Tuesday: on-task

I felt rather on-task at work today.  I was a little worried that I wasn't going to have enough time to prep in the morning, but then one student who was going to show up overslept.  There was also an easy lecture today with nested IF, IFS, and VLOOKUP.  (And why do we still learn VLOOKUP?  Because Ben still hasn't transitioned to XLOOKUP even though I suggest it several times a year.  I figure there are others like him.)

I also got a lot done while Isaac was at rock climbing.  I did some work on the computer before climbing, and got through quite a bit.  

vacation Wednesday: coming home

We were going home today, but had late afternoon flights.  We hung around in the hotel room for a bit and played some games in the morning.  Well, four of us played games and Joshua built things with the pillows.

We went for a walk on the boardwalk, and found out that the pedal carriages were open!  We thought they were going to be closed, so that was exciting.  We pedaled around the lake, and ...it was harder than expected.  Isaac and Joshua's pedals were linked and they were having a hard time going at the same speed.  For the most part, it didn't matter too much.  Joshua pedaled the whole time and Isaac helped when we were going uphill.  Uphill was hard!!  We missed a turn once, easily turned around, and found where we were supposed to have turned.  However, it was up a hill and I decided that we didn't have enough speed so we went back down (the wrong way) so we could get a better pedaling start.  In the end, I'm not sure it mattered - we still ran out of steam about half way up and each pedal was work until we got to the top.  I had fun though!  It was a fun way to get around the lake.

Then we left for the airport.  It was relatively easy getting home.  Our flight into Chicago was a little late, but we had enough wiggle room that we didn't have to worry, we just had to move quickly to the next gate.  We got home and there wasn't a lot of snow on the car.  We still had to pick up Ben's car from the dealership, but it all went smoothly.  We were a little grumpy at home, but it had just been a long day of travel

Monday: flower

Today I got to pick up one of the flower arrangements from the funeral.

However, we have a cat that likes plants so I had to put a bag over it.  It's not as nice as being without the bag, but it's nicer then having cats eat it.

vacation Tuesday: Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios was our last day, and it was the best.  I remember a lot of details but I took a little too long to write this post so a few things might be out of order.

We started with day with Rockin' Rollercoaster.  Joshua was a bit nervous because it went upside-down, but he loved it!  It was also better than I remembered - I remember coming off it ten years ago and having a headache.  Yay for a great start!

We moved into the Star Wars section to ride those two rides.  Isaac and I were the pilots for one of the rides and we didn't do all that well.

Everyone was looking forward to Tower of Terror.

And the toy story ride.  Ben got the most points, as normal.

We got off the shooting ride and noticed that the Slinky Dog Dash wait was on the low side.  It was a ride we didn't have a fast pass for because the kids indicated that they would rather ride the other option, but when we got to the park they said they were excited for this ride too.  So we decided to stand in line.  It was a bit of a wait, but at the same time the line kept moving.  I love Joshua's expression in this picture too.  It's like he knew where to look for the camera, but I think it was just lucky.

We split up for lunch because people were having a "hard" time agreeing on what to eat and we can split up.  It's sometimes hard to remember that, but sometimes it is the right choice.  The kids and I went to get pizza.  It was not the fastest meal service ever, but it gave us time to find a table.  Isaac was the one that managed to snag it in the end - it was a little busy.

We were going to do Tower of Terror again, but it was broken down.  We did some of the shows and smaller rides.  Eventually we got back to it.  The line wasn't long, but it wasn't as short as normal either because one of the elevators was broken down.  We ended up sitting in the same seats as previously.

We also decided to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster again and that was probably my biggest mistake of the day.  I came off of it with a headache.  Some medicine cleared it up promptly, but I really didn't have any fun on the ride the second time.

We went to the dinner for dinner.  I had something delicious, but it came with a boatload of green beans.  I ate a whole bunch of them, but my waiter brought them back out with some whipped cream because I was supposed to eat my vegetables.

Whipped cream does NOT enhance the flavor of green beans.  I tried several.

At this point we decided to stay around for the night time show, so we had a bit of time.  We went back to the Star Wars area as Rise of the Resistance was only a 25 minute wait.  Then we did it again in the single rider line right away!  It was a bit odd because there were more people in the single rider lane than in the normal lane when we got there, so we were still all able to ride together.  It was interesting seeing how the single riders get back to the ride - there are some sneaky places where you need to wait before they'll let you through.

Then to the light show, which was surprisingly far back in the park.  It was good, and it was nice to sit down, but seeing it once is probably enough.  Getting out of the amphitheater was a bit easier than I expected, even with Ben's scooter.  We didn't have to wait long for the bus back to the hotel either!

Sunday: Grandma's Funeral

Today we celebrated the life of Betty Hilldore.  It was a beautiful day, a sad day, and a long day.

We got to the funeral home for the family viewing/set-up time.  Grandma looked so nice.  She was in a pink sweater and her hair and make-up looked really good.  Someone found a note in her yearbook about her and a friend hitch-hiking to Zeeland for a "baseball game", trespassing on private property, and "more that [the friend] couldn't write here."  Everyone got a kick out of it.  Jamie also put together a very nice slide show and everyone commented on the pictures multiple times.

We stayed for the visitation.  Isaac and Joshua mostly disappeared for this, and I don't blame them.  A lot of people they didn't know where there and they had probably talked to most of the people they wanted to talk to already.  I think they had a few extra cookies.

We went in for the funeral.  The family had several members stand up and reflect on memories and it was beautiful.  There were some songs - Jamie made it through her song and cracked just the perfect amount at the end.  I wish the Chaplain had spoken more about heaven and Grandma's faith.  Several other family members mentioned it, but our eternal hope comes from God.  Ben shared a few memories, including how she and Grandpa always made him say Caboose and laughed over his pronunciation, how she was cut-throat in Uno (to the chagrin of the kids sometimes), and how if you didn't have what you needed in Yahtzee you just kept rolling.  (She did that to several family members in Yahtzee.)  But most of all that she was always so happy to see you.

We then went in the funeral procession to the cemetery.  I don't think I've actually been in a funeral procession before, but there is a high chance that I have been.  (Maybe even for Mom's funeral?  Details are so blurry.)  I didn't realize they were so slow!  It makes a lot of sense - you don't want to lose the last people and it seems like a proper mournful procession - but it is not what I was expecting.

The cemetery was wet and misty.  A few last words were said, the flowers placed on the casket (a white rose for me and Ben, snap dragons for Joshua.  Isaac ended up standing somewhere else), and it was lowered down.

Then we went to the boat barn for a final toast and party.  "To Grandma!"  I had Pinot grigio, and in hind-sight I think it was a mistake.  I know it was only a half-cup, but I was already tired and something wiped me out.  I was done.  I went the top area and closed my eyes on an uncomfortable chair for a few minutes, but then the pizza came.  We weren't planning on staying very long anyway, so I got up to eat.  That was fine.  Then as we were leaving I was standing around, getting stuff ready and I was done.  Completely.  I just left to go to the car, possibly cutting off Ben's goodbyes, although that wasn't the intention.  I think the combination of a lot of standing, a lot of emotions, being a bit tired, and the wine just sent me over the edge.  

At home I took a long nap.  It was a poor time for a nap since it was already 6:30pm, but that was my only option.  I stayed up a little bit longer than normal before actually going to bed, but I think I was asleep just a little later than normal too.

Saturday: disappointing

It was a rather disappointing day.  Not really a bad day, but I probably would have changed several things if I could have.

*Our evening plans were changed last minute.

*Taxes are not as straight-forward as we were hoping this year.

*The kids had a rough afternoon

Friday: car

The car was fixed by the end of the day.  It meant I still needed to bring Ben to and from work, but in the scheme of things that wasn't too bad.

I was going to do a "day in pictures", but then I only remembered to take three pictures.  So I guess we don't get to see that today.  

I tried a new type of sausage for our pizza today.  The overall consensus was that it was either the same or slightly better.