.1.

Errands, packing, laundry, yard work.  All the usual stuff before you leave home for a week of FUN!

Thanks for the use of the car seat Melanie.  I don't know when they got so complex though.  There's more straps and harnesses on that thing than a parachute.  Which begs the question: "Why does it have to be so beefed up for aircraft use?"  Really, the likelyhood of needing that thing and having it do any good in an airliner is so slim that it really doesn't matter.  On the other hand, its usefulness in a car is substantially more significant but the standards seem to be lower.  Or it's just been so long since I've shopped for car seats that I'm out of touch with the industry.

Limo arrives at 0700 tomorrow!

..2..

The mountains of laundry are now mountains of CLEAN laundry thanks to Gina.  We're down to stuffing some things into suitcases, cleaning the house up a bit and then sitting up all night watching for the limo to show up at 7:00am Sunday.  Kayla is excited, Emily is excited, Jason is getting more and more anxious.  What is it with this kid?

...3...

Continuing our countdown, we now have our Traveler's Checks and a couple rolls of coins for the penny/quarter smashing machines.  The kids don't know about Disney's yet, but love the ones at the zoo.  You know the ones - you go to the zoo so often that you never think about souvenirs and then somebody finds the crank to turn at the Manatee Falls or Insect House.  Then it's all "Daddy, can I?" and "Did you bring any money?" and "No, but you did!" and then "I'm not smooshing my debit card."  followed by much wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Ah, good times, good times....  

Who wants to start taking bets on when I lose the TC's?

Wish granters came today!

We now have all the neccessary paperwork!  Thanks to our volunteers, Ashley and Christina (whose pictures I forgot to take - this doesn't bode well) we now have buttons and tickets and reservations.
Kayla got a special MAW Barbie doll and Emily is alraedy barganing to make it hers.  Sorry sweetie, but you will not appropriate this one.

....4....

The count-down is on!  Tickets and itinerary to be delivered tonight.  We'll be putting stuff in baggage the next couple of days, and probably repacking once or twice to minimize the overall bag count.  Checked baggage fees will add up fast if we aren't careful, but carry-ons with Kayla, her car seat and two smallish kids could be a real challenge.  Very grateful to have a direct flight!

5 Days to go!

Just about there, and the kids are as excited as ever.  Tomorrow night we'll meet with our MAW volunteer and get all the paperwork.  We keep saying we're going to start setting aside clothes to pack, but somehow it just doesn't get done.  I can see already we'll be up at 4:00 still trying to cram stuff into a suitcase!

Getting close!

We got the Disney vacation planning DVD in the mail today and watched it twice before dinner!  The kids are excited of course, but Jason freaked out over the 5-10 seconds of video of the Haunted Mansion.  Man up, kid - you're riding it.