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.