Buffett

And we're back. It has been quite a work related vacation from the ole blog. I have about three to four posts to bang out.

Rian and I headed to see ole Jimmy Buffett the end of February. Luckily it was not a late night at work. I was able to run to my car, change real quick, and meet Rian and the other folks down at the tailgating spot. Definitely a different experience that the other Buffett shows I have been to. Normally, I would have been down there about 4-6 hours prior to showtime and would have put down a few more beverages than I did this time.

It was a good, not great show. I think the main detraction for me was that it was not at an outside venue. There is nothing better than Buffett at an amphitheatre. The set list was solid though.

Here are a few pics from the show:

We had pretty good seats, a little far, but a straight on view.

Jimmy being Jimmy. Man what a life.

Going old school with the bic lighters. These days the young folks seem to use their cell phones during the ballads.

Ran into ole Hunter boy at the show.

Chris

Let's Party like its '19 Sine Die'

It's done, over, finished. Well, except for the Special Session for Senate Redistricting Maps. Come on Comp time!

Chris

Florida Speaker Dean Cannon and Jay-Z

Here is an exchange (click me for story and me for another story) between our local Representative Alan Williams, who is an amazingly nice and funny guy and the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. The famed rapper Jay-Z was envoked on the House floor and a pretty fuuny and amazingly unexpected exchange followed.



Chris

Brother, Two-Ways.

Here are two picks of Brother from two very different situations.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Brother:

Rian was away on a Junior League retreat, this was taken around 4 in the afternoon. Yes, Brother is still in his jammies as were his sisters and dad.Brother's war wounds. This is after an unfortunate meeting of Brother's nose and the end of a slide. Yes, that is blood everywhere, and there was more, a lot more on my shirt. Nevertheless, he was in much better spirits in this picture. He is a tough little guy.

Chris

Apparently its March, oh well, Here's the Critter's Valentine's Day

I know its March, but I figure for posterity sake I should show the Critters Valentine's Day. They had a party @ their pre-school the Monday before V-Day. I channeled my crafty-side and we made their V-Day cards to give out in their class. Oh, don't be fooled, I didn't think this up, I found it online. It was pretty easy to break-up the crayons and melt them. We printed the cards @ the local Fedex-Kinkos.

Here are a few shots of the V-Day Cards:

Here are the crayons post-oven.

After they are popped out of the mold.

The cards.

Ready for the party!

On Valentine's Day Rian and the Critters headed over to Auntie Erica's and Norah's house for breakfast. Good times and heart-shaped pancakes were had by all.

Here are some shots from Valentine's Day:

Haddie.

CarCar.

The whole crew.

Chris

Disney - January edition

As you can tell I am quite a bit behind on posting. Session has kicked my butt this year, lots of smaller bills that are taking up a lot of time.

Janie and George, the Critters, the Grandmas, Adam and Morgan, and Rian headed to Disney the weekend after I left Orlando. As I was not there I don't have too much to say about the trip, although the Critters left in a good mood which is always a victory.

We are heading back to Disney in a few weeks, this time we are having breakfast with the "Prinicessess." Let me tell you Brother is excited. We are gonna have to take him to Pirates of the Caribbean or to see Cars to decompress.

Here are a few shots from their trip:

Uncle George, Uncle Adam, CarCar, and MoMo.

Hadley taking the lead as usual.

Grandma B, Rian, MoMo, and the Critters.

This is where the "prinicessess" live.

Momma and CarCar.

Not really sure what Hadley is doing here.

Grandma B, Uncle Adam, MoMo, and the Critters on Whinny the Pooh. I boycott this ride as it took the place of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

The Critters on Dumbo.

Chris

The Central Florida Zoo

After Xmas we headed back to the Central Florida Zoo. It is a fun place for the kids but it is not really up to par with the other zoos I have been to. I am not too keen on animals in cages at zoos. The weird thing about the CFZ is that only about half of the animals are in cages and the other half roam free in enclosures. I like the enclosure idea, although I grew up going to the Miami Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington. (Stepping down from my soapbox.)

The kids had a great time, they all seem to absolutely love animals. Brother was also happy as they have a choo-choo train that goes through the woods around the zoo. That kid absolutely loves trains, according to him, he is going to be a train conductor again for Halloween this year. We'll see, although I don't think the train fever is going to calm down since we are going to see the "real" Thomas the Train in March. That will send him into an absolute fit. I can't tell you how much I hear about Thomas and the island of Sodor.

Well, back to the zoo. We started off looking at some birds until the Critters apparently noticed the reptile house. They made a beeline to it which absolutely thrilled Rian. Lets just say that she is not a fan (at all) of snakes. She stood with her back against the wall the entire time. I guess kids at their age just don't realize that they are a few centimeters of glass away from a deadly snake. They have a black mamba there and Hadley and Carson were right up, faces pressed against the window. Luckily, the snake wasn't hungry and didn't strike the glass. Off we went to see the alligator. We didn't see it at first until something started to move in the water. Then this huge alligator begins to get up on the land and crawl towards us. Well, the Critters thought that this "friendly" alligator was just coming over to say hi. Carson even wanted me to lift her up to see over the rail better. Its hilarious to me that the Critters see this deadly animal and just think that its just coming over to say hi and give them a big hug.

We were walking around after seeing the alligator and stumbled upon a new exhibit that they are building. You will never guess what it is. An OTTER Exhibit. CarCar just about had a fit. For some reason CarCar is obsessed with otters. What kid do you know that loves otters. Not really a common cuddly animal. I am not really even sure if they are friendly. Our Crittersitter Macy told CarCar that her neighborhood in St. Pete has otters and CarCar nearly stroked out. We are going to have to make sure that CarCar doesn't try to hide in Macy's luggage the next time she goes home.

After some more walking and a trip to the playground we headed over see the cheetahs and kangaroos. To be clear they were in different enclosures. I don't think the kids need a lesson on survival of the fittest just yet. Of coarse Hadley wanted to ride on my shoulders to see the cheetahs better. As usual she wanted down after a minute or two and when I was lifting her down my sunglasses went along with her. Somehow they landed perfectly on the right lens and just shattered it. Perfect, now I don't have sunglasses for the rest of my time in Orlando. Update: no worries the glass have be fixed.

After the zoo we headed to Cracker Barrel, the Critters most recent favorite restaurant. I am not sure if they like the food which is okay or the atmosphere, which is akin to a country circus.

Here are some pics of the zoo:

A Florida Panther in its cage.

The "friendly" alligator.

Grandma B with Brother and CarCar.

CarCar and the otter.

Haddie and the otter.

Brother "playing" chess.

Haddie and the ladybug.

CarCar going for a ride.

Chris