The Third Day of Third Grade

So this week we not only had two Kindergartners start school, but we also had a 3rd grader start school! I really can't believe that he is in 3rd grade! 

We are so proud of Ethan- he is kind, intelligent, and regularly displays integrity. I know he is going to have a great 3rd grade year!

Ethan on the first day. He wanted a new "plain" lunch box this year. He informed me that he was too big for character lunch boxes anymore. So, good- bye spider-man!

These pictures were really taken on the first day of school. Just think the title "third day of third grade" sounds catchier. And, it is also part of a VeggieTales tune- can you name that movie?!

The First Day of Kindergarten!

Even though it is trite I keep thinking this week, "Where did the time go?". In some ways it seems like just yesterday that we brought these chubby and beautiful twins home from the hospital. But, it was not yesterday it was five years and four months ago. And, now we enter a new phase. A phase I often thought would never arrive, because the days were soooooooo long. But, it is here and I have been thinking many long thoughts this week about life and how fast it happens.

Right after delivery.

The first time I held them. I had no idea what I was in for.

Our first photo shoot... the whole thing pretty much went like this.  For that matter the next four months pretty much went like this!

Finally starting to get happy about 3 months in!

People ask John and I all the time how we did it, how we made it with twins. The answer is- I really have no idea! It was hard. We did it one day at a time, just like you would have to. My mom stayed with us for almost 6 weeks and was incredibly helpful and encouraging. John's mom played with Ethan many afternoons that first summer when I was too tired and emotionally worn out. We are grateful for both of them, they helped a lot. But, really I barely remember that first year. It was hard. 

But, I would do it all again. 

Olivia and Isaac were (are) our special blessing from the LORD. They reminded me that prayer works and God blesses his people. 

It was hard, but it was worth it. 

And, it still is! Isaac and Olivia are such fun, kind, and energetic kids! I am blessed that they are mine! 

And now for the first day of this whole new phase of life...

At her desk the first morning of school. So confident and excited to learn.

At his desk on the first day. He was ready to push us out the door. No nerves or tears at all. He told me he was ready to learn and make new friends.

Busy with morning work as John and I slipped out. As you can see from the pic- Yes, they are in the same class!

Week one of school has gone well so far. The really love playing on the play ground, going to PE, eating in the cafeteria, and centers in their classroom. They are tired, but have nothing but good things to say about school.

Disney: The Characters!

 If you have not been to Disney World since you were a kid you may be surprised to learn that the characters are not as easy to see as they used to be. I went to Disney when I was 10 and I remember about all of the characters (even then the main mouse did not just mill around) roaming around the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. You could easily greet them and have your picture taken with them. This is not the case anymore- you have to be willing to hunt for characters, stand in long lines, or pay for a character meal. Since John was morally opposed to the character meal (because of the cost), he was determined that this trip we would see the five main characters and get their autographs!  

On the first day we were at Hollywood Studios a good 50 minutes for rope drop and low and behold guess who was walking around (with their handlers of course), Donald and Mickie. So we wee off to a good start- very beginning of day one and 2/5 of the way to our goal.

Only one of our children was extremely excited about Minnie, the rest were "forced" to smile!

After walking around a little bit at HS we actually ran into Donald again (well not really ran into, rather stood in line for 20 minutes to see) and this time he had my personal favorite... Daisy!

Now we are on Day 2... The Magic Kingdom has started a brilliant new thing- now you can get a fast pass to see Mickey and Minnie (or the Princesses). Our kids were thrilled to finally meet and shake hands with the one and only Mickey Mouse. Loved to see them and get pics in their traditional outfits too!

Here you can see the mice signing the kids autograph books... this is also a new phenomenon since I went as a kid. If you are a planning a trip MAKE SURE to take an autograph book for the characters to sign. My kids LOVED collected autographs.

My favorite character pic from the trip.

 

Autographs and smiles with Jessie and Woody. Woody was by far the most animated and "true - to - character" character that we saw. I was really impressed and so were the kids!

 

So, on the last day we still had not seen the final two of the main five... but low and behold in Dinoland at Animal Kingdom they were waiting on us! (Actually, we waited for them, about 30 minutes. Thank goodness we brought snacks to pass the time.). Goofy was also a very animated and "true - to - character" character.

 So we did not end up going to a character breakfast. Next time our plan is to do the Dining Plan and go to several character meals.. but that is still 2 years away so we will see!!

Walt Disney World - Animal Kingdom

On our last day at Disney we started at The Animal Kingdom. My cousin and her husband met us there and we had a suprisingly good time. I had heard and read mixed reviews about AK, so I have to say my expectations were low. In my opinion, there are two fabulous attractions at this park and then several other good attractions. It is worth a half day spent there.

The fearsome threesome starting out day 3.

The number 1 best thing about the AK was the 30 minute version of the Broadway musical, The Lion King. I really can not even put into words how fabulous it was. There was singing, dancing, exquisite costumes, fire-breathing, acrobatics, flying, and audience participation. It was wonderful... my favorite thing we watched in all of Walt Disney World.

At the end they call children out of the audience to make music and dance with the cast int he closing number. Olivia volunteered and was the cutest participant!

Another really good and popular attraction was the Safari. You travel in a huge jeep through the African Sahara and see animals up close (much closer than the NC Zoo). Above is the rhonocerus (laying behind the tree - he sort of blends in).

Tons of alligators right below a bridge we were on... you can barely see it but that white speck is someones iPhone that they dropped while on the ride! How upset they must have been!

Giraffe's that crossed right in front of our jeep- we could have nearly touched them.

My favorite. Elephants and there babies.

But, our favorite ride there was the Kali River Rapids ride. We actually rode it twice. The rapids were all round family favorite. No pictures of it though because we didn't want the camera to get wet!

Walt Disney World- The Magic Kingdom

After braving our way through two other parks, we managed to make it to The Magic Kingdom by the end of day 1. We also spent all day on day 2 at The Magic Kingdom. This is by far the best park for 10 and under. But, it is also probably the busiest and has the most strollers!!

Let the Memories Begin...

My kids love characters (more on that later). The twins have not even seen the movie, but they were thrilled to dance with Stitch in Tomorrowland.

After Stitch they moved onto bigger stars... dancing with Goofy in Tomorrowland.

A favorite ride of the boys was the Tomorrowland Speedway. This was the first thing we rode in the park as we waited out our Fastpass return time for the Buzz Lighyear ride.

Another favorite... The Mad Tea Party. This was only one of two rides I could not stomach at Disney.  I sat out and took the pictures!

The Electric Parade... a WDW must! I am wowed by it each time I see it! Tink is pictures above.

Fireworks at the Castle.

The first day we left the hotel at 8 am and stayed at the parks until about 11:30pm. A full day, but LOADS of fun!

Day 2 we caught a show in the courtyard of Cinderella's castle.

After the show at the Castle we danced and shook our tail feathers with Donald, Goofy and friends.

On Day 2 we ended the day with Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Day 2 we left the hotel at about 8:30 am and stayed at The Magic Kingdom all day. We opted out of fireworks and parades that night and headed back to the hotel at 9pm. A full day and we wanted a full nights sleep for our final day.

On Day 2 we rode about every ride at Magic Kingdom... sorry so few were photographed!!

Day 3 we started at The Animal Kingdom (see tomorrow's post about this), and then about 3 we headed back to The Magic Kingdom. We let the kids choose their favorite rides to do again and we rode a couple in the dark! It was extremely fun and ended too soon! I don't know if we can wait 2 years to go again!!!

John and Ethan and my Mom and Isaac on Dumbo. This ride has been moved and redone - with a new type of queue. It was good classic fun and the new queue made waiting so much nicer.

The Magic Kingdom at night - one of my favorite places to be!!