2011/2012 Reunion Cruise?

[TheTXTaylors5]

Today is the first anniversary of the death of Stacy's son. Her status on Facebook today is a tribute to him. If you have a minute, please reach out to her--she seems to be having a tough time.

Beth

I saw that. I know it will forever be tough for Stacy. My heart goes out to her. I cannot imagine losing a child.

Jennifer

 

[JsMom2]

One of the families in my squadron is going through a tough time. Their oldest son has been very sick his entire life, and they never thought he'd live past the age of 5. But he turned 18 earlier this year and is even graduating high school in June!

Now they've been told that he has less than a year left. He loves Disney, so our squadron is raising money to pay for the family's trip down to WDW in June. I was able to get them a villa with my DVC points, and they are really excited about the trip. I'm so glad I was able to help!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

One of the families in my squadron is going through a tough time. Their oldest son has been very sick his entire life, and they never thought he'd live past the age of 5. But he turned 18 earlier this year and is even graduating high school in June!

Now they've been told that he has less than a year left. He loves Disney, so our squadron is raising money to pay for the family's trip down to WDW in June. I was able to get them a villa with my DVC points, and they are really excited about the trip. I'm so glad I was able to help!

That was very nice of you to sprinkle some pixie dust for this kid.

Jennifer

 

[Pooh_Girl]

One of the families in my squadron is going through a tough time. Their oldest son has been very sick his entire life, and they never thought he'd live past the age of 5. But he turned 18 earlier this year and is even graduating high school in June!

Now they've been told that he has less than a year left. He loves Disney, so our squadron is raising money to pay for the family's trip down to WDW in June. I was able to get them a villa with my DVC points, and they are really excited about the trip. I'm so glad I was able to help!

That is so awesome you were able to do that for them!!!! I'm sure that will get them away from everyday troubles and have a great time as a family.

 

[BethC1952]

One of the families in my squadron is going through a tough time. Their oldest son has been very sick his entire life, and they never thought he'd live past the age of 5. But he turned 18 earlier this year and is even graduating high school in June!

Now they've been told that he has less than a year left. He loves Disney, so our squadron is raising money to pay for the family's trip down to WDW in June. I was able to get them a villa with my DVC points, and they are really excited about the trip. I'm so glad I was able to help!

What a wonderful thing to do!

Beth

 

[Pooh_Girl]

So how has everyone been doing??

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

So how has everyone been doing??

Hi Tina!

Summer is here in Texas! Hot! Hot! Hot! We've used the pool pretty much every day for the past few weeks.

We read about the flooding in Arkansas. I know it wasn't anywhere near you. Which is a relief.

I assume your little baby has grown from a puppy to dog by now. Like children, dogs grow up so fast.

We have a new fur baby in the family. A cat adopted us. She has been coming around for awhile. She is a stray but VERY friendly. We thought she had to be someone's pet. So, we put up flyers and no one claimed her. We made the mistake of feeding her because she looked hungry. Once you do that, they come back again and again and again. A few weeks ago, I went ahead and took her to the vet and she got a clean bill of health. So, we are now the proud parents of Minnie.

Sadly, our DISdog (JJ) has been having some health problems. A few weeks ago, he started having seizures. Without any notice, he would drop to the ground and shake all over, foaming at the mouth and chomping his teeth as if biting air. It is very scary to watch. We took him to the vet where they did blood tests. They couldn't find anything wrong with him. So, they assumed he has epilepsy. The Vet suggested an anti-seizure medicine (phenobarbital). After reading the side effects of the medicine online, we held off for a few days before giving him the medicine. But, when he had four seizures in one day, we decided it was time to put him on the medicine. He's been on phenobarbital for a few weeks now. He has been "okay" for the past two weeks, no seizures. However, he has NOT been his usual self. There's still something "off" about him. Then this past Thursday around 3 am, he started getting vicious. He was growling at me and snapping. It was very scary and not the dog I know. Bill was out of town on business. Luckily, Bill was within Texas and drove home at 3 am to help me with the dog. I coaxed him outside with cheese and a quick hand (I didn't want to lose any fingers.) We had to call Animal Control. However we live in such a small town, Animal Control is not open 24 hours. The call was routed to the Police Department. They took our info and said that Animal Control would call us at 7:30 am when they got in. Bill had to do a presentation at the conference. So, he drove back to the conference and I kept the dog outside for the rest of the night/morning. Animal Control never did call back. But, I did call the vet. The vet called a neurologist friend of hers and they think it may not be epilepsy but a tumor in his cebral cortex. So, now we are not sure if we should proceed with the neurologist (who wants to do a spinal tap) or to keep with the anti-seizure medicine. No one knows for sure what is wrong with him. We are honestly on pins and needles with our dog because he is very skiddish. It has been a nightmare.

Everything else is going great here. The kids are out of the summer. Bill and I both have birthdays coming up. However, Bill's celebration won't be quite as grand as last year. Last year, we were at WDW for his birthday and I gave him an Adventures by Disney trip as his present. Then again, you only turn 40 once! The kids won free tickets to Six Flags for a reading contest. So, we may go to Six Flags the day after Bill's birthday. We are heading to San Antonio for my birthday. We plan to visit The Alamo and Sea World. Sea World has a promo right now where kid tickets are only $5 with a paid adult ticket. So, I am really looking forward to the "mini" vacation next month.

My Mom has fit in very nicely with her 55+ community. She had no problems making friends. She's been a party animal with all the social functions. I told her that she needs to watch the tv show Sunset Daze. It reminds me of her community.

Bill is keeping busy at work. He had traveled to Washington state at least once a month the past six months. Now, we have him home for awhile.

I'm keeping busy trying to keep the kids busy for the summer. We've been having the kids friends over to swim during the week. It is nice to have them keep contact with their friends over the summer. Since they go to a Charter School, their friends live all over our town and other nearby towns.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Jennifer

 

[BethC1952]

We're finally having summer here at the Jersey Shore. Our pool is finally up and running, after having it filled completely and having to empty it because the filter was installed wrong! The babies have their own little pool, and will join the bigger people when we're in the pool.

I'm getting ready for the summer portion of my job (which is my favorite). It starts this Sunday--we start running all of our car shows, concerts and other special events. My favorite part is meeting some of my long-ago teen idols. For those of you old enough to remember, this summer's "big star" will be Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits. Security for the backstage area (and the comfort of the performers) is my responsibility at these events. I've had more fun with some of these entertainers! Of course my granddaughter squealed to Gary Puckett that I had been waiting all of my life to have my picture taken with him. He chuckled and replied that HE had been waiting all of his life to have HIS picture taken with me, because he knew that I had bought all of his records. Hmmm, I wonder how he knew that? That picture hangs in a frame on my office wall now.

If any of you are going to be in the area on the evening of July 10 and would like to "rub elbows" with Peter Noone, let me know!

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Jennifer-
I'm so sorry to hear about JJ!!!! What kind of dog is he and how old is he?? I hope everything is going to be okay with him. Glad to hear the kids are having fun this summer!! I know my niece is having a blast going to the pool and going to karate.
You will never guess what Robby bought me?!?!?! He bought me the Dooney and Bourke large Disney purse!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SO excited!!!! I love it!!!! You need to talk Bill into getting one for you. (wink wink)

Beth-
That sounds like such an awesome job!! I love Hermans Hermits!!! I used to listen to them as a kid with my Mom. Glad the grandbabies are having a good time this summer!!!

 

[plutojudy]

Tina, I thought of you over the weekend when the floods were on the news. Glad you and Robbie are all right.
Jennifer, I hope JJ gets better soon.
Beth, enjoy you summer actvities. I bet the babies are getting big.

We are thrilled here in Chicagoland with our Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. We have waited for this a long, long time.

 

[brack]

Jennifer I am so sorry to hear about JJ. I hope things work out for him. It is so scary to see our furry babies go through sickness because they can not tell you what is really happening to them. Many prayers for you all.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!!! Hope everyone has fun and stays safe!!!

 

[JsMom2]

Just got got home from our back to back cruises on Oasis of the Seas! OMG what a wonderful ship!! They really did a great job with her, as you'd never guess there are over 6,000 people onboard. We're booked on her sister ship for December of 2011!!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Wendy,

Glad you had a great cruise. Did I read correctly somewhere that RCI is coming out with another new ship?!?!?!?! One day, we will sail with them. One day ...

Until then, we are excited for our upcoming DISUnplugged Podcast cruise in December on the Wonder. Do any of you listen to the DISUnplugged Podcast????? We weren't expecting to go on a cruise this year. However after traveling with the Podcast team and other DISers, we couldn't resist.

Jennifer

 

[JsMom2]

Wendy,

Glad you had a great cruise. Did I read correctly somewhere that RCI is coming out with another new ship?!?!?!?! One day, we will sail with them. One day ...

Until then, we are excited for our upcoming DISUnplugged Podcast cruise in December on the Wonder. Do any of you listen to the DISUnplugged Podcast????? We weren't expecting to go on a cruise this year. However after traveling with the Podcast team and other DISers, we couldn't resist.

Jennifer

Yes, Oasis' sister ship, Allure, starts sailing this December. They'll do the same itineraries (alternating East and West Caribbean out of FLL). Oasis will keep the Saturday departure, and Allure will sail on Sundays. We're booked on Allure in Dec 2011 with my sis, but after sailing on Oasis we couldn't wait that long. We just booked Allure for March 27th of next year! The Oasis class brings cruising to a whole new level. I was shocked at how many people I met who've been on her 3-4 times, and she's only been sailing since last December!

Oh, also June is Make-A-Wish month on Royal Caribbean. They held an auction, and I won a trip up to the bridge to blow the ship's horn right before we left Labadee (their private port). It was soooo cool!!

Labadee was awesome too, I hadn't been there since the 80's, and they now have a roller coaster, loooong zipline, and an inflatable waterpark!

Between Hairspray, the ice skating show, the high divers/gymnasts/acrobats in the show at the aqua theatre, and their new production, "Come Fly with Me" they are a shoo-in for Best Entertainment at sea this year! And by the time we go on Allure, they'll have Dreamworks onboard as well.

Btw if you see any Royal Caribbean commercials, look in the background for Jas and me. We signed on as extras in the dancing scene on the Boardwalk and the 3D movie scene. We were riding the carousel on Boardwalk and must've gone around for close to an hour!

 

[BethC1952]

Since you were all a part of the news about my grandtwins and all the things that went on before their arrival....

DDIL has been being tested recently for a variety of things because for the last month or so she's been exhausted and uncomfortable.

Well, now they have the answer--she's pregnant! This time they needed no outside help, and she had no idea that's what the answer was! The first test showed that she had an abnormal pregnancy, with no sign of a baby. However, this week's test and ultrasound showed a tiny "bean" and a heartbeat! It appears that all is well, it was just too early to see anything last week. Her due date is March 7, which means no Disney trip for them in February as had been planned. We'll still be taking out trip along with granddaughter Shannan. We're really looking forward to our first cruise on Dream!

Beth

 

[JsMom2]

Since you were all a part of the news about my grandtwins and all the things that went on before their arrival....

DDIL has been being tested recently for a variety of things because for the last month or so she's been exhausted and uncomfortable.

Well, now they have the answer--she's pregnant! This time they needed no outside help, and she had no idea that's what the answer was! The first test showed that she had an abnormal pregnancy, with no sign of a baby. However, this week's test and ultrasound showed a tiny "bean" and a heartbeat! It appears that all is well, it was just too early to see anything last week. Her due date is March 7, which means no Disney trip for them in February as had been planned. We'll still be taking out trip along with granddaughter Shannan. We're really looking forward to our first cruise on Dream!

Beth

Congratulations Beth, that's great news!!

 

[brack]

Congratulations Beth!

 

[MrsMork]

Congratulations to your family, Beth!

 

[plutojudy]

Beth, great news! Congrats.