Snaggle Tooth

Olivia hopped in the car from school today and her teacher told me "it looks like that tooth will be coming out today."  It was hanging on by one root.  In fact, she turned it around and around at least 15 times.  Amy dropped by and she agreed, that tooth would last approximatly 5 minutes. 
Leaving for Disney in a few minutes and we have a newly snaggle toothed girl.  Cinderella will be so proud.  I think Olivia will probably want to show Ariel instead of Cinderella.
She announced "I pulled it all by myself".  I think this is a theme with my oldest....

Disney Surprise, Manicures and Chess Club

With our last minute planning, we have decided to go to Disney World this Friday.  We will actually be in Florida for our annual trek to the 24 Hours of Daytona race this weekend (Porsche related) and we typically try to hop over to Orlando for a fun day with the kids.  The last two years have sent us to SeaWorld, but we are making a big leap by going to Disney World.  Dave said "I will never go".  Is this a 'mark my words' situation?  I guess not!  I have never been to Disney World, so I'm looking forward to it as much as Olivia, Zach and dare I say, Dave?  It's going to be great!
In anticipation of our trip (leaving tomorrow after school), I asked Olivia if she wanted to get her nails manicured this afternoon while we waited on Zach's Chess Club to finish.  I recieved a big smile and a yes!  It was so sweet.  I didn't realize it, but this is the first time I have taken her to get a professional manicure (if you can call it that with a 6-year old).  She smudged two nails within 15 minutes.  Oh well.  Pink sparkles (mom's choice) won out over blue and neon green.  I told her Cinderella would probably like sparkles more. 
Wink, wink. We finished up with a Frosty from Wendy's (when is the last time I had one of those?) and we were sweet enough to bring Zach a Frosty as well.  He had a great time at Chess and announced "I beat Hunter" when we picked him up... all smiles on his face.  Granted, he is the youngest in the club, but he loves playing, so I think this is the perfect match. 

Check out the nails in this photo.

Fun times at the dinner table discussing Chess Club and Disney World.

I also had to remind myself to take a picture of Olivia while she still has her two front teeth.  These little baby teeth have been hanging on since early December.  I thought 'surely she will lose them by Christmas, then New Years, then MLK', but they are both hanging on.  She lost her other two teeth on holidays (Memorial Day and Labor Day), so I thought it would be appropriate for these to follow the same guidelines.  The front teeth are twisting and turning, so maybe they will be lost on vacation.  I know she will look totally different, so this photo is a keeper.

Zach's Aquarium Fieldtrip

It all comes back around eventually.  With Zach and Olivia being one school year apart, I become very familiar with school work and fieldtrips (and the repetition).  I actually get confused by which child went on a specific fieldtrip, but I eventually get it all straighten out. 

Zach's Pre-K class visited the Georgia Aquarium this past week.  We are big fans and are very familiar with the Aquarium.  It was nice to see this group of kids enjoying it as well.  Each student was assigned a marine animal to research.  They presented their posters to their class days before the fieldtrip.  It was amusing to see them when we approached the viewing area for their animal.  Zach had the alligator.  A tour guide made note of the extra plexiglass at the top of the alligator tank.  A few months ago, after closing, a night watchman found one of the alligators roaming the exhibits after hours.  The alligator had managed to get up and over the plexiglass and walk the halls!  I guess he was saying 'hi' to his friends?!

As you can see, these kids had a blast and were very well behaved.  It was a great way to spend a gloomy, rainy day in Atlanta, plus we had lunch at one of my and Zach's favorite places...FIGO.  Mmmm. 

Since this is Olivia and Zach's last year at VCLC, I know our familiar fieldtrips (Pumpkin Patch, Aquarium, Planetarium and others) will come to an end.  Change is good, so we'll see what next year brings :-)

MLK Holiday at Callaway

We spent the day at Callaway Gardens since the entire family was out of school and work.  What a glorious day it was with the sun shining bright.  We soaked in the sun knowing that more rain is coming.  From the Butterfly House to the bike trails, we enjoyed every bit of it.  I actually caught a big, blue butterfly in action (thanks to my handy dandy DSLR camera).  An insect show was being held during our visit, so we learned quite a few interesting facts about tree frogs, hissing cock roaches (yes, we heard them hiss) and walking sticks.  The female walking sticks, which originate in Australia, smell like butter scotch.  Pull that one out of your hat at your next dinner party!  I will....but you may ask me to leave - ha!  We toured the horticulture center and the kids explored the outdoor children's maze while Dave and I relaxed on a sunny swing.  Olivia was in her own little world exploring the outdoors while Zach was collecting rocks for his collection.  He turns up, hands me several really cool rocks and says "I love you, mommy".  He's been my very affectionate boy this past week and I'm soaking it all up.  Olivia is picking up on the vibe and she's right there with the snuggles and "I love you, mommy" too. 
I was a bit bummed that I couldn't fit my new bike that I recieved for Christmas in the SUV.  A bike rack is on order.... I think.  Zach's bike made it into the car along with the scooter, so we toured the gardens via jogging, walking, and running after the kids.  Over bridges, crossing rocks and waterfalls, you name it, we did it today.  The Callaway trip was ended on the beach with the sun setting low over the water.  Ahh, it never gets old. 
Dave and I were amazed that the kids dinner plates were entirely cleaned off in such a quick manner.  These kids worked up an appetite!  As we were putting our very tired, but excited children to bed tonight, Olivia shows us her loose tooth.  Well, both top teeth are very loose, but they are still holding on.  We attempted to pull it, but she said, with a grin on her face, "I'm just too nervous and excited"!  Until tomorrow, little tooth.  We can wait.....

Now I know how it feels...

Now I know how it feels when you are the odd man out.  I have 4 kids at my house tonight and I'm the only adult.  Dave is in Germany and I thought it would be fun for Olivia and Zach to have friends for a sleepover.  Fun it is, but crazy.  They made pizzas for themselves tonight, which is always a hit.  Four kids sitting at the table, one mom sitting at the kitchen bar and lots and lots of chatter.  Burps, "excuse me's", giggles, talking over each other and eventually screaming to be heard.  Now I know what the kids feel like when the adults get together....well all but the burps!  If you think about it, when good friends get together, we have so much to say, that we do end up being quite loud.  My kids make this comment often that "we always talk too much".  OK, so I'm giving them 'their turn'.  I would rather them be loud and have fun than to have no friends at all......

New Year's and a Wild Animal Safari

After Christmas, we had many animal adventures with the kids.  We spent one day in Helen, GA enjoying a beautiful sunny day along the river eating lunch, letting Zach ride his bike and visiting Bear Hollow.  It's a rescue home for bears and boy, were they big and stinky!  This was Olivia's second trip, since Zach was asleep in the car the first time around.  She was the expert and told us everything we needed to know.  Ah, what a gorgeous day!

Leading up to New Year's, we headed out to the lake.  On our way, we made a side trip to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, GA.  This place really was wild! 

I have never witnessed this many wild animals blocking your car and wanting your attention/food!  Well, we didn't take our car.....that would just be silly to think Dave would consider that.  We rented one of the park's vans and headed out.  It was truly amazing to see all of these wild animals.  Of course, they would stick their heads and tongues in the car window and want to be fed.  There was a lot of slobber and stinky breath, but so cool to get up close and personal.  We saw a Liger (cross between a Tiger and Lion) a Zony (cross between a Zebra and pony).  All of this seemed wrong, but hey, who am I to judge?!  Camels, Elk, Water Buffalo, Texas Long Horns, Rhinos, Pot Belly Pigs, Deer (hundreds of them, Zebras, Peacocks, snakes, Hyenas, you name it.  I would definitely recommend a visit....but don't ever take your own car inside the actual park - rent one for $11!

The Ulitsch's spent New Year's with us at the lake.  It was a very quiet New Year's with a great, big campfire and a blue moon!  Gorgeous is the word I use to describe the view.  Smores, perfect weather, raging campfire and happy kids; what more can you ask for?

Happy New Year 2010!  Looking forward to another wonderful and fun-filled year with my family and friends.