I sure hope you get to do another one, one day... We have had so much fun over the years - as you know.
We must have had freak cold weather when we were there in 2016? It was so cold, I was bundled up in multiple layers and jackets over jackets. LOL Now I am terrified that we will freeze.
Congrats on getting the windows paid off... And for a plan to finish the rest next year... I've never regretted replacing our windows - it's helped so much!
I agree on the AP - I sure miss mine... One day, I am sure I will have one again. I am just happy I get to go back for one last girls trip.
Yes - it helps a lot that the girls can pay their own way... Just the other day, they were talking about how expensive the trips are, and I think they had their "a-hah" moment, because one of them said (can't remember which one)... "and Mom has been paying for all of our trips for all of these years..." Yup... LOL
It really makes it so much easier that I only have to pay for myself.
Thank you - congrats on your loss and added movement -it sure feels great doesn't it? I feel like I am making truly great progress in that aspect of my life... And now I have a Disney trip for added motivation - so that should keep me honest through the holidays. LOL
Welcome! And thank you!
I hope you'll continue to follow along and comment - I love getting to know new friends here on The Dis.
Oooh - exciting!!! I love Disney in Oct/Nov - I don't think that weather could be any more perfect, it's so nice!!! I love outfit planning - almost as much as the trips themselves. LOL
I dunno - when we were there... I mean, we LIVE in MN - we are "hearty" and deal with sub-zero temps and death inducing wind chills for 4 months of the year - there is NO reason why we shouldn't have been able to handle "Florida winter"...
But we were babies... and it sucked. LOL I guess, in MN - we expect it? And in Florida, you don't?
Who knows... I just know I don't want to freeze again - so I am taking no extra chances. LOL
I sure hope it's warm enough to wear tees... I am going to have to bring my biggest suitcase, I think and just pack a lot of layers - and I can adjust accordingly...
I plan to bring a whole gammit of jeans/capris/leggings/shorts... Tanks/tees/flannels/vests/jackets...
Hopefully I'll be covered (literally...) LOL
I remember the days of dressing my girls... Ahhh, I miss those days so much!!! Once they got an opinion of their own - then I was done and had to dress myself. LOL I can tell you now, it's not nearly as fun. One day you'll get to spend some time planning your own outfits and then you'll be as addicted to it as I am.
We will make it work!!! The girls are so used to my Dismeets and they actually enjoy meeting every one... So we will find time. We need to compare plans and see which dates work out best for us.
I do have a couple of legging/tunic outfits planned... For the most part, I think they should be fine? I just think that the weeks we were there in 2016 were freekishly cold... Feel free to go re-read my old Jan 2016 TR, if you want to hear all about my cold-weather complaining.
Thanks!!! So excited to plan!
Thank you Carol - I knew you would be so excited... As I know, you know, exactly how much this trip means to me. And a total shocker right? LOL I never once imagined that we would be going back so soon... I thought for sure it would be another year!
Oh my gosh Carol!!! That is insane!!! I know, every Universal trip I have planned - I cringe at the amount I pay for ONE day there... It's like $500 for ONE day... It's ridiculous! And on top of that, the only part we TRULY enjoy is the HP areas, the rest is meh... So, the $500 price tag for one day and literally 4 rides - it is the true definition of insanity. I know I complain that Disney is expensive - and it truly is... but at least, the longer you stay, the "less" you pay... It doesn't seem like it's that way with Universal??? It seems like it's just as expensive by day as it is by multiple days?
Regardless - I KNOW how much this trip means to you and I know how much you will enjoy having your whole family there!
And how wonderful that you were able to gift Tyler and Aerice (did I spell her name right?) tickets to MK - that will certainly mean a lot to them. You are such a great mom!
Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts on Dad... He is adjusting, and even though he is still annoyed with his apartment size, I think he is sort-of adjusting to it. I honestly don't understand why he feels he *needs* a bigger apartment... He uses all the space he currently has, but in his old apartment - he never used all of the space...
Who knows? At this point - I just let him complain, when he feels the need to, and try to redirect as best as I can... As a whole, he enjoys every other aspect of the building - the people - the food - the activities, so I feel like it's a great fit for him, and I am consistently happy with our decision.
Enjoy your trip, my friend... Safe travels!!! Please connect with me when you get home, I want to hear all about it!!!
Thank you - we are SO excited!!!
I cannot even express into words how excited all 3 of us are... We really never thought we would be going back together. Thanks for following along, I cannot wait to share more details!
What a relief!! This is good news, for the moment anyways... I sure hope she backs off and goes on with life. How terrible for all of you - you have been on my mind often with this situation, and I am glad the outcome is good for the moment.
Thank you... My determination is even more focused now that we have a trip on the horizon! A January trip should keep me right on track through the holidays.
Please let me know if you do!! And with the AP - you definitely want to get your use out of it.
Hahahaha... I am no help.
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Hmmmm... What do I have to update?
Well, I booked our room this morning - so that's exciting.
We are staying at SoG for now, and if anything better comes along, we will address it then. We are super excited to be staying at SoG again - especially with all 3 of us there, the largest rooms on property will be a God-send!
So, if you are keeping track... We now have Airfare - so we are *definitely* going to Florida.
We now have a resort booked and the deposit paid... So we *definitely* have a bed to sleep in.
Next on our list is park tickets...
We have a bit of time before we need those in hand to make FPs... So there won't be much trip planning going on here for a while... However - I will work on sharing the dining reservations we are planning.
To be honest... If you really want to know what our trip is going to look like - you can just go back and re-read all of my other PTRs. LOL We just seem to do the same trips and same dining over and over again... We are creatures of habit and we know what we like.
Likely, the only variable this trip is what we plan to do on our days off... We haven't even talked about that yet.
And we will have 2 non-park days this trip, which is always nice.
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In real life... It's been a crazy few days here...
So, a little background - some of you may know this, or heard me talk about it over the years - and to some of you this may be new... I'll try to keep it short.
I have one brother, who is 2 years younger than I am... He was born handicapped and has always lived in a foster home... It's pretty common knowledge here that I grew up living with relatives and in foster-homes myself, due to my parent's health. Well, for the same reasons, they (obviously) couldn't take care of my brother either. So, in all of my life, I have never actually lived with my brother. My brother and I always visited my parents on the same weekends while we were growing up... "every-other-weekend" was our schedule... Anyways - once I moved out on my own, I occasionally took Jonathan for a weekend too... And then I had the girls and life was crazy - so while I lived close to my dad and saw Jonathan often, I had to step back from having him stay with me... Finally - when we moved so far away, we became even more disconnected from Jonathan and from my dad (as you all know, I think?)...
Anyways... All these years of Dad living so far away, and when initially moving him in to his first assisted living apartment... My odd and trying family dynamics played a HUGE part in my decision making process, and it's something that I truly struggle with - always trying to do the right thing for everyone involved is just a huge stressful burden on me. As Dad's health began to fail more and more, and his ability to even be left alone with Jonathan became a huge concern (as they both have balance issues)... Jonathan's visits became less and less - to almost non-existent this last spring... It became apparent that we needed to make changes. We were all unhappy with the situation - and Jonathan's foster-parents (who he has lived with for 32 years, so they are like family to us) needed a break too...
After Dad's big hospital stay this last spring - as you all walked this journey with me - I decided to move him closer to me... I couldn't do the long trips anymore, and I definitely couldn't do the long extended hospital stays with him, while my own family fended for themselves... I was feeling stretched too thin. So, we began the hunt to find a place for Dad near us... It would move him from everything he knew - though, I do live very near to where Dad grew up - so it's not as if this place is totally foreign to him - he just hasn't lived here in 40 years.
So, with all of this moving... I was still left with what to do about Jonathan's situation. I also have to do right by him (obviously)... He can't stay with Dad at all, and for both of their safety, they can't be left alone together... In the end, I've chosen to start taking Jonathan for weekends again... It's been 20 years since I have had him... So, it will be an adjustment. But it's really the only solution available to us. I am meeting him and his foster-mom in a town that is half-way for both of us, and then bringing him home with me. Allison will pick grandpa up after she gets off of work and bring him to our house... He will stay for dinner and as long after as he can stand us (LOL)... And then we will bring him home. Tomorrow, I will bring Jonathan to Grandpa's again to visit for a few hours before I bring him back home. We are going to try this out for the rest of the year to see how it goes, and if we need to modify anything... I don't foresee any issues - other than, it will be a bit stressful to me to have both of them in my house and tending to their medical needs at the same time. But it was my decision to separate them, so I need to do something for both of them, as they are very attached to each other.
I sometimes laugh at myself in recent weeks... I look at my family situation as an oncoming train... Through the years - I am sure that EVERYONE saw this coming, except for me. I was likely the only one blindsided by the decisions and the responsibilities I am ultimately responsible for... It's sorta comical in a way. How naive I was that I assumed that Dad would always be there to take care of Jonathan, making decisions for his care and well being, and the same for Dad and his own care... It just never even occurred to me, that eventually the responsibility of both of them would fall to me... There is no emoticon for this... It is what it is, and in the end - I have to do right by them, regardless of anything else. So, here I am.
So, this is the last piece of the puzzle falling into place for Dad's move... It will be good - I know it. It's been 6 weeks since Dad's move and I do think this is the longest (by far) he has ever gone without seeing Jonathan, I know they miss each other very much. Wish me luck as we all embark on this new adventure - after all, it's not something I can do alone... Josh and the girls have a huge part in this too - every one of us is taking on a little something extra to make this happen. I am so thankful to each of them.
Anyways... I hope you all have a nice weekend. Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all of you!
D~