I have been wanting to go to Flower and Garden Festival for years. And I finally did. And without children in tow! :)

I was already in Orlando for the weekend, for the ETAAM retreat [now called BeTA] (a gathering of moms from all over the United States and Canada. Moms of children with attachment disorders, or, in cases like mine, children with bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder and the like.) I stepped waaaay out of my comfort zone in meeting so many new people at one time, but it was a wonderful experience and I had the chance to meet some really terrific people.

Anyway…since I was already in Orlando, I decided to hop over to Epcot for the day after checking out on Monday.

While the Flower and Garden Festival has a LOT to offer, I was in it primarily for one thing — the topiaries!  I ate some Mexican food, only rode a couple of rides, and spent the majority of the day snapping photographs of the Disney themed topiaries. (I am such a giggly little girl when it comes to Disney.)

I’m not going to lie; I loved ALL of the topiaries, but if I had to choose a favorite it would be this one. I LOVE Monsters, Inc.  I love Sully. I love Mike Wazowski. Great job, Disney!!!

There was a real rabbit wandering around near Rabbit’s feet.

Beauty & The Beast

My son Lefty is playing “LeFou” in a local children’s production of Beauty and the Beast, so I went a little picture happy over in the France pavilion. I mean seriously, aren’t these amazing?

Tampa Theatre – Legoland, FL. – December 2011

But I had never actually been INSIDE the Tampa Theatre until this week, when we took a “field trip” – a 90+ minute guided tour of the theatre. I didn’t know what I’d been missing. If you appreciate fine architecture and history, this really should be on your “must see” list of Tampa.

Tampa Theatre Field Trip – April 9, 2013

Balcony to Backstage Tour Information:

$5 General Admission/$2 Kids 2-12
Free for Tampa Theatre Members and Kids under 2

…where art, mythology, and history are interwoven through one of America’s best preserved examples of grand movie palace architecture. Tours include a performance on the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ!

Photo Credit: CariAnne Photography

1,400 Pipe Wurlitzer Organ

Built in 1926 by famed theatre architect John Eberson, The Tampa Theatre, which boasts Florida Mediterranean architectural style, blended with touches of Italian Renaissance, Byzantine, Spanish, Mediterranean, Greek Revival, Baroque, and English Tudor, entertained Tampa residents with 10 cent silent movies, which played continuously throughout the day.

(Simply stating that they “just don’t build things like they used to” is a huge understatement! Entering the theatre really gives you the feeling of having been transported to a Mediterranean courtyard. It’s an experience I have only seen replicated by the likes of Walt Disney.)

Tampa Theatre and McCrory’s, 1929
Photo Credit: http://www.tampapix.com

 Inside the Tampa, audiences are transported to a lavish, romantic Mediterranean courtyard replete with old world statuary, flowers, and gargoyles. Over it all is a nighttime sky with twinkling stars and floating clouds.  – TampaTheatre.org

Tampa Theatre Lobby – Photo Credit TampaTheatre.org

Tampa Theatre Interior
Photo Credit http://tampatheatre.org

Interior Today

Not the greatest photo (my pathetic camera struggles in darker environments), but you can see that it has been restored to its original glory. Notice in the historic photo, there is an orchestra pit. It is now enclosed but for a small pit for the Wurlitzer Organ. We were told, by our amazing docent Jill, that in the silent movie era a live orchestra played along at times, while a pipe orchestra played at other times.

Like other new movie palaces around the country, the Tampa Theatre was enormously popular. For the first time in history, the common person had access to opulence on a scale never before imagined. For 10 cents, they could escape into a fantasy land for two hours, see first class entertainment, and be treated like royalty by uniformed platoons of ushers and attendants.  – TampaTheatre.org

Sadly, by the 1960′s and 70′s many of the nation’s finest movie palaces were “quickly demolished before anyone noticed because the land beneath them became more valuable than the theatre operation”. By 1973, the Tampa Theatre faced the same fate. But in Tampa citizens rallied together and (thankfully!) saved this beauty from the wrecking ball.

The Arts Council of Hillsborough County agreed to program and manage the Tampa with films, concerts and special events. By the time the Theatre reopened in early 1978, the Tampa had become something of a national model on how to save an endangered theatre.

Today, Tampa Theatre is managed by the not-for-profit Tampa Theatre Foundation and is a remarkable success story.  The Theatre presents and hosts over 600 events a year including a full schedule of first run and classic films, concerts, special events, corporate events, tours and educational programs. The theatre is one of the most heavily utilized venues of its kind in the United States.  – TampaTheatre.org

I love the ladies’ room entrance. ;)

Facts & Things (that I found to be interesting):

• The Tampa Theatre was the first commercial building in Tampa to offer air conditioning!
  
• The interior is all plaster. What looks like tile work on the walls is painted plaster. The walls are plaster. The columns and ornate decorations are all plaster.
• There is a stall in each of the ladies’ rooms with the three little kittens carved into the door. Inside — a miniature, kid-sized toilet!
• Movies were played continuously. There were no “show times”. People would come and wait in the queue line. As some people left, others would enter. If they came in in the middle of the movie, they would just watch until the same point on the next run. Plot was not a big factor in the movies of that time period! 
• Likewise, you could stay all day and watch the same movie over and over again if you chose to — on the same dime. 
• Concessions were not originally sold in the movie theaters. The concession stand is one of the few things that is not original to the theater.
• There are 99 “stars” in the simulated theatre sky. (Each with its own light bulb)
• One theatre on several levels = 1,446 seats
• Original construction – One year, 1.2 million dollars

After a whirlwind three days of shopping, attempting to find outfits for eight children that co-ordinate (“matching” is out of the question. They’re way too cool for that these days — but I have this obsessive-compulsive need to at least somewhat co-ordinate everyone so we can attempt to get a decent picture). The only times of the year that we buy everyone new church clothes is for Easter and Christmas (and we skipped it at Christmas this year), so it’s kind of a big deal to me. It’s a Janne-driven tradition that drives everyone else in the family crazy — but it’s gone on for 22 years, so they should just deal with it, right? ;)

The problem was, this year I waited until the very last minute to start shopping. Yes, the Thursday before Easter. The stores were pretty well picked clean. Ant (17) was easy. “I don’t care. Just get something. I’m a medium shirt and a 30/32 pants.” Of course the little guy will wear anything, and Lefty (13) isn’t too particular. It’s these girls!!! And not the oldest one, as you might assume — it was the almost-11-year-old and the 12-year-old who were a nightmare to buy for. “Tween” is a difficult age range – do you know how challenging it is to find things that are neither too “little girly” or too “grown-up”? Especially when one insists on yellow, to the point of obsessing.

But by Saturday night we were finally done! Here’s the result:

Aren’t they adorable?!

Easter itself was pretty low-key. We went to the 8:30 service at church, then came home for brunch. We usually go out for Easter brunch, but my lack of planning this year meant that we couldn’t get seated at any affordable restaurant until 3pm. These kids certainly aren’t about to wait until 3pm to eat. That, coupled with the fact that several of us are eating gluten-free now, made it seem like a better idea to just eat at home.

We found an Eggs Benedict recipe at The Pioneer Woman, along with a delicious fruit salad recipe. We modified the egg recipe slightly by making it vegetarian for me (turkey bacon for the others), and “florentine” (adding spinach), and we served it on gluten free English muffins alongside pancakes made from a store-bought gluten free pancake mix. Delicious!

And of course — the Easter mimosa. :)

The rest of Easter was spent just hanging around the house for most of us (Dinky and Lefty went to the Renaissance Faire to see their brother perform in his fight cast, and Ant had to go to work at McDonald’s). I was considering hiding plastic eggs for the younger kids to find, but they seemed pretty content to just swim all day instead.

This is the second year we have attended the “Walk Through Bethlehem” at Kings Avenue Baptist Church.  (Last year we discovered it thanks to a road sign advertisement we spotted while driving down the busy State Road 60 in Brandon, FL. ) We enjoyed it so much that I have decided to add it to our unofficial list of family Christmas traditions.

Walk Through Bethlehem is a re-creation of the town of Bethlehem as it existed during the time of Christ; brought to life by congregants and volunteers – more than 300 workers and live animals. According to the Kings Avenue Baptist Church website, 2012 marks the church’s 26th year presenting this production as a free event to the public – reminding us all of the true “reason for the season” .

The Walk starts after the visitors (divided into groups of 12 or less), led by a guide, sign in for the census, then enter the gates of Bethlehem as they’re being berated by Roman guards for being “lowly Jews.”

Each group of guests is then led through the makeshift village, stopping along the way to hear from the tax collector, salt makers, bread makers, townspeople, the teacher in the synagogue, the scribe, the metal workers, the carpenters, the cloth dyers, the cloth weavers, the potters, and other local merchants and tradesmen. A visit is made to a local family, a group of shepherds (tending live animals), the women at the well, three wise men bearing gifts, and more. Each year a real newborn baby, representing the Christ child, can be seen wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, with Mary and Joseph keeping watch.

The Walk ends with “the rest of the story”; a scene of three crosses erected in a field, followed by a scene of a stone rolled away from an empty tomb. The gospel message and prayer are given, then, at the exit, lemonade and hot chocolate are served.

Walk Through Bethlehem

Kings Avenue Baptist Church, 2602 S Kings Ave.
December 6, 6:30 – 9:30 PM
December 7, 6:30 – 10:00 PM
December 8, 4:00 – 10:00 PM
December 9, 4:00 – 9:30 PM

Note: You will want to arrive early. There is a LONG wait (as in hours). During your wait, however, (indoors, in an auditorium) you will be treated to live entertainment on the stage; soloists, musicians, singing groups…even gymnasts performing! There is also a concession stand to purchase drinks, cookies, candy bars, pretzels, hot dogs, and other goodies while you wait.

The project (from p. 123 of Global Art: Activities, Projects, and Inventions from Around the World) required covering an inflated balloon with a few layers of small newspaper squares dipped in liquid starch (and dried overnight or longer between layers). Once all layers were dried, the balloon was then popped and removed, leaving a hardened balloon-shaped shell, which was then filled with candy. The final steps included covering the candy hole with more starched paper, then decorating the dried shell with brightly colored tissue paper and paints.

Living in the Tampa Bay area of Florida certainly has its advantages in this regard. This area is an absolute melting pot of different nationalities and cultures, and, with it being a large metropolitan area, one need not look far to find the cuisine of these cultures. A simple Google search for “best authentic Mexican food in Tampa Bay” generated list after list and review after review.

After reading the reviews, there were several restaurants I wanted to try, but we narrowed it down (at least for now) to Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant in Plant City, Florida.

We were not disappointed. Although the restaurant is located in a strip mall behind a busy McDonald’s, the inside was adorned with beautifully hand painted walls; murals depicting birds, people, and Mexican landscapes.

And the food was delicious! Although I chose a vegetarian selection for myself, the girls feasted on the “Banderita Enchiladas“: Three enchiladas arranged in the colors of the Mexican flag. Red – cheese topped with enchilada sauce. White – ground beef topped with sour cream. Green – chicken topped with verde sauce.

One thing in particular that I have decided to do this year to amp up the learning fun a few notches is to buy weekday Disney passes for the homeschoolers. I particularly had Disney’s Epcot World Showcase in mind when I made this decision. So much fun!

Epcot World Showcase: Mexico

For lunch we dined al fresco at La Cantina de San Angel, a counter service restaurant in Epcot’s World Showcase area, with a beautiful view overlooking the World Showcase lagoon.

My meal consisted of Tacos de Pollo - grilled chicken served on fresh handmade corn tortillas with Pico de Gallo, lime and corn tortilla chips + Jarritos Piña - traditional Mexican pineapple soda

The children enjoyed Cheese Empañadas served with tortilla chips and fruit.

And we all sampled some Churritos with milk caramel and Sidral Mexican apple flavored soda.

After lunch we headed to the World Showcase Mexican Pavilion, a towering pyramid modeled after the Aztec Temple of Quetzalcoatl (Teotihuacan, Mexico).

Inside we discovered a gallery of artifacts from different time periods of Mexican history and a reproduction street marketplace of authentic Mexican goods and novelties…

…such as these Mexican themed Mickey Mouse ears and oversized sombreros.

Above: Reproduction Aztec Calendar
Below: My favorite – Gran Fiesta Three Caballeros Ride. I LOVE Donald Duck!

Speaking of my favorite Disney character ever, we got to meet “Donald Duck” (and see a Mariachi band perform) right outside of the Mexican Pavilion!

Donald Duck even signed our passport! :)

My Father’s World: Exploring Countries and Cultures spends a year going through the seven continents and several different countries therein, in order (starting with North America). At the same time, it explores several different ecosystems, such as forest, desert, grasslands, etc.

The study of the United States coincides with the study of forests, and one of the assignments was to start a leaf collection. While Florida does have lots of forest land, there are no pretty leaves (meaning fall colors), so I used this assignment as an excuse to visit with some friends in the mountains of Tennessee at the peak fall color season!

It was a short trip, we (eight of us, the three high schoolers couldn’t make it) left on a Saturday and returned on a Wednesday, traveling 10+ hours each way — but we had fun! The weather was PERFECT. A bit “crispy”, but not too cold. And the rain that was in the forecast never materialized. (Thank you, Jesus.)

The Weekend: Coker Creek, TN

We arrived in Tennessee on Saturday evening around supper time, and spent the remainder of the evening and Sunday catching up with friends in Coker Creek, Tennessee.

Smoky Mountains Day 1: Gatlinburg, TN

On Monday we headed into Gatlinburg, where we splurged on delicious pancakes at the Pancake Pantry. (Orange Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Sugar & Spice, “Bears in the Snow”…Mmmm!)

The rest of the day was spent browsing through the little touristy shops…

…and going on the Ober Gatlinburg aerial tramway. Expensive? Yes. But worth it for views like these:

 In the evening we checked into our rented cabin, The Sugar Bear, where we grilled turkey hotdogs and s’mores for supper and enjoyed a warm, toasty fire in the fireplace.

 Smoky Mountains Day 2: Mountain Trail, Apple Fritters, & Christmas Shops

On our second day in the Smoky Mountains, we woke up to a cool crisp morning (in the 40s), and enjoyed Apple Pie Oatmeal in the cabin before heading out to explore nature and look for the vibrant autumn leaves that we’d traveled so far a distance to see.

We headed again to Gatlinburg, where we took the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail to the Trillium Gap Trail for a serene mountain hike to a small waterfall and back. (Dee described the hike as “awesome”).

Our long walk helped us all work up hearty appetites so we headed back to Pigeon Forge for “lupper” (our word for a lunch/supper combined meal) at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. I love this restaurant/series of gift shops! It’s been years since we’ve gone there.

A word of caution, there is always a long wait, even at the least busy times of the day (we arrived at about 2:30 in the afternoon and still had a 45 minute wait), so don’t arrive too hungry! The weather outside was PERFECT during our wait (plus complimentary apple cider was served), so we certainly didn’t mind. It gave the shoppers among us a chance to browse in the shops/apple cider barn, while the non-shoppers enjoyed the nice fall breeze while relaxing in a big white gazebo until it was time to be seated.

Worth the wait. While the food is somewhat expensive (I know I mention that a lot, but as a mom of many, I feel it’s an important detail), the portions are large, and the best part — the thing that makes me want to keep coming back — is the complimentary apple fritters and julep. I have never seen apple fritters served anywhere else. Soooo good! (Did I mentioned I gained five pounds during our five day vacation?)

After eating, we stopped by another of my old favorites, Christmas Place, a year round Christmas themed shopping village, also in Pigeon Forge.

And at last we headed back to our rented cabin for our last night, where we drank hot chocolate and sorted and laminated our collected leaves.

Heading Home

Although it’s always great to be home, the trip was much too short. I had a lot more I wanted to do and see, but there wasn’t enough time. (Maybe next year we can plan for a week.) There was this, however, on our last morning at the cabin, bidding us goodbye (the morning sunrise view from the deck):

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

“Dee” watches as her pink bear is stuffed

Dee, of course, chose a pink bear. :) She watched as the bear was filled with “fluff”, then she picked out a special heart to place inside her bear before it was sewn shut.

Dee chose a heart for her bear and placed it inside

The girls then “scrubbed” their bears, before going to the computers to make them a “birth certificate”.

Giving the bears a bath

Dee chose a colorful summer outfit (pink, of course), with a matching pair of pink flip flops for her bear, then proceeded to the dressing area to dress her bear.

All Done!

I love the look of delight on these faces!

Taking her new bear home.

How we did it -

We used:

• Sterlite 15 qt container (16 1/2″ x 13″ x 6 5/8″) – recycled from our previous sensory bins
• 3 (28 oz. each) bags of river gravel (JoAnn’s)

• Animals:
  Black Bear from “Wild” Toob (JoAnn’s) recycled from our zoo themed sensory bin
  Brown Bear from “North American Wildlife” Toob (JoAnn’s)

• Long Wavy Grass:
  I bought some green curling gift wrap ribbon from Target, stapled several pieces to a piece of green construction paper, then curled them, to create the “long wavy grass”.

• Deep Cold River:
  Using the clear lid to an 8″x4″ Hefty “EZ Foil Loaf Pan” (sold in a 2 pack at Wal-mart) as a container, I recycled some of the blue aquarium gravel from our 2nd ocean themed sensory bin to create the “river”.

• Thick, Oozy Mud:
  I re-used our homemade play dough “dirt”, placing it in a large freezer bag, for the “mud”.

• Big Dark Forest:
  Glass container and green gems recycled from our zoo themed sensory bin and trees from the “Tree” Toob (JoAnn’s)

• Swirling, Whirling Snowstorm:
  Cotton Balls :)

• Narrow, Gloomy Cave:
  Small flowerpot (JoAnn’s)