Disney 2015 - Day 2

We had a busy day today!  We slept in a little (until 8), and then we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  We rode the Haunted Mansion and we played some more of the Sorcerer's game.  We ate lunch at Casey's Corner.  Then we headed back to our hotel for some swimming! Our hotel pool has a really nice water slide, so Logan loved it.

After swimming, we headed to Epcot.  We rode the Nemo ride.  When we went to Talk Time with Crush, Logan was the first child that Crush called on.  He asked him his name and where he was from, and asked if anyone surfed in Indiana.  Logan just has the type of personality that stands out.  I can't wait to see where that leads him in the future! 

The guys rode Test Track while I relaxed a little bit.  After that, we started walking through the world showcase.  The Food & Wine festival is going on, so we got some pot stickers from the China booth. We rode the Gran Fiesta twice because it was raining outside.  

We stopped by Norway for some snacks and then headed to Japan for supper.  We ate at Teppan Edo.  They cook the food right in front of you.  It was a lot of fun. The man sitting next to Zeb at our table ended up being a retired college professor and talked about how education was his life, which was nice because Zeb and I feel the same way! 

Logan got extra attention because it's his birthday week.  He didn't mind. 

I love this picture with Logan holding his candle up.  He wanted to keep that candle forever ;) 

Disney 2015 - Day 1

It's been a long day!  But we are having fun.  We arrived at our hotel and even before going to our room, we went to the Magic Kingdom. 

We are staying at the Polynesian, so everything has a Hawaii-type feel.  We love it! 

We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride, Peter Pan and did the Monster's Inc. Laugh floor. 

We also had one of our favorite snacks:

Zeb & I love get the Socerer of the Magic Kingdom cards.  Logan just whined about getting them and did NOT want to even take a minute to get our free cards. But once we started playing, he didn't want to stop! 

We went back to our hotel and ate supper.  Then we checked out our room. 

And as we were winding down for the night in our hotel room, Logan chipped his front tooth.  And then he & I both cried and cried. 

Not a good end to our first day!! 

Test

I am not a big proponent of "you must get A's on everything!"  Because in the grand scheme of life, grades just aren't that important to me.  But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't SUPER proud of Logan getting a 100% on his last spelling test!  

Spelling tests have not been easy for him this year.  He's still getting the hang of it. He's a very bright young boy (in my humble opinion!), but he just doesn't care much about academics! 

But this past week, he did get a 100% and we were thrilled.  

Sixty

My dad turns 60 on Tuesday!!  We celebrated with all of his kids and grandkids. 

He is going on a big hunt later this week. He's going moose hunting. 

Logan loved playing basketball.  Looks like we will need to be putting up a hoop next summer! 

Kentucky

We are in Kentucky for the weekend!!!  It's so beautiful down here.  We decided to go spelunking this morning. 

We went to Lost River Cave, where we got to ride a boat for our tour!  Some of the ride was so cramped, you had to duck your head so that you didn't hit the top of the cave!! 

Logan did not want to go to the cave when we started off this morning, but he ended up loving it.  I'm so glad.

The night before we left, Logan said he wanted to get a Swiss Army knife because he had seen Grandpa Atchley's last week.  While we were at the gift shop at the cave, we found one with Logan's name on it. He couldn't believe that they would have one with his name on it.  I told him that God knew he wanted that.  It was so cute to hear him telling everyone that God knew he wanted it, so He made it for him.  He's in heaven with that little knife!!!

This evening, we spent around the campfire with family.  Talking, eating and singing old country songs. 

Logan wanted to stay at the campground  tonight, so Zeb and I are in the hotel, which I believe is our first alone hotel stay since Logan was born.  We miss him ;) 

Saudi Arabia

We are so blessed to have a houseguest from Saudi Arabia!  His name is Nawaf and he is staying with us while he studies English.  We are so thrilled to have another person in the house and also to learn all about his religion and culture. 

Nawaf has a six year old brother in Saudi Arabia, so he knows what to expect from a six year old!  Nawaf is 19, so he is just like an American teenager - always out with his friends!  

He made supper for us tonight.  Zeb took him to the halal market where he could purchase food like he gets in his country. He also seasoned the food with some spices that he brought from Saudi Arabia. 

He made chicken Kapsa.  It was yummy. We all enjoyed it!  Logan particularly enjoyed the fact that in Saudi Arabia, you eat this meal with your hand only (right hand only). 

Zeb decided to eat a hot pepper.  He quickly regretted it! 

Nawaf has been with us for a week now. We are enjoying every minute!! 

First Day of 1st Grade

This was my sweet boy before he woke up to start first grade.  He was SO excited!  It was no problem to get him out of bed!! 

I am a big fan of Pottery Barn.  I get their catalogs and oogle over the lunch boxes and the backpacks and all of it.  I tried to convince Logan to choose some of their back-to-school products.  Instead, he chose a $6.99 backpack from Menard's!!  And he had to have that back pack in all of his pictures :) 

Momma wasn't feeling well, so I wasn't in any of the pictures.  But I love this one of my guys....

Look at that pose....

When I asked Logan what he was most excited for this morning, he said "seeing my teacher, of course!"  You think we have a little crush going on?!?

He could not get into his desk fast enough. 

This is a sample of his work!  He has to memorize this poem. 

His spelling words - in cursive!!!! 

And his math : 

I am so proud of my boy!! His printing has really improved over the summer - even though he didn't practice at all this summer :). I'm proud of the way he just jumped right into first grade and owned it.  Remember, kindergarten was only 1/2 day - so today was his first full day of school!! He got to take his lunch, too! First grade, day one, is in the books!! 

*logan has five kids (total) in his class.  One of the things I loved about my Christian  education was the very personal attention that I received and I'm so happy he's getting the same. Praise the Lord that we live in a country where we are still free to choose the method of our children's education.  We do not take that choice for granted!!