Vacation Weekend in Orlando

Grandma Debbie flew to Orlando Friday and we met her there for a fun weekend at the Nickelodeon Hotel. Parker has been asking to go back ever since we stayed there for Lincoln's first birthday (March 2009). It was great to get away from home without having to go too far (and it was great to get the Florida resident discount!).

When we got to the hotel, the boys wanted to dog-pile, but Anndra wasn't that into it.



We kicked off our weekend with some early trick-or-treating - an event the hotel was putting on to gear up for Halloween. Parker and Lincoln were excited to dress up like ninjas:



Lincoln insisted that we call him Poison Dragon Ninja for the next two days. If we slipped and accidentally called him Lincoln, he would say, "No! I'm NOT Lincoln! I'm Poison Dragon Ninja!"


The only thing Anndra wanted to wear was her little Minnie Mouse purse:


I was surprised by how much walking we ended up doing just to get to all the places in the hotel that were giving out candy. This place was huge!



Everyone was SO NICE to the boys and they loved getting many, many compliments on their costumes.


The next day was POOL DAY! (and for the first time in years, Todd actually got in the water).







Next to the pool was a large water-park structure with tons of slides and a humongous bucket of green slime that got tipped over once a day to drench everyone below it. Here is Parker after he got SLIMED:



There was also a smaller splash/slide area for kids under 40 inches - at 39" Lincoln was just barely too short to go on the big kid slides. But after he got over his initial disappointment, he discovered that the 'baby' slides were fun too:






Happy kids = Happy parents


Another happiness was the big yellow cabana we rented - complete with ceiling fan, TV, mini-fridge full of cold water bottles, table & chairs, lounge chairs, and an endless supply of warm towels (straight from the dryer). We felt very pampered and it was nice to have a place for the kids to rest and warm up - or eat or nap or whatever - in between swims. There was an outlet for charging the ipad Grandma was using to read and it gave her privacy and shade (without having to be in the hotel room) while we were enjoying the water.


Another bonus was being able to keep Anndra's potty chair out by the pool with us (since she still refuses to use regular size toilets - silly girl).


Finally we dined in the hotel restaurant and celebrated our two October birthdays - Anndra & Parker:

Anndra is 2!!!

Today was ALL ABOUT ANNDRA... We tried to help her realize what a special day it was by using the word "Birthday" as much as possible. We called her Birthday Girl all day. We made sure her nursery class sang Happy Birthday to her at church this morning. She had a Birthday Lunch and took a Birthday Nap. After her nap, she got to watch a Birthday Show on the computer. We gave her Birthday Hugs and Birthday Kisses. And of course we had Birthday Cake after her Birthday Dinner. ...by the end of the day she was running around the house saying "Happy Birthday!" at the top of her lungs! I think she gets it now. :)



We let her open her present right before cake. It was too big for wrapping paper, so we wrapped it in a blanket instead.



When she saw it and we asked her if she knew what it was, she replied, "Princess House!"



There were so many little dolls & furniture to look at - she didn't know what to do first! - so the other kids jumped in to help her set it up.



They were all having such a good time that they almost didn't want to stop for cake!



As you can see in the picture above, she was VERY excited about the little Dora paper plates. We bought them a week ago and she's been carrying them around with her ever since. For her, one of the best parts of cake-time was that she FINALLY got to use her plates!



A Birthday Clip of the happy Birthday Girl:



Everyone enjoying cake - Yum, Yum!:



Thanks to these friends for helping us celebrate!



Anndra, we love you! We're so thankful for these two wonderful years with you! We're very proud of the big girl you're growing up to be!

Kite videos

On Saturday Parker was given a kite as a prize at a friend's birthday party. There wasn't much wind that day, but he figured out that he could still fly the kite if he was moving fast enough.



Lincoln was inspired to finally try out a kite he was given for his birthday in March. Warning: Parker took this video, so don't watch it if shaky camera work makes you sick!

Two weekend trips

The past two weeks have been eventful.

First, the kids and I traveled to Alabama to catch a quick visit with Erika & Brian while they stopped at Jessie & Brad's on their way to their new home in Maryland.

So, of course, I have to share many cousin pics:










Four days later I got on a plane and flew to Utah to spend time with some dear family members in need. I was lucky enough to attend the Relief Society Broadcast at the Conference Center with these three wonderful ladies:



I returned Monday night and a few days later I helped throw a birthday party for these two boys:





And today I am enjoying a wonderful General Conference weekend. Whew!

Oh yes, one other thing. Parker also spent a week doing Junior Safety Patrol:

Preschool Feelings

I've had four turns to teach Lincoln's preschool class so far and I've really enjoyed it! This week our theme was "Feelings" - so this morning I did a little photo shoot with the kids. They loved making faces that showed the emotions we'd been talking about... especially when I turned the camera around each time to show them what they looked like! Here are some of the cutest ones:

Happy/Silly


Scared


Mad


Laughing


Nervous/Worried


Surprised


Sleepy


Frustrated


Bashful/Shy


Excited


Shrugging


Sad


and Confused (she's saying "I don't know")



I'm also throwing in a few pics from Tuesday's class. Making mud soup:



"Gathering activity" - something the kids do while waiting for the other students to arrive: