Another Week

Another week in the books. Some of the highlights:

Anna had her initial appointments for the jaw surgery. She had two appointments in two different places. They did all the pictures, x-rays, and molds. We go back on December 8th to get the results and determine the best path forward. It will be nice to have a plan, even if the plan ends up being waiting another year or two.

The kids had their sports. Anna's game was Friday night, but it wasn't at the YMCA and we had other plans. We went to Hollywood Studios for one final visit. We got there around 4:30 and tried their special red velvet Christmas dessert. We rode a few rides and ended the night with Slinky Dog. I think Slinky Dog at night is one of the best Disney experiences.

Saturday was Luke's soccer game. Luke's soccer team only has 6 or 7 kids. This week, 4 showed up for the game. The other team had 11. That coach said "our team came to play" and wouldn't give us any of their players (which is kind of protocol at the YMCA, I know Anna's basketball team has given other teams players). I thought it was pretty ridiculous, it's not like they keep score or crown a championship team. Plus, playing on our team would have given their kids more playing time. There was a first-grader who had already played two games (her dad coaches two teams and she played for both, and then was sticking around to watch our game), but she agreed to come in for our team. The other coach still played 6 players, so it was 6 against 5 and it meant none of our players could switch out to take a break. Generally, I don't care if the team wins or loses, in fact, I try to keep Luke from keeping score. But, this week, I really wanted to win. And, Luke's team did! They won 2-0. Luke was an amazing defender. At one point, the other team had a clear shot at the goal (we had no goalie) and Luke sprinted out of no where and kicked the ball away from the goal right before it went in. He didn't score either of his teams goals, but for one of them, he brought the ball all the way up the field and then another teammate kicked it in. He rarely let the other team get the ball past the halfway point. He really loves playing and is a good sport and teammate. 

Saturday night we had our final visit to the Magic Kingdom. It was really crowded when we got there. Most of the waits were around an hour. We waited 55 minutes for Splash Mountain, got to the front and then they shut it down for cleaning. But, it was even worse for the people behind us. It was a dad and son and they called them out of line to sit in the back of one of the boats. There was a woman in the front, and they left two rows empty. The kid said he didn't want to ride in the back, he wanted to wait for the front. They wouldn't let him do it and ultimately, they had him leave without riding. I felt it was a little excessive. 

The last two hours of the night were amazing, the lines were short and we were able to ride several rides. The older kids did Space Mountain while Thomas, Luke and I went on Astro Orbiters. We walked on Buzz Lightyear and had a quick wait for Peter Pan. About 15 minutes before closing, we got in line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We waited 35 minutes and ended our year of Disney. 

Waiting for Seven Dwarfs. I love Luke's crazy eyes. Apparently, I told them to smile with their eyes, because I showed Luke the picture and he said, "I don't really know how to smile with my eyes." :)

One of my main goals in going was to get our annual family photo. I knew we would have to wear our masks, but I actually thought that was fairly fitting for 2020. On our way out, we got some great shots in front of the castle. It has been fun having the annual passes, but I am okay with taking some time off. For our family, it would cost $3600 to renew and I am not sure the value is there right now. I miss the entertainment. Plus, we have passes to Universal and I might get some to Legoland (which are only $99 on Black Friday). There are just so many fun things to do here! Although, I know that Thomas would trade all of it to be back in Maryland. We definitely miss all the historical "entertainment" we had access to as Marylanders. 

The castle was lit up with projections, which changed periodically

Jack has grown something like six inches this year. Crazy!

I don't know how many projections there were, but this one was pretty cool

We did some by the train station when we went in, but in all of them I am standing separate from the family. Weird.

There have been no more incidents at the house across the street--thank goodness. And, work was okay this week. Not great, but okay. I can't wait for the action I am working on to be over, but that is still many months away. Thomas has been really busy too. We are both taking a few days off for Thanksgiving. We wanted to take the whole week off, but we had too much to do and worked yesterday (Monday). The kids cleaned the house and the girls baked cookies and Luke and Jack played outside. After dinner, the girls and Thomas watched Batman Begins. It was a nice start to Thanksgiving week.