Words from Windermere

Fun Run!!

2009-10-09T15:52:00.004-04:00

Today the kids ended Spirit Week at school with a fun run. This year we used a company called Boosterthon and I think the PTA ladies chose this group because of the young cute guys who run the program. The kids were brainwashed all week about getting pledges, but they were also learning about good character traits. Both kids did great, especially for the weather being 105! October is still considered Fall isn't it...

Another project complete!

2009-10-06T20:21:00.003-04:00

I have had this idea of making blankets (I would say quilts, but I did not want to learn or try that yet) out of squares of the kids clothes that I could not part with due to memories and such. I started cutting the squares out when we were in CA, probably 2007?? I finally got them out, finished cutting the rest and whipped them out in four days!! Well, two days for one and a week later for two days because I needed to get the sewing machine out of the family room. They are not quite what I pictured, however, I like them and I can remember every outfit that I used and how old the kids were when the wore them. I sure hope they want to have them when they get older!

Small Pox???

2009-10-05T19:14:00.003-04:00

No we do not have small pox in the house, but guess how surprised I was to hear that Nathan has a version of it!

Back story...for a few months now Nathan has had couple of bumps on the inside of his right arm, just below the elbow. I did not think too much of it since he did not complain about them. Then I notices a couple weeks ago that they had multiplied...again, did not worry since they did not seem to bother him but I thought I would bring it up at the next well-kid visit (in February). This Saturday I noticed one was inflamed. Over the weekend I had to puncture it and lots of white yuck (technical term) came out and I thought it might be a good idea to see the doctor. So this morning I called and we went in after school.

He was diagnosed with

Molluscum Contagiosum

Yes...see that last word....contagious!! It is a viral infection. If you google it you will find that each bump can last 6-9 months and is very contagious and can keep spreading making it years before it goes away. It is especially dangerous to immune challenged people. So we have a cream for the one that is infected and the doctor told me to "pop" the others and it will go away faster...this should be fun.

Wow...forgot I had a blog!

2009-09-12T21:41:00.005-04:00

Geez, I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this, guess I am just not a journaling type person. Since the last post of the trees falling, we have been to California and started school.

The trip to CA was wonderful, the longest trip I have ever taken at 3 weeks and 4 days. The trip home was terrible. What should have been a 7 hour travel time, turned into over 20 hours. Our plane had mechanical problems in Denver. We were set to leave at 7pm...the mechanics worked until 10pm...we loaded the plane, pulled back and sat....pulled back in, unloaded at finally at midnight they cancelled the flight. By that time Nathan was passed out and Andrew and I were just exhausted. Had to get out of the airport, find the hotel shuttle (ended up taking a ride from another hotel shuttle guy which was not one of by best mothering choices as he was off duty and it was close to 1 in the morning, something bad could have really happened), all three of us were in one bed, make it back to the airport, get new seats on the same broken plane....whew we finally made it back to Orlando.

Then finally school started. Andrew LOVES second grade and his teacher...Nathan tolerates Kindergarten, I think it has been a bit too much review of pre-school so hopefully they step it up soon.

TODAY...we had baseball skills assessment (a nice way of putting try-outs) which I still can not watch, makes me way too nervous. Then Andrew and I sat outside the Publix grocery store for 3 hours selling Cub Scout popcorn. After dinner we decided the kids need to get out some energy. So off on the bikes we went to the park. Nathan threw a fit that his training wheels were too high and then Andrew fell flat on his back off the thing you hold onto and slide...scared the you know what out of us as his eyes rolled back in his head, he went white as a sheet and knocked the breath out of himself...this day is DONE!

Falling Trees

2009-07-14T16:50:00.005-04:00

We finally decided that the king palms needed to come down. Brent was about ready to purchase a 40 foot ladder to trim the dead fronds, however, I think he finally came to his senses (or decided it might be a good idea to live awhile longer) and agreed to have them taken down. Here is the tree falling and I will soon post the new trees that went into their place.

Kamp Kerr 2009

2009-06-09T17:24:00.004-04:00

Summer vacation began June 4 with a visit to the dentist for both boys to have more cavities filled...we are working on better brushing/eating habits so we don't have our flexible spending account drained again just by the dentist. I started calling the week of June 8 Kamp Kerr since we did not have any outside camps scheduled. Monday we started at the gym so I could have someone else look after them for 1 1/2 hours, then off to the other Y where there is a water slide!! They loved it so it looks like we will repeat that adventure a few more times this summer.

Today, Tuesday, we headed to the gym earlier so we could make the 10am $1 movie and then home for afternoon swim time with mom and smoothies (special since they were made with sherbert instead of just yogurt). I looked out at one point and they were toasting each other.

Hopefully the rest of the week goes by as nicely as the first two days... tomorrow is the gym (again) some shopping, and crafts at the library. Thursday brings another dentist visit for Andrew and Friday more swimming at the Y and my first water aerobics class!

Who knew the dentist could be so boring

2009-05-07T19:06:00.004-04:00

here is Nathan at his appointment for a pulpotomy (take the pulp out of a baby tooth) they did the numbing and while waiting for it to take effect, he decided to take a nap.

Drip, Drip, Drip

2009-03-09T07:40:00.002-04:00

On Saturday Brent decided that the drains in the house needed to be cleared. He started with the kids bathroom where he cleaned out disgusting old hair from the drain, then moved to our shower where he found more hair, of course this is not disgusting because it was mine. Then he thought, how about the kitchen?? Here he found the wood under the sink soaked! Hmmm, maybe a problem here?? By the time he got to this sink it was dinner time and I was trying to get dinner on the table and here he is fiddling with the faucet, turning the water on...turning the water off...finally I got dinner ready and we sat. Not for long though because when Brent has an issue he has to devote all his energy to fixing it....now. He called our neighbor for a second opinion. It was finally decided that the old faucet was dead. (Picture Amy doing a happy dance, in her head of course). I really did not like the old faucet! However, now it was closing in on 7pm and out I go to Lowes. It would have been nice to have more time to really think about what I wanted, but here I am alone in the hardware store staring up at multiple faucets. Once I narrowed it down to the brand and color I had three choices. Low price, medium price and high price....now which one did I like?? Of course the one down the way in the "special" section where there is not a faucet under $400...but I kept myself in the reality zone and bought......

TWO! I could not decide so I came home with two different ones. Once again we called on our neighbors to help decide what looked better and then that nice, nice man helped Brent install the new one!

I guess my tampering to get a new faucet worked...what I can I move on to next?? HA! Just kidding, it is nice when what you wish for comes true, even if it is a kitchen faucet.

Church Choir...Holy, Holy, Holy

2009-02-22T11:14:00.002-05:00

I did not get the best sound quality, but I had to record this.

Nathan turns 5!!!

2009-02-18T21:14:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe my baby is already five. Since we celebrated on Sunday at the bowling alley, his real birthday was pretty low key. I worked in his classroom today and stayed for lunch with him. We went to choir practice this evening at church. I must make a note here, for the last 4 weeks we have gone to practice where Andrew concentrated and learned the words and hand motions, took it rather seriously...Nathan on the other hand poked and prodded Andrew and pretty much goofed off...however, today the music director had them stand on the riser that will use this Sunday for church and wouldn't you know it, Nathan knew all the words and hand motions without ever doing any of it at practice...

We opened presents when we got home and since Nathan does not like cake, I made a cookie pizza for him.

Valentines Day and more

2009-02-18T20:49:00.004-05:00

This last week has contained Valentines Day, another basketball game and building at Lowe's (all in the same day). The next day was bowling for Nathan's birthday and then the Science Center for the boys day off from school.

Nathan continues to amaze us with his natural abilities at any sport he decides to participate in, he does really well as point guard since he is on the short side of the other players (I had no idea that was the position, I was educated by Brent on that one).

The boys built jewelry boxes at Lowe's prior to the basketball game. We then stopped at a park and took the boys to Baskin Robbins courtesy of Grandma Cathy's valentine.

Nathan has been wanting to go bowling since he thinks he is so good on the Wii (well....he IS a pro), so we invited his good friend Bennett that he met at the gym. They boys had a fun time, but found out that real bowling is a bit more challenging than virtual bowling, but they all did well.

The next day was a trip to the Orlando Science Center. They have a new exhibit called Grossology... http://osc.org/...it is advertised as a place that Uses Humor to Teach the Impolite Science of the Human Body (basically a learning experince about vomit, farting, belching, snot and so forth...) The boys had a good time shooting snot balls into a nose and climbing the skin wall.

Pinewood Derby and Basketball and Baseball and Golf...OH MY!!

2009-02-08T17:59:00.007-05:00

This weekend was FULL of activity. On Saturday this was our line-up...
Pinewood Derby 8:00am
Basketball game for Nathan 11:00
Baseball tryout for Andrew 11:15
Birthday Party 2:30....

Then Sunday we took the kids for their first miniature golf experience.

Here are the results of the weekend...

Pinewood derby - Andrew's car came in 3rd for his age group so his car raced again later, but we had to leave for the other activities. We are proud of his work with the car this year since it is the first year for him and it has been at least 30 years since Brent and I made our cars! There were some very last minute adjustments for weight and I think that helped.

Nathan did really well in his first Basketball game, he dribbled the ball down the court without losing it and remembered all his positions.

Andrew's tryouts were agonizing for me....just make me so nervous for him. However, he did not seem at all bothered by the row of coaches lined up to study the players. They draft this week and we should find out next weekend what team he will be on.

The birthday party was a Nerf one and they all came home with Nerf guns...now I have to go out and get one for Nathan!

Miniature golf was interesting, the boys were so excited to see what type of course was coming up next that they would just take off when they were finished and I felt rushed through the whole thing.

Finally, the weekend is over and we are back to school tomorrow and a regular week.

Sleeping with the sharks

2009-01-29T15:38:00.007-05:00

http://www.flaquarium.org/

This past weekend Andrew and I joined the Cub Scouts on a campout at the Florida Aquarium. It was a great experience. I did not want to drive by myself in the dark to Tampa so we left early and met a couple of families for dinner. We were allowed in at 7 and they kept the kids busy until 10:30. We toured the Aquarium first, had pizza and lemonade outside, then they split into smaller groups and got to dissect a squid and have a backstage tour of the exhibits. We were then shown the area we were allowed to set up our sleeping bags. It was either in the large room in front of the floor to ceiling fish tank, down the hallway toward the shark tank or in front of the floor to ceiling shark tank. We were told that all lights would be off so we chose a nice side area in the hallway. Lights out was not until 11:30. The hallway was a much nicer space instead of being layed out like sardines in front of the tanks. Andrew slept fine and with the help of ear plugs and the air mattress I was able to sleep for about two hours at a time. We were up by 7 for a breakfast of a bowl of cereal then to the touch and feel tanks until the Aquarium opened at 9:30. We were also allowed to stay the next day and we did for a few hours. We saw the Penguin Promanade and we were about 1 foot away from seeing two of them! The drive was uneventful and we were both pretty tired Sunday night and I think Andrew is still trying to make up for lost sleep.

Strawberry picking

2009-01-18T17:32:00.003-05:00

Our latest Florida adventure was to go strawberry picking. It took an hour to get there, but the kids enjoyed finding just the right ones to take home. We had the choice between a hybrid berry that was suppose to be sweeter but less strawberry taste or not as sweet with more strawberry taste and last longer. We picked some of each and will see what we like better.

At least he did not burn down the church

2009-01-18T17:24:00.004-05:00

Today Andrew had his first experience of being an acolyte. He and another girl carried the torches in the processional. Then, the big test, besides not setting the church or himself on fire, was to sit relatively still on the alter for over an hour! He did so well, remembered when to close and open the gate and to bow at the alter each time. I can not say as much for his partner, she rather pranced about up there, but was cute none-the-less. In her defense, she and her family regularly attend the contemporary services in the Parrish hall which is much less formal.

Orlando Science Center

2009-01-18T17:05:00.005-05:00

Over Christmas my parents purchased annual passes to the science center. The kids love the 4 floor building and all the exhibits that it offers. Since Friday was a no school day and it was all of 58 degrees outside we took a drive over to see what was going on. This is the weekend of gaming. All types of video games were there, including the Wii. I called Brent at one point to tell him we had to drive all the way into Orlando for Nathan to play the Wii... which we have at home. Anyway, Andrew found out that he likes to sculpt, this is stuff that graphic artists use to make creatures for movies that the animators then make real on the movie screen. They also had a display of all Mac's from the beginning of time, Brent would have loved this display. All in all we spent 5 hours there and the kids were wore out since I make them use the stairs instead of the extreemly slow elevator.

Free Pre-K starts

2009-01-18T16:53:00.002-05:00

This is the first of a few posts since I have not kept up very well. After taking a year off from all day preschool, Nathan is now back to school for the day....ALL DAY, everyday 9-3! Well, he has only had one day so far, but he seemed quite happy and excited to be at the big school with Andrew. Florida has a Voluntary Pre-K program that schools can adopt that allows residents to use one time for their children to go prior to entering kindergarten. We ahve finally found something that we like that Florida does. Windermere Elementary chose to run two sessions in the year and we chose to enroll Nathan is the second one so that he only has summer as a break before starting Kindergarten. The best part is that it is completly FREE! We have not had a monthly daycare bill since March 2002, however, since I am not working we are not really bringing in more money, but as I keep telling Brent I can never get this time back to be with my kids. Very soon they will be too busy to want to be home with us. Already they beg to play outside with a neighbor for a couple of hours everyday. It is strange to have the house so quiet for that time. Brent is actually watching a football game.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T19:44:00.004-05:00

We had a great Christmas time with my family visiting from CA, including my brother! Prior to Christmas my parents took our family on a 3 day Disney cruise to celebrate mom's 65th birthday and their 40th anniversary. We all had a wonderful time and as I sit here today I can't believe a week ago I was sailing out in the Bahamas. Christmas day in Florida gave the CA people a taste of our humid weather, but it has dried off now and we are hearing about a cold spell coming through this week. Also as I type, Jason is sitting in the Salt Lake City airport. His plane left FL at 6:30 this morning and arrived in Salt Lake around 11 (9 their time) and found out his next flight had been canceled....he has spent the day trying to get on a flight. As of right now he has a boarding pass for the 9pm flight, we are keeping our fingers crossed. He has said that Christmas next year will be in his apartment. Hopefully this is like childbirth and he will not remember the bad part of the trip and board a plane again in the future.

The kids are enjoying their presents, a favorite is the Wii. They had no idea it existed before Christmas and we have a hard time keeping Nathan off of it. He has mastered bowling and is working on the baseball.

The Big 7!

2008-12-12T08:22:00.002-05:00

Andrew had a great day at school for his birthday. In the morning he shopped at the Holiday Shop for his family (I was there to help guide the purchases so we did not get Sour Patch kids...). His class sang to him, his birthday was announced in the morning announcements and he shared cookies with his class in the afternoon. This was an issue with me, a couple of months ago the district decided that all food going into the school had to be bought and brought in unopened packaging. I really liked baking for his events at school and am sad I can not do this anymore...

We went to chick-fil-a for a quick dinner before his cub scout meeting to try the peppermint chocolate chip shakes....not so good. I don't know if they guy who made it put in too much peppermint or if that is the way it is suppose to taste, but it was way too strong. Almost like drinking pepto bismal with chocolate.

A Pirate Party

2008-12-08T07:31:00.002-05:00

Andrew celebrates his 7th birthday this month. Yesterday we had a fun party for him. Six of his friends came to help him celebrate. Thank goodness we had wonderful weather (last Sunday we had squalling winds and rain!). They had a treasure hunt and decorated their own cookies and cupcakes. Andrew was up early this morning to play with his new toys.

Fun with our cousins

2008-12-08T07:16:00.003-05:00

My Aunt and Uncle came down to Disney last week along with my cousin Katie and her family. We were able to meet up with them on Wednesday evening at Epcot and on Thursday evening at Studios. Although the week started out cold it never rained and I think they all had a good time. The lights at Studios are really pretty, that is where the shots are from.

Tiger Growl Camp Out

2008-11-23T20:46:00.005-05:00

Brent and Andrew attended the Tiger Growl cub scout camp out this past Friday-Saturday. We finally decided on Thursday that it would be a good idea for Andrew to attend since it was a camp only for his age group and most of the kids from his Den would be there. Thankfully, Aunt Andrea bought the kids sleeping bags for Christmas so Andrew did not have to use Brent's 25 year old one. Sadly, Brent came down with a cold this week so he was off to sleep in the cold (more later on that) with a cold.

This is the only campsite that has archery, bbguns and more so we thought Andrew would really have a good time..and he did. Brent splurged and pre-paid for lunch and dinner on Saturday.

Nathan and I had some quality time together with a trip to Mc Donald's Friday night (had to go since Andrew brought home one of the new Madagascar movie animals they are giving out from Career Day at school), the gym, build-it at Lowes and Epcot on Saturday.

I noted as we left the restaurant Friday night how cold it had become so Nathan and I hurried home to a hot bath in mommies wirlpool bathtub, with bubbles of course. Seems is was 34F that night at the campout....brrrrrrrrr!!!

Same Toy...Different Food

2008-11-23T20:39:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been awhile since I have blogged. Since my last post mid-October we have had my parents visit for Halloween and Brent's parents and sister left just this last Thursday. We are looking forward to my cousin, her family and my aunt and uncle visiting WDW after Thanksgiving. But, talking about visitors was not the purpose of this post...as you can tell by the title.

We have noticed for the last year how different our children are in what they eat, but how you must get the them EXACT SAME thing in anything that is bought toy wise. Unless you are sticking to their current favorite colors (Andrew-yellow; Nathan-red) then the color, model, make...has to be the same or there is sure to be tears. However, with food...they could share a complete meal and not want to eat what the other has. Today I volunteered in Sunday School class where they server donuts and donut holes. Once again...Andrew eat's the doughnut and Nathan eats the doughnut hole....they would make such a great couple.

First Grade Picture

2008-10-21T14:40:00.002-04:00

I think the picture came out really well, a nice smile which is hard to get these days. He has lost another tooth since the picture and is working on a top tooth which should be out any day. Nathan is helping that along by hitting Andrew in the mouth yesterday and it started bleed.

Meeting the neighbors

2008-10-19T19:13:00.002-04:00

Ok, so it was not the best option to let the kids play out in our driveway while I tried to get dinner started, but so far all they do is ride the big wheel on the sidewalk in front of the house. Little did I know that they have found girlfriends that live across the street and down two houses. We have not met these people and would not know them if we ran right into them. So tonight they come in for dinner and announce that they were down at the "blow up" house ringing the doorbell (they have halloween blow-ups in their front yard). Number one issue, the house is across the street so they violated the number one rule of playing outside. Number two, we don't even know these people!!! I guess the offender was Nathan as Andrew claims that he stayed on our side of the street and watched Nathan all the while trying to figure out what to do with him. (Hmmmm, actually I believe him, that is something he would do).

So I figure the adult thing to do is to take the kids to apologize....so we get up from dinner and march across the street. They are actually very nice people with 3 kids, a girl in kindergarden at Andrew's school, a girl in Pre-K and a baby boy 6 months old. I guess this was one way to get to know the neighbors. The middle girl will be attending the VPK program with Nathan in January so we will be seeing more of them.

Spidey and a Pirate!

2008-10-15T20:37:00.002-04:00

Family night at the Chick-fil-A proved to be both disappointing and fun. The kids were bummed when they saw the play room was closed for construction, but were thrilled to get their faces painted and balloon swords made! It did make for a much shorter visit without the playroom which was good since we did not get there until close to 7pm.

Show -n-Sell

2008-10-15T20:24:00.003-04:00

This weekend we spent 2 hours on Sunday in front of Lowe's so Andrew could sell popcorn for scouts. Well, let me re-phrase that, Brent and Andrew spent 2 hours in front of Lowe's, Nathan and I headed for the Barnes and Noble for an hour for the air conditioning. Andrew did well, he spoke up asking each person if they would like to buy and sold and got lot's of donations. We warned him at the beginning that he would get more people who did not buy than would. He was a bit confused as some people told him they would come back after they shopped and they never came....poor kid, learning about real life so soon and the lies that people tell so they don't feel bad themselves. They could just say no thank you, he get's that much better than what they did.

Flu Shots

2008-10-10T15:45:00.002-04:00

Now I don't know if it was seeing me get a shot last week, but Nathan's performance at the Doctor's office yesterday was a hoot, Andrew's was predictable.

We left around 8:30 for a 9:00 appointment and as we were getting in the car Andrew says "my stomach feels funny", wel,l he is the one who always has issues when he gets nervous so I just asked him to sit down and let me know if it gets worse. We arrived right on time, however, as usual they were 20 minutes late getting us in, thank goodness for the three kids from another family who kept mine occupied. Once in the nurse weighed the kids...Andrew has passed the 50lb mark on the scale and Nathan weighed in at 38lbs. Then into the exam room. Nathan volunteered to go first so he jumps up on the table and pulls up his shirt sleeve for the nurse, she looked at me with a questioning look but got to work with the alcohol wipe. I told Nathan he did not have to look but he was facinated. He watched the shot go in, did not even flinch and said "Wow!". The nurse looked at me again and asked "Did he just say Wow?" I don't think that is the most common response for kids getting a shot.

Andrew on the other hand has a history of jumping out of the chair before the alcohol wipe even touches his arm, and he did not dissappoint again, he started squirming away as soon as she opened the package, I told him not to look and I think he shut his eyes, but he squeeled the whole time. He was happy to see that the bandaide was yellow, his favorite color.

On the way to drop Andrew off at school I asked how his stomach was....just fine!

National Apple Jack Month

2008-10-08T17:23:00.001-04:00

So, what do you do for National Apple Jack month? According to our Library, you make a necklace...note the design Andrew did with the cereal. It lasted all of two minutes on his neck and he ate the whole thing. Now both kids are wired on sugar since we went out for ice cream before the library.

Pre-K Open House

2008-10-07T08:15:00.003-04:00

Last night was Nathan's school open house. We were told siblings were not invited so we dropped Andrew off at a friends home and headed to school. Of course, the rain decided to come last night after days of dry weather! Nathan enjoyed showing us around his room and we were able to see what he has been working on. He will miss his class friends when he moves over to the Windermere Elementary school in January, but he will like getting to go to school everyday, all day like Andrew.

Little Scout Buddy

2008-09-30T15:54:00.004-04:00

I found Brent's old Cub Scout uniform last night as we were headed out to a Pack Meeting. Nathan decided to try it all on today. His hat was given to us by a neighbor down the street, it says "Little Scout Buddy". Amazing how the material has changed, Andrew's is definitely not as soft and the patches are less pliable. It was a hard job sewing them on since they are so stiff.

Donuts with Dads and Poptober

2008-09-28T11:47:00.005-04:00

This week I was busy volunteering at Andrew's school I started the week working the class pictures and ended it working the Donuts with Dad's morning. Brent brought the boys and they enjoyed their donuts and talking with other dad's. He even brought Andrew to his classroom.

We are also starting to sell popcorn for the Cub Scouts. Andrew and I went out yesterday around the neighborhood with another neighbor down the street who has two scouts a bit older and we did really well. Andrew was a bit intimidated by going up to people's homes, but we only did the ones we know through school or already met. Most every one bought something which I thought was nice. Let me know if anyone wants popcorn...the tins make great gifts!

Another soccer game on Saturday...the boys played well again even though their team did not score. We played against a team whose coach is from England and you could tell he had really worked with them. Then we were off to Lowe's to make fire engines, the kids are really enjoying these projects that the store puts on.

I am home today with Nathan who started a running a fever this morning while Brent and Andrew are taking advantage of a beautiful day in the low 80's here is Florida by going to the Magic Kingdom. We won't be able to go for a few weeks with more commitments on the weekend so they are getting a full day in.

New Camera and First Soccer game

2008-09-22T13:05:00.008-04:00

The kids had their first soccer game this Saturday. They both scored a goal and did really well listening to the coaches (even though one of them was their Dad!)

I usually don't post pictures when we go to one of the Disney parks because we go so often we don't take the camera. However, our camera broke a couple of weeks ago and we got a new one so I thought I would post something. Here we are at the Magic Kingdom, it is decorated for Halloween. That is what prompted the kids to want to get the decorations out at home even though we are still in September. The crowds are much smaller now so it is nice to go.
Notice in the last picture the dark clouds in the background. We made it to the car just before the rain came pouring down...it was dry at home and never rained a drop.

Lowe's, the Kennedy Space Center and beans

2008-09-08T07:40:00.012-04:00

Just an update on our activities last week. On Saturday, Aug 30 we went to the Lowe's kids "built it" morning. The place was packed and there was a lot of banging going on. After a couple attempts from mom and dad to get the pieces in the right order and actually some blood on mom's part, the kids came away with trucks. This next week we go back to make pirate ships!

This Saturday we made a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. Since school has started the place was pretty empty. Brent even made in on stage for the kids show "Mission to Mars". I was so proud of Andrew, this was the first time he has volunteered at a show like this. He did not get picked, but he put Brent's hand up when they wanted Dad's so that counted as well. IT is hard to see but the shuttle is now at the launch pad getting ready for the October launch date.

Yesterday I noticed that Nathan's bean plant actually grew beans!!

Labor Day

2008-09-02T08:23:00.003-04:00

It was a fun day with family. We have started playing Monopoly with the kids, they love buying properties and trying to get houses on them. We played in the pool with a new lounge and we went to Chick-fil-A for free chicken strips (as long as you wear a logo from a football team).

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere

2008-08-31T18:33:00.000-04:00

I finally found time to use my jacuzzi bath tub tonight!! For about 30 seconds :(
It is cloudy and windy outside (so I pretended it was cold not a humid 80 degrees), Andrew was occupied on the computer and Brent was playing games with Nathan so I thought it the perfect time to test out the bath tub. Of course a bath is not the same without bubbles, so I grabbed a bottle we saved from staying on the Disney property hotel and added it to the water. Usually when the kids take a bath we use the entire bottle of bubbles and it barely makes any so I figured, I should use the whole bottle too. What I did not know was that when you start the jets, the bubbles multiply by the thousands!!! I had to turn off the jets so I did not overflow the bathroom and then it was just not the same and I thought the kids would get a kick out of the bubbles so I reluctantly got out and called them in. They had a blast!

Caught in the rain storm

2008-08-31T18:07:00.000-04:00

Well, it finally happened. So far when we have visited the Disney parks we have managed to either miss the thunder storms or be inside when they went by...not so much last Saturday evening.
Brent had one more coupon (of course) to use at the restaurants so off we headed at about 2:30 to the Magic Kingdom. The whole day had been nice and sunny, but as we approached the parks we drove into a very large and dark sky. Usually (key word), these pass through and the sun comes out again so we did not think much about it. We arrived just in time to stay dry in the train station when the heavens poured down. We thought it quite funny as the 3:00 parade was just starting and the people lining the parade path were getting drenched as well as the parade cast members. We were surprised to see the parade actually go on, but they did only send out 3 of 7 floats and the last 2 just made the circle at main street instead of going back to the castle. Once the rain stopped we walked (the trains were still closed due to the lighting) to Splash Mountain...our original destination.

Side Note: It is finally so nice to be able to ride something other than Dumbo and the Carousel!!

It had also closed so we were pretty close to the front of the line, however, as time went by the fast pass people started to pile up and we still had to wait 30 minutes in line. This ride goes inside and outside and I knew we were in trouble the first time we came outside and the sky was completely black-purple. The next time we came outside it was pouring and we got soaked. Personally, I was not thinking this was very funny anymore since I was the one getting soaked. That teaches me to laugh at others misfortunes. Once off the ride we waited the storm out, but it never really stopped. Because Nathan was in my lap and I bent over him only my back was soaked, but it was still extremely uncomfortable especially since the sun never came back out and it kept raining, there was never a chance to dry off. We rode a couple more inside rides (note that these are highly air conditioned and when you are soaking that means you freeze) and I was ready to eat...no way was Brent getting out of buying dinner even if I felt and looked like a drowned rat. Everyone else looked just the same and they all seemed perfectly happy, so I finally stopped begging for a new shirt and we ate dinner. Plans were to stay for the fireworks, but the kids were showing signs of being tired and it was only 7 so we headed home. Here we are at dinner....

The Kerr's and the Presidential Candidate

2008-08-26T18:40:00.000-04:00

Seems we have somewhat of a celebrity in the family. Barack Obama worshiped at a church in Eau Claire, WI this past Sunday and it so happens that Brent's Uncle John is an interim paster there. Here is the proof, Brent says if you google John Kerr and Obama you will find more pictures. Uncle John is the one with the cleric's collar, not the very obvious Secret Service man who looks like he is reaching for his weapon.

Here is another shot before the service. Uncle John chose to preach about humility that morning...hmmm.

Rain, Rain Go Away...

2008-08-21T23:03:00.001-04:00

School is closed again for tomorrow...we have had the strongest winds today along with the most rain so far. Hopefully this slow moving storm called Fay creeps away over tomorrow, the kids are asking where we can move that does not have rain! Orlando is getting the brunt of the swirl off the storm. We definitely have not had as much rain as the coast, but it is still hard to be stuck at home with both kids when they are so excited to get back to school. Maybe a movie tomorrow if I think the roads are ok. Usually I like to bake when it is raining, however, on Tuesday when the kids were home I tried to make a Cheerio/marshmallow/chocolate dessert (like Rice Krispy Treats), but I burned myself with the marshmallow...don't even ask how, but I have a blister on my fingers and a burn mark on my face...yes, my face, right by my eye. Suffice it to say the kids are not real interested in baking after seeing me scream and run to the sink for cold water.

1st Day of School....Last Day of School

2008-08-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

1st Day of School: Today was the first day of school and we were all excited. Andrew started 1st grade and Nathan has moved onto Pre-Kindergarten. He will attend his current school until January and then he changes to the elementary school where the state offers a free pre-kindergarten program. Andrew loved his first day and Nathan made it seem like he did not even have a break.

Last Day of School: Now that we have started school, it has been canceled for tomorrow (maybe Wednesday) due to the hurricane that is headed our way! The clouds and rain has already started and they are currently (this changes frequently) predicting that it will be over central Florida about mid day on Tuesday. I will try to update as we have more information and take pictures if anything really cool happens, I think it will be lot's of rain and wind.

Summary of Summer 08

2008-08-14T16:41:00.000-04:00

Wow, I can't believe we made it! Summer is winding down and the kids are looking forward to starting school on Monday. Tomorrow is "meet the teacher" day for both kids. It seems like school let out a long time ago...We started the summer with a short visit from my parents and then we were off on our first east coast vacation to Myrtle Beach, that was a fun trip driving up through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Once back Brent's mom joined us for a week while his dad was overseas. We had a great time with vacation bible school, a trip to Tampa, the Space Center and of course Epcot! Then there were two weeks of swim lessons at the YMCA while they continued at Southwest Aquatics. Andrew ended his lessons by joining the swim team and has since participated in two swim meets. He has accumulated 5 ribbons: 1st, 2nd, 3rdx2 and 4th. First place was in freestyle, he has really improved on that stroke. We then spent two weeks in California visiting my parents and various friends, that was a great time and we were happy to get back to the "familiar". Since we have been home I have been getting ready for school, buying supplies and trying to get Andrew back to his pre-vacation reading level. Andrew has continued with swim team practice and has one more meet on August 23.

Back to Florida

2008-08-08T13:39:00.000-04:00

I would say "home again" but I have not lived here long enough to feel like I was coming home. Rather, I felt like I was coming back to where my husband and possessions are located. The two flights went well, they showed Kung Foo Panda on the first flight and I thought "Great! The kids will watch!", ha, jokes on me, they had no interest in the movie so I had to keep them entertained for that flight. Andrew kept up his multiple trips to the bathroom, which was fine since that would keep him occupied for 5-10 minutes each time. He went no less than 6 times for the first flight and about the same on the second.

We are now back into our pre-vacation mode of going to the gym in the morning and doing various activities in the afternoon. One more week and school starts on the 18th!!

I realized that since I took all the pictures on vacation it did not look like I was there, so we finally took one on our last day.

The last full day on the mountain

2008-08-05T00:13:00.000-04:00

Uncle Jason came up this afternoon to see us one more time before we fly home. He is very busy so we were happy he was able to find time to drive up. The kids wanted him to have a treasure hunt on the island so mom bought him a new toaster oven for his new apartment and we hid it for him. Andrew drew pictures of clues and off we went. Nathan seems to be trying to catch up on his sleep. I put him down for a nap at 3:30, he woke at 4:30 came in to my room where I was reading, asked where Andrew was and fell back to sleep until 5:30. We had dinner at my parents friends home down the street and a very nice neighbor girl, 13 I think, watched the kids for a little while, that was really nice of her. The kids are going to the country club for another camp tomorrow afternoon and then we are off to San Diego for the night since our plane leave Wednesday.

The Wine Cellar, The Park and The Golf Course

2008-08-03T23:16:00.001-04:00

Big Sunday in CA today. After church my dad headed back to the desert to pick up some things my mom forgot and we took the kids home for lunch. After rest time the kids wanted to play in the wine cellar, they served us lunch and dinner. I thought we needed some time outside so we took the golf cart to the park that is across from the UCLA Conference Center. The kids played in the water and at the park. We met dad at home and decided to take the kids out on the "big" golf course to see how Grandma and Papa play. I think Andrew enjoyed cleaning the balls as much as putting on the green. Pictures of all events below. It is now 8pm and the kids have not eaten since 11:30am and the pizza just went in the oven....you can guess their moods at this time.

Follow up...Nathan did not even make it through dinner, he wanted to go to bed.

A Pirate Adventure and S'more's

2008-08-02T23:43:00.001-04:00

Today we traveled back up the mountain and out of the heat! On the way home we stopped at the outlet stores for back to school shopping. Since we had the cat with us, Dad sat in the air conditioned hallway outside Starbucks and waited for us...such patience. Later, we took the boys to the island in the lake and told them that there were treasures hidden and gave directions to find them, they really liked the adventure.

Last Saturday we boated over to the Lake Arrowhead lodge for a campfire, but the boys were too sick to take part in the s'more making, they asked to go again tonight, but there were not doing it today so we make our own here at home, not quite the same with out the campfire, but they liked it anyway.

Anniversary

2008-08-02T00:15:00.000-04:00

Today Brent and I celebrate our 16 year wedding anniversary and even though we are across the United States from eachother, email and cell phones keep us in touch. It was a low key day here in the desert. Swimming this morning when it is only 100F then off to the Childrens Museum.
Where the kids enjoyed the following:

And again in 115F

2008-07-31T21:40:00.001-04:00

Go to the Knott's Soak City water park! I would have pictures, but forgot the camera. It looks like any other water park though. Andrew loved it and it is small enough that I could keep an eye on him from one location and it also helped that he was in all orange. He took himself down the larger water slides, one with a tube and one without. He also went down so much he had holes in the back of his bathing suit! Nathan was about 1 inch too short to ride the big water slides and he was really disappointed. There were two little ones for him and an area that dumped water on your head. He did not like that at all but he must have gone down the other two for 2 hours alternating between the two and never deviating from his plan of "I do this one and then that one".

I also forgot to make note of the earthquake in CA that hit on Tuesday. We did not feel it up at Lake Arrowhead because we were in the car. I am not sure we would have felt much anyway. Bummer for me as earthquakes do not happen all that often it would have been fun to feel this one hit in the two weeks I was back to visit.

What do you do in 115F weather??

2008-07-31T00:33:00.000-04:00

If you are Andrew and Nathan you get to go see Space Chimps with Papa, play at McDonald's and run through the sprinklers on the golf course!

Visting the OC

2008-07-29T20:22:00.000-04:00

The kids are finally on the mend. Andrew ran a high fever Sunday evening and still had stomach issues Monday but was well enough to head down the mountain for a day of visits to our old home. We started at the Montessori school the kids had attended since they were 3-4 months old. The teachers were excited and surprised to see their old students.

Mom headed off to Fashion Island with the boys while I visited with some collegues on campus. I was so happy to see and talk with them again.

We quickly headed to Fullerton to drop mom off for doctor appointments and I took the boys to see their old park up the hill from our home, visit our old neighbors and see our good friends the Thorne's. By that time mom was done and we met my brother and family friend for dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. The kids love riding the elevator up and looking down on the trains.

A quick visit to Jason's new apartment ended the day and we headed back up the mountain. Nathan fell asleep in the car and Andrew slept until 8am!!

Today mom and I went back to the gym and dad took the boys to the coffee shop. They made a quick trip home where Nathan got his finger smacked with the door (I don't think a day will go by that someone does not have some issue!). The kids attended a day camp at the Club, it was a pirate theme and we headed off to the movies for a break.

Off to the desert tomorrow and I am sure lot's more adventure!

California Mis-adventures

2008-07-26T19:18:00.000-04:00

Our arrival in Lake Arrowhead was great. I think I forgot to mention that on the way up we stopped in Riverside to see Jason who had his country club swim and dive team in a 4 day event. The kids enjoyed seeing some of the diving event that Uncle Jason was judging. So we got through the first 1/2 day here, but starting on our first full day we started hitting some snags. I could tell something was off in Nathan that morning when he was not interested in eating... this boy loves to eat. But I chalked that up to being excited to get going. Mom and I went to exercise class while Dad took the kids to the Village that has a park. Once home a cleaned up we headed for the club for some putting and swimming. Again, Nathan, who loves to swim hardly got in the water and started to complain that his stomach hurt...hmmmm (Clue in here Mom, but I did not). We ate lunch, he sat, and then I took him home for a nap, I figured that was the problem since he had been up since before 6. This was when the gastrointestinal issues started, not bad just the runs (trying not to be graphic here). This happened to both kids yesterday. We took the boat our for an evening ride and the kids enjoyed the binoculars. They did not eat much dinner and went to bed close to 8:30 after Nathan decided to hit his lip on the window sill trying to see what all the noise was outside (talk about a big, bloody lip, he bit HARD, this picture does not show the nice black and blue marks), Today our friends the Fyne's came up for a visit. Mom, Terry and I headed out to the spa while Dad, Joe and the kids were off to try fishing. Seems they did not even make it to the boat before Nathan lost the only thing he had eaten today, a stick of cheese. Dad and Joe handled it well, brought him back where he napped for a while and then (this would not have been my first choice) they gave him Teddy Grahams to eat (talk about testing his stomach), and he has done ok so far, they are napping now and we are suppose to go out to a fireside chat for kids tonight. Here is hoping the rest of the trip is uneventful in the heath sense.

A California Adventure

2008-07-25T00:03:00.000-04:00

Our long awaited trip back "home" finally arrived very early Tuesday morning. Our flight left at 6:30am so that meant getting out of the house by 4:30am. The kids were great and big helpers at the airport. By the time we got through check-in and security, the plane was boarding and we got right on. The flight to Houston was a quick 1 hour and 51 minutes. After a muffin and juice Nathan fell asleep for about 45 minutes and Andrew used the bathroom...... 4 times...I think he just found it fun to use the tiny bathroom so he kept going which was fine as it kept him busy. Luckily we were right up front and close to it. Once in Houston we had a 3 hour layover. I would not suggest this as optimal with two kids....not only were they tired, they were hungry and bored. We played a card game, called Dad (Brent did not join us on this trip), walked around, played on the moving walkway until a rude, old airport worker told them "Boys, that is not a toy" and watched the airplanes. Finally we boarded and it was a pleasant surprise to find out the flight to San Diego was only 2 1/2 hours. I figured no problemo since I brought my computer and had two new shows for them to watch....ha, little did I know that my battery life has gone down to less than 1 hour, so as soon as they really got into the show, the computer shut off. We were served a personal cheese pizza, side salad and m&m's for lunch so that kept them busy for a while and Nathan even ate his salad. After the computer died they did workbooks and colored then Andrew finally fell asleep about 25 minutes prior to landing.
My best friend picked us up and dropped us at her home for the afternoon to take naps. However, the kids had other ideas and I could not get them to lay down. Needless to say they were quite tired that night but were up early due to the time change. We had a full day at Sea World the next day and left for Lake Arrowhead today where we will spend the majority of the trip. The kids were excited to see the tree house that Papa built for them.
So that is the trip so far, here are some pictures and I will try to keep updating as the trip continues. If there is anyone reading this who is in Southern CA and wonders why I did not call....I apologize but we are only going into Orange County one morning to see the kids school and need to get mom to Fullerton by the afternoon. This really is a trip to visit with my parents and I wish we had more time so I could visit everyone...next time I promise.

First swim meet!

2008-07-19T13:54:00.000-04:00

I think I might have mentioned in another post that Andrew's teacher at the Aquatics center thought he had the makings of a good swimmer. After his YMCA practice on Thursday, the teacher approached us and asked if Andrew would like to be on the swim team and participate in a meet on Saturday. I am pretty sure he did not know what that meant because when I told him he said he thought he would be watching the meet. But, he agreed to go to the practice on Friday evening. He did really well, although was quite tired since he is not use to swimming 25m over and over in different strokes and he agreed to be in the meet today. We arrived this morning at 8:15 and the coach (same person as his swim class teacher) said she signed him up for 6 & under, 25m, freestyle and backstroke. I thought this was great since those are his best strokes. Little did I know until he was warming up in the water that he likes breast stroke the best because you get to come up for air with every stroke. Oh, well. He swam backstroke first and was concerned about running into the lane line, but he actually went pretty straight. It was a bit of a wait until his next event and he started to get bored, but finally they called for freestyle. He is still working on the diving off the starting block and was nervous. His current issue is being concerned about breathing so he stops for long periods to turn on his back to get a breath...thus not going as fast as he has before this "breathing" issue. Something to work on and he has agreed to go back to practice Monday night. We also saw our neighbors there with their two boys who swim out of a different Y. They asked if Andrew would also be interested in Boy Scouts....wow, I think our lives are going to be very busy this school year!

Dancing and Diving

2008-07-16T19:03:00.000-04:00

For the last two weeks the boys have been taking swim lessons at the Y. Nathan's class has been a bit too easy for him since he has been training at the Southwest Aquatics center since May, but he enjoys being with other kids instead of one-on-one. Andrew's class swims for a full 45 minutes, they start with 4 laps of all the strokes, move onto practice diving and then play games like relay races. Here is a shot of him "diving", he needs more practice as he pretty much lands flat on his stomach , even from the starting block he can not seem to get his head to go in first, but at least he is trying.

This shot is from a splash park where we met one of his best friends from school, Wesley is the boy in the blue sitting down. We started in the spash part, but as the lightening and thunder rolled in they kicked us out and we went over to the park for awhile and then got kicked out of there. No worries though, we were back the next day for a birthday party for one of Nathan's classmates.

New blog spot

2008-07-16T07:33:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my new blog spot. There is a link here to my old blog just in case anyone wants to go back, but there will be no more posts there.