just me and the girls

It's hard to beleive that I have just one short month left with the girls.  It's been a joy and it's been interesting to say the least.

Travel

It's no secret that Jack and I enjoy traveling.  When he was at his old job, his boss would send him to many places.  Sometimes we were blessed enough to work it out so that I could go too.  Now that he is with GC, he has no travel.  It's good to have him home, but sometimes I miss going with him.  This year all three kids get to go to the Wilds camp.  I'm not ready to let my "baby" go.  It pains me that they are growing so fast.  I can't bear the fact that Josh will be a teen in January.  Anyway, Jack and I would like to take the chance to get away for just a couple of days.  So my question is......where would you go?  I'm first looking for close driving places.  My first thought was Charlotte...Carowinds, the Concord Mills mall....but we've been there so many times.  We've been to Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Virginia....you about name it.  We've been to the mountains, Biltmore, etc.  My next question.....if you could fly somewhere, where would you go....BUT keep in mind you only have 1-2 days to visit (ruling out Hawaii, Grand Canyon etc).  I would be happy just having time alone with him even if we didn't go anywhere, but any suggestions would be helpful!!

Jenna turns 9!

Yesterday Jenna turned 9.  Love this time of year when I have two children the same age.  People ask "twins"? nope.  "adopted"? nope.....just a mom who wasn't too careful and ended up with two children 10 1/2 months apart!!  Actually we went from trying so hard to have children to the complete opposite.
So for Jenna's b-day we woke up and went to yard sales.  I love this time of year.  For the past two Saturdays we went out.  I ended up with some clothes for me and the boys and Jenna struck that jackpot at one sale too with some toys super cheap.  She then had two friends over from school (we invited 4) and we kept it simple and cheap by doing fingers and toes, painting a frame, and having smores over the fire pit.  I enjoyed another simple party.  I had Jessica from church come and help me with the girls, so that was a big help.  We went to Golden Corral for dinner (her choice) and then came home to watch Wreck it Ralph.  I so enjoyed our family weekend!! She got her ears pierced and matching dresses for her and her doll for her b-day.

She's growing up!

Jenna turns 9 on Saturday.  Where has the time gone with my little girl?  One of the things she wanted for her birthday was to get her ears pierced.  She is certainly surprising me lately.  She was always afraid to do this, but she rode all the rides at Disney and now she got her ears pierced!!  I went to a consignment sale last night and when we were done, we popped into the mall to get them done.

Ugh!!

I'm not sure who was more upset that spring break was over.....me or the kids.  I must admit that I really enjoyed the slow pace/do what you want to do for a week.  Today is only Monday and I've already had it.  Unfortunately for Joshua, he did not inherit my brother's gift for math....instead he got my genes!!  The school uses Saxon math and it works for some, but not for others.  Joshua is one of those that I think would do better with a different math program.  His homework is all over the board.  For instance, today he is working on lesson 101.....the homework covers anything from lesson 1-101.  There is probably four or five problems from the actual lesson and the rest can be from anything.  His tests are the same way.  Instead of testing on the last five lessons, his tests will be from chapter 1-100.  Once again I find myself in tears tonight.  I try to check his work, but I can't do it at all.  I can't do sixth grade math!!  I'm not sure what else I can do.  I can't afford a tutor and I can't check his homework.  I had thought about the possibility of home schooling him next year, but I can't teach him math, so what would I ever do?  The school has told me that he could come and take math, but that doesn't solve my problem....I do not like the saxon math (at this level) and I still would not be able to help him.

Magic Kingdom

Saturday we took a much needed sleep in break and went to Blizzard Beach which is a water park.  I'm not much of a water fan, but I'm glad the kids could go.  After we were done, we took a boat ride from our hotel over to Downtown Disney.  We ate dinner at Planet Hollywood and then did some shopping.  We also got ice cream from Ghiradelli, which was out of this world!!
Sunday was another early day over at the Magic Kingdom.  I still love this place even though the rides aren't as "big".  We enjoyed space mountain, thunder mountain and splash mountain.  We were very tired so we left and went back to the hotel.  I rested at the pool while the kids played and then we headed back over for a couple more rides followed by the fireworks at night.  We also stayed for the 11 pm parade.  They also did this really cool thing where they transformed the castle into different images (toy story, tink, wreck it ralph etc).  Once again I wish I would have had a video camera.

Hollywood Studios

On Friday we got up and went to Hollywood Studios.  We took advantage of the early morning entrances for the Disney guests.  We got there at 7 am and went straight to the Tower of Terror and the Rockin Roller Coaster.  I was amazed that my kids rode everything.....they were the perfect age to go!! We also enjoyed a car stunt show, Indian Jones show and Jenna and I went to a Beauty and The Beast show.  I think all of us enjoyed this park the most.  At night we attended that Fantamastic show.....absolutely incredible.  Lights were on the water and the special effects were incredible.  I wish I would have had my camcorder for this one.

Epcot

Thursday we got up and went to Epcot.  It started out cold again, but there were times during the day we could take off our jackets.  I love visiting the countries, but the walk is brutal.  Jenna and I scheduled a special breakfast with the princesses.  I have to say I think this was one of the best things we did.  She got a free picture with a princess when we walked in, and then four of the princesses came up to our table and talk with her and sign her autograph book and get pictures.  I loved this special touch.  One of the things Jenna enjoyed was getting autographs of the characters.  She got them to sign a page and on the other page we are going to add a picture of that character.  One of the things I love at Disney is the details they put into everything, especially the flowers and bushes.  I love how they make the bushes into characters!! We enjoyed fireworks and a laser show at 9 pm.