The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 23

[UP Disney]

I'm looking forward to a trip sometime in my life to Yellowstone and the other parks out that way. I would love to go camping there.

That is one of the first long trips that Chuck & I want to plan with our camper. We want to go out west and see the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. I camped at Yellowstone as a kid. It was really cool. On the way, we went to a real rodeo and saw wild buffalo in a national park (wow, are they huge - I've seen buffalo raised for the meat and these things were so much bigger). It was a wonderful trip with my family.

 

[UP Disney]

I got the Girl Scout Area Cookie Order together - 1201 boxes of cookies to be delivered to my area and for me to sort the week of April 16. Should be fun! I hope the weather is nice. There are only 14 troops. We also have cookie cupboards where the troops can get more cookies if they get extra sales so we will sell alot more between now & then.

 

[UP Disney]

I'm off to bed. I should have headed that way at least an hour ago. I was awake at 5am this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. I finally got up at 5:30. There was a virus update call that I had to be on at 6am anyway. I had planned on getting up just a few minutes before it but those plans were out the window. Night everyone!

 

[Tammi67]

Aunt Stell is home from the hospital. They tell her that she is 99% fine and is able to continue her regular life. She got lucky. Thanks for all your thoughts & prayers. I have lots of aunts & uncles. I do not look forward to each passing year. We have been very lucky that we have lost so few of us.

Until my father died in the car accident 8-1/2 years ago, every one of my grandparents decendents who survived birth were still alive including my grandparents. My dad has 12 brothers & sisters, 11 of them married, and 10 of them had children. I have lots & lots of cousins, second cousins, third cousins ... you get the picture. I was very close to all of them growing up. Since losing my father, my grandmother died after having something similar to alzheimers, grandpa died a year or so later from a broken heart (he told us it was just too hard to go on without her), my Aunt Carol died of complications from adult onset diabetes which she had battled for years, and one uncle by marriage died. One of these days, the flood gates are going to open and I will be attending funerals left & right.

My mom has 8 brothers & sisters when you include those that are 1/2. We have lost quite a few on that side but we were not close with them except for my favorite aunts husband who we lost 24 years ago and my grandparents. My grandfather died of old age when I was 16 and my grandmother died when I was 23.

I dread them all getting older. It hit me hard when we heard about Aunt Stell. She is one of those that was special to dad. She was his older sister and there was only one older. They all have had illnesses where they have been in the hospital but very seldom is it anything life threatening. I dread the flood gates.

Wow, Vicki. You have a huge family. I bet the holidays and family gatherings are a blast. I know what you mean though. When I was a sophomore in college I lost 2 great-grandparents and a grandma in the course of 10 months. Just during the past year or 2 though it seems like a lot of my "great" relatives (aunts and uncles) seem to passing on. I guess it's natures way of waking us up to our own mortality.

 

[Tammi67]

I'm heading to bed too. Goodnight to those that remain.

 

[Tammi67]

Elin, if I don't talk to you before you leave, have a safe trip tomorrow.

 

[UP Disney]

Wow, Vicki. You have a huge family. I bet the holidays and family gatherings are a blast. I know what you mean though. When I was a sophomore in college I lost 2 great-grandparents and a grandma in the course of 10 months. Just during the past year or 2 though it seems like a lot of my "great" relatives (aunts and uncles) seem to passing on. I guess it's natures way of waking us up to our own mortality.

Yes, the holiday parties were always a blast as a kid. There was always someone to play with. My oldest aunt had 4 kids older than me (the closest was 3 years older than me). I was the oldest of the rest of the cousins. There were about 10-12 of us within 2 years of each other. One of my uncles is only 3 years older than me. My oldest uncle and the oldest male cousin were born less than 8 hours apart. Grandma and Aunt Ruthie were in the hospital together. They were born on different days though. My cousin Karen used to enjoy harassing my Aunt Deb. Karen was a senior in high school and when she would see Aunt Deb, a lowly freshmen in the hall, she would say "Hi Aunt Deb" to embarass her.

We don't get to as many of the parties as we used to since my dad and grandparents died. Mom just couldn't for a while after dad. We haven't been able to make the reunion week-end except for 1/2 day for the last 8 years because it was during Girl Scout camp and my girls were in a leadership program that they wanted to attend. I've promised Becky that we will go this year.

 

[UP Disney]

As you can tell, I haven't headed to bed. I just can't drag myself out of the chair. That means I have to go brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I really am going now! Good night for real this time!!!!!! I'm shutting down the computer right after I post this so I don't get dragged back in!

 

[ReAnSt]

Oh good..we wanted to dress up!

If you want to dress up go for it. Some people go all out formal on that night or quite formal every night, you also have the people who show up in anything and everything from beach wear to t-shirts. They are technically not in "dress code" however Disney will still serve them.

Dressing up for pirate night is tons of fun. Some people go all out in pirate costumes, tinkerbell costumes, others wear tropical attire and others just wear normal attire, although they give everyone a pirate bandanna at dinner.

Oh yeah speaking of Disney cruises my brother called and let me know our airfare is booked for our cruises in September. He booked it because Discovercard is offering 5% back on travel purchases through the end of March and I already maxed my amount out, plus some. Although it will be reimbursed so I earned free rewards dollars in the process. Plus I am also earning Disney rewards dollars as well.

 

[ReAnSt]

Hi, hope you all had a good day.

I got my new laptop yesterday and I am using it right now.

My schedule is so messed up. I left work at 3:30pm and went to a Thai restaurant as I hadn't eaten lunch than I went to the beach for a period of time. I came back around 6:15pm and went to bed and got up around 9pm, I just went to get food a little while ago as I was starving. Let's just say, getting up early tomorrow again is going to be no fun.

 

[ReAnSt]

Tammi- Prayers for you and your uncle.

Tia- Hope Terra's eye is better soon

Deb- Hope Logan feels better soon.

Theresa- Tell Abi to try putting them on Mickey's feet first, instead of over his head

Vicki- Glad to hear Aunt Stell is doing better.

Sending prayers, and to everyone I may have missed.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Don't beleive all the hype, my sister is very large chested and had no pain at all with her mamao.

Oh great!

 

[PNO4TE]

Elin, if I don't talk to you before you leave, have a safe trip tomorrow.

Thank you, Tammi. We are headed out of here in about an hour since we have to deal with I-95. I am not looking forward to the trip home this afternoon/evening, that's for sure!

 

[PNO4TE]

Becky - YAY on the airfare and YAY on the new laptop. What a glorious day to be at the beach yesterday. And I bet it was perfect kite-flying weather there too, as we had a breezy day here.

Hope your schedule is not too messed up!

 

[Pooh67_68]

Morning Elin, safe travels.

 

[PNO4TE]

Deb - I say start to plan that western US vacation! One of the best vacations my family ever took was in 1967. My Dad took 6 weeks off and we rented a pretty good sized travel trailer. We took the southern route from PA through the midwest and TX, AZ and NM. Then we headed up the west coast through California (my first Disney Park experience!) and Oregon and Washington. Coming home we went through the norther tier of states.

We saw everything from the Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon to the Redwoods, Crater Lake and Mt. Ranier. There were the Badlands and Custer's Last Stand as well as Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone. So many other stops along the way that I cannot even begin to list here! What a gorgeous country we have!!

It was the most amazingly powerful vacation I have ever taken and I would love to be able to afford to do it again someday. One of the best things about the summer before my Dad died was that he and I sat in their living room for many weekends going through all the pictures from that trip and cataloguing them and talking about the trip. We did not have any idea that he would die that December so I hold those memories very close to my heart. And it is one of the reasons I still try to afford a couple of vacations a year for my family. The "stuff" I had growing up is long forgotten but those trips I took as a child are still fresh in my mind. Over the years we did 4 weeks in Canada and 2 weeks in New England. There were beach trips and vacations in PA. I think I could track our itineraries on a map to this day!

 

[PNO4TE]

Morning Elin, safe travels.

Hi, Heidi! And, thanks.

 

[PNO4TE]

Good morning, DDA! I hope you all have beautiful days.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

good morning and happy friday!!!

 

[Tammi67]

Good morning.

Hi Jen, Elin and Heidi.