Justin and Laura visit

Last weekend two of our friends from Tulsa visited us for a fun extended weekend.  Justin is now the first person who has come to see us twice.  He should totally get an award for that!  

Justin and Laura spent Thursday at Sea World.  They said the new Manta ride was really fun.  We haven't ventured to Sea World yet so you'll just have to trust them.  Laura LOVES sharks so she especially had a great time with Shamu.  Thursday evening we hung out at our house and then went to our favorite little sushi restaurant that is never crowded like In the Raw.  On Friday they spent the day at the outlets and then they and Kyle met me downtown after work for some Happy Hours!  We ate at Season's 52 that night and had a wonderful dinner.  Then we headed to Vines Wine bar for some excellent martini's!

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Universal!  This was our 5th trip to Universal and I must admit it is just as fun every single time.  You forget how crazy some of the rides are.  Since we had some passes to get Justin and Laura in pretty cheap we all splurged on an Express Pass.  Now what I didn't know about the Express Pass is you can either buy one for $40 but you can only use it to ride each ride once or you can spend $70 and use it unlimited number of times.  We decided to just do the one use pass and figured we could get in the single rider line (THE way to go by the way) or just wait in a "normal" line if we wanted to go again that badly.  It ended up working out really well.  We got to ride every ride we wanted to and even tried some we hadn't before.  Dr. Doom's fear fall was a pretty good ride.  It is really short so I wouldn't ride it if there is any sort of a line, but it was fun.  We got to ride the Hulk twice because the first time we got in line I asked the guy if he would pretend to scan our cards so we could ride it again...and he did!  Universal is just a really fun way to spend a Saturday and even more fun with great friends.

This is the barge ride that gets you absolutely soaked.  It's like you jumped in the water with all your clothes on, but it's fun!  I wore kyle's hat to try and keep some part of me dry.  

Oh and we also used the $5 dollar machine that blows hot air on you to dry you.  I don't know if it's worth it really.  The sun wasn't really out at this point so we needed something to help dry us off.  And yes I made fun of people who wore swim suits to Universal the first couple of times we went, but we wore them this time and it's a great idea especially if you plan on riding this ride.  

Sunday we got up and headed to New Smyrna Beach!  It was a great day to be at the beach.  There was a little storm that rolled it and we went to eat lunch and waited out the storm.  By time it was done the sun was out again without a cloud in the sky.  We had such a fun time just laying out, drinking some beer, and hanging out.  New Smyrna was a lot like Cocoa but you can drive and park right on the beach so it's convenient.   We didnt take too many pics on the beach but here's a good one of Justin contemplating life in front of the ocean.

Justin and Laura left on Monday and we miss them already.  Thank you guys so much for coming out to visit us!  We are excited to see yall in November for Bedlam/ Thanksgiving! 

Meeting Miss Laney!

2 weekends ago I got to go back to Dallas to meet and hang out with Laney.  It was such a fun trip home.  Alyson, Ryan and Laney picked me up from the airport and I got to see L-bug with my own eyes for the very first time.  I just stared at her perfect little face the entire way home.  And of course got some taco bueno on the way!  This baby has got to be one of the best babies.  I was amazed at how much you really have to do everything for a newborn.  She would literally sleep, wake up, play for a minute or two, be hungry, eat, burp, and fall back asleep again.  Incredible.  It was so amazing to see my big sister be a wonderful mom to her baby.  And that girl is so lucky to have Ryan as her dad.  

On Saturday we just slept in (well I did I am not sure if Laney and Alyson did) and hung out in the morning.  My other sister Amy and her boyfriend's kids (Christian and Cameron) came over to Alyson's.  Eventually we had a lot of family and of course Lisney over to hang out.  Shout out to Lis for bringing me some Boulevard Wheat even though she was exhausted from being at the Extreme Home Makeover site all day!  It was a great night!  And the day was still filled with ooing and awwing over Laney and how perfect she is.  I finally got to give her the clothes I had been stocking up for her since she was born.  She wore one of my outfits every day.  Not sure if it was because her mom thought they were just too cute or she figured she could wear them while I was there and never again ;-) 

On Sunday I went to my dad and marilyn's house and got to hang out with them for a bit.  Then met up with Kristin to go see her new house she is building!  It is coming along and hopefully she will be all moved in when we come back for Labor Day.

After a yummy lunch at El Norte with all the girls and Christian and Cameron it was time for me to head back home.   I'll admit I teared up a bit when I was leaving but tried my best to keep it under control.  Although it is sad I don't get to see my family and now especially Laney more often, she will have no doubt that I love her very much.  I can't wait to go see her in September and am really looking forward to them coming out to FL next summer!

pictures

I was really tired when I posted this and forgot to add some pictures from the weekend...

More Visitors continued

I had to separate the posts for separate weekends and visitors, so consider this a 2 for 1.  Another great friend of ours, Jonathan, came out this past weekend to hang out with us as well!  Unlike other visitors Jonathan didn't really want a plan and didn't care too much to hit up all the touristy spots.  And it was the 4th of July so there was a lot of things going on here.  So it was a much different trip but we still had so much fun.  He got in on Wednesday night and we just stayed up drinking some wine and catching up.  

On Thursday Jonathan and Kyle came downtown to meet me for lunch at Urban Flats then the boys hit the pool while I worked the rest of the day.  Thursday night we went to Latin Night at Blue Martini and grabbed dinner at Seasons 52.  While at dinner Jonathan surprised us with a bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet and it was amazing.  What a wonderful anniversary gift!!  Thank you so much Jonathan, we can't tell you how much we appreciated that.  Then we headed back to Blue Martini for some more drinks, fun, and amazing flatbread!

On Friday Kyle, Jonathan, and Brannon played golf (again while I worked) then went to the pool.  I went out to Altamonte Springs for the Red Hot and Boom celebration with my friend Jen from work.  It was an amazing fireworks show and we had such a fun time just hanging out!  They had a lot of bands play on the water before the show and I got to see Matt Nathenson and We the Kings which were both really good.  Then we met up with the boys and Brooke at Vines Wine Bar and had a really great night.

Saturday I spent at the pool while the boys went shopping (I know how bad that sounds but the outlets here are really good and it was the only time he had to go check them out)  then they  met me at the pool for a little bit.  We went downtown for the Lake Eola fireworks show which was also an amazing fireworks display.  We ate dinner at a Tapas restaurant that I am so glad Jonathan made us try because it was really good and the Sangria was the best I have ever had.  

It was such a fun weekend and we even got to do things we haven't done here yet!  Spending the 4th with great friends and in Orlando was a wonderful experience.  We hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of July! 

We've got a big week this week!  Tuesday is our 2 year anniversary and Friday I am going back to Dallas to meet and hang out with Laney.  I have never been more excited to go back home before.  It will be an incredible weekend.  Doesn't get much better than getting to meet your niece for the first time and spend all weekend with my family! 

More visitors!

Our friend Bill came and stayed with us a couple weeks ago and we had a really fun time getting to hang out with him.  Friday night we hung out downtown and Saturday we went to Universal and had a great time!  We finally rode Spiderman for the first time and it was really good!  I can not believe we have skipped it the first 3 times we went.  We also got to see some of LL Cool J in concert.  However, I didn't know the first 4 songs he played and all he would say is, "Let me hear you sccreeam" and "put you L's in the air" and it got really annoying.  I would have liked to hear some old school Ladies Love Cool James but after not knowing for songs (and it being incredibly hot with all those people) we left.  We grabbed dinner at the Hard Rock which was actually really good and headed home.  Universal wears you out!  But we had a great weekend with Bill and am so glad he came to stay with us.  Bill and Paige are getting married August 22nd and we could not be more excited!  We love Bill and Paige and are really looking forward to their big day.  (oh and bison witches, goodcents, and good mexican food while we're in OK too!)  

Bill LOVES HP so I have no doubt he will come back in 2010 when this is finished!