August 25 2012

[tinkerbelltwins]

Judy you are WELCOME ANYTIME!!!

I SECOND that!!!!

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

Hi everyone, I am writing this with a very thick sweater on as our downstairs heat isn't working. Luckily we have two zones in our house so the upstairs will be very cozy for everyone tonight.

Christine, I noticed that you are from North Vancouver ... I've only been to Vancouver once when my husband was on business. The airport is amazing, we stayed at a hotel right next to where cruise ships dock (can't remember the name), went on hikes in Stanley Park, drove up to Whistler for lunch, and toured an incredible anthropology museum at the University. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Vancouver. What is it like to live there?

Beth

 

[i12go2wdw]

Hi everyone, I am writing this with a very thick sweater on as our downstairs heat isn't working. Luckily we have two zones in our house so the upstairs will be very cozy for everyone tonight.

Christine, I noticed that you are from North Vancouver ... I've only been to Vancouver once when my husband was on business. The airport is amazing, we stayed at a hotel right next to where cruise ships dock (can't remember the name), went on hikes in Stanley Park, drove up to Whistler for lunch, and toured an incredible anthropology museum at the University. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Vancouver. What is it like to live there?

Beth

Hi Beth,
I could not agree more about Vancouver, I didn't create it so please don't think I am bragging
I hike every Saturday for 3-5 hours and in a year I don't need to do the same hike twice there are so many trails. In the spring we can ski in the morning then go to the beach in the afternoon and play in the waves. The crime is very low and you can feel safe walking the streets at anytime of day or night (not so much in Vancouver if you are off the main streets). The schools are good, we have amazing Universities, colleges and technical institutes and we have all the big city arts(plays, symphony, opera, etc.) without being too big. North Vancouver espcially is very "green" tons of people ride bikes to work or take public transportation, we also have an amazing recreation program for all ages.
BUT it is very expensive to live here, a small house across the street from us, 2 bedrooms up and a 2 bedroom suite down, just sold for $800,000. The weather is hard to take sometimes, I am sure you noticed how green everything is, well that is because Vancouver is considered a rain forest, we get a lot of rain, and when it rains it can rain for days on end!! We do not have extreme weather other than the rain, but that causes the problem of a large number of homeless people, they seem to move to Vancouver from other provinces that do have cold winters, they are well provided for here too. Taxes are outrageous!!! 12% on everything you buy, and that is just the sales tax, income tax takes about 25% to 30% more!!

I bet you are sorry you asked now, what is it like to live in Northern Virginia?

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

Hi Christine, Northern Virginia is a great place to raise kids. There are always things going on in DC: events, rallies, new museum exhibitions, etc. Right after Thanksgiving we took the girls to the Kennedy Center to see the Nutcracker, went to see Mt. Vernon (Washington's home) by candlelight, and took a hike near Great Falls. My kids are growing accustomed to doing this sort of thing. I grew up in Colorado so never got to do half of what my kids have already gotten to do (and they are only seven!). The weather in Virginia is wonderful in the fall and I love the changing colors of the hardwood trees, I get my needed dose of snow in the winter, spring is beautiful with the cherry blossoms and the dogwoods in bloom, BUT the summers are awful because it gets hot and humid. So thumbs down on the summers, but thankfully we can escape to the Eastern Shore or even to the beach as those places aren't too far from here. Housing prices are cheaper in Virginia than the Bay Area of California where we came from ten years ago, but it is still pricier than other areas in the United States. Overall, I like living here.

Okay, so who else on our meet board wants to tell us about where they live?

 

[HallsofVA]

Sheri, I listened to you and morgansmom and went out and bought a cricut on Black Friday for half off. When things calm down after the New Year would you mind showing me how to use it?

I'd to have a friend in town to play with! I'm glad you got one, there were some great deals on Black Friday. Once you get in the groove we can share cartridges so you don't have to go out & buy a bunch at once.

Another Northern VA person here, and I also brought a cricut on black friday and have no idea how to use it! You may need to hold a class!

Hi Christine, Northern Virginia is a great place to raise kids. There are always things going on in DC: events, rallies, new museum exhibitions, etc. Right after Thanksgiving we took the girls to the Kennedy Center to see the Nutcracker, went to see Mt. Vernon (Washington's home) by candlelight, and took a hike near Great Falls. My kids are growing accustomed to doing this sort of thing. I grew up in Colorado so never got to do half of what my kids have already gotten to do (and they are only seven!). The weather in Virginia is wonderful in the fall and I love the changing colors of the hardwood trees, I get my needed dose of snow in the winter, spring is beautiful with the cherry blossoms and the dogwoods in bloom, BUT the summers are awful because it gets hot and humid. So thumbs down on the summers, but thankfully we can escape to the Eastern Shore or even to the beach as those places aren't too far from here. Housing prices are cheaper in Virginia than the Bay Area of California where we came from ten years ago, but it is still pricier than other areas in the United States. Overall, I like living here.

Okay, so who else on our meet board wants to tell us about where they live?

I live in Northern Virginia, near dulles, though I travel a lot for business. You pretty much summarized it above

 

[threeiscrazy]

Another Northern VA person here, and I also brought a cricut on black friday and have no idea how to use it! You may need to hold a class!

We could have a great time, it gets lonely scrapping by yourself.

 

[Disneydonnam]

We just got off our first Disney cruise and had an awesome time. We booked this one before we departed. As of now its just my husband and myself.

 

[tjbaggott]

We just got off our first Disney cruise and had an awesome time. We booked this one before we departed. As of now its just my husband and myself.

to your new DIS Group!! Being this far out, this board seems to move both fast and slow at times, but is already full of wonderful people!

 

[tjbaggott]

As mentioned before, I'm gifting this cruise to our boys and my mom and her Boyfriend, THIS Christmas. So yesterday I worked out and ordered the cards in the form of 4x6 photographs, most of the graphics I did myself. The plan is that my own family will open all their gifts Christmas morning as usual. The rat, I'm sure will be the biggest hit, and I think her name will stay as it is, "KiKi", and not be changed to remy, even though she looks like Remy. Then my mother is to arrive around 3pm. At that point, I'll have the extra gift boxes hidden throughout the house. And a scavenger hunt will lead them to them. The cool thing about these gift boxes, that I picked up from our Dollar Store, is that each plays a different Christmas tune when the lid is removed! So tell me if you think the following is a good plan:

Envelope in Christmas tree addressed those being surprised, and the photo card inside reads:

"Daniel, Tim, Al & Dee,
A Scavenger Hunt, Oh what Glee!
Will treasure soon be in hand?
Figure out the clues & see the plan."

A second envelope inside will read "Clue 1" on the top, and inside will be a rhyme that will lead them to the location of the second clue ect. So the clues in each of the rest of boxes will be as follows, in the order shown:

1. Card that reads "609 Days" & a Card of a close up of Black and white wall at AP and the letters "AP"
2. Card that reads "1 Year & 8 Months OR 87 Weeks" and a card showing the interior of the Enchanted Garden restaurant at night time and text that reads "Enchanted Garden".
3. A photo of a Beach scene with sand, water and Palm trees.
4. 3 Boxes each containing a bottle of water and a rubber duck attached to it.
5. 1 Box containg the pieces to two different puzzels in two zip lock baggies. Putting the puzzels together, they will then be able to read their formal invite to the Cruise, the ports of call and the date.

Does that sound like it will run smoothly? I need it all over before my inlaws arrive for dinner

My mother has never cruised, but has made comments about why she doesn't think she would like a cruise....... And when that Carnival ship had a fire and was dead in the water, well, her comments then were HUGE..... SOoooo, it shall be very interesting to see her reaction to this gift! At least she will have a year and a half to prepare herself, right? Her BF knows about it, and he's ALL FOR IT!!

 

[JKSWonder]

Does that sound like it will run smoothly? I need it all over before my inlaws arrive for dinner

I think it sounds like a great plan

Would love to see pictures of the rat when that particular gift is given, so please post!

Still debating about adding my Mom to our reservation and upgrading to a Cat. 4. Honestly, with her medical issues, I'm a bit worried about taking her out to sea for 7 days. Of course, we would get trip insurance for her, but I am still concerned about her having a true medical emergency while we are away. She came on our four day in 2009, but for some reason, I felt better about it since it was so short.
I think I need to talk to my sister about this one before I look to make any changes. I might make it a gift to her for her 65th birthday which is coming up next year.

 

[tjbaggott]

I think it sounds like a great plan

Would love to see pictures of the rat when that particular gift is given, so please post!

Still debating about adding my Mom to our reservation and upgrading to a Cat. 4. Honestly, with her medical issues, I'm a bit worried about taking her out to sea for 7 days. Of course, we would get trip insurance for her, but I am still concerned about her having a true medical emergency while we are away. She came on our four day in 2009, but for some reason, I felt better about it since it was so short.
I think I need to talk to my sister about this one before I look to make any changes. I might make it a gift to her for her 65th birthday which is coming up next year.

I'll definately post photos! I'm debating on weather or not I should put wrapping paper around the cage? I'll be picking up the whole thing on Christmas Eve, AFTER our kids are in bed. I'll try and write up a poem to attach to the cage, but that will take some work!

You know Jane, I never thought about my moms age, till you mentioned your concerns with your mom. I just realized my mom turned 68 this year, which means she will have turned 70 just prior to the cruise, and her boyfriend is a year or two older than that! I'm wondering if I should be concerned? My mom has had some health problems but nothing that is risky. So hopefully all will be ok! I really dont' think my mom looks as old as she is, but maybe thats just because she's my mom, and I picture her differently. Christmas is going to be fun!!!

 

[tjbaggott]

Thought I'd share the link to my son's Christmas Concert I filmed this afternoon. Take note of the hat on his head, but please excuse my shaky arem on the zoom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZmz04_iSaI

 

[Mojodisney]

I'll definately post photos! I'm debating on weather or not I should put wrapping paper around the cage? I'll be picking up the whole thing on Christmas Eve, AFTER our kids are in bed. I'll try and write up a poem to attach to the cage, but that will take some work!

You know Jane, I never thought about my moms age, till you mentioned your concerns with your mom. I just realized my mom turned 68 this year, which means she will have turned 70 just prior to the cruise, and her boyfriend is a year or two older than that! I'm wondering if I should be concerned? My mom has had some health problems but nothing that is risky. So hopefully all will be ok! I really dont' think my mom looks as old as she is, but maybe thats just because she's my mom, and I picture her differently. Christmas is going to be fun!!!

If you decide to wrap the cage, you might punch some "air holes" on the top, it will get them really intrigued. Have a great time and yes, pics please.

As for your mom and her BF going on the cruise, I would consider her health and not her age, though trip insurance is not a bad idea. My MIL has been cruising since FIL retired almost 20 years ago and she is in her 70's she loves it and cruises at least once a year. After FIL passed she cruises with friends. She is in great health and we tell her she will live past 100.

 

[JKSWonder]

DH just finished his vacation picks for the coming year and, once again, he got all the worst weeks. There are 5 people more senior to him and between all of them, they have snatched up all of the summer weeks and every week that the kids have off from school during the year. So, it definitely looks like no sort of vacation for us in 2011. I really didn't want to pull DD out of school after this year, which is why we booked for August 2012. We usually always go away in October.

I'm starting to worry about his ability to get off in August 2012, but he assures me that he has told everyone that we booked this particular week and he will be able to do it without a problem.

If not, I'm afraid I will be leaving him behind and taking my mother or my sister in his place!

 

[Mojodisney]

Merry Christmas All!! Have a wonderful time with your family. Looking forward to meeting you in 2012

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

 

[tjbaggott]

I hope everyone had a Fabulous Christmas Day!
I'm posting pics here, to share my kids surprises! In our household, it is tradition, that every Christmas morning, the kids go downstairs to see the scene in the living room, and then grab the stockings and bring them upstairs to wake up mom and dad, and open their stockings in our room. Although this first photo is WAY out of focus, heres what happened. DS7 ran downstairs to get the stockings, with his siblings, and then came running back up the stairs, came flying into our room SCREAMING with EXCITEMENT (oh and WITHOUT his stocking) "MOM, DAD, THERE'S TWO RATS IN THE LIVING ROOM!!!!!!! TWO RATS!!!!!"

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Out of everything yesterday, they say the rats were their FAVOURITE gift!! (oh yes, I purchases a second one on impulse at the pet store on Christmas eve. A baby one, and never told DH. DH went to bed before me on Christmas eve (ya, I was up till 2:30 am, wrapping presents and baking a pie), so DS7 yelling "TWO RATS" was a surprise for the DH too!

So the kids are loving the rats, and I've found a use for all those socks without a mate (the rats love to sleep in a large sock).

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DS7 with KiKi

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KiKi loves to crawl into sleeves:

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Only in this case, she kept going:

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And the other one, now named Lily:

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Later, once my mom and her BF arrived, we had our scavenger hunt to reveal THIS cruise to them:

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My Mother, looked up at me after reading the completed puzzels, with tears in her eyes, and said, "REALLY?" SHE WAS THRILLED!!!!!! I was SO focused on HER reaction, that I never paid attention to my kids reaction. Later when I talked to the two boys about it, they said they were excited about it, and DS13 asked right away, "Will our friends be on there too?" He was talking about Troy, Patrick and Brendan. I told him YES to the first too, but so far NO to the 3rd. My mom is anxious to watch the DCL cruiseline DVD I gave her. I hope to get her onto this board in the near future! Now I can have fun cruise planning with them all!

 

[JKSWonder]

Aww, look at Tim! So excited and happy about his new pet!

And I'm glad to hear your Mom was happy about the cruise. I know you were worried, but her smile in the photos seems to say it all.

 

[tjbaggott]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! To all my cruise buddies!!

 

[Pudo]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! To all my cruise buddies!!

Right back at cha Judy. Happy New Year everyone!!