These Are The MAYS Of Our Lives! V

[lakehead92]

Morning all!!!

I see I missed some Twilight discussion while I was away. I told you you'd like it Trixie!

The cottage was wonderful and fun, and the weather was great, a little rain but nothing we couldn't handle. It was nice to have my whole family together again.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning MAYers!

Another beautiful day here. My SIL is off work this week and her and my nephew are coming out to visit for the day. I'm so glad we got a nice day for it.

Welcome back Lake!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay I have one more set of before & after pics of the house for you guys! The front door and landscaping. We finally got those things finished. The front door was all scratched, the paint was pealing, and it had old tape all over it (eviction notices were taped to the door several times) and the landscaping was planted 11 years ago when the house was built and never maintained and was out of control! So we trimmed back a lot of stuff and ripped a lot of it out and started again. Hopefully it will look nice in a few years when the new stuff starts to grow!

Before

After

Also, we are thinking about changing the shutters. . . Actually we were wanting to put shutters on the side & back windows since there aren't any, so DH said if we are going to do that then this would be the time to change the color and replace the front ones if we want. . . Any color suggestions? I like the green. The only other colors I am thinking are maybe burgundy or chocolate brown. Any other thoughts?

 

[JoBird]

Morning!

Welcome back, Lake!!
Glad you had a nice vacation time. You haven't missed a ton. Just us gabbing and blabbing, as usual.

Shelly-- wow- I think that price quoted to you for your son's ortho was a really fair price. I definitely would think about it, but I think it is a fair one.

As far as the split stay-- I like the sound of that. Maybe that would work.

Your house looks so much better now that all the landscaping is cleaned out. The house looks all pretty- sort of like "Hey, look at me- I'm lived in now and I'm happy." You guys have done a good job!
I will caution you against the burgandy colored shutters. On our house in Cranberry- ours were that color- came with the house that way- and it was 9 years old when we got it- they were soooooooo faded that they sort of had a purplish hue to them. Actually when we pulled up to the house and I saw the color of them and the door that matched-- I said I didn't want to go in. Our realtor said "Jodi! you silly thing- you can change those!".
Anyway- that was the first thing we changed- we actually had our painter PAINT them- so much cheaper than buying new ones. I didn't know you could do it -- but he said he does it for a lot of his clients. Anyway- we painted everything black-- and oh my gosh- people were coming out of the woodwork to tell us how much better the house looked. It changed the entire look of the house.
Anyway- long story short-- I like your green- I think it goes nicely with the house- but if you're looking for a change--- I love brown too. It would be really pretty with your exterior paint color. You might want to look into painting them and then only buying the new ones for the back and sides. It would be cheaper that way. Make sure the painters use the correct exterior paint, though.

Hello to everyone else. I have to go tot he grocery store today. How exciting.

Jo

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks JO!


Purple shutters!! I never thought of them fading to a purple hue. That would be hideous! The green are faded some, but I think they are just a little lighter than they started out. I think the brown would look nice too. I didn't realize you could paint shutters either. . . Hmm. . .

 

[NewCrew42]

Thanks for all the braces advice guys. This is all new to me. I never had braces. DH never had braces. We know nothing.

DS is 10 as you know. The dentist seems to think that we need to get started now. He had warned me last year and the year before, so I knew it was coming. Plus I can tell just looking at DS that he needs them. He told me about the 2 phases. He said they charge just one price, no matter what he needs, or if he ends up needing one or two phases. But he is pretty sure he needs two. The price - $3500 . But I actually think that is less than I have heard others say they have paid. And I went online to see what our insurance pays - $1000. So now we are down to our cost being $2500. Do you think I can do better? I'm so confused!! They did mention free financing, but that the like 1/3 up front. I didn't think to ask if there was a discount for cash. . .

We go back Thursday for a full ortho evaluation - free of charge.

Hurray for the full ortho eval FREE of charge! That is how they do it around here too.

My son didn't do Phase I, I didn't know about it. So, he is just doing his braces all at once. The cost for his was around $5000. There was some sort of set-up fee for the initial X-Rays, molds of his teeth and setting up his "plan" etc. Retainers or any appliances are extra.

I started my DD at the same time. She started in Phase I braces which were $3000. Thank the Lord I had won them at a silent auction for almost $2000. Well, she has grown much quicker than the orthodonist expected, yada yada, yada yada. And isn't get her braces off and is going straight into Phase II, $2995 minus our 7% cash discount. The $2995 price of course includes our school discount as well as our 2nd child discount.

So bottom line is that I am paying the same for DD's braces as DS's. They are going to be in them the same amount of time. Whatever.

There is an ortho here who does great work that would have been $1000 less each child. I just didn't shop around because EVERYONE at our school uses this ortho and he is just wonderful. Well, is he great, and my kids teeth are getting straight, but I would rather my family have that $2000 than his.

I guess the good news is that there are orthos here who charge more than mine.

My kids just have overbites, and some simpler straightening issues. Nothing big. Just more of your run of the mill braces.

Oh, and our insurance doesn't pay a dime.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse things.

The first guy you went to may be the A #1 guy. But I would just ask around, and get a couple more prices. I wish I had.

 

[NewCrew42]

Lake - Welcome back!

Shelly - I like the green. Is your house a cream color or a buttery yellow? It is AMAZING the work you guys have done! It looks awesome!

Well off to the doctor for me for a check up.

I had to take DD this morning for her HPV(?) shot.

I take DS this afternoon for his asthma check-up.

I am supposed to play tennis.



So much to do, so little time!

 

[seacrestpromo]

Hello Mayers - hope you are all doing well!

Very busy days with our friends from NY and FL. Our NY friend left California and went to WDW for a couple of days, then took a Disney Cruise for 4 days. She had a blast overloading on Mickey Mouse! LOLOL!

Our FL friend stayed with us for 4 days. We took her to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Farmer's Market, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and of course, back to DL. The day we went to the BB, LA and DL we drove nearly 300 miles - started at 6:45 am and didn't get home until around 2:00 am. OMG we were wiped out.

So instead of boring you with more pictures of DL again, I am taking you to another amusement park that was also opened in 1955, the same year as DL, in Southern California. Santa's Village located in Skyforest, CA, near Lake Arrowhead was a home grown park that lasted about 40 years. My parents took me there a few times when I was a kid and I took my oldest just before it closed.

Here is what it looked like during it's heyday:
http://www.image-archeology.com/santa%27s_village_CA.htm

So my mission was to see if I could sneak into the park somehow and get some shots of the "Bee Monorail" my favorite ride when I was a kid. We pulled the car over near the site and walked up to the fence and looked around.

So here is what I saw...

Stay Out!

Look! I see the monorail!

Hey! I said to STAY OUT!!!

OMG - There it is!!!

Awesome!!

Totally Awesome!!!

The Maintenance Area...LOL!

Needs a little TLC...

Going downhill fast...

There used to be a roller coaster behind here.

I think this was a character meet and greet area.

Broken fence...

Thanks for coming along and reliving a piece of my childhood with me today.

Sea

 

[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Those are fascinating shots, for real...

 

[JoBird]

Sea- thanks so much for sharing that little piece of California history with us! That was a fun thing for you guys to do. And omgosh- you didn't even have to go to jail when you broke the law.

I;ve never heard of that place before. I;m going now to look at the link you gave.

I fear that one day- Disneyworld will only be a memory. I hope not in my lifetime. It would be too sad.


Jo

 

[JoBird]

Those are fascinating shots, for real...

Hey----- who are you, and where did you come from??

Can you give us a name since you can't be named????

J/K.

Welcome to the MAYers.
Please stay and chat. WE like new people!

 

[seacrestpromo]

Glad you liked the SV trespassing trip report. LOL! My wife is also glad I didn't go to jail too. She was freaking out a bit as I trekked passed the signs and fences.

I don't think DL or WDW will ever go the way of SV because it is such a national treasure and billions of people have visited parks.

Sea

Sea- thanks so much for sharing that little piece of California history with us! That was a fun thing for you guys to do. And omgosh- you didn't even have to go to jail when you broke the law.

I;ve never heard of that place before. I;m going now to look at the link you gave.

I fear that one day- Disneyworld will only be a memory. I hope not in my lifetime. It would be too sad.


Jo

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning MAYers!

Great pics Sea! Thanks for sharing. You always have the coolest adventures!

NC - thanks for all the braces advice. I really need it. I will probably get a second opinion, even though I am pretty sure the price is a good one I am just not sure he needs to get started right now. I don't know. I am so confused.

Just getting ready to head out to WalMart shortly. We are about out of bread, milk, and toilet paper. Three very important things! After entertaining most of the day yesterday (SIL, nephew, neighbors) I am ready for a day of looking at my Disney plans and DISing. So I'll be back! Maybe I'll go over my plans with you guys again since they have changed slightly.

 

[trixiequilts]

Good morning everyone!

We have another busy day today...appointments and laundry galore. What ever happened to DISing the day away???

We were planning to go to the cabin this weekend, but supposedly it's going to rain the whole time. DH and I are looking into some different places to go...as in, staying in a hotel somewhere. I'm praying for rain!!!

Lake, have you done anything really cool in the Detroit area?

 

[trixiequilts]

Sea~wow, those were amazing pictures. They made me sad and I don't even have memories of the place.

Who owns the land now? Are there any plans for the property? Why didn't they take everything down? So many questions.

 

[rusafee1183]

Morning! Quiet day in MAYer land.....

Sea - Those pics are sad. They remind me of what Idlewild park will look like when it closes. Have you guys ever heard of it. It's a cute amusement park that has 'Storybook forest' a land where you can go in and out of all the houses of all the people you read about in fairy tales.

It's not great... just cute. It reminds me of my childhood....
http://www.idlewild.com/in_the_park/


So, I painted my scrapbook room and got my desk up and it is soooo cute! I can't wait to post pics! I am going to be doing some major cleaning tonight. So I will post pics after I clean up the disasted area that is my house.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Is Idlewild supposed to close RF?

 

[rusafee1183]

Oh... No.... Sorry. Not that I know of. Those pics just made me think of what it would look like if it closed down.

LOL. Sorry!!

Honestly though, I don't see them making it much longer if the economy keeps up the way that it is. I hope I am wrong. But I just don't think that they can compete.... I like it there, so I hope I am wrong.

 

[seacrestpromo]

Good morning Mayers!

Good morning MAYers!

Great pics Sea! Thanks for sharing. You always have the coolest adventures!

Thank you Shelly - glad you like TR. BTW, you did a wonderful job on the front yard of your new home.

Sea~wow, those were amazing pictures. They made me sad and I don't even have memories of the place.

Who owns the land now? Are there any plans for the property? Why didn't they take everything down? So many questions.

Hi Trix! It is now owned by investor who owned nursing homes in SoCal. They were planning to revive the park when they bought the property in 2001. I don't know what the future holds for the property or the rides that are left.

Morning! Quiet day in MAYer land.....

Sea - Those pics are sad. They remind me of what Idlewild park will look like when it closes. Have you guys ever heard of it. It's a cute amusement park that has 'Storybook forest' a land where you can go in and out of all the houses of all the people you read about in fairy tales.

It's not great... just cute. It reminds me of my childhood....
http://www.idlewild.com/in_the_park/

Hi RF - Very interesting about Storybook Forest. It seems that during the 1950's and 1960's there were a few of these kind of parks that popped up all over the US. Most of them were family owned and operated. SV was a "franchised" amusement park - at one time there were 3 parks, Skyforest, Santa Cruz, CA and Dundee, Illinois. Sadly, all of them are now closed.

Sea

 

[JoBird]

Morning.



Nah... before you ask---I've been up since 5:30.

Just needed to say that since that's what I say every day.

Sea- What's for lunch? We haven't gotten a report in quite awhile.

Hey to everyone else.

Jo