planet mancuso

Let Summer Begin!

2009-06-26T19:19:00.004-05:00

More Graduations!

2009-06-22T16:28:00.007-05:00

Leah finished up her middle school career last week! Poppy & Gheghe came down for the weekend and then we all attended Leah's graduation ceremony on Monday. Along with a middle school diploma, she received the Citizenship Award, won the Patriotic Essay writing contest (second year in a row!), received the President's Education Outstanding Academic Achievement Award and the Bronze Scholarship Award. Jack received the National Physical Fitness award (and was nominated for the Robert A Gibbs Athletic Award) along with several academic mentions in individual subjects. His art work placed second in the county-wide Yom Hasoah Day of Remembrance Art Contest. So, we are pretty proud of these two! They will both be attending new schools next year, and we know they are going to kick butt! Way to go, Leah & Jack!

Another Mancuso is released into the wild.

2009-06-20T19:25:00.006-05:00

We were honored to attend the 2009 Lake Mary High Commencement Ceremony and watch our nephew, Austin, graduate. We really had to be there, otherwise we might not have believed it (just kidding, Austin)! It was a great show, what with all the fireworks and balloons and hats and diplomas being thrown around. We then had a celebration dinner at Buca di Beppo. Congratulations, Austin!

Cruising through May...

2009-06-20T12:09:00.006-05:00

Cruising through May... Leah bakes (and decorates) a cake... John & Will play, Will has his "cast" signed...

Reed & Race visit!

2009-06-20T07:46:00.003-05:00

And the Beat Goes On...

2009-06-17T21:56:00.003-05:00

Jack's accident slowed us down a little... but we still managed to get some things accomplished! We celebrated Gheghe's birthday (she decided to extend her visit when Jack got hurt, and we are so glad she did!) and visited with Sean, Lisha, Reed and Race who drove down from NY.

We also attended Will's Art Show at his preschool:

Mother's Day.

2009-06-17T20:32:00.007-05:00

For Jack's birthday we gave him a brand-new trampoline, something he has been asking for since Christmas. Santa did not come through, so we had to pick up his slack. Jack has gotten very good on the trampoline, spending a lot of hours at his cousin Andrew's, practicing jumps and flips and whatever. So he was very pleased to unwrap his present, and he and Andrew spent much of Saturday morning helping John and Poppy put it together. Enjoy this montage of photos, which shows the weekend in a nutshell:

Crazy May.

2009-06-17T20:08:00.004-05:00

So May started out pretty good. I finished up my tennis season, the kids took their standardized testing (both scoring post-high school levels, thank you very much), school shows, painted the family room... all that stuff. Then, on May 8th, we woke up to find yet another teenager living in our house. Jack is 13!

Really?

2009-06-17T19:51:00.004-05:00

April 28? Our last post? The person responsible for this is definitely NOT getting a bonus this year! So, how about we take a little walk through the past two and a half months... hitting the highlights (and some lowlights), and I promise to be a better blogger in the future? And we will never speak of this infraction ever again? ;)

April.... we decided to get back into the boating thing. After much back and forth, we decided to go with a 15 ft center console Boston Whaler. It fits in the garage (no paying for storage - nice!) and we are SO happy to be back on the water! Will is really digging it, too.

Will's thoughts on our trip.

2009-04-28T19:01:00.003-05:00

(as reported by one of his teachers):

Will, where did you go after you left Greece?
"Turkey. NOT THE FOOD! The country!"

Will, what was Spain like?
"Like a hotel room with lots of suitcases."

Malta.

2009-04-09T07:27:00.003-05:00

Possibly one of the most beautiful, interesting places I have ever been! Hope to see it again someday.

Egypt.

2009-04-09T07:22:00.002-05:00

Unbelievable sights! No camel rides - one euro to get on one, forty if you want to get off (they tell you this once you are up there). Crazy stuff. Saw the Pyramids, rode on the Nile, visted the Citadel of Saladin.

Greece & Turkey

2009-04-07T06:44:00.004-05:00

THURSDAY, APRIL 2

When we awoke Thursday morning, our ship was anchored off the beautiful coast of Greece. Our original itinerary had us scheduled to port in Piraeus, with a tour of Athens. Due to an unexpected transportation strike in the city of Athens (which would essentially shut down the port and all roads leading to the city), our captain opted instead to port in the city of Nafplion, on the Peloponnesus peninsula. Although we had been looking forward to seeing the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and other sites in Athens, Nafplion was a beautiful place to go ashore. The landscape when we walked out on deck that morning was breathtaking. It was like being in a painting. To go ashore in this port we had to tender across from the ship to the pier. From there we met our tour guide/group/bus. Our first stop was a quick look at the four-mile long Canal of Corinth, which cuts across the Isthmus of Corinth. Its sheer rock walls rise 285 feet above the water on both sides. We stood on a little pedestrian bridge over the canal - I managed to stay on for about .5 seconds before I had to get off. Heights and I just don’t get along. From here it was a short drive to ancient Corinth, where we explored the ancient ruins. Most impressive was the Temple of Apollo, located on a hilltop and backdropped by beautiful mountains. After leaving the ruins, we visited a local restaurant for lunch. We were served traditional Greek dishes, including moussaka, greek salad, and a veal/pasta dish (don’t remember the name), and an orange for dessert. It was all very tasty! Tummies full, we headed to Mycenae and more ancient ruins. This site is located on the top of a hill and offered some spectacular views of the Greek countryside and olive tree orchards. The entrance to site is called Lion’s Gate, which is Europe’s oldest monumental sculpture. We hiked to the top of the site, and back down the other side. On the back side of the hill (by the way, I say hill, but it was UP there!) there was an entrance to what appeared to be a tunnel. Believing that this was just a pass-through to the other side, we followed a bunch of teenagers in. We walked down steps carved into the rock, and as we got further in, it became darker, wetter, and colder. A few minutes later it was completely pitch black. The stairs kept going down further, and it became clear to me that this was not going to lead anywhere good anytime soon. The steps soon became less defined and more slippery. Also, did I mention there were absolutely no handrails? If the kids in front of us did not have their cell phones on, it would have been complete darkness. To top it off, the goofball guy behind me kept putting his hands on my shoulders to support himself. Hello? Idiot? Suddenly things came to a standstill when the teenagers (non-English speaking) became unwilling to go any further, and turned around to walk back up. I can’t say I blame them, but it made for quite a traffic jam. After the people behind us were finally convinced that there was nothing to see and they should turn around and go back, we made our way out of the cavern. The goofball idiot guy was standing outside bleeding, he had hit his head on a rock in the dark, I guess. Anyway, we all made it out OK and headed back down the path to our waiting bus, 15 minutes late. We do love an adventure. We then made a quick stop at the largest of the region’s beehive tombs, the Treasury of Atreus, also called Agamemnon’s Tomb. From there it was back to the ship, which left the port about an hour or so late. I am sure it wasn’t totally our fault.
We settled in for a late dinner and the kids and I went to a show in the Stardust Theater, Showdown - an American Idol inspired show with singing and dancing - it was a lot of fun. It is a short overnight ride to our next stop - Izmir, Turkey.

FRIDAY, APRIL 3

Izmir is Turkey’s third largest city, and is thought to be the birthplace of the poet Homer. We decided to tour the ancient city of Ephesus, which was first settled in 1100 BC. The ruins of this city are extensive and well-preserved. The city was originally built as a place of worship to the Greek goddess Artemis - the Temple of Artemis was built here in 550 BC and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, although not much remains today. By the way, anyone know what American company’s name and logo is based on the goddess Artemis? The city changed hands many times over the centuries, and was completed abandoned with the advent of the Ottoman Empire. The ruins were discovered in 1869. The Apostle Paul spent three years in Ephesus urging locals to put aside their idols of Artemis (which sort of annoyed the silversmiths selling Artemis idols, leading to Paul’s incarceration), and legend has it that the Virgin Mary was brought here in 38 AD where she retired and died a few years later. We walked through the ancient city, exploring the Great Theatre, the Temple of Hadrian, the Gate of Hercules, the public toilets, Baths of Scholastica, and the Library of Celsus (beautiful architecture that has survived since it was built in the early second century). Outside the city walls, we stepped back into modern Turkey - rows of shops selling scarves, pottery, fabrics, jewelry, and ancient coins, along with lots of other goods. The shopkeepers were somewhat relentless with their sales pitch, and although I am good at ignoring them, Jack was not - a particularly aggressive “ancient coin” peddler managed to get him to hold a coin, and would not take it back. Jack politely told him, “no thank you” roughly 25 times, but at his point, the man had put both hands behind his back so Jack couldn’t hand it back. Luckily, Jack’s dad doesn’t go for that stuff, so the man ended up taking it back. Note to all: don’t be polite.
We went into a restaurant for a quick, authentic Turkish snack, and settled on pide, It was quite tasty - a large. thin flatbread filled with meat and cheese, and spinach if you want, served hot. I suppose it could be compared to a burrito, but it was a little more unique tasting. Good, though! From there, we toured an authentic Turkish carpet factory. They showed us how they spin the silk and weave the carpets. They served us apple tea, a popular drink in Turkey, and rolled out about 30 beautiful carpets for us to enjoy. And also for us to buy. I collect spoons and bottle openers, not Turkish carpets, so we snuck out of there (after stopping to buy a bottle opener, of course) and headed back to the ship. Lingering jet lag and two back to back ports of call had taken their toll, so we took a short nap before the encore performance of Showdown, getting a late dinner, and settling in for the night. We have been asked to set our clocks back one hour tonight, so we gain an hour for our day at sea!

Smooth sailing!

2009-04-04T04:21:00.002-05:00

Hello from the Aegean Sea! We have left Nafplion, Greece and Izmir, Turkey and are headed for Alexandria, Egypt. We should reach Alexandria early Sunday morning (we are about six hours ahead of EST), and then we drive onto Cairo and Giza. We are having a fantastic time and seeing unbelievable sights. My only wish is that you were all here with us! That, and faster, cheaper internet service! My posts will probably be short and sweet - I will have to give you more detailed descriptions and photos of our trip when we return. Hope all is well!

Roma!

2009-04-01T14:12:00.005-05:00

MONDAY, MARCH 30th

Rough night. We are all on a sort of strange sleep schedule where we fall asleep at a normal time, but are wide awake for hours at around 2:00am. No different last night. The ship was really rolling through the night - it didn’t make anyone seasick, but you could certainly feel it! John, Will and I made it down to the breakfast buffet by 10:00am, where we sat outside on the deck. (Hello, cold!) We are definitely out at sea - no sight of any land in any direction. After breakfast we wandered a bit before heading back up to the cabin. Leah & Jack slept until around 1:00 pm, which I am hoping is not a mistake. Will that mess up their sleep even more, or are they just making up for lost zzzs? We’ll see. We all bundled up and walked up to lunch, followed by Jack & John playing basketball on the ship’s court. The weather warmed up quite a bit since breakfast, and the sun was out as well. It was a beautiful day at sea. Several brave souls even swam in the pool, although I personally cannot imagine how that could have been fun. After a little napping, internet-cafeing, and generally taking it easy, we got ready for dinner. Tonight was “formal night,” although with Norwegian’s “freestyle” cruising, you don’t have to dress up. We did not pack any really fancy clothes, but we did make an effort to look a little nice. After dinner we walked out on deck (Hello again, cold!), and watched the amazing landscape as the ship passed between the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. We are now just off the coast of Italy and are due to arrive in Civitavecchia by sunrise. We finished up the evening in a little pub listening to a fantastic musician play the acoustic guitar and sing Beatles tunes.

TUESDAY, MARCH 31

When we awoke this morning, the ship had already docked in Civitavecchia, Italy and was cleared for disembarkation by 7:00 am. We had a light breakfast in our cabin and headed out to meet our tour. For our day in Rome, we chose to take a tour bus into the city - the bus dropped us off at the Vatican and we were free to roam on our own for about five hours. Our first sight was the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. Very beautiful. Although, between you and me, I’m getting a little bug-eyed with the domes in Europe... this one looked a lot like St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, but what do I know? We walked through St. Peter’s Square, past the Castel San’t Angelo (site of Emperor Hadrian’s tomb), and over the Tiber River. We wandered through the beautiful narrow alleyways and cobblestone streets to Piazza Navona, stopping at a little outdoor cafe for a taste of some real Italian pizza. After lunch we headed towards the Pantheon, the only ancient Roman temple to survive the millennia virtually intact. The dome of the Pantheon is 142 ft wide, as well as high. It is the widest masonry dome in Europe - it is also open, so when it rains or snows, it pours right in (as does the sun!). The artist from the Renaissance, Raphael, is buried here. After exploring the Pantheon, we headed toward the Trevi Fountain. This fountain is grafted onto the palazzo (the building kind of morphs into the rocks), and is the end of the Acqua Vergine aqueduct, built by Agrippa in 19 BC. Tradition holds that if you throw coins into the fountain, you ensure your return to Rome. We only had one coin, so we gave Jack the honor of the toss - stand with your back to the fountain, toss with your right arm over your left shoulder - and he came through. We are hoping that since the coin was worth five euros (ouch), we can all come back. We kept walking until we found the famous Spanish Steps. We sat for a bit on the steps, along with hordes of French teenagers smoking cigarettes. John and Jack helped themselves to a drink from the fountain at Piazza di Spagna, and we were on our way back to the Vatican. During our walk, we ran into the Largo di Torre Argentina, ancient Roman ruins discovered in the 1920s. Here stood four temples, along with the Theater of Pompey - the exact spot where Caesar was killed in 44 BC. We made our way back across the Tiber and decided to check out the Sistine Chapel. The entrance to the Vatican Museum (and the chapel) is about 4,000 miles away from St. Peter’s Square. I am kidding, of course, but it is a crazy long walk, and by the time we got there, they were closing the Chapel and it was almost time to meet our group for the ride back to port. We did find time to indulge in a little gelato (when in Rome and all), and then we made our way back to the ship. We had a fantastic five hours in Roma... can’t wait to come back someday and see it all!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1

I believe we all slept through the night last night! We lost another hour - we are crossing another time line and had to set our clocks forward again. We had a relaxing day at sea again today - the highlight of the day was mid morning when our ship passed through the Straights of Messina, a narrow waterway between the island of Sicily and Calabria, on the mainland of Italy. After we passed through, we headed out to sea towards the country of Greece.

On our way again!

2009-03-30T09:12:00.004-05:00

FRIDAY, MARCH 27th
I have never been this ready for a trip! Suitcases were ready to go last night - I have been packing for about a week, so you would think this would not be a miraculous feat, but it is. Jim came by around 9:00 am, and shortly thereafter we were on our way to Orlando International Airport. I checked in online yesterday and printed out our boarding passes. I was also given the option to check our bags online, which I also did. But why? We still had to wait on line with all our bags and do it all again. So I am not sure what I gained from doing it online. We were given one of the first “zones” to board the plane, so maybe that’s it. The flight to NY’s JFK was uneventful. The people sitting behind us were also headed to the Norwegian Jade. Two sisters and a couple of teenage boys. Since we had three hours to wait for our connection for Barcelona, we hit the airport Chili’s. Really, really bad stuff. Finally we boarded Flight 94 to Barcelona. A seven hour flight, and no personal video! Delta! WTH? We had the personal video on both of our transatlantic flights a year ago. Granted they did not work properly most of the time, but you know. They did show two movies, The Secret Life Of Bees and The Express. I didn’t really watch either. The flight was pretty pleasant. We landed a full 50 minutes early, which was nice, although the wait for our bags made up for it. John decided to pull some euros from the ATM - he walked out of the baggage area, and was not allowed to return without his boarding pass, which I was holding for safekeeping, or, maybe I had thrown it away at his point. So it was the kids and I vs. the baggage claim. After about ten minutes of waiting, the woman next to us muttered, “I am becoming INTERNALLY UPSET!” Leah turned to me and said, “What does that even MEAN?” Seriously. We grabbed all five bags and headed outside for the Aerobus.

SATURDAY, MARCH 28th
Oh, yeah... it is actually Saturday. Spain is five hours ahead of EST, so when we landed in Barcelona, it was about 6:00 am. Our body clocks? 1:00 am. None of us really slept on the plane, so I know things are going to go downhill here soon. When we flew over to London last year, we landed at Heathrow at 6:00 am their time, and could not check in to our hotel until 3:00 pm. We walked around the city having not slept for roughly 24 plus hours. I was prepared for that scenario this time as well. We boarded the Aerobus, which was both pretty much empty and waiting, two things I really look for in a bus. We disembarked at our stop, Placa d’Espanya, and hoofed it approximately five minutes to our hotel, Hotel Fira Palace Barcelona. Imagine our surprise and relief when we were given the keys to our rooms - ready at 8:00 am! We took a little nap, then got up around noon to do some exploring.

The weather in Barcelona was a little disappointing, and not the greatest for walking the city. But we braved the gray chilly drizzle, hit the streets, and had a great time. We strolled down La Rambla, a wide, tree-lined, pedestrian street featuring street performers, open air markets and tapas cafes, flower stalls and even kiosks selling birds and roosters (and of course the obligatory Starbucks). We walked the boulevard down to the Monument a Colum, a huge statue of Christopher Columbus pointing out to sea. We circled back up La Rambla, stopping for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (insert groans here). Not the first choice of the grown-ups, but being day one of a sixteen day trip, a necessary one designed to keep the young folk on our side. We then wandered into a shop called Desegual... oh wow. Maybe the coolest, funkiest clothing store EVER! Then it was back to our hotel to make up some more sleep. As luck would have it, Europe begins Daylight Savings Time tonight... so we will lose another hour of sleep! Before bed, we snuck on the internet to find that we have a new baby in the family... Sean and Lisha’s son Race has arrived!

SUNDAY, MARCH 29th

Not the best night’s sleep, but sleep nonetheless. We ate breakfast at the hotel’s buffet and caught a cab to the Port of Barcelona. We arrived at the Norwegian Jade around noon, got all checked in, and were among the first to board the ship. As we entered the gangway, we were greeted by a crew member with a smile and a spray of hand sanitizer. OK, I like it. Come to realize, these people are quite obsessed with the Purell. There is a Purell dispenser around every corner, in every elevator, next to every buffet line. I understand the risk of germ-spreading is pretty high on a cruise ship, but I am telling you that by the time we are done with this trip, we will probably have been sprayed with Purell 4,000+ times.

We made reservations for dinner in the Teppanaki restaurant, and set out to explore what will be our home for the next 12 days. There are 13 restaurants, tennis/basketball courts, pools, hot tubs and waterslides, a library, lots of clubs, and many things we haven’t even discovered yet. We did the mandatory muster drill before heading to dinner, where we coincidentally sat with the family from our plane. After dinner we hit the sundae bar, and watched the sun set over Barcelona as we headed out into the Mediterranean Sea.

Cousins. Beach.

2009-03-12T10:22:00.006-05:00

Our beautiful and fun niece Jessie is visiting this week, so we felt we needed to do some real "Florida" things! Yesterday Karen & I took the kids over to Daytona Beach, where Spring Break appears to be in full swing. Ashley, Austin, and Jess decided to do some parasailing, and had a great time doing it. They earned free t-shirts by going up to the highest possible height - 2000 feet. The rest of us enjoyed that from the ground.

I would like to take this opportunity...

2009-03-04T11:29:00.002-05:00

... to apologize to humankind for this. I have no explanation.

A few more...

2009-03-01T15:07:00.006-05:00

The big kids had fun roaming around the ship on their own - they managed to find lots of fun things to do, such as karaoke, eating many pounds of ice cream, and getting kicked out of the 11-14 year old kids club (the people running it did not believe they were all 14 and under - much to the kids' delight!) They also had a lot of fun posing for the many, many professional photographers on board.

And that's it.

2009-03-01T08:27:00.003-05:00

After exploring Tulum and doing some more shopping, we got back on the bus, caught the ferry, and made our way back to the ship. Next day was our last full day at sea as we headed back to the Port of Tampa. I have always resisted cruising, never thought it would be something I'd enjoy - but we had a great time for sure! Which is a good thing, since we leave on our next cruise (a 12 day Mediterranean) at the end of this month!

To Tulum and the Mayan Riviera.

2009-02-28T09:15:00.006-05:00

After our stop at the local Mayan market, we continued on our way to Tulum. This ancient walled city is located on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. We learned so much about the ancient Mayan people and their culture - even a little more than necessary, quite honestly! It was really neat to walk among these ruins that have been dated back to AD 564. It is truly a beautiful sight to stand next to these ancient temples and look out over the crystal clear water.

Next...

2009-02-26T11:04:00.005-05:00

The next day started a little later - we got off the ship in Cozumel, Mexico around 10:45am and got right on a waiting ferry. The ferry zipped us across to Playa del Carmen on the mainland, where we boarded a coach for the ride down the Yucatan Penninsula coast to a city called Tulum. We stopped about halfway to do a little shopping at a Mexican market:

If that was Hell...

2009-02-23T09:23:00.004-05:00

... then this must be Heaven! After taking a 25 minute boat ride across the crystal clear water of the Caribbean Sea, we arrived at the Stingray City Sandbar. Here you can swim freely in waist deep water teeming with Southern Stingrays. We were able to pet them, hold them, and feed them. And get rammed into by them, which is a bit unsettling. But it was a really great experience, and the water off the coast of Grand Cayman is truly the most beautiful I have seen.

To Hell and back.

2009-02-22T20:04:00.005-05:00

After filling up on rum cake samples, our tour guide told us we were going to Hell. I knew we should have only taken one piece. But seriously, folks... Hell is a little town in Grand Cayman that is quite popular with tourists. It's main attraction is a fairly unattractive expanse of black, jagged limestone and rock formations. We took some pictures, mailed a postcard, and went on our way.

Snack break!

2009-02-22T10:04:00.005-05:00

After we left the Turtle Farm, we made a quick stop at the Tortuga Rum Co. to sample some of their many types of rum cake.

Not too shabby.

Tortugas!

2009-02-22T09:46:00.003-05:00

First stop on the island tour was the Cayman Turtle Farm. We got to hold a few of the smaller turtles and watch the bigger ones - some of which are over 100 years old.

First stop.

2009-02-22T08:32:00.003-05:00

The ship arrived off Grand Cayman Island early Monday morning. We disembarked around 8:15am and boarded a tender that zipped us to shore at Georgetown. From there the 11 of us found our private tour guide and car and started out to explore the island.

We clean up pretty good.

2009-02-21T19:32:00.004-05:00

We followed our "Day at Sea" with a "Night of Elegance." We dressed up for dinner and then headed out to the karaoke bar. We turned in a bit early tonight, since the ship planned to port early the next morning.

Sunday at Sea.

2009-02-21T19:01:00.002-05:00

Our first day was spent at sea. All day on the ship, hanging by the pool, getting to know our way around. Frequenting the self-serve, all you can eat ice cream fountain. Playing on the water slides, hitting the all-day buffet.

T'was a Bon Voyage.

2009-02-21T14:08:00.005-05:00

We have returned safe and sound from our first cruise experience! We traveled with friends on board the Carnival Inspiration - a five day cruise out of Tampa with stops in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico. It was a fantastic time! I had hoped to keep up with the blog during the trip - but I have just one thing to say about that: 75 cents a minute. If you know what I am sayin'.

Here are a few shots taken right after we embarked the ship and left the Port of Tampa. I am still going through mountains of photos, so I will be updating as I get them done!

Gratuitous Will at the playground shots!

2009-01-25T17:56:00.005-05:00

Couldn't resist posting multiple photos of His Cuteness!

We heart coffee!

2009-01-18T08:53:00.003-05:00

John has been studying the art of espresso - yes, it IS an art, google it! Here is the cappucino he brought me this morning...

Ringing in 2009!

2009-01-01T12:56:00.006-05:00

We hosted a little New Year's Eve get-together at our house last night, welcoming in 2009 with great friends, food, and fun. And the Jonas Brothers. And Kellie Pickler. (why, WHY??) And, Evel Robbie Knievel. (again with the WHY?)

May the new year bring you much peace, love, and joy!

Christmas Evening.

2008-12-26T17:23:00.007-05:00

On Christmas Eve we headed over to Jim & Karen's for their Annual Christmas Eve Singing, Dancing & Eating Extravaganza. The kids handled all aspects of production this year, including the old stand-by of the Frosty the Snowman skit, and some new additions... Leah & Ashley dancing to "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and the Mullen family performing "Mele Kalikimaka," accompanied by a ukelele. Austin had an interesting turn as the evening's narrator, "John Malkovich," and Ashley introduced the crowd to some sort of "find-your-match-without speaking" game, which proved to be a lot of fun. And of course, it would not be the Annual Christmas Eve Singing, Dancing & Eating Extravaganza without the singing and dancing! After finishing the evening with the living nativity parade, everyone left for home to prepare for Santa's arrival.

Two more days!

2008-12-22T18:28:00.001-05:00

Slow down and enjoy!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

2008-12-14T08:48:00.009-05:00

Yesterday Holly, Ethan & Donovan came over to see if the rumors were true - and they were! Santa & Mrs. Claus came roaring down our street in his sleigh, pulled by eight tiny reindeer... or, in a firetruck, led by several police cars with sirens blaring. Santa is not real discreet these days. Anyway, the boys had fun playing and waiting, and waving, and catching footballs and candy that Santa's elves threw to them.

Home again.

2008-11-29T17:15:00.006-05:00

We have arrived safe and sound at home after another great adventure!
mancuso family, new orleans, 2008

Bring on Christmas!

A Walk in the Park.

2008-11-27T22:36:00.008-05:00

We spent our last day in New Orleans exploring Audubon Park, a pretty city park located right next to the Tulane campus. We walked the trails and played on the playground for a bit before it started to rain. We then actually found an open Starbucks and celebrated the holiday season kickoff with a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Latte, followed by an (un)traditional Thanksgiving dinner in the motorhome! Hope everyone had a great day!

Motley Krewe.

2008-11-27T09:51:00.010-05:00

Wednesday we decided to cross the Mississippi and check out the city of Algiers. We ate lunch at the Dry Dock Cafe before making our way to Mardi Gras World - basically a huge warehouse where the amazing floats and props are kept during the year. It was an interesting tour. After Mardi Gras, all the floats are brought back here and painted a stark white. Then the artists spend the next year re-painting everything in accordance with the next year's theme. Before exploring the grounds, we were treated to some King Cake and were able to try on some of the costumes and masks used in the parades. It was a lot of fun and cool to see the artists working on the floats!
After spending some time rolling down the levees, we made our way back to the homestead.

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Again!

2008-11-26T22:19:00.006-05:00

After a pancake breakfast in our abode, we wandered down to the French Quarter. We made our long-anticipated stop at Cafe du Monde for some coffee and beignets, explored the shops along Decatur Street, watched the ships make their way down the Ole Miss, and enjoyed listening to some street musicians in Jackson Square. After a fantastic bowl of gumbo, we headed for home for more board games and movies!

Due west.

2008-11-26T08:44:00.002-05:00

Monday we cruised out of Destin and drove about five hours to New Orleans. We hooked up our home, found a diner, and then settled in for a fun evening of family board games!

2008-11-24T08:43:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Destin. Blue skies, sun shined all day, and the temps got into the mid-60's. Someone please tell me where in the world the weather is like this all the time and I am moving there. We hit the trails at our campground, spending some time at the playground and then finding ourselves on the beautiful shores of the Gulf of Mexico. The sand here is so unbelievable - sugary soft white, does not stick to you. It is great for kicking off your shoes, wrestling with your little brother, etc.

Later we ate lunch at a fun place called Fudpuckers, and then did a little shopping at an outlet mall that coincidentally was having their tree-lighting ceremony. We celebrated that little bit of Christmas cheer with (what else?) some gelato. This morning we are heading out to Louisiana. I hope to post more later - internet service has been a little sporadic! Hope everyone is having a great week!

The Cold One.

2008-11-22T20:45:00.003-05:00

We woke up this morning to 37 degrees, people! Yes, I know it is colder where you are, but we are camping in Florida! John and Will did venture out for a walk around the campground, but Will was very happy to get back inside where it was warm. We cooked up a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, English muffins and coffee before heading out to find a movie theater. Leah, Jack and I saw Twilight while John and Will did a little shopping - including a little train ride and a trip to Build-A-Bear. After we met up we found a little pizzeria and then headed back for a cozy night in the motorhome. We hope to do some more outdoorsy-type activities tomorrow, then again we are also hoping the temps will break out of the 50's!

Timelines, S'mores, and Kung-Fu.

2008-11-22T08:33:00.001-05:00

We arrived at our first destination, Topsail Hill in Santa Rosa Beach, just after dark. This was not our intention, and I am not sure exactly how it happened. Dark at 5:15pm? What's up with that? We have crossed over the timeline into central zone, which puts us an hour behind, but even that didn't help our cause. Being our first time backing in the motorhome and hooking in the various tubes, cables and pipes, we were hoping for some daylight to guide us. But, alas, we are survivalists. We are camping, after all, getting back to nature! We are rugged individualists! We bravely found our way to our campsite, hooked everything up without incident - now we are settled in with our wifi internet, satellite tv, and central heat. We put Kung-Fu Panda on the tv and even indulged in the obligatory s'mores... made in the microwave. Ah, nature!

Ready for the next adventure!

2008-11-20T10:37:00.003-05:00

We're hitting the road tomorrow - in style! We are borrowing a friends' motorhome and making the trip up to New Orleans, Louisiana, with a stop in Destin, Florida. We are also going to check out Biloxi, Mississippi. This baby has on-the-go wifi internet and satellite, so we expect to do plenty of blogging from the road!

This may make a return to our regular mini-van road trips a little difficult. ;)

Bad pictures from a good weekend.

2008-11-15T21:00:00.004-05:00

The kids and I have been staying busy while John has been gone on his trip, working on science fair projects, guitar lessons, birthday parties, football games, sleepovers, and theater groups. Today was the last day for both Jack's football season and Leah's theater class. Here are a few shots from the day. I have a lot of catching up to do, blogging-wise...

2008-11-01T07:20:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! Will had a great time trick-or-treating this year. Jack and Leah appear to be done with it.

Shape Monster, Shape Monster!

2008-10-04T08:41:00.009-05:00

Will's class put on their first presentation on Thursday, performing the ever-popular Shape Monster puppet show. The kids prepared for the show by constructing their own shape guy, having to match their skin, eye, and hair colors. They then sang the Shape Monster song for all the parents. Will did a great job, singing every verse of the song with gusto! This may seem to be your typical, run-of-the-mill preschool thing to do, but for us, it is quite monumental to see how far he has come.

Since Ethan is off galavanting in California, the class displayed his shape guy during the show, so he was there in spirit (and construction paper)!

Social climber.

2008-09-27T13:54:00.003-05:00

John and I accompanied Leah and her classmates on an 8th grade field trip to our local rock-climbing facility. Leah did really well, making it up the straight wall higher than anyone else. Her arms are pretty sore today, but she is looking forward to going back for more!

Last Day of Summer.

2008-09-22T10:04:00.007-05:00

Karen and I decided to spend the last sunny summer afternoon with the kids at the beach. We all had a great time enjoying the beauty and serenity of the Cape Canaveral National Seashore. More photos here.

The Unbearable Weirdness of Being Jack.

2008-09-15T20:30:00.002-05:00

The Beckoning of Lovely.

2008-09-13T14:21:00.003-05:00

I ran across this on another blog I visit, and wanted to share. It was done by the author of An Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (one of my favorite books), Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

Embedded Video

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Eating while cute.

2008-09-09T19:54:00.003-05:00

Guilty!

After school today, Will got in the car and said, "I want to wear Woody clothes and eat a bagel."

Done.

For anyone planning a Florida trip in the near future.

2008-09-02T13:39:00.002-05:00

You may want to bring a poncho.

Disney Diversion.

2008-08-24T17:50:00.007-05:00

We spent the weekend at dear ol' Disney - staying at Port Orleans and hitting Hollywood Studios (MGM), Magic Kingdom, and Epcot, along with Downtown Disney and the House of Blues. The crowds seemed to be scared away by T.S. Fay, which was fine with us. We did have a few downpours, but nothing a rain poncho couldn't help (unless you are a teenager who happens to believe ponchos are uncool... but enough on that.)

It was a great time. It was our first time at Disney where Will was really excited and into it all. He has always been dragged down there, but never really had an opinion on things. This time he happily went on the rides, and even asked to go twice on a few! It was a lot of fun seeing it all through his eyes.

More photos on flickr!

What if it never stops raining?

2008-08-21T15:54:00.001-05:00

I'm just asking.

One more post and then I will shut up about it.

2008-08-21T10:09:00.003-05:00

You may remember my post about my London & Paris trip journal being picked up by budgettravel.com - well, they decided to put some of the photos from it in the newest issue of their print magazine to help them draw people to their new online travel journal site. So, if you happen to see the September issue of Budget Travel on the magazine stand, check out page 18!

So glad they canceled school today so these poor kids wouldn't have to go out in the big storm.

2008-08-19T13:54:00.002-05:00

First Day!

2008-08-18T20:46:00.005-05:00

Today was Will's first day back at preschool. This year he is in the PreK class with his buddy Ethan, and he will be going every morning.

He had a fantastic first day!

Second day: school canceled due to T.S. Fay. We'll keep you posted!

What's been happening at our house?

2008-08-09T14:23:00.001-05:00

Click here to find out!

Middle School... meet Old School.

2008-07-31T11:18:00.005-05:00

Last night we got together with friends of ours and surprised all the kids with a black stretch humvee limo, which took the 17 of us to the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa to see the triple bill of Cheap Trick, Heart, and Journey. It was a great show and the kids had a lot of fun at their first concert. I know they were psyched to spend the evening with their parents, partying like it was 1983!

All stuffed with fluff.

2008-07-29T20:35:00.005-05:00

After Joshua was born, we hightailed it to the Smith Haven Mall to create a Build-A-Bear for our new cousin. Will had never been, so he enjoyed the experience of stuffing, fluffing, and dressing the Joshua Bear!

Another Road Trip Ends.

2008-07-12T19:37:00.002-05:00

We are now home safe and sound after visiting Pittsburg, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Pelham, and Long Island. We are now busy with our bathroom remodel and figuring out how to make the most of our remaining 30 days (!) of summer vacation!

(And of course, planning our next jaunt...)

Born on the 5th of July!

2008-07-05T10:55:00.004-05:00

**Check out cbythesea for Joshua's first photos! This is one cute kid!!**

Joshua David Terry has finally made his arrival! Born at 10:35 this morning, he weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 11oz. Eyewitness accounts describe him as looking a lot like big brother Caleb! I hope to update with photos as soon as I can.

Congrats to Heath & Jenn! Way to go, sister, you are a ROCK STAR!!

Happy July, People! (UPDATED AT END)

2008-07-03T09:09:00.007-05:00

I awoke this morning to the sound of birds singing their cheerful song, to the soft light of the rising sun sneaking through the blinds, to the sounds of Jack, in the next room, throwing up last night's dinner (spaghetti and meatballs, as luck would have it)... hopefully this bug will be squashed with him and the rest of us will somehow avoid the fun. Anyhow, yesterday we made plans with Jenn and Caleb to go to the LI Game Farm; however, it began to storm the literal minute we arrived. We decided to head over to the Atlantis Aquarium. Good time, bad pictures. What can I say, it happens!

**For those of you following the saga of Jenn, who is now officially 7 days overdue, we sort of have reason to sort of believe that this could maybe, possibly, be the day. Possibly. We'll keep you posted! (Maybe.)**

UPDATE: Um, no.

Summer is here.

2008-06-30T08:14:00.012-05:00

We have arrived at the final destination of this year's road trip... the lovely hamlet of East Quogue on the east end of Long Island. So now we have ventured out of the Honda and will spend lazy days on the beach, frolicking in Poppy & Gheghe's soft grass at their charming bayside cottage, and waiting ever patiently for our little cousin Joshua to make his way into the world. (Enough already, kid, let's go.)
**Thanks to Gheghe and Heath, who contributed their excellent photography skills to this photo montage!**

Toronto...

2008-06-25T07:04:00.009-05:00

We spent the day wandering the city - eating lunch at a popular Canadian eatery, ice cream down at the Harbor, and navigating Toronto's pretty neat PATH system.

And we found the World's Biggest Bookstore!

Oh, Canada!

2008-06-24T07:16:00.006-05:00

We left Pittsburgh this morning and drove through western Pennsylvania (motto: "Home of the Really Large and Sort of Interesting Roadkill") and made our way through Buffalo and into Niagara Falls. We ate lunch with the Italian Basketball Team at Hard Rock Cafe before taking in the awesome power of both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls. We walked out on the observation deck and down through the lower grotto (where we donned charming plastic ponchos, but still got quite wet).

After we left the Falls, we drove over the Rainbow Bridge and into Ontario, Canada. We arrived in Toronto last night, and will be exploring the city today before heading out tomorrow morning.

Again with Pittsburgh!

2008-06-22T20:02:00.006-05:00

Today we hit the Duquesne Incline, a cable car that took us to the top of Mt. Washington for a panoramic view of Pittsburgh and its three rivers.

Later in the afternoon, we cheered on the Pittsburgh Pirates as they took on the Toronto Blue Jays at PNC Park.

It was a great day! Tomorrow we head out and up to Toronto!

On the road again!

2008-06-21T20:29:00.003-05:00

After two days on the road, we have arrived in the surprisingly cute city of Pittsburgh!

Best line of the trip so far: in a Burger King, somewhere in Georgia...

me (to the cashier): what's the difference between the "tendercrisp" chicken sandwich and the "original" chicken sandwich?
cashier: the tendercrisp is more tender.
me: is it better?
her: i don't know! I don't eat this stuff!

School's out!

2008-06-16T21:06:00.005-05:00

Last day today! But before we go, we must pause for a brief PBA (Public Brag Announcement)!

Leah & Jack received many awards at today's festivities - both received High Honor Roll for this quarter, along with the President's Education Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. They also received several academic awards, and received recognition for service, athletics, citizenship, scholarship, and spirit.

Last month every student wrote an essay detailing their choice for "Most Influential American" in the last 50 years. The essays were then judged by the top administration at all six schools. The finalists and winner were announced at the ceremony today. The top three finalists were... Jack, Leah, and some other kid. And the award-winning essay was written by... Leah! She was completely surprised and had to read her essay aloud after they called her name. It was excellently and effortlessly written. Yes, I am biased, but I speak the truth.

Way to go, guys! We are so proud of you both. And believe it or not, a year from now Leah will be wearing the cap and gown...

Talent Show!

2008-06-12T06:04:00.005-05:00

Carolyn gets the prize... Jack and some friends performed a dance routine to Hannah Montana's See You Again (or is it Miley Cyrus?). He certainly does have a certain talent for entertaining people! Too bad he's so shy, though.

Tired of hearing about our trip yet?

2008-06-11T08:22:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite magazines is Budget Travel. I also enjoy their website, budgettravel.com. Readers of the magazine can keep travel journals which are available for all to read on the website. After our trip to London & Paris last month, I posted a journal of the trip along with some photos. Shortly thereafter I was contacted by one of the magazine's editors, who told me that they were interested in featuring my journal on their website! So it was pretty cool this morning to see our photos and story on the Budget Travel main page, and as a post on their blog.

The journal is basically a cut and paste job from my blog posts while we were away, and most of you have probably been forced to look at all our photos from the trip already... but I just wanted to share!

**Also, the kids' school held their annual talent show last night... Jack performed in a dance number dressed like a famous rock star. Any guesses as to which one? Pictures later!**

K.N.O. (Kids Night Out)

2008-06-06T21:37:00.004-05:00

Tonight Leah & Jack attended their final school dance of the year - a formal affair, of course!

They had a great time, and now we all are looking forward to summer vacation!

Happy Birthday, Gheghe!

2008-05-20T13:36:00.008-05:00

We had a great weekend up on Long Island, where we helped Gheghe celebrate her 60th birthday! She was surprised (presumably) by friends and family at Indian Cove. After the party, the fun continued at the house, where we gathered to watch slideshows of old pictures and a tribute video put together by Tia and Ryan. The next day we continued the tradition of a photo shoot on the back stoop with a new generation of models/victims. Unfortunately for Leah, when we recreate the shot in 15 years, Reed will have to sit on her lap. We headed to Sean & Lisha's beachside bungalow for lunch, then took off for the airport. Another successful trip!

****More photos here!****

Happy Birthday, Jackie-Boy.

2008-05-08T10:35:00.009-05:00

We are starting to see glimpses of the man you are to become, and we couldn't be prouder.

We love you! Have a fantastic 12th birthday.

Mardi.

2008-05-05T16:58:00.006-05:00

**UPDATED TO ADD: We are officially home!**

Today we head home. We have had an outstanding 12 days in Europe, and I think we are all ready to return to reality for awhile. At least until our next adventure!

Cheers and au revoir!

Lundi.

2008-05-05T16:31:00.010-05:00

Back to Disneyland! Today we visited the other Disney park, Walt Disney Studios. A lot like MGM in Orlando, but much smaller. We (some of us) did Rockin' Roller Coaster, the Backlot Tour, Flying Carpets over Agrabah (like Dumbo), Cars Rally (like teacups, but in cars from the movie), and the Cinamagique and Animagique shows. We also rode on Crush's Coaster, a roller coaster ride based on the turtles from Finding Nemo. Disneyland Paris is the only WDW park that has this ride, so it was new to us! The guys went first and convinced Leah and I to try it, they said it was so much fun. They lie. Actually, Leah loved it, and I agree it was very well done. That's all I will say about that.

Will got to meet a lot of characters, he got a kick out of them and enjoyed posing.

Oh, and Leah and I got to do some Singin' in the Rain.

Dimanche.

2008-05-05T01:51:00.005-05:00

We covered a lot of ground today. And I have the blisters on my feet to prove it! We got in to the hotel after midnight, so I'm afraid this will be a short post... I will try to add to it later on.

We had a relatively late breakfast and headed for the city around 11:30am. We took the train to Pere LaChaise Cemetary, wandered around, got a fantastic real French lunch in Place d'Gambetta, hopped on the Metro and visited the Centre Pompidou (where I finally got up high enough to see an awesome panoramic view of Paris), got some nutella crepes and glace, then walked about 100 miles through the city, along the river, and finally crashed on the Champ du Mars in front of the Tour Eiffel in time for sunset (which, strangely enough, is not until 9:15pm here) and to see the tower light up - which is every bit as magical as they say. It was a great last day in Paris. Tomorrow we do the last Disney park and then Tuesday it is back stateside!

Samedi.

2008-05-04T01:56:00.012-05:00

Today we made our way back into Paris. First on our list to visit today was Notre Dame. We walked through the beautiful cathedral and around the outside. We did not get up into the tower, though (see yesterday's post regarding the lines).

We then took a stroll through the city, over the river and past the Sorbonne to Luxembourg Gardens. We found a little shop that made baguette sandwiches, paninis and crepes - so we got some lunch and had a little picnic in the park. Then a French policewoman yelled at everyone to get off the grass so we moved the picnic to a bench.

After lunch we headed back to the river where we got back on the batobus and cruised around the river to the Louvre. The museum is amazing. We saw the Venus di Milo and The Mona Lisa, but the most impressive art was the building's architecture!

After the Louvre we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we plan to get in to the city a little later, so we can be there in the evening and see why they call Paris the City of Lights!

Vendredi.

2008-05-02T15:09:00.009-05:00

After a pleasant French breakfast at our hotel, we ventured to the RER station to catch the train into the city. Everything went smoothly and we disembarked at Charles de Gaulle Etoille. The very first thing we saw as we walked up the stairs from the underground was the amazingly immense Arc de Triomphe.

This became our starting point as we made our way down the Champs-Elysees, which is the grandest boulevard in Paris - the beautiful tree-lined street is littered with high-end shopping and outdoor cafes. Perfect for high-heeled women in mini-skirts walking with their little poodles! We wandered down to the Seine, where we boarded a batobus - a hop-on, hop-off glass walled & ceilinged tour boat.

We cruised down the river and back again, finally hopping off at Tour Eiffel. We walked around it, enjoying the many different views. I always kind of thought it was just a really big erector set, but it really is beautiful. The whole area surrounding the Tower is a park, with lots of green grass, gorgeous flowers and blooming trees. The only disappointing thing was the line to get in. It was as if every line at every Disney ride had converged to make one Super Line and take over the world. So we took some pictures and got on with our lives.

We walked around a bit searching for lunch, and found a cafe back on the Champs-Elysees. We ate some sandwiches on baguettes (Leah had a croissant and a pain du chocolat). We strolled through Nike Paris and then found the hugest Hagen-Daas shop ever, and got some ice cream. We then decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. We will be back tomorrow for more sightseeing! Hope all is well with all you yanks over in the New World.

Jeudi.

2008-05-01T14:26:00.010-05:00

Happy May Day to all!

May Day (May 1) is a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world, including France. There is no school, no work, and lots of places are closed. Guess what lots and lots of people decided to do today, on their day off? Yes. They came to Disneyland Paris.

We had fun, though, despite the crowds and intermittent rain. We visited one of the two parks today - Disneyland. It is set up a lot like Magic Kingdom, with several "lands" spoking out from the castle in the middle. Here we saw Sleeping Beauty's castle rather than Cinderella's, complete with a fire-breathing dragon in the basement. We saw some familiar sights: Big Thunder Railroad, the Carousel, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain; and some new ones: Pinnochio's Voyage ride, and an Indiana Jones roller coaster.

It was a nice, relaxing day - tomorrow we hit the City of Lights!

Wednesday.

2008-04-30T16:55:00.006-05:00

Today was another adventure - we boarded the Eurostar at St. Pancras Station in London and headed for Paris! It was an excellent way to go. Fast, smooth ride, breakfast served at our seats... we just sat back, relaxed, and watched the French countryside roll by. We disembarked at Marne La Vallee-Chessy, the station serving Disneyland Paris, and made our way to the hotel. After checking in, we walked around Disney Village, ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe, and hit the hotel pool, complete with water slides and screaming children who do not speak English. Mon Dieu, are we back in Orlando?

Cheers, London! You surpassed my expectations - we shall meet again.

Bonjour, Paris!

Tuesday.

2008-04-30T13:03:00.017-05:00

Our last day in London. Buckingham Palace does the Changing of the Guard ceremony on odd days this month, and as luck would have it, today is April 29! We made our way down the Mall to the Palace, every now and then dodging raindrops. We waited outside the wrought iron gates, along with what may have been every other tourist in London. Gotta do it, though! Right on time, the Guards, accompanied by the Horse Guards and the band, march down the street and through the Palace gates. After much pomp, circumstance, and rifle-twirling, they were on their way out again. We walked from the Palace gates through the beautiful St. James Park and on to Westminster Abbey.

If all I did on this entire trip was walk through Westminster Abbey, it would have absolutely been worth every minute and every penny. It is literally the most staggeringly beautiful place I have ever seen. I cannot even begin to describe it. Photography is not allowed inside, and believe it or not I am grateful for that because no photo that I could have taken would do justice to what I remember it to be. I am very drawn to English history and to walk through the halls of this place and actually touch the tomb of Queen Elizabeth was indescribable. We also beheld the final resting places of many others, including Mary, Queen of Scots; Anne of Cleves; Henry V; Henry VII and Elizabeth of York; Edward the Confessor; Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens; Rudyard Kipling; George Handel; Sir Laurence Olivier; Charles Darwin and Sir Issac Newton.

And that was how I wanted to remember London, so we walked across Westminster Bridge to the South Bank and had a great lunch at Giraffe, a funky restaurant with a motto I can believe in.

Then we headed back to the hotel to do laundry and pack up. Early morning wake-up call tomorrow, when we board the Eurostar and head to the Chunnel for Paris!

Monday.

2008-04-29T13:02:00.012-05:00

Today we decided to go total tourist and get tickets for the double-decker tour bus. We are so glad we did - we saw all of London, and were able to "hop-on, hop-off" at any stop.
Our first hop-off was to St. Paul's Cathedral, an amazingly beautiful church in the city. The cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and rebuilt by Christopher Wren. It's dome stands 365 feet high.

After St. Paul's we rode through West London, past 10 Downing Street, Kensington Gardens & Palace, the Marble Arch, Hyde Park, and so many other sights. Our next stop was Harrod's, the immense department store where rumor has it, you can buy anything you want. Ronald Reagan once asked if he could buy an elephant. The Harrod's employee did not miss a beat and replied, "Asian or African, sir?" We decided against purchasing any wild animals this time, but we did spend some time in the toy department and bought some fudge on the way out!

We got back on the bus, and then we saw a celebrity, so we jumped off to have our picture taken with... Justin Timberlake! He was pretty cool, but seemed a little, distant. Stiff. Waxy.

We also saw some of his waxy friends at Madame Tussaud's.

After hitting the Beatles Shop (across the street from the Rolling Stones Shop), and searching for Abbey Road (we didn't find it), we finished up the evening at a true English pub, The Sherlock Holmes, where we (well, some of us) ate fish & chips and mushy peas. And tea.

Sunday.

2008-04-29T01:58:00.005-05:00

We are getting a little better with this morning thing. We hit Costa again for breakfast then made our way down to the Tube. We seemed to navigate things pretty well, people were asking us for help, poor souls... we rode the tube to Tower Hill where we found the infamous Tower of London. William the Conqueror built the White Tower in 1077, and his successors expanded it. It served most famously as a prison and execution site - this is where Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey (among others) met the chopping block. It's most recent prisoner was Rudolf Hess, one of Hitler's henchmen in WWII. Today the Crown Jewels are housed here. We took a tour led by a Yeoman Warder, aka Beefeater, then explored a bit on our own - seeing the Crown Jewels, Traitors Gate, Tower Green, and the towers that imprisoned Princess Elizabeth, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the two young princes kidnapped during the War of Roses in 1483.

After exploring the Tower, we headed back to our tube stop and decided to explore a different area of the city. We walked from our hotel in Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square, which can best be described as the Theater District, and on to Piccadilly Circus, which is pretty much Times Square without the really tall skyscrapers. We tried to avoid it, but we somehow ended up in the Trocadero, a huge, garish mall-slash-arcade place. The kids eyes lit up just as John's and mine started to glaze over. They of course went right for those "claw" games, where you try to manuever the claw to pick up some prize and drop it in the hole so you can get it. And this claw machine had iPODS in it! Now, any of you who have been to Gators with us know that we tell the kids EVERY TIME that they would do better flushing their money down the toilet, they can't win those games. And you also know that EVERY TIME Jack comes back a winner. Well, he wasn't as lucky this time. Leah, on the other hand...

After we left the Trocadero, we walked some more to Covent Garden, which is a very neat place with shops, outdoor markets, cafes, street musicians, and the like. Then we headed back to the hotel, stopping in Trafalgar Square for Jack & Will to climb the lions at Nelson's Column.

Saturday.

2008-04-28T01:13:00.008-05:00

Today was a gorgeous day - plenty of sunshine, temps in the 70s. We are having a little trouble getting rolling in the morning, although I am not surprised - it takes me a good five days to get used to DST, which is only an hour different than what we are used to! We found a little Italian coffee shop called Costa right around the corner, which is exactly next door to a little American coffee shop called Starbucks, which is twenty yards away from another little American coffee shop called Starbucks, which is next to another... well, you get the picture. We fueled up on blueberry muffins and massimo (not grande, massimo!) mocha lattes and headed for Waterloo Pier on the Thames. Here we caught our double-decker boat for a tour of the Thames and the city of London. It was the perfect day for it. Our first stop was Greenwich and the Royal Observatory. We walked through a beautiful park and up a hill to the Observatory, where we walked on the Prime Meridian and stood in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres, and sychronized our watches to the Greenwich Mean Time clock. After lunch (at a Mexican restaurant, of course) we headed back to the boat for the trip back. We disembarked at Westminster Pier and walked around Parliment, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey before heading for St. James Park and Buckingham Palace. All in all it was a good little explore of the city and helped us get our bearings a bit.

Friday.

2008-04-27T02:41:00.006-05:00

Our first day in London was a little rough. The flight over was great - very smooth, comfortable ride, Will slept most of the time. Everyone around him on the plane thought he was so cute when we were taking off and he said, "We're goin' up! We're goin' UP!" Funny, though, they were not as impressed upon landing, when he shouted, "We're goin' down! We're goin' DOWN!!" But anyway, we landed at Heathrow at 6:10am London time, which for us translated into 1:10 in the morning, our time. Of course we could not check-in to our hotel until 3pm, but they did store our bags for us so we could do some exploring. We call it, Extremely Tired Zombie Americans Take On London. We did a lot, though, including the National Gallery, where we saw several famous works of art - including DaVinci's Virgin of the Rocks, Van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage, and Van Gogh's Sunflowers. We found an outdoor cafe in Victoria Embankment Park, where for our first English meal, Jack ordered the "American Breakfast." This was basically just eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast, and, for some reason, baked beans, which I have honestly never been given with breakfast in an American restaurant. The English seem to think we are a bean-loving people. Our room still not ready, we wandered across the Jubilee Bridge to the southbank of the Thames. There we boarded the London Eye, a rather big ferris wheel type observation ride. We really enjoyed the ride, and when our pod reached the top, we were able to see a beautiful panoramic view of the city. For dinner, we wandered into a quaint little English market (imagine, if you will, a 7-11), grabbed a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and yes, because we are on vacation and all, some jelly. All-in-all, a great first day.

Made it!

2008-04-25T13:19:00.005-05:00

After about 6 months of planning and 12 long hours of traveling, we are finally across the pond in London! We are all running on about 10 minutes of sleep in the last 24 hours (except Will, who pretty much slept for six out of the seven hours of our flight from DC to London!), so I am somewhat unable to blog properly tonight... I just wanted you all know we have made it safe and sound, and will present a more proper blog post tomorrow.

La Dolce Vita.

2008-04-21T21:27:00.004-05:00

Had a great time with the fam tonight at Buca di Beppo... John's mom, brother Ed, and niece Jodie are visiting from NY for a few days. The Pope Room was taken, we ate in the Wine Room with Frank Sinatra.

The Planet had visitors!

2008-04-12T21:46:00.005-05:00

Sean, Lisha, Reed & Diane have been spending the week in Florida, and today they stopped by the planet. We ate, swam, went out for ice cream and strolled the park. It was a nice time... thanks for coming, guys!

Gardens of Busch.

2008-04-06T08:14:00.005-05:00

Since Leah & Jack didn't get enough excitement in Chicago, Karen and I decided to take the kids to Busch Gardens in Tampa for a couple of days. We had a great time... Jack and Ashley rode the "big four" roller coasters - Gwazi, SheiKra, Montu and Kumba, and we experienced the new Jungala attraction on opening day.

And how could I forget... the kids saw their very first concert!

On their way back!

2008-03-31T19:23:00.007-05:00

*waiting for flight home, midway airport, chicago

The kids finished up the weekend visiting the Adler Planetarium, Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago History Museum, Tommy Guns Garage Dinner Theater, The Field Museum, and the Brookfield Zoo. On their way back right now...

Today's To-Do List. (updated with more pix)

2008-03-29T17:47:00.005-05:00

Wake up call at 7:30am. Board bus and head for the Sears Tower Skydeck. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago. Lunch and tour at Eli's Cheesecake Company. Take a bus tour of the city. Enjoy some free time at the Navy Pier, including a tour of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. Watch the Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center. Watch as Chicago turns out it's lights. Call your mom, tell her you are NOT taking any pictures. Listen while mom weeps, then roll your eyes.

*Thanks Wolf & Kerri, for the iphone shots! Thanks Steve Jobs, for the iphone!

Bet your bottom dollar...

2008-03-28T11:06:00.005-05:00

... you lose the blues in Chicago!

And they are off. We got the kids to the airport at 5:45am this morning and they boarded their flight to the Windy City with much excitement! I was able to capture a few shots at the airport, and I am hoping for some emailed iphone photos over the weekend to share. They have an extremely fun-filled, non-stop tour of Chicago planned!

Leah & Jack, we miss you but we know you are having a great time exploring a new city! We are beyond proud of you for being so brave and adventurous!

Celebrating Spring, Preschool-style!

2008-03-27T12:38:00.005-05:00

Today Will's preschool held their annual "Spring Fling"... complete with bubbles, flower hats, painting, little piggies, goats, bunnies, ducks, and pony rides!

Scenes from an Easter weekend.

2008-03-24T13:39:00.007-05:00

Cool School of the Week!

2008-03-19T13:39:00.002-05:00

MyFox Orlando | Cool School of the Week

Each week one of our local news stations broadcasts their morning show live from a different "Cool School of the Week"... and this week Page was chosen! Actually, they filmed down at our Orlando branch, but they invited our middle schoolers to participate. Definitely watch the video and look through the pictures and see if you recognize anyone!

**Nice pass, Jack. That guy couldn't catch a cold if he were naked in a snowstorm!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

I guess the diet starts tomorrow.

2008-03-17T09:43:00.004-05:00

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.
May your heart be as light as a song.
May each day bring you bright happy hours,
That stay with you all year long.
For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, People!

Dancing with the Stars.

2008-03-15T09:11:00.005-05:00

Despite the rainy weather, the Pirate & Princess Party at Disney was a hit! Gheghe, Leah, her friend Christy, and I rode many rides, watched a great parade and fireworks, and the girls even danced the night away with Flounder!