Another new first for a Disney trip this time around. Usually Kriss and I go to the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival alone. We’ve been with other adults in the past, friends and family, but it’s our one trip a year where we are able to get away without any kids because we plan it on a weekend that the oldest three are at their other parent’s houses and Kellie stayed with my grandparents. Unfortunately both of them passed away this year so we decided to take Kellie with us. We’ve also added another adult going with us, Kriss’ mom Linda. This year we are also meeting some of their family from Boston, Mandy, Donna, and Joe. Again with time constraints of work and kid sitting we planned the trip to be a Friday-Sunday trip. Read more

Just over a year ago, the Disney Vacation Club announced that members staying using their points could access the internet from their room for free, and being able to telecommute, we’d always thought it would be nice to go spend a week or more at Disney and I work from the room and then enjoy Disney when I didn’t need to work. So finally this July we decided to try it before Kellie started back to school, just her Kriss, and I. Read more

So this year has been pretty good as far as the “normal” stuff goes, unfortunately it was all offset by the deaths of 3 grandparents within 11 weeks of each other. My paternal grandmother “Granny Lucy” passed away on January 29. Even though it was a surprising phone call at 12:30AM, looking back it was kind of a relief because we had always figured she would be back in the hospital again for an extended period. fighting as she’s been doing for over 15 years now between heart problems, cancer, multiple clots, and various other problems. She went peacefully in the middle of the night.

One week later my maternal grandfather “Papa” passed. His was no surprise as he had been in hospice for 3 weeks, they were about ready to kick him out even because he improved a bit. When I got the call a week before in the middle of the night about my grandmother I had actually thought it was for him. He was a tough guy, retired Air Force, wrote his own obit even, hilarious to the end.

Since my grandmother passed, my other grandfather “Ganky” just wasn’t the same. They had been married for 67 years, unheard of these days. Every day of his life for the last 67 years he had gotten up and there she was, then all of a sudden she wasn’t there. He had been working on one last project for a company that he bought in the late 70′s and built up but had mostly retired from. It kept him busy, his mind was occupied at least with it, and he had somewhere to go every day instead of sitting in an empty house. He still got Kellie, had even started keeping her on Friday nights like he did me most of my youth. Kellie had been the light of his life for the last 5+ years and we had hoped she would help, even just a little, in fixing his hurt.

We had already made plans for him to keep Kellie Easter weekend, it was Kriss’ 20 year reunion weekend with events on Friday and Saturday. Easter Sunday we were going to pick her up but he called and said he promised to take her to Captain Joes, a local seafood joint in Midway, GA, where she always liked to eat shrimp and get dessert off the salad bar. We were a little miffed because we were supposed to be at some other family’s house for lunch but instead we met them there and had lunch together. When we left we were trying to get back to Savannah to eat a second lunch and told him we’d come back by his house to pick up Kellie’s stuff, he lived just 5 miles from us, which we did later that evening. I went inside to get her bag while everyone else stayed in the car and we didn’t stay at all. That was the last time I saw my grandfather.

Looking back now I see that he just wasn’t the same that Sunday. Usually he is all smiles with Kellie, but that Easter day he was just kind of blah. I’m glad we spent that time together at lunch. He went on April 15, died of a broken heart. Tax day will always be a day I remember, it changed the whole rest of my life.

We usually take at least one Disney trip in the winter during January or February and with annual passes and other membership cards expiring, we decided to go the last weekend in February. I had also thought it may be a slower weekend since Valentines/President’s Day week is usually very busy. Kellie had a Dr appointment at 7:30 Friday morning so as soon as we were done with it we headed south. We got in to Orlando just after 1:00PM at Disney’s Old Key West, one of our favorite places to stay, checked in and grabbed a bite to eat at Olivia’s for lunch. We stayed at OKW on our last trip to Food and Wine Festival in October and actually got the same room both times, studio 3316, by chance. Read more

Even though it’s already 2009, my class from Savannah Christian c/o 1988 met this weekend for a 20 year reunion. We met up Friday night downtown at the Bull St Chop House and Saturday at the Savannah Yacht Club on Wilmington Island. Both nights were wonderful, tons of good food at both places, including oysters on Saturday (yum,) and lots of good conversation. Kriss was able to come with me Friday night and already knows a few of my friends but she had won tickets to see Rascal Flatts and Jessica Simpson in Charleston back in December and didn’t realize it was for this weekend so she and her mom went to that.

We all talk on Facebook a lot now and are already thinking we should be doing this more often, several times a year even, instead of waiting another 10 years. Some of my classmates even live near us so we can go out or visit each others house in Richmond Hill. There are a lot more pictures on my Facebook page if you’re friends with me.

A joke I have heard my whole life that continues today about Disney is how you wait in line for 60 minutes to ride a ride that’s all over in 60 seconds. Disney can’t hold a candle to Christmas. For weeks and months (maybe only days for a few husbands) we shop, and cook, and drive, and agonize over what to get our family and friends for Christmas. Then in the blink of an eye, three little Tasmanian devils tear through their packages like a tornado through a trailer park. The kids were all pleased with their gifts that Santa brought as well as what Kriss and I got them. I was advised that the two older girls were up at 3:00AM with the tree turned on as well as every light in the living room looking to see what Santa brought. He brought Erin and Kellie bicycles and Alyssa a Vera Bradley bag. I think Erin likes her bike most of all but Kellie really hasn’t ridden hers yet. Alyssa got a stack of books she is in to now, all the Wicked, Twilight, and other vampire craze that’s going around now. Read more

Every Christmas eve we spend the evening at my grandmother’s house having dinner and exchanging family gifts with her and mom. However many kids we have that year come along so we load up 5-6 of us in the car and drive to Windsor Forrest. We usually have some type of non-traditional Christmas meal like chicken from KFC and last year I made BBQ, this year was no exception with spaghetti although there was a ham since Kellie doesn’t eat pasta or noodles of any kind and Erin just prefers ham. It was a quieter year since there were fewer of us, only Kriss and I with the three girls along with mom and granny and the kids are all getting older. Cathy, Tommy, and Gabe couldn’t make it.

Afterward we exchanged gifts and the highlight was mom opening our family portraits we had done. This is the first year we’ve had Marc Jr available to get all 6 of us. The girls all got purses with money which they LOVED Kriss caught this photo at the best time when mom realized what she was opening. I wish it had been with a better camera but I don’t think we could have captured the moment if we had planned it.

Today was the last day of school for all of the kids here in Bryan co. They were all excited but Kellie was very excited to have her first Christmas party, especially since she missed the Halloween party since she was sick. Kriss and I went up to the school to take treat bags and help out. Another parent brought these tree hat kits, that’s what she is decorating in the picture. You glue ornaments to it and then roll it up and it looks like an elf hat. They all had fun and were surprisingly good the whole time, not once did they get rowdy. We were trying to hurry though because Erin’s class was having a party too and her school is right next door within walking distance so I ran and put Kellie’s stuff in the car while she and Kriss went to Erin’s class. We should have gone there first because they had pizza. It also looked a little rowdier there but she was smiling and having fun.

This year’s Food and Wine trip was another first for us. This is the one trip where where in the past we’ve met others down there in Disney but for the last few years Kriss and I have gone alone, which was a nice change from being with people every year prior. So this year, after hanging out at our neighbor’s, Bruce and Lonnie, for months before talking about the trip they decided they’d like to go too since they hadn’t been in over 3 years and that was with kids too. So with a little finagling of kid’s schedules, we all took Friday off and headed south as soon as the kids were on the school bus at 7:00. Read more

Just finally getting around to writing this trip report. Yes the kids were surprised with this one again although it was a lot harder since we were pulling a trailer, sort of hard to hide it. But Marc Jr was here for his last week of summer vacation and we had the girls this weekend too so Kriss and I decided to plan a surprise trip for the kids. We booked a room on Expedia (link in the right column) and got an awesome rate on a 2 bedroom at FantasyWorld Club Villas that was a few miles from Disney. I am the first to admit that we are WAAAY spoiled by staying on Disney property all these years and yes our first impressions were not of excitement, but we probably wouldn’t have been able to do this trip if it weren’t for Expedia. The room was a little small for 6 of us but fortunately my parents decided to go with us and were able to get the same rate and Marc stayed with them right next door. It was a 2 story room that seems to have been partially refurbished recently (it looks like they have been doing it gradually based on reports on Expedia) with a kitchen, living room, and complete bathroom downstairs and two bedrooms, bathroom, and washer/dryer upstairs. Read more