3: Epcot

Two main events in our day at Epcot.
The first one is not for the weak of stomach.
The second is super awesome cool.

So I'll start with the first one.
Let's just say there's a reason why they put
barf bags in the Mission: Space ride.
And they get used.
For this ride you have two choices
for your experience--
green is milder than orange.
We started with green.
It was fun!
Two boys wanted to conquer orange.
As we waited for the doors to open
so we could take our seats in the
spaceship
I got to thinking
how when my bro-in-law let us try the air force simulators
I got really dizzy
and that I don't even like pulling G's.
Then I saw them cleaning up the puke
from someone else who had just
ridden the ride
and I was out.
E thought he'd be fine.
That's a negative.
It's a good thing they had those bags I guess!
Of course, Kyler thought it was great!

Later on in the day,
we were in line to ride Soarin'.
We asked for the front row
so they had us step to the side to wait.
As we stood there,
a Disney cast member came up to us
and asked if we had ridden on the ride before.
We told him we had at Disneyland.
He asked us if we wanted the best seats
and a really amazing experience.
Uh, Yes!
He told us to follow him
and he brought us into a "secret" room.
There was another family there--
a mom, her teenage son, and his three friends.
It was never very clear,
but from what I gathered
this family was on a VIP tour
and the man was from guest relations.
He started telling us
about the three hidden Mickeys on Soarin',
how the idea for the ride came about,
that the people who created the ride and their families
are the ones on the rafts on the river
and a whole bunch of other interesting information.
One of the hidden Mickeys he mentioned
is on the golf ball that the golfer hits right at you.
He then told us that he's even heard that
you can reach out your hand and catch the ball.
The teenage boy affirmed
that he once saw someone at Disneyland catch it.
That made the boys believers and they were pumped
and ready to catch that ball.
The mom explained that she had heard
it helps if you shout
"I want that ball!"
We took our seats
front middle
with Kacin right next to the teenage boy
who was next to the
Disney man from Guest Relations.
When we got to the golf scene,
our entire row stretched out our arms
and shouted
"I want that ball!"
And what do you know?
Disney magic at its finest
the teenage boy revealed that he caught the golf ball!
He offered it to
wide eyed Kacin
and impressed Kyler.
So we now have the golf ball from the ride Soarin"!
I love Disney magic.

The only other pictures
I took on this hot day
were in cars
after riding Test Track.

2: Magic Kingdom

A most magical day 

at the Magic Kingdom.

15 hours of fun (and crowds).

This is the day our feet hurt the most

because we were all over that park

working our fast passes.

Saying hello
to Mickey and his friends
when they rode in on the train
to open the park for the day.

First ride--
the Indy Speedway.

We tried to all ride together
on Prince Charming's Carrousel
but then some kid came and snatched
Kacin's horse before he could get on.
While Kacin and I moved back to another spot
and E was trying to figure out what was going on
his horse next to Kyler got taken.
In the end,
Eric and Kyler
rode all alone.

Almost had the sword out this time!

We explored Tom Sawyer's Island.

We also enjoyed the Electrical Light Parade,

Dole Pineapple Whip,

and the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.

We thought we were safe

when we sat in the back row during the show.

Alas, we were not.

Well, I was not.

It was a funny show

until their camera went on me

and my face was up on the big screen

and I had to interact with a monster 

by making antennae on my head

and repeating silly noises

while he tried to guess the number I picked. 

1: Animal Kingdom

We ran on 5 hours of sleep that first day.
I guess it was more of a speed walk than a run,
but we went as fast as our legs could go
to get to everything we wanted to do at the Animal Kingdom.

Kacin was super excited to ride
Expedition Everest first.
We even waited for the front.
Unfortunately,
this thrilling ride was a bit more than he expected
and he was pretty shook up afterwards.
Kyler? I have yet to find any ride or dangerous feat
that shakes him up!
E loved the Safari ride
and I'm sure would've been happy riding it again and again.

Instead, the ride we rode over and over
E wouldn't even go on
and I could've passed on the spinney part--
the Primeval Whirl.

Animal Kingdom
was very zoo like.
We passed on looking at most of the animals
and called it an early day
around 5:30pm
so we could get a good night's sleep
and adjust to the time change.
A few more pictures from the day  . . .

Destination: Orlando, FL

When we found out E had
to travel again
for work
to Orlando, Florida
and that his conference happened to be during
our spring break
we could not pass up the opportunity
to tag along
and take advantage of a week of hotels
and E's plane ticket compliments of The work.
We planned a family vacation!
I was dying to tell the boys about our trip
from day one,
because I was too excited to keep it in.
E made me wait
so I just blabbed about it to everyone else.
We ended up telling them a little less than a month before the trip
so we could anticipate and be excited together.
And we were!
We left on a Tuesday
after mornings at school, teaching, and work.
We caught our plane at 2pm WA time
and arrived at 1:15am FL time.

Kacin letting Polo and Giraffy look out the window with him

First Derby

Ah, the great Pinewood Derby.
Scouts is a whole other world to me,
but Kyler has loved it
and the Pinewood Derby
was fun and exciting for him.
With my calling in YW,
I ran back and forth between
my beehive class and the derby
and was able to watch Kyler race
a few times and snap just a few pictures.
Kyler designed the army car.

Next Steps

Last month we started the process
to become licensed foster parents again.
It's been the plan that once we bought a house
we would consider becoming foster parents.
We bought a house.
We considered.
And now we start the process.
The long process.
So while other people visit dr.'s
and experience contractions
and the like,
my labor pains
started with a three hour orientation
followed by 27 hours of training,
6 hours of first aid/cpr,
and E and I each writing a 20 page novel about ourselves
in the form of an application.
To start.
Then after the licensing department finally gets around to it
they will process our paperwork,
we will get fingerprinted,
and wait up to 2 months for background checks to come back.
In the meantime,
we prepare our house
with locks on cabinets, fire escape ladders,
and beds and clothes ready for all children from 0-6.
If back ground checks pass the test,
we complete the homestudy
with three visits from our licenser.
And then
we will receive our license
to be official Washington foster parents.

In going into this,
there are many things I could be worried about
 . . .
who will we get? boy, girl, baby, toddler, child
how many kids will join us? one or maybe two
how long will they stay? a day, a month, a year, forever
when will they get here? next month, 4 months from now
. . .
It is scary not knowing what will happen
but it would be scarier
not knowing that a loving Heavenly Father
is there to give us
more strength than ever we could have on our own
and more peace than ever we could feel without Him.
I read the scriptures, and I know who to trust.
I pray, and my mind is clear.
I attend the temple, and I feel peace and understanding.
I feel blessed to understand now
that there is no need to worry and fear
and harbor bitterness for the things I can't control
because all things work together for good.

A Walk Home from School

Due to parent teacher conferences
(and the fact that we never seem to have
a full week of school),
it is early release all week.
The sun was shining
so the snow was melting
and I had an idea.
I would walk to get the boys from school.
Brilliant.
And as I was going there
I got to thinking
that Kacin may not be too thrilled
with a two mile walk home.
But it's all about the presentation.
I convinced myself if I said it just right
there would be no objections.
Kyler was game for an adventure home.
Kacin was game to stomp his feet at me.
After some persuasive
talk about all the fun I had planned
for the way home
and how he could trust me
and that good things happen to those with good attitudes,
we were off.
And I had 30 seconds to come up with some ways
to make walking
look as good as a trip to the fair.

I announced that first on my list of fun

was Follow the Leader!
yippee!
I tried my hardest
not to look too embarrassed
to make everyone
driving by in their cars jealous
that they were not in on our game.
We skipped, twirled, walked backwards,
took giant steps, and baby steps down the road.
After we each had our turn as leader
Kacin was all smiles
and ready for my next big idea!

Which was . . .

which was . . .

got it--

everyone pick a color.

For the next two blocks

we each counted the cars we saw

that were the color we picked.

Two green cars,

Four red,

and seven blue.

First place prize

(well, and second and third place for that matter)

was a bag of fruit snacks.

Could I make this walk any more exciting?

Only with a final game of

"I'm going to Disneyworld,

and I'm going to see . . .a . . .b . . .c, etc."

And that did the trick.

We made it home.

No one's legs fell off.

Success.

4th Times a Charm

Kacin was off to surgery this morning

for his 4th set of ear tubes.

After his last set fell out many months ago,

we've been monitoring his ears with monthly dr.'s visits.

The pressure in his ears wasn't balancing itself out though.

The eardrum was sucked in against the bone

causing a mild hearing loss.

Poor Kacin needed us to

repeat, speak louder, and turn up the volume

so he could hear.

Luckily, it was not permanent damage.

A pretty relaxed Kacin went into the surgery today.

He knew exactly what to expect

from the nurses, how they would help him fall asleep,

and the popsicles that would await him when he awoke.

And now, so it seems, this 4th set of tubes

has done the trick to restore his hearing.

I helped dizzy Kacin to lay on the couch

and turned on a movie,

and he asked me to turn the volume down.

And now he complains

that it is toooooo loud

when he flushes the toilet.

I just hope this set stays in for awhile

and helps those ears of his stay healthy.

Why I Won't Be Kissing E Anymore

No one's lips should get that close to a chicken.
Even if it's just for a picture.
Dis. turb. ing.

I'll Keep Them

I love my family.

I love that we've been watching Merlin together almost every night. And Kyler thinks it's almost as great as Star Wars. Kacin is not scared as long as I am holding his hand the entire time.

I love that I find chicken coop designs doodled on papers around the house. That would be Eric.

I love that we are all excited together for our trip to Disney World in a few weeks. Oh yeah!! Kacin spends a lot of time on the Disney World website and is making a list of the rides we simply have to go on. We are planning and counting down the days. :)

I love that I just got interrupted as I was writing this because Ky came sleep walking down to me. I jumped when he announced his presence into the room by telling me that Kacin told him you have to get things sometimes. And then you put them back he says. I asked what he was going to do now and he told me he was going to cuddle with me. When I walked him back to his room he asked me if I liked Harry Potter and if I wish I was there. I said yes. And he laid his head down and was quiet.

I love that Kacin can't keep secrets or tell lies or hide it when he gets in trouble at school or church.

I love that Kyler so willingly jumps in to help with dishes and vacuuming.

I love how proud Kacin is when he comes home from a day at school in which his teacher paid him a compliment.

I love that Kyler is so determined to read the D&C this year and spends much of his free time working in his cub scout book.

I love that Eric and I have been working together to tackle projects around the house. Slowly, but surely.

I love that we are all planning a party to celebrate the day our couch arrives and we don't have to lay on the floor with the air mattress as our couch. Because an air mattress does not make a very good couch. 6 more days!