The Blog Needs a New Name!

Dang, I need a new name for my blog. Why, oh why did I have to move and ruin it all? Actually, I could just change it to Clermont Confessions, but it's just not as catchy for some reason. Maybe I should have a contest--I wonder if anyone even cares since I'm so 'consistent' with my entries. I'll give it a week and see if I get any responses. Calling all deep thinkers! I'm thinking Mary's family would have a heyday coming up with something. And mom, you're always welcome to try--I know you read this stuff!

Okay, I guess I will make this an official entry updating life at the Walker Home. Since my last entry, I went to said concert--it was really hot! And I mean that literally and figuratively. Not a good idea to wear a new fall shirt that was too warm for a late summer night in Florida (it doesn't cool down until mid November here). But the music was rockin' and totally worth the suffering. Now I need to see Muse in their own concert--come back to Florida!!! I might have to fly out to Salt Lake for the show in April--and maybe General Conference--in one fell swoop! (John just laughed at me over that one)

For Halloween we had 2 days off of school so we spent one day at Busch Gardens and the next at Sea World with some really awesome friends of ours. John and Kalin went with the other adults to "Hallowscream"--Busch Garden's version of a haunted house--the entire park! I stayed with the kids at the hotel, so I missed out (gee, I'm so sad). But I did get to ride some really fun roller coasters. They have one called 'Shiekra' that is amazing! On the first drop, they hang you over the edge for a few seconds (feels like an eternity!) then drop you straight down a 90 degree angle. I've never screamed so loud in my life! Then I rode it a few more times. At Sea World, they have a new one called 'Manta.' After you get in, the seats shift so you're facing the ground--you fly along like a Manta Ray in the ocean! Awesome fun! I liked it because the pressure on the turns is spread out over your whole body rather than your spine. We even got Patrick on that one! The kids did their Trick-or-Treating at Sea World! Thanks for not handing out lots of sugar! :)

In November, I had to say farewell to my 30s--very depressing. I think I had a bit of a mid-life crisis that week before my birthday. Someone suggested I should say I'm 25 and holding. Sounds good to me! I think it was harder to handle than it would have been if I hadn't been so stressed about other issues in my life. But a few days past my birthday, I felt fine again--as far as the age issue goes. Plus all the teasing from my family and friends stopped.

The last week in October is when we realized it was time to move up to Orlando. When we had been looking before (in summer), we looked on the east side of Orlando. This time, John felt we needed to look specifically in the Clermont area west of Orlando. We found a realtor in the ward here and had her help us look around. She worked really hard to get us into the 'right' ward, but thought she had failed when we finally got a place. The movers came in Monday, Nov. 30th and started packing us up. We drove up Wednesday, Dec. 2nd and they arrived Friday the 4th and unloaded. Pretty efficient! It was nice to have them do all the work, but there were issues with how they packed stuff--and what they left behind. As an example, we finally found the TV remote wrapped up with the chains and bolts for the pot rack! It was 'exciting' to figure out how to organize this house. My favorite place to organize was the kitchen--it's huge! I've still got some empty cupboard space! Better find something to fill it! And the master closet is huge, too. Unfortunately, there's no linen closet. It's all ending up in my closet. Maybe that's why it's so big?

As for church, we went to the Minneola Ward for 2 weeks before they realized our address was just on the other side of the boundary line. It kind of does a jog, which is why we were so sure we were in that ward. The nice thing about going to that ward for 2 weeks was getting to know some of those members. Their RS president saw me last night and gave me a hug! Nice people. Too bad we 'defected' to the other ward. So, now we're in the Clermont ward which is where we (according to John and our realtor, Isabel) are supposed to be. John said, "Even though Bishop Wilson tried to draw us into the great and spacious Minneola ward, we have finally found our way through the mist’s of darkness, grabbed a hold of the Iron Rod and found ourselves at the Tree of Life which is the Clermont ward." What a card! It was tough being the new people all over again, but we're happily settled in now. I got a calling just this week--can you guess? Organist, of course. I'm so happy! The easy calling first.

Another exciting milestone was reached in December as well. John and I celebrated 20 years of happy connubial bliss on the 22nd. I know--3 days before Christmas is NOT the best day for a wedding. I'm still so sorry Mom! However, now that our kids are older (relatively), and it was during the holiday break, John and I got to spend 3 days and 2 nights away together. Thank you Kalin! Kudos for a great job 'lording' it over the younger sibs! Anyway, John and I went to Tampa, did some Christmas shopping and spent half a day at Busch Gardens. Good fun when you're not hauling kids and their 'stuff' around. It was so fun, we went again the next week (with the kids this time)! We also ate at the best Japanese restaurant I've been to in a very long time! I got a very delicious Bento Box while John had a sushi dinner. Mmmm! We'll be back again sometime! Anyway, I had wanted to go on a mini cruise, but no money. We actually didn't spend much--the annual pass to Busch gardens already paid and the hotel on John's bonus points. Just food and gifts. Maybe for #25 we can cruise! Love you John! Thanks for making the 2nd half of my life (so far) absolutely wonderful! Aack! I've been married half my life! There's a thought...

Christmas and New Years were great as usual. We splurged and got the Rock Band set for the Wii. Now we can all rock out together! Well, 4 of us anyway. The drums look scary, but maybe someday I'll try. I like singing and doing the bass guitar. Otherwise, presents were pretty practical--lots of clothes and books and stuff. And a few more Wii games. I think the kids were happy enough. As I said before, New Years Eve we went to Busch Gardens with the fam and some other friends. We had to pace ourselves since we stayed until 1 AM, but it was worth it. Fireworks and roller coasters--good fun! And the kids had a blast on the bumper cars. Their new favorite, I guess. All but Kalin were to scared of the roller coasters, so we took turns. Sadie's favorite was the river rapids ride, but it was NOT a super warm day with no sunshine to help dry off. Luckily we remembered the rain ponchos, so we didn't get too wet, but once was enough for me, thank you very much! Ahh, life is good! Too bad temperatures have dropped to below freezing overnight this week--I don't even own a coat anymore! Brrr! It's cold!

So, there it is, the Fall/Winter update. Does that mean I'm off the hook for a while? We'll see how the cookie crumbles...