Tag: family

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Give It a Rest

I slept in a little bit today, but didn’t want to miss seeing any animals. That was kind of the point of staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was the first one up and spotted an addox in the field outside our room. I woke the girls up to show them my picture, and it wasn’t long before we saw some giraffe as well. We eventually got everyone rolled out of bed to try and swim for a bit, but then we smelled breakfast cooking at Boma, the restaurant downstairs from the lobby. We were able to walk up and get a seat nearly immediately, and the buffet was incredible. There was some pretty typical breakfast stuff, but a lot of new African things to try as well. I particularly loved the orange, passion fruit, and guava juice blend, as well as the stewed tomatoes. I stuffed myself silly, and then we went outside to swim under some direct sunlight.

I didn’t want to stay out and burn, so we weren’t out terribly long. We came back to the room and the girls played on their phones. I started to doze a little bit, but never took a proper nap. We went back outside for a little bit at one point, but eventually had to start making our way to the Beach Club Resort for our reservation at the Cape May Cafe. I wasn’t prepared for another buffet, but the girls were hungry again since they hadn’t eaten much at the first one.

We took the bus to Hollywood Studios, the Skyliner to EPCOT, and then a boat to the resort, where we had some time to kill in some rocking chairs by their pool before it was time to eat. There, some of the food was super good, but then I was disappointed by some others. I guess most of the seafood I had was pretty good, but I could only eat so many fried calamari. The pork loin and prime rib(?) were both pretty tough and unenjoyable. I did really like the clam chowder, and the glaze they used on their salmon was super good. I wished I liked the taste of salmon more, because they were really thick cuts.

After stuffing myself again, we headed straight back to Hollywood Studios by boat, and then took the bus back to our own resort where we went out for another dip in the pool. Eaddie joined us at the side of the pool for a little bit, but then went back upstairs. Summer and I goofed around in the water for a little while, and then headed back up for bed.

You’re a nuisance to my plans.

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Dusted and Busted

It was super hard to wake up for a second day in a row with only a couple hours of sub-optimal sleep. We didn’t make it out of the room quite as quickly as yesterday, but we still got there for park open. Summer scored us really early virtual queue tickets to the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coaster, so we ended up cancelling our breakfast reservation at Akershus and tried to be first in line. They didn’t actually open that ride until 8:40 though, and recommended we try something else for our early hours. We didn’t want to walk far, so we just stopped next door for some Starbucks and then came back.

The whole ride seemed pretty out of place for EPCOT, but it was super cool nonetheless. We were so early that there wasn’t a queue at all yet, and in fact we were the only three people on our train. The ride was incredible, and I only partially jokingly asked if we could stay on for another ride. The first guy said we didn’t want to know what was behind the door that led back to the start of the ride, but then another woman asked if we wanted to ride again, and took us through a staff door and loaded us on the back of the next train, which only two other people were on. After riding both first and last cars, I think the rear was my preferred. It really was an excellent experience, and getting to ride twice, back-to-back, was super special.

The rest of the day was some tough bouncing back and forth, partially to hit rides, and partially to make our lunch reservation at Space 220. Overall the food was great, but the experience was fairly middling. The screen for the “space window” could have been way better, and we were seated too close and too far to one side for it to be even noticeable at all.

By the time we got back to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the reported wait time was like 160 minutes. I think we actually got through in just under an hour though. The ride was super cute, but we kind of thought it was more kiddy-cute than something we really cared to ride repeatedly.

We squabbled a bit in pain as we decided how to attack the rest of the afternoon and evening. I really wanted to at least experience the new Frozen ride, and we eventually made it. Eaddie and I both came away with the exact same thought, that Disney has started relying too heavily on projections for their rides. We preferred actual animatronics, and felt the projections just took away from the experience.

Overall, I think most of the things we’ve experienced this trip have been disappointments, and I’m definitely falling out of love with Disney. There are just an intolerable number of people here, and everything feels like a blatant money grab. The only other highlight for the day was really the special fireworks display over the United States pavilion. Julie and Kevin missed it because they went to the front of the park, but we watched from right next to the pavilion and it was intense.

We all made it back to the resort without too much trouble, but a little worse for wear. Everyone’s feet were hurting pretty badly. I have a pinky-toe that’s more blister than toe. The girls crashed pretty quickly, but I didn’t get to sleep until late because I kept trying to wake Noah up off of our couch at home by playing music over my speakers remotely. Then I had trouble stopping them when he finally woke up. I just wish he’d leave, because I’m tired of him blatantly disrespecting us.

Wake me up before you verti-gogo!

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Open to Close

I squeezed in about three and a half hours of mild sleep before getting up and ready to rope-drop the Magic Kingdom. Summer was able to get virtual queued for Tiana’s Bayou before we left the resort, but Eaddie didn’t have access to her email associated with her Disney account, so she couldn’t even try. We got onto the bus around 7:30, and they started letting people into the park way earlier than their open times. It was already a struggle with heat and not having a plan of attack for rides. I fought to wait in line for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first, but the line was already super long and we were there for about an hour. While we were in line, I called and got Eaddie’s account fixed. We were also called for Tiana’s while we were still in line, and we just barely made it by our assigned time.

Otherwise we had a reasonably good day for rides just because we were there for so long. We made our reservation at the Liberty Tavern and stuffed ourselves. By that time I had a massive headache on top of being full. We carried on, and I ended up just cancelling our Crystal Palace reservation.

We waited for fireworks for way too long and should have kept riding rides instead. We had some drama about where to view, and then I thought Kevin was going to beat up some kid that kept bumping into us for the two hours we were standing waiting for the show to start. They had a DJ on the stage playing awful music at an ear-damaging volume the entire time, so that was awful. The girls loved the show, but I was disappointed in the projection, which was basically just a flag over and over again.

We not only closed the park down, but went to the end of the extra magic hours for staying at a Disney resort. Summer had lost her Magic Band somewhere along the way, but we were fortunate enough to find it at the lost and found on the way out. The only ride we really missed was Buzz Lightyear’s shooter thing, but what are you gonna do when the kid wants to ride Small World?

We got back to the resort around two in the morning after accidentally getting off at the wrong bus stop. Luckily they were unloading a wheelchair and we had time to run back. We were all beyond exhausted, and we’ll have about four hours to sleep before we have to get up for EPCOT and do it all over again.

It’s pretty sad that the most magical part of the experience was the lost-and-found.

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More Expenses Paid Trip

The silence stirred me this morning. I was hopeful after spending so much time and effort fixing up the fence, but I knew there should have been more noise outside, at least from the neighbors’ dogs. I got a call from a group of people with Muad’Dib, and then Summer got a call from the vet because someone else had Stilgar. I took the Onewheel because I thought Muad’Dib was only a block away, but he wasn’t much farther. I talked to the folks that had him, and then rode with him to get Stilgar. That woman came out in a mumu and had locked him up behind her privacy fence. Behind that fence was a chain-link fence. She wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, but she wasn’t pleasant about it.

The dogs ran home with me at a pretty good clip, so they were fine with coming in for the day. Then I started packing and getting ready for our Disney trip while Dad came over with some more concrete blocks.

I was high stress for the entirety of the day. I only missed one thing when packing, because I couldn’t find my USB power bank. I remembered taking it out from my daily carry, but I couldn’t remember where I put it after that. The girls took Stilgar to the vet for boarding, and Noah would be staying at the house. Dad and Suzanne both said they could check in periodically. Summer drove us to Conway to eat at Raising Cane’s, which was just more spicy mayo. Then we got to Expressway Parking and took a shuttle to the airport. The TSA line was long, but manageable, and we made it to our gate in plenty of time.

Julie and Kevin showed up, and then Summer saw Jeff and his wife get off of our plane and talked to them. I was still trying to plot and plan and understand the Disney Monster, but it was only more stress. It’s just become too much. Maybe it will be fun in the moment, but the people and the money and the stress just makes me want to do anything else.

The flights were uneventful and long. The changeover at St. Louis was easy enough, but then finding a ride to the resorts was stupid. Julie managed that for us, and we shared a ride with two stops, but the Disney and Lyft apps were both frustrating to navigate. Too much.

We got to our room and I found a dried up contact lens on my nightstand. The girls made it to bed quickly. At least in this time zone I’ll be awake before I get a call about the dogs.

Boat.

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Silly Dog. Fence Is for Rabbits!

I awoke to another call about our escaped dogs. They happened to be in the same neighborhood, so I got over to them and they ran up to the car. They didn’t even hesitate to jump into the Murano for the ride home, and now I’m thinking they just like riding around in a car. I took them for a walk around the block, but Muad’Dib couldn’t get enough. I was still exhausted though, so I went in and tried going back to sleep for a bit, but never had a good time with it. Summer got up and made eggs and corned beef hash for breakfast. Eaddie slept in, and I was more than a little jealous.

I tried calling the vet and a couple other places to see if anyone could take both dogs for the duration of our vacation, but the closest thing I could find was our own vet, who could only take one dog. I knew then that I would have to fix the fence issue for real, so I picked up Dad and we went to Harbor Freight for some bold cutters and Lowe’s for some welded wire fencing. They had a few different options, but we went with the fencing for rabbits on account of how much cheaper it was, and I figured it would do the job well enough. It was a little easier to bend than the other stuff, but I think with enough staples it should hold.

After we left Lowe’s, I dropped Dad off so he could take care of some stuff, and I went home to get some containers to bring home some rice for lunch. Then I picked Dad back up and we got the wire fence installed. There were still a couple places that could have used some work, but I think overall we have a pretty good chance of thwarting their next escape plan.

I let Dad take the Murano home and I rode over on the Onewheel to swim. Without any recovery time, my whole body has been aching, and I hate the thought that I’ll struggle at Disney now because of it. I’ve got exactly no time left to recoup.

When I got back home, Eaddie and I tried to clean house and she packed her bags. I had to go back across town to pick up a shirt for Summer and fix the fish feeder, but I forgot to return our unused bolt cutter. I also forgot that we had technically tried to use it to cut a twisted wire that was holding the fence roll together, and noticed a small mark on the tip of the cutters that made it pretty obvious that something had actually been cut.

As soon as I got back to the house and got out of the car, my phone slid out of my lap and onto the driveway where the back glass shattered. Most of the glass was contained, but I was mad all the same. I suppose this is what the insurance is for, but I hated that it happened at such an inconvenient time.

Eaddie and I eventually took the dogs out for another walk while we waited for Summer to come home from work. Then I took a shower and Eaddie brought Noah over to housesit. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens tonight.

haustion

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Dog Days of Summer

I slept in a little bit today, and the dogs dug a new hole under the fence. I rode around and found Muad’Dib a couple blocks southwest, but didn’t see Stilgar anywhere. We looked around for a little bit, and then I got a call from the vet asking if we had him, because some lady brought in a dog that looked just like him. Muad’Dib and I started rolling back toward home so we could go get Stilgar, but then he just turned away from me and started walking toward a guy that was walking down the street. We ended up at the cemetery before Eaddie got to us with the leashes, and we loaded him up and headed to the vet. She said the lady came in a little panicked, and wanted to chip him. I would have been fine with it if she paid for it, but I couldn’t understand why that would be someone’s go-to action for a lost dog. It didn’t necessarily sound like she wanted to keep him, but maybe she did.

We finally got everyone home, and I went outside to brick up the fence, and nail some new pallet wood above it. That seemed to work, because the dogs were in the yard for the rest of the day while Eaddie and I ran around town.

We showered first, and then went to Superfast to see if Summer wanted to join us for lunch. She said she couldn’t, so the two of us went to New China. After that we went to PetSmart to browse for dog stuff. We looked at the little kiddie pools they had, but decided to try and find a cheaper one somewhere else.

Next we went to Ross and then T.J.Maxx to look for a swim suit for Eaddie. She found a couple she liked, but we ended up buying one she saw yesterday and missed out on when someone else picked it up. I guess the other girl didn’t care for it, or maybe they stocked a new one. In any case, Eaddie was happy.

We stopped at Harbor Freight, but couldn’t find any clasps for my homemade leash, so we went to Walmart and picked up a couple from there. They were out of pools, and thus started the great search. We went to the nearby Dollar General where they had just sold their last one. We decided to get something to drink, but at $2.30 for a 20oz Coke, we ended up buying two cartons of Minute Maid fruit punch for $3.

After that, we stopped back by PetSmart to look at their pool again, but after sizing it up, I felt it was too small for Stilgar, and definitely too small if both of them wanted to splash around at once. We went across town to the newer Dollar Tree and then another Dollar General on our side of town, but nobody had a pool. We finally made it back home and rested for a while. I had a pretty bad headache, so I laid in bed for most of the remaining afternoon.

We eventually got up and went to my parents’ house to swim for a bit. We got back home a little before Summer did, and played with the dogs a bunch more. I was exhausted, so we wound down pretty quickly from there. Hopefully the dogs will still be there in the morning, because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Collars next.

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On Leash

I rode the Onewheel around the block this morning and found the dogs playing in someone’s garden on the corner of Ridgewood. They ran after me full-speed when they saw me, and heard me blowing the dog whistle I got from Dad. They ran all the way home, and though they hesitated to go back into the gate, they laid down on the porch like they might just rest a while. Unfortunately they were gone again by the time I left for work, and I didn’t see them as I drove away.

Shortly after I got to work, I got a notification from the same girl that posted about them on Nextdoor, and she said they were seen on Tanglewood. I sent the girls after them, and I guess they had some help from at least one neighbor who straight-up carried Muad’Dib over to Summer. Stilgar had to be fetched from the end of the road, and for some reason Summer thought it would be best to load him into the Model Y instead of just have him follow her home in the rain.

I did a bunch of Disney planning and took care of some things I’d been needing to do. Keith found me an old pallet that I could take home to mend the fence, and I eventually left that ghost town. I fed the fish and then went home to clean up. Julie called to settle a bet with Kevin, and my blog came to her rescue. I told Kevin I would have erased his name for half the price of losing the bet. Maybe now Julie understands the value I get from journaling everything.

Eaddie was out with friends, so I asked Summer if she wanted to go try the pork steaks at Ridgewood Brothers. As we were leaving, we noticed she had another crack spreading up her windshield from a pretty big impact spot in the bottom-right, so we added that to her air conditioning service appointment. Grant was at the restaurant running a full crew for a mostly empty dining room. The pork steak was good, but I don’t think ours were glazed properly when they were served. If they were, then we still needed more because they were pretty dry. Of course they were huge, thick cuts of lean meat that had been smoked and then finished on a grill. They weren’t overly tough or difficult to eat, but they would have been great with a cup of glaze for dipping.

When we got back home, we decided to take the dogs out for a walk to my parents’ house. It went pretty well until we got there and I let Stilgar off of his leash. Summer just dropped Muad’Dib’s, and he took off after a cat under the porch. I got angry and she tried to just leave me there alone, which made me even angrier. I got her to come back and help, and she saw Muad’Dib gnawing on something under the porch. We were worried it was the cat, but we were pretty sure it was just the leash. When they finally came back out, I hosed a bunch of mud off of the leash and gave them some water before we headed back home.

She went to the bedroom after that, and I took care of some things before eventually getting to bed myself. I’m constantly sleep deprived, angry, frustrated, depressed, and just about any other negative emotion there is. I’m hoping a vacation will help, but I’m already stressed about traveling, and worried about what the dogs will get into while we’re gone. Summer informing me that she’s paying Noah to come house-sit while we’re gone only made me feel worse about the situation, and angry that she didn’t consult me first. Telling me that she was going to “set some ground rules” was not the consolation she thought it might be.

I’ll have them longer.

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Ngày Giỗ

I got up super early this morning so I could get the ribs smoking. I checked on the dogs first though, and couldn’t find them within a block of the house. Summer didn’t feel well, and had me run to the store for some medicine, along with the smoked sausages I needed for the gathering.

I eventually just had to give up on the dogs so I could get the fire started, but fortunately the coals lit up perfectly. I used some rubs that I’d had for a while, and then made my own Asian-inspired glaze since Mom wouldn’t give me the char siu seasoning last night. I was pretty liberal with the rub, but light on the glaze.

The neighbor from a couple houses down knocked on the door and said the dogs were on her front porch, but that Stilgar wouldn’t move for her. I was worried he had gotten sick like Chani, but when I rode over there, he hopped right up. He was a little bit slow, but it was also super hot outside.

We were the first ones to arrive at Lelan’s house, and she was ahead with her own cooking, so we just had to wait for everyone else to show up. Mom and Dad were last, and still had to go back for the rice that they forgot. It was a good time, and afterward we ran home briefly to drop Summer off, and then met everyone at the cemetery.

After playing with the trees there, Lelan and Stephen came over to see our house. They seemed to like it, and had some advice on who to contact for some of the issues we’ve had. Once everyone left, I cleaned up the smoker stuff, and then went to my parents’ house for a dip in the pool. I was exhausted, and the water was the perfect temperature to cool down after a long day.

I rode home with my towel oh my back like a cape, and played with the dogs for a bit while Suzanne was poking her head over the fence to look at them. Hopefully the bricks Summer placed by the fence will discourage them from digging so much, but I’m sure the battle isn’t won yet.

With summer school out of the way, doldrum season is here. But vacation soon.

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Fencing Duel

The dogs were out again, but just in the front yard a couple doors down. They came home quickly and easily, but I lost sight of Muad’dib and thought he got right back out. This time they had moved some pretty large concrete blocks, so we’re just going to have to find a way to repair the fence properly. I went back out to try and find him, and Summer had to go to work for a bit. I went in to make some coffee and have a little bit of food, and when she got back home, she decided she wanted to do some yard work in the middle of the afternoon. I had to ride to my parents’ house for some string trimmer line, but then the cap on her trimmer shattered and the reel wouldn’t stay in. Muad’dib ended up coming out from under the porch later, so he must have just been hiding from the sun for a while.

Eaddie’s afternoon plans were cancelled, so we all got cleaned up and decided to go do some shopping for swimsuits and dog stuff. We shared some food at Zaxby’s first for a late lunch, and then went to Walmart, JCPenney, T.J.Maxx, and Ross. I just happened to see a 100-foot bundle of rope for like eight bucks and decided to buy that to make a couple leashes myself. I may start the Salty Dogs Pet Company after all.

By that time, we were ready to get home, so we stopped by the old house to feed the fish and then picked up some Domino’s for dinner. We had the bright idea to try and walk the dogs to my parents’ house where we would eat, but of course they weren’t in the yard when we got back. Fortunately they were just at the other end of the road talking to those neighbors, but Stilgar was the only one that would willingly run home. He was soaked from head to tail. Muad’dib had no interest in following me home, but eventually ran to the girls.

We loaded the food into the Pathfinder and the girls started to walk the dogs over, but just barely made it to the end of the street before we decided to put them in the truck. The dogs did super well for that really being their first group walk. Only Stilgar had walked with me in the past, and he does spectacularly.

Dad was home by the time we got there, and we ended up eating outside in the mosquitoey dark. The dogs sat quietly watching us eat, which made me really suspect that I’d stolen somebody’s dogs. There’s no way we’re that lucky to have found dogs that are just naturally that well behaved. We eventually went back home so we could patch the fence again, and then I brushed the dogs with the new grooming kit I got from Amazon. Both the rake and the brush I tried worked perfectly, which was also a surprise since I got the cheapest set I could find.

The girls went to bed pretty quickly. I stayed up with the dogs for a bit, and went back out again when they started barking along with the neighbors’ dogs, but then it was off to bed so I could get up early and smoke some ribs.

Salty dog and frog clip strip!

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Pupperunny with Extra Flees

The dogs were out again this morning, but came back in without much fuss. They just moved the boards around in the giant tree-shaped gap in the fence. I tried to fix it up, but I didn’t have a whole lot of time to really make a difference and I figured they would get out again. I took a shower, got my bagel, and made it to work.

I bounced around a lot today, and didn’t really accomplish anything of importance. It was all tangents today. The only frequent thought I had was to find a supplier for custom rope clamps so I could start a dog leash business and sell them for 80 bucks a piece.

Dad came to see the school after spending some time with Uncle Rick on Petit Jean. I was pretty proud of the facility, but mismanagement had seen an embarrassing number of things fall to ruin.

Eaddie had her band camp concert in the evening, so I ran home after stopping at Casey’s for a freebie and the old house to feed the fish.

Eaddie found Muad’dib outside, but he was gone again by the time we needed to leave for her concert. I rode down a couple houses looking for him, and got stopped by a kid selling solar. I accidentally gave him the electric bill for the wrong house, and I’m not sure I’m interested in what they’re selling anyway, but I guess someone else will come see me about it tomorrow. By then, we were in a rush to catch up to Eaddie, who drove herself. Summer and I picked up Dad at his house and then made it to Witherspoon.

Autumn and JoAnn were there, but both unpleasant, and it upset Summer. I had to suppress all of my thoughts into inside-thoughts, or else cause a scene. The concert was good, but loud from the front seat in that auditorium. It’s tough to find a good place to sit, because I like being able to pick Eaddie’s part out of the rest of the band, but being so close makes everything too loud to enjoy properly.

We dropped Dad off at his house, and saw the dogs in the neighbor’s yard on our way home, so they followed us back. I tried to have Summer put Muad’dib on the leash, but he ran across the street for a while. We chased him around until he finally decided to come home, and then I ripped a picket off of the fence so I could reattach it in a less-broken way. Summer went to bed and I had a sloppy joe for a late dinner. Then I sat with Stilgar outside for a while before coming in for the night. Eaddie was out late with friends, and snuck in while I was still outside.

Maybe a neuter will help.