I Actually Made Smoothies (August)

First Day of Fifth Grace and First Grade...in August

Yes, despite my tardy blog posts, they did start school.  Jonathan is at a different school than Grace this year, so that has changed our routine quite a bit.  "Carpool" is a new part of our vocabulary.  But, here are their pictures before school on that first day.

This is awfully cute, right??

Here's a picture of her in her new classroom.  She has her own desk now that she's in the first grade...and sometimes the Desk Fairy leaves treats for kids who keep very neat desks.

After all the excitement, here's what's left.

Last year, Benjamin seemed discouraged for about a month after school started.  He really missed his siblings, especially Grace, since he had never been apart from her that consistently in his life.  This year, though, he seemed to know what to expect - that he could enjoy some one-on-one time with me - and he hasn't had a problem adjusting to school starting.  As for me...I was grumpy for a couple of weeks, as usual, but now I am used to someone else's schedule running my show, and I'm dealing with it!  (And I'm very thankful to say that the kids seem to have good matches with their teachers and are doing very well in school.)

Also, for Memory Lane:

Fourth Grade

(the other years can be found on the Fourth Grade post.)

Something that Happened...in August

So...to make a long story short, Jeff had a teeny little thing on his nose that looked like a pimple.  I didn't know this until he mentioned it to me months later, but it never actually healed.  It was the same spot, and it would just bleed off and on...over and over...for months.  When he mentioned it to me, I STRONGLY recommended that he get it checked.  To his credit, he did (good job, Jeff) and found out that it was the non-aggressive but needs-to-be-removed kind of skin cancer.  (Special thanks to my college that forced all of us to take wellness classes so that I learned the signs of cancer, among other things...)

He got it removed, and it turned out to be a much bigger deal than we had realized.  Here he is after the removal for this teeny little spot.  As it turned out, the spot went deep, and he needed Mohs surgery (you can Google it.)  He had a hole in his face the size of a dime and 75 stitches to close it up.  I am omitting the graphic photos!  He couldn't remove the bandage for a week, and even after it was off, he wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous (lift, swim, run, wrestle with kids, etc.) and nobody could touch his face because it was so sensitive.

Here he is after the bandage came off.  It looks so much better now.  We're very thankful that his skin cancer was removable, and that he's fine.  Also, his nose was numb afterwards, and he was told (afterwards) that the numbness could last a couple of years!  (He says the numbness is slowly going away.)  And here's a reminder, kids - don't get sunburned!  Wear a hat!  :)

The Legoland VIP Experience...Part 3!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4

After our amazing day at Legoland, the fun was not over.  We had planned one special night at the Legoland hotel (which I must admit, is very expensive in the summer.)  And, when we got to the hotel, Tim (remember our wonderful guide through the VIP experience?) pulled out Lego gifts for each of the kids.  I am not kidding!  Before our trip, the coordinators of our trip asked our kids' ages and favorite Lego themes, but we didn't know what they would be receiving.  The gifts were so generous, and our kids were overwhelmed and surprised.  The gifts were a perfect match for each kid, too!  On top of the gifts, we were at the kids' favorite place - it was hard for them to decide what to do first.  We were thankful to get one night at this amazing hotel, and we stayed in a pirate room - a first for us.  Jeff suggested I take pictures to remember what it looked like, so here you go!

The kids' part of the room is so perfect for our crew.  Benjamin loves sleeping in what he calls the "drawer bed."

All over the Legoland Hotel - in each room, in the restaurant, in the Lobby - there are large Lego bricks for the kids to enjoy while they're there.  Jonathan thought it was very important to label the Skyline Cafe.  So he did.  (The food is very good, by the way!)

Here are some of the things you see in the lobby if you look up at the ceiling.  I should have taken a picture of the ship that the kids play in, but I didn't!

Jonathan wanted to pose with the pirate.  We were in a pirate-themed room, as I mentioned, but that entire floor is pirate themed, too.

There was a roaming balloon artist at breakfast, so the boys were given balloon swords, and Jonathan wanted to give his to the king.

And to be knighted by the king!

Here's the inside of the ship that I mentioned.

We did manage to peel ourselves away from the hotel and enjoy the second day of adventure that was a part of our gift:  a day at the Chima water park.  

Here are the kiddos with Laval, ready for adventures!

We were given this cabana for the whole day.  What a wonderful, shady home base!  It came with a fridge stocked with drinks of our choosing, a tub of Duplos that Jonathan proceeded to build into Chima figures, and attendant who would come take our orders for meals and snacks.  We were spoiled...again.

Spoiled!  We got to take home the beach towels and a beach bag, too.

This play area was right in front of our cabana.  We could have spent the whole day in this play pool!

I should have taken more pictures of the kids playing there, but I didn't - partly because I kept the camera in a locker so that I didn't have to worry about it, and partly because someone (NOT one of my kids!) had diarrhea in the water, so they shut it down for the day while they sanitized it.  Disappointing, to be sure, but there were lots of other things to do.

Jeff rode some of the big slides with Jonathan and Grace - mostly Grace - and I laid low for a bit with Benjamin.  My favorite thing to do was the lazy river.  Part of our VIP status was the ability to bypass the line for the lazy river and go around it a couple of times in a row if we wanted to.  I could have stayed there all day!  There were big, floating Legos to play with on the river, too!

To enter the water park, you also gain entrance to Legoland, so we had the opportunity to go back and catch anything we missed the first day.  Jeff and Jonathan signed up for a class with Lego NXT - I hope I remembered its name correctly.  Anyway, they learned how to program Lego robots.  Jonathan  posed with Laval on the way there...

and really enjoyed learning how to boss his robot around and get it to do its tasks.  He wasn't so sure he wanted to set aside time to do this, but Jeff encouraged him to do it, and I'm so glad.  Jonathan was glad, too!

And, he had to be a Chima king for awhile.

What a fun day for our family!

Here I am with my wet, tired, happy kiddos at the end of the day...

And here is our very spoiled family!

I was thinking about how quickly my kids are growing up, and how they might never be at this perfect age for enjoying things together in quite this way again...and I got a little misty-eyed.  I love these three so much.  So we had to take a picture together.

Also on the second day, Grace and I had to get a picture at the sign for Heartlake City...

and a she needed pictures at a few other important places.

When I look back at these pictures, my heart is so full.  We enjoyed such a special time as family, and were given so much...we truly didn't deserve it.  But, we are so grateful, and we will always think back on these memories with gratitude.  I hope you enjoyed our time through our pictures, too.

I will post about the end of our trip and Jeff's birthday next!