Friday, September 30, 2011

I'd Like to Be, Under the Sea

I'd like to be under the sea,in an Octopus' garden in the shade.

We would shout and swim about
He'd let us in, knows where we've been
In his octopus' garden in the shade

I'd ask my friends to come and see
An octopus' garden with me
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade.

We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves
Resting our head on the sea bed
In an octopus' garden near a cave


We would sing and dance around
because we know we can't be found
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade
We would shout and swim about
The coral that lies beneath the waves 
Oh what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they're happy and they're safe
We would be so happy you and me
No one there to tell us what to do
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden with you.

(Fun with a waterproof camera at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon)
(Lyrics complements of The Beatles)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

From Younglings to Padawans

I think the kids would say the best thing they did on our Disney trip was the Jedi Training Academy. I completely agree!

As you can see, they were a little excited.
They were supplied with Padawan robes and "training" light sabers.
The Jedi Master had them take an oath to use their powers only in self-defense and then he walked them through a "fighting" routine.
Then there was a disturbance in the force and you know who showed up!


Each Youngling had a chance to test their skills against Lord Vader.  Will did a great job avoiding Vader's saber!
Eliza Grace sort of forgot about the whole "no attack" oath and went after Vader with a vengeance.  The Jedi Master and the crowd were highly entertained and Vader escaped without too much damage.
After she finished her routine she struck this pose.  HILARIOUS!  Girl was serious about it.
Here's some video of the fun.
My favorite part is when Vader tells Will that he will bring him to the Dark Side. The Jedi Master tells Will to tell Vader no, but instead Will screams "NEVER!!!" Dude got into it and it was adorable!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Traveling Through EPCOT

On this day of world traveling we...
Danced with and hugged Chip and Dale

Had a steak lunch at Le Cellier in Canada
Stopped to get autographs from Brer Fox and others on our way to Morocco
And gave Baloo a good back scratch
Then snuggled up to Pluto
Posed with the Country Bears
And played around with Tigger and Pooh in the United Kingdom

(Tigger is apparently quite the artist!  In addition to his autograph, he drew each of the kids a picture in their books!)


Took a "KidCot" break to do some coloring in air conditioned Germany
And said a couple of "Oles" with Donald in Mexico. 
Hint: if you tell Donald that you like him better than Mickey, you get quite a reception!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

On The First Day at Disney, My Family Got To See...

A view of the pool at Pop Century
A bus ride to EPCOT

Spaceship Earth!
A sleepy bus ride back to Pop

Friday, September 16, 2011

Flashback Friday - The Mail Order House

About a year before Scott and I got married, Scott started looking for a house to buy. We spent a couple of months wandering around Crawfordsville, Indiana looking for the right little fixer upper.


One afternoon Scott said he wanted to drive by a place that his realtor said had been put on the market that day. He told me that he heard it was in need of a lot of TLC and not to expect much when I saw it. 

We pulled in the driveway and before we got out of the car I told him, "Make an offer!" I knew this was to be our first home!

3550 Old State Road 55 N, Crawfordsville, IN - before renovations
Although it need a lot of work  - A LOT -  it had a great combination of land and location. It sat on a full acre and was about 7 miles outside of town. It was surrounded on three sides by corn and/or bean fields. It had fruit trees - several apples, a cherry and a peach tree - strawberries in the back yard and blackberry thickets. 
Side view in all its glory. 
Nasty old heating oil drum for decoration


Apple tree in the side yard.
This little gambrel roofed cutie appealed to me right away. We learned that it was a real live Sears and Roebuck mail order house and had been built in the 1930's.  It had three bedrooms and one small full bath up stairs, all the original windows, wood trim and baseboards and beautiful 5 panel doors. 


As an added bonus, my hair would blow in the wind while sitting on the couch when all the doors and windows were closed.  Apparently we had a few gaps in the siding and insulation.

A little old milk shed sat to the side of the house and added just the right amount of country charm to the whole place.
 The milk shed
In the three years we lived there, we (well, ok, Scott and some skilled professionals) completely upgraded the electrical, added air conditioning,  completely renovated the bathroom and kitchen, added a powder room downstairs, resided the entire house, replaced all 26 windows, redid ceilings, walls, flooring, paint...and so very much more.  We basically lived in dry wall dust for about 2 years.
Siding and windows done - almost finished!
We LOVED the side porch and once it was renovated we spent a whole lot of time sitting out there, enjoying the peace and quite of rural living.
Scott rebuilt the wood structure of this porch all by himself and has the scars on his hands to prove it!
As we were in a small community, people seemed to keep tabs on the work we were doing on the house.  When we made big changes people would slow down as they drove by so they could get a better look at the improvements.  We even had people stop and tell us how pleased they were to see the little place all fixed up.
Inside foyer with the view of the original staircase

The living area showing the window casings and the original 15 glass pane front door. 
I have no clue why my eyes are closed.
And don't mock the decor. 
This was the period in our lives when our
style was known as "early relative."


We really get a kick out of telling people that we bought our first house on an acre of land for $42K.

We also enjoy telling them that we sold it three years later for just shy of $100K!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Age of School Projects Begins

Eliza Grace is at the age in which school projects have entered our vocabulary.

Her first official 4th grade project was to make a 3-D map of the state of North Carolina.  It had to include elevations, textures, a compass rose, title, key and other notations including places of interest, cities, lakes, rivers, historic sites, etc.

The hard part about these kinds of things from a parent's perspective is letting your child do the project on his/her own. It's hard to keep from jumping in and directing.  But I can honestly say that, aside from some minor help from Scott and me, Eliza Grace did this on her own using items found around the house and yard to embellish. She did a great job!

The State of North Carolina.
The Mountain Region - with needles from a Juniper tree.
The Piedmont Region- with moss from the back yard.
 
The Coastal Plain Region  - with Italian Bread crumbs from the pantry.