punkin413
feel the magic, dang it!
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2007
INDEX ~introduction - you're reading it.
~our dates & where we're staying
~the itinerary
~the alternate itinerary (in case mother nature is not cooperative)
~past trips, part 1: 1992!
~past trips, part 2: may 2007 (plus HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to anna & chris!)
~past trips, part 3: september 2007
~disney on ice
~halloween pictures
~past trips, part 4: back to 1984!
~past trips, part 5: our 1987 trip!
~the countdown is on!!!
~luke's countdown, etc.!
~anna, chris & luke's april 2007 trip!
~1998 trip (minus dawn)
~a night with elvis!
~countdown update and adventures in doggy baths
~this time next week....WEDNESDAY!
~christmas decorations and this time next week....THURSDAY!
~this time next week....FRIDAY!
~this time next week....SATURDAY!
~office christmas dinner and this time next week.....SUNDAY PART 1!
~this time next week....SUNDAY PART 2!
~this time next week.....MONDAY, THE FINAL EPISODE!
~TR link
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hey, everyone! it's me, dawn.....again! yes, i'm back for another trip. most of you probably already know me but some of you may not, so let me give a brief disney history. here's the low down.....or is that down low? i'm not that cool, so i'm not sure.
i went to disney world several times as a child (3 to be exact) and loved every trip even more than the one before it. but then i took a WAY-TOO-LONG hiatus because of college, money, life, etc. my hubby and i decided to head back to disney in may of 2007 and that's when i officially became a disney nut. ask anyone.....they all know my secret! that's the first TR you see down below in my signature - the one in blue. then i decided to take a good friend of mine that was a disney virgin to WDW last september for her 30th birthday just a for a quickie weekend trip - that's the TR down below in purple. then hubby and i headed back to WDW this past april/may for another full-fledged disney vacation - that's the one in green. then i was lucky enough to plan a bonus trip with my friend erica (vandyfan10) this past september during free dining. that trip is down below in black and gold and if you're not reading it, you should go check it out now! we're only on day 2!!!
so that brings us to this trip. first i have to tell you how i'm fully aware of how lucky i am this year. i am truly blessed and i count those blessings every night that i'm able to go to disney 3 times this year. i couldn't ask for more! the april/may trip was our regularly-scheduled vacation. then my september trip with erica was truly magical because everything just seemed to work for us - free dining plus my AP (which sadly expired on 9/22
) meant all i had to pay for was half the hotel, half the gas to get there and souvenirs! then came this trip. you see, anna and family (who you will meet in just a minute) were supposed to go with us in april/may, but stuff happened that prevented them from doing so. they did end up joining us for a pirate & princess party, but only for that one night. so she and i were talking about going back sometime and the subject of disney world at christmas somehow came up. so we decided to do a short 4-day trip to disney this year. it is a budgeted trip so don't be expecting any stays at the grand floridian! but i promise you will not regret coming along for the ride - we always have fun and i'm sure this trip will be no exception! 
however, i do have to preface this TR by telling you that currently i have NO plans to return to disney world in 2009. before you shed a tear or threaten to beat me over the head, please listen to my explanation. you see, my hubby and i are thinking of starting a family of our own. so we are re-prioritizing for 2009 and hopefully by the end of the year we will be able to start working towards that goal. disney is expensive -- don't deny it. and we need to be saving that money for other areas of our life....at least for a little while. on top of that, i do realize that there ARE other places to vacation. although i'd be perfectly content with returning to disney world every year, he would not. and that's not fair to him. he is a wonderful husband and is very willing to cater to my disney obsession, but i have to be fair to him too. besides......i can't complain. I HAVE BEEN TO DISNEY 3 TIMES THIS YEAR. that's more than a lot of people can say! so no tears will be shed......at least not for a little while anyway!
now......on to the cast!
first, there's me and DH......
that's one of my favorite pictures from our april/may trip this year.
me and my all-time favorite disney character, peter pan!
(i cropped wendy out of the picture. we don't like wendy. wendy is a homewrecker.) i'm a 32-year-old court reporter and self-confessed disney nut. i love helping people plan their trips. i wish there was some way i could make money from it without having to get all the licensing and stuff that comes along with it! i'm the planner, especially when it comes to disney trips.
then there's my hubby, ray......
he's a 36-year-old (soon-to-be 37) IT pro/network administrator for an international stock market analysis firm......and boy has he been busy lately!
ray went to disney every year as a child, but had had a long (i'm talking 20+ years) hiatus until we returned last year. i'm slowly converting him into a disney nut. he doesn't like to admit it, but he's definitely becoming one. the other day he was messing with my ipod and when i got in the car he had the soundtrack to wishes playing! here were are in a picture we had taken 2 weeks ago with our babies, sherman and eli. sherman is 11 years old (on the right) and eli is 4 years old. i donated to our local rescue squad and we got a free picture out of it, so i couldn't pass up the offer. not the most creative photography in the world, but i can't complain since it was free!
this shot actually cracks me up because it reminds of me of this pose my sister, brother and i always do that we call "the olan mills shot" where you look up at a point above or away from the camera and smile this really cheesy smile. here we are cheesing it up!
okay.....sorry. on to the rest of the cast!
here we have anna and family, which is probably what i will refer to them as during this trip!
first there's anna.....
anna is a 28-year-old mommy and fitness trainer. she and i have known each other through mutual friends since around 1999. but ray and i just happened to buy a house in the subdivision she lived in (by chance) back in 2004 and she and i have become really close since then. she's one of my best friends and i love her to death! she's always looking at the positive side of things and she cracks me up constantly.
then we have chris, anna's hubby.....
chris is a 32-year-old plumbing expert extraordinaire. he works a lot to support his family but when he's home he's an awesome daddy to luke. chris and ray have become great friends and they act like 15-year-old boys when they're together.......which usually results in some funny story to tell!
then we have luke-man.....
luke is chris and anna's 4-year-old DS. luke is funny, crazy, sweet, outspoken and smart. he says and does the funniest things constantly - he keeps you on your toes....that's for sure! i can't wait to see how he reacts to the christmas festivities at disney world. it's gonna be so much fun!
for some reason, luke loves me. he loves "gray" too (that's what he calls ray), but i've been his "girlfriend" since he was old enough to talk and i just love that little boy to death! here he is hugging me after i gave him his 4th birthday present!
so that's the cast. some of you may remember these introductions from my pre-TR from last year because originally anna and company had planned to go with us. if so, you've just been re-introduced!
i will be back with more details about our trip (where will we eat? what are our plans? where are we staying?) later. for now, that'll do it for an introduction. i'm so excited to be seeing disney world for the first time during the holidays!!!
thanks for joining in!
Can't wait to hear more
you are SUCH a good second page starter. 
