten there before.

If you want a good place for lunch, try Columbia Harbor House if you've never eaten there before. Soooo good and fresh and it's nice to have something other than burgers and fries!

Lunch- Sunshine Seasons Food Court (This was our favorite QS meal the last trip in terms of quality of food)
Dinner- Coral Reef Restaurant @ 4:00pm. This Austy and I's special place. We went here our first time at Disney, and now its a tradition and every time we go there the food is amazing and we always get surprises! Last time it was 2 glasses of champagne for our anniversary and decorated dessert.

We loveeeeeee Sunshine Seasons too!!

Tuesday, May 31- Hollywood Studios (DH and I's least favorite park.. don't get me wrong I love the theming and some of the attractions.. but it just doesn't compare to the other parks to us. Although, we are willing to give it another try- well I am.. this time I'm making sure I attend all the shows).
Lunch- undecided
Dinner- Mama Melrose Ristorante Italiano @ 4:15 for the Fantasmic Dinner Package.

We're doing the Fantasmic package at MM for the second time. It's very good!

Breakfast- Tusker House @ 9:10am for the character breakfast. (This was DH choice, I was going to do Crystal Palace again and he really wanted this. So I let him choose.)
Lunch- undecided
Dinner-Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant @ 7pm in DTD(for my irish hubby.. he wanted to do this last time.)

Yummmm to both meals for this day. I'm more and more upset as the trip gets closer than we're not doing the TH breakfast again!

Choice 1: Whispering Canyon Cafe @ 6:35pm in the Wilderness Lodge.
I chose this because of the theme (lodge like feel), the amazing resort, to food sounds delicious and I figured it would be something my dad would like, and the atmosphere sounds fun.
Choice 2: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater @ 6:40pm. I know the food is probably mediocre but this is one DH and I have wanted to try for years. We actually had ressies the first time we went and I got motion sickness and we canceled. The other special thing about this is the theme. I love the old fashion Drive-in theater, old cars thing. See the drive-in is an old favorite memory of mine with my family. We had a drive-in about 10 minutes from our house and we use to go all the time in the summer; back when my DD had a pick-up truck and we use to fill the back with air mattresses, blankets and lots of snacks. So I figured they would like this because its something we love. But with that being said- I feel like I'm giving up delicious food for cool theming.
So.. I need your suggestion- have you ate at both? Compare? Ate at one or the other? Or just have any tips to help me decide.

I've eaten at both and I'd 100% go for WCC!

Lunch- undecided
Dinner- San Angel Inn in the Mexico Pavilion @ 6pm (When we were talking about where to eat- and what everyone would like.. my mom said Mexican and I thought of this place. I've always wanted to try it.. plus, its right next to my favorite characters.. the three Caballeros

Hopefully we can meet up this night!

 

[TinksThree]

Welcome and YAY.. I'm noticing how many people are going when we are! Do you usually go during this time?

We went a week later last year. And I have been in March and October. So far, March is my favorite time to go!

Saturday, May 28 -Magic Kingdom Day! (Of course MK has to be the first day, it's my favorite park, plus its the 1 park my parents have been too).Plus, I like to go here first because I visit MK many times during my stay.

We will be at MK on this day too!

Your plans look really good, but your last post makes me wonder just how different things may be? I understand the whole parent angle. It has been so exciting and fun planning with my mom for our trip. Plus she is as excited as a child so that has added to the fun!!

 

[Cat0727]

Hey Jen, I'm joining in on your PTR Congrats on graduating college! I've been looking for a full-time job for the past 2 years since I finished but it's hard out there! So I think I'll just stay at my little p/t job for now and go back to school for my master's.

Love all the pictures of ASMo! I'd love to stay there someday, preferably in the 101 Dalmatians section!

 

[JenAusty]

I'm finally caught up Jen (I did come over and post on the first page, I think you may have missed it though - just wanted you to know I've been here )

You're last post does not sound good, now I'm going to be stalking your PTR until you come back and tell us the news

Going back a little, on your dilema between WCC & Sci-Fi, why not do both? Not at the same time of course, lol! We like to go to Sci-Fi for lunch, their burgers and milkshakes are good, and the atmosphere is really fun. We always pay OOP here and split a burger and fries, it's plenty for two people.

You're right.. some how I missed your post or accidentally didn't reply. Sorry. Going to Sci-fi for lunch is a good idea.. the only issue is that we would have to pay OOP or use out TS meal and we are already paying out of pocket on the first day, for CRT meal.. so I kind of want to stay away from that. I think I have decided on the other. But I'm saving the reservations and letting my parents choose when we get there.. and I'll just cancel whatever we decide to not go to.

I just looked over your plans which I will comment on in a minute but it looks like we'll both be at Epcot the night of the 3rd! We'll have to exchange phone numbers before we go and try and see what we can do. I think our men will get along well

Also, I saw you guys are flying down early to save $$...so are we! I just changed our flights and got us a cheap hotel offsite for the first night before we head to Disney. Gotta love getting to FL earlier!

OK! This sounds like a deal! I'm not sure if our plans will change or what exactly will be going on since I'll be with my parents, and basically be there tour guide.. hehe But I for sure want to meet up if we are in the same park that night!

We went a week later last year. And I have been in March and October. So far, March is my favorite time to go!

Yes, we have went in Jan. and in May. In 2009, we went the 2nd week in May.. and while the weather was warm enough- it rained A LOT! But I've talked to many people who say they go during that time every year and it never rains that bad. Plus, the rain season doesn't really start until June. But we are trying May again.. at the end of the month. .and hoping for warmer weather and not so much rain. Jan. has been my favorite time to visit so far.



We will be at MK on this day too!

Your plans look really good, but your last post makes me wonder just how different things may be? I understand the whole parent angle. It has been so exciting and fun planning with my mom for our trip. Plus she is as excited as a child so that has added to the fun!!

My plans are still the same.. just a dilemma to deal with is all.. hehe I'll share soon. Now that it is closer, my parents are getting more excited about the trip. This is how they usually are- they are "excited" but not really until like a month before and then they are super excited. I'll share about it in my next post.

Hey Jen, I'm joining in on your PTR Congrats on graduating college! I've been looking for a full-time job for the past 2 years since I finished but it's hard out there! So I think I'll just stay at my little p/t job for now and go back to school for my master's.

Love all the pictures of ASMo! I'd love to stay there someday, preferably in the 101 Dalmatians section!

Thank you! and Welcome! Did you get a degree in Education too? I knew going into this field that it would be hard to get a job- I didn't realize how hard because of all the current changes, but I am trying to stay optimistic. I have more to share about that today.. so look for it in my new update!

Have you stayed onsite at any of the values? If so, which ones? and what did you like best?

 

[JenAusty]

Hello Disfriends! I told you that I would post an update this past weekend, and I planned on doing just that.. but because I had new plans to shop for disney on Sat. and then on Sunday- it was 81 degrees outside!!!! So I spent the entire day outside! I even got a little sun on my face.. Yesterday, DH's siblings came up (with my nephew (I don't think I told you guys about him.. geess.. well I'll share a pic)). They actually came up Saturday night to stay because we live over an hour away from them. Austin's brother JJ, his sister Brytiani, her husband Johnathon, and their cute wittle baby Kolt. On Sunday, we woke up early made homemade sausage gravy and biscuits. Then we headed to the park to ride this middle motorcycle thing that Johnathon brought up.. it was fun and goes really fast. We then played a few games of PIG on the basketball court. This only reminded me of how horrible I am at shooting hoops. hehe Then we headed back home. After they left, Austy and I went on a 6-mile bike ride through the bike trails. I absolutely LOVE riding bikes. It's such a relaxing and peaceful exercise. I love the wind blowing in my face and going through the trails you hear animal noises. It's great! When we got home, we had a little cook-out. I made homemade coleslaw (which turned out ok- but not the recipe we used in the past), and had "coleslaw dogs"! Then we finished with going grocery shopping, and relaxed until bed time. It was absolutely amazing.. and it made me excited for spring to finally be here, going to Disney with wonderfully warm weather, and summer of course. My favorite 2 months of the year. hehe

Anywho.. I last posted that there were things going on and that I would share the issue. I've decided to make this post a Good News/Bad News posting.. And I want to start with the good news!

Good News:
I've been narrowing down QS choices and surprisingly it has been a lot easier then I expected. Once I have them finalized or at least a list of places we will choose from- I will share.

As I mentioned earlier, we had a surprise Disney shopping spree on Saturday. Saturday morning my mom called and asked if we wanted to go to the outlets and look at some Crocs for Florida. We had been "saying" we were going to go for a while now. I guess with the nice weather, it was just meant to be. Saturday afternoon, DH and I meant my parents at the outlet mall. This is the only Crocs store in our area. It's like a halfway meeting point from my parents and us. So we just meet there.

This trip I really wanted to try those Vibram Fivefinger shoes.. but they are soo expensive (not that I wouldn't pay that for them if they worked), but it hard to find reviews on them, and I was afraid that my feet would sweat wearing them all day. I had told my parents about Crocs a while back, telling them how convenient they are for Disney and comfortable. The things I love most about them is that my feet can breathe, I hate wearing shoes especially in the summer, but walking all day I need decent support. Crocs also have good support- I can wear these all day and have no issues. And lastly, if it rains or if they get wet- they dry instantly and you don't have to worry.

So my parents were convinced they wanted to have some too. After searching around the store for about 45 minutes and trying on 20 different pairs and colors.. we all finally decided what we wanted. I was kind of disappointed because there were many styles online that weren't the store, I'm assuming they are new and not at the outlet store. Nonetheless, I love the shoes I got.
My shoes:
These are my favorite and most comfortable. My feet just gush in them; if that makes since. hehe

My white pair "I can wear with almost anything" color. hehe

My mom's shoes:
She opted for the newly updated classic style. She said she didn't like the shoes fitting tightly. These are pretty, like my white ones. They look like Pearl and have a shimmer to them.

This pair she liked, and decided to get even though they were tighter fitting.

My Dad, He had a really hard time finding ones that he liked, and of course- the one pair he finally did like was the most expensive in the store. hehe But when he first put them on, he said "these feel weird on my feet" and I told him "just wear them for a little bit- you will get use to it and like them"
He got the leather style:

Lastly, Austy (who couldn't find anything he like in his size, and finally opted to the classic style.. ) I told him he was being boring.. but he wore them all day yesterday to break them in- and he said he loves them. So yay!
His are actually two-toned with light and dark brown, but I couldn't find a picture of them.

I also have the Disney- Mickey- Maryjane style crocs.. I bought these last summer for this trip (we originally planned to go in Jan.) and I feel special because I don't think they make them anymore..
Red was the only color they had and these were the kids sizes...hehe Thank goodness for small feet.

So now shoes are taken care for our trip. Now I just have 7 more Disney shirts to buy- if I plan on having a Disney shirt for each day. oh boy. (I should mention I have searched all around and just don't see/find ones that I like).

After shopping, we stopped at ate at Uno's-Chicago Bar and Grill. DH and I tried the deep dish pizza for the first time, and while it was really good- it didn't compare to the pizza we had in Chicago.

Bad News:
Well.. I won't get into the whole story, but basically Austins work has been messing with him and all the employees for soo long now. The petty annoying things they do to show they are in control is soo obnoxious. Recently, Austins supervisor was fired after working their for 15 years and received no warning. So much crap goes on here because there is no union. DH has wanted to quit for a while now but he makes good money and his training in EMS doesn't get paid good in this county because of the company that is here. So he opted to stay where he is at until I graduated.

Our initial plans were after I graduate (May 7th!!! ), I would search for employment- most likely out of state because its a teaching position and there aren't many here in MI. But with having a MI certification in teaching a lot of states will accept that certification because our Teacher Preparatory Program is really difficult and out state testing is really hard compared to other states I guess. (I have been told this anyways). We were hoping that this summer I would find employment and we could relocate. Austin was planning on staying at his employment until I found a new job and then he would find other employment in that location as well. Well in a perfect world- plans like that work out.. but in the real world- it doesn't always.

After DHs supervisor was fired, this other main human resources supervisor took over the position until they refilled that position. He just happens to be one of the worst people that works there, he is a son of a dad who works there and in charge, so this idiot treats people like crap, constantly yells at them, and does whatever he wants because he can. About 3 months ago, DH requested the vaca days off for Disney- his old supervisor said that it was to early to request the time off. So he waited until 1 month- 3 weeks and requested it again (under the new supervisor aka jerkwad.) When Austin requested the dates, the supervisor said "Because of your position (Austin is coordinator of his dept) you are unable to request that many consecutive days in a row off for vacation". This has never happened before, he has been there for almost 3 1/2 years and has always gotten his vaca days. If it was his old supervisor, he would have gotten it no problem. But this guy doesn't want to have to find someone to replace DH for the week, so he said no, and there is nothing he can do about it.
When DH tried to talk to him and explain that he's never been turned down for vaca before, and we have been paying on this for a year now, and how much money we would lose if we canceled it. (We would lose $950 in flight alone).All the supervisor said was "Looks like you need to figure it out" and walked away. Seriously?!!

After that moment, it was the final straw for us. There is no reason you should treated in the way they are at this establishment, and to deny vacation days for no good reason (even though they give him 10 days off a year), is not acceptable. It wasn't even like we could reschedule it because he told him he wasn't allowed to take that many days off in a row. So basically, you can never take a week vaca, and the annoying part is DH didn't even want to be the coordinator because of the all crap you have to deal with, and when he told them he didn't want to (before they moved him to this position), they said "well we need someone responsible that we can depend on and you are the only one- so you have to do it". They basically gave him a promotion, he didn't want, with no pay raise.

It sounds petty and immature when we think, Austins quitting because he didn't get his vacation days, or because "we can't do to Disney" in my eyes. But that isn't the reason at all. It was the final straw and he just can't work in that environment anymore. It's getting worse and worse. I feel so bad having DH work there because he was hated it for so long and I see that it affects him personally. It's slowly making him depressed and in a bad mood. And I've told him so many times before to find new employment but because he makes good money- he wouldn't leave until I was done and we could move.

New plans- We are still going to Disney. Theres no point in canceling, if we cancel we will lose a lot of money, we might as well go and enjoy it while we are there. DH is going to work there until he finds new employment, or until May 26th- the day before we leave for FL). He is afraid to give his 2 weeks, because in the past when people would give their 2 weeks- they would tell them to "just leave now" and he doesn't want to be without pay for 2 weeks. Since he won't be at this employment all summer- this kind of messes up out plans for relocating outside of MI because of the costs. If he doesn't work there and has to start a new job- chances are we will have to move to another city and fork out costs for deposits for moving and so forth. Our plan was to save for the summer and then move, but now we are planning on moving in June.

As of right now, we don't have a set location, but we are looking into the northern part of the state. DH has always said that if we stay in MI, he wanted to live Upnorth. The Northern part of MI is so beautiful, lots of nature, places to fish, beautiful beaches. It;s great for the outdoors type.
As for me, I'm still looking for teaching positions, but its hard to find them in MI. So I've decided if I don't get one in MI this year, I look into full time subbing, teacher mentor, or something like that and do that for a year. Then maybe we can relocate. I don't see many jobs Upnorth, they are mostly in Detroit area- and I don't want to live there.

So everything is up in the air right now, and we are just trying to live it day by day and plan the best that we can. I'll keep you all updated when we find or hear new information. We are just crossing our fingers that he finds new employment before we leave for FL and can begin before or right after we return.

Next update, Disney shirts I purchased. and pictures from our Chicago trip. and a picture of my nephew Kolty.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Ugggg! I'm sorry, first that Austin has had to deal with that kind of a work environment for so long, but also that your life plan is so up in the air right now. I know that has to be stressful. In the long run it will be better though!

I'm looking forwad to hearing about your trip to Chicago, and I totally agree, good Chicago style pizza can only be found in Chicago!!

 

[klacey1]

I have those second Crocs you bought-- the Malindi's. Those are by far the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned! They're great in the rain, breathe well, etc. LOVE THEM!
Ugh, I think it was the right decision for your husband to quit. That's just ridiculous-- no one ought to have the power to try someone else like that-- it's just not right. I hope you both find something in the area you want!!