Crazy Morning

My morning started about 2 am when I hear S* come into our room saying - Fozzie got out. Now this is not the first time this hamster has escaped. He has learned how to open the doors on his cage and I think he really enjoys his freedom.

I honestly don't know how S* realized at 2 in the morning that he had gotten out of his cage. But being the good mom that I am, I went downstairs to help look for him. M* was already down there and was very upset. The boys' door had been open so Fozzie really could have been anywhere. We had all the lights on and A* was whining that he was tired and couldn't sleep - pretty much oblivious to the drama unfolding around him. We searched the basement and after about 15 minutes, M* yells out, I think I hear him. Now again - my kids must have bionic ears because they can really hear this hamster sneezing. We were in the family room and tried to sit quietly for a few minutes to see if we could hear him again. All of a sudden the little rat (my pet name for him) peeks out from behind some toys. We spot him and after a short little chase, we catch him. We've decided that Fozzie knows what he is doing and that he likes to escape, but when he gets hungry, he likes to be found. So, crisis averted...the hamster is found!

So after our little late night escapade, we all sleep a little later than normal. I got school all laid out for the kids and they're finally up and starting to eat breakfast. R* pours a bowl of cereal and I pour the milk because it's a full gallon. She carries it with her to get a spoon and while doing so, proceeds to dump the whole bowl, milk and all, right into the drawer. Now, of course, I'm mad at first, but have to admit that this has totally never happened to us before and I find it very amusing now. I'm not quite sure how she did it. R* was sad, but she helped me clean it up and all is well.

Quite a crazy morning so far...I wonder what will happen next.

Primeval Whirl and Expedition Everest

The main goal of today was to have the triplets ride Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom. They haven't been able to ride this coaster so far because you have to be 48 inches tall - it is the tallest height requirement at Disney World except for driving the Indy Speedway cars. Primeval Whirl is a cute little mouse type roller coaster that spins around too. The older kids really love it and got to ride it about 8 times before having to get off on one trip. So we went to Primeval Whirl first and Lizzie measured tall enough and Rachel measured tall enough. Alex did not - seriously he was probably about 1/8 of an inch too short and you could tell he was seriously disappointed. He was a good sport about it though!



Rachel, Lizzie and I rode one time and that was all Rachel wanted to do. By this time, Mark had returned from getting FastPasses for Expedition Everest so he rode a couple more times with Lizzie, Spencer and Megan. Rachel, Alex and I explored the shop nearby. Afterwards, we spent a little time looking for Hidden Mickey's. The one pictured below is seriously about the size of a quarter on a dinosaur statue nearby. We thought it was pretty cool but it would be very hard to find without a good telephoto lens - thanks Mark!



We had some time to kill before our FastPasses for Everest so we went to visit Pooh Bear, Eyeore and Tigger. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.



After we left, Eyeore followed us up the path. I think we almost convinced him to come back to Michigan with us, but it turns out that he doesn't like the cold very much!



We headed over to Everest which Alex decided he was going to ride for the first time. The little girls and Megan opted out of the ride so Mark, Spencer, Alex and I rode. It was a lot of fun but Alex was a little white getting off. But now he can say that he rode it - although it might be a while before he rides it again.

My parents decided they wanted to go home at this point and we just hung out on a bench watching the crowds for a while. Actually, we were trying to stay warm! I forgot to mention that it was pretty cool this morning. It was in the 40s when we left this morning and it only got up to about 56 degrees. Plus it was very windy...so the water rides were out today! We watched the Flight of Wonder show which has a bunch of different birds - it is one of the hidden gems of Animal Kingdom. We headed over to the Lion King show which is one of my favorites. We had lunch and then went on Kilamanjaro Safari - Mark got some really cool pictures of all the animals with the telephoto lens.

We were home by about 2:00 and just hung out and relaxed. We're headed to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow! Yeah!

EPCOT Here We Come

Well - we were all exhausted last night and I was the first one up at about 7:00 am. I decided that no one (including me) were in a hurry to get going this morning so I didn't force my family to get up and be at the parks by opening today. I think they were glad! We ate breakfast at the house and finally rolled out at about 9:30. This is a picture of E* and R* outside the house.

We headed over to Epcot and my parents had to go to MapleLeaf Tickets to pick up their discounted Disney tickets so they were going to meet us there. We arrived at the park and there was a fairly long line to park. We figured today of all days would be a bit more crowded since it's a holiday. We still parked fairly close and the trams weren't even running to the front of the park so we walked in.

We decided to head to Test Track - Mark rode with Spencer and Alex while me and the girls headed into the store to shop and look at the cars. Rachel didn't really want to ride and Megan decided she didn't want to wait in line. My kids are kind of spoiled because we've learned how to use the FastPass system pretty well and we rarely have to wait very long. So the girls pretty much sat in every GM vehicle they have in the showroom area of Test Track. My parents called while we were waiting and had arrived at the park so they met us in the showroom area. Soon Mark and the boys were done with the ride and we headed out.

Mark and Spencer decided to go pick up a set of FastPasses for Soarin while the rest of us rode Journey Into Imagination. My kids still love this simple ride and A* talked my ear off the entire ride - it was very cute. We talked the kids into seeing Honey I Shrunk the Audience (although some of them didn't really want to do it). I hadn't seen this attraction since before the triplets were born - it's cute and a little scary in some parts but I think they all enjoyed it.

It was time for lunch and we decided to head over to the Beach Club (a nearby Disney resort) to have lunch and ice cream. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, turkey sandwiches and ceasar salad and then ice cream for dessert - we were stuffed! We rode the boat back to Epcot and headed over to Soarin. I think that this is one of our favorite rides of all time!

My parents were done for the day so they headed home and took the girls, R* and E*. The rest of us went and rode Test Track again. Test Track has 2 lines - a regular line where your party will ride together and a single rider line where you will be used to "fill in" empty seats. There was a group of four French (we think) tourists that had gotten in the single rider line and were giving the cast member seating people a hard time that they couldn't ride together. Everytime he tried to guide one of them to a car, the girl would be pouty and wouldn't move. They finally could muster up enough English to ask for the word exit :-) It was pretty funny to watch.

After Test Track, we too headed home. The kids of course jumped right into the pool until dinner time.

My fork feels weird!

Another day for driving. We left Tennessee after eating breakfast at the hotel. The kids love the "free breakfast" when we're staying at a hotel. We tried pretty much everything and when we were done, we got in the car and continued south. The temperature started out pretty much where we left yesterday at 37 degrees.

The trip was pretty uneventful. We stopped at McDonald's for a snack and then went to Kentucky Fried Chicken somewhere in Georgia for lunch. Since there are so many of us, it's financially intelligent to order a bucket of chicken and some sides. The kids favorites are macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. The quote of the trip (at least so far) was when A* about half way through lunch announced that he couldn't eat anymore because his fork felt weird. I about lost it on that quote. A* is our consummate complainer and this was a good one. Even funnier was that he was really eating with a "spork" that he thought was really cool when he started.

We arrived in Davenport about 6:00 after stopping for some quick groceries. We had a painful pancake cooking experience because the pans were pretty useless. All in all, the house is really pretty nice. There is a master bedroom on the main floor where my parents are staying and the rest of us are upstairs. M* has her own room (which she is really excited about), A* and S* share and so do the little girls.

Looking forward to a fun day at Epcot!

It's COOOLD in Tennesee...

We headed off for our annual trek to Florida this morning. Many people think that we are pretty crazy for driving from Michigan to Florida, but the kids have gotten pretty good at travelling by car for long distances. We actually enjoy our trips in the car together.

I packed most of the late afternoon and evening yesterday and fell asleep before I could watch Monk and Psych - my favorite shows. After sleeping in my recliner until about 1:00 am (both of us zonked out watching tv). We set the alarm for 6 am and made it up on time. Mark and I put the cartop carrier on the top of the car - boy was that cold!!! The kids got up about 6:30 after hearing all the noise we were making packing up the car. My parents called us about 7:00 to inform us that they were already on their way and were almost to Ann Arbor. We all ate breakfast and were out of the house by about 7:30. It was a little later than I liked, but hey, we're on vacation right?

As we got in the car, the kids noted that it 1 degree BELOW zero - brrrr...the sun was starting to come up and it was really pretty. Our drive was pretty uneventful. It was pretty windy through Ohio and still very cold. We stopped for lunch at Taco Bell and only stopped one other time for a bathroom break. With 5 kids in the back - I think we did really well. We made it a game for the kids to watch for the temperature to rise a degree. The first person to notice that it was one degree higher won - no prizes though :-) The highest temperature we saw all day was 37 degrees, which is probably warmer than Michigan, but really not the immediate benefit that I was looking for.

We arrived in Cleveland, TN (just north of Chattanooga) about 6:15 and checked into the Fairfield Inn. It's really nice except for the lime green/white curtains on the windows. Interesting color choices! My parents were already checked in so we checked into our room and then we all headed over to the Cracker Barrel for dinner. This is a must do when we're traveling for some silly reason. I always have to have breakfast for dinner. The food was good except the triplets didn't eat much - too many snacks in the car.

After dinner, Mark took the triplets down to the pool to expend some energy and here I am, hanging out for a little while. Hopefully the warmth will arrive tomorrow as we travel into Florida.

Better Late than Never and a Fun Week

First a little more about Bedtime Stories - great movie! I would recommend it even if you don't have little kids to use an excuse. Skeeter is a handy man at a hotel but really wants to be able to run a hotel someday and has been overlooked for many years even though he does a great job. Skeeter has to take care of his niece and nephew for a few days while their mom is interviewing for a job. He starts telling them bedtime stories and the things that the kids say in the stories come true the next day. It's a nice story with a little bit of romance and some good laughs. The good guy wins and the "bedtime stories" are very entertaining.

Ok - now onto the current topic. Mark's parents (my mother and father in-law) were supposed to leave Las Vegas on Tuesday morning at 7:00 am. Due to some parking issues, they arrived a bit late to the airport and were not able to board their flight. So...Northwest booked them on a flight later that afternoon. Originally they were to arrive at around 4:30 and this new flight did not get in until 9:50. Mark and I decided it would be easier for him to just stay at work in Milford and them leave from there to get to the airport and head home. Well, the weather was just awful - very icy and slippery and a lot of accidents. We are grateful that they all arrived at home in one piece about midnight.

On Wednesday, we gave them their Christmas present which was a Digital Frame for all the fun digital pictures that they've been taking. It's pretty cool if I do say so and I think I would like one for myself. They gave Mark and I books - The Last Lecture and The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. I'm almost done with The Christmas Sweater and I'll review when I'm done. The kids received $20 each to spend as they wished....so on Thursday, we had to head to the mall to spend the money that was burning a hole in their pockets.

First stop was EB Games where M* and R* picked out games for their Nintendo DS. A* was looking for something also but really couldn't find anything that he had enough money for so he whined his way out of the store. Next stop was Bass Pro Shops where S* picked out a pocket knife for Scouting. We spent some time enjoying the fish at this store - the kids really love that. After that we walked around the mall to Justice where L* bought a cute t-shirt and A* decided on a Webkinz. Last stop was the Disney store where each of the kids (except S* because he thinks he's getting too old) picked out a t-shirt for our trip to Florida next week. L* also picked out a Goofy stuffed animal to spend the rest of her money on - like we need more of those :-)

This weekend we celebrated my nephew Cameron's 12th birthday with a family party and my brother's home. Today, Mark was ordained a High Priest by his father at church. He was called as 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric at church and so was also set apart in this calling today. He received a nice blessing from both his father and from President Kaski. The triplets also attended a program at church called Eight is Great which is for the kids that will be baptized this year. It's hard to believe that my little triplet babies are almost 8 years old. Time sure flies!

Back to Homeschool Fun

Well, the rest of the world went back to school today and we did too. I promised the kids that if they finished their schoolwork this morning, then we would go to see Bedtime Stories today at the movies. They did awesome - all of their schoolwork was finished by noon. Nothing like a little incentive!

We invited one of Megan's friends to go with us and off we went. We loved the movie! It was a fun movie that was great for the kids! When we got home, Megan and her friend baked cupcakes with the help of the triplets. They were thrilled with the product, but needless to say, mom was not thrilled with the mess :-)

We're getting prepared for the arrival of Mark's parents tomorrow - cleaning up the house and deciding what the meals will be for the next week or so. It will be nice to have them here and the kids are especially excited. Rachel's vote for the meal tomorrow is bsketti - I'm still trying to get her to say that word correctly! And of course, the kids all want to take Grandma and Grandpa to Culver's - their favorite restaurant.