January 29, 2023 · 12:42 pm

Legoland Florida!

Today is all about Legoland Florida. We are so excited to be here – our first time. Our last visit to Legoland California was 3 years ago, in December of 2019. Lego Discovery Centers are fun, but definitely not the same league of a Legoland.

This park feels newer than Legoland California (opened in 1999), and when we visited the history center, I realized why! This park is just as old as our son! Completed in October 2011, it’s 11 years old!

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Filed under Our Kid is Cute

January 28, 2023 · 5:10 pm

Tampa

We traveled last night to Tampa. Excited to be here again!

Today we spent some time with my brother and then headed over to a movie set and the Child was an extra in a movie. Basically, he got to pretend to trick-or-treat in January.

We’re headed to Orlando now.

(I’m resurrecting my blog because Facebook decided to arbitrarily disable my account with them, with no warning. Probably should never have relied on a company who, in my opinion, has gotten way too big for their britches.)

He always touches the ❤️ before boarding the plane!

Truck-or-treating on the set in January!

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Filed under Our Kid is Cute, Travel and Adventures

January 1, 2023 · 12:01 am

Happy New Year!

Hey! Happy New Year! Once a year you get to hear my kid shout this at you. Don’t worry… if you are in outer space, you can still hear him!

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December 29, 2022 · 7:30 pm

Figaro and his ball

Figaro has his own toy box, and he has a favorite toy. The favorite toy is a plastic ball that he has removed the bell out of it.

He carries it around with him, he’ll drop it and play “soccer” with it for upwards of 30 minutes at a time. When he tires, he’ll set the ball down near him and take a rest, while he keeps an eye on it. Today he brought it into the room where I was lounging while reading a book. He curled up behind my legs and placed it in front of his chest and then turned his head and started grooming himself.

Usually, he likes me to pick it up and toss it for him and he’ll run and get it and bring it back. So, I reached over and took it, and placed it in front of me, and waited for him to finish grooming. I thought he had seen me take it.

When he turned back around, he looked where he had placed his ball, and he immediately realized it was gone. He looked this way and that way and then back where it had been. He reached out a paw and patted down the blanket several times. Then he stood up and continued his searching… that’s when I started taking video.

He is truly fascinating.

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Filed under Cats are awesome, Kid Substitutes

December 24, 2022 · 7:22 pm

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve candlelight services are lovely. Amusingly, our pastor uses a propane torch lighter to start it. 🤣 I assure you, the starting candle won’t be sputtering out.

Also, a preview of William’s Christmas show he’ll be doing for us tomorrow. He started reciting and I was running around the house trying to find my camera… and he finishes, then he tells me he’ll be doing it again tomorrow, along with a couple Christmas songs. Be still my heart!!

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Filed under I Left Home for Awhile, Our Kid is Cute

December 18, 2022 · 7:36 pm

Lights on the Farm

Lights on the Farm at Heritage Farmstead Museum did not disappoint tonight. They say there’s over a million lights, and I believe them!

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Filed under I did something Special, I Left Home for Awhile

December 8, 2022 · 11:46 pm

Birthday letter to our child (#11)

Our child turned 11 years old today. Eleven!!

He is a smidge over 5’4” tall, weighs 106 pounds and wears men’s size 10 shoes.

The thing he loves most of all is spending time with his friends and family. He’s not the biggest fan of schoolwork, but he loves vacations, road trips, monster truck shows, theme parks, National Parks, bike riding, rollerblading, riding his hoverboard, Dave & Busters, playing or snuggling with his cat. He loves listening to audiobooks, making videos for his YouTube channel, playing Minecraft, LEGO Worlds, Monster Jam Steel Titans 2, and Wordscapes. He works hard to earn money, and still enjoys spending his money on his monster truck collection.

He’s been giving a lot of thought to his future this past year. He expects his first car will be a crappy old yellow Nissan and his first job will be an event planner. He wants to go to college, a Christian college. He thinks he’ll probably meet his future wife there and they’ll get married after college. He’s looking forward to having a family with her. He eventually wants to be a theme park owner because he wants people to be happy and entertained.

This past year has been one of growth and maturity. There have been lots of pointed questions with requests for specific information with fascinating discussions. There have been times when I’ve had to pause and examine the basis of my beliefs so that he not only understands the “what” but also the “why.” He is so strong minded and an excellent communicator. I’ve always heard that it’s “right before bedtime” that boys like to talk about things with their parents… for us, it’s always while we’re driving around running errands and then the deepest conversations happen when we pull into the driveway. So, inevitably, we end up sitting in the driveway to finish our talks.

I love parenting this child. I love the way his brain works. He is infinitely interesting to me. There are still days that I cannot believe that he is ours and I am always so thankful that he is ours. And I still love to listen to him breathe as he falls asleep, and I whisper prayers for his protection over him as he sleeps. Oh, and he is STILL incredibly snuggly.

Happy 11th birthday to our sweet child.