Home for Easter

After 10 hours of this... (and where did they get the energy for this after a week at Disney World?)


...we got home and had one good night's sleep before the preparation for Easter began!

Easter Egg Coloring 2008!

The following is a classic representation of how we Postons usually execute a task:Total confusion all around!

Yet, somehow it all works out in the end (in two dozen, we only lost one egg - and no, Cal didn't drop it, I did!). -McP

Mac Gets Nettled!

I've heard of the plant "nettle" all of my life, but never encountered it until today, at my cousin Melissa's house in Geneva, Florida. Actually, Mac was the first to encounter it, as it stung his lower left leg. I had to touch it then so that I would understand what kind of discomfort it was causing him, and because he wanted me to! Nasty little plant, it is. I understand it only grows for a short time. Alison pointed out that our girls the goats back home could handle the problem for us!


Other than the nettle, we had a great visit, made longer by some car trouble (read below). We saw their horses, rode a skateboard, and had a nice visit with cousin Melissa and Aunt Peggy.




Other than getting to see family that I hadn't seen in a long while, which was the best part of the day, we had the kind of day that seemed to be telling us: "go home!" First thing, Cal fell on a chair in our hotel room and seems to have chipped a front tooth. Then our car wouldn't start. Disney got AAA out to us, and the guy simply boosted us and said it would recharge itself. When we tried to leave Melissa's house, it was dead again. She called AAA and this time it was diagnosed as a dead battery that would not revive. We found an AutoZone and bought a new battery, and hurried to the much-anticipated Atlanta Braves Spring Practice game against the Detroit Tigers. The problem was, we were exhausted and the morning rain had rendered our "lawn" seats unbearable. We left before the game even started.

We did get a good meal at Chattanooga-based Big River Grille on Disney's Boardwalk. Now everyone is in bed early, in anticipation of our long drive home. It has been a wonderful trip. - McP

Farewell Mih-Me Mouse!

Our last full day at Disney World is over, and everyone except me has hit the sack and they are all completely out! Tomorrow we are going to visit my cousin Melissa Poston Young in Geneva, Florida, and then come back to the Disney compound to see our (Alison's) Atlanta Braves in Spring Practice. Alison has always enjoyed the Braves games on television, even the Spring games. I wanted to make sure we stayed long enough to see the game tomorrow.

Today was slower-paced, and I realized how fast our three children are growing up. It has been a wonderful trip and one that I think all will remember - even Cal, thanks to "Mih Me Mouse"! - McP

Disney World Will Flat Wear Your Donkey Out!

Recently Mac got into a bit of trouble for calling someone an "ass" at school. As he got into the car that afternoon, he opened the conversation with "Daddy, did you know that 'ass' meant your bottom?" I feebly replied, "Well, you know it means 'donkey' too!", as if I could save his innocence just a bit longer.

In any event, soon after we got here to Walt Disney World, one of our bus drivers, thinking he was being clever in his memorized remarks on the rules of the park and his routine of exaggerated punishments for violation of those rules, refered to a "three letter word for donkey that I can't say or I would get into trouble!" I looked over at Mac and he was already looking at me, smiling a huge smile.

Well, if nothing else this place has totally exhausted all five of us to the point where sleeping in one room is not one bit of a problem. Every day we get up, eat, play, eat, play, eat and then sleep again. It is a great routine for the kids, although I think Alison and I could use a vacation from the vacation! While Cal did sneak a two hour nap in the stroller at Animal Kingdom today, that still doesn't cause a problem at night.

Here are some Sleeping Beauties that I caught with a camera this morning:



- by McP

Mac's Warning: "Don't let this happen to your little brother!"

Mac specifically requested that I take this photo. It was of a rare moment when Cal took off his Mickey Mouse Ears cap. Note Cal's swirled hairdo.

Before the Mickey Mouse Ears cap went on this morning, the children were the beneficiaries of my late-night run to the Kissimmee Wal-Mart. It was HUGE and was so crowded, I didn't think I would ever get out. Anyway, I got enough Pop-Tarts and Oatmeal Creme Pies to last the rest of the stay and the trip home. As you can see, Cal is working on his "smile." I call it "constipated Popeye" but he is doing his best to find his "look."

Here's the obligatory photo when one comes to the House of Mouse:

We went back to Magic Kingdom today, and then to the-studio-formerly-known-as-Disney-MGM. Alison pointed out that they have gone from an easy three-syllable "MGM" to the awkward eight-syllable "Disney's Hollywood Studios," which we loved making the resort employees say as they corrected us all day. -McP

Celtic Music is probably better before a big meal.

The bus to Epcot:

Alison and I always know that Day Two is going to be the day we all "hit the wall" with travel fatigue and then we will catch our second wind later on. This was a classic Day Two on our Spring Break to Disney!

We woke and ate in our room, then beat a path to Epcot, where there are a lot of great environmental programs that Alina and Mac loved. Cal also got to get up close and personal with a manta ray...

We did have a great lunch at a place in Epcot where they specialize in fish, and you are in the bottom of an aquarium so you conceivably have some fish watching you while you eat their kind. After we both acknowledged this, Alison and I both ordered the steak.

The problem with a big lunch is, well, none of us were worth anything for a long while afterward. Here Cal tries to suffer through a "Celtic-rock" band, doing his best to politely clap along...

I took Alina and Mac swimming while Cal napped and Alison quietly cheered on UGA to win the SEC Basketball Championship! Go Dawgs! - McP

Spring Break vs. Spring Break at Disney World!

HERE'S HOW SPRING BREAK COULD HAVE BEEN, JUST STAYING AT HOME, BUILDING BIONICLES, LOUNGING AND GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES...




BUT HERE'S SPRING BREAK THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE... AT DISNEY WORLD!











...AND THIS WAS JUST OUR FIRST HALF DAY! MORE LATER... McP

Snow in Georgia, Grandmother's Cookies and a Kazakh Rap Party!

At the risk of being made fun of by our friends in the Northeast, today the kids were delighted to wake up and find snow in our North Georgia town! Granted, it was more of a "dusting" but it was enough to throw on the coats and go outside early.


We then went to see if there was any more snow in Graysville at Grandmother and Pa Mac's house. And of course with that comes lots of treats, such as the warm cookies and cold milk she had waiting for them.

Finally, we came back home and all three children went downstairs. Mac dove into his favorite things: Not cleaning his room and building his Bionicle creatures. However, Alina started cranking her turntable sound system and scratched a beat while M.C. Cal went to work with Mac's voice changer! And all of this was before Noon! - McP

Our Girl Turns Eight!

Here Mac helps Alina ham it up for her birthday!

Alina turned eight today - as hard as it is to believe - and it was a busy day for all of us. Her first soccer practice was tonight, so Alison made supper and we had a nice little party at home.



While Alison got supper and the birthday cake ready, Alina and Mac played outside in our beautiful early March weather. My job was to keep Cal from underfoot as Alison went from the kitchen to the grill on the deck and back, so we fed the animals and did some things outside as well. Here is Call helping unfurl the flags that the March winds had twisted. We have flown the Kazakhstan and American flags every day for almost eight years, in honor of our children's birth country and in honor of our country that we all love and share.

Mac was as excited about Alina's birthday as she was. He was a real good brother this year, and actually let a completely confused Daddy know what was tops on Alina's wish list for a present. We are blessed with some sweet, caring children. -McP