Magic Kingdom

We started off our time at Disney World in the Magic Kingdom.  We were all excited to be there - our family enjoys the magic of Disney.

Where else will you find water art on the streets after they're cleaned?

This is officially the trip where C became a Ride Junkie.  We initially got in line to see Anna and Elsa, but despite his love of princesses, C opted to exit the line and "go ride something", so we ended up at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  C was ready to roll{er coaster}!

Midmorning, we made our way to Ariel's Journey Under the Sea. C also wanted to get his picture beside the King Triton statue.

P was such a good sport when C wanted to wait in line to see Ariel. He went along with the activity, even though I know he's not the mermaid enthusiast in our family. It's just one of the things that makes P a great brother!

At parade time, there was the threat of rain, so the parade was cancelled. We did have a nice viewing spot for the Rainy Day Cavalcade, though.

Before we even arrived in Florida, P had decided to stop and see the piano player at Casey's while we were in the Magic Kingdom. P and the pianist had a great conversation about piano practice and different types of music, and P and C were both invited to help play a few songs.

The boys {P in particular} have always been curious about the sorcerer game in the Magic Kingdom, so we gave that a try too. Luckily, the boys were able to complete their tasks and defeat Cruella Deville before she took over the Magic Kingdom.

Daddy A has had some health issues this year, so he had to take a break in the evening before our dinner reservations. Amanda and I took the boys on Stitch's Great Escape {their request}, and when we exited the ride into the store, Stitch tried to join our party! :)

We ended the evening with a late dinner reservation at the Beast's castle. Our food {including The Grey Stuff} was delicious! When we arrived at our table, all of the napkins were folded like roses. Our sweet server taught C how to fold his napkin, and he was so excited he asked if he could purchase a napkin to take home.

C wasted no time finding other students to teach the art of napkin rose folding.

The boys said goodnight to the Beast, and we headed back to our condo for a night of rest. The boys were asleep by the time we got home, and we weren't far behind them!

and now it'll be easy to tell them apart

In June, we headed to Disney with our friend Amanda.  We stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek.  {Our lodging was a very generous gift from Amanda and her family.}  When we arrived on Saturday afternoon, we had some time to look around the resort, and we found a face paint station.  P and C both love to have their faces painted, so we stopped by and the boys each went through a transformation.

C was thrilled to discover that he could be painted as a mermaid, despite the lack of a mermaid picture on the sample board. In fact, he encouraged other children to also "be a mermaid" and suggested that the artist add a mermaid picture to her board.

P chose a ninja pattern.  He was also quite happy with the results.

It was a great start to our vacation.  Each of my boys chose something that captures so much of who they are right now, and they had a blast!

Hit the Road, Jack

Guess who's headed to Disney World to see the princesses?

Note the tablet, headphones, sunglasses, and tiara. When we travel, we do it in style!

Cool Kids Club

We're very fortunate that our local library has some great activities throughout the year. This summer it worked out for the boys to attend the K - 2nd grade summer club together. The summer reading program's overall theme, "Fizz Boom Read", has a science connection, so P is especially into it.

The first meeting started with story time. This week's selection was The Science Project that ate the School.

Then the entire group headed outside to see some demonstrations. We watched an alka-seltzer rocket and some mento-induced soda geysers.

Once the kids came back inside, they had some hands-on experiments to complete. They got to "hatch" dinosaur eggs,

make "elephant toothpaste",

design their own hovercraft,

and make safety goggles and costumes inspired by famous scientists. P ran into a friend from his class in school.

Both of the boys had a blast, and they learned a lot of new things, too! I guess it's my Montessori roots, but I love the chance to do hands-on activities with my boys. I do think kids learn best by doing.

C's yellow belt testing

Neither of the boys was quite ready to test for their next belt at the end of May, but the day arrived that C was ready to test for his yellow belt. His focus has gotten much better, although we'll continue to work on it. He tends to get distracted by his image in the full length mirrors - he clearly believes it's important to have your hair just right when you're practicing martial arts, and really, who can blame him? :)

Much like all the other testings you've witnessed through this blog, C had to demonstrate his board break and self defense skills.

He also demonstrated his sparring skills.

When it was time for him to do his form, he did the BEST job he has ever done with Vision! {That's the name of his form - I didn't mean to imply that he has excellent eyesight, although he may.}

P graciously agreed to pass our TKD Build-a-Bear on to C, who has renamed him Rouskey. Rouskey has now been promoted to yellow belt for a third time. :)

Way to go, C! We're especially proud of your new-found focus and self discipline!

the Bernoulli principle {hands-on learning at our local library}

NDS Scholastic Awards 2013 - 2014

I snapped a couple of {poor quality} photos of P's end of the school year awards presentation. He received three awards - one for participating in the spell-offs this year, one for reading more than four hundred books this school year, and one for good citizenship.

He stood up with his classmates and accepted his awards graciously, and after the ceremony just passed them to me to "hold onto for a while" with a hug and a small smile. He was humble - I was probably more proud of him than he was of himself! I was proud of all of his accomplishments, but especially the acknowledgment that he was a good citizen this year. His attitude will take him far!

P's first piano recital!

The weekend before school ended, P had his first piano recital. He did a great job! He played Haydn's Symphony No. 94 and an arrangement of He's Got the Whole World in His Hands.

Never one to miss a social event, C caught up with his friend Nancy Carol, who also performed at the recital.

I convinced P {with minimal pleading} to pose for a photo with his teacher. She is amazing! She does a great job of keeping her students motivated and P has learned so much in just a few months.  He's looking forward to a few summer piano lessons and some fun new pieces.

Bravo, P!

4th quarter spell off

Once again, P qualified for the spell off this quarter.  It was the final spell off of his first grade year, and he made it to the final three spellers.

We're so proud of your willingness to get up in front of your peers and give things your best shot. Love you, bud!

so this happened

Not long ago, these arrived in C's cubby at school.  Yes, gentle reader, those are, in fact, proofs of OFFICIAL PRE-K GRADUATION PHOTOS.  And we all know that pre-k graduation is a VERY BIG DEAL, because not everyone finishes pre-k and goes on to kindergarten... oh, wait.  All kidding aside, yes, pre-k graduations are cute.  And I don't have a huge issue with them, although I do wonder how we'll top this one when C graduates from high school... but I'll channel my inner Scarlett and think about that later.

We took C down to his classroom before the ceremony and snapped some photos.

C has had some great times at our local preschool, and true to his social butterfly form, he made lots of friends.

He was also blessed with some amazing teachers.  He had Miss Brittany for two years in a row, and he and P each spent a year with Mrs. Revonda.  I told them at the end of the school year that I won't know what to do next year when I don't have a reason to come by the school after lunch every day and visit them!

C had a blast at the ceremony - he sang along to all the songs, from the scheduled performances to the processional and recessional.

 

And don't worry for a second that he might have wrinkled his diploma.  That wasn't the ACTUAL diploma.  We take this graduation stuff seriously {see paragraph one of this post}.

Mrs. Bobby is the preschool director now, but she was P's teacher when he was in the four year old class.  We're all really going to miss her, too!

C had a blast at his graduation.

Poor thing.  It's like he's never seen a camera.

 

You're growing up, C. I know you're ready for kindergarten... I hope kindergarten is ready for you!