It is done.

Yes, I know... a little late this year. Haha. The kids and I put the tree up today, looks great! I think poor Will is going to get to know the word "No!" really well this month...

Art, Table For Two.

Getting into the Christmas spirit!

Dreams Do Come True.

Andrew, Jack, and Leah.
Together. For a picture.

Not one nostril face.

Priceless.

The Willis.

Just a little photo shoot I thought I'd share...

The Stakes Were High.

Thanksgiving Day.

Boys vs. Girls.

Losers do the dishes.

Thanks.

I am thankful that I live in America. I am grateful that America is a republic, NOT a democracy. I wish more people understood and embraced the difference. I am thankful for the rag-tag people of 1776 who dared question the authority of their government, who refused to adhere to the religion set forth by that government, who refused to hand their taxes over to a government that didn't care about the interests of the minority... for this we call them PATRIOTS.

I am thankful that Florida has pretty darn good homeschooling laws.

I am thankful for good friends. I am even thankful for the not-so-good ones, because they make the good ones even more special.

I am thankful for art. Creativity. Imagination. And for the opportunity and ability to use all three whenever we want.

I am thankful for Jim & Karen - today we get to eat a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner and I don't even have to clean my house!

I am thankful for books, my camera, my ipod, my Keens sandals, Barnes & Noble, jeans, Jon Stewart (and that I no longer wet my pants when I laugh), our boat life, paper, blogs, and water.

And of course, my family. Each member, in their own way, has contributed to my appreciation of everything I have just mentioned and more. On planet mancuso, everything is illuminated.

Thanks.

We Love Clipboards!

Today we took a little field trip to the Central Florida Zoological Park in Sanford. We are studying the Animal Kingdom and it's classification system in science, so we did a little hands-on exploring!

And we finally got to wear our Cuffy's sweatshirts that we got up in Cape Cod this past summer! Yes, folks, winter has arrived in Lake Mary... our high today was only 66 degrees!!

Miss these guys.

Celebrating the return - albeit temporary - of the awesome Albers... vacationing here from South Carolina. Pictured: joining us for a low-country seafood boil - Nick, Dave & Suzy, Tom, John, Brett, Lindsay, Susan, Holly & Patti.

Just to remind you...

About the Random contest! You have TEN days! Just e-mail horsechick418@yahoo.com for questions, comments, or entries!!

Start with Art.

After visiting many of the artists' booths at the festival (Amy's favorite: the Collage Lady, who made very funky collages out of, well, everything - pennies, buttons, Eggo boxes, broken stuff), we watched the Sidewalk Chalk Artists do their thing. Then, the kids went to work on their own piece of the sidewalk. Even Will got in on the action! And he only tried to eat the chalk once!

LEGO, LEGO, LEGO!

While at the Festival, Leah & Jack helped build an 8-foot alligator made entirely out of LEGOs. They even received a certificate, which states: "CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT... For Participating in an Official LEGO Building Event and in Recognition of the Enthusiasm and Creativity Displayed in Building with LEGO Bricks."

They were also able to have a hand in many other art activities!

Festival of the Masters.

Today we drove over to Downtown Disney for the annual Festival of the Masters art show... it was pretty neat! First we watched an artist "perform" his artwork - he began with a blank canvas, played some loud rock music, and kind of went a little crazy... but he ended up with a fantastic painting! It was pretty cool!

Jack Mancuso, Rock and Roller.

Here is a clip of Jack playing the drums... he has been taking lessons at High Note Music School in Longwood for a couple of months now. He sounds great, doesn't he?

Science Monday.

On Mondays Leah and Jack (along with cousin Andy) attend a day-long class at the Orlando Science Center. Each week is a different science theme. They do two lab experiments, watch an IMAX film, partcipate in live shows, and explore the exhibits. They have been having a great time and learning LOTS! This morning, after I dropped them off, Will and I had a chance to explore KidsTown, an exhibit just for the little ones. He loved it!

Send your entries in for the latest Random Contest!

Just a reminder!

"Time is a gift, given to you, given to give you the time you need, the time you need to have the time of your life."

Photo by Gheghe.

Quote by Norman Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth.

Wet Willie.

Well, we found out that Will likes showers!

This Was for the Birds.

After our dolphin swim and snorkeling the coral reef, we headed for the aviary, where we thought we would see some pretty birds... well, we did see pretty birds - but things got a little more interactive than we were expecting!

Sweet!

Wow! What a fantastic time we had at Discovery Cove! We started our day with the dolphin swim. Our dolphin's name was Hutch. Hutch gave us kisses, performed amazing stunts, talked to us, and even gave us rides in the water!
After our time with Hutch was over, we were asked to stay in the water while another dolphin, Lester, swam out with a buoy to play with. He swam right to Leah and tossed her the buoy - which read, "HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, LEAH!!"