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!

Busch Gardens

We had a voucher for a hotel stay to use before the end of the month, and we've been wanting to go to Busch Gardens. As FL residents, we can pay for a day and come back until the end of the year.

So, after bringing my mom to the airport Saturday morning, we were on our way. We got there about lunch time, ate, and all the boys wanted to do was get to Sesame Street. The park is really spread out, but really beautiful to walk through. They've done a great job with all the plants and buildings. It's supposed to be in Africa.

As soon as we got to Sesame Street, we saw Abby Cadaby. Alexander wanted to get right in line, but as soon as we got up to her, he was very shy. That happened with pretty much all the characters, so that's why you'll see me in the pictures, too.



Both boys saw on the computer that there was the Grover Airplane roller coaster, but Alexander was one inch too short. He was pretty upset that he couldn't go on it. But he was able to go on the rest of the rides in Sesame Street. Here are Bob and Glenn on the roller coaster (Glenn actually went on it 5 or 6 times over the two days).


Here they are driving The Count's car:


Glenn in Elmo's three floor tree house:


The boys loved the obstacle course:


Alexander was small enough to go under all of these instead of having to go over the lowest ones.


This was like a large bounce house floor. Thankfully they didn't allow kids much bigger than Glenn because when the larger kids bounced, the smaller ones were bounced off their feet. They were tired by the time they got in here and didn't even stay in the whole time they were allowed.


The safari carousel:




We had flavored ice freezes and they turned our tongues colors. We took this picture while waiting for a train ride.


Alexander loved the train


We were on the train and after getting to the opposite side of the park, they kicked us off because of an impending thunderstorm. Of course our stroller was on the other side of the park. So, we camped out for a bit while the worst of the storm went over. Alexander and Bob were getting cozy:


Then Glenn realized I was taking pictures


When it wasn't pouring, we made our way towards our stroller, and saw a movie theater that we thought was going to show the Sesame Street gang in 3D. Unfortunately, we did not look at the sign, which showed the Sesame Street show was only in the morning. The show we went into was with pirates. Both boys were scared and we had to leave before it was over. When we finally got to our stroller, it was pouring, so we left and went to our hotel.

For our second day, the boys of course wanted to go back to Sesame Street. On our way, we took this picture:


Elmo and Big Bird are Alexander's favorite Sesame Street characters. We saw Big Bird right away and he ran up to the line. But, again, he suddenly got shy. He did give Big Bird five.


We then got to see Elmo, but they didn't allow personal cameras in that area. But he didn't hug him like he did the last time he saw Elmo last year (at Sea World).

The boys went on a lot of rides:




At one point, Alexander was enjoying himself so much on the swings, he closed his eyes. I tried to get a picture of it, but was too late.







We had lunch with Elmo and Friends. The boys were very hungry since they were too busy to snack. So, they weren't too interested in the characters. Glenn loves to see them from far away, but will not get close to them. So, that's why you don't see any pictures of him with characters. Alexander had been exited to see Ernie, but was a bit nervous when he came to the table.


I wanted to talk to Cookie Monster, but wouldn't even look at the camera when we were close to him.


We got in a parade with the characters, and Glenn actually held Ernie's hand. I was shocked. He had a big smile. I think Alexander thought he was going to get stepped on and made me carry him:


Bert had missed our table, and at this point we were completely done eating. When Bert finally came by, Alexander was very excited. It took a little coaxing, but I got him to stand with Bert.




Alexander was crying just before we left because he wanted to hug Ernie, so he ran up to him and hugged him just before the characters left. There wasn't time to get a picture.

We let them play in the water before going home.


And here's one last photo of us at the lunch with Big Bird and Elmo (notice how the boys were really into meeting them):

Glenn Lost Another Tooth

In March, Glenn had his partial taken out. In case you don't remember why he had a partial, I'll recap. When he was 3, in preschool, they were pretending to be worms or insects or something. And a boy that was a little too into it kicked Glenn in the mouth. He lost the top two front teeth over the next year and then we got a partial put in to help him with his speech since it was still developing and wouldn't get his permanent teeth for a long time. Since he lost a tooth on his own at Christmas, it was time for the partial to come out. He was excited until we got to the dentist. Then he was nervous it was going to hurt. His gums were pretty sensitive for the next couple days since they had pressure on them for so long. I think it made him look like a first grader.

The bottom tooth he lost at Christmas has been coming in this past month and since it's so much bigger than the space left for it, it pushed out the other front tooth. It had been hanging on for the past week and finally came out while he was eating a cookie. Glenn came running to me to show me. I asked him where the tooth was and he said it fell on the floor. I looked over and London was licking the floor. So, we believe it is now in London's stomach. Glenn wasn't worried about the tooth fairy, though. He swallowed his last tooth while eating Cheetos and the tooth fairy still came. Speaking of which, the tooth fairy better get on with her duties...

Bob finished his jury duty. After 3 days of jury selection and a week and a half trial, he found out he was the alternate. So, he was thanked for his service and excused. So, now he's back to regular life. It was nice having him home every night, but he had to work in the evenings so he could stay somewhat caught up at work.

We had our first crop of snow peas this week. It took a long time to pick them all and get them ready, but they were sooooo good. Glenn loved taking them out of the pods (even though we said he could eat the pods).


We had our first "fire camping" (as Glenn calls it). The boys have been mentioning a lot lately that they wanted s'mores. So, I went to buy the stuff yesterday, and all the cheap graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate were sold out. Our community was having a campout at the soccer fields, and apparently bought Publix out. But we still got our fixins, just had to get cinnamon graham crackers instead (it was actually pretty tasty). Of course Alexander knew we were going to make s'mores all day today and kept asking for marshmallows. Finally we made them, and they were a delicious sticky mess.