Is July really over?

Really, where did July go?  It can't really be August already, can it?

Well, we have had a pretty busy month, lots to do.  As an aside, I have been crazy busy at work, you can probably tell by the lack of blogs.  By the time I get home I am usually beat, and not really thinking about the blog.

July started off with a quick trip to the beach with Grandma B and Kate.  Thanks guys for the trip to the beach.  The Critters had a great time running and splashing in the waves, even Brother.

After that the Critters had a Curious George Summer camp, with a musical presentation at the end.  Brother loved it and the normally outgoing Haddie got a severe case of stage fright.

This blog is going to be short on words but long on pictures.  There is really no better way to tell you about our July than by showing you our July.

Our July ended with a birthday celebration for Grandma B's big 60th.

I promise to get back in the swing of things in August.  Going to dedicate time to the good ole blog.

Here are the pics:

The girls and dad at the beach.  We didn't get too many pics from the beach.

CarCar and the mermaid.

Brother, CarCar, and an Indian.

CarCar at the Curious George performance.

Brother singing.

Yes, Haddie had her back turned to the crowd the entire time.

CarCar shushing me at the zoo.  She didn't want to disturb the Big Kitty.

Trees with Knees!

Train conductor Brother at the Junior Museum.

CarCar @ Maclay Gardens.

CarCar and Brother.

I promise, she found it on the ground.

CarCar chillin'.

Brother following suit.

We found this little secret garden.

It was at the very back of Maclay and had a cool little fountain.

Brother and CarCar @ the reflecting pool.

CarCar was in heaven, the Jacksonville Zoo had giant otters.

Mama and CarCar on the carousel.

Haddie riding the manatee.

CarCar was loving the giraffe.

Brother on Osceola.  It was actually donated by a Seminole fan.

Haddie on the dolphin.

The highlight, feeding the giraffes.

CarCar was loving it!

Luna was the big giraffe and Savannah was the little one.

Brother was a little leery of their long tongues.

Brother at the splash park @ the Jville Zoo.

Sisters.

CarCar.

 The Critters and the manatee.

Chris

Disney "Test Family"

Well, Father's Day weekend we headed down to Orlando as we were a 'test family' for the newest Disney resort, Art of Animation.  The best part was that it was free including the food (more on that later).  We stayed in the Cars section of the resort.  This entire weekend was devoted to Brother as most times we go to Disney it seems to revolve around princesses.

Thursday morning before we left Brother wasn't feeling too well and threw up, but he seemed to be fine afterwards so we decided to still head down.  He seemed to be fine on the way down and the next morning.  We headed over to the resort in the morning so we could hit the pool, and what a pool it was.  It had a large center pool, with attached splash park for kids, and a playground right behind that.  The kids played in the pool for a little while and then we decided to head over to Olivia's (Old Key West Resort) for lunch.  Lunch was great as always but toward the end of lunch Brother got a little ornery.  He came over and wanted to sit on my lap, he started to cry a second later.  I then noticed that his mouth was watering and immediately knew what was about to occur.  In one fell swoop I got up and began to head for the bathroom.  Unfortunately, we were in a private room in the back of the restaurant.    I didn't make it too far, Brother then proceeded to vomit all over me.  I had vomit running down the front of my shirt the back of my shirt, pretty much everywhere.  I really couldn't help but chuckle a little.  I did have to celebrate that I made it three years without being peed on, pooped on, or vomited on.

After I got cleaned up and attempted to make a stealth exit, as much as I could with the obvious smell of vomit on me, we headed back to the resort so Brother could rest and the girls could go back to the pool.  Dinner time rolled around a Brother said he was hungry, so we headed down to the 'food court' with our vouchers.  Don't worry Brother wasn't going to eat much, pretty much crackers and water.  Well I can report that the food was terrible at this resort, hopefully they have worked out the kinks, but if not I would recommend looking elsewhere for food if you are staying at this resort.  After dinner I was walking Brother back to the room and the crying and the watering mouth started so I tried to find the neatest inconspicuous spot to vomit.  Luckily, I don't think anyone notice him.  Brother was staying in Grandma Kate's room and had another vomiting incident at about 3am.  A sheet change later we were all back asleep.

All in all we had a good weekend, but I felt bad for Brother.  This was his weekend a the Cars hotel.  We will head back down soon so he can fully enjoy the experience.  Overall, the resort was really, really cool, unfortunately the food was terrible, but I would definitely recommend it (aside from the food, can you tell I didn't like it).

Here are some pics:

The "Cars" section of the resort.

The main bedroom.

Dining table, with Murphy bed in the wall.  It was a pretty neat contraption.

Living room, with a couch/hide-a-bed.

Bathroom.

Bathroom sink.

Main bathroom.  There was a second one in the suite.

Outside of the "Cars" section of the resort.

"Finding Nemo" pool.

Splash park.

CarCar.

Crush the Turtle.

Haddie.

The Critters at the splash park.  Brother pre-vomiting.

Haddie with Dori.

'Tow Mater'

Outside of our resort.

CarCar taking the plunge.

Haddie following suit.

Haddie again.

Chris