An Extended Vacation

We returned home from Florida Monday, January 20, and school was supposed to resume Tuesday.  However, because of snow and cold weather school was out most of that week.  I think he finally went back two hours late on Friday!  We all wished we had just stayed in Florida!

 

Will built an "Olaf" snowman for me since I loved him so
much on Frozen!  : )

 

And together we scraped up most of the snow in the yard and built a big snowman.

 

We never got very much snow, only a few inches total, and mostly it was too
bitter cold to go out for long, but we did bundle up and enjoy a little
snow tubing in the front yard.  : )

 

Then we warmed up with hot chocolate and goofy faces for the camera  : )

 

Will's Travel Journal

While we were in Florida I had Will draw a picture of his favorite thing or what he remembered from the day and write a sentence about it.  Despite lots of protesting while creating them, he has been proud to share his drawings.  : )

 

 

Disney World!

Jerry has been needing a vacation recently, so we planned a trip to Orlando Florida over Will's long weekend in January.  It was a little last-minute (as are many things we do!), so we planned to drive down rather than fly.  We have driven down twice before and each time I say I will never do that again!  Recognizing my reluctance to drive, Jerry did plan a nice overnight stop for us in Savannah, Georgia.  : )

Grandad really loves Disney so we invited him to join us.  After giving it some thought and prayer(since he was still trying to recover his strength from his last bought of pneumonia) he decided to go along.  Sadly, the morning we were leaving he discovered his furnace had gone out.  As cold as it has been, he couldn't leave the house with no heat, so he acknowledged it as a sign that he really wasn't supposed to go.  We really missed having him with us, but even while we were there I thought several times that it really would have been to cold for him to be outside - especially the day we went to Epcot.

During our stop in Savannah we enjoyed dinner at the Lady & Sons restaurant and then spent some time walking through Forsyth Park the next morning before finishing our drive to Orlando.

 

 

Will actually did better on the drive than I thought he would despite the fact that he didn't sleep at all on the way down or back!  Our first day we went to Magic Kingdom.  By the end of the day, Will said his favorite ride was Space Mountain, even though after he got off he was scared to death and admitted to closing his eyes! 

 



 

 

 

The next day we went to Epcot.  It was FREEZING that day because of the wind, particularly in the morning.  That was when I felt most like it was a blessing that Grandad wasn't there trying to fight the cold.  Will was impressed by the ball and was excited about the ride that takes you inside it.  Looking back through the pictures at the look on Will's face, I think he was nervous that the ride would be like Space Mountain!  Of course, his favorite thing at Epcot was the Test Track ride, which we all really enjoyed, despite the incredibly long line we waited through (even WITH a Speed Pass).

 

 

Looking a little nervous!!

 

So cute with his cheeks full of cherries!



 

Will enjoyed a few of the "extra" rides in the parks:  the tram and monorail from the
parking lots, free rides on Daddy's shoulders, and a lift on the "Mama-rail"
when he was worn out by the end of the day. 
Actually, he used the gift card we had given him for Christmas to buy a
toy tram and a set of Disney buses as his souvenir!

After two full days at Disney parks, Will was getting a little worn down and we didn't feel like he could enjoy another park enough to justify the ticket price.  Instead on the third day we opted for something a little more low key.  I looked online hoping to find a nearby park or hiking trail so we could pack a picnic lunch and enjoy some of Florida's natural beauty that is so different from what we see everyday.  I ended up finding Blue Springs State Park just north of Orlando.  It's a natural spring that produces over a million gallons of crystal clear 72 degree water every day.  The warm water makes the area a perfect winter refuge for the West Indian Manatee.  We got great up-close views of them through the clear water - and there must have been over 40 in just one spot!  They really were amazing to see!  The spring is a protected area, but where it flows into the St. John's river, you can rent a canoe and paddle through the river near the spring.  The river water is black so you can't see the manatees as well there but we could see them as they swam close to the surface and right under our canoe.  : )

 

 

 

Too bad I blocked Will with my thumb as a result of trying to turn around and take pictures
while I was scared to death of flipping that canoe in that black water!!

 

 

The house we rented had a heated pool and hot tub, but it was too chilly for the pool to ever heat up enough to really enjoy.  We were able to get the hot tub nice and warm though, so Will enjoyed swimming in that.

Will also enjoyed quite a few rounds of "polar bear plunge" into the pool
then back to the hot tub to warm up!  : )

Winter Fun

Will got a whole toy store of gifts for Christmas!  I decided to put most of them away for now and open them one at a time over the next few months so he can actually enjoy each one.  They fill one of the storage closets in our basement!!


The tallest marble maze ever!!

If you have kids and don't have a marble maze set you NEED to get one!  I'm not sure who has more fun with it, me or Will!

A few days ago, the temperature dropped to -2 with a wind chill of -35!!  Of course school was closed (and of course we woke to no water thanks to a frozen well head) but we decided to try and enjoy the cold.  Mom suggested frozen bubbles!  We gave it a try but it was too windy.  Most of the bubbles popped in the wind before they froze, but we did manage to see a few freeze and shatter.  : )

New Year's Eve

We ended up having a VERY last-minute, small get together for New Year's Eve at our house.  We had such a nice time visiting and still ended up having a very early night.  Ours may take the record for the earliest New Year's party ever - we were cleaning up by 8:30 p.m. because everyone had a long drive back home.  It was totally NOT because we're getting old!!  ; )

 

We had fun playing with Will's new Air Swimmer.  It's a remote controlled
helium filled fish you can "swim" around the room!  I love it!

A Visit with the Honn Family

Lindsay, Jesse, and the kids came to visit the day after Christmas on their way to see family in Tennessee.  We all had such a wonderful visit and the kids played so well!  On Friday we were blessed with a sunny warm day so we packed a picnic lunch and hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail to Sawtooth Ridge.  It was great terrain for the kids - even Amie walked a good part of the time.  Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery after Christmas so I didn't get many pictures.  Fortunately, Lindsay got some REALLY great ones, so many of these I borrowed from her blog at http://www.lindsayandjesse.blogspot.com.  : )  Thanks, Lindsay, both for the pictures and for a great visit!

Brady was glad when we finally found a "lunch rock."  He was obviously hungry - he asked
when we were going to eat and I told him we would have lunch at the first big
rock we found to sit on.  After that he diligently pointed out any rock, asking if
that was a good lunch rock!  : )

Once again, similar to our last hike on the AT, we chose the difficult path
on the way up!  I was thankful we didn't have to descend by this route!
Jesse commented that it would be a workout for the "buns" and I
think he was right!  I could envision more sliding than
walking if we headed down that hill!

I love this picture Lindsay took for us!!  Will actually smiled!!!

Brady discovered an "orange smiley"

Christmas Magnet Gifts

Last year Will made salt dough magnets as gifts.  This year he made clothes pin magnets in several different styles.  I let him choose which one he wanted to make for each person.  : )

I couldn't post the picture until now since it would ruin the surprise!

Christmas!

It was so nice that we didn't have to travel for Christmas this year!  No worries about traffic on I-81 or concerns about getting all Will's toys home without renting a U-Haul!  : )

We enjoyed Christmas Eve at Aunt Carol's, followed by a candle light service (which Will loved since he got to hold a candle!).  We had Christmas morning at home for the first time in four years, then visited everyone in Covington. 

 

Will was really excited about the gold coin Grandad gave him for Christmas.  : )

Four generations - what a blessing!  : )

I just loved this picture of Napoleon!  He's so cute!

I was excited to put bows on my presents this year.  In the past I gave up the
effort because they always got crushed or fell off when we had
to pack the car to travel home.

I loved decorating the house this year - especially my live tree!