Busch Gardens-Africa

First off, let me say I know "Super Freak" is probably not the best song, but I really needed to hear some upbeat dancing music...so be glad it's not Brick House. LOL We had fun previewing the video and dancing around the house. When watching the roller coaster video, turn down the sound...I did a little whoo hoo'ing for Faithy. If the music offends you-turn it off!

We ended Elliott's vacation here with a trip to Busch Gardens. We all had a great time, spending almost eleven hours in the park. Elliott rode all the main roller coasters. We all rode the water rides-G is NOT a huge fan of roller coasters, so I hung with him and looked at the animals. Faith experienced her first roller coaster ride, "The Scorpion" and was hooked. We ate lunch in the Egyptian part of the park. The food was really good and they had a show with great music. Everyone was dancing and trying to eat at the same time, including us. Faith was in a hula hoop contest and was one of three left. They had them turn opposite ways then the hoop was spinning and all kind of fun things, the gave away beaded necklaces as the prize. Faith ran into her old coach Miranda and 'Uncle Jerry', it was nice catching up. We all had a really good time, just wish some of the other kids could have been there too.

Simple Woman

Hosted by Peggy @ http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/
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Outside my window...it is dark, but you can hear the storm.

I am thinking...it's late. I should try to get one night of good sleep, but I am not tired.

I am thankful for... good friends...new and old.

From the learning room...it is quiet. Florida starts school mid-August. I think we will wait until after Labor Day.

From the kitchen...it is closed. Although, Elliott is going through the cupboards for munchies.

I am wearing...sweat pants and a tank top.

I am creating...this new post.

I am going...back to Oregon at the end of July for two weeks. It will be fun to see everyone. Cyndie put the 101 in the freezer... LOL. Then off to Oklahoma to see Misty and Shannon.

I am reading...other people's blogs. That is all I have had time for lately.

I am hoping...I can maintain or lose more weight in the next couple weeks.

I am hearing...the sound of the television and Elliott humming tunes.

Around the house...spic and span. Next week, I will be precooking meals and freezing them, so Gregg doesn't starve or eat cereal every night for dinner.

One of my favorite things...spending time with family.

A few plans for the rest of the week...tomorrow Faith finishes her OGC camp and will be performing a dance routine. Thurs. & Friday are up in the air, other than normal everyday stuff. Saturday-Busch Gardens and Sunday-BBQ with some friends from France.

Here is a picture I though I'd share... Elliott is into rock climbing. We found a place called Vertical Ventures. He has gotten to go a couple times. I really enjoyed watching him.

Summer Aquintances

We love the place we live right now. The Casa Bella is a gated community and consists of mostly higher ranking military or professional business people. Faith being the outgoing little person she is makes friends instantly. It seems daily she is bringing someone new through the door she just met. Because it is gated and all the staff knows Faith, from her "part-time" job in the office, she has free reign within the confides of here. What is also neat about Tampa, is it is a melting pot of people. Faith has made friends with girls from Kentucky, Tennessee, Hawaii, England and her latest girlfriend from France. Maria has really taken to Faith-and is a great person. She speaks some English with a great accent, but also speaks Dutch and Spanish. Elliott has come to stay for the month of July and they have been all gathering in the pool room for some late night tournaments. I caught some pictures the other night, there was a lot of boasting and teasing go on, when the opposite team got up, they would whistle, bark...it was so funny. I also included a video of victory...when you see Elliott, all I could think of was the guy from Lucky Charms saying, "It's magically delicious."

4th of July Trip

We had so much fun this last weekend. Elliott, has come from Oregon to visit for the month of July. We picked him up Wednesday night and it has been a whirl wind ever since. We left Friday for the Keys for the weekend. The ride there is beautiful and we passed the time with stories, the kids watching Seinfeld on the DVD and listening to Blue Collar radio on Sirius. One bridge we cross is the Sky Bridge and it is so awesome. At night the rods light up, but if you fear heights not a good one to go over. It gives you a great view of the bay.

Along the way we passed several signs you would not see in Oregon, here are a few.

For those who know Spanish... where you wouldn't want to live.

We stayed in at the Oceanside Motel in Islemorada. It is owned by former football player for the Steelers, Gary Dunn. It is a local favorite and during football season many ex-football players stop by. It was a nice place and the food and hospitality great. I included pictures on my video portion. It was cute the first night we were there looking at the menu. Elliott saw dolphin and he immediately said,"I'm not eating flipper!" Dolphin is a fish that is big in the area as are conch.

I happened to have the opportunity to capture a live conch on the beach. They actually have eyes where you can see the pupils. Elliott took him back out when were finished taking pictures.

Faith loved being able to go up to the outside bar and order Shirley Temples. I loved the sign that is hanging where she ordered the drinks. Hurricane Warning-If the beer bottles break, there is a hurricane.

We ate breakfast one morning at a place called Mangrove Mike's. The restaurant is very popular with the locals. You can buy these visors with fake hair. Gregg tried one on...NOT! But we had a good laugh.

The main reason we went was to snorkel and Bahia Honda is one of the best. You have the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. We had to deal with a park ranger who definitely took his job to seriously. They had raised the rates since last year to ten dollars a car with four passengers. We were two cents short. He would not budge, so I had to pull out the visa...what a jerk! I thought Gregg was going to lose his temper but I kept putting my hand on him and telling him it's okay. We had a really great time snorkeling. I didn't get to do a lot because I am still battling with this stupid eye infection. One eyed-Suz, I should have bought a patch. They saw lobster, cow-fish, and other many beautiful fish that swim by you even just sunbathing in the shallows. Faith was catching the hermit crabs and amusing nearby kids. That evening we went to Lorelei's for dinner. Faith and I both thought about Gilmore Girls when we saw the name. It is open seating right on the beach. In one of the boat slips was a car converted to a boat...what a great imagination.

After dinner, we watched a great firework display from the safety of our motel.


On the way home we stopped at the Everglades Park. The air boat ride is amazing in itself. The beauty of the Everglades and seeing the alligators in the wild. I included a separate video. On the way home we were on a portion of the trip called Alligator Alley and yes, there a hundreds hanging on the banks when it is sunny. They have fences on both sides of the highway but occasionally they escape. In fact, one trip down we saw one doing the death roll in the slow lane, everyone was swerving everywhere. We were diverted because of an accident-80 mile detour. The one perk was Diary Queen where we stopped for ice cream. The kids had to let out some energy...

Then we ended our road trip with another beautiful sunset.