So Friday morning Travis says he has to work ALL DAY. So we ditched him right after breakfast and headed to Magic Kingdom. A man saw me with my four boys and double stroller and he leaned over and said, "You do realize this is a dry park, don't you?" Very funny. It is amazing how well we navigate now, though!

So the rules of the day, since there wasn't another adult to split up with, were that we had to do only things we don't normally do, and that we had to do things that all five of us could do. Tal LOVES rules. We ended up calling it the day of Things Daddy Hates. So we did the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, the Tom Sawyer's Island (every cave and bridge, in the rain--that is us on the raft there), the Enchanted Tiki bird thing (okay, that is maybe a once-a-millenium thing and I've done it in one of each of mine), etc. We had a blast.

That's the kids there splitting a root beer float, because there was no appeal to the fruity thing I also got them once they saw the float.

We got back to the room in time for Travis to announce that he was on a roll and was going to work longer. So I changed the kids to swimsuits in the hallway (???) and we headed to the fabulous pool, which is the real reason to go to the Beach Club. Oh, yeah.

So we adore the amazing sand-bottom pool at the Yacht & Beach. Of course. But the best part, hands down, of this trip? Reagan got in the water, grabbed a mask, and started swimming. It was as if he remembered every little thing from his two years of swim lessons. Just hated getting water in his eyes (a la Tal). So the first day I'm watching him in the fabulous 2' kid pool, where the moms get to SIT in the WATER. And I realize he is swimming, not just fooling around on his hands and feet. And I freaked out. So by the next day, he was doing back flips. Insanity!!!! Three swimming, one to go, and Camden will be in no time.

Did I mention I love this pool? The pirate slide, the lazy river, the sand bottom, the sand play areas, everything...

We went to Hollywood Studios and it turned out they were having a Star Wars Weekend or something. This meant street actors and stuff everywhere. Even regular attendees were dressed up in Star Wars garb, which was weird, but kind of fun. This chick was HILARIOUS--she was so freaky and mean that children kept crying, and she would creep up to their strollers all mean instead of trying to make them happy. She had the nastiest expressions!

It was so crowded that our Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania weren't good until 8:00 pm. Um...ick. We have done all but about two things at this park, as it is Travis' favorite. Doing things we don't usually do lately has been fun. Time to head back to the pool.

Here is a Mickey Boat picture--they look so much more grown-up than last time. I think Cam was in the Bjorn the last time we took a shot here.

On the right here? Well, I had dreams of going to the Cape May Cafe dinner, but from the looks of it (the kids held their noses every time we walked by the fishy smell), it will be a few more years.

Because Travis is always flexible with the family schedule, especially on vacation, he decided he had to have immediate sushi on Sunday night, after a day of parks and pool. So I called around for a reservation and got us into Epcot's Tokyo Dining (not his first choice, but I was thrilled to find something within walking distance and also to have yet another opportunity to abuse my season pass). He has been on a health kick, so I just let him do the ordering...and suddenly one plate after another of FRIED food came to the table. A big sushi platter came, and there were only two pieces of the sushi he wanted (pieces, not rolls). Let's just say he now has a clearer understanding of tempura now.

The restaurant and service were great, and we were able to watch the fireworks show from our air-conditioned table--score! FYI--this restaurant has a private viewing balcony for IllumiNations, no matter where you sit. Here is the fantastic monorail plate for the kid food. (Um...why can't they just serve chicken nuggets everywhere???)

So we come home from our long weekend, tired, but happy. The door from the garage sure felt funny. Not in the ha ha way. I nearly fell in the kitchen--what was that about? And is that running water I hear? Yep, the water line in the fridge must have burst about 42 seconds after we left. The wood floors were about four inches high (hence the picture of Cam's cute little legs) and are in the process of a patch job until I can get a new kitchen (my white Christopher Peacock-style dream kitchen, but I digress). If we stepped in one spot, water squirted out like two feet away. Not a good sign. Full of mold already. Now remember the door from the garage had issues? Oh yeah, that means there is water sitting under the entire back staircase. Molding.

That second line in the picture going straight down is the giant stream of water--had multiple buckets going. The good news is that we had labeled bins in the garage storage room, and the Plumbing bin had the right tools in it, and Travis knew what to use and how to use it, and fixed it! It was a miserable afternoon, but I was impressed as usual with his skillz.

We had to meet someone at the Beach Club, so the boys and I headed out early and spent a few hours at Epcot. I always feel like that is okay, since we do educational stuff :). As soon as we got there, it started raining CATS AND DOGS, so we put on the yellow raincoats (to keep the heads and clothes dry) and ran to Mexico. Tal has been learning about Mexico in history, and we're hitting up one country at a time and really doing everything in it, including talking to the people from there, etc. So we went on the little boat ride (has been updated with some new Donald fun), Camden's diaper fell completely off ONTO THE FLOOR in the middle of the crowd inside, we made some goofy little Kidcot masks (that seems to be the craft at all the Kidcot stops--how not creative), and had a late Mexican lunch. We stopped in the shop and Tal spent a few minutes asking the native guy questions. Such as, "Why did the Mexicans make human sacrifices to the gods, and did they really think that made the crops better?" The guy was speechless at first, but made a great comeback, told us about his region, and how they weren't as violent as the Aztecs, who did make human sacrifices.

Doesn't Tal look just like Travis pushing the stroller here?

Then we went and picked up our portrait! Finally, from late last summer. I can't wait to get it framed and hung (if for no other reason than to protect it). It is beautiful.

Another year of WorshipQuest wraps up! I can't believe Tal has only one more year. I'm going to start the Rs in the fall. So many times people ask me about how much they are missing out by homeschooling, but there are so many great opportunities at Idlewild that I can't imagine fitting school activities in, too. And it is all across the street. The programs are awesome--we're already signed up for SummerSing. Here are pictures from last year's patriotic presentation. My mom has taken him since he was four to WQ!!!

This year's theme was GPS, so there were a lot of cute car things, and Tal was somehow in the Rock Band. They were dressed up like the Jonas Brothers, and the instruments looked like road signs. He is about the preppiest, non-rock-star-ist kid there, but he was adorable all the same. I love the little skits where the kids tumble around and do a lot of choreography--they rock at that. Also had to take a picture of him behind Pastor Ken, because he always manages to get placed right behind him and is always making funny faces at about that point.

He was so wound up afterward that I asked whether they had fed the kids sugar through a straw or just with a spoon. He took a picture of himself in the car (because he just couldn't STOP) and I about died at the non-blinking eyes:

Miss Judy! Oh yes, she pulled out all the stops. First brutally hot day, painting going on inside, and she whips out the hose-on-the-slide coolness. They had a blast. My only pang leaving that day was that I didn't get to stay and PLAY.

We are very grateful for Miss Judy.

The doctor found a slight heart murmur at Camden's well baby visit a couple months ago. It took two months to get a Wednesday appointment (Judy day) with a pediatric cardiologist, then ended up not only being the day Judy was having surgery, but also the same day as a Reagan dentist appointment (Travis handles teeth) and Travis had a whole bunch of work stuff that came up.

I have dentist issues. I got bullied into taking Reagan to the dentist. To describe my issues here wouldn't be prudent, but I will say that he is the nicest man ever, and he said that Reagan's teeth are in excellent condition, and I started crying hysterically. While we were in there, I was able to juggle the heart visit. Okay, they didn't have an opening for ten weeks, and now today they say I can come anytime within a THREE-HOUR WINDOW. I am peeved, and yet relieved at some flexibility. We leave the dentist and Reagan says, "Daddy told me we could go inside McDonald's." Okay, we go for The. Fastest. McD. Ever.

Now, when Travis takes kids anywhere, I make sure they are dressed to the nines, down to the shoes, and waiting in the driveway for him. I get home and can't find Camden anywhere. I have the car running and am running through the house. Tal locates him. Tal is my rock. There has been A Syrup Incident. Camden's adorable little outfit is covered in syrup. I wipe it off with a washcloth and throw him in the car, toss in some shoes for him, and we're OFF! I toss him his bag of Happy Meal happiness. (Why is it a bag sometimes and a box other times?) We go to the St. Joseph's Medical Arts Valet Parking, which I adore. We hop inside and look for our destination. The valet comes inside and finds me and asks me for my keys. I am alarmed, as the valet should not have lost my keys--I am pretty short with him that he needs to find my keys. I spent the REST OF THE DAY worrying that I may have done something wrong and that my car may be stuck out in the middle of the valet area for three hours.

We find the nicest elderly man volunteer (love the volunteers at SJH--I used to be one) who informs me that I need to be at the CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL--as far as I can possibly be on the same campus. Crud. Did I mention my toes are all sliced and bruised and possibly broken from The Great Lamp Incident? I can barely walk, let alone carry a child. The volunteer slowly leads me there. The Children's Hospital is wonderful--separate ER and everything. Camden is suddenly uncooperative. He is never this bad--something is very, very wrong. Another volunteer comes to help me (see? it is that bad). I tell her it is naptime. She asks if some chocolate milk would help--Oh YEAH, it would help! So she even brings ME some chocolate milk, because she is an angel. Camden DEXTER chugs his milk, we read a book, and he is back to normal. We immediately get called in, everyone fusses over him--here is the thankful part--I realize that so many of the kids that come through here aren't as energetic as he is. We have had some cautious calls, but we have been so blessed with good health. So we go in, and as he is being weighed, he starts hurling. A lot. The nurse sweetly grabs him and throws him into my arms for comfort, pointing him directly into my chest, before I have a chance to announce that HE ALWAYS PUKES TWICE! And then the second wave came. So I got soaked. The nice nurses brought me soap, towels, bags for our clothes, even lotion to try to cover up the smell. So we do the EKG, they move us to the exam room, we do a glorious ECHO (read: dark room where they let the kid watch a video and mom gets to lay in the bed with the kid), and back to the exam room for meetings with an ARNP and the doctor. Amazingly, the ENTIRE thing is done in one day--all tests and encounters in ONE DAY! So the doc comes to examine us (picture Camden in a toga--at one point I actually made him a toga out of a sheet they gave me), and I had explained our syrup/milk/vomit situation, and she nicely gave a spiel about loving children and this is her calling, yadda yadda yadda, and she leaned over to listen to his heart, then fell into snorts over the syrup smell. I have no self-esteem left. We check out with nearly a clean slate (check back in two years? I'll TAKE IT!), then I start mulling over the treck back to the car, and whether mine will be sitting in the valet area or towed or something...

I have layered my clothes! I whip off my navy cashmere (smelly) sweater and dress Camden in it. By this point, he was having nothing to do with the toga, and he surely wasn't going to be able to walk in it, and I couldn't carry him with the foot issue. So we bundled up in the sweater, diaper, and sneakers--quite adorable, held our heads high, and marched out. Stopped for a quick snap. And OMG the valet worked out fine, even though it came back in 4WD mode.

Two years ago I made the mistake of opting for the Verizon FiOS service. I spent four days with people in my house who were unable to figure out how to make it work.

I spent nearly a month without a phone number. No incoming calls. No access to the voice mails that were going to my real phone number.

In frustration, I finally called, and a manager named Heather heard my story and agreed to let me out of the contract and zero out my balance. I had service for less than one month, so she said this was fine. I took the equipment to a Verizon store, and after being yelled at by the first clerk and walking through a makeshift hallway with walls of returned FiOS equipment, a nice guy told me under his breath that I should absolutely save my receipt, as Verizon was accusing people of not returning the equipment and trying to charge them for it. Point taken. A few weeks later, I got the first bill for the equipment. I immediately called Verizon and was told not to worry, there is a zero balance and all is well.

One year later, the collection calls began. I sent in my treasured receipt copy (thank you nice Verizon store guy!) and had that removed from the bill. A remaining $133 for services provided has been on my balance since then. I have sent in a letter repeatedly, along with requests to have it removed and confirmation that my account is clear. NO RESPONSE. EVER. I have been sent to three collection agencies, the most recent one being the meanest. I just got off the phone with a rude woman who insists that there is a recording of my verbal contract to obtain Verizon services, but that no recording of Heather approving my zero balance exists and that Heather didn't have the authority to do it.

I'm going to pay it because my credit is important, but I will spend the rest of Verizon's existence telling everyone I come into contact with not to use your services. Nearly everyone I have come into contact with at Verizon has been rude, incompetent, or poorly trained. This company seems to put every last penny into advertising (I still get about three four-color mailers per week for FiOs, by the way) and precious little into servicing the poor schmucks who fall prey to your promises of such lofty things as...working phones.