I'm Bored! 13 days and counting.....

The days of vacations, road trips and crazy adventures are slowly coming to an end.  They will soon be replaced by 5:00 a.m. alarm clocks, school lunches, taking care of kids that are not my own and homework!  I've accepted it...in fact, I am actually looking forward to the new school year and the new crop of students that will be at the door of Room 26 in 4 weeks.

But until then, let's look at what is going on with the Rahns......

If you notice the tickers at the right - I've updated and added two more.  Yes, those are the 3 vacations that are planned for next summer.  I've been plotting, planning and budgeting for the past 2 weeks and it is all going to work out.  Funny how the cost of those 3 trips combined, equals the cost of this summer's Hawaii trip.

I'll explain the logistics of planning for those trips in a bit, but today we had another "staycation" day.  We headed to Great Falls Park.  We had lots of fun hiking and playing on the rocks.  Katie was proud of herself because she didn't complain once, and she actually enjoyed being outdoors with her "Nature Buddy" Daddy.  We had a good time, and Don got a dose of the outdoors before we start thinking about going back to work.

Here are some pics from Great Falls:

Everybody got into the act of taking pictures.....we've trained them well!

Katie and her Nature Buddy!

The above pic is of the girls inside one of the old canal towpaths created by George Washington. You can't pass up a teachable moment in our house!

So...we finally got out of the house today and went to Great Falls.  The past 3 days we have been home, by choice, but still.....home!  Some people wish for that time, but during the summer, it drives me nuts to be home for more than one day.  Carleigh and I were bored....so what did we do?  We rearranged her bedroom and then cleaned and rearranged the girl's playroom a bit.  I love to rearrange the furniture and it is a constant activity in our house.  The rooms get a good rearranging about every year or so.  I need to change things and shake it up a bit.  So, this week scratched that itch.

We go back to work on August 25th, so about 2 more weeks of free time to schedule as I wish.  Well, just about every day has an activity of some sort planned, so I'm a happy camper.

Some of the highlights?

• going to the movies with my mom - to see Eat, Pray, Love - we actually lived in the part of Italy where the movie was filmed, so very excited to see that.
• finish back to school shopping - just the girls, Rina and I
• dentist appointments :(
• extended family is coming into town this weekend, so a fun picnic on Saturday
• LOBSTER DAY - an annual Rahn holiday - that wil have a post all for itself, look for it after Aug. 21st.
• can't forget "Back to School" Haircuts...
• hopefully one more crazy Rahn adventure before we settle down into the routine

Now back to those vacations.....I can't stand the fact that I won't be on an airplane until next June, but it will all be worth it. Let the saving and planning begin.

August - As you know, Alaska is well underway and the planning is going very well for that.  I will begin putting the puzzle together of how to get the super discounted plane tickets next week.  I found a web site that lists the shore excursions of other cruise lines, so we can begin "dreaming" of what we want to do in Skagway, Ketchikan and Juneau.  Can't officially book anything until next May.

June - I MISS DISNEY WORLD!  Yes, my new happy place is sitting in that lounge chair, poolside at the Hilton in Hawaii with the little drink boy bringing me strawberry daquiris, but the feeling of walking down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, facing Cinderella's Castle is still one of my favorite places to "go" when I need to escape my daily thoughts.

The only way I was going to get Don back to Disney World was to combine it with a National Park visit of some sort (that was his condition)...so away I went....did you know that Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in Florida are only 30 minutes apart?  Did you know that they are a SHORT 4-5 hour drive from Orlando? Well, we didn't know that either. :)

Now we do, and next June 22 (2 days after school is out) we will embark on that adventure.  We will fly into Miama - rent a car, drive to Homestead (20 minutes away) and stay in a Hampton Inn (earn Hilton/United Miles points and free breakfast) for 2 nights. The hotel is rated #1 on Tripadvisor and is located centrally between the two parks. While there we will take a 2 hour airboat ride through the Everglades (already priced and will reserve in January), and do a 3 hour snorkel trip in Biscayne.  The girls will get their National Park Passport stamps and Don will check two more parks off the list of 396 that he hopes to accomplish.

We will then drive our rental car to Orlando - and return it to the Orlando airport.  We will spend 4 nights at Disney's Wilderness Lodge (already booked) and next summer on June 24th, I will get to walk down Main Street again!!!

We will get to plan/play in Disney World for 4 days and then fly home through the Orlando airport.  Can't wait!!

So...you may be thinking - two Disney trips in one summer.  Yep, we're crazy.....but hey, 2 teachers off all summer.....we pay for it by educating today's youth for the other 180-190 days of the year.

• Florida will be full blown, crazy Disney fun - not a problem
• Alaska cruise is sedate, luxurious, low key Disney fun - not a problem either :) 

That's where we are right now, 13 days and counting... until I am no longer a stay at home mom (for another 9 months) and we will start earning the money to pay for those vacations next summer.