A Drive, a Haircut, and More of the Same

Saturday: We were mostly lazy. Luke lost his sneakers, they are somewhere in the house, but I have no idea where. He has been wearing his old sneakers which are way too small and I thought we would have to wait for all of this to end to buy him some new ones. But, I had a targeted ad from Dick's on Facebook advertising cheap sneakers. They had some nice looking Reeboks on clearance for $13, regularly $40 or $50 (I can't remember which). They even had them in big kid sizes. Which was fortunate, because Kara also needed new sneakers and she liked the style and Anna left her sneakers in her gym locker. Since we are trying to exercise, good sneakers are kind of necessary and for that price, I was all in. They offered in-store pickup, but to get the sizes I needed, I had to go to two different stores. But, I was kind of excited about that, because I haven't ventured out of our neighborhood in a month and what else have I got to do? No one wanted to come with me, but I had a very enjoyable drive. I listened to an Office Ladies Podcast and enjoyed the light traffic. The first Dick's was at the Florida Mall. It was insane driving through that parking lot, on a Saturday no less, with no other cars! Very, very surreal.

The next stop was near Fashion Square Mall, a mere 20 minutes away. I had to head straight toward downtown and it was another fun drive. I recognized the area as where my brother Kevin went to his Navy A-school a million (well, roughly 25) years ago and where Thomas and I went to get our first military i.ds. I knew they had turned it into a posh Orlando suburb, so I did a short excursion to see if I could figure out where anything was, but I couldn't. However, I came out right near a Sweet Tomatoes and library we sometimes visit. It was fun to get a better idea of where things are in conjunction with one another. Normally, I would be routed on toll roads, but traffic was so light, I got to stay on the regular streets, which was helpful in learning my way around.

I also had my first Houseparty on Saturday to celebrate Sarah's birthday. It was fun to hang out and play games and see some faces I haven't seen in a while.

Sunday: We were determined to keep the kids off of electronics. We played games, including hide-and-go-seek, read, and had a really fun morning/afternoon.

Jack taught Kara to play Axis and Allies. It went well at first, Then, Kara angrily accused Jack of cheating and wouldn't listen to his explanation.  

Luke spent time practicing shoe tying and actually had some success! Then, he finished up all his school worksheets so he could go and knock on his teacher's door. I didn't realize why he was suddenly so intent on catching up on his school work and I felt bad about bothering her on a Sunday, but she assured me it was okay. He was super excited to show her how he could tie his sneakers. She was very kind to him, however, I am going to tell Luke that from now on, we will stick to the weekdays.

Shoe tying practice.

I took a short nap and when I got up, Thomas was cleaning and organizing the pantry. It was a big job and it is so nice to have everything organized and logically arranged.

Around 3:30, I decided everyone should experience the fun of a drive. We are still under a stay-at-home order, but are allowed to leave for essentials and I decided that Dairy Queen was essential (if they are open, they must meet the definition, right?). And, since there aren't any Dairy Queens nearby, we headed to International Drive. We haven't really been on I-Drive since we moved here, at least not the super touristy end. So, it was a good "destination". We saw 3 miniature golf places and some other cool things to check out--including Wonder Works, the upside down building we are super excited to visit, especially since they have $10 tickets right now. We got our Dairy Queen and enjoyed being out of the house. One of the really weird things about the drive was going by the airport and seeing the parked planes and the hundreds of thousands (at least that is what it looked like) rental cars just filling empty spaces. Crazy! It is was also weird not seeing any planes landing or taking off.

The kids waited in the car and we delivered their treats (Anna opted to stay home).

I didn't do my daily summary and thus I don't have much recollection of what we did during the week. I know there was work, bike rides and walks. On Wednesday, I was super excited to see Governor DeSantis' announcement regarding Florida's path forward. It started at 5 and he spent the first 30 minutes talking about how great Florida is doing and how wrong all the projections were. I actually know DeSantis from my JAGC days and I have been rooting for him to do well (not that we're friends, just an acquaintance from 15 years ago). But, what I really wanted was to hear the plan. Finally, he said Florida would enter Phase I on Monday, May 4th. Retail and restaurants can reopen with 25% capacity. Practically speaking, not much will change for my family. But, I am really hopeful it goes well and we can move onto Phase II in 2-3 weeks. I am anxious to resume visits with my family. Time will tell.

For dinner, Thomas grilled steaks and I made a fruit salad and mashed potatoes. It was delicious.

A meal that was unanimously enjoyed.

Today (Thursday), something major happened. Jack. Got. A. Haircut! His hair was a bit out of control. His sisters constantly begged him to get it cut, which may be why he resisted for so long. But, it finally reached a point where he could no longer stand it. I first attacked him with scissors, just for fun, as we knew Thomas would use the clippers. I am not good. After the haircut, Anna and I went on a walk and we called Elizabeth to wish her a happy birthday. We face-timed for about 45 minutes and it was so good to chat.

He has incredibly thick hair, I am sure it was uncomfortable. 

After my hack job with the scissors.

A refreshing buzz cut.

And, a few other photos from the week. Luke has been super interested in educational songs on YouTube. He loves anything with the planets and another one that goes through states and countries and names capitals. He will listen while he does his other work and sing along (loudly).

He also did this kids Mario themed workout a couple of times during the week.

A random picture of Anna hard at work.