September 29, 2012 - Ropin' Some Magic in the Western Caribbean

[kpaulson]

YES please wear pink boas and tiaras...... you will not be alone...




DH and I are both dive instructors. We are planning to dive with a new diver at Sunset house. Your DH is welcome to join us.

Not to be nosy...okay I am nosy...I thought your husband wasn't coming on the 9/29 sailing? I don't have him on my FE list...let me know if he is so I can add him please

 

[Texas lady]

I bought a pink feather boa to wear, though I don't have a tiara. If I see one before the cruise, I'll be buying it to wear. My husband doesn't realize this, so he'll be the one trying to pretend he doesn't know me when we walk in.

YES please wear pink boas and tiaras...... you will not be alone...

I am planning on wearing both a boa and tiara (left over from high school!)

GREAT! Dsil and I are wearing a boa and tiara
Asked Dh if he wanted to wear them, his exact word was "NO"!

 

[kpaulson]

They are $35.00 and everyone that has gotten one says they are well worth it.....



Thanks... Can't wait to meet everyone too!

My daughter loves hers...I finally managed to pry it out of her hands and pack it away so she doesn't start filling it out before we even get there...It's already had about 1,000 stickers added to it...(gotta love Jolee's 3d stickers!) But it is very cute and has many, many, many pages.

 

[kpaulson]

My daughter loves hers...I finally managed to pry it out of her hands and pack it away so she doesn't start filling it out before we even get there...It's already had about 1,000 stickers added to it...(gotta love Jolee's 3d stickers!) But it is very cute and has many, many, many pages.

Actually, is it too late to order another one?

 

[TxMermaid1]

Not to be nosy...okay I am nosy...I thought your husband wasn't coming on the 9/29 sailing? I don't have him on my FE list...let me know if he is so I can add him please

Ohh my... Kelly... you are so right. He is on the first cruise with me. We will be diving then. I don't plan to dive on the 29th cruise. Sorry about my confusion.... thanks for reminding me....

Actually, is it too late to order another one?

Thanks for the kind words. I am so glad she is enjoying it so much.. already..... I can still take an order until Sept. 10.

 

[jpglisson]

We are dressing up for dinner. It will be a pirate theme and the dress code is sort of suspended for that night. I think there will be a lot of people dressed up at the late dinner seating. Not everyone dresses up though...that's still up to you.

Of course, you'll be dining with us and we'll all be dressed up...but no pressure!! And what a cute picture that would be...but, again, no pressure. You know you want to dress up...you could just whip up a black skirt for you and Bridget...ok, maybe there's a little pressure!

Seriously, I just went to the thrift store and bought a ruffled black skirt and I found a peasant looking blouse at old navy. I'm adding a red sash and big hoop earrings. For Chris, he has pirate pants that a friend gave us (she'd made them for her husband for halloween one year.) I put a big white woman's blouse with it and he also has a sash. Nathan (14) will just wear black shorts and a white T shirt and an eyepatch. I also made him a "pirate vest" out of an old black T shirt. (very easy!) Claire (9) will wear a black skirt, white peasant looking blouse and a red sash. Everyone but me has gold clip on costume hoop earrings. I have actual earrings. So, it can be easy to throw together if you want to dress up. I'm one of those people who likes to theme things and dress up so I totally love pirate night!

Oh, and I bought a package of pirate tatoos. I have more than enough for my family so if anyone wants one on the cruise just let me know.

Cool! We were planning on dressing up too. Bridget is dressing like Izzy from "Jake and the Never Land Pirates." I found everything she needs for it yesterday. I need to put together something for Jerry and I, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Found eyepatches at the $ store.

 

[jpglisson]

A homeschooler chat sounds like a good idea! I'm sure we could plan something for an at sea day. The dining rooms aren't very busy at lunch time. I think most people go to the buffet. Maybe we could meet up for a homeschooler lunch??? That could give us a chance to sit and talk.

I've only been on a 3 nt. cruise and the dining rooms were practically empty during lunch. Someone who's been on a 7 nt....is it that way on the 7nt too? Not sure how long they are open for lunch. Maybe we could do a late lunch when there's not a crowd.

I'm just throwing ideas out there...any other homeschoolers interested??

I'm in! I would love to her about other homeschools. We are starting our 4th week and it's working out quite well so far.

Aimee, are you going to organize it? I can help.

 

[jpglisson]

We are packing a lot, but we are driving and not flying. I'd pack less if we were flying. I think a lot of things can be worn twice. I have a little black dress that I'll wear to dinner one night and then another with a little sweater added to it. My husband and son pretty much just bring 2 pairs of slacks to wear to dinner. They also have laundry facilities on board. I'm planning to wash at least a small load one day so we can wear some of the same shorts again. I've actually planned out (and even written down) what we are wearing each day so that I have exactly what we need.

We didn't get any special vaccinations. My kids are up to date on all of their regular ones though. Their pediatrician told me once that Hepatitis A is the one you should get if you're traveling abroad. I think it's mostly spread through food handling though so if you're just eating on the ship you should be ok.

Aimee, you crack me up!! We are so much alike. I was planning what to wear for each day too, but I thought maybe I was over planning and stopped. Thanks for making feel better about being an organized planner.

 

[jpglisson]

I understand that Emily is our only daughter and misses having someone to play princess and tea party with.

I am excited for the first day meet and greet. Hoping that gives the kids a chance to all meet each other and get excited about all the kids club time.

Our daughter, Bridget is an only child too. She is always looking for a playmate. She loves princesses and pretending. She will be 6 at the end of October and plans to be in the kid's area. It will be fun getting them all to meet on the first day.

 

[jpglisson]

We have heard zero about our home. It should be dry. If we get water, most of our friends will have several feet in theirs. We've been told at least a week before power will be restored. Glad I got the cruise stuff done early. We have the sewing machine with us and will make up the pirate costume for DS while we are here. Guess our Hurrication will be an extended one.

We did find out that my Great Aunt in her 70's has 5 feet of water in her home. Totally heartbreaking, but she was not home and is safe. The 'stuff' can be replaced.

Still no word from my dad. We know he is ok. He is working his tail off to prevent as much home flooding as he can. Worried about him and would love to hear his voice!

Glad everyone is okay. I have a friend who lives in NO and they were without power until yesterday. Hope you hear from your Dad soon.

 

[jpglisson]

I'd prefer to meet at 3:00. You're probably right...45min. should be enough time to update any room changes and meet everyone.

Thanks for the lunch times. I think we should try to meet at Parrot Cay for a homeschool chat over lunch on Monday since they're open a little longer. What do you other homeschoolers think?

Sounds good to me!

 

[jpglisson]

If I had a sewing machine I would totally make you a cape and put it in your FE

Sorry I haven't been on here much, things have been crazy! Our AC unit broke this week, definitely an expense we didn't need at this point with the wedding, cruise and disney world trip coming up. No fun! We got it all worked out but it's been a stressful week.

I have 4 more FE gifts to finish, and most of the FE packages are packed up in a box. I'm wondering if that's the best way to bring it, it's a HUGE box and we don't have a suitcase big enough to carry it all.

I think next weekend I'm gonna start packing up all my other cruise stuff

I'm so excited! I'm ready for the wedding to be over with so we can just enjoy the honeymoon!

WOW!! I can't believe you are planning a wedding and two cruises. You must have a ton of energy. But what a lovely way to spend a honeymoon!

 

[jpglisson]

We will be pulling kids out of kinder, 2nd, and 4th grades. This is our 2nd time pulling kids out (we did it last year as well for a pre-christmas trip to Disney World). In my personal opinion its better to be early and upfront. If nothing else the kids talk an its better they hear it from a parent than as playground gossip (which gives the impression you were trying to hide it). We approach the teacher a few weeks in advance and give them the dates. We ask for any homework they can do in advance and turn in prior to leaving rather than make up so that the teacher is not waiting on us to close out an assignment. We have received positive results this way. Like anything it won't work for every teacher every time.

Hope this helps.

That is awesome that your school allows you to pull the kids out with excused absences! We went to Disneyland last year and pulled Bridget out of pre-k for a week. We were up front and truthful, but they were counted as unexcused and I received a lovely letter about it. CCISD is a huge district though and even though her school was okay..."they have to follow the rules."

We are homeschooling this year, so it doesn't matter. I just put it in our schedule. Bridget is also 6 and an only child. She is so excited about meeting new kids and making friends. She is not shy at all.

 

[jpglisson]

We homeschool. My kids are 14 and 9. Someone suggested a homeschool chat so I'm trying to get a group of homeschoolers together to meet for lunch on the Monday of our cruise when we are at sea so we can chat about homeschooling. I was thinking of meeting in the Parrot Cay dining room for lunch. Usually the dining rooms aren't very crowded at lunch. Not sure on the time yet. Anyone have an opinion about that? I think Parrot Cay serves lunch until 1:30 or 2:00. Also, would y'all like it to be parents or parents and kids too? Assuming the kids will leave the kids area!

Regarding the meeting on the first day we are making T shirts. There's a graphic that we are ironing on red Tshirts. If you ask Piper can email it to you. (Sorry, if this has been answered already.)

I have serious doubts about Bridget wanting to leave the kids' area for lunch. And it might be nicer to have adult conversation. But on that note...I'm flexible.

 

[Belle6000]

How about this? Can we meet at Parrot Cay at 12:00 noon on the Monday of our cruise to have a homeschool chat? Let's plan on just adults (Dads too if they want), but if kids want or need to come that would be ok too. Afterall, we are homeschoolers...we're probably used to that! The kids, if older could even sit at their own table and have their own "homeschool chat".

I have a feeling my kids will want to be doing other things and I think that will probably be the case with most kids. I know I wouldn't want to leave the kids area if I were them!

Let me know if you're interested. I'm sure we can talk more about it once we get on board too.

 

[Phelpsie70]

Ohh my... Kelly... you are so right. He is on the first cruise with me. We will be diving then. I don't plan to dive on the 29th cruise. Sorry about my confusion.... thanks for reminding me....

Bummer, Chris would have been thrilled to go diving with you, but if no one else here wants to dive with him he'll just go on the DCL excursion. Any others in the group scuba dive?

 

[Belle6000]

Here's our school calendar for this month....counting down the days until we see Mickey again!

 

[SucalT]

Ohh my... Kelly... you are so right. He is on the first cruise with me. We will be diving then. I don't plan to dive on the 29th cruise. Sorry about my confusion.... thanks for reminding me....

Bummer, Chris would have been thrilled to go diving with you, but if no one else here wants to dive with him he'll just go on the DCL excursion. Any others in the group scuba dive?

I will be doing the DCL scuba in Grand Cayman.

 

[BendeleFamily]

My dd just turned 4 two days ago! Looks like she will have quite a few kids her age to play with!! BTW, I have family that live in Tarpley and Bandera. Beautiful country!!

Definitely. I think theres quite a few 3-4 year kids going on this cruise. My 3 year old loves making new friends and she is so excited for the cruise! Cant wait to meet you.

We live in Boerne so we're pretty close to Bandera. My friends & I love going to the Flying L Ranch to the Waterpark.

 

[jpglisson]

How many times do you have to post before you can include attachments?