Jack and Anna are Twelve! (and a date night)

Jack and Anna turned 12 on Thursday! Twelve seems so much older than 11 and it is crazy that they are now middle-schoolers. Time is definitely going by quickly! It is fun to see them getting older and watch their more adult personalities develop.

Last Saturday, we had (most) of our local family over. Kim, Dave, JD, Amanda, my dad, Frank and Marta were all able to come. Unfortunately, Kevin and Maggie could not. They got here around 1130 and we had pulled pork for lunch. The kids swam and had fun together.

Kids hanging in the pool. Anna thought it was too cold and got out pretty quick (it was 90 degrees out...)

She went in and got dressed. Thomas told her he would give her $10 if she cannonballed in the pool with her clothes on. She's no fool, she jumped right in! But, it wasn't a cannonball, so Thomas made her do it again, then paid her $10.

Luke thought it looked fun, so he jumped in fully clothed too! (and, no one even offered to pay him).

My dad had ridden with Kim and he hadn't slept well the night before, he was tired so half our guests left after cake. Marta offered to take JD home, so he stayed and we played Harry Potter Clue and hung out for a few more hours. It was a really nice day and we enjoyed having everyone over.

Publix makes amazing cakes!

Kara loves Harry Potter Clue (and Grandma Marta)

On their actual day, we let Jack choose dinner. He opted for Wendy's and Jeremiah's (an Italian Ice place). I forgot my phone, so no pictures. Sunday, we had Anna's chosen dinner of cheese fondue and Jack's chocolate birthday cake. Anna also wants to go to Busch Gardens. We were going to do that over the weekend, but it was still over 90 degrees in Tampa, so we convinced her to wait a week or two (I hope!). Instead, we went to Sea World. Thomas, Anna, Jack and I all tried Manta, one of 3 big roller coasters. I did not like it; it lays you on your stomach and it was too disconcerting to have all my body weight on the restraint the whole time. But, the others enjoyed it. We also got to ride Mako, which I love.

As a family, we did Journey to Atlantis. Kara was scared to try it, but I made her ride and she was glad I did. I would never force her on a major roller coaster, but sometimes she needs a little push on the medium kind of rides (which she always likes!). We also did their river raft ride--three times in a row! We were all completely soaked. That line really builds up later in the day, so we got lucky. However, our favorite thing was probably seeing the penguins. They are just so fun to watch! Maybe next time I will actually take some pictures (but, probably not). Finally, we did the trick-or-treat trail, which was cute. It was a fun way to spend a few hours, even though we didn't see any shows. I definitely want to do that soon. But, it is hard to tear people away from the rides. We only live 20 minutes away (coming home, 25 to get there), so it is super easy to just go for a few hours.

Only picture I took all day (and, only because Kara asked)

So, it was a fairly laid-back birthday. As mentioned, both kids are definitely maturing. I am not sure I like all the changes. They both seem to be becoming more quiet as they get older. I still think of Jack as the little kid who would talk to anyone and everyone. Now, he is far less outgoing and a definite introvert. He loves to read and play video games. He still enjoys History, but I am not sure he is as passionate about it as he used to be. Anna is also quieter and enjoys reading. She has made several friends in Florida, enjoys being part of a group, and is always ready for an adventure.

In other news, Thomas and I had our first date night since moving to Florida! We actually found a babysitter through the YMCA. She is one of the counselors there and a senior in college. It was nice going through the YMCA, because she knows the kids (from summer camp and before/after care) and we know she has been background checked and trained in first aid.

For our date, we went to Howl-O-Scream in Tampa. We got there around 3 on a Friday afternoon and the park was empty. We rode a few rides and walked around while waiting for the nighttime events.  We bought a dinner package, which had all-you-care-to-eat food from 6-7 then, from 7-8:30, included front of the line passes for all the haunted houses! That was the main reason we bought it and it worked out perfectly. We had our dinner and then did all 6 haunted houses without waiting in any lines. The park got much more crowded as the night went on. Fortunately, we also had a few front of the line passes from a promotion a month or so again, so we rode three more rides without waiting. My favorite was the back row of Cheetah Hunt in the dark. It was really fun to feel like VIPs all night. I enjoyed the haunted houses, there was nothing super scary, but the scenes were elaborate and well-themed. I had a great time. Thomas doesn't really like those kind of events, but went because I wanted to. I don't like scary movies, but I do enjoy a good (fake) haunted house and it was so nice to spend time together in a fun environment (we spend lots of time together at work, but that's not really fun).

I took this picture to send to the kids. Also, the only picture of the night.