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

[lillygator]

ok, in talking with my mom lately and how she is having Thanksgiving for "her side of the family" I decided this is the year I stop walking on eggshells and put my foot down that we are spending time with my father and while she is more than welcome at any time she will just have to deal with it.....I posted a long thread on the CB about my family and while I can't expect her to spend time with an ex, I can expect her to be adult about the situation and accept that I see my father and is a part of our life.

 

[lillygator]

so for once I am excited about the holidays. We'll have my inlaws and my dad and pat for thanksgiving, we'll eat around 1 and then I think we'll host an open house for our freinds and family throughout the rest of the day. I printed off lots of Tgiving coloring pages and activities for the kids. I am going to have the girls make some place holders and I think I would like to buy a thich inexpensive tablecloth and have some markers around and have everyone write something on it they are thankful for this year. And then bring it out every year.

 

[lillygator]

so now I am diving into appetizer and holiday menus!

 

[lillygator]

what is everyone's holiday favorite recipe?

 

[MrsMork]

It depends on what ship he gets on. Before 911.....he worked on a cruise ship that toured the hawaiian islands for over ten years....after 911 they went bankrupt and he was back on freighters and cargos. He was stationed in Jacksonville for the past couple of years and loves it there. But a new company took over and half of the ship lost their jobs....including my brother. Then he did a month of relief work in Virginia Beach while mom was sick. When that ended, mom had passed and he stayed here. Now he's going back to Jacksonville and we'll see what ship he gets on next....he's not on any permanent assigned ship at the moment. He'll take what he can get. But he has traveled all around the world at least once, probably more.

He told me this morning that his oldest son....lives in Virginia with his mom, they're divorced many years.....has signed up for the marines when he graduates this may......I'm so crushed. Not during a time of war. He'll go to Iraq. And the marines are the worst branch to be in. John is a Navy Vietnam Vet and that was bad enough. But a marine in Iraq today is so much worse. My brother is not happy about it, his mother is not happy about it and I am certainly not happy about it.....but my brother says this is what Tristan wants because they gave him the best deal and he wants to do aviation mechanics and work towards becoming a pilot. My heart breaks for this kid....I'm just sickened by the thought of him in Iraq.

Deb, war is never a good place to be. But, we do know several people who have served in Iraq, some more than once, and they all are proud of their time there and would do it again. We will keep your nephew in our prayers, along with all the other military men and women.

 

[granmaz]

Hi, all. I just found out about this thread. I booked a night at Hyatt MCO. I figured that it would be more convenient for a family of 4 to stay at the airport after traveling a whole day from WC. Anyone interested in sharing a limo or van to the port the next day?
Thanks

Hi and welcome.

 

[HollyTyler]

ok, in talking with my mom lately and how she is having Thanksgiving for "her side of the family" I decided this is the year I stop walking on eggshells and put my foot down that we are spending time with my father and while she is more than welcome at any time she will just have to deal with it.....I posted a long thread on the CB about my family and while I can't expect her to spend time with an ex, I can expect her to be adult about the situation and accept that I see my father and is a part of our life.

WAY TO GO, V! Sometimes you just have to be firm with family situations and not try to satisfy everybody. Do what's best for you, Johnny, & the girls. I have similar issues with my family...well, different issue, but same tension, and I put my foot down a couple years ago. I used to have to go to my mom's get-togethers and my dad & stepmom's in the same day for every holiday. Before Tyler, I didn't mind. But after Tyler came, I did it his first year, but no more. It was too hard on him to drive all over the darned state every holiday. Now I alternate between celebrating with my mom and with my dad's family. It works great and we get to spend more time each holiday with the family we visit.

So my point is.....good for you for putting your foot down! It also eased your stress burden a bit I'm sure.

 

[HollyTyler]

what is everyone's holiday favorite recipe?

Well, I don't cook or bake, so I'll say whatever somebody else makes!

 

[MrsMork]

Vanessa, good for you! Sounds like you are on the way for creating special Thanksgiving traditions for your girls. Who knows, maybe your mom will come around at some point and join the family get togethers. We could not have my parents in the same STATE for 25 years much less the same house! But, about 10 or so years ago they came to realize that we (my sis and I) do still have TWO parents and decided they could be civil. They both came to our house for Thanksgiving after that and we did fine. Actually it was my half sister (Dad and stepmom's kid) that brought it around. She said she wanted to come to our house, having heard of the great traditions and fun we have, and she wanted Dad and stepmom, stepsis to come too. I asked my Mom if it was ok with her. I felt her feelings were important to me since it was my dad who walked out on us and for 15 years had no need to have any holidays with us and it was my mom who stood by us always. So, her response was "As long as he leaves me alone that's fine!" So, I gave Dad, stepmom and her girls the go ahead to come. It was very stressful for me first time leading up to the day, but while they were in my home they were respectful. Dad mostly stayed downstairs shooting pool, watching football, drinking, smoking, etc and my Mom was upstairs helping me. Stepmom stayed upstairs with us and Mom was ok with that. I think she had come to realize that she really got the best of the deal because stepmom was now dealing with an endstage alcoholic and she was NOT! So, Dad died last year, stepmom said she could not come as it was just too soon for her. He died in July. But I think stepmom and her girls and granddaughters are going to be coming this year. So, the moral of all of this, Vanessa, is that if you stand firm with your mom that all are welcome including her AND your Dad and Pat, she may just decide in a year or two to join in.

Sorry to blather on.

 

[MrsMork]

My goodness! It is POURING down rain out there!! Oh wait...this is Oregon, it is October, of course it is raining! Doesn't usually rain this hard though.

 

[HollyTyler]

Kindergarten field trip today to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard. My friend Libby, who is Tyler's friend Hunter's mom, was a chaperone. She forgot her camera, but snapped a couple pics with her phone and sent them to me. Not the best, I'm sharing the one of Tyler and his best buddy Hunter (they've been friends for almost 3 years. Tyler's on the left and Hunter is on the right. Hunter's 4 year old sister Paige is behind the boys.

 

[MrsMork]

Kindergarten field trip today to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard. My friend Libby, who is Tyler's friend Hunter's mom, was a chaperone. She forgot her camera, but snapped a couple pics with her phone and sent them to me. Not the best, I'm sharing the one of Tyler and his best buddy Hunter (they've been friends for almost 3 years. Tyler's on the left and Hunter is on the right. Hunter's 4 year old sister Paige is behind the boys.

CUTE!! Pumpkin patches are so fun!

 

[lillygator]

My goodness! It is POURING down rain out there!! Oh wait...this is Oregon, it is October, of course it is raining! Doesn't usually rain this hard though.

we had a downpour this afternoon....all while the sun was shining!

 

[LisaG520]

[/B]

I don't blame you, but how many bags will you bring? How do you get them all on the plane?

Our past cruises have always been connected to 8-10 days at WDW and we've only taken one large pull behind suitcase and one pull-behind carry-on each for those trips. So I'm figuring that should work for this trip as well. We usually take an empty duffle bag as well that we throw dirty clothes in for the return flights (which we won't have this time) which leaves space in the suitcases for purchases.

And I have a confession to make - I am not a shoe person. I'll bring sneakers, water shoes, 1 pr brown sandals and 1 pr black flats. That covers all possibilities. I don't own any shoes that only go with one outfit.

so for once I am excited about the holidays. We'll have my inlaws and my dad and pat for thanksgiving, we'll eat around 1 and then I think we'll host an open house for our freinds and family throughout the rest of the day. I printed off lots of Tgiving coloring pages and activities for the kids. I am going to have the girls make some place holders and I think I would like to buy a thich inexpensive tablecloth and have some markers around and have everyone write something on it they are thankful for this year. And then bring it out every year.

We used to do something similar for summer family reunions. Everyone would sign a large table cloth each year. Then before the next year my Great-aunt would embroider all the singatures in one color. Then the following year she would use a different color. It was neat seeing how everyone's signatures changed over the year. I think we used a washable fabric pen to sign.

 

[lillygator]

darn, I thought Halloween was on a Tuesday!

 

[lillygator]

Samantha goes trick or treating in the morning (Halloween) at the hospital and I was gong to have John come and dress as Jack. The kids would love it!

 

[lillygator]

The girls are watching Mary Poppins, I forgot how much I really love that movie....especially when they jump into the sidewalk!

 

[gouodux]

So I booked our stingray adventure at Castaway Cay for our November cruise. Can't wait! I tried to book the dolphin encounter in Nassau, but by the time I booked the cruise it was already to late to get a spot on that excursion. So instead, I think there's a pirate museum in Nassau I can take Tyler to.

Unlike last year, Jenna and Kayla actually participated this year with the Stingrays. Here are some not so great photo's from last week. They had a ton of fun this time and really enjoyed it.

 

[MrsMork]

I see you all have snorkel gear on. Do you get to snorkel over there after you do the stingray feeding thing?

 

[gouodux]

I see you all have snorkel gear on. Do you get to snorkel over there after you do the stingray feeding thing?

They provide masks and snorkels if you don't have your own when you check in. After the feeding the rays you are allowed to snorkel around the area for 30-45 minutes. We saw really neat fish that aren't easily seen off of the family beach. The day we were there, two of the stingrays had escaped from the netting and were swimming freely somewhere. There was a mad search going on to capture them. We found a huge starfish that the girls were fascinated by. Unfortunately Shawn had taken off to do the Ecco Waverunner tour, so our cameraman was not around to take a photo of it.