Florida Vacation 2011

It's me again, yes it's been a while but I just get busy and forget to post here.  I apologize and will try to do better, I swear.

Well we took our first family vacation in almost 4 years last week.  We exchanged our timeshare and went to Orlando again with all 3 boys.  We stayed at a place called Westgate Town Center and let me just tell you that boy was I shocked at this place.  You see, all the other times we have stayed at places through the timeshare the resorts end up looking nothing like the pictures and are usually run down or very outdated.  Westgate Town Center, which is in Kissimmee, Fl was NOT.  This place was beautiful.  Everything up to date, very clean, the grounds were beautifully kept and everyone was so nice.  We really enjoyed our time at the resort.  They have 15 pools, but we mainly stayed at the one that was pretty much right outside our building.  We ended up buying a week there every other year so we can go and stay a week in a 2 bedroom condo for free.  so now we can vacation every year since our other timeshare is an every other week in the opposite years.  I am very excited about this. 

So, back to our vacation.  We went to Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios on 2 of the days and  had a great time.  I was very impressed with Austyn who went on all the rides with Tyler, including the big scary roller coasters and things like that.  The kid has no fear and a stomach of steel it seems.  Tyler loved it of course since no one else wanted to go with him..ha ha ha.  I wasn't all that impressed with the Harry Potter part of the theme park though.  I feel they gave it too much hype for all it is.  I was very disappointed that you could not tour the castle of Hogwarts unless you went on a ride through it which was a very intense motion simulation ride.  I think they should have made it so you can walk through Hogwarts and see the inside of the castle regardless of going on the ride.  Oh well.  I had a good time at the parks anyway with the family.

We got to spend a day with Linda, Dave and Mia and that was GREAT.  It's been too long since I have seen Linda and been able to really visit.  We had a good time and I know the kids did too.  Mia is so cute and a good kid too.  Linda and Dave have done a great job with her and she's going to grow up into a fine young woman.  I worry about Linda though, she's gone through so much with her health in the last couple of years and I just want her to be completely healthy and stay out of the hospitals.  I love you Linda!

We also did mini golf a few times, which was okay, but my children are too competitive and sometimes that just ruins the fun.  (Tyler!  lol) We did have a good time though.  We also did Wonderworks again, which was okay, sometimes that place reminds me of a place for smaller kids though.  However, I did learn that my fear of heights is not just in my head as I had a full blown panic attack while trying to do a 3 story rope challenge.  I had to get down and didn't stop shaking and freaking out for about a 1/2 hour!  I was freaking out and seriously just froze up there.  I felt so dumb, but I guess it's a real fear then huh?  The rest of the family had a great time doing it and even Tyler admitted that parts of it were hard for him too.  Jacob didn't stay up as long as everyone else, but I am very proud of him for getting up there and trying it. 

Austyn did act up quite a bit with the attitude and acted like he didn't need to do anything and that since he was on vacation everyone had to do things for him.  I don't think so, and he got mad when I spoke up about it.  He also didn't know when to stop with Tyler and Jacob and just kept pushing buttons until one of them would explode and then of course Austyn cried and Mike got mad at Tyler or Jacob.  Whatever, I don't know why I thought maybe this vacation could be different from how it is at home, but it wasn't.  I really learned a few things about my marriage too and it's sad actually, but somehow I will get through things and make the best decisions for me and my kids. 

The drive there and back was fairly uneventful, it really helped having 3 drivers though and gave each of us a little more rest time.  It still exhausts me mentally though and am hoping that next  year we can somehow afford to fly and just rent a smaller vehicle there.  We did almost hit a deer that ran right over the expressway while I was driving.  That was a little scary since there was a big semi behind me and I had to slam on my breaks some to avoid it.  Dumb deer, what are they thinking, running right through traffic on a highway where the speed limit is 70mph??  Thank goodness we didn't hit it and that we made it home safely. 

Phantom and Harley did great for my mother in law and she did really well with them considering there were storms here.  Harley handled them great because my mother in law was on top of getting him his meds before the storms hit.  They were both very happy to see  us though on Saturday morning when we walked through the door. I was very happy to see them too.  I really missed them. 

Well we are home now and it's back to the grindstone of work and home life.  Tyler started football camp yesterday morning and that will go all summer.  he also is doing a wrestling camp this week at school.  He's getting things ready for his trip to Nicaragua in July.  Jacob will be spending time with our friend's Tia and John this summer too and possibly going on a trip with them somewhere too.  He's very excited about that.  I am just working and hoping to make some extra money before school starts again in August.  Mike is working again and his car broke down yesterday on the way out to a clients.  We have no idea what is wrong with it and are really hoping it's not going to cost too much to fix.  He's got the van today and so that leaves me stranded at home, which is okay since it's my day off anyway. 

I hope everyone has a great summer and I will try to update more often!  Love you all!

Life Can Change in an Instant

On Saturday March 5, 2011, my best friend of 36 years and her father were in a head on car crash that could have killed them both.  There was an angel in the car with them, I truly believe that.  They were on their way to my house to drop off her computer for Mike to take a look at and some guy driving a Dodge Durango crossed over the line to avoid rear-ending the car that was stopped in front of him and hit my friend instead.  It really makes you think about how quickly life can change.  My friend has a broken tibia, requiring surgery, and a broken finger that may require a pin in it as well.  Those are just the external injuries that will heal in time.  It's her "internal" injuries that I worry about.  Not physical internal injuries mind you, but the ones that are messing with her head mentally right now.  She is struggling with how to deal with going from a very independent women to someone who requires care and help to do even simple things right now.  It tears me up inside to see her so down and I wish there was something I could do.  I talk to her and let her know that I am here for her and do what I can do help.  I hope she knows that I love her dearly like my own sister and that even though we've had our ups and downs in the last 36  years....I am always here for her. 
Her father needs some prayers as well. He's 77 years old and ended up with a broken sternum, fractured T4 vertabrae, broken greater trochanter on his femur (which for those non medical people is part of the femur that goes into the hip area) and also an open fracture of  his wrist.  He is in a rehab facility right now, but that is done with he will need surgery for the lung cancer they discovered when doing a CT scan on him after the accident.  My friend is very close to her father and again, this is very hard because she can't even get out to see him right now.
If you are reading this right now, my friend, know that I love you very much and worry about you.  I am here for you to talk to about whatever and I will do what I can do make this recovery as easy as possible for you!
To everyone else reading this....hug your loved ones a little tighter when you see them and always let them know how much they mean to you!  I don't know what I would have done had one or both of these amazing people not made it from this damn accident.  The kicker is that the guy who caused it, didn't even get a freakig ticket and his big truck was able to drive from the accident.  My friend's is completely totaled!

I'm Bad At This

Turns out I am pretty bad at keeping a blog it seems.  It's been WAY too long since I have been  here.  Though  honestly, not much has really changed too much.  I finished off the semester at school with 2 A's and a B and am not plugging away at A&P I, Nutrition and Sociology.  Still working at Dreyer and loving it.  The people are great and helpful and the Dr's are awesome.  Couldn't ask for a better place to work.

Life around the house has been the same, but as of today I am making changes for me.  I am buckling down and getting back on track with my weight loss and I am putting on a happy and positive attitude.  I am going to be more forgiving and try to cut some people a little more slack. 

We will actually be going on vacation this summer for the first time in 3 years and I am really looking forward to it.  We are heading back to Orlando to hang out for a week.  I am hoping to catch up a bit with my cousin, Linda, who's been having a rough go of things for a while now and also would love to see my friend Mia, if that is possible.  I am just praying that the kids all behave and that Austyn doesn't give me such a hard time like usual and ruin things for me.  Wait...NO I won't let him ruin anything!!  Nice thing is that with Tyler driving, the 3 of us can take turns and hopefully take less time on the road.  Now the problem of figuring out what to do with the dogs...that always worries me, they are like my kids and I hate leaving them!

Life is going on whether I am upset and angry all the time or not, so why bother with the negative attitude when I can only change myself and my own attitude.  Hoping that it will be contagious and others will catch it!!

Have a fantastic day!