Kennedy Space Center

It's no secret around here that Kevin is fascinated by most things NASA/Space related and so he was pretty excited about a trip down to Kennedy Space Center. He took Cole and Fletcher down there for the day, and Nancy, Adison and I stayed back and did other important business -- like visit IKEA, Nancy's first time!

To say they had a great time is pretty much the understatement of the century. Kevin came back with 3 Nasa t-shirts. (He claims they came as a set.....). Since I wasn't there, I thought it would be neat to use the story Cole wrote about his visit for this post. These are all his words, taken down by Kevin the afternoon after they went.

Fire that is white because it is so hot it is white. The Space Shuttle is connected to a rocket that makes it go up. The thing in the middle is the gas tank that gets gas for the fire.

The crawler drives really, really, really slow because the rocket doesn't want to fall off when it is facing straight up. The crawler has one thing to do. It is to bring space shuttles and the rocket and the tank to where it blasts off. That thing that is yellow/orangish and black is a satellite. Satellites go around the earth and never, ever stop. They look for earth for some reason I don't know.

The Space shuttle is a thing that goes up in space and that is the only thing that goes up into space. I got to look inside the space shuttle and look at the satellite and got to look where the pilot sits, the one who drives.

Space Shuttles need rockets to help them get up. Space shuttles only have two wings on the back. There is no wings in the middle or the front. Space shuttles have to have parachutes at the back because they go so fast that they can't even stop on the runway.

The rocket helps a space ship or if anyone is in it helps them get up to space. And a rocket breaks up into little pieces. It has a place where the fire comes out that gets smaller and smaller so they need to have less fire shooters that shoot fire and it is so big that it is taller than you are, even taller than a space shuttle.

That building right there with the big, big, big, big, big, big, American flag. The big tank that holds all the gas for the fire, that's where the space shuttle and the rocket and the gas tank gets put together. Then the crawler comes in and takes all the stuff that was put together and takes it where it blasts off.

That big round rock is something that you turn, it's like a globe, except it is so heavy it's sitting on water, and you can move it perfectly.

When we went to the Kennedy Space Center the last thing we did was watching a 3-D movie. We needed to wear glasses because it will look like something is coming at you. The movie was about walking on the moon.

Disney - Animal Kingdom

Today's adventure was Animal Kingdom. The kids and I had been the year before when we met Dana and her family there. The one thing I loved most was the Safari so we planned on taking Kevin and his parents on that for sure. It is simply amazing to me that in the middle of several theme parks they have managed to make an area that appears wide open and in the middle of nowhere. We saw so many animals, you almost couldn't keep up. There were all the usual suspects: zebras, elephants, giraffes, alligators and so much more. The big wow moment came when we got so close to a Rhino that I honestly wondered what was going to happen. It was a really special moment to be so close to an animal we rarely see in a zoo and never would get the chance to see so close up.

Animal Kingdom is pretty show-heavy with the Lion King and several other song-and-dance type things, but there was a really neat garden section that we walked through and were lucky enough to see not only one but two tigers. It was just spectacular to see them interact and even the tour guide - or whatever the cutesy name they give that person at the park - noted how we should get the camera out to see these two rubbing their heads together.

Kevin and I left the kids with Nancy and Fletcher at the kiddie carnival area where we went and rode their big ride attraction: Mt. Everest. I'll be honest, I thought I was a fast ride person, I thought I missed the days when I would ride fast ride after ride and not think twice about eating my weight in food before or afterwards. But shortly after Mt. Everest started, it became painfully clear that I no longer enjoy feeling like I've left my stomach three seats behind me or the sheer panic of literally not knowing what turn is next. I'm not ready to give up fast rides yet, but I do know this: I do NOT enjoy going backwards on a fast ride.

Orlando - Magic Kingdom

We have been itching to get back to Disney since the first time we went 2 years ago. Just like before, we went with Nancy & Fletcher (aka Nana and Grandaddy) and rented a house. I hope we are building a little tradition because we simply love this little trip. We love the chance to visit Disney and we love spending some extended time with Nancy and Fletcher.

First on the agenda was Magic Kingdom. Cole remembered Goofy's Barnstormer from the trip 2 years ago and was itching to go again. The kid LOVES fast rides. (more on that later).

We had such a great time at Magic Kindgom. This was Adison's first visit, since she was just 1 the last time we visited, and we didn't bring her to the theme parks. She absolutely loved it.

We hit the hot spots: Tea Cups, Goofy's Barnstormer (times 3), The Motorway, Mickey & Minnie's house, Winnie the Pooh and more. A note on Mickey & Minnie: we met them live and in person. You can see from the picture, Adison is thrilled while Cole is most likely thrilled but playing his shy/nervous look.

The most surprising thing was that the kids LOVED the Transit Authority in Tomorrowland. It was essentially a moving sidewalk, only sitting down. It took you on a view over the whole section. The wanted to ride it twice! Fine by us who had been walking a good bit.

As usual we left when the kids started getting tired and headed back to the house for a relaxing afternoon. We love staying in a home instead of a hotel. It's so peaceful, everyone has their own space, we have our own little pool, it's such a treat!

3 Years Old

Adison turned 3 on October 12th and I still cannot believe it. I cannot believe my youngest is 3 whole years old. At 3, Adison is talkative, imaginative, emotional, happy, and talkative. We celebrated with Mom and Dad and cake pops and it was fun to watch her open all her special gifts. Top of the list was a shopping cart and shopping bags. She will put things in all sorts of bags and containers and drag them all over the house. Adison has a very specific sense of what she is doing when she's playing and she'll leave her mark all over the house. Over the course of a few months I have found:

-plastic animals lined up for the potty (yes, she's potty trained!)
-7 pairs of underwear stuffed in a bag
-All her babies & stuffed animals in a circle, each with a snack on a plate
-Pooky (my stuffed bear given to me by my Grandma Thompson when I was probably 11 or 12) tucked neatly into my bed, head on my pillow with a book beside him.

Despite the usual sibling squabbles, Adison loves Cole and can often make him laugh like no one else. When she stumbles onto something he thinks is hilarious, she'll do it over and over until he can hardly breathe.

We're so thankful for this little girl, and simply cannot imagine what life would be like without her.

Cole-ism

Cole caught a nasty cold at the beginning of school, and we were attempting to stop the flow of germs from spreading. I mentioned to Adison to give Cole some space because he was sick and not to hug each other and wrestle when they were playing. A little later Cole was drawing on the chalk board and I was busy cleaning or something but he had been shouting out to me how to spell words so I told him without thinking much about it.

When I finally looked over to see what he was doing, this is what I saw.

Atlanta Girls Trip

I got the chance to go to Atlanta to see some great friends!

The trip originated when I found out U2 was having a concert there. Dana, my bestest friend from high school, had never seen them in concert and we decided it was a great idea to drive down there and meet and spend a few days together. We had a fantastic time. We literally power-shopped for a day and a half, visited the Coke museum (amazing!) and of course saw U2. I captured one (yes, only ONE!) picture with my camera. This winner of Dana was moments after I drove what seemed like an eternity around this neighborhood to find the condo we were renting. I have a lot of pictures I took with my camera that I'll upload a little later. We had a blast, and it was the first time in probably 5 years that we had done something just the two of us. After almost 20 years of friendship, it's still so fun and easy to hang out together. We talk almost every day, 5 days of the week and it's a special thing to have such a lasting friend.

I also got to visit my wonderful friend Diane who lives in Atlanta. I'm sure I've told the story of Diane and I meeting in the street outside someone's house at a church function. We were both new, and we clicked immediately. To this day when I pick up the phone and talk to her it's like no time has passed. We've had many a laughing fits together and it never takes much to get another one started.

It was a great 4 days and such a nice treat to be able to get away with good friends and relax and play!

First Official Practice

We get very excited around here when the Hurricanes roll out their first official practice at the RBC center. So we packed up the kids and went down to watch as much of it as we can handle. Actually Kevin, Cole and I could sit there almost all day. Adison, however, has not quite captured the excitement with hockey that we all have. Still, I think her interest was peaked.....for about 45 seconds.

Starting Preschool

Adison started Preschool today and she could not have been more excited. So excited, in fact, that I had a hard time getting her to stand still and look at me for a picture. Since I helped out a good bit at preschool last year with Cole, she was almost always with me and very familiar with it. Because of that I didn't anticipate her being hesitant at all and she certainly wasn't. She and her friend Lindley are the only two girls in the class but they hold their own. Icing to the cake is that their class is called the Teddy Bears, and in Adison's book, there is simply nothing better.



(Update 12-30-09)
Adison continues to love preschool and is doing great! She loves music and watching her in the christmas program (if you could see -- it's a notorious mad house at the Christmas program every year) was a treat. She sang with enthusiasm.

A Moment in the Day

Kevin outside reading his bible and talking to Cole about it.

Old Girl

Bou turned 9 this August, and I love all these grey hairs on her snout. She simply could not be a better dog. As hyper as she was as a puppy, she has mellowed out considerably. She sleeps a lot of the day, but mention the word "walk", put on your tennis shoes or accidentally touch her leash and she leaps up and to the front door. She has always loved taking walks. She's also started accompanying us on as many trips as we can take her. She adores the mountains and the fresh air, and also comes with us to High Point on most occasions now. Sweet, sweet girl.

A Moment in the Day

Adison, 2 1/2, watching a little show on my iPod.

Starting Kindergarten

This is a big day. A very big day. Cole is starting kindergarten at Lynn Road Elementary. There's the usual flood of emotion I'm sure all mothers feel when they drop their kids off for that first day, and I definitely felt them (although I managed not to blubber and tear up as I dropped him off).

Cole is usually slightly hesitant about new things, so I was bracing myself for a difficult transition since we'd only been inside this school on one other occasion. On the contrary: he walked in like he'd been going for months, sat down, and said goodbye.



(update 12-30-2009)
He has two wonderful teachers, Mrs. Wisniewski and her assistant Mrs. Rushton. They are such loving, encouraging women and Cole took right to them. Cole is thriving in his class. He simply cannot get enough books, particularly space books and is a good friend to his classmates. I'm so proud of him. Here's his picture from this year.

1st Tooth Gone!

Cole lost his first tooth! It had been wiggley for a good while, and finally Cole and Kevin coaxed it out. He's so proud of it. Almost as proud of the new silly cross-eyed face he loves to do.

Adison-Ism

I haven't done any of these for Adison yet, and realized today that I should start after she told me:

"I'm taking my dollies for a walk, because they CAN'T walk, because they're not smart enough."

--Adison. 2 1/2

Fresh Mountain Air

We decided to take the kids up to Kevin's parent's mountain house for a long weekend and enjoy a bit of cooler weather. It's always so nice to get up there, have the degree's drop by about 15, wake up to crisp mornings and have no agenda. This trip we decided to try out an easy hike Kevin had found online that said it was great for kids, and it was around a pond. Kevin went out and bought walking sticks for all of us in anticipation for this amazing hike. A few surprises were ahead of us. For starters, it was about a 30 minute drive on the parkway (which was beautiful, as usual) to the starting point. When we finally made it, we stared at a small little tiny pond and wondered, could this be it?? It was. Determined to use those walking sticks we made the grueling 4 minute "hike" around the pond.

Once back in the car we decided to stop at an old cabin we had passed on the drive up. It was full of history of the family and the land and truly fascinating to see what mountain living was like way back then.

We spent the other days flying kites, hiking our old stand-by hike 10 minutes away, and just relaxing and enjoying one another. I don't know what it is about the mountain air, but we all just heave a sigh of relief when we get there. The kids play together almost without incident, and it's such great family time together. I tried to whittle down my pictures, but it's just too hard. Lots of snapshots of our time together.