Disney World here we come...but not so very often.

Now that we know we’re moving to FL and we’ve begun to share the news with family (friends will soon be notified as well), G and I are beginning to explore the state of FL to see what it has to offer in the way of entertainment for our family. We’re an active family and we like to explore.

Of course, Disney World is at the top of my list of things to see with the family (J and C would LOVE it!). I’ve been to Disney World once before, probably 15 years ago while in FL for a business trip. My Orlando cousins got me the FL resident discount for my daily pass. I don’t remember it being all that outrageously expensive. And even as an adult, I had a great time there! My cousins took me on a weekday during off-season, so there were next to no lines to wait in for all the rides.

G got online and started looking to see what it would cost for an annual family pass to Disney World. Since Disney World will only be a 2 hour drive from the Venice area, we could feasibly go there often.
Imagine our shock when we discovered that there is no Family Pass, they only sell individual annual passes. And guess how much they cost? Come on, guess!

Here are the FL resident prices quoted from Disney World’s website :

Florida Resident Annual Pass: Ages 10 & Older- $392.99, Ages 3 to 9 $346.13

Florida Resident Seasonal Pass: Ages 10 & Older- $265.19, Ages 3 to 9- $234.30

Florida Resident Weekday Select Pass: Ages 10 & Older- $179.99, Ages 3 to 9- $158.69

$159.00 per child is the CHEAPEST option! I about fell over in shock! If we were to get the FL Resident Weekday Select Pass it would cost our family of four $680 for the year! If we wanted to get the FL Resident Annual Pass, that would allow us to go whenever we want (without having to worry about what season or what day of the week we were going), it would cost our family (2 adults, 2 children) $1480.00 for the year.

Of course, those outrageous prices don’t include food, drinks, souvenirs, or possible hotel expenses! Oy veh!

If we choose not to get an annual pass, it’ll cost us approximately $71.10 per person for a 1-day pass to one theme park so that’s not cheap either. ((sigh)) I guess we won’t be going to Disney World all that often after all. We’ll have to save that experience for when extended family comes to visit.

Disney World, why oh why are you so expensive?!

It's a go!

So, G is in FL right now, doing that in-person interview. He flew out Thursday morning and arrives back here tomorrow afternoon.

The in-person interview has gone well! He spent the day at the office yesterday. His future boss and a couple of co-workers took him out for lunch (seafood, of course) and then he was invited over to the boss' house for dinner last night. I was happy to hear that this boss was making the effort to try to get to know G on somewhat of a personal level.

G's mind is already made up. He's accepting the job. Between the boss and the job seeming cool and this particular area of FL being beautiful, he has no doubts that this move will be a good one! He sent me a text yesterday saying, I'm happy enough to stay...so pack your bags! He also told me to consider myself lucky that he purchased a round-trip ticket or he would've been tempted to start his new job on Monday, rather than 2 weeks from now!

G told me he's being a beach bum today, and scoping out the area for a room to rent. He's promised me he'll take a lot of pictures with his nice camera, to bring back and show me. I'm glad he has some time to relax and get comfortable with these new surroundings.

He tells me he's going to call his parents tonight and break the news that he's accepting this job offer in FL. Once our families are told, we'll start telling our friends. Breaking the news to everyone will be one of the harder parts of this process.

G's sent me some pictures that he's taken with his iPhone.

6-24-10 Driving across Tampa Bay Bridge.

6-25-10 Office of G's new job.

6-25-10 Back yard of future boss.

6-26-10 G's lunch ~ oysters, of course.

6-26-10 Nokomis beach.

6-26-10 Nokomis beach sunset- 1

6-26-10 Nokomis beach sunset- 2

Gathering of good friends

Tonight we celebrated the visit of dear friends, Matt & Janice, with more of our local friends. Matt & Janice moved away to The Netherlands about 6 months ago for a new job for Matt and we've missed them. It was lovely to see them tonight and to just be able to hang out!

On the way over to the party, G and I talked about whether or not we should break the news to our friends that we might be moving to FL. We really feel that we should tell them but in the end G wants to wait until he knows for certain that he's taking the Director of Engineer position. He won't know that for certain until he goes out next week for an in-person interview with his potential boss. Besides, it's only right that we share this news with our family first, and then our friends.

G is flying out to Venice, FL next Thursday and will stay through Sunday. If it goes well and he feels confident enough about working for the company, we'll share the news with family and friends shortly after he returns from FL.

Tonight was bittersweet, hanging out with dear friends that we've known for over 10 years, but wondering if we won't have this luxury for much longer. We love these people and the thought of leaving them behind and not seeing them often after we leave fills both G and I with sorrow.

These friends are unique and quite special to us. Sure, we'll remain friends even if we move out of state (thanks to modern technology we'll share pictures on Facebook and blogs, and chat on Skype or iChat), but it won't be the same. We won't be able to call and arrange play dates for the kids and for us adults. We won't be able to go camping with them, or have them over for an informal BBQ/pool party. We won't be able to watch our kids grow up together as we once thought we would.

So many of our dear friends have already left this city to pursue better job opportunities. Those of us remaining have felt the loss and I suspect our friends that have gone are feeling it too.

Sure, we'll possibly be moving on to a new and exciting challenge and living near the ocean will be very nice. But we'll have to leave so many good people and good things behind here and that's not going to be easy. In fact, it will be quite difficult.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that G might be moving out of state in 3 weeks and that the kids and I will join him about 2 months later, depending on how long C's adoption takes to finalize!

An offer has been extended!

Amazingly, G already has an offer on the table! And it’s not just an offer, but a good offer!

He’d been corresponding via email with an employer in Venice, FL for a Director of Engineering position and the owner of this company asked for him to sell him on what G could bring to the table to benefit the company. G’s email impressed him, so he asked for samples of G’s work. Those samples impressed him too. A phone interview was scheduled for yesterday afternoon and that went so well that the owner said he’d be extending G a formal written offer this week. G received the offer via email this morning!

If G is seriously considering the offer, which he is, the owner wants to fly him out this month for an in-person interview to show him the company and the city. If that all goes well and G accepts, he’ll be required to start 12 July!

The offer is really quite good! The base salary is in the middle range of G’s requested salary range. He’ll be eligible for annual bonuses. He’ll have the title of Director of Engineering, reporting directly to the President/Owner.

Truthfully, this is all happening so quickly that it’s making our heads spin! I think we both agree that this is too good of an opportunity to pass up and we’ll make it work one way or another, even with the awful timing of it all.

By awful timing I mean that we still have to finalize C’s adoption and that means that if G is starting a new job in another state, I’ll have to stay here with the kids until everything is finalized (I suspect that it’ll take at least 3 months to get a court date). I’ll have to put the house on the market and get it ready for showing.

And I can’t help but think of how we’re going to break the news to our family and friends. There’s not really any time to “prepare” anyone for this sudden change, even if we wanted to. I want to get the word out while G is still here so that I’m not the only one left to deal with it all while he’s gone.

It’s not going to be easy….G will be starting a new job and living in a new city and state, all by himself for a while. He’ll be lonely. He’ll miss the kids and I and we will miss him. Sure, he’ll have spare time to hang out on the beach and explore, which will help offset that loneliness a bit, but it’s not as ideal as all of us moving out together.

As for me, I’ll get to be a single, working mom in essence. I’ll get to pack and clean an entire house and deal with the realtor. I’ll be responsible for the kids and keeping the house clean, all while working full-time. I sure will have a greater respect for all the single, working moms out there when this is all said and done!

And I know it’s going to be hard on the kids, having their Daddy gone for several months. Sure, we’ll do iChat or Skype and G will fly back for a weekend visit on occasion, but it’s going to be an adjustment for them.

G and I are telling ourselves that military families go through this all the time. A 6 month separation (or more in their case) is all part of the job to them. Those families rely on their support system and they find the strength to do what they have to do until their spouse or loved one returns back home from deployment. If they can do it, so can we.

In the meantime, G and I are scouring the internet trying to learn as much as possible about the city and state we very well may be moving to. The internet is a lovely thing. It has so much information to disclose to us!

I told G that if he flys out for an in-person interview soon, he’s required to take his nice camera and come back with LOTS of pictures of the city…not just the beach and the ocean, but the actual city so I can see where we might live.

FYI, temp in Venice is 90 degrees right now (86 degrees in here) and Heaven only knows what the humidity level is! If we move, I think I’m going to miss the “dry” heat here!

Changes are brewing!

Our little family may be experiencing quite a few changes soon. We're not quite ready to share these potential upcoming changes as we wait to see if they'll even pan out, but I need an outlet to release this information, so I'm starting this family blog now to document our family changes as they happen. Eventually this blog will be shared with family and close friends.

Some time ago, G received a call from a head hunter about a job in Venice, FL. The head hunter asked if he'd like to be considered for a Director of Engineering position and, after talking it over with me, he said he would.

He's been in communication with the business owner for some time now. They've been emailing back and forth about this position and his qualifications. The owner has scheduled a phone interview with him later today.

We'll see if anything comes of it.

I can't believe we're considering moving out of state! But for the right job offer in the right location (anywhere near the ocean would be considered the right location for G and the kids) we'll give it serious consideration.

Time will tell!