Trip Report Surviving the Fantasy - Making the most of moments before they're gone...

Maybe other parents of teenagers can relate to yet another "season" of parenthood when your teenagers are busy people and time with them becomes less and less. You realize that the time you thought you had to do all those little things you put off when your kiddos were younger is growing ever-so short. Why does time speed up?! Ugh!

This trip was a journey of adversity before we ever left home. So many little things popped up that potentially jeopardized the whole trip beginning months prior. Even when intuition kept poking me and trying to tell me this trip isn't the thing to do, the petulant child in me refused to give in or give up. We went, by God, in the face of all the adversity that life could throw us we went. After all, time stops for no one. My boys and my brother's girls aren't getting younger and their individual lives aren't getting simpler. My favorite "big guys" in the whole world, my husband and big brother, aren't growing younger any faster than I am. Dues had to be paid, I suppose, for my stubborn nature and pay them I did. Looking back I have no regrets. I made it through with warm memories and fantastical stories to tell of our amazing adventure. Oh yes. We survived the Fantasy. No, we kicked the Fantasy's butt because we didn't let it kick ours. We went to places I never imagined I'd go and we did things I never thought I'd say I did. We did it all together as a family, a big, crazy family out to make the most of the moments we have before they're all gone.



Who?
-Me, the SweetPee
-Tracey, the devoted/entertaining husband
-Chandler, my 17 yro son
-Brian, my 15 yro son
-Jerry, my older brother (@obrienIII)
-Sydney, my 16 yro niece
-Sarah, my 14 yro niece

What?
-Family vacation, baby!

Where?
-2 nights @ Pop Century
-7 night Disney Fantasy Western Cruise (Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, & Castaway Cay)

When?
-May 23, 2013 - June 1, 2013



So come along with me for a wild ride of highs & lows, teenager-filled fun, amazing activities, and wild rides. You won't be disappointed!

But first....@obrienIII....I have a question: Exactly what would you do if I posted some of those forbidden pictures in my report? I would like to calculate my options.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Oh boy do I know how fast kids grow!! My son's 24th bday was Saturday!! I did Disney without him ONCE... he was 17 .... NEVER again (hence him now joining me on the Dream in September) Can't wait for you TR!!!!!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

May 21 - Halfway there!

I can't NOT touch on some of the adventure of getting there! It's part of the fun!

Tracey went to work as usual. Time off from work for him is not paid so days/hours/dollars are always closely calculated and dictate who flies and who drives. Without further explanation, Tracey went to work. LOL!

The boys and I had a target departure time for leaving our driveway in Friendswood, Texas at 7:00 a.m. EST. Yeah. Well, we left more like at 8:00 a.m. Remember, time stops for no one!

First stop??? You tell me!




Even Riley Belle got to enjoy some Starbucks on this glorious morning. We let her have the condensation on the cups so she thinks she's getting some, too.




This is on our way out of the Houston area on Hwy 146. The Fred Hartman Bridge that spans the Houston Ship Channel. I remember when they built this. It's literally as old as Chandler!




Brian is turning out to be a great road photographer with my iPhone! Woot! Hey! There's the ExxonMobil facility where Tracey is working! Bye, Daddy!!! See you in a couple days!!!!




Before ya know it, we were in good ol' Louisiana. I know y'all get tired of me saying in every single report but we really do miss it oh-so much!




Ever watch the show Swamp People??? This would be the Atchafalaya Basin.




It's always nice to see traffic flowin' in Baton Rouge.




I spy with my little eye: CHANDLER!!!! He recently sold his Yukon to Mimi & Poppa and is saving for his next big purchase. He was so sweet to drive it over to Mobile for them. I think they're planning to keep the old Yukon at their big house in Monroeville.




This is the exit in Louisiana where the boys' first school is at. My goodness, how this area has grown!




This is the exit where our first house is at. This area is noooothing like it was back then!




In no time we had crossed the Pearl River and made it to Mississippi.




I don't think we stopped again until after we hit Alabama!




We stopped at Tracey's sister's house in Mobile to drop off the Yukon. We visited a few minutes before continuing on. I had to snap a pic before we pulled away. Stacey has such a beautiful Old Mobile home. I don't know the exact age but it's over 100 years old.




Getting so worn out now. It always feels good to pass this beauty:




And then we were here. Finally. Gramma's house in Pensacola. It's not gonna be much to anyone else but it was a palace to me as a child and still a mighty happy place to me as a grown-up.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We visited a bit then Chandler & I decided we were hungry. Gramma & Brian weren't so the 2 of us hit up a favorite we don't have in our area.




Terrible pic but thank God for the parmesan pretzels.




The pizza is so. stinkin. good.




When we got back to Gramma's little Riley Belle was all worn out. She loves Gramma's house, too. Here she is having a snuggle with her rawhide shoe.




All the pics in this post were Instagram pics! Cool!

We visited until our brains were mush. Everyone finally crashed around midnight.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

May 22 - Visitin'

Today was a day to spend time with my Gramma and get ready for the next half of the journey tomorrow. I slept until 7:30 then got moving. While I was fumblin' with some of the luggage in the office I noticed this plaque hanging on the wall. I instagram'd this one:




Yesterday Chandler realized he forgot his Oakley's at home. Sucks to be him. LOL! We set off in search of the pair he really wants. He made a pass by the credit union yesterday so of course that money was burning a hole in his wallet. We ran a few places looking for the elusive Juliets but they weren't to be found. That's prob'ly a good thing because he's supposed to be saving up for his car! I had fun with some of the Maui Jim's at Sunglass Hut, though. I likey the Baby Beach ones. I texted this pic to Tracey:




Little did I know I'd be ending up with a new pair sooner than later.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon into the evening getting some quality time in with Gramma. I miss her so much! It's tough to be so far away now. We tried to get to bed earlier than last night knowing we had one looooong day tomorrow. Tried is the key word. I took this screenshot after tossing & turning a bit. I was too excited to sleep!




Eventually I fell off into a nice little slumber...not too deep, though. Don't want to oversleep!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

May 23 - It's POP time w/the fam!

I drug myself from the sofa at 4:45 a.m. Thank GOD I had Chandler to help with the driving! And again, first stop??? Come on, people! Is this even a question anymore????




Twofer! Proof positive that God loves me and capturing the time we hit the highway!




Escambia Bay.




I'm bored. Let's take a picture. I interrupted Brian's movie but he was sweet enough to humor me.




Anyone familiar with my trip reports with road trips knows what has to happen in Tallahassee. I totally plus'd this one! Instragram with Pic Stitch for the WIN!




We made great time! Got Riley Belle all checked-in at her resort in Gainesville right on schedule. Yeah, another Instagram shot. Had to send some love to my furry baby. I miss her so when she's not with me.




Pit stop! You know where.




Wasn't too terribly long and we were bouncing in our seats as we made "the turn"!




Who doesn't take this pic??? Jerry & the girls did it with way more flair than we did, though.




And then we arrived!




I think these are standard procedure now.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So the big hurry all day was to get checked-in at Pop in time to take a friend up on her offer to go shop the Cast Connection! Shop?! Somewhere exclusive known for insane deals?! Who would say no to that?! Not me!

I had been keeping Liz ( @emcclay) updated on our progress all day via text. Chandler & I picked her up from work just after 4:00. We had such a good time perusing the Cast Connection. Man, there are some outstanding deals to be had. I was especially entertained with the items that were previously used in the parks and resorts. It's amazing what they sell in there! I had a little panic moment when we got to the register because I hadn't kept track of how much I spent. I was afraid I didn't have enough cash! Yikes! My total ended up far less than I thought I would so double-score! Liz was such a sweetheart! I can't thank her enough for such a fun little spree in a place I had only dreamed of getting to visit. @emcclay, I still owe you dinner!!!! Let's talk about September! LOL! Pic for posterity to capture the moment. Remember, Liz just worked all day and I've been up pretty much since 4:45 a.m. Be nice!




Throughout the day we'd been keeping tabs with "Knuckle Jerry" (<--the kids used to call him that) and the girls. Today was the girls' last day of school. Poor Sydney couldn't get out of the lock-down at her campus no matter how hard she tried. They got kinda a late-ish start. I think Jerry must've had Syd's car in hyper-drive getting down to Orlando. They made record time. Here's a pic of him clownin' with the girls on the way. I forget the caption they had on this one. Gangsta Daddy? Daddy goes Hood??? I don't think there's much Jerry won't do for poops-n-giggles!




Towards the end of their drive it felt like they'd neeeeeever get to Pop. I sat in the lobby absolutely itching with excitement! To kill time I did what I always do: take pics!

My youngest bro-in-law had a Sega but I don't think it was the one in this pic. My boys had Blues Clues and Barney love!




This reminds me of the Apple computers we had in our elementary school computer lab.




Jerry had one of these Atari's and at least a few of the games on display. We thought we were rolling because we had an Atari in our house that was hooked up to a 13" black & white tv that sat atop an old ironing board in our den. My, how times and expectations of kids have changed....




Um, yeah, all us little girls would've given anything to BE Madonna when this album came out...and date MJ when this album came out. Mtv from, like, when it was actually MUSIC on tv. I remember my step-dad got so mad when our babysitters watched Mtv. He swore up and down it would be the downfall of our nation's youth. Hmmmm... food for thought, huh? Was he wrong?




This could've been our toys spilled on the floor when we were kids. I still haven't outgrown my love of Cabbage Patch. Go upstairs in my house right now to my doll/sewing room. You. will. die.




OMG! It's taking forever for Jerry & the girls to get here! I think the closed door is like the watched pot. Neither are very productive. I thought of Tammy/@Disneyfalcon and grabbed a waiting toes shot for her travelin' toes blog. Yes, I just plugged it, too. It's the little things you do for friends!




I wish I could've captured my toes doing The Hustle. I've always wanted to learn this dance. I love to dance!

 

[TheMouseFan]

So glad you started your TR!! I love those displays at Pop! Especially the one in your last picture. I had almost all of the girly toys in there! I loved my Rainbow Brite dolls and the My Little Ponies and the Cabbage Patch! I also had my fair share of Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake. My daughter has some of the current Strawberry Shortcakes and My Little Pony. It's just not the same!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Let's pause before Jerry, Sydney, & Sarah arrive to discuss cousins. Do you have cousins? Were/are you close to them? Jerry & his ex-wife and Tracey & I both had our kids all within a span of a few years. That's obvious considering we are on this trip with the perfect stair-step of ages: 14, 15, 16, & 17. Back in those days we didn't live as far away and we were all so broke most of the time that entertainment to us was spending weekends together at each other's houses. A Disney trip? Right! Like we could've done THAT! LOL! I thank God for those broke years now. It gave us some precious memories that we might have otherwise squandered and our kids still are bonded over all the miles between them now.

I'm not going to bring the kids together for you just yet. First you need to see them as we do. Thanks to Nana for digging out these next few shots and to Jerry for scanning & emailing them to me.

Chandler, Sydney, Sarah, & Brian. At least a couple of them were still in diapers:




This is a twofer. I think the top pic was the day my parents remarried. Either way, you can tell who's who:




I'm telling you, there's not much Knuckle Jerry doesn't do for these 4 kids:




This one is at my old house in Louisiana. God, y'all, this seems like just last year!




Gotta make the most of the moments while you can, folks. Don't let time pass you by. Remember, it's not going to stop for anyone!


Leading up to this trip Chandler hadn't seen his beloved cousins in almost a year. A year isn't a whole lot to us anymore but to the kids it's an eternity. Brian hadn't seen them since before Christmas. I stood in line for Jerry to check-in at Pop and tried to capture the reunion the best I could. If only Chandler hadn't been so excited he ran right out the door then proceeded to stand behind a dadgummin' plant!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

And we were together again! Yay! Now we just need Tracey!

Jerry got all checked-in around 6:30 p.m. We got their car unloaded then hopped in our Tahoe to hit up DtD in search of dinner. Chandler wanted to go to Sammy Duval's Curl in search of his Oakley Juliets. Of course they didn't have them. Again, prob'ly for the best. We had daddy-o bringing an extra old pair of Oakleys from home so it's not like he'd have to suffer the whole trip without something to protect his eyes. Sheesh!

We passed by Raglan Road and Sarah wanted a pic with the statue outside. The picture originally was really dark so I had to mess with the editing to get it to show up. Pardon the graininess.




We were super hungry and DtD was ka-raye-zee busy. I had always heard good things about the Wolfgang Puck Xpress. Not wanting to spend a ton of money and wanting to try something we hadn't had before, it was the best fit. I took a pic of the menu so I wouldn't forget what the names of what we ate are:





We sat at one of the big kitchen tables. Again, had to jack with the pic to get it even somewhat visible. Cousins sharing cousin stuff. Like favorite music and smiles!




Brian had the mac-n-cheese. It was super rich. He's a pretty solid mac-n-cheese fan but the richness wore on him pretty quickly. He didn't finish his plate but those of us who have noooo problem with crazy richness helped out with that.




I had the Four Cheese Pesto Flatbread. I asked what all was on it and one of the cheese was goat cheese. I love goat cheese. This was absolutely phenomenal!




I didn't take pics of everyone else's food but I know we all were quite enthralled with our dinner. As we watched dishes coming out of the kitchen we spotted dishes we had passed on that we regretted. I guess we'll have to go back! Solid 12 thumbs-up from the 6 of us!

We shopped at Tren-D and WoD. Tren-D was busy but I didn't fail to find something I liked. I'm not as enthralled with the current Disney Dooney offerings as I am these amazing Harvey's seatbelt bags. I'm sooooo gonna get a bag & wallet! I WILL!




Look up! It's Tren-D awesome sauce!




WoD was a zoo. No pics. Sorry.

I hit up the Pin Trader to catch up with Courtney/@enchanted_belle. I paused for a pic w/the Up! display because I soooo love that movie!




Courtney & I chatted a bit but everyone was grumpy and waiting for me so I didn't spend too much time. It was getting late and we were all quite tired. Quick pic for posterity!




We returned to Pop and sorta bummed around a bit. Before I knew it it was 12:30 a.m. and Tracey arrived. We all crashed at about 1:00 a.m. 4:45 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.??? Now THAT is a long day!

 

[TheMouseFan]

I hear you about the cousin thing! My brother and I were really close to our cousin when we were growing up. We have made it a point to get our kids together with each other as well as with my cousin's kids as often as we can. We have some great memories together and I so want my kids to have the same!

I'm so glad you liked Wolfgang Puck Express. We had it when we were there in October 2012 and loved it. Brian had a pizza and I had the bacon wrapped meatloaf. Both were delicious. I'm not sure if we will be able to get there during our next trip or not, but we are going to try.

I so love those purses!! I will definitely have to check them out next June. Of course, I will also be wanting one of the new Disney Vera Bradley bags, so the Harvey one may have to wait!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh boy do I know how fast kids grow!! My son's 24th bday was Saturday!! I did Disney without him ONCE... he was 17 .... NEVER again (hence him now joining me on the Dream in September) Can't wait for you TR!!!!!!

I don't even wanna think about them being in their 20s because I know I'm gonna blink my eyes and BAM! We'll be there!

We'll see ya on the high seas, fam & ALL!!!!

So glad you started your TR!! I love those displays at Pop! Especially the one in your last picture. I had almost all of the girly toys in there! I loved my Rainbow Brite dolls and the My Little Ponies and the Cabbage Patch! I also had my fair share of Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake. My daughter has some of the current Strawberry Shortcakes and My Little Pony. It's just not the same!! Can't wait to read more!

I love toys. I've never outgrown them. I loved Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, and MLPs but I never had any. I watched their cartoons, tho! I had Strawberry Shortcake because she was like me: red hair! I always felt like such a freak as a kid because I was different with my red hair. So dolls that were like me were a VERY big deal! Cabbage Patch??? Well, I only have 36 of them now. I've cut waaaaay back! LOL!

I hear you about the cousin thing! My brother and I were really close to our cousin when we were growing up. We have made it a point to get our kids together with each other as well as with my cousin's kids as often as we can. We have some great memories together and I so want my kids to have the same!

I'm so glad you liked Wolfgang Puck Express. We had it when we were there in October 2012 and loved it. Brian had a pizza and I had the bacon wrapped meatloaf. Both were delicious. I'm not sure if we will be able to get there during our next trip or not, but we are going to try.

I so love those purses!! I will definitely have to check them out next June. Of course, I will also be wanting one of the new Disney Vera Bradley bags, so the Harvey one may have to wait!

I hear ya! If only we all lived closer still! When the kids were all little it was only like a 4 hour drive. Not so horrible to make for a long weekend. But now, ugh! Solid 9+ hours. Brutal. Not worth it for less than a week!

That bacon wrapped meatloaf was the thing we saw come out of the kitchen and we all said it, "Crap. I got the wrong thing." Perhaps we'll make it back sooner than later.

I've done so good. No new bags since last September. I've been using the 2 Tracey got me for my anniversary on the Dream for all these months. Doing SOOOO good for ME! I could've gone to the next Disney Dooney signing event they had while we were just there but I didn't like the bag they came out with. They will be doing that same print in a black background and a white background. So tell me, what is the logic of coming out with the black bag in May??? Why didn't they do the white background one?! It's summer! We want light & bright colors!!!! If they'd come out with the white one I'd have a new Dooney right now. Thank you Disney for saving me a couple hundred bucks! Woot! I've seen the Disney Vera's that are coming. I've had no need for any Vera's until now. THAT I could do. Disney Cruise Line hasn't come out with any new Dooney bags so I think I'm safe for either a Vera or Harvey's in September. Maybe both. I'll have to sew my fingers off this summer!

 

[emcclay]

So glad you started your TR! Really hope everyone enjoyed their gifts. My chef will know in about two weeks if there is a full-time position for me. Then we will talk dinner!

Love the "pit-stops"! Making one tomorrow after I get out of work to test out Sbux on MSUSA.

Now I really know how you feel when you are away from Riley! It's so hard to be away from a cherished pet for any amount of time! I miss my kitty so much.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

May 24 - Kickin' it off with a Typhoon of a time!

Not gonna lie, I woke up today at 7:45 hoping everyone else would want to ditch our plans to go to Typhoon Lagoon for the day. I was beat! No such luck, though. Oh well, laying in bed won't make getting up any less painful, right? On with the day!

We were all up and out at Everything Pop for breakfast at about 8:30-ish. I had a Starbucks Via I brought with me and an Oikos yogurt. Tracey, Brian, & Chandler will all pretty much finished with their meals before Jerry arrived at the table with their food. They had chosen the wrong window to hit. The funny part was that Jerry said they chose that one because it looked like the shortest line. He had no idea it'd take 20 minutes for their food to be prepared! Remember his uncanny ability to choose poorly when it comes to restaurants & food?! Yep, Jerry's luck strikes again! Oh we had some fuuuuuun with that one, too! So Jerry & Sydney enjoyed their poached egg boxed breakfast thingies while Sarah had her omelet. Now with everyone sufficiently fed it's time to shake a tail feather!

We returned to our rooms long enough to sunblock-up everyone and grab our stuff. Everyone piled into our Tahoe and off we went to Typhoon Lagoon!

My crappy attempt at a group shot:




Destination!




We arrived at 9:45 for a 10:00 opening. Man, there was already a steady stream of folks heading in. Yikes! We got our tickets and in we went.

How smooth can you come off standing with a faux-sand-sculpted Swampy? I know, I know. That's not really Swampy. But it LOOKS like Swampy!!!




Cool stuff.





Me & my big baby:

 

[joanna71985]

Loving the TR so far!

I would love to do a cruise with all my siblings. But unfortunately I don't know if that will ever happen

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Before I go any further I gotta pause to explain what you're about to see. Vain in my family comes honest. I was kinda surprised, really, but I've been informed that under no uncertain terms should I include any less-than-flattering pictures of my brother or else. Like for real. He was so serious when he gave me that order when we were saying our goodbyes at the end of the trip. So, being the completely considerate awesome little sister that I am, I shall abide by his wishes and play nice. For the most part I've carefully edited and chosen pics that would fit the bill. However, there might just be a few that I had to censor a little. A little. That's FUNNY!!!!

Continuing on, we made our way into the park, secured our valuables in a locker, found ourselves a nice little spot to set up "camp", and everyone made a beeline for Crushin' Gusher. On our way...




I can't get over how completely beautiful Typhoon Lagoon is! The only thing the place drips more of than water is details!




Like the rafts are supposed to have been fashioned from pineapple and coconut crates:




Crushin' Gusher is themed like where you'd get fruit from:




We had maybe a 5 minute wait. When we got to the top I couldn't stop myself from taking some pics of the view:





And the details, like this tractor that appears to have been hurtled into the roof all the way up here when the Typhoon hit:






Riiiight before we got on our raft the girl working at the top told us we might want to take off our sunglasses and hold them. Okay, no problem. So I took mine off, folded them, and held them in my left hand as I also grasped the front handle. In my right hand was the waterproof camera that was also tethered to my wrist and the other handle. Off we went for an amazing, fun ride! It was so awesome! But then we hit the water in the landing pool and I flew off the front of the raft. My sunglasses flew out of my hand lost somewhere in the torents below us. I immediately doubled back searching frantically for my year old Maui Jims. The lifeguard at the landing pool was starting to yell because, hello, there's another raft about to shoot out at us but I don't even care. That's a $300+ pair of sunglasses!!!! Aaaaand, right about then I found them....when I stepped on them. I didn't step all the way down with all my weight but my foot decended on my poor, poor Maui's. Yep. You guessed it. Toast. I will say, I've quite proud of myself for not crying. That's a good thing, right?

Chandler, Sydney, and Sarah ran right back up for another ride. Brian hung back with us adults for some reason. Was it a fun ride, Brian?




I was able to sorta semi-straighten out the gimpy arm on my sunglasses enough that they could still be worn for the day. Once we were all together again someone had the idea of a pic of me being sad about my sunglasses mishap:




Then Jerry plus'd it. Is this not typical big brother behavior????

 

[joanna71985]

Aww! That stinks about the sunglasses

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Loving it so far Kelly!! I had to show Ashley the picture from Mellow Mushroom because we LOVE their pizza and don't have one near us, either. Haven't had it since March and I'm craving a pepperoni and bacon pie soooo bad right now!!

I know all about being close to my cousins. On my mom's side there is Ashley and me, my aunt Lisa has 2 kids (plus her ex husband had 2 kids so they were our step cousins til her and him got divorced) my aunt Heather has 2 kids and my aunt Kelly has 2 kids (her husband had a son from a previous marriage but sadly he passed away in 2004.) I'm the oldest at 30 and then Ashley is 27, Alison just turned 27, Nathan is 23, Patrick is 20, Noah and Mike are 18 and Sadie just turned 14. So 16 years between myself and Sadie yet we always have so much fun when we all get together. It's so awesome. I love my family! Dad's side of the family is smaller though, cousin-wise. My aunt and uncle adopted a baby and she is 15 now. Only one other blood cousin and he is the son of my uncle and his girlfriend. They never married but have been together 15 years or so. She has 3 daughters and I don't consider them relatives, at all. (Long story there lol) So now that I've bored you with my family tree lol I will say cousins are the best!!

EDIT: Had to add in that I LOVE Typhoon Lagoon! Went there last month for the first time in years and I forgot how awesome it was! It was pouring rain for the first hour or so so I think that made the crowds light but the only time we waited for anything really was a couple of the tube rides midday. Everything else was a walk on all day long. We finished out the day with a rainstorm in the wave pool followed by a beautiful rainbow. Was a super great way to end the day! Love Crush N Gusher but I feel it could be a bit longer. I didn't even notice the tractor on top there. Might have been cause I was too busy checkin' out the hot guy who gave us our rafts and sent us down the slide. Oops! Next time I'll pay more attention lol

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So glad you started your TR! Really hope everyone enjoyed their gifts. My chef will know in about two weeks if there is a full-time position for me. Then we will talk dinner!

Love the "pit-stops"! Making one tomorrow after I get out of work to test out Sbux on MSUSA.

Now I really know how you feel when you are away from Riley! It's so hard to be away from a cherished pet for any amount of time! I miss my kitty so much.

Everyone loved their presents! I think the best part was hanging out with YOU! Chandler really enjoyed himself, too. He's not like most kids, huh?

Oh! I'll be crossing my fingers for the news you're looking for from the chef!

Sbux on MSUSA! I'm so excited for it! I know how others despise the very idea of it but it's something I loooooove. If that makes me wrong, I'll be wrong with complete and utter joy.

Being away from Riley is hardest when I have to leave her at boarding places. She's almost never alone. She's a very people oriented little dog. And, of course, we've had her since she was just a tiny pup. I was the one who taught her to sleep all night, I potty-trained her, etc. etc. She's like my 3rd baby. Seriously! My mom says she's the girl I never had. She's like my little sidekick, follows me anywhere I go so that I'm always in eye-shot. Riley's my girl. So when she's somewhere that she's not getting the same people-time like at home I worry. A lot! Picking her up is always fun! She's always so crazy happy to see us which is a very niiiiice thing!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Oh no ... your poor sunglasses! I would have cried!!! And look how nice you're being, regarding nice pics of your big brother and he laughs at your sunglass dilemma??? You're such a good little sister!!!! LOL