Just found out that the day cruise was cancelled due to under booking. Bummer. My friend and her girl friend are still going to make a trip to Lauderdale and hit some Casinos on Saturday, but I’ve decided to bow out. I don’t really want to drive around Ft. Lauderdale looking for somewhere to go. Oh well.
I was just invited to go on a day gambling cruise this Saturday! Should be tons of fun. We have to be in Ft. Myers by 6:30a.m. (which is about 30 minutes north of me) and we take a but to Ft. Lauderdale for the cruise. I can’t wait. This will be my first gambling cruise – now to figure out how much money I can afford to loose.
Well, the boys left this morning at 7:30a.m. It was another short visit, but a good one. We had to handle three birthdays and Halloween – a lot for only a few days. This visit was originally scheduled for the previous weekend, but hurricane Wilma forced us to reschedule. After the requisite argument with the boys’ mother I was able to change the tickets to the following weekend.
Scott turned twelve on the 19th, Aaron turned eleven on the 26th and my brother, Kevin, turned thirty-two: all this adds up to me being a lot older than I feel! 
For Birthday cakes Scott wanted my mother’s zucchini cake (which is very good) and Aaron wanted a pumpkin pie – Done! The gifts were given out without much fanfare, but we all went shopping with thier birthday money and hit King Richards (the local fun park – games and rides). With the birthdays taken care of we only had Halloween left.
Originally, Aaron was going to be Darth Vader for Halloween, so a couple of weeks before their trip down I made a run to the local party store to verify they had Vader costumes for children. The clerk said they had a large number of each size, so getting him one that fit shouldn’t be a problem when he arrives. Unfortunately Aaron didn’t bring his Darth Vader voice changing helmet, so he had to make a decision. At first he wanted to be some kind of ‘scary monster’, but decided on the ‘Scream’ character. They had a pretty cool costume at the part store with a mask that dripped glowing blood! Scott, on the other hand, decided he wanted to stay and pass out candy. I guess he’s getting too old for Trick or treating (it was going to happen sooner or later). For years our neighbor hosted a Halloween block party. Several families on the street would congregate on the driveway and we’d grill burgers and hot dogs and had out candy. This year we have new neighbors in that house and they have agreed to keep the tradition going! This year turned out to be a great party. Scott hung out with his grandparents and the other people while my brother, his wife and I took Aaron and Ethan around the neighborhood. Here are some pictures from Halloween.
The only stinky part of Halloween was the fact that the boys were leaving early the next morning. So, after checking the candy and letting them eat a few pieces we did a quick pack of clothes and toys and spent the rest of the night playing video games until it was time for bed.
We all got up early in the morning, showered and headed for the airport. It went pretty smoothly, but I don’t like being rushed. I tend to get frazzled and a bit short tempered. I don’t want that to be the way I am when I say goodbye to the boys, so I try to hide it. Aaron gets anxious and just wants to get on the plane and go. Scott seem pretty calm about the whole thing and is happy reading while they wait to board the plane.
It was a good visit that was over to quickly!