Yesterday was a long day overfilled with walking! We got up & headed right to Animal Kingdom. We were so glad that we went. We had heard some so-so comments about the park, but we really enjoyed ourselves. Took a ton of pictures on the safari ride. Got our picture taken with King Louie from the Jungle Book. Had a yummy lunch. Went to the Tarazan stage show. I was so excited because I thought they were going to have Phil Collins (he sang all of the songs for Tarazan) blasting through the speakers during the show. When it opened, this really goofy lounge singing guy started singing Phil. I was so angry & wanted to get up & leave, but Tim said they had made an announcement that you couldn't leave during the show. So I sat for a half an hour listening to this guy butcher the songs. It was just wrong!!!! We were at Animal Kingdom until 2:30 & then boarded the bus to MGM.

By this time, I was pretty tired. I had bought prizes for Shawn at Animal Kingdom & thought I would rent a locker at MGM, so I didn't have to carry the bag. I go up expecting to hear a $1 or $2 rental that gets returned when you return the key. The lady tells me $7.00. Tim & I must have had a horrified look on our faces b/c half way through she cancelled the order & told us to take the package to package pickup. We left there & I said heck with it & carried the bag. Walked around there, watched the parade, sat in a restuarant & had a pop at the bar & then for some crazy reason, decided at 6pm to head to Epcot to walk the world plaza.

I was so tired by this point! We had nachos in Mexico & then walked around the worlds & headed back to the bus system around 8pm. The bus from Epcot to Animal Kingdom was filled with tired, crying kids. It made me think of Shawn & smile. We got back to the hotel & headed to the hottub & pool for an hour. We then went back to the room, took a shower & then went out to get a take out pizza. Brought the pizza back to the room, ate it & we were asleep by 11.

Not sure what we are going to do today. We just finished showering & we are going to head out for the day. I will do a final blog tonight when we get back.

I am so mad. I had half of my Blog entry done & I hit the wrong button on my laptop & lost eveything I had just typed!!

Thursday's update - went to breakfast at the hotel we stayed at 8 years ago. The waitress had been there 11 years & remembered the meal Tim wanted, but they no longer serve it. She said that if we were in for a few days, the chef could order the food in & make it for Tim. We were impressed, but said no thanks. The food we did have was really good though. Tim was excited because they had kicked up Bloody Mary's. It was a spicy tomato juice, Absolute Peppar Vodka & a cajun spice around the rim. He said it had a kick to it, but it was really good. I think he liked being able to start his day out with a drink!

From there, we headed to Magic Kingdom. After we parked the car, road the tram, got on the monarail & got through the ticket counter & security, we were finally in the park. The crowds were great. We got on most attractions with no wait at all. The longest wait was 10-20 minutes & I think we only hit that twice. Disney is not a place for kids! As we were riding on the rides, I was thinking of Shawn & he would have been scard at 90% of the rides. The kids that were there seemed to be crying or tired or just over stimulated. I think at maybe 5 years of age you could think about going, but you would still have to pick & choose the rides. THANK YOU MOM & DAD FOR TAKING CARE OF SHAWN!!!! WE APPRECIATE IT!! It started raining on & off by 1 or 2pm. We had pretty much finished the park by 4. The tickets that we used to get in were from when I worked at the Disney Store in college 12 years ago. I can't believe that I still had them & that they were still good! They cashed them in for 1 day park hopper passes. So, we decided to head over to Epcot since they were open until 9pm. We were thinking okay, back on the Monarail, tram, car adventure to head over to Epcot. Then we see a monarail marked Epcot. I asked the guy how long the rail ran & he said until 10:30pm. Yea! We jumped on the Monarail & headed right to Disney. By the time we got to Epcot, the rain was pretty steady. I knew that the new space ride was there, so headed for that first. NEVER AGAIN!!! It was a simulator of being an astronot & it really felt like the real thing (what I would think it would feel like) & had that ride gone a minute longer, I would have thrown up all over the inside of the simulator!! I was sweating & fighting not to get sick the whole time. I could bairly walk when I got out - I felt like I was going to pass out! Tim didn't feel to well either. We sat down for about a 1/2 an hour. The rain was still pretty steady & we didn't feel too well, so we said heck with it & headed back to the monarail, tram, car routine!

Came back to the hotel, showered & headed out for something to eat. We went to Downtown Disney first. I forgot that they have a whole shopping area there. We are going to head back there either tonight or tomorrow, as we were to hungry to shop. The restaurants were too expensive there, so we left & ended up at a seafood restuarant called Crabby Bills. Pretty good food. We left there & headed to WalMart to get a bigger CF card for our digital camera, which will allow us to take more pictures. It was raining hard, so we pulled up in front of the store & Tim went in. After that, it was around 10:30, so we headed back to the hotel & crawled into bed & watched the news & fell asleep. Busy day!!

Today is more of the same. Not sure if we are going to breakfast or not. It is 7:15 & Tim is still struggling to wake up. We are headed to Animal Kingdom first & then finishing the day at the MGM park. They open at 9, so we have a little time. I'll update tomorrow.

Well, I guess I have to eat my words about never going back to Universal Studios CityWalk. We went to dinner last night with 2 other couples from Tim's work (it was their last night in town) and they had not been to their yet. We ate a Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. We all had fish meals. I had the Tiliapia. It was good. I had a Banana Dacaquiri (sp?) in a take home glass that Tim can now use for his special drinks. We then walked around. The guys played video games in the Nascar restaurant & then we headed back. Tim & I took a walk around the gardens in the hotel & then headed to bed.

Today, we are headed to breakfast at the Disney hotel that we stayed at for our honeymoon. It is a cajun type of restaurant that served eggs with crawfish - gross!!! Tim loved it & we ate there everyday that we were here. We are going to head over there & see if the menu has changed in 8 years. We were going to take the hotel shuttle in to the park, but when we decided on breakfast, we thought we'd drive in. The hotel shuttle runs once an hour there & back & we didn't want to be stuck like that.

I'll update tonight after the park. It's open until 7pm.

We ended up going to City Walk last night. It was okay. A lot of hyped up restaurants. We ended up having appetizers at the Motown restaurant. After that, we left & went to the town of Celebration. This is the town that Disney built. If you have seen The Truman Show, that movie was filmed in a town called Seaside in Flordia. That town inspired the builders to build this town the same way. It almost feels like you are walking around on a movie set. Huge houses - most around 1 million dollars. They have a downtown area with some neat restaurants & taverns that we are thinking of going back to. Their website (unable to link properly from here, sorry!!) is www.celebrationFL.com. Really neat place.

We then went to the local grocery store where I got a ham & cheese sub, some banana pudding, 2 plums and 2 candy bars for lunch today. In the parking lot was a large Egret, which is a Heron according to the Internet! It was pretty neat. The store clerk was out there & she said his name is Bob & gave me a piece of popcorn to feed to him. I had to get down in the squating position so I wouldn't scare him. Those beady eyes looking at me were pretty scary. All of a sudden, his long beak came at my hand for the food. His beak was really sharp & it hurt. We took so pictures, but it was pretty dark, so I think I need to go back!

When we got back, we went down to the bar & sat with Tim's boss for a drink. I stayed down for about a half an hour & then came up to the room.

Tim is done by 2:00 today. Joyce is sending me an overnight envelope today with my payroll reports in it. That should be here by 10am, so I'll get that done, eat lunch & then Tim & I will figure out what to do for the rest of the day.

Tim just got back. He still has to go to the trade show for an hour or so & then he turned dinner down with the group so we could go out!! We are going to head to the Universal Studios Citywalk. It is suppose to have rerstaurants & stores. Their website at citywalk.com said that tonight is the Bartenders Challenge to see who the best bartender is. That might be fun to see.

I'll update later tonight or tomorrow!! Tim doesn't have to be downstairs until 9:30 tomorrow & he is done by 2:00 I think & then we are officially on vacation!!

Had some stress this morning trying to dial up my payroll company to download my weekly files from them. Ending up going to a payphone here in the hotel that had a spot to hook up my phone line cord from my computer to the phone. After calling the tech support at the payroll company, I was able to get it taken care of. That was my last official thing that I HAD to do for work. I have actually been able to get in 4 hours yesterday & 5 hours today! Not bad.

I went to the pool for about an hour & a half today. It started getting a bit hot & I was getting bored, so I left. I think I am going to lay down for an hour. Tim was snoring last night & I had trouble falling asleep as he kept waking me up. Tim is done at 3 & then he has a trade show at 4:30 that I can go to with him. Not sure what the dinner/evening plans are at this point.

Just returned from dinner. Tim went down to the bar for a drink & I decided to head up. I may go down in a bit, but I sure don't feel like it. Went to downtown Disney for dinner. Ate at the House of Blues. There were 8 of us. I had a hamburger, fries, salad & tea. Tim had the jambalaya. There were 8 of us & the bill was $215 w/tip. The food wasn't bad, but it wouldn't be my first choice to go back to. But, it was on Tim's company, so how bad can that be!!

I made a mistake with my rental car. I didn't know that they charge you up front for a full tank of gas, unless you tell them not to. I got charged $19.50 for a tank of gas & I only used less than a 1/4 a tank!!! No refunds! I guess live & learn. I'll know next time I have to rent a car!

Forgot to mention how expensive food is here. I had a ham & cheese sandwich, chips & an ice tea & my bill was $10! Ouch!

I made it to Orlando. The flight was perfect - no problems. I got in & out of the airport & the car rental place so quickly. It took me 45 minutes on a busy, but non stressfull highway to get here. This hotel is huge - it is just beautiful. I have free internet access in my room, so I just finished working for today & I think I will sit by the pool for a few hours tomorrow & Wednesday & come in & work when I am too hot. If I can work & save my vacation time, I may as well.

Tim just called & said that his boss is taking everyone to dinner tonight. We are to be downstairs at 6:30.

I'll update later tonight!

Getting ready for our Florida trip. I am pretty mad at myself for booking the flight that I did. It is causing a lot of problems - the main one being that it is an hour away from where we are staying. The money that I saved in the flight is being spent in me having to rent a car on Monday to get myself from the airport to the hotel! I would have been better off spending the extra $40 on the airfare & getting to the main airport where our hotel has a free shuttle!!
Live and learn!

I will have to take my laptop with me because I have to download my payroll files for the current payweek & open the new payroll cycle within 3 days of submitting payroll. So, now I am into the phase of getting 800 numbers for the payroll company & having to figure out how to dial it from my hotel room!

I hope this trip is worth it, because right now, it has been nothing but a headache!

Shawn is still up at 5:50pm!! By still up, I mean he hasn't taken a nap yet today, after getting up at 7am. Mommy needs a break!!

I have given up on story time at the library. It is at 10am & that is when I am most productive work wise, so if we have an errand, we don't do it until the afternoon. If I were to go, I know I wouldn't work for the day. I guess I will have to have my own story time with him!

Waiting for Tim to get home from work...

Heading to Toledo tomorrow, so this will be my last blog until sometime next week. Tim is going to steam clean the carpets, cut the grass & golf while I am gone. He will head to Detroit on Friday to pick up John at the airport & then head on to Bowling Green for a college reunion. We will meet back up on Sunday.

Brad & Sheri are coming for a visit October 3rd & then Brad just told me that they will be in for Thanksgiving. That will be the first Thanksgiving that we have had with them in awhile, so we are looking forward to it.

Taking Shawn to story time at the library tomorrow before we head out.

Went to Chuck E Cheese Friday. Had a good time until the kids started getting tired. Olivia threw a temper tantrum in the parking lot. She didn't want to get into her car seat & it took about 10 minutes of her screaming at the top of her lungs before they could hog tie her into her seat. We were able to get her to stop crying in the car by telling her she could go to Shawn's house. So, we come back to our house & Shawn proceeds to get mean & start crying b/c Olivia was playing with his trains. No one messes with his trains!! They left & Shawn feel asleep soon after.

Today, we decided to take a trip to Saugatuck, MI which is about a half an hour from here. Really cute town with neat stores. Lucky for us, Shawn decided that half way through he was done cooperating & started throwing crying fits. We were ready to leave him there!! We want to go back & give the town another try & actually go throug the stores. We did buy a neat windsock that is hanging from our deck,

We came back & Tim started to cut down the summer flowers. We then went to Meijer for dog food & diapers. When we came back, Tim & Shawn had a dance party in the basement. Thet were dancing to a bunch of different music, but when I came in, they were listening to the OSU band. Made me want to get in the car & drive to Ohio State!!

Cleaning the house tomorrow!! Fun for me!

High of 68 today. I just finished putting a pot of while chili in the crock pot. That will simmer all day & be ready when Tim comes home.

Tim went golfing on a mini league with people from his office last night. It was a nice night, so Shawn & I were out front. Shawn saw Olivia & went running to her. Shawn & Olivia watered the flowers in Olivia's yard & then they played with chalk on her driveway while Melissa & I sat on their front step & drank a glass of wine. It was fun. The 6 of us are heading to Chuck E Cheese Friday night for dinner & playtime for Shawn & Olivia. Looking forward to that.

It's been a busy week or two. Tim's parents came in town last Friday to spend Labor Day with us. Shawn & Dauber enjoyed getting 100% attention all weekend.

Shawn had his first play date today. He went next door to Olivia's to play & have lunch. He did great up until lunch & then he just started crying & wanted to come home. He came in, sat down at his place at the kitchen table & ate his food. He is use to use routine I guess. Melissa (Olivia's Mom) and I are taking them to the library next Tuesday for story time. We took the kids last week to the Zoo. Had a good time until Olivia got stung by a bee. That cut our lunch short. It has been a blessing having Kirk, Melissa & Olivia next door. The kids get along great & we really like them.

Nothing special planned for the weekend. It is suppose to be cool, so probably just spending time inside cleaning. I leave for Toledo for a week on Wednesday. I will work Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. We are having a birthday party for Mom on Friday, as Marsha, Ray, Steph & Hillary are coming in as well. We may go to the Toledo Zoo on Saturday, depending on the weather. When I get back, it will be time to start getting ready for Disney!!