Meh

I realize it has been a bit since I wrote. I don't have anything I want to specifically address, so I expect this blog to be a strange stream of consciousness. Read at your own peril.

It is so funny how this year is turning out. I remember the goals I set at the beginning of the year, like to volunteer at least once a month. The girls and I were talking about all the sad kids who aren't getting wishes granted right now and how backed up it will be when Give Kids the World does finally open. Florida has been doing better with COVID numbers, which is nice. Sometimes I feel encouraged about the progress we are making, then I see something in the news that makes it all feel a bit hopeless again--like the news of people having been diagnosed with COVID twice and the implications that has on the vaccine.

Luke has now been physically going to school for a full week. We already got a call that someone at the school tested positive for COVID. It was not anyone Luke had been in contact with, so fortunately, he did not have to self-quarantine. There was a nearby middle school where over 10 faculty members tested positive and they shut the place down. I am really hoping that does not happen to Luke's school. It has been really nice to have him back on a good schedule. Although, I really dislike the beginning of the year when the teacher's have to assume the kids don't really know anything. But, Luke isn't complaining and I am sure it will get more challenging.

The bigger kids are still doing well. It's hard to believe it's already been three weeks. It is kind of fun having them home. Most of the day, we are doing our own thing, but Thomas and I eat lunch with Jack and Anna which we like (Kara's lunch is really early) and we at least see them as we go about our work. We all are saving so much time by not having to commute.

Wednesday after school we went to SeaWorld. We have their dining plan, so the past couple of weeks we have gone up for dinner. The kids get out an hour early on Wednesday and Thomas and I are able to end our day a bit earlier. Unfortunately, the crowds at SeaWorld are terrible with masks and social distancing. We went on one ride and the people behind us were seriously in our space (not just our COVID 6-foot radius, but our personal space). I finally asked them to please back up. They weren't wearing masks and were breathing down our necks. I find the whole mask thing really weird. I haven't found a single, reputable source that says they don't help (and, I've looked). And, if the worst case scenario is that the scientists are wrong, than so what? You were slightly more uncomfortable than you would have otherwise been? It drives me a little crazy. I am getting better at letting it go. 

While I am being divisive, politics really have me down. I have never in my life had a problem respecting political views that differ from mine, but this time is definitely a challenge. I don't understand how any reasonable person can rationalize the behavior of our President. I had a lot more written, but I am just going to leave it at that. Maybe one day, closer to the election, I will write out my thoughts more fully. We discuss politics with the kids regularly. My hope is that we can impart on them the importance of being informed on the issues, gathering information from a variety of sources, fact-checking, and then forming a reasoned opinion.

On to happier news. On Friday night we went to Hollywood Studios. We had a great time. It was probably our last visit for a while. They are going to start closing earlier, which will make the weekday runs impossible, and Friday nights are our favorite. I can't figure out captions today, but here's Anna and Kara on Rockin Roller Coaster.

Thomas and I are watching Veronica Mars. We just finished Season 3, so now we have to find the movie. Since this all started, we have watched the West Wing, the Mentalist, Lost, and now Veronica Mars. It has been fun watching the shows from start to finish. I have also been rereading the Harry Potter books and watched the first movie yesterday. I had forgotten how amazing a storyteller J. K. Rowling is. Now that I have read them through once (and seen the movies) I can appreciate more of the nuances and character-building. The girls are reading The Hunger Games, which Kara especially is enjoying. 

And some pictures from Animal Kingdom last Saturday. We just went for a few hours in the morning. But, we had a great time. We did the Safari and walked the animal trails (we finally saw the bats, much bigger than I expected) and Tree of Life. We also rode the Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur.

Okay, found the caption button. Look at that pheasant above the girls.

Finally, as an Office and Harry Potter fan, this made me laugh out loud one night:

Lots of Medical Appointments & School

We had a lot of doctor's appointments this week. We got off schedule with the kids' annual check-ups when we moved to Florida, so they are all at the same time. I think for next year's, we will just push them off to their birthday months, or maybe work our way closer, so we aren't trying to get all 4 in before school starts. Speaking of which, I had them all scheduled for before school began, then they changed the start date. So, they all missed some of the first week.

Jack was first. He had a visit with the allergist on Friday morning. They did a scratch test on his back. He hadn't been tested in several years, so the doctor thought it would be a good idea to see where he is at. There were no surprises. He is still allergic to everything we already knew he was allergic to. Although, he did not test positive for dogs. But, he is very allergic to cats. And, of course, there are all the food allergies--peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. So, nothing big there.

Setting up his grid. The left is environmental and the right is food.

The top left were cat and dust mites. I am not sure the top right, some type of nuts I believe.

And, unfortunately for Jack, he and Anna had their annual check-up that afternoon. We finally bit the bullet and had them get the HPV vaccine. So, poor Jack got scratched than poked. HPV is the only vaccine we have debated, but ultimately decided to just do it. In other news, Jack has gotten really tall, he is just under 5'8, which put him in the 98th percentile for his age. Anna was 5'3, which was about the 70th percentile. Although, we think Anna might be close to her full adult height. That visit was also relatively uneventful.

Monday, Kara and Luke had their check-ups. Poor Kara was due for 3 shots, Luke didn't have to get any, but was very upset on Kara's behalf. In fact, I think he was more upset than Kara. Kara is 5'1 and in the 83rd percentile. When checking her spine, the doctor was amazed at how flexible Kara is and encouraged her to play sports or do something athletic. We have been trying to get her, well all our older kids, to participate in organized activities for the past couple of years, but it is a losing battle. Luke was 48", which is the 77th percentile. I am not sure why I am writing all these out, maybe so we can compare in a few years?

Anyway, everyone is healthy.

Tuesday, we had Anna's follow-up with the orthodontist. After research, we knew we weren't interested in the option of removing teeth. The orthodontist agreed. With regard to the surgery, her issue is not as likely to lead to medical problems anytime soon (like chronic headaches, mouth tissue damage, sleep apnea, etc.), so there is no urgency. Thomas and I aren't going to force her into a surgery where the main benefits are currently cosmetic, but if it is something important to her, we will continue gathering information and arrange a consultation with the surgeon. For now, I think she wants to maintain the status quo. So, we will continue with the braces for about 10 more months and see what happens.

I had my follow-up with the gastroenterologist. I have a stomach infection that I am now taking medicine for, but I do not think it is a big deal. I honestly believe most (all?) of my issues are related to my weight.

So, that it is it for the doctor's appointments. Hopefully, we are good for a long, long time. Actually, Jack had to do blood work for the allergist today and we will have a follow-up to get those results. But, hopefully that is it for a long, long time.

Other than medical, the first 8 days of school went well. It is much better than what the kids did at the end of last school year. They are fairly well engaged and hopefully learning something. I think the true test will begin next week, after the face to face kids return and we get into the real routine. 

We met Luke's teacher. He starts in person on Friday. His teacher seems very nice and excited to start the year. Listening to their online classes, I think she must be a saint! For example, today they had technical difficulties and the kids couldn't see anyone. They were all raising their hands (on the app, not literally, since no one could see anyone). She talked in first grade terms about how there were technical issues, but they all wanted to tell her how they couldn't see each other. She kept saying, "okay, friends, if you are raising your hand to tell me you can't see anyone, I understand, so please put your hands down. Okay, I see Emma still has her hand up, Emma, what would you like to ask?" Emma then comments on how she still can't see the teacher. They go through the discussion again, "the system has a boo boo and they won't be able to see each other right now." All the hands go back up. Even Luke. She called on him and he told her how he could see himself earlier, but not now. Another kid had to tell her that they tried to log off and back on, but still couldn't see her. It was pretty funny and I was frustrated on her behalf! Thomas was listening in when she was trying to teach them how to use the "raise your hand" function on Teams. He said that one was even worse. My mom was a first-grade teacher and I wonder if she was so patient because of that, or was she a first-grade teacher because she had the patient temperament? Either way, I am thankful to have been raised by a first-grade teacher, although I am not sure how much rubbed off on me.

Luke and the very patient Mrs. Bearns

A Short Staycation(ish) and First Day of "School"

We almost always do a weekend (or week) away right before school starts. Last year we had a super fun trip to Atlanta. The year before was Boston, and before that was Philadelphia. This year is weird. There is no where to go and the schedule was unexpectedly changed. The original school start date was 8/10. Then, it changed to 8/21. Then, two weeks ago, they changed it back to 8/10. The whole county was pretty unhappy about how it was handled. We didn't have any plans, so it wasn't a big deal for us, but it meant we had to throw something together quickly. Thomas and I decided to take a couple of days off from work and to hang out here. 

Thursday, we went to Islands of Adventure and Universal. We were hoping it would be less crowded than the previous Saturday. Fortunately, it was. We went straight to Hagrid's and rode twice in a row and then worked our way around the park. Luke tried everything he was tall enough for and was disappointed that he couldn't ride the drop tower. We took the Hogwart's Express to Universal and rode a couple of rides there and left when the park closed. It was a much better experience than when we went on a Saturday. To make it extra special, we even stopped for Voodoo Donuts on the way out (Jack's favorite).

Friday we went to SeaWorld. We haven't been there since March, so it was nice to be back. SeaWorld is my favorite park. It is just so much easier than the others. It is close to our house, easy to park, easy to get in, laid-back, and we always have fun. We rode a few rides and walked around to see the animals. We visited the penguins, manatees, dolphins and sting rays. We also tried something new--feeding the sea lions. You buy trays of fish and toss them in, so it isn't as cool as feeding the sting rays, but they seemed much more aware. One of them stood away from the crowd and was waving his little flipper at us. It was super cute. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a picture until our fish were gone and they had all dispersed like we had never even been there. There were 10 baby sea lions out and they were adorable. We also saw baby manatees. The baby manatees were all rescued orphans. They will stay at Sea World until they are big enough to be released. I have seen Black Fish and read a few books about animals (whales in particular) in captivity. And, while I don't like it, I also think Sea World does a lot of good and I have no guilt in supporting them.

Saturday, we just stayed home. We went in the pool and played for a few hours and had a lazy day. Sunday was similar, but we went out for ice cream and played games. All in all, I think it was a nice little break.

Today (Monday) was the first day of school. But, not really. The kids are all doing virtual learning for two weeks. Then, some students in the county will return for face to face learning. As I've mentioned, Luke will go to school and the rest will stay home. It seemed to work pretty well. The middle schoolers were all assigned classes and followed the normal bell schedule. They were able to log into each class and have a virtual lesson. We don't love that they're sitting in front of a screen all day, but it still seems like the best option. Luke's class isn't really doing anything, I think they are just biding their time until face to face begins. Hopefully, there are no issues and he is able to go in two weeks, because it is really hard having him as the only one with nothing to do. I had a marathon phone call today (5 hours!) where I was an active participant. Thomas also was working and the older kids were logged into their classes. Luke is not very independent, he likes sitting with people and talking, so it was hard for him. Kara is the only one of our kids who has always been able to entertain herself. Even as a toddler/preschooler, she could play happily alone for long periods of time. Obviously, she also enjoyed playing with the other kids, but she could make up games and entertain herself, the others always wanted to be right where we were, which was totally fine. But, it makes it more challenging with Luke in these weird times. And, I know that like the others, he will outgrow this and I will miss the day when he was my little shadow. 

So, without further ado--the back to school photos:

Another Week

So, let's start with updates from last week. Thomas got over his illness quickly. He never got a cough or fever or the other tell-tale coronavirus signs, so it was likely allergies or some other virus. I had my colonoscopy and endoscopy yesterday. I am not dying! There is some inflammation in my stomach and they could tell I had GERD. A few months ago, I  wrote a blog about waking up gasping for air and experiencing acid reflux. I had self-diagnosed myself with GERD and apparently, Doctor Google was correct. I have my follow-up in a couple of weeks, but I don't think there's anything to be concerned about. The preparation and actual colonoscopy were not nearly as bad as I expected; I would encourage everyone to make sure they get it done. For me, because my dad had colon cancer, I was supposed to start at age 40. There was just a news story about a 48-year old Detroit sportscaster who died of colon cancer. It is one of the most common types of cancer and very slow growing and treatable (if caught in time).

Okay, enough of my PSA. We have ventured back to the theme parks. We felt pretty safe at Disney. There was good social distancing and people were really good about wearing masks. There is no park hopping and no fast-passes. We have loved no fast-passes. With the reduced capacity, lines move really fast. We went to Hollywood Studios on Friday night and walked onto Toy Story Mania, rode Slinky Dog 4 times, Millenium Falcon 3 times (so everyone could try every position) and even managed to get boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance. I love/hate fast passes and it is definitely so much better when no one has them. The lines move really quickly and you can walk around and enjoy the parks without watching your watch and worrying about return times. 

Some pictures from around the parks. You can't see it well, but the wait time below is 5 minutes. For Flight of Passage.

This is a candidate for our annual family photo. I feel like the clouds and the masks with the castle capture the dystopian world that is 2020.

Everyone loves Slinky Dog.

Look at all those people in the background. Crazy, right?

We had planned on getting Universal passes as soon as Luke hit 48 inches, which happened recently. And, based on our good experience at Disney, we decided to go for it. We went on a Saturday. Unlike Disney, Universal does not required a reservation to get in and it felt significantly more crowded. And, the Universal crowd is not nearly as good about maintaining distance or wearing masks. We still had fun, but we won't ever go back on a Saturday. Apparently, weekdays are much more manageable. Fortunately, the wait times were still relatively short. We got to ride almost everything in both parks, including everyone's new favorite--Hagrid's Magical Motorbike Adventure. It will take some getting used to, unlike Disney, where we have the system down. For example, we often order kid's meals for all of us, which is no problem at Disney, but Universal didn't seem to be on board with that. We do it because we also like to buy ice cream and other treats and with six us, it adds up really quickly (money and calories). So, it is little things like that we will need to get used to. Right now, we have annual passes to Disney, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Universal, the Zoo, the Science Center and Kennedy Space Center. I don't even want to think about how much we have spent on all of that! But, we didn't do a vacation this year and Disney will expire soon (which is the priciest of all).

We found out Luke's first grade teacher. He is very excited to start school again. The kids start with virtual learning on Monday and then Luke will go face-to-face two weeks later. The older kids are stuck with virtual for a while.

And, for the final update, Anna got a haircut, they took off about 6 inches:

Birthday Week and Medical Issues

Tuesday was my birthday. The older three all had orthodontist appointments in the morning. Jack got his braces! I was expecting an uneventful visit and was surprised when the doctor called me into the consultation room. He said that Anna's treatment was not going as well as he had hoped. She has been in braces now for over a year, but the rubber bands are not working and her jaw is not aligning. Her overbite is still significant and after looking at her x-rays, he believes she is done growing and thus does not expect that it will get better. He said there are two options going forward: 1) he can remove two of her upper teeth to make the upper jaw smaller, however, this will further exacerbate the "balance" of her face. In other words, it will not look good. or 2) she can have surgery. They would break her jaw, extend her lower jaw and insert a metal plate. It caught me off guard and I have been bothered by the news ever since. 

The idea of jaw surgery is insane! She would have to spend nights in the hospital and wouldn't be able to eat solid food for 2 weeks. And then it would just be soft foods. It takes approximately 12 weeks to fully recover. I can't believe we would even consider such an option. I have done some research and it appears there could be medical issues, like TMJ and sleep apnea, associated with her overbite. But, we definitely need a lot more information and likely, a second opinion. We knew early on that all three of the older kids were going to need braces. We took them to their first orthodontics appointment at age 7. So, frankly, it also makes me mad. We have done everything anyone has asked us to do and spent a lot of time and money and the end result is we are still pretty much where we started. At least with Anna. Kara didn't have an overbite issue, she had a crossbite and so far her teeth appear to be aligning nicely. Jack has some of the same issues as Anna and now I am really worried. Also, I have no idea where this is coming from. Neither Thomas nor I had braces, no one in either family had these kind of severe issues. It is disheartening and I don't want to steer her in the wrong direction. We made an appointment to go back and discuss it next month so Thomas and Anna can be present. 

Back to the birthday. I decided a few months ago I wanted an ice cream cake from Menchi's (a yogurt place). I had a cookies and cream ice cream layer and a cake batter layer along with chocolate cake and whipped frosting. It was amazing! The only thing that would have made it better was buttercream. Thomas got me a special Harry Potter bookset and Kara wrote me a short story. Anna wrote a very sweet letter and Jack made a card. It was very nice. We stayed at the table for a long time and the kids asked me questions about my childhood. I felt loved.

Thursday was Thomas' birthday. We still had to work all day, but had his requested dinner of cheeseburger gnocchi. Then, we had his cake--Publix carrot cake with buttercream. We first had that combination at my bridal shower and now that we are back in the land of Publix, we had to try it again. I had a few gifts for him and the kids made gifts. Hopefully, he also felt loved.

In other medical news. I have to get a colonoscopy. I am dreading it. But, there are some issues and I did a less invasive test that didn't give me the "all-clear" I was hoping for. So, it has to be done. I have the consult on Wednesday and will hopefully get all the information then. I am a little worried because I have had issues for years. I can remember first going to the doctor when Thomas was in Hawaii, which means it was 9 years ago! So, if it does turn out to be cancer, the odds aren't going to be good. Fortunately, the odds that it is cancer, or something serious, are pretty small. But, it was another disappointing, lack of confidence in the medical field, moment this week.

I feel like my mood ebbs and flows. Sometimes, I am able to be positive and sometimes things just get me down. There is so much hard stuff happening right now. Florida is such a mess--I wish we had stayed in Maryland! The governor has mandated schools offer 5-day a week in person classes and we had to make decisions for our 4 kids. We decided the older three will do e-learning and Luke will go to school. We made this decision for a few reasons: 1) he doesn't ride a bus; 2) research said transmission rates are lower for his age bracket; 3) he won't have to switch classes and thus will come in contact with far fewer people and surfaces; and 4) we still have to work and can't supervise his schooling or entertain him for 6+ hours a day. There is no way he could successfully sit in front of a computer all day, he didn't manage well with the 30-minute sessions at the end of kindergarten. This also makes me feel like a crappy parent. 

Thomas is not feeling well today. He didn't sleep last night and was nauseous and has a sore throat. Obviously, the immediate fear is coronavirus. It is in the news so consistently that I can think of no other possibility. Hopefully, it is nothing and he wakes up feeling fine tomorrow.

To end on a happier note, here are two funny Luke conversations this week:

Luke: Mom, can I tell you all about Super Mario Brothers?

Me: Sorry, Luke, but not right now 

slight pause

Luke: One of the hardest moons...

Another day, we were in the car and Jack was commenting on how he doesn't want to get married or ever have kids. He just wants an apartment with video games and he will be happy. The other kids were incredulous. Luke told him if he did that, Luke would find out where he lives, go to his house, and look in the windows to see if he was hiding a wife and if he was, Luke would tell me! Jack promised that if he got married, he would make sure we were invited. For some reason, all of us found this hilarious. Maybe it was the thought that Jack would secretly get married and hide the location of his house and the identity of his spouse. But, never fear, Luke's inner sleuth would uncover the truth and tell Mom!

And, here is Jack and his braces.

Babysitting and Home Renovations

As I have mentioned, my work is surprisingly busy. I have been working on three large actions and the timing has put them all at critical phases at the same time. It has been tiring and difficult. The kids are really good about understanding we have to work, but sometimes Luke is just needy. He is only 6 and doesn't like to be by himself. Often, Thomas or I can take a break to give him some attention. But, for the next two weeks Thomas is in an online class and I am swamped. We contemplated sending him to the YMCA, but Florida is the new COVID hotspot and with the numbers rising, it didn't seem like a good idea. So, we decided to pay our older kids to babysit.

Normally, I want my kids to help because they should and it is part of being a contributing family member. But, in this case, we wanted them to take the job seriously. And, we were going to ask more than just entertaining him for a few minutes. We divided each day into two 3-hour shifts. During their shift they are responsible for Luke. They have all read the Babysitter's Club and Kara is looking forward to the day when she can be a neighborhood babysitter, so she was thrilled with the offer. Jack and Anna weren't as excited, but didn't want to lose out on the money. Over the two weeks, they can each earn $100! $300 is actually what we would pay to send him to camp, so we aren't saving anything. But, I am hoping they can learn some responsibility. We are on day 3 and so far it is working out well. Kara was the most prepared, she had a plan for activities and was able to keep him happily entertained. Anna had a rough first day. She had planned on swimming with Luke, then he decided he wasn't interested. He was cranky and she was frustrated--not a good combination. We were ready to fire her, but Luke felt bad for being difficult and apologized and we decided she could have another chance. Her second shift went much better. Jack has also done a good job. 

It is actually really nice for all of us. Luke is completely entertained. For example, today was Anna in the morning. They played pick-up sticks, she painted his nails and they programed Blocky (a kid's coding robot). Thomas and I took a break for lunch and then Jack took over. They read books, played several rounds of memory and talked about video games. Luke still comes in to the office to chat with me on occassion, but it is nothing like before we had the arrangement. And, someone is usually right behind him to shoo him into another activity. He looks forward to his time with his siblings and hasn't complained about being bored once. I am hoping the older kids are learning something about patience and responsibility. Each shift earns them around $15, which is a lot of money at their age (at least in my opinion). They are thinking about how to wisely spend their earnings. So, perhaps there are also lessons to be learned about budgeting or the value of money. We haven't been consistent with allowances, so this is nice for them.

In other news, we got a new toilet for one of the upstairs bathrooms. The toilet we had wouldn't stop running. Thomas would fix it and it would work better for a day or two and then start running again. We had been holding off on replacing it because I want to redo the bathrooms. But, we finally couldn't take it anymore, so we got a new one. We had someone come to install it and I gave him a list of all the home projects I am interested in. We won't be able to do them all, but hopefully we can get some of them (he is doing estimates). We want to replace the front door, redo the bathrooms, maybe the flooring in the entryway, install security cameras/lights outside, and fix a few other things. However, we also want to redo the pool area soon. 

Our house isn't really a fixer-upper, but nothing had been updated or changed since it was built in 2003. Obviously, that isn't an old house, but it's not new either. And, it is nice to make it a bit more our own. We did a lot of work in our first house, way back before the kids were born, but we haven't taken on any significant home projects in any of our houses since. We paint and Thomas changes out fans and light fixtures, but nothing like a bathroom remodel. When we did flooring in our first house, we did it ourselves. We even made a fancy tile pattern the entryway. But, we don't have the time or inclination to take all of this on ourselves. I just want someone to come, measure, send me a proposed design and do it. We will see how it goes!

Independence Day, Hamilton and other Broadway Musicals

Today is Independence Day. We were supposed to go to Marta's house, but with the COVID numbers rising in Florida we decided it was better to just stay home. We barbecued, swam and watched Back to the Future II (we watched the first one a week or so ago). It was fun to see their vision of 2015. Also, how on earth does the "future" take place in 2015?!?!? I am getting old! I also made our traditional poke hole cake. I make it pretty much every Memorial and Independence Day. I learned the recipe from one of college roommates, although I can't recall which one. It is very simple, just a white cake mix with a few changes. But, it is delicious and I have been making it for years. Well, decades now (feeling old again!). It is a white cake mix with bananas in place of eggs and applesauce instead of oil. Then, after it cooks, you poke holes and pour strawberry jello in the holes (mixed with just the hot water so it is not too diluted). Cool, preferably overnight, and then "frost" with cool whip and decorate with berries. Everyone in my family loves it.

This is actually from Memorial Day, I didn't take a picture today, but the berries were in a flag design. :)

I am grateful to be an American. I am not sure it is politically correct to feel that way right now, but I do. I love our country. There is a lot that is making me sad and I absolutely hate how divided we are, but overall, I know how fortunate I am to live here. I don't want to erase our history and vilify the Founding Fathers. But, I also think we should examine the past with a critical eye. Otherwise, how can we improve? I believe in the Black Lives Matter movement and recognize that racism is a problem in our country that we need to fix. I still support the police, but believe they should be help accountable. There is a lot more I could say, but frankly I am afraid of saying the wrong thing and being vilified myself. So, I will stick with my basic truths.

It was another quiet week. We had a problem with our pool and it began to turn green. It took a few days to get it back in order, which was sad to everyone. We frequently talk about how much more difficult the quarantine would be without the pool and maybe we jinxed ourselves. It was a long three days; Florida is hot!

In wildlife news, Kara rescued a small snake from our pool. I looked it up and it was a harmless ring neck. And, Thomas saved a big turtle. He was really big and heavy and Thomas got him out of the street and walked him toward the pond.

Thomas estimated he weighed 20-25 pounds.

Yesterday, the Hamilton movie came out on Disney+. We had been counting down the days. Kim and her family were going to come and watch it with us, but I canceled. We are bringing ourselves back to COVID Phase I for now. Maybe that is being overly cautious, but it's what we are comfortable with. Anyway, we had been looking forward to Hamilton since they announced the release. Thomas and I saw it in New York and then we took Jack and saw it again in DC. Kara loves the soundtrack and has been wanting to see it. Anna isn't really interested in anything we like right now, so she didn't watch. And, of course, Luke is too young. But, the rest of us loved it. We watched it all the way through and have watched some of our favorite numbers a couple more times. It got me thinking about all the shows I've seen. So, I made a list of the ones I could remember and then ranked everything as 1, 2, or 3.

The 1s:
-Hamilton: brilliant writing, choreography, historical value and truly innovative. It is the whole package!
-Les Mis: my first Broadway show. I saw it when I was in high school when my band went to NYC to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I will never forget how I felt when the cast sang the first full harmonizing note. I've seen it several times.
-Jersey Boys: this one is just fun. The music was the soundtrack I jogged to back when I was a runner. We have seen it multiple times.

The 2s: (no particular order) All phenomenal, but didn't have the impact on me that the 1s did.
-Anastasia: loved it.
-Wicked: loved it.
-Avenue Q: loved it.
-Rent: loved it.

The 3s: (in order)
-The Temptations, Ain't to Proud to Beg: The second half was amazing, the first half was a little bogged down. It was almost a "2".
-Phantom of the Opera: this was also close to being a "2".  I liked it a lot, just not as much as the others.
-Chicago: not bad, but I didn't love it.
-Sound of Music: it was okay, but after seeing the movie so many times, the play was actually a bit boring.
-South Pacific: boring
-Waitress: my least favorite. I didn't like it at all.

Local Theater Shows:
-Kinky Boots (loved it!)
-Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (I don't recall much, would like to see again)
-Rock of Ages (cruise ship show, it was okay).

I would like to see many more shows. I was hoping we would get season tickets to the Broadway touring shows when we moved to Orlando. I put us on the waitlist, but I think everything is on pause with COVID. Also, the local theater here (at least based on Kinky Boots) is really good and WAY cheaper, so maybe we will just get tickets to the local theater. Either way, there are still many shows I want to see. I wish we still lived close enough to just drive up to NYC.