More Posting

Well, I've posted a couple more days of our vacation in Florida. I have one more big post - our trip to Disney World. That will have to be done another day - Enjoy the pictures. I hope it all makes sense - I've been posting while trying to play with Will and Mollie. Another interesting thing in our lives - Lauren is potty training today (and for the next month or so....). She's doing great - she's got the idea and she actually tells me that she has to do! AMAZING. The idea of no more diapers excites me!

Pirates!!!

Pirates! When Will was born mom told me about an idea - a pirate island with a buried treasure. Now that the older boys are big enough, they decided to embark on this particular adventure! While mom and dad were on their 2 month trip they bought the boys Pirate Playmobil stuff. Dad also bought the boys captain hats and pirate shirts. Enjoy this adventure with us.... Dad talking to the boys about pirates and treasures.

Bradley opening his treasure map. Dad worked hard on these maps - he even burned around the edges to make it look old!

Will with his treasure map.

The pirate boat - mom made the flag and attached it to a broom handle!

Captain Will and Captain Bradley.
Pirates in Training.... Matthew and Zachary.Little girl Pirate.....
The stone family on the "plank"
The Niedermuller Family on the "plank"

The first clue. The first clue was on their map - a letter Z (for Zachary). Once they found the clue (a piece of paper sticking out of the ground) they would find a small treasure box nearby. In the treasure box was another clue - M, L, B, W, and finally X. There were six clues before the big treasure!

The last clue - the X
Hurry - run to find the treasure!

Treasure!!!!

The family in front of a really cool tree!

Chef Mickey

Sunday evening we all headed over to Disney World to eat at Chef Mickey's. The great thing about this is that you don't have to have tickets to Disney to eat with Mickey! Mom and Dad got reservations for all eleven of us to eat dinner with the characters! It was a great introduction to Disney for Will. We could see the castle from our table and the kids loved watching it change color! Enjoy the pictures below! The Niedermuller clan with Pluto

The Stone Family with Pluto - notice Lauren's not too sure of the giant dog!

Goofy!

Goofy - Lauren is warming up to the giant creatures!

Donald - we all love Donald! I think Zachary loves Donald's soft fur!

Donald!

Mickey took some time off from his cooking duties to take a picture - what a nice guy!

Mickey Mouse! Lauren's busy checking him out

Mom and Dad with their 5 grandchildren and a large mouse! Mom is holding Zachary, Will and Bradley are in front, and Dad is holding Matthew and Lauren.

Minnie Mouse! Bradley was in love with Minnie about a year ago. The Stone Family with Minnie Mouse - Lauren is happy!

Zachary is giving Minnie a big kiss.... maybe he learned that from Bradley.

Grandpa and his little princess (and Mickey...). Lauren really started to warm up to the characters.

Sea World

We took the 5 kids to Sea World on Saturday (after Thanksgiving.... I'm running a bit behind on my blogging....) The three older kids wore their Shamu shirts (don't they look cute!). Lauren drank a little too much that morning and she wet through her diaper on the trip there - so she's in Will's shorts. The only other pants I had for her were her ice cream cone pants - that really doesn't match Shamu! Lauren, Bradley, and Will in the stroller reading maps.

Bradley's first ride on the Shamu Express!! Will and Joe are behind them! Will is quite the thrill seeker!

Uncle Paul bought the kids some cotton candy - that was a HUGE hit! It was funny to watch their expressions after their first taste!

This picture makes me laugh! Lauren is trying to get out of her seat so that she can go swim with Shamu (she is in LOVE with Shamu!). Will is analyzing the show and processing the whole thing. Bradley is comfortable in his daddy's arms and decides to take a nap.

The five grandchildren in their Shamu shirts (we bought two more shirts that day for Matthew and Zachary).

Brevard Zoo

What is a trip to Grandpa and Grandma's House without a visit to the Brevard Zoo. I think that I've mentioned before that the zoo is about a mile from their home. It's a small zoo, but one of the best zoo's I've been to. Joe and me with the three big kids. Paul and Kristy were right behind us with the little ones. This was their first trip to the zoo - I think they loved it!

Will feeding the giraffe. He has grown to love this!

Will and Bradley holding hands - they're so cute!

Grandpa showing Lauren an animal in the water - could it be a gator?

Bradley and Kristy looking at something interesting....

Bradley feeding the birds nectar with Grandpa

Will getting his turn with the nectar.

The Stone family checking out the bats - not my favorite creature, but it is a cute picture.

We can't forget the train ride! This ride was great - it was feeding time for the lemurs and that was very exciting!

Matthew entertained - Zachary asleep. Sweet little "Zachy" loves to sleep anywhere that he goes. I think my brother is still like that......

Thanksgiving - Hanging Out

This year our Thanksgiving was spent in Florida. This is the first time in 5 years (I believe) that Mom and Dad have had all their children and grandchildren at their home. It was fun to be around all of the kids and we had a terrific time together. There were a few squabbles, but the kids really got along great.

Thanksgiving Dinner... Mom, Matthew, Will, Nicole (my cousin), Audrey (friend of the family), Paul, Kristy, Bradley (asleep), Julie, Joe, Lauren. Zachary was playing on the living room floor and Dad was taking the picture. Nicole brought her pictures from her trip to Africa. She worked at the Jane Goodall Institute over the summer. She had amazing pictures of African animals in the wild and the kids just loved them!

Grandpa and Grandma feeding Matthew and Zachary.

Nicole with Zachary and Matthew. We were so happy that she could join us for Thanksgiving. She started an internship at the Tampa Zoo working with the chimpanzees. She loves it and is hoping that it will lead to a full time job. Of course, Mom and Dad are thrilled to have her so close!
This picture is a bit blurry, but I thought it was cute. I believe this was taken the night that Mom and Dad watched all 5 grandchildren so that Paul, Kristy, Joe, and I could go out to dinner and a movie. When we returned all was quiet and EVERYONE was sound asleep - well, in bed anyway. Will and Bradley had a hard time going to sleep every night - they had too much to talk about in their tent. We would put a monitor in their room so we could listen to them talk. There's something about the conversations between a 3 year old and a 4 year old that is so entertaining.

The boys eating a great breakfast before Sea World. They are so goofy!Will holding Matthew - he still talks about how he got to hold Matthew. I'm thinking that Zachary was asleep.Lauren holding "baby Mah-mew"We did a lot of swimming at Mom and Dad's house. Here's the Niedermuller Family.And the Stone FamilyMom reading a bed time story to her 5 grandchildren. She was really in her element!