Photo of the Day.

Will. Andy. Elmo.

More Poseidon Adventure!

Today during Will's swim class (which went very well - no tears. In fact, he cried when it was time to leave!), Leah, Jack, & Andy earned their YMCA swim card. They had to show the lifeguard that they could swim the length of the Olympic-sized pool twice. Now they are qualified to use the pool whenever they want, and do not need a parent in the pool with them. Great job, guys!

Photo of the Day.

To the untrained eye, it may look like Jack is holding a plate of homemade fudge. In fact, he is holding our science experiment. Today, we learned how igneous rock is formed. First, rocks and minerals (aka chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows, sugar, and salt) are pulled under the Earth's crust (added to a pan of hot evaporated milk and butter). There, they heat up until they melt and mix together. It is now called magma. Sometimes magma shoots out of the Earth, like out of a volcano (or like melted ingredients pouring out of the hot pan, into a baking dish). Now, this hot liquid is called lava. After this lava hits the cool air or water (or refrigerator), it hardens into what we call igneous rock (or, fudge). Tastes good, too!*

*Please do not try to eat actual igneous rock. It may be hazardous to your health.

Will's Swimming Update!

Will is doing great in swim class! He is working on always swimming for the wall, even if he has to turn around in the water or swim a few strokes to get there. He will also be learning to intersperse his swimming with back floating to give himself a chance to breathe if he needs to.

Photo of the Day.

Day being yesterday.

Safe Start.

Will started a swim class at the YMCA yesterday. The focus of the lessons are on survival skills, rather than fun-in-the-water type stuff. He goes 10 minutes a day, five days a week, for six weeks. He is doing great! Yesterday, he had a great time, never cried a bit. Today, he did cry, but his skills were excellent. His instructor is teaching him how to "value" the wall and always swim for it. For the record, they do NOT just "throw" kids in the water! His instructor is very gentle with him, yet it is a no-nonsense approach.

I will try to get some pictures of him in the water, but the lesson goes so fast I keep forgetting to get the camera out!

What a difference two years make!

Will, March 2004.















Will, March 2005.


















Will, March 2006.

"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." Arabian Proverb

We at Planet Mancuso would like to take a moment to remember our beautiful equine cousin, Scout, who passed away yesterday. I know he will be missed greatly by those on our sister planet.

We will miss seeing him too.

It's not all fun and games.

It has come to our attention here on Planet Mancuso that certain readers may be feeling angry, or jealous, because it appears we are having way too much fun. I can assure you, that is not the case. We have some boring times, just like all of you! For example, just look at the following pictures:

Sometimes, Jack blows his nose.



















There are times when Will has nothing else exciting to do but to watch the grass grow.













And, even Leah is at times so bored, she doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning.













So you see, it is not all fun and games on the Planet.

Boat Day!

What a beautiful day on the Intercoastal! John took the day off today and we headed for the boat. We took a nice relaxing ride before having lunch at Caribbean Jack's and heading home for our next door neighbors' St. Patrick's Day party.

Hope everyone is doing great!

Day at the Zoo!

We spent a great morning at the Zoo in Sanford. We fed the goats, saw lots of other animals, hiked through the woods, rode a cool train, and took a spin on the carousel!

State of Sunshine.

We enjoyed a beautiful day today hiking around the gorgeous Wekiva Spring, followed by a lovely lunch at Chili's. Always good to have the Poppy and the Gheghe here!

Sixteen. Rebounds.

Today was Jack's last basketball game. His team won, thanks to his 16 rebounds and all around excellent play, and of course thanks to superb coaching by John!

Bring on Year Three!

Let the gifts begin!

Jack gave Will a basketball hoop for his birthday... and Will loves it!

Two.

Move over, Shakespeare.

Jack and Andy are kicking off Spring Break (which officially starts TODAY!) by writing books. They have each begun writing and illustrating a series of books - Jack's series is about the great dog Clyde, and Andy's is about his pet turtle, Binky. The books are really quite entertaining. Currently, Andy is working on "Binky's Fourth Adventure" and Jack's newest title is, "Clyde and the Venom Goo Goos."

In like a lamb!

Karen and I took the kids to the Cape Canaveral National Seashore... a beautiful day! March has certainly come in like a lamb in our neck of the woods. We walked up the Turtle Mound, a 50 foot shell midden left by the Timacuan Indians - the largest mound in the country. At the beach, Jack, Andy & Leah found their fun as usual, digging a large "hot tub" for the three of them to lounge in, and riding their skinboard down a sandy incline into the water (Leah never taking of her socks, not sure why...) Later, we collected all sorts of shells, and Karen led the kids through a shell-identification lesson. As for Will, he led the class in an analogy lesson: WILL:OCEAN as MAGNET:STEEL.