sunshine and roses....

Paul and I after walking around Disney all day...six miles!


We saw Chewbacca!!! The kids are huge Star Wars fans, so it was all fun and interesting for them.

Here's the story down here in Florida....Suzanne, Sonja, and Jonathan are staying with Grandma. Paul and I are staying in a hotel in town with the two little girls. So the other night, we left Grandma's, dropped Paul and Char off at the hotel, and Camille and I went shopping to fill the cooler with good things to eat, for our day at Disney.

Publix was closed at nine o'clock, so we headed to the Walmart superstore. Oh, we had fun. I let her pick out some junk, like Cheetos and Swiss Rolls, but then we got cucumbers and green peppers, celery and baby carrots, and a bag of mixed veggies with broccoli and snap peas. We got baby oranges, strawberries, nuts, and the makings for turkey and pepperoni wraps, and some of those little drink pouches.

At the hotel, which has a refrigerator and a microwave, I spread a towel on the bed, and began meal prep...I sliced everything up, made the wraps, and put it all in baggies (I bought a box of them). The cooler has a shoulder strap, and is a pain to carry around, but when we waited in lines, we just set it down and nudged it with our feet. It was nice to have so many good snacks all day. I carried a huge purse with a waterbottle in it, which I kept refilling at the fountains, so we kept hydrated. Paul bought the kids ice cream bars (Suze had a lemonade bar with strawberries in it, and didn't want to finish it, so obviously I had to eat it.)

The lines were long, but we used our fast passes, and got to do most of what we set out to do. It was an absolutely perfect day, 77 and sunny, cool enough in the shade, and warm without being too hot, in the sun. We simply had fun together, as we navigated our way through the crowds and did what they wanted to do. (I enjoyed the Raiders Of The Lost Ark Stunt Show...)

Anyway...it was fun...and here's the truthful part: by the time we headed to the trams that take you to your car in the massive parking lots, my knees were no longer whimpering, they were really starting to cry. A good hot shower and a night's rest was welcome, and hopefully I won't be hobbling too much today....because, we're going to the beach!!!!

It's going to be 80 and sunny! We're heading to the Gulf coast for a day at the beach, bringing Grandma with us.

This whole thing is amazing, restful, relaxing...I love the vacation form of my husband, when he can relax mentally, and just enjoy life. In real life, we don't get much time together, so this has been really nice.

And of course it's been so nice having time with Grandma...she has made us nice dinners, and the strawberries are ripe here, so she has kept us well supplied...she bought Pop Tarts for the kids, and yummy cereals, and has brownies and ice cream at her place for them...they are getting spoiled. She lives in a community with a heated pool and a hot tub...:)

And then there are the kids back at home...Evelyn has been cooking, she is home with Kathryn and Joseph. They made salads, she grilled chicken (outside in the New York cold!), and Kathryn made low carb crackers. She's also working on making a slab of ribs....she marinated them, then cooked them a while, and is going to finish cooking them this afternoon after school.

I miss them, but they don't mind us being gone, not too much. I am enjoying myself too much, here at the hotel...the kids are still sleeping, and here I sit with my computer....