March Break - Orlando

The first stop on our vacation was Orlando. Lucas and I traveled down on Thursday, while Marilu had to wait until Friday due to work. As a result, it gave the two of us a whole day to have fun together before heading out to sea on Saturday. In the week leading up to the trip, I was researching lots of different places, trying to figure out what to do.

While the big amusement parks like Disney and Universal Studios can be fun, going alone with a 4 year old would be a huge waste of money. I wouldn't be able to go on any adult rides since there was no one else to watch him, and the kids rides are just a fraction of the rides in the park. Considering the average prices were $80+ for an adult and $60+ for a kid, you can see why I marked these off the list quick. Don't even get me started on how crazy I would go waiting in multiple hour long lines with Lucas. We'd hate each other by the end of the day.

Thanks to a suggestion from a friend in Florida, we decided to go to the Orlando Science Center. Not only was it a much less expensive (a little over $30 total for both of us), but it wasn't terribly crowded. OSC is a pretty good science museum with plenty of stuff to interact with for the kids. We ended up spending a good 3-4 hours there. I think Lucas also enjoyed the bus rides there and back. I was going to rent a car, but then I realized I could get an all-day bus pass for less than $5. I'm not a cheap person, but that's just common sense right there.

So here are some of the highlights from the Orlando Science Center.

One of the first exhibits we looked at was a really cool one that demonstrated the process of harvesting oranges. Kids pulled "oranges" out of the trees and dropped them into a couple holes at the back of a machine. Then another kid would pedal the tractor, raising the oranges up above the tractor, at which point they would roll across and drop into a box. The kids could then put the oranges into little crates, place them on a conveyor belt sort of thing, and the oranges would dump into a hole behind the scenes. The oranges would then appear back on the trees. All in all, a clever exhibit. It was really neat to see a bunch of kids playing around it, each performing a different task.

It might be a little hard to see, but he is standing in front of a display that has a black snake in it.

Remember the photo in the last post in which Lucas was standing in front of an island full of reptiles? Here's a better look at what was right behind him.

Even great scientists need to take a break now and then. In case you're wondering, I'm not sure where the hat to the side thing came from. God knows I didn't teach it to him. I suppose it's cute on a 4 year old. Less so as you grow older.

I thought this next one would be a really cool picture, but it ended up just looking confusing. For what it's worth, we are standing inside a kaleidoscope. It was pretty impressive as we could see hundreds of reflections of us. Unfortunately, in the photo, it looks like I'm taking a picture of a dirty wall.

He spent a good 10 minutes at this wall, rearranging the pipes and tubes to see how a ball would roll down them. It probably would have been even better for him had he been a couple of feet taller.

Here are a few random shots taken in front of other exhibits.

Finally, the hurricane booth! In the weather/climate section of the Science Center, there was a booth you could stand in that would simulate winds up to around 75 mph. When we first got there, the line was huge since there was a camp group or something. However, about 10 minutes after we got there, a movie started on the first floor and the room emptied out completely. As a result, Lucas and I were able to experience it about 5 times in a row before some other people started showing up. As you'll see in the following photo and video, he got a kick out of it. Me too, to be perfectly honest.

So that's Orlando. We didn't get any other pictures since the rest of our entertainment was riding in buses and going to a nearby mall. Thrilling stuff! Tomorrow, the cruise photos begin!

One quick comment to wrap this up: I would highly recommend the Orlando Science Center for anyone who has a free day in Orlando between Disney parks. It's affordable, and as you can see from the pictures, a heck of a lot of fun for kids.

The Pitfalls of Paradise

Before we get to the pictures from our cruise vacation, I just want to address some of the lowlights of last week. Basically, I'm giving the bad news before the good news so we end on a high note in the next blog entry or two.

In corporate speak, we had some good "lessons learned" this past week. First and foremost, we'll probably never do a major vacation over Spring Break ever again. Lucas and I left on Thursday, which gave us plenty of time before our cruise left Saturday morning. However, Marilu couldn't leave until Friday afternoon/evening since she had to teach that day. Apparently, the school system frowns on teachers taking off the day before or after a vacation. Well, this was almost disastrous as she nearly missed her connection due to a delayed flight. Thankfully, it worked out and she got to Orlando very late that night.

On the other hand, our friends Sheri and Adam were not so lucky. They also left on Friday (she's a teacher), and they got as far as Toronto before their flights crapped out on them. They weren't able to get in Saturday morning, and instead had to fly directly from Toronto to our first port of call, Nassau, Bahamas, in order to catch up to the ship. This added a few grand to an already pricey trip. So second lesson learned for us is to always buy travel insurance for these types of vacations.

Coming back, our household was scheduled for 3 separate flights:

• Lucas and I: Delta to Detroit then Ottawa
• Marilu: Air Canada to Montreal then Ottawa
• Jonathan/Chantal/Colby: Air Canada to Toronto then Ottawa 

As it turned out, Lucas and I were the only ones who had a clean flight schedule. This turned out to be a bad thing as we arrived home first. Why is that a bad thing, you ask? Well, since we were expected to get in last, Marilu and her brother each had house keys, and we had none. If all went well, this wouldn't be a problem, but obviously, all did not go well.

Luckily, and perhaps stupidly, one of our back windows was left unlocked so I was able to get it open, push Lucas through, and he unlocked the sliding door leading out to the deck. He wasn't too thrilled with this plan since the house was pitch black (it was after 11 PM when we got home), and he'd already been talking about robbers all day. So he was crying hysterically as he went to the door but the little trooper got the job done.

Jonathan's party got delayed in Toronto and eventually got home an hour or two later. I don't know exactly when since we were asleep after being in transit, in form or another, from 8 AM to 11 PM.

So where was Marilu in all of this? Well, her flight was cancelled altogether in Orlando so she was stuck in a hotel overnight. Apparently, the pilots called in sick or some such nonsense, but since the ground crews are threatening a strike (or may actually be in one, I don't pay close attention), it's pretty clear that this was an act of solidarity. Whatever the case, Marilu didn't fly out until Sunday morning to Montreal. And that's where the next logjam occurred.

Because it's March Break for just about every student and teacher in Canada, the flights are pretty much all booked up. So even though she was able to get to Montreal on Sunday, she wouldn't be able to take the short flight to Ottawa until Monday! As a result, after waking up Sunday morning, still exhausted, I got the chance to drive the nearly 2 hours (each way) to Montreal with Lucas in tow. Although it's not directly connected here, the third lesson learned was that from now on, we travel together.

And that was the end of the flight drama. Thankfully, the cruise was almost entirely problem-free, which we'll talk about in the next post or two. Notice I said "almost." Thanks to what I believe is a combination of a bad cold I had prior to the flight down, as well as the descent into Orlando, my left ear plugged up, and I basically couldn't hear out of it for the entire trip. I could barely hear loud noises, and conversations were impossible so I found myself having to sit at the end of the table in order to keep everyone to my right so I knew what the hell they were talking about. On the return flight, my ears popped, and I have hearing again, but it's still somewhat muffled. I'm planning to see the doctor tomorrow about it so hopefully that will be resolved soon.

So all that said, the problems we had were mainly pre- and post- cruise, and weren't the fault of Carnival itself. So everyone had a good time once we were actually there. To tide you over until the next blog entry, here's a photo of Lucas that I took at the Orlando Science Center on the day that we had together. Behind him is a pool full of turtles and alligators, hence the somewhat concerned facial expression.

Next time: MANY more pictures and no complaining!

On the High Seas!

Hello from the islands! St Maarten, to be specific, as we are just about to leave. It's our last port of call, and now we have two full days at sea before returning to Port Canaveral on Saturday. We've had a fantastic time so far, and I expect the last two days to be the picture of relaxation as we laze around by the pool or, in my case, visit the pizza bar post midnight for the umpteenth time. I'll update with a more detailed account of our travels once we get back, but for now, here are a couple of pictures that highlight our adventures.

This was a very cool picture Marilu took of Lucas and I at Nassau, Bahamas.

And this one was from Magens Beach in St Thomas. Fantastic beach, for what it's worth.

Talk to you again when we get back!

Christmas Cracker

I'm running really late for bed (it's 12:42 AM and I need to be heading to the airport around 5) so I'm going to keep this really quick. I found an amusing photo that Andrea, Lucas's daycare provider, took around Christmas time. As you could probably tell with the hair shots a couple of weeks ago, she has a knack for getting great pictures.

So Lucas and I will be in flight tomorrow with Marilu following us on Friday. Then we all head over to Port Canaveral on Saturday for a week-long cruise, in which we will be visiting the Bahamas, St Thomas, and St Maarten. As with my past cruises, I don't really care so much about the destinations as the journey (i.e., lying in the sun, doing absolutely nothing). See you later!

September in Pictures

Not much on the blogging front recently, I'm afraid. As mentioned in the last entry, Lucas was sick at the beginning of last week, and on Thursday, I contracted something myself. The very worst is past, but I'm still suffering: at the moment, it's a very sore throat that makes every swallow an exercise in pain, but each day, it seems the symptoms are unique.

On top of that, I'm leaving for Orlando this Thursday. For those of you unaware, we're going on a cruise out of Port Canaveral, FL, on Saturday afternoon for 7 days. Depending on what the wi-fi connection is like on the ship (i.e., how much it's gonna cost), I'll try and post some pictures from my iPhone. However, after Thursday, there won't be anything substantive until the following Sunday. Though with the pace of the last couple of weeks, that should feel about normal, right?

Anyway, here's some more pictures of our demon child, this time from the month of September.

"Enough with the camera, I'm TRYING to play here."

Sometimes the two of them can take such good photos.

Other times...not so much.

For some reason, Lucas got in his head to pull his old stroller out of the garage, put it on our front lawn, and then crawl in it and pretend to sleep. Who am I to argue?.

Striking a mean pose at basketball.

Another one of Lucas's crazy ideas. If you look closely, you'll see that in addition to the sunglasses and Thor's hammer, he taped up my face entirely.

Just doing some work.

I'll try to get one more post up tomorrow before I leave for Florida. Have a good one!

Sicko

I've been home the last two days with a sick kid. On Sunday night, Lucas came down with a fever that flirted with 104 F at times. Children's Advil helped bring it back down, as per usual, but we kept him home on Monday, and Marilu had me make an appointment to see the doctor. Normally, we'd let it play out, but with our upcoming cruise, we wanted to make sure that it got resolved in case it wasn't something that needed a prescription (such as an ear infection).

Our doctor didn't seem to concerned about it, but she had us bring Lucas to the children's hospital for a chest X-ray since he had a pretty nasty cough. Fortunately, no issues were found.

His cold is hanging on, and he stayed home from school again today. As of this evening, he's still got the fever in addition to the cold so there's a good chance I'll be hanging out at home with him tomorrow. It's times like this it's good to have a job in a real estate since even with a new listing on the other side of town, I'm able to do just about everything from my laptop.

For today's post, we once again return to August. I know I uploaded a lot of pictures from our Massachusetts trip late last year, but I ran across a folder that contained pictures from my mom's camera from that trip, and I wanted to show you the highlights. No comments this time around, just pictures. Enjoy!

New Hair

As evidenced in recent photos, Lucas's hair has been pretty wild. We took care of that today with a haircut at Goober's. Now we just need to fix that face.

August Videos

Here are a couple of videos taken last August. The first is from one of our visits to Saunders Farm. I can't recall if I've mentioned the Jumping Pillows before, but they are one of my favorite things to do there. Jumping on them is quite possibly the most fun exercise I've ever had.



This second video was taken during a phase Lucas went through where he liked to pretend he was a puppy. If I recall correctly, he typically went by the name Buster. Cute stuff.

Crazy Hair Day

Last week, Lucas's school had Spirit Week, which was made up of such days as Purple Day (school colors) and Pajamas Day. The highlight though was Crazy Hair Day. We specifically put off getting his wild mop cut so he could show it off, and he definitely did that. Take a look at these photos that Andrea (his daycare provider) took of him that morning before school.

This was the first try, but apparently he didn't care for this style.

This was the one he decided to go with, apparently.

This week, we really need to get his hair cut. :)

Winterlude 2012

My mom was in town for the weekend so we decided to keep Lucas home from school on Monday so they could get some quality time in before she left (or leaves, at the time of this writing) on Tuesday morning. As many times as my mom has visited us in February, she's never made it down to Winterlude (see here if you have no idea what that is). Well, we decided to rectify that situation on Monday when Lucas, my mom, and me headed downtown in the afternoon. We had originally planned to go on Saturday, but the temperature was roughly the same as on the ice planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back so we postponed the trip.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that we went downtown and took some pictures. Here they are.

I'm pretty sure that if I went back and looked at my picture collection, I'd find I have pictures of me standing in front of ice sculptures from the last 5-6 Winterludes. Still, you gotta do it again each year. Sadly, the warm weather last week really took a toll on the sculptures this year.

Speaking of yearly pictures, I think I have a picture of me in front of the Winterlude logo ice wall from at least 3 different years. This year, we changed it up a bit and Lucas and my mom did the posing. One thing didn't change though. I still got nervous, thinking that massive wall could come tumbling over at any time.

Out on the canal. A nice older lady visiting from Nova Scotia offered to take a picture of the three of us.

I'm not exactly sure why someone decided to build "hockey trees," but they were kind of neat looking.

Next year, I hope to finally cross the river to Gatineau and see the Winterlude festivities over there. I really want to check out the ice slides. That sounds so cool! (pun not intended). Lucas ought to be old enough to appreciate them by then.

So that's that. Since my mom will likely be home in Massachusetts by the time she sees this, I just wanted to say thanks for coming. We were very happy to have you and will miss you. Can't wait to see you again!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

For those of you who didn't see this on Facebook...

Yesterday morning, Lucas asked me, "Daddy, you were in the Army?"

I said yes, and he responded, "Did you fight monsters?"

I tried to stifle a laugh before telling him that no, I never fought monsters, to which he then replied, "Then why did you have a gun?"

Gotta love children.