2008, 24th/28th Aug - *Double Dipping with the Bahama Mamas* (Part 2)

[Hanover]

I'm glad to hear everyone is arriving back home safely. Thank you everyone for all your great FE gifts. It was a lot of fun to see the kids so excited to come back to our stateroom and find goodies in the FE.

Great pictures Mandy,

I'm hoping to upload the 2,000 I took tomorrow.

We got home safe and sound minus one of our suitcases. Luckily all the souveniers came through, but the dirty clothes did not. I'm hoping we get it soon because it's got 11 days worth of dirty clothes including most of the boys good school shorts. Tomorrow will be their first day back at school.

I got a message from a friend to call her immediately when I got home and when I did, she told me that unfortunately her husband (a police coworker of Derek's, who is also a neighbor and their son plays football with the boys) was paralyzed from the chest down yesterday in a motorcycle accident. Her husband, Mike, was out on his brand new motorcycle just bought Saturday with some friends when a newspaper delivery man hit him and crushed his spinal cord, broke his ribs and sternum. Luckily he's alive, but there's a 99% chance he will never walk again. They have a 9 year old son and 2 year old twin boys. I'm praying for a miracle for them. I just feel so badly. If anyone knows anything about spinal cord rehab, please PM me. My friend is desperate to get her husband the best rehab/care possible.

I hope everyone's settling back at home and getting their laundry done. I guess that's one good thing we don't have to do right now since it's lost wherever it may be (they said either Orlando or went on to CT).

I can't wait to see everyone's pictures.

 

[mandymouse]

Good Morning Bahama Mama's

Veronica - Glad you got home safely. I was really surprised at how much my girls enjoyed the FE exchange, they even delivered my gifts for me as they had so much fun with it

I'm checking prices for the free dining for next year too (the UK promotion is only open for the next month or so)

Danielle - Glad you got home safely too. I look forward to seeing your pics, and I hope your luggage turns up today

What a shame about your friend's husband. He is in my thoughts. I hope he is able to make a good recovery, but it must be a very scary time for his family

Good luck to the boys for going back to school today. Becky goes back to school tomorrow and Kerry is back to college on Thursday, so I'll be glad to get back to some kind of normality soon

Sandy - Have a good journey home today. I hope you enjoyed yourself at WDW.

Where is everyone else ? Are you too depressed to come and see us ? I can't wait to see everyone's photos. It really was great to meet you all

Have a great day everyone, I'm off to see my mum this morning, so I hope to catch up with some of you later

 

[LaurieWDW05]

Where is everyone else ? Are you too depressed to come and see us ? I can't wait to see everyone's photos. It really was great to meet you all

Have a great day everyone, I'm off to see my mum this morning, so I hope to catch up with some of you later

Mandy - I'm here... I'm here!!

Been busy getting ready for back to school (which isn't till Thursday here), my mother came down yesterday for a visit, and I have my typing work that has been keeping me busy as well!!

The boys and I are off to work today - they are LESS than thrilled about having to get up and out of the house this morning, but at least they have tomorrow to sleep in before the big day on Thursday!

oh - and by the way - NICE pic in the terminal - did you by chance SEE my face when you posted that one? I uploaded my pics and will have to upload to photobucket - I'll try that tonight - or maybe quick while I shower for work...

Welcome back to everyone!!!!!

Veronica - glad you booked WDW for next year, but i still think you should cruise w/me!!

Danielle - Welcom back and I can't wait to see your pics! Sorry to hear about your luggage and your friend's DH - it's freak accidents like that that really scare me!!

Michele - It was great talking to you yesterday! Where have you been on the boards?

Sandy - when are you coming home? Seems like forever??!????

Betty, Sandra, Kelli, Melissa - WELCOME BACK!!!!!

Jen - Have a great first day back to school!! I'll miss you on here during the day!

Suz - it was a great quickie catch up last night!

Alright - I need to hop in the shower!! I'll try to check in at work - but, not likely, the boys will be with me and they usually take over my computer!

Have a great day everyone!
Laurie

 

[sarahsmom73]

Hi ho.. Hi ho.. it's off to school I go! YUCK! Teacher meetings all day...

Glad to see more of the Bahama Mamas made it back safely!

Danielle.. I am so sorry for your friend. That is awful.

I will be here in spirit Mandy!

OK.. I have to be out the door in 40 minutes and Sarah isn't awake yet.. This should be fun!

 

[LaurieWDW05]

Of course the view from our room... the FIRST one - which wound up being THE room - UGH

The view of the storm from our SECOND room -

The boys on line for the slide in the pouring rain (do you see a RAIN pattern here?)

The boys at the pool in the sun - FINALLY!

Carm and Ant enjoying the cold water!!

Rainbows - a double - does that mean good luck or something?

Kids w/Goofy at the character breakfast at Vero.

Kids w/Donald!

That's what I have for now!! Will do some more later!

 

[LaurieWDW05]

Ok - so I have a few extra minutes here - sooooooooooooooo MORE pics!!

MY pic in the terminal - I don't look so CRAZY!! LOL

Sandy and I with Stitch during our Parrot Cay lunch!

Bahama Mamas Meeting by the Goofy pool!!

Dominic, Anthony and some of the young ladies at sailaway.

Dominic, Anthony, Nicole, Sarah and Austin on CC.

Dominic, Anthony and Austin on Pirate Night!

MOST of the BMs - minus my twin.. UGHHHHHHHH

Here we are w/the twin!

 

[mandymouse]

Mandy - I'm here... I'm here!!

Been busy getting ready for back to school (which isn't till Thursday here), my mother came down yesterday for a visit, and I have my typing work that has been keeping me busy as well!!

The boys and I are off to work today - they are LESS than thrilled about having to get up and out of the house this morning, but at least they have tomorrow to sleep in before the big day on Thursday!

oh - and by the way - NICE pic in the terminal - did you by chance SEE my face when you posted that one? I uploaded my pics and will have to upload to photobucket - I'll try that tonight - or maybe quick while I shower for work...

Hey Laurie

It sounds like you've been busy. LOL, it looks like you're winking on that photo of mine

Your photos are great from Vero, they bring back lovely memories of Tropical Storm Fay

I'll try and post a few more of mine today

Have a good day at work

Hi ho.. Hi ho.. it's off to school I go! YUCK! Teacher meetings all day...

Glad to see more of the Bahama Mamas made it back safely!

Danielle.. I am so sorry for your friend. That is awful.

I will be here in spirit Mandy!

OK.. I have to be out the door in 40 minutes and Sarah isn't awake yet.. This should be fun!

Have a good day at school Jen. I hope you'll stick around here and keep posting, and that you've got some photos to share with us

Good Luck at getting Sarah up

 

[mandymouse]

Here are some more pics

Heather and her hubby on CC

Me & Paul at Palo

Sandy, Barb & Brenda sorry I can't remember which one is Barb or Brenda

Celebrating Tori's 16th birthday (Pirate Night)

Michele, Me & Sandy

'The Girls'

More of 'The Girls'

 

[mandymouse]

... and yet more pics

Becky, Tori, Bethany & Kerry on our verandah

At dinner

Jeff & Michele

Yet more of 'The Girls'

Me, Betty & Taylor on CC

Me & Danielle on CC

Some of the Bahama Mama's

Even more of the Bahama Mama's (Sandy, Me, Laurie, Danielle, Veronica & Michele)

 

[LaurieWDW05]

OK - now I swear I am done w/pics - leaving now! LOL I will post our WDW pics later!!

Mandy - Great shots! I love the ones of all the girls together!!!!

Laurie

 

[mandymouse]

Thanks Laurie, you're photos are fab too

Where has the last week gone ? It has flown by. I can't believe that a week ago today we were in Nassau ~ and it was such a lovely hot day too

Hopefully once Kerry and Becky are back to college/school, I'll be able to make a start on my trip report ~ I just can't get motivated at the moment

Have you caught up on your vacation laundry yet ? Mine is all washed, ironed and some of it packed away for next time

Have a good day

 

[Hanover]

Good Morning!

The boys are off to their 1st day of school. We were called at 5:47 by a Southwest luggage person that they were on our door step with our bag. It had somehow made it's way to Newark. Thank goodness the boys have more shorts now or I'd have had to go buy some and at this stage of summer they wouldn't be easy to find.

Derek's out cutting the grass and we are going to go pick up Maggie at her Kennel. Poor thing probably thinks we've given her up after being there 12 days.

It's hard to believe our trip's come and gone. We've got our countdown going for our next one. It's the mousefest cruise but I haven't really been on that cruise meets thread except to say hi and we're on that cruise.

Mandy & Laurie- your pictures are great. I have to start uploading mine. It's going to take all day I think!

Jen, good luck with your first day of school.

I've got tons of unpacking to do and lots of dirty laundry to wash.

Thanks for the good wishes for my friend's DH. They've got a rough road ahead of them, but they are in good spirits for now. I think they're in utter shock more than anything. Mike's very lucky to be alive and there's always that less than 1% to focus on to walk again. Miracles do happen.

I also found out one of our neighbors on the next block who was elderly and having financial difficulties hung himself last week. His wife was on the phone with a realtor at the time to sell their home. So sad. I'm hoping to find out some good neighbor news today!

Have a good day!

 

[suzannef]

Hi everyone~ well reality is starting to sink in No one has made me a meal in two days, no chocolates on my bed, and dishes aren't getting done by themselves I have serious vacation withdrawal, I am worse than the kids. It's funny how every cruise is different, I felt very rushed this time and didn't get to do half of what I had hoped. I really enjoyed seeing some of you around the ship. Jen I can't believe I never met you or even saw you for that matter. The day of the meet I was there and then Haley lost her blood glucose meter and we had to go search for it. Someone had removed it from our chairs where we were laying Anywho I can't thank you enough for the very generous gifts left by our room even though we were not participating in the FE exchange. It was extremely unexpected and one of the highlights of the cruise for my girls. I had to laugh when they saw the things that said England on them and said "it must be from Mandymouse!" Danielle John and I really enjoyed talking to you and Dereck and I have to tell you that I fell asleep reading the big "dream" book last night and caught John looking at it yesterday so who knows. Let me know if you are keeping your August cruise for next year. Also I will say a prayer for your friends We all go back to school/work tomorrow so today is the last huurah. It is supposed to be 86 and sunny so we will have a pool day and I will pretend I am at the goofy pool. I might make one of the kids make me a mai tai!!! I'll be catching up and keep posting those pictures I am loving them!!!

 

[mandymouse]

Danielle - I'm glad that your last suitcase has finally turned up, though I doubt you want to rush into that laundry

I can't wait to see your pics too

Sorry to hear the sad news about your neighbour

I hope the boys enjoy their first day back at school

Suz - I'm gutted that I didn't get a photo taken with you in it (hopefully I've just missed one when I quickly went through them), thank goodness for Laurie's great little project, so I've got some pics of you and your family in there

I hope everyone liked the British/England souvenirs, I had so much fun buying them and the teddy bears with the flag on were so cute (though the shop ran out of them while I was shopping for them)

Mmm a Mai Tai, I really like those Planters Punch's too, though I did have a thick head the next day - Have fun by the pool

 

[Hanover]

I'm not getting a whole lot of anything done right now. I've got to try and hire new employees at 5 military base locations for a new contract and have been doing everything but.

Derek and I went out to get Maggie and the battery on his Pilot was dead. One of the kids must have turned on the inside light last night when we got home and it drained the battery. So we took the van up 45 minutes to get Maggie and the kennel was on holiday hours and pick up isn't until 4:30 today.

So...we went to lunch and then Derek had to head off to an ENT doctor. I didn't say anything before, but we found out 2 days before the cruise he has to get sinus surgery on the 24th because his sinuses are totally blocked on one side and they want to rule out anything else is in there. Never a dull moment.

I just uploaded pictures from our castle suite tour: http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/b...astle Suite/

The battery on my smaller digital was totally dead after a few pictures (I let Brennan take parade pictures earlier and he left it on) so I had only my long lense/Nikon camera to use for most of the tour. I had to step as far back as I could to get the shots.

 

[micheleluvsmickey]

Afternoon Ladies, Sorry i haven't posted since getting home but i have been feeling pretty sick since we got back. Our plane was delayed for almost 3 hours and then they kept our luggage hostage for an hour before putting it on the baggage claim carousel..people were starting to get very irrate at the baggage claim..lol..myself included. We finally got hom at 3 a.m. i spent the whole day sleeping and that night unpacking. Then i woke up sick..no fun and had to go to work that night sick. But i am back now and will post some pics maybe tomorrow once i get them off the camera.

Laurie and Mandy, Loved the pics except for the ones of me..lol..hate the one of us in the lobby..that lipstick just went in the trash.. anyway the kids go back to school tomorrow so i will be back in the swing of things again. Hope everyone has a great day and i will catch some of u on aim later.

 

[mandymouse]

Hey Michele, glad you made it home safely (despite your luggage being held hostage )

Sorry to hear that you're not feeling well, at least you're not at work till Friday now

So, what's wrong with your lipstick ? It looks OK to me

Kerry and Becky are missing Nicole and Sarah so much (& Tori & Bethany too), and I know Kerry has been chatting to Nicole the last couple of nights

I look forward to seeing your pics and I hope you're feeling better soon

Danielle - the link to your photos didn't work for me, it went straight to my own photobucket account - I hope I'm able to see them soon

 

[Pam Floyd]

Hola All!

It was very nice to finally meet a lot of you on the ship and I'm happy to hear that you all had fabulous vacations!

Alana LOVED the gifts... they really were extraordinary. Thank you sooo much! I was shocked to see the "Bahama Mamas" name on some of them... wasn't that you, Mandy? hee hee.... most EXCELLENT.

We really enjoyed walking around WDW in warm rain. We got soaked to the core every day, but had a blast regardless. What we really thought was fun was when there would be a cloud burst and everyone would go running for cover. Alana and I would pick up a hot mocha and stroll down the walkways all alone, splashing in the puddles and laughing.

On the cruise I gotta say MY favorite part of all was when we went on the Catamaran Snorkle at CC. We were the first off the boat... all the way out in the middle of the ocean on a reef. They said don't go over the edge of the reef (stay in the 6-9 feet of water above it). We trucked over to the far edge, looked over it and watched a NINE foot (I'm NOT KIDDING) reef shark swim lazily by us about 30 yards away. YAHOO!! I got my dream too! That was the one thing I REALLY wanted to do on the vacation.

I could go on for hours about everything we did and how much fun we had, but I got work to catch up on! Regardless, the one thing I did really miss was being able to hang out with you all more. After the meet... we just lost ya all. I never saw anyone again, 'cept the teens once that same day.

Alana and I wish you all the best. May your all your dreams come true... and Happily Ever After to everyone!

 

[mandymouse]

Hi Pam, it sounds like you had a great vacation, I'm pleased that you had a fun time

It was great to meet you too. Have you got any photos to share with us ? I hope so, I'd love to see some

Have a lovely day

 

[V4dice]

Hi Bahama Mamas

So the laundry is almost done and the photos are uploaded to print so I got something accomplished today. I still can't believe vacation is over. Bryan goes back to school tomorrow so I think reality will really hit then.

Mandy - Let me know if you end up going in August next year - maybe we'll be there the same time. Right now we had to book a date before we checked out of the hotel to hold the free dining but we have to look at the calendar and decide what we want to do besides just the parks.

Laurie - Hopefully we will be heading to Philly soon so we can visit! I will post a cute picture later of Ant and Emily at Castaway

Michele - Hope you are feeling better. Sorry you're flight was so awful (Tom says its been like that lately on Jet Blue). Good luck getting the kids back to school tomorrow!

Jen - Hope your first day back to work went as well as it could. It was great getting to meet you but I realized I never got to see your kids (or DH)!

Danielle - Sorry to hear about your neighbors - been a rough week around there! I hope everything goes well with Derek's sinus problem. It was great seeing you around the ship although I didn't see you at the hotel after like I thought I might. Good luck with the

Suzanne - I was happy we got to meet on the ship. I agree that this cruise went so fast! I hope you enjoyed the last day of summer vacation today with the girls!

Sandra - I'm sorry we didn't get to meet but I'm glad you had a great trip!

Sandy - Hope the three day cruise was lots of fun too! Did you get to rub shoulders with the celebrities?

Betty - I'm glad you and Taylor had such a great time - every time I saw Taylor it looked like she was having a blast!

Heather - Congrats again!

Diane, Debi and Mary Ellen - It was great getting to meet you! Hope everyone had a great trip!

I wanted to thank everyone again for the great FE treats. The kids were so excited to check for goodies! Although I have to tell you that the luggage people at Southwest probably weren't thrilled since my bag weighed 49 lbs. going home (and probably close to that going down with all the stuff to give out)

I'm hoping to get some photos onto photobucket tonight and post them tomorrow. I'll chat with you soon!