Vacation: A Day at Sea

Our next day on the ship was a full at sea day.  Each night, you are given a "Navigator" that tells you all the activities for the following day and I had highlighted some things that I thought would be fun.  Everyone was up by 7:30 and after witnessing a gorgeous sunrise, we went to the buffet restaurant, Cabanas, for breakfast. They had a wide-selection and everyone enjoyed picking out what they wanted.  I tried to stick to healthy foods, like oatmeal and fruit, to help me feel better about the ice cream and other desserts I knew I would be eating later.  The kids were anxious to get back to the kid's clubs, so we dropped them off around 9:00 so they could enjoy "Goofy Files: a fascinating activity that takes you into the invisible world of forensics where you will discover different ways to identify the suspect of a crime."  Anna and Kara said it was great, Jack chose to play the computer instead (watch for a theme in coming posts...).

Thomas and I walked around the ship some more.  Thomas had gotten up at 5 and gone running and he wanted to check the accuracy of his watch.  He had turned the GPS off, but his time was still way off. He knew his 6-minute mile was too good to be true, but it was still disappointing.  They had a deck where you could run all the way around, each lap was 1/3 of a mile.  Thomas and I also tried our hand at shuffleboard.

We picked the kids up around 10:30 and watched the movie planes in the ship's movie theater.  Then, it was back to Cabana's for a buffet lunch.  The food for lunch was good, they had a lot of seafood choices, including shrimp and crab legs, two of my favorites.  Since Jack is allergic to shellfish, I had to sit at the opposite end of the table and make sure I scrubbed my hands, but it was so worth it!

Looking at the Navigator, I can't figure out what we did for the rest of the day.  There are a few things highlighted, but we didn't do them.  As the vacation progressed, we got better at joining in activities.  I know at some point, we got snacks and ice cream on the 9th deck, because we did that every day.  But, I really can't remember the rest.  This is why I should have brought the computer along.

At 5:45, we headed to dinner.  This time, we were at Animator's Palate.  It was also semi-formal night. The girls wore their princess costumes and Jack put on Captain America.  Animator's Palate is an amazing venue.  The artwork on the walls changes as if someone is drawing a picture.  It was fun to guess which character was being drawn.  It is all in black and white.  Toward the end of the meal, the drawings turn into movie screens and scenes are displayed as color erupts around the room.  Since this description is kind of lacking, here is the one from the website:" Animator's Palate serves up something more than just fine food: an innovative dinner show celebrating the art of Disney storytelling and animation, where many of your favorite Disney characters come to life right before your eyes. Throughout your meal, Disney character sketches located on the restaurant walls slowly transform from stark black and white to brilliant color, amid the familiar classic orchestral themes of Disney movies playing overhead."  At the end, Magic Mickey comes out along with all of the restaurant staff.  They played music about sidekicks while the screens showed different scenes featuring heroes and their sidekicks.  The other scene I remember was one devoted to villains.  It really was awesome.  I wish I could go there for dinner tonight!

After dinner, we took the kids back to the kids club for about an hour, after which we picked them up for the "Twice Charmed" production.  The plot revolved around giving the wicked stepmother and stepsisters a second chance at thwarting Cinderella.  Of course, Cinderella triumphed in the end.  We all loved it. 

By now, it was about 9:30 and way past the kids' bedtime, so back to the room we went and everyone was soon asleep.  And now, the pictures:

We were up in time to see the sunrise

Off in the distance is Cuba, a little too close for Thomas' comfort.

Our daily ice cream and snack break

The girls

The superheroes

A grainy picture of tAnimator's Palate 

Our nightly towel animal

All Aboard

Friday morning, we woke up bright and early and made our way to the hotel lobby.  After a delicious breakfast, we went for another walk around the hotel and then headed to our room to pack.  Having been there for only one night, that was not difficult.  Shortly thereafter, the phone rang informing us that our ride to the Miami port would be arriving in 5 minutes.  We said goodbye to the Homewood Suites and headed outside to wait.

The drive from Fort Lauderdale to Miami was quick and easy (if we had been driving, I am sure it would have been long and frustrating).  As soon as we got out of the shuttle, a porter took all of our luggage and we were told it would be delivered to our stateroom.  I was happy to say goodbye to our many suitcases--I definitely overpacked!

It was pretty amazing to see our ship.  It looked massive!  I can't believe that it is the smaller of the Disney ships.  Our official check-in time was noon.  It was around 10:45, so we weren't sure what to do.  We made our way inside the terminal and went through security. Then, we took the escalators upstairs and were told that we could check-in.  The process was pretty similar to checking into a hotel, I am sure it helped that we had done most of the paperwork online.  We were given a boarding group of 11.  I am guessing that was based on our official noon check-in time, since we were among the first in line.

After that, we checked-in with the kid's clubs and the kids were given Magic Bands, which are used to check in and out of the kid's clubs.  Jack's had a red tag, signifying his food allergies.  That line took quite a bit longer.  From there, we took a picture with Minnie and waited for boarding to begin.

Boarding started at 11:45 and they waited 2-3 minutes between groups.  Shortly after noon, our boarding number was called.   It was very exciting to go up (another escalator) and walk right along the ship.  When we finally got onboard, around 12:30, they had crew members lined up in the lobby and each family was  introduced.  It was our first "magical" moment.

Since we were all hungry, we decided to get lunch.  We went to one of the two open restaurants and there was a buffet.  The food was good and very plentiful.  They had kid-friendly options like macaroni and cheese and corndogs along with the more grown-up fare.  From there, we decided to check out the kid's areas.

They have two kid's clubs for kids ages 3-12: The Oceaneer's Club and The Oceaneer's Lab.  They are connected by a hallway that is only accessible from inside the clubs.  The magic bands are pretty impressive, they correspond to each kid and when they scan in, the child's information, including a picture of their parents, flashes on the screen.  The bands are also equipped with some kind of gps-like chip that tells you where in the club they are.  We explored and were duly amazed by how awesome everything was.  There were computers, dress-up clothes, art areas, book areas, super hero decor, tables for experiments, a huge screen for Disney movies surrounded by bean bag chairs, etc.  Our kids were extremely anxious to get in there to play.

We lured them away with the promise of visiting the pools.  We headed to our staterooms to change. We had booked interior staterooms.  I would have liked an ocean view, but there were no connecting rooms available when we booked.  We could have chosen a veranda, but I was nervous that the kids (or me) would somehow manage to fall overboard.  So, inside we were.  We quickly changed and made our way to the pools.  They were small and very crowded.  Thomas and Jack went down a large slide and then decided to try the Aquadunk, unfortunately, Jack was not tall enough.  Thomas said they put you in a tube, close the door behind you and then you wait for the floor to drop, literally.  He said it was very quick and very intense. I thought I had pictures, but apparently not.  Sorry!

We stayed in the pools for about 90 minutes, then had to get ready for the safety drill.  Everyone had to muster at their lifeboat station.  It was very hot outside and we had to stand very close to people for about 30 minutes.  Definitely not the funnest part of the day.  Once that was over, we went to the sailing party to say farewell to Miami, running into Goofy and Pluto along the way.

Next on the agenda: dinner.  The ship rotates you through 3 dining rooms, each with a different theme.  Our first night was at Lumiere's, which had a french theme and was decorated with a Beauty and the Beast motif. We were at the first seating, which was 5:45.  Dinner on the ship was a leisurely affair.  The kids got extremely restless.  They brought their food out first and they just didn't want to sit and wait.  It had been a long couple of days.  Anna didn't like her food and was very vocal about her displeasure.  Unfortunately, she took her anger out on Thomas and I, which didn't go over so well.  After ignoring a couple of warnings, Thomas was forced to take her to the room.  I took Jack and Kara to the kid's club and checked them in, then went back to the dining room to eat my dinner.  I think by the time I got my main course, it was around 7:15.  Each dinner was 4-courses: appetizer, soup/salad, main entree, dessert.  I got Thomas' entree and both of our desserts to go and headed to the room to join him.

I can't remember much about the food that night.  I got some sort of salad as my main entree and it was just okay.  Thomas had a chicken dish that he was not wowed by.  The other courses were similarly unimpressive.  The whole dinner experience was just not very positive.  After Thomas ate, we took a contrite Anna to the club to join Jack and Kara.  Thomas and I then explored the ship for a little while.  We picked up the kids around 8:30 and decided it was time to call it a night.  The kids loved their time in the club and were anxious to go back the next day.

One of our favorite things during the trip was each night, Calvin, our room steward would come in and make up the beds, leave us each a chocolate and put some kind of awesome towel animal on the bed to greet us. It was very fun to see what he created each night.

This dog was one of my favorite Calvin creations

A view of the kids' room, complete with a towel dinosaur on the top bunk.

Vacation! An Inauspicious Start.

For quite some time I have been wanting to go on a cruise.  I believe I have been talking about it for at least 10 years (I know it was considered as a honeymoon option).  But, I did not want to go with kids who were too little for the kids club and I did not want to leave them at home (it is one thing to be a quick drive away, another to be separated by an ocean).  When Kara reached the magical age of 3, it came up more frequently on my wishlist of things to do.  Thomas had almost zero interest, and I was happy to put it off.  Until...I found out I was pregnant.

 Hmmm, I think this is my first online mention of said pregnancy.  For those of you who didn't know, we are expecting.  What family can possibly be satisfied with a measly 3 children???  Apparently, not us, so a bouncing baby boy will be joining our family as it last addition in March.

Obviously, having a baby is exciting and wonderful.  But, the thought of putting off my dream cruise for another 4 years--not so much.  I wistfully visited the Disney Cruise website and saw something amazing--a fantastic last-minute booking deal!  I called Thomas and told him of this "way too good to pass up" offer, and being the loving, thoughtful husband he is, he indulged me. I booked the cruise.  We told the kids and began talking constantly about all the wonderful things we would do (well, the kids and I did, Thomas was a good sport, but was not nearly as excited as the kids and me).  We watched videos, looked at pictures, read trip reports (well, I read trip reports) and became experts on all things Disney cruise related.

Fast forward approximately one month.  The cruise was November 1-6, but we wanted to get to Miami the day before to ensure that there were no last-minute travel snafus.  On the 30th, Anna was not feeling well (she and Jack had passed around a virus), so I took her to the doctor to ensure she did not have strep throat.  She didn't, but I was still worried about people being sick.   On October 31st, everyone woke up feeling good, and I felt a huge sense of relief.  Our plan was to leave for the airport by 10.

Around 9, I was giving Kara a shower, when I heard a scream followed by Jack and Anna crying.  Hysterically.  Those who know Jack, know that he is pretty stoic when it comes to injuries, so I knew this was not going to be good.  Jack had been running in the hallway, when Anna ran out of our door and right into him.  The side of her head hit him just below the eye.  It immediately started swelling and looked awful. Being a baseball player, Thomas has seen his share of eye socket injuries, and we were worried that he had broken the bone.  It looked that awful.  Thomas got the ice pack while I did some quick internet searches.  We debated on whether or not we needed to go to the emergency room.  His vision was fine and he had zero interest in seeing a doctor, so we decided to travel as planned.  I figured the worst-case would be going to a hospital in Miami.  However, I was still really worried.  Jack kept reassuring us he was fine, but since he is 6, that wasn't all that reassuring.

These pictures do not really do it justice--it was awful!

For those wondering, Anna was fine.  Not even a bump, although I am sure it was very painful, because they must have collided hard.  She did end up scraping her knee and bleeding quite a bit, which was frightening to her and seemed to bother her more than her head did (I think she may have hit the doorway?  We're not sure.)

Obviously, all this made for a stressful morning.  Fortunately, we still made it to the airport with time to spare.  Everywhere we went people looked suspiciously at Thomas and I as they asked Jack what happened to his eye.  He was happy to point an accusing finger at Anna, who was quick to point out that it was an accident. After security, we decided to get some lunch.  Everyone wanted pizza, which was easy and pleasantly inexpensive for airport food.  By this time, Kara had begun freaking out about getting on the plane.  She was extremely nervous and begging us to just drive instead.  She was scared about how fast the plane went.  We told her she wouldn't even notice and that there were t.v.'s and snacks onboard and that if we drove we would miss the ship.  She reluctantly stopped crying and agreed to get on the plane.

Finally, we were on the plane.  Thank goodness for Jet Blue and their free DirecTV, it was very distracting and Kara barely noticed we took off.  The flight was uneventful (except I sat between the girls who talked constantly).  Primarily because of flight times (and because I really like Jet Blue), we had decided to fly into Fort Lauderdale, spend the night there (Homewood Suites) and then take a shuttle to Miami in the morning. We called the hotel and they sent their shuttle for us.  It was a quick ride to the hotel, which was nice, but not close to anything.  Fortunately, they were serving a reception dinner, which was surprisingly good.  Then, we walked around a bit and finally settled into our suite.  Everyone was very excited for the adventure that awaited us the following day.

We were still worried about Jack's eye, but he seemed completely fine, even though it really did look awful.

Boo at the Zoo

Because we aren't going to be home on Halloween, there is no trick-or-treating in our neighborhood this year.  Obviously, this was VERY disappointing for all of us.  We are holiday people--we love them all! To take the sting out of it, we looked for an interesting alternative and decided that we would take the kids to the annual Boo at the Zoo in DC.

Since having kids we have been members of every zoo we've lived near. One of our first pictures of Jack and Anna walking took place at the Norfolk zoo.  We went to the Memphis zoo so often that the kids could almost navigate the 20 mile drive.  DC has been a bit trickier.  It's just not very easy to get to.  But, we still try and make the trip a few times each year.  

Until now we had never before visited a zoo decorated for Halloween.  The kids were extremely excited at the prospect.  Our friend Joey joined us, making for a nice ratio of 3 kids/3 adults.  Anna dressed as wedding Rapunzel.  Kara was regular Rapunzel, and Jack was a combat soldier.  Thomas and I did not dress up, although we would not have been out of place if we had.  We left the house around 3:30 and got to the metro station about an hour later.  There was supposed to be a shuttle taking people from the metro station to the zoo, but there was none to be seen, so we walked.   We got there shortly after the gates opened at 5:30. 

Everyone was handed an orange bag.  Then, it was off to collect our treats.  There were a lot of interesting treats: an ice cream bar, Cabot cheese, Utz chips, an apple from Whole Foods, honey sweetener, etc.  One of the coolest treats was a light-up lollipop.  It was pretty neat to see those around as it got darker.  Mars had a few stations to hand out candy, but it was not a candy-heavy event. 

We saw a few animals, but our favorite area (Amazonia) was closed.  The panda exhibit was also closed. There were lots of skeleton scenes around the park.  My favorite was probably the skeleton band "playing" Halloween music (Thriller, Monster Mash, etc).  I think the girls liked the skeleton wedding and Jack appreciated the bathroom scene.  There were other decorations, but the skeletons were the most elaborate.

Kara said it was better then trick-or-treating in our neighborhood because we got to ride the train, stay out late and see animals.  Jack said he liked being the neighborhood better, probably because there is more candy that way.  Anna thinks both are great options. 

I am not sure we would go again.  I think we would if we were closer, but the (almost) 4-hour travel time just takes away from the adventure.  It was also expensive.  Between the tickets and the cost of the metro, I think we spent around $150 (neighborhood = free).

Overall, I would call it a success.  It was fun to do something new and the kids really enjoyed it.  It was great to see so many different costumes and to see the zoo in a new light (literally and figuratively).

I only had my phone, so the pictures are not very good.

Getting there is half the "fun"

Grandpa Kurk, School Conferences and Field Trips

It appears as though I am getting way too far behind to ever truly catch up.  So, this will be an abbreviated catch-up post.  I had planned on a full post for each of these topics, but I am going to combine.

Grandpa Kurk came for a visit.  We really wanted to do lots of fun stuff, but between rainy weather and Government shutdown, most of our plans were null and void.  We did go to the Mudd House, which was really interesting.  I would highly recommend everyone making the trip.  When we walked in, our tour guide (for just our group) seemed liked she was going to be a bit unpleasant about us having our 3 small children with us.  After taking for a while in the main room, the kids got a bit restless.  We reeled them in and she said, "oh, they're fine, Mrs. Mudd raised nine children in this house, they aren't going to bother anything." After that, it was smooth sailing.  We really enjoyed the history of the home.  It has been in the family for two centuries.  Many of the items inside are the same ones that were present the night that John Wilkes Booth made his fateful appearance.  It is also interesting just to see an old home from that time period.  It was 3-bedrooms and considered large for its time, but I couldn't imagine 11 people living there.  In addition to the house, you can also walk around the grounds, and because the farm is so large, we really felt like we were stepping back in time.  It was easy to imagine what it must have been like in 1865.  Since it was our first nice day in quite a while, the kids were so happy to just run (and run, and run).  Anna and Kara pretended they were horses and galloped all over the farm.  We had a great time! So, feel free to take your kids and enjoy some great history!

Besides the trip to the Mudd House, we also enjoyed a visit to Cedar Hill pumpkin farm (Thomas and I had already brought the kids to Bowles farm, so we decided to try something new).  At the farm, we did the traditional stuff: corn maze, hay ride, barn visits, etc.  We visited the Mudd House and farm on the only two days of Grandpa's visit that it didn't rain.  We also took the kids to Toys R Us to spend gift cards they received for their birthday from Grandma Kathy.  They LOVE "the giant toy store" and it can be difficult to narrow their interests.  Jack was content to just grab the first thing he saw that looked fun.  Anna vacillated and wanted to get the most from her card. We were probably there for over an hour. Other than that, we essentially just stayed close to home.  It was a very low-key visit.

the only picture I can find that includes Grandpa Kurk

On to the next topic.  We had our first ever school conferences.   Jack is a teacher's pet!!!  He brightens their day with his friendly, good-natured attitude.  He has exceeded every test they've given and loves to contribute to class discussions.  Anna, who is not in the same class, is unfortunately having some self-control issues.  She has a bit of a hard time sitting still and staying quiet.  Apparently, she likes to sing and hum to herself and is thus relegated to a table all alone.  None of her behavior is malicious in nature, she is just an active kindergartner (half days probably would be perfect for her).  She is doing great academically and I am sure her behavior will be fine as she matures.  According to Kara's teacher, Kara is extremely quiet.  She speaks only if spoken to and I got the impression that her teachers think she is pretty shy.  She is already capable of doing most things that are year-end goals for Pre-K and when I asked about her behavior, I was told, "with Kara (puzzled look), behavior is never an issue."  It was interesting to sit down with their teachers and hear how they are spending their days.  Anna and Kara get daily calendars, so we knew, at least somewhat, what to expect.  We haven't had much feedback from Jack's class, so it was a huge relief to hear such a glowing report.  I hope he can maintain the outstanding behavior.  I was a little surprised to hear how quiet Kara is.  I know that she is a bit slow to warm up, but I thought by now she would be acting like the gregarious, chatty child we see at home on a daily basis.

The kids also had their first field trips of the year.  They all went to a pumpkin farm.  Unfortunately, the Pre-K and Kindergarten went on the same day.  I had already signed up to go with Kara's class when we found out Kindergarten would overlap.  Jack and Anna went to Bowles Farm and Kara and I went to Forrest Hall. For whatever reason, Anna was not excited about the trip.  However, they all had a fabulous time.  When Jack and Anna got home, I sat down with each one for about 20 minutes while they recapped their entire day.  When we finished, Kara wanted to do that same, even though I had spent every minute with her. Funny kids  :)

And that concludes this quick recap.

Jack and Anna Turn 6!

Obviously, I am way behind on blogging.  We have been having lots of Fall fun (our favorite season).  We enjoyed going to the St Mary's County Fair, we have loved the pumpkin farms (post to come) and Grandpa Kurk visited for a week.  Plus, I have been planning for a very fun vacation (Disney cruise--here we come!). And, I guess I can mention that I am expecting baby #4 (and final), which has not been going very smoothly thus far, at least in terms of morning sickness.

But, for this post I am going to focus on our sweet first-borns.  For Jack and Anna's sixth birthday, we gave them some choices: party at home, weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, trip to Dutch Wonderland, or a local party at a venue like Pump it Up or the Gymnastics Center.  Surprisingly, they were able to agree on Dutch Wonderland.  After they decided, we stopped talking about it.  Thomas and I decided we would try and surprise them.  So, for the month before their birthday, we stopped talking about Dutch Wonderland and spent a lot of time talking about the cruise.  They mentioned it once or twice and we would artfully change the subject.  Their actual birthday (October 3) was on a Thursday.  Thanks to the Government shutdown, Thomas was home from work.  We went to school and surprised them at lunch.  They are in different classes, but have lunch at the same time and sit together at the peanut-free table (although, due to their inability to get along, Anna has lost the privilege of sitting at the peanut-free table and now sits with her classmates, but on October 3, they were still together).

They were very surprised to see us.  Jack asked, in a hushed voice, "are you allowed to be here?"  Once he was assured that we were behaving in a permissible manner, we had a very nice lunch.  After school, Thomas met them at the bus stop.  I was attending a beautiful memorial service for a neighbor's baby who was born with Trisomy 18.  Sweet Faith Anne got to spend 5 months blessing the lives of those who were fortunate enough to know her.  I was awed by the immense level of faith and humility her family displayed.  It was a difficult to go from that to two extremely excited 6-year-olds.  However, I was happy to see how happy they were.

For their birthday dinners, they chose dishes that are a true testament to my culinary skills:  Chef Boyardee mini ravioli for Jack and chocolate chip pancakes for Anna.  Following that amazing meal, we opened presents (Jack got an angry birds Star Wars game, a dart-like game, and a hot wheels toy, Anna received some doll furniture, a small my little pony castle and a glow pillow).  They also got cards and cash from Grandpa Lou, gift cards to Toys-R-Us from Grandma Kathy, and cards with musical bracelets from Ms. B.  It was a wonderful day for them.  We ended the evening with cake (completely out of order, we did presents before cake since everyone was full from dinner but couldn't stand waiting a minute longer).

On Saturday, we went to their soccer game, where they played about as well as usual (no goals) and then we told them we needed to go on a drive to get some special cup holders for our cruise.  We stopped for lunch to break up the drive and then made it Lancaster right around 3pm.  Dutch Wonderland lets you do a preview three hours before closing if you buy a ticket for the following day.  Since they close at 6pm, we timed it perfectly.

The scene was amazing.  We are driving in the car, telling the kids we are almost there when suddenly they notice something spectacular out the window.  I am going to see if I can insert the video here. Sorry about the orientation, I don't know how to change it.

So, the kids (and the adults!) were very excited.  We spent 3 hours in the park and did a lot of rides.  Then, we had dinner at Sonic, where I actually did get extra cupholders, so that wasn't a complete fabrication.  We went to our hotel and headed to their indoor pool.  We had it all to ourselves and had a blast.

The following morning, we had breakfast in the lobby.  Since DW didn't open until 10, I wanted to hit up the outlet stores, which I mistakenly believed opened at 9.  They didn't.  So, we went and found the grave of James Buchanan.  The kids, especially Jack, are really interested in anything Presidential, so it was nice for all of us.

We got to DW right as it was opening.  We went on all the rides again.  Anna was brave enough to try some rides this year that she had skipped last time, although she skipped the roller coasters.  Jack went on everything.  We had a wonderful time.  We saw the diving show again, which was a huge hit.  Jack, Kara, and Thomas sat in the splash zone and got soaked!  Anna and I were a bit wiser and sat a few rows up.  We left the park around 3 to head home. Our favorite things about DW are that the rides are geared toward little kids and because it is more of a regional park, the lines are pretty short.  We had no trouble seeing just about everything the park had to offer.  There were some additional shows that we chose to skip (we saw them last time and decided that the rides were a better use of our time).

I can't find the camera right now, so here are a few pictures off our phones.

This was Jack's favorite ride.  He rode it over and over again.  He went on 3 or 4 times in a row and had the whole ride all to himself.

All in all, it was a very successful birthday.

Jack's Conscience & Anna's Memory

This is one of those random posts, where I just want to capture some interesting things that have recently happened or been said in our house.  I have a lot of blogging to catch up (my solo trip to Florida, our visit to the fair today, and, umm....  okay, I guess "a lot" is pretty relative).

Anyway, on Wednesday Jack had a rough day.  He just wasn't acting like his usual self.  He was kind of grumpy and not being very nice to his sisters.  He made a mess in the bathroom (nothing disgusting) and was in his room upset.  I went upstairs and sat down on the floor.  I reached out my arms and he just collapsed into them, crying.  He was afraid that I was going to be upset about the mess and he did not want me to know about it (he had actually cleaned it up, but Anna had reported it to me--there are no secrets in the Wilson house).  I asked if I was such an ogre of a mother that he had to be scared of me.  He laughed and said no. I asked if anything else was bothering him.  Then, it all just spilled out.  He'd had a terrible day at school!  He played with the walky talkies on the way to the office.  Then, he told his teacher his friend was bothering him, when really his friend wasn't.  He wasn't nice to his classmates at recess.  On and on it went. There was nothing very significant, (other than the shear magnitude of real and perceived transgressions) but he was obviously extremely upset with himself for the choices he had made.  We had the expected conversation about how he could make a fresh start the next day and tell his friends he was sorry.  Then, we talked about how much better he feels on the days he comes home excited because he earned tickets for good behavior. He seemed to feel better after our talk. He asked me not to tell Daddy about his day and I agreed. However, after Thomas got home from work, not 10 minutes passed before Jack was repeating everything he had told me. What amazed me about the whole situation was how truly bad Jack felt. He is an incredibly sensitive, extremely compassionate kid who feels things deeply.

One other story to illustrated the guilty conscience:  on the second day of school, we sent Jack with a water bottle.  He came home and told me he did not think he was allowed to bring it back because he had played with it when he wasn't supposed to.  Since there was no note from the teacher, I told him that it was probably okay to return with it.  However, he adamantly refused. So, I e-mailed his teacher.  She immediately responded that he was probably confused because she had told the class that if they played with their water bottles, they would lose the privilege of bringing them.  She assured me that if Jack had lost the right, she would have sent a note.  I suspect that he played with the water bottle, either before or after the warning and imposed the consequence upon himself.  It certainly would not be the first time.  I imagine it won't last forever, but I have to say, I kind of enjoy the guilty conscience.  Because of it, Jack doesn't lie to us and will occasionally even spontaneously tattle on himself.  (Unfortunately, it does not prevent him from committing the offenses in the first place, but we'll take what we can get.)

On to Anna.  Lately, I have been noticing that the kid has an amazing memory.  We were talking about the upcoming fair and she started reciting the rides from last year and who rode what and what rides she and/or Kara had been afraid to try. We have not talked about the fair in a year and there has been no review of pictures.  The kid just remembers everything.  I sometimes rely on her when trying to remember a name or event.  She likes to prey upon the fact that Thomas and I sometimes lack her great skills.  We recently punished her for something and told her the next time we did whatever it was she would not be allowed to join in (I can't remember the specifics--I should ask Anna, since I am sure she would).  She sassily responded, "that's fine with me, because I know by the next time we do it, you are going to forget you said that!" (Needless to say, the consequence immediately changed into one that was immediately enforceable.)

Also, some impressive news about Anna--she scored her first soccer goals in last week's game!  Of course, this took place while I was in Florida.  After sitting through many, many soccer games watching my kids twirl in the sand (not really, but it makes the story better), Anna got into the thick of things.  According to Thomas, she took control of the ball, dribbled it down the field and scored not one, but two goals!  (Jack also played extremely well and came very close to scoring, but did not quite make it to the net.  Kara, who was the most insistent on playing, decided she no longer enjoys soccer and chose to look for flowers).