Noodle is 13 at Disney World

What happens when an amazing trip to Disney World collides with an amazing birthday girl? A super-duper-awesome-amazing birthday! We were blessed by our friends to be able to stay in Orlando for five days and go to Disney World with them. I don't know how your friends celebrate your birthday, but as friends go, I think they set the bar pretty high.

Traditionally, I do a photo shoot of Noodle on her birthday to commemorate the day. I think 4 or 5 days worth of photos will fulfill that tradition.

We visited Disney's Animal Kingdom first.

Everyone loved the Everest rollercoaster.
Especially Noodle.
That's why she's hiding in the 4th row from the back.
Or, she just ducked down to tie her shoes.

We had fun coming up with silly poses for the ride cameras.

There may have also been some Bollywood dancing in our day.

We got soaked on the river.
 

We re-enacted old times.

Then the grown-ups had to have a turn.

Here's this entire crew of people we love and wore out our feet with on the miles and miles and miles of Animal Kingdom paths. What? Not miles? Tell that to my flip flops.

Steve, Michelle, Susie, Seth, Pam, Mike, Caleb
Liam (asleep!), Joshua, Jacob, Me, Noodle, Matthew, Hopers, Brianna

On our second day, we went to the Magic Kingdom.
The ferry ride into the park was, well...magical.

The kids were fresh and ready to go for another day of fun.


We brought 3 gallons of deer jerky with us.  The snacking began first thing every morning and continued until the final squabble over the last piece (between the dads of course, not the kids).

The dads, hyped up on jerky, ready to blast some alien butt on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

More fun with ride cameras.

Hopers and Briana survived the teacups with style. I, however, have vowed never to step foot in anything that spins again.
Yes, I am now old.

That night, we had a celebration dinner for Noodle back at the hotel.

The next day, it was time for a visit to Epcot.  We burst through the gates as they opened and ran our way to the first ride we could: Soarin.  If you haven't been, I highly recommend it.  It was amazing!  A virtual hang gliding tour across the country. I couldn't stop smiling.

Steve, Jacob, Michelle, and Faith on Soarin

Beautiful Noodle on her birthday. She's 13!!!!!
Hopers and Noodle loved the Test Track ride, but Mission to Mars was their favorite of the day.

Joshua, Briana, and Hope playing in Epcot Japan.

Caleb, Faith, Jacob and Hope in Epcot France.

Puppets in Epcot China.

Hats in Epcot Mexico.

Noodle in Epcot Morocco.  It's her birthday today!  Happy 13th, Noodle!

On our final day at Disney, our little family of four headed alone to Hollywood Studios.  We had so much fun running around to all of the rides, we didn't even take pictures!

And Then There Was a Cool Front

My absolute most favorite season of the year is fall.  It's refreshing, dry and cool.  And after a summer of sweating even in a swimsuit, we've all been ready for a change to hit the air. (Because I totally cannot rock a swimsuit while buying groceries. Or in my own backyard, for that matter.)

Yesterday, a tiny cool front came along and threw us all into a tizzy.  Suddenly, everyone was scrambling to be outside for every activity.

Let me tell you something, fall changes people.  And animals, too.  Noodle and Hopers suddenly acted like alien children who liked each other.  And wanted to be with each other!

Weird.



They did all school work outside.

Sherlock was supremely happy with this idea because it meant he would be spoiled to death every waking moment.

 



And carried around as if he'd permanently lost the ability to walk. Or had suddenly turned into a very hairy infant.



Hopers took this photo.  She likes to steal my camera.  More and more, the photos are not of her thumb. *Sniff* My baby's growing up!

Don't be fooled by her momentary solemn expression. Poppy suddenly becomes "crazy dog" when cool weather appears. She runs around the yard at full-on torpedo speed, clearly overjoyed for some good weather.

The chickens are also really glad for the temperature drop.  They told me so, of course.



...and I thought my butt was fluffy!

I did manage to entice the children inside once in a while for important things like showers and using the bathroom.  Hopers decided to finish her sewing project she's been working on lately. Pajama shorts!  And yes, she wore them for the rest of the day.  And yes, the color combo with that shirt kind of hurts my eyes, also.

And then there's Noodle.

...who is so, so........... well, almost a teenager!  Plus, I think I need a new time machine because mine doesn't seem to be working.

My alien-invaded children set up a tent to sleep under the stars tonight.

You'll notice Seth is conspicuously absent from these photos.  That's because he's in the woods hunting things.  Yes, fall makes otherwise normal, non-rednecked men become camo-wearin', bow-totin' crazy people.


I, of course, am not crazy. At all.

Whatsoever.

 

Happy fall!

Not the First Day, But a Great Day!

Hopers, 8                         Noodle, 12

It's the first day of....something!  Well, it's not really the first day of school this year.  It's not these kiddo's first day of their respective "grades".  It's not the first day of fall (boy isn't that a long way off for us Florida girls!).  I suppose I could say it's the first day of sitting down in front of books and papers and learning things from them for the month of August.

But that just sounds silly.

So here's the story.  As of the end of March this year, we decided to exit the public school system.  These two lovelies were begging for it.  Our family was needing it.  The timing was right for it.  Hey, when it's time to go, why wait, right?

I immediately started them on the next grade levels.  Hopers went from 2nd grade material to 3rd grade work.  Noodle went from 6th grade to 7th.  I wasn't about to buy curriculum for just a couple of months of school.  We thoroughly enjoyed soaking in these learning materials straight through the summer, punctuated by long periods of learning directly from life (our favorite kind of school) by trying new things, traveling, exploring nature, gardening, sewing, cooking, visiting friends and well...you know....doing.

So here we are in August, still...doing, learning and living.  But it's August, and I always take a "first day" photo of my girls on the front steps because I'm a creature of habit!

I just don't have a name for it.

Cheers to not having a name for it! (and bare feet too!)

Keeping Kittens Alive, and Other Things to Do Today

About a month ago, a new addition occurred in the chicken coop.

No, it's not more chickens.

This new addition came when my dearest husband decided to bring home a darling little pop-up camper, given to him by a generous friend.  The cost of the camper?

A kitten.

(Cue dramatic music)

What happens when your husband wants to get rid of the rats in his barn and then visits friends with a cat that had kittens.

Let's pause for a moment and surface to reality here people.

1. Two out of four people in my household are allergic to cats.
2. My husband has always declared he hates cats.
3. Our precious, beloved doggy, Poppy, loves cats..........for dinner.

Who, me? I'd never hurt a fly!

And so, based on these three facts alone, normal, sane people would just accept life as it is.  Harmonious and cat-less.  Who needs to complicate things, right?  I can think of a fistful of reasons as to why I'm not a complicated person, but the fact that I now have a cat, a dog, 31 chickens, 2 snakes and 2 kids under my care doesn't plead the case very well.  (We ate the pigs and sold the goats!) Not to mention, I would've never guessed my husband would be the one to instigate this latest bout of insanity.  

Meet Sherlock.

Ha! I laugh in the face of danger!

Sherlock currently lives in the chicken coop.  His favorite activities include hiding from the chickens and then springing out suddenly upon a hen, only to get pecked in the face.  He's learning quickly who's the boss.

Trapped between Mary Poppins and Florence Nightingale!

The goal is to have Sherlock one day be an Ultra Rat Killing Machine in the barn (otherwise known as a barn cat) while having a healthy respect for our feathered, egg-producing friends out there.  At first, he only stayed in the chick brooder, a screened cage in the coop that allowed him and the chickens to get used to each other visually. We are slowly allowing him more freedom.  At night, he has free roam of the coop, and I have even found him snuggled up, sleeping, with a broody hen in a nest box.

Sherlock hiding.  Little does he know, Shirley the Rhode Island Red is stalking HIM!

The true test of whether or not we can keep a cat comes down to Poppy. Her sweet, humanity-loving demeanor turns into wide-eyed insanity whenever she encounters any animal trespassing on her property.  Heck, it doesn't even have to be her property.  (Remind me sometime to tell you the story of why we don't bring her to the beach anymore......seagulls!!)

Squirrel?!?

So now we are smack dab in the middle of trying to train an old dog new tricks.  Like, don't eat the kitten, Poppy, or you'll cause a bunch of little girls to cry for weeks.  I have to give her some credit.  She's actually doing really well so far.  No kitten murder to report.  

We have introductory sessions between them.  "Poppy, this is Sherlock.  Sherlock, this is Poppy.  We like you both.  Please be nice to each other."  I light candles and play soft music while serving them tea in the parlor.  They talk about the weather and avoid eye contact.

Actually, we've been doing a very slow, daily move toward togetherness.  We hold the kitten and have the dog sit or lay down.  We pet them both and tell Poppy calmly and sweetly about 8 million times that she is a good girl.  This seems to be working.  They sniff each other. They roll their eyes.  No one gets too excited.  Today, I let Poppy watch as Sherlock walked around in the barn.  She chose to stay where she was for the vigorous belly scratch she was receiving.

Sherlock was glad.

I was glad.

Then I was sneezing.

Sigh...Can't wait to do it again tomorrow!