We were married June 30th 2007 and on July 1st we woke up bright and early and headed off to the World for our magical Disney Honeymoon! And it was just that...magical! We stayed at the Grand Floridian and really decided to splurge, so we stayed concierge as well. We were spoiled from the moment we stepped onto Disney property! We booked a Magic Kingdom view, and were lucky enough to have one of the turret rooms that had a view of the MK, the lagoon and Epcot. My husband is a fireworks fanatic, so you know he was thrilled that we were going to be in Disney for the 4th of July. The fireworks are fa-nominal on any giving day at Disney, so you can imagine what they are like on a holiday like the 4th. Oh my! That is all I can say...they are just breath-taking! They don't just set fireworks off in front of the castle, they set them off ALL around the lagoon and have them set to patriotic music. And with the room we had, we didn't have to leave the comforts of our room to see them. Got a few snacks and drinks from the concierge lounge and just opened the windows to hear the music and enjoy the spectacular show! And here is a little known fact, Disney always does at least one "test night" before the 4th to make sure everything looks the way it should before the big night...so we got to see the show twice! I will try to post some pictures so that you can see them.
We went back to the World for our 1st Anniversary. And because we are crazy and wanted to try to relive our honeymoon, we again booked our stay at the Grand Floridian concierge level! We requested the same room that we had for our honeymoon, but they were unfortunately not able to accommodate that request, so we got a room on a level that is just for honeymooners and anniversary guests. We were right above The Gasparilla Grill and had a direct view of the castle in this room. We were a little disappointed that we didn't have the big room with the 8 windowed view of the lagoon, but this room had a different advantage. It had a balcony that you could relax on AND since the pipe the music into the GF for the fireworks, we were right above the speakers and didn't have to strain to hear the music this year. We have great video of the fireworks show and you can even hear me tearing up a little because of how much the show took my breath away.
We did not return for our 2nd Anniversary because our son was born a few months before it and sadly enough, we did not return this year for our 3rd either. We decided to wait and go at the end of August when the rates drop a little and hopefully the crowd levels are little lower. So, I have to say...I am wishing I was in my laughing place and enjoying all that the World has to offer on this patriotic holiday. But whether I am in Disney or in good old NJ, God Bless America and thank you to everyone who fought for our freedom and continues to defend this great nation each and every day!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Preparing For A Different Trip To The World
Usually when we trek down to the world, we only have to worry about two people...my husband and myself. We can choose where we are staying, where/when we will eat, get to the parks/leave the parks as early or as late as we want, etc. This year will be a little different. It will be the first time we are taking our son (who will be 17 months at the time) and my mom and step-father will be joining us as well. Adding 3 more personalities and 3 more needs/wants to the mix is going to make it a different trip. And one of the biggest personalities in the bunch is my little man who is right now 15 months going on 15 years!
First and foremost, I am sure there are many people out there who are saying we are crazy for bringing a 17 month old to Disney. I can hear you all now... "He won't remember anything.", "Why are you wasting your money.", yadda yadda yadda. Believe me people, I KNOW that he won't remember anything. We are DVC members and for all your DVC people out there, you know that you can only bank your points for a year and then you lose them. We banked our points last year since our son was born in the spring, so we are in a use them or lose them year. And truthfully, even if we didn't have to use our points, we would be going. I know he won't remember a thing, but we will be able to remember the look on his face when he sees Mickey. He flips when he sees him on TV or hears him on his CD, so I am sure that seeing him in person is going to be priceless. We will be armed with our cameras in hand and will have the memories for our lifetime!
We have a plan of attack and hopefully the plan will work out for us (but you know what they say about the best laid plans). We plan on trying to get up and to the parks when they open, be back at the pool (We are staying at the Beach Club Villas...can't wait for the sand bottomed pool!!) in the hot afternoons and hopefully my son will nap by the pool or in the room. Then we will have an earlier than we are used to dinner and try to enjoy some of the night time activities that the parks have to offer. Sounds great, right? Problem is, ever time I picture this all in my head, I picture my son smiling one second and then throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the parks the next. I am PETRIFIED that I am going to be "that mom" that I swore I would never become...the one with the screaming kid in the middle of the park that everyone pities. So, if there are any seasoned Disney Moms out there that have an suggestions or words of encouragement for me, please let me know...my son won't be tall enough, so I would have to abandon him to get onto Splash Mountain and find my "laughing place".
First and foremost, I am sure there are many people out there who are saying we are crazy for bringing a 17 month old to Disney. I can hear you all now... "He won't remember anything.", "Why are you wasting your money.", yadda yadda yadda. Believe me people, I KNOW that he won't remember anything. We are DVC members and for all your DVC people out there, you know that you can only bank your points for a year and then you lose them. We banked our points last year since our son was born in the spring, so we are in a use them or lose them year. And truthfully, even if we didn't have to use our points, we would be going. I know he won't remember a thing, but we will be able to remember the look on his face when he sees Mickey. He flips when he sees him on TV or hears him on his CD, so I am sure that seeing him in person is going to be priceless. We will be armed with our cameras in hand and will have the memories for our lifetime!
We have a plan of attack and hopefully the plan will work out for us (but you know what they say about the best laid plans). We plan on trying to get up and to the parks when they open, be back at the pool (We are staying at the Beach Club Villas...can't wait for the sand bottomed pool!!) in the hot afternoons and hopefully my son will nap by the pool or in the room. Then we will have an earlier than we are used to dinner and try to enjoy some of the night time activities that the parks have to offer. Sounds great, right? Problem is, ever time I picture this all in my head, I picture my son smiling one second and then throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the parks the next. I am PETRIFIED that I am going to be "that mom" that I swore I would never become...the one with the screaming kid in the middle of the park that everyone pities. So, if there are any seasoned Disney Moms out there that have an suggestions or words of encouragement for me, please let me know...my son won't be tall enough, so I would have to abandon him to get onto Splash Mountain and find my "laughing place".
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Father's Day: The Past and The Present...and Maybe the Future
I know that this blog was supposed to be a little about my life and mostly about my love for Disney, but for today, I think I will not mention Disney at all.
First of all my Father passed away 10 1/2 years ago very suddenly. No warning, went away for a business trip to Hawaii, stayed longer to vacation and ended up having a heart attack while snorkeling. Never got a chance to say good-bye to him. Never got a chance to give him one last hug and kiss. Just got the dreaded phone call that no one wants to get. (On a side note, the only thing that is keeping me from crying while writing this is the fact that my son is crawling all over me and my laptop while I am typing trying to feed me pretzel sticks...my son who is named after my Dad.)
My Dad was the best Dad that anyone could hope for...always there for you when you needed him, never missed an important moment in your life even though he lived 3 states away. He was loving, caring and supportive. He has a love of life that I hope to have and that I strive to have. He could make the best of any bad situation, again...someday I hope to be more like him in that way. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him or wish I could pick up the phone to tell him about my day and I definitely miss his big bear hugs! (OK, so I just teared up a little, even though my crazy son is still jumping around!)
Father's Day was very difficult for a long time (still is a little hard). Then I met my husband. I think that he has a lot of the same qualities of my Dad and I think that I why I chose to spend the rest of my life with him. I see how he is with our son and I know that our son will never look back and wonder if his Father loved him. He will know it without a doubt. He is loving and caring with our son, plays with him, hugs him and kisses him ALL the time and I know he is dying to have a catch with him in the back yard once he is old enough!
So now Father's Day is joyful again...I have joy in watching my husband and son play on the floor, joy in making him breakfast in bed and my son looking proud as if he had some role in making the breakfast that Daddy was enjoying and joy in what the future holds for our family.
Well, going to play a game with my family and then get ready to head over to my in-laws house for dinner. A dinner that we were supposed to bring corn to, but for some reason my MIL already got corn so now I have 16 ears of corn and nothing to do with them. Oh well, I am closing my eyes and magically I am in a buoyant log floating along with Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear and Br'er Rabbit finding my laughing place! (Ok, so maybe there will be a little Disney in this post!)
Happy Father's Day to all out there!
First of all my Father passed away 10 1/2 years ago very suddenly. No warning, went away for a business trip to Hawaii, stayed longer to vacation and ended up having a heart attack while snorkeling. Never got a chance to say good-bye to him. Never got a chance to give him one last hug and kiss. Just got the dreaded phone call that no one wants to get. (On a side note, the only thing that is keeping me from crying while writing this is the fact that my son is crawling all over me and my laptop while I am typing trying to feed me pretzel sticks...my son who is named after my Dad.)
My Dad was the best Dad that anyone could hope for...always there for you when you needed him, never missed an important moment in your life even though he lived 3 states away. He was loving, caring and supportive. He has a love of life that I hope to have and that I strive to have. He could make the best of any bad situation, again...someday I hope to be more like him in that way. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him or wish I could pick up the phone to tell him about my day and I definitely miss his big bear hugs! (OK, so I just teared up a little, even though my crazy son is still jumping around!)
Father's Day was very difficult for a long time (still is a little hard). Then I met my husband. I think that he has a lot of the same qualities of my Dad and I think that I why I chose to spend the rest of my life with him. I see how he is with our son and I know that our son will never look back and wonder if his Father loved him. He will know it without a doubt. He is loving and caring with our son, plays with him, hugs him and kisses him ALL the time and I know he is dying to have a catch with him in the back yard once he is old enough!
So now Father's Day is joyful again...I have joy in watching my husband and son play on the floor, joy in making him breakfast in bed and my son looking proud as if he had some role in making the breakfast that Daddy was enjoying and joy in what the future holds for our family.
Well, going to play a game with my family and then get ready to head over to my in-laws house for dinner. A dinner that we were supposed to bring corn to, but for some reason my MIL already got corn so now I have 16 ears of corn and nothing to do with them. Oh well, I am closing my eyes and magically I am in a buoyant log floating along with Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear and Br'er Rabbit finding my laughing place! (Ok, so maybe there will be a little Disney in this post!)
Happy Father's Day to all out there!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Introducing Myself and Winding Down...
As I have said in my "About Me" section. I am a high school teacher...math teacher more specifically, so I am sure you will find lots of spelling/grammar mistakes in my blog. I have always been a lot stronger with numbers and not as much with words, so I think it is a little ironic that I am starting a blog. But, you can catch my mistakes and I will help your son/daughter pass Algebra...even trade!
I have a wonderful husband who loves me even on my bad days! I love spending time with him and sharing my love for Disney. You could say that we had a Disney romance. We were engaged in Disney by the Sassagoula River. We returned the next year for our honeymoon and then again the following year for our 1st anniversary (on that trip we signed up for DVC). We didn't make it back for our 2nd anniversary, because we welcome our son to the world. We will be returning to Disney this August to take our son for his first trip!
I have a 15 month old son who is my entire world! He makes me smile every day. He has the ability to make me want to pull my hair out and then in the next second has me laughing hysterically. He has such a big personality...I can foresee him being the class clown (and as a teacher, that makes me a little nervous). He loves Mickey Mouse...most people think we have brain washed him, but really, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was the first show that would catch him attention for more than 30 seconds at a time. We have video of him playing and stopping in his tracks when he heard Mickey's voice and starting to dance around. So our course his first birthday party was a fully decked out Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party!
The school year is finally winding down. It has been a tough year. It was hard to leave my little boy and go back to work when he was only 5 1/2 months. Our lovely new governor has made life for teachers even harder. And even though I enjoyed all the snow and snow days we had this winter, the added days at the end of the year has made me feel like I am running a non-stop marathon. We finally are in "finals time", so I just have a few more days to grade finals, pack up my room and look forward to my summer with my little man.
We are less than two months away from our Disney trip and I am getting more excited by the day! I am sure I will be posting lots about our planning and my apprehension about taking our son for the first time. Don't get my wrong, I really am excited, but as you get to know my little mouse, you will see that he is a non-stop ball of curious energy who doesn't always turn on his listening ears (he is after all, only 15 months old). Hopefully there are some seasoned Disney parents out there than can offer some advice along the way.
Well...gearing up for my last Friday of the school year! Going to go read a little Kingdom Keepers III before bed and dream of my "laughing place".
I have a wonderful husband who loves me even on my bad days! I love spending time with him and sharing my love for Disney. You could say that we had a Disney romance. We were engaged in Disney by the Sassagoula River. We returned the next year for our honeymoon and then again the following year for our 1st anniversary (on that trip we signed up for DVC). We didn't make it back for our 2nd anniversary, because we welcome our son to the world. We will be returning to Disney this August to take our son for his first trip!
I have a 15 month old son who is my entire world! He makes me smile every day. He has the ability to make me want to pull my hair out and then in the next second has me laughing hysterically. He has such a big personality...I can foresee him being the class clown (and as a teacher, that makes me a little nervous). He loves Mickey Mouse...most people think we have brain washed him, but really, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was the first show that would catch him attention for more than 30 seconds at a time. We have video of him playing and stopping in his tracks when he heard Mickey's voice and starting to dance around. So our course his first birthday party was a fully decked out Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party!
The school year is finally winding down. It has been a tough year. It was hard to leave my little boy and go back to work when he was only 5 1/2 months. Our lovely new governor has made life for teachers even harder. And even though I enjoyed all the snow and snow days we had this winter, the added days at the end of the year has made me feel like I am running a non-stop marathon. We finally are in "finals time", so I just have a few more days to grade finals, pack up my room and look forward to my summer with my little man.
We are less than two months away from our Disney trip and I am getting more excited by the day! I am sure I will be posting lots about our planning and my apprehension about taking our son for the first time. Don't get my wrong, I really am excited, but as you get to know my little mouse, you will see that he is a non-stop ball of curious energy who doesn't always turn on his listening ears (he is after all, only 15 months old). Hopefully there are some seasoned Disney parents out there than can offer some advice along the way.
Well...gearing up for my last Friday of the school year! Going to go read a little Kingdom Keepers III before bed and dream of my "laughing place".
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