What have we been up to this summer?

We've been pretty busy since Glenn got out of school. We went to the FL Museum of Natural History at the Univ. of FL in Gainesville. Besides a bunch of regular natural history museum stuff (bones, birds and so on), which scared Alexander because of the noises they have playing (nature sounds), they also have a butterfly enclosure, that is beautiful. We had gone last year, but I think there were a lot more butterflies this year. They kept landing on me and I had to remind myself not to swat them. Here are some pictures from there:

The boys were a little nervous of all the butterflies flying around, afraid they were going to bite:




Look at the baby turtles:


Our favorite butterfly, the Blue Marpho:


The boys had four days of swim lessons. Alexander cried through most of them, and Glenn cried through two of them. However, they are both more confident in the water and are on their way to being swimmers. I'd like to put them in another week, but I'm not sure we can all handle it emotionally.

This past week, we were in Orlando. We wanted to be there so that we could see Bob's sister, Cindy, Ray, Andrew and Danny. They didn't come until Tuesday, and we actually went to Orlando on Saturday. It was a very busy, exhausting week. But we had so much fun.

On Sunday, Father's Day, we went to Busch Gardens. We met up with Bob's friend, Tony and his family. Bob spent most of the time riding big kid rides with them and the boys and I spent the day in the Sesame Street area (again!). Here are some pictures from that day:

Okay, so Bob found some time to pick bugs off the boys like a monkey before riding the big kid rides:




Glenn actually met Big Bird. He does not like to meet characters, but he's getting used to it because his brother likes to pose with some characters:


Thankfully Big Bird's chaperon took this picture because the boys wouldn't stand there without me. But you've got to admit, he is a really tall bird!


Alexander actually wanted to have his picture taken with the lion when we left, but he was asleep at this point (hardly ever happens) so Glenn thought he'd get his picture taken with the lion:


I gave Bob an indoor RC helicopter for Father's Day. Here are the boys playing with it in our condo:


Our good friends, and Glenn's first "girlfriend" just moved to Tarpon Springs in FL (north of Tampa). So we took the opportunity of being a little closer to visit them. We went to the sponge docks, which boasts being the biggest place to get live sponges, and have a sponge factory. It was fun seeing the ships and of course Glenn had to get a sponge! Both boys love using it in the bath. We saw this little ride and of course the kids had to ride:




Tarpon Springs has one of the largest Greek populations in the US. I think all the restaurants on the sponge docks were Greek. So, after eating some delicious gyros (okay, the kids had hot dogs), we went to a playground that is near our friends' house where you can see a bay and some beautiful houses. I had to have the kids pose behind a palm tree:


Back at our friends' house, they have a swing in the front yard, and Alexander was posing for me:






We went to Downtown Disney one night for ice cream at Ghirardelli. Glenn wanted this huge sundae, which he only ate half of. Then we went to the toy store (I got Alexander some b-day presents without him knowing) and we took some pics.

We love Buzz:


...and Mr. "Tomato" Head (that's what Alexander calls him):


...okay, Minnie and Mickey, too:


We spent a day with Bob's sister and family at their much nicer resort pool (ours was NOT so great). And then we spent the next day with them at Disney's Blizzard Beach. That was a lot of fun! Glenn and Alexander loved the lazy river where you ride on the tubes (Alexander was laying on me most of the time, but his Daddy some, too). Alexander made an easy friend at the toddler area. There was one slide that was his favorite, and for most of an hour, he and this little girl would hold hands walking up to the top of the slide and wait for each other at the bottom. The most interesting part is that they didn't speak the same language: she had just moved from Turkey. They would smile at each other, and probably never realized they didn't speak the same language. It was so adorable!

Then on Friday, we were back at Busch Gardens. Daddy stayed with us this time. :) We got there about lunch time, and it started raining. We had to wait a while for them to open up the rides.

Looking at the RC boats:




The Red Baron:




They were excited to be in the front of the train:


Alexander loves motorcycles (this fascination scares me):


A hippo ate my child!


Glenn, get out while you still can!


The turtle:


Alexander could have looked at these baby alligators all day. He said he wanted them in his room:


We had to ride the train!


Getting sleepy:


We got to spend Saturday morning with Bob's sister and family. Oh, and Glenn slept the night with them. And now we're home! It's so good to be home! The only thing I have planned in the next three weeks it Alexander's B-day (can you believe he'll be three on July 8th). Then we'll be going back to Orlando for a week to spend with Bob's parents and uncle. It's one of the hazards of moving to FL! :)

Kindergarten Awards

Glenn had his kindergarten awards this morning. All of the kindergartners walked silently into the cafeteria (that was impressive). And then they sang several songs. It was so cute! Each student in each class was recognized. The picture is dark and fuzzy because I was on the opposite side of the room from where his class stood.


And then they sang a couple more songs. My favorite was they sang to the Grease tune, Summer Lovin', but changed the words: "Kindergarten, happened so fast. Kindergarten, had me a blast. Found a teacher, perfect for me... "
It was awesome! They even had the boys and girls singing separate parts, just like in the Grease tune.

Then we went back to his classroom and the teacher had put together a scrapbook for each child to bring home. That was a lot of work! And we have a portfolio of work across the whole year. She also gave us some workbooks, ones they didn't finish (and we got an extra one because I was asking what she would recommend- yay!). So, we'll be having "school time" throughout the summer to keep him up on his skills. He actually enjoys it- hopefully that continues.

They also received their Kindergarten Completion Certificate. Here's Glenn getting his:


And standing with a proud brother:


And someone can't wait to go to school, too:


Glenn will have field day this afternoon. Of course it's going to be in the mid 90's. It's only a half hour, but it's going to be a hot half hour.

Alexander is signed up for preschool. We went to visit last week and he loved it. He wanted to follow the other kids and enjoyed playing with the toys and playing on the playground. It's a small preschool in a church 10 minutes from our house. He's signed up for two days a week, 3 hours a day, but is on the wait list for three days a week. If he stays in the two days a week class, he'll be in it with one of his friends from our play group. If he gets in the three days a week class, he'll be taught by our friend that lives around the corner from us. So, either way, I'll be happy. He didn't want to leave the school when it was time to go. And on the way home, he said, "My school is fun!" in the most excited voice possible, over and over again. He realizes that when he starts school, Mommy and Daddy won't be there with him, and he says this often and then says, "Only me." And randomly through the day he says, "Mommy, I miss you, too." (He always says, too for some reason). But he won't start until the end of August. So, he's got a while.

Glenn gets out for the summer Wednesday of next week. Then we have swim lessons planned for both boys the following week. Then we'll be staying in Orlando for a week, visiting Busch Gardens and Bob's sister and family will also be in Orlando for part of that time. So, we've got a busy month ahead of us, but it'll be fun!