A Night in Tampa, This and That

The past two weeks have flown by! On Sunday evening (June 15), Thomas and I went to Islands of Adventure. We went on 5 rides and 4 of them experienced technical difficulties, including a pretty scary experience on Velocicoaster. Right before we got on, it shut down. It was down for about 10 minutes and then reopened and we boarded. There is a point on the ride where it accelerates into a huge top hat. But, the ride came to a halt. We were stopped for a few minutes, then it started rolling backward slowly. Then, it started backing up fast before reversing course and accelerating into the uphill climb. I am not doing a great job of describing it, but it was scary. Several people on our car started screaming at the fast backward motion that is definitely not part of the regular ride. The other delays were more minor. Regardless, we still had a nice visit. They recently opened up the express lane for Hagrid's. Our pass allows us one express after 4 on each ride and it was so nice to use it for Hagrid's. The park was surprisingly empty, so the wait was super short, I believe around 20 minutes. 

Last week Luke had a baseball camp. He went with a friend. They drove Mon-Wed and we drove Thurs/Friday. There is little I appreciate more than a good carpool! Luke enjoyed the camp and somehow the boys convinced both sets of parents to stop at Wendy's for a frosty after camp each day.

We did not pick up the girls last weekend, because we had plans to go to Tampa and watch some baseball. It was a Rays/Tigers series. We generally don't like to root against the home team, but we couldn't pass up the chance to see the Tigers. Right now, the Rays are playing in a minor league stadium, so there are no bad seats. We drove down Friday after Luke's camp and our half day at work. Waze said it would take an hour and 50 minutes. It took 2 hours and 20. But, we made it to our hotel to check in and rest a few minutes before heading to dinner at Chick-Fil-A. We got to the game just in time for them to announce a rain delay. I would say about a third of the crowd was Tigers fan, which makes sense as they Spring Train about an hour away. We saw some really great plays, but the Tigers lost (score was a crazy 14-8).

Only picture I took, Jake Rogers batting. He tossed Kara a ball back when he was in the minor leagues and we've rooted for him ever since. I sent this picture to her (unbeknownst to me, Thomas did the same thing). Also shows how good our seats were.

We went back and did it all again for the Saturday game. It started at noon and we had an early lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Why mess with a good thing? We had some trouble getting into our car, but a quick trip to WalMart for a new key fob battery thankfully fixed everything. For that game, we sat right behind the Tigers dugout, which was really cool. Unfortunately, they lost again.

The drive home went well, right around 90 minutes, which is best case scenario. I don't think we did anything Sunday.

The next week was uneventful. Luke went to camp at the middle school along with two neighbors, so once again a great carpool! Thomas missed a couple of days at work, which made my days extra long and boring. And, there was some type of emergency that required them to carve up one of the roads we use to get to work and the detour added 15 minutes to our commute each afternoon. With the return to office we discovered a Tropical Smoothie in a neighboring building and have been going there once a week for lunch. I love, love LOVE the watermelon mojito. Unfortunately, it is only around for summer. Probably better for my wallet (and waistline).

Today is Friday. Thomas and I took the day off to take Luke and a friend to Aquatica. They were giving our level of passholder $20/beach bucks (used like cash in the park). And, right now, we have 10 passes, so $200! If you're wondering, our family has 5 passes (everyone but Jack). They expire on July 1. But, it was cheaper to buy a new pass than to renew the current passes. So, I canceled the current passes and bought 5 new ones. But, there's a few days of overlap. Hence the $200. We bought some new drink cups, lunch, ice cream, walking tacos, water shoes for Luke, and cotton candy. And, we had 10 quick queues that they used after lunch when the lines got long. If Luke's friend, Gael, ever goes with us again, he is going to be sorely disappointed by how cheap the visit will be in comparison. 

In final news, I can't resist a mom brag. Jack got a 1510 on his SAT! He studied completely on his own and made a nice improvement. He already had a 1400, which is good enough for Bright Futures, but he felt with a little studying he could do better in math. He was right. His superscore is now a 1540! He isn't sure what he wants to do and is not even sure if he is ready to go away to school, but this score along with his grades and activities should open some doors if he wants to.

A few bonus pictures. I enjoy facetiming with the girls. Anna calls every day during her break. Kara calls most days. And, both girls sent me their schedules. I like to randomly look during the day and see what they're doing. We are picking them up tomorrow and I am looking forward to spending some time with them. They are now halfway done!

A very full schedule!

CITs & The Start of Summer

The girls were both hired to be counselors-in-training at the Elks summer camp. It is the sleepaway camp they went to when they were younger. They both went through periods of nervousness, regret and excitement. Fortunately, it was mostly excitement. We did last minute shopping on Saturday, May 30. Then, Thomas and I drove them up to camp on Sunday. The camp is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house. The first 50ish minutes is just highway, then the rest of the drive is very scenic country. There are lots of horses and hills and it doesn’t really feel like central Florida. The camp is in a beautiful rural area.

We said our sad goodbyes and their summer adventure began. Their first week was a training week. They learned the rules and expectations and did many of the same activities as the campers. They both enjoyed the week, but said it went by slowly. They were also able to regularly check their phones.

 

Meanwhile, it was the first full week of summer for Jack and Luke. Luke went to summer camp at the middle school. One of his good friends was there and he made a couple of new friends and had a good time. They even had a field trip to Universal—complete with express passes! They weren’t there very long, but he managed to do some fun rides and had fun, except they left him in the bathroom. He went in, came out and his whole group was gone. This was stressful for a couple of reasons, one, the obvious “what do I do now” type feeling (Luke doesn’t have a phone) and two, they had warned the campers that if they wandered off they would be in serious trouble and would not be allowed to go on any more field trips. Luke hadn’t wandered off, but he didn’t know if they would think he had. So, he walked around for a bit, found another group from his camp, who were able to call his group and he was reunited with no issues. I am not sure they even knew he was gone. Seems like they need a better system!

 

Jack’s week was a little quieter. He studied for the SAT and did some volunteering at the high school where he learned how to give tours to new students. And, he tutored his first client—a 3rd grade boy he is helping with reading and math. He said it went well, the mom told him she was impressed with how prepared he was and promised to leave him a good review with the company. Jack thinks he will be able to add more clients, if he wants, after he demonstrates he is reliable.

 

On Friday, Thomas, Luke and I went to Busch Gardens with one of Luke’s best friends and his mom and sister. They have played on the same baseball team for a few years and have similar interests/personalities. We had a very fun day. The drive there was unexpectedly long and it was a little more crowded than we expected, but the drive home was unexpectedly easy and the crowds cleared out as the day wore on.

Saturday, Jack took the SAT and we picked up the girls for their 24-hour break. It was nice to see them and hear all about the camp. I was impressed by how professional it all is. The counselors are background checked and drug-tested and the week was full of instruction (what to do if a camper is homesick, how to tell if a child is being groomed, etc.).  Some of it seemed intense. And, as mentioned, there was also time for fun to do some of the camper activities, like the ropes course.

 

We went to lunch on the way home at Steak n Shake, then mostly they rested. Saturday night, the boys went to a Flying Tigers game where they were handing out Tarik Skubal bobble-heads, the girls and I hung out for a quiet night at home. 

I asked Thomas for a picture of the crowd. This is actually quite a bit more than we usually see. Bobbleheads are a good draw.

Sunday, we had to drop the girls off at 1045, then we had to hang out until 130 when we could also deposit Luke. We went to a nearby park and practiced baseball and went to lunch. Then, we dropped him off for his week of camp. We saw both of the girls in their professional capacity; it was much easier to leave Luke knowing they were there.

 

The girls get a 2-hour break each day, which is the only time they are allowed to look at their phones. Anna has had some ups and downs. The counselor in her cabin only speaks Mandarin and does not engage with the kids or follow the cell phone rules. They assigned another counselor to be with them during the day, but Anna feels like she has to do all the work in the morning and evenings. Fortunately, the CITs get to switch cabins after two weeks, so hopefully her next counselor is more proactive. Kara is having a better experience. Both girls love their little campers and are going to miss them when the week is over. They see Luke occasionally and he appears to be having fun.

 

It has been quiet with just Jack. Jack said it is a little lonely and he would not like to be an only child. He has cleaned in the house, hung out with friends, gone running and will do his second tutoring session today. Thomas and I are going to work, just like any other week. We did go out to dinner one night. 

It's taking me a while to finalize this (I always write and then go back and add pictures), so I can update. Friday night, Thomas, Jack and I went to Epcot. We rode Guardians twice. We also went to the aquarium and rode Living with the Land and we saw the nighttime show! We almost never see the evening shows, usually we are hopping in line for something. But, the timing worked out. We all thought the fireworks were good, but the song choices and voiceover was not our favorite. 

Saturday morning, I rode up to Elks camp with my friend Kaitlin (one of the 3 if you remember my previous pity party post). Her daughter Ella was also at camp this week. She and Luke were in the same track and it was so fun to hear them discuss the week. They both loved it! And, they are both going the same week later in the summer. Luke had another two friends there from school in his track (we have told lots of people about the camp) and he said everyone had fun. But, his "best camp friend" was someone he met there, named Wesley. He said Wesley also lived in Orlando. I thought that was great and asked Luke if he got his number. Luke did not. Ella said that she got the numbers of all the girls in her cabin. I thought that was funny and wonder if that is a difference between boys and girls or just Luke and Ella? My recollection is that both Anna and Kara also communicated with their camp friends after camp and that Jack did not. 

We had to pick up Luke at 830 and the girls said they would get dismissed between 11-1130, so Thomas drove up separately for them. They both enjoyed their first week with campers and it sounds like they both did a great job. Anna made up a story, Ratanna, that she would add to each night as a bedtime story. I think she said she turned all the girls into rats and gave them rat names and they loved it. A couple of girls even said that was their favorite part of camp. Kara's counselor asked her to be a little meaner because all of the girls liked her the best :) One week down (two if you count training) and 6 to go! And, update on Anna's counselor who doesn't speak English--she quit. Anna is not sure what will happen now. 

It was nice to have everyone home for the night! Kara baked cookies with Jordyn. Anna and I went for a walk. 

End of School Year!

Picking up where I left off, we had Luke’s fifth grade promotion ceremony on May 22. Luke cleaned up! He received a ton of awards for his academic achievements, including being the only kid in 5th grade to receive a perfect score on the ELA FAST (he also had a perfect score in science)! We were very proud of him.

The other kids also had strong finishes to their years. Anna and Kara had straight As for the semester. Jack got his first B; it was in Spanish and he is at peace with the end of his Straight-A Streak.

May 23rd was fifth-grade day for Luke. Thomas and I took the day off to volunteer. The first thing they did was a clap-out, where the fifth graders walk the halls by all their old classrooms and the teachers and kids come out and clap for them. They had the parents in the lobby and there was a ton of us! They handed out noise makers and the parents all cheered, clapped and made noise as the kids came down the stairs into the lobby. They all looked so excited and surprised, it was an amazing moment. Luke gave me a big hug and it was actually a bit emotional. We missed some of Jack and Anna’s 5^th grade events when we moved to Florida and Kara’s were all canceled for Covid, so this was a first for our family.

After the clap-out, they had some bounce houses and two gaming trucks for the kids. Then, they went inside for lunch and a glow dance. It was a pretty great day to be a 5^th grader.

Last walk home as a student at NLPCS. Hard to believe we've been doing it for 6 years and now it is over. Very sad.

After school, Thomas, Jack, Anna and I went to Hollywood Studios. We had a great time, we rode all our favorite rides, including Slinky Dog at night. They had a preview of the new Villains show, which we all liked. And, we got to see Muppet Vision 3D one last time. I am going to miss that show! We didn’t go every visit, but we went multiple times a year and it was one of our favorites. It makes me sad thinking about it!

On Sunday we had a nice visit with my dad and then went to a Flying Tigers game. Luke ended up with 6 foul balls/home runs. And, he actually caught one of the home runs as it came over the wall! It was very cool and the crowd (of about 100) went wild! It is a shame the Flying Tigers can’t get a better turnout, it is such a fun time. The other home run ball that Luke got was the player’s first. So, they sent staff to get the ball and gave Luke a different one that he was able to get signed after the game.

He caught it!

Luke and Stephen Hrustich

The last day of school was May 28th, but most of our kids (all but Jack) didn’t go the last two days. Their teachers told them that grades were final and they didn’t need to show up, so they didn’t. Therefore, our last day of school pictures are kind of weird, but we did them, just not on the last day. 

On the 30th, to celebrate another year in the books, the whole family went to Epcot. We had a great visit and rode Guardians of the Galaxy and got Thomas’ favorite—Disco Inferno.

This is probably getting a little long, so I will pick up with Anna and Kara become camp counselors in my next post. Right after this bonus picture of Luke. Sunrise, sunset.