One day, three men were hiking and unexpectedly came upon a large,
raging, violent river. They needed to get to the other side, but had
no idea of how to do so.
The first man prayed to God, saying, "Please God, give me
the strength to cross this river."
Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, after almost drowning a couple of times.
Seeing this, the second man prayed to God, saying, "Please God,
give me the strength - and the tools to cross this river."
Poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river in
about an hour, after almost capsizing the boat a couple of times.
The third man had seen how this worked out for the other two, so he
also prayed to God saying, "Please God, give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to cross this river."
And poof! God turned him into a woman. She looked at the map, hiked upstream
a couple of hundred yards, then walked across the bridge.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Best Practical Joke
Last night the boys and I were talking about practical jokes and I told them about a joke I played on a friend a long time ago.
Many, many years ago I worked the night shift at a small hospital. Because it was the night shift and because the hospital was small we didn't always have a lot to do.
My friend, D, was a serial prankster and spent most of his time pulling practical jokes on everyone.
One night, I was walking down the hall and out of the ER came one of the nurses pushing a stretcher with a body on it. The body was covered with a sheet and I assumed they were taking someone to the morgue.
Just as I passed the stretcher, D reached out from under the sheet and grabbed my arm.
Needless to say, I screamed and tried to get away from the hand holding my arm and of course the ER crew all jumped out from behind a door laughing hysterically.
I'd been got by D. And I swore to him that I would get him back.
He was a little nervous around me for the next few days but I waited, and like I knew he would, he forgot all about my promise to pay him back.
Meanwhile I was planning and plotting my revenge.
About a month later I knew it was time.
A nurse I worked with had a husband who was a little on the morbid side and he agreed to help me.
I took him down to the morgue and had him get on a stretcher, covered him with a sheet and then closed him up inside one of the coolers.
I went and found D and told him that a dead body had come in earlier and that I had to go to the morgue to put a tag on the body. I told him that I didn't want to go alone and begged him to go with me.
He didn't want to go but I begged and pleaded until he finally agreed.
We got to the morgue and while I was pretending to get a toe tag ready I asked D to open the cooler.
He opened the cooler door, pulled the stretcher out and as he did my friend's husband let out a horrible scream, sat up and threw the sheet off of himself.
D screamed, took 2 steps back and hit the floor. And at that moment another friend of mine jumped out from behind the door and snapped a picture with an instant camera.
It took him weeks to recover and he never would go near the morgue again.
We plastered copies of the picture all over the hospital and daily people would ask D if he'd go to the morgue with them LOL
He told me later that he'd forgotten all about my promise to get him back and it never occured to him when we went to the morgue that something was up.
It was a very simple plan but the hardest part was finding someone who would actually get into the cooler and wait.
Two days later I had a note in my box from the hospital administrator asking me to meet him in his office the next morning.
This couldn't be good.
My shift was over at 7am and I waited, wringing my hands, until 7:30 when he arrived.
He called me into his office and with a straight, solemn face told me that in no way could he condone the staff goofing off on hospital time. He pulled a copy of the picture out of his desk, took one look and then burst out laughing.
He said that this had to be the funniest thing he'd seen in a long time and that while we were supposed to be working - not playing - he was going to make an exception this time.
I was pleased with how well the whole thing turned out and from that day forward, D never played another practical joke on me.
And I learned that revenge is always best served cold LOL
Many, many years ago I worked the night shift at a small hospital. Because it was the night shift and because the hospital was small we didn't always have a lot to do.
My friend, D, was a serial prankster and spent most of his time pulling practical jokes on everyone.
One night, I was walking down the hall and out of the ER came one of the nurses pushing a stretcher with a body on it. The body was covered with a sheet and I assumed they were taking someone to the morgue.
Just as I passed the stretcher, D reached out from under the sheet and grabbed my arm.
Needless to say, I screamed and tried to get away from the hand holding my arm and of course the ER crew all jumped out from behind a door laughing hysterically.
I'd been got by D. And I swore to him that I would get him back.
He was a little nervous around me for the next few days but I waited, and like I knew he would, he forgot all about my promise to pay him back.
Meanwhile I was planning and plotting my revenge.
About a month later I knew it was time.
A nurse I worked with had a husband who was a little on the morbid side and he agreed to help me.
I took him down to the morgue and had him get on a stretcher, covered him with a sheet and then closed him up inside one of the coolers.
I went and found D and told him that a dead body had come in earlier and that I had to go to the morgue to put a tag on the body. I told him that I didn't want to go alone and begged him to go with me.
He didn't want to go but I begged and pleaded until he finally agreed.
We got to the morgue and while I was pretending to get a toe tag ready I asked D to open the cooler.
He opened the cooler door, pulled the stretcher out and as he did my friend's husband let out a horrible scream, sat up and threw the sheet off of himself.
D screamed, took 2 steps back and hit the floor. And at that moment another friend of mine jumped out from behind the door and snapped a picture with an instant camera.
It took him weeks to recover and he never would go near the morgue again.
We plastered copies of the picture all over the hospital and daily people would ask D if he'd go to the morgue with them LOL
He told me later that he'd forgotten all about my promise to get him back and it never occured to him when we went to the morgue that something was up.
It was a very simple plan but the hardest part was finding someone who would actually get into the cooler and wait.
Two days later I had a note in my box from the hospital administrator asking me to meet him in his office the next morning.
This couldn't be good.
My shift was over at 7am and I waited, wringing my hands, until 7:30 when he arrived.
He called me into his office and with a straight, solemn face told me that in no way could he condone the staff goofing off on hospital time. He pulled a copy of the picture out of his desk, took one look and then burst out laughing.
He said that this had to be the funniest thing he'd seen in a long time and that while we were supposed to be working - not playing - he was going to make an exception this time.
I was pleased with how well the whole thing turned out and from that day forward, D never played another practical joke on me.
And I learned that revenge is always best served cold LOL
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Too Much Food Network?
I love the Food Network. And Top Chef. And any tv show related to food.
Whenever the tv is on it's almost always on some food related show.
I didn't realize the kids payed much attention to it until yesterday at the beach.
They'd been playing in the water for a while and because I was watching the boats it took a while for me to realize what they were doing.
The Youngest was busy making sushi.
While the Oldest made fish stew.
They "cooked" for the longest time and of course the Island King and I had to sample their culinary concoctions when they finished.
The sushi was a little on the salty side and the fish stew was missing the fish but I'd say overall they did pretty good LOL
Whenever the tv is on it's almost always on some food related show.
I didn't realize the kids payed much attention to it until yesterday at the beach.
They'd been playing in the water for a while and because I was watching the boats it took a while for me to realize what they were doing.
The Youngest was busy making sushi.
While the Oldest made fish stew.
They "cooked" for the longest time and of course the Island King and I had to sample their culinary concoctions when they finished.
The sushi was a little on the salty side and the fish stew was missing the fish but I'd say overall they did pretty good LOL
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Juan Sebastian de Elcano
As part of Pensacola's 450th anniversary the Juan Sebastian de Elcano sailed into Pensacola Bay on June 3rd.
I really wanted to get over there to see her but it was the last week of school and I had too much going on to make the trip.
My Dad went out to Fort Pickens the day the ship arrived and took these great photos.
The Elcano is the 3rd largest "tall ship" in the world. She was launched on March 5, 1927 and is the official training ship for the Royal Spanish Navy.
She has travelled more than a million and a half nautical miles and has sailed around the world 10 times.
This is the 6th time the Elcano has sailed into Pensacola Bay, the first time being in 1959 to celebrate Pensacola's 400th anniversary.
She's a spectacular ship and it must have been quite a sight to see her sailing into Pensacola Pass.
Dad went back out a few days later when she left, in hopes of seeing her with her sails raised, but he said they didn't get to full sail until they were about a half mile out into the Gulf and he didn't have the right lens to get a good shot of that.
Thanks for the pictures, Dad!
I really wanted to get over there to see her but it was the last week of school and I had too much going on to make the trip.
My Dad went out to Fort Pickens the day the ship arrived and took these great photos.
The Elcano is the 3rd largest "tall ship" in the world. She was launched on March 5, 1927 and is the official training ship for the Royal Spanish Navy.
She has travelled more than a million and a half nautical miles and has sailed around the world 10 times.
This is the 6th time the Elcano has sailed into Pensacola Bay, the first time being in 1959 to celebrate Pensacola's 400th anniversary.
She's a spectacular ship and it must have been quite a sight to see her sailing into Pensacola Pass.
Dad went back out a few days later when she left, in hopes of seeing her with her sails raised, but he said they didn't get to full sail until they were about a half mile out into the Gulf and he didn't have the right lens to get a good shot of that.
Thanks for the pictures, Dad!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Big Kahuna's Water Park
Each year we let the kids pick something special to do for their birthday and this year the Youngest Island Boy wanted to spend the day at Big Kahuna's Water Park.
Because his birthday and Father's Day fell on the same day this year we decided to go on Saturday instead, hoping that maybe it wouldn't be as crowded. It was still crowded but we had fun anyway.
The Youngest is absolutely fearless and this year he's tall enough to go on every slide they have. And go on every slide he did.
His favorite was the Jumanji slide. Their website says "Imagine lying on your back sliding over 70 feet of pure adrenaline free fall darkness." See that black tube in the picture?
You climb to the top of the hill, lay flat on your back and then pretty much free fall/slide your way to the bottom. Apparently there are several spots that you come up off the slide (while still inside the tube) and then sort of free fall for a minute before making contact with the tube again.
He LOVED it!
And he went by himself because the Island Girl and her Dad both rode it last year. She said it was terrifying and he said it took a month before his back recovered so neither of them would ride it and because his mother is a chicken she wouldn't even consider it LOL
He rode that thing over and over again, loving every minute of it.
Not wanting to look like a complete chicken I agreed to go on the Tiki River Run slide with him. You ride this slide on an innertube and there's no free falling so how scary could it be, right?
It was HORRIBLE!! It's just as tall as the Jumanji slide so we climbed a LOT of stairs to the top and then one by one we were helped into an innertube and then shoved down this tube.
It was PITCH dark (couldn't see your hand in front of your face kind of dark) and the tube twists and turns so you fly from one side to the other and have no idea what's happening.
Then you come into a section of tube that's still pitch dark but has lights that flash as you ping off each side of the tube.
After what seemed like an eternity I came out into sunlight and was thanking God that it was over - but it wasn't.
I was immediately plunged back into darkness and the twisting, turning, sliding continued.
The whole thing only takes about 2 minutes but it felt like an eternity. When I came out into the sunlight again I was so glad for the ride to be over that I jumped up off the innertube, and just about fell over.
I was dizzy and nauseous and truly thought I might pass out.
I staggered over to a bench and sat down next to a woman who told me that she'd gotten off the slide 5 minutes ago and still felt like she was spinning.
We sat and watched as our families did it again and both of us agreed we were too old for that mess LOL
The Island King and the kids loved it and climbed right back up to do it again.
We played in the fountains
And relaxed for a while in the wading pool.
There was a much smaller slide in the wading pool that the Youngest played on for a little while - before wanting to find bigger, faster slides to ride.
They have about 30 different slides throughout the park and I actually rode a lot of those. Just normal, slide down the water slide kind of slides - which are much more my speed.
We spent a lot of time floating along the lazy river - something I could spend all day doing.
We stayed ALL day and I can't tell you how happy I was at 6:00 when they announced that it was time for the park to close LOL
The Youngest really had fun and when we got home he looked at me and said "I'm whooped!"
He wasn't the only one. His dad and I felt like we'd been hit by a train.
I'm glad the Youngest enjoyed his birthday treat but it's going to take days for me to recover!
Because his birthday and Father's Day fell on the same day this year we decided to go on Saturday instead, hoping that maybe it wouldn't be as crowded. It was still crowded but we had fun anyway.
The Youngest is absolutely fearless and this year he's tall enough to go on every slide they have. And go on every slide he did.
His favorite was the Jumanji slide. Their website says "Imagine lying on your back sliding over 70 feet of pure adrenaline free fall darkness." See that black tube in the picture?
You climb to the top of the hill, lay flat on your back and then pretty much free fall/slide your way to the bottom. Apparently there are several spots that you come up off the slide (while still inside the tube) and then sort of free fall for a minute before making contact with the tube again.
He LOVED it!
And he went by himself because the Island Girl and her Dad both rode it last year. She said it was terrifying and he said it took a month before his back recovered so neither of them would ride it and because his mother is a chicken she wouldn't even consider it LOL
He rode that thing over and over again, loving every minute of it.
Not wanting to look like a complete chicken I agreed to go on the Tiki River Run slide with him. You ride this slide on an innertube and there's no free falling so how scary could it be, right?
It was HORRIBLE!! It's just as tall as the Jumanji slide so we climbed a LOT of stairs to the top and then one by one we were helped into an innertube and then shoved down this tube.
It was PITCH dark (couldn't see your hand in front of your face kind of dark) and the tube twists and turns so you fly from one side to the other and have no idea what's happening.
Then you come into a section of tube that's still pitch dark but has lights that flash as you ping off each side of the tube.
After what seemed like an eternity I came out into sunlight and was thanking God that it was over - but it wasn't.
I was immediately plunged back into darkness and the twisting, turning, sliding continued.
The whole thing only takes about 2 minutes but it felt like an eternity. When I came out into the sunlight again I was so glad for the ride to be over that I jumped up off the innertube, and just about fell over.
I was dizzy and nauseous and truly thought I might pass out.
I staggered over to a bench and sat down next to a woman who told me that she'd gotten off the slide 5 minutes ago and still felt like she was spinning.
We sat and watched as our families did it again and both of us agreed we were too old for that mess LOL
The Island King and the kids loved it and climbed right back up to do it again.
We played in the fountains
And relaxed for a while in the wading pool.
There was a much smaller slide in the wading pool that the Youngest played on for a little while - before wanting to find bigger, faster slides to ride.
They have about 30 different slides throughout the park and I actually rode a lot of those. Just normal, slide down the water slide kind of slides - which are much more my speed.
We spent a lot of time floating along the lazy river - something I could spend all day doing.
We stayed ALL day and I can't tell you how happy I was at 6:00 when they announced that it was time for the park to close LOL
The Youngest really had fun and when we got home he looked at me and said "I'm whooped!"
He wasn't the only one. His dad and I felt like we'd been hit by a train.
I'm glad the Youngest enjoyed his birthday treat but it's going to take days for me to recover!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day AND Happy Birthday Youngest Island Boy
Happy Father's Day to my two favorite Dads
And to all of the Dads out there.
I hope you all have a great day!
And Happy Birthday to the Youngest Island Boy!
He's 8 years old today.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
It Was NOT A Blonde Moment
The other day while my mom was over, she, the kids and I went to Walmart.
When we got to Walmart I pulled in to Murphys to get gas. I filled the tank and then got back in the van.
And it wouldn't crank.
I put it in Neutral and then back into Park and tried again. Wouldn't crank.
This has never happened before and I wasn't sure what to think.
I'd turn the key and the engine would just start to turn over and then it would die.
The lights inside were working and it drove fine on our way there but now it wouldn't crank?
Since the lights were working I knew the battery had some power but obviously not enough to actually crank the car.
And because I've had too many starters to count go out in my life I knew it wasn't the starter. A dead starter makes a distinctive clicking sound and that wasn't happening.
But how does a battery just die like that? Seems like it would have acted funny when I cranked it at home just a few minutes before.
So there we sat. There was a line at every pump and I knew I needed to get the van out of the way so Mom and I got out and pushed the van over into the Walmart parking lot.
And not one person offered to help.
What the hell? There were men everywhere but not one offered to help us push.
We get the van over into the parking lot and decide that we need a jump.
I walked back over to Murphys and ask the FIVE men standing in the line. And not one of them had jumper cables.
And Mom and I didn't have a cell phone with us.
So we gathered the kids and trekked across the giant Walmart parking lot in search of a phone.
They actually have a pay phone in Walmart - which was a surprise since pay phones seem to be a thing of the past - and I called the Island King.
But he was asleep and didn't hear the phone. So I called his brother who lives 3 houses down from us.
And I had to explain what had happened and that I wanted him to go wake up the Island King.
Being a man, he had to know all of the details, so I told him what the van was doing and that I probably needed a jump.
"Did you pop the hood?" he asks.
Pop the hood? Unless there's a flashing arrow under there pointing at whatever's wrong there really isn't any point in me popping the hood LOL
We wait and a few minutes later the Island King pulls up, gets in the van and turns the key.
AND THE DAMN THING CRANKED RIGHT UP.
I was shaking my head and telling him how it acted at the gas pump and that I just didn't understand why it cranked now.
"Maybe you didn't turn the key right" he says.
AAGGHHH!!!
"I know how to turn the key, jackass!" I yell at him.
He looked at me, smirked and said that it wasn't nice to call a man who'd come to my rescue a jackass.
The van has cranked fine since then so I have no idea what happened but I can tell you for sure that the next time it won't crank - I'm calling a woman.
And NO I wasn't having a "blonde moment"!
When we got to Walmart I pulled in to Murphys to get gas. I filled the tank and then got back in the van.
And it wouldn't crank.
I put it in Neutral and then back into Park and tried again. Wouldn't crank.
This has never happened before and I wasn't sure what to think.
I'd turn the key and the engine would just start to turn over and then it would die.
The lights inside were working and it drove fine on our way there but now it wouldn't crank?
Since the lights were working I knew the battery had some power but obviously not enough to actually crank the car.
And because I've had too many starters to count go out in my life I knew it wasn't the starter. A dead starter makes a distinctive clicking sound and that wasn't happening.
But how does a battery just die like that? Seems like it would have acted funny when I cranked it at home just a few minutes before.
So there we sat. There was a line at every pump and I knew I needed to get the van out of the way so Mom and I got out and pushed the van over into the Walmart parking lot.
And not one person offered to help.
What the hell? There were men everywhere but not one offered to help us push.
We get the van over into the parking lot and decide that we need a jump.
I walked back over to Murphys and ask the FIVE men standing in the line. And not one of them had jumper cables.
And Mom and I didn't have a cell phone with us.
So we gathered the kids and trekked across the giant Walmart parking lot in search of a phone.
They actually have a pay phone in Walmart - which was a surprise since pay phones seem to be a thing of the past - and I called the Island King.
But he was asleep and didn't hear the phone. So I called his brother who lives 3 houses down from us.
And I had to explain what had happened and that I wanted him to go wake up the Island King.
Being a man, he had to know all of the details, so I told him what the van was doing and that I probably needed a jump.
"Did you pop the hood?" he asks.
Pop the hood? Unless there's a flashing arrow under there pointing at whatever's wrong there really isn't any point in me popping the hood LOL
We wait and a few minutes later the Island King pulls up, gets in the van and turns the key.
AND THE DAMN THING CRANKED RIGHT UP.
I was shaking my head and telling him how it acted at the gas pump and that I just didn't understand why it cranked now.
"Maybe you didn't turn the key right" he says.
AAGGHHH!!!
"I know how to turn the key, jackass!" I yell at him.
He looked at me, smirked and said that it wasn't nice to call a man who'd come to my rescue a jackass.
The van has cranked fine since then so I have no idea what happened but I can tell you for sure that the next time it won't crank - I'm calling a woman.
And NO I wasn't having a "blonde moment"!
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Squirrel Relocation Program
My parent's house is on a beautiful lot, right on the water and is covered with oak trees.
And where there are oak trees there are these.
Lots of them.
And my father hates them. Actually, despises is probably a better word.
He says they eat all of his bird seed and they jump on the bird feeders, knocking them over and emptying all of the seed onto the ground.
He doesn't want squirrels - he wants birds.
So he's become a travel agent and he "takes the squirrels camping."
He baits a Have A Heart trap in his yard and then every time he catches a squirrel he relocates it to a park a mile or so from his house.
And he catches a LOT of them. 18 in the past week. 18!
We've all just kind of accepted this as one of Dad's weird quirks but after talking to him this weekend I've decided that the man has gone over the edge.
I asked him how his relocation program was going and he told me that he's started a new thing and then told me to follow him.
We walk around the side of the house, where he stops and points at some stuff.
I see a wash tub, scrub brush and some gloves.
"You're bathing them?" I ask
He shakes his head like I've lost my mind and points to a can of fluorescent orange spray paint.
"Oh My God! You're spray painting them?"
"Just a little dot here and there so I'll know if they come back" he tells me.
I just couldn't think of anything to say at all. Nothing.
A little later my sister and I were talking about it and I asked if she knew about the spray paint.
She says that the other day he took a squirrel to the park but then a little later saw one in the yard that looked just like the one he'd just relocated and somehow that convinced him that as soon as he lets them go they come right back.
From the park - a mile away.
And don't most squirrels look the same?
I asked Dad what he's going to do if he spots one of the painted ones in the yard.
He smiled and said "I'm only taking them camping once. If they come back I'm taking them swimming, like the rats I catch"
The rats he catches don't get to go camping - they go "swimming" instead.
I'm not too worried about any of the squirrels "sleeping with the fishes" because I'm pretty sure they aren't following him home.
At least I hope they aren't.
But I am a little worried about Dad.
Spray painting squirrels isn't exactly normal behavior LOL
And where there are oak trees there are these.
Lots of them.
And my father hates them. Actually, despises is probably a better word.
He says they eat all of his bird seed and they jump on the bird feeders, knocking them over and emptying all of the seed onto the ground.
He doesn't want squirrels - he wants birds.
So he's become a travel agent and he "takes the squirrels camping."
He baits a Have A Heart trap in his yard and then every time he catches a squirrel he relocates it to a park a mile or so from his house.
And he catches a LOT of them. 18 in the past week. 18!
We've all just kind of accepted this as one of Dad's weird quirks but after talking to him this weekend I've decided that the man has gone over the edge.
I asked him how his relocation program was going and he told me that he's started a new thing and then told me to follow him.
We walk around the side of the house, where he stops and points at some stuff.
I see a wash tub, scrub brush and some gloves.
"You're bathing them?" I ask
He shakes his head like I've lost my mind and points to a can of fluorescent orange spray paint.
"Oh My God! You're spray painting them?"
"Just a little dot here and there so I'll know if they come back" he tells me.
I just couldn't think of anything to say at all. Nothing.
A little later my sister and I were talking about it and I asked if she knew about the spray paint.
She says that the other day he took a squirrel to the park but then a little later saw one in the yard that looked just like the one he'd just relocated and somehow that convinced him that as soon as he lets them go they come right back.
From the park - a mile away.
And don't most squirrels look the same?
I asked Dad what he's going to do if he spots one of the painted ones in the yard.
He smiled and said "I'm only taking them camping once. If they come back I'm taking them swimming, like the rats I catch"
The rats he catches don't get to go camping - they go "swimming" instead.
I'm not too worried about any of the squirrels "sleeping with the fishes" because I'm pretty sure they aren't following him home.
At least I hope they aren't.
But I am a little worried about Dad.
Spray painting squirrels isn't exactly normal behavior LOL
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Dock Cats
The wild cats that live at our local marina always show up when someone starts cleaning fish on the dock.
These two showed up the other day and the Island King threw them a piece of the snapper he was cleaning.
They shared nicely and then this guy showed up.
He jumped up on the dock and the other two took one look at him and ran off
I don't know why, he looks like such a nice kitty
But then, he looked straight at me
And hissed. Loud. With a sort of growl attached to it.
No wonder the other two cats ran off when he showed up.
I don't think he's such a nice kitty after all LOL
These two showed up the other day and the Island King threw them a piece of the snapper he was cleaning.
They shared nicely and then this guy showed up.
He jumped up on the dock and the other two took one look at him and ran off
I don't know why, he looks like such a nice kitty
But then, he looked straight at me
And hissed. Loud. With a sort of growl attached to it.
No wonder the other two cats ran off when he showed up.
I don't think he's such a nice kitty after all LOL
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Parasailing
There's a part of me that wonders what I was thinking to let my 10 year old strap into a harness
Attached to a parachute that will take him higher
And higher
Until he was hanging 1200 feet above the water
And then I think about the fact that he's still talking about how fun it was.
And I've decided that it was the right thing to do.
I told the Island King that I want to put them in a bubble and never let them out.
He rolled his eyes at me and said "If you do that, they'll never move out - and believe me in 20 years or so you'll WANT them out" LOL
Attached to a parachute that will take him higher
And higher
Until he was hanging 1200 feet above the water
And then I think about the fact that he's still talking about how fun it was.
And I've decided that it was the right thing to do.
I told the Island King that I want to put them in a bubble and never let them out.
He rolled his eyes at me and said "If you do that, they'll never move out - and believe me in 20 years or so you'll WANT them out" LOL
Monday, June 15, 2009
Happy Birthday Dad!
Happy Birthday Dad!
His gift from my mom was a parasailing trip on Pensacola Beach, so yesterday we met her and my dad and my sister and her family over there to watch.
It was a beautiful day on Pensacola Beach.
There was about an hour's wait when we got there but it was an interesting place to wait.
They have a mini golf course and the manager gave us a free game.
And of course there was some swimming.
This place rents jet skis and they had something going on that I don't think any of the places here in Destin have - a required safety course.
The place next door had this sign out front
And they don't have a safety course.
Personally, I find the idea of 14 years olds driving 250hp jet skis pretty scary.
The place we were had 4 computer terminals set up and first renters had to pass a short quiz.
Well, they didn't have to pass on their own because we watched a guy help a cute little blond who couldn't seem to get past the part where she entered her name LOL
Then they had to sit through a short safety lecture.
Once they completed the safety course they were taken out to the jet skis and shown how to drive them.
They make the jet skis along this stretch of beach go way out away from the beach which isn't something they do around Destin at all.
And let me tell you, when you know there are untrained 14 year olds driving around out there, it's comforting to know they aren't buzzing around where my kids are swimming.
Finally, it was Dad's turn to parasail. My mom bought a tandem ride, which meant the Oldest Island Boy could go with him.
The Oldest was a little scared and a lot excited as they headed out into the Sound.
They take several people out at once and then once they're out in the channel they take turns going up.
Three girls got on the boat with Dad and the Oldest and the Oldest was immediately in love with one of them. The boy oozes charm and told the girls to wave at his dad - which they did.
And now the Oldest wants me to print the picture so he can tape it on his wall LOL
The Island Girl was using my dad's camera with a longer lens so I won't have any pictures of them up in the parasail until I get them from him.
But from the looks on their faces when they got back
I'd say they had a lot of fun.
The Oldest says it was the coolest thing he's ever done and even though my dad has done it before, he had a good time too.
After their ride, we went back to my parent's house for dinner.
Fried chicken, potato salad and baked beans outside make for a really GOOD dinner.
The kids did a little more swimming while my parents, sister and I sat on the beach and relaxed. Perfect.
The whole day was fun and I know my dad enjoyed it.
Happy Birthday Dad!
His gift from my mom was a parasailing trip on Pensacola Beach, so yesterday we met her and my dad and my sister and her family over there to watch.
It was a beautiful day on Pensacola Beach.
There was about an hour's wait when we got there but it was an interesting place to wait.
They have a mini golf course and the manager gave us a free game.
And of course there was some swimming.
This place rents jet skis and they had something going on that I don't think any of the places here in Destin have - a required safety course.
The place next door had this sign out front
And they don't have a safety course.
Personally, I find the idea of 14 years olds driving 250hp jet skis pretty scary.
The place we were had 4 computer terminals set up and first renters had to pass a short quiz.
Well, they didn't have to pass on their own because we watched a guy help a cute little blond who couldn't seem to get past the part where she entered her name LOL
Then they had to sit through a short safety lecture.
Once they completed the safety course they were taken out to the jet skis and shown how to drive them.
They make the jet skis along this stretch of beach go way out away from the beach which isn't something they do around Destin at all.
And let me tell you, when you know there are untrained 14 year olds driving around out there, it's comforting to know they aren't buzzing around where my kids are swimming.
Finally, it was Dad's turn to parasail. My mom bought a tandem ride, which meant the Oldest Island Boy could go with him.
The Oldest was a little scared and a lot excited as they headed out into the Sound.
They take several people out at once and then once they're out in the channel they take turns going up.
Three girls got on the boat with Dad and the Oldest and the Oldest was immediately in love with one of them. The boy oozes charm and told the girls to wave at his dad - which they did.
And now the Oldest wants me to print the picture so he can tape it on his wall LOL
The Island Girl was using my dad's camera with a longer lens so I won't have any pictures of them up in the parasail until I get them from him.
But from the looks on their faces when they got back
I'd say they had a lot of fun.
The Oldest says it was the coolest thing he's ever done and even though my dad has done it before, he had a good time too.
After their ride, we went back to my parent's house for dinner.
Fried chicken, potato salad and baked beans outside make for a really GOOD dinner.
The kids did a little more swimming while my parents, sister and I sat on the beach and relaxed. Perfect.
The whole day was fun and I know my dad enjoyed it.
Happy Birthday Dad!
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