11/24/07 We are Better Than Leftovers!!! Nana Head reunion Part 2

[jd99]

Oh, and do you live near any of the steel mills??? I dont know why, but I have a strong facination by steel mills .
- Josh

HATe to break it to you Josh, but the Steel Mills pretty much closed down in the 1980s. Shows how far Pittsburgh has to go to overcome its old image.

 

[pgfour]

YEP! That was my very first one! I was a mojito virgin about 5 minutes before that . Last year, Jeff thought he was wayyyyyyy too cool for Nana Head t-shirts. But not to worry, we've pursuaded him to the dark side (or is it the yellow side?) this year!

For those asking about the gift exchange, Cheri pretty much covered it, but here's a couple more things. If you wish to participate, it's one gift per family, and I believe we had a $10 limit (is that right Cheri, Jeff and Kathy?). We do a rotational drawing during our 2:45 meet. It's a great way to interact and meet everyone!

The gift should represent something about the area that you come from. For instance, Jeff brought a Steelers Terrible Towel (thank GOD I didn't draw for that one! ), Bill & I brought Buckeye candy, another couple that's not with us this year brought a Florida photo album ... what else was there, guys? Cheri, I remember there was MUCH discussion on what you would bring ... turkey something-or-other . (This is crazy ... I can't even remember what Wendy brought. Should I assume BEADS? ).

So that's the scoop!

Thanks for clearing up my explanation!
I think Wendy was going to bring crawfish (dead or alive). . .

I received a neat Florida "sand globe" and little Santa ornament from Pat. I gave some non-food items from a big apple orchard in Poplar Grove (Linda was the recipient). . .

I'm thinking of doing the turkey parts for this year. . .

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

i forgot,

Welcome Rachel,

glad you have started posting. we have a few teens now that are active on this thread

Kathy

 

[jd99]

YEP! Last year, Jeff thought he was wayyyyyyy too cool for Nana Head t-shirts. But not to worry, we've pursuaded him to the dark side (or is it the yellow side?) this year!
!

Not too cool, just scared to death of all you people !!!!!

 

[jd99]

Oh - and I actually bought a shirt last year..just didn't wear it on the first day because of the being scared factor.

 

[TiggerKing]

Not too cool, just scared to death of all you people !!!!!

I knew that you were a very wise man!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Oh - and I actually bought a shirt last year..just didn't wear it on the first day because of the being scared factor.

This year you ARE wearing one right?????
Or should I bring my whip??

 

[woogal]

I knew that you were a very wise man!

Bob?? He was scared of YOU!

 

[marriedatdsny1996]

On the first day (Saturday), we'll have a nana-head meet (we'll all be wearing our matching yellow nana shirts! ) at about 2:45-3:00

Is the DCL bus going to get me there on time, or will I need to schedule another therapy appointment?

I want to participate in the gift exchange. I'm also bringing along a little something else for all the adults (sorry teens, but just think: you'll have something to look forward to as an adult)....

 

[woogal]

Kim, it's about an hour bus ride of so from MCO and WDW. So depending on when you leave CBR (BTW, what the heck does that stand for?!) count on that long for travel. BUT ... if you're bringing adult gifts ... then heck, I'm all for just holding off everything until you get there

 

[mruhaak]

Hey guys-
I need opinions.

DH & I had a discussion last night on whether to bring our youngest DS who will be 18 months along on the cruise. We had planned all along that we were going to. (We've applied for his passport.)

But after this last camping vacation I am having second thoughts. He did a lot of crying while confined to his carseat and frankly I spent most of my time comforting him and trying to keep him happy and out of danger.

I know we would miss him terribly. But I also know he would get nothing out of it that he would retain in his memory and would probably be just as happy staying in his own house with Grandma taking him to his regular daycare every day.

So I think we're both a little torn. I mean, we are a family and all along we felt we just didn't want to take a vacation without him.

I know the 4 year old will have a wonderful time and I'm sure he's going to love going to the clubs and seeing the characters and shows.

I've read lots of threads of people trying to make this same type of decision and I know it's ultimately up to us... but anyone have anything to offer here?

 

[marriedatdsny1996]

CBR stands for Caribbean Beach Resort, so I will be leaving from there. I've just read that the DCL buses from the resorts get there kind of late. So, if you guys don't see me when you start, just keep looking...........I'll be the maniac running everyone over to get to you

About your adorable little son, I've never cruised before so my opinion isn't all that valid, but from the gazillion posts I've read; if you have a loving Grandma willing to watch him; that would be my choice. I don't know about everyone else but this cruise is quite expensive for us and we waited until we knew Jacob would be good on his own and be able to make friends so that we could have some adult time. Just think, the more time you have on your own the more often we can meet on Deck 9.....................

 

[jd99]

Hey guys-
I need opinions.

DH & I had a discussion last night on whether to bring our youngest DS who will be 18 months along on the cruise. We had planned all along that we were going to. (We've applied for his passport.)

But after this last camping vacation I am having second thoughts. He did a lot of crying while confined to his carseat and frankly I spent most of my time comforting him and trying to keep him happy and out of danger.

I know we would miss him terribly. But I also know he would get nothing out of it that he would retain in his memory and would probably be just as happy staying in his own house with Grandma taking him to his regular daycare every day.

So I think we're both a little torn. I mean, we are a family and all along we felt we just didn't want to take a vacation without him.

I know the 4 year old will have a wonderful time and I'm sure he's going to love going to the clubs and seeing the characters and shows.

I've read lots of threads of people trying to make this same type of decision and I know it's ultimately up to us... but anyone have anything to offer here?

Ok I'll chime in. As someone who has taken his kids everywhere since they were babies (think 10 month old flying to Maui from Pittsburgh) I vote to take him. First of all, I think a cruise is a much different trip than a car trip/camping trip. He won't be trapped in his car seat all day long. Second, Flounders is wonderful. My DD who was 2 1/2 last year for the August cruise goes to part-time daycare and was having a tough time of it when we went on the cruise. WE figured she would reject flounders out of hand. But she shocked us by loving it. The counselors were great and you get a chance to peek in at them as you are leaving..so if he is crying when you drop him off, just look in through the one-way mirror and you'll see how quickly he adapts.

My personal theory is that even though they may not have memories of these early trips, they WILL enjoy themselves while there and the joy of it all just melts my heart. And WE have created family memories on these trips.

Just my two cents coz you asked! Obviously you have to do what is right for you. That's just what we would do. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[mruhaak]

I appreciate the opinions. I know this can be a touchy subject sometimes. Our oldest son didn't do well at Flounders when he was 2 1/2 and I am totally prepared for that with the youngest should we decide to still take him.

I also was prepared to miss out on some of the "adult time" as we were considering this to be a family vacation from day one and I wasn't expecting to have a lot of that.

 

[marriedatdsny1996]

That's totally understandable. We take a trip to WDW about three times a year and it is usually lead by whatever Jacob wants to do. As he got older, he really enjoyed the Peter Pan Club and it allowed us for the first time to have an adult meal. That little bit of time can really make a difference sometimes.

Now that Jacob is 10, "Family Vacation" take on a whole new meaning. His vision of a great vacation is being able to have some freedom on the ship without us.................so, now we're left to find our own "club".

 

[lvstitch]

Morning all...Kathy I must have what you have because I haven't been feeling good for the past two days. I left work early yesterday and pretty much slept most of the day.

Kathy we are not that close to Mandalay Bay...we are actually in Henderson which is about 15-20 minutes away from the Strip. If he has a car it's pretty easy to get to our new place.

Glad everyone is OK...the news said those storms were pretty bad.

About the gift exchange...is it a total of $10 for all the gifts or $10 each gift. Just want to make sure I don't get cheap gifts for everyone

Since I missed yesterday...here are two pictures

Leaving Port Canaveral

Christmas Tree lighting Ceremony. Important Note: They only do the tree lighting ceremony on the first night. I was going to skip it because I thought they would do it everynight. Luckily we made it. It was a cool ceremony lots of Mickey confetti.

 

[woogal]

About the gift exchange...is it a total of $10 for all the gifts or $10 each gift. Just want to make sure I don't get cheap gifts for everyone

Just ONE $10 gift from your family, not a $10 from your family for all of us. Then we put everyone's name in a hat that brought a gift, and draw from the hat. Does that make sense? You're going to leave with 1 gift from 1 randomly drawn family.

 

[mruhaak]

So they will do the tree-lighting ceremony on our cruise? We cruised after Christmas before. The tree was taken down while we were on the ship.

I forgot to do my photo of the day too:

DH & DS swimming at Castaway Cay.

 

[lvstitch]

Just ONE $10 gift from your family, not a $10 from your family for all of us. Then we put everyone's name in a hat that brought a gift, and draw from the hat. Does that make sense? You're going to leave with 1 gift from 1 randomly drawn family.

Ohhh...OK now I understand...sorry a little slow

Does anyone have exciting plans this weekend? I actually do. Tonight I get to make my Palo and excursion reservations at midnight It's also my friends daughters 17th birthday and she is having a get together that means lots of drinking for the adults. The kids love watching us act all crazy...I think We will be drinking Blueberry Stoli and Lemonaide...yummy. I need to stay sober enough to make all my reservations though Tomorrow I am taking my nephews to the Luxor to stay overnight. They have been visiting for the past month, this is their last weekend here. We'll hang out by the pool during the day and then I am taking them to Dick's Last Resort restaurant. Has anyone ever heard of this place before? It looks pretty wild so we should have a good time.

 

[marriedatdsny1996]

Tonight I get to make my Palo and excursion reservations at midnight

Are you guys going to do the Captain Nautica with us?

I am going to call Capt. Nautica if I don't get an e-maily by 2 pm. I also e-mailed Disney to see if we can book a private excursion through them. I also asked them, if we can book a private one does just one person book it, or how does that work? I'll let you know. Hopefully, they will answer quickly.