2009 Status review

So I've decided I'm not much of a writer but I do okay with short status updates. Facebook gets updated regularly but not my blog. It is much easier for me to give one-liners about my life than to write blogs with my views of the world. Using a cool Facebook app, I gathered my status updates for 2009 and chose 10 from each month. Grab a cup of coffee and take a journey thru my 2009...

January

· is headed to the movie theater to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

· is headed to Topeka forh Riley's first volleyball tournament of the season!

· is exhausted from watching Riley's vball long tournament, but over-joyed because her team won it!!

· is helping sort through Girl Scout cookies.

· is headed to the dreadmill to get in a few miles.

· rented a movie from RedBox for the first time tonight.

· is baking cookies for the Vball tournament tomorrow.

· 's bottom is tired of sitting on bleachers all day.

· is wishing her oldest sister a very very happy birthday!!

· is thinking about her niece in Uganda who is 5 months into her year long missionary trip living out of a backpack and soon headed to Ethiopia.

February

· is taking her daughter to the Melting Pot tonight for a birthday dinner.

· wants to get the Virago out tomorrow. It's going to be in the 70's!

· thinks all weekends should be 3 days.

· is soo proud of Riley for getting a part in the school musical.

· is glad to be single on a day like today!

· just finished a brisk 3-mile run outside and is now working on taxes.

· is going to see Coraline in 3D today and will eat lots of popcorn.

· is taking care of a sick child.

· is back from taking Riley to the doctor. Sinus Infection.

· is shoveling the driveway. Twice now.

March

· 's chest cold is making her bark like an anxious sea lion.

· is enjoying a beautiful Saturday.

· Doin a lil KU lost dance!

· is so proud of the Sandsharks for winning their 4th volleyball tournament of the season!!! And also proud of those Tigers for winning the Big 12 tournament!

· 's NCAA bracket is ranked 35,554th on the Facebook Global Bracket Group, which is top 10%!

· is listening to Riley & her guitar as she writes a song named "Jesus and Jazz"

· Is waiting for 8:37pm

· is enjoying a quite weekend and praying for the youth at Young Christians Weekend in Silver Dollar City. Riley, keep warm! Now I'm off to have coffee with some girlfriends.

· just finished filing federal taxes for herself & Riley. Now onto state.

· is skipping workout today and reading a good book instead.

April

· thinks 66 volleyball courts in one huge room is very cool.

· just finished Fools Swim workout. 100 x 100yds on 100 seconds. But I cheated and only did 100 x 50yds. 3 mile swim ain't bad for first time in the pool in 8 months.

· after five hours of shopping we found a new bedroom set for Riley's room. I'm tired.

· Christos Anesti.

· got our Worlds/Oceans of Fun Gold passes today.

· Is enjoying some java & jazz at Liberty High School.

· is happy for friend who gave birth to her 3rd child, Liam, this morning!! Congrats Heather & Russ!

· Happy Earth Day. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

· is excited for opening night of Tin Pan Ali @ SVMS tomorrow. Riley & cast have been working hard on this musical!

· is enjoying a quiet night at home with no committments. Can't remember the last time this happened.

May

· just got back from The Color Purple. It was awesome story about strength, transformation, and deliverance. Now I'm eating Starbucks Mocha ice cream and I don't think the night can get any better.

· can't believe I slept 11 hrs last night. Now its time for a brick workout.

· Is in line for Cyclone Sam. Gosh, I hate rides that spin. but now Riley has to ride the Patriot with me !

· is listening to Riley's dad try to convince her that christianity is a myth.

· is wondering if anyone, especially my Columbia friends, is interested in doing PedalersJamboree.com in 2 weeks with me & some friends.

· is wishing she had a rain barrel. 4" in 6 hrs. No water in the basement yet.

· Had a good race this morn in my first tri-ice-althon of the year. Fast swim in 62 degree lake. Okay bike leg. Fastest run split in a tri for me ever. I'm pleased with my effort. Now home for a nap.

· Kids favorite day, parents not so much. School is out for summer in less than 4 hours.

· is gonna watch Scripps tonite. It's down to 11 kids. Rooting for the local . . .Goooo Kavya!

· rode the motorcycle to work today. Aahhh, there is nothin like the open road ... but not across the Paseo bridge during rush hour traffic.

June

· dropped Riley & friend off at Oceans of Fun alone. Is she really responsible enough for this? I guess we will see.

· is in ER with a mangled toe. Didn't know doors could be so mean.

· is headed to a meeting to hear Gale Sayers speak about leadership.

· is kidnapping some 6th graders tonight. Who knew church could be so fun?

· Happy father's day to all my FB friends who are fathers.

· is at the KCCC swim meet seeing old friends & gettin in a free workout. This is the 1st year since '96 that I haven't competed, most of the women my age don't miss me.

· thinks her refrigerator is about to quit. Spent $200 on it 2-yrs ago, I think it is time for a new one.

· has learned to give directions to Bryce and not go thru Soula.

· played softball tonight for the first time since the toe accident. We rocked beating a really good team. Yeah!

· wondering if I should be concerned over my daughter's infatuation with Hugh Jackman.

July

· is thinking of the men & women who fought for our country's Independence over 200 yrs ago and those who have defended her ever since. God bless America.

· a lazy Sunday doing nothing. Crashed my bicycle yesterday and got a big strawberry on my leg and it hurts. Thankfully I was wearing my helmet.

· Stopped by the Liberty Farmers market this morning for some fresh veggies. My garden is a bit slow this summer.

· Dropped Riley off at Christian Youth Theater camp this morning. She is going to have a blast. I pick her up Friday night when they produce the show "Wicked"

· want a ride on a Big Green Tractor!

· is headed up to Smithville Lake with Jami on this beautiful morning for some bike, run, swim, bike.

· just found out Palin resigned. Where have I been? Well, she made it thru a little more than half her term, not too shabby. Good for Sarah, she will make a better public personality than elected official.

· sweatin at Riley's volleyball tourney. It's official, my 12-yr old daughter is taller than me now . . . and I am a tall adult!

· is proud of herself for fixing the refrigerator alone. The repairman that charged me $250 two years ago used the wrong part and put it in upside down. I'm surprised it lasted this long with the constant dripping of water on it. This time it only cost

· is going to the Year 3000 tonight to rock with the JoBros & Jordin Sparks. Hopefully I'm not like those croonie women on SNL who get kicked out of the JoBro concert when their menopause patch flies off into the mouth of a tween.

August

· had an insanely fast swim @ Smithville this morning. The course must have been short cuz there is no way I can swim 500M in under 7 minutes without training!

· Just had a great meal that Amanda & her parents made for us. Yum Yum! Chicken, veggies and corn on the grill ... oh yeah, her father fixed my BBQ grill too! Life is good.

· is waiting patiently for Courtney to bring over some homemade chocolate ice cream.

· survived the school supply aisle on tax-fee weekend.

· is going to pick Riley up from the lock-in, no sleep for her!

· is sitting pool side at Disney having some coffee while Riley sleeps. Ready for another magical day at Epcot and Blizzard Beach.

· walked up to Westport for lunch on this beautiful day in KC. Got a $5 footlong at Mr. Goodcents.

· is checking out the Vivion Trail and quite dissappointed. Will KC ever be a bike friendly city?

· Friday night football is back! I'm torn between my Liberty Blue Jays and my alma mater Hickman Kewpies tonight.

· got the info to my 20 year college class reunion in October. I feel old.

September

· is forcing Riley to have Sheridan's with two 'boooorrrriiiinnng' adults.

· thinks that no one should be unfashionable because they cannot afford cute shoes, and no one should go broke because pretty things are not on sale. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.

· Is riding in a stretch limo to Kaufman to watch the game in a triple crown suite.

· is listening to three silly girls singing their High School Musical songs on the way home from rehearsal.

· is spending the afternoon balancing her checkbook because it hasn't been done since 12/05/2008.

· is tired of the cicada's song .... weeeeagh, weeeeeagh, weeeeagh

· wishes her little neurotic dog, Buster Brown, a very happy 11th birthday.

· just had a pretzel stuffed with cream cheese at the Renaissance Festival. Now I'm waiting for my niece to buy a bodice from the Boss Wench.

· could really care less if KU basketball players are friends with KU football players. Isn't there any better to put on the 10:00 news?

· is thinking 5 hrs of volleyball practice in 3 days is a lot for a 12 yr old who is going easy with VB for a while. Can't believe open gyms have already started and clubs are contacting me to see if she is committed yet.

October

· overslept and made Riley 10 mins late for school. Haven't done that in years. I think it is ridiculous that 12 yr olds have to be at school by 7:10,

· is hanging out at the Gladfest eating kettle korn waiting for Rileys vball game @ 2pm. Then off to Tanners bday party.

· watched a game last night that was very similar to a cold wet rainy game I went to late November last year when Tigers thought 3 quarters of hard work was enough for them :(

· is working on sets for High School Musical while the kids have a 7 hr rehearsal today. I am painting old lockers red. Is anyone coming to the show? There are five public shows Nov 5-8.

· is reading all the FB status saying sickness is in their family. 3 of the 4 carpoolers have Type-A flu currently. 20% of CYT cast had flu last week. Has my household had it or is it coming?

· is addicted to Good & Plentys.

· is frustrated that my monthly gas bill is $29.72 and the actual cost of gas is $2.71. Come on, 91% of the bill is customer charge and taxes?!? Maybe its time for all electric or some alternative.

· is hoping Gabbert doesn't act injured again.

· has never ever ever seen this many people at Worlds of Fun in the 30 yrs that I have been coming here!

· thinks FB is cool because tonight, out of the blue, I got to chat with my cousin serving in Afganistan.

November

· is remember my father who passed away one year ago today.

· does not want to hear Christmas music right after Halloween. Those two stations are no longer pre-programmed on my radio.

· is listening to the CYT cast do their last rehearsal vocal warmup by singing God Of Wonders!

· busy day. Three shows down, four to go. Lunch with CYT cast then pedi's. Plus Riley accepted volleyball offer today so no more stress about tryouts tomorrow!

· is remembering my mother who was quickly taken to the next life 25 years ago today. I love you Mom!

· is sitting in the bar of Old Chicago filled with a bunch of KU fans watching the OU/KU game. What was I thinking?!? Blecckk!

· finally understands all the talk about Glee.

· had forgot about being rick-rolled on my birthday last month. Never did figure out who did it ... but just now Riley mentioned rick-rolling and promises that she just learned the term last week ... hmmmmmm

· is a little surprised that Riley's kindergarten teacher was charged with third-degree assult on a child. She was not a good teacher. The only one I ever complained to the principal about, but it is hard to believe that she would physically hurt a child. http://www.kctv5.com/news/21657229/detail.html

· is thankful for pumpkin pie.

December

· Wow, December. Let the holly daze begin.

· is at Vineyard church to see the musical "Sweet Dreams" the story of Naomi & Ruth. The cast has many adults from CYT.

· is looking forward to a coffee date with the gals tomorrow morning.

· thinks the best part of being in Vegas right now is that the national pro rodeo finals are going on and there's lots of cowboys in town ;)

· is at airport parking lot waiting for my car to quit whining. She was really mad at me and froze her doors so I had to climb in thru the trunk. Boy was that fun in the bitter cold after midnight and traveling much of the evening. Come on girly, warm up and take me home.

· having a blast being quizzed on 80's songs by my daughter.

· on my way to jury duty.

· the best part of going to work in the dark and leaving when it is dark is the Plaza Lights. Gotta love the KC Plaza Lights!

· Thanks Santa, for the Christmas snow. I just finished shoveling about 7-8 inches off my driveway. Should I cancel my trip to Springfield? We drove 80 miles last night averaging about 32 miles per hour.

· lesson learned: never give my little min-pin a big ol' ham bone. Thanks Suz & Diane for letting me borrow your carpet cleaner.

HSM Live!!!

After 9 weeks of rehearsals it was finally show time for the CYT kids. Riley was part of a High School Musical production put on by Christian Youth Theater. She was a "party kid/spectator" for her first CYT show. I was impressed that she made the cast because I've seen CYT shows in the past and they have a large talent pool. This time was no different, the lead male was a 17-yr old from Lee's Summitt and he could sing.

I worked backstage and to learn the ropes I had to attend 4-hr rehearsals Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday of show week, and then work all shows except one. All-in-all I put in 34 volunteer hours last week on the production, but not a minute felt like work. Here's a picture Tuesday evening working on the sets on stage while the choreographer reviewed last night's notes with the cast.


I was so inspired the kids, they were amazing. Riley loves this group of kids and I now understand why. Each night I would sneak down to the green room and act like I had business there just so I could hear them worship. The kids led themselves in worship with a guitar and bongos singing and praising God. I truly believe these kids are grateful for what they have, a trait I don't see in many people, adults and children alike.

This picture is Riley's carpool gang: Megan, Molly, Riley & Lauren taken in front of the photo opp. It was fun to watch Eric (lead male) sign autographs here every night for the all the 7 & 8 yr old girls who showed up in their blinking HSM clothing to meet Troy Bolton.

In total over 1500 people attended the 7 shows. The school shows didn't sell very well, but the public shows were packed! I guess teachers don't feel HSM has an education plot, but it really does. Don't place an image on someone and support your friends who might not be exactly like you are.


We're all in this together
When we reach...we can fly
Know inside...we can make it
We're all in this together
Once we see
There's a chance...that we have
And we take it

Wild cats...sing along
Yeah, you really got it goin' on
Wild cats...in the house
Everybody say it now!

Google & my phone

I have become so dependent on my phone its not funny. Fifteen years ago when some one explained the concept of a PDA to me I couldn't see it becoming reality. PDA to me would always be couples kissing in a mall ... public display of affection, not personal digital assistant! A device as small as a cell phone (and cellphones were huge in 1994) that would act as a personal computer and people would communicate with both e-mail (what was that?) and via a normal voice phone and to browse the Internet (huh, what is that?) In 1994, if people had email at work it was the archaic TSO accounts viewed only with green screens and white lettering and only to someone on their network. When someone wanted to send an email outside of their network most people used CompuServe, Prodigy, or the newbie AOL.

My first exposure to the Internet was in 1995 when somehow Leo & I used the telnet utility that came with Windows 95 and the Netscape browser to connect to a webserver and see www.ibm.com over the phone line in our basement. In mid-1994 there were only 2,738 public websites, according to Gray's statistics; by the end of the year, more than 10,000. A year later Yahoo! was published by two guys that had been working on a way to find websites without knowing its URL (Uniform Resource Locator, or simply put an Internet address). Do you know what Yahoo stands for .... Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.

Fast forward 15 years, I don't buy those fancy Palms or Blackberries because I only need to call to people. I usually pick the phone that is either free or just a few dollars. Text messaging sounded cool so when I replaced my phone back in April I decided to splurge and get one with a QWERTY keyboard for $50, the Samsung Rant.

The Rant came with a short cut to Google mobile. Within Google mobile you could use online Google applications like You Tube, Maps, Reader (to read blogger.com!), Calendar, Weather, Gmail, Photos, etc. I started using the Calendar and that's all she wrote. I'm so dependent on it now I wouldn't know what to do without it. I no longer use the Franklin planner that I've carried around for 15 years. I enter most of my calendar entries from my PC and I can subscribe to other's calendars. Currently I subscribe to Riley's Girl Scout troop calendar, the Mizzou Tigers Football schedule, and US Holidays. If I enter an address in the calendar entry it will have a link to Google Maps. And during Mizzou Football games it continuously updates the score on my calendar. To create a new entry I simply send a text such as "Dinner with Riley, sat 6pm" and it will automatically create it.

I'm not quite to the full adoption level of PDA but I'm getting there. I can view any website but if it isn't fit for a 2-inch by 1.5-inch screen it is very difficult to use. Now I'll get to my point of this blog which was not to ramble on about the evolution of the Internet and technology.

I discovered Google Text Querying last week. If you send a text message to Google (466-453) with a question it will text you back within seconds with a response. For ...

• current weather text W and your zipcode "W 64158"
• movies text "M 64158" or for a specific movie "Where the Wild Things Are 64158"
• foreign translation "translate deck to spanish"
  
• measurement conversions "1 tablespoon in teaspoons" or "1 us gallon to liter"
• currency converter "1 usd to euro"
• find local time "time Athens Greece"

It has been very convenient a few times already. ..

• Last Monday I wanted to pickup a pizza on the way home from work. I pulled over and texted "Papa Johns 64119" and it sent the address and phone number of all the Papa John's restaurance within a few miles of zipcode 64119. I scrolled down to the phone number and pressed the call button.
• Later that night I was out running errands and at 8pm I wondered if I had time to run by Sam's Club which is near CYT where I had to pick up the girls at 9pm. I texted "Sam's Club 64119" and it sent back the address and phone number and with one stroke I called Sam's and found out they closed at 8:30pm.
  

I realized I'm growing closer and closer to depending on a PDA. I'd really like to et the HTC Hero that will run Google Andriod applications. It is very similar to the phone offered by that fruity company. I hope the current cost of $179 is drastically cut by next April when I am eligible for a new phone.

Renaissance Festival 2009

My niece came in town for the weekend and we took trip to the KC Ren Fest. It was a treat having Vicki here because she has lived out of the country for 6 years so I miss doing things with her.

It has been 3 years since I've been there and nothing really has changed much. Riley's friend, Megan, came along and the two almost-teenagers went their own way while Vicki and I wandered about. They found us when they ran out of money :)

We watched a few skits, including a large bird show (picture on right) and a rather vulgar show on indecent fighting. Of course, we had to watch the human Jousting at 3pm where Sir Thomas, the good guy, looses only to become the victor at the 4:30 show.

We shopped around but Vicki was unable to find the perfect bodice as she hoped at the Boss Wench. I bought my usual dated souvenir mug to go with my collection. We had some great novelty food including the turkey legs in which the Ren fest is known for. A new item which was very tasty was the cream-cheese filled pretzels. YUM!

Riley & Megan rode the spinning pole thing (don't know the official name) and enjoyed it. Its neat to see the carnival-type rides that use only human power and gravity to run. It's also nice to watch the human power and their muscles :)

The girls had to attend a birthday party at 6:00 so we lefta little early so they could get cleaned up and to the party on time.

Vicki and I decided to have dinner at Strouds (they choke their own chickens!) the chicken place that always has a long line. Strouds has several acres to roam so we brought our books to enjoy the peacefulness by the pond while we waited for our table, though it wasn't as peaceful as expected because a large swan decided it was his dinner time also. I captured this video of him eating grass. A few minutes later he came very close to where I was sitting and hissed at me. It was his way of saying that I needed to move so he could eat the popcorn by my feet. I gracefully scooted to the other side of the table, but if he is anything like a dog I'm sure he smelled my fear. He could probably take a chunk of flesh off my leg with beak if he wanted, but thankfully he only wanted the popcorn at my feet.

Remodeling the back yard

When I moved in 8 years ago I vowed to do something with the back yard. The space under the deck had a small fence around it to keep in the previous owners dog. I soon tore-out that fence and with the help of a buddy put a 4-ft fence wooden fence around the entire yard. Since then the space under the deck has done nothing but grow weeds and collect junk.

A few weeks ago my neighbors marked their yard for a concrete slab near the back. I decided to have a concrete patio poured under my deck at the same time. I originally wanted a brick patio installed but it was difficult to find someone to do it without tearing up the grass. Besides, the concrete was about half price of bricks.

They did a good job, though the grass is about 3-5 inches below the top of the patio. So now I am going to do some landscaping and put some timbers about one-foot from the edge and fill it with topsoil and some flowers and stepping stones. It will be something that will need weeding in the future but it will look really nice. I'd like to put in a small pond off to the side with maybe some small goldfish. Stay tuned ....

P.S. if you know anyone looking for a free wooden dog house send them my way. That too was left over from the previous owners and Buster has no interest in it.

Look alikes

Last night we took Amanda out for dinner for her last night in KC. We wish her well as she starts a new chapter of her life in Minnesota living with her uncle's family.

We went to Olive Garden for the Never Ending Pasta Bowl. The service was slow and our waiter seemed pre-occupied but he kept our needs meet. Out of the blue near the end of the meal he looked at me and said "you know you have a celebrity look-alike, don't you." I was like "'huh?" because he really hadn't spoken a word to us other than to get our order. He proceeded to try to name my celebrity twin although he couldn't remember her name and he said the movie she was in was something about a dozen. Riley figured out that he was talking about Alyson Stoner from Cheaper by the Dozen.

Maybe there is a slight resemblance, but I don't think we look alike, not to mention the fact that I am 27 years older than her. I did think it interesting that her role in Cheaper by the Dozen kind of portrays my tom-boyish personality.

Tri #2

I completed my second triathlon of the year on August 1st, the Win For KC Woman's Triathlon. This is my favorite course and event of the year. It's the race's 4th year and my third time. Word has spread and the race sold out before June 1st. The free spaghetti dinner the night before was packed and I heard there were over 650 women participating.

Storms were moving out when I woke at 5am. I took my time getting dressed and had a light breakfast. I was set to leave at 5:30am but my truck wouldn't start so I resorted to plan-B and moved my borrowed bike and bags to the car and pulled out of the driveway a few minutes later.

The drizzle stopped just as I pulled into the grassy field to park a little after 6am. It was a chilly morning but I left the wetsuit in the car figuring there was little chance of the lake being 78 degrees or less in August.

My race number was 26 so I was allowed on the rack closest to the exit. This race is a staggered start so one person starts every 3 seconds instead of a mass start. The start order is by swim time ranking with the fastest going first, I would be the 26th to start.

Just as they were calling the pre-race meeting it was announced that the water temp was exactly 78 so I quickly rode back to the car and grabbed my wetsuit and headed for the pre-race meeting. I've been in enough of this windy director's races to know that the meeting will last at least 15 minutes. As Clay thanked many sponsors I wiggled into the wetsuit and immediately started sweating. At 7:45 we all hug the woman standing next to us and lined up for the start.

My swim felt pretty good and I passed about a dozen or so women on the way. I got out and saw my watch said 6:55. Holy Cow that was a really fast swim!! I ran up the hill passing another on the way. Once in transition I slowed to a fast walk so I wouldn't be breathing too hard on the start of the bike.

I was lucky enough to borrow the bike I'm considering buying from Epic Bikes: Specialized Ruby Expert 56cm. I took it out for a short 4 mile ride on Thursday and it rode smooth and quick. This bike is similar in quality to my current bike (carbon fiber frame and ultegra components), however it is 16 years newer and sized perfectly to me.

Back to the race ... the bike leg is an out & back and 10 miles in length with the first & last half mile on the road leading out of the park through Paradise, MO. As usual, some really fast biker women passed me in the first mile and I knew these were the die hard triathletes. I was feeling pretty good but unfortunately, the borrowed bike didn't have a computer so I couldn't tell how I was doing pace wise. As I passed mile marker 3 I tried to calculate my pace based on the elapsed time and I concluded I was doing okay. After the turn-around between miles 6-8 I saw most of my friends riding the opposite direction (remember I had a head start being #26). As I entered the park in Paradise, MO I noticed my time was nearing last year's time so I picked kicked in and sprinted the last 1/2 mile. My final bike time was 1 minute slower than last year. A bit disappointing but I blame it on not knowing how fast I was /wasn't going.

In transition I switched shoes, had a quick drink of water and took off running. I was still making good time from that killer swim leg. After about a half mile I pooped out and couldn't keep my heart rate down. This problem started about 10 days earlier and without explanation. I didn't have a monitor on but I'm sure it was over 180. I ran the rest of the 2.6 miles by jogging one minute then walking 3o seconds, then jogging 1 minute again, etc. Needless to say my run time was awful.

My final time was just one minute slower than last year. It is almost a month later and I still haven't figured out what is wrong with my heart rate. On a better note, only 4 other women swam faster than me. Two were on a team, and thus were finished after the swim and didn't have to save anything. The other two were 20-24 yrs old, so I'm impressed with this 43 yr old body of mine. The fastest swimmer was only 2o seconds faster than me and she won a Garmin fitness watch for being the best. If only would have known I would have gone 21 seconds faster!!!

This is me with the race director, Clay Myers-Bowman.

This is my buddy Christine celebrating a little too much with mimosas at the finish line festival!!!

I'm looking forward to the 5th annual Win for KC Tri in 2010!!

Disney World 2010

Our family vacation was to Disney World this year. In the wee early morning hours of August 9th we took off from KCI headed to Orlando. We touched down around 10:30 local time, had lunch in the airport and then caught the Disney Transport bus to Disney's Carri bean Beach Resort. Next to us on the bus was a Disney FANATIC. This dude moved to Ft. Lauderdale to be close to WDW. This was going to be is 196th night at Pop Disney. He knew everything about everything at Disney. I've ready about these kinds but had never met one in person. OMG.

The resort was well equiped and we could have spent our entire vacation just three. Our room was finally ready around 2:45pm so we napped and then headed to Magic Kingdom. The park seemed smaller than I remember but we still couldn't get everything in during our 6 hour stay. We did the Haunted Mansion, Tomorrowland Race track, the Peter Pan ride, Winnie the Pool, Aladdin, Stitch's Great Escape, and probably others that I can't remember. I refused to ride the Mad-Hatter's Tea Cups with Riley because they spin too much and she didn't want to ride alone. She refused to let me ride Splash Mountain alone, so I had to returned early Thursday morning while she was still sleeping. I also got to ride Thunder Mountain t00. Space Mountain was closed but that was okay with me. I didn't particularly like it 20 years ago.

The next day we went to Blizzard Beach in the morning. This is a water park with a really cool water slide: Summit Plummet is almost a straight drop for 12 stories where you go 50-60 mph. Riley was nice enough to wait an hour for me because I just *HAD* to do this. As I neared the top I was actually nervous and full of adrenaline. This is the longest, fastest, tallest waterside on record in the world! Its over in about 4 seconds and gave the biggest wedgies I've ever had in my life, but it was really cool. Thanks Riley, for riding the Cross Country Creek lazy river around the entire park 3 times while I fulfilled my need for adventure. At almost 43 yrs old, I wonder if I will ever loose that thirst?!?

Monday Night we went to Downtown Disney and had dinner at the globe Planet Hollywood. We also shopped some and played around in Disney Quest; a 5-story arcade.

We slept in Tuesday then went to Epcot. We were one of the last to get a fast pass to Soarin'. We got there around noon and our pass was for 6:15, so we spent the next several hours playing around. We created a video game starring us in Innovations. We had "Turtle Talk with Crush" from Finding Nemo. We did "Journey into Imagination with Figment" which was my favorite 20-yrs ago but it didn't live up to my memory. We watched the "Circle of Life" show which I think is the same one played at the KC Zoo's IMAX theater. We played the Kim Possible Adventure, and our mission took us to Mexico. Around 4:30 we had dinner at place in China. it was so hot that day and so we just found the first sit down restaurant in air conditioning. After dinner we made our way quickly thru the countries and finally made it to Soarin. The line was 2-hrs long so I was very happy to have a fast pass. This was the coolest ride in Disney in my opinion, and I didn't even get motion sick despite all the warnings. The world showcase was closing soon so we rode Spaceship Earth and then headed home. I though Riley would really like Spaceship earth because she likes history but she wasn't really phased by it. I enjoyed it.

Wednesday was Hollywood Studio's day (f.k.a. MGM Studios). I was pleasantly surprised by this park. we didn't get any fastpasses because Riley wasn't sure if she wanted to ride Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania was out for the day. Our first attraction was Beauty and the Beast live on Stage, a 40-min shortened version of show. It would have been much better if it was in air conditioning. We also saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid live, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Studio Backlot Tour, the American Idol Experience Finals, and Journey into Narnia's Prince Caspian. As it was getting dark, Riley decided she would ride the Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror so we got in the hour-long line. In front of us were some teens from the Dominican Republic so the hour went by quickly as we talked to our new friends. This ride ranks almost as high as Soarin in my book and despite it being a thrill ride Riley fell in love. We had to return to the park another day to ride it two more times and buy a t-shirt.

Thursday brought us to Animal Kingdom. We watched It's Tough to be a Bug, a multi-sensory show based on Bug's Life movie. We saw this show at Disneyland in 2003 an it was still just as good. Afterwards we got a fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safari and then looked around the park. It was really hot and there were few places to duck into a/c except for the souvenir shops. The Safari was nice as we saw giraffes, lions, elephants, wildebeests, and such. Afterwards we got a fast past for Dinosaur and shopped around some more. Riley discovered that Dinosaur was a roller coaster and decided she didn't want to go, so I gave her fast past to a kid from London. Fastpasses let you go to the front of the line and just as we were getting on the ride it broke. they tried to fix it for 25 min and then made everyone leave. Once again, Riley was bored waiting for me, but at least she found a cool place to sit and wait. This picture is of Riley playing the bongo's at Africa in Animal Kingdom.

Friday was our last full day. We went back to Hollywood and Epcot. At Epcot we toured all the countries in World Showcase. This pic is Riley at an pub in England with a knock off Beatles band in the background. It is really neat how everyone who works in the countries is actually from the particular country even down to the hostesses in the restaurants. I can't really say what my favorite country is there but we spent a lot of time in Japan and Morocco. I do think they should have a space for Greece.

All my days are blurring together, but one day we went to Typhoon Lagoon for a few hours one day. The wave pool there is the bomb! Every minute or two it lets out a huge tidal wave that you can surf.

Saturday morning I went to Animal Kingdom early while Riley slept in. I finally got to ride Dinosaur and I think she would have liked it. It wasn't a roller coaster but more of a jeep on a jiggley track. I also rode Expedition Everest a thrill coaster. We check out of the room at 11 and swam in the resort until we had to leave at 1:30.

All-in-all it was a good trip; tiring, but fun. I consider my parental obligation fulfilled. We went twice to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Disney Quest and we went to each water park once within a 6 1/2 day span.

Our resort was nice but big, the main area was an 8-10 min walk from our room which made it difficult to get our free drink refills or be around anything convenient. We stayed in Barbados which wasn't the furthest away! The rooms were clean and the grounds were landscaped nicely so I have no real complaints.

The transportation system is very convenient. We normally waited 5-10 minutes for a bus and the longest wait was 18 minutes. They could get crowded but I didn't mind standing up for a 10 min bus ride every now and then. Staying onsite is the only way to go, otherwise you have to pay to park in a lot a mile way and take a hot tram to the gates. The internal bus system picks you up 100 ft from your room and drops you off at the park's front entrance.

We mostly ate the fast food at Disney. $8.75 for a greasy 1/3rd lb burger and fries plus $3.50 for a soda. The sit down mediocre resaurants run about $70 for the two of us. The best Disney food we had was at the buffet at Hollywood. I'm sure if we would have gone to the fancy restaurants that require reservations 3 minths in advance we would have been more impressed. Luckily I found Flipper's Pizzaria, a local shop that delivers all day to your resort. They had good pizza, salads, wraps, pasta and sandwiches. Riley and I could eat 2 meals for $25. We ordered twice :)

Where will our 2010 vacation be to?

Addition

Back in March our church youth pastor ask if we'd be willing to host his girlfriend for the summer. Riley and I discussed and decided we have plenty of room and it would be fun to have a house guest!

Riley & I worked hard during May to clean out the spare room (Matt even helped some) and Amanda arrived May 25th car packed to the rim. Right away she fit in with our little family.

She and Matt grew up together in the small town in northwest Pennsylvania. Matt attended undergraduate school in Nashville and just finished his first year of seminary here in Kansas City. Amanda has been attending a small college in Ohio.

Before she arrived she decided not to return to her school in Ohio, but rather move to KC and got to cosmetology school. My first thought was that she was altering her future for a man .... (big no-no) but I soon learned that she was really just looking for a change in life. KC offered her the chance to get away and make anew, and Riley and I are excited to be a part of it. Unfortunately, she & Matt decided they were better off as friends.

Having her around the house is a blessing. She is a big sister to Riley and huge help to me. One of the best parts is that I've become more disciplined about eating dinner at home. It's much easier to resist the temptation for carry-out or dining-out when I know I have help at home. Often dinner is prepared when I get home and family dinners are enjoyable.

Next week she is taking Riley shopping for school clothes. This is a win-win situation because I despise this annual chore and I think those 2 girls are really looking forward to it!

In a month or so things will change. Amanda has lots of free time right now only working 18 hrs a week. She and Riley will be headed back to school and free time will be scarce for the both of them. I'll be running Riley around to her various activities and Amanda will be working in the evenings.