Saying Goodbye to Uncle Jim

Last week we were shocked to hear that Doug's Uncle Jim had died.  We had just seen him and his family at Addie's graduation party and didn't even know that he had been sick.  I called Doug right away to let him know.  He was really sad to hear the news.  The Bridge family had meant a lot to him growing up.  He had spent a lot of time on their farm and had shared wonderful memories of Uncle Jim with all of us.  The Heinisch children had visited with him multiple times over the years and were really sorry to hear of his death.  We were all extremely thankful that we got to see him one last time in May.

When we heard that Uncle Jim's visitation was today, we rearranged everything on our weekend schedule to make sure that we could be there.  We knew that it would be impossible for Brett to join us due to his work schedule, but thought that Cal might be available.  Thankfully, he was free to meet us at the luncheon.  We decided not to ask Cameron to go with us.  After Richard's visitation, we didn't want to hurry him to another one.  Fortunately, Meg and Nick were home this weekend.  They invited him to join them at the Adler Planetarium and lunch at the Shake Shack.  We would be able to pick him up in Chicago on our way home.

We arrived at the visitation at 10 this morning and waited in line to visit Stephanie, Jeremy and Aunt Marg.  It was sad, but we were glad to be there.  We enjoyed talking with them and sharing stories about Uncle Jim.  There was a slideshow of his life as well.  It was nice to see all of the pictures.  We spent the rest of the visitation catching up with Dan, Morgan and Kim.  

The luncheon that followed was equally nice.  Aunt Marg gave a beautiful eulogy about his life.  She talked of his PTSD from being on the front lines of Vietnam.  She also spoke of his dedication to his family and how hard he fought to over come depression.  It was the perfect reminder of just how hard life could be and also how rewarding it could be.  After the luncheon was over, Doug had time to catch up with so many of his family members.  I enjoyed talking with may of them as well catching up with Cal.  I was very thankful that he could join us.  

We left DeKalb around 3 p.m. to meet Meg, Nick and Cameron in Chicago.  They had had a great time at the Planetarium and Cameron had really like the restaurant for lunch.  We picked them up on state street and headed to Lincoln Park.  We walked through the zoo and then met Cal.  He only lives a couple of blocks away from the south end of the park.  We walked and talked through the rest of the park enjoying our time together.  We left Chicago close to 6:30 our time.  On the way home, all I kept thinking of was how Uncle Jim would have really appreciated the way we spent our time together after his visitation.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate his memory.  

Meg's Quick Trip Home

Meg and Nick arrived home last night in time for a late dinner.  Doug had made macaroni and cheese in anticipation of them joining us.  We enjoyed catching up with them before an early bedtime.  They were planning on leaving at 7:30 tomorrow morning for Detroit.  Nick's brother, Trent, was getting married at 12:30 and they wanted to be there early.  

Doug was up to see them off as he woke up at 4:30 and started working shortly after that.  I decided to sleep in as I was exhausted from a long week.  Fortunately, Doug was able to get some rest later in the afternoon.  I was glad as it was rare that he ever took a nap.

I spent most of today working on the garage sale.  Meg texted me multiple times to give me an update on their day.  They arrived an hour before the wedding and hung out at the hotel with Nancy and Kyle before heading to the ceremony.  Only Nick's and his new sister-in-law's immediate families were invited along with the pastor's family, so it was definitely an intimate gathering.  Meg said that the ceremony was very nice.  Her favorite part occurred when Nick accidentally photo bombed one of the couples pictures.  

Meg liked the restaurant that was chosen for the reception.  It started a little later than expected, so Nick and Meg didn't get to leave as early as they thought that they would.  They enjoyed ice cream with Nick's parents as well as his brother Jeff before heading out.  We were happy to hear that they had enjoyed themselves, and thankful for a safe trip back home.  

Financial Planning

As we had a financial planning meeting scheduled with Dave Sands this week, I had spent some time looking at our expenses, investments and future plans.  My research led to a couple of questions - should we still contribute to Cameron's 529 with the downturn in the stock market, would Dave still be able to be our financial planner if we moved out of state and what should our monetary goals be as we transition from high tuition costs to thinking about retirement.  Dave answered all of our questions easily and we felt comfortable with his knowledge.  

Today I had a lot of time to think about our conversations last night.  I felt really good about everything except for long term care insurance.  I had never really thought about getting it until the last couple of months.  I knew that insurance was only worth the price if you used it and I wondered if we would ever need it.  I also was interested in the costs of long term care.  I was able to find a lot of answers online and felt comfortable with our choices for now.  

In all of my research the answers that I most found interesting was related to skilled nursing care.  The advice strongly recommended not hoarding all of your cash as it would end up all going to your care.  A nursing home couldn't lay claim to your retirement account or real estate, but would use up all of your cash.  That made me feel great about our decision to pay for the our own children's college.  Stashing all of our money away for some day thirty years from now would never benefit the Heinisch children, but investing in their education now made a huge difference in their lives.  We even hoped to be able to establish a 529 for any grandchildren that we have to help our children pay for their own children's college.  We knew that would have really helped us out when we started this adventure in 2013.  

From Here to There and Everywhere In Between

Cameron and I started our morning in Goshen.  He needed to have his Meningitis B vaccination before school started and 9:15 today worked best with our schedule and the doctor's office.  We drove two cars so that he could go to tennis conditioning right afterward and I could go grocery shopping.  On our way to the doctor, I received a call from Warsaw Family Eye Care.  Cameron had wanted to get contacts and the only appointment they had when I called last week was the end of August.  They were calling today to say that they had several cancellations and could get him in earlier.  I knew that we had a crazy schedule today, but thought we'd be able to make it to the eye doctor at noon. 

The vaccine went well and Cameron was soon on his way to Bethany.  I hurried over to the carwash.  I needed to clean it out from our trip home from Florida last weekend.  I did my best to finish as quickly as possible and was soon on my way to Menards and Walmart.  I felt like I was in an episode of Supermarket Sweep while getting groceries.  I needed to get out of the Walmart by 11 a.m. to make it home in time to put the refrigerated items away before leaving for Warsaw.  Thankfully, my many trips to Walmart over the past year paid off and I was able to grab everything and self check out by 10:45.

Cameron was home when I arrived.  Tennis ended early and he had time to shower before we needed to leave.  The eye doctor went well.  Cameron was fitted for contacts and will go back on Monday at 2 p.m. to learn how to wear them.  They said that it normally takes an hour.  We next stopped at Panda Express for lunch.  Cameron had to eat in the car so that we could make it home in time for his  haircut appointment at 1:45.  We pulled in with five minutes to spare before he had to leave.

While Cameron was at Amanda's, I spent some time on the garage sale and then took a short walk.  Doug and I had a financial planning meeting with Dave Sands at 5.  I hadn't even showered yet with our busy day.  I had just enough time to do so before Dave and Doug arrived.  We met for about an hour with Dave answering all of our questions and giving us a lot of good information.  Once he left I told Doug that today was one that I was extremely glad that we had set it up for me to stop teaching.  Today was crazy with all of the running around and I was thankful to be able to accomplish so much without having to worrying about anything except helping out our family.  

Garage Sale Blues

This weekend Doug helped me get the tables set up for the garage sale.  It seemed early as we were having one with the town wide garage sale event on August 4th to the 6th, but we both knew that it would take all of that time to set up.  Since it was at our house, I had the luxury of working on it for a few hours each day instead of getting ready for it all at once.  For having a garage sale last summer, I couldn't believe all that we had accumulated in just a year.  The worst was the clothes.  I quickly ran out of space for all of them and had to become creative in how I would put them out at the sale.  We decided that we would mark everything low as we planned on donating whatever was left.  Except for Cameron's Mario Kart track, the vintage Fisher Price and a few pieces of furniture, there will be very few items over $2 on our tables.  After talking to Meg and Cameron, we did change our mind about selling the Playmobil Circus.  The two of them had had a lot of fun with it and thought it'd be great to have at our home if and when we ever had grandchildren.

After a day of working off and on in the humidity, I was thankful that Doug said that he didn't have to work tonight and that Cameron wanted to play cards.  I definitely was ready for a break.  Grandma and Grandpa came up to play Oh Hell after our Pizza Hut dinner.  I know that there will be more to do these next couple of days, but at least I made a dent in the work today.  After this summer, only one more garage sale to go.  Then we can be done forever.

Mr. Mini Golf vs The Undefeated Summer Champion

Cameron pointed out to me this weekend that he hadn't played miniature golf at Paige's Crossing all summer.  Since Doug had to work late tonight, I asked him if he was interested in going this evening.  Once he said that he was ready for a rematch, we decided to ask Grandma and Grandpa to go with us.  On the way there Cameron pointed out that he was undefeated at mini golf this summer.  I was positive that I was going to change that record, but Cameron pointed out how poorly I played at the Hoosier Putt Hole earlier in the summer.  After that I wasn't quite as confident in my ability to dethrone him.

We started on the B course at Paige's Crossing and Grandpa soon jumped into the lead.  Cameron and I both tried our best to catch him, but in the end Grandpa won the first eighteen holes.  We decided to give it one more try and played the C course next.  Cameron had several holes in one on the first nine and it looked like he would win easily.  Grandpa wouldn't give up, however, and soon Cameron needed a hole in one on the last hole to win the two round score.  Cameron scored low enough to win the C course, but lost by two shots overall.  I finished in third place with Grandma trailing behind.

Even though Cameron lost his crown tonight, we all had fun playing.  Grandpa held on to the title Mr. Mini Golf and Cameron could still claim to be undefeated with his friends this summer.  We celebrated our outing with dinner at Dairy Queen.  It's rare that I have fast food and I enjoyed my dinner of a chili dog and sundae.  It was a great way to end the evening.

Nope

Cal told us over the weekend that he had watched the new Jordan Peele movie, "Nope."  I hadn't realized that it had been released yet, but Cameron did.  I asked Cal what he thought about it and he really liked it.  I looked to see when it would be available for streaming, but the earliest date would be some time in September.  As we really liked Peele's previous movies, "Get Out" and "Us", I asked Cameron and Doug what they thought about seeing it in the theater tonight.  I was glad to hear that they were both up to going.  I hadn't been to the movie theater since March of 2020 and was looking forward to it.

Cameron and I met Doug at Linway at 5:30.   We decided to get a big bucket of popcorn as we hadn't had that in 2+ years either.  There were just about as many people there as there was two years ago before the pandemic (less than a dozen.) which wasn't too surprising for a Monday nights.  

As soon as the opening scene started, we were hooked.  Cal had told us that it was a sci-fi thriller which was a little different than the previous thrillers that we had watched, but that didn't make it any less intense.  They were times that I had to look away and times that I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen.  The last 45 minutes were absolutely riveting and we all like how it ended.  Even though Cameron said that it was disturbing and none of us were quite sure that we would sleep tonight, we all walked out of the theater happy with our choice of this evening's activity.  

Cal called us on the way home and we agreed with his rankings of Jordan Peele's movies - 1) Get Out, 2) Nope, and 3) Us.  We couldn't agree on the most disturbing part in the three movies, however.  Cal and I felt that it was the family standing at the end of the drive in Us.  Doug and Cameron said that it was tonight's scene with Gordy the chimp.  It didn't really matter to us who was right.  It was just nice to be back at the theater enjoying a good movie.

Elkhart County 4-H Fair

Growing up, the best week of summer was always the Elkhart County 4-H Fair.  I loved going when I was little.  We'd walk through all of the animal barns, try several of the food booths, play some carnival games and ride a few rides.  In high school and college I would work at the fair for WKAM for the week.  It was an awesome experience.  I'd drive the golf cart, work the fair booth, and even help with interviews. 

When we moved here, I assumed that fair week would be a big part of the Heinisch family's life.  We took Brett and Cal a few times when they were little, but I quickly realized that my affection for the county fair was not shared by Doug.  He thought that it was dirty, unsafe, had terrible food and was expensive.  Thus, we stopped attending as a family and instead the Heinisch children and I would spend an afternoon at the fair each summer with my parents.  After a couple of trips with four children in tow, I quickly started to view the fair the same way that Doug did, especially the expensive part.  We calculated that it was cheaper to spend a day at King's Island then to take everyone to the fair.  When we explained that to the Heinisch children they were ready to make the amusement park a staple of our summer activities.

Even though we stopped going to the fair as a family, our children did still attend most years.  They would go with their friends when they were in high school or with my parents when they were younger.  They always had fun, but didn't spend every day there as I did when I was younger.  Cameron attended last year with Richard, Samuel and Avery having a great time.  He decided this year that he wasn't up to a trip with friends and decided to see if grandma and grandparent were available.  Thankfully, they were interested in going to the fair and took full advantage of free admission day this afternoon.

Cameron said that they all had a lot of fun.  He got to see Joey in the beef barn.  He ate a polish sausage and tried lemon ice cream from the dairy barn.  He didn't ride any of the rides, but he played a few games, winning a small prize or two.  Overall, it was a great afternoon and he was really glad that he went.  It will probably be his only trip to the fair this year, but that seemed to be ok with him.  

Life Outside of the Heinisch Home

I had a chance to catch up with Meg today.  I had talked to her a few times while we were in Florida, but hadn't heard everything that she had been up to this week.  She talked a lot about work.  She was excited about an event that she went to with Plante Moran.  It was the first social activity that she had been invited to that Cal was also attending.  She appreciated having him there.  Last night Meg decided to spend a quiet evening to herself reading on the beach of Lake Michigan.  Today she was waiting for Nick, Rachel and Alex to arrive.  They had plans to go to Lincoln Park, the Water Tower Place and Nando's.  She was most looking forward to the Brian Wilson concert that she and Nick had tickets to tomorrow night.

I also talked to Cal multiple times this week.  He enjoyed the social event with Plante Moran as well and thought it was fun to see Meg at it.  He had a golf outing this week with his partner that also went well.  He was excited about the newest episode of Better Call Saul and gave me a lot of background information about the series.  He didn't have a lot of plans this weekend besides hanging out with friends going bowling and watching the new movie "Nope" in theaters.

Brett didn't feel the best earlier in the week.  It had taken him a couple of days to catch up on sleep after a busy time in Florida.  He finally felt a lot better yesterday and hung out with Sean and Norman last night.  Tonight he went to a Monroe County Republican Party event after work.  He really enjoyed that.  For me it was fun just to catch up with everyone.  I was happy to hear that all were busy and having fun with friends and co-workers.  It's been a busy summer for everyone.  I can't believe that it's almost August.  

Five States, Seventeen Hours, Three Buc-ee's & We're Finally Home

We got the boys up early this morning and were on the road by 6:45 a.m.  We all hoped to make it home by midnight.  I brought plenty of snacks including a loaf of peanut butter sandwiches and a lot of drinks in the hope that we would be able to avoid long lines for fast food.  We made it through Florida and to our first stop in Georgia without any issues.  The boys slept most of the way, but were all up and ready to explore Buc-ee's when we arrived.  Samuel and Avery had never even heard of the famed convenience store.  Thankfully, Cameron and I didn't over hype it and they were just as impressed with it as we were the first time that we stopped.  

We made it through Atlanta without much traffic.  That was a complete surprise for a Friday at noon.  The rest of Georgia was traffic free as well which wasn't the biggest news of the day.  That occurred when Doug told us that he needed to do a few things for work and that we would be stopping at our second    Buc-ee's of the day.  The boys used this stop to purchase matching key chains.  I was thankful for the clean bathrooms once again.

The next good news that we received was when we finally made it out of Georgia.  We had spent five and a half hours in the state and were glad to be done with it.  The boys had used the time in the car to read "Devil in the White City"  for Michael's class.  They all said that they liked different aspects of the book, but hated having to annotate it.  I couldn't blame them for that.  

We decided to drive through the east side of Tennessee on this trip.  The time was about the same and we knew that there would be less mountains to navigate.  The added bonus was that once we made it through the state there would be another Buc-ee's waiting for us in Kentucky.  I bought all of the boys their famed brisket sandwiches to try and we enjoyed our dinner traveling into Indiana.  

Our last major stop of the night was in Indianapolis where we had to drop Samuel off to get his car.  He had parked it there Tuesday night when he flew to Orlando.  He and Avery grabbed their bags and soon we were on our way to Syracuse and they had left for Goshen.  The last part of the trip was a quick one as there wasn't any traffic on the road.  We pulled into the driveway at 11:40 p.m. just twenty minutes short of our arrival goal.  Cameron headed straight to bed, glad to be home and happy to have had a fun week with his friends.  

Last Day in Central Florida

Today was our last full day in Florida.  We offered to take the boys to Daytona on Friday, but they were ready to get back to Indiana for the weekend.  They made the most of their day by attending Jordan's last soccer game, going to a different Peruvian restaurant in Orlando and playing miniature golf in Ocala.  The game was the best one of the week with Jordan getting an assist in the 2-2 tie.  The restaurant was very good and miniature golf was a lot of fun.  Cameron was proud to announce that he came back to win.

I was a little sad tonight when I looked at the picture that I took of the boys with Jordan's sister, Teresa, right before we left.  When Cameron and I were planning this trip we both teared up when we realized that Richard wouldn't be joining us.  He and Cameron had made plans to come to Florida this summer.  It was hard to believe that it had been two months since he had died.  With so many uncertainties in life, I decided that instead of being sad, I would just be thankful for the time that we had with Cameron and his friends this week.  It was such a wonderful experience, one that we will always remember.

Orlando for the Day

Thankfully, Jordan's game did not start until 1:30 p.m. today.  That allowed the boys to sleep in and for Doug to join us in Orlando this afternoon.  While the boys went to the soccer tournament, Doug and I headed to EPCOT for lunch.  The food and wine festival was in full swing and we got to try several dishes that we didn't get to last week.  Everything was delicious.  Since the weather was still very hot, we decided to ride Living with the Land to cool off before we had to be back to the soccer field.  

Jordan's team lost 2-0 this time, but it was a much better game from their fans perspective.  The boys decided that they wanted to try go karting this afternoon.  Neither Doug nor I had ever been, so we weren't quite sure how to set it up.  We finally found one only 15 minutes from the soccer field.  The boys had a great time racing one another with Samuel almost lapping the field.  

It started to lightening again once they finished go karting.  We had planned to go miniature golfing at Fantasia Mini-Golf, but they had closed the course due to the weather.  The boys played corn hole for awhile instead and then we all met the Ross Richer family for dinner.  We had suggested Ford's Garage, but it was packed.  They found a quaint Mexican restaurant instead that we all really enjoyed.  We headed back to Ocala after dinner and were thankful to be back a little earlier tonight.  Doug, Samuel and Cameron even had time for a game of Ticket to Ride before calling it a night.  

National Youth Soccer Championship

We left early for Jordan's first game in the National Youth Soccer Championship today.  It was being held at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports.  Since I had never been to an event there, I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to park and find the field.  I was glad that we did as the facility was huge with thousands of soccer players filling the complex.  Thankfully, we made it in with no problem and soon found the Ross Richer family.  

While we waited for the game to start, they filled us in on yesterday's opening ceremony.  It sounded very impressive.  What was even more impressive was the fact that Jordan's team, ECU, was the only girls or boys team from Indiana that made it to nationals.  The game started promptly at 11:30 a.m.  Cameron and Avery went with Jordan's parents to the bleacher area.  I stayed in the shade to watch the game as it was over 100 degrees on the field.  

As this was ECU's first time at nationals, we weren't completely surprised to see that they were a little overmatched in the first game.  The boys ended up losing 7-1, but Jordan played well and had two shots on goal.  One was a header right by where I was standing.  It just missed.  It was disappointing for them to lose, but it was a fun game for us to watch.  We knew that tomorrow would be different as they now had the first game jitters out of the way.  

After the game, we all went to lunch at a Peruvian restaurant that friends of the Ross Richer family recommended.  It was delicious and nice to catch up with everyone.  While we were there, a storm rolled in delaying our trip back to their hotel.  While we waited, a huge bolt of lightening hit the building next to us.  It was a little scary.

The boys hung out at the hotel for the rest of the night.  We had brought their swimsuits and Cameron, Jordan and Avery took advantage of the pool.  We had to pick up Samuel at the airport at 9:30, so we thought that Pizza Hut would be the best choice for dinner.  The boys enjoyed hanging out and being entertained by a precocious ten year old.  We left a little after 8 for the airport.  Traffic was heavy, so by the time we parked and reached the gate, Samuel's plane had landed.  Within fifteen minutes we were back on the road headed for Ocala.  We were all tired, but the boys had so much to talk about that no one even thought about sleeping.  Their energy made the hour + drive back to Ocala an easy one for me.  

A Day for Shopping

We gave Cameron and Avery a list of ideas of activities that they could do today including Daytona Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and Universal Studios.  They decided to stick closer to home, however, and do some shopping in town.  That was ok with me as I knew that the next few days would include a lot of driving.  It also gave them one more day to sleep in before Jordan's soccer tournament started tomorrow.  

Before we picked up Doug for lunch, we first showed Avery several sites of Ocala, including the World Equestrian Center.  There was only one rider today, but he got to explore several of the arenas before we left.  We also saw the emu/zebra farm on our way out of the center.  We picked Tijuana Flats for lunch arriving just ahead of a large storm.  After our meal, the boys stayed in the area and went shopping at Barnes & Noble and Marshall's while I ran Doug back to work.  I picked them up just as they were finishing their purchases.

Our next stop was the Paddock Mall.  They really liked it and found several of their favorite stores there.  Cameron also introduced Avery to Belk's which has become one of my favorites.  Our last stop on the shopping tour was Beall's.  They didn't find anything at the store, but did at the outlet.  Afterward I got to see all of their purchases and heard about their planned outfits for tomorrow.

Doug took us to Brick City Southern Kitchen in downtown Ocala tonight for dinner.  It wasn't quite as hot as earlier in the day, so we were able to enjoy our meals outside.  We all tried different sandwiches and no one was disappointed.  We walked over to Grandpa Joe's candy store.  It was a lot of fun to explore.  The boys left with mint ginger ale and melon Kit Kats to try.  I splurged on some "unbearably hot cinnamon gummy bears" to enjoy while we played a game of Pit this evening.  Overall, it was a fun day and a great way to explore Ocala.  

Kayaking on Silver Springs

After their long day of traveling last night, the boys decided to sleep in this morning.  We woke them up in time for Jordan to arrive at 11 a.m.  We talked about a lot of different activities that they might be interested in and they all agreed that kayaking was top on their list today.  I had seen kayakers on Silver Springs river when I have been at the state park, but we had never really investigated them.  After a couple of phone calls, we found out a launch place that rented kayaks and we were soon on our way.

Doug was nervous about the boys kayaking on a river that was noted for its alligators.  They assured him that it was safe as the boys could see the bottom of the river and there were guides all along the way.  I even pointed out the amount of children under the age of ten that were already out on the water.  After hearing and seeing all of that, Doug was ready to turn them loose.  

While the boys were kayaking, we walked along several of the trails at Silver Springs State park.  We did see the boys once along our path.  They were having a great time and had already seen five alligators.  At first I thought they were joking, but soon saw the pictures confirming their statement.  Alligators were not the only animal that they saw on their trek.  There were multiple birds including one that won a stare down with a small gator.  There were also several types of fish and even a pregnant manatee.  It was a great adventure for all of them and it was fun to hear them talk about it.

Tonight, we met the Ross Richer family at Disney Springs.  The boys had some time to do some exploring before Jordan had to leave for a soccer team meeting.  Doug and I picked Splitsville for dinner and Cameron and Avery chose the food trucks.  All of us were very happy with our choices.  We ended the evening waiting for cookies at Gideon's Bakehouse.  Avery was just as impressed as we had been on our first visit.  

The Waiting Game

We spent the majority of the day checking for updates on the Southwest app and the website FlightAware regarding Avery and Cameron's flight.  It had delayed early in the morning and the time kept growing throughout the day.  Between the shortage of air traffic controllers in Jacksonville and the storms in central Florida every flight into and out of the state was delayed today.  Thankfully, the Rusel family took the boys to the Indianapolis airport, so if there was a problem, they'd be there to help.

While we waited, we played Ticket to Ride and checked out the Catholic Church in Ocala, The Queen of Peace.  We enjoyed both and also talking to Meg on the phone.  Nick had arrived in Chicago last night and they spent today exploring the Lincoln Park Zoo and Navy Pier.  They had a lot of fun and finally got to ride the giant Ferris Wheel.

We talked to Cameron multiple times throughout the day.  They made it to the airport, ate a sandwich and walked through security without any issues.  He and Avery were still very upbeat for having to wait.  We finally got a text Cameron at 8:30 p.m. that said that they were boarding the plane.  We were thrilled, but still a little skeptical that they would take off anytime soon.  Thankfully, they were soon taxiing to the runway and we saw the app update that they had left Indiana at 8:47, just under two hours late.  Doug and I headed to the car so that we could make it to the Orlando airport, park and find seats by the tram exit before they landed.  After only ten minutes of waiting, we saw them walking through the exit, tired but happy. 

A Quiet Day

Today was a quiet one for me.  I woke up early, but didn't get up and moving until after 8 a.m.  I had gotten a text from Brett at 2 a.m. that his plane had been delayed on the tarmac for two hours.  I decided not to call him until after 10:30 a.m. so he could get some sleep.  While I was waiting for him to get up, I took a walk and called Meg instead.  She had a virtual conference today and didn't have to log on until 10 a.m.  It was nice catching up with her.  She went on a "coffee walk" with Cal yesterday and enjoyed that.  

Cameron called me this afternoon on his way home from tennis camp.  He was super excited about his week and his role as a senior leader on the team.  He had played a lot of tennis and had found success on the court.  He had also enjoyed all of the activities that Matt had planned, especially hide 'n seek in the church.  He planned on a low key night at home once he helped Avery get his boarding pass for tomorrow's flight.

I also got to talk to Cal this afternoon as he called me on his way to Indianapolis.  He had plans to hang out with Mark this weekend.  We spent our entire conversation catching up on the eighth episode of "Better Call Saul."  It had been extremely intense and he liked all of the twists and turns that it brought.  Cal absolutely loved Mike and his role on the show.  I agreed with him 100%.  I was a little sad, however, at the final scene, but other than that we both thoroughly enjoyed the episode.  

Tonight Doug and I decided to take it easy, order pizza and play Ticket to Ride.  We had had a wonderful week with Brett, but had been out every night.  Thus, a quiet evening was a perfect way to rejuvenate and prepare for Cameron and his friends to arrive tomorrow.  We did hear from Brett after work as he was heading to Sean's.  He was exhausted, but happy.  We could totally relate.  

Opening Day of EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival

When we found out that Brett would be able to join us in Florida this week, we decided to see if anything was going on at Disney during that time period.  We were a little surprised to see that July 14th would be the opening day for Epcot's Food & Wine Festival.  It seemed early to us, but we weren't complaining.  Even though we thought that it might be crowded, we decided to get tickets and try it.  We all agreed that even if we didn't get to do everything that we wanted to, we still wanted to be there on opening day.

We were all up at 6 a.m. this morning so that we could be at Epcot when the park opened.  On the way over, I was able to get Brett a reservation on the virtual queue for the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster.  We were both happy about that.  We arrived at the park just before rope drop and soon were fast walking to Remy's Ratatouille Adventure.  It was only a 30 minute wait and soon we were off to our next adventure with Doug proclaiming Remy's ride to be a new one of his favorites.  

The three of us walked through the countries reading all of the menus for the food festival on our way to Norway for "Frozen."  The booths wouldn't open until 11 a.m., but we wanted to be prepared.  Unfortunately, Frozen was closed indefinitely.  The good news was that we weren't far from Test Track.  We were surprised to see that it was closed as well.  While we debated about what to do next, Brett headed to Mission Space.  We called him as soon as he reached the entrance to let him know that Test Track was looking as though it would be opening.  He hurried back and the three of us got in line.  Within five minutes we were pleased to be seated on a car together.

It was close to 11 a.m. when we finished on Test Track, so we headed to the Mexican pavilion.  We had just enough time to ride Gran Fiesta Tour before the Margarita bar opened.  They guys each tried one and really enjoyed their drinks.  We then walked through the countries trying various food from the different booths.  Many were the same from past years and some were new.  Everything was delicious.  My favorite dish was the cake/pudding from Ireland.  

Today was one of the hottest that I could ever remember.  Doug said that we had spent warmer ones in St. Louis over the 4th of July.  I know that he was right, but today was definitely blistering.  Thankfully, we had five indoor rides to cool off at while it was the hottest part of the afternoon.  I believe that it was the first time that I could remember Doug willing to ride both Figment and Nemo on the same day.  Thankfully, Sorain' was one of those available as well and it was a fun way to spend several hours before returning to the countries for dinner.

We had planned on leaving Epcot between 6:30 to 7:00 to get Brett to the airport for his 9:55 flight.  Brett had a few last minute purchases to make and we found ourselves in Germany around 6 p.m.  Doug and I noticed that the clouds were turning black and the wind was moving faster and faster.  We decided to head to the store at the front of the park just in case it did start to rain.  Brett met us there just as the skies opened up.  It was the biggest storm that I had been caught in at Disney World complete with high winds, hail and sideways rain.  Fortunately, it only lasted for about 35 minutes and was just drizzling when we headed to the car.  We had had a wonderful day at Epcot, did everything that we wanted to do and got Brett to the airport in plenty of time for his evening flight.  It was the perfect way to end Brett's time in Florida.