Independence Day Weekend 2013

We haven't seen fireworks in quite a while - since before Fifi was born, I'd say. So, when Independence Day came around the corner this year, I put together a master plan to get a bunch of things done:

1. We wanted to get Fifi's eyes checked out again (for her possible strabismus/exotropia). Some research on the internet indicated that there were some well-regarded ophthalmologists down in South Florida near where my parents lived, so I set up an appointment for the day before the 4th.
2. Get my car's brakes fixed. Turns out that one of my rear brake calipers was sticking and wearing down the pads.
3. Take Fifi to have some fun and see some fireworks!

As with any plan, it started breaking down right away. The part about the car anyway. While inspecting the vehicle, the mechanics found that my water pump was also leaking. Fortunately, I learned that the extended warranty that I thought I got ripped off on back in 2007 actually covered the parts and labor to replace the not only the brake calipers, but the water pump as well! That alone made the cost of the warranty worth its while! Unfortunately, I would have to pay for a brake job to get the pads replaced and the rotors resurfaced. More unfortunately, the job wouldn't be done until late on the 3rd - but, as mentioned above, we would be in South Florida on that day! But, Toyota of Melbourne had my back - they hooked me up with an (almost) free car rental from July 2nd through July 5th - I ended up having to pay for one day the service was actually completed on the 3rd.

Passing some time at the Toyota dealership

So, with rental Corolla on hand, we headed down to SoFla on Tuesday night in preparation for a big day on Wednesday:

The big day started with the appointment at the eye doctor. Fifi was pretty good about it - she didn't cry until we had to put eye drops in her eyes, and even then, when we used our "stern counting method", she relented and allowed the doctor to put the drops in her eyes. Discipline has definitely paid off!

Doing the "Farmhouse Test"

The visit was good news - there is no strabismus at least at this time - but the doctor said that if we were concerned (which we are, since we see her eyes drifting fairly often), that we could continue to have "monitoring" check-ups once every six months or so. So we scheduled a follow-up visit - better safe than sorry!

After the doctor's visit, we made our customary visit to Costco to pick up some supplies before heading back home and taking a swim and winding down for the evening.

The next day was Independence Day, and high time to tackle Plan Item No. 3. We started by heading to Sugar Sand Park, which is famous for its huge playground. We'd gone there often as children but hadn't been back for years. Since the 90s, they've added a carousel!

Baby Lukas got a ride in too!

But the main attraction of Sugar Sand Park is the huge playground:

They also have some cool water cannons that Fifi really wanted to try, but it was getting late so we had to get going. It broke her heart for a little while until we got to the restaurant to have lunch before going home to take a nap before the big fireworks show!

Actually, the fireworks show I elected to go to was quite small - which worked out for me because it was Fifi's first fireworks show so I wasn't sure if she'd freak out. Also the small size of the show also meant finding parking wouldn't be ridiculous, and it was right near the neighborhood too, so we didn't have to drive very long. Fifi actually did freak out a little bit at the beginning, as we were heading out, since some people around the neighborhood had already started setting off fireworks. But she was all good for the real show!

I'm not very good at shooting fireworks...

The next day, after another trip to Costco to get some more of their really tasty nectarines, we headed back home to Melbourne, when Ed called me up and then came over to experience the "First Friday Art Walk", which is one of the several cool free community events that I've promoted here on Grant's Pad numerous times before.

Taking a stroll behind the Foosaner Art Museum

Some fun in the art district

After the art walk, we had to stop by Rolli's to let Ed and Sara try their awesome Rolli Pork Loin Sandwich before heading home.

After the kids went to sleep, we decided to rent a movie from Redbox. Ed and I decided on Kevin James' "Here Comes the Boom!" and opted to rent the Blu-Ray edition. However, when we got back, it turned out that there was some problem with the disc and it wouldn't play at all! So I called the number on the back of the disc case and was pleased when the representative offered two voucher codes - one to help replace the faulty rental and one as extra compensation! We ended up using one immediately on "Here Comes the Boom", but to be extra safe, we ended up getting the DVD so that we could default back to a regular DVD player if it didn't work in my Blu-Ray player. Fortunately, it worked in my Blu-Ray player fine, so we got to see the nice, up-scaled resolution version!

Finally, the next morning (sort of, anyway. Turns out Ed and Sara really like to sleep in as they got up at around noon...) Ed, Sara, and I took Fifi to the beach!

Fifi really likes Sara

A really nice day for the beach!

It was definitely a fun weekend visit!

Family's First Baseball Game!

Last night, we had the chance to go to a minor league baseball game courtesy of my company! The game was between our hometown Brevard County Manatees and the Ft. Myers Miracle, and we got to sit in one of the box suites, complete with a tasty dinner of burgers and hot dogs. It also marked the first sporting event that either of our kids has experienced. We ended up meeting up with a lot of other folks at work as well (more than I had expected, for some reason) which was a pleasant surprise!

Pics from the event:

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of the composition of this shot. I took it "blind" (i.e. not looking at the viewfinder) with my Canon P&S - and it almost looks like she's sitting in front of a real shuttle!

The cute Space Coast Stadium

The Herrings and Lukas

Matt's daughter E and Fifi

Our Manatees ended up losing the game but it still made for a good evening of food and fun

E meets Lukas

Lukas had no problems being held by Director Dan!

Miracle of Life

More NatGeo experiences in my driveway recently! I happened to witness this earthworm birth last Friday morning:

Kind of gross, but amazing nonetheless! I seem to recall from high school biology class that earthworm anatomy is strikingly similar to human anatomy, despite obvious differences in form factor, size, and (presumably) mental capacity. But I had no idea that they actually gave live births!