Aaron's Life Flight Field Trip

Aaron's class complimented last weeks trip to the fire station with a trip this week to Life Flight - one of the local helicopter rescue outfits.



The highlight, of course, was getting to sit in the helicopter, though it had to stay on the ground.

Spring's Here!

We always try to get a picture of the boys in front of the spring flowers.  This year we had our blooming weeping cherry tree that we planted last year in the shot also.



After today's soccer game we scooted to Sidecut Metropark where we let Alex practice baiting his own hook and he caught the only fish of the day, a little bluegill sunfish.  Alex needed to finish this step to complete his fishing elective as part of the Wildlife Conservation award.  (Yes, we conserved the wildlife by letting him swim free.)

Aaron's Firehouse Field Trip

Aaron's preschool class got to tour the Sylvania fire station today.  They learned about the special equipment that they use.  They also learned how to keep themselves safe from fire, including practicing an escape plan to get out of the house if they had to.



He loved touring the pumper trucks and the ambulances they use to respond to emergencies.  Becky got to drive and chaperone, so she got these great pictures.

Building Bat Houses

Becky and the Cub Scouts of Pack 90 built bat house kits as an Earth Day service project.  They are going to be put up all over campus to encourage bats to move in, which will eat mosquitos which will require less pesticide to control - in theory.  They even presented their work in front of the rest of the school during the weekly town meeting.  Alex used this as part of the requirement for his Wildlife Conservation Award.

Dad & Lad 2008

This year's Dad & Lad campout at Camp Miakonda had the theme of Science and technology.  This time our cabin was near the front of the camp.  We were in the Einstein group and, like last year, our group rotated amongst various events and stations around the camp.  Here we did several science experiements using baking soda and vinegar - such as inflating a balloon over a bottle with the mixture producing carbon dioxide gas.



This year in the fort the Scout Leader demonstrated how to clean your hands in the field with bins of soapy water, then bleach water.  The boys then took turns dumping ingredients into yet another bin until it made a thick cornmeal batter.  Then he showed us how to stack cast iron dutch ovens with charcoal briquets to bake up Dutch Oven Cornbread.

1	cup butter; melted	2	cups cornmeal
4	eggs; beaten	3	cups all-purpose flour
3	cups milk	4	tsp. baking powder
2	cups sugar	1	tsp. salt

In a large bowl mix together butter, eggs, and milk. In a separate bowl sift together sugar, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients 1 cup at a time until well blended. Spoon cornbread mixture into a lightly greased 12" Dutch oven and spread evenly. Cover Dutch oven and bake using 8-10 briquettes bottom and 14-16 briquettes top for 45 minutes or until cornbread turns golden brown. NOTE: For even browning make sure to turn the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions every 10 minutes. Serve warm with honey butter. Serves: 10-12

We participated in the father & son obstacle course which had rope swings, balance beams, concrete culverts, hopping stumps, climbing walls, and this tire wall at the end.  There was also a BMX track, though this year I helped Alex around the track.  By next year's Dad & Lad, he'll be a pro. 



We had some scheduled free time that we used to find items on our scavenger hunt list.  Our team found all the items, though actually all the teams found all their items also.  We practiced our campfire routine which included a song and a skit. We also found Alex a walking stick.  Other kids would try to nab it if he laid it down somewhere, so I carved his name in it, which helped in its recovery a couple of times.





Once again this year, Alex had practice with archery and BB gun shooting.  He already earned a Sports belt loop award for these from last year's Dad & Lad.  Our campfire skit was threatened by rain so we had it in the Council Lodge again.  I can't reveal the punchline of the skit, but it turned our very brave scouts and dads into scaredy-cats just because someone showed up with cookies. I can however, share our song:

Tom the Toad

Oh, Tom the toad, Oh, Tom the toad,

Why are you lying on the road?

Oh, Tom the toad, Oh, Tom the toad,

Why are you lying on the road?

You did not see the car ahead;

Now you're all marked with tire tread.

Oh, Tom the toad, Oh, Tom the toad,

Why are you lying on the road?

The next morning we packed up our gear and had a Paul Bunyan breakfast.  We lined up outside the mess cabin and as we went through they gave us a napkin, then a pancake dipped in cinnamon sugar, then a sausage link.  We folded it like a taco and ate it in line for our next one (with a cup of milk from a side table).  I made it through 4 times, and Alex made it 5.  We are really looking forward to next year's adventure, hopefully with more kids from our pack.

Look Out - Monkey Jumping

Our daredevil boy...
...has no fear.
Look out world,..
The Monkey Jumper is here!

Firefighters Museum Tour

Today Alex's Wolf den met at the Toledo Firefighter's Museum.  We took a tour first, with a former firefighter showing us all of the old equipment that they used to use decades ago.  The oldest piece of equipment was a manual pumper wagon that was pulled by the firefighters to the fire, then one hose was snaked to the nearest pond, river, or swimming hole while the other hose was used to spray the fire under the force of a pump operated by 10 men on each side of the wagon pumping a huge lever back and forth.  They saw old firetrucks, protective gear, and call boxes.



Then we all went upstairs to Jed's Room.  Jed's room is a house fire simulator that they used to teach the kids to crawl low under the (fake) smoke, to call 911 and what to say to the operator, and even how to slide down a short pole at the "firehouse" as the firefighters came to the rescue.  All of the roles were played by the kids - Aaron volunteered to be the first "Jed" in the picture above.



Then they let anyone who wanted to try on the gear that the firefighters have to wear, including the pants and coat, the helmet, and an oxygen tank.  Alex thought it was very heavy.



This helped the Wolf scouts fulfill requirements for visiting a historic building (it was a former firehouse) and learning about fire safety. 

Disney Vacation 2008 - Day 7 - Missed It/Repeat It Day

We had planned all along to save our last day to do the things we missed the first time around or repeat the things we loved.  We felt we had done all we wanted to do at the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom, so we crossed those off.  We knew we missed a few things at Epcot and we had so much fun at the Studios the day before that we decided to tackle what we could there - no rushing or killing ourselves with the pace today.



When we got to Epcot, Becky, Alex, and I immediately got in line for Test Track as it was up and running today. It put us in the role of test dummies while a car was put through its paces.  After nearly missing the final crash wall (see the look on our faces above), the car sends us racing around a track at over 60mph pulling some G's.  Becky then got her chance to ride Soarin' with Alex and I, which she loved. We all got back together and watched our 3rd 3D movie, Honey I Shrunk the Audience.  We walked counter-clockwise around the start of World showcase, featuring Canada and Great Britain. There we were able to take a ferry from there to a dock in front of Disney Hollywood Studios.



When we got there, we made our way to the ABC Commissary for lunch where we had cafeteria items named after ABC shows (Dancing With The Stars Mambo Combo Cuban Sandwich, Grey's Anatomy The McSteamy Chicken Curry, etc.) which was edible but not amazing.  We split up again so that Grammy, Grandpa, and Alex could do the Animation Academy a couple more times while Becky and I took Aaron to his second day of the Playhouse Disney show which was a montage of the various Disney Channel kids' shows (Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins) but acted out on a stage with large puppets.



Alex and I broke away after that and did the Star Tours ride for our third time and Alex declared it his favorite ride at Disney World.  Aaron got in a little more of the Honey I Shrunk...playground before we hustled to the Backlot Express burger joint to wait out the rain storm that popped up and to have a little dinner.  When the rain cleared for a bit, the boys posed in front of the water shooting AT-AT from the Star Wars: The Empire Stirkes Back Hoth invasion scene.



We had not gotten to see one of Disney's amazing fireworks shows yet. We hadn't wanted to deal with the after-fireworks crowds getting back to the buses. We had heard that the Studios show, Fantasmic, was amazing so we stayed for the 8:30 show.  We got there over an hour early which was recommended for good seating in a stadium surrounded a lagoon which encircled an island.  The show was wonderful, combining live action Disney characters on the island and on boats in the lagoon with scenes from Disney movies and cartoons projected onto sheets of water sprayed vertically in front of us.  There were also water effects that were timed with the projected movies to look like water was shooting out of the cartoon toward us. And of course there were fireworks.  The show told of a battle between the good Disney characters, led by Mickey in his sorcerer's apprentice hat, and the evil characters including this large snake with highbeam eyes.  I won't spoil it by telling you which side won, but hey, this is Disney. 



The rain that had slowed us down earlier started up again during the show.  We whipped out the ponchos we'd been carrying all week and we were relatively comfortable.  After the show, when we were filing out of the stadium, the rain poured down even harder, prompting us to whip out the umbrellas.  Aaron had had enough by then and let us know it.  He conked out waiting for our bus, exhausted from having so much fun.



All in all this was a dream trip.  Thanks again to Grammy and Grandpa Hardage for inviting us and making this possible.  We resolved that this would not be our last trip as a family.  Besides, they're opening a new Toy Story ride this summer.

Disney Vacation 2008 - Day 6 - Disney Studios

Our last park to conquer was Disney Hollywood Studios.  The last time Becky and I were here it was called Disney-MGM Studios. Here the boys are posing in front of a large replica of Mickey's sorceror hat in the middle of the park.



We modified our touring plan a bit based on when some of the live shows were scheduled, but we still headed off first to the Great Movie Ride.  The entrance looks like the Chinese Mann Theater in Hollywood and the huge car took our group through an animatronic sampling of movies, from gangster films to westerns to Indiana Jones and Alien.  It ended on a happier note with a recreation of the title song from Singin' In the Rain and the hero ensemble from The Wizard of Oz.  It was a great introduction to the theme of the park.



From there we went straight to the Backlot Tour which showed up how they film a wartime naval action sequence with members from the audience and practical special effects, like water cannons to simulate nearby shell explosions.  Then they took us on a driving tour of the backlot which did contain props from several different movies.  They told us we could sneak the tram into a lot that they were preparing to shoot a scene from Catastrophe Canyon, but soon we found ourselves facing a flash flood down the canyon walls with a tanker truck getting washed over and exploding - all special effects of course.



While we skipped the violent Indiana Jones Stunt Show this time and avoided the scarier Tower of Terror and the turbocharged Rock-n-Roller Coaster, we were able to make it to a Beauty and the Beast stage show which was very well done.



Near Radiator Springs, the boys were tickled to get to Mater (like T'mater, without the "Tuh") from the Cars movie.  We heard that Lightning McQueen might be by later, but we never made it back to check.



Lunch was a lot of fun at the 50's Prime Time Cafe.  We sat at kitchen table replicas and "Mom" came by to serve us, though we had to help set the table.  We ate classic 50's meals like fried chicken, chicken pot pie, and chicken sandwiches (Go Chicken!) while classic B&W clips played on nearby TVs.



We split up again and Aaron, Grammy, and Grandpa saw Little Mermaid and Playhouse Disney shows.  Becky, Alex and I ran to the Star Tours ride which is a simulated flight through a Star Wars dogfight.  We loved it so much that Alex and I rode it again.  In the gift shop we got Aaron a T-shirt that had Yoda being turned away from a ride due to height restrictions - on the front it said "Judge me by my size, do you?"



We got separated from the other half of our group by the Pixar Block Party Bash parade that cut through the middle of the park featuring many of the stars from Pixar's films.  It involved the crowd and featured trampoline artists also - a very high energy parade.



They've built a new huge stadium near the backlot where we got to see the new Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show where we saw many of the techniques used to drive and film stunt cars as they set up several different action sequences with cars, motorcycles, and jetskis.  Very cool for the kids (and the big kids :)



After posing by a Miss Piggy fountain, we saw the Muppet-vision 3D show - another of Disney's great 3D shows.

Before dinner at Pizza Planet (yes, from the Toy Story movie), the kids climbed around on the Honey, I Shrank the Kids Playground where they wrestled an ant into submission.

We capped the evening with the most anticipated features.  The Animation Tour.  The've really scaled back the tour from whe we were last here because they have not produced a animated cel feature since Brother Bear came out - they've all been digitally rendered since then.  However, Alex, Grammy, Becky and I got to take an alternative class for budding animators and learned how the animators draw Goofy.  We got to practice at our own lighted tables.  Alex has been drawing more and really enjoyed this opportunity.

Disney Vacation 2008 - Day 5 - Magic Kingdom

On our way to the Magic Kingdom we were able to ride the monorail right from the Polynesian Resort.  The boys and I got to ride up in the front compartment with the driver.



When we got into the park, we had our picture taken with our ears in front of Cinderella's Castle - this is apparently some sort of family vacation Disney World law, so what could we do?



Then we started working our way through a touring plan that I had been working on for weeks with the help of various guide books and online sources.  The goal was to spend as little time as possible waiting in line, through hitting rides at off-peak times (i.e. starting as early as possible) and using the Disney Fast Pass system which holds your place in line at some specified point in the future.



We started with the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride through an animatronic Hundred Acre Wood.  It was so much fun for the boys that we got immediately back in line and rode it again.  We then took a similar trip through Never Never Land on Peter Pan's Flight.  We then introduced the boys and Grandpa to their first exposure to It's A Small World so they could get that song stuck in their head.  Then we had a treat, the new 3-D show Philharmagic, which showcased the best of Disney's "4-D" theater experience.  Then I ran ahead and got FastPasses for the Haunted Mansion, which was just recently refurbished.  The kids loved seeing the ghosts in the car with us in the mirror at the end.  We also rode through the refurbished Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with Captain Jack Sparrow.  The boys, Bob, and I climbed up and then down the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, though Aaron was dissapointed that he couldn't play in there longer.  



He was thrilled however to play in the playground at the exit of Splash Mountain with Grammy & Grandpa while Alex, Becky, and I followed Brer Rabbit through the briar patch to splash down at the end.  This was Alex's most adventurous ride so far.



We beat the parade to Tomorrowland which let us get across the park easily and got into the Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory where our laughter at moderately funny jokes from animated Monsters helped them power up their city. Next door we finally did the ride we'd been waiting for all day - Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin which let us shoot lasers at Zurg's minions while spinning through space.  In addition to throwing Zurg in jail...



...the boys were rewarded with a personal picture and autograph with Buzz Lightyear himself.



We only had time for the boys to splash around at a water playground for a little while before we boarded a ferry for the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.  The Wilderness Lodge is beautiful, huge, and styled after National Park lodges out west.



The Whispering Canyon Cafe was our favorite family meal this week.  The food was served family-style and consisted of all we could eat fresh baked cornbread, smoked pork ribs, pulled pork, oven-roasted chicken, pork sausage, mashed potatoes, creamy coleslaw, beans, and corn on the cob accompanied by hand-dipped milkshakes.  The boys got to ride around the dining room on wooden horses and had to promise the waitress guiding them that they would stay up late, jump on the beds with their parents still in them and never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER go to Universal Studios.

When we realized that we had no ketchup for our fries, we asked for some.  The waitress yelled "WE NEED KETCHUP OVER HERE!" and then a family from another table brought ten bottles over to our table.  Needless to say, we had to return the favor (minus the one we held back for our needs) when the next table needed ketchup.  We'll make a point to come back here the next time we come to Walt Disney World.

Disney Vacation 2008 - Day 4 - Boma, Fishing, and La Nouba

This morning we got up a little more leisurely compared to the past several mornings and went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a wonderful breakfast buffet at Boma - a restaurant with an African theme. While there were African dishes we could try, we also had traditional breakfast foods too.

Then we split up again with Grammy and Becky heading out to the shopping areas of Downtown Disney to look for souvenirs. Grandpa, Alex, Aaron, and I all went back to the Polynesian where the boys and I swam in a quieter pool near our room. That afternoon, a fishing guide came and picked us up at the Polynesian Dock and took us on a fishing excursion on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon under the shadow of the Magic Kingdom.





Aaron reeled in his first fish (that Grandpa hooked) - a largemouth bass weighing about 2 pounds. He was very reluctant to hold it, but he finally agreed to have it resting on a towel on his hands while I held it.



While we all did a pretty good job, Alex got the award for catching the biggest fish of the day. He cast his own baited line, hooked, set, and reeled in a 4 lb. 2 oz. largemouth, putting us all to shame. He even got credit for his Wolf Scout badge by doing that.



Aaron talked to the herons that would hang out near our boat hoping for bait handouts. When he got bored of fishing, he also loved "driving" the parked and shut off boat, taking us into space on a tour of the solar system.



We met the ladies at Downtown Disney and had dinner at Gloria Estefan's Bongos restaurant to get a taste of Cuban cuisine. We only had time for appetizers, but they were quite good. We then rushed down to the white tent at the end of the street in this picture for the Cirque du Soleil show designed for WDW, La Nouba. To call it a circus would be an understatement, but other words fail it as well. They put on simply one of the most amazing live performances that we have ever seen. It featured thrilling tightrope walkers, little girls doing spectacular tricks with large wooden spools, a man who "flew" around the theater holding two thick silk ribbons, acrobats balancing on chairs and hanging from cords and trapezes. It featured some of the most amazing precision trampoline work we'd ever seen. All with a flair for the dramatic. Well worth the time and money to see this at least once.