We're going to WDW! Adventures of a Mom & Toddler the TR! 9/24-9/30/2010 - Page 27 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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So glad school is working out for Skylar! It sounds like it is helping at home as well! Keep working on the DVC budget! I know you can make it work if we did!
Becki, so happy Skyler is enjoying school and you are seeing some positive changes. I hope it continues. OMG, Four days without your son...what WILL you do. Really take a moment or two for your self. Have a date with your husband. Don't spend the entire time catching up on housework or something. Promise you will take some time for you.
Thanks so much everyone for all of your kind words. I feel down in the dumps as I'm sure the rest of the PPer Community is over the loss of Lorie & Glenn. Such a horrible tragedy they had to pass away that way.
This weekend was also bittersweet for us as Erick's older brother and our sister in law are moving to Austin, TX next month. Mike got a job out there and they have to relocate (remember this is who we went to visit that live near Virginia Beach when our car broke down on the highway on our way home). It won't be the same without being able to drive out there or them out here for visits, however that just means now we'll have to plan one of Skyler's School Vacations to take a trip to Austin & the Houston, Texas areas (and maybe spend a day or 2 in San Antonio which I'm dying to visit).
Skyler has his 1st School Field Trip this Friday to the Leesburg Animal Park (mostly petting zoo) which I'm excited to go on with him. I am bummed Erick doesn't want to go with us, since he does have the day off, and it would have been nice to spend the day as a family on Skyler's school Field Trip. We also have Erick's & my 4 Year Wedding Anniversary coming up soon on June 1st (I'm still shocked it's been that long for us). Sadly I can't plan anything this year for how we'll celebrate since his new Department Head is a jerk and won't work with him to give him the night off or anything. I have tried asking him if I make one of his favorite meals at home with some help from him (I'm no Bobby Flay when it comes to the grill) to keep it simple, and see if DMIL & DFIL will be kind enough to watch Skyler just for a few hours so we can go see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie or rent some movies to watch at home with Skyler arund. Skyler has Field Day the day after so it won't be a late night for me. They also have a school Fun Fair that Friday too (so a lot coming up here). There was the carnival that comes annually in the summer to our area that came a few months early this year (we missed it because of the rain), so at least his school's Fun Fair will be fun for the both of us (and even if it's not Disney, we'll feel like we're at Disney but at home).
I did also find a cooking class to take in the next couple of weeks at the Culinary School. It is homemade Breads, but it will be fun for me to try to make those at home.
Holly, when Skyler goes to New Orleans for 4 Days, other than having the alarm set to wake Erick up for work, it's staying off for me and I plan on sleeping in (something I don't get to do anymore now that even on weekends, sleeping in for me is no later than 8:30 am when Skyler wakes up). I certainly plan to give myself some time for myself and spend as much time with Erick as I possibly can. Maybe even surprise him with an Omelette (which I finally learned to make this morning for breakfast and he actually walked in the kitchen as I was cooking it) one of those days. I think my "Me Time" then will be trying to work on my cooking skills and try impressing him with home-cooked meals. Not us eating out while they're away, or trying to take too many short cuts (which I'm well known for with cooking). I have been trying to look up picnic recipes lately of some picnic foods we both enjoy and can hopefully somehow persuade him into a romantic picnic dinner for 2 (indoors or outdoors) while Skyler is away (other than trying to get us to enjoy being outdoors during the beautiful summer days). I know this Thursday I do need to get my Pool Pass so Skyler and I can enjoy plenty of swimming this summer besides more swim lessons.
On a positive note, we leave a month from today for Lexington, KY! We can't wait to go! I can't wait to hold my baby niece Maddy. Skyler gets so excited seeing videos of her rolling from her tummy to her back, watching the video they have of her getting her ears pierced, seeing all of the pictures of her, I know he's so excited to finally get to meet his baby cousin.
Thanks so much for the encouragement Heather. I know I would love being a DVC Member, and hopefully we can save up, or somehow be able to Finance it within the next year or two.
Thanks so much everyone for all of your kind words. I feel down in the dumps as I'm sure the rest of the PPer Community is over the loss of Lorie & Glenn. Such a horrible tragedy they had to pass away that way.
It's been hard to wrap my mind around what has happened. Being at work has helped to take my mind off of things, but then I'll have a moment where my mind starts to wander to what happened and I find myself tearing up.
It's been hard to wrap my mind around what has happened. Being at work has helped to take my mind off of things, but then I'll have a moment where my mind starts to wander to what happened and I find myself tearing up.
Kathy, I'm glad I have the innocense of Skyler to help distract me in some way, but still it's just completely unreal this had to happen to them. I won't ever forget how sweet Lorie was in her comments and replies to me here on the boards. No wonder why the majority of the day I've spent my day cooking or baking something as a stress relief since I can't get out of the house at all today.
I'm glad I have all of you to talk to this about, as Erick kind of shrugged this off as I tried telling him about it (and he's very lucky he didn't lose any his family in a Natural Disaster when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans & Mississippi). I always feel horrible for those innocent people killed by selfish individuals whom have to bomb buildings, blow planes up, Massacre in School Shootings, etc., but it feels even worse when Mother Nature takes one's life too, and dear friends are lost in the blink of an eye. I've been trying to hide my tears from Skyler all day, although I did shed some earlier reading lots of Passporters on FB's posts.
Can anyone please let me know how I can add, or where to go to get the Black Ribbon to post in my siggie for them? Thank you. I'd greatly appreciate it.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Kathy, thank you, I hope he has fun on his field trip too. The instance of what happened to Lorie & Glenn is exactly why I feel a little upset Erick doesn't want to go on Skyler's Field Trip with us. Life is too short and you have to live every moment as it was your last. I don't want Erick feeling like he's let opportunities of spending time with his Wife & Son on his Days off work pass him by.
Becki - just find the one you want in someone's signature, then right click to get the properties. Copy the URL, and then go into Edit Signature and add it to your signature. I think you have to use the mountain/sun icon to add it in and not just paste it directly (at least I did with mine).
I haven't had a chance to get on FB yet, but I know when I do it's going to be hard. While I've never met Lorie or Glenn, I have "talked" to Lorie here on the boards, and it's just such a shock. Every time I watch the news and see the devastation in MO I think about them right away.
On a lighter note, I'm glad that Skyler is adjusting well to school and it sounds like you'll have a great time on the field trip. As for Erick, sometimes people just don't feel things the way others do, and it might take something else for Erick to see things the way you see them. I know it's difficult, but give it time, and soon he'll see that time doesn't stand still, children continue to grow, and memories fade all too quickly. All you need to do is enjoy every second you can with your son and cherish the memories you make when you do.
Becki - just find the one you want in someone's signature, then right click to get the properties. Copy the URL, and then go into Edit Signature and add it to your signature. I think you have to use the mountain/sun icon to add it in and not just paste it directly (at least I did with mine).
Thank you so much Marnie for letting me know. I was having trouble figuring this out yesterday.
I haven't had a chance to get on FB yet, but I know when I do it's going to be hard. While I've never met Lorie or Glenn, I have "talked" to Lorie here on the boards, and it's just such a shock. Every time I watch the news and see the devastation in MO I think about them right away.
On a lighter note, I'm glad that Skyler is adjusting well to school and it sounds like you'll have a great time on the field trip. As for Erick, sometimes people just don't feel things the way others do, and it might take something else for Erick to see things the way you see them. I know it's difficult, but give it time, and soon he'll see that time doesn't stand still, children continue to grow, and memories fade all too quickly. All you need to do is enjoy every second you can with your son and cherish the memories you make when you do.
Melissa, I feel the same exact way. I've had to discretely look up online information on the Tornado so I can keep Skyler from seeing it (not something I want my little guy getting upset over) on the tv.
Sorry reading the second part of your reply has me welling up in tears right now. Thank you. I know I'll have a great time with Skyler on his field trip. I just sent him a text message while he's at work (not trying to lay a guilt trip on him). but letting him know it would be nice if he did come with us. I know he knows I don't want the same kind of relationship for Skyler with Erick that I have with my own dad(and this is what's making me well up in tears). And for those who don't know this, my dad strangled and physically assaulted me in my own apartment a few years ago, which he completely denies doing. I know Erick is tired from work (and deserves his sleep at that), works really hard working 2 jobs, and a lot of hours to support us, but at the same time, Skyler needs that time with his Daddy too. I know I spend all of my time with Skyler and believe me I cherish every second I get with him. It would just be nice if he wanted to share in some of the things that interest our son or share some involvement in his school activities when he can. Oh and here's another thing, 2 weeks ago, I had a very unenthusastic husband over a less than 5 minute round trip ride for us to go pick up Skyler from school together (since Erick was off work). Skyler was beyond thrilled to not just have me pick him up as usual, but his Daddy was there too. Actually Skyler couldn't contain his excitement running out the door to Erick instead of me.
I know he wasn't too happy when he called me from his work on Saturday to bring him a different pair of pants during his break, and I had to tell him not to work too late so he could spend some time with his brother who was here, because Mike wanted to see him. I know he wasn't too happy that I made him get out of bed at 8:30 Sunday Morning for the same reason, so he could spend time with Mike before they left to go borrow a bigger SUV and Trailer from DSIL Chrissy's Aunt & Uncle to move furniture back to her mom's house this weekend.
I know Erick would rather keep himself busy at work than being home, or sleeping when he's home. Erick and I do have a healthy and wonderful relationship, sometimes it's just hard to get him to see what he's missing out on and enjoy time with those who love him.
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I just read your reply from my last post, and I didn't mean to bring tears to your eyes!!! That wasn't my intention, I was just trying to make you feel a little bit better about the situation. Did he end up going on the field trip with you?
Thank you very much Kelly for the Anniversary wishes. We had a nice night in the night before ordering dinner from Olive Garden and enjoying it at home with some movies with Skyler so we didn't need a sitter for the night! Erick was even sweet to come home after work on our Anniversary with Ice Cream which we enjoyed right before heading to bed.
Melissa, I know you didn't mean to make me teary eyed. No, Erick didn't go with us on the field trip. He was super exhausted from work the night before, so we let him stay home, and get some sleep. Speaking of the Field Trip, Skyler was brave enough to sit on a Tortoise. but wouldn't ride a pony, or pet a baby bunny. He even thought going on a Wagon Ride meant going in his teacher's small wagon, not one pulled by a tractor. We did have a Zebra sighting there too.
Sorry everyone for my hiatus again from here. Things have been busy the past few weeks with Skyler's Field Trip, which was so much fun, a Fun Fair they had at his school, Field Day which I enjoyed helping out with (and the school is smart dividing it up by having the Pre-K, Kindergarten, & the Physically Handicap Students on one day, and then having 1st-5th Grade the next day).
This week coming is Skyler's last week of school, so technically he only has 2 days of school left (Wed. & Thurs.). Wed. the parents are invited to have lunch with the kids (a Pizza Party). I have Skyler's Birthday Party for him and his Classmates a week from today, and the 23rd we're leaving for Lexington, KY for a week. Another mom of one of his classmates and I are also trying to form a Playgroup for them and their classmates to stay intouch with eachother this summer. Just a lot of things keeping us very busy. We were also supposed to go today to help bring my DFIL to Franklin, VA (near VA Beach), so I could help my DMIL with the drive back since it's 5 hours each way.
We are figuring out if there may be a trip next summer for us (not Disney), but we're certainly talking about spending a week to 10 days depending on Erick's job and time off to go visit his brother in Austin, my sister in Houston, a few days on our own in San Antonio, and then a few days in New Orleans. If there is extra time, possibly to Colorado too. So we may have a road trip in the works. Erick loves the sound of it and is game for it as long as he still has the time off and they renew his company's contract!
Also there is some big news, and I will have to certainly post a picture after, Skyler is going to his 1st Baseball Game in July for his Birthday! I'm so excited for this, as I was trying to figure out what Erick and I should give him as his Birthday present from us. The Chicago Cubs will be playing against the Washington Nationals July 4th-7th, so we are going on the 7th, since Erick doesn't have to work the next day. (Kelly I know you're a Cardinals fan and you can keep Ryan Theriot! From what I've heard he likes St. Louis better than he liked Chicago. )! I am thinking of making him a sign that says "Celebrating my 4th Birthday and 1st Baseball Game rooting on the Cubbies!"
I hope everyone is doing well. I'm sorry I haven't been on much. Little ones certainly keep you busy.
Oh and our move to Colorado has fallen through for now. We're staying out here a little bit longer.