Disney 2009

The day after summer vacation started we left for Florida-- eight fabulous days at "the happiest place on Earth"-- despite the oppressive heat and humidity, everyone seemed to have a pretty decent time! The highlight of the trip for all three kids however was swimming at our pool. And the gift shops. And did I mention it was really hot??? Our favorite park? EPCOT, without a doubt.


At Medieval Times, Lindsey got the scarf from the green knight-- we thought for sure he was going to win the final battle, but he was ultimately defeated by some other knight who was nowhere near as cool as the green knight. The kids thoroughly enjoyed what amounted to their thirty dollar garlic bread and diet Coke dinners and we all came home with commemorative DVDs and green flags galore! FUN!!!

Ben's 6 1/2 Party

Ben had his half birthday party at My Gym. The woman who books the parties had to call and find out if he was turning 6 or 7. I said, "Neither. He's turning 6 1/2." I guess it is pretty rare. A few of his guest's parents seemed perplexed, but who cares-- it was fun! Here is a video of his favorite part.

Mutt Strutt

Jason ran in a 5K race this morning-- the rest of us went to cheer him on and have a pancake breakfast at "The Canine Cafe"-- a tent set up at Lilacia Park in downtown Lombard. Unfortunately our mutt, Daisy is too old to strut these days, so we had to leave her at home. Here are some random pictures from this morning.

What the Kids Do When I'm Not Paying Attention

I mean, in addition to wreaking havoc. I found this video and think it's pretty creative. Apparently the kids set up a tripod and wasted half my camera's memory card on silly videos (they mostly all consist of Lauren dancing around with a belt, Ben panning the camera past my dirty kitchen, and Lindsey just kind of prancing around in place while watching cartoons.) Here is a sample of their work-- as you can see, the Elias kids have real STAR potential!!!

Random Pictures

Two "miracles" in one evening-- FIRST, Lauren got this gigantic Chicken McNugget in her Happy Meal. THEN, we had a peaceful, quiet ride home. I just love this picture.

Preschool Visit

I got to go to preschool with Lindsey last Monday. I would have taken more pictures, but I was too busy having fun to stop for pictures!!! Here is a short video of my favorite part of the day-- they call it "motor hall" and today they got to play with balls and scooters.
It was touching to see how far Lindsey and her little friends have come in eight short months. Way to go!!!

School Board Meeting

Last Tuesday we were invited to a District 44 school board meeting so Ben could receive his special recognition for doing so well in the science fair. As you can see from his face in these pictures, he was thrilled to be there!!! Oh well-- I'm a proud mom nevertheless. He has already warned me however that I'd better not try to make him do it again next year OR ELSE!