First Day of School & Summer Blahs

This is the time of year that I hate Florida. I debated "hate" because it is a strong word, but by mid-August, I think it is accurately describes my feelings. This is my 5th August here and I can now see the cyclical pattern. I love Florida in February. I like Florida from about November-May. I tolerate June and July and then I hate it beginning in August. The heat becomes unbearable and the holiday season is too far away. The kids are back in school and the work/school/activities are tiring. It is my least-favorite time of year.

This year has been especially depressing. Thomas and I had an anniversary cruise planned and we also had a family Thanksgiving cruise on our agenda. Both cruises had fun itineraries and we were excited. However, when final payment was due, I just couldn't bring myself to pay for the Thanksgiving cruise. It felt like too much money and I didn't feel like we should go. Thomas agreed. The kids were very disappointed, but they understood and we sold them on a Thanksgiving at home. And, after canceling the family cruise, Thomas and I didn't feel great about going on the anniversary cruise. Child care was problematic and it felt mean to cancel the family vacation but keep the adult only one. So, we canceled that too. The kids told us we should still go, but again, it just didn't feel right. Maybe the next time we hit 20 years we can do something fun <sigh>. I know that canceling was the right decision, but it definitely didn't help my mid-year-crappy-mood-slump. 

The kids are back to school. It is hard to believe that 3 of them are now in high school! We had some issues with Kara's schedule, they took her out of an academically advanced class and put her in child development. They said they had to "balance" the electives. Fortunately, we were able to get it fixed. The high school has 4600 hundred students this year and it is a mess. They have 60+ portables and the kids said at times it is difficult to even walk to their classes. And, they still only have two lunches, leaving kids to sit on the ground. The new relief school opens next year, so they just have to make it through this year. We did have a small victory with the buses. They were scheduled for the first run in the morning and the second run in the afternoon again. I engaged in another e-mail writing campaign (getting people on the phone was impossible) and they ended up reevaluating the bus routes and changing many so that the same kids aren't arriving early and staying late. I like to think that my efforts had something to do with the change, but who knows? I could definitely write an entire blog devoted to that topic, but I will leave it there and post first day pictures:

Still dark out. The plan was to do more photos after school with all 4 kids, but Jack had band practice and Luke had baseball and we never got it done.

Meanwhile, Luke is in 4th grade. He really likes his teacher and I think his year is off to a good start.

In other news, remember how we got Anna a new figure skating coach? Well, the ice rink fired her. They didn't tell her why, just that they were terminating the contractual relationship. Her coaching privileges were immediately suspended. She had only been Anna's coach for about a month, so I didn't feel a tremendous loyalty, but we did really like her. So, we said we would try and follow wherever she landed. I assumed it would be the other Orlando-area ice rink. But, nope. Somehow, we are making a trek to the Lakeland Ice Arena now. I used to complain about the 30ish minutes to the Kissimmee rink. Ha! Those were the days! We may have not followed, except Anna had signed up for a competition literally the day before the coach was fired. We told Anna we would make the Lakeland drive until after the competition (in October) and then reevaluate. 

Saturday was our first trip down. We had to be there at 6am which meant leaving at 445. In positive news, the drive down was super easy. The rink had an issue with the ice, so the schedule got messed up and they ended up doing a lot of off-ice training. While we waited for the ice to open, I met Marta for breakfast. It had been a while since we had caught up with just the two of us, so that was nice. Then, she came back to the rink and watched Anna skate. I would have seen my dad too, but he is having some health issues, so he asked me to give it another week. And, my sister was moving Amanda into college. I am hoping to work in lots of visits during my Saturday mornings in Polk County. Thomas is ready to trade-off the driving with me, but since I want to see my family, and with baseball tournaments starting soon, it makes sense for me to take care of the skating duties.

Screenshot showing off her new spinner from the jumps and spins off-ice class.

The drive home took about 90 minutes. Marta and Frank had planned on coming for dinner, but Jack wasn't feeling well that morning, so we postponed. I had bought a ham, so we had that. Jack was feeling better and wanted us to dress up and eat in the dining room. So, we did. It was pretty fun. We had a leisurely dinner and good conversation.

Being silly :)

Sunday morning, Thomas, Luke and I went to Volcano Bay while the teens slept in. We had a great time. 

That concludes the first full week back to school. Both of Luke's baseball practices were canceled due to the weather. Luke didn't mind, his interest seems to be waning. Band practices are back in full swing. And, to finish, two more random pictures:

Luke had to make a hat for a mad-hatter tea party. He added some mardi gras beads and called it good.

Jack's current "for fun" book. He is on page 929.