Chatterbox Thread-Cmon in and Jabber! Everyone is Welcome!

[funnygarcia]

I get it! We felt the same about moving to California, it was a grand adventure for the family. I think you have the right idea to do it now when the kids are younger. It was too much for our boys to handle as teenagers.
I have no regrets for the move and the year. It was something we needed to do at the time.

Eloy and I toy with the idea of moving again (just us), after Noah graduates. Not sure we can afford southern California .. maybe further north? We have Seattle among the possibilities as well, dialysis care is pretty awesome there. And it fits who we are..

something that bugged us in Moreno Valley is the lack of book stores, libraries, this sense that education and learning was not important, mass transit was sneered upon... we didn't "fit".

 

[sameyeyam]

remember me? sorry I haven't been around for a while. We went to Disneyland. It was fun. Hard with two two year olds. We stayed at the park vue inn.. Totally recommend that place. Free full breakfast, and dinner. Nice.

I have been crazy busy. While you guys are getting rid of kids, we are right in the thick of it. actually.. We had some... I don't even know... A few weeks ago I found out I was pregnant. Again. but I started bleeding almost immediately and lost it. Five days before we left. I never had time to sit and figure how I felt about it. By the time we got back, it was like it didn't even happen. I don't know. We have been trying to get Julie in drivers Ed, Alex got recommended for the highly capable and gifted program... And kaylee is loving kindy. The twins are full on in the terrible twos. It's horrid. I wish I had the gypsies on speed dial!

We are contemplating a big move for our family... Alaska. The hubster and I are taking the twinners up to Fairbanks in October. Just to check it out.

NO...YOU CAN'T MOVE! I have plans to visit!

DD's bff is changing colleges this fall, switching to St. Martin's from Portland State. So on our way to the Supercross DD and I were discussing how we could drive up once a month or so. I would drop her off at St. Martin's and then go visit you.

Seriously though, I think it would be a fun adventure for you guys. Just make sure he has a good steady job before you guys head up there. We've had friends that thought they had jobs, moved the entire family and then it didn't work out. They ended up having to come back in a hurry, because it's way to expensive to live there without a job. At the very least, make sure you have a nice pile of money in case you need to come back.

I get it! We felt the same about moving to California, it was a grand adventure for the family. I think you have the right idea to do it now when the kids are younger. It was too much for our boys to handle as teenagers.
I have no regrets for the move and the year. It was something we needed to do at the time.

Eloy and I toy with the idea of moving again (just us), after Noah graduates. Not sure we can afford southern California .. maybe further north? We have Seattle among the possibilities as well, dialysis care is pretty awesome there. And it fits who we are..

something that bugged us in Moreno Valley is the lack of book stores, libraries, this sense that education and learning was not important, mass transit was sneered upon... we didn't "fit".

Might I recommend my area. I think you would fit in here awesomely! I love Seattle, but you've got to be a special type of person to deal with the drizzle and gray skies all the time. Portland has a little better weather, still a big city, but not as many people as Seattle. Not that I don't like Seattle, but it's got tons of people, more expensive to live, 6 lane freeways and lots of urban sprawl. Most places around Portland you can drive 15 minutes and truly be in the middle of nowhere. Washington has no income tax, Oregon has no sales tax. So if you are smart you live & work on the Washington side and buy all your non-food taxable items on the Oregon side.

We like mass transit, there is no lack of book stores around here...or coffee shops for that matter!lol. All you need to live here are some hoodies, flannel shirts, rubber boots and nice thick socks to wear with your sandals in the summer!

 

[sameyeyam]

So Megan, I'm curious about your DL trip. DS & I just went to WDW for spring break and I just wasn't feeling the Disney Magic. Many of the CM's seems very inexperienced and some just downright rude.

We were at the pool one evening and they had everybody get out of the pool for their periodic pool checks & water testing. Anyway everyone was just about out and this little 4yo runs and jumps in the water. The mom was right behind him hollering, but she just didn't reach him in time. So he jumps in. It was obvious that she was getting him right out, but the lifeguard started hollering at him "I SAID EVERYONE OUT OF THE POOL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CAN'T YOU LISTEN, GET OUT NOW!!!!"

Seriously?! There were still other people getting out of the pool still, this kid was like 4 years old and his mom was right behind him already grabbing him out of the pool by the time he started yelling. Everybody started commenting about the crazy lifeguard and a group of parents headed up to the front desk to complain.

We were on the DDP and one night we ordered an italian sandwich that came with a side dish of pasta salad. DS decided he would rather have potato chips then pasta salad. They had a huge bowl of chips sitting there, because they were serving them with another type of sandwich. So we asked if he could have chips instead of pasta salad. The lady said "No". No explanation or anything, just scooped the pasta salad into a cup and handed it to us. So when I headed to the register, I seen a manager standing in the middle of the floor and I told her about it. She apologize, took our pasta salad cup over, handed it to the lady and asked for a large scoop of chips instead. The CM kind of sneered and gave me "a look", but did as told. The manager looked at her and said "that's called Magic Your Way! Substitutions of that type are ALWAYS permitted"

Some CM's were really nice, but it was just a totally different feeling with many of them. So we've decided if we go next year that we are going to get the week long Universal Pass instead and go to Universal, Busch Gardens, Wet N Wild, Seaworld, etc. instead.

 

[staley7580]

The job thing is our biggest fear.. He has so much time in where he is now.... I ate to move all the way up there, and it not work for whatever reason.. And not have something to fall back on. He wants to get his pilots liscence before we go. And he want me to get into school for something.. We are thinking nursing so we have some stuff under our belts.

Okay... We were not feeling it at Disneyland either. I don't know if it was who we were with, my over all stress level or what, but it was not near as much fun as I thought it was gonna be. I left being glad to get home. That never happens! Shoot.. I CRIED when we left WDW! We are hoping to do WDW next October, and I think we might just rent a house.. Way cheaper for my size family. And rent a car so we can hit WDW, and universal..

 

[staley7580]

I agree with the Portland area. It's funky and fun still.. But not our weather issues. It takes a special person to be able to handle our weather. We love it... But most people can't handle it.

 

[sameyeyam]

The job thing is our biggest fear.. He has so much time in where he is now.... I ate to move all the way up there, and it not work for whatever reason.. And not have something to fall back on. He wants to get his pilots liscence before we go. And he want me to get into school for something.. We are thinking nursing so we have some stuff under our belts.

Okay... We were not feeling it at Disneyland either. I don't know if it was who we were with, my over all stress level or what, but it was not near as much fun as I thought it was gonna be. I left being glad to get home. That never happens! Shoot.. I CRIED when we left WDW! We are hoping to do WDW next October, and I think we might just rent a house.. Way cheaper for my size family. And rent a car so we can hit WDW, and universal..

Glad I wasn't the only one "not feeling it" at Disney. We had fun, but it just wasn't magical or special feeling like it usually is. Normally I don't want to leave WDW, but this time I was ready to leave about 2 days before we actually had to leave.

Even when I was out by the pool and on the buses, I heard people complaining about CM's. Normally I hear people say they are tired, not complaining about service.

Usually the mousekeepers are very quiet at the WDW resorts. We had several days that about 5 of them seemed to park their rears in our window early in the morning and chatter very loudly. Finally one day I banged on the wall and you should have seen them run!

 

[staley7580]

Do you have plans for Easter?

 

[sameyeyam]

So have you ever been to Alaska? My DH has, but I haven't. I just don't know if I could handle those long winter nights. Having 20 hours of daylight in the summer would be great, but I doubt I would survive the winter!

DH worked near Klawock, one of the Prince of Wales islands, farther south...so more like Seattle weather.

 

[sameyeyam]

Do you have plans for Easter?

Yep, we are going to my inlaws in Grayland. We're having a family dinner on Saturday and then head home sometime on Sunday.

How about you guys?

BTW, we drove past your apt. on I-5 last Saturday morning on our way to Supercross. Did you see us?

 

[sameyeyam]

Would love to stay around and chat all day, but DD is here working and I have to get some projects together for her.

We need to get together sometime soon.

TTFN!

 

[staley7580]

We haven't but we are going this October. Flying into anchorage, then driving into Fairbanks. Just me, hubby and the twins. Checking it out, seeing if we even like it.

 

[eatmypixiedust]

Alison & Staley- sorry to hear that you experienced rude CM's on your trips. That really sux I know that no matter where you go, there is a chance you will encounter an employee who is grouchy or just rude mannered.

I've talked to some very nice CM's at DL and some have been so excited for me when I found Buzz vinylmations. I found 5 total! It's so weird! lol. They are really nice but the one that look crabby or something, I tend to stay away from.

 

[staley7580]

It wasn't the cm's for me.. Just a lack of over all magic. Still had fun, but I think I just wasn't in the Disney frame of mind.

I thought that was you Alison! we should get together soon... Maybe we need to figure another lady date.

 

[staley7580]

Oh.. We are looking into Alaska state trooper jobs for dh. Crazy, huh?

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

Hi!

 

[Albort]

Hi!

 

[sameyeyam]

Hi Albort & Sarah! Sorry I missed you guys.

I took your advice S. and bought tickets at the Road to Recovery booth, didn't win anything...BUMMER. But our seats were good, we were fifth row back. Also, had a little bonus in Seattle. It was cold in the morning, so they had postponed early practice. As a result the stadium was open when all of the riders did the track walk. So got some good pictures of them walking the track.

 

[funnygarcia]

awesomeness! I actually had an entire page and a half to read!
Nice to see the chatting begin again.

Portland is on my list too, but this is totally "blue sky" thinking at this point. Something to research and tuck away for further consideration. Gotta get my kidlets to grow some wings first!

I've had DL solo trips where I was just "done" and eager to get home. Burnout? Maybe.

Having bad CM interactions, crowd size, who you are with .. can make it or break it sometimes. We took BIL one year at Christmas time, worse trip ever! Couldn't get into the groove of keeping us on schedule/fast pass and having BIL there made it feel like a burden. It didn't feel that way on other trips with extra family along, so it was just weird! (and of course now I would NEVER consider a trip with BIL)

Argh! Our landlord waited an extra week to send an update for next year's lease. We've been scratchin our heads and wondering "why hasn't he sent it??"
Letter came today, raising another $15. Which I guess isn't bad, but there are places nearby that are $50 less and have better amenities (dishwasher!!!!!!) . Or if we went further back into the city, even less $.

Played with our budget numbers, thought about school options/transportation to school for Noah (we have open enrollment in MN, we would need to drive him if out of district) and I just can't see us moving in the next two months..

But next summer, it's time to jump. Balcony, dishwasher, somewhere to sit outside on a nice day, closer to downtown....oh please!!

 

[dizzyami]

This August will be my 5 year cancerversary.... Once I hit that 5 year mark, then my odds of a recurrence go way down. I had about a 15-20% chance of surviving 5 years. So I've kind of been walking on egg shells. The 3 year mark was my crucial time, my risk of recurrence peaked and has been steadily going down since then. Obviously cancer can come back at any time and I don't think that fear ever goes away, but statistically speaking, my chances of it coming back are only slightly higher then a person that's never had cancer, after I reach 5 year mark.

So maybe in August I'll take a deep breath, grab a frozen drink and sit down and relax for a few minutes.MAYBE!

 

[dizzyami]

So - of course I forgot to multi quote - but it sounds like everyone needs a big it is great though to see you guys here!!!

I still haven't adjusted to my work schedule (6 days/week at 5am ) and it will probably be over by the time I am adjusted to it (it is a 10 week training program, then anything goes)

It is also that time of year for sports!!! Alecia who we pretty much forced to tryout for softball realized that she is AMAZING and wants to practice about 3 hours a night . She was probably one of the top 10 girls at tryouts and a pretty amazing little ball player.

Alec, well, is still Alec. But he is having fun with baseball, and is showing an amazing grasp of the game....just needs some more practice with the skills.

Other then that - planning a WDW trip in October - should be super fun!!! I have been once - I was 10 - it was July - and we were there for a dance performance.....this adventure should be much better