test Part 9

[mickey4ver]

Thanks guys....Donald is one of my fav's....Pam, that is insane they didn't inform you by a letter or something what the lock down was for. Weird for sure

KS, WOW, lots going on in your neck of the woods...I agree, it is a scary world and I hate to think about all the bad stuff going on...society as a whole has gone to heck in a handbasket...people are too smart and crafty today and so much is at their disposal to make being a bad person so much easier for them..do what feels comfortable to you about your ds... Being a good parent is NOT against the law!


Oh I'm ALL into sharing the beef...cake........bring em on, they are mighty fine, I must say......feeling frisky today, trying to forget the # and go with how I feel...LOL

Any loss is a good loss Pam...you loser you...LOL

 

[keishashadow]

Oh I'm ALL into sharing the beef...cake........bring em on, they are mighty fine, I must say......feeling frisky today, trying to forget the # and go with how I feel...LOL

donald's dreamy; but i could look @ that daniel craig pic all day !

The only way to roll with it sista i plan on going down kicking & screaming myself . Got any plans tonight or for the weekend to celebrate?

still unsettled as what to do w/DS; thanx for the support; scary about the stuff yinz said

 

[TennVolTony]

!!

ocm--i thought tvt had a pink thong????

tony--see you do have clothes to wear to go out!

The ONLY pink thong I have used to BELONG to OCM......

Don't know WHO the green guy is but I'm guessing he's a DIS'er !!!!

OCM....you're TWISTED did you know that??????

 

[pkasbohm]

The ONLY pink thong I have used to BELONG to OCM......

Don't know WHO the green guy is but I'm guessing he's a DIS'er !!!!

OCM....you're TWISTED did you know that??????

OH!! So your wearing ocm's hand me downs now!?!?!?!?

 

[TennVolTony]

OH!! So your wearing ocm's hand me downs now!?!?!?!?

Nope....It's hanging on my "Wall of Fame".....

 

[Bob Slydell]

bob--are you caught up from your vacation yet? we are ready for pictures!!

Copied and pasted from a different board I posted on (yeah, I'm lazy ), here's part 1 of my trip report (with pics):

I'll try to make this brief, but that's unlikely. So I'll probably divide this up into parts.

Let me try to hit the highlights (and lowlights):

Trip down was very good. The kids were awesome on both flights (we connected in Atlanta) and Ryan had a good nap on the long flight, from Atlanta to Punta Cana.

Punta Cana's airport was, ummm, interesting. It's an open air airport, basically a really large thatched hut, and it's really hectic. But we managed to make our way through with no major problems, aside from a meltdown or two from Ryan (no real reason why?).

Check-in at the resort pretty much sucked. It took literally an hour and a half to get checked in and the lines weren't really even that long -- everything just moved reeeeeeeeeaaaaalllllly slow. I wasn't thrilled with where we got located for a couple reasons. One, we were pretty far from the pool and beach, which, as noted above, is where we lived. That, and we were on the second floor of the villa, which was a bit of a PITA with a stroller (and no elevator).

Here's Ryan waiting in the lobby:

As it turned out, we didn't end up minding the location by the end of the trip. We kind of liked the walk, especially in the morning when it was nice and quiet. And we were close to the restaurants, so we had a short walk at dinnertime, which was nice.

The resort itself was beautiful!! It was also HUGE!! We were there 5 days and we didn't even venture to the other half of the resort, which had a whole other pool, lunch buffet, beach, etc.

Once we finally got our room and our bags, we went to the pool for a little while and worked on figuring out where to eat dinner that night, which leads to the next big thing that was a pet peeve (our biggest one) about the resort. They had a couple buffet restaurants (which is where we are the first night -- and it was pretty good) and 7 different "a la carte" restaurants, which were all included in the all-inclusive package, but all required reservations. It was the reservation system that was messed up.

Basically, every night at 9pm, they opened up the reservation line for the next night's dinner. At that point, it was like calling in for a radio contest. Keep dialing and re-dialing until you got through (it was a busy signal most of the time). And then hope and pray you could get a good time spot at a restaurant you wanted to eat at. If you didn't get what you wanted, you could try that afternoon around 2pm and see if there were cancellations. We actually got through one night at around 9:02 and the one restaurant we really wanted to eat at (Japanese) was already filled up except for the late-night time slot (9:45pm).

All in all, we ate very nice dinners, despite the hassles. We ate at their American Grill, Chinese, Mediterranean and Italian, along with the buffet the first night. All the dinners were pretty good and I give the boys the utmost credit -- they were really good (relatively speaking) in sitting through 1 to 1 1/2 hour long dinners every night.

I'm not going to go day by day, because for the most part, the itinerary for each day will look about the same:

7am: Wake up and get ready
8am: Go get breakfast
8:30am: Go to the beach for an hour or two, then head to the pool
12:30pm: Go eat lunch
1pm: Walk around the resort with Ryan until he fell asleep in the stroller and head back to the pool to let him sleep in the shade.
5pm: Go back to room and get ready for dinner
6pm: Go to dinner
7pm: Take train around resort (Ryan's favorite part of the place )
8pm: Back to room, kids in bed by 8:30, Nicole and I asleep by 9 or 9:30.

That was the basic day for us, with only slight variations. It was wonderful and very relaxing. Sunny and 85 everyday, with barely a cloud in the sky.

Just so this doesn't get too long, I'll add a Part 2...

 

[Bob Slydell]

Here's part 2...

Let's get into more details of the trip itself...

The best thing that happened on the first full day (Tuesday) of the trip was that Cameron made a friend. I was swimming with Ryan in the shallow part of the main pool when Nicole came back by herself and said that another boy about Cam's age was swimming by and they got talking and bonded instantly. Nick was 6 as well, lived outside Milwaukee and was there with his parents and 11 year old sister, as well as neighbors of theirs with two teenaged boys (15 and 17, I think). It worked out well because now they both had someone to play with and as the week went on, we found out how similar the two of them were.

Here's Cam and Nick (and some other kids in the background we don't know ):

Along with playing with Nick in the pool, we took advantage of a couple of the other activities they offered. We didn't do any excursions or do any major activities -- it was just too hard with Ryan not being able to really do a lot of those things. But Cam and I went kayaking (included in the package):

Cam also got to try bungee jumping -- or sort of a cross between bungee jumping and a trampoline. It cost $6 for 5 minutes and Cam loved it!

We also tried to go to the beach (which was right next to the pool) a little bit every day, mostly in the morning and late afternoon, when it wasn't quite as hot. Ryan loved playing in the sand and Cam, despite endless arguments about how he hated the beach, enjoyed wading in the ocean.

They also both went to the kids' club at the resort, but really just for a little bit at a time. Cam went to a magic show they had (along with Nick) and played in the pool with some of the other kids in the club, but otherwise, didn't go there much. The club looked nice and all, but it just looked to us like there was a group of kids in there who all seemed to know each other (and were there all day, every day, which is a different rant for a different day ), so I think that turned us off a little. Ryan played on the playground at the baby club for a little bit at a time, but for the most part, immediately cried if Nicole or I started to leave, so one of us stayed there and watched him play.

Part 3 to come...

 

[Bob Slydell]

And Part 3...

All in all, it was a very relaxing vacation. We had the occasional meltdown (from both kids), but overall, they were really good, especially Ryan, who slept well also, which was a concern of ours, since he often has trouble falling asleep when we're in the same hotel room with him.

The all-inclusive package was nice to have, since most of the meals we ate would have certainly cost us a lot of $$. The other nice thing about it was, while we're not big drinkers, even the boys loved sitting at the swim-up bar and having a drink -- especially the non-alcoholic (obviously ) versions of the "adult" drinks, like strawberry daquiris and mudslides. Cam and Nick loved being able to swim over and order their own drinks, even without us (although we were in the area and they always asked our permission first).

The trip home was a little rough at times. Flying back out of Punta Cana, especially on a Saturday, the busiest departure day, was tough, but we were lucky in two aspects. One, for some reason, when I booked the package, they gave us business class seats for the Punta Cana - Atlanta leg of the trip. The rest of the flights we were in coach, but the benefit of that one leg being business class meant we could go to a much shorter check-in line (like 3 families versus 30) at the airport.

The second bit of luck just came out of nowhere. As we were waiting in the security line, which seemed to be moving at a snail's pace, a security person came up to me, pointed to our whole family and signaled for us to follow him. Next thing we knew, we were bypassing the entire line and getting zipped right through security, probably saving us an hour or more in line!!

The flight from Punta Cana, while comfortable in business class, was really long, since Ryan was not in a good mood. He actually managed to sleep in the airport itself (literally falling asleep on the way there and napping while we were waiting in line), but was fussy pretty much the whole four hour flight, which was not fun. That, plus getting home at 11:30pm made for a long Saturday, but at least we made it home with no delays or any other problems.

Here's a couple final pics of the boys, kicking back and relaxing.

Final thoughts:

If we were to go back to this resort (which we may do in a couple years), we would probably ante up the extra $$ and do what they call their Royal Service (basically concierge). Along with a bigger room and some private VIP areas (pools, restaurants, etc), it also gave one major perk -- a concierge who would get you, from what I understand, whatever reservation you wanted (time, place, etc.). That was the main reason why restaurants were full, reservation-wise, so quickly. Many of the spots were already pre-booked just for Royal Service people and then when they figured out who was going where that night they "cancelled" the remaining spots. The Royal Service wasn't cheap, but I think it would have been worth it.

Amazingly, we managed the majority of the trip with no major casualties. The worst things that happened were Cameron skinning his knee pretty bad one night -- in all places, the one lobby while running up and down a ramp with Ryan (despite our continuous efforts to get him to stop ).

The other disaster, which turned out ok, was on the last full day there when Nicole found that a bottle of water was left cracked open in her pool/beach bag and our digital camera was sitting in an inch of water. It was dead for the rest of the trip, but amazingly, when we charged it on Sunday, it had dried out and is back to working again.

 

[pkasbohm]

Sounds like a fun relaxing trip bob!!!

great trip report...it wouldn't be vacation with kids if there weren't a couple of issues to overcome.

 

[keishashadow]

bob - great trip report & pics of your lovely family . I always give credit to folks who are brave enough to take long flights with young kids. You and your wife sound so patient, your kids are lucky.

Amazed at the "thatched hut" terminal - guess security isn't a big deal there. What resort did you visit? Guess the ressie system is better than standing in line for a table; but still odd. Def. sound as thou concierge would be in order.

Nice break on the fastpass thru security coming home! My DS & DH have the same 1st & last names; a very common "jewish-sounding" sur-name (but the combo must be on the watch list?) They get yanked every time we fly & I'm left to struggle with all the luggage on the belt...grrr. I'm hoping once we have our passports it will expedite things.

 

[mickey4ver]

Hey Bob, I waited til I got home to read your trip report....oh, it sounds like you had so much fun...and the little burps, well you expect those when travelling with little ones. The pictures are worth their weight in gold, oh so cute....love the swimwear and sunglasses...and those "grown up" drinks...thanks so much for posting them....the one with Nicole and the boys is great! Looks like everyone had a blast.

So peeps, I was good for dinner, and can I just say, I'm so jonesing for something to nibble at, but I ain't gonna do it. I was even offered a donut today to celebrate my birthday and I "just said NO"...LOL...I'm rather proud of myself

Survivor is on tonight, so I'm gonna surf around here a bit, then go watch it live I think instead of taped...

I gave my co-workers my own sort of present today...I very seldom get furious about things and one of the guys pushed the wrong button today, and I went off about the whole thing...gosh, it was like the Red Sea parted, they all got outta my way and just looked at me. I could feel my face and ears turning 50 shades of red, that is how mad I was.....but I got over it...and felt darn good about letting him have it too. I told him later I was not mad at him, I was just frustrated about the situation and I was over it. It sure felt good to let it rip too, it has been a problem in the office for awhile now, it is always bandaged up, but never totally healed or fixed, so it came to a head today. One guy said "dam, I feel sorry for your husband"...LOL. I gripe about my job too, who doesn't, but if you can't come to work and do what you are paid to do, then find something else that suits you. Rant over

 

[Gigantor]

Bob, great trip report. I loved the pics.

I'm a huge Yao-ming fan for survivor.

Hope you all have a great evening. I have a few vodka and fresca's in me now. It's a no carb diet for the last 3 weeks now and I'm doing good.

Have a great evening everyone.

 

[mickey4ver]

Bob, great trip report. I loved the pics.

I'm a huge Yao-ming fan for survivor.

Hope you all have a great evening. I have a few vodka and fresca's in me now. It's a no carb diet for the last 3 weeks now and I'm doing good.

Have a great evening everyone.

Oh Gant, AWESOME and good for you....no/low carb works the best for me....not a vodka person, so if you have anything else at the bar, fix me up!!
Always a treat to have you drop by, we miss you!!

YaoMan is doing pretty good, hope he doesn't get caught up and get screwed at some point...with all that posturing tonight between all of them, I was lost and didn't know who was voting for who til they counted the votes. It sure was hard to keep score

 

[TennVolTony]

GOOD MORNING CLASS!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE !!!

 

[mickey4ver]

Good morning

I'm running late............

BUT THANKS, MORE LATER

and I love you guys SO frickin much!!

 

[keishashadow]

I have a few vodka and fresca's in me now. It's a no carb diet for the last 3 weeks now and I'm doing good.
.

fresca is my Absolut fav with vodka; similiar to what we burg hunkies like to use in our mixed drinks (4% - really hard to find outside of the area). Even my kids will drink it; didn't know it was no carb though. My middle DS lost 75 pds on the diet; i gained 10 (was told it was because I wasn't eating enough meat lol)...good luck.

mic - holy moses IMO, any time an annoying guy sez he feels sorry for your husband...it's the highest compliment tee =hee

tvt (or any other test golfers)- so do you have any words of wisdom on the square drivers they're selling now? looking for that bd present for the old man. Read a review where the author swears it helps even a mis-struck ball go further and stay straight

ocm - how did the lunch go the other day?

pam - got baseball this weekend with the boys?

mac - did you sleep in, hut-hut

 

[pkasbohm]

Morning all!

looks like i missed a good party last night I always seem to miss everything.

Sunday is trent's first baseball game of the season. It will be interesting because one of the teams they play is trent's old team.
Tomorrow evening is my grandma's bday party....she is 87 years old.

What does everyone have planned for the weekend?

 

[mickey4ver]

Ok, not quite so rushed now...but have a mountain of checks to get into envelopes and out in the mail this morning...they can wait

What a wonderful gift you all gave me! PERFECT! Now I will buy my husband a return trip ticket from Arizona and I will stay with my babies Just kidding...I was totally surprised when I read my email! You are the best friends a person could ask for. I love all of you

I got a phone call from my grandson's last night, they sang Happy Birthday to me...and every verse ended with "cha-cha-cha", it was hilarious...made my day. I got a gift card from Pargo's too from the gang at work

Well, I'm off to finish my work, hope to be back later

 

[pkasbohm]

Sounds like you had a good day! To cute about your grandson...that seems to be the way kids sing happy birthday. At my nephews bday that is how all of his cousins sang to him...to cute!!

 

[TennVolTony]

tvt (or any other test golfers)- so do you have any words of wisdom on the square drivers they're selling now? looking for that bd present for the old man. Read a review where the author swears it helps even a mis-struck ball go further and stay straight

It's all in what you believe......I heard or read somewhere they were supposed to lesson the effect of mis-hit shots but I don't think so....I also read that the USGA may have a problem with them as far as meet standards and being legal to use for USGA play....but if it's what he wants get him a gift certificate and let him pick one out that he can hit.....