Toys

TOYS! This ride is our family's overall favorite at Disney! It is called Toy Story Mania and it is in Hollywood Studios. You enter into Andy's room full of toys. It is as though you have shrunk to toy-size and you are a toy. We loved all the different toys and took photos of our favorites. We love spin art in our house- gotta take a picture of that! Of course, tinker toys, Mr. Potato Head, and Sorry. We rode this one twice in one hour, which is hard to do, since it has the longest lines in that park. In fact, most days by 1pm, the Fastpass tickets are gone for the day!

Speaking of toys, I love the lazy days of summer. Even though we have stayed kind of busy on some days- with sports, the other days are lazy. My boys are re-discovering some of their toys. I'm not talking about the Wii- though they love that, but their non-video toys. I found them using their snap circuits set the other day. They also have made up their own games in the yard. I just LOVE when my kids are acting like kids!!

I am officially out of work now. Thanks to WCPSS and my terminating contract, I am no longer employed there. I am continuing to pray for a teaching job- only God knows the timing on that.
There are many unemployed people right now, so I know that I have a lot of company.

Reminders

For some reason, my I-photo is not communicating to the blogspot. It won't let me turn this picture around. Anyway, it was our second day in the parks and Will looked up and said, "Mommy, a message!" Turns out the plane was sky writing for quite a while. The entire message said Jesus Loves U, Turn To Him. It was a wonderful reminder amidst the frenzy of the parks- that in the real world, we don't need Mickey. We have Jesus. I was so thankful for my very observant child. So many people were walking and missing all of what was above them. That is true of people and how they miss what Jesus has done for them.

The next set of pictures are from one of our favorite places in Disney. The Polynesian Resort. We got up early the second day and went to a character breakfast there with Lilo and Stitch. It is such a beautiful resort- inside and out. This photo is inside the lobby- I love the background as well as the handsome boys in front.
This was actually on my birthday, and Lilo wanted to dance! She was a really cute character!

I love this one! Harrison is laughing at something funny Will said. He really loved this breakfast- when a teenage boy is around a lot of food- he is usually happy. His- and all of our favorite juice there was something they call POG juice. It is Pineapple, Orange, and Guava juice. The boys want to make some here- but I haven't found Guava juice yet. Even at Whole Foods!
Will enjoyed his breakfast too. It was such a sweet event, and a wonderful reminder of how special a family can be. It was so nice to be together, not running out to the next baseball practice, or doing homework. Great reminders!

Disney!

We are back from 7 days in Walt Disney World! What an awesome week! We are so thankful to God for safe travel and a smooth week. This was our third trip as a family and my 6th time there. It is magical every time, especially with kids. It is amazing how Disney can still wow a 13 year old! We also decided that 10 is almost an ideal age, because Will wanted to go on everything and loved every moment!

I'm posting a few pictures for now. I will post more later since I am trying to work on our paper scrapbook this week. I like to work on it while it is all fresh in my mind. My pictures are not great because I only had my little digital with me and it is not great. Some turned out good, others, just for posterity.

Now, we knew we were heading to Florida in JUNE. We knew it would be HOT and crowded. We were prepared with that knowledge, with lightweight clothing, hats, sunscreen, water bottles, etc. We even went out and bought each of us Keen sandals to keep our feet happy!
I just do not think anything could have prepared us for how HOT it was! And crowded.
God, in His grace, gave me the ability to deal with both, because normally, I am not happy with either. The heat was bearable in the shade, and in the air conditioned rides. The crowds consisted of mostly happy people, so that worked out!

Enjoy the pics, and as they say in the Magic Kingdom... " Have a magical day!"
Oh! One more thing. After 7 days riding Disney transportation, the boys are walking around the house reciting the recorded messages! Today' s message is from the buses that took us back and forth from the hotel to the parks. Read it with your best "radio personality" voice in mind!

" Welcome aboard Walt Disney World transportation system. We are on our way to Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. A tropical paradise that is as colorful and fun as the islands themselves. If you are sitting, please remain seated. If you are standing, we encourage you to use the handrails while the motorcoach is in motion. Now, sit back and relax and let us do the driving."

Summertime's Calling Me!

OK, almost three months without blogging. Kind of shows what kind of three months I've had. Got the parents moved into Croasdaile Retirement Village, took a trip with Scott, got the kids through end of year testing and exams, overnight field trips, and kept on working. Whew! It is time for summer! School is officially out for the boys, and I have 4 work days left. Baseball is wrapping up and we just had Will's piano recital today!
Now, as my weird looking ticker shows, we head to Disney! Looking forward to all the fun! I really got into pin trading the last time we went. I think I will try to add to my collection this year. The boys have outgrown some of the pins they got last time, so they want to trade! They have Pooh and Eeyore pins, and now want "cooler" ones! LOL I am NOT trading my It's A Small World pin, though. I love that one. I love that ride.
Short post today, but I have a goal to do better this summer!

Dogs and Downpours

Today it rained buckets. Well, not really. It just seemed that way. The weather people are saying it could rain through the weekend, and it is going to be cold again. I spent part of my day off in bed with Will. We went on a great field trip yesterday, but part of it was outside, and we got cold! Then we both woke up with colds!
Harrison was supposed to play in two games today, but they got rained out. He is not a big fan of rain right now- he loves to play baseball.

This afternoon, Will and I took Maggie on her first PAWS for Reading job! We took her to a public elementary school here in Raleigh to have children read to her. Yes, the children come into the library and sit with Maggie and read books to her. They are children who may not have anyone to read to at home, or kids who just need a little encouragement in learning to read! Maggie did great! She really prefers that the kids pet her while they read, but we can work on that. There was one little boy who didn't pet her, and she got bored and got up! I sat her back down and he continued.
I am so excited about this program- it is exactly what I have always wanted to do with her. She is so happy to go to "work" and just loves being around people.
Tomorrow, I hope to take her to visit Mom at the nursing home. I got permission today, and I hope it goes well. Have a great weekend!

March Madness

March Madness usually refers to the NCAA basketball world. In my world, it refers to my crazy life right now! In the past month, I have helped move my mom into a nursing home, packed my parent's home of 46 years, moved dad into his new home, worked, and tried to be a mom and wife. Now, on this second day of March, we got an unusual snow- complete with no school for the boys, and no work for me.

The snow today was such a gift in the midst of my madness! The day off was much needed and welcomed. The time with the boys was precious. I thank God for this gift. When Will saw the snow this morning, he exclaimed, " It looks like Narnia!" Harrison was the man of the house as Scott had to work. He shoveled the steps for me and took great care to help out all day.

I had a sweet moment with the boys during the snow. We were walking the dog on the greenway, marveling at the beautiful snow. Harrison remarked at how the snow was too mushy to sled or really play in today. Will says, " Mommy, I think God just gives us some snows to look at and thank him for His creation." I could not have said it better myself.

I haven't felt much like posting this last month. Most of the time, I have just been too tired. Helping my dad pack our family home has been difficult physically and emotionally. Perhaps I will write about all of this in future postings. It is all chaos in my mind right now.

It is supposed to be near 80 degrees by the end of this week. If that isn't North Carolina weather, I don't know what is! Due to the snow day today , I now have to work this Saturday, so I don't think I will get to enjoy the warm-up! Year round schooling is just plain weird!

Thanks for reading, and happy snow day!

Snow memories

So, I have to post a few more snow pictures. I must because I had to go to work today! Yes, working in a year round school means I had to work a half day today. We had 17 out of 21 students- I was surprised. All in all, it was okay, but I can't say I had a great attitude on the inside! The two days at home with the boys and the snow were worth it!!!
We don't know yet when the boys have make-up days, but at least they won't have to go on a Saturday. I know when we lived in the DC Metro area, they had 5 days built into the school calendar for inclement weather. I wish we had that here! I know it doesn't snow that much here, but they could use it for hurricanes, etc. For now, I'll just enjoy our snow memories!