Why Not Make It Three??? Or maybe FOUR?!?!? Or just MAYBE FIVE!!!!!

[tyandskyesmom]

SO...since I had PTO days to take or lose by the end of the year, and Disney extended out Annual Passes until December 23, 2020 we figured what the heck!

So we now have a two night stay at Coronado Springs standard room booked for November 26th through November 28, 2020!

AND

Skyler and I are going to do our first mother/daughter trip from December 18 through December 24, 2020 at Art of Animation Little Mermaid room!

Cary doesn't have any more time off this year and Tyler is hoping to get a promotion at Game Stop to Assistant Manager so taking off on Black Friday AND just before Christmas probably would not work. Skye and I could have stayed longer but our passes end on the 23rd and it is Christmas so we figured we will be home sometime Christmas day depending if we are able to drive straight through or not. Neither one of the guys are happy about our girls trip but both understand why...plus before Skyler came along, Tyler and I went by ourselves and Skye is big on pointing that out...and the fact that any kind of organized scrap booking kinda ended shortly after she arrived...LOL! It will be weird being without them and I am a wus so driving down with just Skye and me is kinda scary but we've done it multiple times and I am the only driver so it isn't like it will be any different.

So as of today we have countdowns of 77 days and 99 days!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So continuing around the World!

Skyler and Cary got another drink in China...this time a peach one...they enjoyed it...lots of flavor...cost was $4.26.

Can you tell we love China?

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After spending all that time in China, we moved on...

Along the promenade we stopped at Shanghi Holiday Kitchen. We ordered the Mongolian Beef Bao Bun and a Fortune Cookie. This was my favorite here. Great flavor and enough meat but I could have used a little more but the bun is SO soft and fluffy that it all blends really well.

We also got the Pork and Vegetable Egg Rolls...that everyone split and loved...but we generally love egg rolls. It's a new thing for the kids so where we did not used to have to share with them, we now do...BOO! There were two regular sized rools and they were filled nicely and not the least bit greasy...

Then we grabbed an order of the Chengdu Street Fries. This was a great spin on fries! We all liked these...they were a bit spicy but just the right amount. Cary thought they were a bit too spicy but he's a wimp so take that for what it's worth.

We did not get one item from the menu but it was just because we did not think we needed all that right now or we wouldn't be able to enjoy Norway! Our total here was $17.65...well worth it!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

After our Chinese snack, we moved on to Norway.

We headed to the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe for goodies! Somehow I was really bad with receipts today...so I'm guessing on what this stuff is and how much it costs but it will be educated guesses.

So we grabbed one of these...not sure what is is called but it was an apple pie thing...it was a vanilla custard-y type thing with apple pie type filling and a pie like crust om the bottom covered in a pretty layer of light mint colored "frosting"...I am SO not a pastry chef! Tyler and I shared this. I was surprised he wanted to since apple pie is not really his thing but he liked it and so did I.

Skyler got her favorite here...Troll Horn - Puff Pastry filled with Orange Marmalade Cream. She loves these and gets one almost every time lately! She eats the cream first and then the horn ... and she dies not like to share !

Cary got his favorite here...the Rice Cream - Creamy Rice Pudding topped with Strawberry Sauce. He gets this every time and I am the only one who even wants him to share so he does not usually have to share much. I find the rice pudding part of this not super sweet but when you mix it in with the strawberries, it is a perfect amount of sweet!

We were able to find a table to eat at but it is always crowded over there! Everything was fresh and good. We also got some cups of ice for our water and pop. Our total here was $15.26.

After eating, we headed towards Mexico...

I love it inside Mexico...I have never actually been to Mexico but when I am in here I actually do not feel like I am in Orlando!

Not sure why those are sideways...they are correct on Photobucket???

We rode the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros next.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I see you’ll be in Disney in late November, we arrive on November 27 for our annual trip, so we’ll be there at the same time! I can’t wait, and seeing all your holiday pictures makes me more anxious to go! I love all the Epcot food booths!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I see you’ll be in Disney in late November, we arrive on November 27 for our annual trip, so we’ll be there at the same time! I can’t wait, and seeing all your holiday pictures makes me more anxious to go! I love all the Epcot food booths!

We have not gone at Thanksgiving time since before it became a busy time...so probably about ten years! I wanted a longer trip but Cary couldn't get the three days before Thanksgiving off, even without pay, because someone else had already requested them. We're planning on arriving early on Thanksgiving and doing Epcot that day, Magic Kingdom the next day, and Animal Kingdom on Saturday before we leave to head home. It's a short trip but it will be fun! We're going to miss the food booths by a day unless they do some soft openings, LOL! But Skye and I will be there in December for them!

 

[Bamaclan4]

Was just thinking as I scrolled through the Dis tha you haven’t posted in a while. Would love a real life and trip update. Hope all is well.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Hey! Sorry, we've had some huge changes in our real life and somehow my trip reports have gotten lost along the way. I hope to at least finish up in the near future and fill you all in on real life...

 

[Hubie]

Enjoyed reading your TRs! Your many pictures are great also. Sorry you encountered so much rain on your Dec. trip. We were there 1/12/20 thru 1/25 and had beautiful weather, with just one cold day. We're headed down from WI this year on 11/26 and will be staying until 12/7. Looks like we'll be driving down since the cost of flights have recently doubled from what we've paid in the past.

 

[Stasieki]

Hey! Sorry, we've had some huge changes in our real life and somehow my trip reports have gotten lost along the way. I hope to at least finish up in the near future and fill you all in on real life...

Hoping it's good life changes!

 

[bpvarian]

looks like an awesome trip! thanks for sharing

 

[akemom]

Joining in to say I’ve enjoyed reading your report! My daughter is also a dancer and they grow up way too fast! I hope your family is having a good 2021 so far!

 

[Bamaclan4]

Looking forward to hearing about your updates.

 

[Bamaclan4]

Hope all is well with your family. Thought of y’all through Christmas anytime I would see anything about The Nutcracker.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Hey! It's nice to know someone thinks about us!

Skyler did do The Nutcracker for her senior year. Since they were off last year due to Covid, this year was a bit of a different beast! She was Spanish, Trepek, a flower,a snow flake, and understudy Nutcracker. She had a great time after missing it and all her Nut Buddies. They had to wear masks on stage so it was missing a bit by not being able to see their faces. But it was great, as always...until the regular after Nutcracker illness turned into about three weeks of condos for all four of us!!! Someone there (who was vaccinated) caught it and apparently passed it along to all her closest friends and their families! We're all good now, mostly just bad cold kinda stuff but we were really tired and it lingered.

Nut we had a great first Christmas in our new home with our new family. Tyler moved
Out on Dec 12 to go live with his girlfriend two and a half hours away! Yes, this mama was super sad!!! But back in June, the love of
My life and his 21 year old son moved in with us and we're loving it. That's a story for another time though so hope you all had a great holiday season and thanks for thinking about us!!!

 

[Bamaclan4]

So glad to hear back from you and that all is well. I’m sure y’all enjoyed Skyler dancing in The Nutcracker again, even with the changes. I know you are missing Tyler but so glad he is doing well. And sharing a new home with the love of your life is absolutely awesome. Hope you pop in again soon with more reports on your trips and life updates. God Bless.

 

[Stasieki]

Great to hear from you! Any trips coming up?

 

[tobia]

Hey! It's nice to know someone thinks about us!

Skyler did do The Nutcracker for her senior year. Since they were off last year due to Covid, this year was a bit of a different beast! She was Spanish, Trepek, a flower,a snow flake, and understudy Nutcracker. She had a great time after missing it and all her Nut Buddies. They had to wear masks on stage so it was missing a bit by not being able to see their faces. But it was great, as always...until the regular after Nutcracker illness turned into about three weeks of condos for all four of us!!! Someone there (who was vaccinated) caught it and apparently passed it along to all her closest friends and their families! We're all good now, mostly just bad cold kinda stuff but we were really tired and it lingered.

Nut we had a great first Christmas in our new home with our new family. Tyler moved
Out on Dec 12 to go live with his girlfriend two and a half hours away! Yes, this mama was super sad!!! But back in June, the love of
My life and his 21 year old son moved in with us and we're loving it. That's a story for another time though so hope you all had a great holiday season and thanks for thinking about us!!!

Long time reader of your reports and big fan--would love to hear how things are going for you all!

 

[Bamaclan4]

Would love to hear trip and life updates!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Hi Everyone! So I am really needing a vacation right now with no prospects coming. It's been so long that I just re-read through this trip report and I'm not sure if that was a good thing to do or not! I'd love to finish this trip and report on the next one but not sure I'll be very descriptive. We'll see!

In real life...Cary and I were really just roommates and there was a lot of behind the scenes things I obviously didn't post here about so during all of these trips we were on the outs. Around August of 2020, I decided I was done with all of it and asked him to leave. It was a long, dragged-out process but it eventually did happen. On October 1, 2020 I got "poked" on Facebook by someone I was crazy about 25 years earlier. We had dated back then but we went our separate ways because neither of us was ready at the time for more than what we had. He was always the one I compared everyone else to though. So we started talking and soon after we met up...and we've been inseparable since. We moved in together in June of 2021 and on December 31, 2022 just before the clock struck 12, he asked me to marry him!!! I never thought I'd want to do that again but THIS was a no-brainer! Jack is the lead singer of a local 80s Arena Rock Tribute Band, Mock Star. We are completely opposites...but we balance each other out. With him he brings his almost 23 year old son, Tucker, who loves with us and his 25 year old son, Logan who lives about an hour and a half from us with his fiance, Kaylee, and their almost 3 year old daughter, Nayeli.

Tyler is doing well. He is 24 now. I don't see him very often...and I miss him all the time. He has gone back to school for accounting and is doing well and enjoying it. He is working at Walgreens at the moment. He still lived with his girlfriend, Emma. We do not all get along. I do have to credit her for getting him back on track with his life but the way she went about doing all of it was not the right way and has put a little bit of an issue in the relationship of Tyler and the other two people in his life that have always been there. Skye is real mad at him.

And then there's Skyler, taking on the world!...But we always knew she would, right? It ended up that the ONLY school that did not accept her of the approximately 15 she applied to was University of Florida...so no Gator for her. She checked out a short list of places that she thought she'd be happy with. She ended up at St. Louis University as a Neuroscience (pre-med)/Forensic Science double major. She got a Vice Presidential Scholarship so while St. Louis was never even on her radar until they had a free application, they ended up being the best match for her...and the cheapest! She didn't think she wanted a roommate, and she almost didn't want to go when she got her housing assignment and it was not in the dorm she wanted (which had private bathrooms) but she had found her roommate, Peyton, on a SLU web site prior to putting in housing requests and they are perfect together. She is from Colorado, and I think they share a brain sometimes. She is loving being there and i don't think she could picture herself anywhere else right now. It's about 4-5 hours away from home so that stinks but I talk to her every day and it's a train ride away. She is working at a Steakhouse in East St. Louis, just other the Illinois boarder and is enjoying it. She is working hard in all aspects of her life and seems to be making good decisions so far.... having fun but not placing fun above the reason she is there. She just got accepted as an RA for next year in the dorm she currently lives so she will get free room and board (although will miss rooming with Peyton) ...and have to do some work but nothing too crazy. She is planning to work over the summer at home and take Calculus and Stats online at the local college. She is also jonesing for a Disney trip...doesn't help that Peyton and her family are Disney people too!!! She will be 19 soon and I don't know where the time has gone! I miss her like crazy but I am so proud of her in all she is doing and handling... Skyler talked Jack into a puppy about two years ago so HER dog is home with us for now. Elsa is now a 2 year old Siberian Husky who is so crazy and sheds SO much...I cannot wait for her to be able to go live with Skyler...she thinks we're all part of her pack and treats us as such...she is beautiful but a PITA! She misses Skyler so badly when so leaves to go back to school...they are attached at the hip when Skye is here.

I am still working my regular job and now have been working at Jewel (where Skye used to work) for almost a year 32-40 hours per week...college is not cheap! I don't mind it too much most of the time. Other than that, I help Jack with band stuff and we're out at shows on the weekends often. It;s sometimes exhausting but I would not have it any other way!

So there you have it. I am going to try to get back to finishing these trips, if not only because I want to re-live them...and the next one is SSSOOO good...

Thanks for hanging in there!!!