The moon was more over Davie than Miami, but that's okay.

I didn't take the camera out of the bag for the first full week of our trip. I was more than slightly burnt.

On New Years Eve the moon was just to awesome to pass up a shot (or several) of. My mom got out the telescope (you know, the one she uses to spy on her neighbors) and I took a super cool shot of the moon thru the telescope. Looks like a smiley face.

A few fireworks along the ocean.

City lights. Really- a seriously NICE view from the 20th floor. That's A1A on the left, and the ocean on the far left, with the intracostal on the right.

And Timmy has been diagnosed with a double ear infection in the SAME EAR! Impossible you say? It's not…he has swimmers ear which is an infection of the ear canal AND he also has an inner ear infection. The poor kid is on ear drops antibiotic and oral antibiotic too.

Oh, and John? Yeah, he's in Florida again. Flew out Wednesday morning with his friends to go see the BCS Championship. So while he's sunning and laughing it up…I'm home with a fading tan which is being sucked out of my skin from freezing temperatures and a sick kid who hasn't slept for 4 nights. So far. Poor boy is miserable and in so much pain. I'm exhausted and way grumpy. Ain't life grand?!

off in a few minutes to the Orange Bowl (to watch two teams that I have absolutely no interest in, but that's the way it goes. Maybe the Miami Hurricanes will make it back there someday). It's supposed to be pretty cold here tonight -it always is on the Orange Bowl night somehow. I'm all sweatered and Ugg'd up and ready to freeze. But it's still better than home…

The big boys hit the racetrack today with grandma and grandpa and won a few bucks each (between that and the scratch-off lottery tickets grandpa keeps buying them, they are coming home with more loot than they started with. That plus vacation is not a bad deal.) John and I took Timmy to the Aventura Mall. It's really nice there and Timmy got to ride the "christmas train".

I was the only one who stayed up til midnight last night other than my parents. It was cool watching all the fireworks off the balcony. The moon was crazy cool last night and I got the greatest shots off the balcony and thru the telescope. Can't wait to show you when I get home.

And yes, that means that the camera finally made it out of the bag. For a little while anyway.

Happy and healthy 2009!!

Is anyone still out there and reading?

Just stopped in to say hi and let you know that I'm still alive. I am thoroughly enjoying my much needed vacation in South Florida. Not been doing much other than sitting in the sun, going in the pool, eating and sleeping. A lot of sleeping especially- I've been getting about 10-11 hrs a night. I guess I have a lot of making up to do seeing that I was getting an average of about 5.5hrs a night for the last 4 months! 

Sorry in advance, but the weather has been perfect. Around 80 and sunny everyday so far, with the heated pool at about 85 degrees. The boys have been having a blast- in the pool all day every day. We even went to the beach across the street today for a bit. Timmy seems all better (but really, who knows if he is. I didn't know he had 'meumonya' when he did, so it's really a mystery). He's been having a great time in the big pool this year, swimming around like crazy. He falls alseep in the car on the way to dinner every single night. Tonight we had dinner with Kevin Harms and Candace at the infamous all you can eat sushi restaurant we love. Seafood handrolls…..yum! I will SO be going back to Weight Watchers when I get home. If I come home. It's just way too nice here.

I've now finished 5 books so far on the Kindle (yeah, love that thing!!!). The Gold Coast, The GateHouse (both Nelson DeMille), Private, Cross Country (James Patterson), and Your Heart Belongs to Me (Dean Koontz). Now reading Just Before Sunset (Stephen King) and hope to have that done by tommorrow night.

We have the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, going to visit Kevin and family in Boca on Saturday, trying to hit Gulfstream for some horse races sometime after 1/3/09 when it opens, and lots more lying in the sun/swimming in the pool/eating/sleeping. But that's it on the big plans.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying their Christmas/Hanukah gifts! Sorry no pictures to post. There are two reasons for that:

1. I have no way to download the pictures from the camera to this computer and no editing software either.  And…

2. I haven't taken the camera out of the bag. Not even once.

But I will before we leave. You'll just have to wait to see the pictures of paradise until I get home. I'm sure that's upsetting.

John’s home! They kicked him out today. It was a crazy morning- phone calls to the doctor from me cause I didn’t think he was ready to be released. Why? Because he had a fever yesterday (which is now gone) and because they never tried him out on the steps. You can’t get into our house from outside without going up some steps. Well, after a loooong morning, they finally did and he did fine. So now he’s home. He seems so, so much better and he even said that he feels in even less pain than before the surgery. So that’s pretty huge. He’s starting to get feeling back in his leg/foot that had been gone because of the nerve impingement by the disc. He took a fat nap all afternoon. The boys have all been great about being careful around Daddy as not to bump or bug him.

A big, huge, giant thanks to Mr. Incredible himself, our friend George who went into the city to pick John up. Timmy had an orthopedist appt that I couldn’t reschedule and I was nervous about who could physically help John should the need arise. George, you are truly Mr. Incredible. And other important thank you’s for today…to Kevin (John’s "work wife") for making sure that John was advocating for himself and that he was really actually okay to come home. To my friend Sue and her husband John for the delicious dinners for the upcoming days- any time I don’t have to cook is a good thing. Really good. To my mother in law for the venting ear, offers of and actual help, and the dinner that we will have tommorrow night. And to all my friends who called to make sure I’m okay. I’m okay. Pretty much. This is all just exhausting.

Ok, and now stay tuned for some scenes from our trip out east over Columbus Day weekend. There are SO MANY awesome pictures so I put them all in an album on the left if you want to see them. The lighting was so beautiful all weekend and I got some amazing shots. Some of my favorites below.

First we went to the park across the street from the ‘easthouse’. Working on my panning skills while the boys were whirling around on the merry-go-round. Delish light shining thru the tree (and the boys actually made it up into the tree!!). And just some goofiness at the park.

Next day was the trip to Greenport- on the agenda: the duck store, the Coronet for lunch and the best chocolate milk shakes. Ever., the carousel, and the Horton lighthouse on the way back including the zillion stairs down to the beach. We even climbed all the way to the top of the lighthouse. John was not particularly happy about that.

Then later that day, a new ‘event’ that I think will be on the schedule every year as it was John and mine favorite part! We went to Duck Walk Vineyard and just sat around the ‘yard’, drinking wine, eating cheese and crakers, and watching the boys play. Of course, the lighting was fantabulous and I took a zillion pictures there. Timmy does "cheers" with Daddy even. We didn’t want to leave but it was getting cold once the sun went down.

Last day, the pumpkin patch (tried a new one this year. it was good.) and the pie farm to pick up some yummy fruit and pies. Tried the corn maze-John got tired of walking around so he stopped in one place and sent one boy one way and the other boy the other way to find the exit. Jack made it out and went back to collect Daddy and his brother. Timmy loved the bouncy pumpkin. And this was the first year that I couldn’t take my customary boys in the wheelbarrow sitting on pumpkins picture. The big boys are too big. 🙁 So we did the best we could to fake it. And couldn’t leave out mr. happy with his wheelbarrow o pumpkins (for $80).

It was a great weekend. A nice way to spend our last pre-surgery time together. 

and the hospital for joint diseases. john is doing fine. the surgeon said everythig went really well. (although they scared the crap outta me cause they said 3 hrs for the whole thing. but it was more like 4.5). he is in recovery right now waiting to be brought up to a room. hes in a lot of pain but lucid (not to mention his usual cheerful self). hes got a nice morphine pump so its not all bad. i would like one too after the14 hr day so far and not even close to driving home yet. more tommorrow. thanks to everyone for your prayers and good wishes.