The Eighteen Years in the Planning Pre-Trip Report About This Page:

[Nick and Ryans Mom]

[chezp]

What a perfect response - and I hope your vacation is as magical as you want it to be.

[Colexis Mom]

Great job

[emtpej]

Some people just have to (metaphorically) be hit with a brick...

[tinker_me_happy]

I am at that point now where there is not much else to do. As of this writing I am 76 days away!! WOOT WOOT! Of course the song 76 Trombones pops into my head when I see my countdown ticker (one of my Gramma’a favorite songs I’d like to add) and now it is stuck there. I don’t think I had mentioned that I pre purchased the photopass cd. I am truly anxious thinking about it…making sure I get lots of pictures, getting my family to cooperate with having their pictures taken, getting me to cooperate having my picture taken (I hate having my picture taken). Will the pics look good? Will I look enormously fat? Ok, enough, but you get the idea, I’m obsessing! I try not to think too much about it, but it is niggling at the back of my brain.

I am putting together a scrapebook for my DD from last summer. We were in Florida for Nationals at the end of her junior year of HS. My dear friend Pauline (with whom we went to Disney) is helping me put her “senior memories” book together starting with pictures from Nationals which includes our time in Sea World, Universal and Disney, and goes through this past year. I have only a couple of pictures of me and I hate them both. I don’t want to hate all my pictures from our trip in August. After reading another thread (woman’s weight issues) I feel more confident about looking better (for myself) when we are there. So even though I again have done the “Cancel the photopass, you won’t like any of the pictures anyway” thing in my head, I am sticking to my plan to get as many pictures as possible. And that leads me to Corey, my photographer child…

Corey is a photography buff. He has LOVED film and photography since he was a young child. At age three, he had a disposable camera I bought for him and I got the most interesting pictures… The window from my bedroom in the apartment we lived in at the time was low and faced the street. He stood in my bedroom window for hours (it was a quiet street) waiting for cars to come by because he wanted to get pictures of cars moving. He also took some very interesting shots of the toilet. Looking straight into it (don’t worry it was clean), the toilet bowl from the side, laying on the floor looking up a the toilet. Well needless to say at the time I did not think of those pictures as art, and when the film was developed, the prints found themselves in the trash. As years went by, he turned to making homemade video horror movies. Well I actually thought they were comedies! As a teen, began using a still camera again, as well as the video camera. He is actually quite good with an incredibly artistic eye!

So other than going for the food, Grumpy is our official family Disney Trip Photographer! On Monday (Memorial Day) he was having an exceptionally good morning. We talked a lot about his camera and some of the things I thought he would enjoy photographing. I would like to thank Mestitch for her wonderful pictures in her trip reports too! I was able to get Corey to look at some of your pics and he was getting excited about using his camera when we go. He also looked a little bit at the allears website photo blog and loved what he saw there! I can’t remember the photographers name, but he had a really cool picture of a bat (the animal, not the sport equipment) that Corey loved. “Those were taken in Disney?” Now my child who is least interested in going seems to be showing the most interest! Of course his anxiety over protecting his camera came out full force when he refused to bring his camera on any rides. (I have posted about this in the photo/darkroom forum). He is so excited about the types of pictures he will be able to take. “All that from Disney World?!” Who would have thought! I might be creating a monster… Lest mom get too excited, I must remember, “Small Doses”! Camera ready Corey and Camera shy mom have something in common to be excited about!

Ok and this has nothing to do with my trip, but a tribute to my Gram (and so you can see why I hate having my picture taken) I had to post this too!

[Colexis Mom]

Great update! Glad Corey is getting excited about going

[tinker_me_happy]

Marnie, I love your new Sig Pic! Are those UFOs flying in the back ground?

[Colexis Mom]

Originally Posted by tinker_me_happy

Marnie, I love your new Sig Pic! Are those UFOs flying in the back ground?

No, it's the Blue Angels

[DyanKJ130]

What a nice tribute to your Gramma! And, I don't see anything wrong with your picture! : Can't wait to hear more

[chezp]

What a lovely photo - I can't see why you don't like having your photo taken.

[mcc0313]

Glad that Corey is getting a bit into the trip...I am glad you were able to tell him how you felt, after reading this thread - you have done whatever you have had too in order to give them their dreams...you deserve this one

And the picture of you and your grandmother is wonderful....so take a lot of pictures with your family and enjoy!

[tinker_me_happy]

With all of this thinking, and dreaming of “how our trip will be”, I worry that I am setting my self up for disappointment if things don’t go as I plan/hope. But I have no control over that, so it is time to start getting practical. Luggage and packing and clothes buying… The down and dirty part of planning has just started to enter my mind. But the dreamer in me keeps thinking...Is there anyway I could get my family to all wear a similar tee shirt? (Umm NO!) But I want to make some any way just in case! (Mind talking back to me –“Don’t do it, they won’t wear them!”) I want to pin trade (“they won’t do it, and will think you’re nuts!”), but I’m going to do it anyway! I have our itinerary all planned out… well not down to the minute or anything, but some days for getting up early, and others to sleep in late. What parks on what days, where we will be eating, that sort of thing. But of course I keep rethinking my ADRs! Will they like Chef Mickey's? Should I drop Liberty Tree Tavern and stick with Beaches & Cream? Big Sigh...

I need to go buy some clothes. I tried to see if Corey will come with me and get himself a few things. Not Interested. Evan and Alicia are ALWAYS up for new clothes, and Jeffrey will have to get his own. I bought him a pair of short a few years ago, and it took him 3 summers before he wore them! So next on the list … SHOPPING!

I hate shopping. Well, not entirely, but I think that gene in me is defective. I go in, get what I need and get out. I cannot take Evan or Alicia shopping because they both could shop for hours. That and Alicia's room looks like a Mall threw up in it! Part of my problem is nothing ever fits right. I am SHORT and very chubby. I have NO waist (ribs end just barely above my hips!) PLUS the fashions this year are…well I DON”T LIKE THEM!! I am really picky and usually never find anything I like. I lack style. I am a jeans and tee shirt or scrub wearing kind of gal. I think I went into nursing so I wouldn’t have to worry about my wardrobe if I became a teacher! Seriously there is something wrong with me! BUT I am determined this year I will find some nice looking outfits to wear in the parks instead of my usual schlep. I did go shopping last Saturday looking for a top to wear to my DD graduation. I spent three hours (a record for me) and couldn’t find ANYTHING I even remotely liked. So I am feeling discouraged about shopping for clothes for Disney when I should be excited! Grumpy is refusing to wear anything but jeans (so I HAVE to find him some pants that will not make him completely melt). I know he will thank me later, but he too is VERY hard to buy for. He is just too skinny!

Other shopping doesn’t deter me. Bought new suitcases and a baggolini. Bought a bunch of stuff we’ll need like toothpaste and deodorant. Have the first aid kit all ready to go with bandaids, motrin, Tylenol, zantac, moleskin, mini scissors. I still need to get Grumpy a decent camera bag and extra camera cards. So it is time to get practical and make my list, check it twice and get to the store for anything else I can buy and have ready to go now! Yup! It's time to print out the packing list

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you got a lot of things shopping

[disneydani]

Happy Shopping!

danielle

[Princess_Wantabe]

Happy shopping! I know exactly how you feel I also wear scrubs for work (medical lab tech) and my scrubs are the prettiest clothes i have...how sad is that! Other than that I'm a jeans and tshirt kinda gal BUT you can't wear jeans to WDW in August...you won't make it past breakfast
talking Grumpy into some shorts! Me, I stick with lightweight capris
and that you find something for yourself!