Ice Skating, Puzzle, Baseball, Wedding Prep

On Wednesday, Luke had his last ice skating lesson. He could sign up for more, but he doesn't want to. I am impressed with how far he's come in eight lessons. It was great to see so much improvement. During the class, his teacher asked if he was interested in pursuing figure skating or hockey. He told her figure skating, but then said this was his last lesson. She came out to tell me that she thought he had some talent, but maybe they tell that to everyone? I do think Luke is athletic; right now his passion is definitely baseball. He is signed up for the Fall season which starts in the next week or two. So, we will go back to multiple activities (baseball for Luke, ice skating for the girls). Although, Kara did decide she was done with acro and ballet classes. I am a little sad that she didn't want to keep going, but I respect her decision. Both she and Anna are joining a theater club at school, hopefully, that will be fun for them. 

Skating backward

Kara graduated from Learn to Skate 2 and is leveling up

I am having trouble meeting my Goodreads reading goal. I haven't enjoyed the last couple of books I've read and feel like I am in a bit of a reading rut. But, to give me something else to do, I pulled out a puzzle I bought last year. It is a "magic puzzle" and was unlike any I had done before. It didn't just have one edge section. Then, when it was over, there was a little surprise. The puzzle shifted and there was a hidden section to complete. Thomas and I had fun with it.

This was the original puzzle. Once we completed this part, there was another envelope to open. It was very clear that we could not open it until we finished the puzzle.

Inside were instructions on how to move things around, creating this hole in the center.

The envelope contained the pieces to fill the hole and gave the puzzle a whole new story. 

On Saturday, we went to the library. On Sunday, Anna wasn't feeling well. She had some COVID symptoms (sore throat, slight cough, sneezing, runny nose). All her symptoms matched well with a cold, but I also knew we couldn't send her to school. So, we did a rapid COVID test, which thankfully came back negative. I am surprised we made it this far into the pandemic before having to test someone.

Monday, I took the day off work and went to Winter Haven to help with wedding prep for Travis and Elizabeth. Mostly I did chair covers and bows and glass stuffing. Luke had his first baseball practice. He did not get the same coach as last year, but did get to be on a team with some friends, so that is good. It will be fun to see how the year goes. 

Speaking of Luke, I don't think I wrote about his dentist's appointment last week. We are pretty used to quick visits. Anna was the first kid to get a cavity and that just happened this year. So, I was a little surprised when the dentist called me back to a special room. Luke has all kinds of things going on! First, he said we need to take him to an oral surgeon to evaluate a cyst. Ugh. Then, he pulled up another x-ray and said one tooth is blocking another from growing in and his front tooth isn't dropping. For those, we need to take him to an orthodontist. I thought it was over when he revealed Luke also has a cavity. It was not a happy visit. We couldn't get in with an oral surgeon until late-September, but he is seeing the orthodontist on Friday. Then, we will worry about the cavity.

I think that is enough news for now.

First Week of School and Temper

All the kids are back to in-person learning. I forgot how busy (and messy) it is to have all the kids in school. I feel like there are papers and backpacks and lunchboxes everywhere! I am sure we will get better organized as we get into the routine. 

Luke is now in 2nd grade. He is in an "accelerated" class. On the first day, Thomas walked him in and was allowed to stay in the classroom for a few minutes. He said Luke was really nervous and quiet. It was not like the first day of Kindergarten where he bounded in and couldn't wait to get started! I wonder if his personality is turning more introverted?  Unfortunately, none of his boy friends are in the class. However, he does have Ella.  And, I am sure he will make more friends.  He really likes his teacher and she has a fun cash system where they earn money and buy rewards. They also have to pay bills, like desk rental. He took his first reading test and scored in the 99.9th percentile.

Hard to believe our baby is a 2nd grader!

I thought these next two were super cute. But, notice anything wrong???

Luke held Thomas' hand while they walked on his first day

Kara is in 7th grade. She got the two electives she really wanted--band and theater. She likes her teachers and I think she is happy to be back to in-person learning. 

Jack also got the electives he wanted--band and Robotics. He sat at a table of strangers at lunch and said he just eats and reads, so it doesn't matter. I think Jack can be happy anywhere; as I have said many times, he is the most resistant to change, but the quickest to adjust.

Anna also got the electives she asked for--theater and technology. However, she didn't realize that the technology class is a high-school credit class that can lead to IT certification (if she passes a national exam). They have three levels of technology, and we assumed she'd be in a more introductory class; when she took theater in 7th grade, she was in Theater 1 with 6th graders, so it was logical to think the same was true with technology. But, she is in the 8th grade class and we expect it is going to be intense. I don't understand all the high school credit classes as middle-schoolers (including Kara's science class) and it bugs me. We talked with her guidance counselor who said they will move her out if she struggles. So, she is going to give it a try.

So, we have one week in the books. It seemed to go well for everyone. Florida COVID numbers are still skyrocketing, so we are having the kids wear masks. Florida law says masks can't be mandated, but all of the kids in Luke's class are wearing one. The older kids said on the first day of school, it was about 98% wearing them, but more kids were opting out each day. I am still working hard on not worrying about the things I can't control and trying not to be annoyed at other people for their choices, even if those choices have the potential to impact my family. 

Along similar lines, I backed into a pole recently with our nice, not even a year old van. I was picking up one of Kara's friends, who lives in a gated community. The gates here are kind of ridiculous. You pull up to an automated box, insert your license and then either get granted entry (if you are on the list) or give them the name of who you are visiting and then they call and get you entry. I was on the list, so I was granted immediate entry. But, a car behind me went around me and through the gate, which quickly closed. I was super annoyed and angrily backed up, hitting a pole. I don't know why I can't control my temper in moments like that. Yes, it was frustrating and I was in a hurry and the car should not have gone around me the way it did. But, my level of annoyance, and subsequent angry driving was disproportionate. I did not set a good example for Kara that day. Ugh, I wish I could just be the person I want to be!

And, to end, a few more fun back-to-school photos:

Classes of 2026, 2027 and 2032. Those years don't seem as far off as they once did.

These two are (sometimes) best buddies

Walking to the bus stop

Masked.

Birthdays, Boring weeks

Thomas and I celebrated our birthdays in July. They were fairly uneventful. I was still in a class, so I had to work all day on my birthday. Thomas and Kara made me an awesome chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream. Thomas didn't want a cake on his birthday, but he did want to go to Universal and do a water ride challenge. We hadn't ridden the two big water rides at Islands of Adventure because you get soaked and we don't usually feel like walking around wet. But, we decided to just do it. We browsed some stores and had an early dinner at Thomas' favorite Universal restaurant and then did the three water rides: Jurassic Park River Adventure (you don't get too wet on this one); Ripsaw Falls (soaked); and Bluto's Barges (soaked). From there, we headed to Forbidden Journey and then rode Hagrids. It was amazing. We waited 9 minutes. Literally 9 minutes! They are doing a new virtual pass system and it definitely worked well for us. Thomas got to sit in the front row, which he had never done before. Then, we took the Hogwart's Express to Universal. It was a little cloudy when we got on and pouring when we got off. We killed some time in the train station and then made our way to Mummy, but it was closed. So, we hung out in the Jimmy Fallon lobby and waited out the rain. It was an awesome place to just sit and watch show clips in dry comfort. After that we did Mummy and Men in Black and then took the train back to IOA to ride Hagrid's again. When we got off, we only had time for one ride and choose the Seuss Trolley, which is pretty at night. The girls opted to do Hulk instead. When we got off, it was 10pm and the park was closed. We had gotten there around 3:30 and felt like we accomplished a lot. 

That was about two weeks ago. There hasn't been much going on. The older kids have been keeping Luke occupied while we work. We went out for ice cream one night. I had to go into work for a bunch of meetings, but it was productive so I didn't mind. The kids did ice skating lessons. We took Luke to the park to work on his baseball skills. We watched some of the Olympics. We did back to school shopping. Thomas had a lot of dental work done. The past few nights, Anna and I went for a walk and then jumped in the pool (Luke joined us for the pool part); that has been really fun.

The only other big thing is we hosted a clam boil on Sunday. Clam boils are a New England tradition. Similar to a clam bake, but a little different. It was one of my favorite meals growing up and we would occasionally have them after we moved to Florida, but it is definitely way more prevalent in Massachusetts. Any time I visit there, I try and get in my clam fix. But, Jack is allergic and Thomas doesn't eat shellfish, and I knew Luke and Anna likely wouldn't be interested, so I never attempted to make one myself. However, it is something I had mentioned to Thomas and he wanted to do one for me and my family. 

In short, in went pretty well. Kara liked it a little bit, Anna tried one clam and wasn't a fan and Luke cried (literally) because we were killing the clams. Finding the clams was difficult. We wanted the traditional "steamers" and ordered them from New York. Then, they got delayed in shipping and therefore would be unsafe to eat. Fortunately, we found a place nearby that had them in stock. But, it was kind of stressful. 

It tasted delicious and reminded me of my childhood. My dad and I ate a ton of clams, as per our tradition. I didn't waste time with many of the other ingredients (hotdogs, chourico, sausage links, potatoes, corn on the cob, onions and bread) to ensure I had plenty of room for the clams. JD tried one, but didn't like it, but Kevin, Kim and Dave enjoyed the dinner. Maggie tried a few, but I don't think she was a fan either.  In other words, everyone who had a childhood in Massachusetts liked the meal, everyone who didn't, didn't. So, maybe it is something you have to grow up with to appreciate? Obviously, that is very anecdotal, but it held mostly true for our party of 13 (Kara is on the fence). The others enjoyed Dominos pizza. Kim's family brought dessert. It was a nice visit and I was happy we got to do it. I didn't take any pictures, but this is pretty much what the food looks like:

Now, we are on our last week before school starts. Covid numbers are at a record high in Florida. I feel like I have said that more than once, which is unfortunate. We keep hoping it is behind us, but I am starting to fear life will never return to what it once was. But, I try not to worry about things beyond my control and I don't feel like doing another political post. So, I will end with the few pictures I did take:

Marta came up to practice hair styles with the girls for Elizabeth's wedding. She is super talented!

I took pictures of the ice cream treats to show Thomas. Jack had a choco taco.

Beya is Luke's ice cream buddy

Thomas took this picture at a practice skate session. Luke (in blue sweatshirt) was talking to him when they announced the snow and Luke turned around saw it and squealed and ran (on his skates) over to the center. Thomas was said it was a very sweet, innocent moment he wanted to remember.