Another lovely day in Oklahoma. . .

[tarheelmjfan]

Today, Willy should be celebrating his 65th birthday. Wishing you well, Willy, and a very Happy Birthday, whereever you are. Our best. We miss you, Willy.

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Every time I see this thread come up, I experience a twinge of sadness. We all spent many fun nights here, before Willy disappeared. I hope he's still around & doing well.

 

[Kitty 34]

Today, Willy should be celebrating his 65th birthday. Wishing you well, Willy, and a very Happy Birthday, whereever you are. Our best. We miss you, Willy.

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This thread has some great, awesome memories attached to it. Happy Birthday Willy. And hi to everyone that made this thread a lot of fun!!!

 

[leebee]

Summer greetings to everyone, and happy birthday to Willy...
I'll write more later- I'm off to a board meeting (or bored meeting, depending on how you look at it...)

 

[citruscurtis]

Well.. the neighbors corn is high as a eye..and where did this thread disappear

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hi, all!

 

[leebee]

OK, catch-up time, although you might have picked up bits and pieces of this on some of the other boards/threads!

Big event in late April/early May: DD, SIL, and the no-longer-resident-now-9-year-old moved out of our house and into a home of their own! They expected to be with us about 3 months but were here for a little over 3 years. They live about 7 miles away from us, in the same town. We are all adjusting, and although it's nice to have our home back and know that they have their own home, we still miss having them here all the time.

Also in May, all 5 of us went to Disney. We had connecting rooms at AllStarMovies and it was a pretty sweet week. In hindsight, we probably should have given the Little Guy fewer free choices and more streamlined limited options; it would have been less stressful on him. He was pretty easily overwhelmed by late afternoon each day so supper and evenings took a bit of juggling, but with 4 adults we could "swap off" so nobody had a really awful evening. Overall, we had a wonderful time, and yes, I'd do it again... but not for a few more years!

I survived summer session, where we teach an entire year of organic chemistry, lecture and lab, in 8 weeks. To say I am always a maniac during those 8 weeks is an understatement, but as usual, I got through. I've pretty much decided I'm going to retire in a year, so this could very possibly have been my last summer session- HUZZAH!

We got through a major medical scare with my BIL; they though he had CNS lymphoma. It was a couple of months of fear on everyone's part and a ton of not-so-fun testing for my BIL, but he came thru with flying colors. They still haven't determined what the actual problem is, but it's not CNS-L. DH and I went to NOLA for a week in early July to visit them, celebrate good health, and hug my BIL real hard.

Summer is winding down. DH and I head to the beach for a week starting on Aug. 16th. We are taking the Little Guy with us for a few nights as DD/SIL will be on their own vacation, but they'll be back on Tuesday so DH and I will have a few days to ourselves. We'll be back for a little over a week before the semester starts again, the day after Labor Day. Summer always flies by, but I'm counting the days to our next Disney trip. SUpposed to be a solo for me in Nov, but DD will join me for the first 3 nights, which is awesome. I love to travel with her. In January, DH and I will venture to NOLA to visit DSis/BIL and then over to Orlando for 4 nights at Saratoga Springs. No park tickets- we'll be there to visit friends and relax. Rented DVC points so it was cheaper than staying at the Hilton... but we wanted to be near Disney Springs for proximity to good food and adult beverages, without worrying about having to drive to our hotel! I know it's all a long way off, but before you know it, summer will be over, fall will be flying by, and we'll be back to the holidays and another new year! Enjoy the rest of your summer- I sure will!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Hi, again, everyone! Nice to see so many new posts here. Wishing Willy would pop back in one day and surprise us all. Have a great beach trip, Leebee!

 

[NFLDERS]

Hello all!

It's been a l. o.. n...g. time since I visited here, my apologies. I'm still reading here to catch up.

 

[leebee]

Oh absolutely. I know that they are feeling the "closeness" as much as we are. We are still in the jumbled, confusing unpacking stage and all know that things'll work out; we just need to get there. We are happy to have them here in our big, empty house, and glad that we are able to help them stabilize financially, so they can continue to afford to save money for a downpayment on their own place someday; DD's in grad school so they are a family of 3 on a single income. We are also happy to be here to help with the 5 year old, who has ADHD and other behavioral issues. He thinks DH is the best thing since sliced bread, though, and has told me, "Lee, you're The Best!" I love that we are working through all this as a family, and being able to "tag team" caring for the little one gives DD and SIL a chance to have "couple" time together, a chance for date nights or for him to perform at open mic, etc. - they've only been married 5 months, although they've known each other well for about 8 years. (He's the one she should have married in the first place, and vice versa!) It's gonna work out.

Good morning, everyone!!
I'm feeling very accomplished right now. Earlier in the week I ordered a smart phone, activated it myself, and downloaded the Disney app all by myself, too. Welcome to the 21st century, right?? This morning, I managed to navigate the Disney site and buy LLMP and LLSP for my trip next week! Actually, DD is going with me for the first few nights, which is why I decided to give more money to the Mouse. She'll only have 2 park days, wants to ride Guardians at Epcot, so I got her a single pass. We are also going to the Studios, and I popped the $$ for my own convenience. We probably won't keep adding rides after the first three (she says now...) but I just don't have 60minute line waits in this old body anymore. SO...pay for the convenience, right? It's not gonna help the rest of my trip (SOLO!) if I wear myself out on the second day.

I found the post I quoted here randomly, while searching for something else. It's so weird to look back. DD/SIL and the LittleGuy ended up living with us for over 3 years. We had our ups and downs, but mostly it worked out well. DD earned her MSW during their stay and SIL managed to get his financial woes on an even keel. The LG had some huge issues and hurdles to overcome, but he's doing really, really well (doesn't even have an ed tech at school anymore) and is happy and healthy. They bought a house in August 2024, we spend most of the fall and winter fixing/renovating, and they moved into their own home in May 2025. It's just DH and me in this big old empty house again, which is nice, and we're all happy they have their own home and are learning to be a family together, but we all miss each other a WHOLE lot!

anyhow... hope you are all having a good fall. It always makes me smile to "run into" y'all on the other DISboards!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Good morning, everyone!!
I'm feeling very accomplished right now. Earlier in the week I ordered a smart phone, activated it myself, and downloaded the Disney app all by myself, too. Welcome to the 21st century, right?? This morning, I managed to navigate the Disney site and buy LLMP and LLSP for my trip next week! Actually, DD is going with me for the first few nights, which is why I decided to give more money to the Mouse. She'll only have 2 park days, wants to ride Guardians at Epcot, so I got her a single pass. We are also going to the Studios, and I popped the $$ for my own convenience. We probably won't keep adding rides after the first three (she says now...) but I just don't have 60minute line waits in this old body anymore. SO...pay for the convenience, right? It's not gonna help the rest of my trip (SOLO!) if I wear myself out on the second day.

I found the post I quoted here randomly, while searching for something else. It's so weird to look back. DD/SIL and the LittleGuy ended up living with us for over 3 years. We had our ups and downs, but mostly it worked out well. DD earned her MSW during their stay and SIL managed to get his financial woes on an even keel. The LG had some huge issues and hurdles to overcome, but he's doing really, really well (doesn't even have an ed tech at school anymore) and is happy and healthy. They bought a house in August 2024, we spend most of the fall and winter fixing/renovating, and they moved into their own home in May 2025. It's just DH and me in this big old empty house again, which is nice, and we're all happy they have their own home and are learning to be a family together, but we all miss each other a WHOLE lot!

anyhow... hope you are all having a good fall. It always makes me smile to "run into" y'all on the other DISboards!

Everything there sounds great, leebee. Your daughter has all going well, a new phone, a WDW trip again soon. And now you csn DIS all the time with you new phone. Great! Enjoy your trip, and phone.

 

[Micca]

I'm feeling very accomplished right now. Earlier in the week I ordered a smart phone, activated it myself, and downloaded the Disney app all by myself, too. Welcome to the 21st century, right??

OMG Lee this is breaking news! Congrats on the phone and the WDW trip. Totally with you on waiting in long lines, not for me anymore. Fortunately we go often enough that if lines are jammed up on various attractions, we just say "Catch it next time." We have bought some LL for stuff like Tron and Guardians, but those are a couple of rides I don't do, so it doesn't cost as much with me on the sidelines (happily!)