Whole lotta a working going on ...

I hope everyone in the cyber world is doing great. For the girls and I, summer has officially kicked into high gear.

After returning from our vacation, I hit the road again for another trip through Mississippi. If anyone has some cool eateries or haunts in the southeast portion of the state, please send them to me. I will be spending a LOT of time over the next three months in that portion of the state and would love a few ideas on places to go.

Speaking of work, I dont think that I mentioned that Big E recently earned a promotion at work. I big congratulations goes out to her on the promotion.

Big E and I started working to complete the replacement of our fence. Last year we spent a few weekends replacing the planks down one side of the fence. Due to a lack of funding, we had to delay that project (that sounded kinda official, lack of funding, yada yada yada, sign me up for politics). However, we managed to get back into full gear over the Memorial Day Weekend. So far we've moved the front of the fence back to where we want it and are well on our way to completing the back of the fence. Big E is an excellent fence building partner and can handle a hammer like a pro.

We moved the fence back about thirty feet in order to give us room to expand the drive way. We need to create an additional parking area for Jessica's car. We've decided to take on this challenge ourselves. We've never done any concrete work, but our neighbor is a concrete guy and agreed to guide us through the process. Right now, we are in the process of digging out the area. Maybe I should say the girls are in the process of digging out the area (free labor!!!) and they are doing a great job. Once we get the area dug out, we are going to split a truck load of concrete with the neighbor (he is pouring himself a new walkway).

In addition, we left a small area to create a new flower and sitting area. I cant wait to see what Big E designs for that area.

Our other project is the girls bathroom. We are planning to replace the tile on the floor and surrounding the tub area. The floor tile started to crack and the grout in tub area is in really bad shape to the point that one tile fell off the wall. We need to get this done soon, so we are not going to attempt it ourselves. We are talking with contractors now for estimates, etc.

Once we select the contractor, I hope that he is prepared to teach me a few things. I hope that once the bathroom is complete, I will have learned enough about tiling that I can redo the front entrance.

As you can see, we have a lot of work ahead of us this summer. I hope that we can get everything completed in time to sit back and enjoy a little of the summer when we are finished.

Changing subjects, have you ever really noticed some of the odd topics that get discussed at dinner? With the girls, I generally dont get too many words in at dinner, so I have plenty of opportunity to listen or watch whatever is playing on the TV. Last night I watched the Mexican national soccer team play the Russian National soccer team at one of the local Mexican eateries. Only paying half attention to the conversation, I heard one of the girls announce that she shouldnt have eaten the spicy food since she was due to start her monthly cycle soon. WHAT?!?!?!!!!!!

Now, its not bad enough that the table topic has turned to the monthly cycle, but we are in a public restaurant and she isnt the softest talker in the world. Waiter!!! Get me a beer, please. We are sitting no more than two feet from the table beside us, there is another directly behind us, and many more in every other direction. Do we have to discuss the effects of spicy food on the mother nature? Worse, the conversation became a comparison opportunity. "Well, I cant eat this ...". "Well, I cant eat that ...". Blah blah blah.

Well, at least we werent discussing one of their other favorite topics; farting. I thought I lived with a bunch of girls, but sometimes I think they are really boys dressed like girls. No, that cant be right, they dont even dress like girls half the time........

Its my life ....

Vacation

Well, after nearly two hours of writing this post we had a power surge and I lost the entire post. I guess I need to consider the save button every now and then. Anyway, sorry for the delay since the last post. We have had a busy little house lately.

This will be a long post, so make sure that you have the time before starting.

A quick note before getting started with the main event, have you Wooted yet? I did for the first time two weeks ago. Not familiar with Woot? Check out http://www.woot.com/. It is a one deal a day site that occasionally has really good deals. I purchased a Reebok Heart Rate monitor to help me with my running. I got a new heart rate monitor that initially retailed for nearly $100 dollars for a total of $25 dollars including the shipping.

Last week was our big Anniversary vacation to Disney World in Orlando. A very special thanks goes out to MeeMaw, Aunt Bobbi and Michelle for house sitting for the week. I am very proud to say that nothing was broken, the kids were not gagged and bound, and the animals were all still alive. In addition, the house was actually cleaner when we returned than when we left. That did not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated.

Onward to the details of the trip ...

We left last Friday in order to split the drive in half. We stayed in Tallahassee Florida. We ate at a Japanese Steak house called Osaka. We love to eat at hibachi grills so we try to find one whenever we are in a different city. This one was very good from a food standpoint, but the chef had no personality and limited show skills. One other worthy note, is that the salad dressings were horrible. We could not eat either of our salads.

On Saturday we arrived at my sister's house around noon. We spent the early afternoon having lunch and playing the with twins (Jacob and Jackson). I really enjoyed chasing those guys around the little backyard area. Sufficiently tired, we left the twins and made our way to the Coronado Springs Resort at Disney World.

This was the first time that we actually stayed on site at Disney World. The Coronado Springs is considered a "moderate" resort (ie. middle of the road in cost) and it is the only resort with a convention center onsite. The downside to the resort is that their is a convention center onsite so there are more people. The upside is that the resort is reported to be the best of the moderate resorts, great transportation from the resort to the parks, etc., and conventions typically attract adults not kids.

Overall, we really enjoyed the resort and would consider staying there again. The resort has a Mayan / Mexican feel that is really laid back and easy going.

After checking into the resort, we managed to unpack and get a few minutes breather before heading out to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is a party and shopping zone. We ate our anniversary dinner at Fados Irish Pub. The chef of the pub has cooked for Queen Elizabeth so you can imagine that the food was pretty good. We had traditional fish and chips and ribeye steak over garlic mash. Ummmm, red meat, my favorite!!!

After dinner we strolled through the variety of shops and headed back to the resort for a nightcap (or two) before returning to our room. Once we were back at the room, we were surprised to find a Happy Anniversary balloon and offer for a champagne toast at the bar. WoW, Disney does pay attention to the details.

We awoke early Sunday morning for a quick breakfast before heading out for our first day at the parks. Naturally, we started with the Magic Kingdom. We met Heather and the twins at the park for a morning of fun. We spent several hours enjoying some of the kiddie rides with the boys and strolling throughout the park. Jackson was ace at reading the map and telling us where to go, so he was our guide (at least in his mind). It was really funny to watch Jackson and Jacob open their map and select our next location even if we weren't going there (remember they are only three).

With the twins in tow, we rode "Its a Small World", "Peter Pan's Flight" and many other kiddie rides. We tried to talk them into riding a kiddie coaster (actually Elizabeth did, I was scared too) but after seeing the ride they quickly agreed that it did not look fun. Interestingly, they did not want to meet any of the characters either.

After lunch we parted ways with the boys (who headed home for a long nap, your Welcome Heather) and headed back to the resort for a siesta. Rested we returned back to Magic Kingdom to ride the bigger rides, dinner, and fireworks. Here is a quick run down of our favorite rides;

Space Mountain - I don't like roller coasters, and dark roller coasters are even worse. This was a dark roller coaster enclosed in a giant building. I had to apologize to the other riders for the colorful adjectives that spewed forth from my mouth during the ride.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - This is the coolest ride of all time. Each person has a laser gun and the goal is to shoot targets while riding (a slow ride!!!) the track. After riding this thing three different times, Elizabeth had to finally admit that I am the king of the ride. I beat or destroyed here score each time.

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride - This little kiddie ride is essentially a spinning ride that allows the rider to control how high or low you want the carpet to go into the air. At its highest, it is only 15 - 20 feet off the ground. The cool thing about the ride is that they have spitting camels located around the ride that spit water streams. Since you control the height at which you are spinning, you can determine if you are going to go through the water stream or avoid it. Guess my choice? The water stream hit Elizabeth dead in the side of her face. That was funny.

For dinner we ate at the Crystal Palace, a character buffet. The food was fairly standard buffet food with the added attraction of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet going around and greeting the tables. Overall a fun dinner and we were presented with an Anniversary certificate signed by all of the characters.

On Monday we awoke early again for another exciting day. This was Elizabeth's favorite day. We started the day at Epcot. Epcot was in the middle of a Flower and Garden tour for the month of May. We really enjoyed visiting the various stations to learn more about gardening and seeing the topiary. We realized that the battery for our camera was not working and needed to be replaced. So, we rode a few of the rides (Test Track and Soaring twice) and headed for lunch at the Garden Grill with Chip and Dale, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and several other characters. The lunch consisted of really good chicken, catfish, flank steak (umm, red meat), and fresh vegetables that are grown onsite.

After our morning trip to Epcot, we departed the Disney property for a great time at Universal Studios. At Universal Studios, they film a variety of shows and some of them can be attended without having to purchase a ticket to the park. One of the free shows is for TNA Wrestling, a favorite television show of ours. After standing in line for nearly two hours, we were finally escorted to the building where they tape the show and treated to a great night of action and entertainment. Elizabeth was yelling and screaming and having a generally great time to the point that she actually lost her voice for a couple of days (your guess on if that was a good or bad thing). Elizabeth got to see all of her favorite wrestlers and even managed to snag a free t-shirt from one of the wrestlers after the show. In addition, she purchased a t-shirt of her favorite female wrestler; ODB.

ODB is the lady standing on the left side of the picture. She isn't just another pretty face but she is a great wrestling entertainer. It was fun to see all of the pomp and circumstance that goes into putting together a show of this nature.

Before going to the show, we picked up a new battery for the camera. We have many good shots of the event and the girls recorded the show for us to watch. I haven't seen the show yet but I've been told that we can be seen in the crowd and Elizabeth can clearly be heard throughout the show.

Tuesday morning we arose early again and headed straight to Epcot. With the camera in tow, we took many photos of the various topiary and visited the pavilions of the various countries. Epcot is my favorite of the parks because I love the exhibits of the countries. I really enjoy seeing the various films and rides about the countries, the food and of course the libations of the countries. Mexico, England, America and Japan all have really good beer. We purchased some wine at the Italy pavilion which will be displayed in the kitchen.

Tuesday afternoon, we each booked a fifty minute Swedish massage. This had to be one of the weeks highlights. I am really happy that we took the time to break away from the rush and hustle of the parks for a little relaxation.

Afterwards, we took a little siesta back at the room before heading back to Epcot for dinner at Teppen Edo (another Japanese Steak House). Guess what I had? Steak and Shrimp for me and Chicken and Shrimp for Elizabeth. Ummmmm, red meat again. The food was very good, the show was a little disappointing but the service was impeccable. After dinner we were presented with an Anniversary cake. It was a chocolate and ginger cake. Truly disgusting!!!! I felt bad for leaving this token behind but we could not force ourselves to eat it.

We ended the night with a great fireworks display over the lake and some fun conversation with some guys from up north (Chicago, I think). Actually, we met and talked with so many people from all over that they all kind of blended together. Elizabeth is really good at mixing in with other people and starting conversations.

Foreigner moment of the trip (speaking of talking to other people), we were sitting with an Indian (India not Native Indian) family on a bus traveling to a park. The little girl sneezed and Elizabeth (automatically) said "God Bless You". I immediately cringed considering where they were from but the father took it in stride, reluctantly smiled and said thank you.

By Wednesday, despite the massages, our feet were really starting to hurt. Mine actually felt like they were on fire!!! But we still had two more days of fun so we woke up early and headed back out. We started the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I don't think they actually tape any shows at the park, but that wasn't why we wanted to go to the park anyway. You see, the Tower of Terror (Stephens translation is Terror of Death) is located at the park along with the Aerosmith Rock and Roll Roller Coaster, and a cool stunt show.

Elizabeth rode the Tower of Terror by herself. There isn't enough money to convince me to ride that contraption. Elizabeth called me several names that shall not be repeated but I didn't care, NO WAY was I riding that thing.

I wasn't so lucky with the Aerosmith roller coaster. Again, a dark roller coaster!!! Arrrgggghhh and several other words were repeated on the ride but this time I made sure no little people were riding with us!!! This thing starts from a stand still and gets to sixty miles an hour in about 2 seconds before going straight into a backwards loop. After that, I am not really sure what it does but I did count at least two tight cork screw rotations. After the ride, I felt sick, stupid, and really displeased with my loving and caring wife!! Who actually asked me to do it again!!!! Once for love, twice for no one.

We ate lunch at the park and enjoyed a cool Muppets 3D movie before hopping a boat ride over to Epcot for a little extra country and libation time. I know, after that roller coaster, how is it possible to enjoy any libations? Well, it wasn't easy but I managed it.

For dinner, we went to the Boardwalk at the Yacht Club resort. We ate at the Big River Grill and Brewing Company. In a word, terrible. OK food, off the chart bad service. Elizabeth had the Halibut with crab topping and I had the New York Strip with crab topping. Ummmm, more red meat that wasnt that good.

Thursday arrived early with tired feet, tired brains and some hesitation about how to survive the day. At this point I was up to four Aleive just to get the feet moving. I really am glad that Elizabeth had me start walking and running back in February because I don't think I could have handled this trip otherwise.

For the morning, we met the twins again at the Animal Kingdom. Prepared this time, we met the boys at the gate with maps in hand. For fun, I gave Jackson a map writing in Japanese. He never even noticed it!!! He immediately opened the map and pointed to the dinosaur area. Off we went to the dinosaur area. Elizabeth rode another roller coaster by herself this time (she couldn't call me too many bad names in front of the boys). Afterwards, we played a "Whack a Mole" style carnival ride which Jacob won. The lady gave each of the boys a stuffed alligator for the effort.

After lunch we walked around the various walking trials checking out the animals. Tired, Heather and the boys left and we headed back to Magic Kingdom for a little shopping and another beating on Buzz Lightyear's ride. After picking up a few mementos, we headed back to the room to pack and sleep. We also took in a few more libations at the Laguana bar and talked with several people in for the Humane Society Convention.

Friday, we woke up early, packed the car and hit the road for a grueling eight hour drive straight back to the kennels to pick up Rusty and get home. Along the way we encountered the first rain for the week. Blinding, slow down to forty miles and hour rain. I hope some of that rain made it down to the eastern coastal areas of Florida where hundreds of acres and homes burned last week.

We arrived home around 3:30 Firiday afternoon. I love going on vacation. I also love getting home. I think we missed the girls as much as we enjoyed being without them.

Now, I need to go pack my bags and prepare for another trip to Mississippi next week.

See you soon!!!!