Here it is, the next installment in our Disney adventures hot off the press for your reading pleasure. For those who’ve followed my last reports (and I, theirs) rest assured that this report will rival my first from January ’09. One of y’all must’ve ratted me out to Tinkerbell and had her read my last report because she tracked us down after we got to WDW and thoroughly flogged us with her wand o’pixie dust. We inhaled. Then we drank the water. The result was a rocket-shot straight to the top of the magic-meter....and our faith in wishing upon stars to make dreams come true has been restored in full and then some. So....please stand clear of the doors....por favor mantanganse alijado de las puertas....hold onto your hats and glasses, ‘cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!!!!
Preface: ((<---heh-heh...Who puts a preface in their TRs???))
I couldn’t do this report justice without a bit of back-story for the usual gang out there who tunes in. Everyone else can just skip forward. Let’s be honest, we all sorta vaguely follow each other’s lives indirectly by reading each others’ reports and conversing over various topics. We catch the milestones as they relate to our common thread of Disney addiction. I don’t know if others are as insane as we are but our lives tend to revolve around our Disney adventures in some way, shape, or form. The significance of our 8th family adventure can’t be appreciated unless you hear some of the highlights since we last left you at the conclusion of our 7th trip in January this year.
Did ya notice the underlying sadness in that last trip and report? We did. For months we blamed it on Mother Nature’s cruel-n-frigid prank with the weather. As 2010 progressed we came to understand where the dark cloud that seemed to follow us around really came from. It came from us. Yep. We did that. Going into that trip we knew that this year was going to be rough. Tracey had already been job searching for over a month. We knew his project was nearing completion and jobs in his line of work were evaporating daily. Even with the nest-egg we had worked so hard to prepare ourselves with, the uncertainty the future held was overwhelming. So we arrived at WDW on that trip not knowing if or when we’d be able to return. The thought that we were staring down what could potentially be our last adventure for quite some time was heartbreaking. For an example: the joy & excitement in arriving was overshadowed from the very start by the sad idea that we possibly wouldn’t have that again. You see? It was those kinds of things that had us dragging that dark rain cloud around with us everywhere we went. At the conclusion of our January 2010 trip we actually gave thought to the idea that maybe our pixie dusted glasses had been shattered and the magic that used to live within our hearts had all but died. I wasn’t sure we’d ever go back even if everything worked out in the months to come.
And then life has it’s way of flinging the perspective stick it at you. In our family’s case, it was the whole stinkin’ tree.
Our year of insanity included: Tracey unemployed for the first time in 17 years, me standing up to the bubba’s in the public school system here and taking back control of our children’s educations, Tracey set a new record for himself (gotta laugh) for the most number of employers within a single year at 4 while the boys & I plunged headlong into homeschool together which is HUGE and life-changing in itself. It’s been crazy with all the twists-n-turns and the ups-n-downs. There were numerous times we could literally see ourselves losing everything we’ve worked so hard for all these years. In spite of everything that life threw at us, we were still happier than we’d been in a long time. Like Mama Odie says to Tiana & Naveen, ya gotta know whatcha neeeeeed. With each other we have always had everything we needed. Everything else, all the stuff, even Walt Disney World...it’s all just the lagniappe. Without life kicking us square in the tookus so our big ol’ heads could pop out for 2 1/2 minutes we might have gone on overlooking the best stuff in life.
And so we arrived at our 8th Walt Disney World adventure raring to go with a renewed perspective and a whole lot to be thankful for: each other.
Enough of all that mushy-gushy stuff. Let’s get this show on the road!
Here’s the particulars and the plan:
WHO: Tracey/DH, Chandler/DS-14 yro, Brian/DS-13 yro, Riley Belle/DFG (Dear Furry Girl), and Kelly/me!
WHERE & WHEN: (it was a 3 week multi-part road trip)
<-- 11/8-11/11..........Gramma’s house in Pensacola, Florida
<-- 11/11-11/21........Walt Disney World: Port Orleans French Quarter and Best Friends Pet Resort
<-- 11/21-11/28........My folk’s house/Nana & Grandpaw’s house in Monroeville, Alabama
THE TWISTS:
The boys & I aren’t limited to the schedule that Tracey has with work. We drove and had fun along the way. Tracey flew in to meet us at WDW on arrival day and flew back to Houston on departure day. Thanksgiving morning he flew again & I picked him up. Even with all the gas in the car added to Tracey’s airfare(s) we still spent less than we would’ve for the 4 of us to fly round trip to Orlando. We haven’t had our own car at WDW with us since our 4th family trip. Having our car there was something I really, really wanted again and am sooooo glad we did. Besides, I love a good road trip and that time spent with just me & the boys was a blast!
Preface: ((<---heh-heh...Who puts a preface in their TRs???))
I couldn’t do this report justice without a bit of back-story for the usual gang out there who tunes in. Everyone else can just skip forward. Let’s be honest, we all sorta vaguely follow each other’s lives indirectly by reading each others’ reports and conversing over various topics. We catch the milestones as they relate to our common thread of Disney addiction. I don’t know if others are as insane as we are but our lives tend to revolve around our Disney adventures in some way, shape, or form. The significance of our 8th family adventure can’t be appreciated unless you hear some of the highlights since we last left you at the conclusion of our 7th trip in January this year.
Did ya notice the underlying sadness in that last trip and report? We did. For months we blamed it on Mother Nature’s cruel-n-frigid prank with the weather. As 2010 progressed we came to understand where the dark cloud that seemed to follow us around really came from. It came from us. Yep. We did that. Going into that trip we knew that this year was going to be rough. Tracey had already been job searching for over a month. We knew his project was nearing completion and jobs in his line of work were evaporating daily. Even with the nest-egg we had worked so hard to prepare ourselves with, the uncertainty the future held was overwhelming. So we arrived at WDW on that trip not knowing if or when we’d be able to return. The thought that we were staring down what could potentially be our last adventure for quite some time was heartbreaking. For an example: the joy & excitement in arriving was overshadowed from the very start by the sad idea that we possibly wouldn’t have that again. You see? It was those kinds of things that had us dragging that dark rain cloud around with us everywhere we went. At the conclusion of our January 2010 trip we actually gave thought to the idea that maybe our pixie dusted glasses had been shattered and the magic that used to live within our hearts had all but died. I wasn’t sure we’d ever go back even if everything worked out in the months to come.
And then life has it’s way of flinging the perspective stick it at you. In our family’s case, it was the whole stinkin’ tree.
Our year of insanity included: Tracey unemployed for the first time in 17 years, me standing up to the bubba’s in the public school system here and taking back control of our children’s educations, Tracey set a new record for himself (gotta laugh) for the most number of employers within a single year at 4 while the boys & I plunged headlong into homeschool together which is HUGE and life-changing in itself. It’s been crazy with all the twists-n-turns and the ups-n-downs. There were numerous times we could literally see ourselves losing everything we’ve worked so hard for all these years. In spite of everything that life threw at us, we were still happier than we’d been in a long time. Like Mama Odie says to Tiana & Naveen, ya gotta know whatcha neeeeeed. With each other we have always had everything we needed. Everything else, all the stuff, even Walt Disney World...it’s all just the lagniappe. Without life kicking us square in the tookus so our big ol’ heads could pop out for 2 1/2 minutes we might have gone on overlooking the best stuff in life.
And so we arrived at our 8th Walt Disney World adventure raring to go with a renewed perspective and a whole lot to be thankful for: each other.
Enough of all that mushy-gushy stuff. Let’s get this show on the road!
Here’s the particulars and the plan:
WHO: Tracey/DH, Chandler/DS-14 yro, Brian/DS-13 yro, Riley Belle/DFG (Dear Furry Girl), and Kelly/me!
WHERE & WHEN: (it was a 3 week multi-part road trip)
<-- 11/8-11/11..........Gramma’s house in Pensacola, Florida
<-- 11/11-11/21........Walt Disney World: Port Orleans French Quarter and Best Friends Pet Resort
<-- 11/21-11/28........My folk’s house/Nana & Grandpaw’s house in Monroeville, Alabama
THE TWISTS:
The boys & I aren’t limited to the schedule that Tracey has with work. We drove and had fun along the way. Tracey flew in to meet us at WDW on arrival day and flew back to Houston on departure day. Thanksgiving morning he flew again & I picked him up. Even with all the gas in the car added to Tracey’s airfare(s) we still spent less than we would’ve for the 4 of us to fly round trip to Orlando. We haven’t had our own car at WDW with us since our 4th family trip. Having our car there was something I really, really wanted again and am sooooo glad we did. Besides, I love a good road trip and that time spent with just me & the boys was a blast!
