October 25, 2008 Halloween on the High Seas (2)

[taraandmike]

Great picture Suzie! that one really turned out nice, you can see all our faces!
we wil have to see about April....might be hard to do with taking kids out of school. I would love to be able to go and spend the time in WDW together again.

I will definately post some pictures of the snow tomorrow, it is too dark right now to take any but it is snowing anoother 5 inches so there will be even more. Mike and Cameron were cleaning off our roof and now our front porch is full of snow as high as the roof!

I have never seen it snow this much since we have lived here. Too bad we do not have a snowmobile!

 

[suziemva]

Great picture Suzie! that one really turned out nice, you can see all our faces!
we wil have to see about April....might be hard to do with taking kids out of school. I would love to be able to go and spend the time in WDW together again.

I will definately post some pictures of the snow tomorrow, it is too dark right now to take any but it is snowing anoother 5 inches so there will be even more. Mike and Cameron were cleaning off our roof and now our front porch is full of snow as high as the roof!

I have never seen it snow this much since we have lived here. Too bad we do not have a snowmobile!

And we've only had a dusting here!!! Everytime they say we'll get some snow, it turns out to be nothing!! Getting cold here - high of 32 tomorrow....brrrr!! We've been very spoiled about the temps this year and it really shows now! I barely go out without my big ol' double layer jacket Ed got me for Christmas! Does the blood thin when you get old? Maybe that's it......

Let us know about April. We'd really LOVE to see you guys!!!!!! I wish we could all meet up there for a really post cruise meet.....

 

[NewfieMom]

Suzie - love the pic of all you guys! How come we didn't think to get one done like that in Epcot? But then again, I don't think we had any done ourselves once we went past the main entrance, and the only one I can remember you guys doing was the one where you waited for Alice - making you late for supper, I believe!

We've also been having some snow - enough for the kids to dig out their slides and snowboards, and for Adam's cross country skiing lessons at school. Brian is not too happy with it - our snowblower is on the fritz, so he had to shovel everything today following a small storm that turned to rain, which of course equals very heavy snow! Needless to say he's now out trying to fix the snowblower! Gotta love January in Newfoundland!

Tara - sorry to hear about the girls' accident, but glad no one was hurt. Tell Ashlyn congrats on the cheerleading!

Other than dealing with snow, we're back to the normal grind of work, school, and sports activities for the kids. Took me about a week to get all the Christmas stuff put away - almost cried putting my new Disney ornaments away! You can buy Mickey ornaments here, but it's just not the same as getting them while on holidays!

Glad to see everyone is still posting. Looking forward to reading further trip report installments - hint, hint!

Valerie

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Tara - sorry to hear about the car accident but very relieved that no-one was hurt, although I am sure it came as a big shock. I would love to see your snow pics - we rarely get snow here but we have had almost a week of sub-zero temperatures just after Xmas - and it was horrible. The water supply to my washing machine froze and we couldn't do any laundry here for days!

Suzie - That is a lovely photo of you all in the Studios - we had a photopass CD and got some great photos - I loved putting all of the borders on etc.

At the moment I am trying coming to terms with not having a Disney holiday this year - which is very very depressing as even when we don't come to Florida we try and visit Disneyland Paris. We really need to focus on the house this year and get an extension built.

Hope January is going well for everyone!

 

[NewfieMom]

Hellooooo????? Hellooooo????? Where did everyone go???? Holy Cow we've dropped off lately. Everyone's been busy I guess.

Suzie - how crazy is it in your neck of the woods today? Did you attend any of the inauguration ceremonies?

Ooh - forgot to tell you. Got my copy of our university alumni magazine the other day, and there was an article in there about a woman who lives in a nearby town and who graduated from a branch of my university, that works on the Disney Magic as a first officer. I was ridiculously excited to read it (the addict that I am! ) but wished I'd known before we sailed - I would have asked about her. Reminded me of something I wished we gotten the boys to do on the trip - take note of all the different places people we met/cast members were from, and find them all on a map when we got home. Will have to try to do that on our next trip - whenever that is!

Valerie

 

[suziemva]

Things were NUTS here and no, the only place I ventured out to was Office Depot to get some file folders and envelopes! We did have the tv on the whole day and watched most of the Innauguration. It was just too crazy here! School was out, roads were closed, businesses were closed! My mom who also works in Old Town Alexandria a few blocks from where Ed works, had the day off - paid! Why, you ask? BECAUSE THE ROADS WERE ALL CHAOS OR SHUTDOWN GETTING THERE!!! Once you passed Mount Vernon on the Parkway it was all shut down getting into Old Town and never mind using the highways!

Oh and it was freezing here today! I know, not by others standards but we only reached 26 here in my neck of the woods. Yes, my Christmas present from Ed is getting a good workout when I go outside! BRRRR!!!

So after a four day weekend due to MLK and Obama, the kids are back to school tomorrow. Tori's already sad.....she's getting spoiled with all the vacation time! And next month's no better!

Dad's back in a rehab facility and not doing so great there. They had to move him because of disturbing the other residents around him. We think it's some of the meds he's taking making him hallucinate, etc. to where he starts screaming. Not good. He's got to get through this pain or he'll never get on the recovery path. So, here we go again on the roller coaster of rehab!

Good news is that we have finalized our April trip! We're even going to take a few days to visit my cousins in Green Cove Springs along the way! I'm really looking forward to this trip and doing things a bit different on it. Driving instead of flying is my first change. Never done it with kiddos before so it should be interesting.

Geez, I've got to get to bed. Ameera woke me up a bit ago (I'd actually been asleep about 15 minutes!) and my heart is still pounding from that waking. She had a nightmare and scared the beejeebers out of me! Gonna try to get back in sleep mode now.

Thanks for checking on us, Val. SO cool about the lady on the ship! Would have been nice to know before the trip, I know, but now you have something to push you to book again!!! LOL!

 

[TotallyAngelic]

WOW - we watched the Presidential celebrations etc here on TV and it was really impressive. You certainly know how to do it over there - our politics and politicians are so boring. And a day off school as well for the kids

 

[jenn&nelsonrego]

WOW - we watched the Presidential celebrations etc here on TV and it was really impressive. You certainly know how to do it over there - our politics and politicians are so boring. And a day off school as well for the kids

Yeah! We rock with our new awesome president!!!

I took the day off from work so I could park my backend on the couch and watch tv all day. It was wonderful! Such a wonderful, historical day.

Not too mention, how excited I am for the future now!!!

 

[jenn&nelsonrego]

Oh and it was freezing here today! I know, not by others standards but we only reached 26 here in my neck of the woods. Yes, my Christmas present from Ed is getting a good workout when I go outside! BRRRR!!!

It is supposed to be anywhere between 4 and 6 here this weekend! Wooo-flippin-hoo!!! I love New England, but sometimes I sure wish I was here:

Dad's back in a rehab facility and not doing so great there. They had to move him because of disturbing the other residents around him. We think it's some of the meds he's taking making him hallucinate, etc. to where he starts screaming. Not good. He's got to get through this pain or he'll never get on the recovery path. So, here we go again on the roller coaster of rehab!

Sorry to hear about that Suzie. My grandpa did some hallucinating with some of the meds he was on... The last thing he said was to my mom who was asking him if he wanted to see me: "Why the hell would I want to see her?" That hurt like hell (especially to a 16 year old who was super close to her grandpa), but you need to remember that it is not truly that person talking.

I hope he begins feeling better real soon!

I'm really looking forward to this trip and doing things a bit different on it. Driving instead of flying is my first change. Never done it with kiddos before so it should be interesting.

What is it with the driving? Nelson and I decided to drive down for our trip in June... What a coincidence!

Have a good night all!

 

[suziemva]

Finally! We FINALLY got some snow!!! On a teacher workday (kids already off school) but we've got about 1 inch on the ground and it's still coming down. I got the sleds out in anticipation of a few more inches so that we can go sledding today before it turns over to rain and sleet!

WHOOHOO! Okay, all you snow bound people, I give y'all permission to laugh at us.....even funnier is that they probably won't have school tomorrow! Whether it's icy or not - that's the supervisors here, terrified of a lawsuit!

Tori already taught Ameera to sing Frosty the Snowman...they wanted to skip breakfast and go outside to make a snowman....until I told them there wasn't near enough on the ground to make one! Unless we cleared all the neighbor's yards of snow, maybe then we might have enough snow to build one! LOL!

 

[jns]

Hope you all have a fun day Suzie
we had one day last week whhich was enough the boys had a great time

it was gone by the next
Sun shining today
real funny weather here at the moment we had 90mile winds last week too

 

[suziemva]

Ed and the girls all heading for the "sledding hill" down our street

Ed and Pookie sledding...well, Pookie is but Ed is..well, it's just so darn funny lookin'!!!!

We had a blast! There was a bunch of teens there too but they were so funny and had good spirits with the little kids. Just an all around fun day!

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Brrr. Too cold for a walk today, so I got back to work on the trip report. Enjoy memories of our first day at sea, and Cozumel.

How cold? about 18F, wind chill 9F. Playing "find it" in the back yard - it looks like ice crystals are forming on Max's wiskers.

Dinner time!

 

[suziemva]

First chance I've had to get on here in a bit. Things have been crazy around here with dad back in the hospital December 8th. He went into a rehabilitation center for about 6 days and then was sent back to the hospital. He was in really bad shape and really weak. He lost his long battle with his over tired body on February 11th. It's been a really stressful time these past weeks, knowing that he wasn't winning but losing this battle but it was time for him to go. His body was worn out and tired. I'll spare you all the details but I had the hardest time watching him the last few days he was alive. It wasn't a shock per se since he's been so bad in health but it's still really hard to believe he's gone. I still don't think it has really sunk in.

So, thank you to all that were keeping us in your prayers and thoughts. We have a tough week coming up with the viewing and funeral this Thursday and Friday. Then we will have to wait for an opening to inurn his ashes at Arlington National Cemetery. They say the waiting list is 3-6 weeks long! They do around 32 funerals a day there and the list is THAT LONG!

I truly wish we were planning another cruise because I could really use one right now.


In Loving Memory
Bobby Lee Rigsby
9/14/36 - 2/11/09

 

[NewfieMom]

Suzie - that's a great picture of your dad and (I'm guessing) Tori. It will be the memories like that which will help in the days to come. Still keeping you in our prayers. And I hear you about planning another cruise - I wish we were, too!

Take care as you get through this week.

Valerie

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Suzie - I am so very sorry to hear your sad news that your Dad has passed away. Keeping you all in our thoughts and hoping that you are able to gain strength from family and friends to help you through the next week and beyond.

 

[jns]

Suzie so sorry to hear about your Dad
even thought you know its coming its still a shock when it happens

Take care
we will all be thinking of you and your family at this sad time

 

[NewfieMom]

Just had to post these....

These were taken not quite 4 months ago...ignore the date stamp - couldn't figure out how to take it off the camera for a long time! ....

And these were taken yesterday ...slight contrast!

Oh - and this was my birthday cake last week...lovingly made by hubby and my boys! Do you think they know me well, or what?

Hope everyone is well!

Valerie

 

[jns]

thanks for posting
gave me a good laugh from sand to snow

love the cake
didn't they make a great job
Happy Belated Birthday

 

[suziemva]

Happy belated Birthday, Val!!! The cake looks great!

Love the pics too! Definitely a shock from sand to snow! hee-hee!!!

Miss everyone tons!