Disney!

This is how we settle into every hotel room - jumping on the bed!

They loved this play area where the mad hatters hat dumped water on them. Conveniently, it was right next to the pool bar. Disney does things right ;-)

Gage loved this old swimming scene - he "swam" past it every time we walked by!

We actually took an entire day to stay at the hotel and enjoy the pool, etc. such a great start to our trip!

I live that we can take the resort boat when we stay at the Grand Floridian. This was an afternoon boat ride just for the fun of it! All we did was do "the loop" for a ride :-)

This may be the last time we see Gage is swimmies - he decided it was time to swim, and so he did. He took his armbands off and started swimming like a pro. Yeah!!!! 

We spoiled ourselves rotten and stayed at the Grand Floridian. They still do turndown service in the evening - turn down the bed, pose the stuffed animals, turn on music and low lighting, and leave chocolates on the bed. Gage was living the dream!!!

Field Day!

Such a fun (and hot) field day this year!!

Super Skate!

We have been talking about trying out roller skating for ages, and we finally gave it a go on Sunday.  

These skate "walkers" are the best! Where were these when I learned to roller skate? 

Gage was feeling pretty confident when we were on the carpet. He was even doing some breakdancer moves. But...once we got on the wood floor, his attitude changed. He got scared. We made it 1/3 of the way around the rink and he decided to sit down and watch us. And then, he fell. That was it. He sat down and would not get back on the rink again. But...he did skate all over the carpeted floor, so at least he got back "in it".

And then there was savannah. They are like night and day, these two. Savannah was determined to get it. I skated with her for a bit, and then she decided to go around the rink by herself while I say with Gage for a few minutes. First, she went around with the walker and then she said "screw this walker" (okay, she didn't really say that) and went off on her own. Check her out...

Pep and Gage

Gage may not have been a big fan of Pepper at first (probably because she was always jumping on him), but he loves  her now. I think the feeling is mutual ;-)

Shark tooth creek

The kids had Friday off school, so we planned a filt field trip to Shark Tooth Creek. The story behind the creek is that millions of years ago, it was either the edge of the ocean, or an island where shark teeth washes up on shore. The teeth are all trapped in limestone and the water wears it away over time to release the teeth. So, we took the shark tooth express (a hayride without the hay) down to the creek. 

We spent about an hour hunting for sharks teeth. And we found them...a lot of them!

M. Ken keeps an eye who for who finds big teeth and marks the kids' hands to put them in "the x club" if they are in the running for the biggest tooth contest. 

After we finished at the creek, Mr Ken weighed all the kids' bags to see who found tug most. Gage was in first place for a while with 4.8 oz, but some other kid won with 7.5 oz. 

Community helpers - airport fire department

Next up was the airport fire department. The fireman did an awesome job of talking about what kids should do if there is a fire in their house, emphasizing very "kid" things - like never going back in to get their kitten or puppy, not hiding if they hear the smoke alarm (they set one off for kids to hear one), etc.

They also talked about all the gear they wear, what it does to protect them, and the kids watched them put it on. He put his breathing apparatus on and let them hear what it sounded like. They even talked about how kids should not be scared if a firefighter was crawling across their room making loud breathing sounds because he would be there to help them. The firefighter started crawling toward them and letting the kids touch all his gear. They did a great job. At Gages preschool the kids were all terrified of the firefighter in his gear.

Community helpers - police

Today was Gage's Community Helpers field trip.  We started off at the police department, which the kids loved. We checked out the helicopter...

Next up, they got to meet the police dog, Mala. She is 10 years old. Her handler told the kids they were not allowed to touch her because she doesn't like strangers and might bite them. He told the parents separately that she bit the Mayor once and had to go "back to school" after that. They sounded strangely amused by the whole story!! All I kept thinking was that Mala was a much better listener than Pepper ;-)

Hopefully this is the last time Gage is in the back of a police car ;-)

Next up...the motorcycle officers. This was Gage's favorite part.

Styling!

This is how Gage came down on Sunday.  His sweater was tucked into his pants and on backwards, and he had a clip-on moose tie. I didn't have the heart to tell him it would be 80 degrees that day ;-)

Bunny cake

We forgot to make a bunny cake for easter this year, so...we just made one a week or two late! They even frosted and decorated it all by themselves. Savannah decided that should could. After they went to town frosting it, savannah decided she could not be part of the frosting because they were making big holes in the cake ;-) perfectionist!

Glasses 8-)

Savannah, apparently, inherited my bad eyes. We knew glasses were on the horizon...and now is the time. She is super excited because: "(a) they make her look even smarter, and (b) a lot of famous  people like Ben Franklin and Abraham Lincoln wore glasses". She cracks me up :-)

Gage wanted to try some on too :-)

Sickies

There has been a lot of sickness in this house lately. Savannah was sick with a sore throat 2 weeks ago. She got better, and the. Gage and I got sick. I got better, and then Savannah got sick with strep throat. While we had her at the doctor, I told the doctor that flagged was getting worse instead of better on his antibiotics (he still had a fever after 3 days on meds, and his cough was worse). A quick listen to his chest, and they sent us off for a chest x-Ray:

Low and behold, Gage has a mild case of pneumonia. So, he had to have an antibiotic shot (that was traumatic), and the doc changed his antioniotic and cough medicine to something new. Poor guy! He isn't feeling too bad, considers he has pneumonia. I think we caught it very early. Poor guy is taking a beating from allergies right now too. Everything is covered in polls here. Savannah says her throat is feeling lots better already. Hopefully, we are all on the mend!

Musical

 It was musical extravaganza time last week!  For the past two years, Gage fell asleep before the show was over. This year, both of them were on stage!

Gage's class sang some silly songs about bugs, like there's a ladybug in my soda.

Savannah and the rest of 2nd grade didn't sing, the played the bells. 

Great night :-)

Happy Easter

Easter has come and gone, so I'm a bit late posting our Easter pictures. This year, Savannah woke up before Mommy or Daddy! She announced that she didn't see any eggs outside, so it looked like Easter Bunny didn't come. Uh oh.  Daddy had to sneak out the door to hide eggs in the yard.  Mommy had to casually wander around the house and hide the eggs that we colored. Luckily, Savannah didn't notice what we were up to.  When the sun came up, Adam told her to look outside again because there were eggs everywhere.  She tore upstairs to wake Gage up, and they flew outside for a little Easter egg hunt.

 

 Gage had to pause to blow a "wish flower" (a dandelion)...

 

Gage's Easter egg hunt

Ms. Rhodes organized an Easter egg hunt for Gage's class out in the courtyard.  Their room mom reported that the kids raced to find the eggs and begged to go in because it was hot and humid!

 He came home with a huge bag of treats! Kindergarten teachers and. parents go all out. Now, by the time they are in second grade...the kids only do a coloring sheet for easter during class and don't exchange any treats. Savannah is always feeling like 2nd grade get the shaft, but I remind her that she did all the same stuff in kindergarten too ;-)