Working on my ROAR! Jaxon's first trip to see Mickey Mouse!

[eeyoresnr]

my goodness, it's been over 2 months since I posted... we made it through the Holidays pretty well... Then I got an upper respiratory infection on Dec 31st (great way to end one year and start a new one) ok not so much... I waited 11 days to go to the Doctor and by then I had acute bronchitis I am doing much better but still can't get over the cough completely.

I will be trying to make some updates here in the next few days

 

[shalom]

I've been slacking off on mine, as well. 'Tis the season (or the recovery from the season, maybe).

 

[meggiebeth]

Sorry to hear your new year was brought in with a not so good start. I am glad you are mostly recovered now, though! Those pesky coughs can take a while to clear up.

Glad you're back on the dis! I've been pretty busy too, but at least the January blues are out the way and we are heading into spring.

Looking forward to hearing more!

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[eeyoresnr]

I think one of the reasons I am having a tough time getting motivated to do my PTR is beacause so many things are up in the air...
one thing we have done is change our dates from Dec 13-20, now we are going Nov 30 thru Dec 8th.. the reason for moving the dates up is it will be easier for Grumpa to take the time off of work... and easier for Stephanie to take the time off of school and still have time to study for finals when we get back....

so we are going to leave Saturday morning after Grumpa gets home from work and drive to Clearwater Florida and spend the night there... we have 2 rooms books at Springhill Suites by Marriott ...hotel is right next to the Tampa/Clearwater airport so Jaxon will be thrilled.... He loves airplanes, so hopefully we will have a room where he can see them take off and land... at first I was leery of being so close to airport because of noise but all the reviews I read said noise was not an issue

after arriving we will drive around and see some of the sites , and find a place to eat... Sunday morning we will have free breakfast at the hotel, check out and go to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter the Dolphin from the movie Dolphin Tale. Jaxon is fascinated by the movie and watches it over and over. if you haven't seen this movie i highly recomend it as a good family time movie

 

[eeyoresnr]

the weather here has been so unusual for Florida... here we are almost the middle of May and the high today was like 74 and cloudy. It was suppose to storm all day but instead we just had some rain this morning and just clouds the rest of the day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all. Usually by march we are in the upper 80's with high humidity and so far we have only had a couple of warmer days.... I can say we have actually had a Spring this year!
we are working on our front yard which is a slow process since Grumpa is only home every 3rd day and sometimes he is just plum worn out... but we built a raised garden in the front yard and made it 2 sections. the upper section is for veggies and the lower section for flowers and the bird bath... here are a few pictures of the progress...

 

[eeyoresnr]

these pics were a couple weeks ago when we planted them

 

[eeyoresnr]

 

[eeyoresnr]

pictures from last night... some of the veggies we planted are carrots, radishes, lettuce, peppers, celery, spinach, cabbage... the clay pot has hebs... the tall one is rosemary...

 

[eeyoresnr]

 

[eeyoresnr]

the tarp you see in some of the pictures has dirt under it... our soil is about 99% sand so we had a dump truck bring 10 yards of real dirt and used it for the raised garden as well as spreading a top layer over the entire yard... we are going to reseed but have to wait til the nights are warmer... but just the topping has encouraged the old grass to grow better....

 

[eeyoresnr]

Jaxon is growing so fast... he loves to help in the garden... we went for a walk after dinner and then he had to check out his veggies

 

[eeyoresnr]

and wouldn't ya know it... I haven't worked on PTR in months, then just as soon as I do, I change plans.... I canceled reservation at Springhill Suites, and am going to book Beachview Inn in Clearwater Beach.... it is much closer to the Aquarium and also has tons of places to eat along the coast... Grumpa wants to eat at Frenchy's (they have 4 in Clearwater) and there is one just a few buildings away from the hotel... Grumpa says they have the best Grouper sandwich anywhere... now mind you it has been almost 20 years since he ate at one, but we are gonna give it a try... they do get great reviews!

 

[shalom]

I think one of the reasons I am having a tough time getting motivated to do my PTR is beacause so many things are up in the air...

That has slowed me on writing my post Trip Report -- was totally unmotivated when I wasn't sure if we'd get out again. Now it looks like hubby's job is secure so it's more an issue of getting organized.

Now you just need a nice wooden edging all 'round those raised beds so you have something to sit on while you weed.

 

[eeyoresnr]

That has slowed me on writing my post Trip Report -- was totally unmotivated when I wasn't sure if we'd get out again. Now it looks like hubby's job is secure so it's more an issue of getting organized.

Now you just need a nice wooden edging all 'round those raised beds so you have something to sit on while you weed.

so glad to hear your hubby's job is secure

LOL about the raised garden, you can't see it too well but we actually did put a wooden seat on one side... Jaxon is standing on it in 2 of the pictures...
each bed is 6x6 so it's pretty easy to reach from all sides...

 

[eeyoresnr]

well , we are getting close to our 180 day mark, so I need to decide what we are eating when... I know the what but need to figure the day for each one... we aren't trying anything new this time, just going with some old favorites... we will be doing Mickey's Backyard BarBQ on Thursday Dec 5th... we ate here during our April 2010 trip and it was a big hit with everyone...

'Ohana for dinner is a must do every trip no matter what... one trip Danny and I had dinner there twice... it is by far Grumpa's favorite.... we will also most likely do "Ohana with Lilo and Stitch for breakfast on the day we leave to head back home so that would be Sunday the 8th... Also we are going to try the Garden Grill next to Living With The Land at EPCOT... we love that ride... Danny, Daniel and I ate there in 2007 and liked it... the menu has changed a little but has something for everyone and Stephanie has always wanted to try it.... that's it for ADR's but we do want to try lunch at Be Our Guest... only a counter service but we will get to eat in the castle and they bring your food to your table on real plates with real silverware

 

[eeyoresnr]

 

[eeyoresnr]

that last pic was just a test... was having issues with photobucket

 

[eeyoresnr]

so we have narrowed down our ADR's and part of our itinerary in the parks... more than anything Grumpa hates to be on a schedule while at Disney.... and when it's just him and I going that is not a problem.... but being as this trip is about Jax a little planning is in order...we will have to make sure he gets an afternoon nap each day so he doesn't burn out in the parks...

after we see Winter at the Aquarium in Clearwater we will drive to Orlando and check in at Bonnet Creek. after getting settled in the room we will head to the outlets for the Disney Warehouse (or whatever it's called these days) then to DTD for some shopping and dinner. we usually eat at Rainforest or T-Rex but I'm thinking we are just gonna do Earl of Sandwich, we all ove the food here and the prices are very reasonable...
Monday the 2nd will be a MK day, lunch at BOG, and after Jaxon's nap back to MK so we can see the Main Street Electric Parade, as well as Wishes...

Tuesday most likely a Hollywood Studios day, and the Osborne Family lights (I'm so excited about this, I think Jax will be fascinated and Stephanie has never seen them either)
then to 'Ohana for dinner and hopefully a view of the fireworks from our table...

Wednesday will be an EPCOT day with dinner at the Garden Grill and ending the day with Illuminations...

Thursday , you've probably already guessed, AK! and Dinner at Mickey's Backyard BarBQ

Friday and Saturday are open ... I'm sure we will be back at MK and EPCOT for sure.... dinner these nights most like in the room at Bonnet Creek since they have full kitchens, and grills near the pools....

Sunday morning after we check out we will be having breakfast at 'Ohana (this is assuming that Jax has done ok up to this point with the Characters

 

[eeyoresnr]

so I thought my camera had bit the dust... as you probably noticed in the Garden pictures there is a foggy spot on them.... well, Grumpa took a look and found a kinda greasy spot on lens (I'm thinking from the day Jax reached up and touched it) , so Grumpa cleaned it and I think it's gone... I need to take a few pics and make sure but I sure hope so because as much as I would love a new camera it's just not in the budget right now

 

[shalom]

as you probably noticed in the Garden pictures there is a foggy spot on them....

I did not... until you pointed it out. But it does look like there's a bit of grease on the lens so I hope it's all taken care of now.