Catching Up Again

It's been a busy spring and I've fallen behind on blog posts again. We leave on summer vacation in two days so I'd better get caught up! As always, click on each little picture on the left to go to a photo album on that topic.

School Photos School Pictures The girls had their school photos taken way back in November but I hadn't imported them until now. Neither girl especially likes having her pictures taken. Charlotte is afraid of formal portraits, as you can tell from the very forced smile.

Crazy Hair Day Crazy Hair Day April 24th was "Crazy Hair Day" at Roosevelt School. Carol was able to make a cool mohawk even with Audrey's new shorter hair style. Charlotte went with three crazy pony tails. Audrey reports that she had the craziest hair at Crazy Hair Day.

Rockery with Zack Rockery with Zack It was Zack's parents that first showed us the Ipswich River Audubon Sanctuary and its Rockery. We're forever indebted since it has, as you know, become one of our favorite places near home. One Saturday I decided to take Audrey there for a "one on one" outing. I asked her if she'd like to invite Zack and got a very enthusiastic "Yes!" He was available so off we went. They had a blast playing together at the Rockery. We also saw deer in the woods near the trail and Audrey and Zack tracked them for a few minutes. After great outdoor time we all went to the Ninety Nine restaurant for dinner - kids eat free the day after the Red Sox win!

Field Trip - Seacoast Science Center Audrey Field Trip: Seacoast Science Center During the last full week of school Audrey's second grade class went on a field trip to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH. They explored the tide pools and examined lots of critters they found there. Audrey says classmate Emma was the bravest because she held the biggest crab.

Plimoth Plantation Plimoth Plantation The first time we went to Cape Cod in 2010 we saw signs for Plimoth Plantation. We checked it out online and have wanted to go ever since. A few weeks ago we finally made it. We drove down Saturday morning and first went to visit the Mayflower II. It's a replica that was built in the 1950s and is moored in Plymouth Harbor a couple of miles from the plantation. The girls appreciated how small the ship was and they also enjoyed wearing period sailor clothing. After touring the ship and making a brief visit to Plymouth Rock we headed for the KOA campground in Middlebourough about 20 minutes away. KOAs always have good pools and jumping pillows and playgrounds and we knew the girls would have a good time there. It didn't take very long at all for the girls to make friends with a brother and sister. We spent the afternoon and evening with them on the pillow, in the pool and at the ice cream social and outdoor movie. Sunday morning we had breakfast at Dave's Diner in Middlebourough and then headed to Plimoth Plantation. The plantation has a Native American village and also a replica of the pilgrims' settlement with staff dressed, acting and speaking like people of the time. It was quite educational. The girls mostly enjoyed trying out the furniture.

Cape Cod Camping Cape Cod Camping It's become a tradition for us to go camping at Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod in late June. This was our third year and we were really looking forward to our four night trip. We have a favorite loop in which we camp because it has great bike riding and a short walk through the forest to a wonderful swimming beach on Cliff Pond. The water is always a perfect swimming temperature. We arrived in the early evening and went straight into the water. Friday morning we headed to the pond right after breakfast with plans to spend the whole day there. Around 11am, though, a ranger appeared carrying a sign to install in the beach sand informing us that Cliff Pond was immediately closed to swimming due to a blue-green algae bloom that was potentially toxic. Our plan was to spend most of the trip swimming in that pond so we were all disappointed. There was another swimming beach at the next pond over, Flax Pond, but we would have to drive there - it had been our intention not to start our engine all weekend. We figured Flax Pond would be crowded since everyone would head there so instead we went to a movie ("Brave") and then for ice cream. Saturday morning we headed for Flax Pond right after breakfast. The swimming beach was great and we spent almost seven hours there. Carol has been wanting to try a stand up paddleboard for a while and the boat rental company near the swimming beach had them so we gave it a try. Easy peasy! The girls loved riding on the back of it with either Carol or me paddling. We have a blast just staying at the state park but I have also wanted to see more of Cape Cod. On Sunday we decided to head to the ocean. Coast Guard Beach in Eastham is not too far from Nickerson so we headed there. There is no parking at the beach (the parking lot was washed away in a big storm in 1978) so you park a mile or so away and the park service runs shuttles. We loaded our stuff, rode the shuttle and found a great patch of sand to call our own. The girls had been swimming with boogie boards in the ponds but had never boogie boarded in surf. When we arrived at Coast Guard Beach the surf was perfect for it - thigh deep on me with 2-4' waves. Audrey loved it. For about 30-40 minutes Audrey and I surfed wave after wave. Once I taught her how to spot the waves that were going to break near her she got really good at it. It was one of those moments as a parent when I knew I had really given my child a great experience - she was so happy. It is also rewarding to see how comfortable and confident Audrey is in water. Charlotte is more intimidated by surf but she has fun playing in the shallow water and in the sand. The tide was out when we arrived and came in the whole time we were there (again, seven hours). The surf was never again as good as during the first hour we were there but it was still fun to play in. Audrey also enjoyed just being lifted by the swells. We saw a sea lion or seal off shore for a while but no great white sharks; they are regularly spotted a few miles south in Chatham. Monday we headed to Flax Pond again for a bit of swimming before aiming for home. There had been a threat of thunderstorms the entire weekend but they kept going around us or evaporating before they reached us (I was watching the radar on my phone). We would have welcomed a dramatic thunderstorm while in the camper but Boston was having all the fun instead. Finally Monday morning our luck ran out. About five minutes after the girls got in the water it started raining and with thunder within earshot we cut that swim session short. Besides, we still had to visit the Pancake Man and Four Seas Ice Cream. After those stops were checked off we had an uneventful drive home. We had a fantastic time and will be back for the fourth annual visit next June.

May-June Fun May-June Fun To write the text that goes with these "miscellaneous" photo albums I scan through the photos and pick a few stories to tell. This batch, however, is all over the map. Suffice it to say that May and June were pretty nice and produced lots of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, to get wet, and to eat ice cream. Both girls had really great years at school with Charlotte finishing Kindergarten and Audrey finishing 2nd grade. They both brought home excellent report cards. I first saw Cirque du Soleil in about 1996 during my first stint living in Boston. I thought it was spellbinding and one of the best live performances I had ever seen. I've seen several performances since then, both road shows and permanent Las Vegas shows, and have loved them all. I have fantasized about taking the kids but the "list" prices are so high that it didn't seem worth it. Cirque du Soleil is performing "Totem" in Boston at the moment. A neighbor sent along a link to a fantastic "local deals" site that was offering tickets at a huge discount so I snapped 'em up. We all went to the show on Father's Day and the girls found it just as magical as I did. I loved being able to share it with them.

Disney World!

Album | Slideshow | Video

On April 29th, after two years of planning and saving and anticipation, we flew to Orlando for a week-long theme park vacation.

Carol loves Disneyland and Disney World, and she loves to do it right. She spent many hours researching the best time to go, the best days of the week to visit which parks (there are companies that gather statistics), the best places to stay, where to eat, how to best deal with lines for rides and attractions, etc. Carol is the expert.

Last November we picked the date. We knew we were going to take the girls out of school for a week because there was no way we wanted to go to Disney World during a school break. Carol's research told us the first week of May would be uncrowded and was likely to have good weather.

We arrived at the Orlando airport at 10:30 in the morning on Sunday. Carol's parents Mary and Dennis had driven across the country from Arizona to Florida to join us and they picked us up.

Universal's Islands of Adventure

We drove directly to Universal Studios to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure. On Carol's reading nights with the girls (Carol and I alternate reading nights) they have been making their way through the Harry Potter books. They are just about to finish the 5th book. So a visit to the Harry Potter world, albeit exorbitantly priced, was required.

The main ride in the Harry Potter area, The Forbidden Journey, is fantastic. As soon as we got off after riding it the first time Carol said, "That was worth the price of admission right there." Audrey loved it, too. We were worried she would be scared but as we were coming to the end of the ride she exclaimed, "That was the best ride ever!" We went again.

Charlotte didn't ride the Harry Potter ride but we found rides she liked in Seuss Landing next door. We also visited the wand shop and then the girls decided we should have dinner at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmead (the village reproduced from the books and movies). It was a great day.

Oh, I also got my roller coaster mojo back. I hadn't ridden one for 15 years at least and had developed a fear of them from lack of practice. Carol and I rode the Dragon Challenge and we both thought it was a blast. We would ride several more coasters during the week.

Saratoga Springs Resort

We stayed at the Disney Saratoga Springs Resort. It was the first time either Carol or I have ever stayed at a Disney property and it definitely has its perks. The pool was big and shallow enough for Charlotte to enjoy and had a great slide that Audrey loved. When we weren't at a theme park or sleeping we were in the pool (at Audrey's insistence). Much of the time there were activity coordinators at the pool leading games or dance contests or showing evening outdoor movies. We also used the Disney transportation to get to the parks - the bus stop was about 50' away from our room - and the system was very convenient.

Epcot

Monday morning we got up bright and early to be at Epcot when it opened. Audrey loved Soarin' and Mission:Space and Charlotte loved Nemo and both girls loved Spaceship Earth so much that we rode it several times. They also liked Universe of Energy.

Later in the day we mode our way to the second part of Epcot: World Showcase. We rode the boat rides in Mexico and Norway. Then we had a delicious dinner in Japan where Audrey discovered she likes udon. The casual Japanese restaurant was off the beaten track at the back of a garden and felt peaceful. The girls loved it.

After dinner we walked the rest of the way around the lake in time to find a spot for the nightly fireworks. Carol and the girls held the spot while I fetched ice cream. The fireworks were cool. Afterward we made a dash for the bus stop and arrived back at the room after 10.

Magic Kingdom

We were up at 7:00 the next morning for the first of two days at the Magic Kingdom. When the gate opened we made a beeline for Peter Pan which develops the longest line later. During those two days we rode dozens of rides: The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Tom Sawyer Island, Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain (Dennis, Carol and me), Snow White, It's a Small World, Swiss Family Treehouse, the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Fantasyland Carousel, the Carousel of Progress and probably a bunch more I can't remember. The lines were generally short (we never waited more than 20 minutes and typically 5 minutes or less) and we also used Fast Passes.

The girls' favorite ride at Magic Kingdom turned out to be one most people probably never even ride: the People Mover. The one at Disneyland was removed but the Magic Kingdom (the Florida version of California's Disneyland if you're not Disney savvy) still has one. It travels fairly slowly around Tomorrowland and passes through several of the buildings. We rode it many times because it is calm and shady and cool, it never had a line, and the speed was just right for the the girls. The best part (for me, at least) is that is passes through Space Mountain. Several times during our visit Space Mountain was closed to address some problem and the lights were all on inside so we could see the entire track and structure. The main feature of Space Mountain (a roller coaster) is that is it almost completely dark the entire ride. It was cool to see what it looks like: a big industrial machine.

On Wednesday evening Dennis and Mary babysat the girls and Carol and I returned to the Magic Kingdom for a date night. We got to ride Space Mountain several times as well as the new Barnstormer kids' roller coaster (part of a big new Storybook Circus area that is under construction). We also had dinner at Pinnochio's Restaurant that has windows overlooking the loading area for It's a Small World. We stayed for the nightly light show and fireworks. The light show on Cinderella's Castle is pretty amazing - the castle gets "painted" in a bunch of different color schemes (including one that makes it look like a cartoon) as well as animations (one looks like it is on fire), photo montages of guests, etc. If anything, the show is too long! And they do it every night! Disney must own a fireworks company.

Animal Kingdom

On Thursday we visited Animal Kingdom. Carol's research told us to head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and do the same deal: get a fast pass for later and then get on the ride. The safari is cool: we saw several type of antelope; elephants; rhinos; hippos; crocodiles; giraffes and a lion. What I found most fascinating is how well hidden the "enclosures" are - I could rarely see what was keeping the animals separated from the vehicles. There are also two "nature walks" at Animal Kingdom where you can see apes, tigers and other animals up close. That part of Animal Kingdom is like a fancy zoo.

Two other rides we really enjoyed were the Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest. On the river rapids you ride in a raft that seats 12 people. After being lifted up a ramp the raft floats downstream for a bit and then goes over a "waterfall" (really a sloped slide). The signs before the ride say "You will get wet. You may get soaked." We got soaked. Charlotte doesn't really like thrill rides yet and she was very ambivalent but she mustered the courage to ride it. Carol told her, "If you're scared, just scream!" So when we came to the waterfall they all screamed and immediately after Charlotte was laughing and exclaiming, "Again!" We rode it again. We got soaked again. But the temps were in the low 90s so getting soaked felt pretty good.

Expedition Everest is the Florida version of the Matterhorn. It was a blast. I think Dennis and Carol and I rode it three times and Mary rode it once. Audrey was seriously thinking about it. She asked lots of questions about what it was like. Next time we go she'll be all over the roller coasters.

We made a discovery about Audrey a day or two into the trip. She was getting cranky and soon it became apparent that it was because she was hot. We started watching for water fountains and splashed our faces and arms. That was like magic for Audrey - she would be instantly cheery and ready to go again.

Hollywood Studios

We spent Friday at Hollywood Studios. When the gates opened we made a beeline for Toy Story Mania and also got Fast Passes so we coud ride again right away (after that the line is an hour long all day). Audrey and I rode Star Tours several times and everybody rode The Great Movie Ride (the the girls weren't freaked out by Alien!). We saw a live show of Beauty and the Beast and the girls played for a long time in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground (inside giant ant hills and on giant bugs and plants). Dennis and Carol and I rode the Tower of Terror (not so terrible!) and Dennis and I rode the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster (Carol chickened out!).

The highlight of the day was lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater. It's a replica of a drive-in theater (but indoors). Patrons sit in booths shaped like 1950's cars, facing a large screen that shows trailers for 1950's sci-fi movies as well as "News of the World." The food was average (and overpriced!) but the experience was cool.

Epcot Again

On Saturday we returned to Epcot. We hit the favorites again several times (Soarin', Mission:Space, Nemo, Universe of Energy and of course Spaceship Earth. The girls also went on a secret agent mission in China. And at the end of the day we returned to Japan for a repeat of our favorite dinner. Then it was back to the hotel for a couple of hours in the pool.

Soon after you get on Spaceship Earth you pass a camera that takes your photo. At the end of the ride a computer display in your vehicle presents several questions and your answers are used to construct an animation that features your faces. Here are a bunch of ours (who knows how long these links will be valid):

• Charlotte/Carol 1
• Audrey/John 1
• Charlotte/Carol 2 (Japanese)
• Audrey/John 2
• Charlotte/John (that's fake crying)
• Mary/Dennis

Last Day: Magic Kingdom

Alas, all good things must come to an end and Sunday we were scheduled to depart back to Boston at 3:00. We decided to spend our last morning at Magic Kingdom. We hit all of our favorites: Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Pirates and of course the People Mover. We saw the robot trash can again and did some souvenir shopping. Then we met Dennis at our hotel and he chauffeured us back to the airport.

We were very sad for the vacation to end. The whole week was non-stop fun and it was hard to think about returning to everyday life. Now it's time to plan and save to go back! Probably in three years.

Further Reading

While there I spent some time reading about the history of Walt Disney World. Some parts I found especially fascinating were:

• The original concept for Epcot
• The municipality that Disney created to avoid local zoning laws: Reedy Creak Improvement District
• The Disney World Monorail System

Don't miss the video!

Birthday Greetings from Charlotte

She loves me six hearts' worth!

Birthday Greetings from Audrey

Audrey learned how to use a word processor a while back and has used it for school work. This week she used it to make a wonderful custom birthday card for me.

Audrey's New Haircut

For the past year Audrey has been growing out her bangs and the rest of her hair with them. I've had a hard time with it because Audrey almost always refuses to tie it back or wear a headband and I feel like the ragamuffin look with her hair always covering her face reflects on us as parents. The bangs recently were just getting long enough to start staying behind her ears.

Today Carol had a hair appointment. It's spring break so Audrey planned to go with her. This morning Audrey told Carol she wanted to go and get her hair cut short again. Carol was nervous about it given the time investment Audrey has made in growing her hair, but Audrey was sure. Off they went.

I had no idea they had been discussing short hair, so when I got home from work I was surprised. I think it's incredibly adorable. I'm so happy to see Audrey's beautiful eyes again!