After I said I was sick and you didn’t hear from me, why didn’t you losers check on me??? Winding two lane roads and mountains do not make for a fun car ride.
After we got there and I laid down for about 2 hours, I was good to go. Except go to where? We just decided to go out to dinner. Lemme tell you, Tim got this 22 oz. steak that was as big as a regular sized plate. He at the WHOLE thing. So, after that we had to come back to the room because he was…um..let’s just say that his stomach hurt.
On Thursday we went to the outlet mall, got some good deals, then we went and raced cars and played put-put golf. Aidan and I beat Tim at racing like he had stole something — but if you ask him he’ll say it went the other way around.
On Friday, Tim’s family joined us and Aidan went wild because his cousin had finally made it. We went to Branson Landing, which is like an outdoor mall/Riverwalk kind of thing, and out to dinner.
By Saturday, I was a little ready to go. We went to Ride the Ducks, and to the Titanic Museum. Both of those were pretty good. The Titanic Museum was very interesting. And we went to tour the Stonehill Winery for my first wine tasting ever! That was the best part. I discovered that I like sweet, full-bodied, red wines. Go me! We bought a couple bottles back. Just a couple. About 6.
On Sunday, we headed out after breakfast. All in all, a good time was had by all, but we probably won’t be doing Branson again. Let me just make that final, we won’t. I’m sure there were lots of things to do there that we didn’t see, like the amusement and water parks, and the river. They tell me that there is a lot of water-skiing and lake activities to tickle your fancy, but we aren’t “lake” kinda people. And it helps if you have at least an inkling of an interest in country music. There are a ton of shows and at any point, there is always something that you can go see and do. (Acrobats of China, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Hollywood Wax Museum, Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, 2 outlet malls, The Dinosaur Museum, Wineries, Riverboat Cruises, Indoor Water Parks) So, if you want to go, it won’t be a total waste. You can definitely find some family entertainment.
So, we’re back in Memphis and getting ready to head home to get back to real life tomorrow. It seems like forever since I’ve talked to you guys, what did I miss?
So…you all probably don’t remember this post when we were on the way home from Oklahoma at Thanksgiving and Tim got a ticket. I teased him relentlessly about it, I must admit. And I enjoyed it.
As we were riding home again from Oklahoma on the 4th, everyone in the car was sleep and I was driving. I noticed lights behind me and I knew that I was certainly speeding, so I braced myself for my ticket. And Tim woke up. Ya’ll, I have never seen a person so giddy to see another person get a ticket in my life. He even took photos with his little funky iPhone.
He photographed the inital stop….
He photographed the approach. At this time, for some reason, the police went to his window. With such a broad smile, he was willing to hand over my drivers license and registration and engage the officer in friendly conversation about how fast I was going. He even told a friend that called me later to check the blog for the pictures of my ticket.
And there I am signing what? The WARNING!! Bwaaaahahahaha!! After all that, I didn’t get a ticket. Thanks to Tim being so friendly and Aidan in the backseat saying “Mommy, when are we going to be free to go??”, the officer took pity on me and gave me a warning. Tim was disgusted.
The moral of the story: My family is crazy, but they get you out of tickets!
Filed under: Vacation
What did you guys do this weekend? Did I tell you guys we were going to Panama City? Oh, probably not because I have a semi-stalker. Just kidding — but not really. In any case, we were there!! And boy did we have a good time! I can’t really put it into words, so what better than pictures?? Nothing! I know, right?
The View from 1639
Scare D. Cat, who begged for a kiss from the sea lion. Who doesn't want to kiss whom? Hard to tell!
Foolishness
Castles in the Sand
Nadia and Tim sail the skies
Chillaxin
Me as the Magician's Assistant
I was chosen from the audience to assist in the famous saw a woman in half trick. Note that what you can’t see in the above photo is Tim yelling “Cut HER in half!!” *Sigh*
The end. Well, that was Panama City Beach. Been there, done that. Loved it!
I’m sitting here trying to figure out why I had such a good time so I can arrange a post to tell you all allll about it, but I just can’t put my finger on it. It was a loooong drive, we were 20 miles away from civilization, it was cold, it was raining, we forgot our umbrella, Tim didn’t have a jacket, we both had tons of work to do.
On the other hand….we had dinner to the sounds of a piano bar, Tim hung out with his friends, we had breakfast and I drank hot chocolate, the Retirement Ceremony was really really nice, we had dinner with some friends, Tim saw people that he hadn’t seen in a while, Tim and I danced..and danced….and danced, we laughed and talked with friends, and with each other.
Oh, and Tim wore this:
And when Tim wears that? He.can.get.it.
Filed under: Vacation
So, the plan was to do a post about every day at Disney World. Well, that went down the drain rather quickly as I’m sure you could tell. Well, in any case…..we’re baaack! We have seen Mickey and ‘nem and lived to tell the tale. Since I didn’t do a post, I’ll just highlight our top ten adventures at Mickey’s crib, in no particular order.
1. 
My baby was in sheer pure heaven when he got to hug Mickey.
2. While hugging Mickey he inquired as to why Mickey couldn’t talk…but Mickey didn’t answer. He also was very happy that Mickey had a puppy just like him. Shout out to Pluto!
3. 
Yes, I’m a grown-up, but I just LOVED seeing Cinderella. Loved.It.
4. 
Speaking of Cinderella, the girls were all hyped about seeing the castle. Yeah, the girls include me.
5. They finally tricked me on to a water ride. The one where you get in this big circle thing like a raft. I wasn’t scared….after I got off of it.
6. Tim’s hat. 
No comment.
7. My hat. 
Don’t be a jater.
8. Aidan’s hat. 
The hilarious thing about this picture is that he was trying to imitate his sister posing for a picture. He stayed like this for about 2 minutes. Seriously. We were about to pass.out.laughing.
9. Tim and Nadia rode the Incredible Hulk ride and they tricked Jemera into going on Space Mountain. Me? I don’t do rollercoasters of any shape, form, or fashion. I did, however, see a lot of indoor shows where birds were singing. Good times!
10. The It’s a Small World Ride. 
You can’t go to Magic Kingdom and not get on this. It’s one of my fave memories from being a kid. The whole time we were there, Nadia accosted anyone with an accent and asked them about where they were from. She made friends with the girls from Morocco. See, it IS a small world after all!
11. Tie: The walk & the money. In three days at three parks, we must have walked a thousand and two miles. And how much did stuff cost? Ya’ll know those songs they’re making about a milly? Walt Disney could make one now — just off the money we spent.
Those ten things don’t even begin to touch on the fun we had on our second family vacation. All in all, it was a GRRRREEEAT time and most importantly, the kids had the time of their lives. Now, back to life. Bye, bye Disney!
Filed under: Vacation
Well, actually Day 2. We spent all of day one in the car on the way here. Care to ask how that 13 hours in the car with two teenage girls and a 3 year old went? Uhhh, yeah. So, on to Day 2.
Disney Day 1 was spent a Universal Studios, mostly the Islands of Adventure. It was a fun day! When we arrived at Universal Studios, good times, baby! I ran into one of my role models
:
The grinch, baby!! And, yes. We have made plans to steal Christmas so you best get your naughty and nice straightened out right now. Since I’m just touching on the high points, lemme tell ya’ll about this place right here:
The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Two words: YES.SIR. I had a dish called Shrimp New Orleans. Hmph, ya’ll betta ask somebody! The last hour of the day was spent at Universal Studios, the Theme Park. The first half we did the Islands of Adventure. I was totally geeked about getting to the other side of Universal because they had a Barney attraction there and Barney is Aidan’s hero. But, when we got there it was past Barney’s bedtime and he was gone. 
Anyway, I got to see this landmark up close: 
Even Tim was excited to see the Universal Ball. When you come upon it, there’s this music playing that’s all “Superman-ish” like at any moment you might just take flight. Cool beans. Oh, well. That was a snippet of our day today. I am dog tired right now, and even though had a lovely time, I was glad when I walked under this sign:
I know it looks like it says one thing, but there is a subliminal message that says: Get up outta here and go back to your hotels, tourists. You know them dogs is barking!
