So is it Hot Enough for You?

Last night was the first night.

The first night where the temperature rose high enough to make sleeping difficult. I stayed inside most of the day waiting for the phone to ring/hoping the phone wouldn't ring (it didn't). I snuck out to the gym in the morning (and added 10 minutes on a stationary bike to the normal 25 minute routine) and it wasn't terribly warm at that time.

Later in the afternoon we decided to order out for dinner and I had to drive to the bank to get some cash. Our car has a thermometer on the dash. It read 93 degrees. It wasn't bad though. We had a few windows open in the house, and a fan on. Sadly one of the two fans we bought when we moved in quietly died on us, but the other one is still cranking out the breezes.

It wasn't until just before the kids went to bed that the humidity started being a factor. We all started feeling it. The kids went to bed and immediately were soaked in sweat. Jen and I went to bed a couple of hours later and I managed to fall into a light sleep, but she had a really hard time. Just before two I went downstairs and got the fan. That helped a little, but both of us woke up tired and feeling worn out.

There is a plan in place for this evening to pick up a new air conditioner. We have two little ones that do an okay job cooling things off at night, but this year will be the first year we are using all three bedrooms upstairs. Opening the windows and putting on the fans has done well for us downstairs, but upstairs we've all grown a little dependent on air conditioners. Maybe the time has come to get one for the living room too. We'll have to see.

Yesterday the four of us took a poll. The question was, "What Magic Kingdom rides and attractions are you dying to see when we go on our Disney vacation?" Jen used each person's answers to compile three lists. The Must See list, the Nice to See list, and the If We Have Time list. Here are the results:

Must-sees:
Pirates of the Carribbean
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
It's a Small World
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Haunted Mansion
Mickey's Toontown
Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Peter Pan's Flight
Mad Tea Party
Dumbo

Nice to see:
Mickey's Philharmagic
Jungle Cruise
Enchanted Tiki Room
Country Bear Jamboree
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor
Tomorrowland Speedway
Space Mountain

If we have time:
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Astro Orbiter
Hall of Presidents
Swiss Family Treehouse

What do you think? We've all already thought of something that we should have had on our personal list that we forgot, so these results may change in the coming weeks. It also does not include Nana and Papa's input so these can't really be though of as definitive at this point. Still, it's a pretty impressive to-do list.

Both kids are doing a great job of scaring the bejeezus out of themselves over some of the rides. We still have weeks to go and over a thousand miles to cross before we even get there and they are already chickening out about things. The major sticking points right now appear to be The Haunted Mansion (we actually had a nightmare about that one last night) and Space Mountain, although Space Mountain is more out of curiosity than fear.

We've promised them that we will not force them to go on any ride that is going to scare them or be dangerous for them, but we've also told them that they have to trust us. If we tell them they have to try a ride then they have to be brave and do it. They do trust us, but they also have a tendency to let their imaginations run away with them. They believe us when we tell them that the rides we want them to go on will be fun and not scary, but they are already whipping themselves into a panic state and it may be tough to handle once the moments of truth arrive.

Of course, once they ride any ride that they are afraid of they will immediately want to do it again. That's always the case. Fear, panic, maybe a few tears, followed by, "Can we go again? Can we? Can We?"

I can't wait!

Finally, the Bruins and Flyers play game two tonight. I only hope things go better for Boston than they did for Pittsburgh yesterday. Their series with Montreal is tied at one a piece now. We had the game on the television but we were all in the living room doing other things. At one point I looked up and commented that they were five minutes into the first period and Pittsburgh wasn't winning yet. I then looked down at what I was doing (we were all playing a marathon game of Trouble - R2D2 edition) and almost immediately heard cheering Penguins fans as they scored their first goal. Almost exactly on queue. Of course, that would be the only goal they scored.

Go Bruins!