Traveling Circus

Short but Sweet

November 11, 2010

in Florida,national parks,Traveling Circus

Our time at Biscayne National Park was fun, but way too short. We took a 3 hour tour (which thankfully turned out much better than the infamous 3 hr tour). I think the kids favorite part was the 45 minute ride out to Boca Chita Island. They described their ride out their as “the best rollar coaster ride ever!” The wind was really blowing. I thought it felt much like those super sonic hand dryers that look like they are ripping your skin off.

Once we arrived at the island, the first thing we did was climb the lighthouse. The top of the light house provided you with a panoramic view of Biscayne National Park (most of which is the underwater coral reefs) and a view of the Miami skyline. I love our lil man’s expression… you can see it was VERY WINDY up there!

Once we finished with the light house, we spent some time exploring and playing on the island. It was beautiful and Scott and I were quite frustrated to learn that we could have camped the night out there. It would have been amazing, but unfortunately we learned too little too late.

So, we made due with the time we had exploring and frolicking on the island before heading back to the main land. On our way back we were able to watch the Blue Angels practice for an air show that weekend. It was a lil taste of home!

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Everglades National Park

November 10, 2010

in camping,Florida,national parks,Traveling Circus

When we arrived at Everglades NP it was shortly before midnight and raining quite hard. Scott got out of the van to attempt to put up the tent, but when he remembered the top of our tent is open screen (which we then put a cover over after set up) he realized it would be futile as the entire inside of the tent would be soaked before we even set it up.

So, we opted to spend the night in the van.

Both of us can honestly say we were surprised that it wasn’t as horrible as we thought it would be. We were quite crammed in there, but we made it work. My oldest son slept in his car seat, our oldest daughter crammed in on the floor behind the suitcase, the next daughter slept on the back seat, Scott and I slept up front and the baby stayed in his car seat within reach of us incase he should need to eat in the middle of the night.

The next morning we woke to a break in the rain and decided to hit the Anhinga trail as soon as possible before the next string of showers blew though. This hike was by far our favorite part of Everglades and up there as one of the top fav events of our entire trip. It was that beautiful. We saw alligators swimming in their natural habitat and so many beautiful birds I couldn’t even begin to count them. Literally, everywhere we looked we’d find a bird. Scott had a great time photographing them.

The poncho’s were a huge hit with the kids, particularly the girls. They were SO excited about wearing them!

We took another short walk as well as a canoe ride later in the day. We saw crocodiles and even watched an Osprey enjoy his fish lunch!

While we did encounter some rain at times during the day, they were passing showers and over all we had a fantastic day in the Everglades. Thankfully, we were able to set up camp that night when it wasn’t raining and enjoy a good night of sleep.

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Dreams Really Do Come True

November 9, 2010

in Disney,Florida,Traveling Circus

Because we were only planning to do one day in Disney (I hope to take the whole family back later for a longer Disney vacation when all of the the kids are old enough to truly enjoy and appreciate it. This day in Magic Kingdom was just to hold ~~them~~ me over for the next 5 years or so) I didn’t even try to pretend we’d be able to do or see it all in one day. I e-mailed a friend who frequents the place and she sent me an itinerary for the day which would allow us to maximize our time and capitalize on what was important to us. I then printed her message and pretty much followed it to the T. (Thank you Aimee… you can totally get a job working for Disney!)

The day was packed and I can honestly say I don’t remember my feet ever hurting so badly before. But, it was all I hoped and dreamed of. You know how sometimes you’ll remember things from your childhood and when you try to recreate them with your own kids, they often don’t turn out as good as you remember? I was so afraid of that with Disney World, but I had NOTHING to fear. It was just as magical and way more wonderful than I could have hoped for. I think going as a parent just might even be better than going as a kid.

High’s of the day included the Buzz Lightyear ride (hands down the kids most favorite ride), Goofy’s Barnstormer (the kids all thought this was WELL worth the wait in line) Mickey’s 3D show (Scott and I laughed out loud watching the kids try to reach out and grab the things they thought were flying through the air at them) the girls getting their pictures with their favorite princess, my oldest meeting Peter Pan, watching my 3 year old twirl around while we ate lunch in front of Cinderella’s castle, the Main St Electric Parade, and the fireworks over Cinderella’s castle. We all unanimously agree that our low was the afternoon rain which last edabout 2 hrs. It was quite the downpour and left us rather cold and wet. But, it didn’t spoil our day. (If it had continued all evening, it quite possibly could have).

We brought in our own snacks (which greatly helped boost spirits while waiting in line) and also brought in our picnic lunch. Then we splurged and had dinner at Tony’s Italian restaurant ( a place I had remembered eating when I was there as a kid and also a restaurant fashioned after the restaurant in Lady and the Tramp). Our wait to be seated provided some much needed down time for the kids to color, watch Lady and the Tramp and for me to feed the baby.

My 4 year old had said she wanted to wear her Snow White Dress and meet Snow White. No problem. I knew where Snow White did her meet and greets and we set off to find her in the afternoon. What I didn’t know was that the fair princess was only there for certain hours and when we arrived she was done for the day. Scott saved the day by explaining to our daughter that Snow White left b/c she had heard that another Snow White was there to pose for pictures. He then took pictures of my daughter where Snow White was supposed to be and we proceeded to address her as Snow White the rest of the day. She took it in stride. I however, was close to tears. I had so wanted to get that picture of her with her favorite princess and we missed it by a mere 30 minutes. Later in the day we were walking by the castle when a fire cracker went off, we ran to see what was going on and suddenly Snow White and Prince Charming as well as Cinderella and her man (is he also Prince Charming?) and a host of other characters came out to pose for pictures (for only 10 minutes). Can you believe we just happened to be in the right place at the exact right time? We were able to get her picture with Snow White and after much, much work even scored a picture of my son with Peter Pan (his one character request of the day). As cheesy as it sounds, I couldn’t help but think, “Dreams really do come true.”

One of my favorite moments was watching my 3 year old’s face as she went up and posed with the princesses. She was truly enchanted. Here she is with her favorite, Cinderella.

As we slowly made our way down Main St after the fireworks, I noticed one of the crew had fallen asleep. Seems she had had all the fun one girl could squeeze into a day.

Just before reaching the gates, we ran into friends of ours from church. We knew they’d be in Disney that week, but didn’t think there was much chance of running into them on the one day we were there. I couldn’t believe it when we saw them standing there in the midst of hundreds of strangers!

When we finally took the ferry and then the tram back to the parking lot, we were one of the last cars left in the lot. I think we got our money’s worth out of the day! We left tired and happy.

{ 10 comments }

3…2…1…

November 8, 2010

in Florida,Shuttle launch,Traveling Circus

We chose this year and even this specific week to take our Florida trip because the Space Shuttle Discovery was supposed to make it last launch into space. Both Scott and had always wanted to see a shuttle launch and being as it is one of the last launches ever, we really wanted to take the kids to see this historical event.

The launch was originally planned for Mon Nov 1st. So, we flew to Florida on the 31st. We had read that launch dates can be postponed and changed so we flew the day before the launch and even planned a flexible vacation plan so we adjust accordingly.

The Friday before we even left for Florida, they had delayed the launch from Monday to Tuesday. No problem. We had a flex date in there, we’d just use Monday to visit the Space Center (not part of our original plan but something we had wanted to do). But, before we even left for the airport on Sunday, they had moved it to Wed. Still ok, as we had planned to surprise the kids with a day in Magic Kingdom at the end of our trip, we’d just do it at the beginning and shift our schedule a bit (this worked out really great as you will see in a later post).

Well, Wed became Thurs and we knew if we didn’t hit the road Wed, we’d risk missing out on our planned National Park trips for the rest of our vacation. So we gave up. But, when Thurs became Fri, we started toying with the idea of still trying to squeeze it in. If we drove back up to KSC from Everglades NP( 9 hrs round trip in one day) we could see the launch and still be back down to southern Florida with time to see our last 2 national parks.

So we woke at 5:30am on Friday and checked the shuttle status. They were proceeding with the count down and things looked promising. We woke the kids, swung in to Starbucks for a potty trip (and some much needed coffee for Mommy and Daddy) and we hit the Florida Turnpike. 2.5 hrs into our trip, we learned they had scratched the launch. We turned around, took another potty break and headed to Biscayne National Park. (The poor kids went through 5 hours of driving when they had really only needed to go 1 hr). They were troopers though! Later in the day I learned that the launch has been scrubbed till Nov 30th. Hope was lost.

While we are disappointed in not being able to see the launch (and to have put the kids though several unnecessary hours of driving on what was going to have been a light driving day), we had (and are having) a wonderful time here in Florida. We have been able to do all the things we wanted to do short of the shuttle launch.

We had fun at Kennedy Space Center. We actually went 2 different days. I learned a lot. (like where the phrase “The eagle has landed” came from). And we did get to see the shuttle from the observation tower (something which can only be done the week of a launch)

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On Becoming a Germophobe

November 1, 2010

in Traveling Circus

Normally, I consider myself pretty laid back. Messy faces, germs, they all go with the territory of life with small kids and I don’t sweat em.

Then last year we took our grand Texas vacation… during which you may recall I caught the circus children licking the airplane window.

Then we spent our grand Texas vacation with multiple ear and sinus infections, suspected pink eye, laryngitis, and asthma episodes culminating with a day at a clinic in downtown San Antonio.

I remember the beautiful Texas sunsets and starry skies… but honestly, looking back I also remember the miserable nights of sleep, grouchy and sick kids and my having lost my voice. In some ways it is the trip that could have been.

So, it was with some degree of fear and trepidation that the circus fam set out, on Halloween none the less, for another grand adventure, circus style.

This time we’re Florida bound.

Yes, those are ALL our bags… we take SouthWest’s bags fly free to the FULL extent!

The agenda? See the last launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Then since we’re already in Florida…. we’ll add a trip to Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas National Parks, with a day at Magic Kingdom to top it all off!

The only thing I fear?

Germs

Please, oh please, let us not get sick I begged.

I’ve been reminding the kids over and over, to keep their hands away from their faces, out of their mouths, begging them to wash their hands, and please, oh please, don’t lick any windows! Of course our big ol bottle of sanitizer was confiscated at the security line, and I may have pushed everyone’s limit with my new germ obsession, but we did manage to arrive without anyone licking any windows! Sadly, my 6 yr old did spend his entire first night coughing (but he had a cough before we left home, so I can’t blame it on the plane… I’m hoping the germs don’t spread and he doesn’t get any worse)

As I sit here in our hotel room, ready to turn in for the night, all is quiet, here’s hoping…

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When Ya Gotta Go….

October 19, 2010

in fall,Keeping it Real,Traveling Circus

The outing started out so beautiful and picturesque. The drive there was lovely… leaves just starting to change, sipping my pumpkin spice latte, even the clouds looked “fall like” (amazing how everything looks lovely when the kids aren’t requiring you to referee from the drivers seat…thank you Psalty the Singing Songbook) We got to the farm and the kids happily ate their lunches while I nursed the baby.

Then we were off to pick apples. The kids were so enthusiastic, we had 32 lbs picked in less than an hour. (and that was even with me slowing them down so I could take pictures).

Since apple picking went so well, I decided to prolong our afternoon and head to the pumpkin patch.

Clearly I did not heed the age old advice to quit while I was ahead.

The baby fell asleep on our way to the pumpkin patch, so I decided instead of wearing him, to just carry him. (mistake number 1) The kids grabbed a wheel barrow and eagerly ran off in search of the great pumpkin.

Then my three year old started doing the potty dance.

“Really, now?”

“Yes, Mommy… I have to go potty…” said with increased dancing and high pitched voice of urgency.

So, we abandon the wheel barrow of pumpkins in search of a potty. I ask the dude at the check out booth if they had a port a pot nearby. He looks at me with a blank stare and says No. I just stare back at him as I try to figure out what we are going to do. (Why, oh why, did I take the porta potty out of the mini van? Is it ok to just have her go in the grass?) Then someone in line says she saw one on the other side of the parking area (thank goodness for fellow moms). So, we scrambled to the port a potty. Of course it’s like herding kittens to get them over there. I tell the oldest 2 to sit outside with their backs touching the sides (so I know they aren’t wondering into the road), while I help the 3 yr old pull down her pants.

And then I discover we didn’t make it to the potty in time and it was way, way worse than wet undies.

Realizing that I can’t deal with this one handed, I hand the baby (who of course is no longer sleeping) to my oldest (reminding the older two to stay seated against the wall of the port a pot) and do my best to peel her pants off of her, without getting more of it all over the place. I then attempt to clean her legs, feet, bottom, and the floor and seat of the port a pot with dry toilet paper. (what I would have given for baby wipes right then) Meanwhile I keep peeking out the door to make sure the other 3 are ok while also trying to calm my very distressed three year old, and I see two older men waiting across the way. I could tell they were obviously waiting for the port a pot, and they didn’t appear creepy but rather were graciously trying to give me space.

With my 3 yr old and I cleaned up as best as I could, I was now left with my daughter in her bright red shirt wearing her brown cowboy boots and NOTHING on in the middle. Quite a look!

How in the world am I going to get her back to our minivan? I kept looking at her, looking at the baby, can’t really carry both (especially since she wasn’t exactly clean) and looking across the road wishing those men were moms. I actually said out loud to the kids, “What am I going to do, What am I going to do?” I try having my older daughter stand in front of her and my son behind her… perhaps we can make a human shield and walk her across the field. And then I notice my 6 yr old is wearing a jacket.

HOORAY!! We’ve caught a break!

I quickly tell him to take his jacket off and we tie it around her waist and make what feels like the longest walk ever back to our van. I apologize to the men who were waiting. They graciously tell me not to worry, they had kids too. We’re walking as fast as we can when we pass a family getting out of their van… I do my best not to make eye contact and to just keep walking when my son and daughter shout, “Mom, MOM, the jacket fell off!” I quickly fix it and rush her into our minivan.

As I begin scourging around the floor of the van, I am actually, for once, grateful for the mess that is our van. I have no idea why it is there,but I find a skirt (with shorts attached) and quickly have her step into it.

We are in business!!

Back to the pumpkin patch we head!!

Notice the before and after outfits?

The day was salvaged as we headed home with 44lbs of pumpkins (I had no idea how quickly you can rack up the pounds with pumpkins) , 32lbs of apples, 4 content kids, one happy Mommy, and a blog post to top it all off!