Summer's End

Well, I suppose it's over.  The hot, fun days of summer are gone and we're left to dread the dark, cold months ahead.  Okay, I'll spare you the total rant and rave post this year but you're welcome to go back and re-read previous ones, you know, in case you've forgotten how much I absolutely adore this time of year.

Our final camping trip of the year was a success, meaning we got there and back without losing the camper at 60 mph on the highway.  Incident free, just the way I like it.  No major boo-boos, no gross insects inside the camper, and no ticks found on Punky this trip.  We got one on her at the campground in June but thankfully it hadn't embedded itself yet.  I spent that night itching and scratching, tossing and turning, and dowsing every inch of our bodies and belongings with bug repellent.

Rockin' Out!

The weather was perfect on Friday and Saturday, which gave Punky some much desired pool time.  She enjoyed swimming so much this summer and I know she'll really miss it in the months ahead.  I'm going to miss it, too.  We also spent some time at the playground, her second favorite spot at the campground.  She loves it there and already can't wait to go back next summer.

The owners hosted plenty of activities for the Labor Day weekend crowd.  On Saturday morning we spent over an hour painting ceramics and I was painfully reminded of just how much I truly suck at anything remotely artistic. The kids had paint everywhere, globs of it, but they had a blast.  We missed the t-shirt dying event in the afternoon because we opted for swimming instead, but we went to the cash bingo later that evening.  I thought Punky's attention span would last a bit longer than it did because she knows her numbers and could play her own card with help, but she quickly became discouraged when she wasn't winning.

On Sunday we left the campground to go to the annual family corn roast for a few hours.  As always, there was great food, good conversations, and lots of laughter.  But this year there was also a somber undertone as people shared memories of my uncle who passed away a few months ago.  It was his farm, the place he grew up, and it just wasn't the same without him.  His family planned to scatter his ashes there the next morning.  I swear I heard his laugh in the wind.

The kids pounced on their annual opportunity to beat the crap out of my Uncle Mark's drum set.  As usual, it was the absolute highlight of Punky's day. She looks forward to it every year.  I still think we'll end up with one in the house at some point; of all the various instruments out there, drums are still her favorite.  That's okay, I guess.  She can be both a doctor and a drummer.  And earplugs are cheap.

We left the corn roast early because we were anxious to get back to the campground for the big Chinese auction they were having that evening.  They had so much stuff that it took about two and a half hours to call all the winning tickets.  We won three times, plus someone gave Punky an additional winning ticket for her to pick another prize.  She chose a garden gnome dressed in military garb with a sign that read "Support our troops" and she gave it to her Pappy.  Sometimes her sweetness simply makes my heart melt.

Then came Monday.  Rain, rain, rain.  From the moment we got up, till the moment we went to bed, it poured.  All damn day.  My mom and I left Punky to the care of her dad and pap while we hit the casino for a few hours in the afternoon.  I played the entire time on twenty dollars, which was about all I could afford to lose anyway.  I was winning like crazy but eventually put it all back.  I can't complain though, five hours of entertainment for twenty bucks was a great deal.  Plus we had a good lunch, and it got us out of the rain and into a space larger than an eighteen-foot box on wheels for a while.

To our dismay, it was still raining Tuesday morning which meant packing up wet gear for the trip home.  It also meant that Punky missed out on one last jaunt to the campground playground and she was far less than happy about it.  Although our trip ended on a very soggy note, it was still a fun weekend. I enjoyed my early morning walks just as much as last time but I somehow managed to gain over two pounds.

Before we set out on Friday morning, I had reached the forty-pound loss mark and I was thrilled.  I celebrated by enjoying bagels, chocolate cake, and a huge piece of lemon meringue pie over the weekend, so those two pounds were well worth it.  And besides, I hadn't seen most of my relatives at the corn roast in a year, and not a single one of them noticed my weight loss so maybe losing forty pounds isn't a noticeable as I thought?  At any rate, I'm happy to report that my digestive system was a bit more cooperative this trip.  I didn't even have to open the bottle of Pepto, the baggie of Tums, or the box of baking soda I took along as a precaution.

So, farewell to the summer of 2012.  We had plenty of great weather, fun trips, and lazy days at the pool.  We made lots of memories, had lots of laughs, and got lots of exercise.  Here's to hoping that the summer of 2013 doesn't take forever to arrive.  I'm ready for it now and it's still technically not even autumn yet.

Make Lemonade

Yesterday I rambled about all the reasons why this summer has been a bit rough and challenging, so today it's only fair to present the other side of the argument.  All problems aside, we did have a fun summer overall.

Before I actually start making lemonade, I do need to add two additional lemons to the pile.  The first is an update: they let his truck pass inspection yesterday, but he has to take it back on Thursday to get the brakes done.  It turns out I misunderstood him on the phone.  It's not just the front brakes, he needs rear ones, too.  And the second lemon I simply forgot to mention: my laptop sounds like a jet engine and will probably blow up before I finish this post.  Given our current situation, I may be facing a few months without a computer and quite honestly I'll go crazy. 

Now, let's start juicing these little suckers before I lose my mojo.  Or my laptop bursts into flames.

We managed to make it to Knobel's twice this summer and that's one of Punky's favorite places.  Memorial Day weekend we went with my sister and her family, and even though it ended on a rough note when a sudden torrential downpour left us stranded on back roads for three hours on the ride home, the kids still had a great day.  Then, a few weeks later on the way home from visiting my dad when he was in the hospital, Punky and I stopped and spent the day at the park.  Just the two of us.  And I have to say I think it was my favorite day of the summer.  It's really important to me to have one on one time with her once in a while, and she loves our girl time.  We also spent a day at a local park where we had a picnic, played at the playground, went swimming for a few hours, played miniature golf, had ice cream, and she rode the handful of kiddie rides they have over and over again.  She's already lined up a bunch of things she wants to do next summer for our special days, as she calls them.

I took a day off a few weeks ago to go with Punky's school on a field trip to the county fair like I did last year.  Her dad joined us after work so we spent the whole evening there as well.  I sneezed my face off as we made trip after trip through the barns to see the cows, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, and rabbits.  We watched a gross reptile show with far too many snakes for my taste.  Punky participated in sack races, relay races, and other events that were set up for family day at the fair.  She did a 4H project where they made seed balls to take home and throw in the yard to make fall flowers grow.  And, of course, we rode the rides, played games, and ate far too much greasy, fattening fair food.

We spent a day at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster with my mom, sister, niece, nephew, my sister's new beau, Punky's godfather, my aunt, my cousin, her husband, and their daughter.  The park is really targeted for little kids and they all had a blast.  My nephew, niece, and Punky are all seasoned riders, they've been visiting amusement parks since before they could even walk, but my cousin's little girl had never been on any rides before and they were a bit nervous about how she'd handle it.  We were all amazed to see not even an ounce of hesitation as she tackled ride after ride.  From the carousel, to the whip, the kiddie roller coaster, log flume, tilt-a-whirl, and even bigger, faster, spinning rides, she enthusiastically rode them all and couldn't get enough.  My cousin's not a rider whatsoever, so her daughter obviously got her dad's genes in that department. 

Our trip to Dutch Wonderland also brought a milestone moment for my six year old nephew: he rode his very first grown-up roller coaster.  My sister was egging him on all day, but he was too scared and refused all our attempts at bribery.  Then, after four trips in a row on the kiddie coaster, he quietly mumbled, "Mom, I want to ride the big one."  In a mere seven seconds flat we dumped the other kids with my mom and literally ran with him as fast as we could to the big coaster.  We weren't taking any chances on him changing his mind.  Thankfully the line was short and we boarded almost immediately.  He did great!  He absolutely loved it and rode several more times that day.  We were all so proud of him and happy to add yet another roller coaster junkie to the family!

My sister and her family came up to visit one weekend where we just hung out at here, drank wine, played stupid dice games, and watched the kids destroy the house.  Then, they came up again a few weeks ago and we took another day trip to an amusement park in Rochester.  It was another park aimed more at younger kids, but they had a water park as well and the kids had a blast riding the slides, shooting people with water canons, and standing under huge buckets of water just waiting for them to dump gallons on everyone below.  Given that it was a balmy ninety-nine degrees in Rochester that day, the adults enjoyed the soak zone just as much as the kids.  Punky has already chosen this water park as a destination for one of our special days next year.  It was definitely her favorite experience of the summer.

My mom came up last Thursday and brought my niece and nephew along for five days.  We went to one of Punky's favorite playgrounds one night, and swimming the next afternoon.  Then, that evening, we went to a parade and carnival in the next town over.  They had a great time gathering handfuls of candy thrown at them during the parade and they ended up with an entire shopping bag full by the time it was over.  We had a relaxing Sunday at home before they left on Monday.  It was nice having them here; I don't get to spend nearly enough time with them.  The kids bounced back and forth between playing nicely and trying to tear each others ears off.  My niece got the worst of it.  She's the youngest and you know what they say about shit rolling downhill.  And Punky isn't really good with other kids touching her stuff because the opportunity doesn't happen that often.  She was trying to watch a show Sunday evening and, after repeated interruptions by her cousins, she turned to me and as serious as a heart attack she said, "Mommy, I'm ready for my house to be back to normal now."  

I can't wait till they all get over this "first" stage.  The fights over who gets to do something first, who was playing with what first, who said something first, who finished their food first, who gets to take a bath first, and so on.  It was endless.  I was waiting to see which one of them ended up tied to a tree first when Grammy lost it a bit on Sunday night and threatened to bang their heads together.  There were intense moments, messy moments, loud moments, and crying moments, but ultimately I'm so glad they came up for a few days.  And I'm also glad I stopped at one kid.

We had our first camping trip in June with the new camper and we have another one planned for Labor Day weekend.  We had to cancel two others we hoped to take due to all the crap tossed our way, and we almost cancelled this one coming but ultimately decided it is the last hurrah of summer and we'll find a way to pull it off.  Plus, the annual family corn roast is on Sunday that weekend so we would be traveling that way anyway.  We leave on Friday morning and won't be back until Tuesday.  Five days of fresh air, camping food, and relaxation.  I can't wait.  I know what lies on the other size of labor day; it's all downhill from there.  I plan to enjoy every single minute of this trip before we're stuck in the house for months until spring finally breaks next year.  

And in between all these fun summer activities, we spent a lot of time at the local community pool.  I can't believe I didn't even know it existed until almost the end of June.  It's a great place and Punky loves it there.  It isn't very crowded which truly surprises me because it's very clean and it has a great kiddie pool.  It's about 12 ft. x 12 ft. and only eighteen inches deep in the center, but it has a tube slide and water fountain going into it.  The slide is her favorite part, of course.  At first we had to catch her every time, but then she learned to go down herself with a tube around her and then eventually without the floaty thing.  She can do it for hours straight, I've seen her.  One side of the big pool is about 4 ft. and she loves coming in with us.  She got really good at keeping herself upright with the tube around her, and she learned how to get where she wants to go by kicking her feet.  Her favorite part of the big pool is jumping in off the side.  She learned to do it herself with the floaty on and hold her breath while she briefly dips under the water.  Her dad and I take turns watching her while the other gets to actually swim for a while.  And in the process, I rediscovered my love of swimming.

I spent summer after summer in my grandmother's pool as a kid, but I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I've actually gone swimming since college.  I'm not even counting all the swim classes I took Punky to because I didn't actually get to swim; I just spent an hour holding her up in the water.  But this summer I actually had the chance to really swim and enjoy it.  It's such great exercise, too.  Talk about a total body workout.  We enjoyed it so much that we've added a pool to the list of things we are looking for in a house if/when we're ever in a position to make a move.  We actually found a great house, at a great price, in a great location, with an awesome in-ground pool, and it's killing us that we can't do anything about it right now.

So, as you can see, this summer will remembered for all the fun we did manage to have, even if we had more than our fair share of lemons along the way.  I'm old enough to know that over time, the sour fades from memory while the sweet seems to linger forever.  My goal now is to get us back on track so next summer can be even better than this one.  I'll keep making lemonade until we're sick of drinking it, and then I'll just resort to zinging the lemons at random people on the street.  That will be just as satisfying, maybe even more so.

To The Woods

Last weekend we made our first trip with our new camper.  I took a half-day on Friday and we were on the road shortly after two.  Rather than being sensible and choosing a nearby campground for our first venture, we drove all the way to the Poconos to camp where my parents have parked their camper for the season.

It was roughly a three-hour drive.  Given our rocky start with this camper, I was obviously prepared for the worst but, remarkably, it went rather smoothly.  We arrived just after five and setting everything up took less time than I expected.  Our site was a mere sixty feet away from my parents' at the very back of the campground.  It was the perfect spot, both quiet and convenient.  My sister arrived shortly after us with her kids and the new guy in her life.  By seven, we were enjoying a great dinner and chatting around the campfire.  

Fueled by the fresh, mountain air and open spaces, the kids were running around like maniacs.  We took a walk around the campground to check it all out and, of course, we had to stop at the tiny playground at the bottom of the hill.  One glance at Punky and it was clear we'd spend a great deal of time there over the next few days.  She was in her glory; her love of playgrounds runs deep.

I was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday and it was just as I remembered it from my childhood.  Cool, crisp, morning air.  The smell of percolated coffee stirring my senses.  The sounds of nature playing like soft background music in my ears.  I dressed as quickly and quietly as I could, and then headed out for some quality 'me' time.  

I was well aware of the menu planned for the weekend.  I knew I was facing some serious calorie intake and my only shot at not gaining five pounds was to be as active as possible.  There was no way in hell I was skipping out on any of that great camping food.  Steaks done on the fire, baked potatoes, bacon and eggs, toasted marshmallows, wine coolers... I wanted to enjoy it all, and that meant working for it.

After some stretching outside of the camper, I started to walk the loop around the campground.  I used my Fitbit to clock the distance Friday night.  It was just under three quarters of a mile round trip.  Knowing that intermittent cardio bursts would make all the difference, I alternated between walking and jogging.  As I made my way around, the rhythmic sound of my feet on the stones below made me feel so relaxed yet energized at the same time.  I wished life could afford me this luxury every morning.  When I reached the top of the loop, I stopped at my parents' site and my mom and sister joined me for a few more trips.  It was a great way to start the morning, especially since I ate non-stop the rest of the day.

The campground hosted a pinewood derby race on Saturday evening, so the kids (and guys) spent a lot of the afternoon turning their hunks of wood into cars, complete with messy, custom paint jobs.  They each got to race twice, but none of them ended up the big winner.  Punky's dad relied on the knowledge he gained from the boy scout pinewood derby races with his son, but we didn't know there were absolutely no rules in place for the campground race.  And it was open to anyone, not just children.  People had all kinds of objects glued to the top of their cars to make them heavier and faster, like beer bottles, hammers, and cans of soda.  The kids' cars didn't stand much of a chance, but they seemed to have fun anyway.

For reasons I'll get into in another post, my parents headed home Saturday afternoon and my sister left on Sunday.  We stayed another night, just the three of us, and finally left the campground around noon on Monday.  After a quick trip to a local Wal-Mart on Sunday so I could attempt to find a bathing suit that fit, we had the opportunity to check out the campground pool.  It was the highlight of the weekend for Punky and we had the whole pool to ourselves, which was especially nice given the fact that the only suit I could find at the store ended up being way too big and I had a few incidents of indecent exposure while swimming.

All in all, it was a very nice escape from reality for a few days.  Punky's dad and I had a bit of a fight early on Sunday which dampened the mood a bit, and we found a tick on Punky on Saturday night which freaked me out and turned me into a lunatic with my can of bug repellent, and Punky had so many falls on the stones that her tiny body was virtually covered in black and blue marks including one the size of a quarter on her right butt cheek, and I suffered the pains of constipation as my body struggled to process the mounds of fat it's no longer accustomed to digesting, but even with all of that crap it was awesome to be in the woods and away from the daily bump and grind.  I'm looking forward to trip number two, whenever that may be.

And my active approach seemed to work.  I only gained half a pound.

The Trip - Part IV

Thursday we were off and running to Hollywood Studios.  Well, not really running as my foot was no better than the day before, but we were back together as a group and arrived at the park in time for the opening.  

We took a different approach this day.  The kids had to wait while we tackled some adult rides before the lines got too long.  The Tower of Terror was first on our list, and it was just as fun as I remembered it.  Punky's dad didn't seem to think so.  He's not much of a rider and was dreading the experience.  It lived up to his expectations; he hated it.  His son and I enjoyed putting him through it though, as evil as it sounds. 

We rode the Great Movie Ride, one of my favorites in the park.  Punky really liked it, too.  From there we headed to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.  It was a must for my nephew who had watched the movie over and over for months before our trip.  Of course, we just missed the start of it so we had to wait for the next show.  In the meantime, we went to see if we could get our lunch reservation bumped up a bit and thankfully it worked out fine. 

It was another character meal, of course.  This one had Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, and Leo and June from the Little Einsteins.  Punky had no clue who any of them were, but that didn't stop her from greeting them excitedly with hugs for all.  Lunch took a long time, as expected by this point, and then we headed back to the stunt show.  I think Punky was a bit bored, but the rest of us enjoyed it. 

Punky's chicken pose

After that, we did the Muppet-Vision 3D movie and the Back Lot Tour.  The guys really wanted to see a car stunt show but we were too late.  They only have two shows a day and we missed it by about a half hour.  Just as we went into the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, it started to rain.  Finally.  We hoped for a shower just long enough to cut the humidity and provide some heat relief.  No such luck.  

We took shelter in a covered spot and waited for well over an hour.  The thunder seemed to pass but the rain wasn't letting up much.  It was early evening by this point so we decided to call it a day and headed for the exit.  We were a bit soggy when we made it to the bus.

I awoke Friday morning a bit relieved it was our last day.  And a bit sad it was our last day.  Despite the heat, exhaustion, and disgruntled adults, I know Punky was having a great time and I hated to see it end.  We had already decided to go our separate ways on Friday.  Once again, my mom chose to go with my sister and they headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the day.  We were set on going back to Epcot since we saw less of that park than any other.  

In the early afternoon, Punky's dad and his son left us at Epcot to return to Hollywood Studios for the car stunt show they missed the day before.  That left me with a two-year-old, a stroller, a backpack, and no help whatsoever.  And I have to say, it was my favorite three hours of the entire vacation.  

Punky and I rode all of her favorites over and over again.  We found Nemo three times, we saw Figment four times, and we played in the dancing fountains.  We chatted, and laughed, and smiled, and danced.  It was so nice to not feel like we were on a time schedule.  We just enjoyed ourselves and had so much fun together.  

Chip 'n Dale

When the sky suddenly got dark, we headed toward the Universe of Energy.  I knew it was about a forty-minute attraction so I thought we would dodge the rain entirely.  Plus Punky loved the dinosaurs and I knew she'd be happy to see them again.  On the way there, she stopped dead in her tracks and smiled from ear to ear.  There they were, the last of the guys she had hoped to meet...Chip and Dale!

As soon as we got in line, the attendants stopped it right behind us.  A storm was clearly looming and I guess they wanted to get the chipmunks out of there before it poured.  You have no idea how relieved I was that we made it just in time.  It would've killed her to see them and not get to hug them.  It was the icing on the cake of our alone time.  

We finished the dinosaur ride just as Punky's dad and brother got back to the park.  It turned out the car stunt show was cancelled anyway due to the threatening weather, so they made that long journey for nothing.  With only a slight drizzle here and there, we were determined to tackle the World Showcase.  We started in Norway and grabbed a quick bite to eat.  

Before we could finish our dinner, the skies opened up and unleashed a horrendous downpour.  And there was no sign it would stop any time soon.  Dammit.  After killing a few hours in Norway and watching the endless rain, we knew the writing was on the wall.  It was time to pack it in and head back to the hotel.  The World Showcase would have to wait for our next trip, whenever that may be.

After buying some over-priced ponchos and an umbrella, we made the long walk back to the bus.  I don't know why we even spent the money; we were soaked from head to toe by the time we boarded.  Punky had fallen asleep in the stroller and she continued to snooze on my shoulder the entire ride back.  I think all the vacationing finally caught up with her.  

It was a dull last night at the hotel.  We couldn't swim due to the weather so we basically bounced back and forth between our room and my sister's.  The kids played and we started packing what we could.  Come morning, I finished most of the packing while Punky's dad took her for one final swim in the hotel pool.  She was dying to get in it one more time.  I think it was her favorite part of vacation, next to meeting all her guys, that is.  

After a good breakfast and a final trip to the gift shop for souvenirs, we said goodbye to my family and got on the road shortly after noon.  Their shuttle to the airport was arriving within the hour.  In that moment, I wished we were heading to the the airport as well.  We had a plan for the drive down, and it went off without a hitch.  We had no plan for the drive home and I anticipated the worst.  

I have to say of all the decisions I made in preparation for the trip, the best one was to fill my iPod with cartoons for Punky.  It totally saved us on the drive home.  She was really content in the truck with snacks and her favorite TV shows to watch.  Aside from the expected stop for gas, we drove until almost eight before we finally stopped for dinner in South Carolina.  I thought we would be tired and looking for a hotel by then, but we all felt fine and decided to drive a few more hours before stopping to sleep.  

As it turned out, we finally made the decision to stop around two in the morning.  We found a Howard Johnson's in Virginia and got a room.  Then I had a total hissy fit, we got our money back, and got back on the road.  The room was filthy.  I mean totally disgusting, right down to the dirty underwear behind the bathroom door.  They offered us another room, which less the underwear was no cleaner whatsoever, and there was no way I was sleeping anywhere near that place.  We thought about finding another hotel but then said screw it.  At seven in the morning we were eating breakfast in a McDonald's in Harrisburg.  Only two and a half more hours separated us from home sweet home.

And they were the longest two and a half hours of the entire vacation.  Brutal.  It was an absolute struggle to keep our eyes open to safely make it home.  I'm happy to say we pulled in the driveway at ten.  Punky was asleep but woke up when her dad turned off the engine.  I thought she'd be happy to be home after the twenty-two hour journey.  Nope.  Once she realized where we were, she yelled, "No! I want to go to the hotel and swim in the pool!"  

So, in conclusion, although I'm not happy with every single thing about our vacation, I'm so glad we went.  Punky really had the time of her life and even if she doesn't remember it years down the road it was still well worth it.  Her dad wants to go again next year.  My initial response was, "No way in hell."  

Maybe it will be open for discussion after my foot heals.  Or when I get all the unpacking and laundry done.  I figure both will take a couple of weeks, at least.  I think waiting two years would be our best bet, and certainly more likely financially.  If Punky had her way, we'd go back tomorrow.

The end.

The Trip - Part III

Tuesday morning I woke with a limp.  I wasn't surprised, really.  Something happened to my left foot on the bus to the park Monday morning and it got worse as the day progressed.  I was holding Punky and desperately trying to keep my balance while standing and grasping one skinny rail with a death grip.  The bus took a corner and something in my foot just popped, or tore, or twisted, or something.  All I really know is that it hurt.  Badly.

Daisy Duck!

I sucked it up, put my game face on, and hopped around the room getting ready.  We were headed to Epcot that day, my favorite park of all.  Aside from my limp, the morning played out much like the day before and we made it to the park early.  Just inside the gate, Punky's face lit up when she caught a glimpse of Daisy Duck signing autographs.  We waited in line and Punky greeted her with the same excitement as Goofy.  Stitch happened to be right there as well, and even though she had no clue who he was, Punky hugged him like a long, lost friend.  But there was still no sign of the mouse.

Of course, we hit the ball first.  No trip to Epcot is complete without starting the day on that ride and then doing it again last on the way out of the park.  She was able to ride most of the rides in Epcot and by this point she was an old pro.  No hesitation whatsoever.  She really liked the dinosaurs in the Universe of Energy, she had a blast finding Nemo in the Living Seas, and she simply adored Figment in Journey into Imagination.

The heat bordered on unbearable for the second day in a row.  We prayed for the daily rain shower that usually hits Florida, but it never came.  We found out later in the week that Mother Nature was saving it all up for one torrential downpour.  Anyway, we had reservations for a late lunch at a steak house in Canada.  It was by far the biggest and most expensive meal we had all week, and we were in the restaurant for over two hours.

We purchased the Disney meal plan with our stay, so all of our major meals were prepaid.  The plan entitled us to one sit-down meal, one counter service meal, and one snack per day.  We made reservations months in advance for the daily sit-down meals because it was a great opportunity for the kids to meet the characters.  The meal at the steak house was the one adult meal we planned.  The food was good but wouldn't have been worth the hefty price if it weren't included in the meal plan.  The problem I had with all of the sit-down meals all week was that they took way too long.

In the case of the character meals, we usually finished eating but had to sit and wait for the characters to finally make it to our table.  Not only that, but going back outside in the extreme heat after eating a three course meal made me feel like crap.  And we wasted close to two hours at each one, which really cut into our day at the park.  Plus, we had to plan our day around the reservation so we wouldn't miss it.  Next time we go, Punky will be older and we will skip the meal plan.  We'll grab something quick to eat when we're hungry instead of the heavy, time-wasting, expensive meals.

Mickey's nose squeeze!

Anyway, once we finally made it out of the steak house, we headed back to tackle some rides we missed earlier.  On our journey, we hit the jackpot.  Punky spotted him through a window.  There he was, the mouse himself!  Finally!  We got in line and waited.  It took close to an hour but was worth it in the end.  Not only did we find Mickey, but Minnie, Donald, and Pluto were there, too!  All in the same spot!  So, standing inside in the air conditioning for an hour to meet four characters at the same time was so much better than standing outside in the heat and waiting a half hour each to meet them scattered across the park.  Punky squeezed the heck out of all of them.  She was so excited!  Now we had autographs from all the major players.  The only was remaining on her list were Chip and Dale, and they continued to elude us for days.

Before we knew it the day was over and we missed seeing so much in the park.  The only country we visited in the World Showcase was Mexico; we had no time to do more.  We missed out on riding most of the adult rides we were looking forward to and planned to return to Epcot on Friday to give it another go.

Safari Breakfast

Wednesday morning we headed to Animal Kingdom for a safari breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy.  If we realized in advance that they would all be there, we might have skipped the hour-long wait to meet them the day before in Epcot.  Ah, live and learn.  Anyway, the food was good and the kids got to dance and play instruments with the characters.  After breakfast, it all went to hell. 

Of course, day three brought no relief from the heat.  The adults were tired, cranky, and sick of dealing with the lines and crowds.  I was still limping and my foot was getting worse, not better.  We managed to take the safari ride as a group, but right afterward the pot reached its boiling point and we ended up going our separate ways.  My mom went with my sister and her family, and they left the park within the hour.  The four of us actually went on to have a nice afternoon, despite the heat and my limp.  

Drums!

Punky's dad found a shaded spot with dinosaur statues to climb where they could play while his son and I rode a scary dinosaur ride that was not for small children.  We had a quick lunch and took Punky on one of those spinning kid rides.  She fell asleep on my shoulder while we waited in line for the 3D Bug's Life show.  She woke up about half way through it.  By around four, we had enough of the heat and called it a day ourselves.  

They spent the evening in the hotel pool while I tackled a load of laundry.  What a pain in the ass that was.  Umpteen buildings with thousands of guests and one small laundry room with ten washers and dryers.  I waited almost an hour for a washer.  The dryer stopped right when they were done swimming.  We grabbed some dinner and went to sleep early.  As bad as it sounds, I was sort of glad there were only two days left.

To be continued...

The Trip - Part II

We didn't start out bad Monday morning considering it was our first crack at getting everyone up, dressed, fed and ready to tackle the Magic Kingdom.  Armed with our strollers, diaper bags, sunblock, and bottles of water, we arrived at the park before nine.  With a few rides under our belts, and a few hours in the obnoxious heat, I quickly realized the whole experience wasn't going to be exactly as I imagined in the months beforehand.

Cheese!

My nephew, who I thought would enjoy it the most, was scared to the point of tears on every ride.  My fearless child was no problem on the rides, but she seemed to be stuck in tantrum/whine mode all morning.  The adults were already bitching about the heat, and the lines, and being hungry, and rides breaking down.  My mom, sister, and her boyfriend got stuck on Splash Mountain for what seemed like forever.  In the meantime, we kept the kids content in a play area.  My nephew and Punky got to run around and work off some energy, and my one-year-old niece remained pleasant with a steady stream of goldfish crackers and a bottle of juice.  It also gave us the perfect opportunity to meet our first character.  Goofy!  He was signing autographs right next to where we were waiting.

Squeeze!

As long as I live, I will never forget the look on Punky's face when she saw him standing there.  She squealed, and giggled, and jumped up and down for fifteen minutes while we waited in line.  "It's Goofy, Mommy! Look!  He's here! Can I talk to him? I can't wait!"  I was so excited for her.  My eyes kept filling with tears.  When our turn came, she ran right to him and wrapped her tiny arms around him.  She must've hugged him ten times and, when the opportunity presented itself, she squeezed his nose.  All the other characters she met  faced the same fate as Goofy.  Something about their noses tugged at her curiosity and she just couldn't help herself.

Later that day, we had dinner with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, and Piglet.  Punky greeted each one with the same level of excitement as Goofy.  But aside from a short glimpse in an afternoon parade, the big guy managed to elude her all day.  The mouse was nowhere to be found.  And she was so disappointed, probably because we told her for months that she was going to meet Mickey Mouse.  It was definitely the top priority on her vacation to-do list.

By nightfall, we were all simply beat.  I think we managed to accomplish about half of what we anticipated that day.  Disney with young children is an entirely different animal.  Everything took so much longer.  

Walking with strollers through the crowds was a lot more difficult than zipping through them in my pre-mommy days.  Grabbing a quick bite on the run wasn't an option.  Getting the kids to calm down and focus on swallowing a few nibbles took forever.  I know they were too excited to eat, but I also know that hungry kids are cranky kids and they were finding plenty of other things to whine about without adding hunger to the pile.  Before waiting in line for any ride, we had to check diaper status and change if necessary, find a spot to park the strollers, and grab any and all items we could possibly need for the kids while waiting in line a half hour.  And then after the ride, we got to play "find the stroller" because Disney employees apparently get a rise out of moving them to a different spot than where you left them, even though they were already parked in a section clearly marked "Stroller Parking."  

It's a small world, after all!

Punky's favorite in the Magic Kingdom seemed to be "It's a Small World" and the song is stuck in her head.  She also liked the Carousel of Progress and must've told me "Mommy, this is fun!" about sixteen times during the show.  The Jungle Cruise, Flying Magic Carpets, and the spinning, giant teacups were all hits as well.  I was proud of her though, she seemed a bit scared but didn't panic or cry on the Haunted Mansion.  She was a real trooper.

At the end of the night, I bought her a stuffed Goofy to commemorate their magical meeting and she slept with him tucked under her arm all week.  It was a very long day.  A long, hot, sweaty, challenging, at times frustrating, exhausting day.  As I crawled into bed, I said to myself, "One down, four to go.  I hope we all make it."  

To be continued...

The Trip - Part I

The thing about vacation is you plan for months and it's over in the blink of an eye.  In this case, it was too short in some ways but too long in others.  Here's the recap...

We left right on schedule and began the long ride to Florida.  The drive down went extremely well.  As planned, we slept all day and had no trouble at all driving through the night.  Punky woke up every time we stopped for gas, coffee, or to pee (thanks to the coffee), but she fell right back to sleep once the truck was in motion.  We got stuck in construction in D.C. around midnight and lost a good hour of driving time, but we still managed to have breakfast at a Waffle House in some rural part of South Carolina around seven.  By noon, we were in St. Augustine, Florida.  And damn, it was hot.

In reality, we were only about two and a half hours away from our booked hotel in Orlando.  We thought about just trying to check in there a day early, but we were awake almost twenty hours at this point so we decided to get a room and call it a day.  We had a good meal at a diner across the street, a quick dip in the hotel pool, a short walk so Punky could expend some more energy, and a good night's sleep.  

We finished the drive in the morning and arrived at the Disney hotel about two hours before the rest of my family who took the easier travel route in the sky.  After a minor mix-up with our rooms (ours only had one bed), we were finally settled and ready for some fun.  We had already passed the enormous pool a few times and Punky was chomping at the bit to get her tiny hiney wet.  

See Punky in this pic?

We spent most of the afternoon swimming and settled for pizza delivery for supper.  In the evening we checked out the rest of the hotel complex.  Each building was themed after a Disney movie, complete with gigantic props and room decor to match.  Our building was Herbie the Love Bug.  It was cute for the kids, but honestly I wasn't that impressed with the rest of it.  

I love this picture

The rooms were small and dark, the furniture was cheap, we only had double beds instead of queens like most hotels these days, and the complex was simply too big.  And too crowded.  Of course, our building was at the very rear which meant a long hike back to our room after exhausting days at the parks.  The only place to eat was basically a food court with extremely long lines full of rambunctious children dying to get through breakfast so they could board a bus to the park (my child included), irritable parents exhausted from days of such a routine, and not enough staff on hand to keep the place functioning efficiently or the tables cleaned properly.  And the food wasn't even that great.  

I'll drive us to the playground!

There was no shade where we waited in long lines to board the shuttles.  Did I mention that the state was experiencing near record high temperatures the entire week we were there?  The heat index was around 105 most days, and the humidity had to be at least 90%.  It was ridiculous.  I think I peed three times all week.  The rest of my liquid intake seeped out in streams of sweat from everywhere, including places I never knew had sweat glands.  Talk about gross.  

So, you see, standing in the sun while waiting for a bus was a big deal.  By the time we boarded, it looked like none of us showered that morning.  Between the sweat and the sunblock, we were some slimy-looking creatures.  Take a minute to consider how sweet the bus smelled on the return trip at night when it was full of people who spent the entire day sweating from every crack and crevice.  Once all the seats were full, the drivers packed others in like sardines to stand in the aisle and hang on for dear life.  On one hand you were lucky to be up far enough in line to get a seat, but on the other hand that guaranteed you would have someone's butt in your face swaying way too close for comfort every time the bus took a corner.  Okay, I'll get off the bus rant.  I hate buses.  There, I'm done.

Now where was I?  Oh yeah, the hotel.  Suffice it to say that it was way under my level of expectation for a Disney property.  Granted it was one of their low-end resorts, but I still expected more bang for the buck.  The very expensive buck, I might add.  We didn't even have free internet in the rooms for all that cash.  They wanted ten dollars a day to connect, and it wasn't even a wireless connection.  Unreal.  Even Holiday Inn's have free wi-fi in every room these days.

To be fair and not sound like a total whine-ass, I have to say the beds, while small, were super comfy and the pool was awesome.  Oh, and they had good coffee.

Monday morning we were ready to face our first day in a park.  Where would you start with three kids age five and under?  The Magic Kingdom, of course.

To be continued...

Much Needed Mini Vacation

We headed home this past Friday night.  I snuck out of work a few hours early with the hope of keeping Punky awake during the long car ride.  Thankfully it worked because we had a lot to do once we got there.

My niece's christening was Saturday morning and her party was in the afternoon.  When we got in Friday night, I had a double batch of spinach dip to make, Punky needed a bath, and we all needed a good night's sleep for the long weekend ahead.

The christening went well.  My sister was worried if the baby would fit in the dress that she, I, and Punky all wore for our christenings.  She was older and bigger than we were for ours but it fit her just fine.  As her godmother, I got to dress her for the big event.  Her godfather helped and it went smoothly.

She was quiet and awake during the ceremony at the church.  I was most worried about how Punky would behave in that setting, but her dad kept her occupied and quiet with cheese crackers.  At this age, snacks are a handy tool for grabbing a few moments of peace.  When we were all occupied with pictures afterward, Punky had a chance to make a run for it.  The group of us looked up just in time to see her running right out the door of the church.  Four people went chasing after her.  Stinker.

On Sunday we headed to Baltimore for a mini vacation, just the three of us.  It was much needed family time.  We don't get nearly enough of it, especially with his work schedule.  We only have one weekend a month together.  He's been on this rotation for a year now and it's really starting to wear on us.

Anyway, we stayed at a nice hotel right on the Inner Harbor.  After we checked in on Sunday afternoon, we spent the rest of the day seeing the sights at the harbor.  We went up to the top of the World Trade Center and admired the views of the city and water.  We toured an old ship from the 1800's.  We took an hour boat ride with a tour group which was an amazing feat for Punky's dad.  He doesn't do boats.  Period.  When I first suggested it, he gave me a firm "no way" and kept on walking.  I was able to persuade him though, and he ended up enjoying it.

We had a nice dinner outside by the water.  It took Punky all of three minutes to figure out that dropping food on the ground instantly made pigeons appear at her feet.  From then on, it was one bite for her, one bite on the ground, one bite for her, one bite on the ground...she had a ball.  Her best source of amusement though was at the hotel itself.

And soon as we got to the room, she took one look at the two big beds and was happier than a pig in....well, you know.  She would climb up on one....jump, jump, jump...then get down and climb up on the other...jump, jump, jump...then head back to the first one.  She'd have done it all night if we let her. 

We were on the fifth floor and she was amazed by the view out the window.  She loved watching the cars and people go by below us.  Not even a hint of a fear of heights.  She sat on the air conditioning unit and pointed things out on the street.  And at night, all the city lights were fascinating.

Monday morning we had a nice breakfast and headed to the aquarium.  It was a toss up between that or the zoo.  Factoring in her age and current attention span, we knew either one would only hold her interest for long...so we chose the aquarium.  Indoors.  Out of the sun.  Air conditioned.  I had been there a few times before and knew it wouldn't take but a couple hours to get through it.

Punky seemed to really enjoy it at first, but we lost her by the half-way point.  Let's face it, fish aren't exactly the most exciting creatures on the planet.  We had to check the stoller, so I ended up carrying her on my shoulders through much of it.  Her dad tried to share the duty, but she was in mama-mode and would cry every time he took her.  Most of the rooms were dark and packed with people; I think she may have been a bit scared.  

Before leaving, we took in a dolphin show.  I thought she'd love it.  And she did for the whole combined sixty seconds or so the dolphins spent in mid air.  Jumping gets her attention and makes her giggle, no matter who or what is doing it.  She was restless while the trainers gabbed in between stunts.  Again, cheese crackers saved the day.  Well, that and flirting with the two guys behind us that kept telling her how cute she is.

We headed home after a delicious lunch at an Irish pub.  We were in Baltimore about twenty-four hours on the nose.  Not much of a vacation time wise, but enough to give us a much needed escape from daily life.  It was nice to actually talk about things other than work, bills, housework, and whether or not the baby ate, napped, and pooped that day.  Those are the only topics we seem to have time to discuss in passing.  Many days we only see each other for a few minutes.  There just isn't time for casual conversation.

We really needed to do that sort of thing more often.  For our sake, and Punky's.  Sometimes I wonder if she thinks her parents even like each other.