Night Rocket

We survived Andrew's first pinewood derby.  Boy is this cub scout event intense.  You have to have it not too long, not too short, and just the right weight.  It's all official with a measurement and weigh in.  Andrew was super excited to race

He told Jeff what design he liked and exactly what he wanted.  Jeff had to take the heavy tools to cut it down to size but Andrew helped in the sanding and painting of the car.  Megan even got in the action helping add the rocket and stars.  Andrew's first idea was just plain black but then decided he needed more and that's where a helpful big Sister came in.

It was fun to see the family work so hard on the car and really hope they had the fastest one.  Andrew was so excited that when he got home from school he decided to test it out on the counter in the kitchen.  I tried to tell him not to play with it but I was too late.  It went sailing off the counter and crashed on the floor.  The result was the loss of a wheel and a bent rear axle.  He almost had a meltdown right then.

I don't think any of us were too happy with the damage that got done right before the big race but what do you do.  Jeff got home in just enough time to do a quick repair job but we did have one crazy rear wheel.

There were lots of men around to help get the race cars ready.  Some needed last minute adjustments.  We had one car that was a bit too heavy and had to have some wood cutting and so on.  After all was sorted out and the boys had their fun with the practice runs it was time for the real thing.

Andrew was so excited for every race he ran and he did pretty good.  We were probably towards the end of the pack as far as wins but that didn't matter.  He just wanted to race as many times as possible and loved hearing when it was his turn.

In the end we learned a lot about our first pinewood derby.  Andrew got the award for the most colorful.  He even got a gold trophy that he gets to keep.  Andrew had a blast with his night rocket car and can't wait to build the next one.  He already has some ideas of what he wants and we'll have to see if Jeff is able to pull them off.

Great time for the whole family.  The scouts do get to do some pretty cool stuff.  We are super happy for all that he is learning in scouts and how much fun he has.  We can't wait for the next big event.



Reptiles...

The school had the Reptile Man come and do an assembly and then an encore show at night for parents.  My kids came home from school that day talking non stop about how cool all the reptiles were and how much they really wanted to hit up the night time show.  I was totally game to go but Jeff was on the fence.  He could take it or leave it.

Of course the kids and I won out and we headed out to the show.  Jeff was on his way home from work and had to meet us at the school so we went solo until he could join us.  We played in the park area while we waiting for Jeff and we ended up being a bit early.  The kids wanted to make sure they got a good seat.

The Reptile Man has a whole zoo near Monroe and often does shows at schools.  He used to be a Biology teacher among other things and decided that his love of reptiles deserved more from him.  He now runs his reptile zoo and does shows.  He was one of the most calm presenters ever.  The kids were all on the floor behind a line and let me tell you they were right on that line.  There was so much chatter and screams about the reptiles it was crazy.

He would calmly tell you about what reptile he was going to show and then he'd get it from a locked box.  He'd show it around the room and give your more information about the animal he was showing.  The kids being right there loved seeing what he was showing and only wished they could touch them.  My kids were front and center for the whole show.

Above is a snapping turtle.  This is not the most attractive animal and has such a snapping jaw it was crazy.  He had to wear gloves to handle it and at one point he touched it's lip with a glove and we all got to see it snap closed.  I would not want to be anywhere near that thing.  We learned it has a little pink tongue to look like a worm to attract food.  He'll go around with is mouth open and hope to get something to come in closer so he can snap it closed.

The snapping turtle was not on display to touch but the regular turtle was and both my kids loved to touch the rough shell.  They only touched and moved on as it wasn't too exciting as it just sat there.  Meg touched only once in a crowd of people while Andrew came back a few times for multiple touches.

This is some lizard I forget but it hangs from it's tail.  When he took it out of the box he swung it over the crowd of kids upside down and the screams went round the room.  The shock turned into giggles and the kids all loved it.

He showed his baby alligator and it even did a trick.  He got it to sit up straight while holding it's tail and then he'd tell it to sleep and it would roll it's head back like it was sleeping.  The kids loved this and all Andrew wanted from that point on was to try and be able to hold the alligator and see if he could get it to "sleep" like the Reptile Man.

There were a few lizards, a few turtles, an alligator, and a whole handful of snakes (king cobra, albino python, diamondback rattlesnake, and more.)  All the snakes he had he takes care of and all had their poison and venom removed.  He had them all in locked boxes and only a few on display after for an up close look.  None of the poisonous snakes could be viewed.  I'm glad for that, the gym went crazy afterwards and it was hard to keep track of my own two.

After the show you could get your photo, for a fee, with a snake or the baby alligator.  Andrew went nuts and really wanted that picture with the alligator.  Megan really wasn't interested and just wanted to see all the animals.  She just enjoyed being there and seeing her friends.  The lines were crazy long and Jeff tried to talk Andrew out of the picture but he was so sold on it.  Luckily we had come in two cars since Jeff had to meet us there.  I stayed behind with Andrew to get his pictures while Jeff left with Megan to pick up some dinner.  I offered Megan a picture if she wanted to stay but she just wasn't interested.  She was happy that she got to hold the Boa in a group during the show.

We all had a great time and were super happy that we decided to go.  Andrew now has a frame for his picture and I have found it in his bed several times already.  He LOVES his picture and it was money well spent.  It warms my heart to see  him light up whenever he looks at the photo.  Fun family night for sure.

Count Von Count

Megan had her final 5th Grade performance at Central Avenue this week.  They did two shows on the theme of Sesame Street.  Megan auditioned for several parts and was cast as Count Von Count.

She had a whole scene to herself and was thrilled with her part.  She had us go out and buy her a cape and purple face paint so she could fully get into character.  Her first performance was during the day and the music teacher didn't want to bother with the face paint so some photos have them and some don't.

She really wanted to match the Count images she found online.  She took one of her white tshirts and colored the red and orange lines so she could try and match his outfit.  We did get vampire teeth but it made it really hard for her to speak so we had to skip that.  As we got her ready for her night time performance she really wanted that face paint.  We tired several different things like just purple eye shadow, a light covering, a dark covering and more.  It's a bit tricky to get face paint to look smooth and nice.  It was almost impossible to get the right coloring.  She was so excited and really wanted the full effect.

Once we got to the school some of the classmates thought she looked too purple and she paused for a bit and almost wanted to wash it off.  I didn't come prepared to remove it, silly me, so we had to just go with it.  After she got going I think she got over the comments and just got into her role.  She did a great job.

They had several very creative acts and it was really put together well.  They had this grand finale of "boom whackers"  they are percussion tubes that you whack against your hand.  They are cut and made to each make a different sound.  It was super cool and almost makes me want to go out and buy a set. 

I love that Megan is so fearless and hops into her performances and gives it all she's got.  She gets up and does her best and I couldn't be more proud of her efforts and how well she does.  It takes so much to just do your own thing and she does so well at it.

This is sadly her last big show for the year.  There will be a talent show in a few months and we are still on the fence if we want to do another performance.  Megan hasn't fully decided yet so we'll just have to see what she decides. 

Above is a small clip from one of the songs.  Unfortunately I didn't get the boom whacker song as I was so into watching it I missed getting it on video.  I did get a clip of another cute song that was also very creative.

Happy Happy Happy

Our family vacation finally arrived during mid winter break from school.  We've been saving and waiting to go back to Disneyland for two years now and the family was busting at the seams to go.  The week prior to our leaving was filled with packing and pure excitement it was crazy around here.

We had an easy flight.  Our first time flying with Virgin America.  My family was thrilled to see movie screens in each seat.  They were so entertained on the flight we really didn't even need to bring any toys.  It was fun to be able to watch tv and have the two and half hour flight fly by.  Our shuttle ride was equally as smooth and our hotel was right across the street.  We went swimming our first night and planned out our first day at the park.

Jeff is surprisingly a master planner when it comes to vacation.  It is an unmatched skill as he can map out our day and we are able to hit up everything we all want to do and then some.  He is also a task master that one.  He is up with the sun and at the park waiting at the gates before it opens.  Then of course we are almost there till closing time.  Not always but pretty close.  He can squeeze more out of a day for vacation then you'd think possible.

The good thing about this type of planning is we usually don't miss anything we want to do.  In addition to this, our first day at the park we were waiting at the rope to have our first ride be Indiana Jones.  While waiting 30 minutes before the park officially opens our family was selected as the "archaeologist family" of the day.  We were let in first and explored the Indiana ride grounds and were able to ride the ride first before the park opened.  We were given a cool family certificate and lots of inside info and pictures.  Not only did this happen to our family the first day but again on the third day.  We got to be the archaeologist family two times during our five day visit.  What are the odds of that?  It was amazing and something we never even knew could happen. 

We also had a ride breakdown on us for the first time ever on the first day.  We had just made the drop on splash mountain when we ended up in a log jam.  We sat on that poor ride for a bit till an employee had to escort us off the ride.  The picture below is the backside of the lot for splash mountain.  Something most people never get to see and probably we won't see again.  It wasn't anything special but still something different then the norm.  We got a special coupon to ride any ride we wanted in the park like it was fast pass.  That was a perk of the breakdown.

We probably hit up all our favorite rides at least twice that first day.  We were so excited and nothing was going to slow us down.  We hit the Jedi training on the first day.  Megan wasn't really into it this year.  Andrew really wanted to get picked.  Our first time sitting down for the show and Andrew got picked.  Once he got picked Megan sat down and was happy to watch Andrew have some fun.  It really is a cool show.  Megan kind of wished she had tried harder to get picked once they got started.

We hit up the shows at the park if we could.  We heard that they had done away with fantasmic show but recently brought it back for 2013.  We were excited to find a seat and enjoy the show.  Our timing for this was a bit off and our seats weren't the best but we still got to see a great show.  The kids got to go up front as there was a really nice family up there who invited them up.  That was really nice to see.

With only having the four of us for the first two and half days it was easy to pick your ride partner.  We always tried to switch it up so that we all rode with each other and not the same old partners.  It was kind of funny to see what ride the kids wanted to ride together and which ones they wanted an adult for.

We got into pin trading this year.  A big thanks to Grandma VoFo and her pin Christmas present.  Our first day we really didn't see too many people to trade and the kids were really shy.  It kind of took just one time of me getting them started and the kids went wild.  Megan loved trading pins.  She collected all her favorite Muppet characters which made her super happy.  Andrew was having fun with it but not as much.  He didn't have anything specific he wanted and always felt he had to trade and would pick the craziest pins.  They had a blast with it and that was really fun to see.

Our first day over at California was crazy.  With the new Carsland people can get really insane.  The security guard told us that the fast pass for the radiator spring ride sells out within one hour and fifteen minutes of the park opening.  It is a social experiment begging for some student to write about.  Crazy what a mob of people will do to get in line for a ride.  We were in that mix and felt the crazy vibes. 

Although California has those new rides we were able to knock it out fairly quick.  Still able to hit all our favorites multiply times and still had time on our hands.  The radiator springs line is like a 2 hour wait.  We probably could have hit that up more but none of us wanted to wait in a line like that.

We were able to talk Andrew into going on the tower of terror.  He said it was the one ride he didn't want to go on.  We ask him to try it out again this year and maybe he'd feel differently.  He went with it and tried it for us but still feels the same.  He never wants to go on that ride ever again.

The kids weren't too much into getting to see the characters.  It was cool to see them about but they didn't want to wait in a long line to get a picture.  We did get a few that we were able to hit at just the right time and those few were just fine with my kids.  No lines unless it was for a ride for this crew.

Another highlight was when Laurie and her fam joined us on our third day.  My kids couldn't wait to have fresh partners for rides.  Andrew spent most of the time not being able to remember anyones name while Megan tried to be the know it all and tell them all about the parks.  She was constantly chatting away when I'd look over at her.  She loved having her cousins to play with.

We hit up the World of Color all together for the first time.  We tired to see it the previous day but it rained on us and we called it an early night.  So this time we camped out for another okay spot to see the show.  I think we were all popsicles by the end and ready for our warm beds.  The show was super cool but tough for the little ones to hang out for.

Since our hotel was right across the street it was easy for us to leave for food or a break if we needed.  My family did a little of this but really with Jeff it was more about staying to get the most out of our time.

We got to race the kids for our radiator springs ride.  That was super fun.  We had all 6 of our kids in one car and the 4 adults in the other car.  We got to race and the adults won.  It was cool to race against someone we knew and it made it that much more fun.

We had so much fun I'm sad that it is over.  I look back at the pictures with a smile and remember the fun.  Megan ended up in tears when we had to say goodbye to Laurie and crew.  She really misses living in CA were they were all so close.  It also signalled the ending of our vacation.  It was a bit of a rough day.

We hit up more swimming all together to unwind a bit.  Someone put a bottle of shampoo in the hot tub (not us).  So when you turned on the jets you got bubbles and more bubbles.  The kids thought this was awesome and loved playing in it.

Jeff and I even tried to be creative on the rides that took pictures.  On our last turn of space mountain as we sat next to each other we came up with the picture below as our action shot.  I think we were pretty creative on that one.

We had rides with all cousins, boys only, girls only, and of course the mix and match rides.  I think we all enjoyed the fun of just being on vacation with family.

At Carsland they were giving out free buttons.  You had to find cast members hanging out with a stack in their hands.  There were 6 different buttons to choose from.  We were able to get each kids a button.  Then to kill some time later waiting for Jared and Caden I started a button collection crusade.  We'd wait to see different cast members and go back for the different colors we didn't have.  There were kids all over doing this so I helped my crew join in.  This was much to Jeff and Laurie's dismay.  We couldn't stop till Kendra, Megan, & Andrew got their complete sets.  The rest of the kids didn't really care.  It was great fun to me.  My kids have worn different buttons to school since coming home.

We hit up the parade then our last fantasmic show and fireworks with the whole crew.  It was soon time to part ways and say goodbye.  We really wish we could see them all more often.

After saying goodbye we still had one more day of vacation.  We headed via shuttle to Knott's Berry Farm.  Now I'm not totally sure if it was because it was our last day and we were worn out but this didn't come close to Disneyland.  It was just run totally different and we just weren't impressed.  The lines were over an hour wait on some.  Coming from 30 minute waits this was rough.  Being how tired and the last day we didn't even get to ride most of the rides.  The shows were just not that entertaining and we ended up leaving early, which for us is huge.  At least we gave it a try.

It was so nice to have a family vacation.  I love the memories we made and the time we got to spend with each other.  It was tough to go back to work and get back to our routes.  I miss all that family time.  I look forward to having more family vacations.  Maybe a cruise next?