Grandma! (Part II)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. . .

Debbie's pissed.

Here's some more pictures and video from Grandma Summer Visit 2012.  The second half of her visit turned out to be a little bit more eventful, as it were - with the good sunny weather, we were content hanging around our pool and backyard, going for strolls, hitting up local parks, stuff like that.  But, as I mentioned before, a tropical storm - Tropical Storm Debbie - was closing in on us, and a few days ago, it hit.

Now, we Houghs are no rookie gumshoes when it comes to dealing with storms down here - granted, we've never been dealt a serious hurricane since moving to Florida in 2007 (the last bad one was Charlie in 2004), but Tropical Storm Fay in 2008 was pretty bad, if not for the winds for the constant rain and severe flooding.

Just like Fay, good ol' Debbie had a crap-load of rain for us.  It started raining a few days ago, and didn't stop for three days.  Sometimes the rain was little more than a drizzle, other times a torrential downpour, but it never stopped.  Fortunately our house wasn't damaged in the slightest, nor was our pool (it's inflatable, we were worried).  Parts of the backyard flooded, but nothing near the house fortunately.  Taking all this rain into consideration, we had no choice but to get creative with the kids, who get cabin fever and turn into demon-children at the drop of a hat.

Behold:

Mom and Kris took the kids to Puzzles, the autistic bounce house joint I've told you all about before.  Admission is cheap and it burns the kids' energy, but it's musty as hell in there and my allergies flare up whenever I set foot in that place. . . so I got to stay home and write.  Booya.

This is what I imagine Alayna would like as a vampire.  Maybe more pale.

Abby joy ridin' with some dude. . .

Yes, Alayna got Grandma to go down some of these slides, too. . .

Dodge ball pit - not nearly as fast-paced and/or cool with a mere two kids.

Still dreading the day these two can actually drive on their own. . .

During a short lull in the rains, we risked the weather and whisked the kids off to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge resort for an afternoon of animal-viewing and marshmallow-roasting.  Basically, this place is just another one of Disney's many high-end, elaborately-themed resorts, and it definitely lives up to its name.  It's also expensive as all hell, hence why we never stay there.  Instead, we simply tell the security guards at the front gate that we're going in 'to go to the restaurant.'  Kris has done this before a few times for other kids' birthday parties and social outings, and has her lie down to an art. . .

Entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Resort

Mom strolls through the resort's gigantor lobby. . .

The ladies en route to the animal exhibits. . .

As could be expected, Abby required constant supervision and assistance while viewing animals. . .

Prowling for more animals. . .

Pointing out giraffes. . .

"Okay kids, let's try and get a picture with Grandma. . ."

Back of the Lodge

Alayna trying out one of the lodge's patio Hobbit chairs

Across from the swimming pools and outdoor bars, there's a playground we decided to take the girls to in order to kill time before the marshmallow roasting. . .  fortunately the rain was still holding off.

 

 

The fire pit where hotel guests can come and roast marshmallows with Disney staff.

With our two, this was nerve-racking to say the least, as both are big fans of sugar and fire. . .

Alayna seemed to get a handle on it, but Abby didn't waste time putting the Marshmallow on a stick - she just ate it once they gave it to her.  Four times.

MORE SUGAR

Giraffes seemed to be the most common animal wandering around the exhibit, though there were a lot of African bulls, zebras, gazelles and crap like that, too.  Didn't see elephants or carnivores, though - probably too dangerous for tourists at such close-quarters, who knows. . .

Abby was obsessed with the Zebras. . .

Leaving the lodge. . .

That old guy with the camcorder isn't a part of our family.  Just in case you were curious.

Leaving the Lobby took a while, seeing how our kids are so fond of running off and hiding when they don't want to leave some place. . .

Eventually, the rains came back and we were stuck indoors for a couple days.  There was plenty of house work that still needed to be done, so there was definitely always something to work on.  Keeping the girls entertained, however, was a trial in itself. . .

With two girls, I'm going to be a certified hair stylist by the time my kids hit middle school. . .

This summer I decided to finally get around to reading George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.  If I can hack through the first three books - they're ridiculously thick - I'll be happy.

Braving the weather to take the kids to Menchies - a low-fat yogurt joint set up like a buffet table.  They give you a bowl and you can select from about two dozen flavors and countless toppings, and they just weigh your bowl at the end. . .

Abby, as you can see, is a big fan of this place.  Hence the two spoons.

Alayna's bowls are nothing but chocolate - different flavors of chocolate yogurt, chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles, and different types of chocolate candy toppings.  She takes after her mom.

Grandma teaching Abby how to flash a West Coast gang sign. . .

Trying on hats in a neighboring Books-a-Million.  Why they have costumes and toys in a book store is beyond me. . .

The Hough girls get their nails done. . .

Hooker Pink

The girls' Twilight Turtle - definitely worth the $30 if you have kids.  Turns the kids' room into a planetarium, and automatically shuts off after a half-hour (thereabouts), so you don't risk draining batteries. . .

Flashlights, too, are a big hit at bedtime. . .

Netflix in the evening, after the kids go to sleep and the house is quiet, is arguably my favorite time of the day.

Making bead bracelets and necklaces with Grandma - yet another activity to keep our kids from killing each other (and us)

. . . and now we're on to painting.

The girls' room, freshly painted.  Now we just need to figure out how we're going to be decorating their walls. . .

"Mommy doesn't feel good."

After a couple days of rain, it started to clear up again, and I was desperately wanting to work out in my backyard again.  We decided to hack apart a few more of the trees that were cluttering up the backyard, and while I cut them to shreds with a hacksaw and hedge trimmer, Mom and Kris broke down the branches and hauled them away. . .

The girls pose with that bird's nest I pulled from the tree. . .

"No birds!"

This homeboy would not move from this cactus.

Lumberjack.

Grandma and the Cannonball dig away support poles around some of the trees. . .

The previous seller, in his infinite wisdom, deemed it necessary to cement these PVC pipes into concrete cinder blocks in the ground.  Why?  Who knows.  I believe the man was insane.

Digging holes in the backyard.  Anything to keep them busy.

The night before Mom flew back to Michigan, she was good enough to whip up some of her famous Taco Pie, which was always one of my favorite meals growing up.  Not necessarily the healthiest of meals, so it's probably for the best that we only eat it when she comes to town to prepare it for us. . .

. . . and that was Grandma's Summer 2012 visit.

- Brian