Taking A Break from Life with a Trip to My Happy Place About This Page:

[lfredsbo]

Great first day!!! well......except that flight attendant.......

I hear you about life getting in the way!!!! It is so busy this time of the year!

And little Miss Hope......she is so stinkin' cute!!!!

[honeybee723]

Originally Posted by chezp

Great start to your report! I love the photos both from the plane and on the plane of Hope - her face is a picture! And what a great view from your room too.

Thanks. She can be very dramatic when she talks sometimes, and I was glad I was able to capture it that time.

Originally Posted by lexiemom

I was tired just reading about your day, so I can imagine how you felt by the end of it. I was hoping for a pic of the new haircut, guess I'll have to wait for the next update.

You know, I just went through the rest of my pictures, and there are hardly any of me in there. Don't know what happened. And the ones that were taken of me don't look that great. Maybe it's because I was still getting used to the hairstyle, and it's not the way I've been styling it now. Oh well...one will be coming up soon.

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Nice start! What a gorgeous view!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by lauriep

That view is pretty much perfect! I love the photos of Hope talking to her bunny on the plane.

It definitely was perfect, and that bunny gets put in time out more than she does I think.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great start and what a great room location! Love all the pictures!

Thank you.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

Great room! I don't blame you for being tired, that was a long day.

I don't know what was with that attendant, you made perfect sense to me.

Thanks. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong either, but hey, I followed the rules.

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Great start! You really have an amazing view! With a view like that I'd be out in my balcony all day. I agree with you on the CS option for kids, there's no variety.
Now on to the important matter, when are you going to show us a picture of your new look? I'm anxious to see it. I'm all for short hair, planning on cutting mine for the holidays.

Thanks. The food options definitely need to be adjusted for the kids. And as for the haircut, there really weren't many pictures of me this trip, and the ones that were taken weren't that great. So don't judge based on what you see here.

Originally Posted by Hugmonster

Cool an update! Life gets in the way when we are not in the bubble. Looking forward to more!

Life has definitely gotten in the way...big time! I still haven't edited all the pictures or uploaded them!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great start to your girls' trip! Congrats on the awesome view of the savanna!

Thanks Cam.

Originally Posted by JKnott17

Great start, and what a great view from your room!! Hope we get to see a pic of your new 'do in the next update Sometimes that first chop off going long to short takes a while to get used to, but I'm glad you love it now!

A picture is coming soon, not a great one, but at least it's something.

Originally Posted by KMB733

Great Start! Sorry about the rude flight attendant. The view from your room is awesome. Can't wait to hear about tea!!

Another update will be up soon...I promise. Just stick with me and don't judge me on my tardiness.

Originally Posted by sc507

Great start! Hope is such a doll Great view! I'd like to stay there one day.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Linnynad

FULL ON laughing out loud with this whole statement!!! Go on girl!!!!

Still waiting on the hair photo, but at last, tomorrow night my wait will be over!!!
8lbs of make up had me dying too. EVERY time I pack to go anywhere, I'm always like YEAH, I did good, tons of room.....oh wait......here come the glam squad tools.
I just love your view and I love that you could hear the animals late at night too.
Soo looking forwad to more of this.

Well, now you have to wait a bit longer, but that's okay. At least Dawn got her house taken care of and all is good now. So, it may not have all been cosmetics, but it did equal 8 pounds. It's like I packed my whole medicine cabinet or something.

Originally Posted by Laurast

Glad to see that you have started your TR. What a great view at AKV. The one time we stayed there we had a savanna view & I agree that it is so neat to have the giraffes (among other animals) right outside your room

The giraffes walking around at night were incredible. Just being that close to them while it was that quiet out there was amazing!

Originally Posted by poohbr2015

Great start! What a rude flight attendant! I mean, most of them know that it isn't always easy flying with children but unless you are doing something extremely bad like letting the child sit in the isle (as I have seen before), then really what are you hurting! I think you should have said, she's a lap child, just big for her age, just to see the stupid look on her face!!

Sorry the dining plan isn't starting out so well, hope it gets better! We felt the same way when we first used it, we were clueless!

I think sometimes they have a power trip and want to throw their authority around. I wasn't going to argue with her, but I just couldn't understand her reasoning, especially when the seat belt sign had been turned off.

Originally Posted by mushu22

Great start. Sorry about the rude flight attendant.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

8 lbs of toiletries!??! WOW!
Great view from your room, and how amazing to be able to HEAR the animals chewing!
Can't believe you all lasted as long as you did on day one!

Okay...it wasn't all make-up. I swear! It did include medicine and Hope's stuff as well. So it wasn't all my fault. And once you see the pictures of me, you'll be wondering what I did with all that make-up since I look dreadful in most of them.

Originally Posted by stardust190

Great start to your trip - although a little sleepy. Well except for the flight attendant. I don't understand what the big deal was. Just until the kid falls asleep. Don't you think they'd rather the child be asleep than overly tired and acting up. Geez.

I didn't understand the big deal either. And you're right, I'd think they'd rather have a quietly sleeping child on the plane instead of a loud one.

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

Great first day! I cannot believe the flight attendant was so strict--she must have been earning her wings!

Thanks. And if she's earning her wings, she has a lot to learn about customer service and the way to talk to people. Oh well, everyone else was nice, and Hope was still able to sleep, which was all I cared about.

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

Great first day!!! well......except that flight attendant.......

I hear you about life getting in the way!!!! It is so busy this time of the year!

And little Miss Hope......she is so stinkin' cute!!!!

I am soooo busy right now. I don't even know how to keep everything I'm doing straight! Soon as the holidays are over things will be running a lot better over here. I promise!

[mommapants]

So what was up with that flight attendant? Not a nice way to start your trip. Can't wait to see the new haircut. I think when Evan was about 3 or so I cut my hair short as well and I don't think I've worn any necklaces or any other jewelry until just recently.

What a view from your room!!

[lazanya]

Sorry about the flight attendant. Glad your day got better!

[OhToodles!]

Your hair looks great!! (And to others reading this, no you didn't miss a pic.)

I agree with Laurie, the pictures of Hope talking to her bunny are too cute. That flight attendant was sure a PITA! Awesome view you got!

[honeybee723]

Originally Posted by mommapants

So what was up with that flight attendant? Not a nice way to start your trip. Can't wait to see the new haircut. I think when Evan was about 3 or so I cut my hair short as well and I don't think I've worn any necklaces or any other jewelry until just recently.

What a view from your room!!

Not sure, but she was definitely not a very nice person. I tried cutting my hair when Hope was born because she kept grabbing it, but I had never gone this short.

Originally Posted by lazanya

Sorry about the flight attendant. Glad your day got better!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

Your hair looks great!! (And to others reading this, no you didn't miss a pic.)

I agree with Laurie, the pictures of Hope talking to her bunny are too cute. That flight attendant was sure a PITA! Awesome view you got!

You're going to make everyone go "huh, did I miss something"? Thanks Kelly...you're sweet.

[honeybee723]

I had this update ready to go on Friday, but in light of the news events, I wasn't in the happiest of moods, nor did I feel it was appropriate, so here it is today:

Day Two, Pt. 1 – Wednesday, November 14th
Hope’s First Tea party

We slept in until 7am this morning, a little later than I would have liked, but we had decided we weren’t rushing around unless we had an ADR to get too. With that being said, we ended up leaving the room a lot later than I wanted too, and it was all my fault. For some reason my hair would not cooperate at all, and it ended up being like that for most of the trip. I’m thinking it had something to do with the humidity in the air because it would end up falling flat after a few hours, and my bangs were the worst culprit. I know I’m not going out to impress anyone, but I can’t stand having hair in my face, and it was taking me forever to get my bangs to stay out of my eyes.

After a lot of cussing (out of Hope’s earshot), and a ton of apologies to my mom, ;sorry: who kept saying, “Don’t worry about it, we’re in no rush to see anything”, we finally made it to the MK around 9am. I had wanted to beat the morning rush because our plan was to get breakfast at the bakery, but that was a total fail.

The line for the bakery was super long, and there were no tables to be found anywhere inside or outside of the place, but then my mom had the brilliant idea of grabbing a table right outside of the Ice Cream Shop. We had the pick of any table we wanted because no one was there. We had a wonderful view of the castle while we enjoyed our meal. Mom and I got a cheese danish, while Hope enjoyed a blueberry muffin.



We only had a few hours to kill because we needed to go back to the resort to change before our tea reservation at 2:10pm, which made me even more upset with myself for not getting out of the room quicker. We asked Hope what she wanted to do, and right away she answered with, “I want to see Rapunzel”. I used my Mobile Magic app to see if she was out anywhere, and it told me that she might be at Exposition Hall, but you never really know what princesses you’re gonna see until you get back there.

The wait was already at 45 minutes, but this is what she really wanted to do, so we waited and waited. She called Chad while we were waiting to help pass the time.



And then we waited some more. Hope did really well in line, and soon we were making our way back to see just exactly who we had been patiently waiting for.

First up was…Rapunzel! Hope was super excited. Now, just let me say how extremely disappointed I am in the way all of these pictures turned out. After saying I want to start getting more and more into photography, and all I have to share are these craptastic pictures doesn’t really say much for my skill level. But in all fairness, when I’m in that sort of situation where you have to rush to take a picture without having the time to change the settings, this is what you’re left with. Sorry.





Up next was Aurora.




And last, but not least was Cinderella.





When we walked out, Hope spotted Marie in the middle of the hub at the beginning of Main Street, so after checking the time, we decided we had time to go over and meet her too.




Just as we were about to head out of the park, Hope spotted Snow White, so we gave in and told her this would be the last character we'd be able to see this morning.



I couldn’t believe it was time to head back to the resort after only seeing three princesses and a cat. I made a promise to myself that I would not be the one holding us up in the mornings anymore.

Once we were back in the room, we quickly changed and freshened up, and then we were back out the door. We took the bus to MK and then hopped on the monorail to make our way over to the GF. Hope was getting more and more excited about her tea party.




When we walked into the lobby, they were in the midst of building the gingerbread house, which was really neat to see. I honestly didn’t know all of that equipment was used to build the thing, and yes, everything on that house is edible…except for the frame they use to support all of it. Again…sorry for the blurry pictures.



We were a little early, so we checked out the gingerbread house up close, and even got to taste a sample of the gingerbread they were using to build it. It was very good, and I’m not even a huge fan of gingerbread, plus it had a layer of chocolate on the bottom, which made it even better. Then I tried to get some pictures in front of the Christmas tree, but it didn’t really work out that well.



Then Hope pointed out the murals on the floor right outside of the tea room, which I had never noticed before. There’s one of Mrs. Potts and one of Chip, but I only took a picture of Mrs. Potts.




Then we just sort of waited around. We found a couple of cozy chairs to sit down in, and as we were waiting, a CM walked by and told me that I absolutely had to take a picture of Hope because she looked like princess sitting there.



Finally we were told our table was ready. I was a bit nervous since everything is so fancy, and there’s a lot of breakable stuff on the table, but she did as well as a three old could do in that situation. Mom and I both ordered the Buckingham Palace, and Hope got the Mrs. Potts Tea, which came with a magical dark tea (chocolate milk). Once again, mom ordered the Gardenview Blend, but I noticed a tea I had never seen before on the menu, The Mad Hatter Tea, which was a blend of passion fruit, pomegranate, and vanilla, and it was delicious.




Once our tea sandwiches were served, Hope put her napkin in her lap and tried to act very proper…until she took a bite of the tuna sandwich and had to spit it out in my hand because she didn’t like the taste. Have to admit that’s never happened to me while at tea before, but there’s a first for everything.





Mom and I were then served our scone and tart, followed by our desserts, which Hope got as well. She really enjoyed her chocolate covered strawberry.



Once we were finished our tea, our waitress came over and handed Hope a rose, which I thought was extremely sweet.



Even though our tea was very nice, it wasn’t as relaxing as it usually is, and that’s because I was too focused on making sure Hope was on her best behavior as not to disturb the rest of the people around us. I might wait a little bit longer before I take her there again, but it wasn’t because she was being bad, it was because I was constantly afraid that was going to be.

And for all of you waiting to see a picture of my hair, well here you go.



Nothing spectacular, but a lot shorter than I’m used too. It’s kind of funny now, because my hair has been growing out super fast ever since I got it cut, and I’m ready to get it cut a little bit shorter next time...which is actually today. We shall see once that day comes.

Up Next: Checking Two First Off the List

[KMB733]

Hope looks so cute! I can understand not being relaxed at the tea with Hope, but she seemed to enjoy herself and it was such a big girl experience for her. I love the haircut! Did you get it colored too, because it look a lot darker, which I like too.

[lauriep]

Florida is very hard on hair! I think your cut and style look really great in that photo, but I understand your morning difficulties. On my recent trip it was one bad hair day after another! Hope looks like she's having a great time. May not have seemed worth it to trek over to MK just for a few moments with some characters, but I'm sure it was worth it to Hope. I always get the Gardenview blend, but I love the sound of the one you got! Hope looks like a perfectly-behaved little princess at the tea.

[cubfancolleen]

Tea sounded fun - even with the worries about Hope. She looked like she was really enjoying the whole experience! What a cutie!
And your hair is cute, too!

[Thomhazel]

florida really is hard on hair. I straighten mine as if i didn't it would be huge but with the humidity it grows on volume throughout the day. i start with it all nice and straight and by the end of the day anything can happen.

Your picutres from the tea party are really lovely.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures with the characters and at the tea!

[lexiemom]

I like your hair shorter, it looks really good on you. On my trip to Disney in Aug '06 I had a hair emergency that I will never live down. I should have gotten my hair cut before we went and my bangs were just too long and annoying, so I decided to cut them myself with a pair of scissors from my travel kit. Bad idea! It looked like I used a weed whacker. I had to send Justin to the gift shop to see if he could find any bobby pins or barrettes, which I should have done in the first place. I looked like a total doof with my bangs pinned back, but it was better than what I had done with the scissors. Lesson learned!

Hope is just so cute in every picture. She did a great job at tea!

[OneLittleSpark]

When you were talking about how short your hair was, I was not picturing what I finally saw. I really thought you went all out short, but I think your hair is more medium. Though I can see why that is short to you since you had long hair before. It looks super cute though! I love it!

You're mom go darker? Bc it seems it in the pic and I think it looks fab as well.

You got some really cute pics of Hope. Glad she did well at tea, but understand what you mean about always being on alert.

[honeybee723]

Originally Posted by KMB733

Hope looks so cute! I can understand not being relaxed at the tea with Hope, but she seemed to enjoy herself and it was such a big girl experience for her. I love the haircut! Did you get it colored too, because it look a lot darker, which I like too.

It was definitely a big girl experience for her, and I think she would have probably enjoyed it even more with a nap beforehand, but oh well. And yes, I did color it too...first time getting big girl hair color put in. I used to just do low lights or highlights, so it took some getting used too.

Originally Posted by lauriep

Florida is very hard on hair! I think your cut and style look really great in that photo, but I understand your morning difficulties. On my recent trip it was one bad hair day after another! Hope looks like she's having a great time. May not have seemed worth it to trek over to MK just for a few moments with some characters, but I'm sure it was worth it to Hope. I always get the Gardenview blend, but I love the sound of the one you got! Hope looks like a perfectly-behaved little princess at the tea.

Thanks Laurie. It would have been more worth the trek if I would have allowed us to leave on time. But yes, Hope really had a good time, and that was most important. Next time you go to tea, you should see if they have that blend and give it a a try...it was really good.

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Tea sounded fun - even with the worries about Hope. She looked like she was really enjoying the whole experience! What a cutie!
And your hair is cute, too!

She had a really good time, and I think she'll enjoy it even more when she's a bit older.

Originally Posted by Thomhazel

florida really is hard on hair. I straighten mine as if i didn't it would be huge but with the humidity it grows on volume throughout the day. i start with it all nice and straight and by the end of the day anything can happen.

Your picutres from the tea party are really lovely.

Thanks for joining in! I wish mine would get some volume in those situations. Instead mine just sort of goes flatter than it already is.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great pictures with the characters and at the tea!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by lexiemom

I like your hair shorter, it looks really good on you. On my trip to Disney in Aug '06 I had a hair emergency that I will never live down. I should have gotten my hair cut before we went and my bangs were just too long and annoying, so I decided to cut them myself with a pair of scissors from my travel kit. Bad idea! It looked like I used a weed whacker. I had to send Justin to the gift shop to see if he could find any bobby pins or barrettes, which I should have done in the first place. I looked like a total doof with my bangs pinned back, but it was better than what I had done with the scissors. Lesson learned!

Hope is just so cute in every picture. She did a great job at tea!

OMG!!! I can't believe you did that...especially at Disney. Scissors and hair are a no no with me. I bet you didn't save many pictures from that trip.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

When you were talking about how short your hair was, I was not picturing what I finally saw. I really thought you went all out short, but I think your hair is more medium. Though I can see why that is short to you since you had long hair before. It looks super cute though! I love it!

You're mom go darker? Bc it seems it in the pic and I think it looks fab as well.

You got some really cute pics of Hope. Glad she did well at tea, but understand what you mean about always being on alert.

It's funny because when I was typing up the report and then looked at the picture, I was thinking to myself that my hair doesn't really look THAT short. But you're right, to me it seemed like so much more. I actually got it chopped even shorter last night, but it's shorter in the back then in the front, so you still can't tell that much if you're looking at me from straight on.

And yes, I think my mom went darker too, but I guess I'm so used to seeing her that I didn't even notice.