Summer is almost here:)

As we finally emerge from the dreaded pandemic, we decided to take a test 'mini-vacation' to see if we could remember how to pack a suitcase and wear shoes again:). We stopped at the epic bucc-ees on the way to St. Augustine - Mike was in hog heaven...

Professor slept his way through our trip at Disney's luxury VIP Pet Resort experience. I spent most of the trip checking on him via webcam:) 

We had cocktails at the beach bar the minute we arrived. I was asleep about an hour after these bad boys - couldn't handle the pace:)

It was so lovely to walk around the old town maskless and worry free now we are all vaccinated...:)

We had a blast playing 'tourist' at the wax museums and local attractions...

I showed Annie Oakley how to wear a mask wrong...

At Ripley's we saw the second of only two full-sized replicas of Michelangelo's statue of David. We saw the other one in Florence back in the day when cruising was a thing...

We watched a yacht race...

And walked on the beach...

It was really lovely:). A great dry run for our big trip to the Dakotas in June - I am beyond excited!!

I also finished my first dollhouse reno of the year recently. Love how it turned out and can't wait for the fun part when we give it away:)

Now I need to try and get into the real, full-sized Shrunk magazine to see if I can get this idea of 'creating and donating' to catch on:)

My whale for Maddy

Love how my latest project came out! Super happy that Maddy loved it too!

Cross Stitching like a maniac

I've definitely aced my goal to spend more time being creative this year! Cross stitching is so relaxing and it took me about 200 hours and over 5 months to complete this piece but I have loved every second of it. Very proud of myself!!

Double celebration

This year my 44th birthday actually fell right on Mother's Day! So I started celebrating the weekend beforehand at Universal Studios...

 

I left my sunglasses on the Harry Potter ride the previous week and was really excited that they had actually been turned in! 

The next day Maddy and I went up to Oakland for a lovely nature walk and did some geocaching for the first time in years - Maddy still has a very beady eye...

I treated myself to a day off work on Thursday with Mike and after a much needed day of relaxation, we went to Maddy's school's Art Show.

It doesn't matter how many works are on display or how many times we've done this - it's always such a thrill to see your child's artwork. We are so proud of our talented daughter :)

Maddy's house blew up in the kiln so she redesigned it to look 'burned out' and called it "The Blitz" - how stinkin' creative! The art teacher said he'd never seen a student do that before :)

On Saturday, Lu and I did the most beautiful run for a Milk Bank in Florida:)...

But my birthday highlight was getting my new camera lens! Now I can take amazing pictures of birds!!! It's super easy to use and I am really thrilled with how well my first set came out :)

Who would have thought at 44 I'd be a twitchin' shutterbuggin' nerd? :)

Girl's Week!

While Mike was away on business, Maddy and I decided to spend the week getting stuff done so that we would be free to have some real fun at the weekend! We were way behind with putting together Maddy's bedroom furniture as planned but we pushed through and finally got it done at 4am on Friday night!!!
 

 Look how cute - we love how it turned out!!

On Saturday, we hung out at Magic Kingdom :). When the crane is out, you know that castle is getting some extra lights. Apparently Elsa is going to be changing it into a Frozen ice castle during the Holiday shows...:)

 

Love spending time with my best girl :)

Maddy's driving skills could do with some work...

Another magical night! On Sunday, we went to the amazing Maker Faire (http://makerfaire.com) at the Orlando Science Center. Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. The exhibition features innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.

We had heard there were waivers required to sign up for the soldering workshop so we were definitely up for that :)

Maddy was a natural...

Loving those safety glasses...

The eyes are a bit wonky but not bad for my first handmade robot!

We saw literally hundreds of 3D printers. Here's one that has been converted to print coffee! I actually drank a 3D printed coffee. Mind blowing...

These guys were 3D printing people into little plastic dolls in full color. It was completely amazing!

This exhibit was one of our favorites. The character on the screen uses face recognition software to copy your facial expressions real time. So fun!

There were a ton of inventors too. These guys actually believe they are onto the 'Next Big Thing' with their contraption designed to catch your dog's poop before it even hits the ground...

I'll definitely go back just to check out the Science Center itself - there were tons of fascinating things. This is a cake. A freaking cake!!

And we bought the coolest souvenir...

We had an amazing time and it was a perfect end to a lovely girls week. Now for even more girl time - Gail gets here on Wednesday!!! Yippee!!!