Clearwater Beach - the Work Part...

I think this was my 8th time heading to Clearwater Beach, FL for my company's conference - my 3rd time as an employee - the previous 5 (or so) times I was an invited speaker. Regardless, it is one of my favorite places to visit and even though there is a lot of hard work and long hours involved, it's so fun and so worth it.

It helps when you are greeted in your hotel room by a bouquet of Mother's Day flowers (I arrived the day after Mom's Day and my sweet hubs figured flowers to brighten my hotel room all week would be a special treat and he was right!) and a bottle of wine and a cheese plate from the hotel.

It also helps that I absolutely love my team and my customers who make the trip down to attend. It's always a wonderful week of education, networking, beautiful sunsets and I won't lie - a ton of fun!

Of course when it was tiring and we all seemed to be getting sick, the thing that pulled me through was knowing that on Friday Adam and Andy would be boarding a plane to meet me there for the weekend!! :)

To be continued...

A wonderful Mother's Day...

It was a beautiful Mother's Day. We worked in the yard planting flowers and mowing the lawn (these things are still fun - for now) and got to enjoy a great dinner on the deck with Mark, Kathleen & Olivia. There was a mani/pedi involved as well and the tastiest oysters acquired from the Farmer's Market the day before. Chocolate covered strawberries rounded out the day - my request every year. 

I was gifted with a hand crafted vase of flowers made from Adam's hand prints and each petal completed the sentence "I love you because..." 

"My mom & dad they both take me to the movies."

"I also love my mom because she takes me to places and I have lots of fun."

"I love my mom she does things for me all the times."

"I love my mom so much cause she loves me too!" 

Busch Gardens...

We started the day thinking we'd probably hang out in the park from 10-2. We ended the day leaving the park (still wanting more) at 5:30. So yeah, it was a great day! Adam loved every second of it (ok, maybe not the waiting in lines part) and is the new thrill seeker in the family. He was able to ride on some of the bigger rides (with our supervision) and his only complaint - not being big enough for the upside down roller coasters! 

It really is a beautiful park with so many things to do. We started the day in the new (well, new to us) Sesame Street world with a ride on Big Bird's roller coaster - so fun! We did a few other small rides in that area and let Adam run around in the playground there as well before moving on to bigger and better things. 

The gondola ride was a highlight as well, giving us lots of great views, some time off our feet and an opportunity to watch one of the newest coasters in action -wow - I'm secretly glad Adam was too small for it - this girl might have been a thrill seeker in her past, but something tells me with age that desire has diminished! 

Our first real "thrill" came from the legendary log flume ride. I can remember going on this with my family growing up and the charm and novelty (and soak factor!) are still there. We loved it so much we quickly hopped on for a second turn on it - which of course soaked us 10 times as much as the first run. Still, it was laughs all around for the three of us. 

Lunch was at the Festhaus in Germany where we got to take in a show. Adam was so mesmerized by everything he was seeing on stage that he barley ate his lunch. It was a nice break and the fairy tale musical was actually pretty cute - Adam still talks about the story line. 

The rest of the day was spent trying out as many rides as we could ending with a very fun turn on the battering ram - the big boat that swings back and forth. We sat in the way back providing us the biggest drop each time and Adam was all giggles! It really was a great day capped off with a scenic train ride back to the parking lot. I see a return visit in the fall for my favorite thing - scary Busch Gardens! ;) 

Williamsburg Weekend...

We were actually supposed to get a weekend in camping at Williamsburg back in March, but crummy weather and a broken truck kept us home. As with most things the theory "everything happens for a reason" proved true once again as the weather we had during our "rain date" was perfection (and our new truck is running just fine) ;)

A trip to Busch Gardens was the main event (more on that later) but as with every visit to the Williamsburg KOA, we had (almost) as much fun hanging around there than anything else. The pool was open, which was a special mid-May treat. Adam had fun swimming and showing off his new skills (the YMCA swim lessons are paying off!). 

After swimming it was time for a walk around the campground, a visit to the camp store for 'smores supplies (and to try on hats), and then it was time to sit around the campfire and roast marshmallows for chocolate chip cookie 'smores - hello deliciousness! 

Dessert was followed up by an outdoor movie - Up - which we all enjoyed watching under the stars. Seriously, that movie never gets old (and I never stop crying). 

It's no wonder it's our favorite campground!