Week 2: Hermit Crabs, Walking Tacos & Ice Cream Buckets

Why is getting back into your daily routein so hard after the holidays? Maybe when you home school three kids, it's even harder. After the first day back going pretty poorly (think unfocused, whiny, retaining next to nothing kids) the next day I was like 'forget this!', and I pulled out all the educational games we'd gotten for Christmas and declared it game day. Though, really, I think any game we own has some sort of educational value, these are a little more on the education side. We also watched some Price-is-Right (see it on in the background), and talked about probability. Wednesday we were back with the normal work, with the kids a little more focused. It still hasn't been perfect, but it's getting better. 

The sad news of the week- we sound out thanks to the stupid HOA, we can't have a trampoline. The boys were saving their Christmas money to pool for one. When we talked to them we heard we just had to submit a request to get one ok-ed. Which was fine, I read the HOA agreement from 2013, and I knew we would have to. However, new year equals new rules, and you know aren't allowed to have them. This is pretty much the nail in the coffin for buying a house in a subdivision. I hate all the very, very dumb rules. We can't even have a basketball hoop now without getting it ok-ed. So, anyway, we let the boys go out to the mall and go shopping with their money and their gift cards. Hayden bough some Disney Infinity Characters, an Adventure Time hat, and a double bladed light saber. Calib bought some new hats, and Peyton bought some football gloves. 

I am working on our Olympic week(s) activities. I've been planning for months to have a bucket for each continent. We've been eating ice cream to clean out these buckets for awhile. I was hoping to have one for Antarctica too (and I would have had I not taken one to Ohio with cookies in it). But I told the boys I needed them to finish off the sixth one so I could get working! 

They happily obliged, and I've got the buckets started! I've got a fun amazon order in my cart I'll place Friday (yay, payday!) for various things to include. Plus, I'm getting some activities together for each one. 

We had some aquarium classes this week too. I couldn't line everyone up at the same time, though. Peyton and Calib looked at fish, while Hayden had his class. 

They happily watched as one of the hermit crabs changed shells! It was very cool to see. 

And, we killed some time with some games I had brought it my purse. They are renovating the aquarium, so half of it was closed off, and the other half had a lot of missing exhibits, so we had some extra time after checking everything out. 

Asa went and got Hayden from his class, and we all got to pet some sting rays, and check out the opossum they had brought out to talk about. 

When it was time for Calib and Peyton's classes, Hayden went out to play in the sand. 

When we was done playing, we left the aquarium and went over to Channelside. Due to the renovations, the classes are actually being held in that complex. When it's all finished, there are going to be some awesome new classrooms. Anyway, we got some nachos to share for a snack and sat outside. Despite the drizzle, it was a good time. 

We also had a Disney day! It'd been nearly a month since we'd been. Luckily, it was a nice warm day. Despite that, it was still VERY uncrowded at Typhoon Lagoon. 

An ice cream bucket completed our Disney waterpark afternoon. 

After we'd had enough water park, we went over to Downtown Disney where the boys spent some of their remaining Christmas money. Peyton was really happy to build his own Light Saber, and Hayden played with all the fun Disney Mr. Potato Head pieces (I enjoyed the Tinkerbell hair and wings) 

Since we were in the area, we had to stop at Disney Quest for some video gaming. Air hockey, and lets go Jungle for everyone! 

Usually on a Disney day, we pack sandwiches. Sometimes we have hot dogs. But, we have a new favorite: Walking Tacos! We put the taco meat in the thermos, and it worked out really well. It was also nice not to have sandwiches for both lunch and dinner. 

We headed out to the Magic Kingdom, but it was much more crowded than you would expect for a Thursday during January. It was Disney Marathon weekend, so I'm sure that contributed. 

After a few rides, we headed out. We passed the gate where we've seen the last two Super Bowl MVPs the day after the Super Bowl. Peyton crossed his fingers hoping he'll see Peyton Manning here in a few weeks. Then Asa got in on it, hoping for Philip Rivers (though they'd later lose to the Broncos) 

We took the boat over to the Polynesian, because the best way to end a Disney day is to split a self-serve Dole Whip. 

This might be the most I've ever managed to get in the self-serve cup! New Record, for me!

Since we were at the Polynesian at the right time of night, we also got a peek at Wishes from the beach. A good way to end a great day! 

When we got home, we found that the game Hotels that we had to order from England had arrived (ahead of schedule even!) 

It's just as awesome as the game I had as a kid, but all the hotels are named something different. I told the boys they are to be referred to as the original games. Not what this knock off game says! 

Saturday I took Peyton out to the library for Tween Game day, he had a good time playing the Wii U, while I scoured the library for books for all our latest projects. 

We've also been cleaning out the pantry ahead of pay-day. We came up with this smores dessert to dip graham crackers in. It was yummy! 

Sunday was the big Broncos/Chargers game. Asa's favorite QB vs Peyton's favorite QB. Peyton prevailed, and the Broncos are just one game away from making the Super Bowl. The good news, if they win, Peyton will be thrilled. The bad news, if the Broncos go to the Super Bowl, we can't have a Super Bowl party, because Peyton will be too invested in the outcome. He won't be in the mood to hear it from our friends, so we just won't have a party. We'll see what happens! But, since Peyton missed his one opportunity to see Peyton Manning play, I'm hoping for his sake they win the Super Bowl and he's MVP so we can catch him at Disney. Meanwhile, enjoy my sequence of trying to get a nice picture of these two before the game... 

This week we've been working on Geometry. Twizzlers are a great (and yummy) way to show lines and angles and such. Plus, whenever they ask for one now, I tell them they can have two if they show me perpendicular lines. Just to mix it up, sometimes I ask for parallel or intersecting too. 

We also played subject and predicate dominos. 

Another thing I need to watch out for.. Maybel apparently loves hanging out in the dryer. 

Yesterday, Calib and Peyton had a coding class at Mosi. While they did that, Hayden, Asa and I played around. We spent about an hour in the idea zone building train tracks, lincoln log houses, and kinect structures. 

Thats it from here. Next week should be fairly low-key, Asa is in the office, and there's no outside classes. Thats fine with me, I'm still all about being low-key after the holidays. 

Next Up: The AFC Championship game. GOOOOO Broncos!