The Waterstraut Waterspout: Just some oak and some pine, and a handful of Norseman

Holy Moly! Do I have a lot to get to in this weeks blog.

When I last left you, James had just arrived for his visit. We haven't gotten to spend any time with him since the wedding three whole years ago! So it was awesome to have him here for a week.

Last Saturday, Justin bribed me to watch The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, extended addition. I was so not on board with this idea until he promised to buy me a Red Robin Burger if I would sit for it. I'm not quite sure it was worth it, but I got the burger before the movie, so I had to fulfill my end of the bargain. Hayden was the only kid to sit all the way through it, he LOVES The Lord of the Rings. I have since sold watching even more Lord of the Rings, in favor of Justin watching the kids all evening for our anniversary-- on a Monday night no less.

Sunday Asa worked, so that he could be off later in the week, while I went shopping for the week. I'm not monthly cooking through the summer because of visitors being here (and portions being different), plus us not being here. It's a little strange, but I'll be back in full force mid-August. We also sat and watched the Heat game.I guess we're rooting for the heat, since Calib is all about them, and none of the rest of us really care. Overall, a low key day.

Monday was two special events: James' birthday, and the TEN year anniversary of Asa and I meeting. A whole decade! (Thank you Cedar Point for your contract system, or we wouldn't know this date!) Asa unfortunately, did have to go into work, but he was home by 3.

We, meanwhile, made pineapple upside down cake at James' request! I was a little worried how it would turn out, since we all know I am NOT a baker, but the boys did an excellent job, and it turned out fabulously.

Because of the short week last week (since the boys had school until Tuesday), and a short week this week (with Disney days) we kind of combined media week and builders week. Our first activity this week was to make Harry Potter wands. We went outside and found some ordinary sticks, to turn into our magical wand via hot glue, beads and paint. While Hayden went non-traditional with glitter, acorns, and blue paint; Calib went traditional (I think his turned out awesome); Peyton was somewhere in the middle.

We finally had our end of the year cookout on Monday too. Asa made some awesome steaks, and we had corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. I did the Sattler thing, and made James whatever he wanted for his birthday, and thats what he picked. The kids were happy to get marshmallows too!

Then of course there was cake for everyone.

Oh, and rock band. Where I learned of the Ikea song. Catchiest song, ever. (Thanks for the blog title too!) And Hayden wanted to get in on it by drawing a picture of everyone playing rock band. So cute.

Tuesday we rolled newspaper and made a tent out of it. The directions I found on the internet were not awesome, but we figured it out. We could have stood to have had a bit more newspaper, but it stood for the evening, and provided tons of entertainment.

The boys played their electronics in there, did there 20 minutes of reading, and gathered all the pillows they could find to make a nice little bed in there. Eventually I think the massive amounts of pillows compromised the structure, but all in all a super fun project everyone is asking to do again.

Also worth noting, we've started on our summer academics. I wanted to do something different besides the summer bridge books this year. Something more involved and fun, so Monday is Math Monday, Tuesday is Two-fer Tuesday (Geography and History), we have Writing Wednesday, and Science Project Thursday (I couldn't think of a catchy name for this), and then of course everyone's favorite: library scavenger hunt Friday. For geography this week we started on our National Parks Book. This week was The Everglades. I'm pretty excited to see it when it is done. Each kid writes about the park, and does a drawing or prints out a picture, and I do the cover page for it. Then everyone shares what they learned.

Wednesday we built our own Mario Karts. Please note: buying boxes at Target is a total rip off. I had to make a Walmart trip, because $4 a box is ridiculous. Hayden had the most fun coloring his cart, Peyton made awesome Smirnoff bottle flames coming off the back, and Calib used two boxes (a big and little one) for much needed added leg space. And then, they spent an hour or so playing Mario Kart in their mario karts.

Thursday Asa, James, and Calib headed off to the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios to meet up with James' sister, Mary, and her three girls: Lia, Ellie, and Lucy. Originally, we had all planned on going. However, our washer had been broken for over a week and the repair had to be rescheduled for Thursday. So I stayed behind. Peyton and Hayden opted to stay home and sleep in. Hayden, whose this week chore card included 'laundry helper' was thrilled all week when there was no laundry to do. He was much less thrilled when we did 12 loads in one day.

Friday we all got up and headed out to Disney to meet up with Mary and her kids. It was a Magic Kingdom day, and while busy we manged to avoid long waits. It's kind of nice when we're with visitors at Disney because we do things we don't ordinarily do. This time it was our first trip on the new Dumbo since it was moved. And, boy we totally should have done it before. There is a play area for the kids WHILE YOU WAIT. Seriously, it's so great. They call you like they would at a restaurant or something, and the kids don't complain about the line.

After a trip on the Barnstormer, and the quintessential gift shop stop to try on hats, we ended up accidentally waiting in line to see Ariel, which made for some very inappropriate jokes.

We did find our way to the Under the Sea ride eventually, and then waited for Enchanted Tales with Belle. The line was long, but the kids entertained themselves, and thoroughly enjoyed James showing them the fly trap ferns that closed up when you touched them. Also, sidenote, I think Lucy wears my sunglasses better than I do.

When we finally got in, everyone was hoping for a part in the play except for Peyton who stood behind all the grown ups hiding. I've never seen two grown men be so excited to be chosen for a part in a Disney play the way James and Asa were. But they both got to be knights, which made for my favorite picture of the day.

After a fast pass to Peter Pan, we had time for a viewing of Philharmagic (my favorite). I got to sit next to Lucy, the littlest of the three girls and it was so much fun to hear her squeal in delight and try and reach out and touch all the 3D objects coming her way. Disney is so much fun, but sometimes I forget how special it is, since we get to go all the time. Spending time with three kids who don't get to go 12 times a year was a good reminder.

Cort and Holly were also at Disney this week, so we took a break from the park while James and his family stayed, to see the Sattler's. We went swimming with them at the Beach Club. Some ducks landed in the pool and decided to start swimming with the rest of us, but I wasn't quick enough to get my camera and take a picture.

Feeling refreshed, we had a quick picnic dinner and headed back to the Magic Kingdom.

A spin on the Haunted Mansion, complete with glow sticks (thank you, Mary!) and an unusually long wait on big Thunder Railroad (where I finally won over Ellie and she decided to ride with me!) and Asa was pretty much done.

But, Lia really wanted to go on Splash Mountain, and so James, Hayden, Asa, Calib, Peyton, Lia, and me decided a water ride sounded like a good idea. I sat in the same row with Lia and Calib so we were a little squished, and everytime water splashed in I took the brunt of it. But, it was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. I wish I had my camera (I left the backpack with Mary as to not get it wet), because the 7 of us had a pretty awesome ride photo and I would have snapped a shot of it.

By the time we were done, fireworks were going off and the park and it was past ten. Still the kids were in good spirits (minus Peyton who had a minor hiccup in the good attitude department), so we headed over to Space Mountain with the older kids. The line at that point was 75 minutes so we decided to pass in favor of Space Ranger Spin. A last minute change of riding buddies, and Asa ended up with Lia. This is important, because after years of trying to get the highest possible score (999,999), Asa FINALLY became a Galactic Hero.

You do get a commemorative button for getting that high, so Asa proudly went up to the counter to tell them about his accomplishment. When Lia looked up at him and asked her what she got for her score (a very respectable 200,500 points), Asa whispered to the Disney employee, and she happily made a Space Ranger button for Lia too.

It was a very, very long day. But, we had a blast with James, his sister, and his nieces. They were lovely girls to be around, SO very well behaved (the held up better than my kids even!) We let them know if they are ever around here again to be sure to let us know, as we'd love to be their Disney ride buddies anytime. Sidenote: Self taken picture with 10 people, a new record!

And of course, on the way back to the car we had to stop for some mid-night Dole Whips. It just wouldn't be a Disney day without them.

Here's the thing about Disney: being there makes you feel like a kid... until the next morning when you feel 10 years older than you actually are. A day in the Florida heat, totally wipes you out. So Saturday, James opted to cancel a beach trip in favor of hanging around the house. There was rock band, and butterbeers, and some visiting cranes. We may never get rid of them and their whooping though, since we fed them some leftover bread!

James left very early this morning (we miss him already!), so Asa took him to the airport and dropped him off around 4 -- thats AM people!-- and then went back to sleep. I think James had a good time, and we're all hoping he comes to visit again.

Father's Day is pretty sad for me, so we changed it to just Asa day, and this year Asa decided he wanted it to be Hobbit Day. I suspect a new tradition has been born. Basically, Hobbits like to eat. They eat many meals a day. So I planned out a whole Hobbit Menu and spent the whole day cooking. The dishwasher ran three times today!

We woke Asa up for first breakfast, which he ate in bed. It was delicious. Shortcake with Lemon Cream and Strawberries.

Following first breakfast, is of course, second breakfast. We had griddle cakes, and a cast iron skillet full of meat.

All of that had to happen before we had Elevenses, at 11 am of course. Our Lembas Bread was served wrapped in a leaf to keep it authentic. And it obviously wouldn't be Elevenses without tea.