Traveling Together - Kennedy Space Center/Ocean/Coming Home

I'll bet you thought I was never going to get to this post...

We got up pretty early, packed up our things and left Aqua Sol. Teach and her room still had another couple of days, so we stashed all of our luggage there before we took off for Kennedy Space Center. I had been there before with my sweetie, but the kids hadn't, so all 20 of us were on our way. Our car got there first, and we didn't hesitate getting busy with the sightseeing.

We started in the Hall of Heroes.

Sport and Curly took off on their own to do the bus tour. Then Baby Doll and Scout needed pink drinks at Starbucks, so we waited in line, pretty much until the rest of our group caught up with us. 

We watched a cute program with the Fraggle Rock puppets, then we decided we wanted to do the bus tour too.

Conveniently, Twizzler was in his wheelchair stroller so we got to move to the front of the line everywhere we went. 

 

We eventually even caught up to Sport and Curly at one of the stops. Since the kids were hungry, we picked up some food at the little cafe. 

Then we stopped at another presentation. There was so much to see and so much to do!!

Finally, it was time to go. The kids really wanted to see the ocean and play on the beach before we flew home the following day. Unfortunately, finding a public spot was not that easy. When we discovered the route to the national shoreline, it was closing for the evening. 

So we stopped at a little inlet that was almost like playing in Lake Michigan except there were stones as well as shells. We walked in the water and gathered some pretty shells on the beach. 

Bossy's family joined us there. It wasn't long before the 6 of us were hungry. Bossy had already bought her kids some convenience store food and they were heading for the hotel. I wanted to eat seafood while we were on the coast. I looked in my phone for a good place and I found one. 

Unfortunately, it was connected to a bar/cigar shop. Some of the kids were too young to be in there, but business was slow and they were pretty excited to serve us all food. 

The kids played pool while we waited. I was the only one adventurous at all, but they got full tummies and we piled back in the car. After we picked up our luggage, we drove to our new hotel for one night. It was nice, but all we did was sleep until we checked out and headed for the airport. 

There's no place like home.

Guest Blog: Working at Walmart for Ten Years by the Dog Walker

Mom has asked me to blog for her today, just because she's been really busy with her Girl Scout campout. I'm sure she'll be able to tell you about that. There's just one thing that happened with me this week. You know that I have been working at Walmart for ten years now. It was not really my permanent job to begin with, but the co-workers and the managers have been supportive of me for all the hard work I put into the tasks I've been assigned. For a few years in a row now, I have been dressing up in different Halloween costumes to give customers inspiration of what they want to be for Halloween and to get them excited for the holiday.

Anyway, the other day, when I clocked in, the store manager asked me to stay in the break room for a few minutes. He wanted to give me this ten-year- certificate and pin for working ten years at their store. I wasn't the only one with this sort of achievement, of course. There were some other associates who have worked at the same Walmart store for at least the ten years than I have. As a way for us to celebrate, the store manager brought in a cake so everyone could have a slice. Receiving this kind of achievement was kind of like receiving a graduation diploma. 

I still want to be a paraeducator/teacher's assistant for the special needs kids. Even though I received my bachelor's degree in that career, it's not easy for me to find the right school with the special needs program that would also have good financial benefits. I guess so far, this is the best it can be. If Dad were alive, he would think this was amazing and that I got a 10-year award just like him when he worked as an engineer. 

I miss you, Dad, and I know you would have been proud of me for this awesome achievement. These should definitely go in my scrapbook.

Wordless Wednesday - Teach's Little Cuties

 

Guest Blog: Traveling Together: Walt Disney World by the Dog Walker

This has been a very fantastic day for me and Drama Queen. That's right. While on the Orlando trip, Drama Queen and I went to Walt Disney World. I've been longing to see what it was like. It was always crowded with lots of people who come to enjoy the magic of Disney. Even though theme parks are meant to enjoy rides, despite long lines, I did something totally different that I think almost every Disney fan should ever do.

I wanted to do a meet-n'-greet of Disney characters that were available at the park. Before Drama Queen and I started our day, we went in the gift shop to buy some things, like sunscreen, and I bought a pen and an autograph book to receive signatures from the characters. 

I dressed up in Tigger style and Tigger played with the ears on my hat.

When meeting the characters, I decided to make voice impressions with them like Brian Hull does. A lot of them seemed surprised with my way of communicating and even saying some Disney motivations. For example, while Drama Queen and I were having lunch at a little buffet where Winnie the Pooh characters were greeting, I said something to Eeyore that should've been added to that movie, Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin. With those memorable pieces of advice implying to only Piglet (You're braver than you believe), Tigger (you're stronger than you seem), and Rabbit (you're smarter than you think), I said this one to Eeyore. "You're loved more than you know." That totally warmed Eeyore and the character gave me a hug for that.

I pretty much met eleven characters at the park and got their autographs, but there were those times that Drama Queen and I rode on a few rides. Walt Disney World, Florida sure had a lot of similar rides to Disneyland, California, like It's a Small World and the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. 

After a few times exploring and resting from the hot sun, and a bit of humid rain, Drama Queen and I had fun meeting the characters and riding some of the rides. As a treat, I bought each of us a Dole Whip Pineapple Float, an ice cream that Mom and Dad showed us at Disneyland and it was delicious. 

Walt Disney World was fun, but I think I prefer Disneyland, not only because it's a bit closer to Utah for a one-whole-day drive, but because I'm just more used to desert hot than humid hot. Maybe some day, if I can save enough money for another year of a one-week vacation, I could invite Drama Queen and maybe even Teach and her family for a Disneyland trip. And maybe even save enough money for fast passes so we won't have to wait in very long lines for the most popular rides.

Enjoy the pictures. And the little video of me doing impressions and motivational speeches.