The Good Ole Freap Chat ~ Sequel Part III ~

[jeankeri]

Marna- With the ages of your kids (though their pics look older than their siggy ages? ), I would look into DCL. A good friend of mine who is a TA has done DCL and Royal Caribbean (research, you know..... ), and she actually likes Royal Caribbean as well, especially their newer flagship (I am blanking on the name, has the surfing area on deck and the middle of the ship is an enclosed mall/atrium area?). Anyway, for the difference in price she liked the Royal Caribbean cruise equally. just her 2 cents.

 

[Maggimus]

Marna- With the ages of your kids (though their pics look older than their siggy ages? ), I would look into DCL. A good friend of mine who is a TA has done DCL and Royal Caribbean (research, you know..... ), and she actually likes Royal Caribbean as well, especially their newer flagship (I am blanking on the name, has the surfing area on deck and the middle of the ship is an enclosed mall/atrium area?). Anyway, for the difference in price she liked the Royal Caribbean cruise equally. just her 2 cents.

I think you are talking about the Navigator of the Sea. I think the atrium opens up during the day and they close it up at night.

 

[pperfectmom]

Marna- With the ages of your kids (though their pics look older than their siggy ages? ), I would look into DCL. A good friend of mine who is a TA has done DCL and Royal Caribbean (research, you know..... ), and she actually likes Royal Caribbean as well, especially their newer flagship (I am blanking on the name, has the surfing area on deck and the middle of the ship is an enclosed mall/atrium area?). Anyway, for the difference in price she liked the Royal Caribbean cruise equally. just her 2 cents.

Nope, the siggy is right. In fact DS just turned 4 this month. They are giants, I do believe, that were traded in for my own small children at the hospital. DS was able to ride almost all the big boy rides at WDW when he was two. He rode ToT, BTMR, Splash, Dinosaur, etc. It cracks me up when I see posts on the board asking if their 5 or 6 year old is tall enough to ride. That's one of the reasons that an all inclusive or cruise is a biggy. Those two eat like you wouldn't imagine. And they aren't picky either and have expensive tastes. I am actually kind of sold on the DCL idea since we found a 7 night cruise we can sort of afford(depends on what you mean by afford ). I did look into some of the Royal Caribbean and their ports, sailing dates, etc. didn't really work for me and the difference in price wasn't that big either for what I wanted.

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

Kellie this is for you ...

Maggie I am glad to hear that so far you are having a great pregnancy.

Everyone else hi and I miss chit chatted with everyone. School has got me swamped. DD is getting way to tall and I got great news yesterday. I got accepted to Indiana University in Bloomington,IN. We are waiting to hear if DH is accepted then we will be moving this summer. I am so excited and so is Natalie. Well I will check back in as soon as I can. I finally have a day to clean the house.

That is great news. I hope hubby gets in also.

 

[Alesia]

Kellie this is for you ...

Maggie I am glad to hear that so far you are having a great pregnancy.

Everyone else hi and I miss chit chatted with everyone. School has got me swamped. DD is getting way to tall and I got great news yesterday. I got accepted to Indiana University in Bloomington,IN. We are waiting to hear if DH is accepted then we will be moving this summer. I am so excited and so is Natalie. Well I will check back in as soon as I can. I finally have a day to clean the house.

Congratulations!

That will bring you pretty close to my neck of the woods.

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

Congratulations!

That will bring you pretty close to my neck of the woods.

I knew I would be closer to someone

 

[pperfectmom]

I knew I would be closer to someone

Do you homeschool Nat? I was thinking you did and wondering how it was going since you are so busy with your own school. I have experimented this year with the idea and am homeschooling DD officially. I'm starting to think that it really isn't for us and may enroll her in regular school for first grade next year. I just don't think I'm dedicated enough to do it right. I'm fairly disappointed in myself over it, but at least I'm figuring it out early.

 

[NATALIEBELLESmom]

Do you homeschool Nat? I was thinking you did and wondering how it was going since you are so busy with your own school. I have experimented this year with the idea and am homeschooling DD officially. I'm starting to think that it really isn't for us and may enroll her in regular school for first grade next year. I just don't think I'm dedicated enough to do it right. I'm fairly disappointed in myself over it, but at least I'm figuring it out early.

Yea we do homeschool Nat. She is doing well. Since she is eleven I think this really helps now that I am in school. I give her a packet of work at the being of the week along with a schedule to guide her through the packet and she is always free to stop me and her dad for any questions she has throughout the day. So far so good. Homeschooling is alot of work but there are so many resources online and at Barnes and Noble it makes the process easier.

 

[Jennifer823]

Thanks guys.
I feel like I want hide under a rock. But doing that is not going to solve things.

Hang in there

 

[Jennifer823]

We had bad news come to us on Friday. DH was told at work that there will be a pay freeze and no more bonuses (which is a huge part of his income) until further notice. If things don't pick up soon, there's a good chance they will start laying off people. I guess I'm going to be on the freebie hunt even more now! We're still trying to work out a plan.

 

[iamgrumpy]

Did anyone see this video of the dog saving the dog on the highway? It's pretty amazing...


Hero_Dog_Tries_To_Help_Wounded_Dog.wmv

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

We had bad news come to us on Friday. DH was told at work that there will be a pay freeze and no more bonuses (which is a huge part of his income) until further notice. If things don't pick up soon, there's a good chance they will start laying off people. I guess I'm going to be on the freebie hunt even more now! We're still trying to work out a plan.

Oh that stinks. I wish some how some way things would turn around fast.
I will keep happy thoughts for you

 

[Maggimus]

Theresa, Have you heard anything about Dhs acceptance? Been thinking about you. Fingers crossed!!

Jennifer- I hope things pick up at your Dhs work soon. Its slow everywhere... but hitting some industries worse than others.




So last year when we went to Disney I first tried Dh into taking me to Colonial Williamsburg. I was unsure whether it would be his 'thing' or not, so we decided we would do Disney again since we knew a baby might possibly be in the near future. Well, now I am pregnant and not getting any smaller, and want to do a vacation. I dont think I could do Disney during a pregnancy (esp. at the point we would have to book)-- so now im looking at Williamsburg again. I havent been in atleast 15 years ish. Im just wondering when we should try and book to avoid a heat stroke, where is great to stay (they have so many on-site places now), etc. I know its not everyones cup of tea.. but I think we would enjoy ourselves and it would be slow paced and somewhat relaxing. Any ideas, tips, advice? Its been so long I barely remember going...

TIA!

 

[maddhatir]

so now im looking at Williamsburg again. I havent been in atleast 15 years ish. Im just wondering when we should try and book to avoid a heat stroke, where is great to stay (they have so many on-site places now), etc. I know its not everyones cup of tea.. but I think we would enjoy ourselves and it would be slow paced and somewhat relaxing. Any ideas, tips, advice? Its been so long I barely remember going...

TIA!

Maggie- have you ever seen The Colonial Houses in Williamsburg!!!? They look so interesting!

here is the link http://www.colonialwilliamsburgresort.com/

If I were to go to Williamsburg again (only been there once) I would do October. The leaves are turning, the air is crispy-

We were supposed to do Williamsburg on our way home from our Oct trip to Savannah- it was raining so I decided to call the hotel before we left Savannah and canceled. I want to get back there soon though. My whole house looks like a tavern in Williamsburg

 

[Maggimus]

Maggie- have you ever seen The Colonial Houses in Williamsburg!!!? They look so interesting!

here is the link http://www.colonialwilliamsburgresort.com/

If I were to go to Williamsburg again (only been there once) I would do October. The leaves are turning, the air is crispy-

We were supposed to do Williamsburg on our way home from our Oct trip to Savannah- it was raining so I decided to call the hotel before we left Savannah and canceled. I want to get back there soon though. My whole house looks like a tavern in Williamsburg

I LOVE the colonial houses. DH doesnt know about sharing a space though with other people. Has anyone ever stayed in one? Id love to know how it works.

Unfortunately we will have to make it BEFORE September... so I was wondering if May would be too hot!?

 

[maddhatir]

I LOVE the colonial houses. DH doesnt know about sharing a space though with other people. Has anyone ever stayed in one? Id love to know how it works.

Unfortunately we will have to make it BEFORE September... so I was wondering if May would be too hot!?

I do not think you share the houses??? I think staying there would be so cool b/c you are right IN Williamsburg. The Williamsburg Inn is right there too- maybe you can try that? Or the Lodge.

I would do more research on the houses. Besdies the Williamsburg site, try Trip Advisor, Fodors or maybe Frommers see what they say.

May should not be too bad. Try for the beginning. It will be a nice time to go b/c the flowers will be in bloom. I know here in NJ the weather is not bad in May. Williamsburg is about 6 hours from here, so the weather should not be that much different. You can probably check that on some of the sites too.

I am so excited for you!

 

[pperfectmom]

Maggie-I think May would probably be beautiful there and it shouldn't be too crowded with most of the schools still in session. I have been there in the middle of January with a 9 month old and still enjoyed it. We didn't stay there since we were on our way to the Outer Banks so I can't give any lodging advice. I love B & B's though if there are any there.

My exciting news this weekend(and probably the most exciting we've had for a long time) is I JUST BOOKED A CRUISE WITH DCL!!!!! It isn't until October of 2010 so I think we will be able to pay for it a little at a time. We are still going to go to WDW for free dining and stay at Pop Century this fall so I have TWO DISNEY vacations planned!!!!!! OMG!!!! Can you tell I'm a wee bit excited?

 

[Maggimus]

Maggie-I think May would probably be beautiful there and it shouldn't be too crowded with most of the schools still in session. I have been there in the middle of January with a 9 month old and still enjoyed it. We didn't stay there since we were on our way to the Outer Banks so I can't give any lodging advice. I love B & B's though if there are any there.

My exciting news this weekend(and probably the most exciting we've had for a long time) is I JUST BOOKED A CRUISE WITH DCL!!!!! It isn't until October of 2010 so I think we will be able to pay for it a little at a time. We are still going to go to WDW for free dining and stay at Pop Century this fall so I have TWO DISNEY vacations planned!!!!!! OMG!!!! Can you tell I'm a wee bit excited?

Thanks Marna.

That is so exciting. 2 trips- you have a lot to look forward to and a ton to plan!! The time will fly!! YAY for Disney!

 

[Maggimus]

I do not think you share the houses??? I think staying there would be so cool b/c you are right IN Williamsburg. The Williamsburg Inn is right there too- maybe you can try that? Or the Lodge.

I would do more research on the houses. Besdies the Williamsburg site, try Trip Advisor, Fodors or maybe Frommers see what they say.

May should not be too bad. Try for the beginning. It will be a nice time to go b/c the flowers will be in bloom. I know here in NJ the weather is not bad in May. Williamsburg is about 6 hours from here, so the weather should not be that much different. You can probably check that on some of the sites too.

I am so excited for you!

Thanks for reminding me about those sites. Ill have to check there. When DH and I started looking at the Colonial Houses (which are quite reasonable, especially compared to the Inn) it doesn't tell you where you will be staying and shows somewhat of a generic photo. Im wondering if you could call and get more persise info on where you would be staying.

Im glad to hear about the weather seeming okay!! Now you are getting me excited over these colonial houses!

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Evening freaps, meaps, and cheaps....been around but haven't been posting much lately. Hope things are well with everyone!

Today we took the kids the Mystic Aquarium in CT. It's a little ride but they have dolphins "visiting" from Chicago for a little while and DS LOVES dolphins and has never seen a "real" one so we surprised them with a little day trip. They got to see beluga whales (they have 10 right now with several being from the same place the dolphins are from) It was quite amazing to be that close to these HUGE animals! We saw sea lions including a show and the kids got to pet cownose rays....

It was a fun but long and tiring day!