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Nothing like waiting until vacation (round 2) before writing about vacation (round 1).

The Bailey family spent a long Thanksgiving break traveling up the west coast.  Our journey from Tampa began with both sides of the family meeting at the in-laws’ in Jacksonville, FL for Thanksgiving day and continuing to Berkeley Springs, WV to visit my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and brand new baby Nephew, Malachite!  During our time up in WV, we stayed at our aunt-in-law’s (?) lovely vacation cottage  (see Judy’s Cottage).  Click through any of the photos below for the full album.

Here’s to closing out an incredibly busy year.

For some reason, my typically crazy busy Summer continued through to an even crazier busier Fall.  In the past couple months I’ve lead our practice’s campus recruiting efforts, managed two of our industry audits to completion, began coordination of my fourth audit of the year (or maybe fifth…I’ve lost count) and all the other responsibilities that are part and parcel to being an Ernst & Young manager.

Somehow while navigating through the weeds, I was able to fit in some fun with family and friends (click through each photo for the full album):

Halloween 2009- Rosemary wasn’t having it this year, so she passed candy out with mom and dad from the back of our truck.  She also helped carve some pumpkins:

Inaugural semi-annual MRAS camping trip- Starting a (what we hope to be) a frequent tradition, a few EY friends and family took a long weekend and spent the nights under the stars at St. George Island.  Being Rosemary’s first camping trip, she thoroughly enjoyed the adventure:

Wendy’s birthday- Our intention was to spend Wendy’s birthday in Paris.  Paris in Epcot turned out to be the only viable alternative:

Outdoors- Although I am morally opposed to 80 degree weather in November, we took advantage of the cooler days to enjoy the outdoors:

Now, sitting on 17 remaining vacation days that must be spent by the end of the year, I hope for a relaxing close to 2009 and enjoy this time with my wonderful family.

Happy Holidays!

This is my obligatory “it’s been a while” post. Expectedly, life continued in the Bailey household. And just as unsurprising, I caught a good number of the precious moments on film.

On to pimping my flickr page…

Our visit to the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry:

Tampa’s very own Lowry Park Zoo:

One of Sarasota’s hidden education gems- G-wiz science museum:

And last, but not least. The Bailey family Summer vacation extravaganza! Wendy and I packed hotel hoping through Orlando, St. Augustine, Palm Coast and a trip to the in-laws in Ponte Vedra, Florida into two fun filled weeks. Our little one enjoyed, but tired out quick from all the run around.

I know, the narrative was lazy. But I guess that’s why I “photoblog” in the first place  Thanks for reading!

Another fun-filled family weekend for the Bailey clan! Some good friends of ours from the FSU days were back in-State for a wedding and were gracious enough to invite us to spend the weekend at their timeshare in Orlando. It was a perfect opportunity for an impromptu vacation. We’ve often discussed whether it was worth taking Rosemary to a themepark at this age (15 months), given that she probably wouldn’t remember most of the experience. So we’ve decided to wait a little longer before dropping $$$. However, being in Orlando – we didn’t want to deprive our little one of some Mickey time.  It’s amazing how much mileage you can get in entertaining a young’n given some creativity. One highlight of the trip was a lunch at the Rainforest cafe in Downtown Disney.  Every few minutes, the restaurant comes to life with wildlife, jungle noises and thunderstorms.  More than enough to entertain little Rosemary while we dined.

Anyway, clickthrough for photos:

Today, the family spent the afternoon at the annual Plant City Strawberry Festival.  If you’ve never been, the festival is ranked among the Top 50 fairs in North America, and has been held (almost) each year since its inception in 1939.  The festival celebrates Plant City’s strawberry harvest and brings together a number of exhibits showcasing Plant City’s agriculture, livestock, horticulture, arts and crafts.

The festival runs from February 26 – March 8.  Tickets are $10 for Adults and $5 for Children.  Also, be sure to check out the nightly concerts.  The fair tends to attract a few big country names each year (sorry kids, if you didn’t catch Taylor Swift today, you’re out of luck).  For more information, please check out www.flstrawberryfestival.com.  You can also find the fair on Facebook and Twitter (@flstrawberryfst).

My “Make Your Own Strawberry Shortcake” courtesy of the volunteers at St. Clement Catholic Church, Plant City:

Deep Fried Pepsi (Yes, deep fried pepsi):

Cow:

Feel free to check out the rest of the family fun photos:

The family had a pleasant (and exhausting) day at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park!  Just 1.5ish hours north of Tampa, the State park serves as a refuge for injured and/or endangered native Florida wildlife.  It was nice to get away from the city/suburb life for a day and back into “The Real Florida”.

Added bonus – admission is free if you’re a member of the Tampa Aquarium.  Otherwise, Adults (age 13 and over) $9.00 per person.  Children (ages 3 through 12) $5.00 per person.  There is no charge for children ages 2 years and under.

Feel free to check out some of the sights we saw from our tour:

 A word of caution to all you homeowners:  be kind to your water heater and follow these instructions on how to maintain it regularly.  After 1) spending the past two weeks rationing our hot water; 2) spending a few hours with the father-in-law trying to figure out how to wrestle a burnt out and rusted heating element encased in 5+ inches of built up sediment out of the weater heater; 3) sweeping 40 gallons of water, rust, lime, wood and other cruddy debris that drained into the garage – out, and; 4) a trip to Lowes…I’ve learned yet another home improvement lesson.

I think this image (taken at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, FL) encompasses my first day back at work after a long vacation:

We had a wonderful holiday, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the family over the past two weeks! The following are some highlights of my time off (clickthrough for portfolio)

Fingerpainting

Florida Aquarium

Christmas 2008