Quarantine Week 2

It's not really a quarantine, since we can still leave the house if necessary. But, last week, we completed our second week of "self-distancing." Thomas and I worked from home 5 days in a row. We gave the kids a list of things they had to accomplish each day. It was 45 minutes of a school-approved math program; read for 30 minutes (not really an issue, our older kids frequently read for hours); make sure their rooms are clean; do one thing to make the house a better place; and 1 hour of physical activity. We had mixed success. One day, we made up a point system. But, that was met with surprisingly intense anger by one child (and, not the child you might guess). So, then we just did a schedule. Which was better received, but did not yield as great a result. We made it through the week, but everything will be different next week anyway, since the kids start distance learning.

Working from home is going okay. I like that I can take lots of breaks. As long as I get in 8 hours, it doesn't matter what hours (although, I frequently have scheduled phone meetings, so it's not 100% flexibility). I generally start at 6 and end between 4 and 5. One day, Thomas and I did a lunchtime swim with the kids. On Thursday, I even ran to Walmart. And, I often take a break at 8 and do a 30-minute bike ride with whoever is up and interested. I just make sure to keep track of my hours.

No one seems too bothered by the staying in part. In fact, I asked Luke if he missed Disney World, or if he was happy staying home everyday and he said it was a tough choice, but he thinks staying home is better. I think most of the kids would rather be at school, but obviously there are things they love--like getting up whenever they want and wearing pajamas all day (Luke will literally change to go outside and then put pajamas back on).

We have now watched 9 of the Star Wars movies. Just 2 to go! It has been fun seeing them in order. I will wait until I see the last 2 before ranking.

My dad's birthday was Tuesday and my brother Kevin's was Friday. Both live in Winter Haven. These were exactly the kind of events that we were looking forward to celebrating together when we moved here, but my dad is (now) 78 and we don't want to expose him to anything, so it will have to wait. We are taking social distancing seriously and have not socialized with anyone outside of the immediate family.

I still think the most frustrating thing is a lack of new information. Other than the number of cases increasing exponentially, there isn't much new information. I don't know if the flattening of the curve is working. I thought we would know more today than we did two weeks ago and I don't feel like that is the case. There is still so much uncertainty and I would really like concrete answers. But, I guess it is better to live with the unknown than to have false information.

Let me see if I can come up with 5 positives from the week:

1) The teachers did a car parade through the neighborhood on Tuesday. We saw Luke's teacher, but did not see either of Kara's. It was fun to stand outside and wave. They drove through with signs telling the kids they missed them and honking their horns. There are a lot of teachers! It was a nice gesture.

2) Our neighborhood did an "Animal Safari". We rode our bikes around and saw tons of stuffed animals in people's yards and porches. Some people did funny scenes, like a circus scene complete with tent and another with animals "playing" on a toy slide. It was really cute and fun.

3) Jack finally sang with us for karaoke. I had to bribe him, but he did it! And, he has a good voice. Who knew?

4) Jack, Anna and I found a bike route that is almost exactly 5 miles and takes us 30 minutes.

5) We have everything to live at home as long as necessary. We have steady employment, food to eat and a comfortable home to live in.

Every single picture I took this week is below:

My Sunshine Bear and a new one I found for Luke (both made in the early 80s). My Sunshine has been through a lot! That could be a whole blog in and of itself. 

Luke with a "reverse mohawk". He likes his hair really short. 

We got the cars washed, they were disgusting. 

Luke singing Karaoke.

Day 7 of Self-Distancing

We are now on our 7th day of social distancing. It has been both harder and easier than I thought. The social distancing itself is not too bad. But, I am starting to feel emotional unease from all of the unknowns. Some reports say that this could go on as long as 18 months! I don't think that is realistic or likely, but, I want to know a concrete plan. I want information, but the information I am getting is scattered and inconsistent. And, I hate relying on others to do the right thing. I see tons of kids playing together in the parks (close games like basketball where large groups are within inches of each other). On Wednesday, I had to go into work. I was looking forward to a light traffic day. But, until I got close to work, which is right near the shuttered UCF, it felt like a normal Wednesday. I always hated group assignments because people never seemed to do what I thought they should be doing. Frankly, I would rather just do it all myself. And, in this instance that is not possible, we need global cooperation and I'm not seeing it. It makes me feel bitter, almost like the examples of socialism. The "bad" are counting on the "good" to provide enough of a buffer for everyone or, maybe more likely, they just don't feel personally invested enough to make changes.

Of course, I am still seeing plenty of good--the people who go to work everyday so we have groceries and others offering help to those in need. Maybe this will be an opportunity for all of us to pull closer together?

I do like teleworking. I have always enjoyed working from home and find that I am just as productive from my comfy chair as I am from my office. Previously, I have only teleworked when I had a reason, typically an event with the kids where I wanted to take a few hours off in the middle of the day. So, this all day every day is completely new. I enjoy not getting dressed and we are saving so much time by not having to commute. We are fortunate that 3/4 of our kids are self-sufficient. And, the 3/4 can help with the 1/4 that is not. Last week was Spring Break and the kids have one more week before their digital school starts. Once that happens, we have a schedule planned where Thomas and I will space out our work days so that one of us can help with school between 10-2. Then, one of us will be off work by 4. I think it will work well.

The kids have adjusted fairly well. Anna, Kara and Luke have been spending a lot of time in the pool. I would estimate around 3 hours a day for the girls and a little less for Luke. Occasionally Thomas, Jack and I join in and the six of us (or, some combination thereof) swim together. Or, more accurately have contests to see who can make the biggest cannonball splash, knock each other off floats, shoot waterguns, etc. Yesterday, I did laundry with 17 towels :) We are all reading a lot and have started watching Star Wars. We are going to watch the 11 movies in 11 days (the 9 movies plus Rogue One and Solo). We are two days in.

We have also done daily bike rides, which I really enjoy. Our neighborhood is great for riding bikes. Friday, we delivered a birthday present to one of Luke's friends via bike and got trapped in his gated community. The gated neighborhoods here are weird. The gates aren't manned, they rely on people stopping, talking to a guard via some sort of intercom, and inserting their license. We did all that, the gate opened and we rode into the neighborhood. Then, when it was time to leave, our bikes weren't big enough to trigger the gate to open. I assumed we could go out one of the walking gates, but they were locked from the inside as well (maybe to prevent people from reaching in to open them?). Fortunately, we did not have to wait long before someone came along and helped us out. But, that was the excitement for the day.

So, we are spending our days reading, riding bikes, swimming, playing games, singing karaoke, and doing electronics.

Social Distancing and Luke's Birthday!

I have decided to call Monday Day 1 of our social distancing. On Saturday, we went to the library to stock up on books. That was a good thing, because they are now closed, so at least we got some new reading material while we had the chance. Sunday, Luke went to one of the pocket parks and had a water gun fight with a few of his kindergarten buddies. We figured it was safe, since they would be outside and presumably keeping a safe distance, but the kids hugged and did not maintain a 6-foot radius, so unfortunately, they will be stuck with only their siblings from here on out.

Monday was our first day of self-imposed quarantine. Thomas had to go to work and I teleworked. The kids were really good. I only scheduled myself for 6 hours, but they really entertained themselves. Thank goodness for the pool because Luke and the girls spent hours in there! I tried to go in in the afternoon, but it was cold! The pool thermometer says 74 and when I was a teenager, I would go in our pool once it hit 68, but I am getting soft in my old age!

Tuesday was Luke's birthday. I had a full day of work thanks to a previously scheduled all-day teleconference. But, I got up early and got his cake in the oven. Thomas still had to go the office (telework for him began Wednesday). Luke came downstairs around 7 and announced he had been up since 530 because he was just so excited! I felt pretty bad, knowing that his birthday would not be nearly as special as we would have liked (we both had to work and no friends allowed). But, we tried to make it nice. We let him start the day with ice cream and chocolate chip eggos, complete with whipped cream. He spent a lot of time in the pool again and one of his friends left him a surprise on the porch. He also Facetimed with a few people.

After I was done with work, we went on a bike ride. We rode through all the pocket parks playing cops and robbers. One of us would be the cop and try and catch the robber as the robber took crazy twists and turns through the park. The parks were empty and it was fun.

His chosen birthday dinner was Wendy's, but because we aren't leaving the house, we did chicken nuggets and french fries. He wanted an Oreo cake and it came out really delicious, the recipe I used is my new favorite chocolate cake (the Oreos were incorporated into the frosting). We facetimed with Marta and Frank who joined us in singing happy birthday. We had his cake then he opened his gifts--a tree swing and some outdoor toys. He also had cards with cash from Grandpa Lou and Ms. B.

As is usual, I didn't take many pictures.

So, Luke is officially six. He is still a joy. He is very smart and kind. He reads really well and understands simple multiplication and other math concepts. For example, he is excellent at counting money. I gave him a jar of coins and it kept him occupied for a long time as he successfully counted over $50 in change (Jack helped him toward the end, he is good, but I am not sure if he could have kept track of that much). He (mostly) gets along well with his siblings and is very social. He loves to play with friends. He also loves to dance. He enjoys playing games, but his favorite thing is still sports. From practically the moment he was born, his favorite toy was a ball and it has never changed. We sure love him and are glad he is in our family!

COVID-19, Thoughts on March 16

Friday was supposed to be the first day of Spring Break. We had some work and some fun planned. Our first adventure was Thursday night. We wanted to go to Hollywood Studios so everyone could experience the newest ride, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (MMRR). Thomas and I had some mild debate, but I had left work early and really wanted to go and give our Spring Break a good start. So, we did. And, we had a lot of fun. We rode Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, MMRR, and ended the night with the family favorite--Slinky Dog. That was the day when everything became much more serious--all major sports announced closings, colleges switched to virtual learning and things just got more real. While in line for Slinky Dog, a castmember told us that Disney had just decided that Sunday would be their last day of operation.I wish I could say it was my moment of clarity, when I decided to take things seriously, but, alas, I am a little slow.

Thirty days prior to Friday (the first scheduled day off from school) I had gotten fastpasses for all the "mountains" at the Magic Kingdom (Space, Big Thunder, and Splash). Thomas didn't think it was a good idea to go, but we had so much fun the night before and I wanted to do it again. So, we did. But, first we went to SeaWorld for a few hours and then headed to the Magic Kingdom. It was a truly awesome Orlando day.  And, we had a great time. There were some hand sanitizers set up around the park and we saw one portable hand-washing station, but not much else. We had a fun night and rode most of our favorite rides. The crowds were pretty heavy, I guess lots of people wanted to get in some Disney time.

We got home late and Thomas and I caught up on the news of the day. And, we decided to finally start our social distancing. My dad was supposed to watch the kids on Saturday while Thomas and I went to a Spring Training game. But, the game was cancelled. My dad still wanted us to come over, but he will be turning 78 next week and it just felt too risky.

I had thought maybe we would do one of the parks each night beginning Thursday and even though the kids really wanted to, we finally put our foot down and started our time at home. Originally, Thomas and I were supposed to attend a conference this week. It was canceled. So, I arranged to telework Mon-Wed (we were supposed to go to Charleston on Thursday, but we will cancel that as well--lots of "supposed to" and "cancels" in this post). But, Thomas had to go to work today. It looks like the command will be instituting telework for all non-essentials beginning tomorrow or later this week. As part of the legal department, I imagine there will be lots for us to sort out. This is new territory after all.

Like this blog, my thoughts are a bit all over the place. It was a struggle to do our weekly grocery shopping and I have been dreaming about things like rolls of toilet paper and coughing kids. I am frustrated at our government. We saw what was happening in other countries and there should have been clear, concise, unequivocal direction to stay home. I feel like the seriousness of this virus and the impact it will have on our medical system was downplayed and we missed an opportunity to really get ahead of this thing. We have now prolonged the pain and made things so much worse. I am still seeing pictures on social media of crowded restaurants and malls.

It has also made me realize how quickly things can change and the interconnectedness of today's world and how powerless we really are. I am nervous for our country's economy and for the people whose livelihoods are threatened. I am sad for the kids who rely on schools for food and kindness and sad for the high school seniors and others who are having momentous occasions taken from then. I am frustrated at the people who are unwilling to make sacrifices for the common good. On the flip side, I am surprised at the level of power the government has and how easily most of us are willingly giving up freedoms we take for granted. So, so, so many thoughts and emotions.

I wonder when this will be a memory and what lessons I will learn. Will this change how we live our everyday lives? Does the knowledge that another virus, maybe one that combines the contagion of COVID-19 and the mortality rate of SARS, can strike at any time have greater impact now? Will there be permanent changes? My guess is no, but it will be interesting to see what I am writing in two weeks. I pray it will be that we acted swiftly enough that the impact in the US was minimal and we are on way to normalcy. Only time will tell.

Kara and Kori's 4-Park Disney Challenge!

On Monday, Kara's class had a field trip to Islands of Adventure. Kara wanted me to go as a chaperone, which I was willing to do, but it was $75 for Kara and $85 for me, so $155 for the day. I suggested that instead we have a day at Disney. When our Disney passes expire, we are likely going to do a year of Universal, so I wasn't super excited to spend so much money on those tickets. Fortunately, Kara thought Disney was a great idea. We decided to turn it into a four park challenge. We wanted to visit all 4 parks, riding at least one major ride, seeing one show, and eating one snack at each.

We decided to start at Hollywood Studios so that we could attempt to get boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance. In order to that, we left our house at 7, to make sure were were parked and in when they opened at 8.

The line to park, this was about halfway through

We made it by 7:45 and as soon as they opened the passes, I clicked furiously, but we got back-up boarding group 103. We rode Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, watched the new Mickey shorts film, and then had our snack. Kara got a root beer float and I got the french toast s'more sandwich from Woody's Toy Box. Then, it was time for the main event, the newest ride--Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Rail Train! We thought it was super fun! I had magically gotten a fast pass, which was nice, because the line was (of course) crazy long (it opened just a few days before our visit).

Photo op outside the Mickey and Minnie cartoon

Our terribly unhealthy breakfast. It was all delicious! 

I was skeptical, but the ride was really cute.

From there, we took the Skyliner to Epcot. On the way, I got a fastpass for Spaceship Earth.

Epcot was having their Arts Festival and we got some sort of smoothie from a festival stand, watched the movie in China (now, I want to visit), and then rode Spaceship Earth. Kara also wanted to ride Test Track, so we did the single rider for that.

Snack? Check!

Show? Check!

Bonus lunch in China? Check!

Major ride? Check!

From there, it was off to Magic Kingdom via monorail. I snagged a fastpass for Haunted Mansion. But, first we got our snack--a Mickey shaped rice krispy treat. Next, we did our show--Country Bear Jamboree. Then we noticed they were running empty cars on Splash Mountain. We headed over to check it out and hedged bets that the ride would reopen soon. And, it did! We walked on with just about a 5 minute wait. The park was crazy crowded, so we considered ourselves very lucky. We did Haunted Mansion and got our other snack--a Mickey shaped pretzel. By now, they were on boarding group 85, so we figured we needed to head back to Hollywood Studios. We took the bus.

Main street snack? Check!

Show? Check!

Snack #2? Sure, why not!

But, beware the hitchhiking ghosts!

When we got there, they were still stalled on group 85. We asked a guest services Castmember who told us that we were still on track to ride. The Indiana Jones Stunt Show was about to start, so we headed in. While there, we got notice that they were shutting down ROTR. It was frustrating because it was only 5:30 and the park didn't close until 8. They called up to group 98, so we missed it by 5. It was sad, but we enjoyed our great seats for the Stunt Show (they opened up a reserved section in the front, because the stadium was full, so we got lucky with second row seats). We hadn't seen the stunt show and it was fun to try another new thing. We both liked it.

After the stunt show, we drove to our final park, Animal Kingdom. I got lucky with fastpasses again and was able to get one for the Safari. There were no big shows left, so we grabbed our snack (a Mickey cookie) and did the Safari. It was a cool night and the animals were active, so that was really fun. Then, we did the only show available to us--It's Tough to be a Bug, I hadn't seen it since I was a teenager and all I remembered was I hated it! It wasn't as bad as my recollection, but definitely not a favorite. Kara thought it was okay.

Last snack of the day!

Bug glasses for our final show.

By now it was almost 9. I was t.i.r.e.d. But, Kara didn't want our day to end, she really wanted to ride Flight of Passage. So, of course, we did. We got in line around 8:45 and made friends with the people behind (two college students from Furman) and the people in front of us (a man and his college-aged son). We chatted and it made the 50 minute wait pass quickly. The sign had said 90, but we figured once they cut off the fastpass line, it wouldn't be too bad and it wasn't.

Last, but not least, in line for the final ride. 

We ended up walking around 15 miles and didn't get home until 10pm. We were there before opening and stayed past closing. What a day!

For our favorites:
Ride: We agree--Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Rail
Show: Kara said Indiana Jones Stunt Show; I have to go with my old favorite The Country Bear Jamboree
Snack: We agree again--the French Toast S'more sandwich

Winter Haven Double Date & More Volunteering

I feel like our weeks are pretty humdrum and then we have these amazing, eventful weekends. And, that is precisely what happened last week. Nothing eventful happened Monday-Thursday. Thomas and I went to work. The kids went to school. I have started giving the kids one dedicated hour each week. Monday is Luke; Tuesday, Kara; Wednesday, Jack; and Thursday, Anna. We have done it for a few weeks now. It takes place during the time when people are usually doing electronics or reading, so hopefully it isn’t taking away from other quality time. And, the three who aren’t having their night still have Thomas’ attention (for example, tonight he did homework with Anna). So far, I think it is well-received. For their time this week, Luke and I went outside to play and roller skate (he roller skated, I watched). Kara and I played Mario Kart 8 and then watched LegoMasters. Jack and I played Axis and Allies and Anna and I did at-home manicures. As they are getting older (especially the older 3), I am trying to make sure our connection stays strong. I had my first sad-mom-of-almost-teenagers-moment last week when Jack didn’t want me to go on a school field trip. I don’t know if this time will help, but hopefully it is another way to show my love and interest.

Friday night, there was an event at the elementary school. I took Kara and Luke. It is supposedly their best event of the year, but I did not enjoy it. I am sure people worked really hard, so I don’t want to complain, but I will not go to another school-wide evening event for a while. In fairness, this was the first year with a “new format,” so maybe there are kinks to work out?

Saturday, we went to Winter Haven. We stopped by my dad’s house, had lunch and visited with him and Maggie. Then, we dropped the kids off with Amanda and went to a play with Kim and Dave. The local theater was doing “Kinky Boots.” I have wanted to see it for a while and it did not disappoint! There were a couple of really amazing performers. There was one that both Thomas and I thought was comparable to people we’ve seen on Broadway. He is employed by Disney and performs at Animal Kingdom and as a Voices of Liberty singer. We are definitely going to keep an eye out for him in the parks!

The play was really good and I enjoyed the entire experience. At one point, I was talking to the people sitting next to me and got to mention that my nephew was working the spotlight. I felt really connected, like an actual local, I haven’t felt like a local to anyplace since I left for law school almost 20 years ago. So, that was super fun. Afterward, the four of us went to Red Lobster for dinner. While we were seeing the play and having dinner, the kids were eating pizza and hanging out with Amanda. Everyone had a good time. In fact, we are thinking of buying season tickets so we can repeat the experience on a regular basis.

Sunday, we had to drive to base to pick something up. Then, we drove around and looked at Oviedo. It kind of came down to Oviedo or Lake Nona when we were house hunting. Oviedo has better schools, and is closer to work, but could have been a longer commute depending on where we lived. It was also further from everything else (family, theme parks, baseball). I wanted to revisit the area. It was nice to drive around, but Thomas and I are happy with the decision we made.

Sunday afternoon, the girls and I had our March volunteer date at Give Kids the World. I didn’t want to go, but just like last time, I enjoyed the experience. We were in the café area again. But, this time it was an off-meal time. So, there were only a few volunteers scheduled. The girls helped the few families that came in, assisting them in the food line and with getting drinks. They also cleared the tables. While they did that, I spent about 45 minutes in the dish room (Anna also spent some time in the dishroom). The rest of the time, we folded rags. There seemed to be an endless amount. I can’t give a good estimate, maybe 750? We folded for about 90 minutes straight. But, it was laid-back and easy and felt like something that needed to be done, so I was happy to do it.

Anna in the dishroom

Some of the rags in the bottomless cart.

As we were leaving, Kara found this pretty rock. She rehid it on the grounds.

February Fun (ROTR, St. Augustine, Baseball)

February was a nice month for us. The weather was amazing and we spent a lot of time outside. Saturday, we had a family bike ride to Lake Nona. 

Family bike ride.

There's a really good view of planes landing from the lake (this is zoomed in a bit, but they're still really close). We had fun waving.

That afternoon, both of the girls got invited out by friends, Kara to the zoo and Anna finally got to go to Starbucks. Apparently, Starbucks is a big thing in middle school, talked about on a regular basis (at least according to Anna). Anna and I went together and met up with her friend and the friend’s mom. Anna had no idea what to get, and I had no idea how to advise her, so she got what her friend had. She sat at a table with her friend and I sat with her friend’s mom. I enjoyed talking with the mom, we actually had quite a bit in common and I enjoyed the visit. I am finding that all of the friends I am meeting in Florida are through the kids. My closest friend here (which is obviously a subjective term, we only talk while watching the kids play) is a mom of one of Luke’s classmates. The mom that Kara went to the zoo with is another acquaintance, and now I met someone through Anna. It’s kind of funny how that works. But, back to Starbucks. Anna’s opinion was that it is expensive and she doesn’t quite get what the fuss is all about. But, she also said she wants to go back, so who knows?

On Sunday, we finally went to St. Augustine. We have been talking about visiting almost since we moved here. Jack was especially anxious to see the oldest fort in America. It was about a 2-hour drive and we got there around 10:30. We started at the visitor’s center and then headed to the fort, Castillo de San Marcos, which was pretty awesome. It was completed in 1695, after taking 23 years to build. I always enjoy going to older buildings and structures and thinking about the people who designed and created them, without the use of any of our modern technology. The Castillo was no exception. It was made out of crushed shells, which we had never seen before. Apparently, they are almost impenetrable and would be like shooting something into thick foam. The design was amazing and we enjoyed walking around. We also got to see a canon demonstration, which was conducted in Spanish, since the Spanish were the occupants for most of the Castillo’s 325 year history.

In front of the old city gates.

On top of the fort.

More fort pictures.

I didn't get a picture of the outside, so I found this aerial view online.

Luke was super excited to find a painted rock.

After the Fort, we walked around the tourist area. We got lunch and popcorn and ice cream. We thought about doing some of the other touristy things (the Colonial Experience or a trolley tour), but both Thomas and I had headaches and the kids were fine with calling it a day. We figure we are close enough to go back. The only thing I didn’t like was there were a lot of smokers walking around. I wish they had designated smoking areas away from the pedestrian walkway (I’m pretty sure the smoke is what gave me a headache), but it is all outdoors, so I understand why people were walking and smoking. Regardless it was a nice day and I am glad we went.

In other news, Thomas has been to two Spring Training games. The first one was on Saturday, February 15^th (Spring Training Opening Day!) and he brought Jack. Then, my dad won tickets to Monday’s game (March 2^nd) and invited us. But, it seemed too stressful to cut the game time so close to school dismissal (it is an hour away with no traffic) so we decided Thomas should pull Kara out of school and go. Both days were beautiful weather and everyone said it was fun sitting outside and watching baseball. Thomas and I are hoping to go and see the Nationals versus the Tigers on the 14^th. Although, that will be a difficult game for me—I won’t know who to root for! I guess now that we are no longer Marylanders, they aren’t my home team anymore, so I can root for the Tigers without guilt. Hmm, that’s kind of sad for me.

Kara and Grandpa watching Tigers v. Red Sox

And, since I am going (sort of) in reverse order, on February 23^rd, we finally rode Rise of the Resistance. It is the newest Disney ride and has a crazy boarding pass system. You have to get to Hollywood Studios before the park’s official opening. Then, you have to scan into the park and be ready for park opening time to quickly grab an electronic “boarding pass,” to get a time for the ride. They only give out a certain number each day. Some are primary and then they have a “back-up group”. If you are in a primary group and don’t get called, they will give you a fastpass for another day. If you are in a back-up group and don’t get called, you are out of luck. So, we arrived around 7:30 and were in the park by 745. Then, we went and stood in a very long line for Toy Story Land. Probably about 50% of the tens of thousands of people were in line for Galaxy’s Edge, 30% for Toy Story and 20% for Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster. As soon as 8 hit, Thomas and I anxiously began trying to score a boarding pass. He got one on his phone for us—group 56, a primary group (our day 64 was the cutoff). We were lucky we had both our phones, because by the time the “join boarding group” button lit up for me, they were already on back-up groups. The primary groups were gone in literally seconds.

We were so excited!

We planned on riding Slinky Dog, but the wait was already 90 minutes (and remember, the park had just opened!). Fortunately, Toy Story Mania was only 25 minutes, so we did that. We did a few other things and then met up with my friend who was there with her daughter (the friend I mentioned earlier who I met through Luke. He actually met the mom when she came to the school and somehow discovered she lived on the street catty-corner to us, then he described our house and convinced her to knock on our door at 5:30 that night—which she did J). Anyway, Luke rode Star Tours with them, we all did the Muppet Show then had lunch together. While having lunch, our boarding group was called. We were super lucky, some days the ride breaks down and people wait hours and hours. But, we also had a fastpass for Rockin Rollercoaster. I can take or leave that ride, and Luke isn’t tall enough, so Thomas took the other 3 and Luke and I had a more leisurely lunch with our friends. It was Kara’s first time on RnR and she liked it! She has done bigger roller coasters, but is still nervous about new ones.

Luke and Beya waiting for the Muppets 4D

After that, we finally got to ride Rise of the Resistance. It. Was. Amazing. I still cannot believe how amazing it was, we were all in awe. Well, Thomas and I were in awe. I think the kids were impressed, but not as impressed as we were. There are plenty of pictures and spoilers out there, so I won’t give a description. But, I will just say, it wasn’t so much a ride (although, it is a ride) as an experience. I think about how they could build the Castillo de San Marcos without modern technology. This ride is an example of what you can build with modern technology. I don’t know if it will still be as impressive the second or third time when we know exactly what will happen, but I look forward to finding out. Well, maybe finding out. I am not sure if we will be able to ride again before our passes expire—but, I sure hope so!

Waiting in line

My one inside picture. 

That wraps up our fun February, well, plus one March baseball game.