Day 3 was the beach day, and the day Jess was looking forward to the most. She and Chase just can’t get enough of the sun and water and all the things that come with the ocean. I love the smell of the air and the breeze and just the happiness that comes with being at the beach. Since we were so close to Cocoa Beach (only about an hour) we decided to make a day of it.
The day got started with a quick lunch and some shopping for flip-flops for Chase. After that we headed on out to the Ron Jon Surf Shop. This place was huge and we loaded up with chairs and toys and all kinds of things to occupy our time in the sun and sand. Eventually we mad our way across the street to the beach and set up shop. It wasn’t too crowded and the water was perfect. Chase could hardly get his shirt off fast enough. He had the itch to get in the water. I felt the same way.
We spent the day going from the shade of our umbrella to the sand to build castles to the water for some boogie board action. We buried Chase in the sand at one point, just as the tide was coming in. Luckily he muscled his way out of that. The waves were a bit rough, but it worked out to our advantage. We were smart enough to bring a cooler with drinks and snacks so we didn’t have to worry about losing out spot.
Eventually we were all burned and ready for some real food, so we got cleaned up at the local shower and then headed off for some seafood at a local restaurant that was supposed to be the best around. Well, who ever said that about the place was spot on. It was some of the best seafood I’ve had in a while. So we sat and ate and reflected on the day. It was an awesome was to end our day at the beach.
The ride back to the hotel was quick and Chase was out 5 mins into it. I love me some beach and I love my family. This was the perfect day and virtually the beginning of the rest of an awesome week.
Day 2 of our week long vacation began with me gatting up extra early to go check out some timeshare deal at the resort we are staying at. We, much to my surprise I had my days mixed up and the buffet and presentation wasn’t actually until the next day (Sunday). Oh well, at least I was up and ready for Universal Studios!
I got back to the room and woke the family up so we could start getting ready for our first full day of fun. Jess was smart enough to get some food to cook from Publix so I made bacon and eggs and toast! Such a money saver that was. After breakfast we all got ready and hit the road. Luckily the hotel/resort is only like 15 mins from everything, so that worked out well.
Being a Saturday I expected the park to be super crowded…I was wrong. The park was virtually empty and we didnt have to wait more than 15 mins to get on anything. Chase and I rode the coasters and Jess joined us on the rides that weren’t as intense. I know she wanted to ride all the rides badly, but we we not gonna take any chances with the baby.
After several hours of walking around it was time to head back to our room. We recounted our favorite rides, for Chase it was the Rip Rockit Rollercoaster and Men In Black, for Jess and i it was MIB and the Disaster movie show (which Jess and I got to be part of)! Our dogs were barking and it was time for some food and some “night time action”.
The pool was cool and refreshing, especially after a long day of walking. It was nice to just be able to just relax and not have to walk. The first day ouf our week long adventure had come to a close and it was a doozy. Day 3 is the beach and I know we’re all juiced up for that!
Oh, I’ll be putting photos in once I get them all sorted out.
Every year the family loads up the car and hits the road to some awesome location. Chase’s birthday is next week so what better way to celebrate than a trip to the most magical place on earth. We’ve been planning this trip for quite some time and the day has finally come!
This morning we got up “early” and headed out. First stop was to get some zombie bisuits* and snacks. I mean you can’t have a road trip w/o proper snackage. So that’s where we’re at. We are on the road, I’m blogging from my new iPad, thanks to my amazing wife! Stay tuned for more updates,
Update:
We are making good time and are about to cross the state line. After a lil’ pitstop for some food we are back on the road. Just a few more hours and we’ll be there!
Oh, and Jess decided to give us all a little Mariah to kick the second leg of the trip off.
Update 2:
So, this is the second time I’ve typed this update so it probably won’t have the same effect as it did the first time. Yay for WordPress on the iPad crashing when i was saving my post.
Anyway, so we finally made it to our hotel and it was pretty much perfect. When I think of family vacations, this place is what I think of. We got all settled in then hit up the Publix for some food to snack on and eat throughout the week. Once we were all unpacked we headed on down to Downtown Disney. I made us some reservations at Rainforest Cafe, which leaves much to be desired for the adults and we were all set. We explored around for a bit then had dinner. Chase really enjoyed the place and had fun during the “storms”. After dinner we were all ready to head back to the room and get rested up for the adventure that would be Universal Studios tomorrow!
This trip has already proven to be thoe best one I have ever been on. At dinner I had the realization that in the past few months I have gotten a promotion at work, gotten married, gotten my wife pregnant, and taken my family on a Disney vacation! This, to me, is what it’s like to be a father. I am able to provide for my family and give them the things that make them happy. My son and wife make me so happy and fulfilled in life.
If today was any indication as to the rest of this trip, I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Some times you just gotta get away for lunch. You don’t really want anyone to join you, you just want to sit and not think about the hustle and bustle of work. Today is one of those days.
This has been an exceptionally long week. Things are winding down at school for Jess and at work for me, things are ramping up. I have a new role/position and it’s really putting a strain on things mentally. Basically I’ve been tasked with expediting the sales process. In addition to that I have to do my normal job of managing the team engineers and providing support to clients and other managers. I’m already late one one deadline in my new job, and I don’t like to be late. So it’s just stressful, but it’ll get better.
Other than that things are ok. With summer approaching quickly we are starting to plan vacations and get things ready for the baby. I know we have ‘lots of time’ but that time will fly by and I want to make sure we’ve prepared as much as we can. So it’s just a never ending to-do list that seems to keep getting longer rather than shorter. It’ll all get done, but that light at the end of the tunnel is pretty dim for now.
I think writing helps. I’m glad I can blog from my phone or virtually anywhere now. Updates should be coming more frequently.
That’s all I had for now. Just putting some thoughts out there to get them outta my head. TGIF y’all!
In an effort to really get better at this, I am toying around with several ways to write a post. At this very moment I am laying in bed with my beautiful wife beside me and my space heater…I mean cat on my legs. You can take a look at the photo for proof!
Any way, that’s all I had for tonight. I’ll keep monkeying around with this thing. Either way, look for more frequent posts.
Chase is probably one of the biggest wresting fans on the planet right now. He watches it every week, has a million “wrestle guys”, knows all the names, has shirts, and hats, and posters, and is pretty much all about some WWE. For Christmas he was fortunate enough to get some Wrestlemania tickets. This was the first time in the 27 years of the PPV that it has ever been to Atlanta. I wanted to go super bad, but the joy it would bring him was well worth it for me to not. Continue reading “Welcome to WRESTLEMANIA…art”
Yesterday was opening day for the Locust Grove Little League. For weeks Chase has been going to practice, out in the yard throwing the ball or catching the ball or hitting or swinging, or running or anything he could do to prep for “the big game”. He didn’t get his uniform until the morning of so he was a bit concerned about that in addition to all the butterflies about being on the field with all the people watching. As it got closer and closer to the actual game you could tell that it was all he could think about. He was ready!
So the Mudcat’s took the field (Chase playing first base) and were all set to get this game started. Since this was the first official game all the kids were still a bit unsure of where to throw the ball or when to run or which one of the dozen’s of yelling adult voices to listen to. Chase may have missed a few catches for a play at first, but he also was right there to get a few kids out. His eye was always on the ball and he was focused. Eventually the Mudcat’s were up to bat. Chase was deep in the line-up to bat, so it took a while for him to get out there. Once he did he got a base hit. It wasn’t the grandslam he wanted, he didn’t send the ball soaring over the fences into someone’s windshield, but he got on base. He did exactly what he was supposed to, listed to the first base coach, ran like the dickens and stayed put. That inning the Mudcat’s didn’t score any runs.
The game went on and eventually the Cats lost. Their very first game was loss in points but a gain in fun. Those kids were out there having a blast! They were doing what they had been practicing and trying their best. No hard feelings where had cause they knew there would be other game and much more fun to be had.
Since this was opening day there was a wonky game schedule. If they lost the first game they would play again at 2:30, if they won the first game they would play at 4:30, then if they lost that they were out, but if they won that there would be a 6:30 game. Luck for us, we only had one more game that day. So Chase hung out with his dad and Jess and I went and had some lunch and piddled around the house trying to get chores done we knew we’d have to do at some point this weekend. We made it back to the game just in time to watch the first pitch (parking was a mad disaster). This game was between the Mudcats and The Braves!
You could tell the kids were tired but somehow more into this game. They were more focused on where throw the ball or when to swing. It was like a different team! Chase had 2 turns to bat in this game, the first was a double! He slammed the ball into the outfield getting it just shy of the fences. Had the kids not thrown the ball when they did, ‘Mudcat’ Malley would’ve been on third. The next kid up didn’t do so well, so that inning was over. As the game went on The Braves just couldn’t hold up to the onslaught that the Mudcat’s were bringing! A few more outs here, some more runs there, and the game was over. Final score was like 8 to 5 or something. The Mudcat’s could now celebrate their first victory!
Chase played SO well out there. He was working with his teammates, listening to the coaches, focused on hitting the ball and really made us proud. He really likes playing baseball and we’ll keep him at it for as long as he wants. I never thought I’d be a dad out there with a camera filming my son in a little league baseball game. Those kinds of things just never came as a thought to me. Sports were just not something I did growing up so it never occurred to me that I’d be out there with a kid enjoying them as much as I did. I’m so proud of him and can’t wait to be out there again with my camera, cooler, sunflower seeds, and wife, and anything else I can bring to make these moment’s last a life time.
This post is WELL over due, but I reckon there’s no time like the present to get caught up on things.
The backstory:
SJ was messing around on Facebook and came across a co-worker that posted about a Great Dane her sister found abandoned by their neighbor. The sister already had 3 dogs and was living in a town home, so the addition of a dog of this size was just not going to work. The co-worker was desperately looking for someone that would take care of this poor dog. Well, Jess and I just couldn’t pass up on this opportunity. We knew we had the space so that was not an issue. Jan, the puppy we rescued over the summer, was lonely during the days when we were at work, and a companion would make a world of difference for her. So the decision was made and 3 days later we were off to pick up our new pup.
Homecoming:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFR6LzQ2rM[/youtube]
There really isn’t much else to say than that. She LOVED the open back yard and freedom. She had toys, another dog, and people to play with. She had spent the last X amount of days trapped in a garage with little to no food and was in dire need of someone to care for her. Now she had freedom and a loving family. I’d say this was the happiest dog on the planet.
Freedom!
Growing pains:
Adjustment to having Gracie around didn’t come easy. We were not use to caring for a dog this size. She was about 2.5 times bigger than Jan and ate like a horse. She required lots of attention, both from us and the vet (to get her health back up and to get her spayed). She was full of energy and strength. Walking her was difficult and often times it was easier to just not go. However, over time we got more and more use to the way she lumbered about, whacking things with her tail. Her spirit is still as strong as ever and we love that about her. She has been as patient with us as we have been with her. Gracie and Jan have become the best of buds, even though they can be heard tumbling around and chasing each other all over the back yard. I’m not sure of the life she led with her previous owners, whether there was a large yard to play in or if she was cooped up all day in a crate. I do know that she loves being outside and running laps around the yard. We will continue to develop routines and work with her on training and behavior as she still likes to jump on people, but then again I reckon that’s most dogs. It’s just that most dogs aren’t the size of small horses.
The future:
Gracie is here to stay. I have always wanted a large dog and now I have one! I also have a small dog, and a cat, and fish, and a wonderful son and a fiancé. Gracie is a wonderful addition to our family. I love her very much and can’t wait for the walks in the park or taking her on car rides. She has a very kind and loving personality. She’s a great older sister to Jan and protector of the house (just ask any garbage man or UPS guy). Stay tuned for more updates!
Every hundred millennia (or few years depending on your measurement of time) a storm comes along that just brings everything to a standstill. This was last seen during the documentary The Day After Tomorrow. Prior to that, there was the blizzard of 93. I remember the Bo93 well and would gladly have another one. Despite the loss of power, bitter cold, and cabin fever, it was amazing. I am a fan of the snow and ice and that was right up my alley. This year marks the return of the ice/snow storm to Atlanta! Granted it wasn’t as brutal as 93, it was still just as fun. Continue reading “SnoJam 2k11”
