So Thankful To Be At Work Today!!! Hurricane Ike Missed us!

I have to say the weekend was quite stressful with the impending doom of Ike possibly striking South Florida. On Friday I sat at work, contemplating that that day might be the last day I was able to get in a full day's work until who knew when.

A worry wart by nature, these storms take a great toll on me, not for the best.

I have to say, as I sit here at work today, I am forever thankful that Florida was spared this terrible storm and that we can resume our daily lives(yes, even including work)!!!

I pray that those struck by this terrible storm get all the help and assistance they will need.

Sanibel Island, Floriday - 4th of July

We recently went on a mini vacation to Sanibel Island, Florida. We had never been there. It was so peaceful and beautiful. We went for the 4th of July. We had a great time, the days were absolutely gorgeous.

Here are some photos. ENJOY!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

My Silly Girl, August 27, 2008

This Wednesday morning was one of those crazy mornings where I'm running around with my head cut off.

My body is going in one direction, my mind off in another.

I was running late this morning, trying to get Hailey's lunch together, trying to get her milk ready, screaming at her to hurry up since we were already running late.

As I call her one last time to tell her I'm leaving, she rushes to the door and I notice she's got something in her hair.

It's a headband kind of hair bandana that has blonde braids down the side.

She looked so cute and so funny!

I couldn't help but laugh and take some photos.

At that moment, it didn't matter that I was running late, this just made my day!!!

I love my silly girl!!!

No Fear!!! August , 9, 2008

While in Orlando, we took Hailey to a little amusement park.

Besides pools and swimming, amusement parks rank high on her list and she has no fear.

The higher the ride, the better.

It's so fun to watch her have so much fun.

She could ride the rides for hours on end if we'd let her.

Webkinz Go To Blizzard Beach(August 10, 2008)

Hailey is so obsessed with Webkinz.

In case you don't know what they are, they are little stuffed animals that you can also inter act with on line. You play games in order to earn money to buy them food, furniture, decorate their rooms, etc.

They are really cute. Hailey takes a few everywhere she goes. She has quite a collection.

In any case, before our trip to Blizzard Beach I asked her if she'd be taking any Webkinz with her. She of course said YES!

What I found so intriguing is that she selected the Webkinz that are animals that live in the cold.

For instance, Ariel(the penguin), Scout(husky dog), Snowball(Polar Bear) and Finny(the seal).

It really made me smile that she took the time to select one that matched the theme of the place we were going.

She really is quite a thoughtful little girl, always trying to get everything to match. She puts so much thought into everything she does. I love that about her!!!

Disney's Blizzard Beach(August 10, 2008)

I had been feeling kind of guilty that I hadn't really taken Hailey anywhere extremely kid oriented for some weeks now when one evening she was looking through my treasure chest and discovered some photos we'd taken at Disney's Blizzard Beach when she was about 3 or 4 years old. She didn't seem to remember much of the park except for the giant ice cubes in one of the pools that you hang onto and try to walk across.

She enjoyed looking at the photos and had lots of questions. Her last question was, "Mommy, when can we go there again?" This was said in her sweet little voice, the one that comes out when she's trying to get something out of me:)

Of course, instantly, that one question ended all my guilt. I immediately said, "I'll try to take you before school starts again".

And so it happened. A week before school was to start, off we headed to Blizzard Beach.

The day turned out to be perfect, scorching hot. The park was really crowded but she managed to ride all the slides she wanted.

Unlucky for me that she really wanted to go on the highest slide that's in the park. It's called Summit Plummet and it's a 12 story drop!!! I had told her there was no way I was going to go on that slide.

Sergio is totally afraid of heights so that slide was out of the question for him as well.

That left only Hailey but I couldn't let her stand in that long line by herself. My original plan was to stand in line with her and once she reached the top, I'd leave her to go down the slide and I'd climb all the way back down down a very long staircase. But when we got to the top, I couldn't see myself going back down through all the people so I opted for the quicker option, going down the slide as well.

Sounded so easy but when I got to the top and looked down, I really thought I was going to pass out. The drop down is so intense and we were so high up. But no room to turn around, I went for it and let me tell you, I will never do that again.

I felt like I was falling out of a building. It was horrible!!!

Even Hailey said afterwards that we should have taken the curvy slide, which was a few drops lower than the highest one she'd chosen!!!

Back To School and Hurricanes!!!

School was supposed to begin on August 18th but low and behold, instead of heading off to school, we stayed home, awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Fay.

Of course, Hailey was happy to be home instead of getting back to school. Oh to be a child again, having no concept of fear and the heartbreak of loss. I, on the other hand, worried for days, anticipating the storm and what it might bring.

I have to say living in Florida from June to December 1st is very stressful. Every time the news mentions a new tropical storm, my stomach turns!

I worry about everything! I worry about my family, I worry about having to put the cat into a cage and running off with it into the night. I worry about my photos and my scrapbooks, all of which are material things but can honestly never be replaced.


I even worry about the power being out and our Mr. Crabs not having the filter in his aquarium work.

All these crazy things runs through my mind, all of them causing me endless nights with little sleep.

So finally, two days later, on August 20th, Hailey started her first day of 4th grade.

She was ecstatic about the teacher she got this year. She was so happy it was a "girl" as she says.

Last year her teacher was a "boy" and she wasn't all that thrilled about that.

And her teacher is "pretty" as she explains it to me!!!

I was so happy that she was so excited.

Her first day of school went well and best of all, her "girl" teacher doesn't give homework on Fridays. When Hailey told me about this, she danced around and screamed: "This is the best teacher EVER!!!"

It was so funny!