Florida Day 3

Yesterday was our Epcot day. We ended up getting there exactly at 9 a.m. and the cast members told us the park opened at 8:45 a.m. so that was disappointing. We headed straight to Soarin with a wait time of 20 minutes. We rode and it was just great. Afterward, we got a fastpass for later. Next, mom and I went on Test Track while Steve and Eric went on Mission Space. Next, we decided to split up and Steve and Eric went on Spaceship Earth and mom and I did Innoventions. We got a fastpass for the Kim Possible attraction and we were to check in at Norway. So mom and I went to see StormStruck and Sum of all Thrills. StormStruck was okay but Sum of all Thrills was awesome. So then we met up again to go to Norway where we had lunch that we brought and afterward picked up our Kimunicator. We rode Malestrom and then went to Mexico to see the Grand Fiesta Tour and start our Kim Possible mission. The Kim Possible thing was cute but more for the younger crowd. Then we decided to go walk the entire World Showcase Promenade and walk our way back to Future World. When we made our way back over we went on Soarin again, Spaceship Earth and got our Disney Visa photo taken with Mickey and Pluto. We walked back to Canada for our dinner at Le Cellier and I realized I lost my coat! At Le Cellier I had awesome bread, the amazing cheddar cheese soup, prime rib (it was not as good as my moms fillet Mignon), and a chocolate moose for dessert. The food was phenomenal! The price was high but it was awesome. After that my mom went and bought me a new coat but not before I found my old one at lost and found. The day was pretty rough because there were some arguments about splitting up but in all we did get a lot of things done.

Florida Day 2

Today we did Hollywood Studios. Once we worked out what happened with the tickets we were off to the park. We arrived around 8:15 a.m. and waited about 30 minutes. At our first arrival we got to park up really close in the "Stage" lot so that was cool. When we got there they were doing some American Idol excitement so that was cool to see. Once we were in we all ran to Toy Story Mania. I rode with mom and Steve and Eric rode together. Next, we went to Rock N Roller coaster and it was amazing. Mom rode with me and we were in the back car, she did good but was a bit scared. It was so much fun. After that, Steve, Eric and I took off to go home. We came home and saw Sadie and tried to put her to sleep but that did not work out so well. We left to return to the park around 12:30 and got there at 12:45. We met up with Mom and Charity at Lights, Motors, Action. After the show we went over by Muppet Vision to meet Grandma, Jodie and Megan. To our surprise Ethan also showed up! So we all went to see the show while Steve and Eric took off for Star Tour. We also watched the Block Party Bash parade and Megan caught one of the balls that popped out at the end. Afterward, Grandma took us out for some shopping and I was able to score some cute stuff for Sadie. So after that we went to our reservation at Hollywood and Vine. The food was okay but I think $30 was a bit much for the meal. I had bread and butter, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken and macaroni and cheese. For dessert I had ice cream, coffee cake type of thing and cookies. Next, we again met up with Grandma, Jodie and the kids and went over to see American Idol while Steve and Eric went to see Indiana Jones. After the show we all went shopping again and I scored some great clothes. After that it was time for Fantasmic which was pretty cool and our seats with the dining plan were perfect. Then Steve, Eric and I rode Toy Story again where I scored the highest!We left at 7:30 and it worked out great because we beat the crowds. Sadie didn't fall asleep till around 8:30 and I was out too. I woke up again and Steve and I went in the jacuzzi till it started to rain. Now I am going to bed too!

Florida Day 1

So today we finally arrived!

We woke up a tad on the late side but not too bad for us. Steve and I both woke up at Midnight and then could not fall back asleep and then when we did we woke up a little behind. We made it though and followed the schedule pretty well. We ended up going to have breakfast at McDonalds on the way to the airport and then made it there around 5. Sadie was doing okay until we had to wait in the security line and then she flipped out and was throwing a fit. It was not good. We waited at the terminal for about 1.5 hours which felt like forever and I was the very last person on the plane as planned. Well, it didn't really seem to matter because Sadie was not in a good mood. She kept going from person to person just as we guessed she would and it wad pretty rough. I was in a pretty bad mood for awhile (sorry family). Eric did good and Zenia did good (thank you God) with her ears. So when we arrived in Orlando everyone was happy to be here and be safe. We ended up getting our rental cars and right after Debbie and Darren announced to us that they just got engaged! Yeah!! So happy for them. Well after that we were off to Downtown Disney. Well, on the way there we get a call that we left a bag at the AirTran gate. Thank goodness they got ahold of us because lo and behold all of our clothes were left behind. So back we go, I picked up the bag and we were again off to Downtown Disney. When we arrived we saw Characters in Flight was up and running so mom and I were excited to get on board; however, the wind picked up so that plan was out. Eric wanted to check out TRex so Zenia, he, Sadie and I went in there for a minute while everyone else went to McDonalds. Zenia and Eric decided they too wanted McDonalds but I really wanted to try Earl of Sandwich so I split up from them to get my sandwich and boy was I glad I did. I had an Italian sub and it was amazing! So then we walked around for a bit and checked things out. Grandma, Grandpa, Jodie and Megan soon showed up and we all treated ourselves to Ghiradelli sundaes. Awesome! Such a great food day. Grandma went shopping with us in the World of Disney and then we all again split up to do our grocery shopping. Zenia, Jan, Sadie, Darren, Debbie and I all went to Walmart while Steve, Gene and Eric went to pick up our park tickets. So once that was all over (again Sadie was not in a good mood) it was time to check in to the house! Sadie finally fell asleep on our way into the house after being up the entire day. The house is beautiful and the pool water was like a bath. I woke Sadie up from her nap so she would still sleep at night and took her in the pool. Sadie only swam for about 5 minutes since first she got dunked by Eric (on accident) and then the wind made it a little chilly. The only things that happened were we kept finding a bunch of little problems in the house and ended up having to call maintenance about 3 times. Like our dryer is broke, some dining room chairs, our hair dryer does not work, etc. So they are supposedly coming out tomorrow to fix everything. Tonight we had Red Barron frozen pizza for dinner and it was delicious after that we attempted to get Sadie to sleep after her waking up 3 times. Steve fell asleep with Sadie and now I am going to get a few things ready for the Studios tomorrow and get some sleep too!

18 Hours

In 18 Hours I will be in here..... http://www.airplanegeeks.com/

In 25 hours I will be eating somewhere here....

In 27 hours I will be going into this house....http://www.floridasunvacationhomes.com/

HAPPY!

3 Days!

So today, I updated the weather, which looks to be getting better. Printed out all of our itineraries and typed every ones names up on them so they know who's is who's.

Last night, Steve FINALLY looked at what I packed for him and gave his approval except I forgot to pack his belt.

I called Disney Dining to ask how much breakfast was going to be at Liberty Tree and the girl who answered was named Sadie! Go figure! That has to be a good sign that this trip is going to be awesome. Well, the answer to my question was $22.36 and it is served family style. The family style thing is kind of a bummer but I have heard good things and lets keep our fingers crossed that my in-laws (and hubby) are happy with the food or I am in trouble for spending so much money :(

I am not really too excited yet because I still have 2.5 days of work and 4 hours of school to contend with so those are still kind of bumming me out. This accounting class is killing me already, I spent 3 hours on the homework last night and don't even know if I did it right :( I am hoping and praying I start to get the hang of it.

Oh and P.S. my newest addiction is to gummi bears, delicious.

www.livingcute.com

4 Days!

So today is a major milestone, we decided to basically change everything. The weather and crowds are all changing so here is what we came up with now. Unfortunately, this plan takes out some of our dining but I think what we loose in dining we gain in lost stress!

Saturday, January 23, 2010 - Arrival
Sunday, January 24, 2010 - No change
Monday, January 25, 2010 - Change from family Epcot to non family day at Epcot
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - Change from non family day at Epcot to family day at MK
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - Change from Magic Kingdom to beach day
Thursday, January 28, 2010 - Change from beach day to family day at Epcot
Friday, January 29, 2010 - No change
Saturday, January 30, 2010 - Departure

7 Days

I was so excited to find the address to our rental home in my email this morning. Right on time! I also did more packing and unpacking and arranging. I had to lighten the load a bit as far as clothing is concerned, I also threw in a few more long sleeved shirts since the weather dropped a bit. Just getting more and more excited. I can not believe we are so close. Today was a good day.

9 Days (in the single digits!)

So on our 8th day is sadly our last day. Can you just tell I am totally depressed to end this trip? We really have no absolute solid plans but I hope to either go to....

Disney's Boardwalk

http://www.disney.go.com/

or

Downtown Disney

http://www.wdwinfo.com/

We also have to go back to Walmart and get things ready to leave. Our plane takes off at 8:25 p.m. and yesterday I was able to secure a late checkout at the house which allows us to stay till 10 p.m. So despite the $75 fee it will work out great since we are not leaving till so late in the evening.

11 Days

So here is the weather breakdown so far according to http://www.accuweather.com/

Saturday, January 23, 2010 - Sunshine and some clouds High 78 Low 59
Sunday, January 24, 2010 - Sun and some clouds High 78 Low 59
Monday, January 25, 2010 - Rain High 74 Low 54
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - Cloudy High 69 Low 52

Rain on Monday! Lets hope this changes as time goes on since that is our family day at Epcot. Boo on rain and there is most likely no way of changing the days around because of our dining reservations. Also, they are saying Cinderella's castle is going to be under construction. I hope it is not too noticeable. I really wanted to take a ton of photos before breakfast at Liberty Tree since there will not be a lot of people in the park, I like don't want some stupid crane or something in my photos. Dang it!

Sure hope this does not happen!

Value Packed Parenting - Week 1

So I am taking a new class at church called Value Packed Parenting. We had our first class yesterday and so far I really seem to like it. We discussed the 10 gifts you can give your children and I really agree with this list.

1. Give them safety and security
2. Give them love
3. Give them attention
4. Give them space
5. Give them an example
6. Give them direction
7. Give them boundaries
8. Give them responsibility
9. Give them discipline
10. Give them biblical instruction
    All from the book Value Packed Parenting by Dr. Kevin Leman

I am really looking forward to the next 6 sessions because I really want to hone my parenting skills and be the best parent I can be. They told us to start with the end in mind. How do we want our children to be? I always think about this and sometimes I second guess "what if I do all of this and provide her with the best of the best and she still takes the wrong road in life?" I guess this is just something I have to wait out (which is totally hard for a control freak). I am praying everyday that she turns out to be a good and happy person.

13 Days

Our 7th Walt Disney World Vacation day will be spent in the Magic Kingdom. I am very excited about this day because we are doing a full out commando style touring plan and going to shove as much in as possible and end our vacation with a real treat.

6:00 a.m. Get up, shower and breakfast
7:30 a.m. Arrive at Magic Kingdom
9:00 a.m. Magic Kingdom opens
9:15 a.m. Space Mountain
10:00 a.m. Buzz
10:30 a.m. Snow Whites Scary Adventure
11:00 a.m. Haunted Mansion
11:15 a.m. Big Thunder
11:30 a.m. Lunch Pack or eat at Pecos Bills
12:00 p.m. Pirates of Caribbean
12:30 p.m. Jungle Cruise
1:00 p.m. Hall of Presidents
1:30 p.m. Philarmagic
2:00 p.m. Return home to check on Sadie/change clothes
4:30 p.m. Leave home for Wilderness Lodge
5:30 p.m. Dinner at Whispering Canyon
8:00 p.m. Wishes Cruise! Yes, you read that right we will be watching the fireworks from our own private boat! I am so excited yet sad because it will most likely be the last time I will see the fireworks for a very long time.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/fireworks.htm

15 Days

So on our 6th day in Florida, believe it or not, we are not going to any theme parks. I have to dedicate one day to rest and family time. So since Darren and Debbie will be leaving this day we figured it would be a good time to just have a day off and take it easy.

We will be visiting New Smyrna beach and my dad's gravesite during the day.

Photo courtsey of http://www.volusia.org/beach/beach2.htm#bd

In the evening we will be having family over for dinner, cards and possibly swimming.

I checked the weather again today and the 15 day forecast for Florida is really looking up. We will take anything but are really hoping to avoid rain and drizzle since this always puts a (literal) damper on things.

New Glasses

So I finally went in to get new glasses. I really needed a good eye exam and I decided to go to the Shelby Township Wal Mart Vision Center. Before my exam I had time to go around and pick up a few things, baby free. It was nice. I ended up getting $18 worth of items for $4 using coupons and sales so that was great. I did all of the pretesting just in a back room including a test for glaucoma. I started looking at frames before the exam and narrowed it down to 3. So the exam went well and the doctor was very through and professional. She even let me have a "do over" when she kept saying "what is better 1 or 2." So I then couldnt decide between plastic frames or metal but I ended up getting metal ones and I am really excited to get them. Since I spend most of my days on the computer I really need a good pair of glasses with my correct (stronger) prescription. As soon as I get them I will post a picture!

TouringPlans.com Review

So we all know I love Disney right? Yes! Another thing I love is organizing my Disney trips to be the best they can be (read: get my money's worth). Enter Touringplans.com. This website is run by one of the extremely funny men from the WDW Today podcast, Len Testa. The site is very easy to use and had a lot of great options so I decided to sign up using the Allears.net discount code. I also purchased the companion book The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

One of my favorite things on the site is the crowd calendar. The crowd calendar allows you to see a numerical representation of the crowds for any given day. These numbers then correspond to a chart which lists wait times for specific attractions. This chart is very handy when planning a trip, for example, I planned our trip one week later seeing how the numbers fluxuated for Martin Luther King weekend. This helped us to avoid major crowds and subsequently major lines.

I would also like to say a little bit about Touring Plans. These plans are no joke! We have been to Disney many, many times without the plans and let me tell you looking back how stupid I feel. All the time I wasted and all the lines I waited in could have all been avoided. Before using the plans we were all a little skeptical. Did we want to have every second of our day planned? Would we have to consult a chart before going to the bathroom? The answer was no. The first day we used the plans we could not believe it. The really, really worked! We never waited more than 10 minutes in a line and no, we still went to the bathroom whenever we wanted. It was in a sense, pure magic in all of it's Disney glory. The touring plans work! I can not emphasize the use of them and how you will truly get your money's worth when you visit the parks. The great thing about them is that if there is something you don't want to do, skip it, move on to the next step and the plans will still be just as effective. Love them!

I would highly recommend the site to any one looking to plan a Disney vacation, even a casual fan could benefit from it's use.

The players

So I think I should introduce everyone in blog-land to the people who are going on our trip. Instead of just saying "mother-in-law" and so on since they do have names!

So we will go in age order here.

Zenia - "mother-in-law"

Gene - "father-in-law"

Jan - "mom"

Debbie - "brother-in-law's girlfriend" or as I like to call her "future sister-in-law"

Darren - "brother-in-law"

Steve - "husband" (Age 29)

Katie - "me" (Age 26)

Eric - "nephew" (age 15)

Sadie - "daughter, grandaughter, god daughter and niece" (since she is something to everyone) (age 21 months)

So that is everyone or "the crew" as I like to call us.

18 days to go....

In the "teens"

So today is NineTEENdays till we go to Disney!

Can you tell I am uber excited?

Yesterday, it was so cold out. So much so that a poor squirrel fell out of one of our trees frozen to death in perfect squirrel form. Not a good sign, I know.

Today was my first day back to work in 2 weeks and the day did not start off so well. Lets see first my drive in was extremely icy which scares the heck out of me.

Second, I get to work and realize I forgot my laptop. This was a major problem since it required my poor (amazing) husband to drive almost 2.5 hours to bring it to me. Man, do I really owe him one.

Then I had a group of people starting today and I wore my new spike boots that I bought over the holidays. Apparently, I wanted to torture myself because my feet have been on fire all day.
So not a great morning but I am thinking positive and this year will be better, I just know it.

20 Days

So on our 5th day we will be taking our whole family to the Magic Kingdom. So this is the pinnacle of what our entire vacation will be since for my in-laws this will be the first and only day they experience the Magic Kingdom. This is the day I am really worried about and want to be just right.

My mom and I seem to believe that we will have problems with Sadie on rides. We tried to put her on a mechanical pony and she freaked out, then we took her into a glow golf place where it was all lit in black lights and she screamed then the best one was when we took her to an inflatable playground and she wanted nothing to do with it she screamed and gripped on to us like she was dying. So we are really worried about what she is going to do on rides.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
6:00 a.m. Wake up and get things going
7:00 a.m. Leave for Magic Kingdom
8:05 a.m. Breakfast at Liberty Tree (for adults only)
9:00 a.m. Magic Kingdom Opens
9:15 a.m. Sadies first haircut at Harmony Barbershop (hopefully, fingers crossed)
9:45 a.m. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
10:00 a.m. Peter Pan
10:30 a.m. Mickeys Philarmagic
11:00 a.m. Carousel
11:30 a.m. Small World
11:45 a.m. Snack
12:00 p.m. Haunted Mansion
12:30 p.m. Pirates of the Caribbean
1:00 p.m. Leave for home
1:30 p.m. Lunch at home
2:00 p.m. Sadie nap
3:30 p.m. Sadie up from nap
4:00 p.m. Return to park
4:30 p.m. Buzz Lightyear (fastpass if wait is over 20 minutes)
5:00 p.m. Tomorrowland Transit Authority
5:15 p.m. Monsters Inc.
6:00 p.m. Get spot for Spectromagic (Frontierland under "mercantile" sign)
6:30 p.m. Snack
7:00 p.m. Spectromagic
7:30 p.m. Get spot for Wishes (Rose Garden), Steve and Katie leave with baby
8:00 p.m. Wishes starts
8:30 p.m. Adults have dessert and shop on main street till crowds clear out

9:00 p.m. Adults leave
10:00 p.m. Everyone in bed

In other vacation news, we decided to go with a piece of plywood throught the slats as a baby proofing stragety at the house since we have no other option.

I also checked the weather on dryday.com and it looks like we will not have any rain (pleassssssseeeeeeee). Yellow is good, black is bad and our dates are of course 1/23-1/30/10.

My New Years Babies R Us Bargains

I just went out to Babies R Us and got all of this for $65! Here is the breakdown

Diapers - $5.00-$2.00 coupon=$3.00
Diapers - $5.00-$2.00 coupon=$3.00
Diapers - $5.00-$2.00 coupon=$3.00
Diapers - $5.00
Diaper Genie 3 Refils - $12.79
Johnsons Wash - $6.79
Johnsons Wash - $3.79
Johnsons Lotion - $0 (B2G1F)
Huggies Wipes - $2.33
Huggies Wipes - $2.33
Huggies Wipes - 2.33
Gold Bond Lotion - $5.59-$1.00 off coupon= $4.59
Olay Soap - $4.19
Blanket Sleepers - $9.99
Pooh Outfit - $.99