do you know the way to ses'me street?

I do! I do! It's at the farthest, most northeastern, portion of Seaworld Orlando!

"Oh, you poor dear. I bet your tootsies were aching a-plenty."

Actually, it could have been worse.

Fortunately, I had Chloe and Miyah pouring cool water - repeatedly! - onto my feet as I sat and tended them at the splash park area.

"You had babysitting duty? Where were Christina and her mom and sister? What about Chris and his son?"

Melinda and Chelsea had gone in search of roller coasters to ride. Christina went in search of food, but she was gone so long that I was sure she'd joined up with the others! 

Nope, the line was just that crazy long.

As for the boys, they'd gone off on their own.

Christina had wanted a 'girls trip' this summer - this was certainly it!

"Yeah, I don't think that's quite what she had in mind."

Perhaps not, but that's how it worked out.

See?

Here are five of us six females!

We were right on time for the 4 PM show at the Dolphin Theater... plus, we had 'reserved' seating!

That Platinum Pass that my first niece bought has so many perks!

She was able to obtain Guest passes for me, her mom, and her sister, so we all got in for free!

Tomorrow, we three freeloaders will go to Aquatica for free, too!

"Well, that certainly is a blessing! How generous of her to share her largesse with y'all!"

Hey, that's just how she is. Large in heart and generous in spirit - that's how she came to be fostering children and that's why she's adopting Miyah and Chloe.

"And just what is this photo about?"

Well, that's those same five of us six, this time at the Shark Encounter Aquarium.

There's Miyah, Chelsea, Chloe, Christina, and Melinda, to the far right and almost invisible.

Believe me, she's there!

This was such a nice, cool, place to be, literally and figuratively!

 

"Yes, I'm sure it was! That was during the hottest part of the day!"

So it was, in that early afternoon when the sun is especially hot! That's why we went straight from there to the Lakeside Grill, to put our all-day dining passes to work... and work they did!

I had the grilled chicken kabobs and there must have been two entire chicken breasts on the two skewers! That meal included rice pilaf and grilled veggies... and a free side of hummus and pita... and a huge drink! I manned up and ate most of it, too.

Oh, yeah!

"And then what did y'all do?" 

I already told you: we went to the dolphin show and to Sesame Street Land. 

Oh, and to the 5 PM Orca Encounter in between those.

Littlest girl sat with me, while the others chose the splash zone.

Neither of us wanted to get our shoes wet!

 

"That's pretty funny, since you ended up at the splash area of Sesame Street!"

Yes, I guess it is!

Before that babysitting gig, I had another, early on.

Christina wanted to ride the Manta roller coaster with Mel and Chel, so I told her to go ahead and I'd mind the little ones.

Then, it was so very hot...

and the Aquarium was right there...

so we three hung out there and had fun!

The girls stayed close to me and got into the buggy every time I asked, so I didn't lose them.

They tend to wander on their mom, but not on their Great Auntie!

Honestly... we had fun, with no fussing at all.

"That's truly amazing, given how much trouble Christina has getting to to do what she asks."

Well, they know she'll cave to their demands, so they keep on until she does.

Hopefully she'll figure that out soon.

Meanwhile, what a blessed day we had!

i thank You, God!

back where i belong

This morning, I woke up a little early and took all the bedding off.

Smitty arrived at 11 AM and we went out to Families First to pick up Ronnie, all 9.8 pounds of him that represented the metals in his bones and body.

It's amazing, and rather sad, that those metals - calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, sodium, potassium - are all that remains of a person after the organics have been converted into carbon dioxide gas and water vapor by the cremation process.

When we returned to my house, Smitty helped me move my bed back into the aquarium.

I had only asked for his assistance with the mattress, as that latex foam is so very heavy and unwieldy...

but, next I knew, the entire thing - frame, boxsprings, and all - had been transported.

Very good!

I won't say that I'm not going to miss being in the Ocean Room.

That move represented a time in my life when Michael and his girls shared my home, so those are precious memories.

Now, the Ocean Room's still-new Ocean Umbra rug will serve as an appropriate floor in that space.

As for the rest of the bedroom furniture, that can wait another day, or more, to be shifted down the hall.

What a nice change for my upcoming birthday!

Speaking of which, I've let Smitty and Christina know that I'm not celebrating this one.

I told them so around the early part of last week, or maybe the week before.

This year, I'll become the age Mama was when she died; that's not an age I want to be reminded of over and over and over.

I've even removed my birthday listing on facebook, to keep it more quiet.

I've assured my family that next year, when I'm 64, it'll be a huge celebration!

But not this year.

This year will serve as a countdown, starting at 64-1.

Yes, I like the sound of that.

And I like that tomorrow I'll wake up in my aquarium.