nextgengurus.com

We took a big family vacation to Orlando this year. This is the last spring before we have to deal with school schedules, so we took a full two weeks.

April 2: We cashed in the credit card points that we weren’t able to use at Christmas (see Christmas post below) so that we could fly down. We had to leave pretty early in the morning, so Abigail slept most of the first flight. We connected in Dallas. On the second plane, the pilots let Walter come visit the cockpit. The rest of us got to our seats and were settled in before he came back to join us, grinning. He told us all about the switches and computers, how he got to say “radio test” into the radio and flip the light switch. When we landed, the pilot said “We’d like to welcome everyone and especially Walter to Flordia!” When we arrived at the resort, we got to wait outside while Daddy checked in.  Walter kept saying “Florida is so lovely” and “I really like Florida!” By the end of the day, he had already asked if we can live here.  We tried out the pool and lazy river in the early evening. It was just warm enough to swim, even though the sun was going down. Grandma & Grandpa Schoolcraft soon arrived (they drove from Vermont) and we had dinner together.

April 3: The grownups tried to keep things low-key and recover from the day of travel, but the kids were all about the pool. We took a walk in the morning and found all the different pools and activities. Then Daddy and Grandpa took the kids swimming while Grandma & I picked up some groceries. At night time, we figured out that we can see the Epcot fireworks by going to the top floor of our building and looking out the window by the elevators. Fun!

April 4: More pool fun. As we were leaving the pool at the end of the day, a mom offered Abigail a floating ring that they would not need since they were leaving. We are looking forward to trying it out. They have several big gas grills outside our building, so we did burgers and hot dogs for dinner. After dinner, we tried out the mini golf course. Abigail tuckered out about half way through, but Walter putted quite well.

April 5: It was a rainy day so we kept things low key. This worked well since tomorrow will be a Big Day.  Our room doesn’t come with Wifi, but does have an ethernet jack. Mr. Guru figured out how to turn his mom’s laptop into a wireless hub, so we were all able to use our various devices indoors. In the afternoon it cleared up and I took the kids to the playground. Abigail had lots of fun climbing and Walter played with the giant chess set.

April 6: Day 1 of our visit to Disney world. Of course, we had to start with the Magic Kingdom. Just as we arrived, Walter said, “We need to see some magic today,” a wish that was fulfilled.  We decided to start off with Dumbo. Unfortunately, we had a fairly long wait. But the ride was fun, and when we got off Daddy and Grandpa had gotten us Fast Passes for Mickey Mouse’s 3D movie and the Winne the Pooh ride. So we were able to go straight to the movie next. Everyone enjoyed it, except Abigail, who found it a bit unsettling. We were then able to go on the Winne the Pooh ride. (Is it just my imagination or did they re-purpose Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at half speed?)  This one got mixed reviews from Abigail. Some of it was cute, but she wasn’t sure what to do with the slightly psychedelic Tigger.  Walter had been begging to ride the ‘horses’ (carousel), so while the rest of the group ordered some lunch, he and I went for a ride. The horses were big and rode nice and high - he loved it. He also turned his horse into a jet fighter about 5 seconds into the ride.  We rejoined everyone for a quick lunch, and made our way to Tomorrowland. I think this was Walter’s favorite part of the park. He and Daddy kicked things off with a ride in the race cars. Walter was very proud that he got to steer. (Daddy had to push the peddles since Walter couldn’t reach them.) We picked up our Fast Pass for the Buzz Lightyear ride and then went to the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. It was a really fun show! The animated monsters were up on the screen, but they interacted with the audience in real time and improvised jokes. We filled up their “laugh cannister” with no trouble.  When we came out of the theater, we encountered one of Walter’s favorite things of the day. A robotic garbage can was wandering the streets, talking to people and telling jokes. Walter walked right up to it, and it greeted him and commented that it liked the Mickey Mouse on his shirt!  So cool! He kept his eyes open for it during the rest of the trip, but we didn’t see it again.  Next we went on the popular Buzz Lightyear ride, which both kids really enjoyed. At the end, Walter picked out an “Ion Cannon” toy that looked just like the ones on the ride. Just outside the ride, there was a line to meet the “real” Buzz Lightyear, so Walter and Daddy waited to meet the hero.

Abigail also picked out some Toy Story figurines to play with as well. At that point, Abby was pretty tired, so Grandma & Grandpa took her back to the hotel and Walter, Daddy and I stayed around.  We checked out some rides in Adventureland and Frontierland, but the waits were too long, even with a FastPass. So we caught the steam train back to the front. The nice breezy, shady ride did us all some good. Since we were near the front, we decided to visit Mickey Mouse. He was receiving his fans “backstage” in the Main Street Theater. I’m not sure Walter’s eyes could have gotten any bigger! After that fun experience, we wandered toward the castle and found a restaurant with a reasonable wait. While we sat out front with our little pager, Walter gave his report on the day. The kid’s meal at the restaurant featured a fun Mickey Mouse sundae. We did some shopping along Main Street, and then stayed for the Electrical Parade. It was really beautiful and quite an amazing production. Walter managed to get a perfect seat on the curb to see the whole thing.  When we fell into bed that night we couldn’t imagine how we’d do it another day, but we did…

April 7: We started the day a little more slowly with, with a nice brunch at The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom.  During our meal, we were visited by Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and Winnie the Pooh himself.  I think Abigail had the most fun, giving hugs to these giant furry animals.  She even gave Eeyore a kiss on the nose!  She also joined in very enthusiastically when they had a little parade around the dining room.

Our restaurant was near Cinderella’s Castle, and after we ate, we watched the parade that was finishing up there.  The kids had fun picking up the streamers that were shot out from the floats.  Next we were off to Adventure Land.  Abby, Grandma and Grandpa watched a pirate show on the street, while Walter, Daddy and I went on the Pirates of the Caribbean.  Walter thought it was a little bit scary in places, but still fun.  Next, we all went on the Jungle Cruise.  I think Abigail wasn’t sure what to think of the animatronic animals, but we got a lot of laughs from the “guide.”  By that time it was steamy and hot out, so Grandma and Grandpa took Abigail off in her stroller to nap and the rest of us kept going. Of course the first stop was the pirates’ gift shop. We talked Walter out of choosing a sabre and instead he chose a gun that projects a picture of a skull and crossbones from the barrel. After some frozen pineapple treats, we headed up to Frontierland. We picked up our Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mountain and then headed into the air-conditioned Country Bears Jamboree. Walter wondered aloud if they were “real” bears.  After the show, it was time to get on Big Thunder Mountain - Walter’s first real roller coaster. He was just a few inches over the requirement. We were all able to sit together, so Walter got a little squished, but we all had fun. You can see his take on it here. How could we possibly top that? With more Buzz Lightyear, of course. We went back to Tomorrowland and got our Fast Passes. Then we went to Stitch’s Great Escape to pass the time. It turned out to be a little bit of a scary show (it makes you feel like he’s jumping on you in the dark!) but we survived. Then we went on the Tomorrowland Peoplemover. It was actually more fun than we expected, zooming us around all the Tomorrowland attractions.  Then it was finally time to do the Buzz Lightyear ride, Walter’s favorite. We grabbed a quick dinner and decided to ride the Astro Orbiter and then do Buzz one more time before leaving.  Then we caught the ferry boat back to catch our bus. Another exciting day!

April 8 & 9: Laid-back days at the resort swimming and playing.

April 10: We split up to see different things. The girls went to Epcot to see the Flower & Garden Festival. There were amazing flower beds and topiaries everywhere. They also had a butterfly tent set up, and we actually got to see butterflies hatching. We did a few low-key rides for Abigail’s benefit, and visited the Nemo-themed “Seas” display.  It turned out to be a really hot day, so we left in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the guys went to an air museum called Fantasy of Flight. They got to ride a hot air balloon simulator, sit in a cockpit and watch antique aircraft being restored.

April 11: We knew it would be another scorcher, so we kept it pretty low key again. Walter and I went down to see a fun magic show at the resort amphitheater. Walter was completely mesmerized.  In the afternoon, we hit the pool. Actually we hit the lazy river. I’m not sure how many times we went around but we all agreed it was the best way to keep cool.

April 12: In the morning, Vera and I did some shopping at an outlet mall. We both got a lot of good deals! In the afternoon, Keith and Walter visited Disney Quest. From what I can tell, it’s a video arcade on steroids. They both had a great time.

April 13: We all went to Epcot. We started our day with Figment and the Imagination exhibit. Both kids enjoyed the ride, activities, and the jumping fountain.  We had lunch at the cafeteria at the Land, then Grandma & Grandpa took Abigail to the World Showcase in hopes of strollering her to sleep. Daddy, Walter and I did the boat ride at the land and got a kick out of all the hydroponic crops.  We took a ride in the “big ball” on Spaceship Earth.  I think Walter enjoyed the interactive finale. Next, we stumbled on something really fun. They were having a sort of treasure hunt based on the “Kim Possible” spy cartoon. Walter was assigned his own cell phone for the day,which played movies with instructions from Kim’s “command center” and allowed him to perform special tasks. Each mission was centered around a country in the World Showcase. It was very cool because it had all the fun of a treasure hunt, but you actually made things happen. A butterfly gave us a secret code, a wooden soldier talked to us, and we shot a rocket out of a volcano! All of these things were built into the scenery of the various locations, so regular passers-by would not know they were part of the game. When something came to life, it was like magic! At first, Walter was actually a little freaked out because of all the “real” things that were happening. We tried to explain that this was a game, and his phone was like a remote control, and then he really had fun with it. After our “spying,” we went on the Test Track ride, which we all loved. The ride simulates a prototype car going through all kinds of stress tests, then ends with you racing around an outdoor track at nearly 70mph! Walter screamed with delight, as did we all. We liked it so much, we went twice.

Between rides, we visited the Epcot Character Spot. It was toward the end of the day, so the line was short, and we got to meet Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Donald and Goofy all in a row.  Donald was Walter’s favorite - he played around, tried to eat Walter’s hat and made it disappear. Lots of fun! The hat in question was a special mouse-ears hat, the dome of which looks like the top of R2D2. As soon as he saw it, Walter was hooked. We picked up a pink hat for Abigail, so they could each have one.

April 14 & 15: We knew the trip was winding down, so we made the most of the pool and playground at the resort.  On Thursday, a guy from the Gatorland theme park came and did a show. He brought along a tarantula, a scorpion, a lizard, a boa constrictor and two alligators. Walter got to pet an alligator a the end of the show.  On Friday night, there was karaoke by the pool. Walter noticed they had two microphones, so he and I did a duet of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”

April 16: We got up “in the middle of the night” to catch our early plane home. The trip went smoothly, although we were not too pleased to see snow on the ground, as we made our descent over Minnesota. It made us grateful for such a nice warm vacation in Florida.

12/17: At bed time, when I told Abigail “I love you,” she replied “I wike yoo all da time!”

1/5: At a grocery store, Walter was interested in some very dark chocolate that Keith had picked out. I suggested we find some different chocolate “for little boys.” To which Walter replied, “I’m not a little boy, I’m huge!”

1/30: After Sunday School, Walter was singing “There’s a fountain glowing deep and wide!”

2/3: After a rougher-than-expected swallow, Walter said, “Mommy I have Goldfish [cracker] stuck in my brain!”

2/23: At bedtime, Abigail has been saying prayers. If I pray and just end with “Amen” she corrects me and says “Mommy, in Jesus’ Name!” When I get up to go she always said “Close it a widdle bit but not too far,” in order to make sure I leave the door open a crack.

3/22: Keith found a photo of the new Camaro engine (with the initials “LSA” emblazoned on it) and set it as his new computer background image.  About 5 minutes later, Walter spotted the image. His eyes got real big, he ran to Daddy, and asked “Daddy, can we get a L-S-A?” We asked if he knew what it was, and he replied “Probably a motor for a car!”

3/29: Abby had earned some Nerds candy for using the potty. She proudly told Walter, “They’re called Menards!”

3/31: After watching a show on the rain forest, Walter came to me and said very earnestly, “The show said our world is full of strange and wonderful creatures. But it’s not! At least, not in Minnesota.”

We an unusual but fun-filled Christmas this year. We got started with a Christmas Eve celebration with Grandma & Grandpa Paxton here in the Twin Cities. We had a special treat this year, as Uncle Thom and his fiancee Molly were in town. We all attended the Christmas Eve service at my parents’ church. A highlight was when Walter decided on the spur of the moment to sing with the children up front, even though it’s not our church and he hadn’t practiced with them. They sang a couple of carols he knew and he did great…in the front row! Then we went back to the grandparents’ house for food and presents. Both kids were excited to get new pajamas: Lego Star Wars for Walter and a Christmas monkey for Abigail.

Christmas morning was spent opening presents at home. Walter’s favorite present was a Star Wars Clone Trooper talking helmet. Abby’s favorite was a Hello Kitty suitcase. They other big surprise was a trampoline in the basement: just the thing for burning energy on cold winter days. In the afternoon, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Thom and Aunt Molly came up for dinner. They brought the kids a Thomas the Tank Engine play tent and set it up in the basement. They had lots of fun when Uncle Thom would “surprise” them by shaking the tent while they were inside.

Several days later, we were scheduled to fly to Vermont to visit Grandma & Grandpa Schoolcraft. The morning of our flight, a Tuesday, Continental called to inform us that, due to the east coast blizzard, our flight had been canceled and rebooked for Sunday! I piped up and said “It would be quicker to drive!” So we did!  My grandparents live almost exactly at the halfway mark in Michigan, so we called them and headed out. We spend a day off the road visiting with them, which was really nice for everyone.  Then we pushed onward and made it to Vermont by Thursday night.

We had another Christmas celebration once we got settled in Vermont. Abigail got a pink “fur” coat and Walter got several dinosaur-themed items. Aunt Sarah had also left them matching long-range grabbers. Then we decided to go out and make the most of the snow, as a thaw was on its way. We had lots of fun riding the toboggan behind the ATV and I also went snowshoeing.

Our trip included lots of fun, including grocery shopping in Quebec (you just can’t get Kraft peanut butter in the US), an evening campfire and a horse-drawn sleigh ride. The Schoolcraft’s house also has a fun “loft” which is accessed by ladder. The kids had no end of fun climbing up and down. We told the kids we’d go through Michigan again on our way back. A few days before leaving Vermont, Abigail said “I want to see Pumpy.” I told her we would in a few days. Then she added, “…and Grammy and Grandma Egan!” Everyone was a bit surprised that she had learned all their names so well! We did indeed spend another day with them all as part of the trip home. We made it home on time, and managed to avoid a second blizzard that pummeled the east coast airports after we left. It was quite an adventure and a very memorable Christmas.

When I told Walter that it’s Christmastime, he said “Then let’s get out our celebrations!”So we have! We had lots of fun decorating the tree. This has been an ongoing effort for me as I find ornaments that have mysteriously relocated all over the house. Abigail is also quite in love with the pearl garlands and wants to wear them as necklaces.

Christmas always means cookies, and I have been baking up a storm this year. So far we’ve done cut-out cookies, molasses-ginger creams and almond fondant bars. Yum! I’ve had lots of help, especially from Walter.

Of course, we know that Christmas is really all about Jesus. Both kids attend daycare at Bethel University, where it’s tradition for the children to put on a Christmas pageant for the college student’s chapel. Walter was brilliant as one of the three wise men, and Abigail was an adorable angel.  During the musical portions of the program, Walter did lots of full-arm clapping and bowed after each song. From hearing him sing around the house, I could tell he had learned all his baby-Jesus songs quite well. Abigail didn’t wear a halo, but who needs one when you have such a golden pile of curls on your head?

We also got to experience the biggest blizzard any of us has seen in MN.  Be sure to look at our Flickr set for all the amazing snow pictures.

We’re planning on having double the holiday fun this year. First, we will celebrate near home with Grandma & Grandpa Paxton, along with Uncle Thom and Aunt Molly from Denver. Then we’ll head off to Vermont to see Grandma & Grandpa Schoolcraft for a couple of weeks.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

10/1: I handed Abigail her vitamin and said “There you go, babe.” To which she replied, “Thank you, babe!”

10/16: Abigail started peddling the tricycle.

10/30: Abigail counted to 10.

10/31: Walter dressed as Spider Man and Abigail was a Jack-o-Lantern for Halloween.

11/2: While riding in the car, Walter asked “Is Jesus sitting down in my heart?” “I’m not sure, why do you ask?” “Because if he’s standing, he might fall down when it’s a bumpy ride!”

11/15: The kids and I watched “Singin’ in the Rain,” which we all enjoyed. It inspired quite a bit of singing and dancing from both Walter and Abigail. (Click the links for video.)

11/27: Walter had his first visit to Santa at Northtown Mall.  He asked for a Buzz Lightyear space gun, a “knight in shining armor” (I think he just wants the armor), a Transformer and a toy tiger.

11/29: As is often the case, upon being informed that it was bedtime, Walter declared that he was hungry. Expecting to unmask his ploy, we told him the only thing he could have were the green beans that he had barely touched a dinner. “Green beans!” he said with apparently genuine excitement. He went over to the table and finished his whole serving, as well as some of Abigail’s!  Not sure if he was genuinely hungry or just highly motivated to put off going to bed.

Abigail recently turned 2. She is an energetic, happy, sweet little girl. She can already throw an expert 2-year-old tantrum, but most of the time she is full of smiles and kisses.  She loves dancing, jumping, dolls, jelly beans and ketchup (not usually all at the same time.)  She loves to sing “Twinkle Twinkle,” “Jesus Loves me” and (most of) the ABCs.  She always asks for the pink bowl at breakfast, but will also settle for ‘puppa’ or ‘arnge’ (purple or orange). She is showing interest in using the potty and has even had success a couple of times.  We had a birthday party at Grandma & Grandpa Paxton’s house. Her favorite gifts were a talking doll that you can ’feed’ (which Walter picked out for her) an a pink satin purse covered in sequins (from Aunt Sarah). This is great because she’s stopped stealing my purses! She is talking more and more all the time…we can’t wait to see what this year brings!

6/4: While riding home in the car, Walter turned around and exclaimed, “Mom, someone’s following us! How are we gonna shake ‘em?”

6/7: Abigail spotted Keith wearing his CPAP mask in bed and said “Nuk!”

6/13: Walter, as if presenting me with a bouquet: “Mommy, I picked some rocks for you!”

7/19: As I was struggling to extract Abigail’s car seat from my car, Walter asked what I was doing. When I explained, he remarked, “it’s complicated.” I enthusiastically agreed with him, at which point he said, “it takes special powers to do that!”
7/19: I noticed Walter drawing stick people for the first time.

7/21: Walter: “I’m eating broccoli so I can grow hair on my back.”

7/24: Walter, describing a Star Wars video game: “There’s even Storm Troopers, but they won’t shoot you because they’re just in the picture.”

7/31: Me: “Abigail, do you want a cookie?” Abigail: “No, tomatoes!”

8/2: Abigail used the potty for the first time!

8/4 - 8/10: Family vacation to Colorado. We stayed with my Aunt & Uncle in Denver, and visited my brother in Georgetown. We only managed to make one short movie on the trip.
8/12: Keith was checking email on his iPhone, and Walter got him to stop by saying “Daddy, stop playing with your ‘lectronics!”

8/15: We had a dedication ceremony for Abigail at Substance Church.

8/21: Keith, Walter and I went to see the Twins play. It was Walter’s first pro baseball game, and our first time at Target Field.

A quick update on the latest news & quotes…
5/3: Walter asked “If your eyes fell out of your head, could you see me?”

5/4: Using a dining room chair as a step stool, Abigail climbed into her highchair all by herself!

5/15: After I showed Walter that his new T-shirt had a pocket, he said “I can put credit cards in it!”

But the real reason for this post is to celebrate Walter’s 4th birthday!  He is an amazing, smart, sweet boy. He can be surprisingly kindhearted toward his little sister, but also loves Star Wars, Spiderman, and Transformers.  He has been asking a lot of good questions about God, and will probably turn out to be a deep thinker. He still loves to make music and lately has been singing selections from “The Music Machine.”  He is very proud to be a big 4-year-old and will happily tell you that his birthday is “May twuny-fird.” Happy Birthday, Walter! We love you!

Be sure to watch videos from his birthday celebrations on YouTube.

3/7: Walter informed me, “When I grow up, I’m not going to get married. I’m going to be a speed skater for ever!”

3/8: Abigail said “Yeah” for the first time.

3/22: Wearing his hooded towel, Walter said, “I am Darth Vader. Gentlemen, please give me your attention.”

3/22: At Abigail’s 18-month checkup she weighed in at 23 pounds and 32 inches tall.

3/23: Walter passed his Early Childhood Screening with flying colors, even the eye exam. Woohoo! They measured his height at 40 inches and weight at 34 lbs.
3/23: I told Abigail that Walter was playing downstairs, and she called to him: “A-ta!” She hasn’t really used his name before.

3/30: I sneezed and Abigail said something that sounded like “bless you!” The same thing happened to Keith later in the day.

3/30: To celebrate our first 70 degree day (or perhaps because he got into the Easter candy) Walter decided to run around in the back yard naked. We tried to explain why this was not a good idea, but we were laughing too hard. As soon as one of our neighbors approached, he made a dash for the house and announced he was getting dressed.

4/4: We had a very nice Easter. The first tulips of the season bloomed, and the weather was nice enough to walk to church.  Our next door neighbors joined us at the service. The kids got a kick out of having so much candy in one day! Each of the kids got to hunt for Easter eggs. It was so much fun watching them figure it out!  (The video we made of Walter is too long for You Tube. I will have to see if I can edit it down.) We had a big dinner with Grandpa Paxton and the neighbors. The weather was nice enough for Walter and his buddies to keep playing outside after dinner.

It has been a long, very snowy, very cold winter in Minnesota and we just couldn’t take it any more. We escaped to Cancun for a few days to catch some sun and enjoy the outdoors without hat and coat. The weather was great: sunny and 70’s every day. It was quite windy, but compared to the type of windchill we’re used to, it was fine.  Cancun is built on an interesting landmass - it’s a thin loop extending from the Yucatan peninsula into the Caribbean Sea. Our hotel was on the inner ring, or “lagoon” side. That was actually nice for the kids, since the water at our beach was very calm. We did spend one afternoon on the “ocean” side. Quite a breathtaking view, but the waves were too big for us to go in the water. We really enjoyed the legendary white coral sand of the beaches. It is so white that it doesn’t get hot, even in full sun. It always was comfortably cool on our toes. The kids got a kick out of the local wildlife including an iguana, starfish, and lots of birds trying to raid the restaurant patio. Luckily, we left town before the spring break kind of “wild life” arrived.
Walter proved surprisingly outgoing, trying to make friends around the pool and on the beach. He was eager to tell everyone that we were from Minnesota.  Abigail continued to pick up more words, including “no,” quickly followed by “no way,” a common expression of Walter’s! She seems quite pleased at the effect of those little words!

I have updated Walter’s Google map to include the latest stamp in his (very cute) passport. See the map here. We have posted lots and lots of photos on Flickr, and a video on YouTube for your vicarious enjoyment. Adios!