What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? *Goodbyes* 12/17 p.114

[winkers]

I can't imagine how hard it must be to have you dh away for so long.

Free tickets for Williamsburg is cool! It's one of the places I want to take my kids. So, I'll be expecting a mini tr about it.

 

[MagicShell]

I am sorry to hear that your trip ended with Owen getting sick. That could not have been fun for any of you.

I'm glad your family will be together for the holidays, but I am sorry you won't be together very long. I truly admired all of you who make such big sacrifices for the rest of us. You are appreciated by me and so many others. Thank you.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Carissa!! Sorry I've been MIA over here... I have been reading along (thanks for the links) but it seems like every time I am ready to post something interrupts me.

Sorry Owen got sick on the ride home! I hope it didn't last too long.
Also sorry to here Chuck will be shipped out for so long! I'm glad he'll be home for the holidays!

I remember reading about you guys going letterboxing a while ago, then recently there was a tv program on our local news channel about geocaching. We decided to try it out! I bought a GPS app for my iphone for $10 and it guides us around where we need to go. Zach really enjoys it. We'll have to check out letterboxing sometime too. From what I can tell it's a similar concept without the GPS to help. Thanks for the inspiration!

Can't wait to hear your final thoughts and to get the answer to the burning question... What's the big deal with staying on property anyway?

 

[carissanboys]

Love the South of the Border signs! They always make me laugh!

Sorry about the puking in the car - my youngest did it right after we passed an exit and the next exit was 10 miles away.

Feeling your pain about the deployment.

I can't imagine how hard it must be to have you dh away for so long.

Free tickets for Williamsburg is cool! It's one of the places I want to take my kids. So, I'll be expecting a mini tr about it.

I don't think this TR will still be going when we make our trip to Colonial Wiliamsburg, but there will definitely be pictures on Facebook.

I am sorry to hear that your trip ended with Owen getting sick. That could not have been fun for any of you.

I'm glad your family will be together for the holidays, but I am sorry you won't be together very long. I truly admired all of you who make such big sacrifices for the rest of us. You are appreciated by me and so many others. Thank you.

Thank you There are families out there who make far greater sacrifices than we do. We've had it pretty easy for most of Chuck's military service so it's only fair that we do our part.

Hi Carissa!! Sorry I've been MIA over here... I have been reading along (thanks for the links) but it seems like every time I am ready to post something interrupts me.

Sorry Owen got sick on the ride home! I hope it didn't last too long.
Also sorry to here Chuck will be shipped out for so long! I'm glad he'll be home for the holidays!

I remember reading about you guys going letterboxing a while ago, then recently there was a tv program on our local news channel about geocaching. We decided to try it out! I bought a GPS app for my iphone for $10 and it guides us around where we need to go. Zach really enjoys it. We'll have to check out letterboxing sometime too. From what I can tell it's a similar concept without the GPS to help. Thanks for the inspiration!

Can't wait to hear your final thoughts and to get the answer to the burning question... What's the big deal with staying on property anyway?

Hey Amy! Owen was fine after the yak attack.

Very cool about geocaching! We've done it twice. The first time we found the cache, the second time we didn't. We were using our car GPS and it just isn't accurate enough to find most caches. Letterboxing is similar except most of the time you are just using clues to find the boxes. And there is stamping involved. We prefer letterboxing, but both are awesome activities for families.

 

[praisehisname]

So sorry about your trip being over, and the car sickness on the way home. You'll definitely have to do a mini TR on your Williamsburg trip. DH and I honeymooned there. We love it!

Denise

 

[jmskinner]

Carissa, just caught up. I haven't been reading TR's lately. Love all the Seaworld pics! Yes, I was that far behind. Your pics made me want to go dig out the disk that has our pics from the San Antonio Seaworld.

Sorry you didn't care for the dole whip, but you will have to try the float sometime. Oh, and I saw that about the Snow Cream, I'll have to try that, have you yet? I also love coffee ice cream. When I was young my Grandma would make homemade ice cream and I would put some coffee in it.

Looks like the boys had a great time at TSI. And I have never really noticed the car barn, even though we go to the barber shop often.

Oh, and no fun getting sick in the car. Jacob got sick on the airplane home on our first trip. The attendant gave us coffee to spread around on the floor to hide the smell. It worked!

 

[mousescrapper]

just checking and in and saying HI

glad all is well and Chuck will be home soon even though a short time, but how wonderful to have him home for the holidays....hope you tell us all about the camping on your BLOG...I was actually talking to some friends about your blog and reciepes this morning...

looking forward to your final thoughs and love the question Amy asked

J-

 

[carissanboys]

So sorry about your trip being over, and the car sickness on the way home. You'll definitely have to do a mini TR on your Williamsburg trip. DH and I honeymooned there. We love it!

Denise

I guess I could try and drag this thing out until we go to CW. I could break the final thoughts down into a couple of installments.

Carissa, just caught up. I haven't been reading TR's lately. Love all the Seaworld pics! Yes, I was that far behind. Your pics made me want to go dig out the disk that has our pics from the San Antonio Seaworld.

Sorry you didn't care for the dole whip, but you will have to try the float sometime. Oh, and I saw that about the Snow Cream, I'll have to try that, have you yet? I also love coffee ice cream. When I was young my Grandma would make homemade ice cream and I would put some coffee in it.

Looks like the boys had a great time at TSI. And I have never really noticed the car barn, even though we go to the barber shop often.

Oh, and no fun getting sick in the car. Jacob got sick on the airplane home on our first trip. The attendant gave us coffee to spread around on the floor to hide the smell. It worked!

And I love the smell of coffee!

I understand about not reading TRs. I go through phases like that and it's so hard to get caught up. Glad to see you stop by.

just checking and in and saying HI

glad all is well and Chuck will be home soon even though a short time, but how wonderful to have him home for the holidays....hope you tell us all about the camping on your BLOG...I was actually talking to some friends about your blog and reciepes this morning...

looking forward to your final thoughs and love the question Amy asked

J-

Hey Julie!

We actually just decided not to do the camping trip, unfortunately. We've made the decision to get a new pet - a Russian Tortoise. Between the cost of getting him (we'll be buying a juvenile from a breeder) and then not able to leave him alone for very long, we've decided to cancel the trip. But, we will go another time!

Thanks for promoting my blog!

Oh - and I will definitely get to answering that question.

 

[lazydoxy66]

Hello Carissa!

I just got caught up. Wow did I miss a lot.

You got some great shots of Shamu. The kids and there expressions are a hoot.

Your breakfast at Ohana's looked and sounded so good. I'm glad to hear you rate it among your favs. I'll have to put that one on the list.

The last day at MK was awesome and sad. You hate to say goodbye.

I'm sorry about Owen's getting sick on the way home. Thank goodness you were on the last leg of your return.

Enjoy the holidays with your DH. I hope that the 6 months will pass quickly next year!

You go ahead and take your time finishing this up. I do want to hear your final thoughts.

 

[Sandy321]

I'm actually not a big fan of chocolate ice cream either! LOL! My favorite is vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles. I love milk chocolate Dove bars, and coffee ice cream too.

Oh, and recently we bought Mayfield Snow Cream and that's pretty good and interesting. Neat texture. It is snow-like!

here's a picture of the snow cream, isn't the package cute? That's what made me want to try it. lol

WAIT....

you can BUY snow cream?

that is just so wrong!!

(sorry for the hijack Carissa - but we made snow cream growing up - the first snow - you just made snow cream with real snow!!)

Those boys are just gorgeous - and how great to get away in a cabin in the fall!!

 

[KathyRN137]

Thanks for keeping us updated!

I know it will be hard on all of you when Chuck leaves in January; at least having him for the holidays takes a bit of the sting out of it.

Kathy

 

[MeMom]

Colonial Williamsburg should be fun!

Enjoy your holidays with Chuck. I hate that he has to leave again so soon. It's hard on us just reading about it, so I know it is hard on you doing it. I raised three kids entirely alone, so I do know what you are going through. I was lucky to have some close friends to help along the way when I got in a bind - like if one kid needed to be in one place and another need to be somewhere else for school or church activities.

I wish you lived close to some DIS friends. We could be fill-in 'family' when you needed us to!

I am cold-natured, so getting a cabin sounded so much better to me than just a tent. Camping in warmer months sounds even better!

 

[carissanboys]

Hello Carissa!

I just got caught up. Wow did I miss a lot.

You got some great shots of Shamu. The kids and there expressions are a hoot.

Your breakfast at Ohana's looked and sounded so good. I'm glad to hear you rate it among your favs. I'll have to put that one on the list.

The last day at MK was awesome and sad. You hate to say goodbye.

I'm sorry about Owen's getting sick on the way home. Thank goodness you were on the last leg of your return.

Enjoy the holidays with your DH. I hope that the 6 months will pass quickly next year!

You go ahead and take your time finishing this up. I do want to hear your final thoughts.

Glad to hear you say that cause I do seem to be taking my time, don't I?

WAIT....

you can BUY snow cream?

that is just so wrong!!

(sorry for the hijack Carissa - but we made snow cream growing up - the first snow - you just made snow cream with real snow!!)

Those boys are just gorgeous - and how great to get away in a cabin in the fall!!

Thanks (and hijack away)! We've decided not to do the camping trip due to acquiring a new family member (pictures to follow).

Thanks for keeping us updated!

I know it will be hard on all of you when Chuck leaves in January; at least having him for the holidays takes a bit of the sting out of it.

Kathy

Yes, it does.

Colonial Williamsburg should be fun!

Enjoy your holidays with Chuck. I hate that he has to leave again so soon. It's hard on us just reading about it, so I know it is hard on you doing it. I raised three kids entirely alone, so I do know what you are going through. I was lucky to have some close friends to help along the way when I got in a bind - like if one kid needed to be in one place and another need to be somewhere else for school or church activities.

I wish you lived close to some DIS friends. We could be fill-in 'family' when you needed us to!

I am cold-natured, so getting a cabin sounded so much better to me than just a tent. Camping in warmer months sounds even better!

Thanks MeMom. I'm just the opposite - I prefer to camp in the cooler months because I hate the heat!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I mentioned that we canceled our camping trip because we adopted a new family member. Meet Darwin the Russian Tortoise...

And a short video of Darwin eating...



Only 11 days until Chuck comes home!

 

[liznboys]

Wow that's neat you got a tortoise! Looks like he enjoys his salad! So what kind of pen is he in, did you build it? How much cleaning does he require?

 

[carissanboys]

Wow that's neat you got a tortoise! Looks like he enjoys his salad! So what kind of pen is he in, did you build it? How much cleaning does he require?

He's currently in a bookshelf, but when Chuck gets back he'll be building a large box to fit inside the boys' old train table so he'll have more room.

He really doesn't require much cleaning. You scoop out his pee and poop (he only pees once a day pretty much and he's only pooped once in his enclosure - could be once a day). You're supposed to change the substrate (the "stuff" in the enclosure) once a month. I soak him every other day for 10 minutes (a lot of the time they will go to the bathroom at that time). He eats once a day. Pretty simple!

 

[GSD4ME]

So, Carissa . . . how old and how big is Darwin? How big will he get? Looks like he loves his salad, too . . . what else does he eat? (Can you tell I'm an animal lover? LOL!)

 

[pamouselover]

Hi!!!!!!
Sorry for the sickness. Not fun... Me no fan of south of the border.
How is it your TR never get closed down? Mine was closed before I even had a chance to post the rest of the pictures!
I need a disney fix so popped in here. No time to dis anymore.

 

[carissanboys]

So, Carissa . . . how old and how big is Darwin? How big will he get? Looks like he loves his salad, too . . . what else does he eat? (Can you tell I'm an animal lover? LOL!)

I can only guess at his age right now. We'll be taking him to the vet soon and maybe they'll have a better idea. My guess is about 10 years old. He's about 5 inches and could get up to 6 - 8 since he's a male (females get a bit bigger). He can eat green leafy stuff, some flowers and weeds. He's mainly fed a diet of grocery food at this point since I don't have a yard of stuff that I can feed him and know it's safe from pesticides. He gets collards, romaine, spring mix, endive, kale, occassional carrot - that's about what I've been able to find for him so far. Russian's are herbivores.

Hi!!!!!!
Sorry for the sickness. Not fun... Me no fan of south of the border.
How is it your TR never get closed down? Mine was closed before I even had a chance to post the rest of the pictures!
I need a disney fix so popped in here. No time to dis anymore.

Hey Melody

I don't know. Marisa is good to me. She knows I'll PM her when this thing is finally finished.

I'm watching the Eagles beat the Skins right now.

 

[Phibbles]

Did you purchase or catch Darwin?

He is very cute. As a kid, we used to catch turtles all the time and keep them outside as pets They always managed to sneak away eventually though.

I would love to have a turtle pet again, but I think it may be illegal in NJ.

 

[carissanboys]

Did you purchase or catch Darwin?

He is very cute. As a kid, we used to catch turtles all the time and keep them outside as pets They always managed to sneak away eventually though.

I would love to have a turtle pet again, but I think it may be illegal in NJ.

Hey Kevin

Seeing as he's a Russian Tortoise, he wouldn't have been found in the wild here. We purchased him at a pet store, where he was probably wild caught and sold to them.