Pics from Day at Lake Compounce

On Monday, I took Victoria and a few of her friends to Lake Compounce as Victoria's birthday party. Lots of excitement and some drama happened before the big day. I picked the girls up and headed to the park. While in the car, the girls sang off key to songs on the radio, played games on an Ipod touch with the speaker loud, and phone calls all at the same time. They were so loud I completely missed an exit. I even had the GPS on.

One of the girls had never, ever been to an amusement park. I found it hard to believe. I kept checking to be sure she had not forgotten a trip made long ago. She insisted she had never been to an amusement park. After getting off one of the rides, the girls told us how there were kids on the ride screaming the F word and telling everyone to shut up. When I pressed a bit, it sounds like they were telling my child to shut up because she was screaming her head off. That sounded about right. I told the girls not to worry about the profanity and it sounded like some kids were just being obnoxious while not being supervised. Somehow this comment led to a debate on which one of them could be the most obnoxious. Somehow this led to a group hug of sorts, probably to prove none of us matched the level of obnoxiousness of those on the Wild Cat.

For the most part, the girls were respectful of their parents, particularly their mothers. One girl is very impressed her mother can do anything while driving: read a book, add numbers, eat lunch. It was nice to know we parents haven't yet been cast off to the Isle of Misfits.

All of the kids use AOL AIM's program to communicate. It's a social networking site with more parental controls than others. I check Victoria's regularly to be sure I know what is going on. Hopefully I do. I learned the kids all have at least two AIM names, one their parents know about and another which is secret. It's these other names, the ones the parents are unaware of, where the status messages are quite cruel. I've looked over Victoria's shoulder to spot some interesting status messages, including a few about Victoria. Some of the messages are something like, "So-n-So is a bitch and needs deodorant." So if your kid uses AIM, you might want to check how many AIM accounts they hold.

Another birthday survived!

It's hard to believe I am the mother of a twelve year old child. Before I had a child, while I was pregnant, and all of these years I never really looked at what being the mother of a twelve year old meant. I imagined the day she graduated from high school, college or even when she achieves her advanced degree. I've fantasized about which prom dress and wedding gown style she'll choose.

If I've given all of this so much thought, why did it not occur to me I'd be mothering a moody twelve year old? She'll spend hours doing her hair all the while needing to wipe the milk off her face. If I happen to mention the milk, I'll be met with a huff or pout.

She informed me she is too old to wear Disney bathing suits. She's willing to wear one to Disney but not in front of her friends at home.

Am I discouraging her from good grammar by allowing her AIM access and texting devices? I received a text today, "Wat time r u pickin me up'. It seems wrong.

I don't know if I'm going to make it through the pre-teen phase!

Week in Review

What a week it's been. I'm used to July being difficult at work, but family life was affected as well. Little 8 year old cousin Ricky was hit by a car on Tuesday and landed in the Yale Children's Hospital ICU. He is very lucky to be ok from the neck down but his face is very swollen and surgery to construct his nose and jaw will need to be done once he is no longer on the cusp. We went to see him today and while he probably did not realize we were there, in his sedated state, I'm glad we went. Marcella and John are staying at the hospital and it was obvious neither of them have slept very well. Family holiday plans are canceled until further notice.

I bumped into one of our staff outside of the hospital. We currently have 3 residents there. It occurred to me I could skip my day off and just check on all three of them. Victoria wouldn't have considered it much fun though. The new fiscal year really swept us away this week in the office. It's been a real challenging week.

Of course I can't keep a secret and told Victoria about our Disney hotel plans. She's pretty excited but not as excited about the Southwest theme of the resort. She's into contemporary style. Sometimes I'm not sure she's my child.

I spent way too long looking for better deals on car rentals. They just don't seem to be as available this year. I hate using the rental car because of the extra pollution but I do love the convenience.

Two summer camps were canceled this week. I had Victoria signed up for a North Haven Slamma Jamma camp but it was canceled with three days notice. The East Haven camp, late to organize, did not end up holding camp either. Victoria spent the week at her grandparents with her cousin Xavier. It may be a long summer for all four people.

Summer Hoops began this week. I may have messed up with not paying better attention to the kids who did NOT show up for screening night. I have a bunch of guards on the team without much rebounding ability. One team is definitely stacked. My team may be the best defensive team, but we've got a long way to go to becoming a better offensive one. It's all games, no practices so it's just for fun. I like to watch the girls improve for better pickings come the fall for the basketball season.

I read some online reviews of tours by Adventures by Disney. The Peru trip looks fabulous but not in the plans for next summer. We are anxious for Disney to release dates and rates so we can move ahead with our early booking discounts. This would mean no cruising for summer 2010. It seems weird to think of it that way but most likely we'll be booking for a new ship in 2011, Disney of course.

Trip Planning Mania

There was a little snag with the air time. The time was going to be moved to later in the day which meant we would arrive pretty late in the evening. Southwest let me change my reservation to earlier in the day so now we'll be arriving mid afternoon on a Wednesday rather than evening.

We have annual passes to Disney World this year. When I realized we'd be making at least two trips plus one for work, I went ahead and bought them. I was disappointed I was not using the discounts for the resorts at all. Recently Disney released rates for the nights before our cruise and I went ahead and booked the Coronado Springs Resort. I've never stayed there, so if I'm going to stay at all of the resorts by the time I have grandchildren, I'd better hop to it! I'm considering keeping this a surprise for Victoria but I'm not good at keeping these types of secrets. She already thinks we're staying at a budget hotel for a couple of nights before the cruise. It's not unusual for us to do this before a cruise or something big. It usually just makes the cruise all that more special. But I've been wanting to check out the Coronado Resort. For about 100 dollars a night, including taxes, we're going to immerse ourselves on the property with a really cool pool.

Cool pools are big with kids. This property also looks pretty cool at night. It's very big! The theme reminds me of Sedona, Arizona.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/coronado-springs-resort/

I toyed with the idea of not having a rental car for our stay but it looks like a hassle picking up one later in the trip so we'll stick to the car for now. It's always more convenient to have one.

Summer is officially here and I'm going to Disney this summer!

Birthday

Turning 42 was pretty uneventful. I couldn't remember how old I was because it seems I've been saying I'm 42 for almost a year. I might have skipped 41 altogether. What the heck, it's not much of a milestone anyway.

I remember how sad my father was, on his 40th birthday when his favorite singer died, Harry Chapin. He thought it was a terrible omen of things to come! Having Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson die on your birthday just plain ole stinks. I realize they had to die on someone's birthday but why mine? Wasn't she Farah Fawcett Majors for awhile? I keep thinking, 'Beat it Charlie's Angels'. Bad!

I took the day off from work today, after having a pretty decent work week. We got up early this morning and was on the road by 9am to do our annual West Farms Mall birthday visit. I believe our annual West Farms Mall spending spree originated one year with us shopping for vacation items. It's something I've been doing with Victoria for the last few years.

Instead of looking forward to Build a Bear Workshop store, she was looking forward to Sephora. What a year will do to your little girl! She did offer to make Xavier, my nephew, a build a bear but I told her the point is sort of lost when you make one for someone else. I knew what she wanted but this tween business is something else. Victoria wanted to shop for her friend Jessica. Victoria is at her very first sleepover this evening for Jessica's birthday. Unfortunately Jessica did not get anything from Sephora but we did find some things in Claire's and Victoria is very happy to supply Jessica with a suitcase of makeup! She also liked Vera Wangs scent, Princess. I do too but the bottle really appealed to her. The price was a little out of reach for her.

We shopped Sephora and picked up a few items and headed over to the Disney Store. I managed to pick up a few things at their Annual Sale in the Tween section but the pickings were slim. I did finish Xavier's birthday shopping with some toys from the Movie Cars. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe too. Getting the Safari Membership was one of the best things I've done. The Safari Membership entitles you to a Chef's appetizer with the purchase of an adult entre. I also had my birthday 5 dollar off coupon so all in all lunch cost 20 bucks rather than 33. I think 33 dollars for lunch is outrageous but the RFC reminds us of Disney so we indulge.

I took my birthday 10 dollar coupon to Origins and couldn't really find anything there. Last trip I bought tons of stuff there but I really did not want to stock up on the Ginger cologne and lotion again. I did refill the Peace of Mind pulse point lotion. I didn't realize how the stuff does not last very long. I have last year's bottle in my desk at work and it no longer tingles when you put it on the pulse points but the bottle we opened today was very fresh. Lesson learned: don't stock up too much on those products because they get stale.

A little side trip to Godiva and Harry and David and we called it a day.

8 Weeks until our next adventure

Maybe not much of an adventure, since we've been down this path many times before but still something to look forward to. Since sporting a new nail polish on my fingers and toes, all I have to do is look at the azure color and daydream about Carribean waters, snorkeling, and beautiful beaches. After a day or two, blue doesn't look so unnatural on the nails. It works!

I love living near the water. I'll drive out of my way to drive by the water for a glimpse. But it's not the same, our Atlantic coast with sea green water and brown sand. Nothing says vacation like a fruity drink, island music and some azure blue water!

I've been in touch with Lynn and Darlene about our plans. Our caravan plans to drive to the port are coming together. Lynn and I are solidifying some plans for our two days together before the cruise. It looks like we'll be following the kids around as they enjoy their time. August in Walt Disney World is pretty hot so I'm not sure how long our theme park time will last. I'll pack up the car so we're ready for anything.

After saying I was not going to change excursion plans, I went ahead and canceled our excursion for Tortola. For now I'm keeping the St. John's Trunk Bay excursion in St. Thomas. We had a really nice time in Cabo San Lucas last summer, just winging when we got into the port, that we might try it again. Victoria wants to do something exciting while on Castaway Cay this summer. She thinks just hanging at the beach is 'boring.' That's one of my favorite days!

For now, I continue to look at the calendar, watch the clock, and read others' travel logs!

Vacation plans slow and steady

We are moving right along with vacation plans. Flights are arranged, pre-parking at the airport is paid for, and hotels reservations are all set.

I think I'll stick to my excursion plans for now because I've read some good reviews on them. I might change the Tortola tour,lunch and somethingoranother plans and just go for a tour of sorts.

I'm trying to talk Lynn into keeping her rental car and driving down with us. She might take the Disney bus to the port but it might arrive after us and it will cost a bit more than keeping the car another day.

My experience at a Disney Value Resort in 2006

I have stayed on site and off many times and was looking forward to trying All Star Music a couple of weeks ago. I was sneaking in a few days post-cruise on a budget. I figured with two of us, how bad could it be?

I have read a lot of complaints about the bus system, walking distances, hearing toilets flush etc. I never paid them much mind because I usually like walking walking around the resort I am staying at. I consider it part of the experience. I'm walking miles and miles each day, what's a little more? It was very difficult to sleep past 7am at the resort. I thought it was the sound of showers running but it could have toilets for all I know. We heard a baby crying the last night. It sounded like it was in our room. Those walls are thin!

We checked in after the cruise at 10am. I foolishly did not wear theme park clothing. Our room was not ready and we hit the parks in our dark colored attire. When we got to the spot for the bus, I noticed there was very little shaded area and a huge line for Epcot out in the sun. We waited exactly twenty minutes for the Epcot bus. We saw three Blizzard Beach busses and several of the other parks pass. This would become a theme for the three days. If you opted to stand in the shade, you were chancing there not being enough room for you.

We stood at Guest Relations at Epcot trying to get our one-day ticket off our room key for later use. They explained to me the room key would hold the ticket forever. A supervisor was called over. I explained I wanted a ticket which told me exactly what is was because figuring out how many days left on a ticket is impossible unless you are in a Disney park. It really took some convincing and explaining purchasing the one day pass was a requirement for the package I purchased.

Every time. I mean every time we took the bus back to our resort we stood up. I don't mind standing if it means others can sit but you know where I am going with this: young people sitting while older folks struggled to stand, very young toddlers who couldn't stand still were without seats and some idiot had a cooler taking up a seat space. I asked the man to pick the cooler up so someone can sit and he said it was too big to hold. I commented it was a shame he brought such a large cooler and I'd be happy to keep it near my feet or Victoria could sit on it, making it safer for her.

He moved the cooler. I was aggravated no one else had said anything.

It was a long walk back to our Broadway section building each time. The morning we brought our luggage for check out, it was a long LONG walk. It didn't make any sense to go all the way up front for a luggage cart, which you will be charged for it you do not return it in thirty minutes.

Magical Express told us our pick up for our 7:50pm flight would be at 4:55pm. Luggage assistance suggested being there 20 minutes prior to departure. We enjoyed lunch at the food court before getting our luggage at 4:30pm. The bus arrived at 5:10pm. There were two seats left. Two! How did they manage to pack them in to the seat? I had to ask people to move their items so Victoria and I could sit. Victoria sat by herself several rows back. The driver rattled off something to me in Spanish. "Ok!" I said. :arrow:

The ride back to the airport was ok. Finding Nemo was on the television and then an informational Disney commercial inviting you back. I realized I hadn't seen outside of Disney property the entire stay and what a great marketing ploy for Disney to keep the dollars on site.

We got to Terminal B and I heard the driver say Southwest. I got off the bus and said, "Southwest" and he shook his head like I was a crazy woman and said 'No, Northwest!' so I said "OK!" and got back on the bus. Despite the fact there are signs and verbal reminders from the driver he accepts tips, I was shocked to see families with twice the amount of luggage as us tip him. C'mon people, tip the man!

We had the best assistance with our luggage to check in at Southwest. He offered to do all the paperwork for me. He really earned his tip.

All in all, value resorts can be a good deal depending on your situation. If you have enough time to spare, Magical Express can be convenient, but moreso if you fly within a participating airline. I did not notice any difference in room space or set up from a moderate interior. Then again, it's been two years since I had stayed on site.

I would not stay at a value and rely on bus transportation again. I'd either rent a car or stay at a moderate where there are several bus stops throughout the resort. Parking in the lot near your building is much more convenient than being dropped at the front of the hotel and walking.

We enjoyed our stay, I just wanted to share my experience with Values and the bus system.