5 Things

Who has two thumbs and had a fun weekend? THIS GIRL!!!!

Yeah, I haven't had much fun at night since I started working. It's tough with hubby and I having opposite schedules. But this weekend we actually went out! Twice! Almost three times, but Sunday night didn't happen. So let's jump in and discuss the...

5 Awesome Things About My Weekend

1. I got to see our cousin Tony play an awesome show. Seriously. If you have a Facebook check out the Mighty Mites. They were SOOOOO sweet.
2. I got a good laugh out of a crazy chick trying to hit on my brother-in-law. She was LEGIT crazy. Crazy and gross enough to the point that my poor brother wanted a rape-shower. haha
3. I hung out with a couple cousins that I haven't seen for... at least a month? Always nice.
4. I got a true example of just how hard karma hits when you deserve it. Then I felt like a bad person for laughing at the situation. Then I realized that this girl REALLY did earn it.
5. My brother came to kick it with me! And we worked on an amazing project of amazingness! He even stuck around and watched some of the Emmy Awards with me.

These things don't even include the shopping with mom and the mimosas for no reason on Sunday. Those definitely made the list. And the next two weekends will be just as sweet. A big party and a wedding of a best friend? I can't wait. :)

Poor Neglected Blog

I'm fully aware that my quality (and even quantity) of blogging has suffered.

You try being creative after working with children all day. Children who want all your attention. Children who require real planning because they're too young to get what they need out of a lecture.

Wish lists may be less frequent. Okay, who am I kidding? They will be. They take a lot of time. I love them. They're fun. But they just take so much work.

I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I'll get my new computer soon. I have one picked out, just need to jump on the actual ordering of the thing. Once I have that you WILL get more pictures. And I have plenty to show you. Okay, maybe not plenty, but enough to keep you coming back. I actually took a different route home from work today and drove by some spots (I drive through country and farmland) that could make for some AMAZING pictures. I can't wait to go by again. If I time it right and I'm not rushed they'll be the type that end up on the wall.

So thanks to those of you who are sticking with me. I noticed my numbers are falling, but not too drastically. So some of you must love me. :)

Monday Coolness

Not so much coolness today. Because you know how bad I am about uploading...

But I have a question/mission of y'all.

I want my sewing room to actually look DONE. So I need some shelving. I have totally mismatched Sterilite-type stuff in there right now. With one set of actual shelves. I want to go tall. I want white. Or something that can be painted. Because I have no issues with colorful shelves. :)

So does anyone have any suggestions? Keep in mind I'm not exactly close to an Ikea store. And hubby is home four days a week so he could totally be convinced to build something for me. Which it may come down to.

On the other hand, I had a great weekend! That I'll share about tomorrow. haha You like that tease?

Happy Monday!

5 Things

I had a birthday on Tuesday so I thought I'd bring my list over to today. I haven't been doing much exciting stuff since work started. But there are some exciting things coming up.

5 Things I Can't Wait For

1. Friday. Not just Fridays in general, although those are great now. But this Friday hubby and I are heading up to see his cousins. Cousin Tony is in a band and we haven't gone to see him yet. We'll be remedying that.
2. My grandpa's party. He has a big birthday this year and we're throwing him a giant party. There's a lot of planning going into it, but it's going to be totally worth it.
   
3. Labor Day. It's a day off. WITH hubby. We don't get those anymore with our completely opposite schedules. I'd love to go do something, but I'd be just as happy to stay home with him all day and do nothing important.
4. My friend's wedding. Massive party with people I love? Yes. Seeing two friends tie the knot? Yes.
5. My next weekend with Tad. I miss him. My kids at school are cute, but they're not Tad. :) I miss my baby.

I'm so busy right now that I need to be looking forward to things like days off, parties, and the like. Once I get ahead with my lesson planning and I'm getting things done faster I'm sure I'll feel a little better. But for now, I'm counting days until some fun, relaxing events.

Poor Hubby

Don't you hate when you go to the fridge or pantry knowing exactly what you want? And then it's not there? Because someone else ate it?

Yeah. I did that to hubby yesterday. Sorry honey.

No wish list. We might have to rethink Wednesday entries. Any suggestions? Since hubby is off during the week maybe I can convince him to guest blog.

Hmmm...

On the plus side, I got an aide for my classroom. Her first day was yesterday and it soooo made a difference. The planning takes a bit longer, but I think the payoff will be worth it.

On the poopy side, it's hotter than... okay, it's too hot to even come up with something clever. Boooooo heat. Although, honestly, I don't feel it much when I'm leaving work. It hasn't really been unbearable compared to Florida. So that's good.

Okay, enough randomness. If you know hubby you should hit him up and tell him to guest blog for me. I promise he's capable of being entertaining. :)

Happy Birthday to...

my cousin Kayla!!!!

Here we are being slightly fabulous.

At times I can only laugh at our similarities. We grew up an our away from each other (we're still that far away) which took a toll on how much we saw each other. But we have these moments where we are the same person. It's a little scary.

There are too many stories to count about this girl. Some of which are probably not fit to be shared here. ;) I'll leave it at this: We know how to have fun.

Happy birthday cousin! I love you!

Monday Coolness

Okay, let's be clear here. I do NOT enjoy Lady Gaga. At all. She's weird. Like, to the point that it's just a gimmick and it annoys me.

That said, have you heard Chris Daughtry cover her song "Poker Face?" Pretty much the only way I will listen to one of her songs.

Okay, that and the one episode of Glee.

So enjoy some fine, fine man singing a song originally done by an ugly man. I mean... woman. We think.

Happy Birthday to...

My best friend Lauren!!!

Sorry for the dark picture. I didn't really feel like plugging in the external hard drive so I had to steal this one from one of our friends. This is OBVIOUSLY Lauren's wedding that just happened in June.

Lauren and I are total opposites in some ways. Like our senses of humor (mine is meaner) and our general volume (I'm the loud one). But it works really well. We met in one of our college classes and I'm pretty sure I opened the conversation with a sarcastic remark about the class. She laughed. Then we were BFFs. haha

Lauren is an amazing person. Pretty sure I couldn't have made it through school without her. We had some interesting times in college. She's a teacher too and she has saved my sanity over the past week and a half. I love this girl.

Happy Birthday my Lauren! Eat lots of ice cream and remember I love you!!!

Oh Hey There

Yup. Slacker. But you should know why. So this girl isn't making any excuses.

So, would you like some randomness today? Because that's what I feel like dishing out. Let's go.

I'm going to be honest here. I don't love my job. Yet. I'm sure I will. But it would be really nice if that would happen now.

Got the good news that my cousin from SoCal is coming up in September! Yay! I get to see her and her family. And her belly! Yup, she's due in October. With a girl. I'm more than a little excited.

I read a rumor/possibility last night that the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block are in talks to TOUR TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My head almost exploded from the awesomeness. Now that I have a job I can definitely say: I WILL BE THERE.

Hubby used the bread machine for the first time yesterday. I can feel the love handles forming already...

I decided I want to do a tacos and beer night. Who's interested? It sounds baaamb right now.

I really really really really wish I could sew right now. But it's hard to do it when I feel like there are things that NEED to be done. Maybe Saturday if I'm lucky.

I can't wait for October. It will be the return of UFC at our place. I love UFC nights. And I even like hosting it.

Okay. That's enough randomness for y'all today. I'll TRY to get a picture up tomorrow. TRY. No promises. Tonight is Back to School Night. It doesn't start until 6:30. And it'll take me almost a half hour to get home. So no promises. I may just want to pass out when I get here.

5 Things

Hola. It's your favorite school teacher here to prove that I'm still surviving.

Actually, week two is going okay. So I don't really have much to complain about. Except my need for extra hours in the day. In fact, let's go into exactly what I would do with more hours in the day...

5 Things I Would Do With More Hours in the Day

1. SLEEP!!! My pillow is giving me longing looks every time I walk into the room. My pajamas beg me to wear them. And I'm pretty sure the weeping I hear is my brain begging me for mercy.
2. Clean. My classroom that is. I didn't get to go through everything that was in there before school started. So I'm doing without some transparencies and posters that lessons are calling for. I'm making my own stuff as needed, but it would be really nice to know where everything is.
3. Plan. If I could just get ahead on lesson plans, I would be able to have a little more time. I know I'll get ahead at some point, but sooner would be much preferable to later.
4. Relax. I miss hubby. We haven't gone to a movie in a while. He got to go to one with my brother today. I miss those weekday movie trips.
5. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Veg. Read a book. Take a nap. All of the above. I know they probably count as relaxing, but I'm giving them their own category.

I know I probably sound like a MASSIVE whiner. But y'all have to know I'm not totally serious. I do like what I'm doing. Is it stressful? HECK yes. But it'll get better. My bestie promised me that you catch up and get ahead and it gets better from there. And she said her second year has been easier. So I'm sure I'll be fine.

But if you do find a way to get some extra hours in the day, send me your time machine. :)

Monday Coolness

I have another commercial for you. Because I'm easily amused. It's another Geico one, have you seen the piggy?




I giggled wildly when this commercial came on last night. It could partly be that I STILL feel tired from last week and tomorrow another week starts. But this commercial just gets me. I read some comments on youtube and there are ACTUALLY people who hate the little piggy. HOW can you hate him???

Happy Monday.

WEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Kids Obsess About Things

I've known that children can be obsessive about things. I've noticed that Tad picks some odd things to fixate on sometimes. But it's usually pretty amusing.

Like yesterday.

My mom bought him some 3D chalk. (Have you seen this stuff? It's actually really cool!) So of course we have to test it out. While we're out he draws what looks like a squiggly line with a circle on top. Then starts drawing something at the bottom. So I ask him what it is.

"A cow getting sucked up in a twister. Remember? Like the ride? He's saying 'Moooooooo!'"

Of course I died laughing because I totally know what he's talking about. In Orlando there was an "experience" based on the movie Twister. In line they showed movie clips and the main actors talking about tornadoes and the cow scene got shown. That cow scene apparently stuck with him. So he drew cows being sucked into tornadoes.

So what did we do? Went out and bought the movie for him last night. And watched it while we ate. I think he liked it :)

Friday Non Photo

Yeah, you get one more day of me not trying. I really will try to be back to normal next week. Or at least close to normal.

So you wanna hear how the first day went?

I was tired. I was tired enough that all I wanted to do was come home and take a nap. The kids were tired by the end of the day. I don't remember being that tired as a kid. I think my parents were pretty good about having me trained for early bedtimes again before school started. I don't think all of mine were ready.

I thought I had enough prepared. I'm not so sure. I felt like the end of the day was dragging a little. So this weekend will be spent OVER preparing for next week. And no matter how hard I hoped, I DON'T have a classroom full of Tads. :)

I took pictures of my room. Let's hope I get the time to pull them off my camera this weekend. For now, happy Friday. I'll be celebrating the weekend with the meteor shower and a bottle of champagne in my driveway.

Yeah, be jealous.

Hi

Things are a little crazy here with school starting tomorrow. I had a rough night last night thanks to working all day and some issues later. All's fine, I'm just worn out this morning. I'll definitely be making a Starbucks run on the way to work right now.

If I have energy left I'll post a wish list later today, or maybe tomorrow. Things may be a little bumpy around here for a little while while I get started at school. Just stick around. You know I won't abandon you.

:)

5 Things

So a bunch of people around me are pregnant. And it's fun, because I'm excited for all of them. But it leads to questions.

Yeah, I've been getting asked when hubby and I are going to populate the world.

The excuse used to be that I didn't have a job so there was no way we could afford a baby. But now I have a job. So I'm going to share with you some things that I would like to happen before I get my own baby bump...

5 Things I Hope Happen Before I Have a Baby

1. Get through my BTSA program. It's two years of some extra classes to clear my credential. It would be nice to be done with that before I have wee one.
2. Go to Hawaii. This is definitely on the schedule. We've discussed it several times.
3. Go to Spain. This may end up being a several-countries-in-Europe trip. Depends on the timing and the funds. But for sure Spain.
4. Buy a house. Or at least be ready to buy. I could handle one kid in the house we're in, but it would be nice to have more room for the second kid one day.
5. Go on a road trip. I have not been on a proper road trip. Multiple days, eating at local places, bare feet hanging out the window... I want to do that.

So no baby right now. You don't have to ask for awhile. :)

Monday Coolness

Okay, the story itself isn't funny. A guy climbed in some woman's window in Alabama and tried to rape her. The amusing part is the interview with her brother who came in and helped her.




Skip to the 1:00 mark to see his interview. He's very... intense?

And since the interwebz like to make every amusing thing even more amusing using autotune, you have to watch his rant turned to "music."





Happy Monday.

Happy Birthday to...

... my other little brother Eric!

Okay, so this picture is actually really old. Like, probably over two years. But it's the one I thought Eric would hate the least. He's lost a lot of weight (way to go little bro!) and we seem to have zero pictures together since then.

Eric, we need to remedy this. Time to go out.

Anyway, Eric cracks me up. He was still in high school when hubby and I met. So I got to watch his semi-awkward high school years (yay!). He was always a funny kid, but now he's super cool and I love when we hang out with him. Even if he does talk about how hot my cousin is all the time...

So happy birthday Eric! Let's go out this week before I have to start work. You know I'm your favorite sis.

Friday Photo

I have a thing for my boy's shoes. So I couldn't miss a shot of them while we were in Florida.

I haven't played with the color or anything on this shot. I will at some point before I print it. I think this is the fourth or fifth picture of his shoes in a random setting. I love how it looks. I'm going to frame them all together to look like a series. Maybe in my hallway...

I'll be off to my classroom again today. It's coming together, FINALLY. I'm starting to feel like I might actually be ready. Which is nice.

Happy Friday!

All About Me

You're probably laughing at my title or thinking "Isn't she ALWAYS all about herself?" I just thought it a better title than "random questions." I like these questions. There's some that I haven't answered a hundred times already.

Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?

-I think if it were up to me completely, at least the bottom would be tucked in (I like to leave my legs out when it's hot). But hubby HATES the sheets tucked in. And I can live with it that way so...

Have you ever stolen a street sign before?

-Nope. I've wanted a few. Hubby and I have streets with our names in town and I wish I had them sometimes...

Do you like to use post-it notes?

-YES. When we went out of town I left my brother a 4-post-it note instead of one big piece of paper.

Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?

-I used to be really bad. Now I don't even bother cutting them out that often.

Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees?

-Can we discuss the meaning of "attack?" Is the bear only charging at me? Because if I'm anywhere near where there are bears, odds are I'll have a gun. Meaning if it's only charging, I'm emptying my magazine in that guy.

Do you have freckles?

-Not really. Unless you count the flat moles that aren't really moles at all. I call them freckles, don't know about y'all.

Do you always smile for pictures?

-Yes. I hate it when people think it's cool to look tough in their pictures. I guess there are a few times where I don't smile. But that's because I'm sticking out my tongue or making a face.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

-Biggest? Eeesh... as of right now, ignorance. It always irritates me, but hubby informed me that on one of his forums some moron opened their mouth about teachers and a big hooplah ensued. It's amazing what some people think about my chosen profession.

Do you ever count your steps when you walk?

-Sometimes if I'm walking up or down stairs. But not usually.

Do you ever dance even if there is no music playing?

-A lot. I do happy dances constantly.

What size is your bed?

-California King. I lurve it.

What is your Song of the week?

-Let's go with... "Simple Man." Because it's awesome. And I heard it at work on Pandora today.

Whats your least favorite movie?

-That's tough. I can usually find one redeeming quality in most movies I see. Umm... OH! House of 1,000 Corpses. That was weak. I expected more from Rob Zombie.

What is your favorite food?

-At the moment, fruit. Good thing to be craving right now while it's hot.

What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

-300. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Clueless. Marie Antoinette. Phantom of the Opera. There are probably a lot more, but those are what came to mind quickly.

Were you ever a boy/girl scout?

-No. I didn't do anything growing up. I was a dissenter.

Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?

-Nope. No doubt in my mind about that one.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?

-In June. To my gramps.

Can you change the oil on a car?

-I probably could if I had to. But that's what hubby is for. :)

Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

- Three. But I worked my way out of one of those.

Ran out of gas?

-I thought I did.

Favorite kind of sandwich?

-There's one at Panera and I can't remember the name of it... Sierra Turkey maybe? Sooo tasty.

Best thing to eat for breakfast?

- Pancakes and bacon.

What is your usual bedtime?

-It's never the same. I guess I should work on that with the job starting soon.

Are you lazy?

-Sometimes I think I am, but other times no. So I don't know. I'd say ask my husband, but if he says yes I don't see myself being happy with him.

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?

-The ones I remember... a witch, a fairy, Sleeping Beauty, a fairy (again), a unicorn, a 50's girl... and that's all that comes to mind right now. I need to mention that all were handmade by my mommy.

Which are better legos or lincoln logs?

-Legos FTW.

Are you stubborn?

-To the nth degree.

Who is better...Leno or Letterman?

-Conando!!!

Afraid of heights?

-Yes and no. I can do some serious rollercoasters, but other times heights get to me.

Sing in the car?

-Probably every time I'm in it.

Dance in the shower?

-Haha, no. I don't have a radio in my bathroom.

Dance in the car?

-Of course.

Ever used a gun?

-Frequently.

Do you think musicals are cheesy?

- NO! They're the most wonderful thing in the world!

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

-Rock star, ballerina, marine biologist, teacher. That's pretty much it.

Do you believe in ghosts?

-Sure do. If you'd heard the things I have you would too.

Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?

-Yup.

First concert?

-That would be NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!

Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?

-I prefer Target most days, but sometimes you just gotta hit Wal-Mart.

Nike or Adidas?

-Adidas. Since high school.

Cheetos Or Fritos?

-Cheetos. Which I apparently inherited from my mom.

Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?

-Sunflower seeds.

Ever take dance lessons?

-Not as a kid. Took a couple classes in college and now I wish I had done it as a child.

Is there a profession you picture your spouse doing?

-Seeing as how he's been a rad tech (short for radiology, but he IS pretty rad) for a couple years, I see him doing that. But I can see him running our own ranch or something. He's pretty rugged and manly.

Own any record albums?

-I had temporary ownership of my mom's childhood ones when I was a kid. She still has them.

Own a record player?

-No. That was my mom's too.

Regularly burn incense?

-No. Hubby has asthma. I don't like it much anyway. Reminds me of hippies.

Ever been in love?

-Most definitely.

Who would you like to see in concert?

-Well, seeing as how the Backstreet Boys have been crossed off my list now (*sigh*)... I don't know! I wouldn't mind seeing Tim McGraw. Or George Strait for a second time. Or Brad Paisley for a second time.

Hot tea or cold tea?

-Both in their appropriate seasons.

Can you swim well?

-Yes.

Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?

-Yes.

Are you patient?

-I'm getting a little better at it.

DJ or band, at a wedding?

-I've had no problem with a DJ. We had one at our own wedding.

Which are better black or green olives?

-Black. Especially when I get to put them on the kids' fingers. :)

Can you knit or crochet?

-Neither. But I'm finally sewing.

How long have you been married?

-Over two years.

Who was your HS crush?

-There were plenty. Just ask my mom.

Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?

-No. I'm not two and a brat.

Do you have kids?

-Not yet. But I have a Tad. :)

What’s your favorite color?

-Purple. I just covered a bulletin board in my classroom with purple and it makes me happy.

Do you miss anyone right now?

-Not right now. Probably will later.

Florida - Part 6

Last day of the trip! I was so ready for the last day. We hit up the Magic Kingdom for the last day. And spent the WHOLE day with just the three of us. We split up as soon as we were walking in.

As we walked up toward the castle we managed to hit a show that was just starting. With no crowd. Score.

It was pretty cute. Tad seemed to enjoy it. From there we hit Pirates of the Caribbean (at Tad's request). Short line - yay! We actually lumped a bunch of rides together before lunch because there was no line. Splash Mountain was the only line and we used a Fast Pass on that one. Tad actually loved it. He wanted to go get on it again right away.

At this point I'll mention the TROPICAL STORM that was headed our way. We saw it on the news. Hubby's sis mentioned it that morning. And there were random pieces of conversation I heard about it around the park. We had kind of just watched the clouds all morning.

Then we had lunch. And it was obvious that a storm was coming. We spotted a random pirate starting a little show and I'm glad we stopped because Jack Sparrow popped up!

He was good. I want to know where the heck Disney finds these people. So as the show is ending hubby and I both felt the pressure drop. Like, felt it. And sure enough, it starts sprinkling a little. So we headed to the Jungle Cruise because that line was covered at least.

I'm glad we did. Because it started POURING.

Pouring to the point of busting out our ponchos (okay, just Tad and me).

Yeah. Like that. It ended before we got off the ride. Thankfully. And we only had to deal with a couple other showers the rest of the day. I think we missed some stuff while we were indoors a couple times.

Tad got to drive the cars on the little racetrack. Giving hubby whiplash in the process. He was apparently a pretty bad driver.

But look at that face. How can you deny him the chance to drive?

Here's a nice picture of the swirling clouds we got to see. You might have to look at it for a minute to catch the swirl action.


The day finally started winding down and I was actually really glad. We caught a couple good pictures and caught a few more rides.


Then it was time to wait for the Main Street Electrical Parade. It was super packed, but we got lucky enough to have a spot where Tad could see.


And of course, as you MUST do when at Disney, we waited for the fireworks. Which were spectacular, the way they should be.

And with that, we were done. And I was SO glad. All the parks were fun, but I missed my bed. And the California weather. And feet that weren't sore.

I mentioned it before, but I honestly think I like our parks better. Maybe if I did Florida at a different (slower) pace. And NOT in summer. But we won't be trying that until we have kids of our own one day. Which won't be for a looooong time.

Tad is still enjoying talking about parts of the trip, so that made it worth it for me. I'm so glad I got to be there with that kid. And that's pretty much all that matters.

Florida - Part 5

Thursday. And I was so wishing I could sleep in. But we didn't. We headed off to Hollywood Studios at Disney.

I may or may not have been singing (badly) the High School Musical songs. Possibly DESPITE my oldest niece not willing to join in.

The Pixar area is the CUTEST. We spotted a toy soldier. And the boys got to pose in front of a Barrel of Monkeys. Where else can you do that? We actually ended up splitting from the group pretty early that day because Tad could do everything but one rollercoaster and we decided we could skip that if we ran out of time.

Hubby's sister is really amused that her son (in the front, the ONLY white kid in the picture) is making the same exact face as hubby.

We got lucky that we split. Because that let us catch a picture with a Power Ranger. Leading to one of the cutest pictures I have seen.


It also led us to hear an engine revving. And a horn honking. And I SO KNEW what it was. I stopped Tad and made him listen. You wouldn't believe how big his eyes got when he realized who he was hearing. This picture is getting framed for his room.


We hit up the Muppets 3D show. And prepared to wait in line for Star Tours. But we were in line less than a minute when a woman approached me (with a Southern drawl that I loved) and asked me how many of us were in our group. I told her three and she hands me some Fast Passes that are good at that moment. She explained they weren't going to use them so we could have them. Yay for nice Southern strangers! So we got that ride done quick.

There was a necessary ice cream break while we waited for the parade.

I'm rather proud of this picture. And the next one.

We've seen the parade before, but it's too fun to miss. But after it was over we were ready for some shade. So we headed off to the Indiana Jones stunt show. And it was a good show. But Tad's verdict says it best: "When I grow up, I'm going to move to Florida, and be Indiana Jones in this show." He was dead serious when he said it.

I think the hat works for him, don't you? I'm pretty sure we know this year's Halloween costume.

Then there was the wait for Buzz and Woody. Which you saw a little bit of last Monday. And yes, Tad is STILL amused that I made Woody sad.

We did the Toy Story ride right after that. Which was the other longest wait of the week.

Then I made my bad decision and let hubby talk me into putting this precious baby on the Tower of Terror.

He's still proud of that. He told some of my family on Sunday. They were appropriately shocked and I think it made him grow a few inches to hear how impressed they were.

We also waited for Fantasmic. Which was worth it, but not really. This park uses a special custom stadium for their show. So there was an INSANE line. More than one employee assured us that we didn't need to wait in line for that long because they've seen MUCH worse and the last show of the night NEVER fills up.

Yeah right. We stood. Way in the back. With Tad on hubby's shoulders so he could see. But the show was still amazing. Possibly better than our show out here.

I'll just throw something else in here too. I like California's parks better. Aside from the ease of seeing a show, I feel like the people (meaning employees) here are nicer. Which is NOT something I thought I would ever say about California. But that's just me. And it didn't keep me from having fun. Just thought I'd toss that in before I forget.

Tomorrow... last recap. Complete with a tropical storm.

Florida - Part 4

Hey there. Unexpectedly took the weekend off. That can happen when you have three kids stay the night. It was fun though.

Soooo... fourth day. We hit Universal's Islands of Adventure. Yes, that would be the park that includes Harry Potter!

First up we hit Jurassic Park though. There was a LINE to even get to the Harry Potter World. A line that was obscenely long and wound through several other areas.

There were a few of these cars in the Jurassic Park area. And several dinosaurs popping out of the "jungle." We did the Jurassic Park River Ride. SO good. Tad was a little scared, but not scared enough to stop him from asking if we could do it again later. Maybe it was that 85-foot drop at the end...

The Discovery Center looked JUST LIKE the Visitor's Center from the movie. The inside layout was even similar. It was pretty sweet. Not to mention air conditioned.

Hubby and I split from the group to go do the Hulk rollercoaster (super sweet, we sat in the front row). When we got back together we stole Tad and took off. To meet Spiderman.

My mom LOVES this picture. It's now her desktop. Don't they look like old friends having a great conversation? It's pretty much the most adorable thing ever.

Tad and I spotted a spinning ride. Which we had to do because those are his favorite.

Doesn't he look like he's having fun? He was cracking up the whole time.

We finally met up with everyone MUCH later in the Dr. Seuss area. Which was cute and fantastical and everything you would expect. Including the Caro-Seuss-el.

Tad made sure to pick an elephant. Which I didn't get a great picture of. But it was the coolest looking carousel ever.

FINALLY it was time to hit up Harry Potter. And... okay, we had walked through it before we met up with everyone. I just couldn't wait. I'm not sure Tad appreciated it fully. But my jaw dropped. Seriously, if you are a fan, you HAVE to go see this park.

Isn't Hogwarts INSANE??? The whole area was still really crowded when we finally went to hang out, but we only had one long wait. The lines for the shops are just as long (if not longer) than the lines for the rides. We obviously didn't go in any shops. I think if we had been on a kid-free trip we might have waited.

Oh, and we had to sample the Butterbeer.

The one on the left is a frozen/slushy one. And yes, the cup on the right is a souvenir cup. We had to. :) Someone already asked me if it's actually a beer...

Nope. I'm not that kind of aunt, haha. It's kind of like cream soda, but the foam definitely has a butterscotch taste. It wasn't bad. But the frozen/slushy one was definitely my favorite.

Buckbeak's ride was the only one that the little boys could ride. It's a pretty quick, small rollercoaster. And Tad LOVED it. I think he would have stayed on it the rest of the night if we let him.

We finished the night with water rides. Because it was still warm enough to justify it. The first one, we didn't really get wet. The second one... all nine of us were soaked through. It was fun. All the kids went a second time with some of the grown-ups. We were honestly so wet that we left puddles where we stood for too long.

This was the first night that the long hours proved to be too much for the kids. All of them (okay, except for Willow, who talked NONSTOP) fell asleep on the way to the resort. Can you imagine how pleasant it is having a soaked 6-year-old fall asleep on you in the car?

And that finished Universal. It was mostly kid-friendly. But not always. You've been warned.