A Fun Week in Orlando

We had a great week in Orlando last week. I had secured a condo through our timeshare exchange so my kids would have a place to stay when they ran the Disney 1/2 marathon. We didn't think we would get there until mid week, but since we were NOT going to be in TX, we drove up on Sunday. We stayed at the Orange Lake Resort in Kissemmee. It was a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath/full kitchen walk-in apartment. On Monday Gerry's brother Eddie and his wife Billie drove down from the Villages (about an hour north) and spent the night. We had a nice time with them. Billie and I went to the pool and had fun talking and talking. On Wednesday Alison, Michael and Avi arrived. They got in later than planned because Alison was sick in the morning and they had to take a later flight. I was so happy when Avi knew who I was right away (he's 14 months old now) and he also knew Gerry. In fact, he constantly says, "Papa, Papa." The second bedroom was really big and so Avi didn't have any problem sleeping well in there (he is a very light sleeper) with his parents. But poor Michael....he got SOOOO sick that night. He ended up on the couch (after praying to the "porcelain god" 6 times). I had a great time playing with Avi all day.

On Friday my daughter Becca and her hubby Phil came, (don't have a pix with Phil)...and then Alison's best friend Ilene came with her two sons, Connor and Hudson, who are just adorable. After a nice breakfast/lunch prepared by Michael, we all went to the pool. Avi, Connor and Hudson had a ball...so did Phil, who delighted in dunking me! We stayed for about an hour. Ilene and the boys left and shortly afterward the rest of us did too. Then Alison, Michael, Becca and Phil had to go to check-in for the race, so Gerry and I watched Avi (yea). When they got back we went to dinner. That wasn't as much fun as it could have been. It was late, the restaurant was about 10 miles away and crowded. Poor Mike walked around most of the time with Avi, who was SO tired but still so good. We all left after eating fairly quickly (Mike and Alison took theirs to go). The poor baby got to bed so late, and the others fairly passed out, they were so tired.

The kids left at 4 AM and were so quiet. Gerry and I took charge of Avi, who mercifully slept till 7:30. I changed and fed him and then we played. Avi is amazing. He knows about 16 signs so he is able to communicate most of his wants. He loves to go outside and look for/at the birds (at the resort there are lots of big cranes). As the kids were running the marathon I kept getting notification of their progress in a text message on my phone. I can't tell you fully just how proud I am of all of them. Alison and Michael trained for 4 1/2 months, ran while not feeling well, and finished in good time. Phil, who barely trained (sort of) finished 10 MINUTES before Alison and Michael - ok, he IS athletic, plays English football (what we know as soccer), and has great leg muscles. Becca didn't train at all but was determined to finish. After mile 4 she had blisters on her feet. By mile 7 her other leg hurt from favoring the one with the blisters. By the time she crossed the finish line she was in tears from the pain, but she did it...AND...PLUTO took her hand and came across the finish line with her. I tell you....we were all thrilled for her that she finished!! But....here's the one thing that is lousy: Disney only gives medals if you finish in a certain amount of time. They threaten to pick you up with a cart if you are not keeping the pace. I understand the part about keeping a certain pace, but if you FINISH the race w/o being taken out, then you deserve to get a medal. By the time Becca crossed the finish line there were no more medals....totally unfair!!! So Mike was a doll and gave her his. Becca and Phil were going on a cruise the next day with her father's family, so it was nice for her to have it to show. Becca and Phil left around noon and the rest of us left at 2:30 - Alison, Michael and Avi went to the airport to fly back to Atlanta and Gerry and I started our drive....to Atlanta. We are staying with Alison and Avi till Wednesday since Michael is away on business.