DC Drive and Day 1

Jack and Anna turn 16 in October. We told them they could each have a special weekend for their birthday or they could combine their weekends and have a week somewhere of their choosing as a family vacation. They both ended up choosing DC. Because it was the week option, we decided to take their trip over the summer. And, our favorite summer time to travel is right when they get out of school. There was a little bit of overlap in what they wanted to do (e.g. Natural and American History Museums) and some distinct differences (e.g. zoo and Capitol Building). I took all of their top choices and planned out a jam-packed itinerary to hit both of their favorites. Because we lived so long in Southern Maryland, there was a lot of nostalgia for them, well all of us, at the thought of being back in the city that we spent so much time in.

We left for DC on Saturday at 5am. Jack drove for the first 1.5 hours and then Thomas took over. I never drove at all. The drive up felt really long. It rained and was very windy. We had the Thule on top of the van and felt like we were blowing around the road. The rain definitely slowed us down. We made the best of it and listened to our playlist and started an audiobook (The False Prince), but it still felt like the drive went on and on and on. We got to our rental around 6pm and walked to a nearby shopping area. We had a late dinner at Taco Bell (Jack and Thomas) and Chick-Fil-A (the rest of us). Then, we went to Target. I had given Luke a packing list and usually he does a great job packing for himself, but this time he forgot shirts and I didn't notice. So, we bought him several cheap shirts at Target. We got a few other supplies and walked back. Everyone was in bed around 9:30.

We are staying in an apartment in the Columbia Heights area. It is about a mile and half from the National Zoo, which was our first destination on Sunday morning. We walked and enjoyed seeing some of the sights in the city. We arrived around 9 and met up with the Wills. We walked the America Trail and had fun watching the keepers feed the sea lions. The Andean bears were super active, there were two cute cubs playing in a tree and the adult bear at one point climbed the tree to fuss at both of them. It was super cool to watch. Then it was on to Anna's favorite--Amazonia.  After that, we circled back around and saw pretty much everything else. I think we saw almost all the animals. It was very crowded, but that is what happens when you travel on a holiday weekend. The animals were really active and everyone had their favorites (Kori, Kara, Luke, and Jack-bears; Thomas-lemurs; Anna-turtles). And, of course, it was nice being with the Wills. 

Some of the fun animals we saw. The bears in the tree were the best!

The pandas are always fun to see. The outdoor shots are all of the same panda. He was funny, at one point he rolled down the hill.

This game was in the chimpanzee house. You had to try and get your partner to place tiles in the same pattern as you using only words.

Luke and Kolten were the most successful.

Wills and Wilson kids.

We left the zoo around 2 and took a metro to our second stop--Ford's Theatre. That was also insanely crowded. This time the crowds did impact our enjoyment a bit. There was a massive middle school group and they were loud and disruptive in the museum portion. We didn't even try to see the Petersen House because the line was crazy long with the same kids. But, it was still worth visiting and I learned something new (about Major Rathbone, who was a guest of the Lincolns at the theatre and had a troubled life after the assassination). We were glad we went, we just wish it hadn't been so crowded.

The only picture I took. The President's box, where Lincoln was assassinated.

After that, we took the metro back to the same area we had dinner last night and tried out a pizza place. Then, we walked back to the rental, played Love Letters (Luke won) and relaxed. It was a long day! We walked around 10 miles and it was nice to have a good space to come back and rest.

Another Week: testing, formal, band banquet, baseball

It was a busy week! Actually, the week wasn't too bad, but the weekend was hectic. The kids had testing this week and they all did great. Luke was one point away from a perfect score on his math FAST. All the kids got 5s in ELA. Nobody has gotten lower than a 4 on anything. They are smart cookies! 

On Wednesday, Anna stayed home from school sick. She really didn't want to (it was skating day!) but she was feeling pretty miserable. Fortunately, a day of rest did the trick and she was back to school on Thursday and feeling a lot better. 

On Thursday, I took my dad to the neurologist. He had gone to an urgent care clinic earlier in the week that diagnosed him with water on the brain. The neurologist said it could be that or just the brain's changing shape from getting older.  He has some expected symptoms but not all, so they really can't be sure. The only way to confirm is to get a spinal tap. If he didn't have a pacemaker, he could do an MRI, but he does so he can't. And, he is back in the hospital and was diagnosed with the flu, which I am now thinking I may have caught from him. 

On Friday, Luke did a wax museum at school. He lucked out and was assigned the state of Nevada (Thomas' home state!). He had to make a poster, dress as a representative character, and memorize a one-minute speech. He did a great job and it was so fun! Thomas and I enjoyed seeing his presentation, and those of all his classmates. They all did a great job and I think it was his best school event yet! If you are wondering, Luke is "Silver Blue Lou" because Nevada is the silver state and its colors are silver and blue. He highly recommends you visit :)

Making his presentation to Sunshine :)

Friday night, Kara had her last band concert. She is not playing in high school, which I am sad about, but I understand. She wants to take debate and has to take a foreign language, so for her last elective she had to choose between band and theater and she chose theater. I learned my lesson last year with Anna, so I am not trying to persuade her into a different choice. Although, as a former band kid, it does make me a teensy tiny bit sad.

We were definitely sadder about this being her last concert than she was.

Saturday was a big day at our house. Luke had a baseball tournament, Kara had 8th grade formal, and Jack had a band banquet, for which I signed up to volunteer (well, volunteer is generous, I was cajoled at their last concert). I took Kara to get her nails done, which was $70 (with tip)! I had no idea it was so expensive. Kara paid for most of it, but I did kick in a few dollars.  But, her nails looked good and she said it was worth it. The formal was held at a Top Golf. They had dinner and dancing and snacks. It was Kara's first dance and she said she had fun.

Meanwhile, I went to the banquet. I helped set up and transform from dinner to dancing and then clean up. Jack had a good time hanging out with his friends (he also helped with setup and cleanup). I watched some of the senior awards and speeches and it was sweet. I am glad I am a freshman mom and not a senior mom. Hopefully by the time 12th grade rolls around I will be prepared for it. Jack looked very handsome, but I did not get a good picture. I was rushing helping Kara get ready and kept thinking I would have plenty of time to get one of Jack and then didn't. #momfail

You can kind of see him in the back left corner.

The conga line was pretty popular.

Today is Sunday. Mother's Day. Jack learned my favorite song on the saxophone, Anna wrote me a letter, Kara made a card, and Luke gave me gifts from school. We had Chinese food for dinner. I went to Luke's tournament. I might have stayed home, but it is his last one as a Los Leones (I think). It appears as though the band is breaking up. It is sad. Luke's last game was a good one, he had both a triple and a home run! It was his first of both this season. And, I was glad I was there to see it. I almost got the home run on video, I got out the camera to record, but wasn't quite ready and he hit the first pitch, so I missed it. Thomas does the scoring for the games, so he is not able to get video or I am sure he would have recorded it. I am the worst with pictures/videos! Oh and not to brag too much, but Luke finished the season with the highest batting average on his team :)

One of the teams put up this sign and we all took advantage.

It's been a great ride for the past couple of years. If it really is over, we will definitely miss all these faces.

Final thoughts, of which I have two:

    1) Summer--thank you for always leaving comments on my blogs. I appreciate it!! 

    2)  I finally broke my previous Wordle streak. Was 88, as of today it is 89. This probably means tomorrow I will forget to play and have to start over.

Back to Disney, BYKTWD and Other News

I am going to work in reverse order again and hope that I can remember everything I wanted to write about. First, we are Disney passholders again! We bought the cheapest passes, which only allow us to go on weekdays, but they were roughly half the price of the next level up. We still have Universal, so weekdays should be fine. We can go during the summer and on random Friday nights throughout the school year and get our money's worth. Originally, I was only going to buy them for Thomas and me. We are off every other Friday and it will be easy for us to go regularly. The kids have said they do not want to give up Universal in favor of Disney, so I didn't feel too guilty. It is a slower season right now, so Thomas and I went to Epcot on Friday. We had so much fun! We rode Soarin', Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Grand Fiesta, and two new (to us) rides--Ratatouille and Guardians of the Galaxy. We also had lunch in China, saw the China movie, and walked the World Showcase. We did all of that and were still home in time to meet Luke after school. 

In fact, we had such a good time, we decided to let the kids get passes. However, we had some rules: 1) they had to agree to go at least 8 times over the course of the year; and 2) they had to understand we aren't buying fast passes, which means waiting in lines. Before I even laid out the conditions, Luke and Jack were not interested.  They are just homebodies. Anna was a little frustrated that we weren't going to buy passes that would allow weekend visits, but she decided it was better than nothing. And, Kara was definitely on board. 

Kara was supposed to have her cast party on Friday night. But, she wasn't sure she wanted to go. So, I asked if she wanted to go to Disney instead. That was a resounding yes. Magic Kingdom was open the latest, so we went there. Crowds were pretty light. We rode several rides, had dinner, and went to the Hall of Presidents. The longest we waited was 35 minutes for Seven Dwarf's Mine Train. We got off that right after park closing at 11. My feet were tired! Between my morning at Epcot and my night at Magic Kingdom, I had walked around 11 miles. But, I am happy to be back. Although, I don't love the new paid fast passes or the reservation system. 

Thursday was bring your kids to work day at my office. Luke definitely wanted to go. Jack was on the fence. I really wanted him to go and hear more about some of the engineering careers. Anna has no interest in STEM careers and is doing end of year test prep at school, so it wasn't really an option for her. At the last minute Jack backed out and Kara backed in. We had a great time! It was fun to show them the office and to introduce them to a few coworkers. They got to learn about some of the careers and try out simulation devices. They also had a cookout and a bounce house and waterslide. Luke loved the waterslide. He did it for an hour straight. Kara enjoyed learning more about what we do. I was really happy they came. I told them it was my best day at work ever! Unfortunately, Thomas was in a meeting all day, so he could not participate. Maybe next year. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the simulation devices, but here are a couple from outside. Also, it was May 4th, so they had a costumer contest, which is why Luke is dressed as a Storm Trooper. You can't see it, but Kara is wearing a May the 4th shirt.

Activity where they had to navigate boats to pick up objects in the water.

In other news, we had a big hail storm one day! It was really interesting to see. I took a few really cool videos, but the pictures aren't quite as impressive. 

The middle school production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory took place in late April. Kara was on lights. Both Luke and his friend Beya read and enjoyed the book, so the four of us (me, Luke, Beya and Bevin) went to dinner and the show. Everyone enjoyed it. Kara said she wants to do tech again at the high school.

Jack had his final band concert of the year. They sounded great. The final number was by the wind ensemble (not Jack's band, but the highest level) who played the most fun song ever. It was called Godzilla versus Las Vegas and it was an entire production. They had a slide show playing behind the band that described Godzilla destroying Las Vegas as the music played in a way that matched whatever Godzilla was doing. For example, at one point, the slide show talked about Godzilla running into a group of Elvises and the band played Elvis music while some kids dressed like Elvis walked across the stage. Then, it would quickly change to something else (like a dramatic clarinet solo or Liberace).  I am not doing a good job describing it, but it was so, so entertaining.

This was when the school mascot came out to fight Godzilla

I think that about covers it. Thomas had to travel for work, which was not fun. We found Kara a dress for the 8th grade formal. The kids have been working hard on end of year testing. So. much. testing. Only 15 school days remaining!