After our awesome 4th of July celebration, our weekend was filled with activities and I was so busy that I even forgot to blog (silly me!). On Thursday, Ryan had to work and my Dad, Laurie and Parker were pretty exhausted from the long day before that they slept in pretty late. After the got up we had some late breakfast and then drove to Florida Tech to check out all the things that had changed on campus since I graduated. There are numerous new buildings and dorms, a new cafeteria and even a pool. It was pretty hot outside so after that we headed back to my house to chill out in the AC and eat a late lunch. After Ryan got home, he and my dad and Parker went for a mountain bike ride with some friends while Laurie and I chatted and made dinner. Of course we ran out of propane in the middle of grilling but fortunately a neighbor was able to help us out and we had some tasty beer-can chicken, macaroni and cheese and rolls.
On Friday, Ryan had to work again so dad and I went for a short run on the trails and then dad, Laurie and I took out the kayaks. Right after we turned off of our canal there was a huge gator right in front of my kayak! It definitely freaked me out when it flipped and swam away and either it's tail or the bubbles from it's tail hit my kayak. We continued towards the Turkey Creek Sanctuary in search of manatee and turtles. We got almost to the end of the sanctuary and I was worried that we weren't going to get to see any manatee when we finally spotted a family - a mom, a dad and a little baby. My family was so excited - we must have sat there for 20 mins just watching them eat. Eventually we headed back to the house and Parker and I were practically racing to the dock to get out of the heat and go inside. Laurie was a little behind us and when she entered the canal our house is on, there were several manatee there so she stopped to watch them. I think she watched them for an hour as they nudged her kayak and sniffed her and rolled on their bellies for her! I think this was definitely the highlight of her day! After we got cleaned up and had some lunch we went and ran a few errands before Ryan got home. For dinner we went to The Shack Seafood restaurant which we have never been to even though it is right down the street. The food was pretty good and not too expensive, we will probably try it again some time.
Saturday morning dad and I went for another run but this time we went for a 4 mile run and boy am I out of shape. I was hot and exhausted when we got back and we were barely at a slow jog pace! While I showered and got ready, the boys went for another mountain bike ride and got all muddy. By the time everyone had gotten cleaned up and eaten some food it was really hot out so we decided to stay inside for the afternoon and then go out after dinner. The boys watched Thor while Laurie and I worked on wedding invitations. We made quite a bit of progress - I got the main invitations printed and trimmed while Laurie got the front monogram squares stamped and embossed. Then we got some pizza at a local place called Wagon Wheel Pizza and headed to Orlando to check out the Orlando Watersports Complex. Apparently they have a summer special where you can wakeboard as much as you want for 4 hours for $25 which is about half price. The special is called Saturday Night Jam and is only on saturday nights from 8pm to midnight. I had never been pulled by a cable before and I had never been in the dark before so that was a new experience for me. It is definitely easier to get up on the wakeboard than it is behind a boat but it was harder to go around the turns. If you don't edge or maneuver just right then the line will go slack around the turn and jerk out of your hands. Parker was doing all sorts of tricks and spins on all the obstacles and my dad was doing the rails and jumps too. Ryan spent a little while getting comfortable and then he started trying the ramp. He fell the first few times but he figured it out quickly and was pretty excited! I mostly just tried to go around the circle and not fall on my face at the last turn. I'd say I need some more practice before I try any tricks or anything! We didn't get home until pretty late but it sure was a fun day!
Sunday morning we woke up early and took the boat out to go wakeboarding some more. I didn't think I would even be able to wakeboard at all because I was so sore from running and boarding the day before but I did end up making a few runs. My dad, Ryan and Parker did some riding too but everyone was pretty tired - well except Parker. After a couple turns wakeboarding Parker wanted to get out the tubes. Unfortunately the pump quit working after only filling up one tube so there were no epic battles that day. Ryan was doing a pretty good job driving and stirring up some good waves for Parker - he was flying all over the place but he held on tight! He must have been on the tube for an hour, I don't know how he did it, LOL. After we got back and showered we vegetated on the couch and Parker and Ryan and I watched Iron Man 2 while Dad and Laurie went to run a few errands. When they got back we went to one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Melbourne called Matt's Casbah (it was delicious like always). When we got back, the boys watched Captain America (dad and Parker were trying to watch all the hero movies so they could rent the Avengers soon) while Laurie and I worked on invitations again. I got all the main invitations stamped and embossed while Laurie trimmed all the monogram squares she stamped the day before. I think she was bummed that we weren't able to fully finish the invitations this weekend but we made really great progress!
I was sad to say goodbye but we had to go to bed since it was after midnight and we both had to work today :( We had such a great time visiting with them and I hope we get to do something like this again soon! I know we'll see them in December but I'm betting that week will be a whirlwind with so many people coming into town. Well, thanks a lot Dad, Laurie and Parker, we had an awesome time with you guys! Love ya!
