Family Days

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day. We went to the Circle B Ranch and did a 2.5 mile hike. We saw lots of amazing birds, including a bald eagle, several turtles, one snake, and many alligators. The herons were nesting and way up in the trees, we even saw a little baby heron peek it's head out. Kim, Dave, JD and Amanda joined us. Unfortunately, our kids were kind of grouchy. Kara especially did not enjoy the hike. We had told them we would get some ice cream if they didn't complain, but that was a fail by everyone. Well, Jack didn't complain, but he kept fighting with Anna, so we disqualified him on that front.

Climbing trees is always more fun with your cousins!

We recreated the photo we took last year. I actually think everyone looks pretty similar (2017 is on the bottom). Also, I dropped my sunglasses in the lake after taking them off to pose for this shot!

After the hike, we headed to Grandpa's house. We had an early dinner, with my dad, Maggie, Kim and her family and my brother, Kevin. It was nice to see everyone. Maggie brought a surprise cookie cake so we could do an early celebration of my dad's 75th birthday. We engaged in some political discussion, which fortunately stopped just before things turned ugly ;) We also took the kids to the little miniature golf area in his community, which they love.

Happy  75th!

Monday, we had a relaxed morning and had the kids spend some time on homework. Around 11, we headed to my dad's house. Then, we did another split day. This time, Thomas took Jack to see the Tigers take on the Braves. My dad and I took the girls and Luke to the most amazing park. We had gone a few years ago when Thomas was deployed and I never forgot about it. So, when we were searching for something to do today, I knew it would be perfect and it did not disappoint! I will let the pictures speak for themselves (and, these legitimately don't even cover half of what is there).

They actually have a map detailing each awesome area!

Each area would have been a nice playground on its own.

This swing was pretty awesome.

Balancing act...

Slides built into the mountains you can climb. 

Create your own river, then follow its path down the "mountain"

Or, maybe you would rather unearth some fossils?

Thomas and Jack had a great time at the game. Although, they left in the 8th inning when the score was 6-2 Braves. Then, in the last inning, the Tigers came back to win 11-4! So, they wish they had stayed. But, they still had fun. And, they made it onto the Jumbo Tron! They were dancing and having a good time while YMCA was playing and suddenly, there they were. So exciting, I wish I could have seen it.

We had pizza for dinner and are trying to get everyone calmed down and ready for a good nights sleep, since tomorrow is our first day at Universal Studios.

Since this is such a short post (well, it was before I added pictures), I will go off on yet another tangent. Being in Florida is a good reminder for me of how quickly time passes. There are so many memories here that are fresh in my mind, as if they could have happened weeks ago, rather than decades. Honestly, it makes me a bit sad. I vividly recall being a child, then a teen, then a young adult just starting her first "grown-up" job in this town. The area has changed a lot. The people I love are getting older, which obviously means I am getting older. Most days, I don't feel much different than I did back then. Even that park I wrote about earlier, I went back to look for pictures and realized the last time we were there was almost 5 years ago. In my mind, it was much more recent. Yet, Kara was hardly older than Luke! How can the days be so long and the years so short? Of course, the other big reminder of the cruelty of time is that my mother is no longer here to greet me when we visit. Marta's house is in the same neighborhood where I lived as a teenager. It is sometimes sad to drive by my old house and to remember my life inside. I wish I could go back and talk to myself. To remind young Kori to enjoy the things that really matter and to help her learn not to worry about the rest. To hug and sit with my mother and have a real conversation. But, since I can't, I will have to remind myself now to enjoy all the people I have in my life, since it is truly the relationships that matter. My husband, my children, my extended family and my close friends. To enjoy the days I have with them, because in another blink, 5 more years will be gone and who knows what will go with it?

Florida Aquarium or Detroit Tigers, a House Divided (and, a car seat tangent)

For Day 2, we split up. Thomas and Kara went to a baseball game and everyone else went to the Florida Aquarium. Since I was with the Aquarium folks, we will start there.

I had never been to the Florida Aquarium. It is in Tampa, right next to cruise port. There were 8 of us present, me, Jack, Anna, Luke, Marta, Elizabeth, JD & Amanda. We couldn't all fit in the van (we took the middle seat out of the second row) so we moved car seats to Elizabeth's Excursion, which comfortably sat everyone. However, the car was made just before mandatory latch was instituted and we couldn't get Luke's car seat to work rear-facing with the belt. So, we turned him around. Luke is just 3 weeks away from being 3, but we still have him rear-facing (I had a long diatribe on my car seat safety views, but have moved it to the bottom of the post). But, it was fun to be able to turn around and see his smiling face.

I really wanted to just climb onboard!

We left around 9:45 and picked up JD and Amanda. The kids were thrilled to see their cousins and picked up right where they left off a year ago. Now that they are a bit older, it is nice that they remember everyone between visits. There is no warm-up period for the older kids with their Florida family and friends! The drive took about an hour, during which we convinced Anna to play the quiet game. I can't remember the last time I went to the downtown Tampa area, it might have been July 2004 when we took the Florida Bar Exam. It was fun to be there again, under happier circumstances.

The Aquarium was nice. They had a Florida wetlands (indoor) trail, which was pretty cool. We saw lots of interesting birds, reptiles and even some mammals. We listened to an informative talk about invasive species, after which, the kids got to touch an invasive frog (unlike native Florida frogs, he has poisonous glands that make his natural predators few). We saw lots of beautiful fish, and even a few sharks. My favorite exhibit was probably the sea dragon area, but I didn't get any pictures. They had several interactive touch experiences, including large sting rays, horeshoe crabs, coral catsharks, urchins and mollusks.  We had lunch there and everyone had a good time.

My two Hollywood Herons, with a Florida heron in the background. Can you find him?

Sweet cousins

That ray is actual size of some mega ray

After the Aquarium, we walked down on the pier and saw an old WWII supply ship, but we decided not to do the tour, since it was getting kind of late.

Elizabeth has been working for a large animal vet this summer (she is planning on vet school herself) and had to take care of the vet's animals this weekend.  We drove there from the aquarium so the kids could see the animals and help her. The vet has a pretty nice set-up, she lives on a large property and has several horses, hunting dogs and pet dogs, along with a pretty log cabin with several outbuildings.

Anna was in charge of filling the water buckets

JD with the horses

Meanwhile, Kara and Thomas were enjoying some awesome seats at the newly renovated Joker Marchant Stadium. By both accounts, it was an amazing game. At one point, the Tigers hit 3 home runs in a row! Then, the pitcher hit Miguel Cabrera and was thrown from the game as the crowd booed from the stands. The final score was 11-4 and it was the best game Kara had ever been to! They had hot dogs and ice cream and walked around the stadium. Kara even got to pick out a souvenir (a necklace) from the gift shop.

After all that excitement, I went to Panera with my sister while Thomas managed the kids. We had a good visit. It is always nice to spend time together and you can have a much better conversation in person than you can over the phone (although, we will take what we can get!).

Here is my car seat tangent:

Most people have subjects that they feel more strongly about than the general public and for us, one of those issues is car safety. The older three kids still use boosters and will until they are at least 4'9"; we never let them sit in the front, even on short drives to school; and we are going to try and keep Luke rear facing until the age of 4 (our original goal was 3, but after reading more safety studies, we feel like we should try and get him closer to 4). To most, that seems incredibly excessive, but it works for us and I know that he is significantly safer this way (just look to the Swedes!). But, for this trip, he got to be forward facing. He was very excited for the first 30ish minutes of the drive, then started to get irritated that he couldn't see the people in the back seat. Based on my observations:

1. He is more comfortable rear-facing, I know lots of people wonder where kids put their legs, but he didn't know what to do with them just hanging down in front of him. Rear-facing, he either crosses them, lets them go perpendicular with the seat, or, throws them over the seat back, using the top of the seat like a foot rest (we took off the head rest to give him a better view). Forward facing, he just kept kicking my seat, which maybe he liked better, actually :)

2. The view is fine either way. He can see what we see as we see when forward-facing, but he can see all his siblings and has a clear view out the back rear-facing.

3. It was much nicer for me to have him forward-facing. He was easier to buckle, see and interact with. I liked looking back and seeing his sweet face and not the bulky back of the car seat. But, alas, for now, it is not meant to be and we have already reinstalled the seat in the van rear-facing.

He could get used to this...but, he won't. At least not for another year(ish).

Last Minute Vacay!

On Monday, as we were driving home from the city, Thomas remarked that it was getting close to the time we had gone to Florida last year. He had been reading up on the Spring Training games and was wishing we could go back. So, I asked the logical question, why can't we? Originally we couldn't go because I would be starting a new job around now. But, it is has been radio silence since the hiring freeze was announced. We started talking about schedules and when/if we could make it work. The only possible timing was if we left over the weekend. As in 4 or 5 days. To Florida. With 4 kids, one of whom is potty training. Seemed like a pretty crazy thing to try and do, but we were also excited by the idea. On Tuesday, Thomas checked in with work and was granted permission to take leave. He had just finished a week of depositions, so the timing was great. I called Marta to see if we could stay with her. She was happy to have us. Although, I felt pretty guilty since she just (as in 10ish days ago came to see us in Maryland on the premise that we wouldn't be down this year). Slowly, or quickly, depending on how you look at it, a plan was formed.

Our 3rd graders had papers with an oral report due on the 27th, so we made them finish ahead of time and deliver their reports on Thursday. They had to report on an African American they admire. Jack chose Jackie Robinson and Anna chose Shirley Chisholm. I had never heard of Shirley, but she was the first female African American to serve in Congress, she was an author and an educator and even ran for President! I also learned some interesting things about Jackie Robinson; he did a lot more than just break the color barrier in baseball. He spent his whole adult life fighting for equal rights, he was even discharged from the Army after one too many instances of working for equality, the tipping point being his refusal to sit in the back a on-post bus. Two remarkable Americans I was happy to learn more about. They had to dress the part, so Jack wore one of his baseball uniforms and Anna wore what we call "the lawyer dress" with a "pearl" necklace. Both felt it went well, and it was one less thing to worry about.

Apparently, if you are out for longer than 5 days, your school absence receives an additional level of scrutiny. We were pulling them out for 6. So, I had to send an e-mail to the Principal as to why I was doing this. But, I think seeing family is always a good reason, especially a father who is turning 75 in a few weeks (we are doing an early celebration while here). All the kids do well in school and we got some work to bring with us, so it was fine.

The driving down was not as fun as normal. We left just before 2AM, but none of the older kids fell back asleep. Luke dozed off and on throughout the day. The potty training part made it difficult. Four times, he cried because he needed to go potty. For two of them, we weren't anywhere near a place to stop. We gave him permission to use his pull-up, but he didn't want to and cried. Finally, he would hold our hand and go, but it was a tough situation. The bathrooms we encountered all, well, all except one, had automatic flush, which our kids have universally hated during the potty training phase. I need to remember to get post-its to cover those sensors. They always flush while he is sitting, which of course, completely disrupts his flow and freaks him out.

Driving through Florida was miserable. So much traffic from pretty much the time we entered the state. Orlando was especially bad, which I think is exacerbated by the fact that it is at the end of the drive. It took us 2 hours longer this trip than it did last time, due to more potty breaks and more traffic. But, we are here!

Tradition to have a picnic at the Welcome Center. I wanted the sign in the background, which means the people are in the shadows. Photography is not my forte.

We must do these signs everytime

But, this year, there was a new one too!

We drove straight to my dad's house yesterday and spent several hours with him before coming to Marta's to call it a night. Everyone else is still asleep, which is nice--they need it and it gives me time to do this blog uninterrupted. I am happy to be here and there was something fun about a spontaneous trip, but I definitely prefer planning. Primarily, because the people we want to see all have lives and plans that can't be changed at the last minute, just because someone decides to visit. Like today, my sister is in a mandatory training all day. That can't be helped. It also means that we didn't plan ahead to contact some close friends we would normally try and visit with. But, some time is better than no time and I am sure we will have a good visit.

Today, we are going to spend the day with Marta's family. Well, most of us are. Thomas and Kara have plans for a baseball game. I think the rest of us might go to the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa. Tomorrow, we are having the birthday dinner for my dad and I will see my sister's family and my brother (we may see them tonight too, stay tuned tomorrow to see how this all plays out).

President's Day Weekend and Lots of Adventures

We were blessed with beautiful weather coinciding with a 3-day weekend and we took full advantage! Saturday, we had plans to visit my brother and his family. He moved to Northern Virginia last year and is living in Herndon. He expects that they will return to England in the next year or two, so we are enjoying having them close while we can. Since they live so close to the Bull Run National Park, we decided to make a day of it by seeing the park in the morning and visiting with my brother in the afternoon. Everyone was in a good mood and happy to be outside. It was a beautiful place with numerous well-marked trails. We spent a couple of hours enjoying a short site walk and then headed to Jim's house. Jack would like it known that this is his favorite of the battlefields we have visited (which, is actually saying something, because we have visited a lot!).

There were lots of marker posts, one cool thing was that they told a story in chronological order.

My sister-in-law, Sheryl, made a fantastic lunch and the kids enjoyed visiting with their cousins. Jessica is 15 and is super sweet to the kids. She let them play in her room and showed them her pets and was just generally awesome to them. Their other daughter, Emily, wasn't feeling very well, so we didn't see quite as much of her, but of course, the kids enjoyed being with her too.  After lunch, we walked to a small park near their house and Jim made up obstacle courses for the kids.  Jack wasn't much of a participant, but everyone else really enjoyed the competition. Luke was especially into it and tried to imitate everything the older kids did. It was funny. We left their house around 4 and headed home, stopping at Cafe Rio in Waldorf for dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures with Jim and Sheryl, I left my phone/camera in my purse and didn't take it out the whole time we were there.

Sunday was another beautiful day and we went to a local park. We did a 2.5 mile hike around the lake and then head a picnic lunch at the playground. We bribed the kids with a "surprise" if they didn't complain during the hike. Not only did they not complain, but they really enjoyed it. The only surprise I had to offer was a single Hershey bar, that we divided up among the kids. It was another wonderful day.

Monday, we took the metro into DC for a spontaneous museum visit. We went to American and Natural History. We have found that the best way for our family to visit the museums is to go in with a somewhat specific plan. We don't try and see everything, we pick a couple of areas and leave before people get tired. We had thought we would also walk over to the Jefferson Memorial, but called it a day after the two museums. Once again, I didn't think to take pictures, but I did capture these cute pictures, just as the metro was leaving a station.

Everyone was well-behaved and cooperative all weekend. It was nice to have them "go with the flow" and enjoy the moments as they approached.

Kara's Birthday!

Kara turned 8 on Sunday. Last year, she planned on having a party at Pump it Up, but we got snowed out. So, she really wanted to try again this year. The party was planned for Saturday afternoon, February 11th.

But, before I get to that, about a month ago, my good friend Marta asked when she could come up for a long weekend. I suggested she fly up for Kara's birthday weekend. She and her daughter, Elizabeth, arrived Thursday afternoon.  We stopped for a late lunch at Cafe Rio, making it home just in time to greet the kids as they got off the bus. On Friday, the kids stayed home from school. We went to the Calvert Marine Museum and Chick-Fil-A.

It was cold and windy, but we still saw the lighthouse.

Luke wouldn't be in the group photo, but he was there :)

As you may recall from my previous blog, we were all sick a couple of weeks ago with a stomach bug. Shortly after my posting, Jack and Thomas got sick making us 6/6. However, everyone was back to school/work and no one had thrown up in a while and I genuinely thought we were over it. I had washed all bedding and towels and lysoled the house. So, imagine my surprise when on Friday night, Elizabeth mentioned her stomach hurt. Apparently, we were still contagious, because Elizabeth spent the night vomiting. I felt awful! I didn't even warn them what they could be walking into. I really thought we were done with it. Unfortunately, that meant that she and Marta missed the party on Saturday. By Sunday, Elizabeth was feeling a bit better, but Marta was sick. The worst of the bug passes in 24-hours, but they were pretty miserable for the remainder of their visit.

Thomas and I took the kids to the party Saturday afternoon. The stomach bug was also making its way through the school and a few of Kara's friends had to miss the party. But, we still had a good crowd and it meant that some others could bring siblings. Kara had a blast! She loved jumping and playing with her friends and the place did a good job of making her feel special. We served snacks and cupcakes and let her open her presents there. Opening presents in front of your guests seems to have fallen out of favor at most parties we attend, but our kids are always disappointed when they don't see their gift unwrapped, so we decided to go old-school. Two hours after it began, the party was over. One of Kara's school friends was kind of crying as she walked out with her parents and I asked if something had happened to upset her. Her mother said, "no, she had just been looking forward to this all week and is sad it is over." It did go by pretty quickly and I think most people had fun. I was sad Marta and Elizabeth missed it as I was looking forward to introducing them to some of my friends.

They had added some new attractions since the last time the kids were there.

This one was a huge hit

Sunday, Kara wanted to stay home, which was probably a good thing with our guests in recovery mode. I used the day to work on her cake. This year, she wanted a cookie dough cake. I made cookie butter frosting, a chocolate cake and eggless cookie dough to add to the frosting between layers. The cookie butter frosting was a bit strong (it tasted like graham crackers), so I used left over buttercream from the Saturday cupcakes for the exterior. Then, we baked the extra cookie dough to make cookies to decorate. For the final step, I melted chocolate and drizzled it on top. It was fun to make and tasted great. Although, a little went a long way.

This is what it looked like between layers, frosting and raw cookie dough.

Kara wearing her gift from Anna with her birthday cake.

Kara also opened her family presents that night. We have recently started giving the kids an allowance and Jack and Anna used their own money to buy her presents, which made it more meaningful for all 3 of them. I think it meant more to Kara to know they bought the gifts and the kids were definitely more invested. Jack got her an amiibo (for the Wii) and Anna got her a running sweatshirt with thumb holes (the thumb holes are the most integral part). Thomas and I gave her a globe.

Monday, the kids went to school. It was Luke's preschool party, so we dropped him off and then Marta and Elizabeth packed. Marta wanted to go the bead store (she likes to make jewelry), so we went there and then stopped in for Luke's party. We again stopped in Waldorf for lunch, this time Ghengis Grill, before I dropped them off at the airport. Neither was 100%, but they were well enough to fly home. We really enjoyed their visit and everyone was sad to see them go. Hopefully, they don't carry the virus to Florida!

Not only do we miss Marta and Elizabeth, we miss the awesome hairstyles they created for the girls while they were here.

Sick Kids and a Sick Mom

Luke started complaining his stomach hurt on Wednesday. He wanted to be held all the time and was just miserable. He started vomiting that afternoon. He woke up seemingly better on Thursday and didn't throw up the entire day. Then, it started again on Friday. Ugh! Nothing like thinking a child is recovered and then watching them get sick again. Last night (Friday night), Anna came to us around 10:30 saying that she had been sick and wasn't feeling well. Thomas and I agreed that he would take duty until 2:30 and then I would take over for any issues after that. So, he sat with her for a long time. Poor Anna does not handle being sick well. Like all of us, she hates being sick, and she wants everyone to understand just how miserable she is. She finally fell asleep just before midnight.

At 2, a flashlight shined in my eyes. It was Kara. She had been sick and needed her sheets changed. I debated waking Thomas, since technically it was still his duty time, but it didn't seem fair after he had spent so long with Anna; I decided to go it alone. Sweet Kara felt bad and kept asking what she could do to help. She had already stripped part of her bed. We cleaned everything up and she went back to sleep.

I couldn't fall back asleep. Why? Because my stomach hurt. At 4AM, I fell as the 4th stomach bug victim of 2017. So, it is Saturday. Luke is better and all the females of the house are sick. Kara seems to have it the worst. Thomas took care of everyone while I took a 2.5 hour nap, which has helped me tremendously. I am hoping he and Jack will manage to avoid this one. The odds for Jack are good, he plays with Luke a lot, but mostly outside. He is very good about hand washing and avoiding other people's food and drink. The girls love to kiss and snuggle with Luke, so it wasn't too surprising that they got sick.

Being sick always reminds me how lucky we are to be generally healthy. Good health always tops my list of things to be thankful for and my list of what I request for the future. Although, these minor illnesses are just inconveniences, it will be nice when it passes. Hopefully, no one is afflicted when Thursday comes around. My good friends Marta and Elizabeth (Marta's daughter) are coming to visit. Marta was looking for a date to come up for a long weekend visit and decided to make it during Kara's birthday weekend. We are all very excited to see them! We had to cancel Kara's party last year because of snow, so I am really keeping my fingers crossed that it can go off as planned this year.

So, in summary. We are sick, but not too sick, for which I am very grateful :)

Patient 0. He had to be with me at all times, hence the nap in my bed.

Poor, miserable Kara.

Only benefit of being sick? Unlimited electronics.