First, thanks to all for the support and debate on the last blog entry - great insights!

Next, I haven’t written in awhile.  So much going on to choose from, I’m overwhelmed.  First vacation in a hotel room with both kids.  Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Karl Malden, EdMcMahon, David Carradine (basically, good-bye to my 70’s experience), Billy Mays (good-bye to obnoxious yelling commercials).  Independence Day.  Car insurance hassle (YES, DMV, I’m POSITIVE that I was insured from July 14, 1999 through January 13, 2000, but who has 10-year-old records?!?)  First week of ESY for Jon.  First week alone with Kate all day.  Crafting projects with molding clay, paperclips, pipe cleaners, bottle caps, paper plates, scrap yarn, anything you might imagine.  And I’m pretty sure that I’m coming down with something.  Tired all the time.  But enough of the whining.

Vacation.  It was great, truly great.  Three days and two nights in Williamsburg, VA with Steve’s parents along.  The first day we got there it was too late to go anywhere, so Steve and his mom took the kids to the hotel pool while I stayed in the room and worked.  Working alone is a mini-vacation in itself.

The second day was Colonial Williamsburg.  The kids enjoyed it as much as I would have expected them to.  Kate and I have been reading the Little House series, so I told her that this was 100 years before that, and she got excited by the role-playing and costumes.  The kids also got to play colonial-era games like hoop-rolling and catching a ball on a string.  Of course, there are times in Colonial Williamsburg that you are standing in a room or courtroom hearing people talk.  That’s where Jon’s noises and jumping start.  An iPod Shuffle is great for these times, if your child can wear earphones.  Get kid-friendly earphones (no earbuds for our little ones), and music he or she will enjoy.  (At this point, I need to give 100% credit for the iPod idea to school.  It’s part of his Behavior Intervention Plan.)  Jon still vocalized and swayed back and forth, but it wasn’t totally disrupting.  And when it was, he and I would go for a walk.  Let’s face it, there are a lot of seven year-olds who have trouble paying attention to a discussion of the judicial process of 1860.

The third and final day was Water Country USA, a fabulous water park with a wave pool, kiddie pools, and great rides.  Steve and his dad get all the credit on this one.  I splashed in the wave pool and the kiddie pools, but they were not of much interest to the kids, so Steve and his dad took the kids on the rides while his mom took pictures.  According to Steve, the kids were sometimes “terrified”, but they managed to go on all the rides at least twice, I noticed.  Hmmm.  Even two scrapes on Kate’s knee didn’t deter her.  And water is like heaven to Jon.

Even our restaurant meals were manageable, thanks to friendly, understanding wait-staff and iPods.  And every place had some version of chicken tenders and fries or pizza, so the kids actually ate!Jon. 

What amazed me most about this vacation was Jon. 

Every day with Jon contains at least some amazing, pride-filled moments.  He just wants to be included and accepted.  His inclusion classes, teachers and therapists have helped him with coping mechanisms, of course.  But the real credit goes to Jon.  He’s absolutely amazing.  He constantly strives to exceed expectations.  I’m so incredibly proud of him.