This and That

Working in reverse order:

Today is Saturday, May 18th. It was a typical, busy Saturday. The older kids volunteered at a Special Olympics tennis event. They all said it was really fun. Jack was a ball boy and Anna and Kara did awards. They are now inspired to learn to play tennis. 

Now, Jack is at the band banquet. He was asked to give a speech for one of the seniors. Every senior gets to choose an underclassman to say some kind words. Jack was on the fence about going, but that sealed the deal and off he went.

While the kids were volunteering, I went to Lakeland to visit with my dad. Then, I picked up Luke who had spent the night in Winter Haven with Marta. He had a nice night. Coming home, traffic was typically terrible. I hate Central Florida traffic. They just keep building and building without the infrastructure to support all the people.

Friday, the teens skipped school and we went to Universal. It rained, but we still had a nice time. We rode a few rides and had lunch at Circus McGurkus. We were hoping to ride Hagrid's, but it was shut down due to weather. Meanwhile, Luke had a special event at school--he got to walk to Menchi's with the 10 other kids who read all the Sunshine State books (and, two adults). He got a big yogurt with lots of candy toppings. Then, after school Marta picked him up. They went back to her house, had pizza and swam. 

The kids all had testing over the course of the week. They did well on the ones that have been graded. Kara also had her first week of summer lacrosse. She found a ride with a friend who drives. It is hard to believe our kids are at an age where they have friends who drive. Of course, Jack and Anna have been 16 for months now, so it makes sense. Jack will get his license when we get back from our trip. Then, we will worry about Anna and Kara.

Thursday, Luke's team played a baseball scrimmage against an 11U team (his team is 10U) and won. It was at the park near our house, which was so nice. Anna and I actually walked up, we have been doing nightly walks, so it fit in well with our routine. I miss him playing there! There were a couple of uncomfortable moments. One of the parents on our team got yelled at by the other coach for correcting him in his balls and strikes count. In her defense, she was right. In his defense, it was a scrimmage and not worth getting upset about. And, there was a parent on the other team who kept yelling at his kid ("do that again and see what happens" "you're going to be walking home," etc). I felt really bad for that kid. It did make me feel slightly better about my parenting skills, at least I'm not publicly shaming/embarrassing them (I hope!).

I had to go into the office more often than usual recently. I don't mind going in when there is a reason, so it is not a big deal. But, I miss the quiet of my home office and my window. 

Oh! Last weekend was Mother's Day. Saturday, we went to Target and played Ticket to Ride. Sunday, we went to Fun Spot. It was empty, and we had a good time. We came home after lunch and played a couple more games. The older kids all wrote me nice, thoughtful letters. I think it sometimes frustrates them that I don't like stuff and ask them not to buy anything, particularly for Mother's Day.