Florida - Beach Day

Another sunny and beautiful day in Florida! Today was beach day, and the water was like a warm bath - awesome!

Xander, of course, loved it. He kept dragging me further and further from the shore so we could jump the waves. This kid must've swallowed gallons of sea water today, but nothing dissuaded him from being out there. In fact, it was a struggle just to get him out when it was time to go.

Joe hung out and got some sun - too much sun. He's burned, I'm crispy, and even Xander got too much sun on his shoulders. And yes, we used sunblock. Not too successfully, it would seem.

After the beach we went to Doc's for lunch and ice cream. The burger I had was good, but the foot long hot dog was too much for Xander. And Joe battled his banana split and lost - he wore quite a bit of it by the time he was done.

Joe and I crashed once we got back, but Xander dragged Mom and Vikki off to the pool. That kid can't get enough water! A quick trip to Publix, some awesome BBQ for dinner, and here we are. It was a good day, despite the sunburn, and I'm looking forward to doing some shopping tomorrow. See you then!

Vacation Day 2: Off the Train in Florida

Well, the Brunos have survived their first train trip...barely! Let's just say Big B and Little B need to occupy a larger space when they're together. LOL! Our sleeper room on the train was actually very nice, with a bathroom and everything, and plenty of storage for our many bags. Still, a tight fit for us.


But we made it through. Our porter, Phred, was a big, friendly guy who helped out with anything we needed. The waiters (?) in the dining car were nice, and the food was pretty good. Just the fact that they had cheesecake won Joe over.

While en route to Florida, we took turns playing games and watching movies on the laptop, playing the DS games, reading, napping, and just generally hanging out. At one point Joe went to the Club Car and spent some time meeting new people. The worst part was trying to sleep last night - Joe and I on the pull-out bed? Not the best experience. Xander loved the top bunk, though, and I'm pretty sure he slept like a log.

We rolled into Delray Beach a little after four this afternoon, and almost immediately upon getting to Mom's we hit the pool. And then it was all we could do to drag Xander back out so we could have dinner. That boy loves to swim.

So right now I'm on Mom's laptop checking my e-mail and updating this page. Xander and Vikki are in the spare room watching SpongeBob - she's his new TV buddy. Joe is watching some TV, at least until he passes out from sheer exhaustion. It's been a really full day, that's for sure.

I'll try to update again tomorrow...I think we're going to the beach. Yay! Stay tuned!

A Raging Case of Hatter-itis

Okay, first off let me say that I've always been an Alice in Wonderland fan. I'd watch the movies that they made for tv - you know, the ones that were full of celebrities wearing animal costumes. I have the books. All good. And then I saw that Tim Burton was making a Wonderland movie and decided I'd skip it. Why mess with a good thing? Ha! Joe brought the DVD home from Blockbuster one day and I watched it beause there simply wasn't much else to do. And I was hooked.

Johnny Depp's Hatter was indeed Mad. But also heroic and vulnerable. I started reading some fan fiction based on the movie, and it just made me love the Hatter even more. I changed my Facebook pic, bought the movie on Bluray, and settled back to enjoy the best Hatter ever.

Until Joe brought another DVD from Blockbuster - the Syfy channel's miniseries take on Alice in Wonderland, called simply Alice. I looked at the cover, saw mechanized flying flamingos, and figured that was definitely not worth watching. Ha again! Xander wanted to watch it, so I watched with half-interest while we played some board games and things.

Andrew-Lee Potts' Hatter wasn't Mad, not really, but he was so incredibly awesome! First off, cutie deluxe. But I really loved his tough-on-the-outside, soft-and-vulnerable-on-the-inside take on this character. And the ending makes me melt each time I watch it (and that has been many, many times). You can bet your sweet bippy I'll be getting that for my DVD collection, and very soon. And thank the fan fiction writers who have given me much more Hatter to enjoy.

Joe says I'm obsessed. I say, "all your fault!" He brought both those Hatters into our house, so it's not my fault that I wanted them to stay. And if you haven't seen the movies, you might want to check them out. Or not. I don't mind keeping those Hatters all to myself!

More T-Ball - And Finally A Shirt!

We had T-ball again on Saturday (only one more to go!) and this time almost all of the kids on the purple team had a shirt. But it seemed like very few of them actually wanted to be there, and in fact there were only about six kids there from the green team. Xander looked mostly bored as he played the field, which is not unusual.

The kids played one game, with each one getting two chances at bat. That's Xander's favorite part and he's a very good batter.

He's pretty good at running, though a lot of times he does this prancing thing more than actually running. But I got some good running shots today, like this one.

I was annoyed about one thing - we missed the team photo. The photographer came the day we went to Richmondville Day. None of the parents were notified ahead of time and some had to scramble for money to pay that day. But that's okay. I'll take my own picture of Xander in the yard at home and it'll be just as cute.

Back on the Team

Just a quick post to say that I'm going to be back on the Cherry On Top digital Creative Team! I received a request from them at the beginning of the week, saying several members of the digital community have been asking to have me come back. Hello, ego boost! LOL!

After weighing the pros and cons, I've decided to go for it. So when I get back from vacation next month, I'll be back on the team and hopefully helping inspire other digi scrappers. Yay!

I hate posting without a picture, but blogger isn't playing nice with me today. :( Anyway, have a great weekend!

Flag Day Parade

This was our second year of marching in the Flag Day parade - our last one, too, at least for a while because Xander will have aged out of T-Ball next year. For unknown reasons, possibly because people are stupid, we were told to meet in the parade staging area at 5:15pm. That gave all those little five and six year old ballplayers a full 45 minutes with nothing at all to do. So naturally they ran around being crazy, scraping their knees and elbows bloody on the asphalt, and generally whining about how bored they were. Xander spent some time playing games on my phone, but that only helped to pass a little of the time. If we were marching again next year, I'd be getting there maybe ten minutes before parade start time. Crazy!

The marching was okay. Xander was the only kid in T-Ball that was throwing candy. I'd picked up six bags of candy at two different dollar stores and it didn't take Xander long to toss it all out. Especially to all his little friends yelling his name from the curb, LOL! I had to keep reminding him to throw the candy down, not up, because he was hitting people in the face with some of it.

We were near the front of the parade, so once we reached the end we doubled back to the Sunoco, where Joe was sitting. I was surprised to see that he'd been joined by Eli, Krissy and the kids, who had probably come straight from Moving Up ceremonies.

The kids were going nuts collecting candy. Not a lot of people had any left by the time they got to us, and those that did would toss out one or two pieces. For four kids. Not a good scene! But they had fun anyway.

Aislin got excited any time a live animal would go by. "Awww, lookit the horsies!"

Xander kept waiting for his school band to come by, and waved at his music teacher when it did.

The parade in Stamford is a really nice one. It's really long, and a lot of school bands participate. Plus the Hobart Pipes and Drums, which Xander loves. Scotland music, he calls it. And he tells me how much he likes it when they play their "saxophones." What a goon!

Next year we'll get a spot more in the middle, for better candy retrieval, and we'll get to see the whole thing from start to finish. No marching for us!

I Survived Adirondack Animal Land!

I'm happy to report that I survived Xander's 1st grade field trip to Adirondack Animal Land. Yay! I almost didn't surive the drive up, though, because we carpooled and I had to sit in the back where I got nice and carsick. Bleh. But the weather was perfect - warm but overcast.

Joe and I had three kids between us - Xander, Emily and Robert. They were pretty well behaved, though Joe did make them sit a couple of times for running. One of the first things we did when we arrived was going into the petting area where all the goats were. Some of the little baby ones were just so cute!

One of the funniest things all day was Robert at the parrot cage. "These are my favorite! I know everything about them!" he said. So I asked him to share some info with us. His reply? "Well, I can't remember any of it." Too funny! Then it was on to the safari - we all sat in a trailer pulled behind a tractor, through an enclosure where the camels and rheas and pot-bellied pigs ran free. The place to sit was the back (we were closer to the front) because the camels would follow behind waiting for some food and stick their heads into the trailer. Xander's teacher was up and out of her seat at one point, trying to get away from them!

We ate lunch in the picnic area, and our little group was very good about sharing food with each other. Then all the kids played for a while on a wooden pirate ship with slides and things on it. Actually, that was all most of the kids wanted to do with the whole day - there were two or three play areas like that scattered around. Plus a little western town (remnants from the long-gone Carson City perhaps?) that everyone was running around in.

Joe had fun feeding the giraffes - he spent a lot of money on the special crackers. A lot of the kids were squealing whenever that long tongue would come at them, including Xander. It was pretty funny!

The strangest part of the day was me running into my old high school chum Aimee, who was there with her daughter's school group. Honestly, she lives like fifteen minutes away from me and we never see each other. Except at Adirondack Animal Land, of all places!

We finished up the day in the gift shop, where the three kids in my group all bought the same thing: plastic bow and arrow set (a hot seller than day!), a memo pad, and a souvenir penny. I got myself a plastic cup, and Joe invested in both the souvenir penny and a penny passport to keep that and all future ones in. (Spending 50 cents on a penny? That's all Joe!)

Then it was back to the school at 3:30pm. I can't wait to see what kind of field trips Xander (and Joe and I!) will be taking next year!

Field Trip Day

I am somewhere on this map today, with 30 crazed first graders and a bunch of furry animals. Pictures and my tale of survival (LOL!) to follow on Monday!

Bike Run Season In Full Swing

As the temperature has warmed up, bikers have come out of the woodwork. And so have bike runs, of which there seem to be an endless supply. Joe's been on three (I think) so far and it's not even summer yet! (By the way, that's Joe's bike right up front.)

These pics are from this past weekend's Ronda Hitchcock Poker Run, which was organized by Joe's cycle club, Worn and Weathered. It may not be logical, but I like it better when Joe rides with a group - at least if something happens, people will know right away. You know what I mean?

Joe has the best time on these runs. He gets to hang out with his new friends, and riding his bike just puts him in such a good mood. Dangerous to the body, healthy for the soul I guess.

There are more runs coming up for the summer, all of them raising money for various charities and scholarship funds and even signage to promote awareness. And in case you were concerned, the pictures taken on the road are not taken by Joe while he's riding - one of the ride-along wives takes them from the back of the bike.

Richmondville Day

It was time for Richmondville Day again on Saturday. I know I've missed one or two of these, but Xander has been a regular since he's been a year old. This year Joe missed out because he was on a bike run. Xander and I set up our camp chairs right in front of my mother-in-law's house, a prime parade spot. Xander was so excited to see the Richmondville Fire Department marching up the road to start things off.

Of course, for Xander the big deal is catching all the candy and swag that gets tossed out. It actually wasn't much this year - the parade was smaller than usual - but he did get a bunch of lollipops, gum, tootsie rolls, and even some pens and a clip for holding sunglasses to a car visor.

Then it was time to hit Main Street. Jean has already visited a few rummage and lawn sales before the parade started, but there were countless more to be had. I made sure Jean took a picture of me and Xander, since I'm usually so busy taking the pictures I forget to be in them.

Joe's Uncle Paul spent the day with us, which Xander seemed to enjoy. Jean bought him a hot dog for lunch and some cotton candy, and Uncle Paul contributed the fried dough Xander just had to have and then only ate one piece of. I ended up wearing most of the confectioners sugar because it was so windy.

Down at the school they had two bounce houses set up. Xander made three seperate trips inside, because that boy can bounce all day! The lines were long because there really wasn't much else for the kiddies to do. There were supposed to be pony rides, but they dropped them from the schedule.

We ran into a lot of Joe's family as we made the rounds - Andy, Angie and Josh, Dave and his kids, Uncle Sonny and his family, and Destiny and Jeanine and the kids. Eli and Mo took a spin in the bounce house together and Jean managed to snap a picture while I was off browsing one of the clothing stands.

The only sour note of the whole day was that we didn't see Mike, Jean's soon-to-be ex-husband. Xander kept looking for him and asking about him, but if he was there we sure didn't run into him. Otherwise, it was a fun day.

After Uncle Paul left, we watched a movie at Jean's and had a quick dinner. Then it was time to head home and wait for Joe to get back from his ride.

Minekill Falls

Memorial Day was sunny and warm (some might say humid) and I decided that we needed to leave the Big Blue Barn for a while. So we went to Minekill Falls, which is a nice little hike through the woods to the bottom of the falls.

Xander had a great time playing in the water, climbing on the rocks, and trying to catch tadpoles. I took a bunch of pics and Joe just soaked up some sun.

There were two baby ducks down there, they were so cute! Didn't see a momma, though.

The hike back up wasn't quite so fun. It's all uphill, and I'm all outta shape. Plus Xander had a meltdown when no-one wanted to carry the sticks he'd collected. Even so, it was a nice interlude in the middle of the day and I'm glad we went. It was good to spend some low-key quality family time.