Experiencing the Trials and Tribulations of being a Single Father One Day at a Time
On our last full day at Walt Disney World this year, based on hours and expected crowd sizes, we chose to spend it at EPCOT. We were not expecting thrill rides on our way out, but a relaxed setting which to enjoy each other’s company, and some great food along the way. After an amazing day at Universal Studios Orlando, including a great dinner and full night’s sleep, we were more than ready for the last park on this year’s vacation.
We are a Disney family, and as you could tell from this blog, we are right at home when going to Walt Disney World; this was not the case for today’s adventure. I have only been to Universal Studios Hollywood once and the girls have never been to any Universal park. But we had to go, as Universal Studios Orlando is home to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. With two of us being Potterheads (Note to Self: Get Gabriella into Harry Potter) and one just enjoying the chance to dress up, we were all very excited about what awaited us at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
After an amazing first day at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, we were set to spend day two at Magic Kingdom, which thankfully was right across from our resort. This park has usually been the highlight of our trips, but with Universal Studios Orlando coming up on day three, we were under much less pressure to make our visit to this park perfect. It did not matter in the end, as this park never seems to disappoint. So join us on our stress-free, relaxing, and extremely eventful trip through Magic Kingdom.
We are finally here. After safely arriving at the Shades of Green Resort the previous day, we were well-rested and ready to get the main event of our vacation underway by visiting Walt Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks. Based on multiple factors, Hollywood Studios was the first park in the chute, which included Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and several other areas we were set to enjoy. Grab your ears, themed t-shirts, and Republic credits, because we were excited to jump to lightspeed for the next level in our vacation!
It has been far too long since we have made this series of posts. Yep, the Calkins Family is headed back to Walt Disney World, but this time we are taking a day to head over to Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After years of hype, months of planning, and a week of packing, we were so ready to enjoy the next Calkins Family Vacation!
About two months after completing my deployment to Romania, the girls were set to finish school and finally come back home. In the meantime, I visited them in Texas, moved houses during my reintegration leave, and took on additional responsibilities at my job. But like everything in the interim, it all just seemed like preparation for when they got back home. After a cross country car ride and two more weeks of leave, the girls and I are happily back together at Fort Campbell and ready to get back to being our awesome little family again.
After my three-day mandatory reintegration period following my six-month deployment to Romania, I was going to drive down to Belton, Texas to visit my daughters. They had about two months left of school, but we all wanted to see one other before they came back to Kentucky permanently. I had the list of available activities, all the places we probably wanted to eat, and a clean car ready to receive them. Here is the post about my visit to Texas to see my daughters, an event six months in the making.
Even though I am deployed to Europe and away from my daughters, there are certainly some benefits to being in a different country, mostly being the international cuisine and travel. As stated before, I am prioritizing saving for my daughters’ college savings account over spending money to better enjoy Eastern Europe, but that does not mean I have completely stayed on base. After going to Greece in October, I have had two more opportunities to get out and see a little more of Europe on the Army’s dime.
Upon arriving at Fort Campbell, I expected to deploy immediately to Europe. As soon as I found out this was going to be delayed by two months, I communicated with the girls’ mother to have them visit the week before school started. Not only were they extremely happy to see their Dad again and setup their new rooms, but they were very excited to see the Fort Campbell area, where they would be living in a year’s time.
After closing out my duties, handing over the house, and outprocessing my unit, the cats and I said goodbye to Fort Huachuca and headed East towards Kentucky. It was a two-day drive for me, but since the Army allocated five days for me to travel, it made all the sense in the world to stop in Texas to spend a few days with the girls.
Adventures in Single Dadding 