First Day of School

First day of school came, and for the first time since we began procreating, all of the kids were leaving. It's something I've been looking forward to, a chance to have a little me time, to pursue some goals of my own that have taken a back seat for the past thirteen years. Maisie was starting her first day of 8th Grade.

 Danyn was starting 5th Grade.

 Rory was beginning 3rd Grade

And little Finn was starting his first day of full day Kindergarten.

We didn't realize when we bought his backpack that it was the same size as he is.

Despite being rather tired for the first few days, he's done well adjusting to school. He loves his teacher, and his class.

The school year is now half over, and so far, it's continued with as much promise as it started out with. We're so glad our kids are having a good year, and that they're thriving where they are.

Denver Adventures

Teag needed to take a plane to Denver for maintenance last August, but it was a smaller plane, with only five seats. It just so happened that Maisie would be at Girls Camp for the week the plane was being fixed, so we decided to pack up the other three and head to Colorado to see what they had to offer in the way of fun.

We spent our first day swimming, and eating chips as big as our heads.

The kids were good about sharing a king sized bed, and got to be all snuggly in one place.

The second day we got went hiking to a reservoir. It was a lovely day for it once the sun came out, but we were definitely feeling the 10,000 feet.

The next day we went to the Argo Mill and Mine. It was quite an interesting site, and full of cool old stuff. At the end, we all got to  pan for a little gold, and take home a few flakes.

It was definitely weird not having Maisie with us, and there were a few rough spots, behavior wise, but we had a good time and learned a few things... like that we don't actually care for Denver all that much. But hey, a free trip is a free trip.

The Best Vacation Ever (Part Three)

This last post will encompass what may have been our favorite time/favorite place of the trip. It's hard to say for sure, because the whole trip was great, but Universal Studios held a special place in our heart courtesy of Harry Potter World. It was, as Ron Weasley would say, Brilliant. Everything about Hogsmeade felt so authentic, it really did feel as though you'd slipped right into a world of witches and wizards. I wish the one in California also had Diagon Alley, but we enjoyed what we had.

One of the first places we went was to Ollivander's, to check out the wands. We got in line for a wand ceremony, and were delighted when Danyn was the one chosen to try out several wands. She managed to kill some plants with one, make it snow with another, until they finally found the one meant for her.

It was a cool moment, and a very special memory for Danyn. She ended up buying that very wand. We headed into the shop after that, and all the kids (and myself) chose a wand that they liked.

There are only two rides in that part of the park, but we rode them each several times. Walking through the Hogwarts castles was like a dream come true. It was the only time I wished the lines were a bit longer, so I could have stopped to look around more.

It's so well done, it looks straight out of the movie. I think I could have spent all day wandering shops, and re-riding the rides. Poor Finny wasn't tall enough to ride the main ride in the castle, but he loved riding Flight of The Hippogriff, and seeing Hagrid's hut.

Our second day there we had lunch at the Three Broomsticks, which was such a fun experience.

The whole restaurant is very atmospheric, and each of the kids ordered a Butterbeer with their lunch. Butterbeer mustaches anyone?

We spent lots of time wandering through shops, buying sweets from Honeydukes, and admiring everything from quills, to owls, to scarves. In the main bathroom, you can hear Moaning Myrtle talking to you, and you can see the Hogwarts Express right as you walk in. We tried Pumpkin Juice, but we decided none of us were big fans. Butterbeer tastes much better than we expected it to. It was so much fun, and was the best thing my little Harry Potter heart could imagine. And if I haven't already convinced you that it was our favorite place, it's made even more obvious by the fact that I have only a few other pictures from the rest of all of Universal Studios.

The kids all loved Jurassic Park, and we all got to ride it twice, courtesy of a very nice ride attendant who I'm pretty sure fudged on Finn's actual height. Some of the other rides were fun, some were okay, but it seems like Universal is a one trick pony when it comes to spraying you in the face for every ride. It gets a little old after awhile.

We spent six days in various parks and places, rode countless numbers of rides, took countless photos, and made countless memories. We also walked countless miles. A step tracker often looked something like this by the end of the day. I think we logged just under thirty miles in six days.

Which is an especially big feat when you have tiny legs. Our week in Disneyland and Anniversal Studios, (Finn's name for it), wore us right out.

Finn, and all the kids, were amazing. They walked and walked with little complaint, dealt with bad weather, and traffic delays, hunger, and less sleep than normal. They were helpful, pleasant, and best of all, grateful. We heard so many thank you's over the course of our week in California. They had the best attitudes we could have asked for. And anyone with kids knows that can make or break a vacation. It's been a few months now, and we all still look back fondly, remembering our favorite things, and wishing we could go back. Thank you, California, for the memories.

The Best Vacation Ever (Part Two)

We knew before we left that the weather on Sunday was going to be pretty bad. California was set to get a pretty hefty amount of rain. We knew we didn't want to be at any parks in that kind of a downpour, so we chose to find some indoor activities instead. That day we went to Madame Tussaud's in Hollywood to see some wax figures. The kids had a ton of fun with the settings, and they provide a lot of props to make picture taking even better.

Some of the figures are amazingly lifelike, and it could be a little jarring, especially when you weren't paying attention, and thought you were bumping into a living, breathing human. Nothing like apologizing to a wax figure. And all measurements are accurate to the person they portray. Some celebrities are much shorter than you think.

As part of the ticket we'd purchased, we got to have our own souvenir wax hands made. The process was pretty fascinating, as you left your hand in freezing water for thirty seconds (not easy! I'm surprised Finny and Rory could manage it!), and then dipped in hot, melted wax, then dipped in ice again, and then dipped it in a colored wax of your choice.

Now we have six hands to remember our time at Madame Tussaud's. I love how tiny Finny's little hand is.

The rain was crazy heavy as we left the museum, and Teag found this lovely bit of news.

I've honestly never seen rain that heavy before. Driving the hour home wasn't one of my favorite parts of the trip, I'll tell you. My dad was sending me text messages, making sure we were okay. When we got back to our rental house, the flower beds were beginning to overflow the walkway, and there were lakes in the middle of streets 😲. We had a few hours at home, and then we were off to our evening entertainment! A night at Medieval Times! We'd never been there before, but people we know said they had a great time there, so we thought we'd check it out. The parking lot was another lake, but once we finally managed to get in and sit down, it was fine. We were assigned a "knight" based on the section we sat in, and were each given a crown to wear.

While we ate soup, roast chicken, corn on the cob, and other tasty food, we watched jousting, dueling, horse riding, and many other knightly things.

The kids loved it, and cheered loudly for the Blue Knight, our champion. There wasn't really a bad seat in the house, and it was fun to do something so out of the ordinary. Kind of the theme for the day!