Jinx!

Owen has been spending more and more time in the Elementary classroom where he will be next year. He is learning more complex math, reading and geography. In addition, he is learning more elementary games like "Jinx". He tries to set Walter or Jer or me up with a "Mom, say xyz" and as one of us falls for the trap, he says it too and jinxes us. When one of the boys are on 'jinx' they come up to the other family members and point to themselves with pleading eyes hoping you will say their name. Fun, fun!

We had an enjoyable Easter with three separate egg hunts with friends and cousins and a treasure hunt courtesy of Grandma Joanne. The Easter Bunny hid the boys' baskets and made Owen's extra challenging, hiding it on the top of a chandelier!

Spring Break - revisited

I got a bit caught up in telling about our Florida trip that I forgot to tell about the boys official spring break.

We kicked the week off by celebrating my Grandpa's life in a memorial service on Saturday. It was a very full weekend of family and dear friends and many laughs and tears. We ended the family time with some bowling and bocce fun before sending off my mom to go visit my Grandma.

The boys and I then took a road trip to go be with my other Grandma, in International Falls. We had fun being with her and watching old t.v. programs. The boys also had a blast playing with their oh-so-cool older cousins, Willy & Gary. They were amazed by their basketball, video game and geography skills. Owen was really intrigued the night we did Willy's math homework with him.

We ended our spring break with a lunch playdate with our old neighbors. Here is a sweet before and current photo of the crew!

What if it snows in June?

Yes, it is April 20 and we woke up to snow on the ground! Owen asked me this this morning, anticipating my response with a big smile. I told him, as I have recently when its been unseasonably cold, "we're moving to Florida."

Here are the last batch of Florida photos to share. Lots more beach and cousin time with a pit stop to feed, touch and smell some baby gators.

Can trees grow up to space?

Walter asked me this the other day and I have no doubt that this came from our time in Cocoa Beach.

When we arrived in Cocoa Beach, we were greeted by Grandma Donna, Grandpa Bruce, Uncle Jon, Auntie Rachel and cousins Isabelle & Oscar! Walter and Bella quickly became best buds while Owen enjoyed playing with little Oscar, the two buddies, and all the bugs and shells the area had to offer. We were your typical beach bums in Cocoa Beach. With the exception of a dinner here, a mini-golf there, and an ice cream cone in between, we were at the beach! There were plenty of holes dug, castles built, waves caught and sun screen applied.

We did take one day to visit the Kennedy Space Center. It was such fun exploring and learning about NASA and space. Owen will happily tell you about his shuttle launch experience while Walter will tell you about the space playground he couldn't get enough of. Jer and I will probably tell you about the amazing IMAX movies we enjoyed. I'm telling you, its not a matter of if there is other life out there, but where. Wild.

W

We have called Owen 'O' for as long as I can remember. Walter has assumed many nicknames, but never 'W' until our recent Florida trip. Owen started calling his brother W and it has stuck.

After our time in Key Largo, we made our way to Key West where we did some exploring but primarily enjoyed relaxing by the pool. We found some delicious restaurants, with the top one being Chico's Cantina. We gobbled up their chips and salsa and still talk about it! We all agree that we will back to visit the Keys again some day. It was perfect.

After a few days on Key West, we made our way slowly to Cocoa Beach, where Jeremy's grandma & grandpa have a home. We couldn't help but make all sorts of stops to enjoy the views through the Keys. One highlight was stopping at a pier where some fisherman were filleting their catch of the day. They offered the filleted skins to the boys so they could feed the fish that were below the dock. Owen quickly said yes and we went to see the fish they would feed. They turned out to be enormous tarpin and not too enormous shark! They were all a good 6 feet in length! It was totally fascinating! There were plenty of pelicans and egrets around, too. Such fun!

I don't understand.

Apparently my quick explanations aren't completely solid at all times. Owen is telling me this more and more after I answer his questions. Maybe its because he asks me increasingly difficult questions like "Why do they say 'It's a small world after all' when the earth is really big?" or "Why is juice not as healthy as fruit?" or the other 100 questions he asks in a day. I know it is awesome that he wants to ask this stuff and truly understand the answer but sometimes it is exhausting! (By the way - when fruit is juiced, the fiber is separated and thus lost from the juice...my answer to the small world question is much longer.)

I forgot to tell you my favorite story from our day at Disney. After a full day of fun, we left without having a proper dinner. So, at 9:30 p.m. we went to dinner. We were all exhausted, eating chicken and nearly done when I looked over to see Walter sleeping with a piece of chicken at the end of his fork and a bite in his mouth. He was eating and sleeping. I woke him up to remind him to finish what was in his mouth before falling asleep and he smiled. I looked over again in a few seconds and he was sipping through his straw and sleeping again! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Here he is after dinner once we arrived at our hotel.

On Sunday, we packed up and made our way to Key Largo. We made a pit stop in Miami to watch the Florida Derby, but quickly realized it just wasn't a good idea. Although we got in with no problem, once we were inside there was no place to sit or stand in the shade. So we attempted to enjoy watching a few horse races in the mid day Miami sun and got back in the car to go to Key Largo. After dinner that night we all went to enjoy the sunset on the beach in front of our room. We relaxed on some beach chairs while the boys explored the shore and ocean. Though hard to choose one, this evening was my top highlight of the trip. It was quite peaceful and just lovely.

How come Florida is all fun stuff?

Surprise! We just returned from Florida yesterday! We had a chain countdown going for about 45 days...which I intended to blog about and never did. Well, we are back and (hopefully) so is my blog!

We left on Friday, April 1 (no foolin') and got in to Orlando at 10 pm local time. As we were driving to our hotel we were all pointing out all the exciting billboards and signs we saw along our way (let your kid imagination go wild...we saw it all from Mickey to Sea World to Alligators to Buzz to, well, you get the point) and Owen said "How come Florida is all fun stuff?"

On Saturday we went to the Magic Kingdom. It was packed, it was hot, we were tired (Walter had woken up in the middle of the night saying his ear hurt - we realized it was from the plane ride.), but it was also lots of fun! The unanimous family favorite was Splash Mountain, although sometimes Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Spin Around get thrown into the mix. Mickey's Philharmonic was also a big hit - a 3D movie that somehow magically splashed us with water. I loved seeing the boys faces during the parade and also loved getting the classic castle shots.

More later...