Cruise Days 3-5

For day three, we were supposed to stop at Labadee, Royal's private beach area in Haiti. However, due to the violence and unrest in Haiti the port visit was canceled. Instead, we had another sea day. Everything felt really crowded, with super long lines for all the ship's activities. Although, at one point Luke and I did the Abyss with absolutely zero wait. We had walked by earlier and the line was super long (probably 50+ people), so it was a big surprise. We actually thought it must be closed, but we just happened to walk by in a complete lull. We were so amazed that we texted Thomas who met us at the top to ride again. Other than that we just kind of bummed around. Anna and I did trivia. Thomas and I went to the adult comedy show after dinner; it was okay, not amazing but not bad either. All in all it was a pretty okay day.

Thomas and Luke also climbed the rock wall. 

Day Four, we were in Jamaica. Thomas and I started our day around around 630 with a visit to the gym. We all had breakfast in the main dining room, which was nice and relaxing. Then, we went off the ship for a little while to walk around the port area. I was interested in taking a cab on a tour, Thomas did not feel like it was a safe thing to do. We had a bad experience in Jamaica on our honeymoon and we have never really forgotten. So we walked around the port and then went back to the ship. Luke did not want to go with us, so we left him in the kids club. We checked on him when we got back and he did not want to leave. He ended up staying there all day! We checked on him every hour or two and he kept waving us off until we had to pick him up at 4:30 because they closed at five.  During that time, we did a lot of different stuff. We played miniature golf, ping-pong, had snacks at El Loco fresh, sat by the water enjoying the views, rode the Abyss, and generally just enjoyed the quiet ship until dinner. 

Just chatting with some amazing views

Trying to decide whose drink was better.

After dinner, Anna, Jack, and I went to the aqua show. I thought it was really, really good. But, Jack left early and Anna said it was her least favorite of the three we’ve seen.  To me, that was crazy, because it was BY FAR my favorite. They had an amazing martial artist doing all kinds of crazy flips, there was tight rope walking, synchronized swimming, slack rope performers, and of course amazing dives. After the show, Thomas and I went with Kara to get a snack and then watch the live band. we thought they were doing party songs, but it ended up being slow songs, and we were too tired for that so we left.  Jack and Kara went to the teen silent disco and the rest of us decided to call it a night. I ended up walking about 20,000 steps, and climbed 45 flights of stairs. Thomas had about the same number of steps but 65 flights of stairs! It was my favorite day of the cruise so far.

Day five was another sea day. I can’t remember much about the morning, even though it was just yesterday (when I wrote this), the day seems to run together. I know Anna and I went to trivia at 10 and we got 11/15 questions. We were happy with that, although, it did not win us anything. And, Kara and I took Luke back to the rock climbing wall.  We also met up with Mike and Sunshine on the Boardwalk. The kids got cotton candy and then Luke and Mike went to the arcade. They played a few games and decided to go to the kids club.  Mike had been sick for the first few days of the cruise, so Luke was really happy to finally spend some time with him. 

That afternoon, Thomas and I went to love and marriage show at 3:15, it was really entertaining. No way would I ever volunteer to be on that stage, but I appreciate the people who do. We also had a specialty lunch at Jamie‘s Italian. It is fresh made pasta and it was super good, but super rich. I was very full for the entire afternoon. 

Jamie's. Thomas still isn't eating added sugar, so I "sampled" two desserts.

Dinner was good, it was lobster night! My lobster was delicious and I loved it. I was the only one in my family who got it.  Jack is allergic to shellfish and nobody else in the family likes it. Kara will eat shrimp on occasion, but shellfish is not really anyone’s thing, but mine. Sad! They used to give you unlimited lobster tails, but they recently changed to just one ($17 for additional). Our waiter, Sergio, who we really liked, saw me enjoying mine and said he had an extra plate. So, I got my two lobster tails after all. Thanks, Sergio!

After dinner, we changed, and then some of us went and listened to the house band do music from the 50s and 60s. It was really nice. Then we went to the show, Flight.  It was described as a history through flight and I really loved it. So did Thomas. It had some really amazing visuals unlike anything we had seen. The kids liked it, but weren't nearly as impressed as Thomas and I.  

After the show, Luke really wanted to do the gaga ball tournament in the kid's club. The only problem for us was that it started at 10 PM. It was during their extra hours time, meaning you have to pay.  I think they try to do really fun stuff to get more kids to come. It certainly worked for Luke! We told him he could do one hour, because we were tired. So he went from 10 to 11. But Kara and Jack went to some teen party, so they were out anyway.  Kara didn’t come back until midnight, Jack came back shortly before that. So I did not get to sleep until everyone was safely in their rooms. (by the way--15K steps and 42 flights of stairs)

It was a long, very fun day! One funny thing that happened, I was getting a drink from a bar, (nonalcoholic Lava Flow) and a very drunk guy was talking to me. Not flirting, just friendly and drunk. Anyway, he told me that he and the bartender were basically the same person, that they were just so similar and he clearly knew everyone working at the bar, who all came over to fist bump him. So while I waited for my drink, we chatted (well, he chatted and I listened). Then, he told me I had great energy and handed me a $100 bill to tip the bartender. Very strange, but I did it and the bar tender was thrilled. Sunshine was with me and took a picture. That night her daughter told her about some guy who gave her and her friends $100 to stop talking. Sunshine showed Lily the picture and sure enough it was the same guy! I wonder how many hundred dollar bills he’s walking around with? We joked that we needed to follow him around and see if we could collect some of those Franklins!

Cruise Days 1-2

We booked this cruise over a year ago. Cruise prices have climbed significantly since COVID, but we were able to get a pretty good deal and everyone was happy to get back on a ship. Our first-family-of-six cruise was on Anthem of the Seas in 2018. During that cruise, one of the t.v stations had a continuous loop promoting the newest ship--Symphony of the Seas. We all thought it looked amazing and hoped we would one day be able to go onboard. That day finally arrived! Some of our friends also booked the cruise and Luke was especially excited that his friend, Mike, would be on board. The cruise departed on Luke's birthday. We left the house around 7:30 and made a couple of stops on the way to Fort Lauderdale. 

We got to the port around 1115. By 1145 we were boarding the ship. We went straight to lunch at the Windjammer and then Luke did the Flow Rider and the waterslides.  The other kids went off to explore. After that, we hung out in our rooms for a bit and went to dinner. After dinner, Thomas and I saw Hairspray, the teens went to the teen club, and Luke went to the kids club. He did not enjoy the kids club, saying it was too crowded. The girls were a little disappointed with the teen club, and had the same complaint about crowds, they prefer the teen club on the smaller ships (but everything else on the bigger ships). Jack had fun playing dodgeball and then he and some other teens rode the carousel. Thomas and I enjoyed Hairspray, although we did not like it as much as we liked Grease on our last cruise. Everyone was in bed by 10.

First of many, many ice cream cones.

Day two, Thomas and I went to the gym and then got smoothies. We met up with the kids in the Windjammer while they had their breakfast. Following breakfast, Luke, Thomas and I played miniature golf. Thomas and Luke did the zip line and we saw the girls playing miniature golf. I am not sure what exactly Jack was doing all morning. He spent a good amount of time in the room reading during the day and then liked to hang out at the teen's club at night. 

After the zip line, we rode the Abyss, one of our favorite things to do on the Oasis class ships. This one was pretty scary, with flashing red lights and a danger sound. 

Anna and I went to morning trivia, we did not do well, but had a lot of fun trying. Afterward, we walked around the ship, and then we all met up for lunch at Chops Grill at noon. Chops Grille is one of the ship's specialty restaurants. Thomas and I usually go for lunch each time we cruise, but this time we decided to let the kids join. The meal was amazing! 

After lunch we went back to our room and relaxed. Thomas, Anna and I saw the ice-skating show at four. Like most Royal Caribbean shows, it had a promising sounding plot, but then kind of went left field. There was one segment that had a female skater doing clothing quick changes, that was really fun, but also very random with the supposed 1977 London jewel heist theme. However, we still enjoyed the show.  After the show, we took a few pictures. It was a dress-your-best night and we got dressed up. Then, we went to dinner; we had the early seating, which started at 5 each day. Afterward, Thomas and the girls went stargazing. Jack went up to the teens club around 8 o’clock. The rest of us had an early night. Over the course of the day, I climbed 33 flights of stairs!

Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the others, but everyone looked very nice!

Luke is 10!

Luke turned 10 on Sunday, March 17th. The celebration started a little before that. Thursday was the last day of school before Spring Break, so he got birthday bites at school. Parents aren't allowed to send anything in, but can order something from the cafeteria. Luke said everyone likes the blueberry muffins, so we ordered those and juice. The price is very reasonable and it is hassle-free, so win/win. As a parent of a child with allergies, I don't mind the school taking a harder stance against homemade treats. Thursday was also field day, which 4th grade had in the morning, so by the time lunch rolled around, more than half the class had left for the day. That left Luke with a lot of extra muffins and juice, but he handed them out to their companion class and all were happy.

On Friday, Thomas and I took Luke and Adrian to Fun Spot. Adrian is Luke's best friend from his baseball team. This was their second year going for Luke's birthday and they had a lot of fun. It was not crowded and they rode everything multiple times. They had pizza for lunch and spent time in the arcade. A pretty nice day for a turning-10-year-old! 

While they were riding the swings, Thomas decided to get one more ride in on the coaster. He had it all to himself :)

Last minute, Luke decided he wanted an ice-cream cake. We hadn't ordered one, so after Fun Spot we stopped in at Menchie's and picked out a premade cake. We sang to him that night and he opened his gift from Jack--a Calvin and Hobbes pictures (Luke LOVES Calvin and Hobbes).

Saturday was cruise prep day. We had more birthday cake that night and he opened his gift from Kara-- baseball cards. 

On his actual birthday, we headed out to Fort Lauderdale for our 6-night Caribbean cruise. He got sung to in the restaurant and opened his gift from Anna (a National Geographic book). More on the rest of the day later. 

Since this blog is all about Luke, I am going to go back in time to the weekend before his birthday. He had another baseball tournament. I couldn't go on Saturday, but it went okay for them. They won one game and lost one game.  Luke pitched a little on Saturday, but they wanted to "save him" for Sunday.  I went on Sunday and they won the first game, which led them to the tournament championship game (they were in a lower bracket because of Saturday's loss). Anyway, Luke started the game and pitched amazing! He gave up an earned run in the first and second (two hits total). After the second inning, he didn't allow a single base runner ;he retired the last 15 batters! He didn't walk a single player and had 11 strikeouts. It is rare for kids at this age to complete the full 6-innings, at least based on my experience-- it definitely doesn't happen for us very often, the games usually end because of time. And, for the same pitcher to pitch the entire game is also rare. But, because of all the strikeouts, Luke didn't actually have that many pitches. It was so fun to watch! I think we are getting closer to the age when most kids quit (they have one more year on the smaller field, then it becomes more difficult). I hope Luke continues to play, but if not, I hope he will remember how fun it was to play a solid game and contribute to his team! 

His high leg kick looks like he is standing on one foot in this picture.

After the game, Luke got the MVP award. He had also hit well. I was so glad both Thomas and I were able to be there. 

What else to say about the youngest Wilson??? He is smart and athletic. He is a kind friend with a strong moral sense of right and wrong. He is a nice person who is always willing to share. He has a silly sense of humor and loves comics. As mentioned above, his current favorite is Calvin and Hobbes. (Thomas has the complete collection and Luke will lay on the floor giggling at Calvin's antics.) He likes Mark Rober and Mr. Beast videos. He really likes video games, especially Minecraft and Rocket League. He is not in a hurry to grow up, although he is ready to be tall (he is currently 58.5", which is tallish for his age). He was very excited to hit double-digits and we are so happy he completed our family one decade ago!

Meh

It's been a little while since I have written. So, in the past three weeks, from youngest to oldest:

Luke is playing a lot of baseball. His team is doing well.  Luke has been pitching more and is a really good pitcher. He has a reliable fastball and a decent curveball. He is also on the Battle of the Books team and they have practice every Thursday, gearing up for the big competition in March. We went to Wonder Works one Sunday. Every year Wonder Works has a one-day $15/ticket sale. I bought 6 last year and they were a week from expiring. The older kids didn't want to go (sad), so Thomas and I took Luke and his friend, Mike. We had a fun visit. Fourth grade had a field trip yesterday to St. Augustine, but Luke didn't want to go. It was a long day, they had to be at school by 630 and didn't get home until 630, so we didn't make him. He stayed home and met his friend, Avon, who also did not want to go, at a park for lunch. Today, he has another baseball tournament. He and Thomas had to leave at 625 this morning.

Kara is doing great with lacrosse. They have practice every day after school and lift twice a week before school. She has to be at school at 555 for the weights, so when that is coupled with after school practice, it is a really long day. She was chosen to go with the varsity team to an away game last week. She also played a JV game where she started and played for most of the game. And, she got her learner's permit. 

Jack had his concert band MPA yesterday. He said it went well. They had after-school practices once a week to gear up. He is also doing track, which meets every day after school (initially he would split the time on band days, then as the MPA got closer, he missed track, but got permission from his coach to do the runs at home). He runs distance and has recently raced both the 1 and 2 mile. He is new to running, but is doing great. In his first race, he did the 3200 meters (2 miles) in 12.50. In his next race, he ran the mile, which he did in 5.42. This morning, he had to be at school at 625 for another meet. He is running the 3200 meter again. He is still working on driving and we are trying to get him more time behind the wheel. He drives to and from school a lot (with Thomas and me). My writing of this blog was interrupted because the track bus didn't show up and I had to go and pick up Jack. Chauffer duties never end :)

Finished the two-mile at 1250

Anna is doing lacrosse. Sometimes she seems to enjoy it and sometimes she doesn't. It is a big time commitment and she isn't sure she will do it again. She took a test yesterday that will allow her to do dual enrollment at the community college. She, Kara, and I went to Lakeland one Saturday to see my Dad. Afterward, we went to lunch and shopping. It was a nice girls' day out (Jack had track, Luke had baseball). They didn't have lacrosse practice yesterday (Friday) for some reason. So, they are having one later this morning.

For me, work is incredibly busy. I ended up having to work extra hours this week. We aren't allowed overtime, but we can get credit hours to use as future leave. It has to be pre-approved, but sometimes it is just necessary. I am really unhappy about work. I have felt overwhelmed for the past 6-months or so and it is definitely taking its toll. I am not sleeping well. I am exercising, but not eating healthy. The kids are busy, which means we are extra busy. It just isn't a good time for me. I try and keep it big picture, because the things that really matter are fine (my family is healthy, I have a husband I love, food to eat, a nice house, etc.). And, really work isn't that bad. The timing of things just collided, but eventually it will (hopefully) return to a more normal pace.

Thomas' allergies are bad right now. Everything is covered in pollen. He is helping out with Luke's team. He runs Gamechanger (live scoring and metrics) at all the games, so he can't miss any. Work is also busy for him, but fortunately, not quite as busy as it is for me. So, he is stuck doing all the appointments. There always seems to be appointments, dentist, orthodontist, doctor, etc. Jack's first track meet was in Lakeland, so he went to that and afterward he and Jack went to opening day of Spring Training. He loved the game and is hoping to get to more, but it probably won't happen.

On the Wonder Works ropes course

Oh! I forgot something kind of big. Jim, Sheryl, Josh, Sarah and Sarah's boyfriend came and visited one Saturday. Sarah graduated from OCS, which was in Alabama and then they drove to Florida for a few days. We hadn't seen Sarah since Jack and Anna were babies! We had dinner, played games and really enjoyed their visit. We had recently seen Jim and Sheryl, but it had also been a while since we had seen Josh. 

Marta also visited one evening for dinner. We hadn't seen her in a few months and had a good visit.

It is Saturday morning. I have been up since 5. I drove Jack to school for his meet, then had to go pick him up when the bus didn't show. I am watching the live stream of Luke's game. In about 10 minutes I will take the girls to lacrosse. Then, I will pick them up. That will make 4 trips to the high school today. After I bring the girls home, I will drive Jack to his meet and watch him run. 

The moon was amazing one night Anna and I went for a walk.