Resident Weathergirl

From our resident 4.5 year old weathergirl, upon returning home from school: "The tornado is far north. It's in Woodstock; it's not gonna even touch us."

Peace, love and cyclones,
Shelly, Doug, Weathergirl, Liam

Long-Term Contract

When I told Ava last night that I would always love her, even when I'm old and wrinkly, she asked if she will have to move out then. She says she doesn't ever want to leave. I didn't want to crush her dreams of living with us forever, but somehow I think she'll change her mind.


Peace, love and 40 year-old renters,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Small projects = Happy self

Just sanded/stained floor by the front door. Yay for 1 hr projects! Thankful it was nice enough yesterday for Doug to install an HD clearance front door, too...
Peace, love and home equity,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

That's Just How Ninjas Do It...

Today after lunch...Me: Wow, Ava, you must've been hungry; you ate fast!" Ava: "Well, Mom, I guess that's just how ninjas do it." :)


Peace, love and ninja lunches,
Doug, Shelly, Ava and Liam

The Peace Pipe

The other day, I knew something was up in the kitchen, before I even put my feet on the ground in the morning.


While in bed, I heard someone open the freezer door. No one was screaming, so I thought I would see what would happen next. :) Ava or Liam seemed to find a homemade popsicle, which I had made with apple juice. It was hilarious to first hear from another room what they were doing. I waited to go into the kitchen, to see how long this might go on.


When I walked into the kitchen, I found Ava and Liam passing it to each other as if it was a peace pipe. They passed it to each other, would wait patiently for the other to take a bite or a slurp and then pass back it to the other. They were absolutely giddy over their find. It made me proud to see how nicely they voluntarily took turns with each other. My heart smiled.


These pictures were taken of the popsicle-sharing. :-)

 

Peace, love and brain freeze,

Shelly, Doug popsicle finder #1 and popsicle finder #2

Disney Day #3: The Pirate Pool and Downtown Disney

The next day we woke up, packed most of our things and hit the hotel’s pirate pool!  Arrrgh, matey!  Wow, this pool was something else.  It was a beach / gradual-entry type pool that included a shallow end, deep end, water umbrella fountains under which you could stand and a HUGE pirate ship with a slide.  Super cool.  The kids had so much fun swimming.  Ava found a spare noodle floatie and used it to swim around the pool. 

After hanging-out at the pool for a bit, we got ready, checked-out of the hotel and headed to Downtown Disney.  Very cool place!  We saw a dragon made out of Legos in the middle of the lake there.  There is a huge Disney store, where we finally found a nice princess picture frame for Ava.  Liam found a few more sourvenirs.  We took a few pictures in front of some princesses, Toy Story characters and then got some lunch before starting back on our road trip. 

The kids seemed to have a great time.  It was a super fun trip!  I think three days might not have been as enjoyable to them as two, honestly.  There were so many things to see, it’s overwhelming.  I’m sure we’ll be back again.  We were fortunate to keep the sunburns at bay the entire trip, no one had any serious meltdowns, weather was gorgeous, Mom’s knee held up, super nice accommodations, yummy food and of course great company!  Thanks for going with us, Mom.  What fun memories we will have of this trip!

Peace, love and “We’re going to Disney World!”

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Disney Day #2: Magic Kingdom Here We Come!

If Epcot was a ghost town, Magic Kingdom was a mosh pit.

We ate a quick breakfast pool-side at our hotel.  Doug thought it might be nice for the kids to ride the monorail during our visit. So instead of taking the shuttle from the hotel (and being bound to the minimal times the shuttle dropped-off/picked-up), we decided to park at Epcot and take the Monorail over to Magic Kingdom.  I’m glad we did!  When on the monorail on the way to Magic Kingdom, another passenger noticed Liam’s Atlanta Braves baseball cap.  We got to talking and he mentioned that the ferry ride is the way to go, when first heading to Magic Kingdom.  So once we got off the monorail, we got on the ferry to cross the water to Magic Kingdom. 

On the ferry, I told my Mom I felt like I was at Auschwitz and could be on my way to a gas chamber and not know it.  Disney definitely has accommodations for large crowds.  So much so, that I felt like cattle being herded. J  We could a little of the castle as we approached Magic Kingdom.  Once at the park, it looked pretty busy.  I had everyone’s park tickets / cards.  I mistakenly gave the ticket person the tickets from the previous day.  They said “Sorry, that’s not a good ticket.”  My stomach turned and I frantically looked for the right tickets.  Phew!  Access granted.  We took some pictures out in front of the entrance / flowers and headed into the park.  We hit the bathrooms first and then watched as a parade came down Main Street.  Now THIS is where the action is, I thought to myself.  I knew the kids were going to enjoy this park oodles more than Epcot.   

We walked down a very crowded and sunny Main Street, toward Cinderella’s Castle.  Beautiful.  We were all excited.  We tried to snap a few pictures on the way there.  Once we arrived in front of the castle, we watched a show that included Mickey, Minnie, the princesses, Peter Pan, Wendy, Millificent, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.  Ava especially seemed to enjoy watching the show.  Liam clutched his train while watching the show.  We heard more about “the witch” (Millificent from Sleeping Beauty) from Liam.  She really seemed to spook him.  There were fireworks that went off when she would throw her hands around, her face was painted green, smoke billowed where she stood. 

After the show, we made our way back to “It’s a Small World”.  It was fun to go on that ride, especially remembering riding it in 1990.  Ava really liked it.  Liam did, too.  It’s funny to think how “low-tech” that ride is, yet so many people go on that ride year after year.  We walked across to the Peter Pan ride, but given it’s wait, we decided to do a Fast Pass for this ride and come back later.  We love Fast Pass rides! J

We ate lunch at Pinocchio’s (I think that’s where it was?)  The place was absolutely mobbed!  We were originally told we couldn’t bring our stroller in. Liam fell asleep at some point before lunch, so my arms were getting pretty tired of carrying him around the park.  I wasn’t allowed to sit down until we had our food (their rule).  It was hard to find an empty table.  Once we found one, I asked if Doug would mind going back outside to get the stroller.  They almost didn’t let him in with it, but finally did… I was happy Liam could get some rest in the stroller while we ate.  He continued to sleep after we left.  Mom and I stayed outside by the carousel while Doug and Ava went to the Snow White ride.  When Ava walked out, I happily asked her how it was.  She looked at me as if to tell me it was pretty scary.  L 

We then rode the carousel, which both kids seemed to enjoy.  We went back to the castle to see the “Celebrate a Dream Come True” parade.  I held Liam for the entire parade, so he could see.  Wow, my arms got a work-out during this trip!  Again, he wanted to talk about the “witch”.  To this day, at night when I’m tucking him in, I hear all about the witch.  J

We decided to head over to the area where the Cars characters were.  On the way there, Liam lost his train.  Sensing that he might have a major meltdown, Grandma Pam went into a giftshop and found a plastic train driven by Mickey Mouse.  Phew.  Something to clutch.  ;-)  We then went into watch the Country Bear Jamboree in Frontiertown.  It was nice to relax our feet (tired feet!) and cool off in the air conditioning for a little bit.  The kids really seemed to like the show.  We never did get to the “Cars”  movie characters. 

As the afternoon was winding down, we headed back over to the Peter Pan ride, for our Fast Pass time.  We didn’t even wait five minutes.  Nice!  It was a really cute ride, well done.  We were flying through the sky as if we were with Peter Pan.  Ava absolutely loevd this ride.  We grabbed an ice cream each at that point, in front of Pinnochio’s.  We were hitting some gift shops at that point, trying to find just the right souvenir.  Ava liked a Belle doll that, upon flipping her skirt over, turned into a Cinderella doll.  She got a similar doll for Alana.  Both kids got a t-shirt each, I got one, too.  I got a cool mug for myself and one for Mom, then looked in a different store for a Christmas ornament souvenir.  We looked in quite a few gift shops, looking for a particular princess picture frame.  None of them seemed to have the frame, but we were told to check “Downtown Disney”, which is a shopping area outside of the park, a few miles away.  We got a Mickey Mouse baseball for Liam.  We ran across an entertaining piano player, who let both kids touch a piano key at the end of the song he played.  On the way back from the giftshop near Cinderella’s castle, we went through the middle of the castle.  There are some amazing mosaics on the wall, there!   I’ve heard that there is a suite within the castle that is beaucoup bucks per night.  I’m sure it would be absolutely over-the-top, though! 

It was getting dark out at that point, so we headed toward the Castle for the nightly Electrical Parade.  On the way there, we saw the castle lit up and changing colors.  It was really pretty!  We took some pictures in front of the castle and finally made our way down Main Street, to find a spot for the parade.  Wow, the Disney employees are serious about people staying within certain areas and not standing in the walkway (which is good).  It was kind of annoying that it was so busy and people were “jockeying” for position to watch the parade so early. Regardless, we got a spot where Ava could see while on Doug’s shoulders.  I held Liam and Mom tried to keep our place while we took turns going to the bathroom.  Then the Electrical Parade began.  So worth it!  Each float and the characters are lit up with strings of lights.  The park turns off it’s lights to make it more dramatic.  You can see the floats all lit-up, coming down Main Street.  I looked over, and Ava was wide-eyed and constantly waving at each princess (and Tinkerbell) as they passed, as if they were waving right back at her specifically.  It was magic.  :-)

The crowds were pretty packed-in right after the parade.  I thought the kids might’ve had their fill for the day.  I know my feet had their fill!  There was a new light show that they started doing within a month of our trip, where pictures are projected onto Cinderella’s Castle.  This light show was within 30 minutes or so of the Electrical Parade’s conclusion.  I didn’t think Liam would make it, so I suggested we head out.  We came across a very helpful Disney employee (they are all overwhelmingly friendly and happy!) who told us it was worth sticking around to see this light show projected onto the castle.  We stayed in the town square near the entrance to the park and watched the show.  At one point, the castle appears to be taking off like a rocket, appears to be a birthday cake at a different point, has pictures of people within the park that day projected onto the castle and also looks like it is being colored by crayon.  Very cool.  We watched part of it and then made our way back to the monorail.  Liam was excited about the “train ride” home.  We got to see the fireworks from the window of the monorail. 

Mom’s throat had been kind of scratchy (she probably caught what I had L), so we decided to hit a Dunkin’ Donuts for a smoothie.  Of course the kids wanted some donuts and a smoothie, so we obliged.  J  (Or should I say Grandma Pam obliged?)  Nothing like a smoothie to wash down a doughnut.  Only on vacation, I guess!


Peace, love and saccharin-filled days,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Disney Day #1: Princess Breakfast and Epcot Center

Before we started our Disney festivities, we went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then looked for a camera for my Mom.  Mom’s trusty camera broke, so we needed to find a replacement.  She found one at a Sony that seemed like a great camera, so that mission was accomplished.  We went back to the hotel and settled in for the night, figuring out when the shuttle would leave the next day, etc.  I think I was just getting over a cold / scratchy throat myself, so I wasn’t entirely up to par this trip, but felt better by the end of our trip. 

We met out in front of the hotel the next morning, waiting to board the bus for Epcot. It was a short bus drive to the park.  We started out at Epcot Center for Day #1 (Saturday), as we had reservations for a Princess Breakfast at the Akerhaus in Norway.  When we arrived, we waited a few minutes and were then escorted into the building.  Little girls were in line to get their picture taken with Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.”  Ava smiled excitedly when she saw Belle.  We got our picture taken with Belle, but both kids are leaning as far away from her as they possibly could.  Pretty funny. 

There were princesses greeting patrons throughout the restaurant.  We then sat down at a table, were waited on and told we could go to the breakfast buffet.  They had a nice selection of fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon and sausage.  While we were eating, someone came on over the speaker and announced that there was going to be a princess procession.  Aurora from Sleeping Beauty came over to our table and asked if Ava would like to be part of the procession.  She was a little shy at first, so DOUG was part of the princess procession, going around the restaurant holding Ava’s hand as they danced / walked as part of the procession.  Most little girls wore their princess dresses, but I forgot to pack Ava’s Cinderella dress.  (Actually Doug mentioned he didn’t think she would wear it, so I didn’t pack it).  Ava really enjoyed getting to meet each of the princesses.  The only one who wasn’t there was Jasmine from “Aladdin”.  I think she is the only princess Ava didn’t get her picture taken with while we were at Disney.  We did see her in the park, but the line was incredibly long, so we passed. 

There was another princess procession that Ava walked in by herself, before we finished breakfast.  The waitress then delivered a cupcake to Ava and one to Liam with a candle in it, along with a card that said “Happy birthday.”  I have a feeling Melissa, upon making the reservation, told the restaurant that Alana and Ashley were celebrating a birthday.  They weren’t there to celebrate, so we made sure to make good use of the cupcakes.  J  We were then given a package with pictures in it, which were taken when we first arrived and saw Belle.  It was a nice way to start our time at Disney. 

Epcot was like a ghost town!  The weather could not have been more beautiful.  It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, but still slightly cool.  After heading through Norway for the Princess breakfast, we made our way counter-clockwise through Epcot.  We saw the Terra Cotta Army in China.  I bought a few souvenirs in China, one was a wrap for myself, the other was a pretty blue mandarin outfit for Ava. While in China, we watched a panoramic movie in a standing-only theater.  It was very interesting! 

We came across a model train village, which Liam absolutely loved.  There were tunnels, bridges, buildings, trains, etc.  He clutched his own Thomas the Train as he watched the other trains go through the tunnels.  Who knew that this would be such a huge attraction for him?  ;-)  He actually took a nap shortly after the model trains.  When he woke up, he pointed back in the direction of the trains, asking if we could go back.  Interesting that he didn’t lose his sense of direction toward those trains, even with a nap… 

We watched some very cool Japanese female drummers in Japan.  There were three of them with huge drums and drumsticks.  Ava says she wants to by a girl drummer like these women when she grows up J 

We then went back to “America”.  J  I was anxious to see the colonial drum and fife corp.  Ava was a little shy and didn’t want to participate in the parade by herself, so I went with her.  We marched together with all of the other kids, holding a copy of the constitution in the parade.  All of the kids were deemed the sons and daughters of freedom.  It was very cool to be a part of something so American! 

We passed through France and Italy, Doug taking architectural pictures all the while.  In France, we saw two men stack chairs very high, with one balancing on the top chair while juggling wine bottles.  Throughout the park, we saw princesses and stopped to have Ava’s picture taken with Belle and the Beast.  Liam woke up just in time to see them.  When I asked if he wanted to have his picture taken with the Beast, he said “No, he will eat my train.” 

Mom did really well walking throughout the park with her knee.  I was worried that the constant walking might really be painful for her.  She never once complained and didn’t seem to be in any pain, thankfully!  It was nice to be able to share this experience with her.  I think I had more fun watching the kids reaction than seeing things for myself. 

Ava and Liam both loved the Nemo ride.  It was pretty cool!  When we were in line, it looked like we were underwater, seeing ships with barnacles on them, etc.  We sat in a clamshell and were moving through the ocean.  Nemo was projected onto the HUGE t.v. screens that were part of the ride.  We also talked to “Crush”, the turtle from “Finding Nemo”.  The crowd asked questions of Crush, about the ocean and animals within the ocean.  Crush was a cartoon, but the person speaking for him was live and within the room or next room.  I’m still curious how they made the cartoon’s lips move in sync with the voice…

When we left the Nemo ride, we saw that an airplane had written in the sky: “U + God = J Jesus”.  I thought that was pretty cool to see and snapped a picture of it.

We decided to head back to Mexico for dinner.  This in honor of Doug’s legendary experience when he visited Epcot with his family back in 1989-1990.  He supposedly finished everyone’s leftover food that trip, because he liked the Mexican food that much.  We went to the sit-down restaurant in Mexico (it seems like there is at least one casual / cheap / outside restaurant in each “country” along with a nicer sit-down restaurant).  We opted for the sit-down restaurant.  I mean, how expensive can refried beans be?  Boy, was I wrong.  It was a more expensive Mexican dinner than I bargained for.  I think my meal alone was somewhere around $22.  I had some sort of pork dish that was super yummy.  We would’ve opted to go somewhere else, but by that time were wiped-out from the day’s festivities.  It was nice to have a reprieve from the heat, though, too. 

After we had a little R&R at dinner, we headed back over to the front of the park. Ava was very anxious to see what was in the “big silver ball”.  Toward the end of the day, we got in line for Spaceship Earth.  It was a fun ride!  It was nice, too, to be able to take Liam on all of these rides, even given his age / height. 

We had to be back to the shuttle by 7:30 or so, which wasn’t a bad thing, given such a full day with the kids.  We made our way back to the hotel and settled in for the night.  The kids had a blast with the jacuzzi tub in our room.  It lit-up underwater and even changed colors.  The kids thought it was the best thing going.  Cheap entertainment.  After that, we settled in for the night, to rest up for the next day at Magic Kingdom!

Peace, love and mouse ears,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam