Field Trip Deja Vu

Megan's 3rd grade class had their field trip for the year. They picked the same place that they went last year, The Hands on Children's Museum. I have to say I wasn't exactly thrilled to be going to the same place again. This museum is all geared towards children from toddlers on up. It is all about imaginative play with all kinds of areas to choose from for the kids to create, explore, & play.

As a chaperon I had 4 girls total. Funny that I had 3 of the same from last year and the 4th was someone different. It felt like deja vu for sure. I was surprised that the kids all still really enjoyed themselves. There were groups all around and everyone looked to be having fun. I did have a few girls sit next to me a few times not wanting to play. I think there was just a bit of boredom.

All my girls got along great which was nice. I think I've been getting lucky with my chaperon assignments. Each time I've gone I really haven't had any problems. We explored every nook of this place and did as much as possible.

We of course repeated the areas a few times and again the favorite spot was the dress up area. We spent the bulk of our time there. The girls love being on stage and trying on different clothes.

This years workshop was learning about thunder and lightening. They got to make a cool craft. I'm sure I'm going to have to figure out how to make one for Andrew once Megan brings hers home and starts playing with it. Super simple card stock and paper thing that makes a thunder like noise when you swing it.

Overall another years field trip down and a few more to go. It means a whole lot to the kids for me to go and it is a perk of being a stay at home Mom. I've said that as long as I can make it I'll go to all of the functions for them. I know how much it means to them and I love doing something so simple.

Eggcellent Fun

Today was all about eggs for this family. We started our day at a community Easter egg hunt. We've never gone to this before so we didn't really know what to expect but thought it was worth a try. It only cost us a $1 per child and we couldn't pass it up. No parents were allowed on the fields just the kids in the age group hunting. So we just stood back and watched them run and collect.

Andrew's age group went first and he was funny. They had these golden eggs out there and if you found one you got a special prize. Andrew ran out and passed up so much stuff in the sea of kids. He only ended up with 3 eggs and some candy. He was more of a looker than a gatherer.

Megan's age group came next and since she saw exactly what to expect she thought she was prepared. Jeff tried to give her some pointers and she had a game plan. When they said go she pretty much did the same thing as Andrew. She ran out and did a circle of the field area and didn't pick up anything. The tricky part of her age group was that the golden eggs were not on the field. The helpers had them in their pockets and would randomly throw them out. Meg was so far out I couldn't tell her what was happening. She never clued in. She ended up with 2 eggs and 5 pencils. She really wanted that golden egg.

Andrew thought it was hard but fun. Megan thought it was a waste. There were too many kids and it frustrated her. We tried to say it wasn't what you ended up with just the fun of getting the chance to do it.

Next up for eggs was a little home dyeing. We usually don't do this as no one in this house will eat the hard boiled eggs but this year Jeff bought a kit out of the blue so it was egg dyeing for us. The kids each got 6 eggs and Jeff and I got 1 each to dye.

The kids loved making a mess and being creative. Andrew wanted all colors on all his eggs and just dipped and dripped everywhere. Megan took her time and was trying to be careful and perfect. She had a design and idea for each egg. It was tons of fun to see them be creative in their different ways. We've had a great day in an egg sort of way.

My kids have been on spring break this week. It has pretty much been gloomy and rainy everyday. Plus I still work each day and the kids have been limited to what they've been able to do. That would mean imagination was strongly at work. The kids run hot and cold with each other but come up with the most interesting things to occupy their time.

The next thing I knew yesterday Megan came out of her room followed by Andrew and this was what they looked like. They were geared up to play and it made me giggle. I had to stop them for a picture moment. I love the creative things they come up with. Today is their last day of play and I can only imagine what games they'll come up with. I hope they have enjoyed their week is some way.

Finding Interesting Things

As I was cleaning up Andrew's room today I found a little present in his bed when I pulled back the covers. He is fascinated with my kitchen tools. If I'm ever missing something I can bet one of the males in this house has them. Jeff takes things to work for his potlucks and they never seem to make it back. I can usually find the things he has taken in his car. His stuff makes it half way back to where it belongs. Having Andrew put them in his bed was a new one on me. I do find them in his room often. They seem to always be different tools each time for the most part. He especially loves the tongs. We have two of those since I can count on Andrew taking one. Whatever the obsession with kitchen tools is I'll never know. I'm not even sure what he does with them or why he needs so many. I guess it is somehow entertaining so I go with it. I've never found anything remotely interesting in Megan's room. Girls have it together I guess:}

Our 3rd Grade Scientist

Megan is finally old enough for her first official science project. I never remember doing a science project in my elementary school years till around 6th grade so this was pretty big for her. She felt really grown up and was very excited to work on it.

Meg picked the project of "make your own cloud" and as soon as she brought home the instructions she wanted to get started. We did several experiments and she was very involved. She was hands on the whole time and couldn't wait to get her board put together. Today is the deadline to turn in your projects and she requested a special drive in by mom privilege. As we pulled up there was a ton of kids with their parents and their big project boards. This school does a project for 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade so there was a huge group of us. Megan was super excited and it was nice to see her light up. I'm glad it's over and we'll see what we get next year.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Since our big VoFo family Disneyland trip 3 years ago we have been saving to go again. We finally had enough money to make a vacation happen so we took the plunge and planned the trip. It was our little family of 4 plus Grandma MarGene.

Jeff spent several hours of research trying to figure out the best way to make a great vacation. We had lots of elements to coordinate and he did a perfect job.

We headed to the airport at night after the kids got home from school. I got them in their pj's to make it easier for bedtime once we arrived at the hotel. Megan was a bit nervous wearing her pajamas in public but went with it anyway. Both kids were excited to get on the airplane and get there.

I think we were all very excited to hit our first day at Disneyland. Jeff was our coordinator and guide for each day. It's kind of funny since the man is directionally challenged that we let him be in charge. He would make most of the decisions as to when we started and what order we went on rides and so on. He'd let me know what was next and I'd guide us their directionally. Jeff did an excellent job and we had great timing the whole trip.

We spend 6 fun filled days bouncing back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure. We quickly determined that Disneyland had more to offer and we spend the bulk of our time over there. We even got to see Big Papa at the end when he came into town for business. We had a yummy dinner at ESPN Zone with him. It was wonderful.

It also took us a few days to get the hang of fastpass rides. On our first day the lines were really super short. I think the longest wait might have been 30 minutes but most were about 15 minutes or less. We didn't really bother with fastpasses because we didn't really get how they worked and figured we didn't need them with lines so short.

On our 3rd day we finally got the fastpasses working for us. It was our first attempt and once we understood how simple it was and that we could save a chunk of time we were fastpass addicts. We would continually plan out which rides we wanted to get them for. We even got a few that we never ended up using but were glad we had just in case.

We saw every show that the park had to offer and a few of them several times. I think just about every ride was repeated at least once if not several times. I think we averaged around 17 rides a day. We were on the go and constantly moving. We tried to pack in as much as possible on this vacation.

My kids were super good for us. They never had a melt down or cried once. There was the occasional whine or sibling rivalry but really it was hardly anything and nothing to mention. They were real troopers walking and keeping up with everyone. I was so proud of their behavior and how well it all went.

The only real hiccup in the trip was the 2 days of rain. It wasn't really bad but it was sprinkling enough to get you wet and a bit miserable. Most people had on poncho's or carried an umbrella. We were sticking to our stubborn guns and just putting on our hoodies. Probably wasn't the smartest move as we did get soaked but it was the choice we made. We did end up getting drenched during the World of Color water show and had to leave early. My poor little rugrats were miserable and I couldn't put them through much more of being cold and wet.

Andrew went on every ride at least one. He quickly figured out that some rides were not for him and let us know. Then somehow in the middle of the trip the dare devil in him came out and he decided to go on rides he said he didn't like. The next thing we knew he was going on everything with Megs except for one ride. He was totally scared of the Tower of Terror and refused to repeat that one but all others were fare game. It's a good thing because Jeff was bound and determined that his kids were not going to be scared of rides.

One big highlight to the trip was the Jedi training. They have like 6 shows a day and you gather around a stage and kids get picked from the audience to participate. On our first day we went to the show and didn't get picked. We still sat through the whole show and the kids were not too upset but thought it would have been fun. I think it was our 4th day we were passing by and the show was about to start so we thought we'd give it a try and low and behold both kids got picked!! Megan got picked first and we were so nervous that Andrew was going to get upset and the next thing we knew Andrew got picked too. It was so nice to get that out of the way. Andrew got to fight Darth Vader and Megan fought Darth Maul. They loved it and have talked about it often.

All in all we really had a great time. We got a bit tired at times and a few cranky flare ups but for 6 days of Disneyland it was all to be expected. We learned alot about different things that we might do if we end up going again like the pin trading and better fastpass usage. We learned the layout for food outside the park and different hotels. I guess you could say we became experts on our vacation. It was tough to come home and get back into the real world of life. I had a chat with Meg and we talked about how things like this become more special because we don't get to do them that often and it helps us to look forward to new and fun things.

Above are self portaits of Jeff and I after our trip. We went till we dropped and there was nothing left. We are so thankful for the chance we had to go and love our family dearly. Jeff has already mentioned wanting to go on another family trip in a few more years. I think we might be setting a tradition. We loved our vacation and enjoyed the happiness that it brought to our kids. I cherish these moments.