I thought it was supposed to be only the younger generation that was guilty of this particular fashion faux pas.
At least he's not wearing a thong!
Now here's proof that I can be brief. No pun intended.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Just One More
I made Bruce take this picture, because it cracked me up. His view of humor is evidently more highbrow than mine though because he didn't laugh.
I thought it was supposed to be only the younger generation that was guilty of this particular fashion faux pas.
At least he's not wearing a thong!
Now here's proof that I can be brief. No pun intended.
I thought it was supposed to be only the younger generation that was guilty of this particular fashion faux pas.
At least he's not wearing a thong!
Now here's proof that I can be brief. No pun intended.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Disney II (No Longer a Nutshell)
Back to posting on Disney. I read the title of the first post on Disney and thought, "This isn't really a condensed version." But, whatever. You can skim if you'd like. This is as much for my memory as it is for you. Two weeks from now I won't remember even half of what happened at Disney, so I'll go back and read this and smile.
Okay, these next few pictures are primarily for my father-in-law (even though there is a good chance he'll be either bored by them or think I don't get out enough to find such mundane things interesting. Roy, it's the thought that counts, okay!). I just kept catching myself either snapping pictures of plants or trees I thought were interesting, or telling Bruce, "Take a picture of that for your dad. Maybe he'll know what it is."
On the way to Disney, we stayed the night Friday evening in Savannah. Then we got up Saturday morning and continued our drive down to Florida. Off of the side of the interstate, there were these huge piles of tree limbs and brush. Lots of them.
And then a bit past that, a more processed pile of the stuff that had been turned to mulch.
I'm pretty sure they were getting ready to widen the road in that area, but even so, in the many miles of interstate driving I've done either between Tennessee and Oklahoma, or Tennessee and Texas, or Tennessee and the beach, I've never seen anything like this. Maybe I really should get out more!
Moving right along.
On our first day at Animal Kingdom, we went on the highly recommended Kilimanjaro Safari. You have to get on this ride early, because when we went back to do it a second time on another day, there was a 90-minute wait. In any case, it was really incredible. We saw all kinds of unusual animals, and I took tons of pictures. Really, I did. But very few turned out because I didn't check the setting on our camera beforehand. Which is why we wanted to do the safari a second time, but with Bruce at the helm of the camera. We didn't though.
Here's one that did turn out. Of a tree. It's actually in focus, because it was standing still, I assume, instead of moving like most of the animals were. I wish I could remember what the guide said about this tree, because it was really intersting at the time. But evidently not intersting enough to come to my mind now. Still, it is a cool tree. Feast your eyes on this.
And another one, of several huge termite hills. It was also obviously stationary.
Once off the safari, just walking around in Animal Kingdom, I saw this thing, full of hanging pods. I have no idea what kind of tree this is, mind you, but it's cool nonetheless.
This next tree (I'm a big fan of God's creation, okay!!) we saw while standing in line for the kids to meet Santa. Disney overlooks nothing, and, of course, Santa was there at Christmas time. I like this one because it looks like a weeping Palm tree, but with pinkish-red tips. Say it with me... "Cool."
On another day, back at Epcot, we went on Living with the Land, a boat ride through a green house and fish farm. (Is it really obvious, yet, which activities I choose and which Bruce picks?) Very neat things on this ride. Tomatoes being grown as trees, yielding more fruit. Some other plant that wasn't even in dirt, but instead was suspended from the top and rotated through a sprinkler system to maintain its moisture level. All impressive stuff. But here's my fave.
How'd they do that?
And here's proof that your children do pick up your interests.
I must explain that this is not necessarily Spencer showing a great love for the outdoors. No. But that boy is a collector. And there's no rhyme or reason in his selection of what to collect. I'm just happy to report that there was no physical altercation when we told him he would not be able to bring all those pine cones in the van for the trip home.
Clay and Spencer are two different breeds of boy. Both all male and full of testosterone. But while Spencer is full throttle, Clay understands more about cause and effect and so approaches things more cautiously. Clay has been unwilling to try certain rides at Dollywood all year, so it was no surprise that he nixed the idea of a ride on Expedition Everest. Without pause, Spencer took up the challenge and rode with Bruce. He came off all excited, so I took a turn with him. There's a yeti some where in the ride, and he told me when it was coming up. So I started making spooky noises, thinking he'd been on this before so it'd be all old hat to him. Umm, evidently his apprehension had a delayed response and my silliness scared him. He was a little shaken by the time we got off. This required some fast thinking on my part and cost me only $10. Spencer is now the proud owner of a baby yeti.
By the end of the week, Clay conquered Everest as well. (You should know better by now than to even wonder if Allison attempted it.)
After purchasing Baby Yeti (we aren't very original when it comes to naming stuffed animals in our house), we decided that each child would get one thing to remember the trip by. Spencer has his yeti. Clay quickly discovered his favorite coaster ride was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. I think he rode that thing at least six times. And although it goes against my better judgement, he now owns a t-shirt with the coaster on it... and Aerosmith. My boy, the head banger.
Several times, Allison and I would separate from our boys while they rode the rides she was too scared to try. Most often, we'd end up shopping. Shopping is not my favorite activity. It's just one small way that the Lord has blessed Bruce. We had only a few days left on our vacation and Allison had not yet picked her souvenir. We combed through one particular store for quite a bit. No stuffed animal went unturned. I'd point out a princess sticker set, and Allison would say, "Hmm, let's just keep looking." I'd mention a sweet little necklace, and she would reply, "Hmm, let's just keep looking." I'd pick up a pink pencil case, and Allison would dismiss it with the now standard, "Hmm, let's just keep looking."
Finally, she found it. I saw a gleam in her eye that was all too reminiscent of a scene from Lord of the Rings. I know you know it! "My precious!" Allison's top pick of all that glittered at Disney? Two little stuffed mouses, one a Mickey, the other a Minnie. I know what convinced her. Their paws have magnets in them so they can hold each other's hands. Too sweet.
We ate at some great places at Disney. I can't say a bad thing about any place we ate. Other than the cost. We got the dining plan when we had our travel agent book our hotel room and purchase our tickets. If we hadn't gotten that dining plan, we'd have probably eaten only french fries the whole time we were there. Our travel agent also made reservations for us at the restaurants I chose after researching them online and getting advice from a friend whose husband works with Bruce.
One great place we ate was in a rotating restaurant in Epcot called The Garden Grill. Every few yards the scenery would be different. And characters came to the table to meet the kids. But the best part was that the kids decorated their own cupcakes for dessert. This was a huge hit with them!
And I have to include this one character shot. This particular Pluto had a runaway tongue. It kept flopping around, getting in the way of hugs from Spencer. The last one we got of him with the kids, Spencer and Allison were paying more attention to details.
Another very neat restaurant was the Whispering Canyon Cafe where we ate one morning for breakfast. We had to ride a boat to get to this one, which was at Wilderness Lodge, but getting up early and jumping from hotel to bus to park to boat to restaurant was well worth the effort. In keeping with their lodge theme, there were Lincoln Logs for the kids to play with while we waited to be seated.
When we were seated, things got even more interesting. The wait staff would yell across the room at other staff members and patrons. When someone at the table next to ours asked for ketchup, the waitress yelled, "Ketchup?! Who has the ketchup?" A family across the room raised their hands, and the waitress again yelled, "Well, bring it over here. All of it. Every bottle." So about three kids made a couple trips, taking about 15 bottles of ketchup from their table to the one next to ours. When they returned to their seats, the waitress said to the family sitting next to us, "Now, I expect you to get rid of all of those bottles before you're ready to leave or I'm charging you three bucks a bottle." Our kids' eyes were huge during the whole interchange.
For our last night, we went to see Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Ft. Wilderness, the campground at Disney. Again the wait staff was unusual. The food was served family style, on metal plates, from metal buckets, and as it arrived the waiter banged it down on our table. As our waiter served the chicken, he made some comment about wanting a breast or thigh and then asked me if his jokes were "too fowl." The highlight here was that as soon as we sat down, Clay dropped his water glass and it shattered. Not five minutes after out waiter cleaned that up, Allison spilled her totally full cup of milk. I'm sure our waiter earned every bit of his paycheck that night. The meal was a dinner show, and the show was very good. The kids laughed and enjoyed the dancing and singing. I kept telling Bruce that one of the men in the show looked like Steve Carell from The Office, which I have grudingly started to enjoy watching after Bruce became almost addicted a few months ago.
Okay, can you guess what we had for dessert? Now tell me, the guy holding the "Short" sign... doesn't that look like a Steve Carell twin to you? Click on it to get it to show up bigger on your screen. Our waiter was the guy to the left of "Steve".
I'm just about as exhausted reliving our vacation on blog as I was when we got home Saturday evening.
Not too much else comes to mind. The kids got to ride in the front of the monorail car on the way to Epcot. That was neat. We also rode on a steam boat. Here she is.
And speaking of tired. The same thing happened on this trip that happens at home when I try to get a minute to myself to recoup.
Over and out!
Okay, these next few pictures are primarily for my father-in-law (even though there is a good chance he'll be either bored by them or think I don't get out enough to find such mundane things interesting. Roy, it's the thought that counts, okay!). I just kept catching myself either snapping pictures of plants or trees I thought were interesting, or telling Bruce, "Take a picture of that for your dad. Maybe he'll know what it is."
On the way to Disney, we stayed the night Friday evening in Savannah. Then we got up Saturday morning and continued our drive down to Florida. Off of the side of the interstate, there were these huge piles of tree limbs and brush. Lots of them.
And then a bit past that, a more processed pile of the stuff that had been turned to mulch.
I'm pretty sure they were getting ready to widen the road in that area, but even so, in the many miles of interstate driving I've done either between Tennessee and Oklahoma, or Tennessee and Texas, or Tennessee and the beach, I've never seen anything like this. Maybe I really should get out more!
Moving right along.
On our first day at Animal Kingdom, we went on the highly recommended Kilimanjaro Safari. You have to get on this ride early, because when we went back to do it a second time on another day, there was a 90-minute wait. In any case, it was really incredible. We saw all kinds of unusual animals, and I took tons of pictures. Really, I did. But very few turned out because I didn't check the setting on our camera beforehand. Which is why we wanted to do the safari a second time, but with Bruce at the helm of the camera. We didn't though.
Here's one that did turn out. Of a tree. It's actually in focus, because it was standing still, I assume, instead of moving like most of the animals were. I wish I could remember what the guide said about this tree, because it was really intersting at the time. But evidently not intersting enough to come to my mind now. Still, it is a cool tree. Feast your eyes on this.
And another one, of several huge termite hills. It was also obviously stationary.
Once off the safari, just walking around in Animal Kingdom, I saw this thing, full of hanging pods. I have no idea what kind of tree this is, mind you, but it's cool nonetheless.
This next tree (I'm a big fan of God's creation, okay!!) we saw while standing in line for the kids to meet Santa. Disney overlooks nothing, and, of course, Santa was there at Christmas time. I like this one because it looks like a weeping Palm tree, but with pinkish-red tips. Say it with me... "Cool."
On another day, back at Epcot, we went on Living with the Land, a boat ride through a green house and fish farm. (Is it really obvious, yet, which activities I choose and which Bruce picks?) Very neat things on this ride. Tomatoes being grown as trees, yielding more fruit. Some other plant that wasn't even in dirt, but instead was suspended from the top and rotated through a sprinkler system to maintain its moisture level. All impressive stuff. But here's my fave.
How'd they do that?
And here's proof that your children do pick up your interests.
I must explain that this is not necessarily Spencer showing a great love for the outdoors. No. But that boy is a collector. And there's no rhyme or reason in his selection of what to collect. I'm just happy to report that there was no physical altercation when we told him he would not be able to bring all those pine cones in the van for the trip home.
Clay and Spencer are two different breeds of boy. Both all male and full of testosterone. But while Spencer is full throttle, Clay understands more about cause and effect and so approaches things more cautiously. Clay has been unwilling to try certain rides at Dollywood all year, so it was no surprise that he nixed the idea of a ride on Expedition Everest. Without pause, Spencer took up the challenge and rode with Bruce. He came off all excited, so I took a turn with him. There's a yeti some where in the ride, and he told me when it was coming up. So I started making spooky noises, thinking he'd been on this before so it'd be all old hat to him. Umm, evidently his apprehension had a delayed response and my silliness scared him. He was a little shaken by the time we got off. This required some fast thinking on my part and cost me only $10. Spencer is now the proud owner of a baby yeti.
By the end of the week, Clay conquered Everest as well. (You should know better by now than to even wonder if Allison attempted it.)
After purchasing Baby Yeti (we aren't very original when it comes to naming stuffed animals in our house), we decided that each child would get one thing to remember the trip by. Spencer has his yeti. Clay quickly discovered his favorite coaster ride was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. I think he rode that thing at least six times. And although it goes against my better judgement, he now owns a t-shirt with the coaster on it... and Aerosmith. My boy, the head banger.
Several times, Allison and I would separate from our boys while they rode the rides she was too scared to try. Most often, we'd end up shopping. Shopping is not my favorite activity. It's just one small way that the Lord has blessed Bruce. We had only a few days left on our vacation and Allison had not yet picked her souvenir. We combed through one particular store for quite a bit. No stuffed animal went unturned. I'd point out a princess sticker set, and Allison would say, "Hmm, let's just keep looking." I'd mention a sweet little necklace, and she would reply, "Hmm, let's just keep looking." I'd pick up a pink pencil case, and Allison would dismiss it with the now standard, "Hmm, let's just keep looking."
Finally, she found it. I saw a gleam in her eye that was all too reminiscent of a scene from Lord of the Rings. I know you know it! "My precious!" Allison's top pick of all that glittered at Disney? Two little stuffed mouses, one a Mickey, the other a Minnie. I know what convinced her. Their paws have magnets in them so they can hold each other's hands. Too sweet.
We ate at some great places at Disney. I can't say a bad thing about any place we ate. Other than the cost. We got the dining plan when we had our travel agent book our hotel room and purchase our tickets. If we hadn't gotten that dining plan, we'd have probably eaten only french fries the whole time we were there. Our travel agent also made reservations for us at the restaurants I chose after researching them online and getting advice from a friend whose husband works with Bruce.
One great place we ate was in a rotating restaurant in Epcot called The Garden Grill. Every few yards the scenery would be different. And characters came to the table to meet the kids. But the best part was that the kids decorated their own cupcakes for dessert. This was a huge hit with them!
And I have to include this one character shot. This particular Pluto had a runaway tongue. It kept flopping around, getting in the way of hugs from Spencer. The last one we got of him with the kids, Spencer and Allison were paying more attention to details.
Another very neat restaurant was the Whispering Canyon Cafe where we ate one morning for breakfast. We had to ride a boat to get to this one, which was at Wilderness Lodge, but getting up early and jumping from hotel to bus to park to boat to restaurant was well worth the effort. In keeping with their lodge theme, there were Lincoln Logs for the kids to play with while we waited to be seated.
When we were seated, things got even more interesting. The wait staff would yell across the room at other staff members and patrons. When someone at the table next to ours asked for ketchup, the waitress yelled, "Ketchup?! Who has the ketchup?" A family across the room raised their hands, and the waitress again yelled, "Well, bring it over here. All of it. Every bottle." So about three kids made a couple trips, taking about 15 bottles of ketchup from their table to the one next to ours. When they returned to their seats, the waitress said to the family sitting next to us, "Now, I expect you to get rid of all of those bottles before you're ready to leave or I'm charging you three bucks a bottle." Our kids' eyes were huge during the whole interchange.
For our last night, we went to see Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Ft. Wilderness, the campground at Disney. Again the wait staff was unusual. The food was served family style, on metal plates, from metal buckets, and as it arrived the waiter banged it down on our table. As our waiter served the chicken, he made some comment about wanting a breast or thigh and then asked me if his jokes were "too fowl." The highlight here was that as soon as we sat down, Clay dropped his water glass and it shattered. Not five minutes after out waiter cleaned that up, Allison spilled her totally full cup of milk. I'm sure our waiter earned every bit of his paycheck that night. The meal was a dinner show, and the show was very good. The kids laughed and enjoyed the dancing and singing. I kept telling Bruce that one of the men in the show looked like Steve Carell from The Office, which I have grudingly started to enjoy watching after Bruce became almost addicted a few months ago.
Okay, can you guess what we had for dessert? Now tell me, the guy holding the "Short" sign... doesn't that look like a Steve Carell twin to you? Click on it to get it to show up bigger on your screen. Our waiter was the guy to the left of "Steve".
I'm just about as exhausted reliving our vacation on blog as I was when we got home Saturday evening.
Not too much else comes to mind. The kids got to ride in the front of the monorail car on the way to Epcot. That was neat. We also rode on a steam boat. Here she is.
And speaking of tired. The same thing happened on this trip that happens at home when I try to get a minute to myself to recoup.
Over and out!
Disney in a Nutshell
I went through the approximately 700 pictures we took while at Disneyland and pared it down to a little over 200. They should show in the slideshow at the top right of this blog site, but sometimes the slideshow won't load so I'll have to whittle down even more and post a few favorites here. I'll spare you all the dozens of poses of the kids with various characters at Disney.
Before we actually got to Orlando, I had Bruce veer off and head to Flagler Beach because it was only four miles off the interstate. Anyone who knows me well knows I am not a beach bum. I enjoy the beauty, but not the humid salty air or the sand that sticks onto sweaty bodies like napalm. Alas, I married a man who enjoys the beach, and our kids take after him. We haven't been to the ocean in about three years, and this brief trip to Flagler Beach was perfect by my standards. Too cold for a swim suit or for the kids to go very deep in the water, but warm enough to roll up your pants and wade. Clay even found a quarter-sized piece of a sand dollar.
The first thing he said when he realized what it was: "I can't wait to show my class at school." So I held onto it for him, figuring I'd keep track of it better. Our new camera did arrive before we left, so Bruce played around with it while the kids and I got a little wet and dug in the sand. When it was time to continue on toward Disneyland, we walked back to the van and told the kids to rub their feet in a patch of grass nearby to get the sand off. What we didn't realize, however, was that we would be invading the homes of several red ants, who promptly gave Allison a taste of their displeasure. They boys escaped unscathed, but Allison was stung a few times and raised a ruckus. I brushed the ants off and quieted Allison, and we all loaded into the van and went down the street to fill up the gas tank and eat lunch at McDonald's.
While Bruce was pumping gas, Clay asked about his sand dollar remnant, which was no where to be found in the van. I'd dropped it while dusting off Allison's attackers. Bruce was not excited to go back to retrieve it, but after much pleading, he turned around. But now, it's about half of 1/4 of a sand dollar, because it was stepped on and partially crushed. Still, we have it, and we're grateful for small victories!
A priceless quote from Clay. The very first park we went to was Epcot, and we got there about 3:30 p.m. We didn't know where to begin. We were tired from the drive, and lines for the rides were long. We hadn't quite learned to appreciate the value of a Fast Pass yet. We walked through some educational games at Innoventions, but Clay was less than impressed. He finally said, "I missed school for this?!"
At the beginning of the week, Clay felt he was too old to pose with the characters. After much coaxing, he slowly warmed up to them. I think he just didn't want to appear immature. Spencer was pretty much always game for any pose with any character. His favorite was Leo from Little Einsteins. None of the characters talk when they meet the kids, but Leo used hand signals to point out that he and Spencer both have red hair, and I think that's what cemented Spencer's interest.
Allison was the most excited to meet characters at the beginning of our trip. She especially was interested in "my Mickey" as she called him. She went on to tell me that she might like to marry him one day and even kiss him on the lips. But, shhhh... that's supposed to be a secret. She doesn't want her brothers to know because they might make fun of her for the kissing part. Anyway, Allison's stamina by the end of the week had waned considerably. To the point that when she was given the shot at a pose with Snow White, she passed. So now we have a picture of Snow White with only Spencer. Clay passed on Snow White, too. She was just too girly for him to stand beside.
I'll mention a couple funny things that happened.
One morning on the shuttle bus ride to one of the parks, Spencer trotted to the very back seat of the bus (for some reason, we always sat in the very back!) and plopped himself down next to an elderly lady and piped up with, "How are you doing this morning, young lady?" Well, she was quite taken with our little guy after that, and pointed out that he already knew the way to a woman's heart. I told her that Spencer is always very complimentary when it comes to girls. She asked if he got that from watching television, and I said no. I figure he comes by it genetically from his Uncle Brandon, who always knows the right thing to say to a girl.
Another Spencer story. There is a ride at Epcot called Ellen's Energy Adventure. It's hosted by video clips of Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. The draw to this ride for us was Bill, not Ellen. We love Bill Nye! Anyway, at the very beginning, Ellen is setting up the whole premise of the ride in the "waiting area". Several rides had intro videos that played while we were still technically waiting to get on the ride. In her typical, stand-up style, she made it seem like she was actually there, talking to each of us personally. She said something about someone coming in late, and chastised them for that. Then she pointed out into the audience and said, "Oh, and you. Love your hair. That is so cute." And Spencer leaned toward me and said, "I think she's talking about me."
Now, one on both Allison and Clay. While Spencer fears nearly nothing, our other two are squeamish to varying degrees about bugs. Allison's distaste is extreme and is all encompassing. Clay's fear is less intense. He doesn't care for bugs, but really comes unglued over bees, probably because of the time he was stung five times in a mini-swarm of yellow jackets on our front porch.
Not too wisely, we took them into a 3-D film in Animal Kingdom called It's Tough to Be a Bug! What can I say? It appeared to be an educational film. Had I read the Disneyland book I bought in advance, we'd have skipped this. It plainly warns that several kids don't handle this well.
It was actually cute. What I saw of it, which was brief. There was a stink bug that said his defense against enemies was a bad scent. Then he showed us and poofed out a cloud on film, and the theater then blew out something that had the odor of skunk. The next bug said he shoots out acid against his enemies, and the theater gives the audience a little splash of water. But in 3-D, it's a bit more intense. Right around this point, Allison started crying and screaming. Loudly.
Unfortunately, we were in the middle of a very long row, or I'd have taken her out. From then on, I only heard bits and pieces because I'd slung Allison onto my lap and made her face the back of the auditorium. While she was still screaming in my ear, I heard mention of bees, which of course defend themselves by stinging. Something my oldest is well aware of. Again, the theater was quite inventive and poked you in the back with something to simulate a sting. That's about the time that Clay started screaming to beat the band! A glance at Spencer showed him to be watching with a glazed expression, but with no loss of composure.
Finally, the lights came on and the host bug of the film made a comment about leaving, but letting the cockroaches out first. Right about that time, you feel something sliding under your rear end that seems like roaches are underneath you. I thougth it was funny and clever, but Clay and Allison were messed up for quite a bit after that. And every time we took them into a 3-D show after that, Allison cried and didn't want to do it. We made her anyway, because I wanted her to see the fun of 3-D and not only the freak-out part. She eventually bounced back because I saw her reach out and try to touch some jewels that were floating in the air at Magic Kingdom's Mickey's PhilharMagic. Figures that it'd be jewels to bring her out of the funk.
My favorite still shot of Allison from the whole trip. The first time we went to Magic Kingdom, she was super excited to see the castle. The closer we got we realized our timing was perfect. We'd arrived right as a show was getting started. Oh, it was just too much to take it. Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck. All good and wonderful. But then came the princesses, dancing onto stage. And here's Allison's reaction.
Another highlight was that the kids got to be "Assistant Directors" at MGM's Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! As usual, Allison did not want to go in. Most of our trip was a struggle to get her do anything because she was afraid it'd be scary (Hey, I told you the 3-D bug thing messed her up. No joke). When we showed up with our Fast Passes, the guy asked if they'd like to introduce the show with the whole "Lights, Camera, Action" statement. The boys readily agreed, but Allison declined. She eventually changed her mind and we were led to very good seats up front. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to upload the video we took. I was praying they wouldn't embarass us too bady, because... well, that happens some times.
They did great though. Made us proud to claim them. They were asked to give their names and ages, which they did without any fighting over the microphone or pushing, which has happened at church music productions in the past. Nobody got scared up there in front of a couple hundred people, and they actually all spoke clearly enough to be understood, which isn't always the case with Miss Allison. She got all cute and girly afterwards though, covering her giggling mouth and doing a little nervous dance. Never mind that two minutes later, she was screaming to get out of there because of a loud explosion. I tried hard to coax her into staying by telling her about Aunt Alondra's stunt double days, but to no avial. She and I watched the remainder of the show from as far back as we could get without actually exiting.
In contrast to all of Allison's whining before each ride about being scared, we discovered that she has a real taste for speed. She doesn't care for dark situations, spooky noises or anything jumping out at her, but fast is good. Very good.
We have another video clip of her squealing with glee on a mini-coaster at Magic Kingdom's The Barnstormer. It is hilarious. She lets out a constant, high-decible scream the whole ride with only very brief pauses to draw breath. Bruce's mom said we should enter into America's Funniest Home Videos. Again, I'll share if I can figure out how.
Allison also cheered rousingly during the MGM Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. (Stunts done in fast cars in daylight from seats further back are evidently less nerve-wrecking than stunts done by people in the dark and up close!). She kept screaming, "Whoo-hoo! That's awesome!!" And she loved Test Track at Epcot. It ranked another "awesome!".
Which leads me to the absolute, most terrifying thing that happened on the trip from my perspective. Two pictures say it all.
My boys. In the driver's seat. Yikes!!
I'll post more about Disney later. Time to feed the masses.
Before we actually got to Orlando, I had Bruce veer off and head to Flagler Beach because it was only four miles off the interstate. Anyone who knows me well knows I am not a beach bum. I enjoy the beauty, but not the humid salty air or the sand that sticks onto sweaty bodies like napalm. Alas, I married a man who enjoys the beach, and our kids take after him. We haven't been to the ocean in about three years, and this brief trip to Flagler Beach was perfect by my standards. Too cold for a swim suit or for the kids to go very deep in the water, but warm enough to roll up your pants and wade. Clay even found a quarter-sized piece of a sand dollar.
The first thing he said when he realized what it was: "I can't wait to show my class at school." So I held onto it for him, figuring I'd keep track of it better. Our new camera did arrive before we left, so Bruce played around with it while the kids and I got a little wet and dug in the sand. When it was time to continue on toward Disneyland, we walked back to the van and told the kids to rub their feet in a patch of grass nearby to get the sand off. What we didn't realize, however, was that we would be invading the homes of several red ants, who promptly gave Allison a taste of their displeasure. They boys escaped unscathed, but Allison was stung a few times and raised a ruckus. I brushed the ants off and quieted Allison, and we all loaded into the van and went down the street to fill up the gas tank and eat lunch at McDonald's.
While Bruce was pumping gas, Clay asked about his sand dollar remnant, which was no where to be found in the van. I'd dropped it while dusting off Allison's attackers. Bruce was not excited to go back to retrieve it, but after much pleading, he turned around. But now, it's about half of 1/4 of a sand dollar, because it was stepped on and partially crushed. Still, we have it, and we're grateful for small victories!
A priceless quote from Clay. The very first park we went to was Epcot, and we got there about 3:30 p.m. We didn't know where to begin. We were tired from the drive, and lines for the rides were long. We hadn't quite learned to appreciate the value of a Fast Pass yet. We walked through some educational games at Innoventions, but Clay was less than impressed. He finally said, "I missed school for this?!"
At the beginning of the week, Clay felt he was too old to pose with the characters. After much coaxing, he slowly warmed up to them. I think he just didn't want to appear immature. Spencer was pretty much always game for any pose with any character. His favorite was Leo from Little Einsteins. None of the characters talk when they meet the kids, but Leo used hand signals to point out that he and Spencer both have red hair, and I think that's what cemented Spencer's interest.
Allison was the most excited to meet characters at the beginning of our trip. She especially was interested in "my Mickey" as she called him. She went on to tell me that she might like to marry him one day and even kiss him on the lips. But, shhhh... that's supposed to be a secret. She doesn't want her brothers to know because they might make fun of her for the kissing part. Anyway, Allison's stamina by the end of the week had waned considerably. To the point that when she was given the shot at a pose with Snow White, she passed. So now we have a picture of Snow White with only Spencer. Clay passed on Snow White, too. She was just too girly for him to stand beside.
I'll mention a couple funny things that happened.
One morning on the shuttle bus ride to one of the parks, Spencer trotted to the very back seat of the bus (for some reason, we always sat in the very back!) and plopped himself down next to an elderly lady and piped up with, "How are you doing this morning, young lady?" Well, she was quite taken with our little guy after that, and pointed out that he already knew the way to a woman's heart. I told her that Spencer is always very complimentary when it comes to girls. She asked if he got that from watching television, and I said no. I figure he comes by it genetically from his Uncle Brandon, who always knows the right thing to say to a girl.
Another Spencer story. There is a ride at Epcot called Ellen's Energy Adventure. It's hosted by video clips of Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. The draw to this ride for us was Bill, not Ellen. We love Bill Nye! Anyway, at the very beginning, Ellen is setting up the whole premise of the ride in the "waiting area". Several rides had intro videos that played while we were still technically waiting to get on the ride. In her typical, stand-up style, she made it seem like she was actually there, talking to each of us personally. She said something about someone coming in late, and chastised them for that. Then she pointed out into the audience and said, "Oh, and you. Love your hair. That is so cute." And Spencer leaned toward me and said, "I think she's talking about me."
Now, one on both Allison and Clay. While Spencer fears nearly nothing, our other two are squeamish to varying degrees about bugs. Allison's distaste is extreme and is all encompassing. Clay's fear is less intense. He doesn't care for bugs, but really comes unglued over bees, probably because of the time he was stung five times in a mini-swarm of yellow jackets on our front porch.
Not too wisely, we took them into a 3-D film in Animal Kingdom called It's Tough to Be a Bug! What can I say? It appeared to be an educational film. Had I read the Disneyland book I bought in advance, we'd have skipped this. It plainly warns that several kids don't handle this well.
It was actually cute. What I saw of it, which was brief. There was a stink bug that said his defense against enemies was a bad scent. Then he showed us and poofed out a cloud on film, and the theater then blew out something that had the odor of skunk. The next bug said he shoots out acid against his enemies, and the theater gives the audience a little splash of water. But in 3-D, it's a bit more intense. Right around this point, Allison started crying and screaming. Loudly.
Unfortunately, we were in the middle of a very long row, or I'd have taken her out. From then on, I only heard bits and pieces because I'd slung Allison onto my lap and made her face the back of the auditorium. While she was still screaming in my ear, I heard mention of bees, which of course defend themselves by stinging. Something my oldest is well aware of. Again, the theater was quite inventive and poked you in the back with something to simulate a sting. That's about the time that Clay started screaming to beat the band! A glance at Spencer showed him to be watching with a glazed expression, but with no loss of composure.
Finally, the lights came on and the host bug of the film made a comment about leaving, but letting the cockroaches out first. Right about that time, you feel something sliding under your rear end that seems like roaches are underneath you. I thougth it was funny and clever, but Clay and Allison were messed up for quite a bit after that. And every time we took them into a 3-D show after that, Allison cried and didn't want to do it. We made her anyway, because I wanted her to see the fun of 3-D and not only the freak-out part. She eventually bounced back because I saw her reach out and try to touch some jewels that were floating in the air at Magic Kingdom's Mickey's PhilharMagic. Figures that it'd be jewels to bring her out of the funk.
My favorite still shot of Allison from the whole trip. The first time we went to Magic Kingdom, she was super excited to see the castle. The closer we got we realized our timing was perfect. We'd arrived right as a show was getting started. Oh, it was just too much to take it. Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck. All good and wonderful. But then came the princesses, dancing onto stage. And here's Allison's reaction.
Another highlight was that the kids got to be "Assistant Directors" at MGM's Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! As usual, Allison did not want to go in. Most of our trip was a struggle to get her do anything because she was afraid it'd be scary (Hey, I told you the 3-D bug thing messed her up. No joke). When we showed up with our Fast Passes, the guy asked if they'd like to introduce the show with the whole "Lights, Camera, Action" statement. The boys readily agreed, but Allison declined. She eventually changed her mind and we were led to very good seats up front. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to upload the video we took. I was praying they wouldn't embarass us too bady, because... well, that happens some times.
They did great though. Made us proud to claim them. They were asked to give their names and ages, which they did without any fighting over the microphone or pushing, which has happened at church music productions in the past. Nobody got scared up there in front of a couple hundred people, and they actually all spoke clearly enough to be understood, which isn't always the case with Miss Allison. She got all cute and girly afterwards though, covering her giggling mouth and doing a little nervous dance. Never mind that two minutes later, she was screaming to get out of there because of a loud explosion. I tried hard to coax her into staying by telling her about Aunt Alondra's stunt double days, but to no avial. She and I watched the remainder of the show from as far back as we could get without actually exiting.
In contrast to all of Allison's whining before each ride about being scared, we discovered that she has a real taste for speed. She doesn't care for dark situations, spooky noises or anything jumping out at her, but fast is good. Very good.
We have another video clip of her squealing with glee on a mini-coaster at Magic Kingdom's The Barnstormer. It is hilarious. She lets out a constant, high-decible scream the whole ride with only very brief pauses to draw breath. Bruce's mom said we should enter into America's Funniest Home Videos. Again, I'll share if I can figure out how.
Allison also cheered rousingly during the MGM Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. (Stunts done in fast cars in daylight from seats further back are evidently less nerve-wrecking than stunts done by people in the dark and up close!). She kept screaming, "Whoo-hoo! That's awesome!!" And she loved Test Track at Epcot. It ranked another "awesome!".
Which leads me to the absolute, most terrifying thing that happened on the trip from my perspective. Two pictures say it all.
My boys. In the driver's seat. Yikes!!
I'll post more about Disney later. Time to feed the masses.
Monday, December 17, 2007
In Case You're Ever Bored
Here's an idea from Spencer. Just open your underwear drawer and put every single pair that you own on, one over the other. And to be really creative, don't even bother putting them on with the tags in the back. It's great fun. Really! Sure to throw the person who does laundry in the house into a tizzy. Until the full potential for humor hits, that is. Then she'll just grab the camera and document the occassion.
Disney photos will come soon. I'm just catching up on everything else in the house first. Even so, I couldn't wait to post this one.
Disney photos will come soon. I'm just catching up on everything else in the house first. Even so, I couldn't wait to post this one.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Christmas crafts
Last Friday, Bruce's dad kept Spencer and Allison while I spent the afternoon in Clay's classroom, helping the kids with Christmas crafts. In the long run, I doubt I was actually much help. Early on, Clay decided that I should be with him the whole time, instead of sticking with one craft while all the kids rotated stations. And since the only reason I volunteer time at school is for my kids, that's what I did.
Here's a picture of the first craft we worked on.
I'm not sure whose idea this one was, but it was awful. Way too much glue and nothing else really creative to it. It ended up being a big wreath, but nobody thought ahead as to how it would be moved while it dried and the kids worked on other crafts at their desks. Clay enjoyed it anyway.
Last night was our church's youth Christmas presentation with puppets and a drama. It was great! The kids enjoyed the show as well. Bruce stayed home to catch up on school work before we leave on vacation.
Clay sat next to Ben, our new youth pastor's son, who Clay has started calling his "best friend." We brought Ben home with us after church yesterday so they could play, and then took him home a couple hours before evening services. I'm happy for Clay. His other buddies from church are in the same class at school, and he has felt a little left out this year.
Ben and Clay will also be on the same Upwards basketball team this year. Practice starts this Thursday, and Ben's dad is coaching. Clay is excited about Ben's daddy being coach, too.
Back to last night's drama. Spencer and Allison really like one of the young teenagers at our church, Gabe. They just think he's better than peanut butter, probably largely because he always makes time to talk to them.
Gabe played a grouchy old man in the drama. He would say lines like: "Christmas?! Who needs Christmas? I don't even believe in Christmas. It's just a bunch of people giving gifts I don't want or need and then telling me 'It's the thought that counts.' Well, if it's the thought that counts, I wish they'd quit thinking of me."
All that talk disturbed Spencer a lot because he knew it was Gabe underneath all the dress-up clothes. He leaned over to me and said, "Mom, he doesn't really mean all that, does he? He really does believe in Christmas, right? He's just pretending, isn't he?"
I reassured him that Gabe was acting. And then Spencer, thinking back to watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas the other night, said, "He's acting like a Mr. Grimp." I think he's covering it all with that one: grinch, grump, grouch... whatever!
Mom called this afternoon after finally getting home. Because her flight from Atlanta left late, she missed a connecting flight in Frankfurt and had a 9-hour layover. She said she'd been up for 31 hours since she woke up yesterday morning at my brother's house!
The countdown is on. We leave Friday for Disney. We'll get half way there and stop overnight before continuing the drive on Saturday. Unless the kids say something really entertaining, I doubt I'll blog anything else this week. I'll be packing!
But we should have plenty of pictures to post when we return.
And I think Bruce is ordering our new camera today. We won't get it in time for Disney, but we should have it before Christmas! This works out well, because Bruce will have time to read all the manuals that come with the camera while he's on break from school... and then tell me all about the instructions in a nutshell.
Here's a picture of the first craft we worked on.
I'm not sure whose idea this one was, but it was awful. Way too much glue and nothing else really creative to it. It ended up being a big wreath, but nobody thought ahead as to how it would be moved while it dried and the kids worked on other crafts at their desks. Clay enjoyed it anyway.
Last night was our church's youth Christmas presentation with puppets and a drama. It was great! The kids enjoyed the show as well. Bruce stayed home to catch up on school work before we leave on vacation.
Clay sat next to Ben, our new youth pastor's son, who Clay has started calling his "best friend." We brought Ben home with us after church yesterday so they could play, and then took him home a couple hours before evening services. I'm happy for Clay. His other buddies from church are in the same class at school, and he has felt a little left out this year.
Ben and Clay will also be on the same Upwards basketball team this year. Practice starts this Thursday, and Ben's dad is coaching. Clay is excited about Ben's daddy being coach, too.
Back to last night's drama. Spencer and Allison really like one of the young teenagers at our church, Gabe. They just think he's better than peanut butter, probably largely because he always makes time to talk to them.
Gabe played a grouchy old man in the drama. He would say lines like: "Christmas?! Who needs Christmas? I don't even believe in Christmas. It's just a bunch of people giving gifts I don't want or need and then telling me 'It's the thought that counts.' Well, if it's the thought that counts, I wish they'd quit thinking of me."
All that talk disturbed Spencer a lot because he knew it was Gabe underneath all the dress-up clothes. He leaned over to me and said, "Mom, he doesn't really mean all that, does he? He really does believe in Christmas, right? He's just pretending, isn't he?"
I reassured him that Gabe was acting. And then Spencer, thinking back to watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas the other night, said, "He's acting like a Mr. Grimp." I think he's covering it all with that one: grinch, grump, grouch... whatever!
Mom called this afternoon after finally getting home. Because her flight from Atlanta left late, she missed a connecting flight in Frankfurt and had a 9-hour layover. She said she'd been up for 31 hours since she woke up yesterday morning at my brother's house!
The countdown is on. We leave Friday for Disney. We'll get half way there and stop overnight before continuing the drive on Saturday. Unless the kids say something really entertaining, I doubt I'll blog anything else this week. I'll be packing!
But we should have plenty of pictures to post when we return.
And I think Bruce is ordering our new camera today. We won't get it in time for Disney, but we should have it before Christmas! This works out well, because Bruce will have time to read all the manuals that come with the camera while he's on break from school... and then tell me all about the instructions in a nutshell.
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