Time Flies...cause I was having fun :)

Can't believe it is already January 8th! The last month has been kind of a whirlwind...but a good one!!! I thought about this blog a few times...but never took the time to sit down and write.
Now I guess I'll back track a bit and fill you in on what's been going on around town.
December 12th was the day of the annual Melbourne Beach Children's Parade.

 There is a local family that puts together a float for the Library every year. They always invite Dianne and I to participate. It's nice to be included...since I am only in the Youth Services area for a couple of hours a week. When I first started back at MBPL I was mostly in that dept and only 5 hours in circulation. Now I am in circ all but 2 hours a week. Sometimes I joke that I am like the "stepchild" in Children's area ...hahah Sad but true...everyone remembers Dianne....but not so much me. Ahh that's just the way it is. However...once a year when Sandy and family call to invite me to join them on the float...I feel like part of the gang again. It's fun to have kids and parents spot me on the float and call out to not just Dianne...but me too.

This year the float was designed to look like a big bath tub. we all wore bathrobes and blew bubbles.

                                                                        and a big rubber duck!
It was hot the day of the parade and we all joked that we would NEED a shower after it ended....because those bath robes were making us warm.

Sandy, Dianne and I

 

                 It was a beautiful day....and we had a nice ride up and down Ocean Ave.
After the parade I had to get home and finish packing because a friend and I were headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the day/night. I always enjoy seeing all the holiday decorations and lights, and I thought she could use a break after a tough few months....so we were off to "the happiest place on earth." to get happy. I figured it was going to be crowded but we just decided to deal with it. Brenna booked us some fast passes...so we knew we had at least 3 good rides planned.
It was, like I mentioned earlier, a beautiful day so we were happy about that. We put on sunscreen, short sleeves and headed out.

pretty warm for December 12th!

looking down Main Street when the lights came on...my favorite time of  the day

After an afternoon at the Magic Kingdom, we headed over to the Grand Floridian for dinner. Also wanted to check out the decorations there. Like this giant gingerbread house and beautiful tree.

When we finished eating we decide to take our chances and head over to see the Christmas Lights at Hollywood Studios. The last time I went in December...John and I were a little overwhelmed by the crowds...while everyone shuffled along the crowded streets...we saw a break and actually RAN!!! to get out of the park. It was like we wanted to escape...hahaha Luckily for Linda and I we did not have the same problem. It was too crowded and we could move along quite easily. We did and we really enjoyed the lights. It was great...we were so glad we took the chance.

It was a fun night. we loved the lights, loved the fact that we could move around comfortably and the fake snow was fun too. :)
We headed back to the hotel after we left the park. Sunday morning we got up and headed to Winter Park for breakfast and a little bit of shopping. Delicious breakfast at the Briarpatch.  Lemon pancakes with raspberry puree and lemon cream......YUM! I've been trying to figure out a reason to go back...hahahah

 We also enjoyed the scenic boat ride that takes you on several different lakes. We really lucked out...we just stopped by to check into tickets...but one of the boat guides flagged us down and told us we could hop on the boat getting ready to leave because they had a few seats available...PERFECT! no waiting.

All in all a great way to spend my birthday. Once I got home it was time to start making last minute plans for all the Christmas visitors we were expecting and of course the birthday bash we had been talking about all year!