Wishin' & Hopin', Planning & Dreamin': Oct 2013 PTR - 10/20 UPDATE: Link to TR!!

[Pixiedust530]

Just stopping by real quick. I will come back to do replies either tomorrow or Friday. Today was the first day of school in our district. This meant it was the first day dealing with crazy middle schoolers at the school where I work and it also meant the first day of 1st Grade for my Caden at a new school.

Things went pretty smoothly at the middle school...so that was a huge relief. Caden was SUPER EXCITED for his first day of school. He was pumped about starting a new school and making new friends. His dad and I walked him to his class. He found his seat, started working on his welcome packet, and gave us both hugs and kisses goodbye. No tears...just a HUGE smile to start the day.

Here's some pics:










When I picked him up at the end of the day and asked him how his day was he replied "AWESOME!" YAY...so glad he had a good day! Cool first day story...On Monday at his open house the PTA had door prize tickets for each grade level for a chance to win everything on the school supply list for that grade. Well....they drew the winners today and CADEN WON!!! He lugged home a TON of supplies today and he was super excited about it. I had already purchased everything he needed and sent in in at open house. We decided to keep a few things that we need here at home (some erasers, a pack of markers, and a 1st grade writing tablet) and the rest he is going to lug back to school tomorrow and donate to his classroom teacher for any student who might need them. He was definitely excited to win, but was very generous in agreeing to "give back" since he already had everything that he needed. I am so proud to have raised such a considerate and generous young man!

Wishing everyone a great rest of the week! I hope to make it back here by week end!

 

[-Hope-]

So glad you both had a good first day. And very cool that he won all that stuff and was happy to donate it back.

P.S. I was HORRIFIED at all of the typos in my last response. I was typing on my phone in bed. Good grief!

 

[Chicago Mo]

What a sweet first day!!!
Look at his HUGE cheesy smile!! HOW SWEET!!! So glad he is going to love his new school and make tons of new friends!!!

 

[DMGeurts]

Yay!!! So glad Caden had a great first day of school (you too) and how awesome that he gave back... Such a wonderful thing!!!

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

What a cutie!!! Love that big grin...I am sure you have seen pics of Gabe with his big cheesy grin too. Good job, Mom, on raising such a kind, generous young man!

 

[OrangeJuice]

Loved your pics and opinions on the food items at F&W! Might just give a try to the spicy sushi at Japan. It was in our may or may not try list. (Yes we made lists )

 

[Pixiedust530]

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
Yummers... That little thing from Ireland was delish!!! that was about all i remember from F&W.. seriously. i can show you a picture i took afterwards.. i still laugh at it.

I am so excited i know 2 people going the tour! PLEASE share all the fun secrets! i am so excited for you all!

Yes...the thing from Ireland was good...except the part where I had to share it with Wayne! Stepher doesn't share food!!!

Have you seen the Friends episode where Joey doesn't share food? Yep...that's me...LOL

Joey DOESN'T share food!

I WILL make it to F&W one of these years! I will, I tell you! :yes: This would totally be up mine and Brian's alley. We LOVE to have new food experiences. We are both pretty brave in trying new things, and everything looks DIVINE! I cannot wait to read your reviews!

Do let me know when you want to head to Opry Mills! I am taking the kids to the zoo this Saturday!

I am really looking forward to Food & Wine this year...especially the wine part since we will be without the kiddo and relying on Disney transportation!

Isn't it strange the way weekends seem to fill up...I swear we will get to Opry ills one weekend...it might just have to be later in the fall.

So glad you both had a good first day. And very cool that he won all that stuff and was happy to donate it back.

P.S. I was HORRIFIED at all of the typos in my last response. I was typing on my phone in bed. Good grief!

The first day of school seems like an eternity ago. It's hard to believe we are 2.5 weeks in. Where DOES the time go?

Typos?1? I surely didn't notice! Grammar and punctuation are TOTALLY not important on the DIS!

What a sweet first day!!!
Look at his HUGE cheesy smile!! HOW SWEET!!! So glad he is going to love his new school and make tons of new friends!!!

Thank you! He is such a ham for the camera. So far so good...EVERY day I have picked him up and asked him how his day was. EVERY day the response I get is "AWESOME!"

Yay!!! So glad Caden had a great first day of school (you too) and how awesome that he gave back... Such a wonderful thing!!!

D~

He told me just the other day that one of his new friends said his om couldn't buy him folders and notebooks and Caden said he thinks that the ones the teacher gave him were from him! He was proud to have been able to help and of course I was a super proud mommy!

What a cutie!!! Love that big grin...I am sure you have seen pics of Gabe with his big cheesy grin too. Good job, Mom, on raising such a kind, generous young man!

Yes...I have seen Gabe's huge cheesy grin...just adorable! Caden's dad and grandma are both semi-professional photogs and have had a camera in the child's face since he first cried in the delivery room. He really doesn't mind having his picture taken and he usually has it up with a cheesy grin.

Loved your pics and opinions on the food items at F&W! Might just give a try to the spicy sushi at Japan. It was in our may or may not try list. (Yes we made lists )

I make lists for EVERYTHING...and spreadsheets too. it drive wayne a little crazy, but he doesn't give me too hard of a time about it. The sushi was very very good...you should definitely try it!!!

 

[Pixiedust530]

It's an exciting day today. We are only 43 days away from departure...which is exactly 6 weeks from tomorrow!!! I am getting SUPER excited!!!

Today when I go the mail in there was a nice little surprise:



I was so excited...about luggage tags!! Wayne of course thought I was getting excited over nothing. But...this just means that our trip is even closer. It really will be here before we know it. I guess maybe I should start packing...

I also want to share with you something that I have been working on for our upcoming trip...but there is a little back story I must share first. 2011 was a very special trip because it was Caden's first trip, wayne's first trip and probably the last trip (at least to Disney) that my grandparents will be able to go with us. For those reasons, I wanted to create a big 12 x 12 traditional scrapbook...documenting our entire trip. You are probably wondering how far along I am....yeah...ummm...I haven't started! I know...I'm a slacker. I swear...one day I will get it done.

Anyway, since this upcoming trip is also special...since it will be the first real vacation (except for a 1-2 night overnight) that Wayne and I have taken just the 2 of us. So, of course I want to document/scrapbook it also...but there is NO WAY I will ever have the time to do a big traditional scrapbook. Instead I am going to do a Smash book...and take it with me on the trip and add stuff as I go...leaving room for pictures to add when I return. The past couple weeks I have been brainstorming ideas for the cover. I finally put all my ideas together and here is what I came up with.



I LOVE the way it turned out and really couldn't be happier! I also purchased some Disney themed washi tape and am considering picking up this new "Say Cheese" kit that was released this past week:

http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/say-cheese.html

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. See you back here real soon. I will start sharing my daily plans with everyone!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

That smashbook is AWESOME!!! I think smashbooks would work well for me as well, I had never thought of it! I already do a journal, so I could just add decoration, spots for pics, receipts, tickets...etc

and YAY FOR MICKEYMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Great job! I love that!

I also scrapbook and haven't touched it in YEARS!
I really need to get back into it..


CONGRATS on getting MICKEY MAIL!!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

MICKEY MAIL!!!!! Any mail from Mickey is cause for celebration!!!!

Love the Smashbook! That will be so much fun to do! Hope you plan to share pictures of it when you get back...

 

[Pixiedust530]

QUOTE=Twoboysnmygirl;49382566]That smashbook is AWESOME!!! I think smashbooks would work well for me as well, I had never thought of it! I already do a journal, so I could just add decoration, spots for pics, receipts, tickets...etc

and YAY FOR MICKEYMAIL!!!!!!!!!!! [/QUOTE]

Thank you Karen! I am so happy with how it turned out. I am not much of a journaler, but I am quite hte collector of STUFF...stickers, receipts, park maps, times guides, postcards, fliers...etc...etc....YOU get the idea. One might venture to say that I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to Disney! I am hoping that SMASHing makes it easier to keep up with.

Great job! I love that!

I also scrapbook and haven't touched it in YEARS!
I really need to get back into it..


CONGRATS on getting MICKEY MAIL!!!

I LOVE to scrapbook I just have a hard time finding the time to do it. I have converted from traditional 12 x 12 scrapbooking to Becky Higgins Project Life style (12 x 12 pocket pages with filler cards thrown in). This has helped me to catch up. I am now caught up with Caden's life...through Dec. 2012. Not bad...only about 9 months behind.

Yes...Mickey Mail is SUPER exciting!!!

MICKEY MAIL!!!!! Any mail from Mickey is cause for celebration!!!!

Love the Smashbook! That will be so much fun to do! Hope you plan to share pictures of it when you get back...

I love mail from Mickey...even if it's just an advertisement. I'm goofy like that!

Thank you Connie. I am very pleased with the scrapbook. I don't usually "show off" my scrappy work, but I am super proud of this one. I will definitely share some pages once I have them completed.

 

[Pixiedust530]

Only 36 more days until we leave!​

I don't really have a ton of stuff to share before we leave, but I am trying to stretch it out! I guess it's about time to share our daily plans. I know I've touched upon these a little in regards to dining and some other activities, but I'll give you all a little more detail now.

Day 1 - Arrival Day - Sunday, October 6

Flight from Louisville, KY to Orlando, FL - Depart 10:30am - Arrive 12:30 pm
Once we arrive at MCO we will head here:


Now...I have never flown into MCO, much less used Magical Express, so this will be a first for me...getting to ride the mini monorail AND Magical Express. Is it weird that I am excited about Magical Express? I think I am just excited about everything! LOL

And...I have to share this Magical Express image I found on Google...it's just cool! I know...I'm WEIRD!


ETA: I just realized after going back and re-reading my post...that this picture is actually someone's digital scrapbook page about Magical Express. I want to give credit where credit is due...because this page is just so adorable. I went back and found the creator... Thank you to the Living in a Grown Up World Blog for creating such a cute page.

After Magical Express drops us at Bay Lake Tower I am guessing it will be around 2:00pm. The plan is as follows:
Check in
Drop off carry on luggage (in room if ready, with Bell Services if not)
Head to Magic Kingdom!!


I have never had the luxury of going to a park on my arrival day, so this will be a first as well. It's looking like this trip will have a lot of firsts. In case I haven't mentioned it yet...I am usually a Type A, OCD, Commando planner AND park tourer. Yep...I'm one of those freaks that plans every step of the day with no time to stop for the potty! OK...I'm not THAT bad, but I do like to have a plan. So, what's our plan for Magic Kingdom you ask????

Well.....

drum roll please









WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN!!!!

We will spend a few hours wandering around Magic Kingdom. I have no idea what we will do. We might ride a few rides, might just take pictures, might grab a late lunch or a snack. I really don't know. I am going to try really hard this trip to go with the flow a little more and take the time to just "take it all in".

9-14-13 ETA: We were just selected for FP+ testing so here are the FP+ selections I made for our few hours inside Magic Kingdom. We may or may not use them all, but I figured it didn't hurt to have them:


This day is MNSSHP at MK so we would have to be out of MK by 7:00. However...we don't have plans to stay that late. We will probably leave the Magic Kingdom by 5:00 or 5:30 to head back to Bay Lake Tower to freshen up for dinner. We have a 6:50 ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge!! We will take the boat over from the Contemporary for dinner. (Another first)


After dinner...again...no specific plans! Do you see a common theme here? Am I crazy for NOT having a plan? We might spend time wandering around Wilderness Lodge. We might try to catch HalloWishes from the Top of the World Lounge. We might try to catch HalloWishes from our balcony if our room requests come through and we have a good view. OR...we might just be exhausted and get to bed early.

So....that's the Day 1 plan! What do you think? Thoughts? Critiques? Opinions?

Stay tuned for Day 2 plans. What's on the agenda? Or will we just "go with the flow"?

 

[DMGeurts]

I"ve missed so much while I was gone...

Yay for getting your ME tags in the mail!!!

ANd I love your first day plans, they sound a lot like how I try to plan our first day too... Into MK with out a plan - that's the most fun@!!!!

I am soooo excited for you!!!!

D~

 

[-Hope-]

I'm all for going with the flow- especially on your arrival day.

Love the Mickey mail too! ME is definitely worth getting excited about because you'll be able to sit back and relax for a bit.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Yay for Mickey Mail.

Don't feel bad for not having a plan in the parks. Typically, we know what park we are going to but we decide how we are touring once we get in line to walk into the park. We usually get what we want done (or if we don't, there is always next time)

 

[Pixiedust530]

I"ve missed so much while I was gone...

Yay for getting your ME tags in the mail!!!

ANd I love your first day plans, they sound a lot like how I try to plan our first day too... Into MK with out a plan - that's the most fun@!!!!

I am soooo excited for you!!!!

D~

You really didn't miss too much...I have a slow moving PTR.

I am super excited too....I think I am MOST excited about getting to enter a park on our first day. I'm still up in the air about my excitement level as it relates to NOT having a plan... I think I will be okay....but it's hard to give up control.

I'm all for going with the flow- especially on your arrival day.

Love the Mickey mail too! ME is definitely worth getting excited about because you'll be able to sit back and relax for a bit.

Thank for the vote of confidence Hope. I hope I can kick back and relax and enjoy the lack of a plan.

We have usually driven to WDW...so we are always tired upon arrival and quite frankly...a little stressed. Flying in and relying on ME I am hoping will be a little more relaxing...and FUN!!!

Yay for Mickey Mail.

Don't feel bad for not having a plan in the parks. Typically, we know what park we are going to but we decide how we are touring once we get in line to walk into the park. We usually get what we want done (or if we don't, there is always next time)

I wish I could have your positive attitude (If we don't get it done, there is always next time)! I KNOW there will always be a next time...because I won't ever stop going to Disney...BUT...sometimes that next trip is so far away!


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


Since I am going back in February I think I will be okay to relax a little bit this trip. Not to mention...if I don't slow things down and make time for the pool Wayne is going to throttle me!

Thank you everyone for helping me relax a little and come to terms with my lack of a touring plan. I know at the end of the day it will all be fine because I will be at Disney...but I have to stress about something...right?

 

[Chicago Mo]

 

[Pixiedust530]

Well hey there Mo!!! Good to see you!

So, what do you think of the Day 1 plans? You always seem to have good input!

 

[solana131]

Since I am going back in February I think I will be okay to relax a little bit this trip.

Wait....what did I miss? You're going back Feb '14 or '15??? My next plan is Feb 2015....