Another Week or Two

I think it has actually been two weeks since I last wrote. We are still plugging along in this strange world. The girls and I went to Universal one afternoon. The boys didn't want to go and I didn't feel like staying home. They were doing a virtual queue for our favorite ride (Hagrid's), so we started in the other park and figured we would see if we could get one, but if not, that was fine too. I tried as we walked in and a time immediately popped up, but it only gave us an hour to get there. We rode one ride (Men in Black) and then took the Hogwart's Express over to Island's of Adventure. We rode Hagrid's and headed for the castle and just as we did, it started pouring! Not just rain, but "torrential downpour" (as Weather.com dubbed it. There had only been a 20% chance of rain when we left our house). We got inside and fortunately, the ride was down. It gave us a place to wait out the storm. It took about an hour for us to get off the ride and once we did, the rain was much more manageable. We decided to call it a wash and head home. But first, Kara wanted to buy a chocolate frog. Then, they both wanted a butterbeer. Then, they decided maybe it would be fun to do Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls. And, since they were already wet, why not try Bluto's Barges? And, oh look! The wait for the drop tower was only 5 minutes. Kara wasn't interested in that one, so I rode with Anna. Then, they were done. But, as we were walking out, Kara thought maybe she was ready to try the Hulk. And, they did (I happily held all the stuff). And, since she did that, maybe she could also do the drop tower? And, she did. And, by now the park was about to close. We got pizza in City Walk and headed home. It was a fun day. I was in the mood to just go with the flow and the girls had a good time trying new things. 

Heading from London to Hogsmeade

Everyone loves a frozen butterbeer!

Pesto and Margherita pizza. The Margherita was the favorite.

Friday night we continued the tradition of dinner at Sea World. We used the last of our free sample cards and had a fun time. They had some cute baby penguins, which I swear Thomas took pictures of, but they have disappeared. We got to talk to one of the animal specialists. We learned that the baby penguins have fur until they develop waterproof feathers. At SeaWorld, some of the penguins just don't like the water, which isn't a choice they have in the wild. If they want to hunt fish to live, they have to get wet. At SeaWorld, they will kind of give them a little push into the water once they have the feathers, but if they don't like it, they don't have to return. However, one of the babies already has a favorite spot in the water, which is unusual because it is so cold to them when they have fur. Regardless, it was fun to learn more.

This was the only picture of the day.

We went to Marta's house Saturday and Frank made us his famous ribs. They were amazing! We had fun swimming in the pool and I finally got to try Apples to Apples. It was fun! I didn't take any pictures. I really need to do a little better at that.

Luke got named Rocker of the Week for his class. I am super proud of how well he is doing. He scored in the 99th percentile on his math and reading placement exams and is just all-around good (most of the time). He wanted to be Link (from Zelda, Breath of the Wild) for Halloween and was super excited to get his costume. He was disappointed it didn't come with a sword or shield, but instead of getting mad or complaining, he decided to just make his own. He spent hours using cardboard to make a sword, shield, bow and arrow and some other weapon I am not familiar with. Jack has been teaching him about Middle Earth and how to play Axis and Allies. He is still little, but it is fun to see him growing and learning so many new things.

Store bought costume with homemade accessories.

Everyone else is doing well. The girls have gotten in the habit of going for a bike ride around dusk. It is nice that the weather is finally getting a touch cooler. Last night, all 4 of them went to the park. Thomas and I used the opportunity to eat ice cream in peace :) Jack and I (and sometimes Anna) have been doing our morning walks. Jack is very interested in everything that is happening in the world. We have fun discussing a wide range of topics. Earlier in the week we had a great talk about bias and privilege. I told him how I used to be of the opinion that everyone has the same opportunity to be successful and those who work hard are rewarded. Now, my view is not so simplistic. So, we talked about the different ways some people are born with an advantage and how much easier it is to be successful when you are raised with things we take for granted. Like being born in a two-parent home, never worrying about where your next meal is coming from or where you will sleep at night, with parents who value education and have lots of books available and an ability to foster your interests. We've talked a lot about race issues as well and some of the stories in the news. I obviously don't have the answers, but I like that we can discuss things. I love having little kids, but it is also fun having older kids. I feel very fortunate.

The last picture of the week is from make your own pizza night. Which seems like a good way to close this one out:

New Stuff & Harry Potter

When we bought our minivan 3 years ago, we planned on keeping it for a long time. But, then we had lots of problems and made the decision that we would get rid of it right before the warranty expired. We loved the van, when it worked properly, but we had bought it during the first model year and there were some kinks. Although, to be fair, we hadn't  had any issues in the past year, which is nice because we also didn't want to pass off our problems onto someone else. Regardless, we decided to stick to the plan and get rid of it just before it hit 36000 miles. We went with the newer model of the same hybrid minivan. We got a "sport" version that has red leather seats and a huge sunroof. My favorite part is the apple carplay. I love listening to podcasts or playlists and using Waze for navigation. Now, I can do it all! They gave us a really good trade-in and had some "friends and family" Labor Day sales. Plus, Thomas was able to talk them down even further. End of model year is a good time to buy! It feels gluttonous to buy a new car when the old one was only 3 years old, but I am happy with the decision (as long as we don't have any problems with this one!). Jack feels like the red seats are a little flashy, and he is all about flying under the radar lately, but everyone else thinks it is pretty boss.

Very red

We are also getting a new bed! We have had our bedframe/bedroom set for about 10 years and the mattress was around 7.5 years old. The mattress was a Tempurpedic and had a good amount of body impressions. It also wasn't quite the same after we moved. We did a lot of research, even watching YouTube mattress reviews, and decided to go with a Purple Mattress. We didn't want another memory foam type and we were able to try out the Purple at our local Macy's and really liked how it felt. We decided to go for broke and get a new bedframe as well. Which, may be kind of weird, since we are keeping the rest of our bedroom furniture, but I have hopes it will all come together. We sold our complete bed (which was still really sturdy and looked pretty good for being 10 years old) and mattress for $200 to a couple who was very happy to get it. The new stuff gets here on Monday, so we will spend a couple of nights on an air mattress and then cross our fingers that we like the new mattress. They give you 100 nights to make a determination, so if we don't like it, we can try something else. 

Opposite of the extravagant purchases, we have tried shopping at Goodwill lately. They opened a new, huge store near us and we enjoy browsing. We also donate to them, so we purge and replenish. The girls are really into clothes at the moment and it is a good, cheap way to explore style and putting things together. We have only gone a couple of times, but I definitely see it as a win/win (help environment, save money, donate our stuff to keep the cycle going). We have also found some really good books, for example, I bought Luke a bunch of Junie B Jones books for less than $1 each.

In other news, I finished the Harry Potter series (for the 2nd time). It has been fun discussing it with the kids. I am going to attempt to rank them: Okay, I can't do it. There is something I like about each of them (except maybe the Chamber of Secrets, that is my clear #7, I still like it, but not nearly as much as the others). If I had to pick a top choice, I think I would go with the The Goblet of Fire, which I find the most fun of the series, well except for the ending of course. In Deathly Hollows, I really like the ending and the big Snape reveal, but I find some of the middle portions pretty tedious. The Sorcerer's Stone is amazing because it introduces the world. I love that Harry organizes Dumbledore's Army in the Order of the Phoenix. And, I love the Prisoner of Azkaban because it introduces Sirius and Lupin and provides some needed backstory. The Half Blood Prince has amazing twists and turns and is a great set-up for the finale. So, like I said, it is hard to choose.

Now, I have promised Jack I will read The Hobbit. I can't commit to the Lord of the Rings, but it is his favorite, so maybe. He has been walking Luke to school with me and we've been doing a morning walk after (when I don't have early meetings), so it has been fun to talk about books and school with him. 

And, some random pictures from the week:

One day, I noticed Jack sitting in his Christmas pajamas while on camera for school. He quickly changed once I pointed this out.

Thomas and Anna doing "The Other Side" duet from Greatest Showman

We went to SeaWorld Friday night and this little Harbor Seal just wanted to hang out with us.

He just watched us for the longest time, it was hard to leave him.