We woke up early Sunday morning, and enjoyed a quick Concierge Lounge breakfast. Jonathan was thrilled to discover that they had his favorite cereal – Froot Loops. While the breakfast offerings weren’t anything really special, they were certainly sufficient to give us a good, quick, start to the day. Beverages were the only disappointment – [...]

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The day at the Universal parks had been something of a mixed bag. The highs for Mikaela were lows for Jonathan and vice-versa (e.g. Jimmy Neutron, E.T.). After lunch, everyone was hot and cranky and ready for a change. We loaded up the car, plugged “Disney Polynesian” into the GPS, and headed to Disney World. [...]

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Day 2 meant a return to Islands of Adventure. Staying at an on-property hotel earned us entry to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter an hour before it opened for everyone else. The original plan had us enjoying most of the Wizarding World attractions on this day – but with Ollivander’s, Forbidden Journey, and Flight [...]

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It’s amazing how easy the drive to the airport is at 4:30 in the morning. We managed to get a full row, plus the aisle seat across from that row, so all of us got to sit together (gotta love boarding card A30 on Southwest). The flight was pretty uneventful. We had a brief [...]

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It was over a year in the planning. And on the day before the big reveal, we needed an assist from Grandma Marcia to keep the kids occupied for an evening so that we could get us all packed up. I didn’t sleep much myself the night of September 30. I was too excited about [...]

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Mikaela started second grade today. She got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, on Snoop Night a couple of days ago. Her class this year looks like a good group, we’re all excited for the new school year!

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We run into this question every year. What to do with the kids for those few days after camp is over and before school starts? It just so happened that Miriam had a brief hearing already set for Monday, August 16 in Sedalia, Missouri, and that the Missouri State Fair would be taking place in [...]

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Remember back in May, when we tried to visit the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibition at Union Station? Jonathan freaked out and we had to get out of there in a hurry. Well, Mikaela had a playdate, so Miriam and I decided that we’d give Dinosaurs Unearthed another try with Jonathan. This time, Jonathan loved it! Be [...]

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We got together at Mom and Dad’s for brunch to celebrate Matt’s 39th birthday (Ed. Note: How is it possible that my baby brother is almost 40 years old? I’m not old enough for that). The kids had a great time playing together. And Jonathan remains completely enamored of his cousin “Fuzzball” (a/k/a Ella).

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We saw an excellent performance of Beauty and the Beast at the Jewish Community Center. Mikaela was spellbound by the show – her only complaint was that she sometimes couldn’t see well over the person in front of her. Even Jonathan watched most of the show. He thought the dancing was pretty cool, though the [...]

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