Back to school...or not...

Sometimes things just aren't easy. And registering for school in Florida was one of those times. Back in October when I was out making house selections, Jack and I had unsuccessfully attempted to register the boys for high school thinking by doing it then, it would be one less thing we'd have to worry about come January. Well, that wasn't going to happen. And after such a terrible experience at the registration office we determined there was no way we'd pull the kids out midway through the year to deal with what could be a nightmare. We were definitely not in Mason any longer. Surprisingly though, when we proposed to the boys the idea of finishing out the school year in Mason, they were not happy. It was evident they had already mentally prepared and were excited about the move, being able to play a second season of water polo their freshman year, and escaping the cold Ohio weather. Poor Sage who did want to stay was outnumbered and after asking them all to think about it for a weekend, the boys insisted we stick to the plan of moving and really they were the ones we were most worried about. So here we are trying to register the boys for school the day before students start back up and it was as dreadful as the first time I attempted to register them. If the house had been progressing as planned perhaps things would have been easier to deal with but compound our school situation with our housing situation and I was beginning to feel defeated. Even with all my paperwork in hand we still burned through three days of dealing with everything from a disorganized registrars office to registrars that probably should have retired a decade ago to having to wait FIVE hours to finally meet with a registrar to having to return the following day to select classes and then having to wait almost a week for them to be issued their laptops. Private school started looking better by the minute but that would be no easy process either as there is even more paperwork and testing, not to mention tens of thousands of dollars to get that process started. Finally the boys got their schedules only to realize after their first full day that they already had been taught what was being taught. Needless to say it was back to the dreadful registrars office to upgrade every core class that wasn't already an honors class. Of course nothing about this was going to be easy including the fact the school is about twenty minutes away so every morning I have to drive them to seminary at around 5:40. Then I'm back picking them up at 5 after water polo ends at a pool that is even farther away for us. I can't tell you how happy I'll be not only when our house is done but when their brand new high school is done which will be next fall and will thankfully be located just five minutes from our house! The bright star in all of this has been their water polo coach. She and I had been communicating long before we arrived and already she has had our back and is looking out for the boys and the boys are really enjoying playing here.

Next up was Sage. Things appeared to go quite smoothly on her end. We got her registration materials dropped off at her school, the registrar was warm and lovely to Sage, and although they asked Sage not to attend on the first day of school but rather the following day so all the new kids wouldn't get lost in the shuffle, it seemed like it was going to be great...until we got the unexpected call the next day alerting us Sage was registered at the wrong school! We then found ourselves back to square one with her and delayed yet another day in getting her into school. The jury is out on what we think about the schools here but I am happy to report that all three of them seem to be adjusting well.

Sage and I determined there are far worse ways to spend your days waiting to get back into school...Florida in January has it's advantages...



Finally she's in school!



Thankfully after that disastrous first week, Jack arranged for a great day for us at Busch Gardens in Tampa where we felt a lot of love. It was the kids first time there and what a fun day we had despite it starting off a bit wet (the first bit of rain we'd seen since arriving to FL)! It's not everyday you get to feed a giraffe, hold a sloth, pet a tarantula and kiss flamingos! Definitely a way to lift the spirits from the past week.






This is not your ordinary drop tower. Once at the top it turns your chair facing down towards the ground and drops you before bringing you back to your upright position just before getting to the bottom. A true skydiving experience...lol! Definitely a way to take your mind off other things...

Happy New Year and hello 2017!

How great it was to be able to spend our first day of 2017 at the beach and even better was we got to spend it with friends from Ohio (Andrea, Eyk, Julius and Johannes). When Andrea and I first figured out they'd be returning from their cruise right around the time we'd be in Orlando we knew we had to meet up. So glad it worked out!

Goodbye 2016...

After a hectic few days getting settled in our apartment how nice it was to get out and ring in the new year! In many ways 2016 has been a fabulous year but not without a few bumps in the road. Jack and I kicked off the year traveling to Maui in Jan. In March he was invited to come down to Orlando to interview with SeaWorld Entertainment. In April we took our amazing trip to the Philippines. In June Jack finished working at Luxottica and started at SeaWorld. The week before he started we all came down to Florida for a house hunting trip. Although we were unsuccessful in finding a house on that first trip, SeaWorld spoiled us that same week with VIP treatment at the parks which really got the kids excited. In July, Jack met us out in Utah for a summer vacation. After some time there the two of us jumped back on a plane to Florida for a second house hunting trip. During that trip we signed on a piece of land and with a builder with the hope of being in our new house by June 2017. We closed on the land in September. For the next six months Jack commuted between Orlando and Cincinnati while the kids completed the first semester of the school year in Ohio. It was a decision we struggled with, wasn't ideal, but looking back was definitely the right thing. In October I joined Jack in Orlando to make house selections, and in December we officially moved down to Orlando. And now, here we are, starting a new adventure in albeit tight quarters but as a family! As excited though as we are to be in Florida, it will feel much more real once we are settled in our home. In the meantime though we'll take every opportunity to get out and enjoy beautiful Florida! So that was 2016 in a really small nutshell!

So it would only make sense we'd ring in the new year at SeaWorld! Nothing beats parking behind Shamu stadium and being in the park within a minute. Happy New year!

The calm before the storm...

There is plenty to miss in Ohio but one thing we are not missing at all is the weather! As we waited for the moving truck to arrive here in Florida, we enjoyed a wonderful day at Discovery Cove. It was a perfect way to unwind before the storm of the moving truck arrived...




Another evening we made our way over to SeaWorld to enjoy their holiday festivities. It's really amazing how beautiful and done up the parks get for the Christmas season. But again it felt so weird to be out and about in shorts in December!!!



After a great week off from cooking, cleaning, and worry, the moving truck arrived and reality was about to kick in. At first glance our apartment complex is really lovely. Huge modern club house with infinity pool overlooking a small lake, that has a real resort type feel. The place is only a few years old so still has a very new look to it. Well, we hadn't seen our apartment beforehand. The only thing we knew was that it was three bedrooms (the largest offered) and we had upgraded to a lake view unit. Even after being so conservative in what I had the movers bring to the apartment, it was still very clear it wasn't all going to fit. We still have boxes piled up on our balcony and inside. We ended up having to rent a second storage unit because of a shortage of space. Thankfully the storage unit is less than a mile from the apt., and is also new and air conditioned. Heaven knows though what shape our stuff will be in when it finally makes it to the house as one of the units is packed so tight with furniture on top of furniture that I couldn't help but imagine a bunch of broken dishes and ruined pieces of furniture. Already we had one casualty with a kitchen chair that was demolished. The movers assured me they knew what they were doing but I can't imagine we'll get out of that unit without a few disasters.

After shedding a few tears over the lack of space I keep trying to remind myself how much more exciting moving into the house will be. But at the pace the construction is going I just hope my little heart is able to survive long enough to actually see it completed...

Christmas in Orlando!

After a great time at the beach we made our way into Orlando for what would turn out to be another four nights waiting for the moving truck to arrive. Of course the first thing Sage ever wants to do at a new hotel is hit the pool. You can see just how excited Ty was with that idea...haha! After a quick dip we got cleaned up and headed to one of the hotel restaurants for our Christmas Eve dinner. It was so weird! That's the only way I can describe it. The hotel was decorated beautifully, the Christmas music playing, everyone was dressed to the nines (with the exception of us) and yet it still didn't feel like Christmas Eve. There is something not right about hearing "the weather outside is frightful" or "sleigh bells ring..." when it's in the 80's outside! But we were making the best of it!



The one thing we were all really excited about and looking forward to though was our time at Give Kids the World on Christmas day! Before we had arrived into town I had discussed with Jack spending this Christmas doing some sort of charity work. It seemed like the perfect year to do it being we ourselves were homeless. How nice it would be to work alongside the real homeless people. After some research we learned that between age restrictions and background checks, working at a homeless shelter probably wasn't going to happen. Jack, however, was able to learn about a charity that SeaWorld is heavily involved with called Give Kids the World. It would prove to be the perfect fit for our family. SeaWorld graciously organized us spending Christmas day there which was great because although Sage didn't meet the age requirement there too, they were able to get special authorization for her. GKTW is a resort that caters to children with life threatening illnesses who come there to stay with their families for a week, while also getting to attend the theme parks of their choice. Everything is provided to these families at no cost and sadly for some it will be the last trip their child will get to be able to go on due to their illnesses. It's really amazing. Most families are Make A Wish families who have been selected to have their Disney/SeaWorld/Universal dream vacation fulfilled. It was the BEST way to spend our morning! And we all decided that it's a tradition we'd like to continue.




After a great morning the remainder of Christmas day we spent hanging out at our hotel.



One would have thought we would have made reservations for a fabulous Christmas dinner but no, we had not. So Jack had recommended we go to a restaurant at the Ritz which happens to be attached to the JW Hotel that he had eaten at several times before. Well what he didn't know was that for Christmas they change up the whole menu and it was turned into a special buffet. That special buffet was $110 per person before tax and gratuity. I just couldn't stomach spending almost $700 to eat dinner as a family so we headed to the car and searched...and searched...and searched for a place that was both open and had availability. Well that was completely unsuccessful so I whipped out the handy Trip Advisor app and said find a place near us that is rated high. It turned out to be a pizza place...lol! It was good pizza but not exactly what we imagined Christmas dinner being like . Needless to say we will never move again during the Christmas holiday. Haha!!!