I Never Learned To Read...and The Best pt 4

Okay, so that isn't exactly true. I did learn to read. In fact I grew up in a house where reading was not only encouraged it was darn well expected that you would read all the time, especially in the bathtub (and sometimes, if it was a really good book, in the shower. Go ahead and judge me). My parents not only aided in our addiction to books, they were down right happy to do it. They still do. I think it is truly not a Beesley outing to Tucanos unless we head over to Borders and stock up on the latest books we have been dying to read!

This is only one of the hundred things I am thankful to my parents for. I will focus on them later. Today was just about reading.

The Best Part 4
EpcotThe kids climbing on, and I am sure insulting all the native Norwegian workers while doing so, the giant troll that watches over the shop there.

You have never lived until you have eaten true French bread. I guess, by my own reckoning, that I have never lived, but at Epcot you sure come close. I have had honest to goodness dreams about eating the French bread from there ever since we went when I was 17. It was the one thing I demanded of the day: Stopping to eat at the French Patisserie. And we did...twice.

Epcot has come a long ways from just the world fair feel. There are lots more rides, like the insane Test Track where you get to feel like a car test dummy (or in my case severely car sick), to the Nemo ride that is like a trip under the sea. We got to see our "futures" on Spaceship earth, and learn more about how imagination shapes our world.

They even have a program to make the countries more interesting for kids where you join Kim Possible (one of my Disney favorites) on a secret spy mission. When you complete all the educational tasks you use your special spy phone to send a signal and something cool happens, like a chimney in Norway blows smoke, or a crazy singing robot pops up from a shopping display in Japan. It was fun, but asking a 6 year old and 8 year old to share the top secret phone was a little dicey.


About half way through our trip around the world the kids got bored and Eric headed back to the Imaginarium with them, which is set up with tons of cute learning centers like a piggy bank interactive game that teaches kids about saving money, a fire station with giant laser tag like house to teach about fire safety, and even an area where you can put yourself into video game.

While this was going on my mom and I enjoyed eating our way around the rest of the world...I mean seeing all the things the countries had to offer...to eat (because, as my mom said "what happens in Epcot stays in Epcot."....unless your daughter keeps a blog I guess).

This is about where Mom got sick and went back to the hotel (we brought our cold with us) and we went with Dad back to France to eat dinner. We also stopped in at the countries the kids missed before and got their "passports" stamped to show they went to almost all the countries (sorry Mexico and China). In Italy, by a very beautiful fountain that also seemed to draw the parks smokers right to it. We got to have the no-smoking talk again. Touche Epcot, turning a nasty few minutes into a learning experience.

All in all a very educational, cultural and yummy experience.

I wish I had more pictures but I was so busy doing and enjoying that I forgot to take a lot. Oh well, at least I am writing about it while I still remember it.

My Reading Rainbow

It's no surprise that I love reading, but some people are shocked when they find out how much I love reading. I am always reading a book. Always. I have to read at night before going to sleep, I love to read in the tub, and sometimes, if I don't feel like shaving my legs, I read in the shower while waiting for my conditioner to set (much to Eric's chagrin). I have a back up book in my car, in case I get stuck at a train crossing, or backed up traffic, or even red light! I have multiple books on my ipod. I have 5 bookcases full of books that I constantly reread. I would not survive without the escape that reading provides.
I was lucky to have parents that really cared about reading. My parents bought us books constantly, we went to the library, and we always had books at night time. My mom would read with the best voices that made the stories come alive. My dad would read the stories wonky so "Lizzie Bruin" from the Berenstain Bears became "Lizzie Borden" who gave her friends 40 whacks. His books always ended "And they all died, the end." Reading is a pleasure, an escape from my life into something more interesting. I LOVE READING.
With reading being so special to me, I have tried very hard to instill this same love in my kids. We have read to them every day since they were born. They always get books at nap time, and when they are older and don't want me to sing to them at night we do books instead. If I need quiet I ask the kids to go read books. Ethan and Ella both beg to read books for about 30 minutes after we have read to them (Ella just looks at pictures and tells herself the story in her own words, but we are are working well on actual reading).
It was heartwarming to walk into Ella's room the other day and find the girls curled up on her bed reading books together. Ella was saying the words from memory to her book and Livi was babbling along like she knew her book. It didn't matter that her book was upside down!
I teared up, just a little, when I saw this. I guess all 3 will be awesome readers and will enjoy that experience as much as I do!