Monday, July 25, 2011

June


So after our amazing vacation which I told you about in the zillion previous posts, I got sick. From the moment our plane landed in KC I felt sick. Horrible headache,exhausted, sick. Are you feeling sorry for me yet?? I waited it out, pretended it wasn't there. I said things like, "It's just being on vacation and off schedule." Or, "It's all the laundry and getting things put away." Right. So I waited and even though my mother-in-law suggested that I go to the doctor before the weekend, I was stubborn. "It will go away," or so I thought. So when I woke up Monday morning feeling like I'd been run over with a truck I finally decided to take a glance at the back of my throat. WHOA. I think I might have strep throat. Although I've never had it in my 9 years of teaching. So I packed up Madelyn and we headed to Wahlgreens Clinic because I didn't want to be "worked in" at my doctor's office. A half our later and I was set. Prescription ready, feeling better in a few days, right? Wrong. There was a small problem with the instructions. The doctor told me to take one capsule twice/day so why read the bottle. Four days later, when I'm not feeling any better I look at the bottle. It is half the dosage so it says take two capsules twice a day. Oh okay, now I'm mad.

A few days later I am feeling better. I can even eat. YEAH! When one morning I wake up itching. Ya know, itching like you could itch your face off. I lay my hand flat on my chest and hmmm, that doesn't feel right. I jump up, run to the bathroom, strip down and shock. I'm covered in hives. I've never had hives but I'm covered. From neck to knees covered. So I call the doctor and go in. Luckily they get me in right away. When my very handsome doctor pulls up the back of my shirt and says, "Lovely, I bet you don't feel well!" you know it's bad. Turns out I'm allergic to penicillin. Then I get the "this isn't going to go away in just a couple of days speech" and instructions for several over the counter medicines, a steriod prescription, and another strep throat prescription since I hadn't yet finished my other. So I head to the pharmacy which is getting richer by the minute because of me. Then I spent the next several days laying on the couch resisting the urge to itch myself to death. And several days after that still taking cold showers and not going outside in the heat so not to upset the hives (a.k.a. the demons inside me) Oh, and every time I stand up I started dry heaving. And I am trying to take care of a four year old. Luckily she was easily entertained by movies, books, and coloring pages!

After the Fourth of July I had a small relapse of hives but then I started feeling better. We've had a good couple of weeks and there are only a few weeks left until I go back to school!! And a little girl at our house goes to preschool!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Punta Gorda

Last stop on our vacation was to visit Matt's Aunt and Uncle in Punta Gorda. They live in a beautiful home in a lovely area. This isn't their mailbox but one we drove by on the way to their home and is a definite reminder that we aren't in Kansas anymore Toto.



Pat and Maynard came to visit us last summer so hopefully we can make it a yearly trip to see each other. Madelyn loves talking to Aunt Pat and Maynard teases her by squeeking her ear.

The Guys and a bit of a family resemblance


Pat and Maynard have a wonderful pool that Madelyn spent a lot of time in. She grows more and more confident each time in the water. Matt stood in the water waiting for her to jump in so he could catch her for a long, long, time! Eventually she did jump and loved getting Matt and I wet so she didn't want to stop.





Can't wait to start planning the next family vacation!

The Boardwalk

We found this cute little boardwalk not far from our resort. We spent one evening there eating, shopping, and taking in all the sites. I couldn't believe the amount of shops and restaurants this small area could pack in! We also walked along the pier and saw some enormous pelicans!




We ate here one evening and it was DELICIOUS and we had an amazing view of the pier!


Just being silly!
A dairy cow in Florida?



See the third shirt in from the left. It has a large kid with two ice cream cones on it. For some reason Madelyn was really scared by this shirt. Like sobbing mess scared. She just kept saying, "Why does that kid have two ice cream cones, it's not "healfy" for him."


Our Florida motto! Heck, should be my Kansas motto too.


The Wedding

So the real reason for our Florida trip was to attend my cousin Eric's wedding. Eric and Matt lived together in college for several years and we were super excited to see him tie the knot on the beach. The scene was beautiful with a gazebo draped in amazing colors. I didn't get great pictures from the angle at my seat but I wanted to share.


The new happy family!My Grandma and I


Posing with their mickey ears from Disney World.




After the ceremony we went to Crabby Bill's for a scrumptious seafood buffet and some of the best islandy drinks I've ever had!!



This guy was our entertainment, he could sing just about everything and was definitely a great entertainer.




Congratulations Jill and Eric, thanks for letting us all share in your day!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

Doesn't Dorothy follow the yellow brick road into the bizarre world of Oz which is complete with green witches, talking lions, and flying monkeys? Sorry, I'm not a fan of the movie, it totally scares me! Anyway, I'm trying to finish our vacation posts and had to dedicate an entire post to this place. The night before my cousin's beach wedding the wedding party, family, and friends decided to go grab a few drinks out and my Aunt and Uncle watched the kids. Boy it was an interested evening!



We found this place: Mahuffer


Check out the description on the sign!






Of course us Kansas folk had to have a picture under the yellow brick road sign. Once you go inside it was apparent this was a place you don't get separated from your friends or you might wake up covered in tatoos or in a bathtub full of ice and your kidney missing!! Not in a scary people kind of way but in a bizarre flying monkey kind of way. It had everything under the sun hanging from the ceiling. The insulation was showing, the floors were shaking, and there was a couple of cats and a dog. I somehow made friends with a lady from London who had been frequenting this "dive" for 11 years and had become so fond of it. She told me the people were amazing, the animals friendly (which I questioned her about because hello isn't there some sort of hygiene/bar/restaurant law but she said they don't serve food so they get by with it) and entertainment abundant. She also asked me if my tetnus shot was current!! I had to go back a few days later for some photos to document this place, the inside is awesome and filthy and weird but someplace I could totally hang out with some good drinks!











Walk beyond the wooden boards, wind around the corner, into a completely different world!



See that grill there, didn't the London chick say there was no food? Hmmm..







Pictures speak for themselves!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Chillin' at the Beach

One of our favorite parts of vacation was just relaxing at the beach for a few days. It has been ten years since Matt and I have taken a vacation and we were so looking forward to sun, waves, and sand! Madelyn loved it too. Despite our efforts to continuously put on sunscreen we still got a little burnt but that's okay.


Love at first sight

My cousin's daughter, Brooke, and Madelyn spent a whole day building digging, building sandcastles, floating, and making little homes for their "goldfish" aka washed up coral. We were so fortunate there were other kids with the wedding party to entertain each other.



Love this shot - My Grandmother and Madelyn








Matt and I recently celebrated our ten year anniversary so we carved it in the sand.

And someone else wanted to remember how old she was at the beach.

We had know idea that stingrays came close to shore but several times we all had to move to the sand because these big guys wanted through. They come so close they almost get stuck on the beach.

I love feet!

Posing and a little bit sunburnt already



I think it should be mandatory for people to go to the ocean, think, reflect, and recharge their batteries from time to time. I just home the next time for us is sooner than ten years!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Disney's Electric Parade

When the day was done and we had rode and seen everything we had wanted to we headed back to the Castle to get ready for the nightime parade. We scouted out front row seats and waited for about an hour for the show to start which was just fine for our tired bodies. The floats and lights were dazzling to say the least and it was a wonderful end to our day. Here are some pictures of our favorite floats!



And of course the castle, I took a picture of it in each of the colors it changes to but this is my favorite! So dramatic.




Mickey and Minnie!



Madelyn kept wondering why Tinkerbell wasn't handing out pixie dust to everyone.






Ahh, Cinderella



Captain Hook got a little too close and scared our girl. She is still talking about him.



What a beautiful work of art!





We absolutely loved our time at Disney and are looking forward to another trip in the future!