Ice Cream, Baseball, and Getting Older

I constantly have great blog ideas, then when I decide to sit down and write, I draw a blank. But, there is one thing I know I wanted to mention. On July 20, we decided to go to a Flying Tigers game. The minor league games here don't seem to have the great promotions we were used to in Maryland. The Blue Crabs and Baysox had frequent, awesome theme nights (Harry Potter! Star Wars!) and fireworks on a weekly basis. But, this particularly game did have a promotion we could not pass up--all you could eat ice cream! The ice cream was offered between 4:30-6:30. The game wasn't supposed to start until 6, but then they were forced into a double-header due to a rain out the night before. We were excited to get there at 4:30 to see the game and eat some ice cream. Unfortunately, we finally experienced the terrible I-4 traffic we hear so much about. It was stop and go in Orlando. And, when we were finally clear of that, there was an accident that caused miles of back-up. That one was especially annoying because it wasn't blocking our side of the road, people just slowed to a crawl to look.

But, we still managed to get there around 5. We weren't sure what the ice cream entailed, so we had warned the kids to be moderate in their expectations. However, it was great! It was a separately ticketed event, so they gave us a bracelet into the third base concourse and told us it really was all-you-can-eat, we were free to enter as many times we wanted until 6:30. They had 5 different vendors: Publix, Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, an ice cream food truck, and a shaved ice stand. We didn't know where to start! Over the course of 2 hours, the kids tried them all. My favorite was the shaved ice, it was the best I've ever had! We had a couple of rounds and then watched some of the game. Our seats were close to the ice cream, so we let the kids go back whenever they wanted. And, they definitely took advantage! It was really fun. Jack said it was the best thing we've done in Florida (and, he went to Universal with Express passes!). The ice cream part was a huge success, unfortunately, the game entered a rain delay about halfway through. We waited around for a little while, but ultimately decided to leave.

I thought I took a lot of pictures, but this was it :)

The 21st was my 42nd birthday. I didn't mind turning 40, but 41 and 42 have bugged me a bit. I am not happy with the changes I am seeing in the mirror. There are new wrinkles and even an age spot. But, I try to remind myself to be thankful for good health and a body that lets me do what I need. Of course, I do need to lose weight, but that has been an issue for years. I am hoping I can have a renewed focus on health this year. I have fallen out of my exercise routine since we moved and I really want to get back on it.

Thomas' birthday was the 23rd. He wanted to go to a baseball game, preferably the Tampa Bay Rays. He was going to go on Saturday, but then he couldn't get tickets, so we settled for the Tigers. It turned out there was a glitch with the ticketing, so he could have gone, but it ended up working out, since everyone loved the ice cream so much. For my birthday, I wanted to spend the day at Magic Kingdom, but I decided to put that off a week, so that we could do the baseball game while they had the fun ice cream promotion. Thomas left for a training on my actual birthday and was gone all week. So, his birthday was spent alone in South Carolina.

In other news, we are (almost) down to our last two weeks of summer break! School here starts on August 12th. We have gotten everything Kara and Luke need, but won't get supply lists for Jack and Anna until they get their class schedules at meet-the-teacher-night, which I think is August 6th. Everyone still misses Maryland. Except Luke, he only misses the playset and says he would even trade the pool if we could have it back. It makes me feel guilty. Yesterday, Jack and Anna had a field trip to Animal Kingdom. Yet, when they got in the car, Anna commented on how she had fun, but still really wishes we could move back to Maryland. Then, Jack said, "yeah, me too." I know it has only been two months, but if they are thinking that way after a field trip to Animal Kingdom, there is no hope in the foreseeable future. Maybe in a year or two. They like being near family and the theme parks, but it's not enough to overcome that Maryland was home and Florida just isn't. I like it here, but it is weighing on me that everyone else (except Luke) wishes they were somewhere else. Of course, I miss Maryland too. I miss our house (and the significantly smaller payment!) and my friends and my job. So, it has been difficult.

Work Travel and What I Missed

I had to go to Milton, FL, for work. Not the most glamorous of locations, but it was necessary. Originally, I was supposed to be out of town for 5 nights, but I was able to get it down to 2. Florida is big; despite staying in the same state, Milton is 450 miles from Orlando and in a different time zone. So weird!

I have a like/dislike (love/hate is too strong) relationship with travel. I like to see new places and learn more about my job, but I don't like to be away from home. I feel guilty leaving Thomas to do everything, and I don't like missing anything. This time, I missed swim team tryouts.

The YMCA in our neighborhood has a swim team. Actually, they have two, a competitive and a recreational. Anna, Kara and Luke all wanted to try out. Unfortunately, Anna's back hurt on the day of the tryouts, so she decided to wait a month. But, Kara and Luke tried. I thought that because it is a rec team, everyone who met the basic requirements would make it. But, apparently, I was very wrong. Thomas said 20-30 kids tried out and he only saw 2 make it. Fortunately, one of them was Kara. Luke was disappointed, but he is a fairly new swimmer, so it wasn't a huge deal to him. He may try again "in the future." I put that in quotes, because we had a whole conversation about what "in the future means." The coach told him he is great for his age, but he needs to work on side breathing before he is ready for the team. He has really developed into a good swimmer in a very short time. I am okay with not burning him out anyway--practices are three times a week! I am not sure if they have to go to all 3 or not, but that is a lot of swimming. Although, with thunderstorms, maybe they are lucky if they get one in. Kara is very excited and ready to get to started!

So, I missed swim tryouts, which was logistically difficult for Thomas and I was sad to not see it. Anna and Jack had a field trip to SeaWorld while I was gone. Jack had fun, Anna had a bit of bad luck. They didn't do much and waited a long time for one ride, which broke as they were sitting in it (the restraints wouldn't lock). Earlier in the week, Kara went to Legoland, she had a good time, but was disappointed that they didn't get to do very much. They were only there for a few hours and one of them was to eat lunch. She really wants to go back. Luke maintains his ongoing objection that his camp doesn't go anywhere, but he is still having fun.

We have continued with our Disney passes. A few hours each weekend at one of the parks. We went to Animal Kingdom last week. We tried the Safari, River Rapids, Everest and Dinosaur. Luke did not like Everest or Dinosaur. But, he really loved the Dinosaur play area. And, while everyone else rode Everest a second time, I took him on Triceratops spin and we met Donald Duck. His shoes had been hurting his feet, so I bought him some socks and he had picked Donald Duck, so he needed to show him. Donald was duly impressed.

While on Dinosaur, Thomas tried to recreate a picture he did with Jack back in 2013. Here's the original and the new one.

Yesterday, we tried out Hollywood Studios, we did Toy Story Mania, Star Tours and the Muppet 4D. It was too hot to sit and watch shows and the lines were too long to do anything without a fastpass. We had a final fastpass for Rockin Rollercoaster, but it was later at night and we decided to just leave. The park is under construction for the new Mickey and Minnie ride and Star Wars land, so it just wasn't fun to navigate. It will definitely be better when it is not as hot and crowded. Although, Toy Story Mania and Star Wars were great and I've always liked the Muppet Show. So, it wasn't a total loss.

Our kitchen is still under construction. I can't remember if I've written about that. But, we are gutting the kitchen. New floors, cabinets, counters, and backsplash (and, most appliances). We are also doing the floors in the family room, so everything from the family room and kitchen is shoved into the front room. We have no microwave or stove, so we have either been eating out, cooking in the skillet or grilling. It is only supposed to last 2 weeks, but I have a feeling it will go longer. The cabinets were supposed to be in on Friday, but already that has been postponed to Tuesday "or maybe next Friday." Ugh! I will do a complete post about it when it is all done.