Debi and I came up with an idea a few years ago about two kids, Mari and Darwin, who interview people with different jobs to learn about different occupations. The original idea was a book series, but given all of our other projects and interests, the idea got shelved. Then I found xtranormal.com and realized I could probably make it an animated series. So, here are the first two episodes in the video series I’m calling “Jobbrz”:
In the first video they visit a lawyer, Tessa Carter:
Debi came down with pinkeye on the 3rd of July, so we opted to stay away from people as much as possible. We opted for the beach on the 4th, which Toren always enjoys. We went to Fort de Soto, which is always beautiful and rarely busy, but it filled up pretty quick on the 4th. Here are some pics:
enjoying a snack
the sandcastle I built
Toren couldn’t help with the sandcastle very well as he had a hard time turning over the buckets. But he did help me fill up the moat:
Toren carried the bucket; I carried Toren
And once we had documentary evidence, we let loose our little godzilla:
He reminds me of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes who would build stuff like this just to destroy it.
And what is a day at the beach without the obligatory shot of mother and son falling asleep almost instantly on the way home:
This was the last day of the vacation. The rest of the family had early evening flights out of Orlando. That meant we had time in the morning to go the pool and beach for a short time then pack up, take some family photos, and hit the road. The pool and beach were fun, but we had a lot of packing to do so we didn’t get to play very long. Then we all got cleaned up and headed out to the beach for some family photos. Here are the results:
photo on the beach
And one more in the gardens of the resort:
family photo in the garden
It was a fun trip. And there was one big perk for us – we parlayed our Busch Gardens/Sea World pass into a season pass for relatively cheap, so we can now go to Busch Gardens whenever we want. We’ve already been three more times, so it has paid for itself. Toren seems to like it.
Anyway, that’s the short version of the trip (been too busy to write this up until now).
I can’t really speak for everyone else on the trip, but I think it’s probably safe to say that most of us had relatively low expectations of Busch Gardens in Tampa. We had just visited four of the world’s most famous amusement parks – Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, and Sea World – and really were not expecting very much from Busch Gardens. Debi and I, despite having lived in Tampa now for 4 years, had never been to Busch Gardens, though our friends had and they seemed to think it was fine. So, with low expectations, we bundled everyone into the cars and headed out.
Turns out, Busch Gardens is pretty cool and a very nice contrast to the Orlando theme parks. While it was busy (and we now know it’s busier on the weekends), it wasn’t even close to as busy as were the Disney parks or Sea World. Also, there is a kid’s area at Busch Gardens with a Sesame Street theme that has everything all together: splash pads, wading pools, kids rides, food, family bathrooms, etc. I think most everyone thought Busch Gardens was the highlight of the trip as everyone really seemed to enjoy it.
Rosemary booked a lunch experience with Sesame Street characters. The lunch, while simple, was actually perfect – it was a buffet with food items kids will eat: macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, vegetables, rolls, etc. and it was good enough that all of the adults liked it as well. While you’re eating, Sesame Street characters come into the pavilion and put on a little show then walk around for photos. Toren, once again, freaked out when the characters got close, even though he actually knows who Elmo is (he has watched a number of Sesame Street episodes). He wouldn’t shake their hands, touch them, or even look at them for the most part. He just huddled next to me, waiting for them to leave:
Toren loves Cookie Monster, but not in real life! :(
a photo with Elmo and Big Bird; Toren just stared at Big Bird the whole time
The other kids seemed to enjoy themselves.
Debi had to leave for class after lunch, and Toren had had enough of the characters, so we skipped out early and headed for the splash pads. Not realizing they had splash pads, we didn’t bring a swimsuit for Toren, but we always have swim diapers in his diaper bag, so I threw on a swim diaper and let him have at it:
He had a great time in the splash pad. He even made some, well, let’s say really close friends. Close enough that one boy pinched his butt and a little girl decided to check out his… um… package (funniest video ever):
After a good hour and a half of playing in the water, Toren was ready for something different. So we got him dressed and went on the rides. Here he is on the merry-go-round:
Then he went for a ride on the swings. Two videos of that:
There were so few people at Busch Gardens that the kids basically got to ride the rides over and over. Occasionally they would be the only ones on the rides. It was great.
Debi met back up with us after her class and we stopped at Subway by our house on the way back to the beach then called it a night.
