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Posts Tagged ‘christmas’

  1. SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration

    December 16, 2010 by Kelly

    Theme parks. Holidays. Family. They all make me happy. It’s true.

    I had seen every other park at Christmas for the holidays except for SeaWorld. That is not the case anymore!!

    I’m sooo glad I made this comment on Twitter because, volia! Tickets appeared! So this past Saturday, my parents, Jeff and I spent the day walking around and looking at all the fantastic lights and shows.

    We took a million pictures in front of the tree and the HUGE snowman.

    Then we hit up Manta. It was the first time my dad had ever done it. And my mom…well…she held everything. From the sound of my dad screaming “THIS IS AWESOME!”, I’m pretty sure he liked it. A lot.

    We stood around watching penguins for quite a while. They are funny little things, without even trying. Their waddling makes me laugh. And then when they dive into the water, even better!

    Since we were still waiting for the lights to come on and the holiday shows to start, we stopped in to see the seals, Kraken, Shark Encounter, A’lure and rode the Polar Express. All were delightful!

    After downing a hot chocolate and bundling up, we headed over to see Clyde and Seamore’s Countdown to Christmas. I love the silly humor of this show normally and the Christmas version wasn’t a let down. So funny! And the I-4 joke… AWESOME!

    We then high tailed it back to the other side of the park to see the Sea of Trees. Phenomenal!

    After a refill on the hot chocolate, we got our seats for Shamu Christmas – Miracles. And what a miracle it was.

    SeaWorld provided Christmas carols to be sung. Boy did my parents take advantage of this (see the video for the true fun that was had! *video coming soon*)

    After a few songs.. the show started!!

    I found this guy hanging out by the elf workshop – I hope he was telling them what to bring me!

    Merry Christmas from SeaWorld and myself! You should definitely go check out this celebration!! You’ll thank yourself! I don’t know what kept me from this event for so long! You have until January 2nd, 2011 to see this fantastic display of lights and Christmas shows.

    Thanks again to SeaWorld for the tickets!

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  2. Grandpa

    April 25, 2009 by Kelly

    My parents just got a card in from my grandpa’s friend in North Carolina. He wrote the most wonderful poem about him ever.

    I’ll Always Remember

    I’ll always remember the conversations
    That we shared while you were here,
    This included some of life’s victories
    As well as loss and sometimes fears.

    I found it interesting that your profession
    Was the same as Jesus Christ,
    You both shared the trade of carpenter
    And faced some struggles in your life.

    You were respected by your community
    Because you believed in giving back,
    A beacon for everyone that met you
    An example of how we should act.

    Whenever I think of a good man
    Roland Jackson comes to mind,
    A man of dignity and character
    And a strength that’s hard to find.

    You often spoke about your daughter
    Whose heart is hurting due to grief,
    And the son that you lost before
    That you’re finally now able to see.

    I’ll always remember you often told me
    That your love for the Lord was true,
    And regardless what you were facing
    You know that He would see you through.

    And yes I will always remember
    A man that truly was my friend,
    That I loved just like a brother
    And one day I’ll see you again!!

    Your Friend
    Jay Roseborough

    That poem took us all by shock. I’ve written something as well, which I am going to TRY to read, but in the end I may just pass it over to my dad to read along with the poem.

    —–

    My grandpa was a wonderful man and a pain, both at the same time. When he needed help, he’d call and he’d want you there…NOW. No, not in 2 minutes. You better already be there.

    Grandpa had to of set some sort of close record for having Hospice around for over two and a half years. It seemed as though every time his kidney function went down a percent or two, he would push harder and get more freaking leaves raked up. I swear those leaves kept multiplying.

    Every Christmas, it never failed. We got a box or tin of cookies. You know, the ones that have about 6 different types of cookies in them. I could always count on that being consistent. And every year, we would laugh because he never wrapped them. Well, this past Christmas Eve, Mom and I happened to be in CVS and Grandpa showed up. I went and got 4 boxes of cookies and took them to him and asked him if he had purchased them yet. He just looked at me, shook his head and laughed and walked over and got a gallon of wine.

    This past Christmas, he was up in the attic getting ALL of his decorations down. The man could hardly walk and yet here he was worried about Christmas lights and fake snowflakes!

    Jeff summed Grandpa up perfectly when we were at Hospice looking at what to purchase to “honor” him. There are butterflies, which cost, well….a lot of money. Jeff said “He’d be saying ‘I could make that and we could bring it here and hang it up ourselves. Why spend the money?’” Which is SO him. Why spend the money when he could make it or fix it. I think that was his motto.

    Grandpa never said “I love you”, unless he was sick. Which ripped my heart out every time he said it. He was a fighter, that’s for sure.

    Every time I thought of my grandpa one song came to mind. “The Greatest Man I Never Knew”, by Reba McEntire. Three prominent lyrics always stood out to me.
    “The greatest man I never knew, lived just down the hall. Everyday we said hello, but never touched at all.
    How was I to know he thought I hung the moon.
    He never said he loved me, guess he thought I knew.”

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