April 21, 2007 -- Western Magic -- anyone?

[curlybop]

Hi everyone,

Just checking in to see what's going on. We received our Castaway Club cards in the mail yesterday. I was wondering if we'd ever see them or not. I put the CD in last night & listened to the music. Might have to put it on my iPod for when I need a cruise fix.

I'm impatiently waiting for '09 rates. I know, probably a few more months....but I need something to plan for again. Hopefully there will be great options for us all. Atleast once a week Emily reminds me "we need to save money so I can go back on the Mickey boat."

We are so busy lately. Open house for kindergarten is next week, then the week after school begins. They take 1/2 the class on Wed., the other on Thurs. and then the entire class is together that Friday. Emily looked at me like I had 2 heads when I told her she'd go one day, be off, then go back. She thought I was making this stuff up. I think she'll do just fine though.

Thanks to everyone for the DVC info also. I'm still waiting for a smaller resale to come along, since we won't be using a ton of points to begin with. Quit laughing.

 

[curlybop]

Thanks to everyone for their DVC advice. We have purchased a small SSR resale contract, and we turned in the contract & deposit yesterday - it's going to ROFR today. I think we'll have no problems, so we'll be owners very soon.

 

[Cyndibear]

Congrats Amanda and a early Welcome Home!!

Let us know when its gone through ROFR. Have you started planning your first DVC stay?

Cyndi

 

[dvc2themax]

congrats Chris and Amanda!
Now when you go on your next cruise, you will get a gift for Castaway member and DVC member.

We are planning a trip to WDW for our February school vacation in 2008.
Will start spding the cash and making DVC reservations once Southwest comes out for those dates. Airline prices were WAY too high over Thanksgiving week. Oh well.

Reading and re-reading Harry Potter books 6 & 7. Listen to book 5 on CD all the time. If I had book 6 on CD, I would listen to that constantly. I enjoy the person, can't think of his name, reading the story and having him do the voices of each character.

Not much going on here. Just work as usual for both Kip and myself.
Casey will be starting 9th grade in a week!!! August 29th.

We had some of the cruise pictures professionally framed - 6 of the pictures the cruise line took and we purchased, and hung over our fireplace so we see it all the time. What a great trip. Miss it.

View this board all the time, stalking it to see what I can add.

How has everyone's summer season been? It does not feel like New Hampshire had a summer. Cold and rainy, with a rare warm day, maygbe once a month. Just thought I'd ask to see if it was just NH or the rest of the world.

counting down to April 2009 Disney Cruise!

 

[mickymania]

Not much going on here. Just work as usual for both Kip and myself.
Casey will be starting 9th grade in a week!!! August 29th.

We had some of the cruise pictures professionally framed - 6 of the pictures the cruise line took and we purchased, and hung over our fireplace so we see it all the time. What a great trip. Miss it.

View this board all the time, stalking it to see what I can add.

How has everyone's summer season been? It does not feel like New Hampshire had a summer. Cold and rainy, with a rare warm day, maygbe once a month. Just thought I'd ask to see if it was just NH or the rest of the world.

!

We've had all of your warmth here in Utah. It has been soooooo hot all summer long.

I just finished my kids scrapbooks from the vacation and the last page I did was of all our DIS friends it made me want to go back again. Now I get to do it all over again for our family album.

My kids started school this week - yipee! I took the week off to try and get the loose ends done. It is so wierd to have all of my kids finished with elementary school. For all of you with small kids, it goes so fast, especially when they start school.

Hope all of you are having a great week! Enjoy the rest of your summer. Paula - we will send some of our warmth your way.

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Geez! The weeks are just flying by! I can't believe it's been so long since anyone has posted here. We weren't even listed on the cruise meet thread--I had to go to an old email notification just to post!

So how's everyone doing? I've been lurking occasionally lately just to find out if the 2009 dates are coming out soon. It looks like it could be sometime between next month and January. I can't wait that long! I saw Cyndi had posted on a thread about that, and I started thinking about how much I miss all you guys!

Cyndi, congrats on the DVC! I see you're taking a trip to AKV soon (after Christmas?). How was your trip to WDW last month? Is Eric still enjoying his new job? (It's probably not so "new" anymore, is it?)

Amy, how's your new job? It must keep you busy since I haven't seen you around on the main board either (not that I've been there much either). How's kindergarten and the first year of "big school" going? Hudson is loving it. I'm sure you're experiencing pre-birthday excitement at your house, too. It's going to be a loooonnnng month for Hudson to wait.

Amanda, how's kindergarten for Emily? Have you passed your real estate exams?

Molli, are you training for any marathons? I still don't know how you do it!

Corryn, how was Eddie's birthday party? I hope it was a big hit!

Trish, I haven't heard from you in several months, but I am thinking about you guys all the time. I just hope Jon is on the road to recovery.

So am I the only procrastinator that hasn't started scrapbooking yet? I got some extra Disney stuff and thought that would get me going on it, but I need my space set up permanently, so until then, it will probably just sit in the closet. Bummer!

Does anyone have any upcoming Disney or DCL trips planned besides Cyndi (and those of us waiting for 2009)? I know Amy has her 10th anniversary cruise coming up next year. Bill? Kevin? You guys are frequent Disney trippers, right?

I have a little excitement to share. Justin surprised me a couple months ago with 2 tickets to the American Idol concert when they came to Omaha last month! He refused to go, though, so I took a friend with me. We had such a great time! Blake is so awesome! He's even better in person! My friend brought her camera and took photos and video, but we weren't all that close to the stage. When I get them from her, I'll post any if they turned out well enough. What's funny is that they made several jokes to Sanjaya about how he wasn't good enough to be there! It was kind of neat to see a bunch of Phil's relatives of who live in Nebraska.

Well, it's time to pick up kids at school. I hope to see more posts soon!

 

[Corryn]

Hi Val!!
Hi Everyone
I hope everyone had a great summer!
Val, that was really nice of Justin to get you those tickets, AND to give you a night without the kids!
I am right now looking at the big Disney Cruise frame that I bought while on board that only has three pictures in it......I've Got To Get That Done!!!

How was Ed's party? We had an awesome time!
One thing that I wanted to do and accomplish was to get EVERYTHING set up beforehand - tell my guests where everything was and to totally help themselves - and have myself a good time.
I got out everything you could think of....I even bought those individual disposeable flossers & mouthwash for the bathrooms!
I bought all those Rose's drink mixers to make fifty different types of martini's and I made cards with directions on how to make them complete with pictures and I laminated them and put them on a key chain. I figured we would need the pictures of the bottles (which I got from Rose's website) because when your drunk you might not be able to see the words, but you'll be able to recognize the different colored bottles
We got a keg of beer (see below)
I got a tray of empanadas and arroz con pollo from a local restaurant, a three foot American hero, a three foot Italian hero, lots of cold antipasta, different salads, chicken wings....
I went to Ikea and I bought four of those huge paper lanterns and hung those up. I got out a bunch of Christmas tree lights and decorated all my flower beds and hibiscus trees. I bought clear dishes and sea glass from Michaels and made candle centerpieces for the tables.
Of course when everyone was nice and toasty Mike got not one but two beer pong tables set up. I don't play, but a lot of people enjoyed it.
I also bought a set of wireless outdoor speakers (and I had a set that I bought at the beginning of the summer) that I hooked up to my computer so we had uninterrupted music all night long.
We had a great time.
There were no kids and everyone was free to relax and pretend that we were twenty-somethings again
Here's some photos:

Eddie's cake - Kathy's neighbor designs cakes. She took Ed's invitation and used it as inspiration. It was DEEELICIOUS~!!!! Fresh sponge cake with fresh blueberries and strawberries and fresh real whipped cream in the middle and whipped cream frosting and she airbrushed it.

Here's Ed checking out the Beer Pong Reservation List:

Here's Mike and Kathy with our other friends:

Here's a picture of Me, Eddie, Lynette and Danny and Ed's other brother and his wife and Ed's cousins.

Here's a pic of my fountain with some of the Christmas lights I placed in the bedding:

Here's Ed's cousin Kristen, Danny and Mike playing beer pong:

BTW Mike is Mr. Beer Pong when it comes to the rules - what a stickler!

Here's Ed doing that keg stand thingie......I never did it, though...

Here's me and one of my best friends, Eileen (another Bronx girl)

My cousins:

Here's some food:

I put this picture here to show you the table in the back up against the house. I put all the drinks/liquor on that table. I also went and bought this huge 3 gallon drink dispenser from Linens and Things. I made strawberry/kiwi Crystal Light (my favorite) and Ed loves that with vodka when he runs out of Red Bull.

And how can I forget - Mike doing the keg stand:

So we had a great time. Ed was not surprised - he kind of had a feeling.
But at 3:00 p.m. when I was a sweaty mess and still needed to pick up all the food and stuff, I broke down and said, Listen, I'm having a surprise party for you tonight (and me and the girls yelled, Surprise!)
Now you have to go out and pick up the food, the balloons, the hero, the keg, etc.
So while he did that I got cleaned up and set up a little more.

Now, before doing this party I was going back and forth with what to do. I had saved up $1500 and what I really wanted to do was to just take me and him down to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights. But Ed's sister Lynette and Kathy said that Big Ed is a party guy (If you recall, him and Mike sat at the Adult Pool Bar for most of the cruise) and if you don't have a party for his 40th he'll never let you live it down........

After the party he said, you know what would have been an awesome alternative to a party? A trip down to Universal for Halloween Horror Nights

So I told him next year when I'm 40, I want a trip down to Halloween Horror Nights

This past Tuesday I learned that I Do Not Have Ovarian Cancer! I had a complex cyst that I was having trouble with and I was worried about it since June. I was really depressed and thinking about it, even though I tried not to think about it. But I went to the doctor/sonogram on Tuesday and I am all clear, but listen Ladies, it's not the easiest cancer to detect! So pay attention to your bodies and read up a little about it!
If you're gassy, bloated, have odd bowel habits, pain down by your ovaries, don't just discount it as gas or something else. I've been suffering from the constant barrage of ovarian cysts for over ten years. I had my left ovary removed around ten years ago so I know what I'm feeling when I get another cyst on my right ovary. Just be careful!

We got a new Kitty....Eddie named her Lilo.
And he swears he's not a Disney freak!

Her mother left her outside Tori's bedroom window. Her eyes were still closed and she frigin MEEEOOOOWWWEEEDDDD for two days! Then I put her under my shed in the back because there was a mother with two kittens back there, but the mother didn't take care of her and she meowed for another two days. She would climb up to the top of the wood pile and meooww meow meow..
I finally said to myself that God wants that kitty in our lives. I am allergic to cats, but that poor animal was desperate. We've had stray cats on our property for 15 years and I NEVER heard a stray kittty meow like that.
So now she's ours.

Tori started High School. I started microbiology. I just decorated for Halloween. Our next trip down to Orlando will be this April, but we didn't tell the kids yet. We're thinking of just splurging and staying at the Grand Floridian. We usually stay off site in a condo, but Ed wants to whoop it up.
WHOOP! There it is!
I'm breathing, I'm not sick, I have the H's - Health Home Husband Heat and Happiness and we're doing fine.

I hope everyone is likewise.
I hope everyone can chime in and let us know how you're doing

Hey, maybe you guys can post some pictures after Halloween of all the kiddies (and maybe adults) all dressed up!

 

[mickymania]

Hi!

Corryn - that looks like it was a very fun party -- maybe you should be a party planner!!!!!

Val - what a fun concert. My friend took her three kids (back in August) and they are still talking about how much fun they had.

I can't believe that it is October already! Does anyone have any cute Halloween costume ideas?

Taylor went to his first homecoming dance this weekend. He was with a big group of kids in this big suburban and the car was stopped for suspicion of drunk driving!!! The real story is that the dance was in the middle of nowhere and the kids were lost. The policeman pulled them over because they were going too slow!!!!! We had a great laugh about this one -- it will always be a great memory. When the policeman realized that they were just lost, he got them pointed in the right direction -- turns out they were just a few hundred yards away from their turn!!

I hope everyone is doing well. We do get to go to Disneyland next week for just a couple of days but we are excited.

Happy Tuesday!!

Wendy

 

[Corryn]

Hi Wendy! I hope everything is going well and Val is breathing a little more easier, with more free time, maybe?
I'm gonna share your funny story at dinner tonight - I'm sure the cop wasn't prepared to deal with a truck full of law-abiding teenagers
It's good to hear from you

 

[Cyndibear]

Hi Everyone!!

Whew, it's been a while since this board has had any activity. Great to see everyone checking in!!

Val, I'm glad you had a great time at the concert. We also know some people who went to it when it was in our area and they said they enjoyed it.

Corryn--It looks like you had a great time at Ed's party!! Wish we were closer so we could have crashed it. Congrats on your new kitty Lilo!! She looks sooooo cute!! What a great name!!

Wendy--Funny story about Taylor, thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful time at Disneyland and I hope you guys run into the "dream team".

Lets see....whats going on around here..... Eric LOVES his job. No stress for him anymore. Me, on the other hand, have enough stress at work for the both of us. Actually I just found out today that I will be changing jobs. A position will be opening up in the billing dept in January and I asked to be transferred. I thought the office mgr would give me a difficult time and not allow it but it was approved and away I go. I have never done medical billing before but, I'm ready to try something new. Everyone else knows that I will be able to handle it, I just have to believe it myself. I'm tired of dealing with the front office part of the medical field. It doesn't help that it is very miss managed but I'm not sure if it has something to do with turning 40, I just can't deal with it anymore. I'm burned out. Patients have been really anoying the past 2-3 yrs and its just getting worse. Usually I'm refreshed, and back on track after a vacation, but over the last year it feels like I was never off. I thought about changing offices but didn't want to start at the bottom with vacation and PTO. This opportunity makes it possible to keep my PTO and benefits without having to start over. I think i can, I think I can......

We had a wonderful trip to WDW in Sept. It was very HOT but crowds were low so it was a great time to go. We attended Night of Joy when we were there and it was great.

We celebrated my Mom's 80th Bday and Eric's parents 60th Bday. We had parties to attend for both. I can't believe my Mom is 80. When I think of someone being 80, I think walker, wheel chair, cane, slow and Depends! Not my Mom. She has more of a social life then Eric and I do. She already has an Alaskan cruise booked for Sept 2008!! It's great. I am so thankful for her!

We have our Jan trip to WDW already planned, we are going to VA beach in May, WDW in Sept. again, and are waiting for the 2009 cruise rates to come out. We want to do a double dip to Castaway in early part of May (see why I need my PTO days!). Eric keeps trying to talk me into another 7 day cruise, but I feel like I have to go to WDW either before or after because I cannot go to FL and not go to WDW. If we do the DD, its only a 4 day cruise and we can do WDW afterwards. Yes, I am a Disney fanatic.

We have pretty much excitement around us because the Phillies are NL east champs!! Its all over the news and everyone is talking about it. Tomorrow I'm wearing my Phillies red to work. Go Phils!!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying life!!

Cyndi

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I just wanted to check in with everyone who is waiting for the 2009 dates to come out (like me!). I know a lot of us had mentioned that shortly after our cruise ended. In case you haven't been to the main board (I hadn't been until just the last two weeks or so), there's a pretty good thread going with speculation and rumors. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1518461&page=42 This takes you to page 42 of the thread. There's a guy on there that summarizes all the rumors about every page or two. I tried to start reading from the beginning, but it has changed so much in the last month that I just got more confused. I'm counting on that thread to give me the info I want for the new dates! BTW, Cyndi, we're hoping for a 7-night DDip cruise like they'll be doing next fall (not just the 4-night). Hopefully they'll fulfill my "needs."

So is everyone busy getting ready for Thanksgiving? And Christmas? I got some decorating done this weekend. I'll start cooking on Wednesday afternoon for Thanksgiving Day.

Corryn, the party looked like a blast! But what exactly is Beer Pong? So good to hear about your checkup going okay. What a scare!

Cyndi, good luck with your new job duties. I'm sure it will be just the move you're looking for. And the bonus of being able to keep PTO is going to be the cherry on top!

I finally got an update from Tricia not long ago. Jon had some complications after his second surgery, so I need to contact her again and make sure he's doing better now.

Corryn, since you asked, here's the boys on Halloween. Lennon didn't want to put his mask on at first, so it was just sitting on his head.

Some friends of ours had a small Halloween party in their shop, so here's our costumes.

The samurai costume made out of cardboard was the best one of the night, though.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday! And for those of you traveling anywhere, I hope you have a safe trip. Keep in touch!

 

[mickymania]

I don't know if anyone else saw, but the 2009 cruises have been released!!!!

Hope everyone is well.

Wendy

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I don't know if anyone else saw, but the 2009 cruises have been released!!!!

Hi Wendy! Did you book?!?!?!?!

What about all those others who were waiting for 2009? Did you get what you wanted? We got almost exactly what we wanted. I'm a little disappointed in no DDips in 2009 (except one in Nov, I think), but that's okay, I guess. We were able to book the 05-16-09 Western. Will anyone here be joining us? I'm hoping that's the day after school gets out for Hudson, and disembarkation will be over Memorial Day weekend, so we are tossing around the idea of staying afterward for a bit and going to WDW, etc. I hope we don't regret doing the same itinerary (which I know like the back of my hand because I studied it so hard from Jan-April!), but these were the dates we really wanted. I think we'll try and enjoy the ship more on port days by maybe getting off for just a short time (if at all). To me, it's more about the boat than the ports. And in comparing one of the new Eastern itineraries for 3 weeks later was almost double in cost!

I hope everyone is getting the cruises they want for 2009 (has anyone started any cruise meet threads? Maybe I should go check! )

In case I don't get back here before then, we wish you all a

VERY​

MERRY​

CHRISTMAS!​

 

[dadlvsdisney]

It has been ages since I have been on the boards. I went back through the months and read everybody's posts. I hope everyone had a great summer, fall and it is like winter here with snow and everything.

Eddie's 40th birthday party looks like it was a blast. (what was that acrobatic keg drinking move? Is that like using a funnel) I loved beer pong, have not played it in ages though!!

We are booked on April 25ths 2009 cruise to Tortola!!!! Somehow we have gotten the exact same room. My DD and I thinks thats kind of weird. I actually posted on that thread. There is only about 9 posts.


I believe I go into fits of depression when I am away from Disney. I can not even go on the boards until I know I have a trip coming up.

Going to DW in February, staying in the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas,

 

[trings]

Hi everyone! It's nice to see that the thread is starting to get active again. I'm a great stalker!

We have finally decided that we will also be taking the April 25th Tortola Cruise! As soon as the Holiday Madness is over, we will make it final. Then the countdown can begin!

I hope everyone has a great Holiday!

Diane

 

[curlybop]

Hi everyone! It's been forever since I've been here. Glad to see a few booked new cruises. We transferred our reservation over to November 2009, however we won't be cruising at that time. Hoping to keep switching until 2010 or 2011.

Why? Because we're having a new addition to our family! I'm due in June 2008 with this baby. So, it will be a while before we see DCL, but that's OK - I'll be busy enough that time will pass quickly.

Hope everyone is well. Have a great holiday season!

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Because we're having a new addition to our family! I'm due in June 2008 with this baby.

CONGRATULATIONS!​

What exciting news, Amanda! I hope your pregnancy is going well and that Emily is excited to be a "big sister." Don't forget to tell us when the big day arrives. And post pictures, too! (Of the baby, that is. )

 

[alikat99]

Ok, I've been WAY too busy lately, and it's been forever since I've posted here. I read all the new posts, but it seems like I always say to myself that I'll respond later, and later never comes. So, I'm responding RIGHT NOW!!!

Congrats on the new baby!!! How exciting!!! I'm SO happy for you!!!!

Our next DCL isn't until Christmas 2008 for our 10th anniversary. I'm going on a 4-night with my mom and my sister in August, but the whole family won't be until next year.

We've been busy this summer & fall with lots of stuff. Emily joined cheerleading for our local flag football team. I can't tell you how adorable 4-6 yr olds are when they are playing football and cheerleading. Then, Emily decided that she loved cheer so much, that she also joined this year's competitive Jr Elite team with the same organization. It's just too cute. Here's a pic from one of our most recent competitions. And yes, that's her on top.

Then, since I did remember seeing some Halloween pics up here, here is one of the girls. My mom made Emily's Mulan costume, and I made Madison's witch costume.

And last but not least for the cute pumpkin patch picture. I just had to show these, because my mom made them for the girls.

 

[Cyndibear]

Congratulations Amanda, Mark & Emily!!!​

How exciting!!! Please keep us posted!!

Hi Amy! Thanks for the great pictures of the girls!! Your Mom does a wonderful job on those dresses!!

Its great to hear of everyone's rebooking plans. We have decided to wait until Disney starts cruising to Alaska to book again. Hopefully it will be in 2009 or when the new ships come out. At least this is what we keep telling ourselves.

Hope everyone is having fun getting ready for the Christmas holiday. I am pretty much ready with everything. We have a lot of parties we have been invited to in the next three wks, its gonna be very busy for us. I think I am more excited for our upcoming trip to WDW in January though.

I hope every one has a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!!

Cyndi

 

[mickymania]

It is great to hear from everyone. Life has been so busy and I miss hearing from my Dis friends!

Congratulations Amanda! I hope you are feeling O.K. and that everything is going well. New babies are so much fun.

Amy - Cute Halloween costumes. My Grandma used to sew all the time for Miranda before she died and she made the cutest dresses. I did not inherit one bit of her sewing talent. This Halloween, I told my kids they had to come up with their own Halloween costumes. Taylor made a sign that said "nudist on strike" and pinned it to his shirt. I don't even have a response for that one except "aaargh.....teenage boys". Josh wore his pirate costume from the 5th grade -- we won't talk about that one either.

I am excited for all of your upcoming trips.....a little envious too . I think we are going to wait for the new ships and we will probably not take the kids. We will see how the willpower holds out. Until then, we will just take some trips to Disneyland. We went in October and had a great time. I will probably take a quick trip (attached to a business trip) in May. And I am hoping to do Disneyword for my 40th. I am dropping hints as we speak, even though I have another year +.

I hope that all of you have a very happy holiday season; enjoy your friends and families!!!! And keep us updated.

Wendy