Accident, Car Shopping and School Conferences.

It has been an eventful few weeks here lately.  About 2 weeks ago, I was downstairs exercising at 6:15AM when my cell phone rang. It was Thomas. Either he pocket-dialed or called and then changed his mind, but he wasn't talking to me, although I could hear his voice.  I could hear him saying, "okay, let's move the cars out of the way." Then, the phone went dead.  From those few words, I was able to ascertain two things.  First, he was in a car accident. Second, he was capable of moving a car out of the way and thus okay. I tried calling him back, but he did not answer. About 15 minutes later, he called to tell me he had been rear-ended, but was okay. He was stopped at a red light when a car drove into him, causing him to hit the car in front of him. The car behind him then swerved into the next lane and hit the car to her right.  He had no recollection of the impact or calling me. He said he felt fine, but had a bad headache (he relayed this to the arriving paramedic who asked, "well, did you have breakfast?").

Ultimately, we learned that the car was a total loss and we had to buy a new one. Thus began the great car hunt of 2015. We had several thoughts--buy a car that was close in value to the Camry, buy a "beater" car and pocket the difference, or buy a new car that Thomas could drive for 8 years and then pass on to Jack and Anna.  Our preference is always to buy a new (or newish) cars and drive it for a while, but we had intended on driving the Camry for another 4 years. Ultimately, we decided to buy a new car.

We bought a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.  We had planned on buying another Camry, but I fell in love with the car; and after driving it, Thomas agreed.  It was a few thousand cheaper than a comparable Camry and because it was the end of the model year, we were able to get it for about 7k below MSRP.  Of course, it was still more than the we got for our totaled 2009 Camry, so we are back to two car payments. Although, together the 2 payments are still less than what we once paid for a single car (back when we were 2 incomes with no kids).

On to school conferences.  In short, our kids are all awesome little geniuses (that's the mother's slant). Jack is still a great reader, in fact, his teacher said he tested on a 4th/5th grade level and she actually cut him off because she had the information she needed.  Both he and Anna get pulled out of class for a special reading group (comprises about 20% of the second grade, so not all that exclusive :).  They are both doing fine at math. Jack still has some issues getting along with classmates and specifically being physically aggressive. It is very difficult for Thomas and me. We have tried everything we can think of to help him kick (no pun intended) this behavior, but nothing seems to work. He improves a little each year, so we are hoping that eventually he will just outgrow it.

Anna's teacher "adores" her.  She thinks Anna is very intelligent and sweet. The feeling is completely mutual, Mrs. Lowe is Anna's favorite teacher ever and we think she tries extra hard to please her. So far, this is working out: Mrs. Lowe thinks Anna is great, so Anna works hard at being great.  Kara is also doing good, she is continuing her track of perfect behavior and is testing high in most areas. She does not do well on the "nonsense words" test.  Apparently, she tries to find real words that will fit and is unable to do the exercise of just reading the sounds.  She is reading really well, so hopefully she will get the hang of it at some point (or not). She is very methodical and precise with her schoolwork, so I can see how she wouldn't appreciate a test where she is asked to read something other than real words.

I don't mean for this to be a braggy post.  I recognize that kids have different skills and develop at different ages. I also know that mine are too young for this data to be truly meaningful.  We tell them all the time that they are blessed to be smart enough to do anything they want, but it doesn't really matter if they don't put forth the effort to achieve it. Effort and determination will win the day.  But, for now, we are very proud of the progress they are making. We really hope that Jack's love of reading and history continue, that Anna keeps thriving, and that Kara always loves school and learning as much as she does right now!

Jack and Anna turn 8 Part Two

As is tradition, we went and had lunch with the kids on their birthday. Actually, the day before their birthday, since their birthday fell on a Saturday. Anna had requested I bring in cupcakes with pumpkins and Jack wanted to hand out candy necklaces. It is always fun to see them at school and to talk with their friends. I also feel fortunate that the school is bit old-school in that they still allow home-made treats (among other characteristics that aren't particularly relevant to this topic). That night, we had Jack's requested dinner of BJs pizza. It was his second year of BJs pizza, which I consider a small step up from the canned ravioli he asked for when he turned 6.

Originally, we were going to try and get back to Williamsburg to go to Busch Gardens. But, thanks to more bad weather, that was out of the question. Instead, on Saturday morning I took Jack and Anna to Walmart to pick out supplies for Anna's requested dinner--cheese fondue. Then, we picked up Thomas and Kara and went to K-Mart to browse their going-out-of-business sale. We bought some gifts for an upcoming friend's birthday party and not much else. After a quick lunch we were off to the indoor pool in Prince Frederick.  Some friends were kind enough to meet us there, which made it even more fun for the kids.  The pool is really nice, it has 3 diving boards, a little kids area, and on the weekends it has an inflatable obstacle course. I was proud that all 3 kids tried the obstacle course and the girls jumped off the smaller diving boards. Jack jumped off the high diving board and kept everyone laughing with his silly poses. I think my favorite was his "zen," where he crossed his legs and held out his arms with his index finger and thumb together.  I have no idea where he saw that, but it was funny, even the lifeguards were chuckling. We stayed for about 2.5 hours and had a really good time. From there, we took the kids to Sonic for ice cream. We were trying to make the day special for Anna, who was understandably upset that Busch Gardens was again cancelled. The ice cream was the crowning jewel for her and she declared that she didn't care if we never made it to Busch Gardens because she was having the best birthday ever!

After cheese fondue, we finally got to cake and presents. This year the kids agreed to one cake and they wanted a fall theme with pumpkins. So I made a haunted pumpkin patch. They loved it! And, those monsters were delicious! All the presents were a big hit. Jack got a small arcade game, a lightsaber, and a toy gun (something he is always asking for). Anna got shopkins and a v-tech watch. They also received cards and cash from extended family, which they spent on books.

This was one fun-do!

Probably not my best looking cake, but very tasty. 

She finally got her Shopkins! To me, they are one of the dumbest toys out there, but I am not their target audience, so whatever.

This past weekend (October 11), we officially declared Busch Gardens a no-go for the year. We told Anna that we could do it, but we would have to drive up and back in one day, due to a lack of affordable hotels. It is tough to find hotels that can accommodate the 6 of us and the few that were available were booked or over $400. Five hours in the car did not appeal to Anna and she asked if we could go to Kings Dominion instead. We were joined by some neighbors and everyone had fun. They had trick-or-treating (non candy items, thankfully) in Planet Snoopy and even let the kids pick and color small pumpkins. It was by far the most crowded I have ever seen the park, including Memorial Day weekend. But, since we have gone so often, we didn't feel pressure to go on everything, we just made sure the kids got to ride their favorites. Thomas and I had thought about going up for Haunt, but after seeing the crowds, we have decided to skip it.

Hanging with friends and the talking pumpkin 'Patch'.

Family Photo time!

Luke on his favorite ride

Thomas finally got to ride the Dominator, can you find him? I just noticed that I also captured someone losing their hat. 

And that concludes the birthday of Jack and Anna. It was quite drawn out this year, but lots of fun.

Jack & Anna Turn 8: Part 1, Yorktown

On October 3, Jack and Anna turned 8.  Jack wanted to go back to Yorktown.  Anna thought that said that sounded like a good plan and asked to repeat her 7th birthday request--Busch Gardens. We settled on Fair Weekend and I made reservations. Last year, we stayed at Cheatham Annex in a 2-bedroom, insect infested cottage. I didn't want to repeat that experience, but I remembered that their 3-bedroom cottages were new, so I booked one of those.

The weather forecast was not kind. We had a clear forecast for Thursday, but rain the rest of the weekend. Our optimistic plan was to go to Yorktown and Yankee Candle on Thursday, Busch Gardens Friday, Jamestown Settlement & the Yorktown Victory Center Saturday and Kings Dominion on the way home Sunday. I was very excited about these fun plans. Unfortunately, most of it never happened (curse you mother nature!).

We kept the kids out of school and headed straight to the Yorktown battle field Thursday morning. Jack and I watched the film in the visitor's center, and then we explored the battlefield. From there we went to lunch at our favorite spot--the Carrot Tree Inn.

Luke and his buddy Kara walking to the redoubts.

We sat outside to eat, which was nice because the kids could explore while Thomas and I finished. Here's Jack with a statutes of Washington and DeGrasse.

We walked around this cute little windmill and didn't notice that there was a no entrance sign until after we left.  Sorry!

It was early enough that we figured we could squeeze in another fun activity (Busch Gardens isn't open on Thursdays, so that was never an option). Since it was Jack's day, we let him choose and he picked Jamestown. We drove across town, unsure of what to expect. It was the only "new to us" place on our itinerary. It had an extremely large visitors museum, with lots of historical information and exhibits and a living history outdoor area. The kids weren't particularly interested in the indoor information so we didn't get to spend much time in there. The outdoor area had three parts: a Powhatan Fort, a 1607 colonial fort, and 3 ships that were recreated to show what the ships looked like that delivered the settlers in 1607. The kids loved the outdoor exhibits!

Here they are their armor.

In front of one of the ships. 

In the Powhatan fort.

Never one to be left out...

From there, we went to Walmart to pick up food to bring back to the cottage. Our key was waiting for us at the gate (by the time we got there, it was after hours) and we excitedly drove to our cottage. Thomas and the kids were thrilled when they saw where we had been placed: the VIP cottage! I was less thrilled. I really wanted one of the newer cottages and was apprehensive about the insects that could be present in the older unit. But, the view quickly won me over. It was beautiful! When we stood on the deck, we felt like we were floating on the water. The furnishings were fine and it was moderately clean. Of course, there were lots of daddy long legs and other spiders. But, the coup de grace presented itself after dinner when a very brazen mouse came out to see what we had left of the floor.  Seriously, there were still lights on and we aren't exactly a quiet family! I was the only one that saw it and I managed to contain myself, since I didn't want to scare them. After seeing me, he scurried back in the kitchen, where I henceforth refused to go (well, at least for the rest of that day). Right before bed, the mouse appeared again and this time Jack saw him and screamed, "a rat, there's a rat in the house!" The kids were afraid to go to sleep after that, but we managed to settle them down after checking all their beds to reassure them no rodents resided beneath the sheets.

Looks cute enough, right?

The million dollar view.

The forecast never improved and it became clear that our outdoor weekend plans were out of the question. The home forecast was better and we decided to just leave on Friday, so the kids could participate in their sporting events on Saturday morning. It was a bitter pill for all us, but especially Anna who didn't get her promised Birthday outing. We told her we would try to come back and that we would still do something special on her actual day. She was moderately appeased.

We checked out early, but still had to pay the 2-night minimum (we were booked for 3). I don't think they were surprised to hear about the mouse, but she made a good show of putting a note in her notepad.  1990s style.  It was overcast and drizzling, but we decided to go to the Yorktown Victory Center. The girls were not pleased by this, so we had to bribe them with the promise of a treat from the gift shop if they managed to behave and have a good attitude. We hate doing that, but didn't want their sour mood to spoil it for the rest of us. Especially Kara--she is stubborn and can definitely carry a grudge when "forced" into an activity.

The Victory Center is a sister attraction to Jamestown Settlement and had the same large gallery area, however 90% of it was still under construction. So, fortunately, for the kids, we spent most of our time outside. They were also doing construction there, so the area was a bit compressed, but it was still very neat. They have a recreated Continental Army Encampment and a colonial-era farm. We enjoyed exploring. Jack participated in a cannon demonstration and learned more about muskets. Then, we sat and listened to the camp "doctor," whose treatments were definitely more harmful than helpful. I enjoyed hearing him talk about how the doctor was chosen (if you could read, you were a good candidate) and the practices of the day. After that, the kids enlisted! They signed their paperwork, collected their enlistment pay and agreed to stay for the whole war to get a bonus. They probably had no idea it was going to last 8 long, hard years. We all got in a tent together, which was perfect since they were 6-man tents and there were six of us. Definitely not comfortable living quarters.

On stage, in one of the only open areas. 

They had this neat contraption that showed how profile drawings were created. Anna took this  picture of me. 

Would you trust that kid with gun powder? Neither did they ;)

Signing their lives away for a few shillings.

From there, we went into one of the movies. Luke made it approximately 3 minutes before I took him out and Kara gratefully followed. So, we browsed the gift shop, bought the promised treats, and left for home. It was not the weekend we expected, but I feel like we made the best of a not-great situation.