Disney World, Part 2

Thursday, November 18
We went to Hollywood Studios again this morning. Nick got to ride Rock'n Roller Coaster. It was his first upside down roller coaster, and he loved it. We did several other attractions. Lights, Motor, Action Extreme Stunt Show was another favorite. Jacob really likes cars and has been looking forward to it for a while, as it was closed last time we were here. Micah really liked it, too. We were all surprised by how much we liked the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It's a cute little show with a lot of special effects.

We stayed in again that evening. Somebody was sick, but I can't even remember for sure who it was now. It must have been Micah.

Friday, November 19
We went to Animal Kingdom this morning. Jacob and Nick really loved Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. Nick loved Expedition Everest, but Jacob did not. This is Chris, Jacob, and Nick on Primeval Whirl.


Here are me and the boys on a ride where you go in circles on in a dinosaur. (I don't remember the name.)



We saw a lot of animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris.




We left Animal Kingdom a little earlier than we would have chosen to because Jonathan had the cold, and he started getting a little grumpy. He had handled the day really well for a baby with a cold, although he didn't spend any time in his stroller. He stayed in the baby carrier on me the whole time, so I was feeling a bit tired, too.

That night we went to Epcot. We parked at the Boardwalk and went in through the back entrance at the International Gateway. We were disappointed to see that they keep that part of the park really dark at night. We were afraid that we'd lose one of the kids, and they couldn't really appreciate the countries when they couldn't see anything. So we rode the ride in Mexico (yawn) and then Spaceship Earth.

After that, we all got something to drink and staked out a spot for Illuminations. We didn't find a spot until 8:40 for the 9:00 show, but there were still lots of good, front row spots. We found a great one right by the International Gateway. The boys were upset that it was a little chilly while we waited, but they loved the show and were glad that we'd done it.

Saturday, November 20
No Disney World this day. Chris did something for church in the morning while I took the boys to the playground at our condo.




After lunch, we headed to the beach. We decided to go to Cocoa Beach. It took a little over an hour to get there. We got to see a Disney cruise liner and a few others in port on our way out there. It ended up being really windy, so we didn't stay long. The big boys would have gladly played in the sand forever, but the baby and Chris and I didn't like the wind.







We could see that a lot of people were checking into our condo that evening, so we knew that the parks were going to start getting more crowded for Thanksgiving week. I'll update with more later.

We're at Disney World!

We've been at Disney World for about a week now, and we're having a great time. This past week was delightfully uncrowded; however the crowds got really heavy today. A cold has been making its way through our family, so we've been taking it pretty easy. Right now, Nick is sick. He has pretty bad asthma, so we have to let him rest a lot because he gets too sick when he moves around much.

So far, this is what we've done:

Monday, November 15
The kids and I did some shopping and got settled into our condo during the day while Chris worked. That night, we went to the Magic Kingdom and rode a few rides and then watched Wishes. Jonathan, in particular, loved the fireworks. He kept trying to touch them. Here are a few pictures from that day.




Tuesday, November 16
We went to Magic Kingdom this morning. We were able to ride quite a few rides due to the short lines. At about 11:30, we returned to our condo for lunch. We were planning to go to a park after supper, but Jacob was feeling sick, so we stayed in.

Wednesday, November 17
We went to Epcot this morning and had a fabulous time. Jacob really loves Test Track, and Nick had a great time on Mission: Space (he was too short last time we were here). Micah, Jonathan, and I had fun in the Living Seas while the older boys rode things Micah was too short for.



That evening, we went to Hollywood Studios. We did a few of the attractions. Tower of Terror was practically a walk-on, so Nick and Chris did that first thing. Nick loves the big rides, and he had a great time. We also ate supper, watched the Jedi Training Academy, and saw the Muppet 3D movie. Then we saw the Festival of the Dancing Lights.


We rode the Great Movie Ride on our way out. We were only there a little while, but we got a lot done.

I'll post again later. I do want to keep a record of this trip for my own sake so that I can remember what worked and what didn't work next time we come.

What can these shirts mean?

We're going to Disney World!

And I need some more practice tie-dying. I realize that they don't all look like Mickey heads in the middle, but some of them do, especially if you squint really hard. The worse one is my own. I think maybe everybody else will wear tie-dye, and I'll wear something a little more sensible.

I'm planning to post some pictures while we're gone, so watch for updates. I know that you're not supposed to announce your vacation dates in cyberspace, but, well, no one really reads my blog anyway, and we're having someone stay at our house while we're gone.

Things That Make You Go, "Hmmm..."

I'm reading Charlotte's Web aloud to the boys right now. (By the way, I'm really enjoying it. I have to admit that I'd only seen the movie until now, and I didn't realize how well-written it was.)

After we'd read about a few of the different web's Charlotte had made to try to convince the farmer not to sell Wilbur to be slaughtered, Nick asked me, "Why doesn't she just write, 'Makes yucky bacon'?"

Too Funny

While we were running errands today, Jacob informed me that he was going to be a sewage inspector when he grows up. That seemed really odd at first, but then I remembered that Chris and the boys like to watch Dirty Jobs together, so I asked him if he learned about sewage inspectors on Dirty Jobs, and he said yes.

Micah couldn't be left out of the conversation, so he said that he was going to have a dirty job someday, too. "You are?" I asked. "Yes," he answered. "I'm going to get dirty, and then I'm going to go to work."

A Birthday and Other Milestones

Nick is six years old! We celebrated his birthday quietly at home, with a yummy chocolate pudding cake and a pinata. He was pretty amazed to see that his clothes still fit him, now that he is six and all, but he's pretty sure that the water in the swimming pool we frequently visit doesn't come up as high as it used to.

Please excuse Jacob's outfit. He'd spilled something on several outfits that day and ended up having to wear things that didn't match.

This is how Jonathan passed the time while we opened gifts.

Nick is really growing up into a young man. He started reading lessons this January, and now he's reading really well. He's enjoying Amelia Bedelia and Little Bear books from the library, and he can even read more difficult books when it's something he really wants to read. He and Jacob just started taking piano lessons, and I think he's going to do very well. He's also a loving big brother to both Jonathan and Micah. He gets me if he thinks they really need me, but when he can, he tries to make them happy and help them himself.

Speaking of Jonathan, he just started crawling and pulling himself into a standing position. For the first few days he only crawled a few feet when he saw a toy he wanted, but now he's started exploring everything he's been curious about for all this time.

This is him looking out the window while his brothers played in the backyard.

And this is him enjoying some quiet time under the table in the foyer.

It's back-to-school week around here, but we've been doing school all summer, so it's business-as-usual in our household. I just teach them the next thing they need to learn, regardless of their age or grade designation, but when people ask what grade they're in, we tell them that Jacob is starting second grade and Nick is starting first grade, since that's where they'd be based on the public school calendar. This week they'll be learning about British history, studying the geography of the Great Lakes area as we read "Paddle-to-the-Sea", learning from Aesop's fables, finishing up Charlotte's Web, studying King Solomon's reign and learning from the Proverbs in the Bible, charting the high temperature every day, and beginning a year-long study of astronomy. Jacob is working on some basic grammar, like punctuation at the end of sentences and capitalizing the first word and proper nouns. He's working on place value and beginning multiplication in math class. Nick is doing addition and subtraction for math. He's still working on proper letter formation for writing, but he's making a lot of progress.

I'm Still Here!

I know it's been a very long time since I posted. We got busy looking for a new house, and then we moved, and then I got pregnant, and now here we are with a whole new member of our family. Jonathan is 5 months old now. He's a very happy baby and such a blessing to our family. I will be better about posting now. I promise.

Here are some pictures of Jonathan:





I'm going to drop the whole codes for names. I can't think of anyone else in the 100 Acre Wood to name Jonathan after, and it's just too confusing. I'll just have to hope that there aren't any bad guys stalking us online.

The older boys are all growing up so quickly. Micah is going to be 3 this week. He never stops talking and has quite an imagination.

Nick is finishing up kindergarten. He started learning to read in January and is doing a great job.

Jacob loves to read and reads everything he can get his hands on. In fact, he just read a book about stop motion animation and then made a movie. This is it:


That's all for now, but I promise I will post more regularly now.

Look Who's Six!

Piglet turned six last Thursday, on January 1. He's very excited to be six years old. He's pretty sure that he's gotten taller because six is so old.

We had a fun birthday. Grammy (Chris's mom) and her younger children came over to celebrate with us. I stayed at home with baby Roo while the rest of them went to the bowling alley. (Roo would have been difficult to tend to a bowling alley because he always wants to do what his brothers are doing, but he obviously can't bowl.) Piglet was very excited when he came home because he beat Tigger and Chris's youngest brother.




When he got home, we had birthday cake and opened presents. We had a yummy, gooey chocolate cake that looked like dirt, served in a dump truck. He got a lot of presents that he has enjoyed, but his favorite was a set of race cars that Grammy got for him. He's had a blast racing them across the kitchen and teaching Roo how to play with him.

Chris and I are very proud of Piglet. He's growing into a wonderful young man. He shows a lot of attention to his school work, and he is very concerned with taking care of his younger brothers and helping them to be happy. He thinks a lot about the man he will be when he grows up, and I think that he is on the path to develop into a God-fearing young man.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
II Peter 3:18

Marshmallow Shooters

Chris made these marshmallow shooters for the older boys this weekend, and they're a lot of fun. He made them using these instructions.

It's a pretty simple concept. You make them with a length of PVC pipe that you cut into specific lengths and use joiners and caps to put all of the pieces together.

When you're done, you put a marshmallow into the gun and blow. The harder you blow, the further they go. You can shoot them at least 20 feet. Since the bullets are marshmallows, you can shoot other people, which Chris demonstrated to the boys by shooting me.

I'd highly recommend these for all families with boys between the ages of 3 and 15. Older boys can make their own, of course. The one caveat is that younger ones to do need to be monitored with them. Our boys have a tendancy to take a deep breath in with the guns in their mouths, sucking the marshmallows out of their guns and into their mouths. It could be a potential choking hazzard. Baby Roo likes to wonder around the yard and pick up all of the sticky, used bullets.

In Which Tigger Falls off a Train

Another blog I was reading today had a story that reminded me of an incident that occured when Tigger was younger that I've always meant to record so that I won't forget it. I'll share it here, and maybe it will cause a few other people to giggle.

Tigger is very gifted verbally and has a lot to say, but when he first started talking, he did it one word at a time. My dad called him the One Word Wonder. He could tell you anything, but he did it very slowly and without sentences.

When he was about 19 or 20 months old, the two older boys and I went to visit my parents at their house in Florida. (Roo didn't exist yet.) One of the things we did there was go to the Jacksonville Zoo. There's a neat train at that zoo. It's inside the zoo, and it has multiple stops, so you can use it to get around the zoo.

We had enjoyed a nice but exhausting day at the zoo, so when it was time to head out, we told Piglet that we'd ride the train one last time and then go. When we sat down, Tigger asked about a seatbelt. My mom and I laughed and told him that we didn't need seatbelts on a train that goes about 3 MPH. It was a nice ride until the train just came to a complete stop in a very abrupt, jarring fashion. Tigger bounced out of his seat and landed on his hands and knees on the floor of the train. (The conductor announced on the speaker a few minutes later that we had been driving past a construction site, and there was debris on the tracks. That's why we stopped so suddenly.)

Fortunately, the seats were a good distance apart, so he didn't hit his head on the row in front of us. He was fine but very scared. He stayed on the ground looking stunned for a few seconds, and then he started to cry. I picked him up and nursed him, and he was soon happy again. (Incidentally, nursing is always called "open" in our family. Piglet named it when Tigger was a baby. That piece of information becomes important later on.)

When we got home, my dad asked the boys what we did that day. This is what Tigger told him: "Zoo. Fun! Train. Fall. Sad. Mommy. Holdyou. Open. Better."

Now, at age 4, Tigger can go on and on about things in very long, sophisticated sentences, so it's funny to think about the very humble beginnings his speach had.