Vacation....Not Really!

This will be a short blog entry, as the children have spent all week with Lolo and Lala in Avon Park whilst Tangie and I worked.  Hard.

But before they were sent off, here's a quick recap of the weekend:

I was off on Friday last week and so ran some errands in the morning.  I was planning on taking Braelyn out of school early so we could do something fun; I hadn't decided yet on whether it was putt putt golf or Monkey Joe's bounce activity center.  Sure enough, I jinxed myself, because Starchild called to let me know that Kohlden had a fever and needed to be picked up.

I was livid.  The kids were all fine in the morning when I had dropped them off.  So why then was my son having a fever all of a sudden?  Do they not sanitize the toys and play area to keep it clean from germs?  Are they letting other sick children or teachers in to contaminate the place?  Are the workers not doing their jobs?  What the (whoa there) was going on?!?!

Turns out Kohl was not cold sick, but was teething.  Yup, bottom gum, broke right through.  Poor guy, he was just gnawing on anything he could get his hands on.  Including Daddy's hands.  Ouch!

That evening Maddy decided she was done with crawling and needed a challenge, so she pulled herself up on the ottoman all by herself!  She will soon be cruising for sure!  Poor Kohl, he's so way behind!

That night we treated ourselves to some homemade strawberry slushies that Mommy made thanks to the new ice shaver we got from Nana for Christmas!



She was too excited to take a nap but finally fell asleep 20 minutes before we got to the farm!

After naps Sabbath afternoon we ventured out to the other side of the state in Kissimmee to visit Happy Meadows Petting Farm, to see and touch some farm animals.  Braelyn had a great time seeing the different species of domesticated animals and enjoyed feeding the goats!  It was very stinky (wonder why...) and of course, I wore the wrong type of shoe:  flip flops.  For some reason it didn't occur to me that the walkways were made of sand and there was animal feces.  Everywhere.  But that didn't stop me from catching a duck, milking a cow, and holding a baby chick, duckling, and rabbit so my children could see.  All for the sake of the kids.  We also enjoyed hay and pony rides!

These are times the Maya Wrap comes in handy!

Maddy was so curious she had to reach out and touch it!

Braelyn took a turn and milked the cow after Daddy did.  Nice creamy milk.  Warm and unsterilized!

On Sunday afternoon Lolo drove up from Avon Park to pick up the children.  We had packed the minivan full of all the supplies my parents would need to be successful in their endeavor.  We've called to check up on them everyday, just in case.  They seem to be doing fine, as they've recruited a long list of relatives for help.  Braelyn definately is enjoying the abundance of fruits that are always readily available from their garden, and the twins continue their albuterol treatments and on the road to recovery.  Nothing like fresh country air!

Speaking of country, I had forgotten that even though we live in Orlando and just 20 minutes from downtown, it's still pretty rural country, as evidenced by this road just up from our house.

I parked the van and went across the street to take this picture before the cows mooooved away.

So this week's unexpected big purchase came in the form of our sprinkler system at the old house in Apopka.  Tangie received good news that we have new tenants and that they will be moving in the first of February, so we wanted to make sure everything gets done before then.  We are going to have the areas where they replaced the dry wall painted to match the rest of the walls.  And the sprinkler system needed to be fixed as it wasn't working at all, even when you pressed start.

So I had a sprinkler company come this morning to inspect and replace any broken heads and rotors.  Well, the reason it wasn't working was because there was a power surge that fried the box, so that needed replacing.  Check.  Next they inspected the valves, which were all embedded into a root system from the nearby oak tree so they had to be replaced.  Check.  Then they went about fixing a broken pipe in the back that was affecting the water pressure.  Check.  Then they fixed/installed/replaced the remaining sprinkler heads.  Check.  Then they gave me the invoice.

I just about died.  2 guys, 3 hours, and $928 later, I drove back home hoping I had charged up the difibulator, just in case I needed it if I suffered another heart attack like I had when he handed me the invoice.  I guess on the bright side everything works and the grass will be watered.  Sheesh.

Tangie is a busy busy bee.  I haven't really seen her since Sunday morning, when I left for work.  Just glimpses here and there, with the occassional text message or phone call.  Last night I didn't even hear her come home and slip into bed, and just bumped into her on her way back out to work this morning.  I know she and her teams are tired, but they're almost done with this week.  Perhaps I'll take her to a nice quiet dinner this weekend.  Just the two of us.

Sunday the kids return, so we'll have more to report.  Until then, have a great weekend!