I dropped Quinn off at the Scout House yesterday, for camp.


He seemed excited to go. He's on his own until tomorrow, when Kevin goes up to relieve the other adult leader.


He was the first one on the bus!


Bye Quinn! Have a great time!

I miss him. It's quiet at home. He's the talker. Riley's quiet.

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Alaska

It's been awhile since I updated my blog. Blogger changed things and it's really weird to use. I don't think I like it. Anyway, I digress...

Kevin and I went on a cruise, without the boys. After such a hard school year, and lots of stress, we just needed to unwind. The boys stayed with my parents and went camping in the RV, at the beach. They were completely spoiled by their grandparents. :-) Quinn said, "I like it." Who can argue with that? Kevin and I sailed on Disney Wonder, to Alaska. We've been to Alaska three times now. If you haven't gone, I highly recommend it. It's truly a beautiful place. 

These guys are on the back of the Disney Wonder. Aren't they cute?

We saw a bear off the side of the road, on the way back from our excursion in Skagway.

Kevin really needed to check his phone. 

When we visited Tracy Arm Fjord, the crew captured this glacier ice for people to look at and touch. Pretty cool-literally and figuratively.

This is Sawyer Glacier, in Tracy Arm.

                                      
In Juneau, we went whale watching. This one is my favorite. We saw 6 or 7 Humpback whales. Very cool! I took a million pictures of humps and tails.

Kevin and I with Pluto!

We had a really good time. We spent a couple of days in Seattle before we boarded the ship. If you want to see a trillion more pictures, GO HERE. It's my Flickr photo stream. There are 7 sets for our trip. From Victoria to Ketchikan.

Summer!

It's finally here!!! Summer vacation!!! I can so use the break!


The boys and I had yogurt for dinner. That is the highlight of our first day of summer-unless you want to count the oil change for my car, and TWO trips to Target.

I am going to work hard to update this blog this summer.

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Disneyland

 Over Spring Break, we went to Disneyland. The weather was kind of cruddy, but we still had fun. Here we are with Mater and Lightning McQueen. Cars Land is set to open June 15! We absolutely can't WAIT!

 When we arrived in Anaheim, we immediately went into DCA, and then over to the Disneyland Hotel for our dinner reservations at Goofy's Kitchen. Here are the boys and Aladdin.

 Kevin, Riley and Quinn with Minnie Mouse. So cute!

 We always love to take pictures by the Walt and Mickey statue. I like that it looks like there's nobody in the park. Huh. There were though. LOTS.

 The castle from the back side!

 Over at DCA, we had our picture taken with Mickey Mouse! He's so cute.

 Monorail Red, heading into Disneyland.

 The front of the castle. You can just see the top of the Walt Disney statue. I love that pink tree.

 The boys on Main Street. This was BEFORE the crowds arrived.

 Quinn loves to ride Big Thunder. He screams in delight the entire ride.

Riley, riding in the front of the Monorail. We all were there, but Riley was especially happy.

Is it Summer Yet?

Life just seems like a blur these days. Baseball has started, and with that, a super busy schedule of practices and games, in addition to all of the other things we have going on as well. It's crazy. Oh, and two weeks ago, I missed an entire week of school. I started not to feel well on a Sunday. I had been coughing, a dry cough. I decided to stay home on the following Monday as I had no energy, and didn't have any idea how to operate my students and cough at the same time. I spent the day on the couch, and then Tuesday on the couch as well, same reason, only by then I wasn't sleeping at night. On Wednesday I still had no energy, but I got myself to the doctor. I had a nasty virus which was settling in my chest. I was very wheezy. The doctor prescribed two inhalers, which I got to wait for for 45 minutes at our lovely Walgreens. I coughed all over the place in Walgreens. Pretty sure I had a fever by then too. They told me they would rush it, but if rushing is a 45 minute wait, then I hate to think what the regular wait is like. I hate our Walgreens. Anyway, the doctor told me I could not return to school until the following Monday. I spent a lot of time with my couch, and my new iPad (which I love BTW). The cough still comes and goes, but my energy is back. Kevin had to pretty much do everything that week. I was useless. I hadn't been that sick in a really long time. But before I got sick, my mom and I went to Vegas!!

We stayed at The Cosmopolitan. It's a really nice hotel, I mean REALLY nice. We loved it. This is outside of one of the doors. Pretty cool.

They have this Chandelier Bar. Plastic beads hung all over the place. It's SO pretty and very sparkly. I bet it took forever to hang all of those bead strands.

The Cosmo from across the street. I have pictures of our room, on my phone. If I remember, I'll try and post some tomorrow. The rooms are really nice, and the beds were so comfy.

Paris Casino. I always like the look of this casino.

This is inside the Venetian. Such pretty ceilings.

My mom and I had lunch at Serendipity 3. It's just outside of Caesars. Our lunches were very yummy, and too filling to have the raved about Frozen Hot Chocolate. Maybe next time.

Leaving Las Vegas (LOL LOL). I got to have the window seat on the way home. You can see some casinos on the strip-especially Luxor.

Las Vegas from the air.

Pretty! It was a very fun trip. My mom liked it so much, she and my dad are going back during Spring Break. I bet you can't figure out where WE are going for Spring Break. Hmmm. It's such a mystery.

Disneyland-Adults Only

Kevin and I went to Disneyland. We went on our own, over President's weekend. The boys went with my mom and dad, in their RV, to Case de Fruta. Quinn was sick (really sick) the whole weekend though. Now my mom is super sick (thanks to sick kids in her class, and Quinn). Quinn is still coughing, but he's definitely more himself this week. Riley had a good time though. He didn't have to talk to anyone, or go anywhere, and that's paradise to him!

Kevin and I got to ride on the Lilly Belle. It's a caboose that Walt Disney purchased, and named it after his wife. Anyone can ride, you just have to make reservations in the morning. You can't ride without a guide, and it doesn't run in bad weather. We enjoyed it. It's been fully restored and contains some antiques, and things that belonged to Walt and his wife.

Cheshire Cat. He's my favorite part of Fantasy Land. He's hidden in a rock, outside of the Alice in Wonderland ride.

The Matterhorn is being refurbished. Scaffolding everywhere! Not very picturesque, but we find this kind of stuff very interesting. I am sure it will be ready to go in time for the summer season.

Tomorrowland. I really do NOT like the ride that is attached to this, but I sure do like this space orb thingy. The ride is like Dumbo, but it freaks me out. The space shuttles seem too short on the side and I worry I will fall out.

Cute owl with the castle in the background.

CHECK IT OUT! Construction is almost complete on Carsland! This is going to be so COOL. We just can't WAIT until it opens. This is the backdrop to a ride, which if you have ever been to Epcot at Disney World, is a lot like Test Track. We are super excited. I believe they have an opening date of June 15!!

Tower of Terror. I really like this ride. It makes me feel scared every time I ride, but it's so much fun. It bounces...and bounces...and bounces...and drops. So fun.

Kevin is playing the part of your favorite Disney Pal. Mickey is pointing at him.

California Screamin'. This ride is the BEST roller coaster. It is so much fun. We can't get either boy to ride it. We are hoping they (or one) will ride it when we go in April. I think we have a much better chance of getting Quinn on it than Riley.

Kevin and I had a good time. The parks were super crowded. We hadn't been to Disneyland when the crowds were that big, in quite some time. It was crazy crowded and even the Fastpass lines were long. We did what we wanted to though, and survived. My only request is that Toy Story gets a Fastpass one of these days! They have one for it in Florida. I could ride that ride all day long.

Birthday Fun

Today is Quinn's birthday. He's 10! Double digits, and not a baby any longer! He has been asking for a hamster forever, so we decided that he could have one, for his birthday gift.

On Thursday, we got all of the hamster equipment: house, bedding, food, exercise ball, extra tube perch and small sleeping hut.

We got the cage put together.

Today we went to PetSmart to get the hamster.

Quinn, the proud owner of his very own hamster.

Carefully holding his new friend, on the drive home.

Meet Ruby. She's a Robo Dwarf Hamster. She's tiny. She's about a month old, and if taken care of, she can live up to 6 years! She'll get a little bit bigger.

She is freaking adorable! She seems to love Quinn. When I try to pet her she's all freaky, but he must have the touch, and he certainly loves her.

Quinn said this was the "best birthday of his life!" He also got a Creator Lego set from his brother, a Gryffindor Scarf, a Harry Potter Lego set, money and a Target gift card. He's a pretty happy boy.

I seriously can't believe he's 10! Where does the time go?