American Idol

I've never been a huge American Idol fan.  I usually follow the show once it gets down to the top 10 or so.  Some seasons I really haven't even watched at all.  But this season is different.  It's so good.  I am convinced that any one of the contestants left could have been in the finals on almost any other previous season.  I really do think they are all incredibly talented in their own way.  And I love that each of them is so very different.  It's making each week's show very entertaining to watch what the individuals will do with the theme.  Last nights show was fantastic with the Rat Pack music.  

I've got to wonder though, am I the only one in America who isn't a Danny Gokey fan?  Seriously.  I know he can sing, but that guy just doesn't do it for me.  I like the other four much better than him.  Adam's my favorite at this point, but I love Kris too.  He's just adorable and I love the way he and his young wife look at each other.  So cute!  I don't think he'll be in the finals, but I wish he'd make it another week or two.

Who are you rooting for?  Am I crazy for not liking Danny? Who do you think is going tonight?

Not a "Sunday"...

Mark had a really good day at school today and both his teachers commended his behavior.  I've been trying to use positive reinforcement for good behavior instead of so much correcting for negative behavior, so I told him we could go to Sonic on our way home.  As we got close to Sonic I asked him if he wanted a Jr. Sundae.  He replied, "No, Mommy.  I would like a Monday."  

Disney World Day 3

We decided to spend our second day at Disney at the Magic Kingdom again.  Our Disney guru had advised us that we'd probably want to do this and he was right.  It takes so long to stand in line to meet the characters that you almost need a second day to ride all the rides, especially with little ones who can't stay until 10 pm.  (And let's face it.  I was too tired to stay for the fireworks anyway.)  

Tori and James came with us on Saturday so we were 4 on 2 in kid coverage.  Mostly we played zone, which worked out nicely for all of us.  We arrived at the park about 9:30 or so and decided to hit the ground running.  The park was very light on crowds so we rode The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet and the Jungle Cruise all in about an hour or so.  Plus, we walked The Swiss Family Robinson House  all before lunch at 11.  (Which totally made me want to watch the movie again.  Who wouldn't want to live in a tree house like that?!)

Starting off the day with a well placed, "Get off your brother!"  Even the magic of Disney can't cure every thing!

Getting my workout carrying a 30 lb wiggly boy up and down stairs

The boys loved the Jungle Cruise

Mark loved it so much that he lost track of whose leg was his own...  Sorry Mr. Whoever-You-Are!

After lunch we headed over to Tomorrow Land for a while.  We got Fast Passes for The Buzz Lightyear ride and got bonus ones for The Carousel of Progress.  It wasn't something we would have ridden ordinarily, but it was getting hot and the idea of sitting for a little while in an air-conditioned building was appealing.  Strangely, Mark is still talking about this ride.  He mentioned it today while we were driving.  I wouldn't have thought it would have made such an impression, but hey at least he wasn't still talking about the parking lot tram.

Luke also liked the darkened, air-conditioned Carousel of Progress...

We went back and rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and Tim smoked us all on it.  It's a shooting contest with laser guns.  I don't really remember the premise except that you "shoot" the Z's while controlling your car.  I was slightly handicapped by holding Luke, but managed to score 33,000 points.  Tim scored 330,000.  Yeah, that's why he earned expert in his last marksmanship exam I guess.  

We should have stopped for a picture earlier in the day, but considering it was late afternoon, this one is pretty good of all of us.

Mark decided it was time for treats so we all got ice cream as a pick-me-up.  

We all rode the carousel ride together and the kids enjoyed it as always.

Even Tori and James rode with us!

There are no words... well, not nice ones anyway!

So appropriate!  The funny thing is that Mark's the one who noticed these and wanted to get in them.

Tim is still trying to teach Mark the finer points of shoulder riding, including, but not limited to:  not putting his fingers on Tim's sunglasses, not choking Tim around the neck, not leaning back and not rubbing Tim's hair and/or pulling it.  

Apparently frowning helps you to concentrate harder on a map...

We decided to take a bit of a break and ride the train for a while.  It was getting close to the afternoon parade time and we hadn't staked out a spot and didn't really want to watch it in the sun, so we figured a loop or two in the train would be perfect.  

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur to be honest.  I know we rode a few more rides in there, but we were all exhausted.  We grabbed some dinner and decided to ride one more ride.  We'd picked up Fast Passes for Space Mountain and Tori offered to watch the kids while Tim, James and I rode it.  It only took us 20 minutes or so, but apparently Mark decided he would test Tori's parenting skills.  He told her he needed to potty urgently.  They made their way to the bathroom where Mark promptly sat on the toilet.  Yeah.  Not cool, Mark.  Not cool.  They all survived, but Tori was shaking her head when we returned.  At this point it was definitely time to head back to Tori and James's place.  The kids were asleep before we hit the interstate.  They have slept late every morning this week too.  I guess having that much fun really takes it out of you!  

And me, well I'm kinda hooked on Disney now.  It's just amazing watching your kids there - such a gift.  It makes me want to go back again and again.  A friend of ours likened it to the response that God desires from us when we are in His presence.  How convicting!  

Watch out Emeril!

Mark has been asking for a kitchen for a couple of months now.  At first I thought it was a phase, but he really enjoys cooking with me and pretending that all his toys are food.  So I started looking for a kitchen a couple of weeks ago.  After checking out the new ones priced at $100+ (yikes!) I started checking Craigslist and our local consignment stores.  Unfortunately we live a little far from most postings in Jacksonville so I was holding out for a nearby listing.  It never came.  And I saw this perfect little boys kitchen that was really reasonable and looked very small.  We drove an hour each way, but I think it will be worth it.  Mark is thrilled and it should buy me many hours of quiet play.  So, come on over.  Mark is making fries and carrots with pepper today.  Yum!

Bath time Snack

I can't remember where I read this suggestion.  Maybe in a magazine...  Not sure.  Well, anyway, I give my kids popsicles in the bathtub before I've washed them.  They don't make a mess in my kitchen, on their clothes or anywhere else.  And it's so easy to clean them up afterwards.  The boys love it and Mom is happy because there's no mess!  This is only Luke's 2nd popsicle.  He's a pretty big fan though.  He even says, "popsicle."  Of course it sounds like "pople," but a mother knows these things.  

Popsicles in the bath Work For Me!

*Stay tuned for Disney pictures day #3.  I have a ton of pictures from that day.  (A big thanks to Tori, our photographer!)  So it's taking me a long time to edit them.  But they are really cute and definitely worth the wait.  (Maybe only to relatives, but still...)

Disney World Day 2

We started our second day at Disney World at the Magic Kingdom.  Our friend Geoff, self-described Disney guru, gave us some great tips for the park and suggestions on how to maximize our days there.  We arrived just after 9 and were glad to see Pluto standing in Town Square.  He was the one character that Mark had been talking about meeting all week long.  So we waited just a few minutes to take our picture with him.  

Then we headed over to Toontown.  Geoff had suggested that we meet Mickey first thing in the morning because the hours are limited and the line can get really long.  It actually didn't take us too long and we got to meet both Mickey and Minnie.  Both kids were star-struck.  It was so cute!  And thanks to the Disney Photo Pass photographer I think we have our Christmas Card photo.  We are actually all smiling with our eyes open looking at the camera.  Amazing!  

Pretend you haven't seen this when you get your Christmas card in December!

We stayed around Toontown for a while and let the kids play in the play area.  Mark also rode his favorite ride, The Barnstormer.  It's a small roller coaster for kids.  He and Tim rode together and they both loved it.  I say this is his favorite, but if you ask him he might say the parking lot tram.  I just pretend that he doesn't say that.  :)  

That pretty much took all of our morning so we headed back toward the front to grab our lunch.  I'd seen a nice spot just below main street with some picnic tables so we ate there.  It wasn't crowded at all and there were lots of ducks.  Mark had a blast feeding them some leftover pieces of sandwich we had.  

After lunch we headed over to Tomorrow Land.  We rode The Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and Mark really thought it was funny.  That's one of his favorite movies anyway, so he enjoyed seeing the characters again.  And he saw the rocket ship ride and immediately wanted to ride them.  So we got in line to ride those.  He was also very impressed that you got to ride in an elevator to get up to the ride.  (I know what you are thinking.  The parking lot tram and an elevator?  Skip Disney World and take that kid to the mall!)  

We needed a bit of a pick me up at this point, so we headed over to Fantasy Land and had some ice cream.  This time Luke got his first popsicle.  He wasn't sure about the cold texture at first, but soon decided he loved it.  Mark and I got in line to ride Dumbo while Tim and Luke finished their snack.  

We rode a few more rides in Fantasy Land, including the ever-popular "it's a small world."  The boys were mesmerized by the music and figures.  They both really loved it and the whole "riding in a boat" thing.  It was a pretty big hit.  We also rode the Winnie the Pooh ride which they both loved.  After getting off the ride we saw Pooh and Tigger and what appeared to be a relatively short line to meet them.  (Appearances can be deceiving.)  We stood in line (in the sun) for an hour before finally getting up there to meet them.  At one point Mark is laying on the ground playing with his car while we wait.  As gross as it was, I gave up trying to keep him standing.  We did finally meet them and the boys loved it, so I guess the wait was worth it.  

It was a little after 4:00 at this point and the boys are definitely starting to fade so we head to a hot dog place for dinner.  We all got hot dogs and relaxed for a while watching part of the "Celebrate You" Street Party.  (Don't ask Tim about that one.  He told Mark there was nothing to celebrate about the depraved human nature.)  :)  We decided that we better head back home to get two tired little boys in bed for another day of Disney World.  

We did stop on the way out to let Mark try his hand at hula-hooping.  I think we still have some work to do on that though...

Disney World Day 1

I always said I would never spend the money to go to Disney World when my kids were too young to remember the trip.  But the Salute to Military program they are doing this year is too good to pass up.  Tim got in for free and our tickets were $99 for 5 days.  We decided to split the trip up and do 2 days now and 3 days later this year.  So, we headed to Orlando on Thursday morning and decided to spend the afternoon at Downtown Disney.  It's not actually part of the park, but has themed restaurants, lots of shopping and some fun things for kids.  Plus, there's no charge for parking or entry to the area. 

One of the highlights of Downtown Disney is the LEGO store.  There are all kinds of specialty Legos and Duplos you can purchase.  Plus there are great areas to build with them and even a small playground to climb on.  They boys loved spending time there.

Mark loved racing his Lego car

There is a train that Tim took both boys on.  They had a blast riding it together.

I will write more of our Disney tips and lessons learned later in the week, but we were very glad we decided to pack our lunch.  It allowed us to splurge and get treats at the Ghiradelli Ice Cream Shop.  Poor Luke!  At least he doesn't know what he's missing.  He did get some jelly beans while we ate our ice cream.  (Thanks Mamaw!)

There are lots of character statues to see at Downtown Disney.  Mark loved getting his picture made in front of them all.

The last thing we did was riding the Merry-go-round.  Mark has decided that he loves it as much as riding any train, which is rather surprising if you know him!

After that we headed back up to Winter Park.  We decided to save a little money and spend time with Tori and James by staying with them for this visit.  They live about 40 minutes from the park, but it was worth the drive to get to visit with them and stay in their cute place.  Thanks guys!

Man, are we tired!

We had a fantastic time at Disney World this week.  I will be editing our hundreds of photo in the next few days and posting the details of our visit.  But after walking all over the Magic Kingdom for 2 long days, we are exhausted.  On our way out of the park on day 1, Mark said it best, "Mommy, can I just lay here on the ground until I feel better?"  Ummm... no.  And that's kinda gross.  

Easter Fun!

We had a great Easter weekend with Tim's parents.  G.G. and Papa came on Saturday afternoon and Mark was so excited to show them how to dye eggs.  We also got to go to one of our favorite local seafood restaurants and the park nearby.  Sunday we went to church together then came home and put the boys down for their naps.  We had a great lunch and followed up naptime with a little Easter basket action and some egg hunting.  It was a great weekend!

Dyeing eggs

Our results

Sliding with G.G.

Swinging

Walking with Daddy (Isn't this picture precious?)

As usual, my children were very cooperative for picture taking

The boys each got a truck for their sandbox, a book, some candy and some stuffed animals