Its much prettier than the cabbage

It’s hard to believe that it is already August and I skipped an entire summer of blog posts. To be honest though – I’ve been writing them all along in my head and now I just have to take a few evenings to pour them out here on the world wide web. 

Busy would be an understatement to describe our Summer.  Joe has been incredibly blessed to have worked with some of the finest clientel any photographer could ask for!  The resort has been full steam ahead and in between work we have found a little time for play so that the kids don’t blink and summer is over.

This summer has been truly memorable.  Family visited for five weeks in a row and we survived, Michael Jackson died but I’m fairly sure we spotted him at Disney World, our dog is still lively but naps more than she used to and has gray in her muzzle, my son and I can wear the same shoes and he’s only nine, my daughter looks like Daryl Hannah and we’re terrified, our hearts were broken over losing a house three days before closing, we mended our wounds with brand new vehicles and have no room left in our driveway, and had the most beautiful sunflowers in our front garden that replaced the cabbbage.

In retrospect, it is probably one of the best summer’s I’ve ever had – nothing terrible to report, lots of laughter with the family (just imagine 11 Italians in less than 1300 square feet for over a week….), I didn’t gain any weight even though all anyone wanted to do was eat or cook during the visits and I passed my milestone – I have not been sick for two years! 

So as I delve into these next few posts  – everyone please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay on reporting our most intimate and hilarious moments these past few months.  =)

Disney Market Place

When I got home two weeks ago and realized that the children had a four day weekend and I hadn’t taken a breath in over a month – we started packing the bags, I put my voicemail on vacation and we dropped our dog off at our best friend’s house.  We decided to jaunt down to Orlando Florida to see the Mouse!  Joseph absolutely loves Disney World and we both miss our friends that moved there about a year ago – so it seemed like the perfect solution for a winter weekend escape.

We purchaed Florida Resident Seasonal Passes and stayed in a Fabulous Orlando Vacation Rental that was only ten minutes from the park entrances.  The house was a four bedroom, three bath private home in a gated community with a pool, spa and lanai.  My favorite part of the home to be honest – was the very large garden tub in the master bath – talk about relaxing! 

The children had never been to Disney, so it was a ton of fun to see their faces as we rode some of the classic rides and goofed off in general at the parks.  It was not that crowded the first two days except for some European tourists, so the lines were generally decent and not too long. 

I made one mistake however that I believe will haunt us for years to come.  I took Annie on Space Mountain thinking that it was not too rough of a roller coaster ride.  One minute into the ride I was pretty sure that the ride operators were going to flip on the lights and stop the entire operation on the account that my eight year old daughter was absolutely losing her mind with fear and screaming my name – and not with a hint of joy either!  She lived through the ride, but I’m sure that St. Peter will have me account for this incident when I approach the pearly white gates in years to come.

All in all, we spent a lot of money on giving the kids their first Disney experience.  We even bought the t-shirts, toys, and souveniers – ate at the really overpriced tourist traps with them and had our fair share of smoked Turkey legs.  The only creepy part of the Disney experience is that when you’re munching on your caveman size Turkey leg – all the birds in the park are now canibals and eat their own kind – so they stare at you the entire time and wait for any morsel of poultry to fall to the ground.  I’m deeply terrified of birds so I make Joseph hold the turkey leg and break off pieces for me because if one of those birds ever swooped at me trying to steal my grub I’d die right there and forever tarnish my children’s view of the most “Magical Place on Earth.”

Considering we spent a mortgage payment on Seasonal tickets - there will be more Disney tales throughout the year.  Of course, I forgot to mention that the entire time we were at all of the Disney parks – Joseph was making us walk at mach negative ten so that he could capture photography of  all the incredible details of the park.  I usually don’t mind this but it made for two very grumpy children who were impatient from the moment they woke up until the moment they passed out from exhaustion.  Even though we kept telling them that we had seasonal passes, they still hold a grudge for all the rides we weren’t able to ride in one trip.  If any of you out there have any parenting tricks on teaching young children how to be grateful – please pass on the knowledge!

Wearing jeans, short and flip flops, Joe and I spent an afternoon in a warm summer rain enjoying the quiet that speaks so loudly throughout the acres of nature.  The rain prevailed throughout the visit, sometimes soft and gentle, other times the sky would plop large drenching droplets, yet it never got dark.  We rarely spoke, but my mind wandered ? void of deadlines and agendas.  I cannot remember the last time we were this spontaneous and carefree.  A much needed departure from life.

Joe never misses a detail, and notices even the most subtle beauty.  He is great at bringing out the best in everything he touches.  I wish I could see the world through his eyes, but I will have to settle for the snapshots he shares with us.