Freestyle:
Backstroke:
Monday, June 30, 2014
Swimming Videos
This is the last week of junior swim team for Carter. He's made amazing progress! Here are a few videos from tonight ...
Freestyle:
Backstroke:
Freestyle:
Backstroke:
Blue is a Berry Good Color
Last week's gardening class was called "Blue is a Berry Good Color". It was too muddy to go into the garden but there were still some fun activities for the kids.
A local blueberry farmer came to the class to tell us all about his farm and how he grows blueberries. The kids all behaved amazing well and paid attention (it's been a tough year so far with the unconcerned parents and poorly behaving kids!).
After listening to the farmer, the kids got to color paper with blueberries by squishing them. Rylan didn't freak out too much about his dirty hands!
Next it was time for a little taste-testing.
Rylan didn't even want to try his blueberries which made Carter very happy :)
Before leaving the kids checked out their blueberry bushes through the fence. It's still going to be a couple of weeks before their blueberries are ripe but the bushes looked pretty full!
A local blueberry farmer came to the class to tell us all about his farm and how he grows blueberries. The kids all behaved amazing well and paid attention (it's been a tough year so far with the unconcerned parents and poorly behaving kids!).
After listening to the farmer, the kids got to color paper with blueberries by squishing them. Rylan didn't freak out too much about his dirty hands!
Next it was time for a little taste-testing.
Rylan didn't even want to try his blueberries which made Carter very happy :)
Before leaving the kids checked out their blueberry bushes through the fence. It's still going to be a couple of weeks before their blueberries are ripe but the bushes looked pretty full!
The Garden of Weeding
I need to catch up on the last couple of week of the boys gardening class at Harlinsdale Farm. There is no class this week because of the Fourth of July (Harlinsdale is the location of the Franklin fireworks display).
Two weeks ago, the class was called "The Garden of Weeding". Before the kids got to work cleaning up the garden, Ms. Lisa released 500 ladybugs into the garden. The kids loved finding ladybugs on them for the rest of class! The ladybugs help to keep the aphids in check and also help pollinate as they do it.
Then it was time to weed the raised beds by hand. With all the rain the previous week, it was easy to find lots of large weeds to pull!
The kids also got to spray a natural weed killer made from apple cider vinegar and dish soap on the weeds along the outside of the beds. I'm curious how effective it really is. We keep the garden organic.
At the end of class, the kids got to collect dried up poppy flowers for the seeds (to take home and plant for next year).
Two weeks ago, the class was called "The Garden of Weeding". Before the kids got to work cleaning up the garden, Ms. Lisa released 500 ladybugs into the garden. The kids loved finding ladybugs on them for the rest of class! The ladybugs help to keep the aphids in check and also help pollinate as they do it.
Then it was time to weed the raised beds by hand. With all the rain the previous week, it was easy to find lots of large weeds to pull!
The kids also got to spray a natural weed killer made from apple cider vinegar and dish soap on the weeds along the outside of the beds. I'm curious how effective it really is. We keep the garden organic.
At the end of class, the kids got to collect dried up poppy flowers for the seeds (to take home and plant for next year).
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
Swim Test
Carter passed today!!! This was his second attempt at the swim test at the Maryland Farms YMCA and he did it!!! Carter was nervous to try it again, but I he tried it without me having to beg too much :)
When he finished he kept saying, "I'm so proud of myself!" We are so proud of him too!!!
A horrible picture of Carter a little after the test showing off his new bracelet ...
These are VERY important :)
A better picture taken this afternoon ...
When he finished he kept saying, "I'm so proud of myself!" We are so proud of him too!!!
A horrible picture of Carter a little after the test showing off his new bracelet ...
These are VERY important :)
A better picture taken this afternoon ...
Monday, June 23, 2014
Luke's Birthday Party
Rylan went to his very best school buddy's birthday party on Saturday. Luke (the birthday boy) and Rylan were never more than a few feet from one another during that party! They are so, so sweet together. This was the first time I've actually gotten to see them play since we've never done a playdate outside of school (his mom works full time so it's hard to get together).
Luke had a superhero themed party. Spiderman even showed up! Luke is standing next to Rylan in the picture below.
Who knew that Spiderman could paint faces!!!
Rylan really wanted his picture taken with Spiderman :)
Rylan almost split open the piñata with his crazy good hit! He definitely knocked out a few treasures and the big kids eventually finished it off.
The party was at Luke's house and they had a bounce house that the boys played in most of the time. It was super fun except for when a fuse blew and the bounce house quickly deflated on Rylan as he was about to get out (he was the last one in there at the time)!
I didn't know anyone until about midway through the party when one of my friends showed up. I did however talk to Rob Bironas for a while without knowing who he was! He was the kicker for the Tennessee Titans for nine (?) seasons through last year (and apparently one of the better NFL kickers for awhile). I'm clueless though and never recognize anyone famous around here (our area is full of them!).
Too bad Luke's uncle had to give the boys' bunny ears in this picture because it was a cute one of Rylan and Luke! Happy Birthday!!!
Luke had a superhero themed party. Spiderman even showed up! Luke is standing next to Rylan in the picture below.
Who knew that Spiderman could paint faces!!!
Rylan really wanted his picture taken with Spiderman :)
Rylan almost split open the piñata with his crazy good hit! He definitely knocked out a few treasures and the big kids eventually finished it off.
The party was at Luke's house and they had a bounce house that the boys played in most of the time. It was super fun except for when a fuse blew and the bounce house quickly deflated on Rylan as he was about to get out (he was the last one in there at the time)!
I didn't know anyone until about midway through the party when one of my friends showed up. I did however talk to Rob Bironas for a while without knowing who he was! He was the kicker for the Tennessee Titans for nine (?) seasons through last year (and apparently one of the better NFL kickers for awhile). I'm clueless though and never recognize anyone famous around here (our area is full of them!).
Too bad Luke's uncle had to give the boys' bunny ears in this picture because it was a cute one of Rylan and Luke! Happy Birthday!!!
Recent Pictures
I am so behind on blogging! I spent hours and hours spreading mulch last week and I'm still not done. But I have made a huge dent in the pile (less than 20% is left). Brian worked insane hours last week and all weekend so I haven't gotten much of a break from taking care of the kiddos. Plus I'm TRYING to get ready for Rylan's birthday party this weekend - I'm so far behind on it. Maybe if we didn't go to the pool every single day I'd be more caught up!
Anyway, here are some photos from the last few weeks.
I've been taking the boys to the Brentwood Library once a week to see one of their summer shows in the afternoons. A few weeks ago they had the Natural History Educational Co there. The animals weren't as good this year but the boys' favorite was the parrot. Carter HAD to take a picture of it.
Being silly while waiting for sunscreen to soak in before going into the Maryland Farms YMCA pool ...
Random, but Carter actually had the courage to try the swim test last week there. Once a kid passes the swim test, their parent doesn't have to always be arms length away (and you can only have one child at a time being arms length away). We were planning on heading there right after my OB appointment on Thursday. When we got there, I discovered that I had packed everything but Carter's trunks. Carter had already decided in the car that he was going to try the swim test and because I wanted to give him that chance while he actually wanted to do it, we drove all the way back home and got them. We were only left with about 45 minutes to swim but that's okay. And Carter did not pass the test but got 60% of the way before pausing too long and sort of treading water for a couple of seconds (you have to swim 25 yards without stopping and using fully extended arms while doing a freestyle stroke - they are REALLY strict).
Last week was dry and super hot but the week before was cooler and super rainy. On the Friday of the rainy week we went to Ashley's house for a playdate. Carter and Harper (almost 2) were too cute playing air hockey together!!!
Last Monday, Ashley invited us over again to go swimming in their neighborhood pool. This pool rivals Disney World. It was the most amazing set of pools I have ever seen. Plus there is a large water slide that I even went on because it was so cool. Carter loved it (Rylan didn't try it but he was too short to do it anyway). There were a ton of kiddos in our group (Ashley, Missy, Laura, and our kids).
Rylan made this center photo for me for Mother's Day at school LAST YEAR. I have it on a little dresser in my closet along with the handprint Carter made. Rylan somehow always sneaks his picture out and puts it on the dresser in our bedroom between pictures from our wedding :)
On Thursday we got to see Roger Day at the Brentwood Library. He is probably my favorite local children's performer. Warren (Missy's husband) brought their kids to the show too which made the show even more fun!
Our favorite song is "It's a no no to kiss a Rhino!". The boys sing it (and many improvised versions) all the time (even though we see Roger Day maybe twice a year).
On Friday we went to Radnor's fourth birthday party. Radnor was Rylan's best buddy in his first year of preschool (they were in different classes this past year). It was at his neighborhood pool and lots of fun.
Carter lounging with Radnor next to him ...
Rylan is getting so brave!
Radnor had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme, just like Rylan is having this weekend!
Anyway, here are some photos from the last few weeks.
I've been taking the boys to the Brentwood Library once a week to see one of their summer shows in the afternoons. A few weeks ago they had the Natural History Educational Co there. The animals weren't as good this year but the boys' favorite was the parrot. Carter HAD to take a picture of it.
Being silly while waiting for sunscreen to soak in before going into the Maryland Farms YMCA pool ...
Random, but Carter actually had the courage to try the swim test last week there. Once a kid passes the swim test, their parent doesn't have to always be arms length away (and you can only have one child at a time being arms length away). We were planning on heading there right after my OB appointment on Thursday. When we got there, I discovered that I had packed everything but Carter's trunks. Carter had already decided in the car that he was going to try the swim test and because I wanted to give him that chance while he actually wanted to do it, we drove all the way back home and got them. We were only left with about 45 minutes to swim but that's okay. And Carter did not pass the test but got 60% of the way before pausing too long and sort of treading water for a couple of seconds (you have to swim 25 yards without stopping and using fully extended arms while doing a freestyle stroke - they are REALLY strict).
Last week was dry and super hot but the week before was cooler and super rainy. On the Friday of the rainy week we went to Ashley's house for a playdate. Carter and Harper (almost 2) were too cute playing air hockey together!!!
Last Monday, Ashley invited us over again to go swimming in their neighborhood pool. This pool rivals Disney World. It was the most amazing set of pools I have ever seen. Plus there is a large water slide that I even went on because it was so cool. Carter loved it (Rylan didn't try it but he was too short to do it anyway). There were a ton of kiddos in our group (Ashley, Missy, Laura, and our kids).
Rylan made this center photo for me for Mother's Day at school LAST YEAR. I have it on a little dresser in my closet along with the handprint Carter made. Rylan somehow always sneaks his picture out and puts it on the dresser in our bedroom between pictures from our wedding :)
On Thursday we got to see Roger Day at the Brentwood Library. He is probably my favorite local children's performer. Warren (Missy's husband) brought their kids to the show too which made the show even more fun!
Our favorite song is "It's a no no to kiss a Rhino!". The boys sing it (and many improvised versions) all the time (even though we see Roger Day maybe twice a year).
On Friday we went to Radnor's fourth birthday party. Radnor was Rylan's best buddy in his first year of preschool (they were in different classes this past year). It was at his neighborhood pool and lots of fun.
Carter lounging with Radnor next to him ...
Rylan is getting so brave!
Radnor had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme, just like Rylan is having this weekend!
Friday, June 20, 2014
19 Weeks, 6 Days Appointment
After my ultrasound yesterday, I met with my doctor. She said everything looked great with the ultrasound. Baby boy is growing perfectly. The ultrasound tech was able to measure everything except one thing with the heart. The baby was curled up tight, way up in my belly, and she had a lot of difficulty trying to get everything! Plus he was moving around a ton (though I still don't feel him a whole lot). Looks like we are not having that easy-going third child :)
My weight was up to 136 lbs so I gained 3 lbs in the last month (11 lbs total). My blood pressure was 104/52 so again my doctor told me to NOT limit my salt intake (which is good since I've been drinking Gatorade like crazy while working in the yard in this heat). I haven't been dizzy every time I stand up like I was earlier in the pregnancy so that is good!
My doctor said that the placenta is at the back of my uterus so having a VBAC is still a great option (not sure what we are doing yet though). The baby is also measuring almost a week ahead (go figure - a big baby!). According to the ultrasound, he is currently 11 oz.
And I'm still expanding ...
My weight was up to 136 lbs so I gained 3 lbs in the last month (11 lbs total). My blood pressure was 104/52 so again my doctor told me to NOT limit my salt intake (which is good since I've been drinking Gatorade like crazy while working in the yard in this heat). I haven't been dizzy every time I stand up like I was earlier in the pregnancy so that is good!
My doctor said that the placenta is at the back of my uterus so having a VBAC is still a great option (not sure what we are doing yet though). The baby is also measuring almost a week ahead (go figure - a big baby!). According to the ultrasound, he is currently 11 oz.
And I'm still expanding ...
Another Boy!
We are super excited to have another baby boy! We love our boys! Carter and Rylan were both expecting the baby to be a girl - they really wanted a sister. A lot of the kids we play with have little sisters, and I think our boys like taking care of them. But they will be able to do the same for a little boy! Carter's reaction was to be quiet. Rylan's was typical Rylan - he stared me down, then stuck out his tongue, and went "pppbbbbttttt". However they were super excited to tell any friends we saw yesterday afternoon that the baby is a boy!
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Mulch
This is what I'm going to be working on for the next few days (or longer).
This morning we had 11 yards of playground mulch delivered. I had a couple of hours this afternoon to work on it and got 2 beds mulched. It got into the 90s today though so I was taking it slow and probably drank 1,000 calories in Gatorade (silly pregnancy limiting me!).
I had a couple of little helpers for a few minutes (the boys decided it was too hot and watched a movie instead).
This morning we had 11 yards of playground mulch delivered. I had a couple of hours this afternoon to work on it and got 2 beds mulched. It got into the 90s today though so I was taking it slow and probably drank 1,000 calories in Gatorade (silly pregnancy limiting me!).
I had a couple of little helpers for a few minutes (the boys decided it was too hot and watched a movie instead).
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Fireflies
We decided to let the boys stay up late last night to catch fireflies. Lately they have been showing up right around the boys' bedtime, so after bath, we went outside. We didn't see many fireflies for a few minutes and then they were everywhere! Since it was dusk and not totally dark yet, it was really easy to see the fireflies flying around after they lit up. We all caught a bunch easily - even Rylan.
I really thought Rylan was squishing them in his hands because he wasn't very gentle (especially when putting them in the bug box) but all seemed to survive!
(We ended up with at least twice as many fireflies by the time we went in.)
We finally went inside when it was too hard to see the bugs after they lit up, making them really hard to catch. The boys had a blast but hopefully won't beg to catch them every night now :)
I really thought Rylan was squishing them in his hands because he wasn't very gentle (especially when putting them in the bug box) but all seemed to survive!
(We ended up with at least twice as many fireflies by the time we went in.)
We finally went inside when it was too hard to see the bugs after they lit up, making them really hard to catch. The boys had a blast but hopefully won't beg to catch them every night now :)
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Jr Swim Team Update
Carter did really well his first day of junior swim team last Monday. He wasn't great at it or anything, but he tried and seemed to enjoy it. Afterward he told me it was actually kind of fun.
Then when it was time to go back on Wednesday, Carter was freaked out. He was suddenly extremely scared (to the point of tears when he was getting into the water). Just a few hours before he was doing a flip into the pool with Suzy's kids. I had no idea why he was so scared. He could barely function in the water - only going a few feet before wanting to grab the lane divider or wall.
Thursday was more of the same. The drive to the pool was hard and then we had to wait an extra 30 minutes to get into the pool because there was a passing thunderstorm which also closed the indoor pool for 30 minutes. I had even called Brian on the way to the pool to ask him to come if he could to help Carter with his confidence. Carter made it through practice again but there were some tears in his goggles and he would not stick that bottom lip back in.
After practice Carter could not warm up. We went out to dinner and he fell asleep while there. When we got home we took Carter's temperature and it was 100F. I took him to the pediatrician the next morning to discover he had a double ear infection. I really don't think that is what made Carter freak out but I'm sure it didn't help.
Carter's next practice was this Monday. Carter was still scared. However, our neighbors that told us about the program were finally starting it that day after being out of town for two weeks. Emory and Cade (who is on Carter's soccer team) are twins and start kindergarten with Carter in the fall. Cade is a decent swimmer but Emory was just as freaked out as Carter. There was also another boy there that had missed a week that was extremely scared and kept having to leave the pool.
Having friends there and not being the only scared one seemed to help Carter tremendously. About halfway through practice Carter actually looked at me with a half smile! After practice he told me he actually had a little fun. Plus, by not being so scared, Carter actually swam so much better. He made it half way down the 25 yard pool without grabbing onto anything. His coaches were very excited for him!
After practice Carter also got his team shirt and swim cap. He had to put the shirt on right away and where it the next day.
Yesterday Carter asked me all day if it was time to go to swim practice yet. He appeared excited which was awesome. When it was time to go though he told me he was a lot scared and a little excited. This was still an improvement. But, wow, did he do so good yesterday. He didn't appear scared and instead of standing in the water and not moving while waiting for his turn (and encouraging everyone to go in front of him), he was diving under the water and enjoying himself. The very last thing the kids do at practice is jump into the deep end (10 1/2 ft) and swim freestyle to the other end of the pool (25 yds). For the first time ever, Carter made it the entire way across without stopping!!! Yay!!! This is also what kids have to do to pass the swim test (they are really picky though about not pausing at all and full arm extensions). Coach Victoria was super happy and told me she knew he'd be at that point in a week. I'm excited to see what today's practice will be like!
The kids have been working on freestyle and backstroke. They use kickboards at the beginning of practice and even used them yesterday for backstroke. It really helped Carter with backstroke - his kick is so much better. Practice is supposed to be 45 minutes (and 3 days a week), but Coach Victoria has been making it almost an hour each day. Carter has 3 weeks left and I'm hoping he can pass the Y's swim test by the end!
Then when it was time to go back on Wednesday, Carter was freaked out. He was suddenly extremely scared (to the point of tears when he was getting into the water). Just a few hours before he was doing a flip into the pool with Suzy's kids. I had no idea why he was so scared. He could barely function in the water - only going a few feet before wanting to grab the lane divider or wall.
Thursday was more of the same. The drive to the pool was hard and then we had to wait an extra 30 minutes to get into the pool because there was a passing thunderstorm which also closed the indoor pool for 30 minutes. I had even called Brian on the way to the pool to ask him to come if he could to help Carter with his confidence. Carter made it through practice again but there were some tears in his goggles and he would not stick that bottom lip back in.
After practice Carter could not warm up. We went out to dinner and he fell asleep while there. When we got home we took Carter's temperature and it was 100F. I took him to the pediatrician the next morning to discover he had a double ear infection. I really don't think that is what made Carter freak out but I'm sure it didn't help.
Carter's next practice was this Monday. Carter was still scared. However, our neighbors that told us about the program were finally starting it that day after being out of town for two weeks. Emory and Cade (who is on Carter's soccer team) are twins and start kindergarten with Carter in the fall. Cade is a decent swimmer but Emory was just as freaked out as Carter. There was also another boy there that had missed a week that was extremely scared and kept having to leave the pool.
Having friends there and not being the only scared one seemed to help Carter tremendously. About halfway through practice Carter actually looked at me with a half smile! After practice he told me he actually had a little fun. Plus, by not being so scared, Carter actually swam so much better. He made it half way down the 25 yard pool without grabbing onto anything. His coaches were very excited for him!
After practice Carter also got his team shirt and swim cap. He had to put the shirt on right away and where it the next day.
Yesterday Carter asked me all day if it was time to go to swim practice yet. He appeared excited which was awesome. When it was time to go though he told me he was a lot scared and a little excited. This was still an improvement. But, wow, did he do so good yesterday. He didn't appear scared and instead of standing in the water and not moving while waiting for his turn (and encouraging everyone to go in front of him), he was diving under the water and enjoying himself. The very last thing the kids do at practice is jump into the deep end (10 1/2 ft) and swim freestyle to the other end of the pool (25 yds). For the first time ever, Carter made it the entire way across without stopping!!! Yay!!! This is also what kids have to do to pass the swim test (they are really picky though about not pausing at all and full arm extensions). Coach Victoria was super happy and told me she knew he'd be at that point in a week. I'm excited to see what today's practice will be like!
The kids have been working on freestyle and backstroke. They use kickboards at the beginning of practice and even used them yesterday for backstroke. It really helped Carter with backstroke - his kick is so much better. Practice is supposed to be 45 minutes (and 3 days a week), but Coach Victoria has been making it almost an hour each day. Carter has 3 weeks left and I'm hoping he can pass the Y's swim test by the end!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Disney - Day 6 (Magic Kingdom)
I really need to finish these Disney posts from February!!! Luckily I took notes each night after the kids went to sleep on what we did so I'd be able to blog about it!
The sixth day of our trip (fifth day in the park) was Thursday, February 27th. We decided to head back to Magic Kingdom on this day since they had Magic Hours. We finally got to the gate at 8:30 am. It took us a long time to get from the parking lot because employees said the monorail was not working and we had to use the ferry. We just missed a ferry and as we got into line, we saw the monorail staring to take passengers. Oh well. And then as we were walking to the ferry, a bird totally hit me in the head as it was flying! So random!
The boys wearing the Mickey ears they got the night before at Downtown Disney ...
We had planned to go to Adventureland first since we'd missed most of it earlier in the week but it was still closed (they don't open until normal operating hours), so we got in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and The Barnstormer. The boys really wanted to get in "jail" with Zurg after the Buzz ride.
Adventureland had opened by this time so we headed there and rode Pirates of the Caribbean. It had rained all afternoon the previous day and all night but luckily we only had to dodge a few showers on Thursday morning. When we came out of the ride, it was raining so we did the Pirates ride again since there was no line. The boys really liked the ride except for the one drop. They are still singing, "Yo Ho Yo Ho! It's a Pirate's Life for Me."
Next we did The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (since there was almost no line still) and Swiss Family Treehouse (which I had somehow never been in).
Next we waited in line to meet Buzz Lightyear while both Brian and I rode Space Mountain using a rider swap pass. Brian ended up being with the boys when they finally met Buzz and got to take the picture :)
Our next stop was Peter Pan's Flight which we had a fast pass for. The kids really liked the ride. Carter asked to go on it again the rest of the day but every time we checked the wait on our phones, it was 40 to 60 minutes.
Everyone was hungry so we stopped at our safe and easy lunch place in Magic Kingdom - Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. Then we decided to try something new that I don't think was at Magic Kingdom a few years ago - Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
The "game" is a little difficult to explain but here is a very simplified explanation. When you begin, a cast member gives you a special map of the park and a stack of spell cards.
Then you go to a series of Magic Portals where you try to defeat a villain with your spell cards.
When you find a portal, you put you Magic Band up to a key hole to open the portal.
The screens for the portals aren't obvious - they are hidden in pictures or inside shop windows.
You have to stand on these emblems and hold a spell card up towards the portal when prompted.
There is a camera that can read your spell card.
I think we did two rounds of the game (Main Street, USA and Adventureland later in the day) but honestly, we never really got it. There is strategy for what spell card to use but the kids just picked whatever one they liked. I think you can hold up multiple cards sometimes and I'm not sure we were always holding up a card when we could have been.
There were some people that were REALLY into it. They had huge binders with hundreds of spell cards and their screens did some crazy stuff unlike our simple little stories. Those people must have season passes and come all the time.
Our next stop was Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. Rylan begged to ride this every time we saw it though we go on the one at the zoo all the time.
Then we did Mickey's PhilharMagic, which is another 3-D show. Rylan still hated having air blown in his face. He's fun to watch though because he really reacts to the 3-D images and the water and air that are used to make scenes seem more real.
We took a round-trip ride on the Walt Disney World Railroad from Frontierland.
Then we headed over to the Jungle Cruise to use our fast pass.
We did our second Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and then a handful of rides (Tomorrowland PeopleMover, a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Mad Tea Party, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant).
The boys really loved the new play area at the Dumbo ride. It was really hard to get Rylan to leave - not having a nap was really catching up with him!
After the Dumbo ride we stubbled upon some clowns (the Giggling Gang?) setting up for a show.
Carter got some attention from the clowns a couple of time because of his Mickey ears so he ended up taking them off and didn't want to wear them anymore :)
We were all about ready to go but the boys requested to ride Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid again. The wait was 20 minutes but they were patient!
After that we headed out. Rylan fell asleep in the stroller as we were walking out the exit. The monorail wasn't running so we took the ferry to the parking lot, which Carter was a little disappointed about. We got to the car around 5:45 pm and Carter fell asleep right away. Since both boys were out, we picked up Chipolte to go and took it back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the evening watching cartoons and relaxing. We fit so much into our day that we were done by then!
The sixth day of our trip (fifth day in the park) was Thursday, February 27th. We decided to head back to Magic Kingdom on this day since they had Magic Hours. We finally got to the gate at 8:30 am. It took us a long time to get from the parking lot because employees said the monorail was not working and we had to use the ferry. We just missed a ferry and as we got into line, we saw the monorail staring to take passengers. Oh well. And then as we were walking to the ferry, a bird totally hit me in the head as it was flying! So random!
The boys wearing the Mickey ears they got the night before at Downtown Disney ...
We had planned to go to Adventureland first since we'd missed most of it earlier in the week but it was still closed (they don't open until normal operating hours), so we got in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and The Barnstormer. The boys really wanted to get in "jail" with Zurg after the Buzz ride.
Adventureland had opened by this time so we headed there and rode Pirates of the Caribbean. It had rained all afternoon the previous day and all night but luckily we only had to dodge a few showers on Thursday morning. When we came out of the ride, it was raining so we did the Pirates ride again since there was no line. The boys really liked the ride except for the one drop. They are still singing, "Yo Ho Yo Ho! It's a Pirate's Life for Me."
Next we did The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (since there was almost no line still) and Swiss Family Treehouse (which I had somehow never been in).
On our way back over to Tomorrowland, we stopped for our traditional photo in front of the castle (in the same exact spot as our two previous trips).
Next we went on another ride we'd never done before. The line has always been super long for Astro Orbiter but we were walking by, it was only 10 minutes so we decided to try it. It's like the Dumbo ride except it's much higher off the ground (you take an elevator up to it), much faster, and the cars also tilt inward. Once Rylan was up the elevator he changed his mind about the ride but I forced him to do it (we only went up once, and not all the way).
Next we waited in line to meet Buzz Lightyear while both Brian and I rode Space Mountain using a rider swap pass. Brian ended up being with the boys when they finally met Buzz and got to take the picture :)
Our next stop was Peter Pan's Flight which we had a fast pass for. The kids really liked the ride. Carter asked to go on it again the rest of the day but every time we checked the wait on our phones, it was 40 to 60 minutes.
Everyone was hungry so we stopped at our safe and easy lunch place in Magic Kingdom - Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. Then we decided to try something new that I don't think was at Magic Kingdom a few years ago - Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
The "game" is a little difficult to explain but here is a very simplified explanation. When you begin, a cast member gives you a special map of the park and a stack of spell cards.
Then you go to a series of Magic Portals where you try to defeat a villain with your spell cards.
When you find a portal, you put you Magic Band up to a key hole to open the portal.
The screens for the portals aren't obvious - they are hidden in pictures or inside shop windows.
You have to stand on these emblems and hold a spell card up towards the portal when prompted.
There is a camera that can read your spell card.
I think we did two rounds of the game (Main Street, USA and Adventureland later in the day) but honestly, we never really got it. There is strategy for what spell card to use but the kids just picked whatever one they liked. I think you can hold up multiple cards sometimes and I'm not sure we were always holding up a card when we could have been.
There were some people that were REALLY into it. They had huge binders with hundreds of spell cards and their screens did some crazy stuff unlike our simple little stories. Those people must have season passes and come all the time.
Our next stop was Prince Charming Regal Carrousel. Rylan begged to ride this every time we saw it though we go on the one at the zoo all the time.
Then we did Mickey's PhilharMagic, which is another 3-D show. Rylan still hated having air blown in his face. He's fun to watch though because he really reacts to the 3-D images and the water and air that are used to make scenes seem more real.
We took a round-trip ride on the Walt Disney World Railroad from Frontierland.
Then we headed over to the Jungle Cruise to use our fast pass.
The boys really loved the new play area at the Dumbo ride. It was really hard to get Rylan to leave - not having a nap was really catching up with him!
After the Dumbo ride we stubbled upon some clowns (the Giggling Gang?) setting up for a show.
Carter got some attention from the clowns a couple of time because of his Mickey ears so he ended up taking them off and didn't want to wear them anymore :)
We were all about ready to go but the boys requested to ride Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid again. The wait was 20 minutes but they were patient!
After that we headed out. Rylan fell asleep in the stroller as we were walking out the exit. The monorail wasn't running so we took the ferry to the parking lot, which Carter was a little disappointed about. We got to the car around 5:45 pm and Carter fell asleep right away. Since both boys were out, we picked up Chipolte to go and took it back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the evening watching cartoons and relaxing. We fit so much into our day that we were done by then!
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