Goodbye Papa & Gigi, Hello Shawn

Last night we said a tearful goodbye to Papa and Gigi. Calleigh and I dropped them off at the airport at about 5:30. Calleigh seemed to get that they were really leaving and she started crying which parlayed into my own tears. Boy, it sure is tough. The only good thing is that my mother already has her next trip down here lined up for March 2. Only the month of February stands in our way.

I made my second trip to the airport much later when I picked Shawn up. He was supposed to get in just after 10 but I didn't end up picking him up until about 11:30. I told him he's worth it. It was obviously a late night but he told me to wake him at no later than nine. At about 8:57, my boss called to talk about work just as Calleigh started carrying on about something. So I ran her upstairs, threw open Shawn's door to where he was sleeping and said "Here she is. Read some books or something." Some greeting, I know. Fortunately she was very satisfied with this plan and Shawn didn't mind getting roused. Later in the morning, we went to a church that was having a big rummage sale (got a few things) and then met Duncan and Shannon at Qdoba for lunch. Shawn left at about three to head up to Camp Kalaqua for the Prayer Summit. We gave him our GPS to find his way. I haven't heard from him so hopefully that means it got him there. He'll return some time on Sunday.

It's been a busy but very good week. I picked my parents up at the airport on Saturday night not without a little excitement. Duncan had gone to a movie with Shannon and Megan while I stayed home to clean house (obviously I couldn't go anyway because of Calleigh being in bed). Duncan needed to get home from the movie in time for me to leave for the airport. So I get this call from him in which he tells me "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...you won't fool me again" or something to that effect (you may recognize this as a "Bushism"). It turns out he had run out of gas on the way home which is only about the third or fourth time in the last three years or so. Clearly, I couldn't leave the house but fortunately his parents were on the way to rescue him. Elaine got dropped off here to be with Calleigh so that I could leave for the airport since Duncan might not make it back in time. Aunt Wanda joined me and we did make it in time so it all ended up okay.

On Sunday morning, the two sets of grandparents, Duncan, Calleigh, and I went to the Central Florida Zoo. The GPS got us a little lost (or was it the person that put in the address, hmmmm...) so it took slightly longer to get there than expected. We had only been there once before and I knew it was right off I-4. When we started roaming 17-92, I definitely knew something was wrong. The moral of the story is that you sometimes just need to rely on your good old brain instead of a piece of technology. Anyway, that aside, we had a wonderful time. As with Disney the next day, Calleigh seems to get the most enjoyment out of just being able to run around. She did enjoy the animals as well though and I'm sure that will continue to increase as she gets older. I was happy to see that she pet the goat since she was too afraid to do so when we were at the fair in September. We'll be returning to the zoo in the future since we got the annual pass. They have a neat water park that Calleigh will definitely want to do when the weather gets warmer (although she did sort of try it out while we were there).



Monday was Disney. The only reason I went was because it's free on your birthday. If not, I'm sorry to all you Disney lovers, but I cannot in good conscience pony up $75 to stand in 45+ minute lines with a 2-year old (almost) to go on 3-minute rides. However, my parents did do it! And I'm thankful for that. It was a huge challenge to keep up with Calleigh. She did not want to sit in her stroller (no surprise there) so she spent most of the time running, not walking, through the park literally running into numerous people as she went. Fortunately, the pregnant lady (that would be me) spent most of the time pushing the empty stroller and left the chasing Calleigh to one of the other 6 adults (Papa, Gigi, Grandma, Grandpa, Toni, Shannon). And it practically took all of them to do it. We didn't wear her out until about 4 o'clock when she finally succumbed to a 45-minute nap in the stroller. We did go on some rides - - mostly ones that had fairly short lines. She did enjoy the rides and all that but I do believe her favorite part was just running around. As she says "Calleigh running." I suppose I may be back next year - on my birthday of course - but that will probably be it because then I'll have to pay for her once she hits three. I figure she can run somewhere else that's a lot cheaper!





We left Disney at about five and went to Maggiano's for dinner. It's always quite an experience there because it's all you can eat (but in a good way, not a slimy buffet way). It's a bit like being on a cruise in that they bring you the different courses one at a time and one could say that it's a much longer meal than your average restaurant outing. Not a bad thing if you're with some adults but with a 20-month old, it can be quite tough. We all took turns taking Calleigh to run around this long hall in another part of the restaurant. Despite her restlessness, we had an enjoyable meal and it was really a great birthday. My question is, does 33 still count as being in your early 30's? I hope so!

Tuesday my mother spent the morning with Calleigh by going to story time and the playground while I stayed at home working. This pattern was repeated on Wednesday except this time she went to visit Aunt Toni at her motor home in Leesburg. The pool at the park there is heated so my mom and Calleigh went swimming - - which they both like to do a lot. They left to come back right after lunch and Aunt Toni came with them and they found out what a delightful task it is to try and keep Calleigh awake. Fortunately they were able to pull it off and I put her down when they got home (as I've said before, even if she falls asleep for like 5 minutes in the car, you can kiss nap time at home goodbye). That evening, we went to the Macaroni Grill for supper (coincidentally, I had gotten a gift card for my b-day so it worked out perfectly). David and Yully joined us so my parents were able to meet Yully for the first time.






That brings us up to yesterday. We spent the last day meeting Duncan at his office so my parents could see his nice digs. I then took them to the hospital so they could do a self tour of the new tower. I say self tour because I ended up running up to Doug's (my boss) office to do a few work things. But we joined back up at the cafe where Duncan met us for lunch. They were impressed with the spiritual aspect of the hospital and how nice people seemed to be. So yay for Florida Hospital! And oh yeah, we went into the ED to see Shannon who was working. Apparently we were in a restricted area and we got kicked out when the security guard saw my father. Did I say Shannon let us in there. Ahhh, I meant Susan. Yeah, that was it.

I think that catches us up to right now. A few other random things...

• Duncan and I have both joined the Facebook crowd. It's amazing how much better it is than MySpace (not that I was ever on there much...). We've been having fun with it. You should try it, CAMILLE.
• Speaking of Camille, she has booked a trip down here at the end of February during her spring break. I'm already trying to get an itinerary planned out.
• Speaking of coming down here, we're going to have lots of visitors over the next 6 weeks. Shawn is here now until Monday. Then Kelly comes on Thursday. When she leaves, Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Kevin come, then it's Camille and Aunt Lori and Uncle Charlie, then my mom and Megan's parent will be here some of that same time. So we have a full schedule - - which is great! The more relatives Calleigh is around, the happier I am.
• We're trying to come up with a name for the baby. Boy, it's tough. There aren't many girls names that I really care for. If you have any suggestions, let me know! I promise not to be too critical.
• Gigi brushed Calleigh's teeth each day while she was here and she (Calleigh) was a perfect angel. Why is that when I do it she has a complete fit?
• Duncan made dinner tonight - - a lovely Italian meal. And he cleaned up afterwards. Tell me ladies - - is there anything better than your man cooking for you while you sit on the couch and relax? It doesn't get much better than that.

Alrighty then. That's it for now. Glad I could catch up and I vow it won't be another week.