My once-a-month blogging trend continues, although it is better than nothing, right?
Jack’s first month at FSU has gone well. He and his roommate get along fine. They are not close friends, but they are courteous to each other. Jack tries not to wake his roommate when he gets up “early” and his roommate tries not to wake Jack when he gets in “late”. I’m putting the terms in quotes, because I figure for each boy the term is relative. Jack has made several good friends he enjoys spending time with and is enjoying college more.
FSU’s family weekend was the 25th-27th. Back in June, we booked an AirBnB and bought tickets to the football game. We were all excited. But, then we learned it was also homecoming weekend for the high school and Jack decided he would rather come home and see his high school friends. That actually worked out well, because Kara wanted to go to the homecoming dance and we didn’t want to leave her home alone. And, Garth Brooks announced he would be in Orlando that weekend. So, we canceled all our reservations and Jack came here. He took a bus home and went to the football game Friday night then hung out at his friends’ dorm at UCF. Anna went to a game night at a church she’s been attending and had a good time.
Saturday was a big day. We had Jack’s requested birthday dinner of tacos and Anna’s requested poke hole cake. Jack is coming home again next weekend and we will do presents and his chosen cake with Anna’s meal on their actual birthday.
That night was the Homecoming dance for Kara and the concert for me, Thomas and Jack (Anna and Luke did not want to go). I have wanted to see Garth Brooks in concert forever (like decades). But, it never worked out. So, I was extremely excited. My other bucket list singer was Toby Keith, and he passed away in 2024, so I didn’t want to miss this one. We had great seats with a fantastic view. Garth is an amazing entertainer! He played all his old, well-known songs and the crowd was lively and happy. I don’t think I have ever been to a show where it was so obvious that the artist loves performing and being in front of a crowd. That just made it so much fun! Also, some of his bandmates have been with him for his entire career, which I thought was impressive. Jack was super glad he went. Thomas saw him in in the 90s, and said that if I felt he was high energy now, I should have seen him 30 years ago! Regardless, I am thrilled we got to go—it was everything I had hoped it would be.
Meanwhile, Kara enjoyed homecoming. She actually went to a different school’s dance, which was held at Hardrock in City Walk. It is the school that split from her high school two years ago, so she knows a lot of people there, including her closest friend. Then she spent the night at another friend’s house. So, it was a fun day for her.
School is going well for everyone. Kara took the ACT on the 19th and is hoping for an improvement before submitting her college applications. She already has a good enough score for 100% Bright Futures and to be competitive at all the Florida schools, but a point or two would definitely help. The selection rates at UF and FSU are really low and even great test scores and a high GPA aren’t always enough. It almost feels a bit like rolling the dice. So, she is not getting excited about any one option. Her preference would be to go out of state, but she is smart enough to recognize that going into debt doesn’t make sense when there are 7 top 100 public colleges in Florida where her tuition will be completely free.
Segueing to a new topic, it is the girls and my favorite time of year at Universal Studios—Halloween Horror nights! Kara and I had our first visit on August 28th and completed our annual tradition of doing every house on opening night. They opened a little earlier this year, so we were done around 1am and even managed to squeeze in a couple of rides. My feet hurt and Kara’s back was sore. It is honestly so much easier to walk around a theme park all day than it is to stand in lines all night. But, we did it! Anna got a pass this year and she has also been multiple times. Thomas went with me for a fun date. Luke is still not interested.
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| Our only picture from opening night |
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I think that about covers the highlights. But, I feel like no post is complete without a Disney ride photo. From our one Disney trip this month:
