Thursday, September 1, 2011

Planning our Road Trip!

Now that Jordan and Daniel are off on their honeymoon, the wedding is all done and we are back home at the shack, it's time to make some serious plans for our road trip to Disneyland!  We will be heading out on the 7th, right after most kids are back in public school.  One of the many joys of homeschooling is being able to take advantage of quieter holiday times!  I booked 6 nights at an economy hotel right outside of Disneyland...I would rather not pay $15 a day to park there, on top of all the other expenses!  Our hotel may be economy, but has great reviews, serves breakfast, has a pool, queen sized beds and we can walk to the park!  I still have to order our passes, which I will be doing later today, and then I'll be looking into where we can camp on our way down.  We will be tenting it, unless rain forces us to find something less soggy.  We have decided to take as little as possible to keep it simple...sleeping bags, air mattresses, pillows, a one burner butane stove and refills, a kettle and a pot.  We'll use disposable plates and utensils and travel mugs, which can be washed where they are refilled. We each have a duffel bag to fill with clothing for a week.  Our plan is to take snacks and drinks into the park with us in a cooler backpack, and out of the park, we'll eat buns with sliced deli meat and cheese, fresh veggies and dip, and anything else easy to prepare.  We will be avoiding the fast food joints and stick with stops at grocery stores where we can keep a continuous supply of fresh food in a little cooler in the back of the car.
I found the best deals on hotels at this site....Get A Room.  I spent a lot of time looking at the same hotels on different sites and found this the cheapest.  I also found that getting the 'deal' with a good neighbour hotel for a room and passes, was NOT the best deal.  Looking for a hotel that suited our needs and ordering the passes separately is saving me several hundreds of dollars!
We are all looking forward to out trip and have lots to do before then.
Right now, my brother in law and his wife are here visiting on their way back home from the wedding with their adorable twin girls, Daisy and Emily.  They are 10 months old now and so fun!  Alley is loving cuddling and playing with her little cousins!
I'll be sharing some of the pictures from the wedding as they are available.  It was a stressful week prior to the big day, but in the end it was a huge success and everyone had a great time!
Back to the planning!

Bridal Shower!

My oldest daughter, Morgan, mother to my darling granddaughter, Taylor, worked very hard to throw a bridal shower for her sister before the wedding.  I was so impressed with all the neat things she did to make it special for Jordan, the bride to be.  One of the decorating ideas was so simple and yet so effective I just had to share!  These are made from coloured tissue paper and pipe cleaners.  They are big pom poms or flowers like the kind you make to decorate wedding cars.  Only these ones are really BIG!!  She hung them from the trees and grape vines in my Mom's lovely backyard and they looked amazing!  Here are the directions...Pom Poms
And here are some pictures of them at the shower!
Hanging from the old apple tree.




From an arbor.