Collage Friday - The Disney Surprise!

I have always wanted to take the kids to Disney, but my husband and I have trouble spending so much money on a vacation.   Thankfully we lucked into a deal we could NOT pass up, and were able to take them for two days. 

It was a complete surprise.  The night before we left my parents' house (where we had been vacationing and making memories) my mom put together a cute Disney dinner.   After dinner, the kids each opened up an envelope with the Mickey paper inside.   


The kids were both shocked and excited.  I don't think they thought this was ever in their realm of possibility.  


We got up at 4 a.m. the next day (that was the hard part!) to arrive in Orlando by the time the park opened.  

My favorite picture from the trip was with Tigger.  If you can swing it, I highly recommend a character lunch in The Crystal Palace.  The food was very good, and it gave us a chance to sit down and relax while the characters came to us.  

Another highlight of our first day in The Magic Kingdom was my son's visit with Peter Pan.   We didn't wait that long to talk with him, and once there GMan really enjoyed interacting with him.

The first day we spent the ENTIRE day in the Magic Kingdom - until the end of the fireworks show at 11 p.m.  We were exhausted and got a bit of a slow start the next day, which we spent in Epcot.   I think if I could go again I would spend one more day in Epcot, because there was SO MUCH learning taking place there.   

1.  In jail at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - this was  FUN ride!  

2. A very happy girl at The Electric Light Parade

3.  Our hotel, Disney's Pop Century Resort.   It is one of their "budget" hotels.  We thought it was great for the kids - the dining, pools, arcade, etc... could keep kids busy forever.  (Do you see how the pool deck is a computer keyboard in the picture?) The rooms were a little small and the towels were the size of washcloths!  I don't think kids would care one bit about this, though.

4.  Miss B had just finished reading Swiss Family Robinson and was anxious to go in the treehouse at The Magic Kingdom.  It was WONDERFUL!  

5.  Here we all are!   The kids and my husband are all wearing "First Visit!" buttons.... our friend who works at Disney made sure they had them.  

6.  The kids could get a bear stamped and signed in each country they visited in Epcot.  This was my favorite thing about our trip - GMan had his name written in Japanese, too.   Epcot just has a more laid back atmosphere where you can stroll and learn.   It was good to sit down at lunch and have a beer and hard cider, too!  We ate at The Rose & Crown Pub in the UK Pavilion. 

7. While we waited for our table we strolled over to watch a funny skit about King Arthur and The Holy Grail -- which had just been studying in history!  

8.  My happy daughter - she loved this "old fashioned" phone booth.

9.   The Japan Pavilion 

It was a whirlwind two days, that's for sure.   

We came home and immediately jumped back into the swing of things for our LAST DAY OF CO OP for the semester.    We're all sad, but look forward to starting again in the fall.  

All of the classes the children take are so beneficial, but two in particular stood out this semester.   Miss B's Presidents class will always be remembered.... she won the Patriotic Pal award for memorization of presidents and The Preamble.  For 10 weeks the children learned all about presidents and our government.    Her teacher inspired such a love of learning and patriotism.     GMan's space class was a winner, too -- here he is with his model of the solar system.  

That's our crazy week in a nutshell.  Next week it's BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF FORMAL SCHOOL!!  I must say I am looking forward to ROUTINE and STRUCTURE!

How was your week?    

I'd love for you to join me for Collage Friday.  Please remember the guidelines:

1.  Please use photo collages in your post.... that's the whole reason for Collage Friday! 

2.  Link back to my Collage Friday post or display the button somewhere on your site.

3.  Please visit the person who linked ahead of you - leave them a comment and say hello.

  

Collage Friday - Reminiscing Down Spring Break Lane

Collage Friday is a bit different this week.    We have been on Spring Break for the week and are traveling to south Florida to visit my parents.  We will then go on a surprise excursion afterwards... I can't tell you where we're going, but the initials are D.W. and it is in Orlando, FL!


As I was thinking about the Collage Friday post, I decided it would be fun to do a collage of past spring break visits to Florida.   It's a tradition in our house to drive the 11 hours south to visit Grandma and Grandpa. 
We leave our house around 5 a.m. and drive ALL DAY.   We stop at Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast.  The kids love watching movies in the car (which we NEVER do!) and are very excited to see what awaits them once they get to Grandma and Grandpa's house.   


I enjoy returning "home", too.  I was born and raised in the same (not so small) town my parents still live in - and each time we go back I get to see  people from my childhood.  There are so many good memories, and I have my mom and dad to thank for that. I grew up in a town where I could literally ride my bike across town and had a lot of freedom... it's not like that anymore, but the memory of that place is pretty neat.    
Last year my mom and dad moved into a continuing care community.   They are both in  good health, but wanted to be in a place where they would have care if the need arises.  I'm happy that they love where they live and have an active and busy lifestyle.   I'm grateful to them for this decision... which alleviates a lot of worry for my sisters, brother, and I. I do wish they lived closer to us, but know they love where they are and probably wouldn't be as happy anywhere else.    
The older I get them more I see just how much my parents sacrificed and planned to make sure I had everything I needed... both of them were born during the Depression and they have seen a lot of change in their lifetimes.  I witnessed through them the value of hard work, perseverance, and the ability to make a better life for yourself. (I'm not so sure our country is quite like that anymore, which makes me sad.)  

1.  Miss B and Grandpa Jim - special times in the pool

2.  GMan - age 2 - on the beach

3.  Family picture -- mom was skinnier and dad had hair!

4.  Miss B lost one of her first teeth in Florida - isn't she cute?

5.  Enjoying a sleepover in a tent in Grandma and Grandpa's living room

6.  Dad and the kids - pool time!

7.  A special Valentine's dinner - my mom loves to decorate and throw parties!

8.  That's  big pelican in the back -- see him?

9.  A bit of a chilly day - just warm enough to dip their toes in the water

10.  Three generations

11.  More beach time!

12.  This year it was cold and windy, but we walked the pier and collected shells.

13.  Another family picture... many years ago!

14.  GMan was a silly daredevil from the time he was very young!

15.  All smiles! (and yes, I know I used this picture, twice.  See, I was very tired from packing, etc....!)

16.  Love that little boy!




I'd love for you to join me for Collage Friday.  Please remember the guidelines:



1.  Please use photo collages in your post.... that's the whole reason for Collage Friday!


2.  Link back to my Collage Friday post or display the button somewhere on your site.


3.  Please visit the person who linked ahead of you - leave them a comment and say hello.

Collage Friday: This Mom is TIRED!

This was our last week of school before our two week spring break.   We didn't officially take a "break" this winter, so we will be taking two full weeks off.   We will be traveling to south Florida (where I was born and raised) to see my parents, and then heading center state for a surprise trip on the way home.

I am TIRED at the end of this week.   Sometimes I feel like I just go, go, go.  You know what I mean.   I often wonder what we really accomplish (this increasingly interest led life is still a little hard for me to wrap my head around!), but when I put it all down in a weekly wrap-up I can see that we've been BUSY!    

I was pleased with everything we accomplished and learned this week.   We will be at the grand opening of the Legoland Discovery Center Atlanta all morning Friday... so excited that we get to be a part of the ribbon cutting ceremonies.  (Thank you, Kathy, for securing the tickets for us!) We will be there with my sweet friend Hope and her family.   Hope has been my encourager from day one, and I'm so excited she has recently started blogging!  

The above collage shows one day of our week that was especially productive.   We made a huge trip to the library (I actually had to take the basket from our family room and haul it into the library!).... one of our favorite books we checked out was Jabberwocky.  This is one of my favorite poems, and I think the kids enjoyed it as well. 

GMan has started cursive!  I stumbled across Cursive Writing Made Easy and Fun in the Scholastic Store for just $.99!    It is a wonderful download and I've been printing a sheet each day for G to complete.   He loves the exercises and is inspired to learn.  When I went searching for the link again it looks like the book doesn't exist in the Scholastic online store, but it is available through Amazon.    I was so pleased, however, with all of the downloadable books Scholastic has to offer.     The Scholastic Store wins my Favorite Resource this Week!  

Both children have been working with money.  GMan is working with basic counting of money.   Miss B is making change and doing word problems.   She even got some very real world experience one night this week when she went with her dad to work the concession stands at the baseball field!  It doesn't get any more practical than that!  

Lots and lots of hands-on learning occurred this week.   We are loving the Nebula Ball... lots to be learned from this, and I need to research some lessons to go along with it.  For now, the children are enjoying experimenting with it - I've left it plugged in and available all week for exploration.  


We finished the Louis Pasteur unit study, which was a home run in my opinion!   We are now watching mold grow on a plain banana, and also one with yeast on it... and we have bread in a bag that we're trying to let get moldy as well.   Each day we observe a little and write down our findings.  


Miss B made some yummy St. Patrick's Day treats!  I am witnessing her growing independence and maturity by leaps and bounds.    She is nearly as tall as I am and is just growing so fast.  

In the above collage you will see a newspaper article about Legoland Discovery Center opening in Atlanta.   We learned quite a few interesting tidbits from this article, and it was so sweet of our pastor's wife to drive this article to our house one day this week.


It has also been very warm here, and since it's nice and light in the evenings, GMan and his dad have been throwing the ball each evening.  It is one of my favorite things just to sit on the porch and watch them... it's a great time to count my blessings, of which there are so many.

I tried to take a little time each night to read -- The Hiding Place has been on my list for quite some time.   I'm enjoying it very much - what a powerful story (and I'm only 1/3 into it!).  I'm also completing a review of a Max Lucado book which I'll be sharing with you soon.
Thursday's co-op classes were very exciting for the kids because dad got to attend.  He has never been with us because he is of course at work.   Pictured above are Anna and some of her friends.  Do you see all of those smiles?   These children are such a sweet group and our co-op is SUCH A BLESSING TO US!    These four little girls in particular mean so much to my daughter and I.   
Miss B's favorite class by far is her President's class -- each class ends with a game of Presidential and First Lady JINGO.    I credit my daughter's love of this class to her amazing teacher - who exudes such patriotism and love for our country.   

Things not pictured this week:
* More Writing With Ease -- I LOVE this program!* A successful wrap-up of our fractions unit with Miss B.   We took extra TIME with fractions and it surely paid off.  *Learning about The Crusades in Story of the World... I had no idea there were EIGHT Crusades.  * Reading LOTS of picture books - I have picked a Caldecott winner each night.  * TONS of piano practice - Federation (a competition) is tomorrow and Miss B is READY!  Since I am teacher with students participating, I work ALL DAY Saturday at the competition.  * Miss B read this series of books this week - she's now very interested in Mt. Everest.   I love that homeschooling gives her the freedom to just READ!   * A new haircut for mom -- it's the little things, you know?* An afternoon at a friend's farm for Miss B... she loved spending time with her friends, the horses and goats.   I love that she has these friendships and a chance to do what she loves.  * Baseball, and more baseball - a practice, game and batting cages.

I'd love for you to link with Collage Friday.  I've been so pleased with the response to this link up, but I feel the need to issue some simple guidelines so we're all on the same page:
1.  Please use photo collages in your post.... that's the whole reason for Collage Friday!
2.  Link back to my Collage Friday post or display the button somewhere on your site.
3.  Please visit the person who linked ahead of you - leave them a comment and say hello.

I try my best to visit each person who links up.... be patient with me because it may take me a few days.  You have NO IDEA what I gain from reading each of your posts.  You are all a blessing to me!