Year: 2011

We took a trip to Disney to have some fun before the crowds start to get big again. We enjoyed a wonderful “Behind the Seeds” tour in the Land at EPCOT with Grandma Jo and Grandpa Howie.

I learned all about beneficial bugs.

Checking out the lab.

We got to walk through the greenhouse and see all the technology.

We released ladybugs on the strawberry plants!

We tried some cucumbers. I actually didn’t spit it out!

I got to demonstrate how strong the Styrofoam planters actually are.

I was so interested in everything!

It was cool to see the boat ride come through as we were walking around.

Wow a NINE pound lemon!

Okay, it was HUGE!

Pumpkins growing in the air!

Feeding the fish in the hatchery.

What a fun tour!

I had a fun yet oddly stressful time at the ranch today. I love the new pig, Wilbur, but it terrified me.

I always LOVE looking for chicken eggs.

I found a GREEN egg! Miss Ali said it was a lucky green egg!

Annabelle the cow is new as well. She is pregnant and due in about three weeks. I think the baby should be named Tinkerbell or Liberty Bell.

The cows terrified me today. But I loved feeding them.

I wanted to hold a chicken SO bad. I tried and tried but could not catch one. I gave up and was offered a chicken by someone else and refused. A few minutes later…tears… i wanted to hold that chicken!

On to the bunnies. I wanted to hold a bunny. I waited very IMPATIENTLY in line. WHen it was my turn I panicked and refused. Two minutes later I was nearly in tears wanting to hold the bunny! Mommy was getting rather frustrated.

The goats were awesome. They don’t scare me at all!

Back to the bunnies and chickens to pout that I couldn’t catch one to hold and the bunnies were all caged up.

The alpacas were new as well since our last visit. The big farm dogs are in with the aplacas to keep them safe. I wandered away from Mommy and suddenly the dogs were both standing with their front paws on my shoulders. Maybe I should learn to listen when Mommy says stay close.

Mommy gave up and just took us to rest on a bench until craft time. I think I may have driven her crazy with the bi-polar farm animal liking. We soon went inside to do a craft. Mommy just wanted to end with a nice picture. She got this terrified look. Same look I had most of the day!

What the HECK!

The final shot of the day! I was happy again.

ON the way out I hugged Mommy and told her it was the best trip to Miss Ali’s farm EVER! I think I could actually hear Mommy’s eyes roll.

I had the day off today from my gifted class so we took a field trip to Ft. Myers. We had a great time wandering around the botanical gardens. I liked looking into all the old rooms in the houses and thinking what it would be like to be Thomas Edison.

It was pretty neat that they had their own private pool with a diving board!

It was awesome to see all the inventions and improvements that Thomas Edison made. The offices were all set up just they way they were when Edison was alive.

I especially enjoyed the fountain that looked like a little volcano.

The Edison library was not as full of books as I figured it would be but it was really pretty looking.

This is Edison’s little office. He seemed to have phonographs ALL over!

Henry Ford also shared the home area and did a lot of work with Edison. I learned a lot about the Model T and Model A.

The banyan tree out front was amazing! I could have looked at it ALL day! Boy do I wish I was allowed to climb it!

I thought these were HUGE coins. Turns out they are all medals and awards that Edison won.

Samples of many of the lightbulbs Edison worked on.

Some of the early recordings that were played on the phonographs… before records.

How the phonograph worked!

A version from a few years later.

The lab was under renovation and the contents were stored in a huge cage but it was great to see the actually bottles and glass Edison would have used to work with his botanical experiments.

The lab without all the bottles and tubes! The machines were fascinating.

This is the cot that Edison would nap on during his long sessions in the lab.

Edison’s desk. Many many hours spent working in his lab.

After our tour of the estate, I went to a homeschool class on simple machines. I settled right in and had a blast in my class. We split into teams and got to made a balloon powered car. Our next experiment we had to make a catapult. I had some problems with the team I was on (the teammates kept snatching the supplies and wouldn’t listen to my ideas) and after a few tears the instructor moved me to another team. I eventually defected and joined a team of one! I had some great ideas and no one would listen. Just because I am 5 doesn’t mean I am not pretty darn smart!

When it was time to test out inventions mine came in 2nd place. One mind made one great project! Mommy and Daddy were very proud.

We had a nice ride home and made a few stops along the way. We got home around 9pm and went straight to bed. What a FUN day!

Today during free time I wanted to play Egypt with Emmerson. Mommy wasn’t quite sure what we were up to but we weren’t fighting so she enjoyed the silence. Suddenly yet very quietly we tiptoed to the bathroom and locked the door. A few minutes later we emerged and tiptoed back to my room. I soon called Mommy in to see what we had built. This is out Egypt tomb. The pillowpets are guarding the tomb.

Inside the tomb are lots of jewels and statues along with a few mummies.

If it was shiny it was in the tomb!

We used ALL the toilet paper in the bathroom to mummify some animals. I even used a straw to suck their brains out and stored them with other organs in canopic jars made from legos and tupperware containers.

Nefertiti guarded the whole shindig.

One very proud boy using all his Egypt knowledge to make playtime so much fun!

Mommy is stil not sure why, but I insisted that she take a photo of my stuffed animals.

I think I just wanted to be on camera and have some of the focus taken off of Emmerson and his birthday. I am having a hard time coping with the fact that Emmerson gets to have a birthday and I have to wait another half a year! I seem to be getting over it a bit now that Emmerson is letting me play with all of his birthday gifts.