August 4th, 2012

The first leg of our "national" summer vacation took us to Savannah, Georgia. It was the natural middle between home and Gatlinburg, and having been there before we were looking forward to returning. As in our previous visit, back in '98, it was summer. Back then it felt hot because we were coming from Detroit. What was our excuse now? Still hot...
Being the first time there with the girls, the focus was a bit different. Short bursts outdoors followed by long, refreshing activities indoors. We arrived there just in time for dinner, so we headed down to the water  to find a restaurant. On the way there, we noticed these black hearses, roofless and full of tourists. Savannah is one of the scariest towns in the country, and just as with the Gray Line sightseeing tours, they have scary tours at night. Erin right away jumped on it and asked to do one. The hearses were all booked, but another line offered scary tours in a more conventional trolley bus. If Erin though the experience would be "silly" scary, it was quickly dispelled once Scarlett, our guide, started talking. Historical events were realistically embellished with horrific details that would make you think twice about walking these streets... anytime!
After the obligatory stop by the cemetery, we arrived at an old building, and at Scarlett's prompt, went in. After a few more scary tales surrounding the history of the place, we were led to a room with enough crates for all to sit. Once we were all settled in, she excused herself pretending to go fetch the bus driver. As soon as she left the room became pitch dark and weird sounds started coming from everywhere. The girls were, at this point, grabbing us tight enough to cut off circulation. Then, this woman appeared wearing raggedy clothes and moving in a very menacing way, complaining loudly about something. By now the girls were absolutely terrified! Their sobbing was distracting enough that at one point the woman said: "If the little lady doesn't wanna be here, she doesn't have to be here!" No sooner she finished saying that Erin & Devon dragged Kristin out of the room. The rest of the event was not as much fun without them there. Coming out of the room I found them happily making small talk with Scarlett, who was waiting just outside the door. Erin was very quiet during the walk back to the car that night ( it was past midnight).
The next day we set to do a mix of outdoor and indoor things. The tourist information offices here are extremely helpful in guiding you based on your circumstances. We started with a free river taxi ride, linking both shores of the Savannah river. After that, a quick and cool ride aboard the free loop bus, taking us to the the new Savannah Children's Museum. We thought it would be a safe way to spend a couple of hours, away from the sun and the heat. The museum is the third part of a trio formed by the History and Railroad museums. You buy the tickets at the counter outside the Railroad museum, and then walk around to the children's annex. You would think they would have mentioned, as we plopped our money on the counter, that this children's museum is "outdoors". We were told about this as we were handing our tickets at the entrance, at which time we were reminded the heat index was well over 100 and to stay hydrated. The place was fantastic, in a way, an excellent idea. We just question the value of it on hot and also on rainy days. We left quite a few things on the table, because of the weather and because we don't think the gilrs would enjoy it. One was a walking tour by all those amazing squares, with their spooky trees full of spanish moss. It might be a good cooler weather trip, and we can leave the girls at Grandma's on the way...
Not knowing how the mountain driving would be, we decided to drive that afternoon and sleep in Spartanburg. This would leave a few hour drive for the next day, so we would arrive fresh.

July 4th, 2012

This year we spent the evening of the 4th at the Benvenutos. It was similar to what we do on Christmas, but with more emphasis on gunpowder. As always, the food and company were great. The girls played together from beginning to end, and even the boys enjoyed themselves. Unlike the Christmas parties, this one had a the pool as the central theme.The kids were in it until minutes before leaving. I think they only came out for dinner and the fireworks.   
Most of the adults were content with mingling and talking, but Uncle Al was brave enough to tackle the kids in the water.  He survived the ordeal, but towards the end of the night the fatigue set in. Any more room on the couch, and nobody would be able to get him up for the ride back home!
Cousin Danielle brought her adorable puppy, just a few weeks old. The kids had to control themselves not to pick it up and smooch it to death...it looked so much like a stuffed toy!

July 2nd, 2012

This was a multi-tasking party. We celebrated the 4th of July, Kathy's upcoming birthday and finally, her retirement. So there was a little bit of everything. Kathy must have been some kind of superstar at her work. So many tributes and gestures of good luck! Her replacement surely has some big shoes to fill.
Grandma came down from Jacksonville, and Ann from Chicago. Then, a little later, Alicita joined in with Veronica and Monica. At one point we even got Miguel on Skype, but with such a crowd, things got silly very fast. There was an added distraction, in that during that afternoon Spain was playing Italy in the final of the Euro Chanpionships. Not a spoiler any more, Spain crushed the little bambinos.
Frankie fired up the BBQ, so we enjoyed some genuine American cheeseburgers. No fireworks, though, as this was actually a couple of days before Independence Day. It was good to catch up with Ann, since we had not seen her since the reunion in Jacksonville.Kristin had a mother "on the verge" so she decided to play it safe and stay at home. 

June 15th, 2012

This was the first really long flight for Devon. Erin was already a pro with several long overnight flights to Germany under her belt. Our first stop was Munich. Oma and Opa greeted us at the airport. And Opa had organized a nice hotel in the city center. On our first day in Munich we walked around the city center, and took a hop-on-hop-off-city tour on one of these double decker buses that are open. By then, the girls were so exhausted, they fell asleep.
On our 2nd day in Munich, we did the city tour again. Our first stop was castle Nuempfenburg. A beautiful big castle that held over 10,000 inhabitants during summer. Erin loved this castle. She loved seeing all the paintings of the royals who at one time spent their summers here. The gardens are amazing.
Our next stop was BMW World. Erin wanted to go there, because Daddy would have liked it there. We found Opa’s dream bike from when he was a young man in the German navy. After that, a beer in the English Garden. This park is bigger than Central Park, and the biggest urban park in the world. Of course we also went to Hofbrauhaus, where Devon really liked it. Both girls got German dirndl dresses from Opa.
The next day we took the train to castle Neuschwanstein. A scenic ride through the mountains to the castle that is hugging the mountains. Erin and Opa walked up the mountain, Devon, Oma and I took the bus. Erin complained that the actual time we were allowed to spend in the castle was too short. This being a major tourist attraction, tours are pretty much on top of each other.
After that we said “Auf Wiedersehen” to Munich and headed to Soest on the high speed train , where Oma and Opa live. Erin was glad to arrive, since she did not like the food in Munich and was looking forward to Oma’s cooking.
It has been a while that I have been to Soest in summer, and it was absolutely beautiful to see the historic city center with so many lush green trees and flowers. The highlight of our stay in Soest was that uncle Miguel, Barbara, and cousin Samuel came to visit from Spain. And if this was not enough, European Soccer Championship was on and we cheered for both teams Germany and Spain! Their visit felt way too short, but we are so grateful that they made the trip.
By now the girls were a little tired from traveling, so I took the train by myself to see my BFF Heike in Cologne. We also visited Marianne in the retirement home together. After that the girls and I head to our last stop: Hamburg, to visit my other BFF Loretta and her daughter Charlotte. Erin right away became best buddies with Charlotte. The girls played for hours with Charlotte’s Playmobil collection. When Loretta and I went to have tea in a beautiful old tea house, the girls walked to the pond to see the swans and get an ice cream. The girls were amazed that in Germany we can walk everywhere: to the bakery, the ice cream stand, the Pizza restaurant, etc.
The next day we rented some ponies in the woods. Both girls rode by themselves. Erin’s horse Footsie was quite feisty and took off with her a couple of times. Devon’s pony “Einstein” was more interested in the yummy green bushes along the little riding path.
The next day we were off to Miniature World. The world’s largest museum of miniature trains, cities and landscapes. They even had an airport with planes actually landing and taking off, a cruise ship that was happily cruising along. Many interactive scenes, pushing buttons to make things happen. Also, the lighting constantly changed from day to night, revealing totally different views. I must say, everything was so small, that even with my glasses I felt totally exhausted looking at the details in such tiny formats. One could spend days in there.
Early the next day our trip came to an end. We took the plane back home, where Tomas waited for us at the airport. He said it was too quiet when we were gone
 

June 25th, 2012

Yes, look at the date! Over three years without an update. Pitiful. Lots of excuses, none of them good.
But here we are, and now we need to get back on this ride and do our best in recounting what happened during this time. So below you'll see a list of links that will take you to the most important events in the last three years. It will start small but get filled-up until the entire period is accounted.

June 5th, 2009

Back in October of last year Kristin attended a "School Fair" at the Fairgrounds. All kinds of schools were there, and they are what they call "choice schools". These schools offer programs that expand on the conventional public school curriculum by offering in-depth disciplines in a particular theme. Some of them seem a bit extreme, considering we are talking about five year-olds, but they get them started early! Our assigned school is Discovery Key, which is actually quite good and it is A rated. But the thing is that all public schools within a 5 mile radius are also A rated. So we are looking for another way to distinguish between all these good schools. The choice schools do that, by adding that extra something to their program. They also tend to be more diverse, since students do not all come from the same area, and the lottery admission system ensures that there is economic diversity as well.
Kristin filled in applications to three of the schools present at the fair. If we get lucky, great. If not, Discovery Key will do just fine, and it's located down the street from Planet Kids, where Erin and Devon will be going this summer. They are both in the opposite direction than our jobs, but just one block, and having them so close to each other will make the process that much easier. But, it was not to be! Erin was accepted to Morikami Park Elementary, down in Delray Beach. It's quite far from our house, but totally on the way to Tomas' office. This school was our undeclared first choice (didn't want to jinx it), it's very highly rated and has a very good reputation. They follow the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP), which seems to be very well rounded and the kind of world approach that appeals to us. To quote from their documentation:

Highly motivated children who thrive on academic challenges will flourish in the Primary Years Programme (PYP). This Choice program offers a comprehensive, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning in an internationally designed model for concurrence in learning, with guidelines on student learning styles, methodologies and assessment strategies. The PYP is a combination of the best research and practices from international schools and includes the study of foreign languages and cultures to enhance the international perspective. The discipline of the PYP learning environment encourages inquiry, creativity and flexibility. Growth toward self-reliance, active scholarly success and responsible citizenship are some of the rewards of this program.

Because of the distance, there's a slim chance that any of her current friends will be attending there. She's never had any problem making friends, and with her birthday a couple of months after the start of classes she will have a chance to mix the old with the new. She has not totally accepted the idea of the new school, but we're sure once we get closer to the end of the summer it will be different. For one thing, we need to shop for the uniform clothes and from what we have seen they are not bad at all. Hopefully she will feel the same way...
A few more links:

Morikami Park Elementary Homepage
Morikami PTA
City-Data info
Great Schools info

May 29th, 2009

For our annual getaway this time we picked Jamaica. With all the H1N1 going around, anything related to Mexico and other popular Caribbean resorts was out of the question. As always, Kristin found a great deal for a week at a Riu resort in Negril, made even better after she found out we could buy the same package through Costco. We never thought we would use their travel services, but there you go...never say never! We "technically" used Costco when we bought the Mazda5, but in reality, what matters is how much you are willing to deal on price and trade-in. So, back to the trip. This place was a couple of hours West of Montego Bay, which is where we would land. On a map, it's hard to believe it would take two hours to cover that distance. But it's a meandering coast road and the bus would stop at resorts on the way to drop off other tourists. The resort is located on Bloody Bay, a half-moon stretch of beach sprinkled with half a dozen other hotels. There are conflicting  accounts regarding the origin of the bay's name. Some say there's a pirate story behind it. Others say it's called bloody because they used to slaughter whales there (and eery reminder of probably the most important film this year, The Cove). The third explanation is that it was the site of a fierce battle between Columbus and the Arawak Amerindians. Who knows? but there's another Bloody Bay 180 miles west of here in Little Cayman Island that is known to have been a pirate haven.
The official language in Jamaica is English and they drive on the left, so right away we had flashbacks from our time in Malta. And yes, the driving near Montego Bay was as crazy as any we remember from back then. The coast on the way was very rocky, which is bad if you are looking for sandy beaches, but great if you like to snorkel. We have sandy beaches in Florida, so we brought a bag with snorkeling gear. As you can imagine, this is Bob Marley country, and practically every day there was something about him. The bus driver, both coming and going, was playing his music on the trip. His picture is plastered on many places, but we noticed that Usain Bolt seems to be gaining on him. Maybe the younger generation identifies more with him.
The weather in Florida before leaving was horrible, and the forecast for the coming week in Jamaica was not that good either. This could be a problem, because even though rain is welcome now and then, Florida is having one of the wettest springs in record. We could use a break. Lucky for us, it rained a bit on the first day, and then it just remained partly cloudy for the rest of the stay. This worked out great for us, since it allowed us to be a bit more outside and the heat was quite tolerable.
The resort is similar to other "all-inclusive" places we have visited. There's a common area where you spend most of the day, and the rooms are a bit off to the side and out of the way. I guess if the parties get too noisy, you have a better chance at a decent night sleep this way. But it also means that it is a bit of a walk (not in universal terms, but enough for us "lazy Americans") every time you want to eat, or swim in the pool. It probably would have been OK if Devon walked it too, but she had other plans. As with all good "all-inclusives", you really have no use for money. Everything is covered, and there's no tipping. Even in the room there's a mini-bar. Well, not so much a mini-bar, but all the ingredients to make most standard drinks. There is a limit on the usage of the liquor, though. The bottles mounted on the wall upside-down (we forgot to take a picture of that) to dispense a shot only get replaced every two days. So I figure some people would need to pace themselves.
As you can see in the gallery, the grounds are beautifully landscaped and worked on constantly. The methods can only be described as primitive: lots of machetes, manual push mowers and rusted-out gas lawn mowers. Which is just as well, as it appears that when the lawn mower motors die out, they get a second lease on life. Mosquito control consists on pushing around a hand truck onto which a motor has been mounted. It must run a high mix of oil in the gas, because the result is a cloud of smoke (and loud noise) wherever it goes. There were two pools, none of which went deeper than about four feet.  The one with the bar was always busy, while the other was often used for aqua-aerobics. After overcoming her shiness, Erin got pretty good at going to the bar and ordering a strawberry smoothie (which had neither strawberry or anything dairy). Over at the beach, just a few steps away, they had volleyball and aerobic sessions. The swimming area was enclosed in a buoy line, and it was shallow for at least 50ft. After that the bottom becomes muddy and soft, a good reason to start swimming. From the shore one could see some fish, young barracuda and the occasional stingray. Our snorkeling plans were taking a hit, though. The water looked murky and most of the area seemed covered in seagrass. One early morning, before people started their beach routine, I took the gear with me and started snorkeling around. At first it was just as we feared, not much to see through the muck. Near the shore there were a bunch of what looked like electric rays and a few huge cushion sea stars. It stayed like that for a while, and then in the middle of the swimming area, something completely different. A rocky bottom replaced the seagrass and the water cleared up. A small oasis of reef, full of coral and fish and color, was just "downstream" of a rainwater drainage channel that split the resort in two. It's the only explanation for such a contrast, and made us feel sorry for not having an underwater camera. The next day Kristin would get up early to do the same thing.
They have a bunch of restaurants, but we mainly used one, the "grand buffet". The others were reservation only, and seemed a bit too proper for the four of us.  Really, with Devon, you never know. In general the food was great, and quite varied. They sometimes would have a theme for dinner, and in the week we were there they never repeated. For an island, we thought there would be more seafood and tropical fruits. Instead the general idea seemed to be not to offend too much, so almost nothing was unknown.
Towards the middle of the week Erin discovered the Kid's Club. From 10 to 12 and from 3 to 5, she would join a group of other kids and do stuff. If the weather allowed, they would go on small excursions around the resort, or just stay at the club and do some crafts. For some strange reason, the resort would staff the club with pregnant women, who would normally be part of the entertainment crew at the pool and beach. Because much of what they do is very athletic, they must prefer to assign more sedate jobs to those that are expecting. Erin must have liked it, because she didn't miss a session for the rest of the week. The same entertainment crew would take part in the evening shows. These would happen after dinner, after a period of "crowd-warming" that Devon was not very fond of. It would normally involve some kind of audience-participation that at times looked a bit embarrassing. The MC, whose name sounded very much like "Devon" was very loud and silly, and his hair was bright red. Our Devon was terrified of him, letting us know when she would spot him during the day around the pools. The shows themselves were pretty good, always inspired around a theme.  Erin particularly liked the Michael Jackson tribute even though some of the "Thriller" dance numbers were a bit scary. Once back in Florida she would ask to see MJ videos on YouTube to compare with what she had seen in Jamaica. The shows ran quite late, for us, so a few nights Devon would return to the room with me while Erin and Kristin would stay until the end. On the way to the room there was always the obligatory stop by the spa, where a family of cats would come out to play as soon as it was cool enough. Another thing coming out at night were these big land crabs, as big as your open hand. They live in burrows and stay hidden during the day, but at night they come out to forage. Walking around after the sun goes down, you can sometimes hear the tic-tac of their legs on the paved floor.
Erin and I left the resort one afternoon, the only time any of us did, to get some diapers and mosquito repellent. We were told five minutes down the road there was a gas station with a mini-mart. Obviously they meant by car, because it took us around 30 minutes to get there. On the way there we must have been offered a dozen rides by the passing cabbies. We ended up needing to get cash at the ATM, since the credit card machine was suspiciously out of order. So, on the way back we flagged one of the cabs we saw before to get a ride back. Erin was a little scared, the guy looked like he could be Bob Marley's dad, and you can imagine the kind of "air freshener" he used the most. But he was really nice, and gave us his cell number in case we wanted to venture out again.
In all, it was a great trip. This is the third time we go to an "all-inclusive" resort, and with kids of this age it is the ideal arrangement. It could be because it was our first, but the Viva Resort in the Dominican Republic is still the benchmark against which we compare the rest. Jamaica was close, but the food at Viva was a bit more exotic, and there was music everywhere! This is something that was lacking this time, which helps associate a set of memories with some particular music. Even now, almost ten years later, we still recall our time at Viva after randomly hearing music from that vacation. It helps that in South Florida you may actually hear that music on the radio, and it's a nice surprise when you do.

May 1st, 2009

Before Sundays at the Meyer, before the fancy new stage at CityPlace, before the girls... We've been going to the outdoor concerts that The Village of Wellington has been offering in the summer. Yes, the summer. They do them once a month so it's just four or five, and one or two are guaranteed to be rained out. That's the way the season rolls around here, and evening showers can be like clockwork. By now I think we've been here with everybody we know, if only because it's so easy and close to the house. There's only room for a couple of hundred people, so parking is never a problem, and we always get the same spot to put our lawn chairs. They start the music around 7PM, so there's still about an hour of daylight. In that time the girls can play in the expansive grass field behind the mobile stage. Unless they haven't sprayed, the mosquitoes are not too bad. The gnats, on the other hand, can get very annoying. The newspaper lists what the music theme is on each of the weekends, so we know what to expect. By now, I think we know all the local bands. Not just from this, but all the other events happening throughout the year. The pictures on this gallery are from the last two summers, so you get to see Devon at one and two years of age. Very different, no?

April 25th, 2008

This last Saturday we went up to Juno Beach to attend TurtleFest, an annual event at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Caitlin and her family joined us there, since they live nearby. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a nonprofit organization committed to the conservation of marine life through public education, research, and rehabilitation with a focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. In addition to providing educational programs, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center operates a sea turtle rehabilitation program. On this day, they open their doors to the public, and we got to see first hand what they do the rest of the year. All the sea turtles they have here have been rescued, mostly from injuries sustained from "encounters" with boats.  They are all on a strict rehab schedule, and every so often they will take a bunch of them to the beach for a "release ceremony". All the volunteers that have helped in the recovery of the turtles are invited, and from what they tell us, it gets pretty emotional.
Apart from the center, the rest of Loggerhead park was open for the festival, which included events for the kids, live music and vendors of food and nick-nacks. Erin and Caitlin got their faces painted, but Devon and Abby are still too shy to try it. We took our food down to the beach, where the wind was whipping the waves too strongly to try to get in. The girls did splash around in the shallow areas, though.

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March 21st, 2009

As we have done in the past, we met Grandma & Grandpa in "neutral" territory again. The visits tend to be more interesting if we all are somewhere new. We had not been to Sarasota in many years, and were eager to see if and how it might have changed. There were definitely signs of economic struggle around the Tamiami Trail and the airport, with boarded-up places and empty restaurant parking lots. As usual, Kristin found us a great deal on the hotel, where we had the two rooms right next to each other. Not that it made a difference, as the weather was great and we mostly spent time outside. Great because of the clouds, which allowed us to be out without having to deal with excessive heat or the sun.
The first day we went to Heike's old neighborhood, Lido Key. It was great to be on a beach that's flat, large and full of shells. Jacksonville has beaches like this, but down here they are all pretty narrow and with all the storms from that past few years, have huge chunks missing. On a related note, Lantana Beach is completely eroded away right in front of the Dune Deck Café. I mean, it's barely a dune anymore...even the wooden deck and stairs down to the shore are gone! But I digress, over on Lido, they were doing some beach restoration project, with bulldozers and all. Before lunch we stopped briefly by the South Lido Park, a shady spot under the pines, perfect for barbecues.
In the afternoon (after the naps) we headed over to St. Armands Circle, the trendiest quarter in Sarasota. Think CityPlace or Mizner Park and you get the idea: expensive cars, art & jewelery shops and lots of people-watching. If you manage to get a table, it's a good place to grab dinner as well. But the cap to an afternoon around here is to head over to the beach and watch the sunset. The overcast skies meant we might not get one at all, but it turned out perfect. There were no clouds out West, so the sun appeared right before dipping into the Gulf's horizon. Spectacular!
On our last day, before we each headed back home, we visited The Mote Marine Laboratory. This is small but excellent aquarium combines the research aspect of marine life with some very interesting exhibits. Half way between Seaquarium and a museum, it offers plenty of learning experiences for the kids, while being fun enough to keep them interested. Outside the aquarium is the bird rescue center Save Our Seabirds, which took over the facilities left behind by "The Pelican Man Bird Sanctuary" when they closed in 2006.

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March 8th, 2009

As you see from the previous years, this one is a tricky one. The weather could be great, as it should in March. But it can also be too hot, depending on the clouds. This year we got lucky, as we didn't get rain like last year but the clouds kept it reasonable. Cadence and her family were going to join us, but one of them was sick and they scrapped the idea. So we were on our own again. Maybe next year we'll get more people interested. As it is we only get to see about half of it or less, because the girls get tired and a little bored. We hope if some of their friends were here, the time would pass faster for them, allowing us to stay a bit longer.








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February 22nd, 2009

At first we weren't going to do anything, maybe a couple of people. Devon is going through this phase where you don't really know what you are going to get. Much like a box of chocolates... So going somewhere like Erin's A Latte Fun was risky. But as the day drew near we warmed to the idea of expanding that list and invite a few more people, still at our place. At the end, it was right at the limit of how many people you want to cram into the house. Thank goodness for the patio, our winter living room. But things turned out fine, all the kids had a good time, the clean-up afterwards was not too bad and Devon got her first center-stage event. Like her sister, she doesn't like the spotlight, not with "strangers" anyway. So as everybody was starting to sing "Happy Birthday" and she was sitting in front of her cake, she turned around and shouted: "No singing!!!"




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February 10th, 2009

After an entire decade living here we figured we knew every nook and cranny of our neighborhood. OK, new stuff keeps popping up and that might throw us off a bit, but for the most part, we knew, right? One only has to look at very outdated Google Earth pictures to realize that we probably just scratched the surface. Granted, some of the places you might see are clearly private country clubs and golf courses, but how would you know? This month we visited a couple of parks less than 15 mins. from our house that were just below that surface. One is Okeeheelee Park (Here on G.E.)and the other is John Prince Memorial Park (Here on G.E.). They both have plenty do do and I'm sure we'll go back often. Okeeheelee has a golf course, which means nothing to us but might interest Grandpa Bob. John Prince, on the other hand has Lake Osborne, a significant chunk of water that stretches South past Lantana Road.

January 18th, 2009

This year we did it right. Well, "righter". In the past we have done the fair starting early in the morning and then leaving around 4-5PM when the crowds start getting thick. The problem is that you are left with the feeling you missed things. There's just not enough time in one visit to do it all. This time we took advantage of their first day advance tickets. If you use your advance tickets on their first day (Friday), you get to return for free on any other day the fair is open. And with the weather being a bit shaky, it's like "second chance" insurance.
The first day we did mostly the exhibits, leaving the rides for our second. All our yearly favorites were there: the pig races, the farmers area, the pony rides, the petting zoo, the bovine maternity ward... Right inside the welcome pavillion this year they had an Australian exhibit, with typical down-under fauna. Conveniently near this exhibit they had a display for "Sugar Babies". At first, we thought they were flying squirrels, but it turns out they are actually "Sugar Gliders", a marsupial. Cute as hell, but thankfully too expensive to even be a consideration, these little things were hopping from person to person (the visitors, not the keepers) as if they were in a human forest. File this under -potentially regrettable- impulse buy, since a five minute search on the web revealed what a huge can of worms these little guys can represent. There's a lot of this at the South Florida Fair, because apart from the rides, it's a place to do business. From a car to a hot tub, and not forgetting the resort vacation... you can spend some real money here.
As usual, the pig races were lots of fun, but more because of the histrionics and the ambient than the actual pigs running. And this year we were this ( ) close to seeing a calf being born. Right before dinner we stepped into the "delivery ward" and one of the cows there was clearly in labor. People were already filling in the small bleachers the place in front of each stall. Kristin, who has already been through something "similar" twice, thought by the look of it, the cow had a couple of hours to go. When we returned not even an hour later, the newborn calf was already enjoying her first tall glass of milk.
The second day was for the rides. Erin for sure would be getting a bracelet, and riding on anything her height would allow. We thought about getting a bracelet for Devon too, but the lady at the booth thought she would not find enough suitable rides for her height. And she was right, there was almost nothing for two year olds! A bit of a bummer, since from our trips to Cypress Gardens we have an idea of what she likes and can handle. In general, the height requirements appeared to be higher than what we remember, and definitely higher than those at Oktoberfest or Cypress Gardens. On this day we were joined with Cadence and her family, so at least those not riding had a good time with friends. Next year Tomás will get a bracelet too, and that will allow both Erin and Devon access to many more rides.
This probably is the same all over the country, but it's curious to notice how the same rides are on the same spot year after year. Some of them were new, and the tiny kiddie rides were mostly absent, but the ones Erin remembers were in the same place. One of them is hysterical, but it's not the ride itself. It happened last year too, this ride is basically a train going around and around. It goes up and down a bit, but it's mostly just going in circles, fast. Erin was paired with this nice boy (Cadence didn't want to go on this one) with her taking the seat on the inside. As the train gained speed, Erin was forced towards the outside harder and harder. She appeared to have a great time, but looking at the boy's face it's clear he would rather be somewhere else.
At the end, this was the way to do it. Two days, no rush. But even then, we didn't get to see it all...

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January 5th, 2009

This was by far our longest trip with both girls and also in the new car. I must say it passed with flying colors. Very comfortable, and with the DVD playing the girls are two little angels. It was also the first time we had been to Grandma & Grandpa's house in a very long time, before Erin was born! We either have met them half way somewhere else, or (most of the times) they have come down to visit. So it was great seeing everything again, and experiencing a bit of winter cold. It might not be New England winter cold, but for us, it was enough. They even have canada geese in the ponds here, and not like our plastic floats. These are the real deal, and friendlier than the Michigan variety, as I recall. So it appears that this is a far south as they are willing to go in the winter.
For the last few of years we have been celebrating NYE in South Florida. Either in Miami, our house, or up at Singer Island with the Strongs. This year we switched to North Florida! With Tito & Becky living here and the Jimenez visiting so often, it makes sense. They put Matilda in the doggie hotel for the week, which is probably better, since the house was going to be a zoo just with all those humans. Erin probably appreciated it as well, but she knows next time (like during Thanksgiving last year) she would be here.
So we got to see all the Jimenez' as well, the girls growing nicely and fast. E. Rose is still a firecracker, and at times it seemed Erin was clueless how to handle that level of excitement. Hey, at least they got nice and tired and for the most part, slept through the night. Big thanks to grandpa for letting us have full use of the bedroom and bathroom, that made a big difference.
We had a pretty busy December, so it suit us fine to relax a bit. We did visit the nearby park Erin had already seen a month earlier. I can't remember the name, but here you have it on Google_Earth (and now that Streetview is integrated into it, you just need one link). The playground must be very new, because the picture still shows it under construction. But you can see the small pier by the river and the walking trails on the NW side where we took a few of our pictures. That's also where we saw the geese. The blood really must get thinner living down here, because a perfectly crisp and sunny January morning in the 40s was polar torture for our delicate ears. Good thing our family reunions always happen in summer!
We also visited the Jacksonville Landing, a hangout place much like CitiPlace, but right on the water. We were there during the day, and a workday at that, so there wasn't much going on. But it's a perfect place to just stroll and relax. The evenings might be a different story, but we've never been there then. We also took a water taxi that connects a few points of interest on both sides of the river. It was a slow day, so the captain invited Erin and Devon to pilot the ship for a few moments.
For our last night we joined the Jimenez for an evening in St. Augustine. It always looks good this time of year, with the lights and the lack of searing heat. We still remember a visit one summer (it was on our move from Michigan) when the heat was so intense you could barely breathe. Or it could be just us not being used to Florida summers!  



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December 19th, 2008

Another year has gone and it is time for the highlight of the AWAI-work year. Katie graciously hosts a Christmas luncheon in the garden of her beautiful house every year. The food is always delicious, the sangria is yummy. Each year we have one of our male coworkers play Santa Claus delivering the gifts. That’s why you see him here in almost every picture. “Santa” calls each of us to sit next to him to open the gift and guess who our secret Santa was in the office. It’s a time to relax and enjoy after a hectic year, and everybody is looking forward to it.

   For a few pictures of the day, visit this gallery.


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December 15th, 2008

Without snow on the ground, the "Christmasy" feeling is not completely there, but we still get to see some fine light displays. Around our neighborhood and others, some homeowners really go all out and display amazing stuff on their front yards. We have noticed, though, some of the gigantic ones were not there this year. Especially around Jordan's house, a couple of key neighbors moved away, so we missed treats like the "Margaritaville Holiday Display". Over at CitiPlace they decorated the palm trees and fountain like last year, but also brought in "snow" machines around the stage area (tasted "soapy"). And Hoffmans, with their perennial light display, was on as well. Yes, we are starting to think they don't take it down for the rest of the year. They just don't turn it on. That's what we would do, it doesn't look like they use the space for anything else. Here's a small gallery with pictures from this year.

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December 6th, 2008

I know what you are going to say: enough with the horses! It's not so much that we did lots of things around Wellington this year, but many of the other things have been done already. This one was a bit different. First, it was a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and after that a round of dressage. What's dressage, you ask? Well, picture "Dancing With The Stars", but with horses. The coordination of horse and rider is amazing, and the music was excellent. One even had some Zeppelin! We didn't have our usual camera with us, so video was out of the question. Still pictures don't even come close to relating the skill involved in doing this.
The ceremony took place at dusk, under a dramatic cloudy sky. Kids from the Wellington schools provided the Christmas carols, all very good. They also had the customary bounce houses and giant slides for those looking for cheap thrills.

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December 3rd, 2008

While Erin was in Jacksonville, we didn't just sit around and mope. Or at least we didn't just do that...Our friend Carolina, with her equestrian connections, told us about an event at the Wellington Steeplechase. Having never been to an event like this, we decided to join her and Angelina for the day. Like we said before, they have been promoting equestrian events in Wellington for that last couple of years. We don't know how the "upper crust" feels about sharing the fun with us "commoners", but we make the best of it. And it appears having us there doesn't dilute the rich atmosphere, either: you still get to see fantastic cars, outrageous hats and endure the occasional cigar stench. In reality, the actual races are more of a side show, with the action taking place inside the track's oval. Lots of activities for the kids, bar and music for the adults and of course, plenty of people watching. And once again, instead of pony rides, the kids got to ride on real (full size) horses. They just had to don on a helmet, so don't miss the pictures of Devon and her giant black ant head! The obligatory patriotic moment was provided by the good folks from Blackwater, who brought in their elite paratroopers as part of their PR campaign (in Feb. 2009, the company changed its name to Xe. Good luck with that...). And on the way out, just like in the supermarket, you get to walk by the impulse buy opportunity from heaven. This year it was a collection of brightly colored cars by an Italian manufacturer originally known for their agricultural tractor business.

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December 1st, 2008

This was my big adventure. Can you believe I had never been to Grandma & Grandpa's house before? They were always making the trip to see us, or we would meet somewhere in the middle. But now it was my turn, and by myself! Yes, this was the longest I have been without Mom or Dad. The key piece of this puzzle is that Kathy and Frankie were going to spend the week in Jacksonville, visiting. So all I had to do was tag along and enjoy the ride.
On Monday morning they stopped by the house to pick me up. Oma & Opa were still here, so they waited with me while Devon was with Ms. Kelly and Mom & Dad were at work. I was sad to say goodbye to them, because they were going back to Germany on Tuesday and I would not see them on my return. But I was so excited about the trip...my luggage was ready early on Sunday! The trip up was long, but entertaining, and Kathy said she enjoyed having someone to talk to. I guess dads are all the same, when they're driving they don't want to do anything else...
We arrived at Jacksonville before Grandma & Grandpa were home from work, so we went to Becky & Tito's house first. Of course Erica Rose & Katrina were very excited to see their grandparents, but then again, E. Rose is always excited, no? We played for a while, until Grandma (mine) came to pick me up. Grandma hadn't realized how scared I am of dogs, even those smaller than our cat! But she soon saw how much I can freak out when a dog is around, especially one as "happy" as Matilda. So that kind of set the tone for the rest of the week as far as the dog was concerned: Grandma and Grandpa worked very hard to make sure that Matilda was not in the same room as me, without locking the poor dog in a room the whole time. And I have to say she's a very sweet dog, towards the end we could be in the same room, as long as Grandpa was there too. The next day was similar, in that Grandma & Grandpa had to work and I spent the day with the Jimenez. It's lots of fun playing with E.Rose & Katrina, maybe because I'm the "grown-up".  I normally don't take a nap, but with these two I wouldn't rule it out. We spent some time at a playground nearby, while Katrina was sleeping in the stroller. She woke up just in time to play some more before we went back.
Grandma & Grandpa have a really neat park near their house. One part is all sports fields and playgrounds, but it also has a golf course and some trails that take you right by the river. And it's a huge river, with huge ships in it. From here you can see most of the city, and if they are having a game at the stadium you can also see the blimp. The river is so big that on the shore there are areas that look like tiny beaches. You can see the footprints on the sand from the animals that live around here.
Back in the house I helped with some of the Thanksgiving dinner preparations. Grandma had me work on the ambrosia and the sweet potato dishes. That was fun! I admit that at the end I didn't try either. I'm a picky eater! But the main thing was to be together with the family, no?
We also went to the Jacksonville  Zoo. It was really cool! They have animals that our zoo doesn't have, like a black panther. I knew black panthers from seeing Bagheera in "The Jungle Book", but I had never seen one for real. They have a carousel that's very similar to the one from our zoo. The tiger in particular: ours vs. theirs. They also have giraffes, which our zoo does not. And you can feed them, like at the Lion Country Safari. Another day we went to the Cummer Museum, were you can see all kinds of paintings and sculptures. They also have really nice gardens to stroll about. We saw a documentary about some blind ladies who were painters and clay modelers. Amazing! It reminds me of when I found out about some people who paint with their feet or mouth because the have no arms.
At the end, it was sad to leave, but it had been one week away from home. I missed my peeps! And besides, it looks like this year we are spending NYE in Jacksonville, so I'll be back in a month.
 
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November 25th, 2008

One day early, Werner & Dagny arrived to witness the spectacle that is election day. Only thankfully this year it was decided early and we all got to bed at a decent time. Werner in particular might have been a bit disappointed considering the drama of the last few years, but we sure were relieved. Devon moved out of "her" room and into Erin's in preparation for this visit. What a nightmare! It seems for the next month, nobody slept on the same bed two nights in a row, with all of us "rotating" between the bedroom, the living room couch and Erin's room. What is clear is that the crib is done, Devon will have nothing to do with it, not even for naps. With all this going on Oma & Opa were very gracious and patient around bedtime, but it must have been hard at times with all that crying (Devon, I'm talking about you...).
Once settled, on the first weekend we uprooted them again. We took them to Westgate Resorts River Ranch, a place we new about but never visited (it's on the way to Cypress Gardens). Whenever we go to the South Florida Fair they have a desk and offer special packages, but we never pull the trigger. Now the weather was perfect, and we had the time and the company. At the end of the day, this is a timeshare resort, where the owners go for a week and probably know most of their neighbors. But they also have single nights available in their motel and cabins, making it practical for timeshare "non-believers" like us. And unlike all the other resorts we have visited, this one is smack in the middle of the state, so waverunners are out and frosty nights are in. They call it a dude ranch, which is a nice way of saying that this is where city folks go to make asses of themselves in a country setting. And there was plenty of that: the Pine Crest Father's Club was here for the weekend. We enjoyed being here, it's only two hours away, but you'd swear it was by plane. The petting zoo (farm) was a hit, but not necessarily in a good way. For some reason Erin still is terrified of all these critters, and Devon seems to be copying that fear. The free-roaming goats were particularly terrifying. The llama did not spit anyone, but the mouflon-looking goat from picture 30 sneezed on Tomás & Devon seconds after that picture was taken. But get this, after all this terror they both made a big fuss wanting to go on the pony rides... Before dinner we went on a hay-ride. It turns out this is a tractor pulling a couple of wagons normally used to transport hay. But to make room for the passengers, most of the hay was gone. Still, it was a fun ride and the kids liked it (lots of "moo" left and right from Devon). Behind the driver sat the guide, who just kept singing country songs with music from an i-pod in between his narration. It was cool, he even looked a bit like Hank Williams Jr. After that it was a cook-out and then off to the rodeo. This was the real thing, with prize money and real bulls. Yeah, the ones we saw during the hay ride. Quite heavy at the start with showings of patriotism and religion, but hey, this is the "real" America, no? The bull rides were too quick for the kids to get an idea of what's going on. But the second half was mostly some acrobatic horse riding, and they did dig that. Especially when the three year old girl came out riding her big horse and doing a loop around the ring.
On the morning of the last day we wanted to give the petting zoo another try. We were sure after a whole day of country living the girls would feel more connected to the animals here. We were wrong.  It was worse. And by worse we mean more embarrassing for us. Before we left back home we gave the swamp buggy tour a try. These contraptions the size of school buses on 6ft tall tires and small block V8's are used to go anywhere around here. We almost didn't make it on, because five hours after making the reservations, we were told that all passengers must be at least two years old. So Devon was out. After a little arguing we were allowed on for the ride. And what a ride it was! There were times when we thought Dagny would not be able to hold on and would end up tossed "overboard". And if she did manage to hold on, that inverted wastebasket she was sitting on would rip right off and take her down with it. It's hard to judge the stability of something so bug and tall, but more that half of us thought we would tip over a couple of times over uneven terrain. The driver never lost his cool, so I guess we were never in any danger, but you pay to feel like you are. And Devon? Well, she fell asleep after ten minutes and didn't wake up until we got off. She likes the "rocking"...
The following week Kristin had her annual "Bootcamp" event at work, so she was out of commission for a few days. Erin had a singing show at her school, which the rest of us attended. She was placed at the back, so we don't have any good pictures, but we'll put the video montage on YouTube soon. That evening we went down to a carnival in Boca. We were expecting a couple of rides and some food stands, but this thing was huge! And so were the prices...Boca style. Devon was too small to ride anything, apparently, even the carousel. Erin made the best of the extra ride tickets to go on her favorites. After a while we were joined by the Benvenutos, who live around the corner. As usual, Erin and Annabelle hit it off and enjoyed their time together. Devon and Nicholas did their own thing, separately. At one point, Steve decided it would be fun to try their luck a ta ping-pong tossing game. If you get the ball into any of the bowls, you win a prize. Almost immediately, Erin gets one in. She's now the proud owner of a goldfish, a living, flapping fish! Knowing how kids are, Steve and Tiffany quickly intensified their ball throwing until one of them hit the target. The next morning each father went out and bought a small aquarium to house the newest resident. Erin named hers Anthony. The last ride of the night was an old favorite of Erin, but maybe not so much Annabelle. It's one of those pods where kids sit around a small disk they can twists to make the whole thing turn. This one was covered, so we didn't get to see much. But Annabelle's seating position at the end was diametrally opposed to the position she was at the start. And the look on her face indicated she had not enjoyed that at all. By now were were all  pooped and ready to go home. Erin was especially eager to rush back and show Mom our new addition.
While the parents went to work and the kids to daycare, Werner & Dagny stayed busy spiffing up the landscaping around the house, going to the beach and the community pool. Some mornings they would walk the kids to Ms. Kelly, and at the end of the day she would drop them off at the house so they could spend time with the before we returned from work. For the most part it worked well, but Erin did not seem as keen on all that walking. Mind you, it wasn't that much, but anything more than a 1/4 mile would be considered a quest for her. There are a few places where she's OK walking for long periods, like anything Disney, zoo or ride related. Since they had never been there, we took Werner & Dagny to Lion Country Safari one day on the weekend. It was a chilly day, but for us a welcome change in a place where we normally quit because of the heat or the sun.

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Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! 

As we mentioned earlier, this year we selected A Latte Fun to host Erin's birthday party. This place is a slam dunk. Two hours all to ourselves, in a clean and fun place. There were a bunch of kids Erin's age, and a few smaller (Devon's age). They all had a great time. They do have a lot of "rules", and if one were to "obey" them all it would not be as much fun. Fortunately, they allowed the kids to have fun and applied common sense warnings only when things seemed to get a bit risky. We may repeat for next year, since it will be the last one for Erin: A Latte Fun is for kids 6 and under.

October 31st, 2008

Just like last year, a wet Halloween. It wasn't enough not to go out, but at times we did have to look for cover. Halloween started a week early this year, when we went to the Zoo on the weekend. Both girls dressed up and joined the rest of the kids running around the grounds looking for treats. On Monday Heike dropped by for a visit, fresh from San Diego. We had not seen her for a couple of years and it was great to catch up on our business. Kristin had to work (Bootcamp and all...) but the rest of us managed to sneak out to the beach. No wonder it was empty! It was cold and windy, enough to knock Erin down with a wave. The beaches really took a hit this year, even without a hurricane. We spent the rest of the day carving a Disney pumpkin and getting sand out of Erin's hair. As on other years, on the actual night of Halloween we went to Jordan's neighborhood. Angelina Joined us and the three girls spent a good part of one hour walking around and loading up on sweets. The big difference, as you will see, is that Erin did not have a princess costume on this time.

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