Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Camp Vernon - Connor and Paige at Grandma and Grandpa's for a week



This past week the kids spent the weekend with Grandma Alice and Grandpa Vernon at their house for a week. Grandpa and Grandma planned all kinds of fun activities with the kids. They got to play with the animals at the house, helped Grandma take care of the neighbor animals, made some friends in the neighborhood, went swimming at the neighborhood pool, went to the library, and played all kinds of games. 






The neighborhood brought some animals from the zoo for the kids to see. The kids got to touch some reptiles and learn about the animals.







On Friday we met everyone at Cantina Laredo for dinner and then we went to the beach to take a stroll.







Thursday, June 22, 2017

Anniversary trip to Orlando


For our 13th wedding anniversary, Andrea and I went to Orlando to stay at the Ritz for the weekend. We ate at Uno's a couple of times, did a little shopping, and relaxed at the hotel. It was a fun weekend for us to reconnect and enjoy each other's company.

We were extremely underwhelmed with the 5 star Ritz. It didn't help that their lobby and some areas were being renovated, however their restaurant selection was disappointing, they closed the pool and pool bar early on Saturday night, and their room service had a lot of extra charges involved. Despite the annoyances at the hotel, we enjoyed ourselves and our visit to Orlando.

Father's Day 2017


For Father's Day, the kids made me some cute cards and Paige gave me a little bowl that she'd made at school and had saved until Father's Day. Andrea got me some nice new workout clothes as well, so I was properly spoiled.



Our anniversary was actually the same day as Father's day and I spent the day with Andrea in Orlando this year.

Connor's PVIC tennis team wins!


Connor's team ended up in first place this past season and to celebrate, Elizabeth and Tony had the boys over at their place for a party. The kids all received their trophies and they got to play and swim a bit as well. We're super proud of Connor and his buddies for playing hard and putting up with all the craziness this past season.








Summer Camp Creations


At the PVIC summer camp, the kids have had a few crafts projects and the other day they did cake decorating. Paige decided that more decorations is the way to best decorate, so she had a few pounds of frosting and sprinkles on her cake. We had to take a pic of it before munching on it. Connor had a cute cake too, but wasn't around when I was taking pictures and we ended up eating it before we captured a pic.


Monday, June 12, 2017

Chloe and Connor playing with Bunny

We don't post a lot about Chloe, but she is still with us and doing great. This year she will be turning 14 years old, but you wouldn't know it from just looking at her. Most of her time is spent lying around in her doggy beds that Andrea got for her when we moved in to the new house. She likes to spend the days by the window in my office when I'm working. If I shut the office door while I'm working and she's not in the office, she'll scratch at the bottom of it until I let her in.

Chloe is a good doggy. She still will find any food we leave out and she likes to go in to the bathrooms to pull any tissues out of the trash and shred them. She is also pretty close to deaf lately. if we clap, she will hear it, but other than that she can't hear much.

She isn't as playful as she used to be, but every once in a while will be in the mood to play. Usually, after a bath, or when Connor or Paige gets out her bunny. Connor was playing with her the other night and I took a video of them goofing off together.

Andrea's B1 tennis season


Andrea's B1 tennis season ended on May 10th and her team got together for a party to celebrate the season on May 17th. It was an interesting year for Andrea's tennis and she came in to the season with a bit of apprehension since it was going to be with a new team at a new club with new ladies. Andrea also jumped from C1 to B1 this past season, so it was sure to be more challenging.

Andrea played with many different people throughout the season, which is what she was used to doing at JCP, however most players on the B1 team have established partnerships. She was worried she wouldn't get to play much since she didn't have a partner, but it worked out nicely since many people traveled or were unavailable during the season, so she got matched up and played quite a bit.

The PVIC team did well overall, and Andrea ended the season with a 20-1 record. Andrea partnered with 9 different people throughout her season, had a lot of close matches, and always found a way to win. Congrats Andrea!


Play doh with Paige


Paige got a little sample of Play doh recently and enjoyed goofing around with the little container. We got her a few sets recently so she could be more creative and she loves making food creations with all the tools. I made a pizza with her the other night and we took a quick pic together with it.


Sunday, June 11, 2017

Disney Dream 5 night cruise to Castaway Cay twice and Nassau



On June 2nd, we drove to Port Canaveral to start our 5 night cruise on the Disney Dream. The itinerary was a new one that Andrea found and they had just started. Since the Magic was sailing to Europe I guess that they had some more availability at Castaway Cay, so on this cruise we made a stop there on Saturday, then Nassau on Sunday, then Castaway Cay again on Monday. Tuesday was a sea day, and then we were home on Wednesday.

We got on the boat with no problem, then had to endure the emergency drill. We got situated in our room and went to dinner. In the morning, we got everything together and went to Castaway Cay. Our best buddy Mickey was the first to greet us, so of course we had to get a couple pics.




We decided to try and start at the slide since the tide was out and the monkey bar area was shut down. The slides were PACKED, so we swam out and goofed off with the big water bucket, but we didn't wait around for the slides.



Once the tide came in, both kids did the monkey bars and rope courses. Connor easily handled both and showed everyone who was the boss.






Paige was hesitant as she always is when we get out over the water. She can do a thousand monkey bars at the playground, but it's always a big deal to get her to try at Castaway Cay. Most of the kids can barely get across three or four before they fall. Paige did amazingly well, and could/should have finished the monkey bars, but I think she figured she was close enough and was worried about the fall. I was sure to be right there for her when she dropped in.


For lunch, the kids went to the kids area. Andrea and I rode the tram out to the adult beach and ate the buffet there. Afterwards, we swam a bit in the ocean and swam out to a sandbar. It was covered with water that day, but it was barely up to my knees, so it was fun to be far out in the water and still have it shallow.



Once back on the boat, we goofed around and I watched Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2 while Andrea took the kids to the Golden Mickey show. On Sunday morning, we were at Nassau, and we stayed on the boat. In the morning we went to see the princesses.





The rest of the day we enjoyed the pools and hot tubs on the boat, and then in the evening Paige got all fancy at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She wore her Elena dress, and she was stunning in it. Her fairy godmother did a humongous bun for Paige and at first we were a bit put off by it, but actually grew to love it.
















After dinner we were in the lobby and happened to see them getting ready for a princess presentation. The girls that had makeovers in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique were being presented to everyone and to a special dance. Paige had been the first appointment, so apparently they'd forgotten to tell us, but when they spotted her nearby, they invited her to join in.





After the presentation, I got to dance with Paige and the rest of the princesses.




We took some pics with Daisy and then Paige danced with Paige for a bit as well.




In the evening, Connor went to the kids club and the rest of us solved some mysteries together. Connor made a bunch of buddies in the kids club. He's so social now, it's really cute to see him outgoing and confident. He said it was his favorite cruise because he met so many friendly boys his age and got to play all kinds of games with them. We actually let him roam around a bit on his own and he went to the basketball courts by himself and would check in from time to time when we told him. He was very responsible and independent.





On Monday, we were back at Castaway Cay again. We rented a raft, played with the kids, and had another fun beach day.






Once on the boat, we got dressed for Pirate night and took some pics with our Disney pals.




The last day was a sea day, so we did some swimming, watched some movies, and relaxed.

In the morning I snapped a few pics of the kids at breakfast. I enjoyed taking them up and starting our day off with some yummy food.












Andrea got some ice cream with Paige and thought to get some pics of them together. We went to Vanellope's ice cream store a few times on the boat and got some delicious hand scooped ice cream treats.

It was a fun cruise together with the family!