You're Livin' the Dream, Mater Boy! *Aug 2010*(WE'RE HOME and HAD A GREAT TRIP!!!!)

[martinolichfamily]

Love the new pages..they are so cute! Great Job!!
Yes...our days til are getting a little shorter....oh the wait!!
Now I am looking forward to see what type of 'deal' they will have for when we go.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Love the new pages..they are so cute! Great Job!!
Yes...our days til are getting a little shorter....oh the wait!!
Now I am looking forward to see what type of 'deal' they will have for when we go.

Thanks! I worked on a couple more pages today but didn't manage to get them finished... I don't know why I can't seem to get motivated on them lately.

I've been totally MIA on my trip report the last couple weeks, just been busy with other issues - sick kids, doctors appointments, working on taxes, and a million other little things - my mind has just not been on planning.

I'm SO hoping that free dining will be announced next month. I saw they extended the room discount to 8/15, so I'm hoping and praying that free dining will start 8/15. I also have another month until flight info is released for Southwest...can't wait to see what the prices and times come out to be. Oh...the waiting!!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

We had a major breakthough today, on Valentine's Day of all days! My DH Grumpy actually took an interest in our vacation! We were somewhat bored this afternoon, I was working on the autograph books, and he jumped on my computer and started poking around. I jokingly said "You can go out to the DIS and read about our trip" and he said okay, and I showed him where to go! He read about the hotel, a little about the parks, and asked me several questions about the hotel, how our dining plan works and what we'll be able to eat...you know, the important stuff! I even showed him where the menus are and he looked through a bunch of them. YEAH!!! A Spark of Interest!!

I know he won't get as involved as me in the planning, nor would I really want him to, but I am so happy that he's finally interested and a little bit excited for our vacation. We spent about an hour talking about it...what a beautiful bonding moment it was!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi Karen! I'm joining in...love reading fellow Wisconsinites' PTRs/TRs. How exciting it's your first trip! You are going to have an AMAZING time. Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Hi Karen! I'm joining in...love reading fellow Wisconsinites' PTRs/TRs. How exciting it's your first trip! You are going to have an AMAZING time. Can't wait to hear more of your plans!

Hi wdwgirl03!
Thanks for joining in! Great to have another Wisconsinite on board with me!

It's been a blast planning this trip - I'm amazed how much there is to read and learn about WDW. I just love it though - I cannot wait for this trip...even though it feels like it is SO far away yet!

I'll be posting some more plans soon!
Karen

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Its been a while since I posted any of my itininery - I've been held up trying to figure out DHS, so I'm moving on and working on Epcot now.

We'll be spending our last 2 days in Epcot, and topping it off with Illuminations on our last night there.

Day 8: Epcot
Day one of Epcot we plan to spend all day at the park and head out after dinner.

-AM: FUTURE WORLD
I’d like to spend this first morning hitting the big rides.

-FP Soarin, Go to Test Track and ride it. Do Spaceship earth. Not sure about Mission Space – I’ve heard to many mixed reviews about motion sickness – Grumpy has a tendency to get dizzy quite easily and has had episodes of vertigo in the past, I don’t think he’ll want to do this one. I’d do the mild side but am a little worried about that side too – I just don’t want anyone to feel sick afterward, especially the kids, so at this point I’m leaning toward skipping it.
-I want to lunch at the Seasons. Heard great things about it and have to check it out.
-If we can get the big rides done in the morning and then do character greetings that would probably fill up our morning. If there is additional time, we can check out The Land or the Living Seas pavillions.

-PM: WORLD SHOWCASE
I find myself very excited to tour the world showcase and I want to do it on our first Epcot day. I was a little worried at first about it being boring for the kids, but I think they will really like it and enjoy it too. We plan to really just go through each country and take our time. We will start in Mexico and follow the loop around. We plan to do Grand Fiesta in Mexico and do Malestrom in Norway, but don’t plan to watch any of the other shows/movies in the other countries, unless we come across some of the street performers and such.

In each country we’ll stop to do the KidCot station and characters, shop around a little, and we were thinking of picking up candy from each country, since we can’t go crazy drinking around the world! I know Grumpy wants a beer from Germany (he as stationed in Germany when we was like 18 and had many-a-beer there), and I’ll probably pick up a beverage for myself along the way. But I’m hoping for a casual afternoon, and I want to go back to Mexico for dinner at Cantina del San Angel, I love Mexican food…and a margarita!

Head back to Pop after dinner for an early bedtime…tomorrow will be our last day and another late night!

Day 9: Epcot Day 2
Day 2 of Epcot is mostly for all of the other attractions there. We may ride some of the main rides again if we want to, but otherwise we want to hit:

-Innoventions East & West
-Imagination – Figment, Kodak Lab
-The Living Seas – Nemo, Turtle Talk
-The Land – Living with the Land
-Will do the KitCot stops here too
-Do Lunch at either Electric Umbrella or maybe Seasons again, depends on where we are and when.

I’m hoping we can finish up here in the mid-afternoon and return to our hotel for a nap or some time to relax, maybe start packing a bit. We’d come back after dinner to get a spot for Illuminations! I’m so excited to see Illuminations on our last night in WDW.

And that will be it! We'll be heading out the next morning from MCO on an 8:30am flight back home…it will be a very early morning! We’ll arrive back to MKE about 11am, so hopefully we can be back on the road heading home around noon. That will get us home about 2pm on Sunday. And that’s it! Our first official family vacation will be over! Let the scrapbooking marathon begin!!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Well I did manage to get a few more autograph book pages done over the weekend. Here they are:

I also was able to put a litst together of what other characters that we'll have a good chance of seeing - there is a lot! I have a lot more pages to work on!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Those autograph pages are adorable! I remember having so much fun getting autographs on our first trip (when my sisters and I were about the same ages as your boys!). And it's such a fun keepsake...still have my book.

 

[Cory's Gal]

The Epcot itinerary looks great Karen! Illuminations is a spectacular way to end your trip with!! Cory and I went on Mission Space and it is pretty intense, but that was before they changed it to the two versions so I don't know how the milder version is. The autograph pages look great!! Isn't fun when the guys actually take interest in the trip?? When Cory asks me questions or makes a comment I just think it's great and I feel that he gets more excited about things too!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Those autograph pages are adorable! I remember having so much fun getting autographs on our first trip (when my sisters and I were about the same ages as your boys!). And it's such a fun keepsake...still have my book.

Thanks Sarah! I hope the kids like the books as much as I do! I'm a little worried the Mater (DS3) will be afraid of all of the characters and won't go near any of them! He was deathly aftraid of Santa this year, and we were at an event 2 weekends ago that had a Mcgruff the Crime Dog in costume and some other costumed character, and he wouldn't go near them! He actually hid behind my legs so the characters wouldn't see him! I'll probably have to show him some pictures of other kids with the characters and talk to him about seeing Mickey and other characters he knows. I can't imagine going through all this work and coming home with an empty autograph book!!!

The Epcot itinerary looks great Karen! Illuminations is a spectacular way to end your trip with!! Cory and I went on Mission Space and it is pretty intense, but that was before they changed it to the two versions so I don't know how the milder version is. The autograph pages look great!! Isn't fun when the guys actually take interest in the trip?? When Cory asks me questions or makes a comment I just think it's great and I feel that he gets more excited about things too!!

Thanks Beth! I keep trying to plan the days so we have enough time to get through it all and yet not be rushed - it's hard since I don't know how long anything will actually take once we're there, but I think I'm doing an okay job of allowing enough time to get through most of it.

I can't tell you how completely EXCITED I was to talk to him about the trip! It was so nice that he was interested and wanted to start getting involved. He's generally not a person who get terribly excited about things, or doesn't show it if he is. He told me that about a month before the trip he wants to sit down, look at the park maps and my itininery and see what we're all going to be doing. So I guess in 5 months we'll talk about it again!!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I'm so excited today, for a couple of reasons.

1. Tomorrow is our 6 month mark! 6 months from tomorrow we'll be in Disney. I know it is still a LONG ways off, but considering I started planning this trip last July (13 months in advance), 6 feels pretty darn good! I think we'll do a special Disney movie night tomorrow night to celebrate!

2. We got both our Federal and State tax returns this week, and all the money is in savings for our trip! It feels so good to have the trip paid for! We still have to save a little for our flights and spending money, of course, but it is great to know the rest of the package is covered. I REALLY hope they announce Free Dining next month...it would be SO great to get that discount applied to our reservation, it would save us so much money. C'mon Free Dining!!!

I haven't done much other Disney planning this week - Mater has been pretty sick with a bad cold and now I think I am coming down with it as well. I've been working on a scrapbook for a friend of mine, so I haven't made any progress in my Autograph Books this week either. I'll try to get back into them next week and get a few more pages done.

Next week I get to make by ADR for Chef Mickeys! I've been checking the reservation system online and I think I have it figured out, so on Tuesday morning I'll be going on to make the ADR. I'm nervous though! How silly is that?! I just hope I do it right!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay for 6 months!

Good luck making your ADR!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Hi Karen,

I'm joining in for the fun!

Your autograph books are awesome! I wish I had that talent to have done something like that for DS.

I am sooo envious about your DC trip and the Cherry Blossom Festival. We had a spring break mini vacation planned at that time but the snow has already taken 2 days away as school makeup days so we cancelled it. Please post some pictures of the trees when you get back as I am dying to see it.

Look forward to another update!

Erika

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Yay for 6 months!

Good luck making your ADR!

Thanks! I made the ADR today and it went fine. I'm so excited...we're doing Chef Mickeys at 10:15am. That should give us enough time to sleep in (sleeping in for us is like making it to 7am.) and plenty of time to get over to the Contemporary. Now I'm thinking about making a second Character Meal for our other day off later in the week!

Hi Karen,

I'm joining in for the fun!

Your autograph books are awesome! I wish I had that talent to have done something like that for DS.

I am sooo envious about your DC trip and the Cherry Blossom Festival. We had a spring break mini vacation planned at that time but the snow has already taken 2 days away as school makeup days so we cancelled it. Please post some pictures of the trees when you get back as I am dying to see it.

Look forward to another update!

Erika

Thanks Erika! The Washington DC trip is coming up fast, just over a month away. It should be a lot of fun and very memorable. I hope some of the snow out there melts before we get there through. I'll definitely post some pictures of the cherry blossoms - it'll be my first time seeing them!

Sorry to hear you had to cancel your spring break trip - too bad about the snow days. As of right now we don't have any to make up, but if we have another one the kids will have to make it up in June. But we don't really get a spring break - they get off a long weekend (Friday, Monday, Tuesday) so it's kind of disappointing - can't really plan a trip or anything for over spring break with that schedule. At least you still have your Disney trip to look forward to!

 

[martinolichfamily]

Hey Karen! I've been a little MIA here lately...DD started Dance classes..DS started Baseball practices...and just your normal life stuff!

Your new pages a so cute! You are doing such a great job! I go the easy way out and just buy an autograph book.

Great updates on your days too.

 

[Charlefours]

I missed your updates but I have caught up this morning. for a spark of interest from your DH! I actually got mine to sit down and discuss what days at which park since the hours came out. It was nice!!

EP: My favorite park! I love Soarin and TT. I sure hope my DD likes them too. I do not do Mission Space--either side. Not my cup of tea. We want to try Season's too. I think we are going to eat lunch their on our last full day at Disney. I think your kids will have fun at EP-WS, but I have not direct experience with that. I imagine my DD will have a great time too. There are the Kidcot stations and she loves to explore so I think it will be a great time. Plus, there are quite a few characters spread throughout too. I hope Cantina is open when we go because I would love to try it. We are planning Illumination for our last night too! I think it will be a great way to cap off our vacation.

Ahh scrapbooking--I cannot wait to get time to do it again. I think probably April, this is the really busy time for my classes at the moment. Once I get through March, I should be in a great position. Your autograph books are just adorable! I cannot wait to see them all finished with autographs and pictures.

Yay for tax money!! for having paid the trip and it being less than 6 months away!! We are almost at that point too.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Hey Karen! I've been a little MIA here lately...DD started Dance classes..DS started Baseball practices...and just your normal life stuff!

Your new pages a so cute! You are doing such a great job! I go the easy way out and just buy an autograph book.

Great updates on your days too.

Thanks for the compliments on the autograph book pages! I have made ZERO progress on them since I did those pages - normal life has been a little hectic here as well, so I completely understand, it's been over a week since I updated anything here. Thanks for stopping back in!

I missed your updates but I have caught up this morning. for a spark of interest from your DH! I actually got mine to sit down and discuss what days at which park since the hours came out. It was nice!!

EP: My favorite park! I love Soarin and TT. I sure hope my DD likes them too. I do not do Mission Space--either side. Not my cup of tea. We want to try Season's too. I think we are going to eat lunch their on our last full day at Disney. I think your kids will have fun at EP-WS, but I have not direct experience with that. I imagine my DD will have a great time too. There are the Kidcot stations and she loves to explore so I think it will be a great time. Plus, there are quite a few characters spread throughout too. I hope Cantina is open when we go because I would love to try it. We are planning Illumination for our last night too! I think it will be a great way to cap off our vacation.

Ahh scrapbooking--I cannot wait to get time to do it again. I think probably April, this is the really busy time for my classes at the moment. Once I get through March, I should be in a great position. Your autograph books are just adorable! I cannot wait to see them all finished with autographs and pictures.

Yay for tax money!! for having paid the trip and it being less than 6 months away!! We are almost at that point too.

Hi!! Epoct will be interesting, I hope they're not bored, but even though WS may not be as exciting I think it will keep enough of their interest, with the kidcot and characters. I'm looking forward to a nice afternoon just strolling through - hopefully that can happen. We can always bribe with candy at the next country!

I haven't done any autograph stuff or regualr scrapping in a while! I scrapped my Christmas pictures but we haven't been doing much at all this winter so I haven't been taking any pictures lately! I have to start...I just ordered 6 new scrapbook kits I want to use!! I really hate winter, so slow, so boring. Once spring is here we're outside all the time and I'm constantly taking pictures and have lots to scrap!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Well, I have some news that is a bit concerning...

Next week I have to go in for surgery, I just found out and scheduled it yesterday. For about the last year I've been having these episodes of feeling very hot or very cold, very tired, headaches, and facial flushing. After putting it off and living with it as long as I could (and searching endlessly online to diagnose myself) I decided to go to my doctor and have it checked out. Yesterday they found a pretty decent size tumor on one of my ovaries and so they want to do surgery to remove it. They are calling it a dermoid tumor (just a mass of tissue, bone, etc) - which is pretty common and the vast majority of which are benign. After the tumor is removed they will do a biopsy on it.

The concern right now is that frequent facial flushing is a symptom of something called carcinoid syndrome, you get it from having a carcinoid tumor - these tumors can form on the ovaries, although it is very rare. They can also grow within a dermoid tumor. Once the carcinoid attacks the liver, your liver produces too much serotonin, which makes your face flush. The episodes of flushing have been my main symptom the last year.

So, right now we are just waiting for the surgery next week and then we'll learn what the tumor is. On a postive note, carcinoid is a very slow growing form of cancer and has very good outcomes...people live many years, even full lifetimes with it. They did do some bloodwork including liver testing and that came back normal - so liver function is not yet impared that we know of. (with the excepting of too much serotonin being produced - resulting in the flushing).

So, if I'm not here much the next couple of weeks that is why - just dealing with this medical mess and spending my time with my husband and kids. If anyone has any experience with this please feel free to let me know of any good sites or resources you may know of - I've been reading like crazy the last 2 days and looking for good, reliable resources or forums.

Hopefully I'll be back in Full Disney Planning Mode very soon!
Karen

 

[martinolichfamily]

Well, I have some news that is a bit concerning...

Next week I have to go in for surgery, I just found out and scheduled it yesterday. For about the last year I've been having these episodes of feeling very hot or very cold, very tired, headaches, and facial flushing. After putting it off and living with it as long as I could (and searching endlessly online to diagnose myself) I decided to go to my doctor and have it checked out. Yesterday they found a pretty decent size tumor on one of my ovaries and so they want to do surgery to remove it. They are calling it a dermoid tumor (just a mass of tissue, bone, etc) - which is pretty common and the vast majority of which are benign. After the tumor is removed they will do a biopsy on it.

The concern right now is that frequent facial flushing is a symptom of something called carcinoid syndrome, you get it from having a carcinoid tumor - these tumors can form on the ovaries, although it is very rare. They can also grow within a dermoid tumor. Once the carcinoid attacks the liver, your liver produces too much serotonin, which makes your face flush. The episodes of flushing have been my main symptom the last year.

So, right now we are just waiting for the surgery next week and then we'll learn what the tumor is. On a postive note, carcinoid is a very slow growing form of cancer and has very good outcomes...people live many years, even full lifetimes with it. They did do some bloodwork including liver testing and that came back normal - so liver function is not yet impared that we know of. (with the excepting of too much serotonin being produced - resulting in the flushing).

So, if I'm not here much the next couple of weeks that is why - just dealing with this medical mess and spending my time with my husband and kids. If anyone has any experience with this please feel free to let me know of any good sites or resources you may know of - I've been reading like crazy the last 2 days and looking for good, reliable resources or forums.

Hopefully I'll be back in Full Disney Planning Mode very soon!
Karen

Karen - Sorry to hear this....I will keep you in my prayers! Hoping for a speedy recovery & good news on the biopsy!
Let us know how it all turns out..

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Karen - Sorry to hear this....I will keep you in my prayers! Hoping for a speedy recovery & good news on the biopsy!
Let us know how it all turns out..

Thank you so much Heather! I really appreciate it. The support I've gotten in the last few days from my family and friends has been overwhelming - so many people have offered to help me, watch my kids, bring us meals...everyone has been so kind.

Last few days have been long, I've been trying to keep busy and stay occupied (and stay off the internet, way too much bad stuff for me to read out there) - I swear my house has not been this clean in a LONG time! Just trying to stay positive, hope for the best and spend time with my DH Dan and the kids. Dan seems to be taking it hard - I see a lot of worry and sadness in his eyes.

Tonight we're going to do a family movie night and just spend our time together. I'm trying to find something fun to go do over the weekend, sure don't want to sit here and worry all weekend!

Karen