"Carter and Harrison dot com!"

A few years ago Carter and Harrison came to us with our tablet. They happily showed us a video they made with their Lego figures. Weeks before that they had built a roller-coaster in the front yard. Weeks after, they grabbed Kurt and took off for a few hours- returning as the proud owners of their own mini-golf course- all created from things found in the machine shed.

Their adventures became pretty entertaining, and I loved hearing about them and seeing them. However, it was not long before they told us they planned on putting their journeys online.

"What?"
"Yeah! We are going to put all this on Carter and Harrison dot com!"

At 7 and 5, my boys had plans involving the internet. I was horrified. My husband was elated.

They had come up with their own internet address?! When?! How?!

It took some convincing, but eventually I agreed to allow Kurt and the boys to create a website for Carter and Harrison. The site, it has been decided, will contain stories of their adventures, random homeschool info, recipes, links, videos, books, and pretty much anything the boys decide they want to share with their extended family and the rest of the world. The site will be kid-friendly, and will be monitored by their dad and me. However- the content will be all theirs.

They are very excited to roll out their new site. Today's post is already up! Click HERE to enter!

Moving and Farm Life- ramblings from nearly a week without internet.

Chapter 1: The Move...

Sunday:

Construction in Reno makes no sense to me. I seriously believe that the city only believes in tearing apart roads one month per year- and that month happens to be July. Because of the roads being half removed (or at least it felt that way) the U-Haul company offered to give us the truck for an extra day if we wanted to come and pick it up a day early. We went to church and then picked up the truck and had it parked on the street, ready for the big day of moving ahead on Monday! We went to bed at a decent time and everyone was pretty excited! It was strange to see our home so empty...

We had lunch with my parents and said goodbye, and our friends Rachel and Evan stopped over and brought fudge!!!!

Monday:

Kurt woke up at 5:30. He was ready to start the day!!! He let me and the kids sleep- he wanted to get things ready by himself. Help arrived at 6 and between 6:00-7:00 the truck was almost half packed!!! I woke a bit later, along with the kids, and got ready for the day. Carter and I ran some errands and then picked up snacks for the road, then we picked up Kurt's parents from the airport. We wrapped up loading, cleaning, and turning in the keys- and we were on the road much later than we had hoped- but still excited to be on our way!!!

We arrived in Salt Lake City at 3:30am. Ouch. Late night! We were all up and around at 10, and we had breakfast at the Corner Bakery on campus. Being back in Salt Lake was so nice- but it made me realize how much I missed Utah!!! 

Tuesday:

Back on the road at noon... we drove!

We stopped in Ogallala, Nebraska for the night. We had actually made pretty good time, but boy were we tired!!! 


(Best part of the day? Fudge!!!)

Wednesday: 

With breakfast in our tummies, we were ready to roll! We drove all day and arrived in Iowa!!! We pulled into our new home just before dark- so we got a chance to look around with the kids for just a moment. We were very thankful for Kurt's parents and his Aunt and Uncle for doing such an *amazing* job on getting the house ready for us- we literally walked in and had fresh sheets and fluffy towels waiting to greet us!!!

We arrived so late, we had forgotten about dinner. Kurt offered to drive us into town for McDonald's - and we all agreed that sleeping with dinner in our bellies would be a good plan, so we left. Just as we set out it started raining one of those nasty Iowa rains. For those who have no idea what an Iowan rain storm is like- imagine having a fire-hose spraying your windshield... that pretty much captures the experience. Kurt drove through it just fine (I believe that native Iowans are born with special genetic abilities to navigate through weather such as this), while the kids and I were freaking out. 

We arrived at McDonald's and placed our order- but because of the storm they had a reset in their power and their Debit/Credit processors were all down. We shrugged it off, and we were ready to leave, when we were presented with our food! The smiling McHelper (I don't know what you call them- cashier? Waitress? Attendant? I thought McHelper was more witty) smiled and said, "If you would just allow us to try and run your card one more time, before you leave here, we will see if it works then. If it doesn't work, it's okay- dinner is on the house." She gave Kurt back his card, and we sat down to eat. Kurt smiled, "That's so Iowa!" was all he could say. (After dinner Kurt went back and offered his card, and the machines were working so it was accepted without any issue. This event was one of the examples of the differences in rural Iowa than we would typically experience in the west.)

Chapter 2: Farm Life...

Before I begin, I want to stipulate: I have lived in Iowa before. I lived here for about five years, during my late teens, and I moved when I was 21. I had lived in Salt Lake City prior to Iowa, and was used to an urban lifestyle.The Quad Cities was the most rural culture I had experienced at the time. Quad City dwellers most likely would not consider themselves rural at all- the area is a pretty decent size and has many of the amenities of a larger metropolitan area. Still, to me, it was small and foreign (and compared to Salt Lake culture, it was). However- now that I live in rural Iowa- I can say without hesitation: Iowa farm life and Iowa city life are two *VERY* different things. Iowa has vastly different cultures between populations, so my short time here thus far has been unlike anything I have experienced thus far. 

Thursday:

I made a grocery list while Kurt worked on unloading the truck. The kids ran around like crazy people, they couldn't get over how large the yard was and the amount of room they could access to play. We knew we needed to head into town to get groceries before the internet service guy came and hooked us up, so we left in time to do a fast grocery trip and come home. 

A few observations from the grocery store:

While at the store, if Kurt was getting a product, elderly people wouldn't hesitate to ask Kurt to get a second  one for them- even if the product was light and within their reach. This is vastly different from the "wait-your-turn" mentality that seems to dominate the west (where strangers do not usually talk to one another). 

I couldn't find the meat section. I wandered for a few minutes and was so frustrated with the lack of selection!!! Kurt pointed me to an isle- a whole isle- with butchers waiting on the other side. Here, you ask for everything from whole chickens to ground sausage- it is not prepackaged at all. (Again, forces us to talk to strangers!)

I went to the butcher and asked for "grass fed beef" and he had to go ask someone what it was. Another man came over, smiled, and explained they did not carry any such product. Later, I asked Kurt's brother about it- he laughed too, and commented, "That is some California mentality right there- having happy cows in pastures full of daisies!" and laughed some more. When I asked Kurt's dad about it later, he didn't comment at all, just chuckled. So, I will be crossing grass fed beef and butter off my list for the time being =p

There is no "organic" section. 

Our groceries were less than half the price we paid in Nevada/Utah. Not kidding. Same brands, same foods,  just that much less expensive. 

The internet guy was scheduled to show up at 2pm... he drove into the driveway at 2pm exactly.

Kurt's dad stopped over for a few minutes. He brought our mail. No, it wasn't in the mailbox, he had picked it up from the post office for us. Apparently you can get other peoples' mail out here.

I was so bummed I had forgotten to pick up eggs at the grocery store. Kurt's mother provided us with the name of a guy who has chickens and sells their eggs, just down the road. Kurt took the boys- who loved running around with the owner's dog, seeing chickens, and generally messing around. Kurt bought 4 dozen cage-free chicken eggs from organic chickens for $6... (this retails for $24 in big cities, or 50 cents per egg. Kurt's family was floored when they heard we used to pay this price). 

After the grocery store, we came home and Kurt helped the internet guy. Kurt and the internet guy knew a lot of the same people, and they chatted. Kurt is *so happy* about fiber optic internet, and is surprised to find that we are in a 4G wireless area. So, for the things rural Iowa does not have- it has equally strange amenities! 

Carter and Harrison spent most of the day exploring and playing around. Carter was interested in local insects, so Grandma brought him a book all about insects (he carried it around all day!) and he had a great time trying to identify ones he came across. Carter also fell in love with a ceramic cat that Kurt's grandmother had made- he requested we move it to his room =) Harrison enjoyed wandering around and looking at all the trees. They call the clump of trees near the house "the forest" and Harrison enjoyed running around and hiding there. =)

Friday:

The kids woke up to find Grandpa's truck in the yard, and they ran out to see what was going on. Grandpa was taking the combine into town to have it looked at before harvest, and was moving it out of our machine shed. Grandpa let the boys climb into the cab and ride over to his house! The kids were THRILLED!

Following the combine adventure, our family enjoyed farm fresh eggs (quite literally, farm fresh! NUTS!) and sweet potato hash (one of Harrison's favorite foods). The kids then went outside to play while Kurt worked on unloading and unpacking. I washed laundry, and Kurt hung it on the line for me (my ankles were still giant, so he asked me to spend the day inside, doing lighter housework). 

Kurt's brother came over with his two kids, and all of the children played together. They took turns riding Carter's bike, they climbed trees, and they ran around (like little kids are so good at doing!). It was a really nice time, and it warmed my heart that my kids didn't want their cousins to go, and their cousins didn't want to leave!

It was 10:30 as we climbed into bed, and Kurt had spent the entire day finishing unloading the truck. So many things were already put away- I am so proud to say that 50% of the house is already unpacked! I gave Kurt some ibuprofen and he fell asleep quickly... and woke at 9:30 the next morning! He really needed some sleep! 

Funny things that happened today: Kurt got a hand-written note from our postal carrier, she took the time to explain a form (even filled out part for us) and she signed her name. Lectures on the differences in corn: seed, field/commercial, sweet, Indian, etc- apparently are still Greek to me. Our rural cousins thought it was a bit odd that our kids didn't know how to bike very well on grass, or climb trees. Our children found that it was odd that their cousins didn't have their own golf clubs and weren't comfortable with swimming pools that have high dives. I learned that out here it is polite and expected to wave when someone drives by- not waving to everyone that passes by your home is considered rude. 

Saturday:

I woke up, and begged Kurt to let me mow! This will sound crazy, but I have never ridden a riding lawn mower, and the idea was pretty exciting. It sounded like lots of fun! The day started pretty hazy, so Kurt thought I should start in a part of the front yard. It was a great time!!! I got about 1/5th of the yard mowed, and it started to rain. Thankfully that 1/5th was its own section, so it doesn't look silly. I had hoped to do more- but the rain is still falling! (Good news for farmers!)

We returned the moving truck and then we visited Kurt's grandfather. The kids really liked visiting, and it was nice to see him. As we were leaving Harrison became serious and asked, "Where is the grandma?" We didn't even think about talking to them before hand, we had not realized this was the first time they knew of a grandpa without a grandma living there too. Kurt and I talked to Harrison and Carter and explained Grandma Arlene's death- and both boys were *really* sad. Kurt's grandmother died almost 20 years ago, but it did not lessen the boys' somber attitudes. We took the kids to a playland (still raining!) and got them treats, but both the boys only ate half, and gave the other half to Kurt- feeling sorry for him for not having his Grandmother anymore. I can tell this is something we will need to cover more in depth, but the kids' attitudes and compassion were remarkable and touching. 

We stopped over at Kurt's parents' house, and the boys got to see the kittens that are living in the garage (4 of them!). The kittens were so adorable!!! We chatted with Kurt's parents while the kids played with a basement full of toys, and we all set up plans for next week. Kurt's parents stopped over for dinner- Kurt made chicken salad =)

Today Kurt rearranged the boys' bedroom. They were originally in two separate rooms, but they requested to be together, so Kurt set them up. Kurt has done an amazing job with unpacking, while I have been enjoying access to our internet (as you can tell!). This has been our laziest day thus far, and we are both really looking forward to tomorrow- when our family observes a real "day of rest."

So far farm life is pretty enjoyable. I say "farm life" but really we are not farming- just living on a farm. Today when I had finished mowing, I pointed out a tractor that was working on a field across the street- what a neat thing to see!!!! What made it even more special was that it was Kurt's dad! Such a different life out here- with really neat equipment, and a culture unique to us- it is a pretty amazing experience and I am so glad that Kurt gets to share it with our little family =)

**My husband can drive a mower with some seriously mad skills. John Deere should really feature him in their commercials- he makes it look SO easy!!! He insisted on mowing parts of the yard before allowing me to try- he was worried there would be hidden holes or bumps that might shock me into labor or something (he is already overprotective of his daughter! SO FUNNY!!!!!! LOL!) He also trusted himself enough to attach the trailer-thingie (notice my technical jargon there?) and pull the boys. Our boys had such a blast riding along with Daddy!!!

Ballet!

Ballet is over for this year! Their pictures are not back yet- I will upload them as soon as I have them! For now, I will post this video of the recital and it will have to do. Sorry the vid isn't the best- I promise the real thing was well worth it! Both boys did really well- especially since they only started in January- and we are very proud!

Harrison liked ballet, but wasn't crazy about it, he is more interested in performing on stage with the theater. Carter hopes to go on with studying ballet and wants to perform with a professional company- most of them take kids starting at 8 years old, so he has a year to prepare. If our situation changes, we will be able to help him with his goal by providing private lessons and keep sending him to the best schools in whatever area we happen to live. It is *HIS* passion that fuels this- and we support it!

Summer homeschooling

As of a few weeks ago, we have officially wrapped up the 2011/2012 school year! So all the books will be packed away, right?

NOPE! Not even close!!!

"On average, students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months..."

Wow! No, thank you!

We decided to continue school through the summer for a few reasons:

1) The above mentioned study.
2) Keeping the habit. Right now, our children know and expect that they will be doing homeschool work in some form, most every weekday. I can remember last fall, after taking the summer off, trying to get the kids into a homeschool routine- it was a nightmare! They fought and struggled! I will not be doing that again. My children do much better if they ease into a routine, rather be tossed in without a life vest. The biggest hurdle for our children was not the amount of work- it was going from no work to work, period.
3) There is really no reason to stop.

What does summer homeschool look like?

I decided that the boys will be doing reading everyday, and they will do one single other subject daily as well. This is much less work for them than they are used to- so they still understand the concept of "summer break." The subjects we cover are extremely diverse- but generally speaking (from the few weeks we have done so far) both boys request their subject to be math or math-related.

For our reading, I was inspired by my good friend, Kaysha, and a challenge she is doing with her little boy, in her homeschool. The idea is to read 1,500 books in one year (repeat reads do not count!). WOW! Our children read a good deal, but not *that* much, so I had to say yes and add this to our homeschool! For our family- we talked and agreed to break it down to no less than 4 books per day. Carter will read at least 2 of the daily books out-loud to us, the rest of the daily books will either be accomplished by either Kurt or I reading aloud, or Harrison reading to us! This will be as much of a family activity as we can make it- so everyone benefits from the books- so reading alone will not count in our total (Carter and Harrison enjoy books before bed, but they will not count toward this goal). To keep track I set up a Goodreads account, just for the kids (link here), and with Kaysha's help I have started to track books with Excel. I envision a lot of library trips in the future (while on bedrest, Kurt will be doing those with the kids!).

For the additional subjects, since the boys have become obsessed with math, I have been burning through math workbooks and am trying to keep it fresh by adding worksheets and activities I find online. We have math games too, but those are additional and do not count toward the daily work. I want the boys to remember what it is like to put pencils to paper every day- so even if we may do a math activity (like the boys helping to bake something, and they are doing the measuring) we follow up with some kind of paper activity (like a journal about baking).

Overall it has been a great success- and the kids are happy to finish their work early in the day (right after breakfast!) so that they do not have to think about school for the rest of the time. They are enjoying the warm weather- love to watch Carter's guinea pig run around on the closed balcony, play Wii games against one another (for a fun family activity- Kurt and I have been playing Mario Party with them!), build with Legos, dress up in costumes, and engage in imaginative play. (At this very moment, Carter is dressed like Santa Claus and has been delivering toys to our family members every half hour or so. We thank him graciously, and he then returns the toy to his workshop. Harrison is playing with Star Wars action figures, and a large cardboard box- the box is the Death Star, and he is having the characters engage with one another. Good guys always win, of course.)

So, those are our summer homeschool plans!

As far as school in the fall...

I have had surprising number of people question me about whether or not the boys will be homeschooled this fall. Kurt and I have maintained that we will make plans yearly (or by semester if need be!) and do what is best for our kids at that time. We spoke to both boys about it, and both have requested to continue homeschooling next year. Our whole family is in agreement, so unless something drastically changes, our children will both be homeschooled next fall.

I am currently in the process of researching what the best methods will be, and which materials will work for us in various subjects. For me, regarding Carter, this is a pretty easy process- his learning styles are so firmly a part of his personality that we will continue to focus on core subjects, theme based projects, and unschooling- Carter does not do well with a set curriculum and "the man" looking over his shoulder- he HATES being micromanaged! Carter thrives on schedule flexibility, as there are days where he will happily burn through multiple math chapters, and then there are times where he "needs a break" from a certain subject for a time (yes, Carter can be "made" to do work each day, but he doesn't do half as well and doesn't retain as much as if he was able to pick what he is working on). Harrison is actually my tricky one when it comes to looking at fall 2012, as his personality and learning style have never been a large part of our homeschool day- he was always so flexible that we could really do anything with him- online schools, mail-order sets, unschooling, anything! Thus far our homeschool style allowed Carter to set the pace and feel of our homeschool- but again, I am reevaluating and have decided to give the boys equal shares of homeschool attention, so trying to figure out what to do with Harrison is like charting new waters. And, of course, I am taking into account that we will have a newborn joining us as soon as school starts this fall. Lots of exciting changes!!!!

Monterey Bay!

My mother and I took the boys and their cousin to Monterey Bay, California. It was a great trip! The boys adored the aquarium! The view was wonderful and the whole trip was quite a treat. Before we arrived we stopped for a tour at the Jelly Belly Factory, it was loads of fun!

 Harrison just woke up from a nap, gotta love the nap-hair!

 Jelly Belly Time!

 The boys were *thrilled* to see the puffins! They remembered them from our homeschool unit on birds!

 Took a break for lunch, Carter couldn't resist trying on Forrest Gump's shoes!

 The kids loved touching all of the interactive aquarium exhibits!

 Sean loved playing with the puppets in the children's area!

 Carter played in the children's area for a few minutes, but preferred being on the balcony (right next to the children's area) and watching the ocean and spotting animals. 

 Harrison merged the worlds- he brought the costume from the children's area outside to join Carter! (He is Nemo, and he is swimming, can't you tell? LOL!)

They loved watching the ocean!

Disneyland Part 4

Our last day!!! We were at the park when it opened, and we were ready to go! We asked the boys to start the day with their favorite rides, and Harrison wanted another ride on Star Tours! Carter wanted to ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! After the rides were complete we made our way to Mickey's Toontown! The kids rode rides and got to tour character homes. What a fun time!!! The highlight of the morning, by far, was when the boys got to meet Mickey Mouse himself. They shocked me by rushing up to him and hugging him happily! Lots of smiles and pictures! We then toured Mickey's house (his washing machine was running, and wouldn't you know it was full of his white gloves, lol!) and then played around some more. This day was super relaxing. We re-rode rides that we loved, rode a few we had not yet tried, and we took it really easy.

Blurry because our boys literally stampeded Mickey!

Of course, train rides were a given. Carter is still obsessed with trains!

We were sure to take a break this time, and we went back to the hotel to swim and splash together. It was such fun! I love the enthusiasm our boys have for play, and their smiles were huge!

Carter was far too busy going down waterslides to stop for a picture- but Harrison cooperated!

We played around and then showered and dressed for dinner. We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen! This was the first "character dining" experience we ever had, and I don't think I would ever go without doing one again! What a *FUN* experience! The boys *ADORED* seeing so many different characters and getting to talk to them! Carter met his first princess (Hey, don't judge me! Our kids don't *want* to meet princesses so I never got to go meet them myself!) and he was quite taken with her- it was Snow White! After she left Carter sat in quiet thoughtfulness and when I asked what was on his mind he replied, "I like Snow White, but I love Kayla." He smiled and helped himself to his third dessert. LOL! Kids!

(Their dinner choices interested me. Carter picked pizza, Harrison picked broccoli, corn, and cupcake frosting- he avoids the cake but loves icing, lol! The Disney characters would pretend like they wanted to steal food!)

We rode more rides, and then took our place for the fireworks show. We had a spot right in the garden in front of the castle, and the view was amazing. Seeing the fireworks and our kids smiles made the day perfect! The park was busier than I had ever seen it, or even could have imagined, so we hung back when we realized that most people were on their way out. We took the kids shopping and they picked things for themselves (we only buy things the last day there because I do not like hauling things around) and then they picked gifts for their cousin Sean. Our children picked Star Wars toys, lol- of course.

We were going to ride the Monorail back when we saw that the line for the Autopia ride was nearly empty. Carter had wanted to ride it desperately but the long lines and the complications of seating (Carter wanted to drive, but had to have an adult with him. Harrison wanted to drive and needed an adult too- but it recommended pregnant women not ride because of possible bumps and crashing) we had always passed, but this was the time to ride- I felt it! The night was calm and peaceful, the park was emptying, and I wanted to finish the day off perfectly!

We got in line and Kurt worked it out (being the genius he is) that Harrison and I (note to self: don't ever allow Harrison to drive!) would be the very last car in a group so no one would be behind me and bump me, and Kurt positioned himself and Carter in the first car of the next group so that eventually when there were cars behind me it would be Kurt and Carter in the lead, and they wouldn't crash into me. All seemed like a good plan until I snuggled next to Harrison, buckled our shared belt, and heard his little voice ask me, "Mommy? Is this a *real* car?" I thought for a moment- took in the engine, pedals, steering wheel, and I answered, "Yes, it is." Harrison then let out a malicious laugh sounding something like "MMMUUAHAHA!" and started turning the wheel this-way and that with a crazed look in his little eyes. It occurred to me, this is the first time, in his whole life, he ever got to steer or drive anything. Carter always "called" driver position in bumper cars, driving games, and even those grocery carts that look like vehicles and Harrison always went along with Carter's request. Harrison went crazy with glee and took me on quite a ride. I admit, it was a bit frightening, but by the end we couldn't stop laughing- we were having so much fun! Near the end of the track Carter and Kurt had caught up to us (but maintained a safe distance) and I was able to snap pictures.

With smiling faces we left the ride and we piled into the Monorail and went back to the Disneyland Hotel for our last night. Perfect day, perfect sleep, perfect trip.

And then, the next morning, we headed home.

(Yes, I adjusted Harrison's chest buckle before leaving!)

Disneyland! Part 3

Wednesday we were sooooo tired!!! We decided that we needed to "sleep in" and we would start the day at Disney's California Adventure Park when it opened at 10am. It was *so* worth it! We woke refreshed and ready for the day!!!

We walked into the park and Carter asked to stop and take a picture with the airplane on display. So- we did!

We rode a lot of rides that day! But the first ride the boys enjoyed was Grizzly River Run! They really enjoyed it, and they managed not to get too wet!

Kurt is waving, the boys are wearing green shirts and orange hats.

I am not sure of why, but we did not take a whole lot of photos on this day. The boys rode a *lot* of rides- from Goofy's Sky School roller coaster to Monsters Inc- they had to ride it all! Along they way the boys were delighted to see a show by Phineas and Ferb! If that wasn't exciting enough they also saw a Toy Story Green Army Men (our boys call them "hut huts" because of the noise they make when they walk, in the movie) drum corps! We had lunch at a small Greek restaurant, and we enjoyed live music!

We waited longer for the Toy Story ride than any other ride. The reward was not only a great time- but as we were leaving the ride BUZZ LIGHTYEAR walked past us! Harrison looked at us for approval, and upon getting it shot to Buzz's side!!! He *loved* getting to walk next to Buzz!!! Harrison followed Buzz (and we followed Harrison) for about 100 yards, when Buzz was taken to a crowd of people who were lined up to take pictures with him. Buzz was taking over for none other than WOODY! Carter was *so* excited!!! Buzz and Woody stood together for a moment, and one of the Cast Members approached us. He saw our boys' "1st Time!" buttons and asked us about our trip. The boys were speechless, they couldn't take their eyes off of their heroes. We apologized for our children's rudeness and the man smiled- little did we know he was Woody's escort through the park, and when Woody came through the crowd the man arranged for Carter to have a moment with him! Getting to high five their favorite Disney characters was so magical, and they couldn't stop smiling! We did not get pictures of the event- we were too in awe! (*It was *VERY* crowded, and seeing that we allowed Harrison to run ahead of us we needed to keep our eyes on the boys and not on cameras!)

We rode a few more rides before it was time to head over to Disneyland for dinner.

Kurt rode the Bug's Life bumper cars with both children. However, Harrison was... um... less skilled at driving near me so I could snap a photo. So, here is a picture with Kurt and Carter! Kurt was able to ride with Harrison, and then swap children and ride with Carter- so everyone had a turn.

Dinner time! We had reservations at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. It was *SO* much fun!!! The live entertainment, great food, and gluten-free options (they had gluten-free cake!!!) made it so special for us!!! The entertainers got a huge kick out of our little Harrison- who freely got up to dance with them! His nickname was Hop-along Harrison, and Carter's was Cowboy Carter. It took Carter awhile, but at the end even he couldn't resist dancing- and before we were finished the boys were on stage!

Harrison was so happy to be able to eat cake- because it was gluten-free! Here is also enjoys cocoa! 

Carter enjoyed eating ice cream! (He also needed some cocoa!)

After dinner we headed back over to Disney's California Adventure park and took our places for the World of Color water and light show. What an amazing production! The graphics, lights, and water were so spectacular! We were so sad when the boys insisted they needed yet *another* bathroom break (despite having one less than 20 minutes before) and we missed the last few minutes. However, because we left a bit early we were able to take the boys to the restroom and then ride on the new Little Mermaid ride with ZERO line (this is a big deal, the line is usually at least an hour long!). I was thrilled!!! The boys have never seen The Little Mermaid, but they thought the ride was pretty fun nonetheless- and I was delighted!

Then- time for bed!!! We hobbled back to our beds yet again! This was the only day we didn't take a break at the pool, and we could feel it!

Disneyland! Part 2

Day 3

Tuesday was our Magic Morning at Disneyland Park. Magic Morning is where you go inside the park an hour earlier than the regular park opening. I woke at 5:30 and woke Kurt at 6:00. We had Mickey Mouse call Carter at 6:15 and we were all ready to have breakfast at 6:30. Our breakfast was finished and we were at the park shortly after 7am. Ouch, so early! (Keep in mind Daylight Savings was just a few days before!)

 Kurt is ready for fun!

Carter and Harrison were trying hard to be ready for fun at the park, but it was hard!

During breakfast we picked up a Disneyland map and the boys chose which rides they would like to enjoy first. We planned our morning rides, and then decided that we would catch the first Jedi Training session of the day at 10:30. We started with Carter's request for the flying rockets, and then proceeded to Harrison's request for the Finding Nemo submarine ride. After that Kurt and the boys decided to try Space Mountain. However, once the approached the ride, Carter asked to please go back- it was too frightening. Kurt understood and they all left the line. I do not have pictures of the kids on every ride. This was a difficult day and my morning sickness was getting the better of me, so I focused on my family rather than taking pictures.

 When did he get big enough to ride alone?! They grow so quickly!

I was not feeling well enough to ride this one, so Kurt took my place. He doesn't like rides that spin in a circle, but he was a trooper and did it for Harrison!

I did manage to snap some pictures of us on the Alice in Wonderland and Mad Hatter Tea-Cup rides, as well as the Its a Small World ride (Kurt *HATED* it!)!

 We all loved the Alice in Wonderland ride!

 Kurt's stomach refused to allow him on the tea cups. I did not think I would be okay with them, but the kids really wanted to go so I agreed. I am thrilled to report there is not as much spin to them as I originally thought- so they weren't too difficult =)

 Carter and Harrison didn't mind the Small World!

Kurt and I being silly- pretending to be scared of the dolls. I say we pretended... but he might have actually been scared of them. He requested we never *ever* ride that ride again. I think the song got to him... but that could be because the kids and I sang the song for the rest of the day, lol!

Then it was on to Toad's Wild Ride! We did not have to wait long, but while we were on the ride it broke!!! I snapped a picture of the cast member getting Kurt and Carter- it sort of looks like they were kicked off the ride, lol!

 Harrison and I act really silly while we wait for them to lead us off of the ride.

Love this picture, it looks like they were removed from the ride! The cast member was really nice and very apologetic for the technical difficulties the ride was having and offered us to wait and go first when it started again- but we had bigger plans!

Now that we had experienced rides and fun it was time for (drum roll please...) Jedi Training!!! We arrived at the pavilion early, in fact, our children were the third group to sit down. Kurt and I sat at a table in the cafe that backs up to the crowd (we were only about 10 feet from the children, who were directly in front of us), and we ordered snacks while we waited. We were there 40 minutes before the training was supposed to start, and the boys took their seats on the front line 25 minutes to show time. The kids didn't understand what they were waiting for, but Kurt assured them that their patience would be rewarded. We hoped that our children would be chosen for Jedi Training, but as hundreds of people started to gather our hopes started to dwindle. There were children in full Jedi gear, others in Star Wars apparel, and some families had taken the time to create elaborate banners saying things like, "Pick me!!!" or "The Force is strong with this one!!!" Kurt and I looked around, looked down at our meek and rather mild mannered children (especially compared to the other kids!) and we felt pained. Kurt went down to them, and explained that when the time came it would be okay for them to stand up, cheer, and shout. They both nodded and the event started, Kurt took his place next to me, and we held hands and hoped they would be chosen!

Then... the Jedi Masters and the Padawan came onto the stage. Our children couldn't help but jump up and shout!

That tall set of raised arms are Carter's, and the smaller set to his left are Harrison's. The main Jedi master is on stage. The main Jedi master was a bald African-American, so Carter screamed out, "YEAH! MACE WINDU!!! HOORAY!" The Disney cast didn't seem to mind, thankfully! It made sense to Carter that if people were dressed as Stormtroopers then this man must be trying to be Mace Windu (who is Carter's favorite Star Wars character).

The Jedi master scanned the crowd. He slowly started choosing children. Kurt and I became instantly hopeful when we realized the two children first chosen had been from the first two groups that had sat down before we did- 40 minutes before. With any luck they were picking children who had been waiting the longest!!! We held our breath and then- BOTH of our children were selected together! Kurt and I joined in the crowd of cheers and screams- we were so thrilled! Families around us patted our backs and congratulated us- it was astounding!!!

Bashful little Harrison waves to the crowd!

Carter gets ready! He didn't look at us through the entire Jedi training- he was too absorbed with what was going on.

The boys learned some different Jedi lightsaber techniques and then... out of the blue... STORMTROOPERS ARRIVED!!!! Then something started to come out of the ground!!!

AH! Darth Vader!!!!



AND DARTH MAUL!

The boys finished their Jedi training, received their honorary padawan certificates, and we headed to Disney's California Adventure park. We rode a few rides and went to see the Aladdin play- where we had a ticket for priority seating. We were loving the play and disappointed when the special effects computers broke down- so the play had to stop 1/3 of the way in. The next time we are at Disney we will make a bigger effort to see that neat play!

We decided to break for lunch and grab a fastpass to Soaring over California. We were all pretty tired and irritable, so after we rode Soaring we decided to break and go for a swim. We walked back to the Disneyland Hotel, and we spent hours at the pool. We had so much fun we realized that we were going to miss our dinner reservation, but rather than rush ourselves back into the park, we knew we needed the night off, so we swam some more. We all decided to have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, as it was pretty close to the hotel, and we were all tired of moving around. We loved our dinner!

After dinner it was after 7pm, so we went back to the hotel. We went to the club and gathered some desserts and picked out a movie. We went to our room, got the kids ready for bed, and before you could say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" the children were sound asleep. Kurt and I stayed up to watch Adventures in Babysitting.

By this time, as you can guess, we knew we had pushed ourselves pretty far. So we decided to "sleep in" until 8:30 and start the next day at Disney's California Adventure park. Good move, and we all slept really well!