New Puppy

A few weeks ago, before we left for our four weeks in Florida, Lauren told us that her boyfriend's dogs had just had a littler of puppies and that she could have one if she wanted.

Hubby said unequivocally - NO!

Lauren did not take that too well and so I put my arm around her and said something that made her think I wanted her to go behind his back and get the dog.  

It was a huge misunderstanding but now his family was holding this puppy and depending on us o take it.  So, long story short, I convinced hubby to allow the dog to stay until we could find a new owner for him.  

Now, a week later, I told hubby, "you know this dog isn't going anywhere, right?"  We are all already so attached to this dog.  And hubby must be too because he did not put up even a little fight.  

So...our new puppy's name is Oliver (Ollie). 

his favorite place to sleep

Zack did not sleep well last at all so he fell asleep that afternoon while lying next to the puppy. 

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Today we decided to play tourist and do a little sightseeing.

We drove to the lighthouse in Ponce Inlet.  Zack and I walked up to the top and once we were up there, I took a quick picture and we scrambled back down - neither of us like heights.

After we were done there we made a detour in Daytona Beach and took a tour of he Angel and Phelps chocolate store.  

Beach For the Day

Today we drove to Daytona Beach to meet up with some friends for the day.  

They were staying at one of the hotels on the beach so the kids could alternate between swimming in the ocean and the hotel pool.

There were lots of kids around Zack's age to play with but poor Zack couldn't go under water because of his ear.  He handled it pretty well though.  

It was a nice day.

Today is also hubby's and my 4th wedding anniversary.

ER Visit

Last night before bed Zack started complaining of an earache - how nice.

I was glad when he fell asleep without much difficulty.  

Then the alarm went off at 2:00 AM and woke us all up.  Lovely.

There was no going back to sleep after that.  Zack was quite uncomfortable and unhappy! I gave him some Tylenol but it had little effect. So, at 3:30 I gave him another one and he crawled into bed with me and I rubbed his back.

He finally drifted off about 4:00 and then we all slept until 8:30.  I knew immediately after he got up that something was wrong because there was blood from his ear on his pillow.

We found the local emergency room where he was diagnosed with an ear infection and a ruptured ear drum.

We decided to pay a short visit to the museum and I am so happy that we did because it was really interesting.  I could easily have spent hours more there.  

We found a Burger King for lunch and then drove home.

Now, it is close to midnight and we are still awake because Zack's ear hurts.  God forbid he should take the Tylenol with codeine he has because it's a liquid! What a kid.

Of Course...the ER

Don't you just love motel alarm clocks that go off at 2:30 in the morning? 

After the sudden awakening, Zack could not get back to sleep because his ear hurt...Finally, at 4:00 am I gave him a tylenol PM (all I had) and let him crawl in bed with me and he was out by 4:30.  Then, we all slept until 8:30.

And it was not a lovely scene to awaken to... blood all over the nice white motel pillow case where his ear had been resting.

So...down at the breakfast buffet I asked where the nearest ER was and we took a nice, scenic, 20 minute-out-of-our-way drive.



No big suprise that he had a perferated ear (again) and the other ear looked pretty bad too.

After we left the ER we decided to go through with our plans to visit the Astronaut Hall of Fame anyway.  And I'm so glad we did.  It was good.  We only stayed for a couple hours and then ate at a Burger King before driving back to Flagler Beach.  

Bedtime was another wonderful experience.  Zack could not get comfortable - even with Tylenol - and he was being ultra stubborn about taking the Tylenol with codeine he got at the ER because it was a liquid and not a pill!  But, finally, mom won out...and we were finally able to sleep by 12:30 am.

Short Side Trip

Despite the ridiculously hot temperatures (even for Florida) mom and I decided to take Zack over to the Space Coast to visit the Kennedy Space Center and the Space Museum.

We left about 9:30, stopped in Titusville on the way to get a motel room, and then spent the day at the Space Center.

We saw two Imax movies, had lunch, and took a bus tour.  I was pretty disappointed that the show at the Saturn V Rocket Center was closed.  It relives the moments before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.  I would have loved for Zack to see it.

Before we left we did some shopping in the gift shop and Zack was able to get his picture taken with an astronaut.  

Dinner was at Cracker Barrel and then I took Zack swimming.

Space Center

Leave it to us to pick the hottest day of the year to do this...but today we ventured down to the Space Coast to visit the Kennedy Space Center. 

We stopped on the way and checked into our motel room, unloaded our luggage, and then went to spend the day touring. 

We watched both Imax movies and also took the 3 hour bus tour.  The biggest disappointment was that the best show at the Saturn V Rocket Center was closed for refurbishment.  The biggest plus, the shuttle was on the launch pad for viewing. The biggest shock was that mom went on the new motion simulator ride with us!

After we were all good and sweaty we decided to make a swing by the gift shop before leaving.  Zack got his picture taken with an astronaut. 

We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Yummy.  And then I took Zack down to the pool so he could swim.  I'm surprised he actually got in seeing as there was a huge worm (almost snake looking)creature at the bottom of the pool. Trust me, it was creepy - but also probably dead. 

After a shower and we were ready for bed Zack started complaining of an ear ache - wonderful!