Happy 9th Birthday, Ashley!

3.1415

Nate and I couldn't let Pi Day 2015 pass us by. It's the perfect "holiday" for nerds with a sweet tooth! 

Following the Fischer Family Down Under

We played tag-team-cousins last week. The day after the Johnsons left (and the snow melted), the Stacys came to town. This was probably their last visit before they head out for a 6-8 month mission trip to Australia in May. 

B and KK are finally taller than Granny Fischer

Papa & AJ 

Just Izzy and me

Ed.D., CCC, SLP

After many weather-related delays, Jeff was finally able to defend his dissertation!  Congratulations, Dr. Adams!! It's been a long, long road, but you did it!

Whacked Out Weather

This has been the craziest March that I can remember! A week and a half ago, we had 6 inches of snow on the ground, and today it was 82 degrees!!!

The Johnsons were home the first week of March and brought the snow with them. Literally, this huge band of snow and ice stretched from AR to PA the day before they were supposed to head back.

 

Walk in the woods

Lucy had to get in on the action

Snow Bunnies

 

Daddy Daughter Dance 2015

Saturday and Saying Goodbye

We parted ways with the Fowlkes on Saturday morning and then spent our last few hours at Epcot. We got in a few more rides (including 2 trips on Test Track) and ate our way around the world before heading home. Jeff needed a few more egg rolls from China, and I needed one last dessert in France. :)

It was a good trip. Now back to reality...and middle school homework!

Friday...eh, let's take a break!

Friday was supposed to be our 2nd Universal day, but we were exhausted! It was also one of the warmer days, so we decided to just stay at the condo and let the kids play at the (heated) waterpark. We all needed a little down time, plus it got me out of riding the Hulk. ;) 

That night, we celebrated Jennifer's birthday (a week or so late) at Kobe. HBD, JDF!

Thursday at Universal

Jennifer, Tyler, and I took the kids to Universal Studios on Thursday. Nate and Will were excited about the rides but needed to warm up to the idea of going upside down on the big roller coasters. Tyler said he would go on Dragon Challenge with them, so I said that I would go on the Incredible Hulk. (Why did I agree to this again?)

They did ride the Dr. Doom's Fear Fall right away. Ash was disappointed that she was too short for many of the high thrill rides, but we were able to go on the Spider-Man 4D ride with them where we got stuck twice!!

We made our way through both parks and spent most of our day in the Harry Potter areas. I have not read the books and have only seen the first movie, but I was still very impressed at the level of detail in all the displays. Every HP fan would love it! You have to buy the two park tickets to gain access to Hogwart's Express, but it is probably the coolest thing there. My kids do not recommend the Butterbeer. It made them sick to their stomachs. I don't know if it was the Butterbeer or the nerves, but Nate did not ever go on any of the big coasters. Tyler and Will both survived the Dragon's Challenge (with 5 inversions!), and we saved the Hulk for another day.

Wednesday at Magic Kingdom

On Wednesday, we were those people. You know the ones. Lined up at rope drop, fighting their way to the front of the crowd. Let me explain...there's a new ride -- The Seven Dwarves' Mine Train -- that always has tremendous wait times and no Fast Passes are available. We truly ran at a full-on sprint through the parking lot and worked our way through the crowd. When the ride opened, we were the second group in line that morning! The look of satisfaction on my face in the picture above makes me both proud and a little ashamed at the same time.

It was a fun ride, but not high thrills and definitely not worth the 80+ minute wait it had almost the whole time we were there. The other ride that we really liked and rode multiple times was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Even though it broke down once just before we got on, it was a group favorite.

We tortured the kids through It's a Small World. After Jeff left to go to his conference, Jennifer and I took the younger ones on the carousel and the Flight of Peter Pan. The older boys were bigger thrill seekers, so they ditched us to ride Space Mountain again.