May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 7

[nskjerven]

How was the wedding Holly? How was the driving? Glad you made it home safely.

 

[nskjerven]

Here's one from our Xmas 2005 cruise

yes that's her first AG Doll, Molly Doll, she liked Minnie Mouse too, can you tell?

 

[HollyTyler]

LOL...when I saw this post I told John....you think I got it bad with the DIS....It's like 5am and Holly is about to leave, but she had to stop by one last time.....John said, so....I can see you DISing from the car on the ride down to FL....I said of course I will be! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL! Yup, we're pathetic, aren't we? True addicts!

Glad you and John had a nice, quiet, relaxing anniversary celebration. I love The Last Mimzy! It was one of the rare movies that Tyler wanted to watch over and over. We were both fascinated!

Lisa: Glad you had a nice visit with your son!

Deborah: I love the pics of you with your friends! Looks like you all had a great time!

 

[HollyTyler]

There is probably no way I will catch up here.

Busy weekend for us. DD#1, Mom, Sis and our very dear friends had a "surprise" 40th anniversary party for us last night. We found out it was happening, so not a surprise, but fun. We had about 70 some guests, renewed our vows with a minister we love, had a karoke/DJ, danced, ate and Dennis sang. A few tears, many hugs. Best friend came from Idaho and he took photos for us. Dennis' sis and hubby came from Southen Cal, nieces and nephews from Washington and local family and friends.

Our anniversary is not until next weekend, but we plan to take the MH out for a couple of nights to celebrate so the group decided to party the week before.

21 of us went to breakfast this morning, unannounced at our local fav breakfast restaurant. They had us seated within 30 min on a busy Sunday morning, got the orders correct and did it with a smile.

I'm so glad to hear everything went well! Sounds like a wonderful time.....tons of guests! Vow renewal---so romatic!

 

[tink1963]

Ok I had to take a break from work to post about my conversation with our school's vice-principal regarding STAR testing!!

The first thing he said after I explained about the cruise: "well, how can we expect any good results from a little boy taking the test when it meant he couldn't be with Mickey and on the Disney cruise?" I love our school!

He didn't give me a Good Housekeeping stamp of approval, but basically he said you have three options: take it early, ask for an exemption (which we will get), or just don't show up. He said "kids come to school during testing and they are sick and we send them home. There is no STAR police that will come visit."

He did say other things like the test gives us an idea how things are going, but he said for our 4th grader he didn't think it would mean anything different than his 3rd grade results. With the 2nd grader, he said that we just wouldn't have that base line for him. But we know how he is doing academically, which seems to be going well. He told me that I shouldn't tell anyone because if everyone asked for an exemption, then he'd have problems. Then he said "Have a good time!" The VERY best thing about this: this means my kids will have NO homework to make up since the testing will be happening while they are on the cruise. We will chose the exemption - I don't think my kids would fair well taking the test all by themselves. Too stressful, life is short, and WE ARE GOING ON TO TAKE THE MAGIC TO CALIFORNIA!

I love our school, I love our school....

That's great news.

 

[HollyTyler]

It's officially Oct 1st so I got on the scale....I lost 16 lbs....remember 13 of those are water weight gain from the fluids in the hospital...3 of them are real weight loss. For my first month, I'm very happy. I'll continue to do diettogo food because it really tastes good and it's so easy to do.....so hopefully, I'll have repeated success. Jackie if you decide to do it, PM me before you order because they give you a bonus for a referral.

WOOHOO!!! Great job Deb!

 

[fourmcds]

The news is not good this evening. The kids and my bro and his wife talked with the doc today and they are less than hopeful. They say she is not a candidate for dialysis again as she has systemic infections that are not responding to any antibiotic they have hit it with. Her PH is dropping, acidity rising, Blood sugars up, blood pressure down, breathing shallow and kidneys failing. The doc asked her if she wants them to recussitate if/when her heart stops and she just replied "I don't want to die." Which is all she has said most of the day, except to say "I hurt." My heart is just breaking for my big brother. It will likely be a slow process, but inevidible.

Angie, I am so sorry to hear this. and for you and your family.

 

[fourmcds]

Yup, this is the same response I've gotten from both Wil's principal and Molly's too. Molly's teacher (who is a POC fan) suggested that she could do her class project on the P Canal instead of the Revolutionary War like the rest of the class if she wanted. I think I will have Molly & Wilson enjoy the bliss of "nothingness" during vacation if the dates are identical to the test also. I really dread making them work while I'm on vacation.\Later,

Nan

When I told Jaide's teacher at curriculum night, she was very jealous and thought it was great. After the WASL testing is over (our window is up 5/2) the students in her class all do a power point presentation. Tracy decided that Jaide's is going to be on the PC and she will present it when she gets home. That will be her homework for the cruise! The class is also going to study a bit about it and try and watch some of the webcams as the ship goes through the canal that day.

 

[fourmcds]

I don't want you to think I am hateful to them, I am not...my stomach is just on instant upset when they are around. My MIL thinks nothing of coming into our home and starting to clean things....you know, implying we are less than the best housekeeps..but hey, it's evidence of life right?
And she is from the negative batch about everything....why on earth would we get a pool, why on earth do we take time off. I love them with all their quirks I just wish they would be more interested in us and the girls.
:

V...I could tell in your posts you are not hateful. I completely understand that "nausea" that comes with the thought of a visit from the IL's. My IL's are very self-centered people who really only care about themselves and their world. I am sure we could swap some "great" IL stories My IL's saw our new house the first time and said: well, looks like you have your work cut out for you! (never have they said how happy they were for us or how great the house looks now with all the work we have done to it...didn't even say a word about the girls' bedrooms. oh well, I am used to it now and just take lots of deep breaths when they are around...but I really like the idea of wine shots, )

 

[fourmcds]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all those in the last few days and upcoming weeks!

Welcome home Holly...hope the wedding was great.

V...I can't believe that was Samantha, you can certainly see the similarities between your girls! They are both adorable!

 

[fourmcds]

Here's one from our Xmas 2005 cruise
yes that's her first AG Doll, Molly Doll, she liked Minnie Mouse too, can you tell?

What a great picture Nan! My girls have that same minnie dress for their AG dolls too

 

[mishoe01]

Ok - here are some pics from yesterday....

A little purple dragon....

With a Figment of my imagination....

 

[mishoe01]

 

[HollyTyler]

Well, we guess we will come out of hiding after our very disheartening loss to Cal. Boy, we really are kind of depressed. Probably would be different if we weren't the better team and had lost. Four stupid turnovers! Cal had none and we still lost on a fumble at the goal line with 22 seconds left. Should have won, but most move on.

Really we have just been busy getting ready for our upcoming cruise on the Magic. Only three more days! Think we have pretty much finished packing, it just always seems like we are forgetting something. Guess as long as we are on the boat that is all that matters! The girls are really excited. Jenna has been telling everyone in class that she gets an extra day for Fall break. Which leads to this question - everywhere we have lived before, we didn't have a Fall break. Does Arizona have the only school system that does this? We can't be the only state! Not going to complain, allows for a great excuse for a family vacation.

Don't know if we mentioned this before, but THANK YOU for all the advice on Kayla getting her ears pierced. We decided to wait until we return - she is bent on having them done, so we made a deal!

No fall break here, but I sure wish we did! What a great time to vacation!

 

[Jhalkias]

The news is not good this evening. The kids and my bro and his wife talked with the doc today and they are less than hopeful. They say she is not a candidate for dialysis again as she has systemic infections that are not responding to any antibiotic they have hit it with. Her PH is dropping, acidity rising, Blood sugars up, blood pressure down, breathing shallow and kidneys failing. The doc asked her if she wants them to recussitate if/when her heart stops and she just replied "I don't want to die." Which is all she has said most of the day, except to say "I hurt." My heart is just breaking for my big brother. It will likely be a slow process, but inevidible.

What a heartbreak Angie . . . I really don't know what else to say . . .

 

[Jhalkias]

I don't want you to think I am hateful to them, I am not...my stomach is just on instant upset when they are around. My MIL thinks nothing of coming into our home and starting to clean things....you know, implying we are less than the best housekeeps..but hey, it's evidence of life right?
And she is from the negative batch about everything....why on earth would we get a pool, why on earth do we take time off. I love them with all their quirks I just wish they would be more interested in us and the girls.
:

I know exactly how you feel . . . all I do is keep telling myself, when I am in this same position, I will not act this way. I could go on and on about family, and how difficult it sometimes is, but I would fill too many pages.

Sometimes you just wish they would concentrate on all the postive things instead of dwelling on their perception of the negative. Sometimes you wonder (even though you love them unconditionally) how you can be related and yet be so different. Sometimes I feel like I have found more family in my friends here.

We all struggle I am afraid with the same issues. I guess there is a bit of comfort in that truth.

 

[Jhalkias]

Here's one from our Xmas 2005 cruise

yes that's her first AG Doll, Molly Doll, she liked Minnie Mouse too, can you tell?

That is a Super Cute picture Nan!

 

[fourmcds]

I know exactly how you feel . . . all I do is keep telling myself, when I am in this same position, I will not act this way. I could go on and on about family, and how difficult it sometimes is, but I would fill too many pages.

Sometimes you just wish they would concentrate on all the postive things instead of dwelling on their perception of the negative. Sometimes you wonder (even though you love them unconditionally) how you can be related and yet be so different. Sometimes I feel like I have found more family in my friends here.

We all struggle I am afraid with the same issues. I guess there is a bit of comfort in that truth.

Very well said John. Scott and I always tell eachother how we must remember X or Y so that we won't repeat the same things when our girls are older! As the saying goes, you can choose your friends but not your family!

 

[Jhalkias]

When I told Jaide's teacher at curriculum night, she was very jealous and thought it was great. After the WASL testing is over (our window is up 5/2) the students in her class all do a power point presentation. Tracy decided that Jaide's is going to be on the PC and she will present it when she gets home. That will be her homework for the cruise! The class is also going to study a bit about it and try and watch some of the webcams as the ship goes through the canal that day.

We broke the news to Sophia's teacher at conferences last week. (of course, I had already spoken to our Superintendent about it - since I am on the board). She seemed almost as excited as we were. I think it is a great idea to get the class involved too. I think that would be really cool. She said Sophia is doing so well that there is no cause to worry, and it will further broaden her already hungry interest in Social Studies.

 

[nskjerven]

I know exactly how you feel . . . all I do is keep telling myself, when I am in this same position, I will not act this way. I could go on and on about family, and how difficult it sometimes is, but I would fill too many pages.

Sometimes you just wish they would concentrate on all the postive things instead of dwelling on their perception of the negative. Sometimes you wonder (even though you love them unconditionally) how you can be related and yet be so different. Sometimes I feel like I have found more family in my friends here.

We all struggle I am afraid with the same issues. I guess there is a bit of comfort in that truth.

I think you nailed that one John. I have another one of those MIL & FIL situtations that isn't great. Too sad to go into it right now, enough to tell you that they didn't even know that my mom was ill until the night before, because I have been the DIL that is not being spoken to at the moment. I had Paul call them the night before as I didn't want them to hear the news if it was the worst the next day. You my friends on the other hand have been with me thru the whole event. Thanks friends!!!