Minnesota Baby Shower Fun!

I was fortunate enough to be in good health during this pregnancy to travel at my 29th week home to all of my amazing friends and family in Minnesota.  I spent about a week at home courtesy of my job where I only work three days a week thus gracing me with a week of vacation without having to use any of my PTO hours, hooray!  I had a feeling that my bestest of girlfriends and "moms" were up to some planning because of all the phone calls Nathan had been fielding for the last few weeks but I had no idea how wonderful of an event had actually been planned!  The morning of the shower I was at my friend's, Emily, house getting ready for the day and Emily said that we were going to be going on a "boat cruise" with her mom for the afternoon.  In Florida one would question this type of activity, however in Minnesota at the end of April we were experiencing highs in the 40's and clouds and rain so a boat cruise was almost a laughable suggestion (it was a valiant effort though Emily!!).  They drove me over to Anabel's house in St. Paul and a beautifully decorated entrance to the best baby shower I've been to is what we pulled up to!  All of my favorite people were inside waiting to celebrate this beautiful little lady that we are going to introduce to the world in just a few short months.  Here are a few pictures from the day:

Anabel, me, Angie, and Emily

We spent the afternoon playing silly trivia games and other notorious baby shower games that I actually enjoyed thoroughly, yes I know, of course I enjoyed playing games :)  Our little family is so appreciative of all the gifts sent from near and afar to this special shower for the little lady as well, she is certainly ahead of the game in arriving now!

My Mother-in-Law Sandee and I

My Mother and I

And then of course there was food, lots and lots of food.  And my favorite part of the food setup was the fact that there was some alcohol to be had for those non-expecting folks which made me laugh harder than ever, good work Anabel :)

I think the best surprise of them all was the fact that one of my best friends, Kelly, was able to attend the shower all the way from Japan via Skype. That was truly a surprise and brought me to tears!  Here's a picture of Kelly and I at the shower:

Thanks to everyone for making this such a special time for us, I had such a great visit and it made me so happy to see so many of my favorite people all in one adorable apartment in St. Paul!

The Whole Gang (Including Kelly on my Lap!)

Three Hundred Feet of Fun

So there was this monstrosity that we drove past everyday when we were in Orlando.  It looked like a portion of a giant bridge that was being erected, but it was in the middle of a carnival area called old town in Kissimmee, FL.  I had no idea what it was, but it was large enough that it had to have lights at the top to make sure airplanes could see it.

I later found out that it was the world's largest SkyCoaster.  I always saw the one at Valley Fair in Minnesota (which is only 100') but it always seemed like too much money for the time.  This SkyCoaster is three times that tall.  You get hoisted up 300' in the air, free fall 100', then get swung out over water for the remainder.  They had me at "tallest in the world." :-)

Baby-moon without "The Mouse."

Hello and welcome.  Thanks again for taking the time to check in with us via the blog.  We appreciate all the warm comments and encouragement to keep up the blog.  With all the stuff going on getting ready for our +1 it's good to get that feedback.

Balcony at our condo.

At the end of March, Laura and my mother surprised me by booking a condo in Orlando.  Some place I probably would have not picked myself but for no particular reason to be honest.  Everything turned out great and we had an amazing time relaxing and enjoying all that the Orlando area has to offer. 

I won't chronicle the entire vacation but just point out some fun highlights.  

Eating Soup with your Hands

Before the trip we did have a little bit of time to research different attractions in the Orlando area.  As we lean to the counter-culture side at times and Laura being pregnant, visiting Mickey or any of the other theme parks wasn't really of interest to us (at all).  So our search had to go past the mouse into the plethora of other activities around the area that have grown because of all the tourism.  If you are not familiar with Orlando, it's sort of like the Wisconsin Dells in places.  Lots and lots (and lots) of tourist stuff. Some of it intriguing and some of it just stuff. But with the advent of this new invention called  the "interwebs," it's fairly easy to sort the worthwhile for the wastes of time (and money).

Medieval Times,
Complete with Drawbridge

One of the items that kept popping up on top entertainment lists was a dinner theatre called "Medieval Times."  I had heard of them before but never really understood all that went into the show.  It ended up being (rightfully) a little whimsical at times.  Since all lives could use a little whimsy, we ended up enjoying ourselves a lot. They start by assigning you to a specific knight to cheer for during the show.  So you get a crown that you need to wear to enter the arena with your knights color on it.  Instead of the crown you may be thinking of, think rather Burger King circa 1991.  Once you are inside you sit in that knight's cheering section.  No worries on some of the period accuracy, they surely didn't forget the caste system.  All the "Royalty" (people who paid $20 more per ticket) got to enter first and sit to make sure all the commoners did bother them.  Fair enough, we all need to make a buck.  The show was great.  There were heralds, horses, knights, royalty, and a plot line worthy of a mediocre Lifetime Original Movie.

Laura said take a nice picture,
So I didn't.

During the jousting and horse-dancing (yes, horse-dancing) they actually fed you a four-course meal.  Keeping with the medieval tradition, there were no utensils provided.  So you had to drink your soup, tear your half-chicken, and eat a baked potato.  It was messy, uncivilized, downright primitive and we enjoyed it immensely.  The dinner and show lasted about two hours and a strongly recommend it, especially if you have little ones.

Yarrrr, Mini Golf!

As I firmly believe that you are never to old to be immature, one of the first thoughts that came to me when I heard Orlando was admittedly one of my first loves: miniature golf.  I don't care who you are, mini golf is terrific. If your ever on the fence about going just take a breath, channel your inner child, get over yourself and have an amazing time. It just so happens that Orlando is home to Pirate's Cove, which we found out is one of the best mini golf courses in the world.  There are actually two locations about five miles apart that each have 36 holes.  Since these are heavily travelled, we decided to try and beat the crowds by going right when they opened in the morning.  That was a wise decision.  When we arrived there were only about 10 other people there total.  We decided to take on both the Captain's and Blackbeard's challenges and complete the 36 holes.  As if only 18 holes was even a option.

The golf course is on about an acre of property with a concrete mountain in the middle.  You play in, on, around and through the mountain and surrounding waterfalls and streams.  It is by far the prettiest and most elaborate mini golf course I have ever been to.
The course was challenging at times.  I had a blast.  Laura got a slow start and we won't mention her score on the first 18.  We'll just say we enacted the rule of "max 6" no matter what you shoot one a hole.  But on the second 18 she ended up with a ridiculous 3 under par with 5 hole-in-ones.  She has a knack for getting those in the oddest ways on the craziest holes.  Overall it was very fun and well worth the money for this unique course.

Celebration, FL

Bench near the dancing
waters fountain

On Monday we decided to go across the street from the condo to the self-sufficient, Disney-created town of Celebration, FL.  I had heard the stories from other folks in florida that people walk dogs in three-piece suits, all the houses have white picket fences, and the general 1950s-ness of the place.  So I guess I had a picture already in my head of the city.


Although I didn't see anyone wearing Armani walking a poodle, and only most (not all) of the houses had picket fences, we couldn't get over the general wholesome feel to the town.  Once you enter the city everything is perfectly maintained.  The streets are spotless, all the lawns and hedges are cut the same, and it was bustling with activity everywhere.  The folks just seemed to be out and active more.  For instance, there is a man-made lake in the middle of town (which is shaped like Mickey Mouse's head, of course) where there are rocking chairs to sit on and enjoy the view of town and the lake, and a little concrete area to fish from. And even though it was 90 degrees out, people were rocking and fishing.  We ended up walking around the downtown area for a bit and stopped into a Thai restaurant for dinner, which was amazing (Thai Thani).  The town which I had originally been very skeptical of won me over pretty quickly.  Although it does seem like the people live in a well manicured bubble, I can definitely see the attraction.  It was fun to visit, but we had to go back to reality.

Great vacation.  Disney made the town, but there is plenty to do there without the mouse.

Sunrise from the balcony.

26 weeks and 2 Day Bump

Pregnancy symptoms got the best of me today and I needed to call off work to give the baby some respite from 12 hours of mom running around the hospital.  After a day full of "taking it easy" as instructed by my loving husband when he came home from work it was apparent that this lady was going a little stir crazy!  We hopped in the car and drove down the road to our latest beachfront access find, Little Harbor Resort.  After a walk down the beach and dipping our feet in the water a few times and a beautiful sunset later this pregnant lady was feeling whole again!  We swung by the grocery store picked up some supplies to make virgin pina coladas in order to make the night complete! In the midst of all this we remembered to take a weekly "bump" shot, so enjoy!

Laura (and Nathan)

The dog days of....spring?

A Sunday afternoon at it's best in the Johnson household.  Nathan hooked up the hammock in the backyard, and a nice cool breeze to make it a pleasant Florida afternoon.  We have received some requests for more pictures of our current babies in all of their antics so today we oblige those requests:

Bailey up with Papa in the hammock

Our "pointer" girl in all of her glory

And Gracie just being Gracie

Lily Pads and Upholstery

First lily pad flower of spring.

In the past, our weekends tend to include at least one project or two or seven, no matter how large or small.  Yet lately with a little one in the oven and the timer getting nearer to ding ready; we are fully aware you don't have the option to keep her in there a little longer because you just aren't quite ready. She takes charge and only she decides when she shows up.  I like her already.  So we keep whittling down our meticulously made lists.  That translates into each weekend being filled with projects we know we should accomplish pre-parenthood.  If you have been keeping up with the blog you already know these projects tend to be on the larger side and always keeping in mind the bun (and timer) in the oven.  Biggest project so far was definately getting rid of the, we'll politely call it "well traveled," carpet and installing dog/baby friendly engineered laminate wood flooring.

Lily pads in the upper section of the pond.

However, this weekend has been relatively open and relaxing.  We did paint the guest bedroom, but at the time of posting this blog the sheets for the bed were being washed and I was politely instructed to not publish photographic evidence of said event.  That'll have to wait until the next post. We also did some yard work, spruced up the front mulch beds and cleaned up around the koi pond.  It is an exciting day as the first flower in our menagerie of lily pads and other water plants arrived this morning! We are hoping for many more to come. With all the plants in full swing now the water quality in the koi section of the pond has improved from good to great; the water is nearly crystal clear.  Laura and I were just thinking how much our little, store-bought goldfish mixed in with the koi have grown.  When we originally bought the goldfish they were all less than an inch long, and now most of them are 3-4". All of that growth has been since we introduced them to the pond in September of last year.  Although they do feed like swine, so it's not an unsolvable mystery.  The two large koi in the pond are in the range of 14"-16" long from about 8"-9" six months about.

We also finally got around to another fun (and quick) project we have been discussing if I am being honest.  When my Mother came down to Florida in 2007 for Thanksgiving we had only been living in Florida for a few months and we had the rather embarrassing realization that we didn't actually have any sort of dining room table.  We had been eating all of our meals on the porch or at the coffee table.  So we ended up picking up a complete set (table and 4 chairs) from Mr. Walton's local supermart for $99.  Needless to say the chairs aren't that stylish or comfortable or anything but functional really, but for $99 you can hardly go wrong.  Now fast forward a couple thousand meals,  a few hundred projects and four years and our little set is still going strong and still where we eat most of our meals.  The issues lies in the fact that chair cushions are MUCH worse for the wear.  So Laura picked out some fabric she had leftover from some IKEA projects and I fired up the staple gun to give them a new lease on life.  In keeping with our consistency of being notoriously terrible at taking "before" pictures when we start projects, we only have photos of the final product. At least we are consistent. We think turned out pretty good, especially considering the total cost of re-upholstering was less than $15.  We mis-matched the fabrics on purpose, I have a strong belief that Laura shares that everyone could use a little more whimsy in their lives. :-)

Two of the Newly-Covered Chairs.

 

Thanks for reading,
Nathan (and Laura)