Down and Derby

Gunner and, by default the rest of the us, had our first Pine Wood Derby this last week. I heard a member of the audience ask, "So is this kind of the pinnacle event of cub scouts?" I would have to say yes. I loved watching all the heats and different cars zoom down the track. Take away a few whiny, bored girls and it would have been a perfect evening.

Betsy wasn't exactly enthralled with the coloring activity they had for siblings.

We are calling Gunner and Joe's first pinewood venture a success, not that they won the whole enchilada but that they succeeded in never flipping off the track or having the affectionately named, "Gold Brick" screech to a halt before the finish line. You gotta feel sorry for the boy who has to trudge to the front and grab his car from the middle of the track with his shoulders and head down.

Gunner got the "Midas Touch Award" for his gold "lambo" design and had a good time. I am of course the bad guy for not letting Joe and Gunner (mostly Joe) spend all of their hours sanding the axles with 2000 grit sand paper which surely would have secured victory. (Ahhh, the agony of defeat, not so agonizing when you can blame mom/spouse.) When Gunner was asked to say a few words about the event his unusually terse reply was, "I stunk." When Joe asked rather pointedly how they could do better next year, both glanced at me with a very purposeful, "Mom won't curtail our derby design time" look.

Gunner's entourage of fans

In other news it snowed and rained a lot which meant a lot of beads and play dough (every mom's nightmare.) There was the usual gymnastics and soccer and a few "girls night's out" here and there. One even included dragging all of our non-gym-member friends to the local 24 hour fitness to try out the pool/jacuzzi room for "friends get in free" week-end. I've never had the courage to go by myself in the last year but having friends there strengthened my resolve.

When you are willing to sport a swimming suit in the Co-ed pool of the gym, that's when you know summer needs to arrive. Actually the whole family would be thankful for a traditional spring, maybe a 60 degree day.

Scottie Turns Six

Scottie, once again celebrated a great birthday which she shares with Leprechauns and Her Grandma Ellsworth. This was her year for a family party and though she was a bit disappointed initially, she got over it as the gift wrap began to fly even remarking, "Hey I think I got everything I wanted. Santa didn't even do that!" Her love of ponies continues but she has added Polly Pockets and Littlest Pet Shop to her list of obsessions. Here's a brief interview with the worlds newest six year old.

Mom: What's your favorite color these days?

Scottie: Kind of Aquamarine/blue.

M: And what do you want to be when you grow up?

S: It's hard to remember all of them; Cowgirl, Zower, (this is pronounced sow-er meaning seamstress) chef . . . (and here she started to trail off but I think artist was in there as well.)

M: If you could go anywhere in the world right now where would it be?

S: Disneyland (This is all my children's immediate answer, I think they are afraid of saying anything else to me) but maybe Disney World or Arby's ohhh, can I have a roast beef sandwich?

M: Yes, but no curly fries. So Arby's or Disney World what would you pick?

S: Well after I get my sandwich, I pick Disney World or Grandma Smith's house.

M: Ah ha, What is your favorite word?

S: Zinnia, because I have a pet horse named Zinnia and I like the flowers.

M: Do you feel different now that you're six?

S: Yes, because I'm older and I like to play with my presents a lot, that's the best part of being six.

Well there you have it straight from the horses mouth (no pun intended) We wish our galloping beauty (and the knees of her pants) all the best.

PS The saga of Scottie losing her front teeth has been amazing. it has taken forever and we love her little lisp now that they're gone.

Disneyland. . . Again?

Yesterday evening Tess told me she had gum in her underpants. She had put it there under serious encouragement from her older sister. We actually had to use peanut butter to get it off the side of her buns. This is just one instant of a series that make up all my days. Being a mother is fun and rewarding and also hard and exhausting. After one particularly bad night over a month ago I "woke up" (term used loosely here since I don't think I got more than two consecutive hours of sleep in a row) dreaming about Disneyland. I even mentioned it to a few of my sisters. When I get crazy ideas they either materialize within a day or two or are never heard of again. This one materialized.

Ahhhh Disneyland, truly, the happiest place on earth and being there without small children is, "A whole new world." With no Strollers and no diaper bags to hold us back we set out to enjoy both parks. My sisters, Jess, Carrie and sister-in-law Marissa and I took off for a little weekend getaway to So-Cal and LOVED IT! Words cannot express the fun of this outing and I HEARTILY recommend it. Since I have been back I have been reliving my wonderful memories from the weekend and dreaming of going back. Here are just a few;


Finding out after riding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that it is actually a really great ride and then doing it at least twice a day after that. Oh by the way the weather really was as good as it looks, that day it was 80 degrees.
Deciding to have Splash mountain be our last ride of the day because, "I don't really remember ever getting that wet on it." And as if getting soaked to the skin wasn't bad enough the first time we begged beloved Frontier land cast member "Cody" for a second ride and he said yes getting us even wetter and colder for our long walk back to the hotel. Jess I will never mock your poncho idea again.

The shows at Disneyland. Admittedly, it's time for a change with "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" but some of the other shows are terrific and great for resting the blisters on my toes. We found that Aladdin was too good to miss and this show, "Billy Hill and the Hill Billy's" was Hilarious. We had to get a picture with the star. Even Fantasmic went from good to Superb by adding a little hot cocoa and cheesecake.

Nerd Alert! I loved getting into all the really minute details of Disney, Since I wasn't doing a constant child head count I had time to really look around at the scenery, see all the cool side shops in New Orleans Square, find hidden Mickeys and even do the nerdy Pin Collector thing for souvenirs for my kids. It's a long and boring story for anyone who wasn't there but Jess and Marissa, thank you so much for looking behind the other pins!

We didn't pose for too many Character pics but this couldn't be missed. Indiana Jones was another ride that surprised us with it's sheer awesomeness. So much so that we made it our last ride of the whole trip. We broke all of our moral and ethical codes to get to it before park closing at 8PM stepping on strollers and cutting off pregnant women, even eliciting a "these people are crazed!" from a nearby observer.

One great part of the trip was constantly asking the sisters who said they had problems with "motion sickness" if they were OK and then forcing them to ride terrifying rides. This is us all goading Carrie onto the Tower of Terror. So, fun and the ride was terrific too.

As if it wasn't good enough already those wily imagineers had to make all the Disney Splendor

3-D! The Toy Story ride always had a long line but waiting in line was actually kind of a treat with so many good people to talk to. It also gave us time to pester cast members for hints and tips on how to find Hidden Mickeys or good Dland lore. Some were very obliging,(Vanessa) others were long winded, (whoa! Dave I wanted to know a little about Club 33 not buy a Vacation Club package) and sadly a few were rude, Jack . . .)

Never miss your magic Morning! By 10:00AM one day we had ridden space mountain twice and wandered comfortably through all the rides of Fantasy Land with no waiting.

Yes, that street behind me really is bare. A rare moment in fantasy Land and the best reason to be there when the doors open.

Disney Dining. Everything was delicious from the Fillet Mignon at the Blue Bayou to the tasty dubloons and mint Juleps all over New Orleans. And yes, they do put an addictive chemical into the Mickey Shaped ice cream bars and Dole Whips. Thankfully I had been squirrelling $20's from the grocery budget for weeks before the trip.

The best part was being there with my sisters. We laughed ourselves close to wetting our pants several times and never got anywhere near enough sleep. But it was well worth it. And thanks to Joe and the other husbands, I even got to come home to a spotless Family and Living room and a mountain of clean, hand washed dishes!