First Day of 4th & 7th Grades

Here is Parker all excited to be heading off to his first day of 4th grade last week!  He was all smiles when I picked him up and said he'd had a great day and his teacher was nice.

 Kenzers said she had a good first day of middle school (middle school!!).  She said she still couldn't get her locker open (we practiced the night before but she kept turning it the wrong way) and she got lost a few times, too, but to her credit, the numbered hallways are a little bizarre and don't follow logic, plus there are classrooms behind classrooms where you have to walk through one room to get to the other.  She'll get the hang of it soon I'm sure.

Parker let me take his picture as he was showing off his nifty hat he'd worn earlier when he was one of the helpers for lunchtime.  He is always so honored to get that duty.  (I wish he was half as excited to do his chores at home, but maybe it's the hat?)  Anyways,  I was sad to see our fun summer vacation come to an end, but I'm sure they'll have a fun school year.  

Wheeler Farm

For several years now, the last day of summer vacation we've visited Wheeler Farm.  It's not too far away, it's free, and it doesn't take too long to walk around and smell see the animals.  I'm always a little wistful about how quickly the summer went by, though.

Parker and Cameron always head straight for the tractors.

 Kenzie had 7th grade orientation all morning, so we didn't make it to Wheeler Farm until the afternoon.  It was pretty toasty outside!  She loved this owl sculpture thing.

Cameron driving a tractor.  Right after this a bunch of other little kids wanted a turn, so Cameron ran over to Parker's tractor.  He didn't want to share with Parker, though.  Parker offered to let him steer, and Cameron said, "I just want to steer and do everything.  Please?"  I told him he could share with Parker, and he told me, "I said 'please!'" 

 I thought this pig was funny - she was sleeping in her water trough!  It was pretty hot outside!

The last picture of summer vacation, before Kenzie started 7th grade at the middle school, Parker started 4th grade, and Cameron started kindergarten!

Eclipse

 Getting ready to view the eclipse last Monday.  Parker had been excited for the eclipse ever since we visited the planetarium back in June and watched the video about it.  We weren't able to see the full eclipse, but the moon blocked out all but a small sliver.  It was noticeably darker outside for a few minutes and the shadows from the trees had the cool crescents in them.

Cameron wore his glasses and looked at the sun maybe twice, but then proceeded to run around and ask who wanted to play tag.  Parker stayed outside the longest and said it was pretty neat, though.  He rattled off all sorts of moon and sun facts for me!

Cameron & Daddy's Birthday

 This little boy turned 5 last Sunday!  He was so happy the day had finally arrived.  Powdered sugar donuts are all the kids' favorite birthday breakfast.

 With his presents.

 Parker was just as excited as Cameron about the Power Rangers Dragonzord.  They played with it all day, rocking out to the music and firing red darts all over the living room.

 Cameron set up all his toys himself for a picture.

Later we had brownies and lots of ice cream.  Happy Birthday to Cameron and his birthday buddy, Dad!

Leaving Disneyland

 It was a good thing Saturday was our last day, because the kiddos were tired!  These pictures were taken at 9:13!

Kenzie all bundled up in her pull out bed still.  

 As soon as Cameron woke up, he went straight for the Iron Man gauntlets he and Parker had gotten the day before.  While Parker ate a muffin, he attacked!

 We checked out of the hotel at 11:00 and had an hour before my uncle came to pick us up, so we wandered around Downtown Disney and did a little last minute souvenir shopping.  We had to check out the Lego Store, not to shop at, but just to check out all the fun models throughout.

 Parker with Lego Hulk.

 One last picture - you can see Parker already wearing the Imperial handcuffs he bought in the Star Wars section of World of Disney.  Cameron is cuddling his stuffed Stitch that he wanted.  (Chris pointed out if ever there was a Disney character Cameron can identify with, it'd be the mischievous Stitch!)  Kenzie had gotten a charm bracelet earlier, and wanted one last charm, so she was happy to find it while shopping, too.  This was our last time using the pedestrian entrance to leave, which was kind of sad.   Then we hitched a ride with my uncle to his house, had lunch, played some epic rounds of hide and seek with Cameron's new Stitch (he really had fun with Nicole and Chris) and were on our way to the Long Beach airport again.

Parker already was saying, "When are we coming back to Disneyland?"  Then, since we didn't have a definite answer for him, he started using his tactic of saying, "Well, next summer when we come back to Disneyland, let's..."  Can't blame a guy for trying!

This made me laugh - you pedal to charge your phone, so Kenzie sat there pedaling so she could look at her phone while waiting.  How's that for desperation?

It was a fun trip!  We had saved up for this trip for a long time, and hadn't gone on a big vacation in several years.  I was worried it wouldn't live up to the high expectations I had, but I think it did.  The kids were great, even though it was super hot and humid.  Nobody got lost, sick or hurt, our planes were both on time, and all our luggage made it both directions with us.  We accomplished almost all of the things we wanted to and saw quite a lot.  I'd say it was a success!  

Ariel's Grotto

Don't let this serious face fool you. Parker enjoyed his time at Ariel's Grotto.  A princess meal would not have been the boys first choice, but it was the only restaurant with last minute reservations for 9, and we all enjoyed the break for lunch on Friday.  

Cameron had proudly worn his "1st Visit" button all week, but Nicole snagged him (and Chris) a birthday button, too.  He was thrilled!  Lots of people wished him Happy Birthday throughout the day, which made Cameron happy and confused him at the same time.  He knew his birthday was not for two more days, so he always stumbled a bit on saying he was 4 or 5. 

 Kenzie would have loved to meet princesses several years ago, but as a 12 year old she was obviously a bit embarrassed by it.  Still, she was a good sport.  Parker was also a good sport and said hello to all the princesses as they came by.  Here they're with Tiana.  I laughed that when I first said they were in the front of the window, they moved for a better picture - in front of another window.

 It helped Kenzie that Nicole joined in for this picture with Cinderella.

 I thought Rapunzel did the best job interacting with the kids so it wasn't so awkward.

 She had a conversation about rides with Parker, and told him her hair gets stuck sometimes on Big Thunder, which he had said was his favorite.  Parker thought that was pretty funny.

 Meeting Belle.  You might notice Cameron is absent from all these photos.  He would have nothing to do with meeting the princesses.  He liked meeting Chewbacca and gave hugs to Pooh Bear, but he hid his face and scowled about the princesses!

When dessert came out, Cameron and Chris both got a birthday cupcake, too (which I managed to not take a picture of).  Cameron was still working on his chicken nuggets, but he managed to try his desserts, too.

And finally, here was the photo they took as we first entered.  I think it might be one of my favorite pictures from the trip, just because of Cameron's complete lack of cooperation.  Not only did he turn away, he also covered his face entirely with his hat!  He didn't even want to kind of see Ariel, much less smile for a picture.  We all thought that was pretty funny.  

Disneyland Day 4

Kenzie's goals for her trip included a churro and a Dole Whip, so she was ecstatic to have both as her late morning snack thanks to my Uncle Ken and Aunt Mary.  We met up with them on Friday, along with my cousin Nicole and her fiance, Chris.  They bought the kids snacks and lunch and even a few souvenirs.  They took the kiddos on the slower rides so Chris and I could go with Chris and Nicole on California Screamin', the roller coaster Kenzie and Parker were too scared of.

Aunt Mary and Cameron on the slow jellyfish ride.  He had a great time.

Some cute pictures Mary took while they hung out with Cameron in Toon Town.  

We tried to ride Indiana Jones twice during this time since Cameron was too short for it, but both times it was down.  We rode Big Thunder again instead both times, since Parker really liked it (I think he was scared by both Space Mountain and the Matterhorn since he kept steering us away from those suggestions each time!).

In the late afternoon, everyone else went on Radiator Springs Racers again while somehow Chris and I were convinced to try the Guardians of the Galaxy ride with Mary.  I didn't think I would care for the elevator ride, as straight down drops are not my favorite.  I prefer roller coasters that are going forward while dropping.  Still, I thought maybe it wouldn't be too bad.  I don't know how this picture wound up with a semi-normal looking face we're making.  (We are over on the right in the middle row.)  If the camera would have taken a picture during the drops, I'm sure my face would have been doing something awful.  It was not enjoyable in the least.  Supposedly the music and different scenes on the ride are fun, but I couldn't tell you much about them.  Chris had to remind me what song was even playing, because I didn't notice or remember.  All I know is I was grabbing on to his hand for dear life because there was nothing else to hold on to.  Anyways, not my favorite by a long shot.  The little boy across the aisle from us was crying at the end, and I couldn't blame him.  Chris didn't like it, either, so at least we're in agreement and can say we've done it once and don't need to again!

Parker was so happy about this -  the night before we had wandered around the Bugs Land for a bit and Parker had spotted these little dinky bumper cars.  He kept "suggesting" the bumper cars over the course of the entire next day.  "So what are we doing next?  The bumper cars?"  "And then next we'll do the bumper cars, and then what else?"  Never mind the fact that he usually suggested them when we were clear over in the other park.  Once Uncle Ken's troops headed home, we rode a few more rides and Daddy made sure we stopped by the bumper cars before getting some Mickey pretzels as a makeshift dinner.

As it started to get dark, and before heading to Soarin' again, I gave the boys the light up foam sticks I'd bought off Amazon to avoid the pricey light up toys in the parks.  They loved them and immediately swung them around at each other (exactly why I bought the soft foam).

Our last ride of the night was Toy Story Midway Mania.  The kids enjoyed playing the game (and Chris even challenged them to combine their scores and try to beat him, although even then he still won!).  As we went to park the stroller before getting in line, World of Color was starting and the stroller parking actually had a good view of the backside of the fountains.  We stuck around and watched a bit of the show again. This video doesn't do it justice, but the Pirates of the Caribbean part was our favorite with the fun music, lasers, fountains and even flames.  I thought maybe being on the other side of the show would mean the heat wouldn't be so bad, but wow those flames put off an impressive amount of heat!  

As we left the park, Chris pointed out we'd been there 13 hours straight!  Cameron did great and really didn't whine or complain that entire day, but he sure crashed in the stroller on our walk out!

Disneyland Day 3

 Thursday morning, heading towards Sleeping Beauty's castle.  (Surprise, surprise, Parker is looking at the map.  We had a whole pile of maps by the end!)

We got stuck behind a crowd while a band passed by, and I couldn't resist making a video of Parker.  I don't even think he was aware his hips were moving in time to the music!

 Kenzie with Mr. Toad.  Cameron was not too sure by the end of this.  "I didn't like that one," was his only comment.  It is loud, dark and weird!

 Waiting for the monorail.  Parker had not stopped asking to ride it since the first time it went by overhead.  

 It was a hot and humid afternoon, and right before our dinner break we rode Radiator Springs Racers once more.  Cam Buddy fell asleep in line!  We had to wake him up once it was our turn, but he perked right up.  He clapped and cheered after it was over.

 Parker really loved Cars land.  We saw Red the fire engine and a few other cars go by, and he loved them all...

 ... but when he saw Lightning McQueen parked outside the Cozy Cone Motel, he was so pleased.  Turns out he had been waiting to spot him and wondered where Lightning was at.  Parker never opens his eyes for a picture if the sun is in his eyes, so it was obvious he really, really wanted his picture taken with Lightning McQueen in the background!  (And for the record, I did ask him if he wanted to wait in line for a closer picture, but he was okay with this vantage point.)

We watched the World of Color show, and while we all enjoyed it, we did have to stand to watch it, and it was pretty late (it didn't start until 9:00).  Cameron wanted to be held through the entire show, and he hid his face whenever the large fountains got mist in his face (we weren't anywhere near the splash zone, either!).  Otherwise he was pretty enthralled, though.  He didn't get too whiny until it was over.  I got him to smile for this picture because I told him I'd carry him back to his stroller if he just took one nice picture for me!

I couldn't resist taking another picture that night back at the hotel.  Even after I took off the tray from the stroller and took off his socks and shoes, Cameron still was out cold.  This vacation was hard work for the little guy!