Disney World - Day 1

We drove back to Orlando for Thanksgiving week again, but left a day earlier this year than last.  Tuesday traffic was sooo much better than driving down the day before Thanksgiving! 

Our first morning in Orlando and we headed to the Magic Kingdom.

Our parking lot and row marker. 

Somebody was sitting so nice on the tram from the parking lot to the transportation center.

We had another little snuggle bug.

We all knew the first ride on the list was Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We also got Fast Passes so we could come back later and not wait so long in these lines.

Although at only 30 minute waits, the lines moved pretty quickly on this day before Thanksgiving.

We listened to the screams as the Thunder Mountain Railroad train zoomed by.

The kids both decided to ride with Todd, so I got to sit in front of them with my camera and Grandma Sharon.

It was all fun and games, until...

My sunglasses flew off my head in slow motion and then a heightened level of panic filled Chloe and she couldn't wait to get off this coaster.  Poor Bean.

Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean, a slow boat ride in the dark through veils of smoke and spooky lights.

The kids waited very patiently in this line, too.

See?  Spooky.

Jack Sparrow was yelling at us as we sailed by.

There were brides for auction.

Then the day turned and we had grumps on Aladdin's Magic Flying Carpet ride.

The mood was catching.

After giving it another hour, attitudes had not improved and we left the Magic Kingdom much earlier than expected.  Sigh.

Tennis Morning Out!

Papa Wenzel and Grandma Sharon arrived two days ago.  Yay!  Which also meant Kelley got a morning off to go watch Todd play with his new USTA tennis team.  On this very cold morning out in the 40s.  Multiple layers and goose down blankets weren't quite enough, but it was awesome just getting to watch Todd play tennis and meet his new teammates.

And we also got the added bonus of a date night out.  We went to PF Chang's, a wander through the book store and then saw J. Edgar in the movie theatre.  Yay for a night out while the kids stayed home and got spoiled with their grandparents!

Kelley's Birthday

Started with a surprise iPad 2 from her honeys.  He was very tricky and it was truly a surprise.  It will be so great for using with Kelley's photography business!  Once the kids were dropped off at school, Kelley was off for an emissions inspection.

The weather has been playing games, teasing us with the 70s and then dipping into the low 50s.  Today is fairly warm out, but not quite warm enough to stop blasting the heat at 90 degrees.

The dinner table was filled with family, including Aunt Kiki and Mr. Thomas.  I gave Owen my camera and instructions on how to use it.  Nice shot, Owensk!

Grandma Suzanney took quite a delight in loading the cake up with candles!

Owen forgot to refocus the camera on the remainder of the photos, but I love them just the same.

Yes, it did take several attempts before all of the candles were extinguished.  But that's okay.  My wish already came true two months ago when I started meeting the kids at the bus stop every afternoon!

Once the lights were turned back on and Bean had passed out party favors, we had a couple of trouble makers at the table.

I liked watching Owen stand back and watch the antics with an amused little smile.

It didn't take him long to join in and get his aunt in the cheek.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.  New tags for the car.  A new iPad.  Surrounded by family and friends.  Meatloaf for dinner and Mississippi Mud Cake for dessert.  Welcome year number 37.

Early Birthday Celebration

Papa Ford drove up this morning to spend the afternoon with us.  College football was watched, as were photography video tutorials.  A dishwasher repair was attempted, but was ultimately delayed while parts are being ordered.  And then, Papa Ford made ribs for my birthday dinner.  Woot!  He tried to change them up on me and mess with my birthday dinner by using a different barbecue sauce, but I pitched a stink and he ended up doing half with his sauce and half with the Maul's barbecue sauce I love.  Thanks Dad for not messing up my ribs (although your new sauce is a good back-up for when we run out of Maul's)!

He also brought along an Italian Creme Cake that was soooo delicious.  It might be my breakfast later this week.  I love that I'm still his kid and can get the 'kid' number candles on my cake when Dad comes to celebrate.

Friday Night with Friends

After karate, we drove over to our friend Pauly's house to have dinner and play the X-Box.  The kids had fun playing Garage Band where they got to play instruments and sing really loud.

Both kids got a chance to play the guitar, drums, keyboard and sing.  They really liked singing Queen's songs We Are the Champions and We Will Rock You.

Furlough Day From School

The kids were out of school today due to the teachers being furloughed (which conveniently coincided with election day).  We were busy bees this morning and cleaned up the house.  The kids helped with moving furniture out of the way while I vacuumed and mopped.  Once we got chores out of the way, we headed out for some fun and went to a big park.  The kids brought their bikes and helmets.

We took a little trail down to the creek flowing under the bridge.

The start of it off the paved path was cobblestone.

Chloe found big sticks to pick up.

And throw into the creek.

Owen found helicopters to toss up into the air.

I thought the underside of the bridge was pretty cool.

I think she got her stick obsession from her brother.

Owen was looking for mica and pyrite.  Chloe was just looking for cool rocks.  I love watching them work together and side-by-side.  It is really nice seeing them mature a bit and become friends, where the other's presence doesn't set off a temper.

She had to venture farther downstream.  Because I had already said it was time to go back up to the park.  Twice.

She was proud of her loot.

They wanted to go up a different return path and called it the short cut.  They bet me they would beat me up.  Guess who was surprised to see me waiting at the top for them.  :)

They road farther ahead of me this time and parked their bikes in a bike stand next to the playground.  Chloe want to play and made new friends on the merry-go-round.  Owen was a bit intimidated by all of the kids at the park and chose to sit next to me on a bench.  We had a nice conversation together about photography, babies, growing up and coming back to this park another time with one of his friends.

After we left this park, we headed to the Learning Express so the kids could look at kendamas.  Owen has been pining for a kendama since his birthday when his friend Preston got one.  All he has talked about for WEEKS is how he wants a kendama, how he's saving his money to buy a kendama and how he hopes Santa or Mommy and Daddy will get him one for Christmas.  We were going to 'just look.'  

After staring longingly at the kendamas for quite awhile, I asked him which color he thought he would choose and he narrowed it down to three.  Then he got really quiet and said, "Mommy, I know you're going to say no, but I just have to ask, even though you're probably going to say no, but will you please buy me a kendama and I'll give you all of the money I have at home and you can keep my allowance for the next two months?  I just know you're going to say no."  He barely made eye contact, so I knelt down and said "You're right, Owen.  I would say no."  I waited a few moments and then said, "I would say no because I was already planning on buying you a kendama today and you don't need to pay me back."

It took a bit for my words to register and then his eyes widened and he threw his arms around me in a big hug.  He stepped back and told me that I deserved a hundred kisses before he looked at all the kendamas again and with a different expression.  Then he started crying and wrapped his arms around me again.  This boy was so extremely happy.  In his world, he just won the lotto.