PTR: "PLEASE go to Disney already!" About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

[Nemo125]

Great start! And good luck on the new house!

[Peanut_mommy]

Yay!!! So the appraisal went very well, and after a few nerve-wracking weeks, we found out that the VA approved our waiver, so we were cleared to close! We go sign the papers this coming Friday, and start moving on Saturday! Oh my goodness!

I have been working a lot to try and keep myself busy and distracted from the house situation and the Disney countdown, and it worked for the most part. I did manage to get my TA to snag tickets for the Galactic Spectacular as a surprise for Peanut, who became a Star Wars nut (FINALLY!) after years of her dad and I trying to ingrain it by showing her movies at least a couple of times a year. What finally got her was that we had tickets for the opening night of TFA, and told her that she couldn't go unless she watched all six previous movies. She did, over the course of a week, and now will not stop talking about Kylo Ren. Not my choice for a favorite character, but hey, if it gets her talking Star Wars, I'm okay with that!

I also picked up a couple of FastPasses - one for Frozen and one for Mine Train, as we haven't been on either one. Otherwise, as I promised her, we will decide which park each day and book what FPs we can. Otherwise we'll wing it!

35 days to go!

[Colexis Mom]

Congrats on the closing!

[jackid2]

Congrats!!

[SuperDave]

Congrats on the house and always a great feeling with the closing as less aggravation now!

[Cam22]

Congrats on the closing! Hope you all enjoy Star Wars: Galactic Fireworks.

[Peanut_mommy]

Oh my GOSH! This is not the first time I've bought a house - my ex-husband and I bought one, more than 15 years ago, but I don't remember it being this HARD! Moving weekend went as well as could be expected - the weather held out for us, although it got REALLY warm on the Sunday. I did get to show the family how great a whole-house fan was then, though!

Throughout the week after closing, we did about a dozen trips with two CUV's (a Honda CR-V and a Toyota RAV4), to bring over the boxes and bags and bins that 15 years of three collectors, plus another 6 years of another, can build up. We haven't been able to use the garage for its intended purpose yet, and we've been living here for three weeks now!

But my Disney Vacation bin (our 'Owners' Locker' at home) made it into my office and I finally got time to start unpacking it today and I had a mild panic attack when I realized I haven't gotten coins for pressing, or Mousekeeping cash, or envelopes... no touring plans... GAAAHAHHHHH! This isn't healthy! LoL

I did pick up some new luggage for the family, with a small hitch - we had a great set of softside luggage I bought for our first Disney trip as a family in '07, and slowly it fell apart - first the large suitcase, then the smaller one... so this time, I went with American Tourister hardshell suitcases - Mickey and Minnie for me and our roommate, Boba Fett for hubby (which is why roomie gets stuck with Mickey!) and I ordered a Kylo Ren for the Peanut.

Mickey, Minnie and Boba Fett arrived last weekend. Kylo wasn't shipping. I waited. And waited. And on the last day of the possible shipping window, I messaged the seller on Amazon. Strangely, within an hour, I had a shipping notification. However, as I watched it over the last couple of days, I noticed it was getting further away from us... first Ohio, then Nevada... and then the destination became California. Uhhhh... wrong coast, dude. So I messaged again. It was a 'mistake,' they said, and could they expedite it to me, on their dime, to fix the problem. I told them as long as it was here in time for my daughter to pack it for vacation, it was fine. Then they messaged again and gee, sorry, all our air shipments have already gone out, we cancelled your order and refunded you.

*sigh*

So I found another, more reliable seller, and asked if I could pay expedited shipping. They apologized but they can't offer it. So I decided that Peanut could borrow Boba Fett for the beginning of the trip, and I asked them to ship Kylo to my parents' house. So hopefully that works!

Then I got a wild hair, and checked Southwest's website, just to see what I could see. And lo and behold, after cost-comparing the drive in a rental car, versus flying, it was actually cheaper to fly to Orlando and rent a car, drive to my folks', return the car at Pensacola airport; then when it's Disney time, we rent a car at Pensacola, drive to Orlando and drop the car again. A flight plus a six hour drive each way, versus 24 plus hours of solo driving. Ummm... okay, sure! So that's happening...

Of course now I won't get to bring my Mickey balloons home like I'd hoped, but maybe next time.

Our Magic Bands arrived:


I'm so excited they added purple! And I can't believe my kid just wants grey! LoL

I've dug out our Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom books, autograph books, space bags, pressed coin books and tubes...

I need to find my camera and battery...

I got to talk to John of Owner's Locker fame on the phone, to straighten out a weirdness with my account so that could be scheduled...

We all went to the bookstore last night for an outing and I picked up a couple new guidebooks, which I haven't done in a long time!

Monday I'll probably hit the bank to get coins and bills, do some laundry...

I wish I had more exciting stuff, like touring plans, to share! But I'm being a good mum and letting Peanut have her trip like she wants it. Even if it's killing me! =)

[cattailmarsh]

Sounds like you got a great deal done even if it was in a roundabout way. Also it seems like your peanut will get the trip she wants all bc you are being a great mom!

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[SuperDave]

So much to do and think about but seems like you got a lot done and the plans could work out to going to Disney from Pensacola!

[pamcarey]

Just reading through your PTR! Sounds like a great, and much needed, trip! I can't believe you work that many hours AND homeschool! When do you sleep?


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[Peanut_mommy]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Just reading through your PTR! Sounds like a great, and much needed, trip! I can't believe you work that many hours AND homeschool! When do you sleep?


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What's sleep? Hehehe... thankfully, since my daughter is older, and has been homeschooled for so many years, she is moving more and more into self-teaching, with me as her 'guide,' answering questions as she needs it. We also have a fantastic co-op that we work with. Next year will be even less work for me because she'll be attending her school's online academy, so she will have remote teachers and 'classmates' on forums to work with. Basically, mornings are 'home' time - being available for her during school, while doing chores and tasks, and then after lunch I switch into 'work' time, which can run into the evening and sometimes late at night. I am REALLY looking forward to a vacation! =)

I found my camera and charger last night, along with one of my cell phone battery backups.

I did a garage excavation to help DD find her missing laundry (Yes, she moved a laundry basket full of dirty laundry... ewwwww) so she could wash her First Order tee-shirt to meet Kylo. Luckily, I also found another Disney bin that had my hand-made ears that a friend of mine created for me. I didn't want to go without those!

Our travel docs arrived today, reminding me why I love my travel agent so much (she included Mickey and friends stickers!!!! <3 <3)

I had a last-minute epiphany and ordered mesh backpacks for the two of us, to be delivered to my parents' house.

I posted some trade offers on some Sorcerers' boards on FB and immediately drowned in offers... that should get interesting...

Think today is laundry day, along with a bit of work-work. Already today we brought two carloads of cardboard to recycling, checked out Free Comic Book Day, threw some dishes in the dishwasher, cleaned my kitchen again (three weeks, how is it so dirty?!?!), and filled up our bookcase again.

...have I mentioned I need this vacation!?!?!

[Peanut_mommy]

Oh! And much to the teenager's chagrin, I ordered Memory Maker.

[Peanut_mommy]

So we are in Florida! =)

A busy couple of days before our flight. I woke up Monday morning to let in the pest control tech to take care of the carpenter ant colony outside our garage (who just thinks our house is the BEST place!) around 9 a.m. He went about his business and was gone before too long, and I got to work.

I gathered the troops and out we went - to Target, to look for shorts for Peanut ( we found ONE skirt she liked. Uggghhh) and nail polish remover - I dumped my old stuff before the move, it was almost gone. As is normal for a Target run, we left with a bunch of other stuff. We went to Lowe's for the millionth time, to Staples for a new desk chair for hubby, then to the post office for work, and the bank, for coins and tip cash.

I love our bank. It's very small-town feel, with friendly people who usually recognize you. This particular time, I went in, and started to count out what I needed... 10 rolls of quarters, two rolls of pennies... the teller stopped me and said just to give her a total so she could withdraw, and she would break it down however I wanted. So I did the quick mental math and told her, "two hundred dollars and fifty cents." She withdrew $250. ROFL!!! She apologized about three times and said "I'll re-deposit it for you, I'm so sorry..." I laughed and said "It's vacation money, I'm sure I'll spend it SOMEWHERE." So I just took the extra, maybe for an extra Mickey bar or two.

With that task done, we headed home. I told my daughter to bring everything she wanted down to the kitchen and put it on the table so I could pack later. Apparently 'everything' does not include her school yearbook to show her grandparents, her homemade Mickey ears, or the addresses to mail her friends postcards. (At least that's what we've found she's forgotten so far.) I headed down to my office to get some work done. I honestly did try! But you guys know how well 'work' goes this close to Disney!

After a few hours of trying, it was time to head out for a family outing, since we would be apart for the better part of two weeks. So we had dinner and went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and loved it.

When we got home, I told DD to get any last-minute things because I was going to start packing. Eventually I did wrestle everything into three suitcases and a carry-on. The new suitcases are smaller... by quite a bit. But nothing was squished either, and I feel better about the hardsides.

Because I'm paranoid about airports and lead times after almost missing several flights and luggage going missing because of late check-ins, I knew we'd be leaving the house around 3 a.m., so I just stayed up. I watched some recorded tv shows to get them gone, while I did some mindless work on the computer, and around 2 a.m. I grabbed a shower, and my roommate painted my toenails in my "Tink" gloss - it's light blue and sparkly! And around 3, DD was up and ready, and I roused hubby to take us to Logan.

Driving into Boston is usually something I dread, but it's not so bad around 4 in the morning! LoL We cruised in, hubby dropped us at the curb with kisses and hugs, and headed back to get ready for work. Peanut and I went in, checked the bags, and waited in the security line. It wasn't long (especially for Logan) but it took FOREVER. Only one scanner was open, and people were acting like they had no idea about taking their shoes off, etc.

My bag got pulled aside because of the M&M containers full of coins, but after a shared laugh with the TSA agent when I explained what they were, we were finally through and hunting down some food. As we came up the escalator toward our gate, we looked at each other, "IS THAT BACON?" Sure enough, there was a Friendly's counter, with breakfast sandwiches and heavenly smelling bacon. We got two bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches with home fries and sat down to eat. I pulled out our travel docs and gave her the park hours, explaining about the two FPs we have, and told her to start thinking about which parks she might want to do when. I told her "Please do at least one thing in each park, because it will make me happy to see them." She responded that of COURSE she would, am I crazy???

So then I pointed to Tuesday and said "And that night, we need to be at Hollywood Studios." She gave me an eyebrow, so I told her "We're going to a Star Wars dessert party and will get to watch the Star Wars fireworks from a reserved spot." I read the description and showed her pictures and she declared it an AWESOME surprise. LoL

[Peanut_mommy]

We finished up our breakfast and ambled to our gate to wait. We were early, but I was happy about that. No rushing or stressing. Since we were on Southwest, we did Early Bird boarding, which turns out to be kind of a waste on the first flight, as it was half empty! I was less than totally impressed by our flight attendants, which is weird, because I usually love SW crew. Maybe it was just too early for them.

We took off and landed a bit early, and wandered our way through Baltimore airport to find our second gate. Again, we were early, but that was a good thing. Our Early Bird spots on this one were almost at the end of the A group, but as we got on, the crew were telling us there were about 25 empty seats, so once again we had a row to ourselves. We tried watching a few episodes of 30 Rock (DD's new obsession), but eventually I put my head down on my sweatshirt-pillow and conked out until the 15 minute warning. This flight crew was much friendlier!

Once off the plane, we took our time, and did a first for us - we actually stopped at the EARport and Universal store. Every time I've flown into MCO before, I was so eager to get to DME, I whisked past them. This time I wanted to get the pressed pennies, and of course we did a little shopping. We even picked up some Harry Potter goodies for our roommate.

Eventually we made it to the 'fake' monorail and over to bag claim. By the time we got there, everyone was gone, and there was our Mickey, Minnie and Boba Fett bags waiting for us. We picked them up and then waited in a horrible line at Budget. Seemed like everyone ahead of us wanted to argue something with the clerks, and it just took FOREVER. They tried to give us a VW Beetle, but I paid the $10 to upgrade to a Camry. LoL

We found the car, and off we went. What a BORING drive. Once you're away from Orlando and its Disney/Universal signs, there's nothing to look at. Ugggghhhh. DD was the 'dj,' playing songs on my phone through the car, doing her best to keep me entertained. We stopped every hour or so, so I could stretch my legs and wake up a bit.

We arrived at my parents' house a little before 8 p.m. their time. We brought our stuff in, kissed my dad and mom hello, celebrated that Peanut's Kylo Ren suitcase had arrived even before we had, and as DD handed me my phone I noticed that I had text messages and phone calls from my boss. I decided to ignore them for a while (I told them I was taking Tuesday off for travel,) because I was exhausted - don't forget, except for a folded-in-half nap on the second flight, I hadn't slept since Sunday night - and to be honest, I was very frustrated that they couldn't give me peace for just one day.

Eventually, my worker-bee nature got to me, and I went to find out what was up. I shouldn't have. I wound up staying up until 2 a.m. untangling a problem that shouldn't have happened, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

This morning I woke up with the alarm I had set, so I could meet with a co-worker. I emailed him and said "No way, I will be of no use to you" and explained what had happened. I went back to sleep for a bit.

When I woke up again, my mom's nurse had arrived, so my dad and I drove to the Pensacola airport to return the rental. Peanut came along, so we also stopped for lunch and a trip to the bookstore. I fell asleep on the way home. Thankfully, I also had an email from my co-worker, telling me not to worry about the missed meeting, he would catch me at some other point.

So I did make the other meeting I had today, did a bit of work, and fell asleep on my laptop keyboard. See a pattern?

My dad woke me up to ask about what I wanted for dinner, so I dragged myself up to go sit with my mom and aunt to watch part of the Cubs game and then eat dinner with dad and DD.

I got around to unpacking, which is when we found out about Peanut's missing items, which are now in an express mailer on the way here. Found out that one suitcase had been searched (it's always at least one from our group!) but everything looked fine. Bet it was the coin rolls again!

Not wanting to fall asleep yet again while trying to work, I came over here and lost myself in trip reports. Then I realized I should probably update my own! So here it is!!! =)