Alhambra Garden progress

This picture is from about a week ago, but with the trip getting so close I haven't had much time to blog. Not as much progress as I'd like to show either, but there is some believe it or not.

I'm still finding a little time to stitch and now I'm working on replacement sections for the Mira RR. Unfortunately one of the members didn't follow through and hasn't mailed on some pieces so the rest of the group is trying to replace the lost RRs. So I'll have some pics to show of two more pieces at some point. Won't be before we get back from the trip though! :)

Just 2 1/2 days til we leave, so I'm in that stage where everytime I think I'm on top of everything, I think of something else that has to be done before we leave. ARGH. Today's additions to the list are have the mail stopped for while we are away, and get ponchos for the family to take along. Thanks to TS Fay, although we are missing all the dangerous part of the storm, it is likely there will still be a fair amount of rain during our visit. DH is pretty bummed about the rainy forecast, but Alex and I are determined to go and have fun anyway, and hopefully the inclement weather will keep the crowds down some. Katie is oblivious either way - she just knows she'll be meeting some princesses in the castle for breakfast. We were lucky enough to score an early morning reservation for Cinderella's Castle, so she's pretty hyped up for that. As long as she gets to do that and ride Dumbo once I think the trip will be a success in her mind.

I'm hopeful that we'll avoid another of the great Katie meltdown incidents, but I'm sure we won't have perfection in her behavior, after all Disney is one of the most stimulating places in the world for kids! She is however doing much better the last few months with her behavior. Not sure if that is a result of getting older and therefore she understand rules and consequences better - or if the discipline we've tried to enforce is actually working - or both. In any case she is still a work in progress on that front, but getting better all the time. She is a good girl, mostly. ;)

Don't know if I'll have time to post again before we return from the trip, but we'll be gone 8/23 - 8/31 - so if I haven't posted by Sat. don't expect anything til we return as I don't think there will be any internet access, and if there is I'm not looking for it. :) Full trip report when I return.

Disney Itinerary

I’ve been in a bit of a stitching slump lately, mostly because I’ve been obsessed with two other things – Disney, and getting my house ready to put it on the market. I’m not sure whether I mentioned it here before or not, but Sean and I are thinking of moving sometime in the next year. Originally we were planning for spring of 2009, but we are toying with the idea of just going ahead with it as soon as we can get our act together.

So over the last two weeks or so I’ve repainted Alex’s room, bought new furniture to stage our house better (and we sorely needed new furniture anyway), shopped for and picked out new carpet, repainted our front steps and entryway outside, and planned a schedule for Disney.

So, I don’t have much to show in the way of stitching. I haven’t stopped altogether, it’s just that a half hour here and there doesn’t add up to a whole lot of progress. I’m still plugging along on Alhambra Garden and will post pics when I get sick of it and move on to something else. I’m hoping I’ll get a few good hours in on it over this weekend – we’ll see.

What I do have to show for the last few weeks is a newly painted room – maybe I’ll post pics when I get the new carpet installed, and a high level schedule for our trip to Disney – which is (Yikes) coming up in 15 days!!

Here’s our general plan. I figured I’d go ahead and post it here because it will give me a rough outline to work from when I come back and want to post a trip report here. It’ll also give me a good gauge of how well I did planning when I compare it against what we actually ended up doing and how it went.

Day 1 – Saturday 23
· Wake at 5am
· Leave house by 6am
· Airport at 6:30 – 6:45am
· Flight leaves 7:55am
· Flight lands at 11:30am
· Take airtram to other side of airport, go down side B to Magical Express desk
· Ride Magical Express to Wilderness Lodge
· Check in at WL, remember to ask CM about re-checking in and keeping same room
· Go to room if available, or go to Roaring Fork for lunch if not available yet
· Eat lunch
· Rest/pool/explore resort
· Leave room 4:15p
· Drop Katie at Cub’s Den at 4:30p
· Ride bus to DTD – Disney Quest
· Disney Quest and dinner for as long as we like.
· Pick up Katie from Cub’s Den
· Go to bed

Day 2 – Sunday 24
· Up at 7am (maybe earlier for mom?)
· Mom rechecks us in for free dining
· Leave room by 8:15
· Ride bus Rope drop at Epcot
· Rides til we get tired/cranky
· Rest/nap/pool
· Leave room by 4:30p
· Ride boat to Hoop Dee Doo at 5pm
· Magic Kingdom after HDD if group mood allows
· Wishes at 10p?
· Extra Magic Hours @ MK for Mom and Alex til 1am

Day 3 – Monday 25
· Sleep in til 8am
· Ride boat to breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at 9:30am
· Take bus from Contemporary to DHS
· Fast pass for Toy Story Mania
· Rides til we get hungry
· Counter service lunch/dinner – maybe Pizza Planet?
· Fantasmic! At 8:30p
· Extra Magic Hours at DHS?
· Ft. Wilderness movie? (Ella Enchanted)
Day 4 – Tuesday 26
· Wake up at 7am
· Leave room by 8:15am
· Ride boat to rope drop at MK
· Tomorrowland attractions
· Toontown at 10am
· Lunch at Cosmic Rays?
· More rides til ready for break
· Rest/nap/pool
· Leave room by 4pm
· Bus to Epcot
· Dinner at Coral Reef at 4:50p
· Rides at Epcot
· Illuminations?
· Movie at Ft. Wilderness? (Home on the Range)

Day 5 – Wednesday 27
· Up at 7am
· Leave room by 8am
· Ride bus to Disney Hollywood Studios for rope drop
· FP for Toy Story Mania
· Rides til lunch
· 11:30am lunch at Sci-Fi (get the hot fudge sundae!)
· Nap/rest/pool
· Leave room by 3:30pm
· Ride bus to Downtown Disney
· Dinner at Earl of Sandwich
· Cirque de Soleil at 6pm
· Ice cream at Ghiaradelli’s
· Shop in Downtown Disney? Goofy’s Candy?

Day 6 – Thursday 28
· Wake up at 6am
· Leave room by 7:15am
· Ride boat to rope drop at MK (8am Extra Magic Hours)
· Fantasyland attractions
· Ariel at 10am
· Lunch at Columbia Harbor House?
· Rest back at hotel if needed – if not this is a good day to go “all out” and stay the whole day – if staying do relaxing stuff during hot part of day “Hall of Pres, Liberty Boat, Country Bears, Tom Sawyer Island, shop
· If leaving get a Fast Pass before going back to hotel to use later
· Parade at 3pm
· Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern at MK (check time)
· More rides
· Wishes?
· Ft Wilderness movie? (Underdog)
· Water Pageant on Seven Seas Lagoon?

Day 7 – Friday 29
· Wake at 7am
· Leave room at 8am
· Bus to rope drop at Animal Kingdom
· Tour/rides til lunch
· Lunch at FlameTree?
· Rest/nap/pool
· Epcot in the evening
· Extra Magic Hours at Epcot in the evening
· Ft Wilderness movie? (Enchanted)

Day 8 – Saturday 30
· Sleep in late (no time limit)
· Go to Beaches and Cream for opening at 11am – have ice cream for lunch!
· Walk to Epcot and tour World Showcase & Innoventions if time
· Leave park for WL by 4pm
· Drop Katie at Cub’s Den by 5:30p
· Alex to do pool and/or arcade at the hotel?
· Mom and Dad have Narcoosee’s at 6:30p (Grand Floridian)
· Spectro and Wishes after dinner?
· Pack L

Day 9 – Sunday 31
· Up at 6am
· Check out at front desk, leave luggage with bell services
· Ride boat to MK for character breakfast
· Breakfast in the castle at 8:05am
· Try to wake Tink?
· Do Fantasyland and any other favorites we can fit in.
· Lunch at counter service in park – wing it
· Return to WL by 3:30pm
· Take Magical Express back to airport at 4:20
· Board plane at 7:20pm
· Arrive back in MKE 9:55pm
· Drive home, unload car
· crash