The Last Day

Friday.  The last day of vacation. While I'm anxious to get home to my own shower (the one here is not one I'd choose...), that's about it for now.  I've been really happy to be away all week.  The resort has been nice, the beaches have been lovely.  It's been a good week, overall.

But enough blah blah blah about the last day...

The HH took the kids to Universal Studios parks on Tuesday, while I did some shopping.  I rarely get to go shopping lately, and I was LOVING it.  I only got a couple of things, but buying wasn't my objective.  Shopping has little to do with buying for me.  It's more about being alone with my thoughts, walking around through stores and shops, and relaxing while I just look at everything.  I miss doing that.  So Tuesday was a great day for me.  And in the late evening, after the fam was finished with their day at Universal, the HH and I went to Landry's restaurant for a late dinner, and then to BB Kings to listen to music.  It was GREAT!
 

Wednesday was another beach day for us.  Once we were all up and moving about, we piled into the van and headed to Daytona Beach.

There's some weather stuff going on out in the ocean, and so the water was REALLY choppy, and it was crazy-windy.  There were riptide warnings, too, and the lifeguards made people stay very close to shore.  On a couple of occasions, they had to actually blow their whistles, and get the attention of people who were swimming too far out.  Kinda scary, but it didn't bother us.  We were able to have plenty of fun in the waves that were coming in.  Because it was so choppy, there were some decent waves to jump in right along the shore.

After "beaching" for a few hours, we walked along the Daytona boardwalk, looked at a few shops, and got some ice cream before heading back to the highway.  And, of course, before leaving Daytona, we made a stop at the raceway.  That place is HUGE.  I knew it was big, but until I saw it - live and in person - I just really couldn't fully imagine it.  I don't think I've never seen so much spectator seating in one place.  Wow!  I can't imagine being there for a race, when it's packed with people. 

The HH was particularly happy to have seen the raceway, since he is such a huge NASCAR fan.  and even I am glad we stopped - it was cool to see it. 

By the time we got back to Orlando, it was (of course) rush hour, so it took us practically twice as long as it should have to get back to the resort.  We made a quick stop at the grocery store, and then spent the evening relaxing, doing lots of nothing.  (what vacation's all about!)

I got up on Thursday, and hit the fitness center again.  I've made it there a few times this week, and I'm glad I did.  My days are always better if I make time for my cardio, especially.  The fitness center here is the largest I've seen at a resort so far.  And it's always busy.  I guess that means that there are some smart folks staying here this week.  ;)

Nobody wanted to go back to the beach on Thursday, so I took the girls to the outlet mall for a little Victoria's Secret bargain hunting, and then we just hung out most of the day at the resort.  The HH had to sign in to work for a few hours, and Jack developed a little bit of a migraine.  So Thursday was pretty uneventful.  The kids got pizza for dinner, and Charlie and I went to The Pub for a while.  It was a really cool bar.  Loud, but cool.  They had more imported beer on tap than I've ever seen.  And the menu featured two pages full of single-malt scotch options.  The servers were all dressed in kilts or short kilties, and the atmosphere was very old brittishy looking.  It was cool!  No gluten-free beer, though, so I had to stick with a cider.

And now here it is, Friday.  Our last full day here.  I'm getting ready to go to the fitness center for some time on the elliptical, and then I have no idea what we are going to do with our day.  It's a bit overcast, so not quite as hot today.  The girls talked about renting a boat to go out onto the lake here at the resort.  I'd still like to take some more pictures around the resort, and around Orlando. And Sarah is seemingly DYING to find a go-kart track.  But I have no idea yet where we'll end up today.  I just know we'll certainly have a good day!

Eh...  I'm in danger of falling behind.  Again.  Dang it. 

The girls survived their marathon bus trip, and were none the worse for it.  They even managed to arrive in Orlando a little ahead of schedule, which is always a good thing.   Especially on a bus trip!

We managed to get on the road a little earlier than expected, and survived our 18 hour drive, as well.  I'm really not a fan of the "drive straight through" approach, but it is a means to an end.  And you really can't complain about the middle of the night traffic... 

We're staying at the Marriott Grande Vista, and it's beautiful.  It is just as expected - everything about the place is inviting and lovely.  I don't know that I've ever seen properties better manicured than they are at the Marriott locations I've been to.  And every room has a view of palm trees and a pool.

Who doesn't love to see a palm tree every time they look out the window? 

The girls' choir performed on Sunday at Downtown Disney.  It was a cool experience that I am so glad they were able to have!  The kids sounded fantastic!  And they looked fantastic, too.

It was so obvious that they were having a good time! 

After their performance, the HH, Jack, and I had lunch at Planet Hollywood.  We spent as much time walking around the restaurant gawking at the cool memorabilia as we did eating our meal.  There was lots and lots of really fun collectibles in the Orlando location.   Jack particularly liked a couple of things from his favorite scary movies.

After our outing to Downtown Disney, we just hung out at the resort, and lounged by the pool during the late afternoon and into the evening.  (I love saying "lounge by the pool"!) 

Monday was a beach day.  BUT... the van lost a radiator hose, so our trip to the beach was a tiny bit delayed.  We spent about two hours at a Dodge dealership while it was replaced.  Not exactly the way we'd wanted to start the day, but...  I'm at least thankful that there wasn't any damage to the van, and that it happened just a few miles from a dealership where it could be repaired.  Sooooo...  two hours, and a bunch of money later, we did get on the road, and ended up spending several fun and relaxing hours at Cocoa Beach, playing in the waves.

Just another day in paradise!

Busy, busy, busy...

It's been more than just a little busy lately.  I'll start with today, and work my way backwards.  (yes, I know - today...  NOT a day behind!) 

Today, the girls left for Florida with their high school choir.  They're traveling by bus, and they'll end up at Disney World in about 18 (-ish) hours. 

They've been on bus trips before, so they know the pitfalls, and they were dreading them - the cramped feeling, the smelly bathroom, the random laugh, snore, or giggle in the middle of the night, the slight hint of b.o. that lingers by the end of the trip...  But they also know there can be some highlights, too - laughing, talking, sharing with friends, learning about each other, and making memories.   Hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad, and they'll have a good trip, and arrive unscathed. 

The girls both got their hair done today, and both looked great.  Kathryn got a little burgundy-ish color on hers, and Sarah just got hers sort of freshened up with the same color as her natural highlights.  After a few days and a few washings, the color will be more subtle, but still look great.  I love that they are growing up, and enjoying some "girly-girl" stuff like that.  Nothing wild or crazy, just a little conservative fun with their hair.  It's good that they can express themselves like that - it's part of growing up as a girl. 

(Jack had to hop in the pic and show Sarah a little love!)

On Monday, Sarah's softball team was invited to come out to our house for an informal team-building cookout.  We grilled hot dogs, and the girls each brought a little something to share.  It wasn't a late night, but they did stay for a few hours, and seemed to have a good time hanging out together.  It's nice to see girls from different schools come together and have fun doing something they really enjoy.  This softball team is definitely a good thing (albeit, a very time-consuming one!)

Saturday's and Sunday's free time was pretty softball-filled, as well.  At least it was for Sarah.  She went to watch a softball tournament on Saturday, and her summer team played in tournament all day Sunday, and then her high school softball team had it's awards banquet on Sunday evening.  The awards banquet was really nice - they had a great catered meal, and the coaches made some fun presentations to the girls.  I'm really glad Sarah was on the team this past year.  She has made some great friends, and learned ALOT about being part of a team. 

While all this softball was going on over the weekend, the HH was in Chicago to help my brother work on my niece, Amber's house, and Kathryn went with him.  She had pipe band practice on Friday night, so they drove up together, and Kathryn was able to just hang out while the guys worked.  It's a rough job, you  know - playing with a cute 2-year old, and taking walks along Lake Michigan's shore - but I suppose someone's got to do it.  And if it can't be me, at least it's someone I love. 

Sarah and I did the paper route on Saturday and on Sunday. 

I didn't sleep at all on Friday night because I was afraid I'd oversleep on Saturday and mess up the route schedule.  And Saturday night wasn't much better.  I don't know how the HH does it every morning.  It sucks to get up at 4:30, and have to actually be functional!  Sarah did all the work.  I just drove her around, basically.  I know the paper route is a good, easy, one-hour-of-work-a-day way for the girls to have spending money, but I couldn't do it every day.  I must be wimpier than I realized!

Sarah, bless her heart, made my day on Saturday.  I came downstairs, and she took my picture and sent it to the HH.  She told him I looked sexy.  :)  I'm not thinkin' I was looking all that fabulous, but hearing her tell me sure made me feel good!  This is me in all my not-so-fabulousness....

Last week, Sarah's summer team (yup - softball again!) played two games on Wednesday night, and played pretty well!  It was fun watching them. 

BUT...  and this is a huge BUT....  I'm not going to be able to watch them play often.  Whatever is in the dirt on the fields at UIS had a HORRIBLE effect on me.  Even being fully dosed on my allergy meds, my eyes were itchy, red, and swollen.  I ended the night at home with an ice cold washcloth covering my eyes, praying that the swelling would go down and that the itching would stop.  By Thursday, my eyes hurt so much that I jokingly posted on fb that "I'd give my eye doctor a zillion dollars if he'd see me right now" (something along those lines).  And wouldn't you know it...  Bill N. saw it, and called my eye doctor to tell him! (He's a friend in common.) We had a good laugh about that when I did go to see him this Monday!  I have my ridiculously expensive allergy eye drops now, and I'm doing much better, but I really don't know that I'll risk too much time at those softball fields.  They kill me!

OK, well, that's probably about it for the past week or so.  That's alot of rambling.  Vacation is coming up - hopefully that will mean more time to post.  Although, I've got the three "Shades of Grey" books loaded to my kindle app, so I might be doing more reading than posting. We'll just have to see...

Random Words of Wisdom and Wonder

If your toenails are longer than your fingernails, and you think it looks good, you need to re-evaluate your personal grooming philosophies.

If you aren't going to bother doing and/or even looking at the back of your hair, why bother doing the front?

And, finally...

Just because you can button and zip those jeans, it doesn't mean they fit.

Have a glorious day.

A Day Behind?

I guess it's normal to always be blogging about yesterday...  After all, I can't really talk about today until today's happened.  And by the time I have time to sit down and talk (type) about anything, I dont' want to forget whatever happened yesterday, so that's what I end up blogging about.  So I guess I'm going to have to be OK with being a day behind most of the time.

Yesterday afternoon, the softball team climbed up onto one of the fire engines and rode through town - first through Sherman on a Sherman truck (until the department got a call, and the truck had to be on stand by while the other truck went on that call!), then through Williamsville on a Williamsville truck.  The Williamsville truck took them to the high school, where a decent little crowd of parents and friends were waiting to greet them for a trophy presentation, and a rally.  It was really cool to see so many people there to support the girls.  That's one of the best parts of living in a small town - we all know each other, and we all stand together at times like that.

After the rally, I went to a meeting at church about our upcoming Vacation Bible School.  I told them I'd help with crafts.  It will be fun - we're doing a really cool "backstage" theme this year that the younger kids will really be able to have fun with.  And, it's also a theme that the big kids who will be helping (and even the adults) can have fun with, too.   I can't wait for July!

And now I'm sitting here decidedly NOT drinking my glass of water because I left the room for a few minutes, and I think maybe the cat is looking guilty...  like she hopped up here on my desk and had a drink while I was gone...  Maybe it's time to take the glass to the kitchen, and call it a night.

Until tomorrow...  when I'll talk about today, which will then be yesterday.  Or something like that. :)

A Beautiful Sunday

Softball, softball, softball...
 

The final game of the girls softball state championship was amazing!  I was a nervous wreck for half the game, and Sarah wasn't even playing...  It was a rough game, and the girls worked their butts off, and in the end came home with 2nd place in the State!  It was a great way to end their season.  Sarah's really enjoyed being a part of the team - I'm so glad she decided to play this year.  To celebrate their success, the team is going to be escorted through town this afternoon riding on one of the firetrucks, and then there will be a rally at the high school.  Pretty cool way for the girls to spend the afternoon, if you ask me.  ;)

Jack survived day 2 with the boot...  It's annoyingly uncomfortable for him, but we want his leg to really have a chance to heal and get strong, so he's wearing it pretty much all the time.  It does slow him down, which was the idea, but not much...  he's just always on the go!

The HH is seeming a little unnerved lately, with so very much going on.  I'm hoping he can get into a groove soon with all of his stuff - softball, especially.  I'm thinkin' the competitive league he's coaching is going to take up pretty much every second of "spare" time this summer. I know he likes to be busy, but this summer, busy is an understatement.  He's double-booked!  Today, I think he could be in about three places doing three different things this afternoon, if it were possible.   It's going to be a little rough to keep up with everything this summer, but I suppose we'll figure it out. 

For now, I'm just going to concentrate on enjoying a beautiful Sunday. 

Sarah's softball team played in the state finals last night, and won!  Now, they are going to play for the state championship this afternoon!  Yesterday's game was super-exciting.  And it was really great to see a literal ocean of purple there to support the girls!   I can't wait for today's game!  I know there will be a HUGE crowd of local folks there to support the girls, so I think we will definitley have to go early to get a seat in the bleachers.  I can't imagine how excited and nervous the players must be...  It's definitley a weekend to remember for all of them!

It's probably a weekend to remember for Jack, too...  though in a much different way.  At Jack's orhopedic specialist appointment yesterday, we did find out a couple of things...  Most surprising was the fact that what we initially thought had been a stress fracture, was really a true, through-and-through break!   Here's a picture of the x-ray.  Jack made sure we got a print of it.  ;)

They think it probably happened about six weeks ago, and is mostly healed now.  He must have a ridiculously high tolerance for pain, because he never really complained.  He never complained of an injury, a bad fall, anything.  He only complained that his leg hurt "a little" or sometimes was "a little achy" -  usually after track practice, or a baseball game.  We figured it was just because he'd been growing so rapidly (several inches in the past couple of months) - especially since the pediatrician's office told us about Osgood-Schlatter, and how that achy hurt feeling happens when active kids with it are actively growing.    

The ortho specialist did agree with the pediatrician's office that Jack has Osgood-Schlatter, so that "growing pain" achy part of stuff will continue for a while, until he's done growing.  Poor kid!  Now he has a soft cast / boot to wear for the next 4 weeks.  Even though his break is already mostly healed, the boot will help slow him down so it can really get fully healed and get stronger.   Plus, we told him, he'll get lots of sympathy from girls while he's wearing it!  Ha!

Of course, as is the norm for our family, there's more than one thing going on this weekend....  Kathryn is in Milwaukee with the Midlothian pipe band for a competition.  I think I always sound too harsh when I talk about her going to things by herself.  I used to drive myself to just about every corner of the state beginning the summer before my senior year, and so for me it seems normal that she do the same.   But I'm really sort of nervous about it.  I know she is old enough, very mature, and very capable.  But it still makes me nervous - Mostly just because I think she was a little nervous.  :)  But, she's with great people from the pipe band world this weekend, and I know she's having a great time, and she's fine.  So, what I really need to be nervous about for her is the competition!  I hope she places in her dancing, and I hope the band brings home good scores!

Today is also our church's work day, but I don't think I'm going to be able to get there to do much helping...  With everything else going on, I'm getting way behind on the things I need to take care of.  So I'm about to kick myself into high gear, and get a few things accomplished this morning before we have to head out for the softball game.  While I'd truly prefer to sit here and watch Dale, our resident chipmunk, run back and forth across the porch, and laugh at Bella the Cat, as she tries to "talk" to the cardinal that is seemingly taunting her by hopping along the porch railing, I really need to get moving, so....

Talk at you later!

Let's try this again (for the zillionth time). 

Happy Friday!   It's a little early, but there's always so much to do!  This morning, I'm finishing up some Reese's brownie cupcakes for Sarah to take to the girls' softball team this morning as they head to the State tournament.  (Ya-Hooooo!)  I also tried a new cupcake this time - Oreo cookie cupcakes.  The fam liked them, so hopefully, the other girls will, too.   I'm feeling very cupcake-y today, and might try some of those "soda" cupcakes I've seen on pinterest, and I might make some with marshmallowy cream filling.   Of course, it would be nice to taste some of these cupcakes I make for everyone, but I suppose it's good that I'm gluten-free - it makes it easy to resist!

Aaaaand, speaking of gluten-free, I did make a batch of g-free yellow cake cupcakes.  I used the Betty Crocker mix, and didn't really have very high hopes of them being very tasty.  They're usually not - at least not compared to "regular" cake.  But this time, I used almond extract instead of vanilla, and I slightly UNDER cooked them, and they're not too bad.  I'm very excited.  I'm thinking that with a little cream filling and some frosting, they'll make for an excellent treat on diet cheat day!

Once all this early morning cupcake making is done, and I get Sarah sent off on the bus to East Peoria, it'll be time to get ready to head to Jack's first specialist appointment.  Today, we'll see the othopedics specialist.  I honestly don't hold out much hope for this visit - I could be wrong.  But my instincts tell me that we'll need to see the endocrinologist before we start to figure out what's going on with Jack.  Something is causing his body to not absorb vitamins and minerals, and make his bones weaker than they should be, and that's who I think will be able to figure it out.  Although, I suppose the orthopedics doc should be able to give us a little insight into things, as well.  Anyway...  we start our adventure with this all today.