Free Epcot Evening

EPCOT!!
Owen loves to pose for pictures and then look at them right after. Spoiled kids nowadays don't have to wait to develop film.












Goofy and Micky are getting pretty friendly.

We got to go to Epcot for free (not counted as one of Daniel's 6) for a cast preview of the Food and Wine festival. Let me tell you, that wine was pretty good. They had it coming out of soda fountains and the kids were loving it. Just kidding.
Here are some pictures of us tasting soda from different countries. The Apple soda was everyone's favorite, except for Owen who thought it was gross. The Italian Soda called Beverly was NASTY!!
The others were pretty gross too. Garrett practically made himself sick on the apple soda once he discovered it was the yummiest.

Garrett and Emily rode "Test Track" which was super fun. They were a little scared in line, but I made them go one it, cuz I knew they'd love it. (Such a mean mom.) It was a little fast and jerky in parts, but by the second time going on it, they LOVED it. Garrett describes it very well. :)
It's cute.
He had me email his friend Seth Reyes about it, since Seth would love a race car ride.

This Irish band was awesome. They're called "Off Kilter" and the bagpiper was amazing. The electric guitar guy on the left was soooo good and really fun to watch. We all really enjoyed watching some of this very loud concert. Even Garrett which really surprised me. Daniel has seen them before and bought a used CD by them. It's fun music. Look at those sexy kilts. (I guess I shouldn't say sexy...it's a family site and my kids read this.)

We had a lot of fun. And the weather was GREAT!!! I see a bright future ahead where weather is concerned. Anyway...even Garrett was good all evening. He's usually wanting to go home. (We don't know what got mixed up in the genes for that kid.)

Did I say only Ian and Emily??

Uh, okay. Sending Garrett to school without his older siblings lasted exactly one day. He was so sad, and even though he sort of enjoyed school, all afternoon he kept insisting that he was going to be homeschooled the next day. I caved!

I can't really blame him. 7 hours of school for a little five year old is really excessive and they don't even get recess every day (much less 2 or 3 times a day, like I think they need!). Daniel and I realize it would be a fight EVERY day, and for what? I don't know how much I like him going there anyway. So I explained to him that he has to follow our homeschool rules. NO fighting with Owen, Obey your teacher at all times, and never ask to play video games during school time (that's before Justin gets home from school). He promised and so I've kept him home the last two days. And he's done GREAT. Only mild wildness (is there such a thing?) since he's so excited to be homeschooled.

So far so good. But we are really just sort of taking it easy this week. Like Detox. :)

Homeschool

After a lot of thought, sleepless nights, more thought and worry, I've decided to homeschool Ian and Emily. It's been sort of rough starting up school in Florida. I've considered homeschooling each one individually at different times. One sleepless night I'll think I'm for sure going to homeschool Emily. Then she starts doing better about going (not being so timid and stuff). Then Ian will have 3 hours of homework (or really bad grades) and the next sleepless night I've decided to homeschool just Ian.

Finally, after lots of consideration, I realized that every time I asked Daniel to just tell me what to do so I didn't have to decide, I was secretly wishing he'd tell me to homeschool. I mean, every time I thought about homeschooling, I just felt more calm. The hours of homework would be solved. The misinformation between teachers and me, the unsure due dates for homework assignments, the kids' ongoing stress about the infamous FCAT that the teachers won't stop nagging about...all that would disappear. And I could help them enjoy school again. (Idealistic, I know.) Anyway, I only wish I'd come to Florida with this decision already made. It would have saved me soooo much stress.

Garrett is still going to the school, all day kindergarden. I don't know if I'll keep him there, but for now, that's the plan. If he's as sad about going as he was this morning every morning...??? Well, don't know if I can take that. But we'll see. He seems to enjoy getting out of the house otherwise. He gets really bored when he's home all day.

Justin is doing pretty good in his middle school, so he's staying there too. The girls find him very cute. Gorgeous, I believe was a word used. And Hot. I lecture him often about staying away from those girls!!

Wish me luck...or just go ahead and pray for me, a lot.

Nap

The house is quiet, the kids are at school and I can vaguely hear Owen playing with action figures in my room. It's nice.

It gets pretty boring for Owen around the quiet house with the kids at school. He's gone back to taking pretty regular naps now. Here he fell asleep while playing on the floor of my (messy) bedroom while I ironed.

Ahhh, isn't he cute? For now.

As soon as the kids are home...no. I mean, as soon as the kids are in the car to come home from schools, he's fighting and arguing with them just like always, or perhaps a little worse.

I think I'm the same way as him. I miss the kids when they are gone, but when they're home...well, let's just say, I don't remember missing them.

The Magic Kingdom

Here are a few more pictures of our day.

Animal Kingdom

Here's our 2nd trip to Disneyworld. This time we made it to the Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom. (Magic Kingdom is my favorite cuz it's just like the original Disneyland.) Daniel was excited to take the kids again. Ian was sick the day before so we thought we wouldn't be able to go. When he woke up feeling fine though...well, there was no question we were going. I wondered if he was just faking feeling good, but he was fine all day. Phew!

Here's Garrett, our Mr. Wimpy, who has to ride in the stroller, even though he's bigger than Owen. His feet hurt, his legs hurt, he's tired.... He cried about wanting to go home through out the day. But just look at the pictures and you know he had fun. I think the Heat (capital intended) gets to him more than everyone else. I run a VERY close second in heat sensitivity. It was soooo hot I thought I was going to die a couple of times. Thank goodness for air conditioned lines and stores...and for frozen lemonade!

And the cast stays on...poor Em

So I took Emily to see the doctor here, thinking the cast was coming off, since that's what the Utah doc prescribed. 3 weeks, he'd said. And I knew it was too good to be true. The Florida doc did x-rays, says it's healing nicely and now just 3 more weeks. Bummer. For Emily, that is. I was getting a little worried frankly. I just knew it would hurt with the cast off (it hurts now even in the cast sometimes) and that she'd do something to hurt it again, before it was all the way healed. So I'm a little relieved that she's keeping the armor on a little longer. I wonder why the Utah doctor would have had it taken off so much earlier.

Emily was a great sport. She hasn't acted too disappointed yet.

Ivy...in Florida...not really blog worthy but...

I'm at home with Owen...all the kids are at school and Daniel's at work. It's quiet. Owen plays like he was meant to be an only child.

I just finished watching "P.S. I Love You" while folding laundry and so I'm feeling all sentimental and grateful everyone I know and love is alive and kicking right now. And typing that makes me get all superstitious and jittery so I'll stop writing about that.

New subject. The laundry is endless and Ian's school uniform shirts are disappearing like socks. He's down to one. I'm determined to finish all the laundry and find those other shirts. I did buy one this morning at Walmart for tomorrow, just in case. I have to admit, those uniforms on all the kids at school sure do look nice. I wouldn't be surprised if the students behave better wearing them.

This week is my last hurrah for being lazy and eating horribly. Starting Friday I'm doing the Fitness Challenge 2 with a bunch of the Utah girls (and boys?) and I'm going to be all gorgeous and thin in 10 weeks. So we are having lazagna, corndogs and pizza for dinner this week. And I'll have to get some farewell to ice cream ice cream. Not sure if this is the best way to get ready to diet, but maybe those few pounds I gain in the next few days will be the easy ones to get off...and it'll be just that much easier for me to win. Cuz I'm going to. Win, that is. So watch out fellow fitness challenge friends!

Oh, boy...what am I saying? Someone stop me.

Here's to 10 weeks of fun fitness-ing (like that word?) at the end of which I will be much thinner, much happier and unfortunately NOT much younger. Oh well, two out of three would be great.

Ivy

Ivy's Primary Class

Here's my little Primary class, CTR 5. There's one little boy missing. Actually now that I am combining with Sunbeams, there are three more missing (4 altogether). They are pretty cute and very crazy.

Shirly, Garrett Skinner, Camten, Spencer, Andrew and Garrett E.

They don't listen to a word I say, unless I'm drawing while I tell a story or unless I'm waving candy in front of their faces, which I've only done once. :)

Honestly, I didn't know I'd like being a primary teacher. But it's sort of fun and I LOVE the kids, even though they're little boogers most of the time. You can't help loving them at this age. We could use another girl for poor Shirly.

Emily's Broken arm

Emily
broke her arm on the last Sunday (17th) of our "vacation." She fell off the cousin's trampoline, lucky not to break her leg too, since it was caught in the holes by the springs. She was sort of

hanging by her leg when I finally got out to her. Anyway, we rushed her to the urgent care where they splinted it and then she had it casted on Monday(the 18th). She was pretty brave, and so was I :) - most of the time. She got a cute light blue cast, which got to be signed by a lot of our Utah friends! She's getting it off next Tues, which is only 3 weeks. That's assuming this Dr. agrees with the Utah Dr. 3 weeks sounds so short for two broken bones! (She broke both bones in the forearm, but they were still together so they didn't have to do any major setting of the bones. She's ready to get to swim again. :)

Jacobsen Family Reunion 2008

We are finally home from our 3 week trip to the Jacobsen Family Reunion. It was a long trip, 3 weeks total for the Skinners, including all the Utah time waiting for our flight. And since we've been home, it's been one crazy, stressful thing after another. I need a vacation!

Here are a couple of the 500+ pictures I took. :)



My favorite picture of Emily on our Family Reunion Campout. This is at Reunion Flats in Idaho, or maybe it was Wyoming. Yeah, Wyoming. She's holding Sheldon, her baby cousin. She couldn't get enough of the babies.









Breakfast. We went through a lot of cereal!














This was Garrett's favorite spot. I would often happen upon him just sitting on this stump, by himself, playing with a toy or something. It was his own personal spot I suppose.