…… is pretty much what walking around Universal felt like.
I kid you not.
It.
Was.
Hot.

But in spite of the heat, we had fun.
In fact, I would even dare to say …… that, aside from our very first family vacation, which took place back in July of 1993 …… this was the second best vacation we’ve had. Now, I have to tell you that back in 1993 we only had five (5) children, and everyone was under the age of 9. They were all at a great age for a vacation …… meaning that they hadn’t yet developed the whining reflex, nor turned into pre-teen/teenage grumblers. They were easy to please and were happy doing whatever we were all doing.
Ahhhh, the early days.

That was our very best vacation ever.
This was our second.
I learned that it’s great to live long enough to experience a vacation with adult children …… who are finding out that they like each other.
Will wonders never cease?

The only sad part is that Jim didn’t live long enough to experience it.
Yes, some would say that he still saw it …… that he knows how we’re doing.
I’m still not sure about that, though I’d like to think so.
I hope so.

So, for all of you parents of teenagers …… or children who act like teenagers (God help you) …… there is light at the end of the tunnel/teenage years.
Trust me …… if nine (9) people (more like 8 1/2 since Little Bit was there) can get along (for the most part) on vacation …… there’s hope for you.

We all flew to our various homes yesterday. Son #3 and I flew to Houston, where I left my suitcase packed, did laundry, and packed another bag.
Oh, and we picked Gracie up. She was pretty excited to see us, though I know that she had a great time with my friend Amy and her family. I have no doubt that her two daughters spoiled Gracie Lou and treated her wonderfully. Which made it easy to leave her in their hands.
But I was glad to have her back.

We left for the airport at 7:00 this morning.
Yawn.
And now Gracie and I are both happily ensconced in our apartment in NY. I spent the better part of the afternoon unpacking and organizing everything.
It’s great to be back.
So very great. 🙂

Gracie did well on the flight today.
Gotta love those doggie sedatives.
Very much.
🙂

So here are random pictures from the trip.
Enjoy.
Or just click away now.
I wouldn’t blame you.

This is in Diagon Alley from Harry Potter World.
The dragon spits out fire every 10 minutes or so.   Which is kind of cool.

It stormed the first two afternoons, but only for a short amount of time.  The second day it started to hail as we returned to the hotel from the parks.  This is a piece of hail.  On a very hot afternoon.   So very weird.

This was the sunset after the hail storm.  It was lovely.

This is a pitcher of booze from Margaritaville.  Hopefully you recognize the lyric to the song.  If not, you can Google it.                                                                                              
Or not.  
Whatever floats your boat.
This was a very good margarita.
Or three.

This is one of the roller coasters at night.  We rode it more than once.
I love a good roller coaster.

This is the fireworks show on the 4th.  They have fireworks every night, so I don’t think these were anything special, but they were still good.

This is Daughter #2 with Little Bit.  He was pretty wonderful the entire time.  Especially when you consider the fact that he was in a stroller on the surface of the sun for three days.  He never got upset while in the parks.  And he enjoyed the pool.  As did all of us who swam every afternoon.

That’s all of the pics.
At least for now.
Hopefully that didn’t bore you to tears.
If it did, sorry.
Not really.

Just be glad that I can’t figure out how to upload my videos.