Swimming Lessons!

This past Tuesday-Friday the boys took another round of swimming lessons at Rhonda's Swim Academy.  They average around three sets of lessons a year.  This was Ralph's first time in level 5; Henry's first time in level 4.  Luckily there was a class of 4/5's that met at the same time; it wasn't the most convenient time being from 2:15-3 pm but with the grandma and grandpa's assistance we made it work. . . .ok, they made it work; I just had to pick the boys up.

Henry barely swam without a belt on in level 3 - level 4's have no belt so that was probably his biggest adjustment. He did pretty good swimming without a belt on during the crawlstroke.  His backstroke needs some work as his lower half kept sinking.  He went from a kneeling dive in level 3 to a standing dive in level 4 - along with a standing dive off the board.  I could see much improvement in his dives.  Last time he needed much help to get in his hands into the water before his feet; this time his hands were the first to enter the water!  He treaded for roughly a minute.

  

The biggest change for Ralph was swimming 4 lengths of each stroke rather than just 2 lengths.  His strokes were much improved.  His diving needs some work.  He did swim underwater the length of the pool and kept up with the 2 minute tread though his head dip underwater a few times.

 

Have I mentioned how nice it is having them in the same class?  The last time they were in separate classes Henry was in level 2 and level in level 3.  Since parents/siblings can't stay to watch it turns into a time waster waiting for one get done and then the other one.  There can be some friendly sibling competition when they are in the same class too!

Christmas Card 2016

Until I can scan the card in . . .these are the photos used in the Christmas card this year -

Christmas 2016

Christmas and the holiday season is certainly a busy time.  The four of us went to the holiday laser light show at Morrill Hall; the boys went to look at Christmas lights with Grandma and Grandpa, and the boys and I along with Grandma went to see Elf Jr at the Lincoln Community Playhouse - a 1st for the Ralph and Henry.  Smiley the elf visited again this year.    Two tradition that may have fell by the way side are making/decorating candyhouses (seemed like I was doing it for me; they weren't really into it this year) and the wooden ornaments grandma and grandpa paint that included a current photo of Ralph and Henry along with the year (I think they ran out of ornament choices).  The cub scouts were supposed to go Christmas caroling one Friday night but Mother Nature had other ideas and it was cancelled.

The boys were excited on Christmas Eve - Ralph really wanted to know if a certain gift was under the tree but wait for Christmas he must!

The obligatory photo Christmas morning with the tree.  They were supposed to be holding their stockings which turned out to be a craft project the day before as I couldn't find their stockings so we made stockings with construction paper and they decorated/labeled them.   Noticed the gifts behind them.  Santa didn't label their gifts this year but left notes with clues to decipher what wrap to look for.  Santa may need to work on his creativity a bit but he is a busy guy -

Ralph's note - I am black and white and red all over.  Waddle over to the tree and to find gift that have no name but belong to you.  Be sure you are nice and kind and leave the ones that are for the others.

Henry's note - What can you build with 3 balls of me?  There may be snow but there is lot of green.  Come over to the tree and take a look-see.  Be sure to be nice and not too mean.  Solve the mystery to find your gifts from me!

This is the one gift Ralph was asking about on Christmas Eve.  Whew, good thing he was on Santa's nice list!

The photos below are the gifts 1st played with . . .Ralph wanted to check out the Nintendo 3ds while Henry checked out a lego building/design book.

Christmas at grandpa and grandma's!

With these two handing out gifts, one had to be sure they were opening the right gifts!  Gift opening was over faster than you could say "We Wish you a Merry Christmas!"  We have come a long ways from a few years ago when we operated at a snail's pace.

In the week since Christmas, the Magformers and magnetic building blocks along with the Nerf Stratobows, Bladebuilders Lightsabors, and Lego sets that are still not quite put together along with the Nintendo 3ds have been popular toys.  Ralph has read the "Diary of a Minecraft Zombie" series books 1-9.  He received the Harry Potter collection and will start it soon.

Henry: Celebrating 7 years!

Seven years of Henry . . Seven years of the highs and lows of Henry.  

The "highs" of Henry include his hugs and kisses at bedtime (they are the sweetest), his love of reading (I would have never pegged him for a reader as much as he'd write letter backwards while learning to write - and even sometimes still questioning certain letters on occasion though reading and writing are different concepts), his independent play with legos and sometimes coloring/drawing.  His unique personality can be a high when he is freestyle dancing and showing his moves.

The "lows" of Henry are his anxiety and uncertainty in new (and sometimes even familiar) situations, his lack of listening skills, his some what stubborn attitude, his defiant attitude, and his laissez faire attitude when it comes to his hand writing.

The transition back to school in August was a tough one for Henry.  It took a good 3 weeks for him to adjust at school and a bit longer until his "tummy aches" at night and in the morning subsided enough though they still pop up occasionally at home.  At the end of 1st quarter in October Henry passed a level 28 on the DRA testing - in comparison all 1st graders should pass a level 12 by the end of 2nd quarter before Christmas break (ie. he is a reading above grade level!).  The "low" on his report card was his handwriting which came in at a "2" meaning there is much room for improvement.  All in all, school seems to be going well.

The transition back to CCD in August was a tough one for Henry.  It took 3-4 weeks to get over the hump even though he has the same teacher as last year and most of the other kids in his class should seem familiar since he was with most of them last year as well.

We keep hoping he'll come out of his shell sooner than later.

Henry stepped on scale the other night - 44.4 pounds.  He is like "The Little Engine that Could" - slowly but surely he'll gain weight.  He is in still in a 5-point harness car seat.  I'm close to switching him to converting it to a booster seat.  Henry needs to start becoming a bit more independent and having to be buckled in and out is just another way hindering his independence.  He has been 5-point harnessed much longer than many peers though they also are bigger than he is.  As much as I want to convert him we are just entering winter and changing road conditions.

He is wearing size S (5/6) or 6 pants, and S (5/6) shirts.  New pants or shirts are still too long and fit better if either hand me downs or have been washed enough to shrink some.  Shoe size is 11.5.

His eating habits have not changed too much over the past six months.

His health remains good so far this winter.  He does the daily inhaler of Qvar twice in the morning and a chewable singular at supper.

Henry's first quarter reporter was mostly field with 3's and 4's except for a "2" for his handwriting.  A 3 and 4 are good, with a 4 being "exceeds expectations".  A 2 indicates the student is "approaching expectations" or could be doing better.  He passed a DRA level of 28 which is the end of a 2nd grade level.

Henry celebrated his birthday with a trip to Lost in Fun with Ralph and a opening gifts back at home.

Ralph: Lost his 1st tooth (finally)

Three months and three days after little bro lost his 1st tooth, 8.5 year old Ralph finally lost his 1st tooth!    About 3-4 weeks ago we noticed the adult tooth was making its way up behind the baby tooth but wasn't loosening up.  Last Tuesday we took him into the dentist since Mike had a check-up.  When I told Ralph the night before he was going to the dentist in the morning he seemed motivated to start wiggling the tooth.  He loosened it up quite a bit by morning.  The dentist wasn't too worried about the adult tooth being behind vs coming from under th baby tooth though we have been put on notice we will need to find an orthodontist when the time comes.  For now, we will celebrate this victory!

Anyhow, sometime around 2:45 while at school it came out.  Ralph described the process some but the bottom line is he has one less tooth in his mouth tonight which isn't technically true since the adult tooth is 3/4 the way up.

Halloween Hullaboo!

This entry got buried  . .

The boys 1st Halloween activity of the season was at HyVee where they trick or treated around the store and had the opportunity to decorate a cookie.

The same day they attended an event at Northeast High School where there was trick or treating around the hallways with games in the gym to participate in.

It

Back in August, the boys brought home a flyer from their summer camp at Southeast Community College announcing a trick or treat night at Southlake Village Rehab and Care Center.  The school- agers would visit Southlake once a week and interact with the residents.  The boys had been looking forward to this event.  The residents that wanted to participate were stationed outside their rooms - we could hardly go 10 feet before hitting another stop.  It was nice to see where the boys spent some of their time this past summer.

The Friday before Halloween was the Trunk or Treat at St. Johns.  It was a unbelievably crazy warm day - such a different day from the year before.  Since it was already dark when it started I didn't get any photos at this one.

We found time to carve pumpkins the Saturday before Halloween. Compared to many folks we are and will always be novice carvers.

The day before Halloween we went to "Boo at the Zoo"

Following Boo at the Zoo, we went to St. Mark's Trunk or Treat.  The line to trick or treat was too long so we waited for the "Haunted House" to open.  Unfortunately this year's Haunted House was a bit on the ear piercing screaming side.  It seemed the kids last year gauged their audience better and toned it down for the younger crowd.  This one was not as enjoyable for the boys.

After all the festivities and trunk or treats it was FINALLY time for Halloween! 

We opted to stick to the neighborhood but it seems many folks left the neighborhood.  We had 8 trick or treaters stop by.  Many of the houses the boys stopped at encouraged them to take more than a few treats.  The had to come back to the house at one point to empty their bags.  By the end of the night the had over 10 pounds of candy between the two of them.

Walt Disney World!

About six weeks ago, we surprised the boys with a trip to Disney World during fall break (along with missing a few days of school).  It wasn't quite a "get in the car we are going to Disney World" surprise but we did wait until the night before we left to tell them.  Ralph was genuinely thankful and excited.  Henry warmed up to the idea by morning.


I can't even begin to describe what this trip was like.  .  It was a chance to visit a place I have not been to in 15 years.  It was a chance to visit a place I used to work at 18 years ago.  It was a chance to "remember when" and to see many, many changes. It was a chance to slow down and enjoy family.  It was a chance to not have any other distraction but to be with each other.  It was a chance to try new things.   It . . . .  was a whirlwind of everything all rolled into one.


We may have stayed 5 nights but really only had 4 days to get through 4 Disney Parks. That, my friends, is not enough time.  They were long days; only one day did we come back to the hotel to rest late afternoon and even that was not long enough.

The plane ride to Florida was noneventful; luckily everything was on schedule and smooth.  Ralph found some humor in the Southwest flight attendants.

Our 1st day was spent at Epcot.  We saw Daisy Duck when we first arrived and stopped for an autograph and photo.  Soarin' was our 1st attraction.  Soarin' was a new attraction to me and I really didn't know what to expect nor did I know how to prepare anyone.  I knew it couldn't go anywhere so didn't think it would be stressful for anyone.  Wow! What a "ride".  Imagine being up close to an IMAX theatre screen and "soaring" to places around the world.  Luckily the boys survived their first "ride."  Other attractions included Journey Into Imagination with Figment, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission:SPACE, and Living with the Land.


We arrived at Epcot late and didn't have a chance to go back to the hotel to rest . . and were tired from checking into the hotel around midnight the night before.  We didn't make it to Illuminations unfortunately but it was early in the trip and important to get caught up a little.  There would be other nighttime activities.

Day two was spent at Magic Kingdom (I need to fire my photographer who didn't have the patience to get decent photo in front of the castle).  We arrived just after opening and had good luck getting on a few rides before it got to busy.  We had a fastpass for the Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion.  In between those rides we rode the Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpet.  After the Haunted Mansion we sent to Splash Mountain where we had to wait in line.  Then over to Fantasyland where we rode Its a Small World followed by the Mad Tea Party.

We ended up getting a "we are sorry" fastpass for some reason at the Mad Tea Party which we used for The Barnstormer a more kid friendly "roller coaster" ride that one of the kiddos did not appreciate.  We let them cool off at a water Splash and Soak Station to make up for it followed by the Tomorrowland Speedway and the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor before we watched the parade and headed back to the hotel for a break.  When we returned we did Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin twice before finding a spot for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes Fireworks.

The Hollywood Studios was day three.  Our 1st stop was to sign up for Jedi Training that begins before the park opens.  Luckily Ralph made the cut, after standing in line for 45 minutes or so. After we got signed up we headed for our 1st attraction: Toy Story Mania! followed by (in no particular order) the Great Movie Ride, Star Tours (where Ralph was shown on the screen as being a Rebel Spy - eek!), Muppet Vision, and Disney Junior-Live on Stage, the Tower of Terror, and Indiana Jones: Epic Stunt Spectacular.  Toy Story Mania was very similar to Buzz Lightyear's ride at Magic Kingdom with shooting lasers to hit a target.   Unfortunately the Indiana Jones show had a glitch in a scene switch and couldn't continue so we didn't get to see the full show.  Unfortunately for the boys the Tower of Terror had no glitches and was fully operational ~ we even got a front row seat . . and we all survived.

We got to meet Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and Kylo Ren, along with Pluto.

Ralph and a group of up to 20 other kids took part in Jedi Training each time.  They were given costumes to wear and walked as a group to the training area.  A leader provided group lessons then Darth Vader appeared and each "student" fought Darth Vader . . .

We got to Fantamsic a bit earlier than necessary.  It was nice to have an earlier night show after the previous late night.


The 4th and final day was spent Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Even though so much has changed over the last 15-18 years and the kiosk I usually worked at doesn't exist, I can't help but think this is home.  This is the park I know (or used to know) the most about.  I didn't sign up for fast passes in time to get a morning fast pass for Kilamanjro Safari so when we arrived I had planned to go there first.  We arrived before the ropes went down and stood with everyone else.  We did see a bird show that opened the park and we were off . . .with plenty of "friends" in tow and around us with the same idea.  Luckily we didn't have a long wait and saw plenty of animals on the safari - and luckily we got in when we did as they closed it down for a bit I noticed when we exited the ride.

As Mike and  Ralph went to the restroom Henry had a "magical moment" with a performer.

From here we went to "It's Tough to be a Bug" followed by the Festival of the Lion King which was strange in that the "land" the Festival used to be performed in no longest exists and is performed in a new (to me) theatre.  At next adventure was at Kali River Rapids which turned into multiple rides until it got busy and we broke for lunch.  After lunch we found some friends to visit including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto, and Donald Duck.

While we were in Dinoland the boys spent time in the Boneyard, we all rode the Triceratop Spin and Ralph and I rode the Primeval Whirl.  I think Henry would have enjoyed it but he wasn't quite tall enough.

After "checking out" Expedition Everest (by now Ralph has learned if I say "check it out" it most likely means we will be doing whatever it is I say . . . let's just say the younger Wichman's did not care for the ride), we went back to Kali River Rapids and rode it multiple times yet again.  Ralph's total for the day is 10 rides on the Rapids.  He rode the last two times by himself (and the strangers on the tube).

Unfortunately I didn't capture a picture of the Tree of Life before it got dark.  While this might be somewhat "cool" there is a few settings a bit messed up.

Our trip home was not quite as smooth as it could be.  Our layover in St. Louis was more than delayed ~ roughtly a 3.5 hour delay.  We made it home eventually; just a long day . . other than that little mishap it was a great vacation!

Vala's Pumpkin Patch!

The week before we went to Disney World, the boys and I along with Grandma ventured out to Vala's.  It was a bit impromptu though we had a pre-bought tickets we hadn't picked a date yet.  We arrived a bit later than I would have liked but still within 30 minutes of opening.  We headed in the direction of the new building that had air guns and stopped at the big slide on our way.  Henry resisted the thought of going down the big slide but Ralph grabbed the burlap sack and headed up the stairs.

I finally got Henry up the slide . . . he didn't seem that excited to go down (that is sarcasm) BUT by the time we got down (after going air born for a second while going down) he couldn't help but smile. 

Next up, the new Egg Scramble Barn  - a three-story dodgeball like atmosphere that has air guns that can be loaded up with foam balls and shot towards targets . . .or people.

After this new attraction we made our rounds to other spots we like to visit.  As we were walking along a trail Ralph wanted his picture with Mickey . . .little did he know less than a week later we would be visiting Disney World.

One of the obligatory photo stops at Vala's!

This is the 1st year Ralph tried the Old Hwy 6 Peddle Cars.  He wasn't the fastest peddler and would get out of the way for others but he did make multiple rounds before getting off - and then went back for another round.

 The other yearly obligatory photo -

Luckily Henry waited until we got home to lose tooth #2!