Sunday, August 31,2008

Well the baseball game was a washout. Judy and Sofia came over early. When it was time to leave for the game it was pouring out. They do not call the game until its actual start time but it was raining. We all piled into the car and headed over and it continued to rain. We could not imagine sitting in the stands as the rains poured down over our heads so we decided to head back home. We ordered pizza and played the Wii. Talk about fun. It is the first video game that even adults can play. Judy and Sofia gave Jess a new sport game for her birthday so they were all figure skating. The kids make it look so easy. And they do a whole lot better than us adults do. It is comical.
I added a picture of Jess feeding the giraffes at Busch Gardens. For her birthday Jess decided that instead of having a family party she wanted to go to Busch Gardens for the day. As a special treat we added on this behind the scenes tour of the Serengeti with giraffe feeding. This was well worth the additional fee. They boarded us up on open back trucks and drove us out to the fields among the animals. They carry romaine lettuce heads on board and when the giraffes see the truck they know they can come over for a treat. Not all the giraffes will partake of the treats. Some never come at all. But those that do get rewarded. After the lettuce was gone they drove us around to see the other animals. All the animals are really close to the truck. The guide gives a talk about the animal which seemed more personal. Like with the Zebras she gave us the name of the Zebra (there are many different kinds of zebra which I did not know) and then told us which ones were nice and which ones weren't. Most Zebras aren't too nice. They spend a lot of time fighting over a spot in the Zebra hierarchy. Certainly not like the Zebra you see on Stripes. Anyway..end result is I would recommend doing this next time you are at Busch Gardens.
Jess is having a friend from school over today. She is all excited and can't wait. This whole weekend has been a kids weekend! Oh to be young again!`

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Jess is off to Pony Club this morning. She loves anything to do with the horses. She rides with the girl down the street. I was off the hook this morning as Alana's dad took them over to the farm. I usually like to go and watch but with all the flooding in that part of town my car would never make it down the road. They say it is really bad. The camp will ferry the kids to and from the stables in their trucks from the end of the road. So no watching for me. Thats probably good since it is also really hot and humid today. A good excuse! So that being said this picture is from a previous pony club. They usually have a lesson, do a craft, and then wash and clean the horses. That is fun for a 9 year old. Me-I call it work!

Got Snails! Friday, August 29, 2008

Hi everybody! The weekend is finally here. And it is a long one at that. We don't have too many plans for this weekend. Tomorrow night we are going to one of the final games of the season for the Fort Myers Miracle Minor League Baseball team. The games are usually a lot of fun. The kids have a great time as the games are very family oriented. They have games and activities designed to prevent the kids from getting too bored. We are going with Judy and Sofia. And of course after the games they have a really good fireworks display.
I couldn't resist posting this picture of my niece, Ella. She is adorable. Here she is while we were on vacation in New Hampshire catching snails. She had to show everyone her snails. Anyway this is one of my favorite pictures from vacation. We really had fun at the lake this year. In fact Jessica told me the other day that it wouldn't be too bad if we could go back to the lake again next year. I agree!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hi! Been a few days since my last post. The rain has dried up at my house although in other parts of town the roads are closed and residents have been evacuated from their homes. It doesn't promise to get any better for those folks. Been busy for us though. Monday was a late night. I had a Board meeting (or is that a Bored meeting!. Never know which one it is. Tuesday was curriculum night at Jess's school. Her teacher spent a lot of time with us. We got to sit at her desk-Mike got to sit at the teachers desk! Her teacher went over his expectations for the school year as well as the material they would be covering. Sounds like an exciting year. We got out later than I was expecting. Today I am beat. Mike mowed the lawn and put the mower in the garage while it was still hot. The air conditioner sucked up the gasoline fumes and we were smelling them all night. I didn't sleep a wink for fear that it was something else leaking. I kept checking the house, dog, rats (figured they would be the first to go!) and kid. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. Hopefully tonight will be better!

Saturday, August 23

It is getting late so I thought I would just check in with everyone. Nothing much going on today. Jess had a friend over. They played horses all day. Meanwhile I cleaned house. Yuck. But the place looks nice and now maybe we can do something tomorrow. That is if it decides to stop raining. You guessed it. It is still raining. Not steady but enough to keep you from doing anything outside. And talk about humid. Not sure that all this rain is good for the new palms that Mike planted last week. If we could just get a little sunshine. Maybe tomorrow. Jess and I worked on a school project. Can you believe she has only been in school three days and they have a poster project due on Monday. She picked the geography of Florida. I am not sure what she is supposed to do but we will give it a try. We went through some travel brochures and cut pictures out of the Everglades, dolphins, the river or grass, beaches, etc. We are going to layer everything over a map of the state and write a blurb about the different areas of Florida and call it a day. I also got my hair cut. Or should I say all of them cut. I know, stupid joke. On that note I am going to sleep. Must of been all that housework tiring me out. I knew housework wasn't good for you!

TGIF Friday, August 22nd

Well, it is Friday at last. This has been such a strange week. Having the day off on Tuesday-Tropical Tuesday as we have been calling it-has made everyone cranky and out of sorts. The rain hasn't helped either. We have gotten a lot of it. I am glad that we are not in the upper half of the state and really shouldn't complain as they have really gotten a lot of rain! I thought I would take a minute and introduce a few of Jess's new friends. She finally got her rats. The little white one is named Ruby and the brown ones name is Amber. She loves them. She has had them for almost three weeks now and the novelty has not worn off. She takes them out everyday to socializes-as you can see we use the bathtub because it is easier to keep track of them and they can't climb up the slippery bathroom walls. The really aren't bad pets. They are clean and we almost have them litter pan trained. They really seem to like her and will actually curl up on her shoulder while she pats them. So far they have been a good choice. The tails are a little hard to get used to though. We keep them in a cage in her closet and so far Simon has yet to figure out they are here. So much for the fearsome terrier. He can't figure out why he gets locked out of the room during socialization time. I still wouldn't trust him and I have no plans to introduce him to them. Better to leave well enough alone!

Wednesday, August 20th Back to work!

Well it was back to work and school today. The sun finally came out today although it was very windy. No picture to post today. I took Jess to the pediatrician today as she has been keeping us up coughing. And coughing and coughing and coughing. Seems she goes to sleep okay and then gets a going. Gets so bad the entire house is up and there is nothing anyone can do to help her. So off we go to the doctor. Seems she has a case of streph that has progressed into a sinus infection. The doc seems to think we will have a few more nights of coughing before the antibiotic kicks in. Got to love them antibiotics. Although I wish I had taken her earlier.
Doesn't seem to be much damage from the storm. Lots of leaves and palm fronds. The roof at the surgery center leaked-again! Only this time all over an expensive piece of equipment. Wait until the building management finds out about that! Oh well........

Tuesday, August 19th Fay Day

Hi everyone! I am new to this blog thing. I have always wanted to have a website so family and friends can check in to see what we are doing. It always seemed so intimidating. Who was it that said "that a life worth living was worth writing down!" I am not sure but I always thought it sounded good. Since today is a lazy day-we are all off due to the arrival of hurricane/tropical storm Fay-I thought it might be a good day to start. So here goes........
Hurricane/Tropical storm Fay blew into town last night. We dropped the shutters and hunkered down for the night. It was windy with a lot of rain The house was really dark but with the shutters down we didn't hear a thing. It is still windy and raining today and I am glad to be home rather than at work.
Jess wasn't too happy. Yesterday was the first day of school. With the arrival of the storm school was canceled. Jess is one of the few kids who actually likes school. She has been asking me all day if I am sure that she will be able to go tomorrow. I can remember when I was a kid a snow day was the best day. The storm is not supposed to last so I am sure it will be business as usual tomorrow. Guess that means she should probably get her homework done and I should probably get something done around the house! Enjoy your day! Margaret