Friday the 13th!

We have just returned from a long weekend at Disney World. The kids saw a brochure about "Limited Time Magic" on Friday the 13th at Hollywood Studios where many of the Disney Villains would be at the dance party. For the past six weeks, that's all they have been talking about wanting to do. So, we surprised them with a trip over there. We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club that wasn't too far away from the parks and we enjoyed having the full condo with the kitchen and washer and dryer, as well as the great pool and water slide!

We arrived around 4pm on Thursday and went to Magic Kingdom for several hours. On Friday we hung out at the hotel and played in the pool, rested, then went to Hollywood Studios for the Villain Bash. Jeff found a great spot at the back of backstage, so most all of the characters passed by, and we were able to get pictures with most of them. The kids really wanted to see Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations. It was getting pretty late and they were getting tired...Finally, she came back there. When Savannah saw her, she started jumping up and down and shouting "it's her, it's her!" Thank goodness she stopped and took a picture with the kids. That made their evening, and we were able to go home at that point!

We slept late on Saturday and then went to Epcot. The crowds weren't too bad and we were able to ride most everything that we wanted. Test Track broke down right before we got in the line with our Fast Passes, so we left out of the park. Jeff was able to trade them in at Customer Service for fast passes for any ride in any of the parks since we weren't going to be there later in the afternoon to redeem them. We figured we would save them for Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios on Sunday.

We got back to the condo, changed clothes, and went to the pool for a little while. Savannah really enjoyed playing with all of the other kids there, and Vince enjoyed going down the water slide over and over again. We got to the room in time to watch the Alabama vs Texas A&M Football game and went out to Mexican for dinner. We were all exhausted by 9pm!

Today, Sunday, we surprised the kids with a character breakfast at the Hilton Hotel near downtown Disney. It was a great setup-no reservations, and there were four Disney characters there: Brer Bear, Brer Fox, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto. We didn't wait around for Minnie, but the kids loved seeing the Song of the South characters!

We hit Hollywood Studios from 10am-1pm today, and that was plenty. We stood in line to get some pictures with characters, used our Fast Pass on Toy Story Mania, and rode a few other rides. Savannah loves Rockin' Rollercoaster and Vince loves Tower of Terror. We split up and rode with each of them, then left Orlando.

What a great weekend we had! We really enjoyed the convenience of the condo and the great pool they had there. It was nice to relax and not be so pressed for time in the parks. We will definitely stay there again, if the price is right!

The First Day of School

The kids started back to school last Thursday, August 8. It's so hard to believe that Savannah is already in 4th grade and Vince has just started Kindergarten! We met their teachers a few days before school started at the Allen Park open house and they both were extremely excited to be there and to see/make new friends. We decided that they would ride the school bus this year to school and then stay in the afternoon program that the school offers. Savannah was excited to participate because last year the after school kids planted a garden and she thought it was so cool!

I don't think any of us slept well the night before school started. Everyone was up and dressed and ready to go to the bus stop in plenty of time. The stop is about a 10 minute walk from the house, so we figured that one of us would drive them to the stop and wait until the bus arrives. It works out perfectly-the bus comes at 8:20 and it's the last stop before they get to the school. If we were driving them to school, we would probably be following the bus, then have to sit in the drop-off line...so, this has been a great option for us and the kids love it.

Jeff and I signed up to do the 10 Mile Tower of Terror walk/run the first weekend in October, so after the kids get on the bus, I have started back on my exercise routine. I would LOVE to run an entire 5K (3.1 miles) so, that's my goal for the first weekend in October. A decent pace would be nice, but I would be glad to finish in under 38 minutes. As for the 10 miles...I would like to finish in about 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes. We have some training to do, but looking for the endurance and then work up to speed of running more minutes than walking. Last weekend Jeff and I walked mostly, but it was about 4 1/4 miles. This weekend we will do 5 miles, and add a mile each weekend until the race. We sure hope the "fall" weather gets here soon!

Work is going well for both of us. Jeff is still enjoying his role at Edison State College and I am enjoying my part time work at a Real Estate Office as a Team Assistant in Bonita Springs. It's nice to be back in the work force and having the flexibility to work from home and flexibility to set my own hours has been nice too!

 Vince "surfing" at the beach on our last trip to Fort Myers Beach before school started back

 Vince: First Day of School at Allen Park

 Savannah: First Day of School 4th Grade Allen Park

 All aboard the school bus!

A great picture of Vince at dinner on the bay near Fort Myers Beach

Staycation and Vacation

I can't believe that the kids go back to school in less than two weeks. August 8th is their start date. I also can't believe that they will be at the same school and in school the same hours! I guess I have to come to the realization that my baby boy is growing up.

On our trip, Vince slept in bed with me almost every night. And when I say almost, I mean that every night except one when we were together. He told me that he is going to marry me and when he does he will call me Laura Ann and not mom anymore. And that we can download apps for the Ipad that cost money...I guess that's a perk that Jeff gets and he doesn't.

Ok, back to the summer. I started a job in June working for a real estate group in Bonita Springs, FL. It's about 15 miles from Fort Myers, on the way to Naples. My Sequoia got about 13 miles per gallon and had over 160,000 miles on it, so we traded it in for a Nissan Altima. I am enjoying the 35 miles per gallon that I am getting now! The kids enjoyed Vacation Bible School at Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church and Cypress Lake Methodist Church as well as Summer Camp at Bright Beginnings Early School. We also drove over to Sanibel Island for their 4th of July Parade. Savannah got soaked! And loved it!

 We left Fort Myers on July 5th and spent the weekend in Macon. We were able to visit with some friends and we all enjoyed that. Once in Charlotte, we attended Sardis Presbyterian Vacation Bible School, went to a play at CPCC, played with neighborhood friends, ate at Showmars (A family favorite!), went to Monkey Joe's, and so many other great things! The kids and I went to Boone, NC for a week, and along the way we stopped off in Newton and visited with Great Grandaddy Stewart. In Boone we went to Tweetsie, tubing on the Watauga River, swam in Watauga Lake, drove to Tennessee to buy fireworks, sampled wine and played at the Grandfather Vineyard in Banner Elk, toured downtown Blowing Rock and ate at the Mellow Mushroom, and had major water balloon fights!

Back in Charlotte (July 20-21), we hosted a neighborhood party with old friends and families. I think we ended up with over 50 people there! It was great to see my childhood friends and their spouses and children. Savannah loved meeting so many people and coordinating the silly string fights! G-Mama turned 70 on Sunday the 21st, so we had a little party for her that afternoon. Robert had been sick, so Lin stayed home with him. Gary, Wilson, John, Rosalie, Savannah, Vince, G-Mama, and I all went out to lunch at Ghengus Grill and enjoyed that very much. Savannah stayed busy with playdates with neighborhood and church friends and is now "hooked" on Build A Bear!

Vince's Artwork

The kids stayed with Nana and Grandaddy at Lake Norman for 5 days and they swam in the lake, went to the splash park, ate at Stacy's (a family favorite at the lake), played with Cousin Eli, baked Nana a cake, and toured the lake on their new boat.

We cut our trip short-we originally planned to spend the last weekend in Macon to see some others that we missed the first weekend-and went to Amelia Island instead to scout out a place to stay for Thanksgiving this year. Cousin Hal and Mark have just moved there...and when I say just, I mean, they still have boxes to unpack, and the next truck was coming today. But, it was a successful trip-the kids swam in the pool with the dogs, rode on the moped with Hal, and most importantly, we reserved a house for Thanksgiving!

I think that about sums up our trip. I was exhausted today, and was glad that Jeff suggested we come back on Saturday rather than Sunday. At least we have today to relax and get settled back in before camp and work tomorrow!