Orlando without Mickey

We went to Orlando! Once again, Steven was going down for a few days for work and we decided to join him. Steven booked the hotel on Hotwire and it turned out to be a nice place, very close to Disney. We did decide after the first night to "upgrade" to a two bedroom suite instead of a one bedroom for $25 more a night. It was well worth it. The hotel had a zero entry pool right next to our building that we played in every morning. Although, this was about as much as Reese did:

He warmed to it after borrowing another little boy's truck and managed to get all the way up to his ankles in the pool. Let's just say, I didn't have to worry about any near-drowning with this one.



Steven would work during the days, taking the car with him. We would come back to the room after pool time, have lunch, and then the boys would take long naps. Elle and I did a little school work on the screened-in porch a couple of days.

Then the fun would really begin when Daddy got home! I was on a mission to find out free {or at least inexpensive!} things we could do in and around Disney and food did not count. We had to eat, didn't we? I wanted to surprise them with going to Magic Kingdom, but we just couldn't swing $350 for one day there. Sunday night, we went to Downtown Disney and ate at T-Rex. We took a little boat ride after dinner on the water taxi {free}. We did a little window shopping {free}. We ran in the green grass and then had ice cream {free, inexpensive}.

Monday night, we went to the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge and had dinner. This was a fun place for the kids because they got to have a race around the restaurant on wooden knob horses. And I have to say, this place had an excellent selection of healthy foods for kids. Not your usual hamburger, chicken fingers, corn dog, grilled cheese kind of place. And I won't spoil the fun, but make sure you ask for ketchup if you ever go! We walked around the Wilderness Lodge after that, checking out the fun pool, the boardwalk to the lake, the beach area with a playground {free}. We even saw a rabbit up close {free}. We drove over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge right around dusk and had a mini-zoo experience {free}.

Our last night there, we decided to go to Downtown Disney again. This time, to the Rainforest Cafe. Some college friends of ours who live in Orlando were able to come meet us for dinner. Each couple has multiplied by three since we last saw each other! {Thanks for coming Amy! It was so fun to see you and your family!} After a quick thunderstorm, we cruised the water taxi around the lake again. This time I had my camera.

Let me just say that each night we walked right in to each restaurant and got a table with no wait. I tried to make reservations on the Disney website, but it showed there was nothing available. We always went early, around 5:00, and knew there was a chance we wouldn't get in. But it worked out every time! I used this website a ton before our trip last May and went to it again for all the free things to do. The kids were great and had a fun time without going to the theme parks. Although, Grady did say at least twenty times, "Mommy, I wish we could go to that place with the Buzz ride. I love the Buzz ride." Every night, when we would drive on to the Disney grounds, we would say, "Hey kids, we're in Disney World!", as we went through the big gates. They knew it wasn't quite Disney World, but they were content all the same.

I only killed one

Maybe. We got back in to town yesterday afternoon and four of our five butterflies were hanging out in the habitat wondering where they could get a little drink of nectar. I decided not to take them with us but left them with some sugar-water saturated paper towels. I feel like most of it probably evaporated before they had a chance to drink it. One was obviously hungry. His antennae were wilted and his wings were crumbled. I sliced some oranges and threw those in there and brought the net outside for some fresh air and sunshine. Aren't they unique looking?

Three of them perked up quickly and starting sipping.

Then they flew away to freedom.

I took little crumpled out and set him on the grass. I went back to check on him later and he was gone. I'd like to think he fully revived and flew off to live a happy 2-4 weeks {or a bird had a tasty afternoon snack}. We had one little guy left and we saw him emerge this morning and we'll be releasing him this afternoon. This really was such a fun and easy project for the whole family. If you're interested, you can check out the website www.insectlore.com.

Be back soon with our spring break post. Any guesses where we went?

The Week in Review

I need to get a few things out of my brain and down on "paper" before we head out on a spring break adventure tomorrow.

We spent a couple of days in Atlanta this week playing while Steven worked. Terrible, right? The first night we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. When it came time for us to pay, the waitress said, "Well, your dinner has already been taken care of." Some anonymous person paid for our dinner?! We were shocked but so thankful and blessed. We literally have no idea who it was.

The kids and I went to the children's museum downtown the next day. It was very spring break crowded, but the kids had a wonderful time. I told my mom they are like pin balls in a machine in there. They just run around and bounce from place to place. So excited they can't contain themselves. This was the first time I've gone somewhere like that without a stroller. Reese walked and held my hand like a big boy as we crossed the Atlanta streets. He loved fishing with the magnetic poles in the water and putting balls in to the giant ball machines. Elle and Grady loved loading boxes on the delivery truck, the moon sand table and the giant ball machine. But I think they would have all watched the giant excavator digging up the street in front of the aquarium all day. Or the planes from our hotel.

We came back to the hotel for lunch and naps. When Steven got in that afternoon, we headed down to his sister's house to finally meet our new niece Andi. She has the longest eyelashes, best cheeks and sweetest lips. She gave me lots of smiles and let Elle read to her. We hung out for a couple of hours, then headed back to the hotel. It was short, but I am very thankful we finally got to see them!

The next morning, Steven left for the auction and we headed over to the zoo. We got there right when it opened, had about 15 minutes of the playground all to ourselves and then headed off to explore some animals. We saw the giant tortoises, got up close and personal with some goats and sheep in the petting zoo, watched the elephant for a while, and toured the reptile house. And then we could barely move along the paths because there were so many people there. We called it a day {at 10:30 our time!} and headed back to our home away from home. I stopped and picked up some lunch at the one and only original Chick-fil-A. I tried to get the kids to understand the magnitude of this, but they were unfazed and just wanted their nuggets and chocolate milk.

I did get these babies transferred to their temporary habitat. I'm not sure if they cared, but I sure was glad to get them out of that nasty cup. We have not seen any signs of emergence. I haven't decided if they need to go on our trip with us or not. I will be a bit disheartened if we watched them this long and then miss the climax of the entire project. The poor one on the paper towel at the bottom is the one our not-so-delicate hands knocked down first.

I found out during our trip that my aunt has breast cancer. It's hard to even type those words. I want to say "malignant tumor in her breast", as if that sounds any better. It has spread to the lymph nodes, but they are fairly confident only one is involved. She has sounded very positive and upbeat, which is how she always is. The great news is she caught it early, surgery and possibly some chemo and/or radiation will treat it, and prognosis is very good. She'll most likely have surgery in 2-3 weeks. Please pray for her if you think of me. For wisdom in decisions on surgery, for God's peace and for strength to face whatever treatment lies ahead.

My Angel Love & Other Growth

Some things I want to remember about my first born...

She is just two months short of turning six. She's been planning her party for the last six months. It changes almost daily. Some of the options include: Adventureland, Pizza Castle, Magic Tree House party, Wild Kratts party or Disney World. We will definitely celebrate her, I'm just not sure it will be in the form of a big party at one of these locations. I am positive we can scratch Disney World off the list.

She loves playing outside, climbing trees, swinging, and riding her bike and scooter {when her father is not riding it}. She loves having someone play with her at all times. She does seem to enjoy nature and I'm hoping to encourage that love and appreciation of the Creator.

She has done an awesome job with kindergarten. It's hard to believe we have only six weeks left. She is excelling in reading, writing and science. We've just started some simple math. After our first subtraction lesson, I found this:

She also really enjoys art. Most mornings the first thing she does is come to the school table and start drawing, coloring, or writing. She's currently working on her "book", based loosely on a Wild Kratts episode involving a rhino. It's actually quite good.

This child will eat anything you put in front of her and generally asks for seconds. Thirds if it's dessert.

She is most often quick to obey and gets very upset when she has to be disciplined. I'm still not sure if it's because she feels guilty or remorseful or just sad she got caught. She did tell me the other day after a time-out episode that she felt "dull". She's starting to ask questions and want to know why about important things.

She has her own sense of style and we already have discussions about her clothes. At this point, this is not a battle I choose to fight most days. As long as it's weather appropriate, I let her have control. She loves skirts or dresses and loathes a pair of jeans. She wears her cowboy boots almost everyday. Even now that it's hot. But I think she would choose dress-up clothes any day over regular ones.

She is our blessing. We are very proud of her, and we love that we get to be her parents. We can't wait to see what the Lord will do with her life...

We did a little planting over the weekend. This is our first attempt with growing edible things. Time will tell if we are successful or not. Steven and the kids planted tomatoes, basil, parsley and sugar snap peas while I worked on the front flower beds. We have these fun brick ledges that have been covered by some overgrown azaleas. Now that the blooms are gone, we cut them back and cleaned up a bit.

Our caterpillars, or should I say pupae, are doing wonderfully. I did think we were going to lose the runt, but he hung in there, persevered, and is now making his button of silk and attaching himself to the lid. We have three other chrysalids hanging on the lid and one on the floor. We failed to read the "Do not disturb them!" instructions pertaining to the pupal stage and we knocked the first little fella to the floor. I don't have a picture because to be honest, the cup is kind of gross looking right now. The ratio of food to excrement has tipped in favor of the excrement. As soon as little runt gets his coccoon on good, we'll transfer them to the big net and wait for them to emerge as beautiful butterflies. It has been a really fun process to watch and I think we'll do it again!

I gave this handsome guy a trim yesterday and I have to say, he looks stunning! Happy Monday to you!

Bed-Wetting 101

I had a hard time falling asleep the other night. I turned the light out around 10:45. Steven was sleep jerking and snoring peacefully about 3 seconds later. I get really frustrated at this when I can't go to sleep.

11:15. Looking at the clock makes it worse.

12:00. I think I hear the kids door open. I lay very still because I think maybe whoever it is will see that it is definitely still night time and will get back in the bed.

12:15. Pitter patter footsteps to my room. A naked little 3 year old appears at my bedside. There's been a bed-wetting incident.

I take him back to his room and get clean pajamas on him. I get clean sheets out of the closet and go to strip the wet ones. I see the bathroom cup beside his bed.

"Grady, were you drinking water in bed?"

In his best whiny, upset voice: "No, I was just trying to get the wetness off."

So I assume in the 15 minutes that passed between me hearing the door open and feigning sleep, he got himself out of the soaking pajamas, then got a cup of water to pour on the bed to wash out the pee-pee.

Fairy Tales & Butterflies

I know I mentioned we were going on a date over the weekend. In hindsight, I really don't think "date" was the proper word. It was one of the most fun, fairy tale-like nights. The people we were with were enough to make it memorable, but then to add on a horse-drawn wagon ride at sunset, candlelit dinner under the stars, and some of the best food I've ever put in my mouth, then it just turns in to ridiculously amazing. I did not have my camera because two more talented photographers and writers were there. We were so glad to be a part and thankful for the love, thought, and work that went in to making it so wonderful. {And for my awesome aunt who kept the kids for us!}

This arrived in the mail Friday. I opened it immediately. Inside were five small painted lady caterpillars in a jar with enough "food" to feed them until they move on to the next stage of their metamorphosis. At first we thought only 3 of them survived the long journey from California. But as of today, they have all awakened from their mail-induced coma and are eating, excreting, and growing exponentially.



Butterflies are a pretty fun subject and inspire lots of creativity. In a few short weeks, we will have watched  caterpillars transform in to beautiful butterflies. And then we get to release them. That is, if they survive getting picked up once every three minutes and shaken by little hands.

Her paper says, and I quote:

"Maxilla is her name. She drinks nectar from her proboscis that mens long tonue. and this is my butterfly. also by elle. i rote it all by my sellf even that. even that the end."

All Good

He's all good. With the help of a few eye doctor friends, we decided it had to be some sort of bite and not a wrestling injury. His eye is almost back to normal today and there's been no bruising. I'm thankful for more knowledgeable friends who helped my husband us know everything would be okay {and saved us a trip to the doctor}.

The annual Azalea Dogwood Trail is this weekend and our house happens to be on the trail. I'm thinking about getting my old hoop skirt, antebellum dress and umbrella and waving to everybody from the front lawn. We also have an exciting date with some great friends tomorrow night! Happy Weekend!