We skipped this post last week because we (amazingly) didn't do anything on our bucket list for a full week. So, even though this post says Week 2... nothing was actually done that week. That doesn't mean we weren't really busy. We just didn't mark anything off the bucket list. In the week since then (Friday of last week until Thursday of this week), we did mark off a few things. Warning: Long post ahead!
We started on Friday of last week when we decided to take a last minute trip to Disney. We had on our bucket list to go have dole whip at the Polynesian but we didn't plan to go to Disney at that point too because our passes were supposed to be in blackout. Lo and behold, Disney decided to extend our time to visit the parks until the end of June (when they open Toy Story land at Hollywood Studios), so we were able to make one last trip before we blacked out. We decided to do Magic Kingdom. That was a twofold thing. One, because it is the kids' favorite park overall and two... it let us get to the Polynesian easily to get dole whip.
We started by heading out a bit after lunch. We made it down to the park easily enough and were in quickly and without any issues. We had to reset Kenzie's pass last time to make it use her finger instead of Steven's and we didn't have any issues getting in despite some concerns that she wouldn't do her finger correctly. We have definitely learned that the kids do not need a stroller at the parks. Well, if we were going to do Epcot including the World Showcase, we may still bring it. But otherwise, we don't worry about it. It definitely makes our travels much easier. When we got there, we immediately headed over to the speedway as it was our first Fastpass. Will rode with Steven and I took Kenzie. They are both getting remarkably good at those cars. They love this ride and there is always a boy vs girl thing going. Though I don't know if either of them really realizes that whoever sits first ends up in the front regardless because you can't get off the track and in front of anyone else on your own track. Oh well. They have a good time. We walked over to the carousel after that. The wait for it was quite long. There was some sort of issue or something and we had to wait to ride, but the kids always request the carousel so we bit the bullet and waited. Also, when the issue happened we were already at the front of the line so we didn't want to get out. Turns out, when we were done we were able to meet up with some friends for just a minute to say hi. We haven't seen them in a while and realized they were at the park that day too. It is always fun to see friends. We actually see people we know at the parks fairly often it seems when you consider how big the parks are and how likely you are to run into someone you know. Then it was time for our next fastpass at the Haunted Mansion (or ghost ride) as Will calls it. Will only requests this ride (we think) because he knows it bothers his sister. Point to the little brother. He actually does like it, but she is afraid of it she says (though she always says she likes it once it is done) so he requests it just because he knows she is going to complain. By the time we finished that it was almost time for dinner so we headed back to Tomorrowland to eat. We brought our dinner (as usual) but we like to sit at the big quick serve over there to eat. Once we finished we went over to Dumbo for our last Fastpass. Always a hit. We took the train back to Main Street and stopped very quickly in the Starbucks to see about buying a mug to replace the one I broke but the line was ridiculously long and we weren't willing to wait right then. We decided then to just head over to the Polynesian. We took the little boat over which was fun. The kids loved the resort and we almost felt like we were on vacation. We stopped at Pineapple Lanai and had dole whip. So good! Then we started to head down towards the beach to get a spot to watch the fireworks but we stopped to watch part of Up which they were playing on a big grassy area. We were even given an entire bag of popcorn because we were assumed to be guests. The kids were ecstatic with that. We eventually headed over to the beach and lucked out when someone got up from a beach chair and we were able to snag it. The kids played in the sand while we waited for the fireworks. Disney pipes in the music and although we couldn't see everything projected on the castle, we saw the fireworks and it was great! The kids thought it was really cool. We could even see Tinkerbell when she took her flight from the castle. She was a green ball of light, but we could make her out as Tinkerbell (plus we knew she was coming). The bonus to being there instead of the parks was that it was so much easier to get back to the car on the monorail. It was crowded for a lot of the ride but we didn't have to wait to get on. As the monorail went through the park, it was so crowded as people waited and we didn't have to deal with that so I can't complain. Will was out before we were off property and Kenzie fell asleep at some point on the way home. They were done. (Kenzie had field day at VBS that morning so it was a long day for her.)
Saturday morning we had Nana, Papa, Grandma, Grandaddy, Uncle Rick, and Aunt Danielle over to celebrate Father's Day. They all came over for lunch. We let the dads open gifts before we left for lunch though. Will got Daddy hats that said "The Original" and "The Remix". Kenzie got him a shirt that said "Best Dad Ever" but used the music notes "D-A-D" instead of saying it. We also updated his DAD picture as we do every year. This is probably my favorite year of it yet. We went to The Catfish Place (actual name of the restaurant) which was really good. The kids love this restaurant because it has a train in it. Seriously. That is all the ever remember about it. After lunch we came back and had dessert at our house before everyone headed out. After everyone left we debated going to the pool for a while but ended up finishing up our runs first. Steven had to do 3 miles and I'm focusing on my 1 mile a day right now. I took Kenzie with me and she did really well for not running in a while. She wanted to quit at about .3 miles but ended up sticking it out (with a bit of whining but not much) to 1 mile. We are proud of her. A mile is a lot longer than you think it is when you run it. We did end up at the pool later in the day. We have spent a lot of time there lately. The kids are obsessed this year. Will is still iffy on coming off the stairs (though we did finally have him doing it on Saturday) but Kenzie is like a fish. It really clicked for her towards the end of the summer last year but this year... wow. She is doing amazing.
Sunday we had church in the morning but after lunch we packed up the car and set off for the beach. We knew low tide at Jungle Hut was supposed to be around 5:30pm and we wanted to catch it. The kids love the tide pools that the rocks leave. When we got to Jungle Hut there were signs saying the park was closed but people were obviously on the beach so we ignored the signs like they all did. It was amazing. Maybe 4 or 5 families on the beach when we got there and maybe 3 when we left. We were worried about parking but it turned out better than expected. Grandma and Grandaddy came over and joined us. The kids had a blast digging in the sand, splashing in the waves, and walking on all the rock. While we were there hunting shells, I happened to see a dead fish stuck upside down under a rock. When I got closer I realized it was a baby hammerhead. While a crazy sad sight, we were amazed that we found a hammerhead on this beach as it is one shark we haven't heard of being there before. We thought they were usually more towards South Florida and in the Gulf. We pulled it out from under the rock to show the kids and grandparents. The kids thought it was so cool. I feel like I should make sure to reiterate that it was long dead before we found it. I think when we initially posted pics of it that people may have thought we hurt it in some way. Definitely not. The tide had moved out of that area quite some time before we found it. It was dead enough that it was stiffening up. We put it back into the water eventually but there was no way we could have saved it. We also found quite a few nice shells too. They were not as abundant as the first time we were at this beach in low tide, but we did find some. The kids decided they wanted to fly a kite on the beach (check another item off the bucket list) again this year so we did that for a while. It didn't hold their attention all that long this year. They would rather play in the water or sand. I think that is one item that won't make its way back onto the list next year. Last year they were obsessed with kite flying. This year it lasted about 3 minutes. Funny how they change. Their priorities at the beach have certainly shifted. We had a picnic dinner after that. One thing about eating on the beach... be prepared to eat a bit of sand. I think Will always ends up with the most because the kid constantly has sand on his hands. Doesn't seem to bother him. Shortly after eating we packed it up and headed out to Grandma and Grandaddy's house to clean up some before making our way home. We weren't home until about 10. Will fell asleep pretty early on in the car but Kenzie didn't fall asleep until about 10 minutes from the house. Both kids slept in (for them) Monday morning so I am calling our busy weekend a success.
Monday the kids started swimming lessons (another bucket list item but I won't mark it off until they are over). They had a brief intro class to get reacquainted with the process on Monday. Will teared up once when he realized he had to go underwater but he calmed easily and was fine the rest of the lesson. Kenzie teared up once when asked to float. It is still the one thing she isn't sure about. I think it is the lack of control she feels she has but she also calmed quickly and did what she was told with no issues.
Tuesday we met up with one of Kenzie's classmates at the Winter Garden Fountains for some fun playtime. This was another item on the bucket list that makes a reappearance every year. I'm thinking we will try to make it out to the fountains more often this summer. We got there bright and early when it turned on and before the crowds and heat of the day. The kids had a blast. They even had a makeshift picnic as both of the moms brought some snacks. Technically my kids ate breakfast, brunch, and lunch on Tuesday as they had full meals while at the fountains and then requested lunch when we got home. Will is still in an iffy stage for the fountains. Kenzie used to be like this. They shoot up pretty forcefully so he doesn't get too much into them but likes to fill buckets and dump them all over the place. Kenzie was soaked within 2 minutes of the fountains turning on though. We had a great time. Will was so worn out that he even decided to take a nap when we got home. Well, technically I left the kids watching a movie and he fell asleep during it. I wish he could know he could actually take a nap daily. That won't happen though.
Wednesday we had swimming lessons again. After that though we were able to participate in the Michael's Camp Creativity. I signed the kids up for this particular day about a month ago and they have been looking forward to it. We signed up for a day when they decorated bird houses. I let them choose between a few options and this is the one they decided on. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. Usually I can get behind things like this even if they aren't amazing, but this was chaos. And not even controlled chaos. Parents were obviously using it as a babysitting option, kids were kind of all over the place, no one even checked if we had paid and I could have just shown up and told them I did, it took longer for the girl to put the materials together than it did for the kids to paint their birdhouses, then it was just over, and the girl in charge wasn't really into it. Oh well. You live, you learn and we learned that we probably won't do another one. Glad I didn't pay for more than this one already. The kids did enjoy their 5 minute painting session and were proud of their bird houses so that was a win. We also hit up the library for some new books since we missed story time that morning for the Michael's thing.
Thursday t we went over to the library to attend a comedy magic show. They have a lot of events going on over the summer and this one was pretty good. The kids thought he was hilarious so that is a win. I'm loving the weekly Thursday morning activities they have this summer. Next week we are going to see Talako Indian Dancers so that should be fun.
Now that it is Friday, we are winding down week 1 of swimming lessons. Will cried through most of his today just because he freaked himself out about the requirement to go down to get a sinking toy at the end (instead of three floating ones he had to do 2 floating and 1 sinking) which set him off. He calmed some towards the middle of the lesson and (in typical Will fashion) despite his crying, he did everything he was told to do and he did it pretty well. Kenzie did great! She has been working a lot on floating and the backstroke as Ms. Shunda knows that she despises being on her back in the pool and we need to build her confidence Then it was just a lot of errands. This evening we are seeing Mike, Sevie, and Reilly. I also have the Secret Sister reveal at church tonight so I'm looking forward to that. This weekend is Kenzie's dance recital and we are all very excited. Should be a good weekend and maybe some more fun things next week. Happy Summer!
We started on Friday of last week when we decided to take a last minute trip to Disney. We had on our bucket list to go have dole whip at the Polynesian but we didn't plan to go to Disney at that point too because our passes were supposed to be in blackout. Lo and behold, Disney decided to extend our time to visit the parks until the end of June (when they open Toy Story land at Hollywood Studios), so we were able to make one last trip before we blacked out. We decided to do Magic Kingdom. That was a twofold thing. One, because it is the kids' favorite park overall and two... it let us get to the Polynesian easily to get dole whip.
We started by heading out a bit after lunch. We made it down to the park easily enough and were in quickly and without any issues. We had to reset Kenzie's pass last time to make it use her finger instead of Steven's and we didn't have any issues getting in despite some concerns that she wouldn't do her finger correctly. We have definitely learned that the kids do not need a stroller at the parks. Well, if we were going to do Epcot including the World Showcase, we may still bring it. But otherwise, we don't worry about it. It definitely makes our travels much easier. When we got there, we immediately headed over to the speedway as it was our first Fastpass. Will rode with Steven and I took Kenzie. They are both getting remarkably good at those cars. They love this ride and there is always a boy vs girl thing going. Though I don't know if either of them really realizes that whoever sits first ends up in the front regardless because you can't get off the track and in front of anyone else on your own track. Oh well. They have a good time. We walked over to the carousel after that. The wait for it was quite long. There was some sort of issue or something and we had to wait to ride, but the kids always request the carousel so we bit the bullet and waited. Also, when the issue happened we were already at the front of the line so we didn't want to get out. Turns out, when we were done we were able to meet up with some friends for just a minute to say hi. We haven't seen them in a while and realized they were at the park that day too. It is always fun to see friends. We actually see people we know at the parks fairly often it seems when you consider how big the parks are and how likely you are to run into someone you know. Then it was time for our next fastpass at the Haunted Mansion (or ghost ride) as Will calls it. Will only requests this ride (we think) because he knows it bothers his sister. Point to the little brother. He actually does like it, but she is afraid of it she says (though she always says she likes it once it is done) so he requests it just because he knows she is going to complain. By the time we finished that it was almost time for dinner so we headed back to Tomorrowland to eat. We brought our dinner (as usual) but we like to sit at the big quick serve over there to eat. Once we finished we went over to Dumbo for our last Fastpass. Always a hit. We took the train back to Main Street and stopped very quickly in the Starbucks to see about buying a mug to replace the one I broke but the line was ridiculously long and we weren't willing to wait right then. We decided then to just head over to the Polynesian. We took the little boat over which was fun. The kids loved the resort and we almost felt like we were on vacation. We stopped at Pineapple Lanai and had dole whip. So good! Then we started to head down towards the beach to get a spot to watch the fireworks but we stopped to watch part of Up which they were playing on a big grassy area. We were even given an entire bag of popcorn because we were assumed to be guests. The kids were ecstatic with that. We eventually headed over to the beach and lucked out when someone got up from a beach chair and we were able to snag it. The kids played in the sand while we waited for the fireworks. Disney pipes in the music and although we couldn't see everything projected on the castle, we saw the fireworks and it was great! The kids thought it was really cool. We could even see Tinkerbell when she took her flight from the castle. She was a green ball of light, but we could make her out as Tinkerbell (plus we knew she was coming). The bonus to being there instead of the parks was that it was so much easier to get back to the car on the monorail. It was crowded for a lot of the ride but we didn't have to wait to get on. As the monorail went through the park, it was so crowded as people waited and we didn't have to deal with that so I can't complain. Will was out before we were off property and Kenzie fell asleep at some point on the way home. They were done. (Kenzie had field day at VBS that morning so it was a long day for her.)
Saturday morning we had Nana, Papa, Grandma, Grandaddy, Uncle Rick, and Aunt Danielle over to celebrate Father's Day. They all came over for lunch. We let the dads open gifts before we left for lunch though. Will got Daddy hats that said "The Original" and "The Remix". Kenzie got him a shirt that said "Best Dad Ever" but used the music notes "D-A-D" instead of saying it. We also updated his DAD picture as we do every year. This is probably my favorite year of it yet. We went to The Catfish Place (actual name of the restaurant) which was really good. The kids love this restaurant because it has a train in it. Seriously. That is all the ever remember about it. After lunch we came back and had dessert at our house before everyone headed out. After everyone left we debated going to the pool for a while but ended up finishing up our runs first. Steven had to do 3 miles and I'm focusing on my 1 mile a day right now. I took Kenzie with me and she did really well for not running in a while. She wanted to quit at about .3 miles but ended up sticking it out (with a bit of whining but not much) to 1 mile. We are proud of her. A mile is a lot longer than you think it is when you run it. We did end up at the pool later in the day. We have spent a lot of time there lately. The kids are obsessed this year. Will is still iffy on coming off the stairs (though we did finally have him doing it on Saturday) but Kenzie is like a fish. It really clicked for her towards the end of the summer last year but this year... wow. She is doing amazing.
Sunday we had church in the morning but after lunch we packed up the car and set off for the beach. We knew low tide at Jungle Hut was supposed to be around 5:30pm and we wanted to catch it. The kids love the tide pools that the rocks leave. When we got to Jungle Hut there were signs saying the park was closed but people were obviously on the beach so we ignored the signs like they all did. It was amazing. Maybe 4 or 5 families on the beach when we got there and maybe 3 when we left. We were worried about parking but it turned out better than expected. Grandma and Grandaddy came over and joined us. The kids had a blast digging in the sand, splashing in the waves, and walking on all the rock. While we were there hunting shells, I happened to see a dead fish stuck upside down under a rock. When I got closer I realized it was a baby hammerhead. While a crazy sad sight, we were amazed that we found a hammerhead on this beach as it is one shark we haven't heard of being there before. We thought they were usually more towards South Florida and in the Gulf. We pulled it out from under the rock to show the kids and grandparents. The kids thought it was so cool. I feel like I should make sure to reiterate that it was long dead before we found it. I think when we initially posted pics of it that people may have thought we hurt it in some way. Definitely not. The tide had moved out of that area quite some time before we found it. It was dead enough that it was stiffening up. We put it back into the water eventually but there was no way we could have saved it. We also found quite a few nice shells too. They were not as abundant as the first time we were at this beach in low tide, but we did find some. The kids decided they wanted to fly a kite on the beach (check another item off the bucket list) again this year so we did that for a while. It didn't hold their attention all that long this year. They would rather play in the water or sand. I think that is one item that won't make its way back onto the list next year. Last year they were obsessed with kite flying. This year it lasted about 3 minutes. Funny how they change. Their priorities at the beach have certainly shifted. We had a picnic dinner after that. One thing about eating on the beach... be prepared to eat a bit of sand. I think Will always ends up with the most because the kid constantly has sand on his hands. Doesn't seem to bother him. Shortly after eating we packed it up and headed out to Grandma and Grandaddy's house to clean up some before making our way home. We weren't home until about 10. Will fell asleep pretty early on in the car but Kenzie didn't fall asleep until about 10 minutes from the house. Both kids slept in (for them) Monday morning so I am calling our busy weekend a success.
Monday the kids started swimming lessons (another bucket list item but I won't mark it off until they are over). They had a brief intro class to get reacquainted with the process on Monday. Will teared up once when he realized he had to go underwater but he calmed easily and was fine the rest of the lesson. Kenzie teared up once when asked to float. It is still the one thing she isn't sure about. I think it is the lack of control she feels she has but she also calmed quickly and did what she was told with no issues.
Tuesday we met up with one of Kenzie's classmates at the Winter Garden Fountains for some fun playtime. This was another item on the bucket list that makes a reappearance every year. I'm thinking we will try to make it out to the fountains more often this summer. We got there bright and early when it turned on and before the crowds and heat of the day. The kids had a blast. They even had a makeshift picnic as both of the moms brought some snacks. Technically my kids ate breakfast, brunch, and lunch on Tuesday as they had full meals while at the fountains and then requested lunch when we got home. Will is still in an iffy stage for the fountains. Kenzie used to be like this. They shoot up pretty forcefully so he doesn't get too much into them but likes to fill buckets and dump them all over the place. Kenzie was soaked within 2 minutes of the fountains turning on though. We had a great time. Will was so worn out that he even decided to take a nap when we got home. Well, technically I left the kids watching a movie and he fell asleep during it. I wish he could know he could actually take a nap daily. That won't happen though.
Wednesday we had swimming lessons again. After that though we were able to participate in the Michael's Camp Creativity. I signed the kids up for this particular day about a month ago and they have been looking forward to it. We signed up for a day when they decorated bird houses. I let them choose between a few options and this is the one they decided on. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. Usually I can get behind things like this even if they aren't amazing, but this was chaos. And not even controlled chaos. Parents were obviously using it as a babysitting option, kids were kind of all over the place, no one even checked if we had paid and I could have just shown up and told them I did, it took longer for the girl to put the materials together than it did for the kids to paint their birdhouses, then it was just over, and the girl in charge wasn't really into it. Oh well. You live, you learn and we learned that we probably won't do another one. Glad I didn't pay for more than this one already. The kids did enjoy their 5 minute painting session and were proud of their bird houses so that was a win. We also hit up the library for some new books since we missed story time that morning for the Michael's thing.
Thursday t we went over to the library to attend a comedy magic show. They have a lot of events going on over the summer and this one was pretty good. The kids thought he was hilarious so that is a win. I'm loving the weekly Thursday morning activities they have this summer. Next week we are going to see Talako Indian Dancers so that should be fun.
Now that it is Friday, we are winding down week 1 of swimming lessons. Will cried through most of his today just because he freaked himself out about the requirement to go down to get a sinking toy at the end (instead of three floating ones he had to do 2 floating and 1 sinking) which set him off. He calmed some towards the middle of the lesson and (in typical Will fashion) despite his crying, he did everything he was told to do and he did it pretty well. Kenzie did great! She has been working a lot on floating and the backstroke as Ms. Shunda knows that she despises being on her back in the pool and we need to build her confidence Then it was just a lot of errands. This evening we are seeing Mike, Sevie, and Reilly. I also have the Secret Sister reveal at church tonight so I'm looking forward to that. This weekend is Kenzie's dance recital and we are all very excited. Should be a good weekend and maybe some more fun things next week. Happy Summer!
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