Kiwis Afloat

I have really loved reading your review. I am in total awe of you and how you manage 8 children with such ease. They seem lovely too. Thank you :) Oh, and I really like the large font.

Wow! What a great video! Thank you for taking the time to make this. I am now going back to watch the others that you mentioned. :D

What a great video! Loved it all from start to finish! Great music too. The camera shots on the pole thingy really made it. Thanks. :):):)

I can see the photos. :) It's often the other way round for me.

Orpheus, I have loved your review. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Hi everyone,

I hope all is well with each of you.

Tom47 - that trip to Ireland sounds wonderful. My dad was Irish and I would love to take a trip there.

Beshears - 7 boys! Phew!

Since I last posted, things have been moving for us. I mentioned that my DH had been made redundant. Well, he now has a permanent position again (began as a contract). He is really happy and it is a role that he loves. He is off for a week to Hong Kong and China, tonight.

But, bigger news that that - our daughter's boyfriend has asked for our blessing to marry her. He will propose to her next weekend. We are very excited. I have never had to plan a wedding before and I imagine that will have its challenges. :eek:

We are still in wintery weather here with lots of rain.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Mary

Hi Everyone,

We are into winter here now and for us that means rain, rain, rain, rain and just in case you didn't get it....rain! We will get the odd few days of freezing and sunny thrown into the mix now and then.

I think a few of you must be getting into high temperatures now. Lovely!

I have read back a bit and I am not sure if anyone is cruising soon, but if you are...have a great trip!:)

Is there anyone like me, who reads lots of the reviews and "live from" threads (regardless of cruise line)? I enjoy the chance to live vicariously. Some of them have had fantastic photos too.

Have a great week wherever you are!

Mary

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our newcomers!

We are into the start of winter now and I don't like it at all! Colder and more rain.:(

We had a long weekend this weekend...we got Monday off for Queen's Birthday. Hubby and I were able to do quite a bit around the garden which was great. We pruned, weeded and put down new bark. There are flowers in a newly created garden.

I hope none of you have been caught up in all the tornadoes we have heard about. We have seen some news footage and it looks very scary.

Have a great week wherever you are! :)

Mary

Another vote for the coral dress. You look fresh and elegant. :)

Hi Carol,

Thank you. Yes, it was wonderful. Her major is Media Studies.

Three cruises for you! Wow! :D You are going to have a great time. Where and when will you be cruising? I would love to try the Oasis one day. She seems almost unreal. I enjoy reading people's reviews of her.

Mary:)

Hi everyone!

We attended our daughter's university graduation ceremony today. It was wonderful. It began with a street parade which was led by a row of bagpipe players. My (Scottish) mother went 'tingly" with excitement. The graduands (I learnt that they are not graduates until they have been "capped") were then piped into the auditorium where there were speeches and cultural performances as well as each student being "capped". We are proud parents here tonight.:)

I hope you are all enjoying your day wherever in the world you are.

Mary

I found this thread tonight and I have just finished reading it from the start. I am enjoying "going on this cruise" with you. Thank you for taking the time to write this! :):)

Happy Anniversary Tom and Liz! 43 years is a wonderful milestone.:)

Mary

daijaix2

You and your gf look lovely. I love all of her gowns especially the silver one. :)

i'LL be back posting regularly - I lost my Mom and her services were this past week so I am feeling sad -- I know the hurt will never go away but hoping I can be ok just a tad soon... at least to function a little more -- thanx everyone.. carol

Oh that is so sad. I am very sorry. :(

Mary

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Irish!

Irish Who?

Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day! :)

Thanks Tom!

I enjoyed viewing your photos very much!

Mary

Hi Tom, I have just sent an email request.

Thanks very much.:)

Mary

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all well.

It is still beautiful summer weather here, although autumn officially started on March 1st.

We went to an outdoor concert two weeks ago -some of our old favourites -America, Bachman Turner and Pat Benatar. It was lovely to be in a crowd of similar age to us and reliving some of our youth!

Last Sunday we went up Rangitoto (an extinct volcanic island in our harbour). It was really hot but the views from the top were worth the trek. So, today (Sunday) we decided to laze around the house.

Tom, I would love to see your Panama cruise photos.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday as it arrives, wherever you are.

Mary :)

Hi everyone,

Just popping back in so that this thread doesn't disappear off the page.

School has started again here. The kids started back last Thursday (at our school). They seem largely keen to be back. I have a class of 26 year 4's (8 going on 9 year olds). A nice wee bunch.

We are having a day or so of much-needed rain here. Our grass certainly needs some water. Still warm though. More sun is forecast after tomorrow.

We saw on the news that your big super bowl game was on today. They showed an advertisement that was played. Clearly the ads at half time are a very big deal. It all looks very exciting. I have never been able to figure the rules of American football though. I don't know who won, but hopefully at least one of you will have supported the winning team.

I hope you have a great day wherever you are. :)

Mary

Reading about your ancestors is fascinating. I feel like if we were to research back far enough, some of mine could have known some of yours.

Tom -we are "Browns" on my husband's side. Pretty common name though. That must have been tough on your daughter and all of you, to discover there was CF in the family. I am going to read up a bit more on that.

Beth -my mother is from Scotland and lives in NZ now. I have never been there but it is a trip that might be somewhere in the future. My dad was from Ireland.

We have no trips planned for the near future as hubby was made redundant so he is doing whatever he can (labouring jobs for friends and friends of friends) for a while. Hopefully he will get another job in the near future, although all this manual labour is making him very fit so that's good!

We took our DD and her BF (he lives with us) to Disneyland CA and Las Vegas last July when she turned 21, and DH and I went on our 2nd cruise this time last year, so we don't feel hard done by. We try to just "go with the flow" in the meantime.

Carol, I think you are home but about to go off again. Have a great time!

Have a great day everyone, wherever you are! :)

Now to have fun with the fonts! Ha ha ha!

Mary

Hi All,

Beth, I have a friend who teaches in North Carolina! (I saw that as your home on the avatar -is that what it's even called?) Anyway, she got a job in Fayetteville, near Rawleigh. She moved there from NZ about 18 months ago to have the challenge and excitement of teaching in another part of the world. I see the temperatures over your way are pretty cold just now. Do you get snow where you live?

Yes, Australia is having a shocker of a summer just now. We lived in Melbourne when we were first married and the hot summers are a challenge -especially when you can't afford air con in your car or home as was the case for us back then. We have family who still live there -both in Melbourne and over on the west coast. I hope your friend in Adelaide is doing ok.

Carol, it is a lot of fun teaching all the different year levels. Over my time I have taught every year from New Entrants (5 year olds) to Year 8 (going on 13 years old). But the youngest are a special challenge. I bet your niece has a story to tell daily.

It's another very lovely day here -27 outside just now. I love summer!

Well, I am enjoying getting to "know" you all and I hope that you enjoy your day wherever you are.:)

Mary

Ha ha -I just noticed where to change the fonts etc. Be prepared for the text to look different every time I write on the thread. Lol.

Well, it is middle of the summer here just now and lovely! The temperatures are around 26 but in our backyard they often reach a lot higher than that. I think it is all to do with where the weather peeps take their measurements from.

I have loved having the time to start each day with a long walk -usually 7kms or so. But I have to start as early in the morning as possible, as it gets a bit hot later in the day.

I am on holiday (school's out for about 6 weeks for the kids and about 5 weeks for teachers) but I am already planning for the start of the new school year. I spend ages on the net looking for new and fun ideas to use with my class. This year I will be teaching 8-9 year olds.

I see a few of you are getting close to another cruise! Yay! I bet you are getting excited even though you have done quite a few.

Hope you all have a great day in your part of the world. :)

Mary

I am thoroughly enjoying your review. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

I look for this thread every day, eager to read your next installment.:):)

This is my first post on this thread...but I am happy to have found one that looks like it is just for chatting. :)

I am 55 years old and I have been on only 2 cruises so far -both with my hubby of 33 years. They were the Ruby Princess (3 years ago -for our 30th anniversary) and the Celebrity Equinox (1 year ago -just because...). I still work (and LOVE it). I am a primary school teacher. :)

I have read some of the recent and some of the earliest posts, but not them all.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!:):)

This has been an amazing journey for us, your fans!

Your videos are wonderful! The written details have been fun and informative. Your family is a delight. I am sorry it has to come to an end.

I will look forward to your final post from home.