Birthday Week

The week of July 11th, Jack and Anna worked on their online classes and Kara spent a few days babysitting. Luke went to baseball camp. His friend Mike went too and it was nice to carpool. Then, we discovered another friend was also enrolled. So, the three boys got to go together every day. Friday was a short camp day, so they came here and had lunch and played. It was actually kind of a rough afternoon, I think trios can be problematic and the boys didn't get along as well as I would have expected. Meanwhile, Thomas escaped the chaos and took the big kids, and some of their friends to see Thor (I didn't want to go, so I told him to plan it for when we had the playdate). They all enjoyed the movie.

Anna was supposed to have special math tutoring to prepare her for Geometry. But, the teacher ended up being sick and had to cancel. Which was fine, because Anna got sick too. In fact, she was on and off sick for a few weeks. We tested for COVID and it came back negative, so we assumed it was allergies or a cold. But, she couldn't kick it. She seemed fine one day and then would wake up coughing or with a sore throat the next. Eventually, I took her to the doctor, who diagnosed her with an ear infection and maybe a sinus infection. She has been on antibiotics for about a week and is finally back to normal. 

On Sunday, the 17th, we went to Marta's house (everyone but Thomas who stayed home to do projects). Elizabeth and Travis have moved back, so it was nice to see them. We swam in the pool and had lunch and dinner and lounged around. It is always nice to visit with them, in part because I am completely comfortable in their house. After all, I have been hanging out there for about 25 years! We enjoyed our visit and had an easy drive in both directions (so rare!). 

Happily hanging out at Marta's

My birthday was Thursday. We went to lunch at Bento and picked up Jack early from band camp. That afternoon, we went to Universal. It was really crowded, but we had a good time. We rode several rides, browsed some shops, and had dinner at the Red Oven Pizzeria. And, I finally got to do the water rides! I feel like I have been trying to get on them for several visits and kept getting thwarted.  And, everyone gave me really thoughtful presents. Kara gave me a hilarious shirt that combines two of my favorites--The Office and Harry Potter (Prison Mike as a wanted wizard based on his comment about the dementors). Jack gave me Harry Potter companion books, Anna gave me a Luke's Diner apron, and Thomas gave me a Harry Potter puzzle and a Gilmore Girls t-shirt. Luke gave me 100 hugs. My family knows me well!

They have an Irish store with a countdown to St. Patrick's Day aka Luke's birthday

Anna and I got to sit in the front of the Trolley in the Sky

The Tribute Store was awesome! It had rooms for Back to the Future, Jaws, and Kong.

Dinner!

Thomas' birthday was Saturday. Unfortunately, the day was full of kids' activities. But, I tried to give him a break by taking Luke to baseball, which went from 9-1130. Then, I took Anna ice skating. Finally, Jack had a basketball game at 5, which we both went to. We planned to go to dinner after. However, the game started late and went late, so I ended up picking up pizza instead. Not a great birthday, I'm afraid. He did get some nice gifts. Kara gave him a copy of the script from the pilot episode of Community, Anna got him a Tigers bracelet, and Jack got him a book from the President's series. He was also hoping for 100 hugs, but Luke made him a card instead (he said he didn't want to give us the same thing). Like me, Thomas was happy with how thoughtful the gifts were.

Sunday, most of us went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant to make up for missing dinner the night before. We also went to Target and finished Luke's school shopping. Kara already had plans to spend the day with her friend Sophia, so she was off on her own fun adventure. 

Now, it is another work week. Jack has band camp. The days are long and he doesn't love it, but he has no regrets. He is still excited about being in band. We (mostly me) spent a lot of time trying to convince Anna to do it, but she is content with her decision. I hope she finds something she enjoys and doesn't regret this decision when she sees all the fun things Jack gets to do (and, maybe Kara in another year). As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water...

Random pictures of the week. Florida has crazy storms, one night we were standing in the kitchen during one of these storms and heard an enormous crack of thunder. Outside the window we saw a tree get struck by lightening! There was a massive ball of red light, like a small explosion. It was loud and scary.

The tree that got struck. You can see stripped bark.

I dropped Kara off to babysit and we saw another tree that had been struck. You can't see it in this picture, but it was stripped the entire length of the tree and looks like it was split.

July 4th and the Week Thereafter

My sister and her family came over on July 3rd. We had lunch and played Apples to Apples (Luke's request). The kids swam for a little bit and we went through the box of my mom's stuff. It had been a long time since we had all gotten together and we had a good time. We missed JD, who is on a mission in South Dakota (at some point, he is supposed to go to Japan, but Covid is still interfering). 

On Independence Day, we went and saw my dad's new apartment. He showed us around the building and we met some of the other residents. They have a lot of different activities and clubs. One person described it as a cruise ship on land. My dad is still very excited about the move and I am crossing my fingers that he continues to be happy with his decision. It is a large complex and they have three different levels of living. Right now, my dad is in the independent section, but they still have some safety precautions in place. For example, they have something on the door that they reset every night and it moves when the occupant opens the door. The staff will check on you if your door hasn't been opened. It provides a bit of peace of mind. 

After visiting with my dad, we went to a Flying Tigers game. Usually, there are maybe 100 people at a game (in a stadium for thousands). But, because of the 4th of July fireworks, there was actually a really good crowd. We had bought tickets that included a dinner buffet and allowed us onto the field for the fireworks. Everyone had a really good time. Kara was maybe even happy that she had to come home from camp early.

The work week was relatively uneventful. Anna had skating, Jack had basketball. Sophia came over and spent a day with Kara. Luke didn't have any camps or baseball. He had no idea what day of the week it was most of the time. Everyone spent time in the pool. It was an easy week.

Saturday night, Thomas, Kara, Jack and I went to Universal. It was an odd combination with Kara and Jack. Not bad, just odd. They used to be good buddies, but I would say they do the least together of any of the kids now. Anna was tired after ice skating and said she didn't want to go. That was good news for Luke who also did not want to go. I think right after Anna spoke the words she regretted them, she loves Universal, but Luke was too excited for her to feel like she could take it back. She said they ended up having a nice night together. 

For a Saturday night in July, it was a surprisingly light crowd. We had dinner at Krusty Burger and rode some rides. Thomas and I are rereading Harry Potter, so it was fun to revisit Diagon Alley with the books fresh in mind. We were eating ice cream from Florean Fortescue's when we felt the first rain drop. Rain hadn't been in the forecast, so that was a little surprising. We were on our way to take the Hogwart's Express to IOA and continued on. While in line, it started pouring and we pulled up the weather and saw that thunderstorms were now forecasted for the rest of the night. We got to IOA, got soaking wet and decided to see Poseidon's Fury. We had never done it before (a walk through special effects show). Thomas, Kara and I really liked it. By the time we got out of there, the rain had stopped, but there was crazy lightening. Most of what we wanted to do was outdoors, so we decided to call it a day and to see if we could make it to the car before the rain started again. I was a little disappointed, as we had planned on doing the water rides, but it was still a really fun night.

Sunday we did the first of our back to school shopping. We went to the outlets and ended up doing a lot of shopping. Jack got sneakers and a new backpack; Anna got two pairs of Converse high tops, a wallet and some leggings; and Kara got clothes and some fun sneakers. We also went to Five Below and Books a Million (where Luke was rewarded for his patience and everyone else also got books) and then had lunch at Johnny Rockets. It was a fun, but expensive outing!

Now, it is another work week. I have to go into the office for an all-day meeting on Tuesday. I am not dreading the meeting, as I think it is important and will be productive. But, I do have to go in 2 or 3 times this week, which just messes with the schedule. Luke is doing a baseball camp, which he is very excited about. 

In final good news--we got the end of the year test scores back for the older kids and they crushed it! The tests are scored on a scale of 1-5, with a 3 being a passing score. No one got lower than a 4 and two of them got straight fives!

Elk's Camp (and end of June)

On Sunday, June 26th, Kara went to Elks Camp. All the big kids went last year, but it is only for ages 9-13, so Kara was the only one eligible this year. She also convinced her good friend Sophia to go. We had Sophia and her mom, Anita, over for dinner on Saturday so they could talk about the camp. Sophia was a bit nervous, but the kids told her how much fun they had and I think she felt better. Anita brought desserts from Whole Foods--both a cheesecake and a key lime pie. They were so good that Jack decided he wants the cheesecake in place of a birthday cake this year!

Luke and Jack had basketball camp this week. They both said they liked it, Jack enjoyed it more than Luke. Some of our neighbors went, so we were able to carpool. With Kara away at camp, Anna was the only kid home. We went to lunch a couple of times and I think she enjoyed being an only child for a few days. 

I had to go into work on Wednesday for a briefing. Then, when I got there, they canceled it. This was especially annoying because it is the second time I've gone in for this briefing and had it canceled. Then, I had a last minute in-person meeting scheduled for Thursday, so I had to go the office two days in a row. Crazy that I used to be there everyday, but I am definitely out of that habit.

Friday, we got invited to Aquatica with (some of) the Grunds. Thomas and Jack opted out and went to see Elvis. They both liked it, but thought it spent too much time on Colonel Parker. They would have liked more Elvis and less Parker. Jack also said it was a bit too fast-paced. Meanwhile, Anna, Luke and I had a blast at Aquatica. We hadn't been there in a over a year and it was super fun to be back. I am glad that Luke and Mike were in Kindergarten together, because it has led to a really good friendship. 

It's always nice when friends have siblings the same age as your siblings.

On Thursday afternoon we got a text from the Elk's Camp. Kara was supposed to be there for two weeks, but they had a flu outbreak and were sending everyone home early. So, on Saturday morning, Anita picked me up around 630 and we went to get the girls. We didn't get any letters (one arrived on Saturday, but by then she was home), so we had no idea how camp went or how she felt about coming home early. Fortunately, both she and Sophia enjoyed the camp. Sophia gave it a 7.5 and Kara gave it an 8. They both said it would have been higher if they hadn't been sent home early. It was fun listening to the girls chat in the car and relay the best, and worst, parts of the week. Kara has the option to go another week this year or they will waive the age limit and let her return next year. She is leaning toward going next year, which would work out well, since Luke could go too and we would feel better sending him for his first sleep-away experience if a sibling was around. Kara said her favorite thing about the camp is the overall experience (being away from home, surrounded by nice girls her age and having a break from regular life). The worst part was the field games they "had to play in the scorching hot heat without water because they forgot the cooler."

To celebrate her homecoming, we went to lunch at Steak n Shake and then to Target. We were all happy to have her back, Luke even moved his mattress into her room for the night.