Disney Hollywood Studios - September 30

Another day up and at 'em at 6 am. My girls did NOT want to wake up but we mentioned Tower of Terror and they conceded. Our first ride of the day was Toy Story Mania - a 4D ride based on the Toy Story characters and midway games. It was fun but we weren't like the obsessives that steal all of the Fast Passes. haha! The stand by wait time for the ride the rest of the day averaged 50 minutes and all of the Fast Passes were gone by noon. So..... we only rode it once.

Our next ride was the Tower of Terror. I was not looking forward to riding this one and once we were seated I was thinking of ways to get off this ride. I worked myself into a cold sweat and was shaking profusely before we even got to the big drop. It was less of a traumatic experience than I had envisioned so I went on it twice more. I still screamed my head off though. Our other favorite ride was the Rock n Rollercoaster which we did three times as well.

The crowds were very manageable today and the weather was great. 85 and sunny, not too humid like yesterday. We were able to see most of the attractions and all in 20 minutes or less. One thing our girls (and Nate) have fallen in love with is the Disney pins. We have to stop at every store that sells pins and well, that literally is almost every store.

Overall we had a fantastic day filled with thrills and chills - the kind I get when my 12 year old daughter gives me attitude and she was filled with it again today. You know that Mother Goose poem about the little girl with the little curl...that's Josie. When she's good she's so wonderful but when she turns bad well......

ATTRACTIONS - All great
The Great Movie Ride
American Idol Experience Finale
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
Star Tours X 2
Lights, Motors, Action
Toy Story Midway Mania
Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage
Rock n Rollercoaster X 3
Tower of Terror X 4
Block Party Bash parade

WHERE WE ATE
Lunch - Pizza Planet
Dinner - Hollywood Brown Derby - Rib Eye Steak, Salmon and Fish Fingers w/ grapefruit cake and creme brulee'

WHAT I LEARNED
* There are many modes of travel around Disney Theme Parks. The most popular being slow moving motorized carts. I shouldn't knock it though as that will be me in 20 years.
* Tomorrow we are force feeding Josie protein before she goes into low blood sugar mode. There were several times it got close to being a "knock down/ drag out". It was semi-reassuring to see several other parents with teens dealing with the same issues.
* I've heard Disney has been losing money but I thought, "Really??? How bad could it be?" until I saw a Cast Member repairing the vinyl stairs at Pizza Planet with duct tape. Yep, you read that right....DUCT TAPE!

INJURIES
* Nate's still in pain and will be even more so this time tomorrow as he is down to his last prescription painkiller
* I managed to rub a hole near my crotch yesterday so now I'm walking like I rode a bull all day and NO that is not a metaphor for something nasty. All I can say is that I bet 1 in 4 women have a serious chafing problem while at the parks

THINGS WE ARE NOT VERY GOOD AT
* I pre-paid for a photopass cd but have been very bad about actually getting photos taken of us
* We have yet to stand in line to meet any characters, we're hoping this will change tomorrow
* Getting Chocolate Mike out of our backpack. He's stuck in there again.

Tomorrow is going to be another long day as we will head to the Magic Kingdom in the am and will come back to change into our Halloween costumes and go back for Mickey's Halloween Party until midnight.

Epcot - September 29

The day started at 6 am. That's 3 am Idaho time! No wonder my eyes were so puffy this morning. Everyone woke up happy and ready to go until we got to Epcot. Josie decided to play the part of surly teen while waiting for the park to open. Argh. We forced some peanuts on her and she started to perk up. During this time Nate reaized he left his room key/ park entrance back at the hotel. He started to go back to the buses to go back to the hotel when I realized that this is Disney, there's got to be a way that we can get another key. Thankfully we could do that at guest relations which was good to know as halfway through the day Josie lost her key in the park.

Our first ride was Soarin'. We were able to get on within 5 minutes. The rest of the day was like that so we never even had to get Fastpasses as the crowds were fairly manageable. After several attractions we made our way to the World Showcase. The food and wine festival was happening so Nate kept steering himself toward the beers around the world. We ate lunch at Teppan Edo in Japan. Our chef was very entertaining and the food was great. The bill for lunch was $140! Thank goodness for the dining plan! (I'll probably praise this all week, just so you know.)

After lunch Nate wanted to go to the Sam Adams beer seminar so the girls and I wandered to Norway and Mexico. The seminar was full so Nate met up with us and the girls decided that they wanted to go to Soarin' again. So back to The Lands. During Soarin' we checked out the WDW Dining app on Josie's iTouch (I highly recommend this app) and decided to eat at the Liberty Tree back in the World Showcase. During dinner we sat outside and listened to Richard Marx put on a show. Man, he still sounds the same.

After dinner and the show we went to the boat dock to make our way to Disney Hollywood Studios to see the only showing of Fantasmic that we were able to catch. The kids (and Nate) started falling apart about then just as I was catching my second wind fom the giant cup of Diet Coke I'd just consumed. Just as we entered the park there was a big line forming for the show. I told Nate to take the girls to an attraction and I'd hold their place in line. We'd heard that lines for Rock n' Rollercoaster would be short due to everyone being at the first showing of Fantasmic. Boy, were they wrong. They had a 40 minute wait. We met each other at the show and it was wonderful.

After it was over, we made our way to the bus lines which were incredibly long. We kept bypassing people as we just assumed that they were going to a different resort and then realized they were all in line to go to ours after we cut into it. I feel really guilty about that. Back to the resort for snacks and showers and bed.

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
I thought I was being smart by putting my phone in my bra. Not so, the thing got too hot in there, steamed up and fried.

ATTRACTIONS
Soarin' X 2
Mission Space
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Test Track - this ride quit mid-ride we were stranded in a dark tunnel for about 15 minutes. Thanks goodness we weren't outside.
Reflections of China
Maelstrom in Norway
Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico
Fantastmic - DHS
Rock n Rollercoaster - DHS

HOW THE FAMILY FAIRED
Hmmmm......not sure how to answer this. I did well, Nate came and went and the girls fought towards the end. Not so much my vision of the perfect family vacation kick off. More along the lines of the Griswolds/ Bundys.

INJURIES
Nate's back and arm that keeps going numb also some unmentionable side effects from the pain medication
Josie has some nasty infected ingrown hairs on her knee due to volleyball kneepads

We Made It - Recap of September 28

We woke up at 4 am yesterday morning with big smiles on and a ready to go attitude. The girls alarm clock consisted of me cranking up When You Wish Upon a Star on our computer. I soon realized the neighbors probably didn't enjoy the wake-up call like we did.

Everything went so smoothly yesterday: getting our boarding passes, airport security, airplanes being on time, getting our baggage, getting on Magic Express and checking into our hotel. It was all wonderful except for the fact that it took the entire day.

We knew we were in for some Disney Magic when we boarded the Magical Express bus with it's red seats and yellow stars and my personal favorite, the glittery floors of the bus. Since the bus was pretty empty we sat up front and chatted with Rick, the bus driver who provided us with a wealth of information.

Our hotel is pretty wacky with the oversized sports theme. We're in the tennis building next to the surfboard pool and our view is of a tree and the tennis court. The food court here is something else very loud and chaotic and Anita is right, the food is overpriced and not very good BUT we're here on the free dining pan so no more complaints about food from me. We also unpacked everything and totally made ourselves at home. I think I brought everything except the kitchen sink, well, scratch that I did forget to pack Josie's black underskirt for her costume. Poop!

All good things muct come to an end though as we all had a small meltdown about 12:30 am when we decided the best remedy was to just go to bed.

I'd love to post pics but the connection here via the cell phone is pretty S L O W. We're off to Epcot!

T-minus 12 hours!!!!

I'm taking a small break from packing to free up space on our camera's memory card. It's been a whirlwind around here trying to pick up last minute things from the store, clean the house, drop off Butterscotch at the kennel, check and recheck to make sure I have all of the proper tickets and documentation. The girls have been worried that I'm not as excited as I have been but the truth is I'm so bogged down in all the details right now but believe me I AM EXCITED!!!!!

If you noticed around Moscow today that lights seemed to be a little bit dimmer and it took you longer to microwave your popcorn it was probably because we were charging all of our electronics: Nintendos, camera batteries, phones and Nate's laptop.


I was still sewing costumes as of this afternoon but I'm proud to say I finished them. Annabelle models hers for me and I'm so happy that she loves it. Jeannine lent us the crown. Annabelle will definitely be more dolled up for Mickey's Halloween party.


The back

I made these Mickey luggage tags with the Mickey Cricut cartridge. All of our pertinent info is on the back of them. Thanks Remberts for the use of your suitcases!

You may have noticed that there is no clothes in my suitcase yet......BUT I do have the all important bottle of Captain Morgan, my trusty travel companions Chocolate Mike and Caramel Spike and a plethora of pharmaceuticals as one never knows if you'll get diarrhea, constipation, allergies, a cold, eczema, chafing, headaches, sunburn and/ or hot dog fingers on your 7 day vacation and one can probably guess that Disney charges an arm and a leg for these items.

We have an early morning tomorrow so I better finish packing. Woo Hoo!!!!!

T-minus 3 days!

The nerves are starting to kick in as I'm looking around at my trashed house, my unpacked luggage and my to-do list that seems to be getting larger by the minute. I have accomplished sewing the girls' Halloween costumes for Mickey's Halloween party though so that is a huge relief.

Today I am going shopping at Ross to find something for me to wear in the hot humid FL weather and then on to Wal*Mart where my shopping list is almost as long as my to-do list. I need to get this done this afternoon as Josie has a volleyball game in Clarkston and we won't be getting home until later tonight when I'll be too pooped to do anything.

A Million Words or Less: Josie Spain

Josie's 7th grade English teacher sent us parents home with homework after parent night a few weeks ago. We had to write her what we thought she should know about our child. This is what I came up with.

A Million Words or Less: Josephine Spain
By her mother, Molly Spain

There are a lot of things I can say
About my dear daughter, Josephine Rae
She’s witty and funny
And very responsible with money
Athletic and strong
But doesn’t like to read for long
She really enjoys playing her Nintendo DS
And thinks actor Taylor Lautner is the best
I’d love to say that she is gentle and caring
But more accurately, she’s assertive and daring
Not one to let the little things get her down
Enjoys not solitude but friends and family around
Loves to ride bikes, be outside and to camp
And when it comes to TV viewing she’s a champ
She can’t sit still and constantly wiggles
Has the sense of humor like a comedienne that sends us into fits of giggles
She’s very inquisitive, lots of questions she asks
I wouldn’t call her lazy but it takes her forever to complete home tasks
She’s adventurous, happy, energetic and goofy
Prefers her hair straightened not big and poufy
She’s a quick learner, past teachers have said so
Her nicknames include: J-Dog, Feenster and Dosey Doe
She loves to dine out, especially dinners of lobster and steak
Of this I am certain; she’ll never be a cheap date
The term ‘old soul’ is definitely not our little girl
As she is fairly naïve to the ways of the world
I only have one million words or less???
I can sum it up in four – Josie is the best!

What??? I Can't Live There?

One week from today we'll be en route to Orlando. I just did online check in for our resort and wanting to make sure I dotted my 'i's and crossed my 't's I read everything clearly even that pesky 'terms of agreement'. It started off very formal and typical and then got downright funny when I came across this line "Neither I nor any member of my party occupying any resort accommodation have/has any intention of making, and will never make, this resort accommodation a legal domicile or principal dwelling. My/our legal domicile is and shall forever be outside the Walt Disney World Resort." There must be a lot of visitors out there that would love to reside at WDW. I also agreed to not feed the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Park. Phew! Now I just need to read the terms from Southwest Airlines to figure what I can and can't take on carry-on and how much my bags need to weigh.

Into the Single Digits until Vacation!

9 more days until we arrive in Orlando! Annabelle and I are getting super excited while Nate and Josie have taken the more 'we'll get excited once we get down there' approach. I can't begin to tell you how many hours I have logged into the internet researching maps, hours of operation, message boards, etc. It's like I've virtually gone to WDW 100's of times now and some days I feel like I'm suffering from Disney research fatigue. Isn't that awful to say? I know once I get down there all of the hours I have put in to looking up info will be greatly worth it.

Now I am starting to get into panic mode. I haven't even begun to pack and my list of things to get keeps growing on a daily basis. throw on top of that all of the things I've neglected since spending so much time on the computer: housework and yard work being the main items I realize that I need to stay up later and get up earlier to do all those things. It hasn't helped that all of our favorite TV shows have returned for the fall making evenings even more hard to get things done.

Aye yi yi! I shall prevail so off I go

Closer to Reality

Our tickets were awaiting us when we arrived home from Hoorah!. In 20 days we will be embarking on a magical adventure and I can hardly contain my excitement! I am getting the bug to start packing already and have started a pile of things to take: rain ponchos, mesh laundry bags for dirty clothes, packs of protein bars.....

My major project is to get the girls' Halloween cotumes made for Mickey's Halloween party. I tried to convince them to just buy them this year but we couldn't find what they wanted. So I am off to do that project right now. Yay!

Damn You Fibroids!!!!

This post has information that may contain TMI - that's "too much information" for the layman. If you'd rather not hear about cramps, periods, girl parts etc. I suggest you skip this one.

Why is that major things happen at the most inconvenient times? My girl parts the last few months have taken a turn for the worst since May. I started having gnarly periods that lasted anywhere from several weeks to an entire month giving me a small window of a break and then starting back up again. I finally went to the doctor, had an ultrasound and found out I have fibroids taking over my uterus. There are 2 alternatives that I know of right now: do nothing and live with it until I hit menopause OR get a hysterectomy. Hmmmm.......is there no door #3, no magic pill that will dissolve these alien growths taking my belly fat along with them?

Now, I don't know if it's because I now know what's happening with my body but the cramps are getting way worse and are lasting a lot longer. I've gained some weight and am bloated to the point that I look like I'm 7 months pregnant. I truly can't imagine that my summer eating habits have contributed to that appearance and weight gain at all.

The inconvenient timeing to all of this is the fact that our family vacation is right around the corner so I have opted to put off surgery until we get back. So now I get to hobble around Disneyworld getting funny looks from cast members as they load up a seemly very pregnant woman onto Space Mountain. Boy, I bet you can't wait to see the pictures of that!