First Cross-Country, Leu Gardens, Baseball, etc.

Summer is now a thing of the past and we are fully back into the school routine. The kids have finished two weeks of school. They all seem to be good with their class schedules and teachers.

I took my dad to the doctor last week. I don't want to keep belaboring the point, but it is hard to be at this stage of life where I have a family at home to care for and an elderly parent who also needs attention. I am glad that I am here to help him, especially because otherwise it would all fall on my sister, but it can be tiring. The only thing that makes me lose my patience (inwardly, I don't act on my annoyance) is when older people make the comment "never get old". I seem to hear it a lot from my dad and have heard it from others as well. It is like nails on a chalkboard. I wish my mother had the opportunity to get old. I understand what they mean, but the only alternative to getting old is dying before you reach that point and that's not really a great alternative.

In happier news, Thomas and I love doing day dates on our Fridays off (every other week) when the kids are in school. Unfortunately, Jack and Anna had an early afternoon dentist appointment on our first one of the school year. We went to Leu Gardens in the morning and enjoyed walking around before their appointment. 

Same tree, forced perspective is amazing!

We love to smell the roses

Friday night, Kara, Luke, Thomas and I went to Universal. The plan was to pick up Jack after halftime from Dr. Phillips high school, which is literally across the street from Universal. Jack is in the band, but due to his early report time for cross-country Saturday, we got permission to pick him up early from the game. However, it started storming like crazy. The kids got held on the bus for over an hour and then they called the game. Meanwhile, we got stuck in the rain. We ended up riding the train, then the Mummy 3 times in a row hoping the rain would stop. It didn't. We all got completely soaked. Florida weather is crazy. Even while it was raining, the radar showed it clearing up in 15 minutes, but it was a downpour for hours! I wish I had thought to take some pictures.

Luke had a baseball tournament over the weekend. They finished in second place. Luke did a lot of pitching and played well. I did not go either day. Saturday, I took Jack to cross-country. It was his first race of the year and he finished it in 21.24. To me, that seems pretty amazing for 3.2 miles, but the winner was 16.29! Jack finished 92/226. Not bad for his first race! Hopefully he continues to improve and enjoy it. 

After Jack and I got home, I took the girls to Kohls. Anna got a dress (originally $108 and marked down to $24!) and Kara got a bathing suit. We all bought sunglasses. Then, Anna, Jack and I went to pick up the car. It needed all new ball bearings and the repair came to $1800! I was a little frustrated; the car is a 2018 Honda that we bought new and it only has 47K miles. That seemed like a hefty repair at this point in its life. Plus, earlier this month, we had to pay $470 for freon. So, over 2K in repairs for the car this month. But, what can you do? 

After dinner that night, Jack noticed water leaking from one of our air vents. Thomas tried to trouble-shoot, but we called in reinforcements. Fortunately, it was not a major repair, but still Saturday was a pretty lousy day with the car repair and leak.

Sunday, Luke was back at baseball. Kara had a lacrosse practice. Anna went with me and while Kara played, Anna and I drove around a couple of the new neighborhoods looking at model homes. We went to one gated community with super fancy homes and one that is more comparable to where we live now. We also went to Publix and bought sodas and snacks. We had a really fun time.

Today is Tuesday, Marta and Elizabeth drove up. We went to lunch, then they picked the girls up from school to take them shopping for bracelet supplies. Marta is going to teach the girls how to make charm bracelets/necklaces on Saturday. Marta is very artistic and has lots of talents. I am glad to see the girls taking advantage.

And, I think that just about covers it.