Rest of April & Kayce's Visit

Another busy month in the books! Jack finished track. At his last meet, he ran the 4x800 and the two mile. He was hoping to get under 12 for the two-mile, but got 12:03. The first time he ran, he was around 12:50, so he made a lot of progress over the season. He plans to run all summer and do cross-country in the fall.

Luke had his Battle of the Books competition. We do not know how his team placed, just that they were not in first, second or third. Luke was disappointed, but, to make it to the second round was a huge accomplishment, so we were still very proud. 

Now that high school sports have ended, we were able to do a Wednesday visit to Disney. The girls, Thomas, and I went to Animal Kingdom. We rode a few rides (Safari, Dinosaur, FOP, and Everest) and had dinner. It is a fun perk of living in Orlando. We planned to go the next Wednesday, but it was a long Wednesday at school for testing. Speaking of which, the year is winding to a close. Only three weeks remain in the school year! It went by fast.

My good friend and former neighbor, Kayce, came to visit for a long weekend. She arrived on Friday morning and we went to Disney Springs. We walked around and had lunch and decided to return for Cirque du Soleil that night. Jack had a band concert, but he said he had no interest in going (we also could have gone on Saturday). So, Thomas went to the concert, the rest of us went to Cirque. It was a good show, it reminded me a little of the diving shows on the cruises. I have wanted to see a Cirque show, so I was glad for the excuse. The girls and Luke also enjoyed it.

Saturday, we went to the Orlando Wetlands. It is right near Fort Christmas, and I was shocked that until researching a new place to "hike", I had never heard of it. It a huge (1600+ acre) man-made wetland that provides natural water treatment to the city of Orlando. We were there for four hours and didn't see it all. We did see 38 alligators, a pygmy rattlesnake (which I almost stepped on) and tons of cool birds. There was very little shade, so we were lucky it was a beautiful day. My family will definitely go back. Another hidden gem! We also went to Culver's and for a walk that night. Kayce is a walking machine! We were hoping to see an armadillo, of which there are many in our neighborhood, but we did not spot any during her stay.

Luke had baseball and Anna was the only kid up for the long hike. She was glad she went!

This pink spoonbill was my favorite bird of the day. Also, the boardwalk was super long and so pretty.

Sunday was our Universal day. We got there at opening and stayed until closing. We usually go in the evenings, so again, it was fun to play tourist and do it all. We rode a lot of rides, browsed the shops, and saw four shows (Beedle the Bard, Horror Make-up, Animal Actors, and the Bourne Stuntacular). We drank frozen butterbeer, which sadly Kayce did not like, and ate in the Three Broomsticks for dinner. We timed everything perfectly and managed to avoid long lines, mainly by seeing the shows in the peak riding time. The only thing we didn't get to do was ride Hagrid's. Our plan was to ride after dinner, but it shut down and never reopened. Next time! 

Monday, we went to "free Disney". We rode a parking tram, the Skyliner, and a boat. We enjoyed walking around the Boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Club resorts (where I would want to stay if money was no object). Then, we went to lunch before I dropped Kayce off at the airport. It was sad to see her go, but I was thankful for a good visit with nice weather. I miss having her live across the street! 

The week passed uneventfully. Jack's track meet, discussed above, was on Wednesday. Thomas had to go into the office multiple times because he is acting counsel while our boss is out of town. Friday, we were off from work and let the girls skip school. We went to Epcot in the morning and Magic Kingdom at night. It was a fun day.

Today is Saturday. Luke had a baseball tournament. I took the older kids to Ross (Kara's request), then the library (Jack's request), then we went to one of Luke's games (my request), then went to lunch at PDQ (Luke's request). We dropped Luke and Thomas back at the fields for game number 2. Then, we went to Marshall's (Anna's request). Finally, we came home and the girls got ready for the lacrosse banquet. I dropped them off at 5 and picked them up at 7. Kara got a trophy for most improved. They also gave out superlatives to each girl. Anna was "sweet as candy" and Kara was "best hair".  Just another Saturday in the life!

They bought matching dresses at Marshalls :)

Bonus picture, our backyard deer had babies!