The Rest of Fall Break 2015

When we got back to Indiana, we had to visit the pumpkin patch.  G loved the same orchard where I took my field trip.

Genevieve had her first dental appointment.  She waved goodbye to me, took the hygienist's  hand, and left me in the waiting room.  It seems she is like me, and will love going to the dentist.  Weird, but I adore going to the dentist.  I love getting my teeth cleaned.  I actually go 4x a year instead of two for cleanings.  I so enjoy it and my mouth is a tartar factory, so it really is necessary.  

Dr. Boyd congratulated G on her healthy teeth with zero cavities.  It seems that my fastidious brushing and only milk and water rules paid off.  

Woot!

With all of our spare time, we visited Uncle Robby, attorney at law.  He has officially morphed into my father, deck shoes and all. Robby was just sworn in to practice law in Kentucky.  He passed the bar over the summer.  He can lawyer in two states.  

Genevieve called both YaYa and Abby from Robby's desk phone.  She is fascinated by real phones.   Think Jane Fonda in 9 to 5.  That movie is fabulous.

"I thought it was Skinny 'n Sweet!!!!!"

That may possibly be my favorite movie quote. 

On Thursday I did what every normal woman in her mid 30s might do.  I donned a pink wig to see the premiere of Jem.  I was shocked by how many people didn't know about Jem and the Holograms, a ridiculous cartoon that I loved as a kid.  

My bestie Marinda was more than familiar with the show.  I purchased $7 pink wigs from Target and we were set!

The theatre was completely empty.

As in, we were the ONLY people there.  The teenage ticket boy didn't even know that the movie was there, what it was, or why in the hell we seemed to think we were so cool.  

We quickly turned ourselves from Jerrica to Jem!  

The movie was utterly ridiculous and I can't believe someone actually made a terrible cartoon into an even more terrible movie.  

Oh, well, we talked through the whole thing and had a blast with how amazing we looked.

We spent my final break weekend with Abby and Papi.

Abby and I spent Saturday putzing around and shopping, while G hung with the boys and watched football.  

We had cupcakes!  

G snuggled with Abby in her new pajamas.  The grandmothers are good at random gifts for no reason!  

This morning G sat outside in the crisp fall weather as we all had our coffee.  

Back to business as usual starting tomorrow.  It seems like ages since I've seen my firsties, so I'm ready for a fun week!  

More Florida Fun

One day we ventured out to a botanical garden.  It was so beautiful.  It was on the grounds of what was a failed amusement park from the 50s called Bongoland, and the dinosaurs from the park were still there.  

On Tuesday we drove to Orlando to the happiest place on Earth.  

I dressed twinsy style with my toddler.

The temperature was perfect, and the day went very smoothly.  We rode 13 rides between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. including about a 45 minute lunch.

We had fast passes, but mostly there was less than a 10 minute wait on all of the rides.  

Dumbo is still her favorite ride.  

We rode in honeypots for the Winnie the Pooh ride.  

Goofy's Barnstormer kiddie roller coaster was new to me.  I think the last time I went to Disney World I was like 14.  G loved this one and we hopped off, ran down to the exit and ran back up and got back on!  

YaYa and Bob were troupers with this adventure.  Everyone had on their tennis shoes.  We had to hit up a Finish Line the day before because Jane forgot hers.

Dad represented the Hoosier state as we experienced a lot of culture on It's a Small World.  G sang the entire time.  

Now let's talk about the hell on Earth that was Ariel's Grotto.  We waited to meet Ariel, since we had no chance of getting in to see Cinderella, Aurora, Anna or Elsa.  G walked right past Jasmine, so she was jazzed about the mermaid.

An hour in line later, G threw a major hissy, screamed and flung herself on the filthy floor of the grotto.

Now any other mother would have yanked her off the floor and left that second.  Not this mama.  I waited for too dang long and she was going to sit next to that swimming ginger if it killed me.  

I hope that doesn't offend any redheads.

Well, the tears dried up when she saw that sparkly tail.  

So not worth an hour.

She loved the ride!

We ended the day with the People Mover.  Here you can see our matching glory.  

YaYa and Bob have taken us for both of our Disney experiences, to Disneyland in CA last year and to Disney World last week.

Trinity has escaped the fun both times!  

Beach week!

I have oodles of pictures from our recent trip to Florida, so I've broken it down into a few posts.  This one is all about our days at the beach!

YaYa and Bob were invited to the wedding of a dear family friend, Lauren.  She lives in Daytona Beach and her wedding was in Ormond Beach.  Instead of just going for a long weekend, they took me and Genevieve along for 6 nights in Florida!

Day one was bright and sunny.  G and I hit the beach in front of our hotel, The Shores Resort and Spa in Daytona.  

Mom and Dad were zooming around the Daytona 500 racetrack (in a bus) for Lauren's rehearsal dinner.  We were trying to get beach photos taken by someone who I now believe was inebriated.  

Let me fix your hair.

Dammit it, Mammoth Mother, get off of me!

We lived it up with room service.  Mostly because taking Genevieve to a restaurant by myself these days is not really in the cards.  Her behavior since turning 3 has been much less pleasant!

Night one was interesting.  I have a toddler who is about 39" tall, and yet I'm still putting her in a pack and play when we travel.  She's still in a crib at home, and I have no plans to end that game anytime soon.  She has never once tried to climb out of it, so she can remained contained until kindergarten.

However,  a Pack and Play is a bit snug.  She woke up several times and finally I put her in bed with me.  I was afraid she would fall out of bed, or remove my kidneys with her toes (unrelated), so I put pillows on the floor by the bed. 

At about 3 a.m. I heard a thump.  She hit the pillows, let out a yelp and then fell back asleep.  At about 5 a.m. I awoke to her voice crying and saying, "It's dark, Momma, I can't find you!"  

Well, I couldn't find her either.  She had rolled under my bed and wedged her foot and really was trapped.  Now that made for some panicking for both of us.  I managed to pull her out and the rest of the nights were spent in the cramped pack and play.  She told me she did not want to fall on the floor again.

On Day two I woke up and surveyed the gorgeous pool.  

I went to sunrise yoga on the beach and was getting my zen on.

Mom brought G down to walk on the beach and this happened.  

After yoga, we spent the rest of the day playing on the beach.  

YaYa and Bob got dolled up for Lauren's wedding and G didn't quite understand why she could not attend the party!  

We went back down to the pool for some kids' activities.  

Face painting and coloring books got us ready for dinner.  

After dinner we got a S'mores kit and then sh*t got real.

My child threw an absolute hissy fit in front of all of the people at the restaurant because I would not let her hold the sharp eye remover marshmallow stick.  

Here she is all excited.  

We were literally wrestling next to a fire pit for a sharp pointed stick.  We both came close to losing an eye and singeing off an eyebrow.  

Ah, parenthood.  

Meanwhile, a lovely union was taking place with no sharp objects in sight.  

The father of the bride toasting the new couple!  

Andrew flinging Lauren around.

That so happened at my wedding.  

Just kidding.

I don't think my husband could lift me.

Mom and dad reported a beautiful evening was had by all.  

We had another beach day where G applied sunscreen for us.  

My friend Tara comes to New Smyrna Beach on all of our breaks from school.  Her family is there.  She drove the 20 minutes with her daughter Lydia to play with us one day.  We had such a great time!