A Busy Weekend and a Hurricane!

I have to go back in time a bit to write about what we did outside the birthday stuff. 

On September 30th we had a "free" inspection of our plumbing and electrical systems. Apparently, at some time we signed up for a plan (likely during one of our plumbing problems, where they told us it would save us money) and that plan came with yearly inspections. Never again! The electrician told us that our outside panel was giving off heat and needed to be replaced ASAP to the tune of $5K. He pointed out that it was a gold color which he said was evidence of this heat, as compared to the silver color of the interior box. He said he wasn't allowed to say the word (fire) but that we all knew what could happen if something is emitting too much heat. In other words he laid it on thick. Too thick. It didn't feel right, so we got a second opinion. That guy charged us $350 and said the first guy was "an idiot". The color was different because it was copper and it was functioning fine and we were not in any danger. So, the free inspection costs us $350 just to resolve a problem we didn't have. The plumbers also found about $2500 of work that "needs" to be done. For example, Anna's toilet handle was broken, but he said he could fix that for just $100. Thomas bought a $5 part and had it done in two minutes. There were a couple of minor legitimate things that we will get taken care, but, we aren't going to hire that company!

Saturday morning, I took Jack to his cross-country meet. Jack set a new PR and came in at 18:53! He placed 35th out of over 100 runners and his team finished in second place. This was Jack's 5th race. He ran the first in 21:24, so this is awesome improvement. However, Jack was still disappointed, he was hoping to finish ahead of some kids who beat him.

Not sure who took this cool picture, obviously not me!

While we were doing that, Thomas dropped Kara off at lacrosse and then took Luke to a baseball tournament. Luke's team broke out of their slump and over the course of the weekend, won 3/3 games. The fourth was canceled for weather. Luke pitched and did amazing. He only gave up one hit and one walk in four innings on Saturday. And, he pitched three perfect innings in the Sunday game. He also hit well and had some good plays in the outfield.

Meanwhile, I dropped Jack off and went to Kara's lacrosse. They were doing a tournament style day. Kara played in two games and did well. Between games, we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A. On our way there, we passed Jack and Anna, who were leaving CFA. And, guess where Thomas and Luke went to lunch between his games??? A Chick-Fil-A! All 6 Wilson's had lunch at Chick-Fil-A in three groups of two on Saturday. 

Saturday night, Kara and I went to HHN with her friend Shannon. We did 5/10 houses and had a good time.

Sunday, I was planning on going to Luke's games, but I was 99% sure they would be canceled for weather. I was wrong, but it probably should have been canceled. They played one game in the rain and then canceled the second game. We had the remnants of a tropical storm passing over us. And, a hurricane was forecast to hit us later in the week. So, I decided to go to Walmart for our weekly shopping. Normally, we do a delivery on Monday or Tuesday, but I was afraid everything would be gone. I got everything on my list, but the store was definitely crowded for 7am on a Sunday. 

Junk food and toilet paper--we were all set!

There was no baseball or lacrosse practice during the week due to weather. And, school was canceled Wed-Fri. They have Monday off for Columbus Day, so the kids get a 6-day weekend. Unfortunately, Thomas and I are working like normal. The only drawback of teleworking is on those rare occasions when the base closes, we still have to work. Anna and I went for walks in the evening. She is thinking about trying to enlist in the Air Force after high school, so we are talking about that quite a bit. One night some of us watched The Haunted Mansion movie. We have also played games and are watching the Halloween episodes of Brooklyn 99. It has been nice to have everyone home at night.

For most of the week, the storm was forecast to go right over us, potentially as a Category 2 hurricane. We have a lot of large trees around our house, so this was pretty nerve-wracking. However, about 12 hours before landfall, it moved a little south. It was a loud night for wind, and we did (maybe) have some hurricane force gusts, but nothing like we feared. One smaller tree in our yard was knocked over and we lost a shutter, but overall, we fared well. It was still stressful, as the wind was loud and our phones went off all night with various alarms (flood warning! tornado watch!). These storms are so strange in how they manifest. Some areas of Orlando completely flooded and areas significantly north of us (thus, further from the eye) had way worse winds. I guess you never really know what to expect and just have to prepare for the worst.

Sad to see a tree down.

We found the shutter, but it was cracked. We are glad it didn't hit the cars.

Anna and I use the white pipe in one of the neighborhood ponds to judge rain levels. The picture on the left was Monday. The right was Thursday. 

Anna and Jack are 17!!!

Jack and Anna turned 17 on Thursday. It feels crazy for them to be that old. For the first time ever, Jack wanted a birthday party. Well, what he asked for was to go bowling with his friends. However, the bowling alley wouldn't let you reserve a lane without booking a party. He had the party on a Sunday afternoon. They bowled for a couple of hours, ate, then spent a little time in the arcade. Jack had fun and I don't think he regrets his choice.

Anna wanted to go to Disney Springs and the beach. Our weekends are so busy that it can be hard to find time to do things. To make Anna's requests happen, we decided to go to Disney Springs after work/school and let them skip school for the beach. So the celebration took place over the course of their birthday week. Sunday started with Jack's birthday party. The rest of us (except Kara who doesn't like bowling) also bowled. The bowling alley is huge with 80 lanes, so it was easy enough to be there without interfering in his party.

On Monday, Anna, Kara and I went to Disney Springs after school. We browsed all the shops they were interested in and had burgers for dinner at Anna's request. It was a fun night. Jack was at cross-country practice and Luke didn't want to go, so Thomas stayed home with Luke.

Tuesday, Jack had cross country and band practice. Kara had lacrosse, but got rained out. Oddly enough, Luke still had baseball. It was pouring at our house for hours, but no rain 7 miles away at the baseball field So weird! One day, I was walking to the school and I literally passed the line where the rain began (or ended). One step forward--no rain. One step back--rain. Florida weather is not for the faint of heart!

Wednesday Jack had a band concert. None of the other kids wanted to go (there were concerns about how long it might last). Thomas and I went to Culver's for dinner and then the concert. We enjoyed the music. There was one number with a combined band and orchestra that was really great.

Thursday was their actual birthday. I made one of Jack's favorites for dinner, beef stroganoff. Anna and I made her requested cake (pumpkin spice with cinnamon cream cheese frosting--delicious!). We also made some cake pops, just for fun. The kids opened their presents. Jack got two records and a backpack for cross-country. Anna got Legos, a Kendra Scott necklace, and a chair and tower air conditioner for her room (she got more than Jack because she didn't have a party).

Anna got a custom coke with her name on it at the Coca-Cola story in Disney Springs. She enjoyed it on her birthday.

Friday was supposed to be the beach. We were going to try a new one in Jupiter that is supposed to be beautiful. But, the forecast called for thunderstorms all day. It doesn't usually storm in the mornings, so that was unfortunate. We gave Anna the option of going to Cocoa Beach (better forecast), doing something else, or postponing to another day. She decided to do a Disney day. We went to Magic Kingdom and did all her favorites and some rides we usually skip, like the carousel and tea cups. It was a fun day!

We went on the People Mover while Space Mountain was shut down and got to see it with the lights on.

View from Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

And, that concludes the birthday week! I am so glad that Jack and Anna were born. I always wanted to be a mom. I've probably written this at least one time in the past, but one of my first memories is praying for a baby of my own and then getting scared that God would grant my wish and quickly praying, "never mind". I was probably 4. We write about everyone each year in January, but I can't end this blog without saying a few things that I love about them. 

Anna has a great sense of humor; she can be quick to anger, but is also quick to apologize and admit when she is wrong. She is intuitive, smart, and loving. She has gained a lot of confidence this year and it is amazing to see the young woman she is becoming. 

Jack is super smart and good at all the hard subjects that I try and avoid. He is goal-oriented and willing to work hard for what he wants. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and strives to be a good, moral, human being. He is kind to everyone. I know great things are in store for him!

I am so proud to be their mom!

Routine

With the school year back in session, life is continuing in its routine pattern. I could almost copy and paste last week's entry: we went to Hollywood Studios again on Wednesday night. Luke had baseball, Kara had lacrosse. Anna and I volunteered again. Although, this time it was at the concession stand for the football game. There was no XC meet this week, and Jack enjoyed staying for the entire football game.

Anna went ice skating with a friend on Saturday. It made her a little sad. It has been about a year since she quit skating and while she misses it, it didn't feel the same to be back. Luke had another baseball tournament, it did not go well; his team is in a bit of a slump. 

It doesn't get any more high pressure than this. Luke was up with the bases loaded and two outs. He worked it to a full count. He ended up walking, which meant the game was 10-9. However, the next batter grounded out and they lost the game. 

On Saturday night, Kara and I went to Howl-O-Scream, SeaWorld's Halloween event. It is a much smaller scale event than HHN (Universal). HHN has 10 haunted houses, SeaWorld has 5. SeaWorld does have more scare zones and shows, but nothing is quite as elaborate. Although, there was one house that I thought was really good (Atlantis) and another that had an interesting concept that was unlike anything we had done (Delirium). But, overall, I would say it was just okay. I don't really enjoy the 'scariness' of these events, rather I enjoy the sets and production aspect, which HHN excels at. We did enjoy riding the rides in the dark and went on three of their coasters twice with very little wait. So, it was definitely worth going to, although I don't think it is something we need to do every year. Maybe an every-other-year-if-we-get-a-good-deal kind of outing. 

I took the morning off on Tuesday (the 24th) to take my dad to a doctor's appointment. He is doing better and is much less foggy than he was a few months ago. It is hard to believe that we are coming up to a year since the surgery that started his mental decline.

Now, we are mid-way through a slightly less routine week. School was canceled today (Thursday) for a hurricane. It is passing well north of us, but is definitely a dangerous storm. We aren't seeing any bad weather and school will be back in session tomorrow. Kara and I took advantage and went to HHN last night. It was much more crowded than we expected, but we had a good time. I still had to get up for work this morning, but it was nice for Kara to stay out late and then sleep in.

One house Kara and I visited had a 20-minute posted wait. The line isn't visible from the main park, you have to walk backstage to get to it. When we saw the line, we knew the 20 minutes was wildly inaccurate. But, it was a house we wanted to do so we decided to wait. This particular line is indoors and has about 20 switchback lines. Someone had blown up a balloon and it was bouncing through the crowd. Any time it fell to the ground, everyone booed. We ended up waiting for 46 minutes and the time flew by. That balloon united the crowd. Many people put their phones away and joined in the group effort of keeping the balloon in the air. Unfortunately, it popped as we neared the end of the line, but for about 30 minutes, we were one team with a joint purpose. 

Blue Balloon for President!

I guess that is about it. As a few updates--Anna has not heard back from Panera and the Flying Tigers lost their next two games and the championship.

More HHN, Disney, XC & a Job Interview

We had a nice week. Some highlights:

After work on Wednesday, Thomas, the girls and I went to Hollywood Studios. It was not very crowded and we had dinner and rode several rides. So many people come from all over the world to vacation in Orlando and I never take those quick trips for granted.

Thursday was Anna's night at Halloween Horror Nights. She doesn't like it the same way Kara and I do, but she does enjoy going once every year. Kara and I try and scope things out to determine what we think she will enjoy. We did 5 of the haunted houses (Ghostbusters, Museum, Sinema, Goblins, and Monsters). We had some themed snacks and dinner and rode rides. It was a very fun night. For some reason, the pictures are in reverse chronological order, but here they are:

City Walk photo opp.

Kara took this cute picture. I held Anna's hand through the scare zones.

Kara was back at HHN on Friday night to celebrate her friend Abby's birthday. Meanwhile, Anna had her first job interview! It was at Panera and she thinks it went well. She hasn't heard back yet as to whether or not she got the job. We celebrated the interview with dinner at the restaurant of her choosing--Red Robin. While we were doing that, Jack was at a football game with the band. We again picked him up early to try and let him get some extra sleep before his Saturday morning track meet. Thomas and Jack left the house around 5:45 Saturday morning for that. It was super foggy, which caused most race times to increase. However, Jack managed to shave off another 17 seconds. He ran the 3.12 miles in 19:26, finishing 59th out of 181 varsity runners (64th/358 if we include JV).  His team is currently in 4th place and only the top 4 move on to the post-season and the coach is slightly worried they could drop lower. Cross-country scoring is interesting, there are 7 varsity runners on the team. They all run the race, but only the top 5 scores count. Jack is currently the 5th place runner for his school. His score has counted every week and the coach wants his time to drop into the low 18s to help the team be more competitive. Considering he started at over 21, that seems pretty ambitious to me, but we shall see. I don't think Jack can work any harder than he already is; he really wishes he had started running as a freshman.

Also on Saturday, Anna and I volunteered at the Special Olympics State Bowling Championship. We signed up to help with awards and it was a very cushy job. We brought medals out as scores were tallied and put them around the athlete's necks. 

Saturday night, Kara babysat. The rest of us enjoyed a quiet night in. I am way behind on my Goodreads goal, so I started reading some of the Sunshine State books to try and catch up. Those are the books Luke reads for the book club and (hopefully) Battle of the Books team. I finished two on Saturday. One of them, Penny Draws a New Best Friend, I thought was excellent and would highly recommend to elementary aged kids who may sometimes feel a little different or struggle with friendships. 

Sunday, we went to a Flying Tigers game. It was the first game in the Championship series. It was a very exciting game. The Cardinals took the lead in the 6th inning, but the Tigers rallied in the 8th to go up by one run and held off the Cardinals in the 9th. We intended to leave earlier, but couldn't walk out on such a nailbiter. We ended up getting home around 9pm. Luke spent some time on the outfield berm where he snagged a foul ball and got a ball thrown to him by one of the players. I think everyone had fun.

HHN, Mattress Shopping, XC

Tuesday I went to a meeting at Jack's school. The band is going to DC for a few days in March. They are taking buses and only staying 3 days (plus two travel days, for a total of 5 days/4 nights). They will be doing some fun stuff, but overall it isn't the itinerary I would have chosen. Shockingly, no one asked for my input. Jack wants to go and I am sure he will have a great time. I considered being a chaperone, but there is no way I can do a 13-hour bus ride without getting sick, so I am out. I don't think Thomas has any interest in chaperoning, but we shall see.

There was also a meeting for 5th grade parents. It wasn't super useful. They talked about 5th grade testing. Luke is an excellent test taker, so that isn't something we worry about. They talked a lot about cell phone etiquette and issues they are seeing. Luke doesn't have a call phone. They talked about drama that seems to arise among 5th grade girls. Luke is a boy. You get the idea. 

The high school had club rush. I think Anna and Kara found one or two they are going to try and join.

Kara and I went to HHN for a few hours on Wednesday. We did a few houses and were home by 7. We went back for a longer night on Friday with our neighbors, Bevin and Beya. Beya, who is 10, was really excited about going and since Kara and I are experts, we happily planned out the night. I felt some pressure to make sure we were able to do everything Beya was excited about, fortunately, it all worked out. We did 7 houses, had dinner and themed snacks, and rode Gringotts. It was a rainy night, so crowds weren't terrible. And, if you think they take it easy on kids, you'd be wrong. They definitely seemed to target Beya! She walked in front with Kara and Bevin and I loved seeing all the scare actors jump out at them. Beya was a trooper and told Kara she wants to go again with her next year :)

Friday night was another football game and Jack was there with the band. We again had permission to pick him up early. Unfortunately, the game was delayed for weather, so early wasn't really all that early. Thomas was able to get him home by 1015, not much earlier than Kara and me. But, Thomas still took him to his cross-country meet on Saturday morning, they left the house around 515. The lack of sleep didn't hurt Jack, he set a new personal record and finished in 19:44! I can't believe he shaved another 37 seconds off his time. We are super proud of how hard he is working and the improvements he is making. His team finished the meet in first place. 

Saturday, I took on the task of ordering Anna a mattress. Hers is old and the boxspring is broken and a replacement it is way overdue. Friday afternoon, Thomas took her to a mattress store where we were shocked at the prices. She picked out one that came to $1700 for a twin and it wasn't even one of the "expensive" ones. I knew she had talked about getting a Purple mattress since Thomas and I got ours. I also knew that they were a lot less than $1700, even if we had to buy a new base. So, Saturday I gave her the option of a Purple mattress or going to some different stores. She chose the Purple and now we are anxiously awaiting its arrival.

After cross country, Thomas took a quick nap and then headed out with Luke for baseball. I was tired and cranky and opted to stay home. I also did a quick power nap and then was far less cranky and tired. But, I was glad I didn't go. The games were behind schedule and then they only played a few innings before they got rained out. They drove about 75 minutes, sat around for over 2 hours and then played for about an hour before driving home another 75 minutes. At least they won.

They were back at the field on Sunday. They had a compressed schedule, so it was single elimination. And, it was not the Vipers day. They did not play well. Luke had some errors in the field and did not bat well and his team was not much better. So, they played and lost and were home in time for Sunday night tacos.

Meanwhile, Anna and I went shopping for a new comforter. What good is a new bed if you don't have a new blanket? Easy enough, right? Ha! We went to 3 different stores, with no success. We came home for a bit, then went to Kohl's and she found one she liked. We bought it, got home, Anna put it on her bed and decided that it didn't match her room. Back to Kohl's we went where she chose a quilt that she is now happy with. 

Random picture from one of my walks with Anna this week. Our neighborhood is really pretty:

Out With August

Fall is in the air! Well, not in Orlando, but somewhere I am sure that fall is in the air. Kara and I ended the month with Halloween Horror Nights, which started on August 30th this year. It was our second year in a row of going on opening night and we had a great time. We have a pass that lets us go throughout the event, so we didn't have any set plans. However, we ended up staying until the event closed at 2am! We did all 11 houses, including one house twice (there are 10 different houses) and had a few snack breaks. We tried to ride Men in Black and were the next in line to board when it experienced technical difficulties and was shut down. 

First line of the season! Insidious, around 5:30pm.

First snack of the season, a Ghostbuster s'more. It was good. We also had pork carniceria (delicious) and a peanut butter crepe (meh).

In line for last house of the night. 1:57am. Also Insidious, we made it our first and last house.

Kara made this sweet Instagram post commemorating the night.

While Kara and I were doing that, Thomas took Luke and Anna to Tijuana Flats for dinner. Then, he picked up Jack early from a football game. The next morning, Jack and Thomas left at 510 for Jack's second cross-country meet. Jack shaved an entire minute off his time from the previous week and finished in 20:21. It was a smaller meet than the first week and his team finished first. Jack almost got a medal, he finished 11th and the first 10 got medals. He lost by like half a second. He didn't realize that another runner was gaining on him and he was just cruising to the finish line when the other runner came and passed him right at the finish line. 

Jack didn't seen him coming until it was too late. This was right after they crossed the finish line.

When they got home, I took the girls to Marta's for a jewelry making session. Anna made a charm necklace and Kara made a charm bracelet. Things got slightly heated at one point when we discussed politics. We are at different ends of the spectrum. I had also commented on someone's Facebook page and was mad at myself for doing so, particularly when I realized it was a public post. Arguing politics is a lose/lose proposition. I truly hate how divisive our country is. It put a slight damper on the day, but overall we had a good time and the girls were thrilled with their jewelry. 

Sunday, we went to Academy Sports. They had 50% off all clearance and Thomas got some nice sneakers. Then, we went to Walmart and Luke bought "The Show", a video game he's been wanting for a while. That night, Kara and I went back to HHN. It was more crowded than Friday and we only stayed until about 945. We did four houses and saw the show and tried a few more snacks. It was a good night. 

My favorite snack of the night, "cranium cake" it was a chocolate cake, with pecans, coconut and cherries, covered in chocolate.  We also tried a walking taco and a weird, but good, hot dog.

I thought this was a cute picture of Kara.

Another night in the books!

Today is Labor Day. Thomas and I took Anna to the mall. We had fun walking around and bought a few things. We also checked out an Amazon returns "bins" store. Thomas and I did not like it.  Jack had cross-country practice this morning. He ran 6 or 7 miles. Kara went to Panera with friends for lunch. We watched a movie. Luke played his new game. We had pizza for dinner and declared the weekend a success!

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.