Last Wednesday: epcot

Today we went to the park with the big ball.  In trying to get us to go to Disney earlier in the week Isaac mentioned that he wanted to go to the big ball.

Excitement!

Under the big ball.

We got in early due to an early breakfast.  There was a penguin sculpture and since it is Ben's "favorite" animal we had to take some pictures.

It was also our 15th anniversary!  We got special buttons and people said "congratulations" all day.

Breakfast!  Delicious as always.  (Side note: Isaac must be going through a growth spurt because he's been eating a TON.)

With Dale:

 With Pluto (the favorite):

And Mickey:

Then, since we were finishing up right as the park was opening, we headed to Soarin'.  I wasn't sure how well Joshua would do, but I think he enjoyed it...but once was enough.  We also went on Living on the Land since it was right there.

Then we went on Figment's ride.  This was Joshua's favorite of the day and he requested several times that we go on it again (we did, later in the day).  I think he liked the stinky smell.

We were waiting for Ben and Isaac and went to the water up.  Joshua didn't want his picture taken; I said too bad.

We did two missions for Perry the Platypus throughout the day.  The one in Mexico was nice because it was inside the whole time...just as it was getting really hot.  Both boys really enjoyed it and wanted to do another one.  So I did a Japan one with them later.  It didn't seem to work quite as well (maybe some pieces were taken out?) but it was still good.  For Japan Doofenshmurtz was making a babyinator that would turn everyone into babies so they couldn't run away from his bad robot.  Joshua asked me, in all seriousness, if it was real.

A shark picture to almost match last time we were here.  Joshua saw Bruce all over the place and always pointed him out to Isaac.

Both boys wanted a Mickey Bar.  (Of course, the messiest treat there is.)  But we had wipes, so why not.  Oh, it's hard to see.  Isaac's face is a mess here.

We finally made it to Spaceship Earth!  It broke down for about ten minutes.  There was a voice continuously saying not to stand up, which was rather annoying.  At least we weren't stuck by the voice that also said "you're car is turning around.  do not stand up"

Mickey pretzels!  They were delicious and just what I wanted.

We stopped by the drums on our way out.

Just kidding!  We decided to go on test track.  Joshua enjoyed it until the fast part, but he just hung on tightly.  He was a really good sport about going on rides that were probably a bit scary for him...but he'll be ready to enjoy them more next time!

Joshua made a car with lots of power.  Isaac made one in the middle.

Joshua saw the trucks on the way out and wanted a picture with the red one, because that's what he made!

Now we were done...at about 8:30.  We were at the park for about 12 hours!  The boys did great and the adults did pretty good too. :D

Monday: test acceptance

Isaac and I were passed today to take the test for our orange stripe in karate.

The instructor said that Isaac's forms looked really good.  It was nice to hear, especially after a week off.

Sunday: sleep

I slept for about 12 hours last night.

What I haven't mentioned on the blog, both because I've been behind and because it's a small detail, is that I've had a cold and nasty cough.  The cough is worse at night when I'm trying to sleep.  I think the sickness and the business of the last few days just caught up with me.

Last night Ben said I didn't cough nearly as much.  I woke up for lunch and to get a few things done and then rested for a while again in the afternoon.  I've since then been going back and forth between feeling yucky and feeling almost ok.  I'm hopeful that I'm on the mend!

Tuesday: on our way camping

Today was mostly another low key day.  We played in the pool, got gelato, and packed for camping.

Packed for camping?  How silly would that be in Florida?!?  However, Isaac got a bit confused at one point and so we ran with it.  I was asked a few times if we were actually going camping, but no one asked me if we are going camping in Florida.  (We're going camping soon in Michigan.)

The boys took a short nap on the way there.  I woke them up before too long since naps at 7pm aren't the best plan.  Isaac had a really hard time waking up.

We got to Disney and told the boys to look for clues.  As we helped them out, Isaac just wouldn't believe that we weren't going camping...apparently we sold it a bit too well.  Joshua switched easily though and was excited.  Isaac had been excited for camping and had a bit of a harder time switching, but was still excited.

Monday: vacation, continued

I asked the boys what they wanted to do to today.  The list included:

*get pretzel chips from the grocery store
*get donuts from the grocery store
*go swimming
*eat crab

We were able to accommodate all requests!

On the way to get crab (which also was a Mother's Day dinner), Isaac said that he wants to "have a bursting good time!"  It was kind of out of the blue, so it took us a while to figure out what this meant.  On a scale of 1 to 10, it would be an activity that is a 10.  It also turns out that he hasn't had a "bursting good time" yet as the best thing on his scale was a 9 with Great Wolf Lodge.

Do you know what's especially good about crab when you're seven?  Other people get the meat out for you.

Joshua was really into this color by number on the kids menu.  He wanted to take it home and then remembered to ask for it the next day.

Sunday: Happy Mother's Day!

We have the tulip pot (that opens up) that Joshua was excited to give me.

Isaac managed to finish him Mother's day card and gift at school even though he had been sick.

  ("Happy Momther's Day Mom.  I hope you like my tulip.  You are the best mom I have.  I hope you have a good day.")  I laughed a bit inside at being the best mom that he has, but I know what he was trying to say.

The gift was a key chain with a shrink page.  It says almost the same thing, but this time I'm the best mom that he's seen.  Score.

We had a pretty relaxing day and played in the pool.  The boys played in the pool a lot; Ben and I got in a little bit.

Saturday: Happy Birthday

Horizon and Tornado turned 1 year old today!

We gave them some wet food as a birthday present.  They sniffed it, but quickly lost interest.  (Even if it looks like they're eating it below.)

Friday: hilarity

The boys were in rare form this afternoon.

Joshua moved all our animal magnets to one side of the fridge and then had me guess which one he was choosing to move to the other side.  I usually got a clue.  He would then classify it as a good animal or a bad one.

Joshua: ok, what animal am I moving?
Amanda: uh, can I have a clue?
J: It's a bad guy
A: shark!
J: no
A: tiger!
J: no, you lose.  It's a whale
A: A whale isn't a bad guy.
J: oh, ok.  What am I moving now?  It's a bad guy.
(Amanda has two guesses.)
J: Nope, it's a wolf.
A: That's not a wolf, it's a dog!
J: Nope, it's a wolf.
A: oh
J: ok, next one.  It starts with a Rrrr
A: Rhino
J: no
Isaac: Rabbit
J: no.  you loose.  Lion.
.
.
.

I did get some of them.  (Squid) But mostly I didn't get them.  Some because Joshua gave me the wrong starting sound, some because I just couldn't remember what we had, and some because he classified the animal as something else.  (A weird lizard was a frog and a tapir was a rhino.)

Then Isaac came out of the bathroom. 

I:Mom!  Look!  My body can make a "Y" and some other letters
A: Cool.  Can you make an I?
I: yes.  My head is the dot.
A: can you make a capital I?
I: yes.
J: me too!

I have no doubt in my mind that they thought they looked just like I's.

They did a few more and it got worse and worse.  Joshua was doing a Z but his legs were going in different directions.  They tried to make Os, but bodies don't really bend like that.

Wednesday: surprise

Yesterday Ben brought home some donuts.  When the boys and I went to get our morning snack, we found this...

It was an awesome surprise that we all enjoyed.

Oh, and more importantly everyone stayed fever free today!  So school tomorrow!

Tuesday: still sick

I was slightly hopeful that we were done with fevers, but alas, no.  Both boys came down with one again today.  Joshua waited until late afternoon and Isaac just waited a few hours after the medicine wore off.

So we'll all be back together again tomorrow.  Joshua was a bit bored at times today, but sick days aren't necessarily fun days.  I still needed to get work done.

The boys wanted "a surprise with eyes" for lunch.  So I made them and I with eyes.

Also, yesterday we finally did our Easter eggs.  Better late than never I guess.  I, uh, didn't get any pictures of the final products.

Monday: sick

Alright!  Two sick kids!

Isaac is a bit more sick than Joshua with a fever and lots of snot.  Joshua had a small fever and has been going to bed early.  Since Isaac is staying home tomorrow I decided Joshua may as well too.

Last month: stinky rotten cheese

So I'm not sure how it got started, but for the last month or so the boys have had a game where 'the last one to [a place] is stinky rotten cheese!'  Well, sometimes it isn't the last one, sometimes it's the first person.  Or the middle person.  Really, any person as long as Ben or I ended up being the stinky rotten cheese.

The first person gets to smell like fresh flowers.  (Or again, which ever person is Isaac or Joshua.)

The rules can change in the blink of an eye, usually when Ben or I thought of a creative way to not be the stinky cheese.

It was a good way to get the boys to move quickly, which is one of the only good things about this whole game.  Isaac might be getting sick of the game, as he doesn't want to smell like fresh flowers anymore.

Saturday: fun run

Here they are, ready to run!

Isaac ran by himself for the first time!

He was near the end of the pack by the end.  He walked for a while and the decided that galloping was more energy efficient than running and so did that for the last little bit.

Ben and Joshua ran the whole way for their shorter race.

Comparing ribbons.  They got different colors and it was the subject on conversation for way too long.

Friday: running

We had a small amount of time between picking up Isaac from school and doing packet pickup for the fun run tomorrow.  So we went to a nearby park.

It happens to also be the sledding hill.  The boys were excited to run down it.
(I had a picture, but it isn't uploading.)

Anyway, on the way back down to the car Joshua was running and fell.  In the mud.  Oh, Joshua and his mud problems.  He was so distraught.  Luckily, I had Isaac's backpack still in the car so I was able to dress Joshua in Isaac's clothes for packet pickup.  They were too big, but they were at least dry and mud-free.

He was wearing the same socks as he was last time he had a mud issue.

Thursday: grading

I'm sure everyone is waiting with much anticipation to know: how much grading is left?

Well, some, but not too much.  I finished all the final exams and half of a homework.  The homework goes pretty quickly, so maybe an hour or two left with it.  One grader responded and said she'd finish up the labs (like I had been expecting her to do), so I don't need to worry about those any more.

After that I need to calculate grades, but that goes pretty quickly.  And then...start prepping for the fall!  I find I'm much less stressed in August if I just finish most of the work now while the kids are in school.  I can come in on the first day of classes, finish a few things up, and be ready to go.  There's a new textbook though, so we'll see if it works as well as normal this coming semester...

Wednesday: summer?

I gave my last exam today.  It was odd to say, "have a good summer" as students left when it is cold and rainy out.

Also, I gave an exam Monday and Wednesday.  I usually teach Tuesday and Thursday.  Needless to say, I really feel like the week is one day ahead.

There's a lot of grading to do tomorrow.  I'm {obviously} hoping to finish a lot of it tomorrow...at least enough so that I can finish grading Tuesday if needed.

Tuesday: learning

Today I graded.  Almost all day...well, all of my working day.  I was pleasantly surprised that more students got the hard part of the exam correct.  It makes it much easier to grade.

I took one break to visit the curriculum library and check out a fraction game.  The game itself wasn't super fun, but Isaac played with the game, moving fractions around, for quite a while.  Math homework = done.

Monday: perfect

I gave an exam today.  The class sits in two circles (at computers) and I usually give out four stacks of exams...two stacks to each circle, with each stack going in opposite directions.  Then I pick up the extras.

Today, for the first time ever, I gave the exact amount needed to BOTH circles.