Universal adventures!

Labor day weekend Lauren went with friends to Bush Gardens and Universal Studios. Since it was just Renee, Rod and I, we decided to see if Lois wanted to take us to Universal Studios too. Lois works at Universal a few days a year and in return she gets free passes to the park.

Renee and I like the coasters and rode as many as we could. We started with the Hulk and finished with the newest coaster one the Rock It. We had a blast!

Rod was looking tough in Islands of Adventure.

 
They wanted to ride Dudley Do Right's water ride. I was a good sport and went too.

 


We spent the next hour squeezing water out of our clothes. 


As we were walking to the Double Dragons coasters, we passed where they are building the new land of Harry Potter. This is Hogwarts under construction.
 

Our Girls!

We're getting settled into school and softball routines. Don't the girls look excited?! Sometimes, we are home in the evening and can just chill.

Monday and Thursday nights Renee has practice. Tuesday and Friday nights Lauren has practice. Sometimes there will be an extra practice on Saturdays. Wednesday I try to actually make a nice dinner...

 

So Jealous!

The Sisters are antiquing together. . . and it sounds like fun! I talked with Mom and she said she's hanging out with Patti, Sharlene and Amy today. Not only is the weather probably NOT in the 90's, but how fun to get together with your sisters. I know I miss my siblings and in-laws, so I love hearing about when you all are able to get together and celebrate or just hang out.

Mom said she gave Aunt Patti one of the mailboxes I like to paint with my own version of lilacs on it. I've heard her house is painted with a similar color scheme, so it will fit right in!

Here's my mailbox! Enjoy yours Aunt Patti!

So many 1st's!

So, it's official. I no longer have a child in Elementary School. Lauren was just a baby, ok 18 months old, when we moved to Florida. She was still dragging around a cloth diaper and sucking her two fingers. (The same 2 fingers little George sucks.) Now she is a Middle School student who sits at lunch every day with 5 girlfriends and her boyfriend!

That is almost easy compared to seeing my first born coming out of the High School! She gets in the car and the first thing out of her mouth is, "Can I drive?" The times they are a changin'... She leaves the house each morning before 7am, she rides to school with Rod. She gets out at 2:20pm and then we bring her back to work with us. She has gotten quite a few hours in at the business. She is a very good worker! She sweeps the floor, empties the trash, assembles awards, unpacks shipments, helps her dad with QCing products, packs things up to ship out...

DRIVING!!!

Renee got her permit last Tuesday! She took her test and passed on the first try. I guess lots of kids have to take it more than once. It probably has something to do with the fact that there is NO driver's education classes at school or in the community. It is up to the parents to teach their kids how to drive. She had to take a 4 hour on-line Drug and Alcohol Awareness course and exam first. Then she got the manual from the DMV. She studied, we quizzed her, and then took the test.

She drove around the neighborhood with Rod first. I wasn't quite sure I was up to it. But, she gets better every time. I've now let her drive me to the gas station, the grocery store, work, a local Middle School that I was making a delivery to... She really is doing well. She makes me nervous on the lane changes and when she starts singing along with the radio. The more she drives, the more confident she becomes! I am so proud of her!

This is her driving down the road at 50 mph!

Cupcakes!

Renee got a couple of cookbooks for her birthday from Laura, Joel and Konrad. Lauren instantly latched on to the Cakelove book and set her mind to making chocolate ganache. They had me pick up the ingredients on the way home from work. We made some chocolate/peanut butter cupcakes from Martha Stewart's cupcake book. Lauren made the ganache - so simple. She dipped the cupcakes in the ganache and they looked so yummy!

What do you think? Yes, they tasted as good as they looked!

Happy Birthday Renee!

15! It's hard to believe my baby has been around 15 years already! She's ready to take her driver's permit test as soon as they open tomorrow morning. She's so excited to start driving! We played softball this morning and are having family over for food and cards this afternoon.

I took this picture after 2 and a half hours of 95 degree weather softball. There was a nice breeze due to the Tropical Storm brewing in the Gulf. We'll have to keep an eye on that.