The Sauna and The Shark Cave

Apparently our blog posts are just marching through the alphabet two by two, but hey, if the shoes fits, let's wear it!

We had a very busy and fun week - we started off by going last weekend over to our friend the Hilliards.  We had been with them every day during Maine, so it was fun to get together again down here in Orlando.  We were able to visit with several friends that we don't see very often, so it was really a blessing.  The kids ended up getting into the pool in the afternoon as it was SUPER hot in Orlando and Karis jumped in with them to provide some adult supervision.  By the end of the pool play, Karis had become the 'human caterpaulter' and was throwing kids in the air off of the edge of the hot tub to plunge to the depths of the deep end of the pool.  They all thought that they had reached nirvana - even the little tyke who over-rotated in the air and did a huge 'back flop' (OUCH!) - but even he was brave enough to get back up there several more times!

Hard to see, but Kaleb is in the air above Karis' head at the back middle of this picture with the kids all in a line waiting for their turn.

On Sunday, we lost our ever-living minds and traipsed out to Seaworld.  Did we mention the SUPER hot weather that Orlando is having????  What were we thinking?  To make matters worse, we dragged Cochrans along with us so they could suffer as well - and this is their first true summer in Florida!!!  We're not sure that they'll forgive us.  It wasn't our best outing to SeaWorld, even aside from the blasting heat because Zachary managed to fall right at the beginning of the day and make a mud-pie out of his white Canada shirt.  Amy salvaged it by washing it in the sink but then he refused to wear it until it was dry - which takes a while in this humidity!  Ending up the day he took another tumble as we walked back to the car, but oh well - we enjoyed at least the middle! :)

Walking with Auntie Heather.  As Zachary had his shirt off, Kaleb had to have his off as well.

Our highlight of the week was a short visit from Amy's cousin Jeff and wife Niesha.  They were down in the Orlando area (hopefully securing future jobs so they can move here!) so they stayed one night with us.  Jeff does not realize it, but he has now become Zachary and Kaleb's personal playmate for life.  He indulged them in playing for a very LONG time in the pool - chasing them and pretending to be a shark and throwing the kids in the "shark cave" which is aka the hot tub! :)

Our friend Kelli is drawing ever closer to the date of the baby's arrival - next week we may have a picture of a new little one to share!  But, they're trying to stave off the birth for a few more days as they move out of their house into a new house they just bought - talk about close timing! :)

Phrase of the week:  This phrase was actually said to Amy up at President's Council by another mom, and it has just stuck in her mind ever since.  While discussing kids, school and life in general, a friend said "Yes, the days are long but the years are short."  Isn't that so true?  Some days seem to go on forever but you look up and your little one is 5 years old already!  Where did the time go?

The Two M's - Massachusetts & Maine

It was time for one of the two annual work conferences that Amy attends, which affords us yet another opportunity for a vacation.  We truly are lucky - although Karis and the boys are probably the most lucky ducks because they don't have to attend work meetings, but hey - let's count our blessings!

We took the opportunity this year to add on a few extra vacation days at the beginning of the trip, which worked out very nicely.  We flew up to Boston on Friday, and spent the weekend there until Monday when we drove up to Bar Harbor Maine for the rest of the time.  We had a blast in Boston, and kicked it off with a carousel ride in Faneuil Hall, a street performer and frankly some of the yummiest macaroni and cheese that we've ever had!!  Who knew!

The next day we trotted off to the Aquarium where the highlights had to be the penguins, the sting ray touch tank and the seal show - the kids loved it - even Kaleb managed to touch a sting ray which is saying something for our little guy!  That evening we hooked up with our friends the Hilliards to tour through the USS Constitution which was very interesting (and correlated to a book that Amy was reading, so very timely!) and then we availed ourselves of a quick call to our friends Corey Grodack who used to live in Boston to tell us where to eat in Little Italy.  Little did we know that parking in the North End is almost impossible and of course with no reservations a party of 9 was crazy to assume we'd get in.  However, fortune smiled on us, and apparently Amy's conversation with the hostess paid off and we were seated in about 15 minutes when we skipped ahead of a very long line when a large party left!  Yeah!

Thanks Corey for the awesome recommendation, it was delicious!

On Sunday, we went to the Plymouth Plantation where we toured the Mayflower II and the Plantation.  They have people dressed up like it was 400 years ago, which was very entertaining.  Zachary got to feed a baby goat there, so it was a highlight.   Kaleb wasn't ready to venture near the goat, so it was a solo adventure for Zachary.  We watched a little video at the beginning and it was so precious, the boys sat in their own row holding hands!  We ended that day with a Duck Tour - which is a tour of Boston in a "truck" that is also a "boat" so during the tour they drive it into the Charles River and then let the kids drive it around. 

 Before heading up to Maine on Monday, we went to the Boston Children's Museum which was VERY impressive.  The kids could have stayed all day - and the best part you ask?  We got in for free because of our annual passes to the Orlando Science Center!  Yippee!  The romping at the museum resulted in Kaleb falling asleep for 3 hours in the car as we made our 5 hour drive to Bar Harbor and Zachary was a veritable angel as he kept quiet to allow Kaleb to sleep.  Wonders never cease!

We enjoyed Bar Harbor immensely - the weather was a bit warmer than expected but still cooler than Orlando so we'll take it.  We had so much fun visiting with the other families with young kids there, we really look forward to it every year.  We had several highlights there - one of the best was a boat ride that we took from "Diver Ed" in which this very crazy, wild man dawns scuba gear and dives to the bottom of the ocean with a high definition camera and shows the kids on the boat all of the things on the bottom of the sea - plants and animals.  He then brings all of the animals up in a bag and puts them in huge water containers and the kids get to touch them.  Zachary held a lobster, hermit crab, sea urchin and a star fish!  Awesome!

The next night we headed off to the Timber Tina Lumberjack show.  It was fun as expected but the surprise of the night was when Zachary held up his hand to compete in a lumberjack yell ("Yo-ho!") contest.  While he didn't yell the loudest (which is shocking as he can yell VERY LOUD - the nerves must have gotten him), the cheering section from all of us from AHS was impressive as it was judged on the amount of cheers that each child got.  He didn't win, but it was very close! :)

Kaleb and Madison were cross-cutting a saw at the show. All of the kids got a chance during intermission.

All the AHS related kids that were at the lumber jack show - Kaleb & Zachary are at the end.

These blueberries were  yummy!

We enjoyed some beautiful time driving around Acadia Park, and enjoyed their nature center and running around on the rocks at the top of the mountain as well as swimming at their Sand Beach (the kids at least!).  However, the most spontaneous fun that we had was when Karis spotted a blueberry patch and we stopped by the side of the road and ate blueberries!  One of the famed things to do in Acadia Park is to eat at the Jordan Pond restaurant where they have delicious pop-overs.  Wow - very good - so much so that Karis has made a rendition since coming home (not quite the same, but close enough!)

Too pooped after a long day and no naps....

Eating outside at Jordan pond - beautiful!

Phrase of the week:  Zachary - "I wish that we didn't have to go home.  I want to stay on vacation forever.  In fact, I want to live in a colder region!"  Colder region?   Such a Canadian at heart, but such funny words for a 5 year old!  Kaleb's word is "cimmanon" - not related to vacation but cute anyway!

Fourth of July Festivities

The Z-family has been on vacation (yes, again!) for the last 10 days during which we went up to Boston for a few days and then headed over to Maine where Amy had a work conference for the next 6 days.  We'll have a post on everything that we did on our vacation, but we thought that we'd also do a quick post on all of the fun stuff that we did over Fourth of July.

It was a fun-filled weekend, and Amy started it off by taking the boys to the Pinocchio Marionette theater at the mall.  It was quite crowded and loud, so the experience was not as fantastic as we hoped, but fun nonetheless. 

Based on the boys' fascination with animals lately, we decided to see whether it was possible to make a quick trip to the zoo after church on Sabbath - so we packed a picnic lunch that we ate in the van and headed on up there.  It was actually perfect, as the zoo is fairly small so we were able to roam and see pretty much everything and still be home for naps. 

Touching a snake - Mommy stayed a good distance away to take this picture!

On Sunday, we headed over to the local fire station where Blake and Evan were celebrating their birthdays.  It was perfect because we were able to get through the entire tour of the station and were on our way out before they received a call - so we were able to see the fire trucks leaving with lights flashing.  We headed over to Bergherm's house where Jennifer did her usual fantastic job of baking and decorating - YUM!

The actual Fourth of July found us at the Science Center to watch the Animalopolis movie and then we headed over to Isidros where we enjoyed the pool and then some barbecue.  The rain didn't cooperate and actually began to POUR shortly after we arrived at their house (thankfully not while we were at the pool though!) but we were able to outlast it and still enjoy some fireworks.  The kids really didn't seem afraid of the fireworks at all, so they enjoyed seeing them go off.

It was a downpour - by the time it finished, the water was so deep in the grass that it splashed as you walked through it!

Engrossed in the fireworks

Phrase of the week:  Mommy, if I make a mess, you're going to be "sasperated" with me! :)  Kaleb's phrase is "I'm hurt-nin" - this seems to be a common phrase and may mean that he needs to go to the bathroom to an actual stomach illness - it all applies! :)

Showers of Blessings

Over the past few weeks, we've had the fun of having several baby showers.  Amy's two directors at work, Gren and Kelli, are both due within 4 weeks of each other so they had a combined work shower to celebrate.  It was a come-and-go shower to celebrate the "Mommies-to-Bee" with a bee theme!  The come-and-go shower was nice, it removes the pressure of being "on display" off both ladies (and of course Kent).  The ladies received many useful and precious gifts.

Gren's husband Jeffrey did not come to the shower, so Gren is 'pretending' that he's in the picture with Kelli and Kent! :)

Only a week after the work shower, we had a personal shower for Kelli.  Melody Huffman and Loretta Hauck joined Amy and Lisa in hosting this shower and it truly was an elegant, tasteful nautical affair.  Loretta is amazing with decorations, so the shower was really beautiful.  Kelli rounded out a lot of the necessary baby paraphernalia so she'll be in good shape when Baby Joey arrives! :)

Kelli and her mom, Barbara

Grenadette has since given birth to her baby boy (which was a surprise as she didn't know the sex of the baby) Gage Augustus Bittenbinder on Tuesday.  Amy will now be "holding down the fort" for the Finance department over the next three months. 

Aside from baby blessings, we caravanned out to the beach a few weeks ago with Deiningers and Cochrans.  The boys had a fantastic time playing in the sand and the water and the weather was perfect.  The Z-family never really went out to the beach pre-kids, but they have such a good time that it is something that we'll be sure to be doing more often now.  The boys enjoyed boogie boarding but the waves were definitely bigger than when we were in Destin, so there was a lot more "dunking" especially when Mommy was the one managing the board as her skills are not as advanced as Daddy's for launching the boys!

The boys playing in the water - so cute when they're holding hands!

Phrase of the week:  Mommy, I don't want to have a baby in my belly.  Why do you say that Zachary?  Because I don't want swollen feet!  Apparently Aunt Kelli's poor feet has made Zachary swear off bearing children in the future!  Good thing that he didn't need to worry about that! :)  Kaleb doesn't have a phrase so much as more of a nick-name this week - he seems to have tendencies towards his mother's chattiness (unlike his big brother).  He has the ability - when he desires - to literally talk your ear off like a little chatterbox.  One night he wanted Amy to come back into the room after he went to bed, and she ended up being in there for a good 15-20 minutes (which is a long time when you should be sleeping!) as he chattered away about every animal under the sun without taking a pause or a break!

Kaleb had his first dental cleaning - so Zachary showed him the ropes.  They were both A-students - no cavities and well behaved according to the Dentist!

Family & Fun

Well, it would appear that the Z-family is losing its touch of having a proper update each week, when did life get so busy?  It is just crazy!  Hopefully with the long weekend we'll get several updates done so that we can truly catch up.

One fun event that we didn't get a chance to post an update on was the local Zellwood corn festival.  Karis took the boys along with Cochrans to it the Sunday before we left for Belize.  Amy stayed at home to pack and get us ready for leaving that week.  The boys had a blast on all of the rides.  At one point Zachary did say though "My stomach is ticklish!" Uh-oh, you know where that leads if you're not careful! :)  Zachary however emphatically told Amy when he returned home that he loved roller coasters!  Amy loves roller coasters as well, so she was delighted with this news.  Hopefully he ends having a strong stomach because while Karis loves roller coasters, all conditions have to be just right in order to not be sick by the end.

Zachary finished up his year of gymnastics as well with a pool party and a trophy.  He really had a great time this year, and we hope to put Kaleb into the class next year while Zachary goes to his one day of Pre-K at Circle Christian in the Fall.  It is hard to believe that Zachary is old enough to start Pre-K already!

When we got back from our vacations, Zachary began his very first Vacation Bible School at Markham Woods church.  This year's theme was "Pandamania."  They had a Friday evening program in which they showcased all of the songs, accompanied by the hand motions.  Zachary just loved the entire week - he was excited to tell us everything that he did.  Zachary has really been enjoying these songs, because they also sing them at Sabbath School - so he has learned them very well and participates the entire time each week.  One of his very favorites is the "God is Watching Over You" song in which a portion of it says "24/7, God is Watching Over You" where we put to the watches on our wrists.  He always has to have Mommy's watch for this song! :)

It is hard to spot him, but he's in the front row just to the left of the lady's curly hair in the middle of the picture

We've had the pleasure of visiting with both in-town friends and out-of-town relatives over the last few weeks as well.  We love the fact that Orlando seems to be a place where folks come - either to enjoy the theme parks or the fact that there are a lot of conventions down here - it really gives us a wonderful unique opportunity to see folks over the years that we might not otherwise.  The first visitors were Amy's Uncle Gene and Aunt Bert from Oregon.   It was very fun to catch up with them and enjoy a nice visit at Aunt Louise's.  That very same week, we were thrilled to host dinner for Karis' Uncle Elwyn and Aunt Maddy from British Columbia.  The boys thought that they had died and gone to heaven - Uncle Elwin and Aunt Maddy played cars with them, went outside to play, and of course lots of book reading!

Amy's Mom Bobbi, Aunt Bert, Uncle Gene & Aunt Louise

Karis, Kaleb, Aunt Maddy, Zachary & Uncle Elwyn

One evening we went over to the Isidros with the Johnsons to enjoy some fellowship and fun.  The kids were entertained by the men twirling them.  The men fared probably worse than the kids in terms of dizziness, but it sure was a  hoot watching who could stay up the longest after the twirling stopped!  :)  Zachary seemed to have the technique down pat - he would start running in an arc shape after being put down and never once actually fell - no matter how hard Uncle Kent tried to get him to fall! :)

Kaleb and Uncle Kent were victim to the twirling!

Kaleb believes that Aunt Kelli's tummy is a perfect pillow! :)

We'll conclude this particular update now to keep it from being a marathon-length post, but we'll have another update this weekend- we promise! :)

Phrase of the week:  Kaleb has learned to be the negotiator in the family by parroting Amy's early warnings for things like bedtime, or leaving a friend's house.  When he's asked to do something that he doesn't want to do, he'll then begin shouting "Two more minutes, Two more minutes!!!"  It is a phrase that Amy has used herself ever since college when she'd promise to begin studying in two more minutes! :)  Zachary's phrase is "So, what do you want to talk about now?"  This took Auntie Kelli by surprise and momentarily she was at a loss about what to talk about because this was just such a grown-up thing to say! :)