Take me back to our Happy Place - a July 2020 PTR * BRIEF update 5/27*

[ariane37]

Good evening all, happy winter!
That's for any of you who, like us, got SNOW today. In MAY. This is crazy stuff going on man and it just keeps coming!
The last 2 days I feel were such a roller coaster between the announcement that DS will start a phased opening later this month and then a big boom around 5:30 last night from WDW/DL concerning new dates they are not taking reservations for and a revision to the previously released guest recovery offer they had out. As this had a total affect on my work it was not a fun night! I do still think June could go either way and have a definitely good feeling about July but ugh, that up and down just gets me!

On a happier note Ricky got to do one of the "normal" senior things that most seniors at his school do in a "normal year, sorry all my FB friends that you're seeing this again!



Prior to school shutting down in March there had been a few names up there but most kids hadn't made a decision on where to attend college. Then until about 3 weeks ago no new names could go up as they need to be programmed manually into the marquee from the school. Finally the Grade 12 VP secretary got permission to go in, so since then she's been able to put up 10 seniors names per week and us parents are so happy! We are also having lawn signs delivered this week supporting our seniors and the stupid school superintendent, after saying planning any graduation ceremony for our districts 1100 seniors, would be an "ordeal" agreed we will do SOMETHING. He doesn't care all that much but I want some type of ceremony for sure.

Otherwise nothing new here! Hoping the weather is nicer tomorrow for Mother's Day, we have our dinner order in to a local Italian restaurant that is also making homemade sangria (I'll take 12 16 oz cups please) and homemade cannolis from a local Italian bakery ordered. So on the subject of moms and Italian food how about a short but sweet recap of our 2007 off site visit to Orlando, or what I will affectionately call this TR:



PS don't be jealous of all my skills; gif posting, scrapbooking and as will be evident with these pictures, photography. Remember kids back in 2007 I was taking pictures not on a phone but with one of these contraptions:




Except whatever one I had was obviously NOT the Camera of the Year. Add that these are also pictures of pictures and the majority are such bad quality, ya won't be gettin' many!

I was quite surprised how this trip came about. Our first trip with the boys was October of 2006 and we took my mom, stayed offsite. Steve loved it so much that within a week of getting home he had us booked for just 3 months later, January of 2007! But this time we'd be taking ALL our boys, which included not just Chris 14 months and Ricky almost 5, but Eric who was 15 and Jason who was 18. They'd been years back once but that was it. After we had our super cool offisite timeshare resort booked my MIL decided that since MY mom got to go, this was her time to go. I will refrain from writing what my thoughts were at the time because as some of you know, we lost Steve's mom Vickie last July and tomorrow will be our first Mother's Day without her. We had our moments for sure, but I will say I always respected that she told you like it was, as she saw it, and had no reservations about telling you exactly what she felt right to your face. Whatever she said about someone to others she was comfortable saying to that person themselves! So this update is dedicated to my headstrong, sometime annoying, and much missed mother in law Victoria DeVizio ❤

Ahem. We were able to rebook our timeshare to one with a lockoff for her so ours was 2 bedrooms and hers was a 1 bedroom, both having living areas and kitchens. The fun started on the plane ride down as Eric had a sinus infection and reminded us of that every 5 minutes until we got to our resort and dumped the kids while the 3 adults went to the grocery store. We were going for staples; donuts, bread, milk for my little Chrissy:



Soda, beer, chips. When MIL came up to us after having separated with her own cart not only did she have THREE dozen eggs but all the ingredients to make this, including FOUR lbs of chopped meat, veal, and pork for her meatballs:

https://saturdaymorningvengeance.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F128799566986

I know it looks great and it did always taste great but where would this fit in the plans??? We told her we didn't expect to eat dinner in the room and even so, we had no idea what nights we 'd be there but she insisted that she was absolutely NOT eating out the majority of her meals or did she plan on going to parks that much Would have been nice to know before we left!

Meanwhile back at the Liki Tiki:



That's Jay and Ricky and these pictures are really in no particular order since I have no particular memory of what day we did what. I do know Eric spent the entire vacation complaining that he was in such pain and deathly ill and needed to get home and I know that we spent more time in the room than anywhere else.



We did go to SeaWorld!



It was also really cold that trip and rained almost every day hence the SeaWorld sweatjacket I had to buy.
And we spent time in DOWNTOWN DISNEY:



Look at this little guy!



We also spent a day at some arcade/go kart place that Ricky and the older boys had a BALL at as well as playing mini golf somewhere:



I do know we were there for a week and other than SeaWorld the boys would only agree to go to ONE Disney park ONE day. I was not happy as I'd figured we'd be at Disney parks most days. MIL only ate out with us for lunch at the go kart place and for one buffet breakfast. And that pasta and meatball dinner?
I'll cover that next!

 

[ariane37]

As I said my MIL whom the boys called Mema wanted nothing to do with the parks even though she knew we were going to Disney. She tolerated SeaWorld ok but we were only there from like 9-3. So on the day I finally forced Steve to go to the Magic Kingdom she argued and moaned but in the end she came.

We also gave the older boys a choice as far as if they wanted to come. We had rented a van and told them they could drop us off and leave for the day but they both reluctantly agree to come. I was happy because that made Ricky happy; now look at this picture and tell me how much happiness you see streaming from it:



We did get to meet some characters:



They were just roaming around in front of City Hall! We also met Pinocchio and Gepetto as well as a special visitor with Princess Aurora:




I have to say I like this Prince Phillip a bit more than the most current one in the FOF parade. And how happy Eric looks! I think we went on 2 or 3 rides and finally stopped for lunch. This part I remember totally well - we ate at Pecos Bill because they had burgers and Eric was the pickiest eater ever. So we went there for him. But when we got there neither kid wanted to eat anything so they sat at the table behind us moping. TOTALLY MOPING and MIL complained about the prices. Steve finally told them to cut it out or leave so after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL I was relieved because we could now relax and do what we wanted with nobody whining but PISSED that we paid for those tickets!
We took the boys over to Fantasyland. I cannot remember the specific name but I think around where 7DMT is now there was a Pooh play area? It was definitely there and we took the boys to play:

Christopher was obviously not thrilled we put him in there:



Ricky was all smiles!



And later on that night after fireworks Jay picked us up. That was the end of our Disney time even though I know we had a few more days left! SeaWorld was definitely before MK but the go karts and mini golf were after.
So when we got back to the resort that night, after dark and probably at least 9 the earliest since we stayed for fireworks, we found that when MIL got back around 12:30 she had started her sauce and made her meatballs. She was not happy that we were home so late and insisted we told her we would eat that for dinner THAT night, but not happy that the kids and I weren't hungry and that Jay and Eric had insisted on ordering pizza a couple hours before they got us and weren't in the mood for sauce even though they too agreed to eat her food that night. So what had been really the best day of the trip in my book ended up a crappy night.

The moral of the story: think about who you're vacationing with before you go!

We never did go away with MIL again other than up to my SIL's in New Hampshire and while we'd gone away with all 4 boys previously that was our last time all together. I know I didn't make it sound horrible but um, it was! The memories now are hysterical - at the breakfast buffet Ricky ate about 12 brownies and that's when we found out that he like Steve is allergic to chocolate but can eat it in small quantities - and it rained almost every day and was cold and the older boys were SO miserable which made me mad which made Steve mad- but I'm glad we did it! We joke about her making her meatbballs all the time and how she wanted to go away and not eat out or go out and do anything. Maybe SHE'S the reason I hate planning now lol because she asked 100x each day when we were going to want her sauce?

Thanks for letting me do some reminiscing! I'll be back soon with another July update and who knows, maybe by then we'll have some June info? Happy Mother's Day to all moms and grandmoms out there! I know I have some replies to do and will do them soon.

 

[ariane37]

I'm driving 5 hours just to supply the car!

Whoot Whoot! EPIC Girl's Connecticut trip!

me, Me, ME!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously I would be all over this.

You think I kid but in a few years when I send you our pioneer itinerary - it's ON!

Make room for a little Canadian in that car...I'll bring snacks!

We'll meet you right over the border ❤

I'm hopeful we get to return to some kinda normal here in NY soon! Things seem to be a lot more business as usual in my hospital

Well you know our order was extended today to June 6th but for any areas that reach all the metrics they can open sooner. I'm hoping we stay on track here and get the last 2 met quickly!

I am hoping to but DH is pretty freaked out by this virus. It will be what his comfort level is on when we go back. It most likely will not be until 2021.

It's so tough. I have clients ready to go when they open and clients who were supposed to go in July and have moved to next year. You have to be comfortable when you go and that's going to be different for us all! I do hope sooner rather than later you can at least figure out when your next trip will be and start planning

We are booked at the French Quarter for both trips! While i hope they happen if July doesn't happen its because camp is happening which i am reallly realllly hoping happens!

Love it there! And I get the camps. The boys do a summer basketball league since they were in like 1st grade and they are allowed to play the summer after their senior year and that's it. So this would be Ricky's last summer and after all the time he missed when he was injured it blows that he'll probably miss this chance too. They haven't said it's definitely off but it's supposed to start right after July 4th and usually by now we're all signed up.

I am hoping we get some news on all fronts soon, i hate the unknown!

It's at the point where it is beyond frustrating!

HAHA I mean i have cleaned about nothing since this whole thing started, i can not keep up!

When this first started I got a few things done; cleaned the kids closets, we did some painting, gave the fridge a really good cleaning and also did the laundry room. I have a few more projects on my list but ugh I'm tired of cleaning too!

I'm staying positive that Disney will indeed be open for vacations in June. The fact that DS is opening in a few weeks keeps me hopeful!!!!
I am sooooo excited that we will get to hang in September!!!! ❤

I am definitely looking forward to Sept!

 

[pkondz]

Good evening all, happy winter!
That's for any of you who, like us, got SNOW today. In MAY. This is crazy stuff going on man and it just keeps coming!

Insane! It's too late for that nonsense!

As this had a total affect on my work it was not a fun night!

Finally the Grade 12 VP secretary got permission to go in, so since then she's been able to put up 10 seniors names per week and us parents are so happy!

Good! Glad that happened at least.

a local Italian restaurant that is also making homemade sangria (I'll take 12 16 oz cups please)

and homemade cannolis from a local Italian bakery ordered.

Except whatever one I had was obviously NOT the Camera of the Year.

Oh dear....

Steve loved it so much that within a week of getting home he had us booked for just 3 months later, January of 2007!

And that's how it starts.

as some of you know, we lost Steve's mom Vickie last July and tomorrow will be our first Mother's Day without her.

Sorry for your loss. I hope Steve won't be too sad tomorrow.

The fun started on the plane ride down as Eric had a sinus infection and reminded us of that every 5 minutes

Oh, man. Not fun. When we went to Hawaii, our youngest complained of earache the entire time (she had a cold). Planes and sinuses... not a good combination.

including FOUR lbs of chopped meat, veal, and pork for her meatballs:

Four???? Holy smokes! How many other families were eating?

I do know Eric spent the entire vacation complaining that he was in such pain and deathly ill and needed to get home and I know that we spent more time in the room than anywhere else.

Oh, I'm sure that was tons of fun! ahem

the boys would only agree to go to ONE Disney park ONE day.

Um... one? Wait... how long ago was this? How many parks were there?

As I said my MIL whom the boys called Mema wanted nothing to do with the parks even though she knew we were going to Disney.

We had rented a van and told them they could drop us off and leave for the day but they both reluctantly agree to come

"reluctantly"... who are these people???

now look at this picture and tell me how much happiness you see streaming from it:

But when we got there neither kid wanted to eat anything so they sat at the table behind us moping. TOTALLY MOPING and MIL complained about the prices.

wow! That sounds like just the best time!!!!

so after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL

I don't know how much your tickets were then, but... wow.

PISSED that we paid for those tickets!

I bet!

She was not happy that we were home so late and insisted we told her we would eat that for dinner THAT night, but not happy that the kids and I weren't hungry and that Jay and Eric had insisted on ordering pizza a couple hours before they got us and weren't in the mood for sauce even though they too agreed to eat her food that night. So what had been really the best day of the trip in my book ended up a crappy night.

I'm familiar with the sort. Sorry it ended that way.

at the breakfast buffet Ricky ate about 12 brownies and that's when we found out that he like Steve is allergic to chocolate but can eat it in small quantities

Oh, no!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

That's for any of you who, like us, got SNOW today. In MAY. This is crazy stuff going on man and it just keeps coming!

I was very happy we missed any snow...barely. It's been raining here for almost a week and too cold, but thankfully no snow. I hope the weather, and lots of things, improve for us all.
I wonder is it too late to re-boot this year?

 

[kastoney]

That's for any of you who, like us, got SNOW today. In MAY. This is crazy stuff going on man and it just keeps coming!

SNOW!!!!!! That is crazy. It was only int he 40's here yesterday but thankfully no snow. If I'm gonna be stuck at home least the universe could have done was dial us up some good weather.

On a happier note Ricky got to do one of the "normal" senior things that most seniors at his school do in a "normal year, sorry all my FB friends that you're seeing this again!

Love that they got to do this. I cannot imagine what its like for them right now but good on the school for doing some of the "normal" things

Otherwise nothing new here! Hoping the weather is nicer tomorrow for Mother's Day, we have our dinner order in to a local Italian restaurant that is also making homemade sangria (I'll take 12 16 oz cups please) and homemade cannolis from a local Italian bakery ordered.

Sounds blissful. We figure out go to Italian place is gonna be slammed so think my in home Chef is just gonna whip us up something

PS don't be jealous of all my skills; gif posting, scrapbooking and as will be evident with these pictures, photography.

Pretty sure you and I share the same "skills" or lack there of

I will refrain from writing what my thoughts were at the time because as some of you know, we lost Steve's mom Vickie last July and tomorrow will be our first Mother's Day without her.

Be sure to tell Steve we're thinking about him today ❤

When MIL came up to us after having separated with her own cart not only did she have THREE dozen eggs but all the ingredients to make this, including FOUR lbs of chopped meat, veal, and pork for her meatballs:

Oh I so would have lost it. Though in a strange turn of events guess who made meatballs last night. Even though its 9 am totally feel like I should heat some up just to read your updates with

I was happy because that made Ricky happy; now look at this picture and tell me how much happiness you see streaming from it:

Now if this isn't the pinnacle of heartwarming Disney family memories I really don't know what is

Steve finally told them to cut it out or leave so after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL

That is crazy!!!!! Though something tells me at this point you would have paid them to leave

The memories now are hysterical - at the breakfast buffet Ricky ate about 12 brownies and that's when we found out that he like Steve is allergic to chocolate but can eat it in small quantities - and it rained almost every day and was cold and the older boys were SO miserable which made me mad which made Steve mad- but I'm glad we did it! We joke about her making her meatbballs all the time and how she wanted to go away and not eat out or go out and do anything.

The trip does sound horrible but oh the hysterical memories you now have. I mean who sits back and reflects on a random day in MK when nothing in particular particular. But you have brownies, and moody teenagers, and cold, and awesome sea word jacks, and Nellie Olson hair, and MEATBALLS!!!!

You think I kid but in a few years when I send you our pioneer itinerary - it's ON!

Just promise me there will be bonnets!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Traveling with extended family can be tough. We would never take anyone with us on our trips to WDW when the kids were young for the exact reason that you highlighted so vividly. So the first time we added significant others and extended family was when our kids were older and had spouses. We had some rocky trips that included some anger and tears. But we had great times, too. The trip dynamics changed quite a bit, too, once the kids had their own families.

That was really nice of Ricky's high school to honor the seniors with the announcements. I've seen lots of lawn signs announcing graduations and college plans for the Class of 2020. Our high school is planning a graduation ceremony and a senior prom near the end of June. I hope it happens for them.

 

[suse66]

Good evening all, happy winter!
That's for any of you who, like us, got SNOW today. In MAY. This is crazy stuff going on man and it just keeps coming!

Same here....I refused to step outside yesterday into that cold and nastiness.

On a happier note Ricky got to do one of the "normal" senior things that most seniors at his school do in a "normal year, sorry all my FB friends that you're seeing this again!

I'll love it again! Congrats to Ricky!

Otherwise nothing new here! Hoping the weather is nicer tomorrow for Mother's Day, we have our dinner order in to a local Italian restaurant that is also making homemade sangria (I'll take 12 16 oz cups please) and homemade cannolis from a local Italian bakery ordered. So on the subject of moms and Italian food how about a short but sweet recap of our 2007 off site visit to Orlando, or what I will affectionately call this TR:

Nice! Our local Chinese restaurant reopened on Thursday for take out so we have an order placed with them and I can't wait!

I will refrain from writing what my thoughts were at the time because as some of you know, we lost Steve's mom Vickie last July and tomorrow will be our first Mother's Day without her. We had our moments for sure, but I will say I always respected that she told you like it was, as she saw it, and had no reservations about telling you exactly what she felt right to your face. Whatever she said about someone to others she was comfortable saying to that person themselves! So this update is dedicated to my headstrong, sometime annoying, and much missed mother in law Victoria DeVizio ❤

❤

The moral of the story: think about who you're vacationing with before you go!

Yep, we did one trip overlapping with my sister, BIL and their kids and once was enough! They were staying offsite in a villa, my sister kept making comments about what we were paying at the Poly and my BIL got drunk (really drunk) at the Poly pool bar and was obnoxious. Fun times!

Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day with the family!

 

[kittylady1972]

Wow. That's all I can say about your latest trip reports from way back when. Glad you were able to make the best of it. Thankful I haven't had to deal with anybody like that on our trips even with all of our friends and I was concerned I'd get complaints on that one but nope.

Good news on the front about the possible June opening...I still think July or maybe even August...but who knows for sure. I think I'm definitely taking a wait and see approach. I see that SWA is now requiring masks on their flights...which makes me want to drive now. I can barely stand wearing masks in the stores for the short time I'm there.

Oh and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

The moral of the story: think about who you're vacationing with before you go!

Aren't you happy you have us!!!! LOL!

I think we've all had a vaca like that...

 

[Steppesister]

Back to July real quick! I made our FP's yesterday and while they aren't Memorial Weekend trip perfect I did get 7DMT, FOP, MMRR, Millennium Falcon, TOTx2 and BTMRRx2 so I feel good!

I'd say that's a pretty great lineup! No wonder you feel good!

On a happier note Ricky got to do one of the "normal" senior things that most seniors at his school do in a "normal year, sorry all my FB friends that you're seeing this again!

Awesome!!

Finally the Grade 12 VP secretary got permission to go in, so since then she's been able to put up 10 seniors names per week and us parents are so happy!

YAY!! That's just so great!!

He doesn't care all that much but I want some type of ceremony for sure.

I'm sorry. Why is he in that job?

Soda, beer, chips. When MIL came up to us after having separated with her own cart not only did she have THREE dozen eggs but all the ingredients to make this, including FOUR lbs of chopped meat, veal, and pork for her meatballs:

OH man. So bizarre!

I know it looks great and it did always taste great but where would this fit in the plans??? We told her we didn't expect to eat dinner in the room and even so, we had no idea what nights we 'd be there but she insisted that she was absolutely NOT eating out the majority of her meals or did she plan on going to parks that much Would have been nice to know before we left!

WT.....F?!

But when we got there neither kid wanted to eat anything so they sat at the table behind us moping. TOTALLY MOPING and MIL complained about the prices. Steve finally told them to cut it out or leave so after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL I was relieved because we could now relax and do what we wanted with nobody whining but PISSED that we paid for those tickets!

I'd have been LIVID!!! UGH!! How rude and horrible.

The moral of the story: think about who you're vacationing with before you go!

YES, YES, YES! A million times YES!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

We got really chilly weather this weekend too, yuck! No snow thank goodness
I like your throw back pictures, Both you and Steve look the same!
Your stepsons remind me of the year Jack came with us, he was 17 and he complained quite a bit about the boring, childish rides, how dare he! I can’t believe he is of my blood, haha He did love EE and RnRC.
He hasn’t been back since that trip and he is 26 now!
It sounds like your MIL had a different way to vacation at Disney
The pictures with the older boys and Memaw are priceless, so funny!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Finally the Grade 12 VP secretary got permission to go in, so since then she's been able to put up 10 seniors names per week and us parents are so happy! We are also having lawn signs delivered this week supporting our seniors and the stupid school superintendent, after saying planning any graduation ceremony for our districts 1100 seniors, would be an "ordeal" agreed we will do SOMETHING.

Woo hoo!!!! I'm glad he didn't have to miss out on EVERY thing about being a senior! And of course they must do SOMETHING. I'm glad you finally got an agreement...hope it ends up being memorable, whatever the plan may be!

I spy Wendy's chicken nuggets!

This is a cute picture!! And do I also spy a pocket Game Boy!? I always wanted one of those

now look at this picture and tell me how much happiness you see streaming from it:

Oh, yes, much happiness. Very magical moment! LOL

Now, THIS is cool! I never knew there was a time you could actually meet Stromboli!!

Steve finally told them to cut it out or leave so after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL I was relieved because we could now relax and do what we wanted with nobody whining but PISSED that we paid for those tickets!

Glad Steve was able to salvage the rest of your day, but yikes. That's quite an expense, not to mention the hassle of dragging mopey people around for a few hours in the happiest of all places!

The moral of the story: think about who you're vacationing with before you go!

We joke about her making her meatbballs all the time and how she wanted to go away and not eat out or go out and do anything. Maybe SHE'S the reason I hate planning now lol because she asked 100x each day when we were going to want her sauce?

It's good that you all can joke about it now! So, is the answer to the story, no one ever ate any of it?!!?!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

But Chris refuses to do anything he thinks is "dumb" which are basically all his tech assignments

That sounds oh so familiar to me! My 13 year old is bright boy and turns his work in but if it's art, music or technology it is done with the least amount of effort possible but just enough that it's considered done. They had to design something useful using a household item so he took the cardboard tube from a loo roll , cut it down one side and shoved it around a water bottle and said it was a way to keep your drink cool! No colouring the tube, no naming it-let's just say he's not coming top in that class lol Others had blimin batteries and fairy lights and all sorts of stuff! I am beyond caring and figure if I'm finding it hard to concentrate he likely is too! As long as everyone is breathing at the end of the day I'm calling it a success!

me, Me, ME!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously I would be all over this.

Oh me too!! Favourite Thursday afternoon telly for me, my sister, my mum and my Aunt Lottie (she came to stay with us every Thursday and always brought sweets). We'd get the kleenex ready because as often as not someone cried (hormonal anyone ) and inevitably my mother would decide that she would put ringlets in my sister's and my hair for Sunday Mass because of the lovely Nellie There's a reason we were quiet in church-we were half slept due to blimin knots in our heads from the night before

Make room for a little Canadian in that car...I'll bring snacks!

Room for 1 small Irishwoman? I'll bring the booze and the craic

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

So this update is dedicated to my headstrong, sometime annoying, and much missed mother in law Victoria DeVizio ❤

My sincerest condolences to you all xx

The fun started on the plane ride down as Eric had a sinus infection and reminded us of that every 5 minutes until we got to our resort and dumped the kids while the 3 adults went to the grocery store.

JOY!

When MIL came up to us after having separated with her own cart not only did she have THREE dozen eggs but all the ingredients to make this, including FOUR lbs of chopped meat, veal, and pork for her meatballs:

Sweet Mother of God I'm betting you hadn't planned on a meatball marathon!

We told her we didn't expect to eat dinner in the room and even so, we had no idea what nights we 'd be there but she insisted that she was absolutely NOT eating out the majority of her meals or did she plan on going to parks that much Would have been nice to know before we left!

I have no words!

I do know Eric spent the entire vacation complaining that he was in such pain and deathly ill and needed to get home and I know that we spent more time in the room than anywhere else.

No No Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is not what's meant to happen on vacation at WDW

I was happy because that made Ricky happy; now look at this picture and tell me how much happiness you see streaming from it:

Happiness and harmony in abundance

we ate at Pecos Bill because they had burgers and Eric was the pickiest eater ever. So we went there for him.

neither kid wanted to eat anything so they sat at the table behind us moping. TOTALLY MOPING and MIL complained about the prices.

By this stage I'd be ready to commit murder!

after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL I was relieved because we could now relax and do what we wanted with nobody whining but PISSED that we paid for those tickets!

Totally with you on this one> I'm sure you were glad to just have the little kids to please

MIL got back around 12:30 she had started her sauce and made her meatballs. She was not happy that we were home so late and insisted we told her we would eat that for dinner THAT night,

Did it slip your mind Ariane C'mon now tell the truth

So what had been really the best day of the trip in my book ended up a crappy night.

That's the pits! Hate that some people didn't even try to have fun

The moral of the story: think about who you're vacationing with before you go!

Deinitely!!!

The memories now are hysterical

Good that you can now laugh about it all!

I'm glad we did it!

We joke about her making her meatballs all the time and how she wanted to go away and not eat out or go out and do anything.

 

[buzzrelly]

Soda, beer, chips. When MIL came up to us after having separated with her own cart not only did she have THREE dozen eggs but all the ingredients to make this, including FOUR lbs of chopped meat, veal, and pork for her meatballs:

Oh, my!

Look at this little guy!

Aw

I do know we were there for a week and other than SeaWorld the boys would only agree to go to ONE Disney park ONE day.

What?? Can you even imagine doing that now??

Steve finally told them to cut it out or leave so after we paid for their 1 day tickets they left about 4 hours into the day along with MIL I was relieved because we could now relax and do what we wanted with nobody whining but PISSED that we paid for those tickets!

Ugh, I'd be mad too. But I'm sure it made for a better day without them there!

We never did go away with MIL again other than up to my SIL's in New Hampshire and while we'd gone away with all 4 boys previously that was our last time all together. I know I didn't make it sound horrible but um, it was! The memories now are hysterical - at the breakfast buffet Ricky ate about 12 brownies and that's when we found out that he like Steve is allergic to chocolate but can eat it in small quantities - and it rained almost every day and was cold and the older boys were SO miserable which made me mad which made Steve mad- but I'm glad we did it!

What a horrible trip…but so funny as a memory!

 

[ariane37]

And that's how it starts.

And then because this trip was such a dud Steve booked us again for our first on site stay 10 months later! A Star Is Born.................

Oh, man. Not fun. When we went to Hawaii, our youngest complained of earache the entire time (she had a cold). Planes and sinuses... not a good combination.

I know and I knew that he wasn't feeling good on the way down. But we got him meds and then at one point Steve took him to a walk in for an antibiotic so by like day 3 he had no excuse!

Four???? Holy smokes! How many other families were eating?

That's how Italian's eat!

Um... one? Wait... how long ago was this? How many parks were there?

There were FOUR!!! That's the last time I ever let that crap happen again!

wow! That sounds like just the best time!!!!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..............

I hope the weather, and lots of things, improve for us all.

Well thankfully the weather has been better here! And the rest of the week is just supposed to get warmer and warmer, about 80 by Friday. And knock on wood NY is starting to open Friday our area isn't quite ready yet but we should be soon! I hope things are getting better for you guys too.

Love that they got to do this. I cannot imagine what its like for them right now but good on the school for doing some of the "normal" things

I know some are having a harder time than others, luckily Ricky is taking the change in graduation/prom in stride. He's more bored and getting frustrated with not being able to see his friends and is just hoping that college starts as planned in August.

Pretty sure you and I share the same "skills" or lack there of

Just another reason I luvs ya

Now if this isn't the pinnacle of heartwarming Disney family memories I really don't know what is

I think Im going to send it in to Disney for them to use in their next ad

Just promise me there will be bonnets!

Oh there'll be bonnets baby! And petticoats and corsets. Lots of corsets.
And if I can somehow fenagle it there'll be a Mr. Edwards

We would never take anyone with us on our trips to WDW when the kids were young for the exact reason that you highlighted so vividly.

It wasn't bad at all when we took my mom the time before, but she was totally open to everything and she said before she agreed to come that she'd come specifically to help with Chris. I didn't want her just for that but she really went with the flow! But I didn't have a bad feeling then; just once we decided to not only take all 4 boys but MIL as well.............

We had some rocky trips that included some anger and tears. But we had great times, too. The trip dynamics changed quite a bit, too, once the kids had their own families.

I'm really interested to see how it works in Sept when we go with DGD and her mom and dad! DDIL is so easy going but my stepson not so much lol. And Steve and I will have to be REALLY open to last minute changes and things not going our way so its probably good we're not down to the second planners!

Our high school is planning a graduation ceremony and a senior prom near the end of June. I hope it happens for them.

Our graduation isn't supposed to be until 6/27 anyway so we still have time to figure it out. Drive Ins here are opening Friday and there's been talk of utilizing those for graduations. Not sure what they'll do for prom (senior one was originally 6/12) but we're holding out hope!

 

[pkondz]

And then because this trip was such a dud Steve booked us again for our first on site stay 10 months later! A Star Is Born................

That’s a good man. You should keep him.

I know and I knew that he wasn't feeling good on the way down. But we got him meds and then at one point Steve took him to a walk in for an antibiotic so by like day 3 he had no excuse!

You’ll have fun, no matter how sick you are!!!

That's how Italian's eat!

There were FOUR!!! That's the last time I ever let that crap happen again!

 

[ariane37]

Nice! Our local Chinese restaurant reopened on Thursday for take out so we have an order placed with them and I can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed it! We had a great dinner and awesome dessert too Quite a few of our chinese restaurants closed when all this started but are starting to open again which I'm really happy about.

Yep, we did one trip overlapping with my sister, BIL and their kids and once was enough! They were staying offsite in a villa, my sister kept making comments about what we were paying at the Poly and my BIL got drunk (really drunk) at the Poly pool bar and was obnoxious. Fun times!

OMG that sounds hysterical as annoyed as I'd be!

Wow. That's all I can say about your latest trip reports from way back when. Glad you were able to make the best of it. Thankful I haven't had to deal with anybody like that on our trips even with all of our friends and I was concerned I'd get complaints on that one but nope.

Yes you're lucky since you travel with friends and extended family often. We did do a trip with 2 friends and their families back in 2012 although it wasn't planned that way, they both happened to book for the same time we were going to be there. We spent a couple days with each family and had a good time.

I see that SWA is now requiring masks on their flights...which makes me want to drive now. I can barely stand wearing masks in the stores for the short time I'm there.

Yup just about all airlines are requiring masks now. I DETEST them but will figure out a way to wear it for 2.5 hours. Probably run to the bathroom often to take it off and breathe - yup, go IN do the plane restroom to breathe

Oh and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I hope you enjoyed your day!

I'd say that's a pretty great lineup! No wonder you feel good!

Yeah! Not as perfect as the Memorial ones were but I'm happy with it. Now it just has to happen

I'm sorry. Why is he in that job?

Ugh who knows. He did finally say yesterday that he'll definitely arrange something. Now we wait just like we wait for everything else these days.

I'd have been LIVID!!! UGH!! How rude and horrible.

Yup. Even though at that time I'd already been their stepmom for quite a few years on top of just being in their life for years before that, I wasn't at a place yet where I yelled at them or told them what I was really feeling. Now I do! And between them and MIL I just kind of took a back seat and dealt with the kids.
It wasn't all bad, truly! But absolutely not a trip I wanted to ever repeat.

 

[ariane37]

I like your throw back pictures, Both you and Steve look the same!

Thank you - are you wearing your glasses

It sounds like your MIL had a different way to vacation at Disney

She had a different way to do everything just about lol

Woo hoo!!!! I'm glad he didn't have to miss out on EVERY thing about being a senior! And of course they must do SOMETHING. I'm glad you finally got an agreement...hope it ends up being memorable, whatever the plan may be!

It's these little things you take for granted! Now we have those lawn signs too and we ordered banners. Just waiting to hear what they come up with for graduation and prom! His graduating class is almost 500 and the majority of the kids have said they will not participate in a virtual ceremony.

And do I also spy a pocket Game Boy!? I always wanted one of those

yes! It was one of the older boys and got passed down to Ricky. That was a really good part of having the older boys, ours got the hand me downs before we had to put out the real $$!

Oh, yes, much happiness. Very magical moment! LOL

Exactly what Disney wants it to be lol

Now, THIS is cool! I never knew there was a time you could actually meet Stromboli!!

I don't remember meeting him before that ever! They were roaming around and Pinocchio and Gepetto were on the other side of the street so we met them all. We met Pinocchio and Gepetto again on our trip later in 2007 too!

So, is the answer to the story, no one ever ate any of it?!!?!

Ha ha not quite, Steve did end up eating some to appease her. And then the next day some of us had a spaghetti and meatball breakfast

My 13 year old is bright boy and turns his work in but if it's art, music or technology it is done with the least amount of effort possible but just enough that it's considered done. They had to design something useful using a household item so he took the cardboard tube from a loo roll , cut it down one side and shoved it around a water bottle and said it was a way to keep your drink cool! No colouring the tube, no naming it-let's just say he's not coming top in that class lol Others had blimin batteries and fairy lights and all sorts of stuff!

That is hysterical about the tube!! Totally something Chris would do! I just wouldn't look at what others did so I wouldn't feel bad.

As long as everyone is breathing at the end of the day I'm calling it a success!

True!

and inevitably my mother would decide that she would put ringlets in my sister's and my hair for Sunday Mass because of the lovely Nellie There's a reason we were quiet in church-we were half slept due to blimin knots in our heads from the night before

Oh I DO want to see pictures!

Room for 1 small Irishwoman? I'll bring the booze and the craic

Of course ❤

Totally with you on this one> I'm sure you were glad to just have the little kids to please

It did become easier after they left. But our follow up visit 10 months later, just the 4 of us, was PERFECT!

What?? Can you even imagine doing that now??

NO! Even when I see people comment here or in FB groups that they have one day to do a park I'm like, "ah WHY?"

What a horrible trip…but so funny as a memory!

You pretty much summed that up right there