Diz-KNEE World (part 1)

We have returned from Disney World.  This trip we travelled with my parents and stayed off-site, so it had a very different feel to it than our normal Disney World adventures. 

Friday - November 2

I worked until noon, got the car packed, and we headed up to my parents' house to meet up with them to go to the airport.  I forgot our magic bands, so we turned around to pick them up, adding an hour to the drive.  Thankfully, we had left with enough time that we were still not rushed.  We got to my parents' house, loaded their stuff into my truck, and then off to the airport.  We had dinner at a diner in the terminal, and then waited for our flight to board.  I used a four point harness system for Evan, rather than lugging his car seat onto the plane.  The flight was very bumpy.  The fasten seat belt sign was off for only 15 minutes of so of the three hour flight to Tampa.  Evan wound up projectile vomiting about 20 minutes before landing.  We cleaned him up as best we could.  After the flight landed, we let everyone else deplane, and then we changed him out of the clothes he was in and into a fresh set of pajamas.  We then rode the tram to the terminal to pick up our checked luggage, and then another tram to the rental car station, where we picked up the mini-van.  All loaded in, we were on our way to Disney World, where since I had checked in on-line, I got a text that our room was ready, so we headed right there.  Since we were coming in one night before our stay at the timeshare, I booked one night at Disney's Art of Animation resort.  We finally found our way to the room and got Evan into bed.  Jennie and I went for a walk to burn off the stress, and then back to the room to sleep.

Saturday - November 3

Saturday morning we work up and Evan was in awe at the theming of the room.  We walked from the room to the food court and he saw characters from the Cars movies.  We had breakfast in the food court and the scooter rental company delivered the scooter I was going to use for getting around the parks.  We then walked all through the Cars area, where Evan was so happy to see them.  We then walked by the main pool which was Finding Nemo themed.  Next area was The Lion King, and finally through the Little Mermaid Section.  We took lots of pictures and the joy on my son's face was priceless. 

My dad and I took the luggage to the timeshare to drop it off with the front desk so it would not be in the car, and so I had room for the scooter.  I really wanted to go swimming but this was the coldest day of the trip, so we opted not to.  We made our way to the Magic Kingdom.  Since Evan is a bit taller this year, we were able to ride more things with him.  We rode on Splash Mountain with my parents.  Evan sat between my dad and I in the back row.  When he got off the ride, he said, "That was awesome!"  Jennie and I then rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with him.  I sat next to him and Jennie rode behind us.  Since it was only a lap bar, I kept my one arm in front of him, so he didn't dive under the bar.  We got off and he had such a grin on his face.  "That was soooo cool!"  We then made our way across the park to get something to eat for a late lunch at Columbia Harbor House (which seemed to become our place in the Magic Kingdom for lunch).  We then rode on Ariel's Undersea Adventure, which is one of Ev's favorite rides.  He, Jennie, and grandma then rode on the carousel. 

we headed back to the timeshare to check in and get settled. 

We had dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe where Jennie's brother met us.  He had moved down to Orlando in November of last year and we had not seen him since Christmas when I flew him up.  Wiped out from a long day, I think we all fell asleep quickly.

Sunday - November 4

We were not going to any of the parks today, instead it was a day to visit family, chosen and blood related.  After breakfast, Jennie, Evan, her brother, and I were off to see family,  We first stopped to see Lee Ann and Ron.  Ron just had knee surgery but he was walking pretty well, and it is always nice to visit them.  We jokingly call them Evan's Florida Grandparents.  It was nice to visit with them and just hang out.  I miss them a lot.  

Then we were off to see Jennie's cousins in Northport, about 2 hours away (south of Sarasota).  We had a nice time and Evan got to see his cousin and meet his two new cousins.  We had a nice time hanging out.  Unfortunately for them, their landscaper kicked up a rock and it spiderwebbed the sliding glass door to the back of their house.  As we were eating dinner, it shattered and came down when the wind picked up a little.  Thankfully, Jennie's brother and her cousin taped plastic tarps on both sides of the window, so the glass shards were contained.  The landscaper was out there boarding up the door as we were leaving, and I have heard he has made good on the repairs.

End of October Recap

The end of October has been busy.  From seeing my cadet get married to Halloween, and preparing for a trip to Disney, its been a mad rush it seems.

My knee seems to be doing a bit better yesterday and today.  Today, I was able to walk two full blocks to get some lunch and then two blocks back without any additional pain.  That's a whole lot better than two weeks ago, when I could barely walk a block without wanting to cry.

For my cadet's wedding, I was one of her bridesmen.  She insisted I sit during the ceremony and took care to include me, but to ensure I was not in too much pain.  My brace fit beneath the tux pants.  I stayed off my feet as much as I could while also giving Jennie a break.  Evan was a monster on the dance floor.  He didn't want to dance at first and then he didn't want to stop.  He only stopped when the music was over.

The rest of the weekend was one of sitting on my tush and doing as little as possible.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  Evan was dressed as Wall-E. Jennie made herself an Eve hoodie and one for me as Mo.  It was well received by the neighbors.  I tagged out after trick-or-treating at the 4 neighboring houses and manned the candy table we setup outside the garage.   We had candy, non-candy, and non-food treats available for the kids, along with adult beverages for the parents.