Vacation 2012 Part Two

Let's see...  Next was Wednesday when my mom had scheduled some craft thing with the girls at one of the rec centers, so we stuck around The Villages.  It was just driving around in the golf cart and swimming.  That was nice since I was sort of tired of all the driving we had done the previous couple of days.  Kris and I went to have lunch at Sumter Landing and walk around looking in all the little shops.  We also took the time on Wednesday to drive around The Villages and take a few pictures of the girls for possible Christmas cards.  I'm not sure if we'll use any of them, but I think we got a couple of good ones.

Thursday was EPCOT, which was pretty much the same as Hollywood Studios.  It was hot, but not as crowded.  We went on one ride we did not go on the last time right away, Soarin', and then a couple of other cutesy rides that Ali likes - the Figment ride in the Land of Imagination and then we started walking around the world showcase. Soarin' was really fun and Alison was a little scared when we told her what the ride was like.  But afterward she said she really liked it.

 

By early afternoon and the heat was kicking in.  Ali was getting a headache and not feeling well (I think because she was getting dehydrated) so we went to a couple of movie attractions where we were indoors for a good 30-45 minutes at a time.

We finished the World showcase quickly because a severe weather alert had been issued and the rain was coming.  We waited it out for a little bit in the big ball at the entrance to EPCOT (Spaceship Earth), and by the time we were out, the rain had almost stopped.  But again, everyone was wiped out so we left.
 

One thing to add about Thursday was the people we were talking to in line for Soarin'.  As we sat in line for about 80 minutes, some kid started talking to Kris.  He had been given the little lanyard that they use to track how long people wait in line.  After a few minutes they had a nice little discussion going.  Then the kid's cousins started in too.  One of them happened to be a year older than Sarah and was actually a very nice boy.  We found out they were from Kentucky and they told us all about themselves and what they did in high school (football, baseball, wrestling).  One of the people in their group (Kris told me it was an aunt) was taking pictures of the boys talking to Sarah, which I thought was kind of strange, because she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was taking Sarah's picture.  After we got off the ride Kris said something to Sarah about the boy being very nice and sort of cute, and Sarah said, yeah, he was.  So Sarah could have had a boyfriend from another state if she had played her cards right. 


Friday we went to the endangered animal/rescue park in Homosossa Springs.  But that lasted about an hour.  Ali wanted to go, but got bored quickly.  That and the fact that there were quite a few mosquitoes out and biting made it sort of miserable.  Also, the girls were freaked out by a story my mother told them about going there a couple of weeks previous with my brother and niece and seeing a couple of snakes crawling around the paths.  They were all trying to be very careful, watching where they stepped.

It really wasn't much anyway, but we ended up going back to my parents' house and went swimming all afternoon.  Which was fine with me.  We drove back down to Sumter Landing because the girls wanted to look in some of the shops and while we were down thereby Lake Sumter, we saw an alligator, which was rather surprising.  It looked like about a 4-5 footer.  I didn't think the oldsters would let gators get established in their lakes, but I suppose they figure it'll bring people into town to see them, and then they'll spend their money there.

Anyway, I would have rather enjoyed a relaxing afternoon the day before we left so we could pack things slowly and weren't feeling so rushed.

Overall it was nice to get away from the stresses of work and WI for a week and the girls enjoyed being able to swim every day.

Vacation 2012 Part One

We made it to Florida and back for our vacation without too much incident.  We made it to Florida in one piece and without much incident.  We flew out on Saturday on Southwest and our boarding group was first so the girls both got window seats.  Kris had some interesting characters sitting next to her on the flight to Florida and on the flight coming back.  More on that later.

Our first full day in Florida was spent just knocking around my parents' house.  It was our anniversary and Kris and I didn't really want to do anything in particular.  We drove to Walmart to get a few things and then took the girls to the flea market in Marion for Sunglasses and cases.  The rest of the day was spent pretty much lounging around while the girls swam.  Then we went to some Greek place in Lady Lake for dinner with my folks.  We went to bed early because Monday we had planned on going to Hollywood Studios.

The park opened at 9:00 AM on Monday and the plan was to get to Hollywood Studios between 9:30 and 10:00.  I figured that would give us plenty of time to let the traffic thin out and we wouldn't have to worry about the crowds getting in.  Boy was I wrong.  First, once we got off of highway 27 we hit a traffic jam.  So it took almost 40 minutes to go about 7 or 8 miles.  Then, once we got to Hollywood Studios there was a huge line to get in because everyone had to go through security and have their bags searched.  That took another 10-15 minutes so it was almost 10:30 by the time we got into the park.  Plus, it was HOT!  The day topped out at about 95 degrees, but the heat coming up off the pavement felt like walking on a lava field.

 

The first thing we did was get fast passes for the Tower of Terror and then got in line for the Aerosmith roller coaster.  This was Alison's and Sarah's first time on roller coasters.  Sarah was all for it, but Ali was very apprehensive.  I pretty much told her she was going on so she whimpered and whined about it while we were in line.  She kept asking if there were loops and I kept telling her no (because they were corkscrews, not loops).  But I had forgotten that there actually were a couple of loops too.  My bad.  Oh well.  After we got off Alison was mad, and crying, why I don;t know exactly, because it was all over.

 

Then, as soon as we got off the roller coaster, it was out time at the Tower of Terror.  That one was like pulling teeth to get everyone to go on it.  Alison was even worse with her crying.  Sarah and Kris were ok, though afterward I had to hear about how much they hated it.  Sarah actually bit Kris's shoulder during one of the drops.

But now it was over and done.  I don't think it was all that bad, but I was alone in that assessment.  The other attraction we wanted to go on was the Toy Story Mania one.  However, we found out while in line for the Rockin' Roller Coaster that there was a 2 hour wait for it, and the fast pass time was between 5:30 and 6:30 PM.  Then by the time we got off of the Tower of Terror, the fast passes were gone for the day, and we didn't want to sit in line for two hours in the heat, so we skipped it all together, which was sort of a bummer.  The rest of the day was spent going to shows and other filler type attractions (the 3-D Muppet movie, special effects tour, Indiana Jones Stunt Show).  It was pretty much stuff where we were either in air conditioned buildings or in covered areas so we could avoid the direct sun beating down on us.

My mother had told us to avoid going to the Disney parks on Monday because that is the day when everyone who comes into Orlando over the weekend will go, plus, it was the start of the summer vacation season, so the parks were going to be crowded.  But we were trying to avoid the rain that was forecast for later in the week and Monday was the best chance to not have any.  I am just glad we didn't go the the Magic Kingdom, because that crowd would have been even worse.  By about 5:00 the girls were burned out (and so were we) from the heat just walking around the park from attraction to attraction, so we left for home, and as soon as we got back, we hit the pool to cool off and then just tried to relax for a bit before going to bed.

Tuesday was the day we were planning on going down to Clearwater Beach.  Sarah wanted to go hit the tourist shops and St. Petersburg was recommended to us.  My plan was to leave late in the morning and then go down the full length of the beach in St. Petersburg.  My parents' neighbor came over and when we told her where we were going and what we were planning on doing, she told us to make sure we went to John's Pass.  By the time we got there is was early afternoon and very hot.  We stopped at a small t-shirt shop in Clearwater Beach and Sarah and Alison each found a couple of things for very cheap.  I told the girls to not get bogged down with buying things in the very first shop, because we had 30 miles to go down the beach.  So we drove slowly (actually the speed limit) looking out at the Gulf and the inner channels and hotels/condos, keeping an eye out for some nice looking shops.  There were a few, but they seemed to be chain stores, because we saw them at every beach along the way.  We finally got to John's Pass and there was a little shopping village just across from the beach, so we stopped and walked around for a bit going into all the shops.  We got a few things, some unique things we didn't see anywhere else, and after about a hour and a half, we took off.  We kept driving down the beach and I showed the girls the hotel that I stayed at when I was 12 or 13 on Treasure Island.  I couldn't believe it was still there, or at the very least hadn't been knocked down for a big, high rise type hotel or condo.  When we stayed there it was a Howard Johnson, but now it was just some private hotel.  The restaurant is now a Waffle House, which is probably a good thing.  The girls weren't all that impressed.  Maybe next time we'll go and lay out on the beach for the day.

Coming back though we got stuck in a traffic jam in Tampa.  I hate driving in Tampa, and I was hoping that the rush hour would be over (about 5:30 when we got going), so it took a little longer to get home than I had planned.  But again, once we got home it was pool time to cool off and relax for the night.

End of Summer

It isn't officially over yet, but for all intensive purposes summer '11 is all done. Alison had her back to school fair last week Wednesday where we turned in all of her paperwork for the upcoming year and had her school picture taken. Sarah started WEB leader training on Monday and had her back to school fair today where she got her schedule, found out who her teachers will be, had her picture taken, paid fees, etc. Then Friday will be Jr. Indians night followed up by the first football game on Saturday. After that we drop things off at Shady Lane for Alison on Tuesady next week and school start on Thursday.

Where did the summer go?

It's Been A Busy Summer

This summer has been quite an experience. We have kept very busy since the 4th of July with hardly any time to sit and take a breath.

So here is a quick summary of what has happened since then:

* Went to the July 3rd Independence Day Parade and Fireworks
* Moved Kris’s dad into an assisted living apartment
* Dealt with issues relating to Kris’s brother
* Got things in place to get Kris’s dad’s house sold (including getting quotes from contractors on work, cleaning, sorting, packing, among other things)
* Preparing for an estate sale
* Visiting Kris’s dad almost daily.
* A week at Girl Scout Camp for the girls
* Sarah doing preparation work for Girl Scout camp as a program assistant
* Tumbling classes for cheerleading for Sarah
* The start of cheerleading practice
* The girls’ birthdays (Sarah turned 13, Alison turned 9)
* Wisconsin Senatorial recall (yay Alberta Darling!)
* Neighbors moved out and new neighbors are moving in (this didn’t really affect us, just some good news)
* Brewers game (this was one of the more relaxing moments)
* School supply shopping
* School clothes shopping
* Painted and rearranged Sarah’s bedroom
* Returned bedroom furniture twice and had a “technician” come out and fix some flaws in her nightstand
* Got a glass top to go on top of Sarah’s furniture

So, you can see we’ve had our hands full. But now the estate sale is over, Kris’s dad is pretty well settled in at his apartment, and we are finishing up at the house so it can go on the market by the end of the week, I will (hopefully) finally have a few minutes a day to write a couple of lines of updates as to what we’re doing. I say hopefully because school starts in about two weeks and that means helping with homework and working a little bit later since I’ll be taking Alison to school for daycare a couple of times per week.

Summer Vacation

Summer vacation is only four days old and the girls are already bickering and fighting about anything and everything. I need to get them a hobby because I am not going to be able to stand this all summer long. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Kris agrees with me.

Last Day

Today was the last day of school for the girls. It wasn't such a big deal for Sarah, but for Ali, it was a relief (more so for us). We made it through the year at Shady Lane with no major problems. There are still things I am not wild about at that school, but I also realize there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. So both girls are going to be in a higher grade next year. In only five years Sarah we will be attending Sarah's HS graduation. Where has all the time gone?

So let summer vacation begin. The girls are already looking forward to sleeping late, especially Sarah. However one thing I anticipate starting this summer is boys. Sarah already has been walking home with boys and she and her friends have been going to places like Pop's, or Starbucks, and meeting up with other boys. Yeah, it is going to be a long summer.

That Time Of Year

It is the time of year that all parents dream about. I am talking, of course, about back to school time. Summer vacation is finally over! We have been getting ready since we got from vacation, checking supplies, making sure the girls had all their school clothes, trying to get them back onto the school year schedule rather than the summer vacation one.

We only have a week to go and Kris and I still need to finalize how Alison is getting to school. With the redistricting we now are no longer getting bussed to school. The cutoff point is one mile from school and we are about .9 miles by the district's calculation (even though the route I drive comes out to a mile). Right now Kris will be driving Alison and picking her up every day. Hopefully we will be able to find someone in the neighborhood to carpool with on a regular basis so we don't have to do it every single day of the year.