May was such a busy month, it feels like it passed in a blur, but here are some of our highlights.
Michael turns 6!
Oh the joys of realizing it's not your day, so you can't help open presents!
We only have a video of Michael blowing out his candles and I still don't know how to put video on the blog.
Michael is our resident sweetheart. He has such a tender heart and really does not enjoy being the center of attention. It takes Michael a little bit to warm up to people, even though everyone thinks he is the sweetest little boy. Michael has made great strides academically and is reading well into a first grade level and loves to figure out math problems. He still enjoys building with Legos and can build the most amazing creations without instructions! Our family would not be complete without our Michael. Happy Birthday My Sweet Boy!
Florida (without the kids)!
Nathan had a conference in Orlando the beginning of May. Every time he goes to a conference he begs me to go with him and I always find an excuse because I don't like to leave the kids. Alina is not a very cooperative little girl when Mommy or Daddy are not there. But Nathan convinced me this time and even bought my ticket before I had fully agreed so that I couldn't back out. We went a few days before his conference started so that we could enjoy an evening at Disney World and 2 days at Universal Studios. We borrowed Disney Vacation Club points from Nathan's parents and stayed at the Saratoga Springs resort for a few nights. It was a nice relaxing trip and it was so great to spend quality time alone with my true love. It was a much needed time away. Thanks for convincing me Nathan! Oh by the way, the kids were taken care of by a young couple in our ward, the Joslins, who have a one year old. We paid them to stay at our home and take care of the kids. I think it went well. I didn't hear any real complaints from either party. Thanks Ben and Joanna!
The Haunted Mansion had changed since the last time we had been to Disney World. They now have 2 lines that you can choose from. One takes you right to the ride. The other line takes you through a courtyard that is supposed to replicate a very odd cemetery. They have spots to stop and take pictures and have these "tombstones" that you can touch and they make all sorts of sounds. In the picture below, there's such a tombstone pictured. It's the really tall one on the left. This one played instrument sounds as you touched the instruments. It was fun! It took a little longer to get to the front of the line, but it was worth it.
The picture above was taken on the "Splash Mountain" ride. The picture below was taken after we got soaked on the ride - notice my wet hair?
The Magic Kingdom at Disney World no longer has "Mickey's Toon Town" they have taken that space and extended Fantasyland to include a new area devoted to some of Disney's favorite Princesses. The tower pictured above is a replica of the tower in "Tangled". You can't climb it or anything, it's pretty small. Same with the Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast pictured below.
Below is the castle from "The Little Mermaid" and there's actually a ride you can ride at this castle.
Located directly where "Toon Town" used to be is this "Casey the Train" water area. They've also moved the "Dumbo" ride here and now have 2 "Dumbo" rides. We had mixed feelings. It was all so new and exciting, but we missed seeing Mickey's house. They still have Goofy's "Barnstormer" roller coaster there though. That was a relief!
We got to enjoy the "Electrical Parade" which is something we don't usually take time to do with the kids because we are always rushing to get everything done. Plus the ride lines are shorter when a parade is going on!
Orlando Temple
This was Nathan's bargaining chip, HARRY POTTER WORLD!! I am a fan of Harry Potter and was so excited to go! It lived up to my excitement! We got to taste Butterbeer, which is non-alcoholic and tastes like cream soda but with a more butterscotch taste and had a yummy whipped cream topping. I had to go back our second day just to get another Butterbeer! It was that good!
Us, in front of "The Hog's Head" which was where we bought the yummy Butterbeer.
This cool dude was in "HoneyDukes" where we bought all the other Harry Potter yummies. His hair is actually black licorice ropes and you could buy packaged "clippings" from the store. I didn't buy any, but I did buy a chocolate frog, fudge flies, and some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. They are every flavored: Nathan's favorite was the "earthworm" jelly bean (just kidding - it was nasty). Can you see Nathan peeking through by the cool dude's head?
Butterbeer, YUM!
At the main Universal Studios they had a new ride that was centered around "Despicable Me", which is another movie that I am totally a fan of. My kids and I love to watch it. I took a lot of pictures from the ride. Here are a few.
Of course we had to get a shot of Optimus Prime for the boys.
After a few nights at Disney's Saratoga Springs we moved to the hotel where Nathan would be attending his conference. It was the Peabody Hotel and it was a fancy pants hotel! The picture above is of our room - great huh!?! I just had to take a picture of the mirror tv in the bathroom. It was so fascinating to me. I got to watch tv on the mirror while getting ready! I'm not sure what show was on while I took the picture. Hopefully it was something appropriate.
Nate turns 13! Teenager in the house!
Not my best creation.
Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Bice for the frog, Legos and DS game!
Nate asked me on his birthday how I felt to now have a teenager in the house. He was busting his buttons about the fact that he was now a teenager! Nate is turning into such a good big brother and loves to tell everyone he loves them and give hugs. When I went to Parent Teacher conferences at Nate's middle school, every single one of his teachers told me how impressed they were with Nate! He was a good example, participated well in class discussions and was a really great student. We think he's pretty great too! Happy Birthday My Big Teenager!
Reading Celebration
At the end of the school year, Michael's kindergarten class held a "Reading Celebration". Alina and I went to hear Michael read the books in his purple folder. After he read we got to have cookies and lemonade! Michael is a great reader!
Michael and his teacher, Mrs. Morcom.
Michael and the para-professional that worked in his classroom, Mrs. Walk.
The month of May also included and not pictured: Mother's Day, my birthday (38!), the Elton Hills School Carnival (no pictures because I was in charge of coordinating volunteers and Nathan volunteered), the Book Giveaway at school (of which I was in charge of), field trips, and all the other end of the school year wrap ups and homework and tests, etc,, etc!
