Well, hello there readers. I know, I'm sorry. I bet you
dont even recognize me anymore. Maybe with some time, you'll be able to forgive. I sure hope so.
So, since the last time I wrote to you, I have had a number of adventures. The week before Thanksgiving I said "see ya later" to LA, and headed to Orlando, if only for a minute. LTD picked me up at the airport and we headed immediately to Pensacola, Fl. That's right, I was in Orlando for exactly as long as it takes to drive from the airport to the city limits. I dropped LTD off in Pensacola and continue to drive to Fairhope, AL for a friends wedding. If you have never been to Fairhope, and I don't know why you would have, you should go. It is a lovely town, and I had a lovely time. Since I'm updating for a number of weeks, I'll keep things fairly surface oriented, not too many details. But, at the reception for this wedding, they had these grilled cheese sandwiches. Now, I know, you're wondering how a grilled cheese sandwich could possibly make a non-detailed post. Well, they were delicious. Little triangle pieces of bread with ample amounts of pimento cheese slathered in between the slices, the chefs generously applying butter as they brown to perfection on the grill. You're mouth is watering, I just know it. Anywho, after the festivities, I picked LTD back up from Pensacola and headed to Orlando.
Once back in Orlando, it was time to celebrate P-man's birthday(the L clan was in town for Thanksgiving). The kitchen was decorated the night before with streamers and balloons, most notably a life-size(I guess life-size for a fictional character is hard to gage, but it was large) Elmo balloon. I didn't really know how much the kid loved Elmo until this trip, but he loves Elmo, a lot. For the big day LDL, BML, LTD, Pman, Goose, and I all made the trip to Disney. Originally, I didn't think a 2-year-old could really enjoy Disney. I was later told by a family friend whom I was recounting the story to, "Aw, no man. Kids love that [stuff]." Which, of course is the truth. Pman loved riding Pooh, and pointing out all the animals, even the ones only he could see(they weren't imaginary, he just saw them when others couldn't. The kid is impressive. BML and I took his on Dumbo, which was a lot of fun, however, we did get a few looks as maybe an "alternate lifestyle family." As LDL mentioned in her post, Pman also loved Jungle Cruise, although it was the site of his one and only meltdown. Granted, it was nap time and the line was pretty long. It was also fairly evident it was coming as he started to get a little loopy and decided that taking a sip of his water and spitting it all over himself was funny, which, of course it was. The Country Bear Jamboree was also a bit hit, but P missed some of the show because he was very taken by Buff, Max, and Melvin- the lovable animal heads on the wall (buffalo, deer, and moose respectively). A very successful day to day the least. And tiring.
We were minus RBD3 for Thanksgiving, but still managed to have a decent time. The food, was, as always, quite delicious and provided me with meals for a number of days to come. I don't know how many of you have had LTD's chocolate meringue pie, but, well, let's just say it would be featured in my "last meal". This is generally not a real healthy eating time for me. I have a problem with holding back when there are all sorts of deliciousness around me. So, I didn't hold back. And I was ok with that.
My next adventure was accompanying LDL, Pman, and Goose back to Annapolis to help pack up for their big move to Otown. More than once, I was called "Daddy" by strangers referring to my wrangling of Pman. It was too early to try and correct them. I was a little nervous about how the plane ride would develop, since I dont fly with 2-year-olds very often. But I learned quickly that for these 2 hours(or so) the best thing to do is to give him whatever he wants. Which was really just food and "birds". And ice.
While in naptown, my responsibilities were pretty much just either to play with Pman or to pack. These often overlapped, and really the majority of the time was spent playing. There were at least two games he enjoyed very much. The first, was me carrying him as we ran in the field behind the house. This got tiring quick. Not because I didn't want to do it, but because I physically got tired and could no longer do "more". The other started as an accident, I think. P was balancing on my stomach when he drooled on me. I laughed and said something along the lines of "ew, P, dont drool on me." So, of course, he loved this and thought it was hilarious. After playing and packing for a few days, I drove the volvo down to Orlando to begin the L clan moving process.
Next up is Wilmington, NC. Another wedding. I rode with a few people, which was a little ironic, since I pretty much had passed Wilmington on my drive down a week earlier. I had been to Wilmington once before for a 4th of July weekend. I vowed never to come back. Not because the city isn't great, because, it really is a cool place. But, because, well, nevermind, it's not important. The wedding weekend came and went, with all the functions being fun, and once again I left saying, "never again."
Before Christmas, 1127 saw the return of FTD and RBD3. We all had a great few days, which included a lazy Christmas day the like of which haven't been seen before at our house. One of our main goals was to make sure the house would be ready for the arrival of the L clan. 9 family members sleeping under one roof. I believe everyone was quite dobie (I hope everyone passed the reading comprehension portion of the last post). We really spent the next few days just hanging out and being together. I know it had been, but it never really seems that we've not all been together in recent memory.
New Years Eve came and we had a nice family dinner before a few people headed out and a few people headed to bed. It was good to see some friends before heading back to the West Coast in what would be a few days. Oh, at this party, there was some incredibly good food. Chicken and pulled pork sliders, really good sushi, and my favorite bacon-wrapped dates. I probably had 20. I don't think I'm really exaggerating much at all.
Well, I think you probably saw the pictures of the walk in which P made us all wear hats since it was so cold (60 deg). It was a pretty great send off to cap what was a wonderful 6-weeks bouncing around the southeast. I forgot to write about a Christmas party, which was great, but the best part was that it ended with viewing some old family videos with great friends which led to gaffawing as they always do. Shortly there after I FB'd (I would actually like to see everyone's reaction to that to see who immediately understands, and who never gets it) that "I'm sorry you didn't have my childhood." I was obviously meant as a joke, but I just can't imagine anyone having it better than us.
Fin.
Minus the L's who arrived later in the week.
