Father's Day Weekend and More Summer

Father's Day weekend was great! Thomas and I had a 4-day weekend and we made good use of the time off. Thursday after work we went to Universal. We attempted to do all the water rides, but learned that Bluto's Barges closed an hour before the rest of the park. So, we only did 2/3 water rides (and, lots of others). 

Friday, we took the girls to Epcot. We rode all our old favorites--Soarin', Test Track, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth. We had an amazing lunch at Connections, which is new since our last visit and were happy to see that the coke tasting area was back. Beverly is still completely awful. And, we got to ride Guardians of the Galaxy! After our first ride, I thought it would be one of my favorites, but I felt like we needed another ride to be sure. Fortunately, it was as amazing as I remembered. We all rank it among our favorite rides. 

You can't see it, but there were some cute topiary's behind them. I thought I got them in the picture, but nope.

Thomas got a cool shirt that features the Epcot ships, including the Guardians of the Galaxy one in this picture.

We attempted to take the SkyLiner to Hollywood Studios, but it started lightening just as we got there. They shut down both the Skyliner and the boats. So, we walked back to our car and drove. It was really crowded. I don't like the new Genie+ system. I feel like we are spoiled at Universal, where our passes let us use the express lane after 4 once per ride. Anyway, the lines were super long and we only did a couple of things.  The number of lightening lane guests they let in versus regular line is crazy and frustrating (I counted on the Tower of Terror and it was literally about 10:1). We had a meh dinner and then rode the Skyliner to Epcot and back, just for fun. We got home around 9pm. It was a long, fun day.

Saturday, we went to the library. Then, we had the boys' basketball games. Luke's started late, so I missed Jack's, but Thomas said it was one of his best games. Luke also played really well. 

Sunday, Thomas, the girls and I went shopping. I got some clothes and new shoes. Kara got some things as well, but Anna walked away empty-handed. Thomas got the sneakers he's been wanting; he said it is like running on a marshmallow. Speaking of which, Thomas is still running almost every day. He does shorter runs so he can run more often. He also does weight workouts every other day. That coupled with his no added sugar diet (which he has done now for a year and half) has put him in amazing shape. I really should be following his example. 

That night, we went back to Universal. This time everyone went. Thomas was in charge, so we ate at his favorite restaurant (Terrace Falls, although some of the kids got food at another restaurant and brought it to Terrace Falls) and rode his favorite rides. We attempted water rides again and rode Bluto first, but then Dudley broke down and it was getting late, so we missed Jurassic Park River Adventure because we wanted to make sure we got in line for Hagrid's before it closed. One of these days we will get all 3 water rides! At Hagrid's the wait was posted at 95, but the line didn't seem that long. But, then the ride broke down and we did end up waiting the 95 minutes. We were all super tired. But, it was fun to walk out through the empty park.

Auntie Anne's pretzel break. Just a man and his 4 kids on Father's Day.

Monday, Luke had his first day of baseball camp. Thomas, Kara and I dropped him off then went to Target. Anna was in an online career camp, which runs from the 17th-27th. I bought Luke a bike that afternoon and we went to Culver's for dinner. Then, I took the girls to Walmart. Now that she is in high school, Kara is allowed to wear makeup so she wanted to stock up.

Luke and his friend Adrian. It was super cute, they coordinated their uniforms the rest of the week (they played together on the Leones and two Little League teams, so they had a few to choose from).

And that, was our amazing four-day weekend! It was super hard to return to work on Tuesday. But, the week went okay. Thomas went to the walk-in orthopedic clinic on Wednesday. His arm has been hurting for months. He was diagnosed with bone spurs in the elbow (nothing they can do for that) and inflammation in the forearm. They said it was good he came in because his tendon could have ruptured. They gave him a cortisone shot and told him to ice it every hour for 48 hours! So, he took the next couple of days off to give it some good attention.

And, a bonus picture of Luke living his best life. He was eating M&Ms and reading a book while he relaxed on the couch. I was kind of jealous :)