DDA Chapter 27

[PNO4TE]

Beth - I forgot to comment on Laura's huge achievement. Good for her!!!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

How is your brother adjusting? How are your parents adjusting to an empty house? Any news on the boyfriend front

Joe is loving it! He misses everyone back home, but seems really happy. It really is the perfect place for him! Im looking forward to hopefully visiting him soon. I keep checking the airfare because Spirit tends to have those $9.00 flights. Since I am off the next couple weeks, I can be really flexible in my travel times. My parents are doing good--I still see them 2-3 times a week--either dinner or just stopping by to say hi. I know its tough on them so Im trying to be around a bit.
No major news on the boyfriend front--let's just say I'm working on it!

Laura got her driver's license today!

SO glad she got it! How horrible to have an examiner like that though-Way to go to her for sticking with it, even with him the 2nd time! I think that would have thrown me.

Today we begin our big travel experiment! We are leaving late this afternoon to drive to DC and have a Park 'n' Fly there. Our flight is at 6:15 tomorrow morning and I know it is going to take all I have to get both Bob and Kristin up and at 'em even from a hotel next to the airport!

Have a great time! Good luck waking them both up tomorrow!

 

[bear74]

Elin have a great trip

 

[tmfranlk]

Elin - Hope your travels go smoothly today!

 

[my3princes]

Laura got her driver's license today! She is so happy. She got her permit on her 16th birthday almost two years ago. For the first year, she drove a little but wasn't really interested. Then she started driving a lot more last summer, but by the time school started, she didn't have much time. This summer she has been driving everywhere, including a couple of ours on the Thruway and in torrential downpours. We have also spent countless nights out parallel parking. She had way more than the required hours (50 hours total with at least 15 after dark), and we knew that she was ready to test at the beginning of July. Unfortunately, the only time available before she had to leave for college was 8/15. Her test was Monday, and although a little nervous, she wasn't too worried. And then she had the examiner from H-E--double hockey sticks. Spectacular fail! She lost 55 points (max to lose is 30). She was absolutely sobbing by the end of the test, and one of the worst feelings was watching her cry and not being able to go comfort her, because he sat in the car for a long time going over everything she did wrong. She kept telling me that he was so mean to her. At first I thought she just felt that way because he was authoritative (and he failed her), but the more she told me that things that he said, the more I had to agree with her. We figured that was it until one of her breaks, but she came home and checked the system anyway. By some stroke of luck, she was able to get another appointment for today. Unfortunately, it was at the same test location, but she took it.

The skies opened up on our drive there. So much so that at one point the highway came to a standstill. She did a wonderful job of staying calm. We finally pulled into the line at the curb in a giant puddle while the rain poured down and lightning flashed all around us. We even saw a transformer get hit not far in front of us and the sparks shower down. It was scary and seemed like a bad omen. Finally, the skies lightened and the rain slowed to a drizzle. We moved up in line until we were the second from the front. The dreaded examiner went to the front car, so we thought we were safe, but they were having battery trouble, and the car couldn't move. So, the same "mean" man made his way to our car. My last words to Laura were, "You show him what you can do!" Miles and I had to leave the car and hope that the lightning stayed far away, because there wasn't much shelter. Laura said that the first thing he did was yell at her for parking too close to the car in front of her, because it couldn't move. (She also said that she had absolutely no problem getting around it.)

While we were waiting for her to finish the test, I met an older gentleman who told me that he was a driving instructor waiting for one of his clients. When I told him that my daughter was testing with the examiner who failed her so badly on Monday, he expressed sympathy and told me that he knew that one well. His fail rate is very high, and he regularly has girls sobbing. As a matter of fact, he was there earlier that morning with another client and witnessed a girl (not his client) crying so hard that she was hitting the dash. Then the examiner came from around the corner with a sour look on his face and mumbled to me to have a nice day. I could tell nothing from his expression and the driving instructor couldn't tell either. The only hope that I held was that on Monday he seemed to delight in telling me how poorly my daughter drove. I peeked around the corner to see Laura beaming in the driver's seat, and I felt such relief. She told me that he was still extremely mean, but she held it together and passed! He didn't make any mention of remembering her from the other day.

Whew! Sorry to be so long-winded, but what a day! In some ways, I'm glad that she had the same examiner, because it seems like a real win over Monday.

I'm so glad that she got her license. That is fabulous. Nick will go for his in less than 2 months It will be nice to not have to worry about how he is getting 2 and from school though

Elin I hope you travels go smoothly.

 

[mommykds]

Hi! We just got home last night from Disney. Seemed like it went by way too fast.

 

[mommykds]

Elin,
Hope you are having a good trip & glad Bob's improving.

Tammi,
Sorry we missed you!

Terry,
Glad to hear your new grandson is home. Congrats!

Deb,
Hawaii sounds great! I think I'd want a travel agent to help me plan too.

Beth,
Congrats to Laura!

Vicki,
Good luck wedding planning!

Tom,
Nice to see you!

Tia,
I think Elin already gave you the link but if you have any questions, please ask. We love CW.

Bernadette,
I think you should quit your job & sell all the wonderful things you make! Wow!!

Jennifer,
Congrats on your upcoming tenure.

Hope everyone is doing well!!!

 

[bear74]

hi everyone we have had 68 days so far this some 100+ temps. Ugg

 

[bear74]

Hi! We just got home last night from Disney. Seemed like it went by way too fast.

welcome home.

 

[mommykds]

Thanks Jennifer!!!

 

[my3princes]

Hi! We just got home last night from Disney. Seemed like it went by way too fast.

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I need to live vicariously through you.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Hi! We just got home last night from Disney. Seemed like it went by way too fast.

welcome home!! can't wait to hear about it

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Deb-ask Chris if he is ready for some football trash talking?!

I had an exciting day on Saturday! My dad and I had tickets to go to an event in North Jersey where you got to meet 3 former Cowboys players. It was booked through a company that I use a few times a year to meet some current players...So we drove like 45 minutes to get there, saw some of our friends that we have met in the past years, and waited for the players. The players came in and they were awesome! Got pictures and autographs..then there was a raffle. They had 2 prizes, the first was memorabilia. My dad wouldnt let me see our numbers (he was just tormenting me). As they are announcing the grand prize, they were one number away and my dad said we were still in it..then he looked at me and was like thats us! So i jump up and down like a crazy person. We won 2 tickets to the opening day Cowboys/Jets game in NJ--and 2 tailgating tickets! I am SO excited! So I am making a weekend of it--Im going to stay at the team hotel the night before the game and do the autograph show with 2 of the players. Then the next day my dad will meet up with me and we'll do the tailgating and game! And the best part, its like 3 weeks away!

 

[bear74]

Deb-ask Chris if he is ready for some football trash talking?!

I had an exciting day on Saturday! My dad and I had tickets to go to an event in North Jersey where you got to meet 3 former Cowboys players. It was booked through a company that I use a few times a year to meet some current players...So we drove like 45 minutes to get there, saw some of our friends that we have met in the past years, and waited for the players. The players came in and they were awesome! Got pictures and autographs..then there was a raffle. They had 2 prizes, the first was memorabilia. My dad wouldnt let me see our numbers (he was just tormenting me). As they are announcing the grand prize, they were one number away and my dad said we were still in it..then he looked at me and was like thats us! So i jump up and down like a crazy person. We won 2 tickets to the opening day Cowboys/Jets game in NJ--and 2 tailgating tickets! I am SO excited! So I am making a weekend of it--Im going to stay at the team hotel the night before the game and do the autograph show with 2 of the players. Then the next day my dad will meet up with me and we'll do the tailgating and game! And the best part, its like 3 weeks away!

 

[tmfranlk]

Jen - That's so cool! So fun!

Anne Marie - Welcome home!

Deb - How are you feeling this week?

 

[my3princes]

Deb-ask Chris if he is ready for some football trash talking?!

I had an exciting day on Saturday! My dad and I had tickets to go to an event in North Jersey where you got to meet 3 former Cowboys players. It was booked through a company that I use a few times a year to meet some current players...So we drove like 45 minutes to get there, saw some of our friends that we have met in the past years, and waited for the players. The players came in and they were awesome! Got pictures and autographs..then there was a raffle. They had 2 prizes, the first was memorabilia. My dad wouldnt let me see our numbers (he was just tormenting me). As they are announcing the grand prize, they were one number away and my dad said we were still in it..then he looked at me and was like thats us! So i jump up and down like a crazy person. We won 2 tickets to the opening day Cowboys/Jets game in NJ--and 2 tailgating tickets! I am SO excited! So I am making a weekend of it--Im going to stay at the team hotel the night before the game and do the autograph show with 2 of the players. Then the next day my dad will meet up with me and we'll do the tailgating and game! And the best part, its like 3 weeks away!

Chris is definitely ready for football trash talk. He was so excited over the Tampa vs New England game last week. He was shocked at how few people were in the stands.

Congrats on the tickets. It sounds like a great time


Tia. I'm finally feeling better. I think it took about a week and a half to fully leave my system. Not fun at all.


Another busy day at work today. We still have one girl out on maternity leave and the work load hasn't decreased any so it is busy busy. She had only planned to take off 4 weeks which would have had her coming back today, but she has had migranes everyday since the birth so now she's not sure when she'll be able to come back.

Not sure if I mentioned it yesterday, but my Grade increase was approved and takes effect next week. That extra money will certainly come in handy and now I can start looking for a permanent placement. Just over 8 months now until this position ends and I don't want to wait until the last minute only to be left out in the cold. I also applied for an NCL credit card to earn points toward upgrades and excursions. They sent me a copy of my credit score and I am shocked at how high it is Apparently they love people that have debt, but pay their bills on time

 

[mommykds]

Deb,
Yay for grade increase!

 

[mommykds]

Thanks everyone. We had a great time. Port Orleans Riverside was great as well. We had THE BEST mousekeeping ever. I have always tipped every day in all resorts but this lady (I met her near the end of our stay) was awesome. She made us towel animals, gave us lots of extra supplies, & just did things in the room to keep it clean & magical. Loved it!!! We did use the pool a few times but after some kid threw up on Daniel (& the parents just stood there & watched) my kids had enough of the pool.

We did kick some serious butt at the pool trivia. Dana said he felt bad for the others playing because they did not know who they were up against! The kids won a prize for winning 2 rounds in a row.

We got to see Bob Jackson's show at the River Roost, he was fantastic. I do not know where he gets his energy.

The parks were busy but not as crazy as I have seen it.

The magic of the Disney CM's is still alive & well. One day we had a photopass photographer pull Dana & I out of the crowd waiting for the 3:00 parade to have Dana get on his knee & "propose" Then the photographer yelled "she said yes!" & the whole crowd clapped & cheered.

Some CM's were not so lovely. Unfortunately we saw a lot more disgruntled CM's than we have ever seen in the past. One CM at Test Track was so rude that a guest was on his cell calling right there & then to complain.

We had the free QSDP which was great when we saw how much a meal would cost & then it was wiped out to "$0". Lunch was great as we eat early but dinner was a lot busier. Leaving a park & eating CS at a resort was much more pleasant. We ate at GF, CR, POFQ, & POR & all were good.

Real life has gotten in the way of our Disney-high...Dr appts, my moms sick, danas mom was in hospital, school is thursday etc ....I so did not want to come home.

 

[mommykds]

I forgot to add, we went on the new Star Tours...it was so much fun. Each ride is different. Also got to see the new (old) Tiki Birds show which we all loved more than the "under new management" one.

 

[bethbuchall]

Anne Marie, it sounds like you had a great trip! I can't even tell you how much I enjoy reading about WDW trips and seeing the photos. I want to go back so badly, but at least I can live vicariously through the DDA. I am sorry that real-life hasn't been so great, and I hope everyone is better soon.

Deb, for a pay increase!

Sorry I haven't been posting much. I've been busy and in a bit of a funk. I am really not ready for summer to be ending and the older kids leaving.