Well, hello stranger...

I Apologize...
So, I apologize for not blogging regularly...I think it's been almost a month?!?! Wow. But, I warned you all that I am a procrastinator. And random things happen to me at the most inoppurtune times. Is that spelled correctly? Oh well. I'm not no English teacher!! ha. So, here goes a rather lenghty blog. Oh, yeah, I apologize for that as well.

How goes it, yo?
After my "Cancer Rant" I kind of just drifted off into space. Seriously. I'm not even sure where or what I was for the month following that. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was all the stress and aggravation. Maybe it was because I went from working 50-60 hours every two weeks to working 70+ hours. Sure, those 10 hours may not sound like much, but that's at least another day to two days of working. Meaning that I was working 5-6 days a week. I've got a life people! Ok, that may be a lie...but I'll never admit to how lame I am. Not to mention, a little wedding planning, T-Ball practices and games, did I say work?, and preparing for our Florida trip...which is what this blog will mainly be about.

Chillaxin in Bell-Air
"
Josh, Brendon, and I all drove down with the crew that left Wednesday. We flew back though. We left Friday morning, the 18th, and returned Saturday the 26th.
It was such a blast. Pretty much all of it. There's so much that happened that I honestly can't relate all of it. So, I think I will put it in bullet points to better detail the more entertaining and not so entertaining parts of our trip...

• Sunday was our first full day in Florida. Our beach house was large and welcoming, right on the beach, and had a pool. Josh, and his brothers are all very white males. Therefore they NEED LOTS OF SUNSCREEN. They also fail to listen. SO, what resulted was a VERY burnt Joshua. Even the tops of his feet were burnt. Sheesh. Chase was also burnt, just not as bad. And Joey was just a little pink. I'm sure none of them will tan from it either.
• Monday we went to Disney World. Even though I have forbidden myself from entering that place again since I went with my family in 2004, I put on my big girl panties and went. It wasnt that bad this time around actually. Brendon had fun, therefore meaning I had fun, if even just from seeing him so excited. Space Mountain was his favorite ride, as was it mine. Josh refused to wear anything but his jeans and boots. So, when we FINALLY made it back to the house at around 1:30 am, his poor feet were swollen. He could barely get his boots off and they hurt him so bad. It was horrible. And even though he wouldn't admit to hurting, I could tell he was. :( My poor boo.
• Tuesday we didn't do much but swim in the pool and ocean. Josh and Nanny had started a everyday sea shell hunting expedition. Josh found about 30 sharks teeth throughout the entire trip plus tons of sea shells. I found some as well, as did everyone else. It was fun strolling the beach with Josh looking for the shells. Even though I became bored with it a LOT quicker than he did, I still enjoyed it because he liked it so much and also because I love him and therefore love seeing him happy. That's how this relationship thing works, right?
• Wednesday all the menfolk, excluding 2 year old Skylar and 6 year old Brendon, went deep sea fishing. They were dropped off early that morning and wouldn't return until at least 6 that night. For breakfast all of us girls and the little boys went to a french bakery. Brendon and I both had cinnamon buns the size of our heads. Thet were DELICIOUS! For lunch some of us went to eat at a place called "Cooters" and the rest went to a sea food place. Sometime in between those two meals, I dropped my phone in the toilet. Yep, right in the crapper. It was a mess for the next few days, and didn't work properly until Saturday morning before our flight out. Although,

Now this is a story all about how

My life got flipped turned upside down

And I'd like to take a minute just sit right there

I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air

In West Philadelphia born and raised

On the playground is where I spent most of my days

Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool

And all shootin' some b-ball outside of the school

When a couple of guys who were up to no good

Started makin' trouble in my neighborhood

I got in one little fight and my mom got scared

And said you're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air

I whistled for a cab and when it came near
The license plate said "Fresh", and had dice in the mirror
If anything I could say that this cab was rare
But I thought nah forget it, yo home to Bel-Air!

I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8
And I yelled to the cabbie, "Yo Holmes, smell ya later!"
Looked at my kingdom I was finally there
To sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel-Air"

No, not really. BUT! We DID sing that song at least twice. The only thing in that song that even pertained to our vacation was the name "Bel-Air", and even that was spelled differently in Florida. Oh well, we're extremely caucasion. I'm sure that is also spelled incorrectly...

So, I went to Florida. With Josh and his family. Up until Wednesday, there was 16 of us all together. Me, Brendon, Joshua, Cathy & Daniel, Bryan & Casey, Joey, Ashley, Chase, Megan, Skylar, Nanny, Papaw, Mamaw Peach, and Lane. Wednesday morning Lane, Mamaw, Nanny & Papaw all headed home to go to the high school graduation of Lane's brother (Nanny & Papaws grandson).

It was truly and awesome trip. Brendon and I had tons of fun. I guess the easiest way to go about detailing our trip is to do it day by day, bullet point style....so here goes.

• Sunday was our first full day at the beach house. It was a huge house with more than enough room for all of us. It also sported a pool and hot tub outside, along with our own "private beach". I put that in quotations because it wasn't really private in the sense that we were the only ones on it. It basically meant that we had a direct, private path to the beach. Which suited us all just fine. We same in the ocean and the pool almost the entire day and half the night. Joshua and his brothers failed to sun screen themselves properly (or would go directly back to the water as soon as they were sprayed/rubbed down in sun block with SPF's of up to 110!!), of course, all three managed to get sun burnt. Josh got it the worst, and even managed to sun burn his feet!!! Chase was a little burnt, but not as bad as Josh was. And Joey was just a little pink. Ashley also was burnt, but probably in the middle of Chase and Joey in severity. But, it was a good first day!
• Monday we all packed up early that morning and went to Disney World. Now, for some of you who don't know me, I am not fond of Disney World. I went when I was 13 and then banished it to the back of my mind. I did not like it then, and although I actually had a blast this go around, I'm not sure I'll ever return until my future unborn children are at least 10....at least. I think what causes me to not enjoy it as much is the fact that I LOVE BIG roller coasters, and if theres anything that Disney lacks it would definitely be roller coasters. Or, in a sense, just big rides in general. They do have some bigger rides, but most of their rides are more geared towards younger kids. Which, of course, Disney World is a family amusement park. But still, no excuses Walt! I did have fun though. I enjoyed watching Brendon ride rides and just take in everything, even though he is a roller coaster lover like me, he did enjoy it (even though he was a butt the entire time and declared that he hated Disney World and that it was stupid). He LOVED Space Mountain! I knew he would though, like I said, that's definitely one trademark thing he gets from me. It was his favorite ride, and wanted to ride it over and over. Too bad the lines are too long, or I would have gladly taken him on it again. Anyways, Josh decided to wear his blue jeans and boots. He said "Nanny said to dress comfortably...I'm comfortable." so, I said ok, fine. wear what you want...you'll pay later. And of course, like any other woman is, I was right. By the time we finally made it home (after what seemed like an endless ride, with a random detour, that resulted in a random sprinkler spraying a jet stream of water through our open window and sraying straight into my face....really. I don't know how this stuff happens to us...) he could barely take his boots off. His feet were horribly swollen. He said it didn't hurt too bad, but I could tell he was in pain. So, I covered his feet and legs in lotion and we went to bed. OH! I almost forgot to include Josh's favorite part of Disney World!!! While we were standing in line for Space Mountain, Ashley spotted a guy from the TV show "Swamp People". Josh ran over to see if it was in face one of the Swamp People. Because he couldn't remember his name, he yells "SWAMP PEOPLE!!!". I was like omg. you're gonna stalk this man out but don't even know his name?! Geez! So then Josh and Ashley proceeded to stand outside of the exit and wait for him to leave. Then they ambushed him.....Not really. But that's what I felt like was going to happen. Josh simply snuck up on him and shook his hand. Then the man said for him to come over to where his wife was or something and talk to him. So, of course, I got to be the one to take a picture of Josh and this random Swamp People man who I don't even know the name of still! Crazy.
• Tuesday we didn't do much of anything. And honestly, I really just remember lounging by the ocean/pool and swimming all day. We may have done something...but I can't remember what exactly...Oh, we bought more sun screen and Aloe Vera for the boys. That is all. OH! No, Tuesday is the day that Brendon Christopher got sick from drinking too much sea water. I won't go in to details here, but if you don't know what results from this, then look it up. IT WAS NOT FUN! DO NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER DRINK OCEAN WATER!!!! EVER! Bryan also had a touch of this before Brendon did. Needless to say, it was an adventure....of sorts.
• Wednesday the menfolk loaded up and headed out early that morning to go deep sea fishing. Cathy dropped them off and returned (after passing our house multiple times in a row...I even saw her drive by a couple times!!! I just didn't think it was her!) to pick everybody up to go have breakfast at a little French Bakery. It was delicious! Brendon and I both ate cinnamon buns the size of our heads!!!!!! YUM! After we got back, we swam for a little while and then decided to get ready to go out to eat for lunch. While doing so, I managed to drop my iPhone in the toilet..I know, I know. I'm a klutz. But, I personally blame the makers of the shorts I was wearing...who needs shallow pockets?! Ugh. So of course, my phone was spazzing out. On our way out to eat, and we left pretty quickly after that, we stopped and bought a huge bag of rice and I crammed my phone down into it as fast as I could. I was upset. :( And stressed because I can't afford a new phone. We went to eat and some of us went to a place called Cooters while the rest went to a sea food place. Cooters was by far my favorite place to eat! I loved it! And I'm sure it's the reason I gained almost 5 pounds while on vacation! After getting back to the house, everybody crashed. Literally. When I woke up Cathy and some other ladies had went to retrieve our boys. They brought back fresh Grouper to fry for supper. Because I don't like fish of any kind, I had chicken. Which Cathy cooked, so it was obviously delicious. Note: my phone finally was turned off, and would not turn back on at this point. :(
• Thursday was the night of drunkeness. For real. I'm sure I saw a side of Casey & Bryan that I have never in my life seen before. But omg, they were freaking hilarious. I won't post some of the things that were discussed or randomly stated because I love them too much to even hint at embarassing them. But, just know that Planet Zorg 459 exists. Anyways, I thouroughly enjoyed Intoxicated Casey & Bryan more than anything and remained sober enough to remember every little detail of the night because I knew I would want to think about it later...and blog about it. One of the most hilarious, and semi immature, things that happened was when we were all outside talking and drinking and our British neighbor came out and told us to hush. What kind of idiot sleeps with his bedroom door open?! So then the boys proceeded to say everything in a crazy British accent for the next hour. I honeslty don't even remember what all was said except Chase REPEATEDLY saying "SHUT UP! They cunt (yes, that's how he pronounced it) sleep! The British cunt sleep!!!" while laughing so hard he was almost crying. Mainly he said this to Megan ever single time she opened her mouth. Then they got mad about it. And wanted to pee on his door or steps or something. I'm not sure what really. Even Bryan was all for it. I will not say whether or not they did or didn't, but it was hilarious all the same. I learned that I need to drink with Casey and Bryan WAYYYY more often and what sounds Joey makes when he ralphs and also that Joey puts me to shame in the talking catergory while he is intoxicated. Lovely. It was definitely one of my favorite nights. Note: phone still spazzing out...Note also: This is all Cathy's fault (and probably others as well) for deciding that we needed to get rid of all the alcohol in the house since a few mixed drinks a night wasn't cutting it.
• Friday a lot of hang overs ensued. But all survived it. We went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium this day. And even though it wasn't what we all thought it would be, but it was still interesting. We got to see "Winter" the dolphin who lost its taile and had a movie made about it. Plus other interesting things. Although towards the end of our visit to the aquarium we went to watch a training demonstration thing in a dolphin tank. Which consisted of a woman telling us all kinds of info about how they train dolphins and why, while a trainer had a dolphin named Nicholas do all sorts of really awesome tricks! It was pretty cool. He did mid air flips and all kinds of stuff. The kids stood by the rail and was splashed which they thought was just the coolest thing since sliced bread. Before the little show started a random volunteer woman was walking between the two sets of bleachers talking to the audience. She came to ours and asked where we were from and Joey said "Kentucky." and she said "Texas?!" and he said "No, not even close..." and the woman continued on about Texas for some reason and holds up the Texas Longhorn's hand sign thing and said "can we say "Hook'em Horns?!" or something to that extent. And so Ashley started stomping her feet and goes "OOOOHHHHHHH....." of course being a person who bleeds blue on ocassion, I realized what she was doing and so I chimed in and we go "C-A-T-S cats cats cats!" and some random guy says "what about IU?" all snobbish and rude like, and Joey says "which one?" and I think the guy was referring to Iowa University...maybe. I don't care. But Joey's reply of "oh, you poor people..." shut him up and he turned away from us with a rude look and a roll of his eyes. Definitely an awesome moment. Even though we must have pissed the volunteer woman off because she walked off and didn't return....ever. Oh well. We returned home after dinner at Cooters and relaxed with some Pina Colada's. Nobody dared to drink as much as the night before. Plus, We had to get up early to say by to those who were driving back and so we could get ready to head home on our own flight.

The trip home Saturday was uneventful. And the people on the plan were exceptionally nice. All in all, it was a fabulous trip with some extraordinary people. We had a blast. And I would love to go back. However, I was ready to be home. Florida is a very expensive place and now I know why only rich retirees live there.
I am sure I am forgetting some things. Matter of fact, I know I am, I'm entirely too forgetful. Like, I now remember Josh swimming with Dolpins and then some of the others going out and swimming with them. Well, not really, but kinda sorta. The dolphins were out there in the water by our beach all the time. But we had never seen them while we were in the water. One day Josh was out swimming and some came about 20-30 feet from him and we could see their dorsal fins going in and out. Josh however could not see them. He could hear us yelling and telling him that they were there since shortly before that he had told his Aunt Casey he was going to call in some dolphins and started making this crazy noise. Well we were watching him and he would stick his arms out from his sides and open palm hit the top of the water. Every single time he did that they would surface. It was amazing! I just wish he could have seen how close they got to him!!! However, he did actually hear them "chirping" or "clicking" which alone tells you how close they were to him!!!

Ah, it's late, and that is all that my tired brain can remember or think to put in to this post. So, I will call this the end and if I think of anything in the future, I will include it in a random post. If I remember! :)

As always, with Love & Laughter.
God Bless.
<3