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Tag: travel

Make up dates… and their associated trauma.

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We were gone for two consecutive Wednesdays so that means my children missed out on two gymnastics classes. My wife, being the sweetheart that she is, has booked a make-up session for our girls so that they can get the most out of a high cost, pre-paid for program that they do. This has obviously crossed a line somewhere and both kids are melting down about having to go, and do an hour of gymnastics this afternoon. Oh my. The horror. How could you infringe upon their March Break Minecraft madness sessions.

I will say that we swam 2 or 3 times a day, and went on various other adventures in the sun, so they had plenty of physical activity. Just not of an organized kind, like Dance, Girl Guides, Taekwondo or the before mentioned Gymnastics. And yet, the shit fit continues. So that should be fun to look forward to in four hours time. Yeah!

Saturday is here, and it’s cold again. Grey skies and lots of cloud cover. It couldn’t be any different from our vacation if it tried. I for one miss being outdoors so much, and I really miss the swimming. So much so that I find myself with too much energy at night, and I am unable to sleep. I was able to ride a fixed gear bicycle in the Keys, and swim, walk about, beach comb and just enjoy the outdoors. Yes I had to wear SPF 50 sun shirts, or cake on the sun screen to comfortably do so, but I like warmth far more than the cold. I am looking forward to being outside here to trim our hedges and start on the lawn. I’m actually going to have the lawn aerated this year. For the first time ever. Might even go for a Weed- Man spray too. But I’m not sure yet. I’m not entirely sold on the need for a perfect carpet of green grass. I’m pretty partial to the blues and purples of some of our lawns weeds. And the pop of yellow from dandelions is a nice touch. Plus those help out the honey bees in their time of need. I’m a leaf mulcher, not a bagger & get rid of’er. Keep those nutrients near by, in the beds. Gives toads and such a warm place to hide for the winter, and it protects my bulbs from squirrels and chipmunks. Little bastards.

I’m sure our elderly neighbours hate us because we are so laissez-faire with the grass. I find a saturated all green carpet of grass is a good magnet for attention. Makes you look wealthy, and catches the eye of thieves and burglar types. My ratty-tatty lawn definitely does not scream wealth lives here. Mainly because it doesn’t,  wealth that is, but no point dressing the place up to look like it does and inviting unwanted, potentially dangerous attention. That’s how I feel about it. Kooky as it sounds. The old slightly rusty minivan does a lot to keep us grounded, and not looking too eye catching either. My 18 year old lawn mower says a lot about our household too. Ha. No diamonds here I’m afraid. Lots of rocks, but no gems. The kids weekly evening programming took care of that!

I have begun the process of doing my taxes. That’s always an eye opener. Will need to spend some time on that before we get into April. The dreaded tax season! Aah.

Hopefully you all enjoy your Saturday, the last one of March Break 2024. School is back in as of Monday. We wish you all well. Ciao Bella.

Traveling with Crohn’s Disease is a lesson in patience, and timing.

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Am I sad I missed two, three hour plus long boat trips with my wife and kids? Yes, yes I am, but the carnage I dealt to the bathroom said I made the correct choice to stay in and be within ten steps of the can the whole time. Having to pee off of a moving boat is one thing, but the guttural machinations of my innards are best left away from spectators eyes. It’s not a team sport, and I don’t need cheerleaders. Although on our last day I did get out to swim in the ocean and have an hour long ride with the family. I burned my legs and hands, obviously, but had a good time. Seas were a little rough going but I managed to not get seasick. Lovely! The aquamarine colour was to die for. A big expanse of nearly cloudless sky overhead, and salty sea waves to float in with my children. Next time we will try snorkel masks and breathers and attempt to skulk around a small reef to look at some fish.

I’m glad I had the time to wait for a better opening on the boat trips, so I didn’t have to forgo all of them. I had bought some fresh Twisted Tea, but could drink only one of the twelve. If my guts are in a better mood next visit I can try my hand at one or two more. I wanted a six pack, as that feels more manageable to me. But no glass on the pool deck, so the larger can assortment it was! I should have stuck with the original or just half & half’s, as the raspberry was not to my liking. Live and learn.

I was able to swim a fair bit atleast. Knowing there are clean toilets all throughout the grounds makes it easier to go and do something for an hour without worrying about having to run all the way back to my room to avert a crisis. Ha. I run to my room while it runs down my leg. And what a glorious couple of runners we are. Argh!

It was 16°C here the day we came home but it is now 2-5°C and rainy. Gotta love it. I’ve gone grocery shopping, and answered a few emails, and done a little work today. Off to a good start. Take care out there. Ciao Bella!

First day back in the really real world.

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Vacation is done, flight landed around midnight, got through customs by one, and our ride home got us in safely just before two. By the time we watered, brushed, and consoled our kids we were in bed ourselves by three this morning. It is lovely to be home in our own beds. The Florida Keys are a wonderful island time kind of place. But being home is truly where I am able to relax. However, swimming, boat trips, and a face full of sunshine with heat is hard to beat. A very nice get away to ring in March Break on my wife’s year off. We don’t typically travel over peak times like this, but leaving early, and returning midweek was very cost effective.

I swam out in the open ocean with my kids for the first time in five or so years. Very clear blue, and not as warm as the pool. Thankfully. Pool was hot, almost bathtub temperatures! Taking the kids with our SPF 50 sun shirts to swim two or three times a day was really great. Over the winter I really miss the outdoors.

We even ventured down to Key West for a hot day trip. Had some Cuban food, wandered a few museums, and walked down by the gigantic cruise ships along the water front. Finding parking in Key West was a challenge. Didn’t help that we were in such a large vehicle. Key West was not built for extended oversized SUV’s, and 10,000 walking cruise goers at the same time. Was nearly three hours going down, and two and a half hour drive back. The kids were champs and held it together fairly well. It was hot, bright, and tiring.

Somewhere out in the Atlantic.
Being brave, but ultimately second person in after I jumped in first.
Me absent mindedly burning both legs on our last day.
Calm waters by the route markers.
The canal we called home for the eight days in Key Largo.
Treasure hunting for gems, crystals and coins of any sort.
Carnival cruise ship down in Key West.
A random Mc Donald’s with a fantastic view.
Kayak collection down on the beach.
An alternate view of the canal from our portion of the dock.

Back to the real world now. Work to start/finish. Groceries to get. Mail and packages to go collect. Kids to keep occupied for the remainder of the break. We had a few tears when we had to leave the vehicle once at the airport. The youngest wasn’t ready to leave grandma & grandpa behind for a few days by themselves. After she ate she perked up. We flew in a fairly sizable 787, with three rows of three seats and two aisles. Tonnes of overhead space too. First time I’ve done a Duty Free run in ages.

Best eat some breakfast and get back to work! Ciao Bella.

Day Trippin’ : The Family Adventure Episode that got banned in several countries for foul language, but was actually hilarious in retrospect.

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I don’t know much about you, but I curse a blue streak when I get mad and frustrated. Especially if it’s my kids pretending that they can’t do something that they’ve done by themselves a hundred times, but have grown instantaneously forgetful about, in public, under stress, where I’m the one holding something heavy and/or awkward waiting on them to complete the task. Bothers me just a lil’ bit. Lil’bit – yeah.

We haven’t had the opportunity to have too many partial family adventure days in the past. I used to take my eldest to the movies quite regularly, which was fantastic. Covid curbed that. But now I want to try taking them to Wonderland by myself, but I’m worried they will make me wait for rides and then balk at the last second, which will infuriate me. So part of me wants to try a smaller, less intimidating park, that isn’t as expensive. Because whoo boy, wasted money will ignite my bad mood quickly. Not that I’m waiting on bad things to happen, just to get mad about them. It’s merely a tried and true reality, and it saddens me. Irritates me to no end too.

We could do the Zoo for the fiftieth time, or try Legoland, or something like that. I want to get out to do something out of the ordinary for us. I just don’t know exactly what yet. The less expensive it is, the cooler I am with missed opportunities or mishaps. A mindset that comes from decades of being broke. I hate to pay good money to waste opportunity and experiences. I’ll have to learn to let that go. Just grates my nerves deep down. It hurts me to see good money (hard earned at that) wasted. Frivolously. Bah!

Who knows, maybe the weather will be bad, or I’ll have a slew of new projects come in that will force us to not go anywhere. Maybe I’ll take them to lunch and a wander around a mall. The youngest has gone feral with lack of social interactions. Need to retrain them to behave out in public again. They were real good at restaurants as very little children, but not able to do it now after 2.5 years of eating like a menace at home.

That’s more about our short comings rather than my kids. But being at home 24/7 with our whole family present for more than a year was far more than we had bargained for. At some points them just eating anything was a win, and style or etiquette fell by the wayside. One child became randomly fearful of everything conceivable and the other a stage five clinger at all points of the day. Covid and the various shut downs really hampered them both in real, yet strange ways. Getting back to school worked wonders for breaking those habits and fears. Weird times.

Buried somewhere in here is the belief that we will have a good time, and can make some lovely memories together doing something fun and exciting. Is it that hope that is secretly hilarious. Like Charlie Brown lining up on his field goal kick simply for Lucy to pull it away, every, single, time. Is that when hilarity ensues? I’m not sure. I have high Hope’s though! Ciao Bella!