EWP group?

[twinscandc]

Hello Everyone!

Just checking in as I was looking for some last minute packing tips, etc for our upcoming trip here on the Dis. This trip has really snuck up on me!!

How is everyone's holiday weekend? I wonder how Lisa and Frank's trip went? I can't wait to get a trip report!! I hope the weather was nice for them.

Everything here is just fine. We took a "trial run" to a local pool today to see how Carson would do. Carson and I didn't get into the water because it was FREEZING!!! The cold water didn't faze the girls at all....they jumped right in! This weekend has been busy with us, going to numerous Open Houses for some graduates. We have plans for a cook out tomorrow and then some serious packing!! It's going to be a busy week for us since the girls have softball games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights!! Wednesday nights game is even a double hitter!! If I don't pack tomorrow, I may not get it done!! Mark and the girls leave early Friday morning and then Carson and I fly out on Saturday.

I did go back to work last week....it was kind of sad and I missed him terribly! It made it a little easier knowing that he doesn't have to go to a Day Care. Mark is wonderful in keeping him in the morning and then my mom came over to our house when Mark went to work and then she was there when the girls got off the bus. I do have to brag a little on the girls behalf - they made the A/B honor roll for the entire school year and also recieved several awards for their special classes (gym, music and art). Then, on the last day of school, their advanced language arts class had a spelling bee. And, wouldn't you know who the last two spellers were???? The teacher told me that it went back and forth for atleast 10 words between them before Caitlyn misspelled Desperate. Courtney was able to spell is correctly. They must get their spelling skills from Mark b/c I was (and still am - horray for spell check) a horrible speller!!! They are so glad it's summer break!!

Take everyone and I'll try to post from our trip.
Luv,

Becki

aka twinscandc

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Dear Becki, I can imagine how you felt leaving your little guy to go back to work. Been there, done that and I did not have any husband or family to help me out. I was married but a piece of paper does not constitute a husband. It is so wonderful that Mark is an involved parent. Men who do that gain so very much. I bet your mom is enjoying her new 'job' as well. Is she going with you guys as you had hoped? If I could, I would.

Scuttlebutt has it that a Disney trip might be planned next year for my dd and family. I am trying not to get my hopes up as they have been dashed several times. Dalton's fondest wish to go to Washington DC is being granted this summer. He has a list a mile long of things he wants to see. I am looking forward to the cell phone calls I will get from there and all the reports.

I bet that Carson, and yourself, will do just fine in the warm waters of the Disney pools.

Are Caitlyn and Courtney good at competing against each other? I have twin boys, smart much like your girls, at the CC and they have great fun competing against each other. Dalton is good friends with them as he likes people who "know stuff". Bet he would enjoy your girls if we lived closer. Please tell them congrats for the great grades. Dalton faltered with a B plus to miss getting straight A's for the year. I told him he would not be able to afford Miami with such 'low' grades. lol I only got on him because he got the B because of not handing in a couple of papers. No excuse for that.

Tell your girls to make sure that bunting is allowed in their league before they do it. Dalton got up to bat and did it, very successfully, and was made to go back to home base because the rules did not allow it. He told them that they should have told him that at practice when he did it.

I am sure your packing will go very well. Do you have those spray misting bottles? They are much cheaper at Wal Mart than at DW if you have the room to pack them. Are you doing the dining program? It seems like a better bargain for those with children than without as $12 does not go far at DW for food.

I bet you and Carson will give out one big sigh when you get on the plane. Just the relief of getting started on your vacation does that to me too. Have a wonderful trip and may this be the first of many Disney memories for Carson especially with his very own tourguides C&C to show him the ropes.

Luv and Smiles, Linda

 

[twinscandc]

What an awesome visit that I had with Slightly Goofy today!! It was wonderful to walk into my church and find her there! She was even gracious enough to hold onto Carson!! I was worried that she even missed her dinner to feed him!! What a great friend!! I just wish that we could spend more time together. I was so proud to introduce her to my friends from church and the unique way that we met!! I'm so glad to have you, Linda as my friend!

I also need to thank her for the cute little gift (I won't say what it is Linda, just in case it's a surprise for our other Suite mates! )

Well, the girls Softball game was cancelled tonight because of the rain. They had a friend come over to play, so it gave me some time to do some packing since I didn't get it all done yesterday.

3 days and counting...can't wait, can't wait!!

Thanks again Linda for a very nice visit!!

Becki

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Awww, Becki. You made me blush.

I had a great time and it was the best bowling banquet I have ever gone to. For me, with my hearing problems, any large gathering is horrible. Getting to visit with Carson made the time go so fast and I really was not hungry. They seldom have anything I am allowed to eat anyway.

I was so tickled when I stood up to check and see if I was seeing C&C in person and they seemed almost as happy to see me as I was to see them. They are great girls, but then you knew that.

I am glad your ballgame was cancelled and I suspect that you might have been also. Too much going on and you needed a bit of a rest. I missed Dalton's game because we did not get home until after 8. He was in shock as grandma is always at his games.

BTW, I got in trouble. The lady that was sitting with me with her granddaughter? I was teasing the girl to get her to smile and did that finger nose thing and her grandma stopped me as I was leaving and informed me that meant to 'kiss my ummmm grits". I am so embarrassed. I meant well. I usually do but I need to repress myself a bit more I fear.

I cannot but think that God put us in each others lives. He has a habit of doing that. He/She is great!! lol

Welcome home Lisa!! Sounds as if you had a fantastic time but then you guys can do that sitting in a closet I believe. I will answer your wonderful missives tomorrow when my brain is more capable of forming complete sentences. Sure glad that Becki did not tell you what her gift was cause you and Colleen are going to get one too. (one of these days)

Good night, I have a full day again tomorrow. I am taking a friend for tests at the hospital and then Dalton has baseball games that evening. Bet I lose a bunch of weight next week. I only lost a half pound this month.

Love you gals! Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to pop in and wish Becki and her family BON VOAYGE!!!!! Wishing you all a wonderful and magical vacation and a safe trip! I'm sure that Carson will enjoy his first plane ride, too! And hope that Mark and the girls have a fun and safe drive!

I'm now going to go back and catch up on all of the posts that we missed last week, while we were away (we had a fantastic time, as always!), and then I will come back with a "real response"! In the mean time, though, I wanted to be sure to try to catch you Becki, before you leave, to wish you a great vacation!

Hi Linda, Colleen, and everyone else! Will be back with a longer post, soon! We thought of you all while in the LAND OF MAGIC, last week!

 

[IASW Rider]

OK! I'm all caught up, now! I hope that I don't miss responding to anything!

First of all, Linda, you are NOT "old, decrepit" or anything remotely resembling anything like that! You are a youthful, vibrant, energetic, brilliant, strong, caring, thoughtful, "with-it" lady, who has and continues to accomplish so much, every day! I'm sure that that woman mean what she said as a compliment (albeit an awkward one), and meant well. But I really hope that you were kidding when you referred to yourself in that manner.........because that couldn't be farther from the truth!

Congratulations to Caitlyn and Courtney on their wonderful report cards AND for being the finalists in the Spelling Bee - that is fantastic! And congratulations to Erin and Ian on their wonderful grades, as well! AND congratulations to Dalton, too...........he and I got the exact same grades, this semester - all A's and one B+! I'm sure that Austin did a great job, too!

I'm sure that it was difficult to go back to work, Becki, but it's so wonderful that Mark and your Mom are with Carson when you're not home. It's so great that he is spending time with family. I'm sure that that doesn't make it very much easier for you to be away from him, but at least you have the comfort and confidence of knowing that he is with his Dad and Grandma!

Thanks so much for posting my mini-trip-report, Colleen! And congratulations on your very successfull carnival / luau! There was no doubt that it would be a great success, with you at the helm! Now, relax and enjoy the summer with your family...........and get ready for that July WDW trip...........you're "next up", after Becki! And then it's your turn again, Linda! (We're already investigating a "mini-WDW trip" to take place in either January or October of 2007, so that I can get my "Orlando fix" in addition to our Mediterranean cruise on the Magic, in July '07! )

How are your gardening projects coming along, Linda? And the DVD that you're making for your family? Have you begun working with your one summer student, yet?

I think it's so neat that the 2 of you ran into one another, a few days ago, Becki and Linda! It's so nice that you live close enough to one another that you can easily get together.........or run into one another by surprise! I will have to come out there and visit with all of you Indiana ladies, some time! I was only in Indiana once, and that was just sort of driving though en route to visit a friend at Miami University in Ohio, back in our college days. It must be a wonderful state to have 3 such special people and their families living there!

I like going back and re-reading some of those old posts, too, Linda! You're right - we really have come a long way, over the 5 years that this thread has been in existence! Can you believe that the Suite has been in existence for 5 years???!!!! Amazing!

I'm very bad at writing trip reports because I always worry that I am boring everyone with too much information! So I will write another post with just a short synopsis of what we did each day, and if anyone would like me to elaborate on anything, I certainly will, but I just don't want to risk boring everyone with too much information!

Anyway, hope that all is well with all of you and hope that you're all having a nice day!

 

[IASW Rider]

OK - here it comes!

Sunday: We arrived in Orlando in the late morning and made it over to CBR by the early afternoon. Fortunately, our beautiful, colorful room in the Aruba Section of the Resort was ready when we arrived (unfortunately our luggage was not, however.........since it's such a HUGE resort, it took (literally!) 5 hours for Magical Express to deliver our luggage!) We really liked CBR - but we definitely understand how one could become easily confused / lost there, as Linda said - it took us a few days to "orient" ourselves and to find the best way to get to and from our building! But we loved the little hidden paths and alcoves, all of the palm trees, the tropical music, and the great, themed pool (even though we didn't have time to use it!)! That night, we met our old friends Mike and Danny (who are a current and a former CM, Becki - Mike is the Special Effects and Show Control Chief at the "Lights! Motors! Action!" Stunt Show at the Studios and Danny formerly worked at the great gift shop in the Contemporary, Bay View Gifts) for dinner at 'Ohana, which was wonderful! Frank and I also visited the outside of the room where he proposed to me at the Poly and took pictures with the door number, as we do every year.........but this year we got "caught" by the people who are staying in the room, this year! Very embarrassing! We explained to them why we were taking pictures of their door.........and then beat a hasty retreat! Uh oh..........too much detail - I'll be more concise from here on in! Anyway, dinner at 'Ohana was great and we saw the EWP from afar, too!

Monday: We spent the morning at the Studios (Great Movie Ride, Muppetvision, One Man's Dream, Chronicles of Narnia set) and had a wonderful lunch at the Brown Derby (one of our annual favorites! The best meal of this trip!). In the afternoon, we met Mike and Danny at the AK, and the 3 boys rode Expedition Everest (and loved it!), while I took pictures, safely on the ground! We also saw "Festival of the Lion King". Then Frank and I had dinner at Boma, which we really enjoyed (even though we were still full from lunch!). No butternut squash soup, though, Linda (nor was there any of the chicken and corn chowder that Colleen recommended) - there were a variety of yummy looking soups, but I was so busy filling up on the salmon, various salads and veggies and 3 different types of hummus that I didn't have "room" to try any of the soups! Neat place!

Tuesday: We spent all day at Epcot (Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Your Imagination, Living Seas, Impressions de France - we also visited with our 4 Leave a Legacy tiles!). We had lunch at Chefs de France, which has a very nice, airy atmosphere with lots of windows looking out on the World Showcase promenade. Then we went back to CBR, showered and changed and had a very nice dinner at Narcoosees (which also has wonderful windows, overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon - the EWP passed right by the windows as we dined! ). The food was very good and beautifully presented and the ambience was cozy and nice. They dimmed the lights and piped in the soundtrack while Wishes was going on, and we had a great view.

Wednesday: We had a great breakfast at our all-time favorite WDW restaurant, the Kona Cafe (and had their world-famous coffee, as well!). Then we spent all day at the MK. Mike and Danny came and met us in the afternoon, and we hit all our favorites (IASW - of course! - Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Carousel of Progress, PhilharMagic). Then we came back to CBR, packed our bags for early morning pickup by DCL, and had dinner at Shutters, which was good.

Thursday: We left for the Port around noon and were settled on the ship by 3:00 PM or so. It was so great to see the Wonder, again (this was our 3rd time sailing on it, Becki)! We had fun (and some Bahama Mamas! ) at the Sail Away party, then changed and had an elegant dinner at the adults-only restaurant, Palo, which is very reminiscent of the California Grill in style, menu offerings, and ambience. We saw our server from last year, there, and she remembered us! Then we headed to our favorite place on the ship, the cozy, quiet piano lounge, the Cadillac Lounge, and listened to the great pianist there.

Friday: We were in port in Nassau and we "did" the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon, which was wonderful! We were able to "meet" an adorable 14 year old, pregnant dolphin named Nina (pronounced as the Spanish word for "little girl" - I just can't put the Spanish accent over the "n", here!). We got to hug, kiss, dance with, and pet her and she let us check out her teeth, too! It was a lot of fun! We bought the video of our encounter, as well as a huge photo album with lots of pictures of us with Nina in it! Then we returned to the ship and relaxed on the pool deck for a few hours. That night, we had dinner at the most "formal" of the 3 main restaurants on the ship, Tritons. Our tablemates were very nice - our servers dubbed us the "honeymoon table" - one couple had just gotten engaged at Epcot, 3 days before the cruise, one couple was on their honeymoon, and the other couple and we were celebrating our wedding anniversaries!

Saturday: We spent the day "blobbing" on the beach and drinking Konk Coolers (the signature drink of the island) at Castaway Cay! Then we had dinner at the coolest and most fun restaurant on the ship, Animator's Palate. I don't know if any of you have ever seen pictures of it or read about it, but the entire room is decorated with black and white cartoon outlines of Disney characters or scenes from Disney movies. Upon arrival, all of the servers are dressed in black and white, as well. Throughout the course of the meal, the walls and pictures slowly begin to change and become colored, until the end of the meal, when the entire room bursts into color and all of the servers come out wearing colored vests, as well! It is such an original and neat concept! We ended our evening at the Cadillac Lounge, as always. (We always wind up befriending the servers who work there, and this year was no exception. It's too bad that they're not encouraged to stay in touch with Guests because they were very nice people and it would have been nice to correspond with them, after the trip! It's neat to meet people from all over the world on our cruises!)

Sunday: We sadly had to leave the ship (...........but knowing that we'll be sailing on her "sister" next summer made it a bit less difficult than it would have been, otherwise! ) at 9:00 AM (everyone has to be off the ship by then, so that they can prepare for their next batch of guests to begin arriving). As the only flight that I could get to Newark was scheduled to leave Orlando at 4:25 PM (and as every other flight to Newark was booked, that day, since it was a holiday weekend, so we couldn't switch), we had to spent 6 HOURS at the Orlando Airport! Although it's a nice airport to be "stuck" in (great stores!), it was torturous knowing that we were so close to WDW but couldn't go there, for fear of somehow missing our flight. We amused ourselves with magazines and shopping (and lunch at the Macaroni Grill, there!) and finally made it home and back to our kitties by 8:00 PM that night!

So, that was our trip! We did run into 2 DIS'ers there, too - a Studios CM jumped out of nowhere and introduced herself to me as a fellow DIS'er, when she saw me wearing a DIS pin. And a man spotted my DIS pin at Minnie's Butterfly Garden in Epcot and introduced himself to me as a DIS'er, too. Ironically, he's from PA and will be at the big North East Disney Fans Meet in Allentown this year, as we will - and he was at last year's Meet, too - so were we!

OK - hope that you're all still awake! Have a great day!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

This is Suite Wobegon because all of the children here are ABOVE average and good looking.

Lisa, how wonderful to hear from you and how very kind to take your time to give us a report so soon. Dalton is watching 'Stuart Little" after finishing his lessons for the morning and I am waiting for the Taco Chicken to finish and the Strawberry Pies to set so I have a few minutes before I have to unload the dryer. My life is soooo exciting.

It sounds as if the people who were staying in your very special room were not innoculated with their Disney shots. If that had happened to me I would have been thrilled for you and let you take all the pictures you wanted, inside and out. Did you happen to notice that one of the wines at the Brown Derby has our surname? Tom was surprised that I ordered wine one time when we ate there until I showed him the name.

I am glad you liked Boma's but I promise you will like it even more when they have those soups. You will HAVE to go back. I am sooooo NOT sorry for you at all~! I may have to add Narcosee's to our dining list (2 pts, who cares) just to see the EWP up close and personal. Are there a lot of tables that you can do so from?

Kona seems to be the official breakfast place for this group. I am not much of a one for breakfast but if we tried it for a late one I might manage. I have it planned for an early lunch before going into the parks one day. Might have to adjust those ADR times.

The cruise sounds just lovely and I can well imagine that many of the CM remembered you guys. I have heard about the one restaurant that changes colors. I enjoy such details. I would never eat out just for the food alone as it is seldom worth the trip let alone the cash but the experience is what makes it AND who you are eating with. I love that one place that has a trivia screen and you can win free food. Tom loves it too since he is the one who eats the free food.

Six hours at the airport? Just another reason why I drive. I could be nearly halfway home in that time frame and I like having my car to get around with also. Isn't it great to run into fellow DISers? I make up those CM thank you cards and have added www.wdwinfo.com to them and some even have my email address also. It makes exchanging info so much easier and the CM's really seem to enjoy the cards. I keep in touch with many CM's but maybe it is just the cruise personal that has that restriction? I can imagine that many have some very sad stories and maybe that is why. I have talked to many who told of the low wages, no benefits and the long periods away from home but necessary in order to support their families back home in very poor countries. I count my blessings.

Yes, I was kidding about being old and decrepit. Some days I do feel that way though but most days not. My tomatoes are doing very well and I even have some green ones coming on. The peppers are not as pert this year but may catch up. We have had too much rain and not enough sunshine and now it is just plain HOT. Dalton was thrilled to see that his watermelons have germinated and will soon fill in that one bed. We always count how many melons we get but this is the first year he planted them by himself.

I am so very lucky to live within visiting reach of two members of the Suite but you are most welcome to come and visit us any old time. Between the 3 of us I am sure that we could entertain and accomadate you. What a ball that would be BUT we still have to plan a DW get together one of these days. Please do it before I do become too decrepit though. If Dalton has his way they will be at DW next summer. I have had my hopes dashed too many times to start planning. I will keep my fingers crossed though.

Please do not think your reports or posts ever boring. You have a full and interesting life and reading the details helps me keep what little sanity I have left.

I do not want to close this post without saying Happy Anniversary Frank and Lisa!!!

Have a fantastic day and I cannot conceive of how you will manage to celebrate any more than you already have BUT I know you WILL!!

Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi Everyone!

By now, I'm sure that Becki and her family are all settled in at WDW and are hopefully having a FANTASTIC TIME!

And Colleen has some exciting upcoming WDW news to share.........but I will let her share that with you all, herself!

Hi Linda!

Thanks for your e-mails and your post! (Hope that you don't mind if I respond to your e-mail here, too!) We had a very nice Anniversary, thanks for thinking of us! Very "low key" weekend, here, as we're still settling back in from our trip (YES, returning to "reality" IS a bummer ) and the weather was horrible - lots of heavy rain (which we needed) and violent thunderstorms. But we did have a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant (up here.........as opposed to the Kona Cafe!) on Friday night and saw "The Da Vinci Code", too. And my father and uncle took us out on Saturday night, too. Last night we stayed home and rented "The Corpse Bride" and "Transamerica", both of which were very good!

I know that I told Linda and Colleen this, already, but I'll post this here for Becki's (and anyone else's) amusement - for our anniversary, I got Frank tickets to see "Tarzan" on Broadway and he got me tickets to see "Mary Poppins" on Broadway! The Disney Magic lives on, in the North East!

So glad to hear that all is well, Linda! It sounds like your garden is really coming along - which is wonderful, this early in the season! And it sounds like you are accomplishing a tremendous amount in your yard! It's wonderful that you've been spending even more time with Dalton lately, too! Hope that you both had a fun weekend, together! Have you started working with your summer student, yet?

We do love Kona for breakfast (can't beat the coffee!), but we also love it for lunch and dinner. I would keep that lunch time PS / ADR - their menu is even more varied at the later meals!

We will probably go back to Boma - it was neat! It wasn't one of Frank's favorites (he's not a huge fan of buffets, in general), but I really enjoyed it! The night that we went, they seemed to feature lots of Middle-Eastern-type foods, which Frank isn't crazy about (but I am! I had 3 different types of hummus at once - YUM!). When we do go back, I will make it a point to try the soups before anything else, so that I don't fill up too quickly!

We're now in the process of considering our quick WDW trip for next year (I say "quick" because it won't be our "main vacation", since we have the cruise in the summer). The more that I think about it, the more that I think that we WILL go in January, rather than in October (will have to catch the F&WF another time). It's most cost-effective and best "spaced", exactly 6 months before our cruise (which will work out best both time-wise and financially). Plus, it's always nice to escape the cold weather, in the winter (.........even though it's sometimes not much warmer in Orlando, in January.........I'm a little nervous about that...........I am reluctant to go down there, just to have the same 40 degree weather that we have, up here!). AND it IS my Birthday month, too! I will be sending some quote requests to our Dreams Unlimited Agent, today, to "get the ball rolling"!

That's a very interesting point, Linda - we've stayed in touch with CM's who work at WDW, too (I'm assuming that there is no "restriction" against doing so).......but perhaps it's different for people who work for DCL because they LIVE on the ship and literally live where they work? I suspect that their e-mail may be monitored, as well (just like any business e-mail might be), so it's probably not in their best interest to stay in touch with guests whom they meet on the ship. They DO work for long periods of time - the "regular crew members" (as opposed to the higher officers like Captain, Cruise Director, etc.) sign 6 month contracts and work straight through without vacations or days off (occasionally they have a few hours off on a given day - aside from that, they all work 10 - 14 hour days, EVERY DAY.) They live in staterooms that are considerably tinier than guest rooms, and they all have one roommate. They do have their own amenities on the ship - their own dining room, bar, gym, pool.........but they are much smaller than those of the guests. And they are constantly "monitored", too - they are subject to random, suprise breathalizer tests at any time of day - they are only permitted to have 2 drinks per day (which is a good thing, as the crew member who told us this explained - so that every crew member will always be prepared to help guests, in the event of an emergency). They receive special training, upon being hired to work for DCL (which is a year-long process of interviewing and evaluation, in and of itself!) to "learn how" to live on the ship and what life is like living on one and working for a cruise line (since many of the people who do previously worked at WDW, and working for and living on the ship is much different!). I'll tell you - I have a lot of respect for those people - I could NEVER live where I work, much less work those hours and live in a tiny room with another person, like that - and be away from my family and friends for such long stretches of time! I'm sure that it's a very interesting and satisfying experience for the crew members (every one with whom we spoke said that the best part of the job was getting to meet and interact with so many people), but there are rough aspects to the lifestyle, too!

PLEASE don't think that I was hinting at inviting myself out to Indiana to STAY WITH any of you, when I said that I need to come out there! I just meant that it would be neat to come out there and VISIT WITH all of you - we would NEVER impose ourselves on any of you! We would find a hotel that is centrally located to all 3 of you, that's all!

Well, time to start the daily chores and errands..............*SIGH*............wish that we were still in THE LAND OF MAGIC............oh well...........just 7 more months, hopefully!

Hope that all is well with all of you! Have a great day!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Lisa, I sincerely invite you to stay here if and when you get around to coming. I have a huge old house. Not fancy but ok unless you come when it is very hot or very cold as I have so many rooms that I do not heat or a/c all of them. You would want to schedule carefully for those few weeks a year when it would be comfortable. I have a large screen tv, pool table and other entertaining devices so if everyone wanted to get together here it could be done. Can you imagine all of us in one place at one time? I would have to see if Janet would want to join in with that one. lol

I bet I had fewer people in my theater watching the Divinci Code that you guys did. I was all by my lonesome. I held my own hand and when I got fresh I slapped my own face. I liked the book better but the movie was not quite as bad as I had heard it might be. Dalton and I are going to borrow "The Corpse Bride" from the library but I best leave "Transamerica" to when I am alone. Some things I am not ready to explain. He recently asked me where babies come from. Since he is farm boy I knew he was having me on so I told him that he came from Indiana.

Boma's serves African type foods so if Frank did not like it that night he might not again but the good thing about buffets is that you can almost always find SOMETHING you like. I have friends on diets who avoid buffets but I like them as it is easier for me to fill a plate with something I can have.

Are you not going to spend a few days at Disney when you go on the cruise? My sister is taking a cruise to England next year. She has to fly to NYC first. Lucky gal. Bet I gave her the idea.

I would not like to work on a cruise ship either although I know people who do. It might be easier for younger people. Have you read about the older lady who lives full time on the QE2? She says it is cheaper and more fun that living in NYC and such. WTG~~~

I am sorry I did not reply earlier but I had some car problems and lot to do this week. I had to see Austin off on his mission trip and deal with basketball camp etc. etc. We have decided to go ahead and buy a new car this year. It is just a few months earlier than I had planned anyway. The car would be fine for local driving but I like to have something very dependable for those treks to FL. and the interstates. We will be old when it is time to buy the next car and not likely to need something to hit the road with. Tom would be near 80. I no longer kid him about being an 'old man'. It is no longer a joke.

My nephew passed his test to get the job in Russia with flying colors and will be headed off soon. He speaks it fluently. Very smart fellow he.

I will have to post a picture of my garden gate project. It is all installed and I bought some beautiful paving stones. My neighbor laid a new carpet at his house and I took some of the old to make a foundation for it all and I just need to put some sand or something between the stones. I will start on laying bricks for a path on the other side of the porch next. I salvaged bricks from the house they tore down next to us a few years ago so it will be an almost free project. With a new car, a garage roof to be replaced and new glasses for Tom and a new hearing aid for me I need cheap projects.

I hope you have all those mundane chores finished and had time to relax with an adult beverage on your balcony enjoying all that work that Frank did on the furnishings.

Becki should be back soon and I cannot wait to see how His Majesty enjoyed his first trip. Bet his sisters gave him the Royal Tour. They are so loving with him. Lucky boy!!

Dalton is due in a bit so I had better get things ready for him. He likes something to eat after a long church service. Our baseball team is headed toward a state title and they are playing a game tomorrow so he will only be here half a day. Is it too much to hope for that, after winning the state basketball championship, that this tiny town can do it with baseball as well? Why not, it is a 'surprising little town". (that is the motto here)

Hugs, Smiles and Love to all you Suite Ladies, Linda

 

[colleen costello]

Hello Friends! Greetings from another corner of the Hoosier State. My "news" that Lisa hinted at my sharing was first that my family had made some definite plans to spend Thankgiving at WDW; and that in the last few days, I had come to my senses and now we are planning CHRISTMAS in Florida! Panicky me had a list of 100 reasons not to go at that time, mostly involving scenarios where we careen off the mountains of Tennessee in an ice storm. Once I got thinking about 2 weeks in Florida at the coldest time of the Indiana year, I started to realize the threat of such trauma should NOT keep me from Mickey. So come December 22nd, if everyone is healthy and flu-free, we'll head south. The best part is I will sleep at The Vilages every night and it is FREE! Gotta make use of those annual passes

Mom and Dad arrived in Florida Friday afternoon and my Mom was so taken with her new home -- bought sight unseen -- that she burst into tears. When the realtor came over she got some serious hugs, because she steered Mom into a house she loves. Since it is all on one floor it feels large to them, and all the stuff that's included has them thrilled. There are shiny new appliances, beautiful landscaping, garage clickers and even a sprinkler system for the lawn that can be remotely operated. It would seem these Villagers want for nothing (except, perhaps the Fountain of Youth?) and Mom says the whole place is perfect. The movers came Saturday morning and now they are having fun trying to figure out where everything goes. I have been annoying them by phone about 5 times daily, asking a million questions. It will just about kill me waiting to go down there on July 8th. We have some day trips planned to Disney and then my family will check into beautiful Beach Club Villas for 8 nights. WooHoo!

We are enjoying being lazy for the summer. We have pretty much just been hanging out. We did the local science museum and the Indy Zoo, and this week is Erin's birthday so there is a big sleepover Friday night. We'll also go to The Latest Glaze, her favorite paint-your-own pottery place. Ian starts science camp at our school tomorrow and has to take an old appliance to pull apart and use to build something new. We are having fun sleeping in and staying up late. Every summer I swear I won't let the kids stay up so late and every summer I cave in within days... It is too hard to feel sleepy at 10 when it stays light until 9:30!

Yesterday we saw CARS and it was fabulous. Fun story, beautiful animation, and the wonderful Pixar end-credit scenes that alone are worth going. I recommend it to everyone, kids or no kids.

That's all for now. I am going to catch up on my USA Today papers. There is always a pile I haven't read. Love to everyone.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Colleen, that is the best time of the year to go to DW! It is a surreal feeling to be walking right down the middle of Main Street USA with flowers blooming while attired in your short shorts with Christmas music filtering and fake snow falling on the decorations.

I love your idea of eating at O'Hana's on NYE. I doubt that any of the other Suite members could think of a better place either. There is one other place but it is not kid friendly. Wonder if they serve something special that evening? Now we have to see if we can find a fellow DISer with connections to assure you a window seat to the festivities.

Lisa, a little bird (tweet, tweet) has told me that you now have prime rooms for a happy birthday trip. I am delighted.

If there are any more dedicated DISers than here on this thread I doubt it. Someone ALWAYS is coming back, planning on going or headed to DW around here. That is what life should be.

My older boy will be back Sunday and my little sports hero scored a ribbon for 3rd place at Basketball Camp while he hit homeruns and caught high flying balls to ruin the other teams attempts at gaining first base the other night. He has just about conquered his math problem as well. He reads for an hour a day and does his math problems within a time frame so that he knows them back, front and sideways. Grandma is grateful that she has the answers. He is working his way through the library collection of movies as well as I have decreed that he can only watch NEW movies instead of the same ones over and over and over again.

Are we all watching AFI's show tonight? I bet we are, or taping it.

Yardwork to do before the show comes on. In the cool, cool of the evening, tell 'em I'll be there!!

Your odd buddy, Linda

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Oops! I forgot something. Colleen, I read Dalton what you said about them not having a Science Camp in our town because of lack of interest and he was appalled. He had not heard about it and I personally know at least six kids who would have signed up if they had known. Maybe my dd got a notice. I would have gladly driven Dalton to Bloomington but his parents would not have gone for that. Other priorities.

Bloomington is a fantasic place to raise kids, so many opportunities. My niece is getting a fabulous education there and at such a low cost as well. So many college students who tutor, for free, etc. I would have loved to have raised my kids there but it was too far for my dh to commute.

I can only guess at your mom's feelings from moving from a large (older??) home to the fresh, new and open homes at The Villages. They are nicely laid out and easy to care for. My friends have one of the Villas with no yard at all to care for just a courtyard. If I were ever lucky enough to make my home there that is all I would want. I would love to free myself from 'stuff'. I hope her mind does not boggle at the vast array of activities to choose from. Even my friends who are not social at all have joined a couple. The husband is learning to play the bagpipe of all things and he is so very shy. lol

Hugs and Smiles, Linda

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I just got some good news and wanted to share it with someone. One of my sisters has a daughter, only child, who has not been in contact with her in nearly two years (yes, it runs in the family). Anyway the daughter contacted her the other day so my sister and her husband knew that another sister was visiting the Niagara/NYC area in NY this weekend for her birthday so they called her and sent the daughter a bus ticket so they could meet. Another sister asked to ride along with her husband and they all had a nice reunion. Things are still not perfect, far from it, but it is good news nonetheless.

So, Lisa, if the ground has been shaking in your neck of the woods you can chalk it up to the fact that 3 of my siblings and assorted other family members were in your area this week.

Hugs and great big smiles, Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! All these posts!!! I'm so sorry that I haven't been in touch - I haven't had a chance to get to the Boards until now, and I guess I wasn't receiving my e-mail notices when someone posted to this thread, because I had no idea that there were all of these wonderful new posts, here! So sorry about that, Everyone!

Welcome back, Becki! I imagine that you and your family are back, by now, and we can't wait to hear all about your WDW adventures!

And Colleen and her family are "next up", in just a few weeks! As you said, Linda, it's great that there is always someone in our Suite leaving for or coming back from WDW, all the time, so we always have lots of special vacation memories and experiences / tips to share! And then, after Colleen, you and Tom are "up next", Linda!

And yes, Frank and I will be "up" after that (how do you like all these baseball metaphors? Can't help but think about the sport, since our Mets are in FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!! ), thanks to a very special opportunity offered to us by a very special person! I will not elaborate, here, unless / until such special person steps forward and gives me permission to reveal her great act of kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity publicly, on these Boards! Suffice it to say, we will be celebrating my 40th Birthday in style, at WDW in January! (THANK YOU, very special person! ) !!!!!!!!!!

We will not be stopping at WDW before our cruise on the Magic next summer, Linda - we're flying directly to Barcelona and the cruise leaves from there (Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia first, then the South of France and Monte Carlo, then back to Barcelona!). But Mickey and friends will be aboard and I'm sure that the Disney magic will abound on the high seas! (It would be neat if one of the French ports / shore excursions was Disneyland Paris / Disney Studios Paris........but I suspect that they are located too far inland to reasonably be considered for one-day outings.)

Speaking of Disney magic in places other than Florida, we saw "Tarzan" on Broadway, last weekend. It was very good and we enjoyed it, but we didn't think that it was as good, overall as the Broadway productions of "Beauty and the Beast" or "The Lion King" (or "Aida", which we also saw, years ago). The Phil Collins songs that are heard in the movie version of "Tarzan" were the best and most memorable in the show - none of the other songs really stood out - but the performances were all very good. (The actor playing the title role is apparently a former "American Idol" finalist.) The second act opened with a very lively production number of "Trashin' the Camp" and "Strangers Like Me" was always my favorite song from the score! We have a feeling that "Mary Poppins" will be much better - Frank got us tickets for the weekend after it opens on Broadway in October - it's gotten fantastic reviews in London's West End, where it has been playing for awhile.

Thanks for sharing that special news about your family's reunion in NY, Linda! (As well as all of the other special family news that you've been sharing, over the past week, that I'm just catching up on now, while reading your recent posts!) That is so nice - it's great that your sisters and their spouses / daughter / niece had a chance to all get together, like that!

And thanks so much for your kind invitation to stay with you, should we ever be in the greater Indiana area. You never know..........we just might take you up on that, one of these days! Seriously, we would never want to impose - we would just want the pleasure of your company, as well as the company of the other fine Indiana ladies on this thread and their wonderful families, too!

So glad to hear that your parents are all settled in and are loving their new home in Florida, Colleen! And we are so excited about your plans to spend the winter holidays in our favorite place.........much less the vacation that awaits you there, in just a few weeks! Can't wait to hear about all of your plans, as they unfold!

And a special EWP Suite Happy Birthday to Erin!!!! We will have to plan a party for her, here in the Suite, tonight, as she had her local party in Indiana last night and this morning!

Well, time to get a few "responsible" things done, now! We're having my father and uncle over for a Father's Day BBQ tomorrow and Frank has diligently been working away, cleaning the house.........while I've been sitting here typing! I really should go and help out, now...........!

Hope that all is well with all of you and hope that you're all having a great weekend! Happy Father's Day to Tom, Scott, and Mark! Lots of love to you all and talk to you soon!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hi there Lisa! I already know your secret. Do we not have the best and nicest people in our area of the World? It is especially wonderful that it works so well for both you and Colleen.

I have a bit of magic as well as a dear friend wants to buy my car which will give me a bit more money toward the new one as they are paying more than the dealer would but far less than they would have to if buying from the dealer. She knows how I take care of my car and since she has often riden in it she knows how it runs.

Go Mets!! Sports metaphors are appropriate for our group. We are always making a "Home Run" to our second home DW. We 'score' ADR's. Mickey is our "MVP". When a good code comes out it is a "Hit". On our way down we "Run" for the border. We all have our favorite resort as "Home Base". We take lots of "Pitchers". However we never make the "Error" of missing a year.

It would be silly for you and Frank to stay elsewhere than here if you decide to grace us even though I am not up to your usual standards because I am near the epicenter of the other gals, have loads and loads of room and am extremely reasonable (pricewise at any rate) We could even pick a time when Tom is visiting so we could actually just sit and gab. One giant EWP pajama party. Won't the rest of the Boards be jealous??

When I was daydreaming about my England trip I had checked into a tour that included a day at DL Paris. Did I tell you that one of my sisters is now going to England next year. I am sure there is a tiny bit of sibling rivalry there but if I cannot go I am surely glad that she can. If Frank gets a taste of the Continent he may want to go back for an extended stay and you will get your DL Paris fix then. There are self catering options where you can rent a home for an extended time and then take day trips (easy in Europe) and if I am ever accorded the possiblity I will do that myself. Doubt it but one can dream.

I am sorry to hear that "Tarzan' was not quite up to speed. I would trust your review as you are an expert on such. I have never gone to a Broadway type play that I did not enjoy and think worth the bucks but I choose carefully as we do not have money to waste. I HAVE gone to many a dollar movie that was a waste of time and money though. I saw that I can buy a DVD of "Rent" for under $10 this week. I have quite a collection of musicals. I love them, as does Dalton, and watch them over and over. I watched "Terminal" last night and it was a cute movie. Not great but then I borrowed it from the library for free so I do not care.

My big boy comes home today. He called me from W Va the other night and I was so pleased. He had a happening and got hurt a bit. A man in the community, who we later found out had killed his parents years ago, screamed at him when Austin approached him and said he wanted to kill all white people and Austin took off running and snagged his leg on a fence. A nice lady in the community took care of him. I will have to get her name and address and thank her for taking care of my boy. He has learned many useful lessons on this trip. After visiting with one family and seeing how some children have to live he called his parents to thank them. It is scary to turn your loved ones loose in the world but so necessary. I would not be surprised to find him over here tonight looking for a place to sleep.

Tell Frank that real men do housework and they often remain 'husbands' rather than 'ex husbands". lol You got yourself a good one and he did not do so badly himself.

It is going to pour down here today so I hope to get some of the tougher weeds out when the ground loosens up. My little guy comes after church and spends the day tomorrow so not much in the way of house or yardwork gets done then.

Dear Erin, please send your requests to the Suite and we will plan the evening around your wishes. I know that you will pick the very best things to do and we will greatly enjoy the view, through your eyes. Any favorite foods? The fellows will gladly comply with your requests as they do for us. Happy Birthday!!

Love, Linda

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

A teeny weeny minnie EWP Suite meet was held in my small town tonight. Just as I was headed out the back door the phone rang and it was our Becki. She had a few minutes to spare and was going to honor me with a visit.

Since I was leaving to go to Dalton's ballgame she offered to meet me over there and she even stayed for about an inning. Dalton did not disappoint as he managed to get an out and a hit or two while she was there. His best work came later in the game but she, and you all will have to take my word for it.

It was fun hearing a mini report on their recent visit. I will leave it to her to elucidate upon the details later.

I am off on an adventure tomorrow as we have decided to buy a new car. I have sold my old one to a friend. I took it in for her husband to look over today and after test driving it he told me that he liked it but could not give me what he had previously offered. He said he would have to give me MORE. Yea!! Now I can afford to put gas in my new vehicle.

I have researched it all to a farethewell and hope to luck into a desperate salesman who will not take up too many hours of my time or many of my hard saved bucks.

Thanks Becki and I hope to have more visits from you this summer. I am usually home, honestly!

See you all later, Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi Everyone!

Hi Linda! Lots of good luck with your car shopping, today! You'll have to check in with us and report back to let us know how it went! Are you sticking with Toyota? Do you have a particular model in mind? And congratulations on the sale of your car........and the great "deal" that you got! It's wonderful that you wound up getting even more for it than you expected!

So glad to hear that you and Becki were able to meet up, last night! Can't wait to hear her trip report! And I'm sure that Dalton did a great job in his game (HE is our Suite MVP! ), too! And glad to hear that Austin had a good and productive trip to W. VA. (sorry to hear that he got hurt, though - that sounds pretty scary!) I'm sure that it was a great experience for him!

I like the idea of an EWP Suite slumber party! Maybe we can do that, sometime..........heck, maybe we can do it in FLORIDA, some time! One can dream...........!

I loved all of your Suite baseball metaphors! Very good!

When is your planned trip to England? Would that be next (2007) spring or summer? I know that you and Tom are going to WDW in the fall..........somehow I think it's about 6 months after that.........

In the mean time, as we await Becki's return to tell us all about her vacation, soon we will have another Suite BON VOYAGE party, as Colleen and her family will be heading to "THE PROMISED LAND" in just 2 weeks! We're so lucky - we're going to have all sorts of WDW vacation memories to hear about and share, over the course of the next few weeks!

Not too much to report from the Garden State. We're in a bit of a panic, today - we're having the first of 2 long-planned 45th Birthday parties for Frank, tomorrow. Even though his actual Birthday was back in March, we planned one party in June and one party in July, so that we would be "assured" nice weather and would be able to use our deck (since our townhouse becomes very "cozy" when lots of people have to squeeze inside at the same time). Well, wouldn't you know, they're predicting thunderstorms, flash flood watches, and just general-all-around HORRIBLE weather for tomorrow! We were going to spend all day today getting the deck ready, bringing out more outdoor furniture, the coolers, the cushions for the "real" deck furniture, etc............but now we can't do that because it may rain TODAY, too! ARRRRGGGHHHH! I'm really hoping that it won't rain ALL DAY long, tomorrow and that we can at least use the deck for part of the day. We HAVE had many more than the 20 people whom we are expecting tomorrow, in our house at once. After my mother's funeral, I could swear that we had at least 35 - 40 people in our living room, kitchen, and dining room, and somehow they all seemed to fit! We'll see..........it will be an "adventure", tomorrow!

In the mean time, we found out that we need to get a new furnace, yesterday. UGH - another unanticipated expense (but when ARE they "anticipated", anyway? ). I guess it's "time", seeing as how the one we have now is the original from when the house was built (19 years ago). At least we got the A.C. fan working well enough to tide us through the summer.........then we can replace it in the fall..........along with our dishwasher, that also needs replacing.........and the kitchen faucets that we just had replaced...........! And I thought that our only upcoming "expense" would be our final DCL deposit for the BIG CRUISE, next year............(oh yeah, and that "little thing" called tuition, too! )! Oh well, these things happen, I guess!

Anyway, now that I've stopped into the Suite to "complain" about the weather and the state of our household appliances.........)) time to get moving and start dusting! We need the inside of the house to be extra clean and nice, if people will be confined to it, tomorrow!

Hope that all is well with all of you, and hope that you all have a great weekend!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hi there Lisa! Yep, I am shopping for another Camry. It will be the 4th I have had. I would be a fool to jump ship when I have had such great luck with them. Not sure I like some of the new features but I am sure I can adjust. I did not buy one yesterday as they are being stubborn on price. That is what you get when you want something everyone else wants too but I am patient and will get what I want, eventually. Not at the one dealership I went to yesterday. Can you believe that I had FIVE of the men standing around trying to intimidate me into thinking they were giving me a 'good' deal? The numbers do not lie and their figures were $1500 off the mark. When I questioned different things it was laughable. One charge had some letters and they told me that they did not know what they meant but they HAD to charge it. They had the cojones to actually ADD the holdback a second time rather than deducting it and then to add insult to injury they tried to add on almost $100 for the FREE tank of gas listed on the sticker price. It was almost worth the pain for the laughter I am getting from thinking about it. No wonder many people do not buy cars more often. It is a pain. I do have two dealerships that are close to my price and one of these fine days when they are short a sale they will call. They always do.

It was so nice to see Becki and so very nice of her to take time out to watch my Dalton for a bit. She was able to see the great respect he has for his dear grandma. Yes, Austin learned many lessons. He still has a few more to learn though. I love my redneck grandson even though I fear for his future many a time.

My England trip has been long ago cancelled. It near broke my heart but then I was wise enough to know from the start that it was a long shot that it would work out. Too many complications. My English friend is very sick too. I am worried about her. She is a DISer.

Oh, my! I do hope the weather cooperated. Maybe a tad bit of rain early on so that it was nice and cool and comfortable for the festivities and nothing else. I know what this house gets like when we have a large amount of people and we have many rooms. Of course your visitors are probably paper trained and that would help considerably. I like the idea of one long drawn out celebration for BD's and such. Dorthea often had celebrations six months after the fact. Yesterday was her birthday. She has still not been laid to rest. What chance do the rest of us poor mortals have when such a wonderous woman as she is not accorded the respect she so well deserved? I am being sprinkled on my bil's farm. He thinks I am asking for that as a joke on him. He is right.

Please let us know how the party went. I cannot imagine a party being given by you being less than stellar anyway and the thought of the food served just made me gain 5 pounds.

From the sound of things you should just make a list and g et it all done at once and thus not prolong the pain. I put aside an amount each year to cover upcoming expenses and that helps some but that is now. In my younger days i t was a challenge to just be able to keep up day by day. Somehow we managed but I sort of remember the pain. Have you seen those new furnaces that are an elec/gas combo so you can switch between according to the fuel bills? Interesting but so new it would be hard to know if they are reliable or not. It does you no good to save on the fuel if you have extra repair bills. I try to comfort myself with the fact that we CAN (somehow sometimes) afford to fix or replace things. It takes a bit of the sting out. I am currently figuring out the money on buying a new car, replacing the garage roof, new hearing aid for me and glasses for Tom (no insurance on these things). Somehow the balance due on the Disney vacation does not bother me as much. Some things are fun to buy.

I am headed out in a bit as I want to drop by a dealership down the road and see if they happen to have a Desert Sand colored car for me. We are going to see Randy Travis tonight and we have prime seats, thanks to my bil. It is the late show so I will be one worn out gal by the time we get back home. I may sleep in until 7:30 tomorrow.

Hey Becki and Colleen!! Are you guys having a good weekend? Keeping out of trouble (or at least not getting caught?) Keep those reports coming in so that I can get ideas for my trip. Since they are closing Millionaire I find that I now have time on my hands that I had not thought of having. I am so sad.

Hugs and Smiles, Linda

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Dear Lisa and Frank

I am hoping this will find you and yours high and dry. It sounds like one big mess out your way.

Just thought I would drop a note as I was thinking of you.

We are off for fireworks in a bit. There is a slight chance that Becki might join us.

Hugs, Linda