Ice Day!

Yesterday was another silly January "weather event". Ben had to take a school admissions test in the morning. I was pretty annoyed it wasn't postponed, but it ended up working out since the ice didn't really start until noon. Everyone arrived home safely and we had a great day hanging around the house. The little boys didn't even get out of their jammies.

I made blueberry pancakes for them and set up the moonbounce in the basement. It kept them busy most of the day, along with a showing of Empire Strikes Back and experimenting with the 3D printer.  There are things I don't mind about winter and the occasional day spent in jammies is one of them.  :)

Made an easy dinner that everyone ate without complaining.... pork tenderloin, mashed sweet potatoes, and asparagus. I love those homerun dinners! They are few and far between at our house. Someone is always complaining about something!

Today, we're definitely getting out. Headed to brunch and then Ben has swimming a little later. Tom has a work party tonight and the little boys and I will probably settle in with a movie or something. :)

Just Keep Swimming!

Last weekend, Ben had a swim meet at Loyola University. I've been excited about this meet since I saw the schedule back in August. Loyola is where Tom and I met. Tom is still very involved there and well, we'd be pretty excited if any of the kids wanted to go there too!  Also, the original swim coach who got Ben into swimming when he was 9 years old swam there. It's all a pretty fun connection.

He was in the morning group both days, so we had to drag him out of bed at 6am to be there by 6:45. That part was rough. LOL. The facility (Loyola built a new Athletics and Aquatics center a few years back) was AMAZING. Nicest one we've been to so far. Ben swam great and even got his best time in 50 fly, and swam 100IM for the first time without disqualifying. Great experience all around.

His times have ended up qualifying him for two different championships. One is the B championship, in which he would be really competitive, because most of his times are on the fast side of "B", close to BB. (it goes B, BB, A, AA) The other is Junior Champs (only qualified with his 50 back and 50 fly). He would be on the slow end of the swimmers there, but it's a huge deal that he qualified! I asked him which one he'd rather do.... the one where he could likely place and win some medals, or the one where he could swim his fly and back and he chose the tougher one. I was surprised and proud of him!

So just when I thought the season was kind of wrapping up for us, it looks like we have at least 3-5 more meets between now and April. Hoping he can qualify for Junior Champs in a couple more events between now and that meet.

He's already looking forward to summer team and his goal is to take all the 13-14 records. ;)

It's neat to see your child love something so much they are as driven to succeed as Ben is with swimming. We struggled with drive and Ben for awhile (still do academically) and worry about the other two in this respect too.... but I guess they all just need to find their thing... their confidence... and their groove.. :o)  Definitely one of the most fun parts of being a parent!

First Snow!

The first snow came overnight... a 1-inch or so dusting. You know, the kind where you look out the window the houses and all the  evergreens have the pretty ice cream frosting on them, but on the ground, blades of grass are still sticking up through the white. It was enough to make the Hereford Zone schools delayed though. It's an annoying delay, though probably for the best because the road to Ben's school at 8am can be treacherous when there has been snow or ice recently.

Unfortunately, I let both my computer and phone both die overnight, so I had to get out of bed to find out this news and now I'm wide awake.... so much for sleeping in, the one perk of a delay!  ;)

Not much else happening. Ben has a swim meet this weekend,  Jonathan has a birthday party for a classmate on Saturday. And actually, I just got another invite reminder for ANOTHER birthday party for ANOTHER classmate. (the first one must have gotten hidden in my inbox somehow!) I turned down that one because it was actually at the SAME bowling alley as the Saturday one.  LOL.

I should definitely start taking Christmas down today. Meant to do it yesterday but time got away from me. Time to settle in for the longest two months of the year!

Oh! And in fun news,  yesterday I found out my youngest sister-in-law is pregnant, so another niece or nephew will be added to our big and crazy family in July or August. So exciting!

Back to Routine....

Today was everyone's first day back at school after the Christmas break. Things were a little rough around the edges -- namely that I forgot to make sure I had something for Ben's lunch. (Tuesday is the one day he doesn't buy) So, we had to make a detour to the bagel shop on the way to school this morning.... then I realized my van was nearly below empty, so had to also detour to the gas station. After THAT though? Smooth sailing back into normal life.

Everyone had a good day back at school, I think. I volunteered in the library for a little while and then spent the rest of the day catching up around the house. I feel like I'm always catching up these days. Some days, I'm try not to look around the house too carefully because it only adds ten more things to my to-do list.

Today's funny -- Jonathan brought home a book he wrote about technology for a school assignment. (They had to write about and explain something)  We got a good chuckle out of it, as I'm sure his teacher did too.

New Year's Day....

Well, we spent the first day of 2017 doing a whole lot of nothing. I was still tired and achy from this cold we all had, though everyone else seems fine.

We played some games and Tom and I watched an episode of Travelers. (which, if you haven't watched, is an amazing show on Netflix we've gotten into!). Simon went over to his friend Nick's house and ran around with nerf guns outside for awhile.

We picked up Simon around 3:00 and headed out for dinner at Nandos Peri Pari and frozen yogurt just to get out of the house.  Back home to more games. Today, it's sleeting outside, so will likely be more of the same. We have definitely squeezed every ounce of relaxation from this Christmas holiday. Tomorrow.... back to the normal routine.

Happy New Year!

Hello all and happy 2017! I've been gone a whole year! Well, not really, I have been on Facebook.... a LOT. But one of my resolutions for 2017 is to start putting things back on here too.

Quick summary of 2016?  It was BUSY! We had a blizzard in February, all three boys had a blast with summer swim team and got some hard-earned trophies, Tom and I went to NYC in April, and we went to Disney in August.  Lots of day trips and family time mixed in there too.

School started and is getting busy and complicated for everyone. Ben hates middle school, but does anyone ever actually enjoy it? Simon is enjoying his 4th grade year. It would be impossible for him not to, he has three of the teachers on my JES "dream team", and all of his best friends are in his class. Jonathan loves first grade (also has one my dream team teachers, so no surprise there either)

Simon still plays the cello. He graduated from book one earlier this year and is 3/4 of the way through book 2 and is playing much more complicated things in 2nd position now with extensions and shifts. I hope he sticks with this. He doesn't always love practicing, but we use practice time as screen time currency, so he is motivated. ;)  He also loves programming and has been teaching himself lots of things!

Ben is still swimming. He joined winter team in August and LOVES it. He goes 2-3 times a week to practice and has done four meets so far and competed in events that used to really make him anxious. We have a meet coming up this next weekend at the college where Tom and I met and where Tom graduated from. Super excited for that one!

Jonathan is... definitely his own person. LOL. He is very into programming and technology. He also loved swim team over the summer and talks about wanting to swim on winter team with Ben someday. Definitely influenced by his brothers, but with his own twists. Keeps us on our toes for sure!

Last night, we had a laid back NYE. My parents, brother and SIL came over. They all left by 8:30 and 9:30 and we were in bed by ten! We've all had colds, so everyone was wiped. (not that we would have lasted until midnight anyway.... )

Hoping this is the first of a year filled with posts!

Christmas 2015

We had quite a lovely Christmas. :)

Right before we left for Christmas Eve festivities, Jonathan tried to take a bite out of his gingerbread house. I caught him with icing all over his face and this on the floor.

For Christmas Eve, we went out to a late lunch with my family and then to church at the church attached to Ben's school.  Didn't get many pictures because we ended up being a little rushed!

We were in the mood for a quiet, very traditional service and that's exactly what we got. Since it was at an Episcopal church, Tom's family came too, along with Tom's youngest brother and his family. 

After that, Tom's family came back here for appetizers and hangout time. The kids had a blast and stuffed their faces with desserts. ;)

Tom and I exchanged our gifts to each other and set up for Christmas morning after everyone left. The Christmas Eve tree photo is always one of my favorites. (only two stockings on the fireplace because the boys' were already on the floor stuffed with gifts) ;)

The boys slept until almost 7:30! (unheard of!) I got a halfway decent stair photo this year.

Simon's big gift was a drone. It has turned out to be exceptionally complicated though.  It went totally crazy when we turned it on in the house. We set it aside for another day when we had more time to read through the directions.... LOL. 

Jonathan got an iPad mini... he was a little excited....

Ben got a whole box of football stuff, including a new Ravens jersey, which I think might have been his favorite present. :)

My parents, my brother and his wife, and Aunt Debbie came over for breakfast...  here are Brandon and Shayna with their presents. (my brother's shirt is from Pee Wee's Big Adventure... one of his favorite movies.  ;)




My dad spent a significant amount of time determined to get Simon's drone up and running... he was not successful, but mom and I have decided he needs one of his own. LOL. 

After breakfast, we headed over to NaNee and Pap's house for cousin-time and more gift opening! It was surprisingly orderly this year. :)

Tom and the rest of his family went over to have an very early Christmas dinner with Tom's granddad, who is in a retirement home/nursing home. The boys and I spent the afternoon just laying around and playing. I was coming down with a cold, so it was nice to just have some quiet time after two days of non-stop excitement!

When Tom got home, we ate Christmas eve leftovers and watched a movie and the boys just played and played.... it was a wonderfully peaceful Christmas! Love that Christmas was on a Friday so we have the whole weekend to take our time getting cleaned up and just spending time together.

Tom is off with Ben and Simon this morning seeing the new Star Wars movie. We thought it would be too scary for Jonathan, plus, I'm still not feeling great. So Jonathan and I are just hanging out together for the afternoon. :) We are still in jammies!

Another Christmas in the books and time to look forward to 2016!

Let's Just Start from Today...

Ugh. I feel like I'm catching the cold the boys have been passing around. I'm hoping it's my imagination.... will be taking ZiCam and drinking orange juice like a fiend today.

It started with Simon... he didn't miss any days of school with it, so I think it's at least a mild one. Ben had it last week, although he's like Tom and wouldn't admit it was a cold. Kept insisting it was allergies because the cats slept with him. (possible, but not likely)  And Jonathan started up Monday night with it and ended up missing school Tuesday, though probably could have gone... I just figured they weren't really doing anything anyway and basically gave myself a day off from packing his lunch and getting him dressed. LOL.

We have a busy Christmas planned, as usual. Lunch and church with my family, followed by Christmas Eve here with Tom's family. Christmas breakfast and presents with my family in the morning and then heading to my inlaw's house as usual for presents and familytime. Blissfully, after that, we are coming home and staying home. Tom is going over to the retirement home for a little while to have dinner with his grandfather with his parents and brothers.  The boys and I will just relax at home and clean up and play with new toys. :)

Yesterday, I was up at school a little bit helping with the third grade party. Wheeeeee!!! Craziness.
Ben came along to "help" and ended up just participating. One mom asked "Who are you? Are you in this class? I don't know you!" LOL.  The craft was stuffing tinsel and confetti into clear plastic Christmas ornaments and this was accomplished by just throwing an entire pile of the supplies into the middle of the room and letting the kids go to town. I wish I had taken a photo... it was INSANE. There was tinsel EVERYWHERE. I love their teacher... she was so chilled out about it. "This is AWESOME! Look how engaged they are!!" HAHA... meanwhile, everything in me wanted to just clean up. They kids had a blast though and it actually cleaned up pretty quickly with five parents and a vacuum cleaner.

Everyone is officially on Christmas break now...

I'm just enjoying a little quiet time and not having to pack any lunches before the day begins... hoping the boys sleep in a little this morning!

Oh What the Heck... Here's Just a Huge Update....

My gosh, things are busy. Christmas always sneaks up on me, even when I start working on it in October. I'm finished with all the family/kids' gifts and even have everything wrapped and ready to go. Now I'm tackling the teacher stuff. Every year I say I won't stress out about this and I always find myself going crazy these last two weeks.

Add to that keeping up with and on top of the two older boys' homework and Simon practicing cello and there is just no time for anything outside of our daily routine!

Everyone is doing well. Ben has mostly found his footing with school and organization. He is excelling in, of all things, French! Aces all the tests and his teacher says he has an excellent accent and is picking it up so quickly! Fascinating and fun! :)

Simon is doing great at school. His grades are good. This new math though is frustrating and confusing. All the kids struggle with, as do the parents. I worry what will happen to our kids when the county gives up on it. (because mark my words, they will... this stuff is nuts)

Jonathan and kindergarten are a good fit. He has started taking off with his writing and spends almost every free minute with a pen/pencil/marker in hand. I'm breathing a sigh of relief with regard to that, as he seems to have avoided the struggles Simon had with all that. He loves school (except first thing in the morning when we have to get out the door) and especially loves center time. He gets pulled out of class sometimes for reading enrichment and sometimes for time with the special education teacher and he gets SUPER ticked when he misses center time for this!  LOL.  He keeps the teachers laughing that's for sure!

We have this new kitten. She's cute and sweet,  but she has decided that peeing in the corner of our bedroom is ok. Also in front of the back door. That's frustrating and a headache I didn't need. Hoping to remedy that soon.

Tom's grandmother passed away last week... not unexpected or anything, sad. We haven't had a memorial yet or anything because his grandfather also doesn't have very much time left and his parents just want to combine everything for the both of them. :( That will be kind of a sad way to start a new year...

I think that's all for now. I'm off to start my afternoon school taxi route! Will try to post again later with some of my backdated stuff! :)

Oh No! Facebook Ate My Blog Again!

Okay, so yeah, I really am still here. 

The school year has been crazy and non-stop. I have been writing lots on Facebook, but not making the time to blog! Can't let the blog die! It has been here way too long!

I owe this blog the following:

* Ben's school picture

* Halloween photos

* Thanksgiving pictures

* The beginnings of Christmas!

Going to try to do one a day for the next few days!

Five-Year-Well Visit...

Jonathan had his five-year well visit yesterday. He's 41 pounds and 42-3/4 inches... hanging out in the 40-something percentile, right between his two brothers, as always.  (6 pounds more than Ben at the same age, 5 pounds less than Simon....3-1/4 inches taller than Ben(!!!!), 3/4" shorter than Simon)

Sidenote: SHEESH Ben was tiny!!!!!

The doctor said he looks great and is growing perfectly!

He asked if I had any questions or concerns and honesty, I couldn't think of any. He laughed and said, "That's the third one for you! You could probably do my job!" I jokingly said if he ever needed help, I'd be happy to come in. LOL. He said they've actually considered doing that before... having parents come in for other parents to talk to and ask questions of because sometimes it's actually more helpful than talking to a pediatrician. Too funny!

J got his flu shot and freaked out. (the nurse was SO SLOW... Just DO it already!!) He recovered quickly though when I told him we could stop at the deli downstairs and get a ginger ale. ;)

He wasn't pleased about going back to school either, but his class was headed to lunch when we got back and I just added him on to the back of their line and all was well. PHEW!

First Day of Middle School....

Tuesday, Ben FINALLY started school.  First day of sixth grade... first day of middle school.

He was nervous. Even though he is in the same school as last year, the middle school is different. They have different classrooms and teachers and there are lots of expectations and LOTS to keep track of.

Check out this schedule!

Every single day is different... and then it changes every other week. It's a lot to remember. I hope he can get in a good routine with it all or he will never have what he needs! This is where I am thankful he is in such a small school and where I feared he would really get lost in the shuffle in the bigger school most of his JES friends went to.

The first day, he came home overwhelmed and not so happy. He said middle school was super serious and he was afraid he was going to forget things. The second day was better. He LOVES math and English, so far. I also think he's going to end up loving Tech and Life Science. And, while he thinks Ancient Civilizations is going to be boring, I have been getting emails from his teacher that suggest otherwise. He is the only teacher to send emails out so far and they are SO funny. Seems like he is really going to make an effort to make it fun and engaging for the kids.

He's still thinking about whether he wants to join the Math Club (which is run by the teacher mentioned above!). I hope he does it. Most of his friends were also invited, and I think he'll really enjoy it.

Anyway, so far, so good. He has forgotten his lunch box once, and a history homework... and there is a snafu with his gym uniform and he left his tennis shoes at school on Thursday...  LOL... but all in all, I'm optimistic for a good year. ;)

One of my Nightmares Came True...

Y'all, now that I'm pretty sure we're in the clear, I have to tell you...

...head lice descended upon our house last week.

Last Tuesday morning, right after I dropped off the other two boys, Ben was scratching his head. Whenever I notice any of the kids doing this, I usually jokingly say, "Let me check for lice!" and do a cursory head check.

This time it was for real. OMG. Ben and I panicked briefly. Then, when I had regained my composure, I told him not to move and ran immediately down the street to Rite Aid for the "the kit".

Oh man. It was not fun. I set about washing everything in his bedroom and vacuuming the sofas, floors, etc.

Somewhere in there it hit me, Simon had been scratching his head the day before...

At school pickup, I held my breath and hoped I wasn't right. But as soon as he came out and got close to me, I could see he had fallen victim too. I took him right home and did the whole routine on HIS head and started washing everything in HIS room.

Then I did my own head because... I snuggle with them in their beds EVERY SINGLE NIGHT OMG.... (I think I was fine, it was precautionary... because... just ew...)

Jonathan somehow escaped even though he and Simon share a hairbrush. (gag. gag. gag)

I emailed the school nurse who was hugely helpful and reassuring. She told me to bring Simon and Jonathan into her office on the way into school the next day so she could check. She gave both the all clear and said I had done a great job with the combing. (go me!)

I have had to comb through their hair every day since then... found a couple of nits here and there for another couple days and I've washed pillowcases and towels every single night.  I've also checked and rechecked Jonathan.  We are supposed to retreat everyone with the shampoo tomorrow just in case anything got by me, but I *think* the vigilance has paid off and we've won the battle.

Where did they get it? Your guess is as good as mine. I had initially assumed Simon picked it up at school and passed it on to Ben... but the nurse told me it's a 14-21-day incubation period? Which puts the timeline more in Disneyworld.... gahhh...I don't really want to think about that!!

I really and truly do not ever want to repeat this but I will say, it's not as horrible as I had always imagined. Still... not anxious to do it ever again!  UGH!

First Week of Kindergarten... Second Week of Third Grade...Middle School orientation....

Well, it's Friday.

It took Jonathan until Thursday to try to escape kindergarten. Thankfully, it was a half-hearted attempt, he turned around on the way through the doors and tried to run for me. I blocked though and a kindergarten assistant who was standing there ran interference and he walked with her to class. The rest of the day went well, I guess, because I never heard otherwise.

He has had all of his specials at this point, since Monday is just his extra Phys. Ed day. He has liked them all so far. (I'll hear about music when he gets home) ;)

Here he is with his first ever library checkout!  Mrs. Terry said he was good in library on Wednesday, a little silly here and there because he is really comfortable with her, but good. He even helped a non-English speaking classmate walk to the bathroom!

He says the day is long (and it is), but it must be filled with enough to keep him occupied because his complaints aren't constant.

I got roped into room mom duty for the first time ever in my entire kids-in-school history. A preschool mom friend asked if I would do it with her. I told her I would if no one else stepped up.... apparently no one did. So, this will be new and interesting! LOL.

Simon had a good second week. They launched headlong into multiplication in math and he seems to be doing ok with that. Handwriting has regressed a ton and all of his work is a mess again/still...  so I guess we'll be working on that at home a lot. School in general, is still not his favorite (especially since they are not currently doing a science unit and he loves science), but he goes without complaint for the most part and seems to enjoy having so many friends in his class this year. 

I really like the whole third grade team, even the teacher I wasn't thrilled he got seems ok for now. 

I guess we'll see how things progress and how conferences go... but for now, all is well in school land.

Ben had his middle school orientation yesterday and is already overwhelmed by all the class changing and things to remember. THIS will for sure be an interesting transition. He got his schedule and he is taking pre-algebra... which means I am officially out of the math homework helping game with him. Gah.  Pre-algebra, which I'm pretty sure I did not take until 7th grade, was when things really went south for me, math-wise. He must have a better math head on his shoulders than I did though because I got an email that his standardized test scores from spring were high enough to qualify him for the math competition club. He is considering it... I hope he does it! :)

Anyway... so things seem to be off to a good start! I hope it's a great year for all three!

First (1/2) Day of Kindergarten!

The first day of Kindergarten was yesterday! And..... it went well! Jonathan actually loved it! I hope he feels the same when it's a full day and he goes the entire week. LOL.

He came home and was already recreating things they did in class, which was hilarious. (he was creating imaginary groups -- "People who like candy, come sit over here....and people who DON'T like candy, go sit over there..." I think that's a true sign he's into it!

Before school with his preschool friend, Lillian. They started in 2s together, so I'm thrilled they are in the same class! 

Dismissal! Please notice Ben off to the side.... doesn't start until NEXT MONDAY. Sigh. He is so bored....

Big thumbs up for the first day!

First Day of Third Grade....

Simon was the only one to start school yesterday...  he was a pretty good sport about it too. He had a great day and said he loved "Everything!"

Congratulations to my new third grader!

First day of second - 2014

First day of 3rd - 2015

Today, You Are 5!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are five. I know you think it was Saturday, or maybe Sunday. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway, it's today. wink emoticon

It's hard to believe you're finally five, which I know sounds cliche, but it really is. Not just because it seems like you were a baby five minutes ago and all that, or because your first four years were so crazy hard you made us question our parenting abilities....

... but because you still seem like our baby, which I guess is your lot in life and for that, I apologize.

You are going off to kindergarten in a few short days. I am crossing my fingers for this to be an entirely positive experience, and I think it mostly will be once we get started. Right now though, it's just hard to imagine you walking down that hall the first day all alone and being okay with that once you get to the other end and I'm not there. I didn't really worry about this part with your brothers. For some reason, they seemed older (I mean, they were a little... but not a LOT!) We'll see, I guess! Your teacher might get more than she has bargained for on that first day.... and possibly several days thereafter. (crossing my fingers)

At five, you are pretty much just a bigger version of who you were at all the other ages, just ever so slightly more reasonable. You are still the most stubborn, strong-willed child we've ever raised, for sure. You are adventurous and fearless in many respects, strangely fearful in others. You are a cuddler and a lover, but will turn around and punch your brothers with little provocation.

Yes, you have the advantage (?) of those two older brothers to show you the ways of the world/playground, so you sometimes seem older than you are; but then you throw yourself on the floor crying when they change the channel from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to Cartoon Network in the morning and I remember... you are actually still just a little guy in many ways.

You still ask me to lay in your bed and snuggle. You still ask for your ducky blankie when you're tired. You love a good story in my lap. You give out kisses liberally and hugs that knock people down if they aren't ready for them.

You love everything your brothers do, which includes Minecraft, Nerf dart guns, Star Wars, and sword fights. Independent of them though, you really do have your own set of likes! You love to help me bake, you love science experiments and reading, taking walks in your wagon and swinging. BOY do you love swinging. You could swing all day and all night. You especially love when I push you so high, you come up out of the seat. (I truly do not know whose child you are sometimes!) You've gotten really into your matchbox cars lately and carry two around in a little treasure box. And of course, you love your technology. You know your way around every electronic device in our house, sometimes better than we do.

You are one unique and super smart little guy and definitely keep us on our toes. I think this is pretty much always going to be true. Right now, I will just be thankful you are only five and that and no one will let you jump out of an airplane yet.

Happy birthday, J!

Love, Mommy

Peek at Your Seat 2015!

Took Simon and Jonathan to peek at their seats today and meet their teachers. I'm excited for an amazing year for both of them as I know I love both of their teachers. Simon does have a different teacher for social studies/science that I'm not as thrilled with, but glad it's just that one class and that it's not reading or math.

Simon was first. His seat is right next to the horseshoe crab aquarium. LOL. He was enamored with it!

Moving on to kindergarten.... Jonathan was totally into Mrs. B's globe....

We found his cubby!

Colored a picture and wrote his name....

... and posed for a picture with his teacher. :)

I still think he has NO idea what he's in for... but he will soon! LOL!

Disney 2015

*** I am adding to this post day by day.... scroll down for more.... **** :)

Second go-round for an August Disney trip.  Last trip was in August 2013.

This time, we took my parents and a family friend. Mom and our friend Joan took the train and had left the day before. (my mom didn't want to fly... this figures in later... so stay tuned.). My dad flew with us.

The morning of, I made us some mouse-eared pancakes!

Off to the airport..... sailed through luggage checkin and security... only to find out flight was delayed for two hours due to weather in Florida. Little did we know, this was only the tip of the "delay" iceberg! More on that later...

At 12:30 instead of 10:30, we finally got on the plane.  Off to Neverland!

Around the time I felt like we should be landing in Orlando, my dad noticed the plane was doing an AWFUL lot of turning. I thought it was just a runway approach.... dad pulled out his phone compass and saw we were heading northwest.

?!

A few minutes later, the flight attendant got on the speaker and explained that we had been in a holding pattern and should have landed in Orlando awhile ago, but that the airport was shut down for weather and we were running out of gas and had to reroute and go land in Jacksonville, about 120 miles north.

He went on to say that we did not know how long this would be, or whether we could get off the plane when it landed in Jacksonville... oh, and that they would be turning off the a/c when the plane landed, so close the windows and turn off the lights. 

Mercifully, for this fearful flyer, we landed safely in Jacksonville where we sat waiting to see if they would give us a gate. The flight attendant, who at this point was ONLY the bearer of bad news, came on and said it could be 20 minutes, could be 2+ hours... also that we had no gate, so we'd be sitting on the plane for an indefinite period of time. 

Lovely!

Ultimately, it ended up being about 45 minutes. The kids were great. Every kid on the plane (and, it being a flight to Orlando, there were a lot of them) was great. We took off and finally were allowed to land in Orlando close to 5p.m., about four hours after we were supposed to.

The baggage claim took forever because, since all flights had been delayed coming in, EVERYONE was coming in at the same time... also Orlando's airport baggage claim situation is a nightmare on a NORMAL day anyway.

Our rental car wasn't quite ready, so there was more sitting and waiting. 

FINALLY... finally... we made it to our Disney villa around 7p.m. The kids were such troopers. No one cried or complained. :) I, on the other hand may have done both. 

We met up with my mom and Miss Joan who had taken the train and were already there. Said hello, put our things down and then went to have a quick dinner by the pool. :)

After a good night's sleep, we were all ready for a park day!

Jonathan spent breakfast watching the attractions channel. LOL. 

After everyone was ready, we set off for the Magic Kingdom and our first monorail ride!

We had a tight schedule, trying to cram a TON of Magic Kingdom into our morning. Touring Plans did not fail us and we managed to hit ten attractions in 3-1/2 hours. WOO!

Got a little wet.... but had ponchos on hand. ;)

 We ended the morning with Minetrain, which caught my parents by surprise.  LOL. Loved that ride! It was our first time on it since it wasn't open yet last time we went.  This was the first of Jonathan's favorite rides! Simon was not a fan. Ben still isn't sure.

That night, we headed into Epcot for dinner at the Rose and Crown. Everyone was hanging in there nicely, so we stayed for the fireworks! First fireworks for us in a LONG TIME. :)

Here's my mom in the red telephone booth in the UK. ;)

 On the way into Epcot, we stopped at Guest Services to get our Tables in Wonderland card. Something went wrong with the computer and it took awhile, so the guy gave us two free fastpasses! We only had time to use one, but we all got to hit Soarin that evening. So fun. Simon was nervous (so was my dad)... but everyone ended up having fun!

The next day, we took a day off from the parks. The kids and Tom and I were changing rooms to be closer to my family. As you can see, the boys amused themselves while we packed up. (sigh)

My parents and Joan and I hit the grocery store. (it had been raining so much the previous two days and with the late flight and all that, we just hadn't had time) After we were all stocked up, we hit Downtown Disney for a little shopping and some lunch. For those who go to Disney frequently, Downtown Disney is kind of a mess right now. I don't especially recommend a visit, however, the crowd wasn't too bad the day we went. 

I bought a couple new pairs of earrings, mom bought a Malificent sweatshirt, Joan shopped for her granddaughters, and dad got a Ghiradelli's milkshake. The boys spent some of their vacation money in the toy store. :)   Jonathan had a little birthday giftcard from Aunt Debbie and bought himself some Lego guys. (which we then had to keep track of the rest of the trip, but I'm pretty sure we came home with all the pieces! WOO!)

Later that night, we hit the Hoop Dee Do Revue, one of our favorites. We hadn't been in a long time and really wanted my family to see it. As usual, it was a blast!

Even more exciting, Ben got picked to go on stage! SO funny. Jonathan was also recognized for his birthday! :) Best time ever at the Hoop Dee Doo! 

The next morning, we were off to Epcot BRIGHT and early. Several members of our troop are not morning people, but they were troopers. ;)

Grandmom and Poppy with Ben and Simon

Bruuuuuuceeeee!!!!

Ben chickened out of Test Track (not sure why, he has ridden it before), as did Simon (same!).... so my parents sat out and Tom, Jonathan, Joan and I rode. Jonathan LOOOOoooOOooooved it!

Ben waited patiently for our stop at Club Cool, his favorite.

That night, my parents and Joan had a reservation at Narcoosee's, and we headed off for dinner in Mexico and visiting the countries. 

The Pokemon section of the Japanese store very nearly caused Ben's head to explode.

Simon played a little Agent P in Germany and I discovered a fantastic grapefruit beer while we waited....

Dinner in Mexico was fantastic! Jonathan approved! :)

The next morning, we hit Disney Hollywood Studios....  

 Jonathan rode Tower of Terror for the first time. He came out and this was the only photo he would let me take. He claimed he didn't like it, though since we have been home, he has changed his tune. Nevertheless, he was the only one of my kids (and me) brave enough to ride! So, hats off to him!

 Everyone loved Toy Story Mania! :) So excited they are making a whole Toy Story area soon!

The next day, we gave the other adults the morning off. They were most grateful. It was HOT and we were ALL exhausted. We would have skipped Animal Kingdom too, except the kids were pretty insistent about going to ride Kali River Rapids. It's one of Ben's favorites. Simon was wary, but ended up loving it. Jonathan thought it was awesome. 

Ran into DeVine on the way in. Jonathan was the only one brave enough for a photo. (shaking my head...)

Two out of three were in the REALLY wet seats. LOL!

We rode Dinosaur, Ben and I rode Primeval Whirl, and Jonathan and I rode the Tripceratops Dumbo ride ripoff and then we left... really not feeling the heat that day and we had a big evening planned at the Magic Kingdom!


Did the Enchanted Tales with Belle for the first time. Cute, but probably won't do it again. Kids weren't that into it. Pretty magical though! Ben was a horse and got his photo with Belle. ;)

Posing with the gargoyles while waiting for our table at Be Our Guest. :)

We were seated in the West Wing this time. Super cool. Neat special effects all over! Dinner was delicious, Jonathan and I tried the grey stuff. It was delicious. Mom got her photo taken with Beast. ;)

Jonathan, Joan and Tom rode Splash Mountain (J loved it, of course) The rest of us did the Hall of PResidents, much to Tom's dismay. LOL. I promised him we'd see it again next trip.

Headed for teacups!

Stopped for a quick pic at the castle and packed it in. Did I mention it was hot? SO hot.. Gah.  Had intended to stay for the Electrical Parade, but none of us had it in us...