Quiet Saturday

Today was my day to get serious about finishing up some digital layouts, it was the last day for a big sale at Scrapbookpictures.com and I wanted to take advantage of the savings.

So Dan and Andy went to MegaCon at the convention center, I was so anxious to get rid of them that I misread the opening time and got them there two hours early, weren't they luck. I guess I figured if you could pick up your tickets at 0800 the doors must open then but I was wrong and they didn't open until 1000. Still they had a good time and Andy ran into lots of his old friends.

I did get lots accomplished, fourteen pages in all. Some were just finishing up last minute details, others I started from scratch and a couple I found that hadn't been ordered yet. So got everything uploaded and ordered and saved $20.00. Definitely worth the effort. I always try to keep my eyes open for deals to get the layouts printed.

Did some laundry, still getting use to the clothes being dry with the dryer turns off instead of having to set the time again and let it go more. Maybe we will see a drop in the electric bill, sure would be nice.

Monkey Joe's

Today we got to go to Monkey Joe's, it's a huge indoor play area with lots of bounce houses for the kids. We went to the one at Festival Bay on International Drive. Riley was pretty excited about the whole adventure. Going on a weekday when the kids are in school is the best time, for most of the time we were there only two other kids were playing.


Of course the first thing that caught Riley's eye was the arcade games.


Then a ride in the zebra mobile.


Andy trying his luck (he would say skill) at getting a stuffed animal, he was so close.


Kaleigh really wanted to be right us there with everyone but she was a stroller baby today. As soon as she starts walking I'm sure she will be following Riley everywhere.


Finally into the bouncing.

Here they come up the wall to the slide.


Whee!!!

This is the bigger slide, Riley really isn't as scared as he looks. Once he got to the bottom he was laughing and ready to go again.

We stayed about an hour and that is plenty of time to tire everyone but Riley out. We walked around Festival Bay and stopped in at Bass Pro Shop to look at the fish and the bookstore to browse a bit.

Then we headed off to lunch at Zaxby's for some lunch and of course on the way home the little ones fell asleep.

WIC

Today I got to go to the WIC appointment with Andy, they thought it was for both the kids but turned out to just be Riley's appointment. I always thought there was no rhyme or reason to how they did things at that office but today I saw that their system worked pretty well. The part that makes it so bad is the very small waiting room and so many people being seen. We were actually all done with everything in an hour so we really couldn't complain.

Stopped at Sonic on the way home to get some lunch and drinks. Of course Riley was sound asleep but luckily he stayed asleep and went right in for a nap. Kaleigh doesn't sleep that soundly so as soon as I unbuckle one buckle on the car seat she was wide awake.

Got home and watched one of my favorite shows, "Battlestar Gallatica," I'll be sad to see it end and I know it doesn't have many more episodes.

Will They Ever Go Away?

I was feeling pretty svelte today and I knew that wouldn't be good. It never translates to a loss on the scales and it happened again today, I was up 1.2 pounds. Beginning to think these last two pounds will be around forever.

After that I just threw caution to the wind and decided to go to the Wal-Mart on Sand Lake and John Young. I know you are thinking what a daredevil I am. Not much new and different there but the traffic getting there was terrible so I probably won't do that again.

Got home and cut up all the vegetables I bought, going to make fried rice tomorrow and with everything all cut up it will go very fast. Also baked two potatoes for us to have for dinner tonight. I was right on top of things today.

Had a good day with Riley and Kaleigh, at least when Riley wasn't touching, pushing, kissing, hugging or any other miscellaneous things he can think of to do to Kaleigh because she just wasn't liking it today. So while we played she sat on my lap.

Here she is right after she crawled into Riley's bedroom, she can get around as fast crawling as I can walking.


Here was the first kiss that she didn't enjoy at all. At least Riley was very generous with hugs and kisses today so I got lots too.


Just being goofy, he walked around with these on for quite a while.

Here let me show you how to do it.


No, no it's more like this!


After this Kaleigh went down for a nap and Riley and I watched, can you guess, well you got it "Cars".

Just after Kaleigh got up Andy came home because he had some time between classes and nothing to do on campus. It was time to put Riley down and he really didn't want to go but he went in his room and played quietly for about 1.5 - 2 hours so that was good. Kaleigh was very happy to not have anyone touching her. She sat in her bouncy chair the whole time and just bounced to her hearts content.

Watching the kids in the afternoon sure makes the day go by fast. It was 1800 and Andy was arriving home before we knew it.

Tuesday

Just a normal Tuesday, did laundry, sure am loving the new washer and dryer. Like having the dryer up so high that I can practically look inside without bending over plus it has a light so I can see everything. Nothing will ever get lost or forgotten in it again.

Did lots of work on digital layouts, started with our trip to Disney back in December. The hardest part is always choosing the pictures I want to use. That is the one thing about digital that I don't like, really like having the pictures in my hands to look at and sort through. I guess I can get over that one small drawback, wish digital had been around when I was taking pictures of the boys all those years ago.

I-pod Touch

I kept trying to justify having an I-Phone but just couldn't do it. Then I found out that the I-pod Touch does the same thing as the phone but doesn't have the phone. Looked into it and decided I really wanted one but didn't really want to spent the money. Dan must have gotten tired of hearing me talk about it because he offered to buy me one with his gun money he had saved up. So on Saturday we went to Best Buy and got one.

I am so happy with it, surpasses what I thought it would do and now I can't wait to be on a trip and use it for something. So long as there is a Wi-Fi nearby I can get on the internet and that is what really had me excited. The main thing I wanted to be able to do was use my E-tools for Weight Watchers and that works great. Then I found out B of A has mobile banking and I can do that. I keep finding more and more things that are right up my alley. A word of advice, don't let Chris near it because he will have it doing all sorts of disgusting things in no time.

Today was a pretty quiet day. Kaleigh isn't feeling well, not sure if it is teeth or the cold or just a combination of the two, or something else completely. She didn't take a very long nap but went to bed shortly after dinner. Riley and I watched Cars for about 500th time, one of these days I'm going to see it from start to finish in one sitting.

Got home and Chris was visiting, he had to check out the new washer and dryer and the I-pod Touch. So he didn't stay long after I got home but he will never lay his hands on my I-pod Touch again.

We Went to the Fair

Today was get into the fair free, so what else could we do but go to the fair. Not sure if the bull was the mascot of the fair or the rodeo or just there.


It got warm while we were there but not as bad as it could have been at this time of year. The kids were watching the wild animal show and Riley was very intent.



This was one of the crazy chickens we saw at the poultry exhibit. Riley really liked looking at the animals especially the bunnies.

We spent most of our time just walking around looking at all the people, the games, the rides, and the food. Andy and Nikki went on one ride while we were there. It didn't seem very crowded to me, thought maybe with the free admission there would be more people.

Gatorland

First things first, here are the new washer and dryer looking mighty fine in the laundry room. I'm so glad that we went with the red really like the way it looks and they work great.


Now onto today. We had a family trip to Gatorland even Chris joined us. Started with breakfast at Panera which we all enjoyed.

As you can see I didn't have the tripod for this shot and the stroller wasn't cooperating but at least I got the picture with all of us.


Then we found out they have this great setup inside and how can you pass up a shot like this?


Then we did all of our normal pictures that we have been doing for years, just keep adding different people.




We weren't to sure what we see today but we certainly weren't disappointed. First we saw the white alligators that are visiting from Louisiana. We first saw them when we were living in Pensacola (visited the Zoo in New Orleans) so I'm guessing 92 - 93 time frame and of course they have gotten much larger. It was hard to get a picture of them because they were behind glass and there was a lot of reflection but I'm sure you get the idea. Just so you know they are white alligators and not albino.

Caught this guy scratching an itch. The alligators weren't very active today, most were just looking for a sunny spot to get warm, we were in the 40's this morning so I'm sure they weren't liking that.

The breeding marsh is starting to fill up with the birds that come every year to nest. This egret was putting on a show trying to attract a mate. There were a few finished nests but most were just starting to be built. We will be going back in April to see all the babies, one of my favorite times at Gatorland.




Riley got to go to the playground and run wild, one of his favorite things to do.

When we got back over by the entrance couldn't believe how many people were in the park, haven't seen it this crowded in a while, glad we were on our way out. When we walked out to the parking lot there was a very long line to purchase tickets and people were just driving around the parking lot because there were no open parking slots. They were glad to see us coming and freeing up three spaces.

Dan and I stopped by BJ's on the way home and that was about it for us.

Quiet Day

Just a nice quiet day at home doing laundry. I did make a quick trip to the bank and to check mail otherwise it was my day to stay in the house.

Worked on going through the photos from last weekend and getting an order together for Scrapbookpictures.com, it is my favorite site for getting pictures made.

Dan was home early and we got to have a nice dinner together. Steak, salad, and fries, can't ask for much more than that.

Delivery

Got the call this morning saying the washer and dryer would be delivered between 1000 and 1300 so I was expecting 1300. Seeing as how I was ready for them at about 0630 anytime was late for me. They showed up at about 1130 so it wasn't to bad.

Things were going pretty well until one of the hoses decided it was going to leak so they couldn't put them where I wanted them and I just waited for Dan to get home to hook everything up. Dan has had really late days all week and today was no exception, he got home at about 1915. He hooked up the washer and made sure there were no leaks and got it place, will move the dryer tomorrow. Hopefully he will be home earlier, but it isn't looking promising. I can use both of them right now so I'm sure I will be doing some laundry tomorrow. Can't wait.

If Today is Wednesday, It Must Be WW

I was pretty pleased that I stayed the same this week, after eating out all weekend and being on the road, I wasn't sure what would happen. Still that last elusive pound to go.

Made the molten lava cakes from the Hungary Girl web site and I just had one, it was pretty good. A touch of cool whip would have made it even better but of course I didn't put it on my list so it didn't get bought. Maybe next time.

Both the kids were pretty tired today so I had no problems putting them down for a nap but as soon as Riley went down Kaleigh woke up. Kaleigh actually took two naps today, not very long ones but at least she got some rest.

Tonight Dan moved the old washer and dryer out to the garage so we could get the area all cleaned for the new ones being delivered tomorrow. I know you can't really tell but the washer still has the cling wrap on it from the last move because it was so shaky and we figured it wouldn't hurt to leave it on. Pretty interesting collection of stickers on the washer also.

Everglades Day 2

Here is the official photo to show we really did visit the Everglades. Only took two tries this time and thank goodness there was no snow to slip on.

Our first stop of the day was the Royal Palm Center; here there are two trails, the Anhinga Trail and the Gumbo Limbo Trail. The Anhinga Trail should be renamed to include the Black Vulture, they were everywhere squawking and hopping.

This walk was about 1/2 mile long, most of it a boardwalk. Saw lots of alligators, great blue heron, anhinga and their nests, a few turtles, and of course the vultures. When we got to the the end of the boardwalk we were treated to the alligators sunning themselves. I think Dan said he counted 26 that he could see. There always seem to be more that are hiding and if you look really hard you will see them.


Never really have had the chance to look at an anhinga up close but the pattern of their feathers is just beautiful, looks like a piece of fabric.


Then it was on to the Gumbo Limbo Trail, another 1/2 mile trail but this time through a hardwood hammock. This is the gumbo limbo tree, it's sap/resin is used for making glue, varnish, and liniments. The wood was used to make carousel horses in the past.

Next was the Pa-hay-okee Overlook, again a 1/2 mile boardwalk that has an observation tower at the midway point. This is pretty much what the Everglades looks like. Also known as the "River of Grass" and having seen it I can understand the name. For the most part it is tall grass growing in water that is constantly moving, not very fast but moving. Scattered throughout are tree island, three kinds that I can remember. Cypress, hardwood, and willow, what grows where is determined by how far beneath the surface the limestone is located.


This map shows the location of the Pa-hay-okee Overlook, but also shows where Shark Valley is and how it got it's name as I explained in day one.

When we got out to Flamingo (which has no flamingos, never has) we saw so many osprey nests it was unbelievable. It was hard to tell if the eggs has hatched or not because the nests are so high but every now and then I thought I saw a head poke up.

We did all the stops on our way down to Flamingo (the end of the road) so we just made a leisurely drive back, stopping every now and again if something caught our eye.

When we left the park saw the same thing as when we went in this morning, big water trucks watering the fields. They had covered quite a bit of area while we were driving around.


Again this was a great place to visit and two days was good to see what we wanted to see. Would like to return maybe more at the start of the dry season when things might be a bit greener instead of brown.

Haircut Day, Finally

I decided to do some errands today, have been wanting to get my hair cut and I just kept putting it off for some reason but today was the day. Glad I'm an early bird although today I wasn't early enough. There were already two people in front of me to get a haircut when I arrived at 0901 and by the time I left at 0951 there were five people waiting. Guess Monday morning isn't a good day for a haircut, at least not if you are in a hurry.

When I got home prepared all the stuff that has be moved out of the laundry room so the new washer and dryer can go in on Thursday, can't wait.

Today is the first time Riley has fallen asleep eating a meal while I was there. He was sitting in his chair trying to eat and his head just kept bobbing and finally he was out. Put him to bed and he got a good nap.

The rest of the day was spent playing with both Riley and Kaleigh together, another first.

Tomorrow I will be posting pictures from our second day in the Everglades. I forgot to mention that before we went I downloaded a podcast to my I-pod that was a driving tour of the two roads we traveled on. It was very informative and we both enjoyed listening to it. Don't know if there are more for other National Parks or not, but it is something I will look into if visit any others.

Everglades

This is definitely a must do trip, although if you can't go in the next few weeks I would hold off until the end of the year or beginning of next year. The weather was beautiful while we were there but I can see it getting very hot, very soon. Most of what you see is either wide open space or walking through very dense tree growth, so you will either have the sun beating down on you or be in the shade with lots of humidity. Found out that November - May is the tourist time in the Everglades but we never felt it was crowded.

We drove down to Naples on Thursday evening so we could start the drive to Miami first thing in the morning. We didn't head out extremely early because the Visitor's Center was only about 30 miles away and didn't open until 0800. Got our map and we were on our way. We pretty much knew we were stopping at everything we saw and we were glad we did because you just didn't know what you would see and it was always different.

First stop was the Ochopee, Florida Post Office, it is the smallest in the US. If you get a post card from us it was mailed here. If you don't get one, I'm sorry, wasn't prepared with addresses, will be better prepared the next time we travel.


The one thing we wanted to see was a Florida Panther, saw these signs everywhere we went.


But this was the only panther we saw.


Right next to the Skunk-Ape Research Headquarters. This then put it into our minds we might see a skunk-ape also, but that didn't happen either.


This was about the only butterfly we saw also.

Shark Valley was our big destination for the day, but there was no valley and no sharks. It is actually named for the Shark River that runs into the bay south of Fort Myers and that is where the sharks are.


Blue herons were one of the most common bird we saw, I was just watching this one standing there looking beautiful.


Next thing I knew it was down in the water, making quite a ruckus.


And comes up with lunch. If you look closely the bottom of his beak pierced the fish and he had to work pretty hard to actually get it into his mouth.



He finally did and we watched it slide down his throat.


And now you would never guess he had just eaten that fish.


At Shark Valley we took a 15 mile tram ride that lasted about two hours. It was will worth the time and cost. At the half-way point is a tower you can climb and seeing as how we had such a nice clear day Ranger Kris said we should be able to see 18 miles and I'm sure she was right.


But before we could get to the tower had to get pass the two alligators sunning themselves on the walkway. The tram driver Moses came with his big stick and chased them back into the water.



The tower was very easy to climb, had a spiral ramp that went up to the first landing and the second landing was closed. Enjoyed the view for a while and headed back to the tram. On the way came across a short trail we decided to take. Meet a woman coming out as we were going in and she told us there were two alligators on the trail (guess they travel in pairs) so we were on the lookout. When we saw them just wanted to get a couple of pictures and turn around.


Well Dan happened to look down where I was standing and there was this alligator about 1 - 2 feet from my feet. I backed up very slowly and we went back to the main path, I wanted to keep both my feet for this trip and one gimp in the family is enough. Right Dad.


The second half of the tram ride must have been the baby side. These are baby anhinga, they are about 4 weeks old (aren't they huge) and will leave the nest at about 7 - 8 weeks old. I never expected them to be this color.


Then it was baby alligators, these are about a year or so old. Did you know that baby alligators stay with their moms for about three years or until they start eating their younger brothers and sisters?


On the tram ride we saw lots of ibis, this was the only place we did see them.


I was expecting to see lots of turtles but there didn't seem to be very many.


This was our last stop of the day and we headed to the hotel. Got all checked in and then went in search of dinner. Decided "On the Border" sounded good and it was delicious. Went to Barnes and Noble after eating just so we could walk around some after that big meal.