Getting excited!

After all of the stress in the past couple of weeks I've finally started to get excited about our trip again!

I've ordered a few bits for the kids for their surprise reveal.  I'm still not sure when I'll do this!

They have a Disney box each already.  I've ordered a themed shirt each (Tinkerbell, Harry Potter and Jurassic Park), mickey ears, autograph books and bumbags to go inside.

Not quite figured out all of the details but the boxes will be wrapped and I'll film them opening them!

The suitcases are now down from the attic so I can slowly start washing and sorting holiday clothes, hopefully into two suitcases as I don't fancy carrying three suitcases, 4 pieces of hand luggage and the kids as well on my own!

I think I'll have to find the kids back packs and use them as hand luggage so they can carry those themselves. That'll just leave me with the suitcases and my hand luggage...and 3 kids!

Bad point.  My phone has decided to play up and not hold charge so I've had to pay for an early upgrade!  So more eaten out of our spends...BUT...I'll have a better phone and a massive 4x the storage, which means I won't have to keep deleting photos and videos all holiday!  I'll have enough for everything on my phone!

Starting a new saving schedule for the next few weeks and if all goes to plan and there are no more set backs we should have $4000 spending money :D

Around $1600 of that will be on our ADR's and food!  But most of the rest will be to play with so it should be plenty!

The kids still think we're going to Scotland, bar Cameron who thinks we're going to Spain!!  I can't wait to see their faces.  I may not wait!  As soon as their 'box stuff' arrives I might just tell them!

I also called the travel agent about Miami airport and asked around and it seems like it's much simpler than I was imagining.  Off the plane, onto the airport train, through immigration, pick up bags, go through customs and drop them back off at the Orlando flight!

I know I won't fully relax until I'm sat on that plane to Orlando.  That will be when I can really look forward to our holiday and I'll have the hour flight to get rid of the stress and get my head in holiday mode!

Stress overload!!

The last couple of weeks have been so stressful!!

First I thought Alyssa's passport would need to be changed but after a couple of days found out it didn't, so now that's fine.

Then I went to check we had everything and found my passport had had tea spilt on it!  Cue panic since the US site said water damaged passports wouldn't be accepted.

Made an emergency appointment at the passport office at £110!!  Had to get my photos re done and signed again.

Just as I left the office I realised they wouldn't be able to call the person who signed my photos as he's on holiday, so I was panicking that would delay things.

But no, all fine and my passport arrived yesterday.  Went to apply for ESTA with my new passport, bearing in mind I have applied for ESTA 12 times in the last few years and every single time it has instantly shown 'Authorisation Approved/ on the screen.

Oooh no, of course it didn't this time!  It said 'Authorisation Pending'.  Cue more panic knowing there's no time to get a visa now!

Refreshed the page and it had been approved.  Phew!!

THEN Cameron's tutor let slip about Florida!!  He heard and I've somehow managed to convince him there is a similar sounding city in Spain and that's actually where we're going.  He seems convinced and I've told him it's our secret and he's got to help me keep it so Alyssa and Charlie still think we're going to Scotland, not 'Spain'.

So now I've had to change the way I was going to surprise them.

And to top it all off I've wound myself up about connecting flights in Miami as I've never been to that airport before.

I'm sure all will be fine and soon I'll be able to relax and enjoy the build up soon enough but, man, what a week!