Kara Turns 16, Return to the Office & Mardi Gras Parade

Kara turned 16 on Wednesday. Her big celebration was the cruise, so her actual day was pretty anticlimactic. She thought about skipping school, but didn't want to miss lacrosse practice. I made cake pops that she took to school and shared with her friends. It was also the night of Jack's first pre-season track meet. So, Thomas went to that and I took Kara to her chosen dinner--Taco Bell. Luke made her a bracelet, Anna gave her a camo hoodie, and we gave her a $25 Starbucks gift card. She likes to make her own cake, but I think that may not happen this year. Obviously, I offered to make (or buy) one for her, but at first she planned to make it over the weekend, now she is saying she doesn't really want one. We shall see. So, like I started with--it was kind of an odd birthday. It is hard to believe she is 16. I can still see her in my mind as a cuddly 3-year-old, full of personality.

Other happenings have been a bit crazy. Thomas and I are back in the office. On our second day, there was a small electrical fire. They sent us home to telework for the afternoon, but had us come in the next day even though there was no internet. The internet came on late that afternoon, but was out again the next morning. The return to office feels very rushed. I know some people think that teleworkers don't actually work. I have many personal opinions on the matter, but I will keep it short and just say that I firmly believe diligent workers are going to be diligent, whether they are working from home or an office. And, lazy workers are going to be lazy, no matter where you put them. Anyway, it's been a big change. 

There have been mass firings of federal workers. I am not sure why we've become the enemy.  I have been up since 3am trying to figure out what Thomas and I will do if we lose our jobs. We have both spent our entire adult lives working for the Navy, which doesn't translate well into the civilian world. I feel like we will have to start over completely, which is terrifying when I thought we'd be retiring in 10-15 years. I do not like what is happening in the world and that along with the fear of extreme personal upheaval has created a level of stress that I've never experienced. I wish I could say this was my first or last sleepless night, but there have already been many and I imagine that there are still plenty in front of me.

Okay, moving on. As mentioned--Jack had his first track meet. He did the mile in 5:22 and the 1K in 3:08. He was happy with those times and has set some lofty goals for himself going forward. The lacrosse season has started. Kara is really enjoying playing. In last night's game, both of the regular goalies were out, so she played the position for the first half and had about about a 50% save rate. Their team won 23-3 and Kara got the game ball!

It's a great time of year to sit outside and watch a game.

On February 3rd we got to toss beads from a float during Universal's Mardi Gras parade. They let passholders reserve a date and the signups were released at noon in January. I got the link around 1205 and had a significant wait in the virtual queue. By the time I got in, there were two days left to chose from, both weekdays in early February. When we first did this a few years ago, they had lots of spots for passholders and you could sign up for two nights. But now they sell the opportunity to be on a float as part of a dinner package, so the free passholder spots are very limited. I was happy that we were able to snag one and was excited when the night arrived.

It was actually the day our passes expired and we had to renew in person (we changed our passes slightly). So, we raced to the parks after work, renewed our passes and checked in for the floats. Then, we grabbed a quick dinner. It was very rushed, but totally worth it. Unfortunately, Jack and Kara didn't want to miss their after school practices, so it was just the 4 of us. We missed, them but those of us who went had a great time.

Even on a Monday night, the parade draws a crowd.

January Wrap-Up

January ended well. Kara made the Varsity lacrosse team and Jack is doing distance for track again. They are both very busy with after school practices. It is so incredibly nice having Jack drive and not having to go to the school every day for pickup.

We bought a new couch and a new tv. Between that and the cruise, January was a very expensive month. We are going to have to live lean for a while to make up for it. We bought our last couch right before Luke was born, so 11 years ago. It held up relatively well, but had some weak spots, separating cushions, and was making creaking noises; I was ready for a new one. We found one we liked, but it was way over budget. Then, I found it online for a much better price and the store price-matched. We like to support brick-and-mortar stores and are willing to pay a bit more, but this was not an insignificant difference. Anyway, we have a new, non-creaky couch to enjoy.

Our old couch, looking good in its final picture from our living room. We gave it away on freecycle, where another family was thrilled to get it (even in its much used condition). 

New couch and rug. It is more cream colored than it looks in this picture, but I don't want to wait until morning to take a picture with better lighting.

We probably could have got some more time out of our tv, but the one we have in our bedroom has been black-and-white for close to a year now. We don't use it very often, but it is nice for occasional use. And, our main tv has some minor image issues. Plus, there is a lot of speculation that electronics are going to increase in price with the new tariffs. So, we bought a new tv and will move the old tv to our bedroom and get rid of the black-and-white.

Luke had two baseball tournaments this month. His team has gone 2-5, so not a great start, but they moved up a division, so it is not unexpected. At school, he got an award for exhibiting the Cambridge trait of "Innovative". Last quarter he got the "Responsible" award, so we were not expecting that he would get anything this quarter (each class has three awards for 3 quarters). And, he was the only kid in his class to get straight As. All the kids did very well the first semester. 

Luke and his teacher, Ms. Carter-Mello.

Kara spent the day at Universal yesterday (Saturday) with two friends. Anna and I went up around 4, rode a few rides, had dinner at Burger King in City Walk, and then met up with Kara and friends to watch the parade (then drive people home). It was incredibly crowded. People were lining up for the parade 90 minutes before it started! It was Mardi Gras opening day and a T-Pain concert, so maybe that is why? We are used to lighter crowds in January.

We had fun sitting up here and people watching.

I mentioned in my first blog of the month that we went to Fort Christmas and to lunch at Steak-n-Shake. I was going to write in more detail later, but obviously that didn't happen. It was a really fun day and a great way to spend the last day of winter break. We played tennis, looked around the houses and fort, then had a nice lunch (and milkshakes) at Steak-n-Shake.

I'm sure I am leaving something out, but that is a good enough summary. Thomas and I got new glasses. We had some really cold days, which was fun. There was lots of school and work and Thomas and I enjoying what are likely our last weeks of telework.

One random picture to end. When we took down our tree, I snapped this picture of my snowmen ornament collection. I love them.