Rest of May, Including FSU Orientation

The school year ended officially on May 27^th. However, we all went to Jack and Anna's graduation on the 22^nd and Kara and Luke didn’t go back to school afterward. Kara had all AP/AICE classes this year and once the tests were done, so were the teachers (at least according to Kara). Luke also said his teachers told them they didn’t need to come the last few days. It does seem silly to have Memorial Day off, then a full Tuesday, then an early-release Wednesday as the last day.  All of them ended the year with amazing grades, so I guess they were right. Jack ended his high school career with only one B for the entirety of the 4 years (Spanish III), his final GPA was 4.9. Anna’s final GPA was a 4.4, she had all As and Bs. There certainly is grade inflation, but they also worked really hard and took difficult classes to earn those amazing GPAs. 

Luke had his final piano recital. He played The Entertainer and did amazing! I really hope he is able to take Piano 2 next year. What an amazing class to be able to take in a public school!

 

The whole family went to Sea World one Friday night, we had a really fun time riding all the roller coasters and trying food from the Seven Seas Festival. Our passes expire this month and I am not planning to renew (too many theme parks—not enough time), so it was nice for us all to get a visit in together.

Shark tunnel!

Everyone, but Kara who was working, went to the Magic Kingdom on May 17^th. We rope-dropped and tried out the retracked Big Thunder Mountain. It was super smooth, but we think we kind of preferred it a little rough, that was more in keeping with the wildest ride in the wilderness. But, it was still superfun and we are happy it is back in operation. We had a good visit, with reasonable wait times. We did not get any good pictures, not even ride photos as evidenced by the below :)

On Memorial Day, Anna and I visited my dad. First, we went to Circle B in Lakeland and did a 3-mile walk. We saw over 20 alligators, including a bunch of babies. We also saw some cool birds and probably 100 turtles. We had a really fun time walking, chatting and seeing all the wildlife. Then, we visited with my dad and helped him finish a puzzle, then met my sister for a late lunch. It was a very full morning! Luke and Thomas were at baseball, Jack was a graduation party for a friend and Kara also had plans with friends.

Circle B selfie. 

At the end of the month, I took Jack to his FSU orientation. It was held over 3 days/2 nights. It was really well done. The kids got to stay in the dorms and I had a hotel within walking distance. During the day, we were frequently together, listening to presentations that covered resources available and other practical things, like meal plans and when and how to pay tuition. They had some breakouts, Jack and I went to one on pre-law and another on career services. Then, there were some sessions where the parents were in one room and the kids in another. Jack was learning about things like how to get free tickets to all the sporting events and I got to hear about looking out for signs of depression.

 

Jack is participating in a Community of Learning for exploratory majors. We learned more about that, and it sounds pretty awesome! All the participants live together in the same dorm and they take a series of classes over the year to help them lock in on their interests and to explore opportunities. They meet with an advisor every month to discuss progress. We talked to a parent who knew a kid in it last year and they said they thought it was the best program FSU has to offer. So, that was pretty exciting. At night, the kids had some icebreaker activities and the parents got to relax at their hotels. He registered for classes for both summer and fall and got everything he was hoping to get. It was nice to spend one-on-one time with Jack and we were really impressed with FSU. Everyone was super nice and it really did feel like a welcoming place. They are ranked #7 in best student life (Niche) and Students who Love Their School (Princeton Review). It made Jack more excited for FSU and I definitely feel more prepared as a first time parent of college-aged kids!