February 28, 2009 Bushwacker Banditos Magical Cruise

[donmil723]

It's been a long week around here. One of my son's best friends was killed in a car wreck early Sunday morning. Both the driver and my son's friend survived the crash but his friend was pinned in the car and it caught on fire. He was only 26 and leaves behind a wife and 3 year old daughter. He just married his long time girlfriend and mother of his daughter, 8 weeks ago.

My son had been at his house with him a few minutes before it happened. His friend and another guy left for a spin in the car the other guy had just bought and my son went home. Thank God!!!!

Please say a prayer for him and his family! Thank you!

 

[3Charbys]

Donna how tragic!! Our condolences to the families!!
Wishing you better days soon.

Wanda♥

 

[donmil723]

Thanks, Wanda!

I am feeling much better today. The sun is shining, temps are supposed to be about 70 degrees, and its SATURDAY!

Has everyone heard about the $99 bounceback offer from DCL? For those taking a 4 or 7 night DCL cruise between 1/31/09 and 3/8/09 (YES, OUR CRUISE IS INCLUDED IN THIS OFFER), you can take a 3 night cruise between 8/13/09 and 12/17/09 for $99 per person. I am so excited!!! Usually, I don't ever get these offers!!!! DH and I were planning on going back to WDW in December, 2009 so I hope we can get on one of 3 night cruises offered in 12/09.

Hope everyone had a safe Halloween and didn't eat too much candy.

 

[atinkerbellmom]

Donna- I am sooo sorry to hear about the other families and this tragic event. I will be praying for them. Yes, thank God your son was not in the accident, even though I do realize the impact it has on him. I wil say a prayer for him as well.

 

[Johnna_Story]

First - Donna, so sorry to hear about that tragedy. It's so upsetting when a life is lost too early.

So - hopefully these pix from yesterday will lighten the mood a bit!

 

[mark_story]

First - Donna, so sorry to hear about that tragedy. It's so upsetting when a life is lost too early.

So - hopefully these pix from yesterday will lighten the mood a bit!

..and there must have been several cameras on me..

 

[3Charbys]

Our Halloween picture...

Presenting the Pirate, the Unicorn (with the magic horn ) and the Spider Queen....

 

[donmil723]

Thanks Tinker and Johnna for the well wishes.

I love the Halloween pictures! Here is a picture of DH and I as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head from MNSSHP. DH is such a good sport!

 

[ejkjmom]

What Great pictures from all of you!!!!!!! Thanks for posting them

We had great weather for Trick or Treat night...and the kids all had a great time, Emily (15) had her friends over and they answered the door, it was getting pretty crazy before the night was over, as the girls all start getting goofy as the night went on (picture 7... 15 year old girls together )

Kaylee (11) and her friend went out and trick or treated in the neighborhood, Halloween is much easier now that the girls are older, I can remember loading and unloading them up in the car, buckling them in...unbuckling them
Now we just turn them loose LOL!!!!!!

We always keep track (the best we can) of how many kids we get and this year we had 156 give or take a few...last year we had right at 200, so our numbers were down this year I figured with the weather and it being Friday night we would have had more, I planned for 250 kids...
so can you guess where all the leftover candy is going....if you said MY HIPS you are right!!!!!

Donna, sorry to hear about your week last week...how tragic

Mark 10 pounds????? People must use the WIDE lens when they take a picture of me, because the camera always adds at least 20 pounds to all my pictures LOL!!!!

Johanna...the girls LOVED the Halloween pictures of the kids...you can imagine what they said when they saw it....Ahhhhhhhhhhh look at Katie..she is so cute and they loved Ryan's club

Tink...hows the house going, would love to see pictures, I know that you have to be crazy busy right now...hang in there

And to everyone else....hope you all had a great halloween/weekend, and your Monday is off to a good start

Brenda

 

[3Charbys]

OOHH!!! Donna I love your Potatoe Head costumes!! How fun!!

Thanks for posting your pix!!

Wanda

 

[DMMarla07860]

hey guys, so tonight I'm going to see NJ Nets vs Suns should be awesome

I'll post pictures from it tomorrow

 

[tevagirl]

Hello

Just popping in to make sure you all know about the Bounce Back offer. Our cruise qualifies us.

http://wdwinfo.com/discounts/discounts-cruise.htm

Hope every one is well and you had a good summer. (And hoping the next few months go fast!)

 

[3Charbys]

Happy Wednesday!!

It's Hump day!! Weekend is almost here!

Have a good one all!

Wanda

 

[Johnna_Story]

I know it's a huge hot topic, but let's try not to inject politics into this fun group. It's such a potentially divisive topic and I'd hate for our group to get divided by it.

Maybe being in DC, I'm overly sensitive to this topic - it's all EVERYBODY talks about, so I look forward to these boards being a respite from all that.

And it's only 114 days until we're on the MAGIC!! Time to start shopping now...

Cheers! Johnna

 

[3Charbys]

Ugh! Winter arrived today here in southern Alberta! Snow overnight and still falling. Just about 4 inches now, I cancelled my appointment in downtown Calgary as people tend to forget how to drive on these first few days with snow on the road!!

Have a great day all!

Wanda

 

[Johnna_Story]

Ugh! Winter arrived today here in southern Alberta! Snow overnight and still falling. Just about 4 inches now, I cancelled my appointment in downtown Calgary as people tend to forget how to drive on these first few days with snow on the road!!

Have a great day all!

Wanda

EEK!! Snow!?!?! Can't believe it. Would rather be at Castaway Cay!!!

 

[vanessa3198]

Hi all!

I hope everyone is doing well!

I was hoping all you repeat cruisers can help this rookie cruiser out!

Is there a list of things you HAVE to pack with you and can't cruise without?
I've been trying to get a list together of the stuff I think I'm gonna need and I've gone through the list that's in the Passporters book, but I still feel like there's something missing.

I don't want to leave my house on February 27th with that "I know I forgot something" feeling, ya know? I don't want to forget anything but then I don't want to overpack. I ALWAYS overpack when we go on trips and my hubby gets mad at me cause he's the one who has to load everything!

Oh, and do you guys usually get REALLY dressed up with tuxedos and pretty gowns for formal night? Or do you go the suit and tie and nice dresses?

I think I remember too reading that it's supposed to be 2 suitcases per person right? Is that enough room for everything you need?
I think I'm the worst overpacker EVER and I'm worried about whether or not I'll have enough room to pack everything I THINK we'll need for 7 days!

Help!

 

[RookieMouse]

Ugh! Winter arrived today here in southern Alberta! Snow overnight and still falling. Just about 4 inches now, I cancelled my appointment in downtown Calgary as people tend to forget how to drive on these first few days with snow on the road!!

Have a great day all!

Wanda

Can I gloat? Winter hasn't arrived yet in NORTHERN Alberta... but I don't think it's far away.

I'll post a couple of pictures of our kids in their Halloween costumes. They were very "Disneyesque" in their themes... Dale was a pirate and Sarah was a princess.

Donna, our prayers are with your son and his friend's family. It's things like this that remind us how precious every moment together really is...

I love the Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead costumes... priceless!!!

Brenda, we hardly had any kids at our place this year, numbers have been steadily dropping for a few years. Fortunately (or unfortunately perhaps), we have learned to buy Halloween candy that WE like.

I have not forgotten my task to post a larger sign for the door magnets. Things have been rather busy here lately, and will get moreso soon. DW leaves next Wednesday for a two week professional/cultural exchange trip to Rwanda. It is through the People-to-People Citizen Ambassadors Program and is sponsored by the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. That will leave me home playing Mr. Mom to 2 kids and trying to work as well... suffice it to say, she better bring me back something nice...

Later all... I'm going to start looking at dates for taking the $99 cruise

John

 

[Johnna_Story]

Is there a list of things you HAVE to pack with you and can't cruise without?
I've been trying to get a list together of the stuff I think I'm gonna need and I've gone through the list that's in the Passporters book, but I still feel like there's something missing.
I don't want to leave my house on February 27th with that "I know I forgot something" feeling, ya know? I don't want to forget anything but then I don't want to overpack. I ALWAYS overpack when we go on trips and my hubby gets mad at me cause he's the one who has to load everything!

Vanessa: There is a list on the main boards - lots of tips on one of the "sticky" messages at the top. But here's my short list:

Over the door shoe hanger - keeps the small stuff organized - sunglasses, key cards, suntan lotion, shoes, toys, etc.
Basic medicine for kids: tylenol, benadryl, bonine/dramamine, cough medicine,
power strip (there's only two outlets in the room - you need more)
camera - and extra memory card
video camera
2 bathing suits per person
CLOTHES, CLOTHES, CLOTHES; shoes shoes shoes

And in FLA before we board, we usually pick up the suntan lotion, and some wine since you can't travel with that.

Oh, and do you guys usually get REALLY dressed up with tuxedos and pretty gowns for formal night? Or do you go the suit and tie and nice dresses?

We usually get really dressed up - Mark owns a tux, so we bring it. I typically wear a cocktail dress, not a long formal one. Depends on what's on sale when it's time to shop! As for the kids - Ryan usually wears a shirt and tie - but no jacket; not worth the expense. Katie wears one of her princess gowns.

I think I remember too reading that it's supposed to be 2 suitcases per person right? Is that enough room for everything you need? I think I'm the worst overpacker EVER and I'm worried about whether or not I'll have enough room to pack everything I THINK we'll need for 7 days!

Help!

2 suitcases per person!?!?! That's WAY too much - maybe two carryon size ones, but not two big ones. We usually have one big one for each adult, and the kids split a big one. Plus carryons. And you're not the worst overpacker EVER - you've got stiff competition from me and Tink!! Just keep in mind that a lot of airlines charge for overweight bags and for all checked bags, so that may be additional incentive to pack lightly.

Different people have different philosophies on packing - I always wind up taking home some clothes not worn, but I can't do the "lay everything out that you think you need and put half of it away" or "take one pair of black pants and shoes, and then all different tops for dinners" - that doesn't work for me. I'm not going to wear the same pants each night - I like variety in my wardrobe. So I've pared down each year, but I still take too much. I just can't help myself.

Hope that helps!! Happy to give any advice I can!

 

[donmil723]

Thanks again everyone for the thoughts and prayers for our son and his friend's family. Time helps heal....

Johnna, I agree that I don't want to talk politics! I am just thankful that we don't have to watch or listen to any more political ads for awhile. Of course, that might mean we will have to listen to more news reports about the economy or the war. How depressing! Let's talk about shopping or the beautiful weather we are going to have on our cruise or the clothes we're going to pack or...

For formal night, I will be wearing the dress I wore at my son's wedding and DH will wear a suit. For semi-formal night, I'm planning on wearing a red sequined top with black cocktail pants and DH will just wear a shirt and tie. I doubt if I can get him into a suit both nights.

I'm planning on taking a suitcase for each DH and I plus a garment bag for our dressy clothes and shoes. We'll each have a small carry on too. I'd rather pack too much and not use it than not have something I wish I would have packed. We will be spending 2-3 nights at the AKV after the cruise too.

How do you all feel about dressy jeans at dinner? I have a pair of very dark GAP essential jeans that I thought about wearing with a satin blouse for one of the casual nights.

Wanda, you have my sympathy that snow is falling where you live. We have been having gorgeous weather here in mid-MO. Upper 70's for the past several days. I've been wearing shorts!!!! Unfortunately, it is supposed to start cooling down tomorrow and by Friday the highs will only be in the 40s.

John, you have my sympathy too and my utmost respect for being Mr. Mom for two weeks! My DH would never have attempted that!!!!! What an awesome opportunity for your wife.

Hopefully, we will be taking advantage of that $99 bounceback offer. We hope to take either the 12/3 or 12/10 cruise and stay at WDW using our DVC points from 12/6-12/10. I'd prefer the 12/3 cruise so we can stay at WDW after the cruise but the 12/10 cruise would be okay too.

Have a good evening!