Stef's Red White & Boo At The Fort

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Wow. That was awesome of you guys! That's good stuff right there!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I KNEW that would be an awesome update, but you still blew me away. Incredible. What a great party to throw. Wish I could have been there to honor his service.

[Starbuc71 162]

A S70, a TCD and a daveInTn trip report all at the same time? It doesn't get any better than this. Great report so far. You guys look like you always have a great time at the fort. Party on!

[fortpartyof4 108]

What a wonderful thing you did for that sweet young man. Please tell him I am sorry I missed the big sha-bang but am honored to have met him and thank him for his bravery and sacrifice.

I love your poster. It's like a gigantic scrapbook page. One of his comments made me smile - that is what he said about the music I played on the golf cart that I mentioned earlier.

Love Nate's shirt. Riot! At least it says "girlfriend", not "mom". bahahahaha……..

Genia: I saw that. Easy, Mrs. Robinson.

I ran into Judy and a friend of hers on the beach New Year's Eve. Let's just say I am glad my kids weren't with me when I did. But she never fails to get me giggling.

[fortpartyof4 108]

I picked the wrong day to stop drinking tequila....

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue…...

[Ok Grumpy AKA Cindy~~ 9]

Wow! Great trip report! Thank Jordan for serving! It's great that he has such a great family and support! I loved that party amd the decorations! It brought me to tears!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Awesome party!

What a great group of Fiends. To take time out of their day and honor an American Hero!

You guys look like you had a great time and you throw one heck of a party.

Where is Jordan heading to?

He and all are service men and women will be in my prayers.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Kids went back to school so I was able to watch the video this morning.

I love that he has you all who love him. I too wish every Vet had at least one person who cared as much as your family does.

[stefa70 205]

I had planned on another update last night so I can get this report finished. Jordan left yesterday so I was a little down in the dumps.

I logged in this morning feeling better...until I read all these comments. You guys are awesome.

I will respond to comments and carry on!

You and your family are good people.

TCD

Takes one to know one. :hugs2:

Stef.... yous a makin me cry...

Sorry Nicki. I did pretty good, considering I cry at a sappy movies.

Decorations were great! So glad you surprised Jordan! Sounds like you had a great party.

Thanks Gwen, it couldn't have been any better!

Believe me Stef it was an honor to help set up for Jordan's party. I had so much fun hanging with all of you and I very much look forward to doing it again sooner rather than later.

AGREED!! I can't wait to meet Sil on the next trip. She's gotta be good cuz she sure picked a winner in you.

Wow. I'm finally caught up. The party was a blast.

Thanks sweetie! Thank you for making two trips from Jax to share this night with us. It wouldn't be the same without you there.

awww Steph, I've been here just didnt have alot to say, my kiddos have been sick and sucking my will to live, however I have to say a few things,

Epcot looked AWESOME! I hope to visit during WWW, I need one of those slushie things

Jordan is a very lucky young man to have your family, alot of young troops don't have that kind of support, so I salute you and your family :heart:

I'm long over due some punch and some of that buffalo dip stuff :)

Good to see you Judy. Sorry about the kids being sick, hope they're better now.

Thanks for the kind comments but we feel lucky to have Jordan. I believe God brings people into your life for a reason and Jordan just fits perfectly.

You're welcome to have punch, dip and anything else I have to offer when I'm at the Fort!

Great job on the suprise party... Photos were awesome !

Thanks John, wish I had taken more pics, but it went by so fast.

I'm all caught up. I was cracking up laughing at it all until you started setting up for the party. Then you made me cry! How sweet. :)

Sorry I made you cry Kelly. Sometimes a happy cry is a good one though. ^-^

You all did an exellent job with the surprise party!

I enjoyed the pics and videos.

You and your family are good people and Jordan is lucky to have you all.

I have nothing but appreciation for his service to our country and I am glad he has people to show him how much he is loved and appreciated.

Again, I wish all the returning vets had people like you and your family.

You're too kind Aaron...and now you've made me cry.

You don't know how much I appreciate you all sharing this night with us, even if it's only through words and pics.

It's great to see that Jordan has some special people that really love him great job on his party,

Thank you! He's a great young man and we're very proud of him.

[stefa70 205]

Stef,

Glad we could help! We're proud to the part of the extended Spawn family!

:rotfl6: @ Spawn family!

Stef,

Tony wants me to make sure you know, how much we appreciate you allowing us into the reunion. Tony was excited he was able to support and celebrate with Jordan, especially after a year over in A-Stan.

I understand Jordan shared with Tony about some of things he expreienced over there. For Tony, even after 28 years of moving the Army and other forces around, he (Tony) appreciates all they do. He was proud to pass on one of his challenge coins to Jordo. I just wish we could have done more for him and his close friends and supporters.

For you and Trev (and Mason) to support him and his buds like yall do......... :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

And for all those FF members and others that stopped by to say "Thank You" presonally; I think ya'll deserve a :heart: too. Ya'll made/took time out of your vacation or work for this brave young man. So to you, THANK YOU 2.

Note: My nice allotment is out for at least the rest of the month. Be warned. :clint:

If I didn't know how patriotic you really are, I would swear someone hijacked your computer.

Tell Tony thanks so much! It's great to see the brotherhood between the different services, though they tease each other on who's "tougher" The challenge coin meant a lot to Jordan.

Now please stop being so sweet, it's making me nervous.

:heart: Great updates Stef!

Thanks KFK! Jordan will love reading all the folks who are reading along and sharing his night.

Great update and great party!

Thanks CK!

I got goosebumps and tears watching your wonderful video.

Thank you Jordan

Me too! EVERY TIME I watch it.

Thanks for joining in and for your support.

I picked the wrong day to stop drinking tequila....

We have clearance, Clarence. :hah:

Wow. That was awesome of you guys! That's good stuff right there!

Thanks a bunch, it was awesome to do it for him.

I KNEW that would be an awesome update, but you still blew me away. Incredible. What a great party to throw. Wish I could have been there to honor his service.

Thanks Dave. I wish you could have been there too. Our neighbor even walked over and gave Jordan a beer as a thank you for his service. It was great to see folks appreciate him.

A S70, a TCD and a daveInTn trip report all at the same time? It doesn't get any better than this. Great report so far. You guys look like you always have a great time at the fort. Party on!

Wow! I'm honored to bring Starbuc out in my report. Thank you!

We do always have a great time, this one was just extra special. I realize how lucky I am to have Jordan home safe. Not every parent is so lucky.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue…...

Roger, Roger.

[stefa70 205]

What a wonderful thing you did for that sweet young man. Please tell him I am sorry I missed the big sha-bang but am honored to have met him and thank him for his bravery and sacrifice.

I love your poster. It's like a gigantic scrapbook page. One of his comments made me smile - that is what he said about the music I played on the golf cart that I mentioned earlier.

Love Nate's shirt. Riot! At least it says "girlfriend", not "mom". bahahahaha……..

Genia: I saw that. Easy, Mrs. Robinson.

I ran into Judy and a friend of hers on the beach New Year's Eve. Let's just say I am glad my kids weren't with me when I did. But she never fails to get me giggling.

:lmao1: Good stuff Cyndee!

Mrs Robinson...you got that right! Probably not the best idea to put the young men on Genia's site.

I wish you could have made the party too, but at least you got to spend some time with us earlier. At the time, Jordan just thought everyone was visiting. Now he realizes that some people couldn't be there on Saturday, but they came when they could. Very much appreciated!

Yes, Judy is not kid friendly after a certain time of the evening, but she sure is funny!

Wow! Great trip report! Thank Jordan for serving! It's great that he has such a great family and support! I loved that party amd the decorations! It brought me to tears!

Thanks Cindy! Sorry about the tears. It must be a woman thing.

Awesome party!

What a great group of Fiends. To take time out of their day and honor an American Hero!

You guys look like you had a great time and you throw one heck of a party.

Where is Jordan heading to?

He and all are service men and women will be in my prayers.

I agree, the people who made the time to share this trip are incredible. :heart:

Jordan is back at Fort Lewis, in Washington. It's a long way away, but at least he's in the states!! He's hoping to finish out his year there and come home for good.

Kids went back to school so I was able to watch the video this morning.

I love that he has you all who love him. I too wish every Vet had at least one person who cared as much as your family does.

Thanks Annie! Glad you were able to watch the video, even with the PG-13 rating.

[stefa70 205]

Sunday January 13th

Genia and Tony had to leave today. Jason had to leave today. Even the kids had to leave today. Since the kids only had an hour drive, Trevor and I decided to stay until Monday so they could have a full day at the Fort and leave in the evening.

Genia came over for coffee, in her Captain America pants. See? Patriotic.

The kids had warned me that they wanted to sleep in this morning, so I spent the time cleaning up the carnage from the night before and enjoying my coffee and the sounds of the Fort.

After everyone was up and around, we took one last goodbye shot before G & T headed back to SC.

We then headed to 1600 to break Nate's camp.

Mason and I strolled down the loop while the boys worked. Here's a shot looking back to 1604.

We got everything loaded and ready to park in the overflow lot.....and Nate's battery was dead.

After a little help from the EZ Go, we followed Nate to the front.

Wind in Mason's ears = pure bliss!

For our final park day, we chose Hollywood Studios. Jordan has been there before so we knew there was some things we could skip over.

We stepped off the bus into pure chaos! The marathoners were on mile 23 at this point.

There were a ton of spectators cheering for the runners. Some of the runners were literally on their last leg so I'm sure the support helped tremendously.

We were directed to go to the left side of the park as not to cut in front of the runners.

That wasn't a problem for us as I was on a mission...a Sully mission.

The problem came when we got to the back of the park.....we had to cross the streets of America to get across the park. With some 22,000 runners, there were very few breaks in the crowd. They had CMs on either side making guests form a line to cross the street when there was a break. Sometimes 10 people would get across, sometimes 3.

You know how frustrated people get when they have to wait an hour for a ride? Imagine how frustrated they were to wait over a half hour just to cross a street!

The poor young CM who was holding our side back looked thisclose to stroking out. Her face was beet red as she was screaming at the top of her lungs!

It was not the best system, for sure. If I had been a guest who paid near $100 to get into the park, I would probably not be very happy either.

I understand it's for the "safety" of the runners, but I too am a runner and if I go out for a run, no one stops for me. You deal with cars, stop signs, traffic lights, even rabid dogs...it's part of the territory.

Anywho...we finally made it back to the Sully meet and greet/gift shop.

I bet you can't guess what I also found in that gift shop?!

BOO!!!

She was mine! Yes, I was buying her NOW! No, CM lady, I don't want her shipped to the Fort! Yes, I want to carry her all day!

We checked the times for meeting Sully, but they were not accurate as the characters were at stop points along the marathon route. A CM told us the first meet would be around 12:30, give or take.

We stopped for a bathroom break while deciding what we wanted to do in the meantime.

Nate babysat for BOO while I had my turn in the potty.

The boys in front of the Splash fountain.

They wanted to ride Rock N Roll coaster, so we headed that way.

I waited while the boys rode single rider line...about 20 minutes.

With my new camera, I wanted to ride The Great Movie Ride. I could never get a good shot of my favorite movie without using flash. Since there was no line and it was too early for lunch, the boys agreed.

A few pics along the way.

:heart: :heart:

Hooray for Hollywood....

A few movie shots

John Wayne (and Jordans hat & arm)

We had the gangster scene.

With a girl gangster. She was pretty monotonous for an "actor"

Probably near photo limit, will carry over in next post.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

With my new camera, I wanted to ride The Great Movie Ride. I could never get a good shot of my favorite movie without using flash. Since there was no line and it was too early for lunch, the boys agreed.

The evil voice in my head just said "Must be the Wizard of OZ and the Munchkins." But my therapist doesn't let me listen to that voice anymore so I am sure it was Alien. :rofl3:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I can't think of a comment to make. I am just sitting back and enjoying this TR

[stefa70 205]

Continuing our ride.

AHHH, there's no place like home!

Yea, that ride is sorta cheesy but I still love it!

It was almost noon when we came out of the GMR, so the boys were starving. I suggested going back to the Backlot Express for lunch. It would prevent us from crossing the road again and keep me close to Sully at the 12:30 mark.

As much as I wanted to sample one of these goodies, I was in detox mode.

Nate ordered a turkey club of some sort, which was delicious

Jordan and I ordered the chicken season wrap which was also very good.

We finished lunch at 12:29 and went in search of Sully. Unfortunately, they hadn't estimated the return times very well and he was still greeting runners. His next return time was moved until 2:30! We decided to catch him next time, but as we went into the gift shop back in that area, he was standing right outside. At least I got a stalker photo!

:heart: Love him!

Since a Lights, Motor, Action show was getting ready to start and we saw the last runner come down the street, Jordan said he'd like to see that show again.

What Jordan wants....Jordan gets!

I've seen that show many times, so I played with my camera...

I like Lightening McQueen, but I kind of miss Herbie.

When the show was over, we made our way to the bus stop.

Nate wanted to take my picture with Boo on the bus.

Here's the thing...there was a little girl about 5 years old, who was scoping out my Boo!

I told Nate:

"I don't care how little she is, she takes one step towards Boo and we're gonna throw down!" :nyd:

I decided it was safer to just let Boo peek out of the bag.

We arrived back at the Fort around 3:00, relaxed for a bit and the boys said goodbye.

Even Mason was sad as he watched them go.

The saving grace was that Mason had plenty of good looking neighbors.

To the right of our site. These folks had 6 Goldens!

Across the street from us.

I saw more Goldens on this trip than any other breed. They're great dogs. :heart:

Now that everyone has left, Trevor and I are exhausted. We planned a nice quiet evening...I'll share that when I return.

[stefa70 205]

The evil voice in my head just said "Must be the Wizard of OZ and the Munchkins." But my therapist doesn't let me listen to that voice anymore so I am sure it was Alien. :rofl3:

Sometimes the voices in your head should be heard! ;D

I can't think of a comment to make. I am just sitting back and enjoying this TR

Just having you read along is good enough for me! :heartsmiley:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Just having you read along is good enough for me! :heartsmiley:

It just seems like the kind of TR you sit back and enjoy. Peaceful like.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I didn't realize that there are still runners in the parks when they open- I thought it was set up so they would all be cleared out by then.

I'm glad you got your doll.

I knew you would all along.

TCD

[stacktester 78]

Was the 5 y/o taller than you? Wuz you skeeered?

GMR is one of my favorite things at Disney. When I was a kid ABC always had the Sunday Night Movie and my mom always watched it. She loves movies and I guess that's why I do too. At the end of the ride where they do the panoramic scene of the great movies it always reminds me of that time. Those were the days lol.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Great update !

I have never seen the stunt car show.

Nice pic of you and Boo.

I am really thinking DD would love a Boo doll.

Glad to hear Jordan is at Ft. Lewis. I hope he gets to stay there until his discharge.

My brother was at Lewis until last year. Now he is at Benning.

He wanted to stay at Lewis. He loved it out there, as the good englishman says, " You cant always get what you want."

[stefa70 205]

It just seems like the kind of TR you sit back and enjoy. Peaceful like.

Peaceful is never a word I would use to describe my trips, but if it's giving you some peace, I'm happy!

I didn't realize that there are still runners in the parks when they open- I thought it was set up so they would all be cleared out by then.

TCD

Oh they were still there, for hours!

I'm not sure of a better solution but for paying guests to wait 1/2 hour to cross a street, to get to a ride where chances are they'll wait another hour, made for some ticked off people!

Was the 5 y/o taller than you? Wuz you skeeered?

GMR is one of my favorite things at Disney. When I was a kid ABC always had the Sunday Night Movie and my mom always watched it. She loves movies and I guess that's why I do too. At the end of the ride where they do the panoramic scene of the great movies it always reminds me of that time. Those were the days lol.

No, I had her by at least an inch!

:raspberry2:

Next trip, you and I will ride the GMR!

I too remember the Sunday night movies and love the montage at the end. This trip I glanced over at Jordan & Nate and wondered if they even knew where half of the scenes came from. Doubt it.

Yes, we're getting old...but at least you'll always be older.

Great update !

I have never seen the stunt car show.

Nice pic of you and Boo.

I am really thinking DD would love a Boo doll.

Glad to hear Jordan is at Ft. Lewis. I hope he gets to stay there until his discharge.

My brother was at Lewis until last year. Now he is at Benning.

He wanted to stay at Lewis. He loved it out there, as the good englishman says, " You cant always get what you want."

Never seen Lights, Motor, Action? That's a man's dream show! Fire, burning rubber, cars, motorcyles and stunts! What's not to love about that?!

That's cool about your bro. Jordan just told me it's a real PITA to move bases. All new uniforms, all new clearances....

But, if they were going to move him anywhere, he'd pick Benning since it's so close to home!

Obviously, that good englishman has never met Stef!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Never seen LMA show because last two times we were there they were only doing one show in mid afternoon and the younglings were still taking naps in afternoon.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Never seen LMA show because last two times we were there they were only doing one show in mid afternoon and the younglings were still taking naps in afternoon.

word of warning- the end was a bit intense for my daughter at age 6. The fire scared her into tears. My son loved, loved, loved it. So last trip the boys went to see it and me and the girl went shopping

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Thanks for the tip!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

The one time I saw it, they scrapped the finale. The car acted like it was coming out of the window and then it backed down inside the building. Serious let down. I let the boys go the next time while I went the Beauty and Beast show.

Love the Boo!

I am so glad to hear that he may stay stateside until he is done.