Princess Leia

It's no secret that 2016 has been - up until now - the most lethal year for celebrities we've had in a while.  And though George S. Irving passed away today (the Heat Miser), possibly the most affecting death of all to our family was that of Carrie Fisher.  Last night before bed, we were reading a book to Madison, one called "Moving Target," a Princess Leia adventure.  It was a Christmas present.  Alongside Madison's bed here is a Princess Leia Tsum-Tsum that she got from Aunt Shain.   Just two days ago, Madison was wearing her fancy new white Princess Leia gown she got for Christmas.  Princess Leia is kind of a big deal for us.

And now she's gone.  At least, from movies.  I know she'd supposedly finished up her scenes for Episode VIII.  There will be a bittersweet feeling watching that movie, almost like when we saw the third "Night at the Museum" movie after losing Robin Williams.  The galaxy is a little less bright today.

Daddy told Madison in the afternoon, although Nana and Ba-ba's television here was broadcasting the news all day long.  Madison was sad to hear this, of course.  We all are.  Star Wars fans like us are sad - from Florida we were reaching out to our friends back home, sharing condolences at the loss of such an iconic character.  We'll continue our reading tonight, but this time with a little more feeling.

Today was a foggy day at the beach.  All day long, we never once saw the horizon where sky meets ocean.  We could never see that far.  Later on in the day, we could not even see the condo beside us.  The temperature is cool, and obviously overcast.  The funny thing is that when we go inland to Wal-Mart and Home Depot for a quick shopping trip, it was hot and in the 80's, all bright and sunny!  Crossing the bridge back to the barrier island, it was almost supernatural.  You could see this I massive cloud just covering everything, a line between the mainland and the sea.  We didn't go walking today, but we did sit out on the balcony on several occasions, relaxing and listening to the hypnotic sound of the ocean waves.  One big thing that Daddy did while out there was write all the outlines for the upcoming series at KidPak, "Neverland."

Daddy and Madison still went swimming despite the cold.  We swam inside though.  There is a smaller indoor pool downstairs, and there was heat there too - it wasn't that bad, actually.  There was a hilarious game of Marco Polo, and another game in the pool, one that isn't necessarily a pool game so much.  Still, we played it.  Madison has been hooked on the game "Yes and No" from "A Christmas Carol," and so we have been playing this on and off for about a week.  It's been a source of hilarious laughter at times.

Daddy:  "Is it an animal?"
Madison:  "Yes."
Daddy:  "Is it a cat?"
Madison:  "Yes!"

The game is supposed to last a little longer than that!  Anyway, afterwards, we both hopped in the jacuzzi, which Madison suddenly loves.   And then it was time to head upstairs - our hands were turning wrinkly!

Even in Daytona, it's Taco Tuesday, and that explains the shopping trip above - we had everything we needed for tacos tonight.  Madison is loco for tacos.  She was going to town on them the moment everything was set up.  She'll eat at least five or so.  Meanwhile, Daddy has slowed to just two.  That's it for this tummy.

We played some board games - "Zootopia" and of course Mexican Train dominoes with the family.  That's becoming a tradition.  We have a lot of board games with us, because Madison is always up for that.  It's a short vacation we're here for, but it will be nice.

One more thing:  Madison got a Bible for Christmas.  The reason I'm pointing this out is because we started reading it together tonight:  Genesis chapters one and two.  And so it begins!