*Can I just say how much I love the University of Florida? I did my undergraduate at UF and I am a Gator through and through. I love all the activities and cultural events and places that the campus/city has to offer. I really miss it. (I secretly, not-so-secretly, hope that Joel does his masters there one day.)
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| She dances beautifully and is such a talented young lady. This is a picture after the recital. |
and I have to mention that Emma (coincidentally almost exactly 3 years adjusted age) is potty training for real now. No more diapers!
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| Road trips make you kinda crazy. |
She is way past due. She wasn't really willing to give up the diaper before David was born, so I waited until she was ready. Up until then, she had been going #2 on the potty since about 18 months at home, but #1 was only on occasion. We started officially on Friday, and since then, we have had minimal accidents and she is doing wonderfully! I tried for the first day to stay in, but that didn't work out, so she has even been going to the potty at all our normal places--playground, doctor's office, church, the hospital (for David's specialty appts) and the usual stores--ie. Publix, Costco, Walmart, and Target. The only public place she refused to go potty was at Nemours Children's Hospital. Oh well, she didn't have an accident anyway, and just held it until we got home. But she made it to the house potty, and that's happiness for mommy. I'm so proud of her.
So, anyways, we kept a small potty in the car and pulled over when she needed to go. It was kinda cute. I refrained from taking her picture while on it.
The recital was held at the Curtis M. Philips Center for the Performing Arts on the UF campus, so naturally I was ecstatic to have a reason to visit my alma mater.
But before we get to that, how about some pictures of a pre-show Paynes Prairie Preserve visit? It's one of my absolute favorite places. We arrived a little early for the recital and we always love to see gators. (Those alligators sure know how to pose for the camera.)
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| I think I see a gator. |
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Just taking a leisurely stroll off the side of the preserve next to the highway. |
Lastly, here is a gator video. And another fun video. Unfortunately, I didn't get a video of that large gator chomping at us after it had had enough of us watching him. And no, Emma, you may not sit "up" on the top rail where you could become gator bait...just sayin'.
And now back to the recital...
I wasn't allowed to film inside while the show was going, but I was able to snap a few shots outside of the actual stage.
Luckily, they had a TV outside the theater in the lobby that broadcast a live stream of the performance. I was able to watch the second half of the 3-hour recital from there. No way can the younger kiddos last that long.
Michaela was in 4 of the 33 or so numbers, so inbetween them Steve and 3 of his 4 younger boys + one cousin, Joel and our kids, and I were able to visit the Florida Museum of Natural History conveniently located next door--complete with children's discovery zone,
dinosaur skeletons,
and lepidoptera exhibit.
After the recital was over, we stopped off at Cracker Barrel restaurant for a dinner celebration.
(At this point, my kids were kinda hitting their limit. I knew this, but tempted fate anyways. (We love to spend time with family and don't see them enough.) The kids had already been running around crazy in the lobby after the recital while all the dancers and family members buzzed around talking and visiting with each other and taking photos and such.
I always love the food at Cracker Barrel. It is southern and comforting. On the table was fried okra, pink lemonade, catfish, mac n cheese, dumplings, and cornbread, plus a whole lot more. It looked something like this.
At the restaurant, Emma did pretty well for the first 30 minutes, but then she couldn't sit still. David also couldn't sit still, spilled food all over the table and floors, broke a dish, and, ultimately, I had to take Emma outside to rock on their famous rocking chairs. I really wished she could just sit down and be still and eat, or let me eat dinner, and not yell out. I was almost so stubborn to make her, but I had a parenting meltdown (inside) and had a hard time relaxing, so I just went outside, rocked and talked with Emma. And it was nice. We laughed. A lot.
On our drive home, David fell asleep. Emma was awake and we passed by a train. She yelled, "Caboose!" so I had to stop. She smiled too big. Here's a video.
Then, Emma watched a movie, and we got some peace and quiet. I contemplated whether or not I remembered to smile at dinner. Sometimes, I feel so inadequate as a parent and am worried so much about disturbing others around me. I felt badly about David breaking a dish and Emma yelling out. They had a long day so I didn't blame them, rather I felt like I could have done something more.
We got home at a decent hour, probably around 8:30pm or so. David was whisked off to bed pretty easily and I went to put Emma to bed. All my parenting qualms went away, of course, as soon as I tucked Emma in bed. I asked her what part of the day she liked best--the alligators, the museum, the dinosaurs, the ballet, the train, or seeing her cousins. She said, "I liked the rocking chairs with you." Derrr...Completely dumbfounded, I stared at her amazed that of all the cool and unusual things we had done that day, she enjoyed rocking and talking with me the best. She didn't need some extraordinary experience, just an ordinary one that turned rather extraordinary. So, thanks again, my dear Emma (and David), for teaching mommy yet another life's lesson.
