May 2011 Yo Ho Ho! Let Down Your Hair! (New 10/9 Lessons Learned #550)

[Marshay]

I also see that I haven't updated in a while. Just to let you know, we took a surprise week at Ocean City, New Jersey last week. I went with my sister, her family and my parents for a few days...then they left and Jerry drove up for the weekend.

We had a blast! Brought home 3 hermit crabs, too.

I'm really hoping to go back and update this Disney TR in the new few days (if not tonight!)

 

[kaoden39]

We had hermit crabs when the kids were little. I love the cute painted shells you can get for them. They aren't bad pets. I used to buy pretty sand for their tank.

 

[Marshay]

We had hermit crabs when the kids were little. I love the cute painted shells you can get for them. They aren't bad pets. I used to buy pretty sand for their tank.

Yeah, I figure every family has to go through the ritual of hermit crabs brought back from the beach!!

They are pretty funny. They are definitely getting used to us and now come out of their shell as soon as we pick them up. Last night we dunked them for the first time and they seemed to like that.

We just have a medium size cage for them now...I said if they still are alive in a month, then we'll have to get a larger aquarium for them. I read they can live for 2-3 years!!

 

[kaoden39]

Yeah, I figure every family has to go through the ritual of hermit crabs brought back from the beach!!

They are pretty funny. They are definitely getting used to us and now come out of their shell as soon as we pick them up. Last night we dunked them for the first time and they seemed to like that.

We just have a medium size cage for them now...I said if they still are alive in a month, then we'll have to get a larger aquarium for them. I read they can live for 2-3 years!!

We never had any that lived that long. Isn't it amazing how easily they become accustomed to people?

 

[Marshay]

We never had any that lived that long. Isn't it amazing how easily they become accustomed to people?

How long did yours last? I had them as a kid and my parents said they lasted about 4-6 months, but I know we didn't take good care of them.

 

[cherbear]

Marsha, you look like a hot mama in that corset!

Love it, I bet Jerry was thrilled that you obliged him!

Gotta go back and look at the party pics now...

 

[cherbear]

Thanks! I just opened up my gifts (jerry came home from work for lunch so we could do it then) and happy to report I got some cool things..will post pic! Rachel loves her gifts too (I got her a Rapunzel doll, placemat, Tinkerbell swimsuit & coverup, Minnie Mouse shirt and princess Leapster game).

For those of you who don't know, today is BOTH my birthday (41) and Rachel's (6) birthday!

So as for Rachel's "dud" gifts -- here's what I did...whether right or wrong, it all worked out.

Last night, I sent emails to the 2 moms, highlighting how thoughtful they were for giving Rachel a gift (esp the lanterns and how they matched the Rapunzel theme). Then I told them why we were not going to let her keep them. Yeah, it may be uncouth but I figured I'd go with honesty.

Then last night I returned all the gifts to Target (except the lanterns since that was ordered on-line), including the ones that I did not have a receipt. I admitted to the salesclerk that I dont' know if they are Target's or not. Guess what?

They all came up as Target and Rachel got $38.67 for everything (pool toys, makeup kit and a zooble). Now the small tower that she has her eye on was around $40 -- woo hoo!!

The mom of the lanterns gift emailed me back and said she agreed with me (she lives right around the corner). She was just so excited about getting a Rapunzel themed gift that she didn't think about the airports. She said she would gladly return them and offered to get something else for Rachel.

Soooo, now I'm very glad I sent the email. I figured the worst that could happen is that they think I'm uncouth (no problem) and the best was that we get a credit/money for the gifts for something Rachel really wanted!

Praise to God -- the latter came true!!

I think (hope) I said it on fb on your bday....but I wanted to say it here. Happy belated Birthday Marsha and Rachel!!

That's so great that it all worked out with the gifts. And wow, what a party!!! I enjoyed all the pictures very much. You are so so talented.

 

[kaoden39]

How long did yours last? I had them as a kid and my parents said they lasted about 4-6 months, but I know we didn't take good care of them.

I fussed over them too much and no clue what exactly to do so they dies in about 4-6 months. Then I would buy more. I finally stopped buying them because I felt so bad.

 

[Trentmom]

Just checking in for an update

Glad you had a nice time at Ocean City

 

[Marshay]

Marsha, you look like a hot mama in that corset!

Love it, I bet Jerry was thrilled that you obliged him!

Gotta go back and look at the party pics now...

Thanks! It was fun dressing up. yeah, Jerry enjoyed it

I think (hope) I said it on fb on your bday....but I wanted to say it here. Happy belated Birthday Marsha and Rachel!!

That's so great that it all worked out with the gifts. And wow, what a party!!! I enjoyed all the pictures very much. You are so so talented.

Thanks! We had a fun time with the party. In fact, we still have a lot of the decorations still up!

I fussed over them too much and no clue what exactly to do so they dies in about 4-6 months. Then I would buy more. I finally stopped buying them because I felt so bad.

Hmmm, one book I got on Hermit Crabs says they can live for 6-15 years!!!

Our hermit crabs are doing good. So far they like cheerios and the potato veggie straws and honeycomb cereal. They do not like blueberries, tomato veggie straws or animal crackers (they are NOT canibals!)

One is a great climber and always tries to get out of the box we put him in when we exercise him. One is kind of slow and shy. The other is active, too.

We are enjoying them. They really like to play in the sand box.

Just checking in for an update

Glad you had a nice time at Ocean City

yes, OCNJ was great. It so reminds me of being a little girl again since that's the beach we would go to. It was surreal taking R&E back to the old places that I used to love and go to. Really brought it full-circle!

 

[kaoden39]

I am pleased to hear that your Hermit crabs are doing so well. I never realized they would eat all of those things. I just fed them the food they suggested at the pet store. I cannot imagine them living that long.

 

[Marshay]

I am pleased to hear that your Hermit crabs are doing so well. I never realized they would eat all of those things. I just fed them the food they suggested at the pet store. I cannot imagine them living that long.

Yeah, that seemed too long for me.

Yeah, we feed them the hermit crab food, too but also try to give them something else.

here is Rachel...she wanted to choose a smiley face for you:

 

[kaoden39]

Yeah, that seemed too long for me.

Yeah, we feed them the hermit crab food, too but also try to give them something else.

here is Rachel...she wanted to choose a smiley face for you:

Hi Rachel!!

How did you know I needed to do laundry?

 

[cherbear]

Our hermit crabs are doing good. So far they like cheerios and the potato veggie straws and honeycomb cereal. They do not like blueberries, tomato veggie straws or animal crackers (they are NOT canibals!)

One is a great climber and always tries to get out of the box we put him in when we exercise him. One is kind of slow and shy. The other is active, too.

We are enjoying them. They really like to play in the sand box.

they sound really fun!! I've never had a hermit crab. I've seen one but never taken them as pets.

Too funny that you mention the animal crackers. My mom got my dog Merlin some new treats last Christmas, they are PEOPLE CRACKERS. They are small dog treats shaped like little people.

 

[cherbear]

and so glad you had a great time at Ocean City!! I visited there last year and it was very nice.

 

[Queila]

What a nice treat your stay at the Gaylord hotel! Great pictures. Isn't it great to have the chance to dress up sometimes and get out of the mommy mode? I love it!

Have a great week!
Q

 

[Marshay]

Hi Rachel!!

How did you know I needed to do laundry?

Rachel got a laugh out of that!

they sound really fun!! I've never had a hermit crab. I've seen one but never taken them as pets.

Too funny that you mention the animal crackers. My mom got my dog Merlin some new treats last Christmas, they are PEOPLE CRACKERS. They are small dog treats shaped like little people.

People crackers --now that's too funny!

and so glad you had a great time at Ocean City!! I visited there last year and it was very nice.

Yeah, we really had fun. I'm working on my Picaboo albums now. decided to do one big one with both WDW and OCNJ photos. It's looking good.

What a nice treat your stay at the Gaylord hotel! Great pictures. Isn't it great to have the chance to dress up sometimes and get out of the mommy mode? I love it!

Have a great week!
Q

Yes, it's fun to remember that I'm more than a mom!!

Well, I've been off-Dis for a while and am now back. Will update my TR and need to go back to everyone's and find out what I missed!

 

[Marshay]

When I last left you, I had:

a) fallen in love with Kidani's shower
b) ooh'ed over Kidani's decorations, including a rooftop
c) had a Rapunzel birthday party
d) met a Disser at our local 4th of July parade
e) had a romantic trip with DH
f) and went to OCNJ for a week

Whew! Now Rachel is in a theater production -- Rapunzel! And they are basing it on Disney's Rapunzel so she is thrilled (and so am I). It's not 100% Disney's but close enough with many of the same characters, songs and story-lines.

Rachel is Thuri (name changed), who is actually one of the thugs. She is the one who is the mime. But like I said, it doesn't follow 100% so she has talking parts (7 of them!) and a solo in the I have a dream song ("and my goiter and my nose!")

We are excited. She is the youngest (6yo) by 3 years so she is a bit intimidated but she is having fun. If this is something she truly wants to do, then we'll support her.

Now, on with the trip!

 

[Marshay]

Today is Sunday, May 15 and Elizabeth woke us up at 6:15am and we lounged around until 7:15am.

I noticed that the bites or bumps on my body were really itching me. ARGH. My first thought was bed bugs. Maybe I had them on the train? I didn't have them before we left for FL and it felt like I got something for a few days. So we stripped the bed (forgot to do that last night) to look for signs of bugs but couldn't find any. Hmmmm.

We noticed that the inner curtains were white lace and had Lion King Characters on them -- such great details! I don't think we took a pic of them but I'll look again.

We ate breakfast, got our new key b/c we started on the DDP today and left to go back to Epcot.

Well, unfortunately, there was an Ironman Triathalon taking place and our exit road was right on the route. We waited about an hour in slow or stopped traffic waiting for the bikes to go by.

So I immediately thought of Chele (her DH is an avid bike racer) and took some photos for her! We did cheer on the bikers as they passed ... and that was fun for about 5 minutes. But then we just wanted to get to EPCOT!!!

We got FP for Soarin' and rode Test Track.

Elizabeth was too young so we babyswapped and she enjoyed the cars.

Now back in July 2010, Rachel who had previously loved TT, all of a sudden got scared on the banked curve and wouldn't ride it again. So I was hoping she would get back on it. She did and loved it! Looks like she's having maybe too much fun here!

Actually, as she got off the ride and we caught up with Daddy, we pulled a prank on him. Rachel did her scared/not happy face and when Jerry took one look at her, he was like, "oh no!" but then she broke up into fits of laughter and said she wanted to ride it with him! but they forgot to get the photocard so I don't have that pic.

My parents on Test Track

We went back to Bambi's playground and the Pixie playground and another playground they had set up. All were cute. Here is a little home to a fairy.

Rachel on the hidden Mickey mushrooms

Today was sunny (yeah, after the storms of yesterday!!) and unfortunately, this was the only pic I could get of them with Bambi. They didn't want to look into the sun.

In the pixie playground they had birdseed for the kids to play in. Elizabeth loved it! And we spent a bunch of time at these 3 playgrounds.

Now wait a minute!!!

Is this the Marsha that likes to plan everything and hit the rides and shows and not stop for silly things like a playground??

 

[cherbear]

eeek!!! is there more coming next??? hehehe can't wait to hear how the playground stopping went over!