Orlando's Animal Kingdom and Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona

This is our 4th year attending the 24 Hours of Daytona with Dave.  It's always nice to throw a trip to Orlando in there before the race (work) activities begin.  This year we opted to try Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom.  We are pleased to confirm that it was a hit with both kids (and parents too).  Olivia and Zach actually spoke to Pocahontas, instead of shying away, so they really are growing up.  The Safari was our first stop and thanks to friends recommendations, we saw the animals in the morning while they were lively (except for this hippo).  It never really warmed up while we were in the park, and I think we should have all worn our fleeces.  

A surprising element of Rafiki's area/world was a view into the veterinarian's clinic and surgery rooms. We watched, up close and personal, the amputation of a black buck's (deer) hoof.  The hoof had gotten infected and antibiotics did not work, so they amputated.  It was amazing to watch and I have to say, something we probably would have never seen anywhere else.  

This is Zach waiting patiently while Dave and I ride Expedition Everest - the huge roller coaster. We took turns!  There is NO way I would have put my kids on that coaster after riding it.  Wow!  That's all I can say.....I finally caught my breath 10 minutes later.

Having fun in the Rainforest Cafe

Riding in Dino Land

Of course, they had to come home with SOMETHING!  Olivia got a new Webkinz, Katy, and Zach, a pocket lite saber.  It has provided hours and hours of entertainment.

The Lego store is being refurbished and moved the day we were there.  It's in a tent for now, but still had plenty to ooh and ahh over.  We spent the late afternoon/evening in Downtown Disney.

Counting on the foggy window in our hotel.

On to Daytona for the Pryor's.  It's a much different crowd there (mainly bikers and hard core beachcombers from the 70's, but who am I to judge?)  The beach is beautiful and we always have fun there.

We met up with our Ponte Vedra friends (the other two kids are twins and are 5!  Yes, they are tall)  See the slope of the Daytona track?  It's hard to stand on the banking.

We sat in the stands for the start of the race, then moved to the Porsche Hospitality tent and it was very nice to have a place to hang out. They had the XBOX with a driving game in the hospitality tent, so you know where Zach was most of the time!  We had to remind him that adults wanted to play too.  I brought iPhones and the DSiXL, so we were entertained as Dave moved from meeting to meeting.  We had gorgeous weather for Saturday and Sunday.  Yes, the race is actually 24 hours.  Patrick Dempsey raced again this year with his team (Mazda).

We couldn't forget the fun and games.  That's our annual tradition as well.  The Ferris Wheel at night is a must!  You can watch the cars from up high.

Olivia and I went on the Cliff Hanger.  She was very hesitant, but I coerced her to go.  Let's just say, I had a hard time keeping my stomach (this thing went really high in the air), but she was totally fine!  She said she was a bald eagle and she was flying all around.  She made me a hawk...

Zach was too short for the Cliff Hanger, so he grabbed a BB gun and had a little fun.

And this is how we ended the day as Daddy was pulled in to more meetings :-)

On our drive home, I realized this week would be our first full week back in school since Christmas Break.  With teacher workdays, snow days and this mini-vacation, it was February before we were in school for five days straight.  I can say, as of Thursday night, this has been the longest week EVER!  And guess what?  Dave is out of town....again.  I think he purposely planned this one (not really), as to miss Kobe's neutering Friday morning.  I will have one sore puppy on my hands this weekend.  Poor guy.  

Ice to Mud

After being iced in for most of the week, we decided to visit the lake house for a change of scenery.  During the months of January-March, with the lake level down, we typically know what to expect....mud.  Dave loves to hike around the lake (lake bed) during the winter months and oh, did we have a fun time.  As it turned out, it was a muddy time!  I don't have the final outcome captured in pictures...probably because I was worried I would get mud on my phone....but believe me, it was dirty!  Kobe had a grand time chasing the birds from one point of the water to the other.  Over and over again (just like a kid).  Of course, it wouldn't be a true Pryor outing if our kids kept their clothes on.  Olivia shed her shirt on a cold day on the beach.  How does she stand it?!

Even though we were in Alabama for a little over 24 hours, the slow pace made it feel like at least two full days.  It was wonderful to be so relaxed.  It also gave Dave some downtime after returning from Detroit and Germany and to get over being jet lagged. 

So the kids returned to school finally on Tuesday after observing the MLK holiday.  I attended their Tiger Pride Assembly, which acknowledges specific students for their outstanding behavior each quarter.  Olivia has been on 'perfect purple' every day of the school year.  Zach...he was awarded a Tiger Pride, but this may be his only quarter.  Time will tell :-) Looking at our calendar with all of the holidays, teacher work days, snow days and an upcoming trip to Daytona for the 24 Hours of Daytona, my kids will be in school a total of 12 days during the month of January!  We haven't had a full week of school yet.  It is nice in some ways, but a full week is going to be a shock to our system.  Of course, we have Winter Break coming up in mid-February, so..... :-)
Dave invited me to a dinner at The Yellow House on Green Street this past Wednesday along with his Marketing and PR Departments.  They played Whirlyball as a team building event - fun!  It took me over an hour to drive from Smyrna to Holcomb Bridge Rd. during rush hour, but it was worth it to catch up with everyone.  On the way home, I saw the coolest thing.  There was a full moon and it was reflecting off my tachometer.  It was an amazing blue and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  A little distracting, yes, but how cool was that?!  Again, a picture wouldn't do it justice.  I don't think I've ever noticed a full moon on my gauges, but it's even better off of Porsche gauges.  Yes, I am becoming a car geek too....and a lunar geek!

Bring on the Snow!

We have been pleasantly surprised this winter with three snows already.  One before Christmas break, Christmas Day and this past Sunday.  This time around the snow, and mainly the ice, has kept everyone out of school and has given us all time to snuggle up with our kids, read, and more importantly rest.  Dave flew out to for the Detroit Auto Show and then on to Germany until Saturday, so he has missed this entire event.  And what an event it has turned out to be.  Olivia and Zach haven't spent a ton of time outside, but I can't blame them.  It's pretty to look at, fun to play in for short periods of time, but so much better to stay warm and play.
Kobe has had a tough time of it, this being his first year in the world, he isn't sure how to get his plumbing going in this cold, ice covered world.  It's been entertaining to watch him during this ice-in.  Of course, we have been out enough to capture some pictures and videos....but no snowman yet.  The ice came too fast :-(

I coerced (forced) Olivia to take Kobe out to 'try' to pee!

Check out the hammer on the table.  They brought it out to 'break' the ice.  No, that's not dangerous at all....

Sledding in the 'hood.

So, after staying inside most of the first day, Olivia and Zach got their mojo around 7:30 pm and played to their hearts content.  They immediately started acting out a action movie.  I gathered they were in trouble with the ice and were trying to save each other.  The entire 30 minute movie was hilarious, I have an awesome 2 minute clip of it, but could only post a shorter one.

A peaceful ending to 2010....

We ended the year with continued family fun.  Our pup, Kobe, still has to go out for walks even in the snow, so we all went out and incorporated a snow ball fight with his walk.  The kids attempted snow angels.  Olivia felt she should shovel snow.  Nonnie will laugh at this one... seeing we barely had enough snow for a dusting.  Hey, it was still coming down at this point.
With the hustle and bustle of the rest of the year, it was so nice to have this holiday to sit back and relax.  We didn't travel or go to the lake this holiday....we never even packed a bag!  Dave especially soaked up this 'home' time. But never fear, we have lots of travel plans for 2011.  It starts with Daytona (24 Hours of Daytona) late January, skiing in Idaho late February, and many other potential plans in the horizon.  It's going to be a fun year for travel.....oh, my favorite!
We coaxed Karen, Mike and Gavin to spend the night with us to watch the Falcons game.  The next day, we pulled everyone out of the house for a nice long walk at the Polo Fields.  Kobe needed to get out....well, we all did.  The walk was a well needed one :-)  Gavin and Zach decided to do a little rock climbing.

Karen and the boys - this is Gavin's latest pose for pictures.....

Some days we stayed in pj's all day long, other days we ventured out.  I was longing to go ice skating, so off we went Wednesday night and much to our surprise, Olivia loves ice skating! Park Tavern has a heated tent just for the occasion.  It was so heated, we had to remove all outerwear and we were still sweating!  Zach tended to do tricks on the ice (aka one leg skating as mom holds him up, kicking one leg in the air while he jerks our arm off, etc.)  Needless to say, Dave and I were both sore the following days.  Olivia truly enjoyed herself and asked, "does this place stay open all year long?" and "Can we come again in the morning?"  We are going again Sunday morning, just because she likes it so much :-)

To celebrate New Year's Eve, we went to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Moutain, GA.  This was our second time around.  Olivia loved it so much last year, she has begged for an entire year to go again.  Dave and I (and the kids) get such a laugh out of this place.  It is one of the most entertaining places around.  Bizarre animals (that really don't belong in Georgia), mixed species (that may possibly belong in Georgia...he he), slobber, tongues sticking in your van windows, huge beast that are quite mannerly (and some that are not).  It's all there!  Here is a taste of our New Year's Eve....

Yes, Zach is driving the van.  He is very serious, can you tell?!  Watch out for that Buffalo!

We ended the evening with a little R/C race car action in the pool parking lot with Garrett and then a firework display in front of the Berry's house.  Happy 2011 to everyone and hopes for a wonderful year!

December in a Flash...

As most of us, December flew by in a flash.  I will not complain because every last bit of it was entertaining, family fun.  Regrettably, I have to look back at my photographs to remember what we actually did this month.  Hey, so much for a photographic memory....

Olivia surprised us all as she sang Christmas carols with her Daisy Scout troop at the Smyrna Tree Lighting and also at Delmar Gardens for the senior citizens.  It truly gets you in the spirit of Christmas to see your shy, little girl  stand in front of a crowd singing the Twelve Days of Christmas....it was a long one, let me tell you.

All within days we attended the Smyrna Tree Lighting (which was rained out, so Santa lit the tree before we all arrived, bummer),

 the Vinings Tree Lighting (see Santa, Jen and Kobe photo), 

a Daisy Scout holiday party,

 hosted a baby shower for my dear friend Liz (she's due Jan. 2nd), 

celebrated my 38th birthday...got a new iPhone 4 (I love it), homemade ribs and cake from Dave, and was taken to lunch and dinner multiple times thanks to my friends and topped it off with a dinner at Canoe with Liz and Amy....nice!!! 

visited Santa at The Vinings Club,

 celebrated Dave's 37th birthday,

 horseback riding (that's Spoon and he's huge)

attended Dave's Porsche holiday party,

enjoyed our annual holiday dinner with our neighbors, the McCurry's

Zach and Mrs. Muller (K teacher)

 and attended Olivia and Zach's school holiday parties and raced to the last day of school.  

Whew!  Oh yes, there was a little homework, holiday shopping, wrapping, playing and attending to regular life mixed in there somewhere.  Yes, it was all fun.  We are grateful to have the holidays to slow down a bit and enjoy our time together.  The beautiful and calming snow helps.  Our kids are at such wonderful ages, 7 and 5.  They each had a bucket this year for slips of paper with their 'good deeds'.  We set their buckets out for Santa to see and he wrote a note saying "Wonderful job, Olivia & Zach".  They were very proud of themselves and we have to say, they were very good this year.  Finally.....!  Well, there was a small episode of Olivia 'running away from home' the last day of school as soon as we got home.  I think all of the activity and lack of sleep caught up with her, so we'll give her this one.  She didn't actually run away, but she needed some time alone.  She was upset that I made her walk the dog.....the dog she begged for six years to get.  We will let bygones be bygones....
With all of the White siblings in town, we left the kids in the care of grandparents and Aunt Barbara and went to see Cirque de Soleil - Ovo.  We all had a fabulous time together, we loved the show and the lights at Atlantic Station.

Christmas Eve was spent with the White family at my sister, Karen's in Suwanee.  We have one new baby, Heath, and I've said it before, he is such a good baby.  With Gavin, Olivia and Zach, well, they are so grateful to see each other, we didn't see much of them :-)

Santa was very, very good to the kids.  We have played non stop with all of the cool toys he brought and also ones gifted from our family.  LEGOs can keep kids busy all day long.

Our big present this year is a trip during the kids' Winter Break in February, to Sun Valley, Idaho.  We are going skiing as a family.  I cannot wait!
We didn't' have to wait for snow, it arrived Christmas Day in Georgia.  The day was absolutely beautiful.

Zach's Kindergarten Elf

Written by: Kirsten Muller, teacher

You have probably heard a little about our class Elf.  I thought I would elaborate.  On Monday morning, an Elf mysteriously appeared in our classroom.  Apparently, he is visiting and will report to Santa (for families who celebrate Christmas) on good behavior.   Well.... it has become much more than that.
First, we named our Elf, "Elfie".  (Original, isn't it :)
Next, we made a mailbox for Elife.  Sure enough, if you write a letter to Elfie, he writes you back.  The letters in Elfie's mailbox are gone by the next day.  Elfie delivers you a letter right in your supply bag.
Also, Elfie magically moves to different places in the room.  The kids are adorable and so funny when they talk about Elfie.  In fact, they are pretty serious.  Anish came in the room after specials and explained to everyone that he thought he saw magic glitter in the classroom that means that Elfie flew across the room.  Leila is very "matter of fact".  She draws him very detailed pictures of she and Elfie holding hands and smiling.  Kritika and Emily always write, "Elfie, I love you".  Harper seems to think that if he writes as many letters as possible to Elfie and crams them all in Elfie's mailbox that he will get that many letters in return.  Zach is pensive.  He hasn't written Elfie yet but he looks at him a lot.  And Davis was very skeptical at first.  He told me that it couldn't be a real Elf because he has a tag on him.  I think Elfie's won Davis over b/c Davis now works tediously writing Elfie letters and folding them to look like an envelope.  And today Jeremiah had a huge smile on his face when he found a letter from Elfie in his supply bag.
I am holding on to their letters which I will try to inconspicuously give to you at the holiday party or sometime next year.  If you're a sentimental parent, like me, I know you will want to save them.