Jack and Anna are 16!

On October 3, Jack and Anna turned 16! It was a Tuesday, so not the most exciting day for a birthday. Their big gift was the trip to DC, which we took over the summer. However, they still got to choose a few things, like their birthday meal and cake.

We started celebrating (sort of) on the Friday before their birthday. We had to go to Target to return a candle. Which, we forgot at home for the second time. Target is in a nice shopping center, so while we were there, we stopped in at Bath and Body Works for seasonal soaps. I had a coupon for a free item, which I gave to Anna. She got some birthday lotion. Then, we went to Crumbl and she picked out cookies for her and Jack, who was at a football game.

Saturday I took Anna to Lakeland to skate and we met Marta for breakfast. Jack had Saturday band camp and Luke had a baseball game. It was a busy day and we forgot to pick up Jack! All afternoon, we periodically remarked about how we had to get him at 3pm. Then, Beya came over and I was sitting outside while Luke and Beya swam, when suddenly Thomas ran outside to remind me that it was 3pm. Camp ended at 3 and traffic was awful so Thomas was pretty late picking him up. Jack was forgiving, but we felt bad. 

On Sunday, Jack had his birthday dinner. Initially he wanted to go to KFC. Then, he changed it to Cracker Barrel. Our plan was to go to Leu Gardens, Cracker Barrel and the library. But, it was a windy, rainy day. So, we skipped the gardens. Jack enjoyed his meal and even got some coke cake. He had one piece to himself. Luke, the girls and I shared another piece (Thomas is still sugar free). We also went to Kohls and both Jack and Anna got something. Jack was pretty annoyed at having to go shopping, but he ended up with a nice jacket so alls well that ends well. Anna picked out a candle.

Their actual birthday was a testing day at school. Neither of the girls had tests and we decided to let them skip. They assured us that all they would be doing was sitting in extra long periods without any substantive work. Anna wanted to make her and Jack's cake herself and she chose to recreate the haunted pumpkin patch cake. Versions of that cake were served on their 8th and 13th birthday. I think Anna's version was the best. She had a good time making it and it turned out both delicious and adorable. 

The original, served on their 8th birthday.

Version 2, made for their 13th.

The latest and greatest. The cake ball monsters are always the best part!

She had some help with the monsters

Jack left band practice an hour early and we went to Anna's chosen restaurant--Chick-Fil-A. Then, we headed home for cake and presents. It was a nice night. Anna got a loungefly from Jack and Luke. Kara got her a bluray of Little Women, which Anna has been wanting to watch for a while. Luke got Jack legos. Kara and Luke got him a Greendale Community College sweatshirt, which is from one of his favorite shows--Community.

Anna had her eye on this Black Widow Loungefly for a while.

So, our first-borns are 16. It is hard to believe. Everyone asks if they got their driver's licenses and the answer is no. They both have learner's permits, but we aren't in a hurry on the license. Once they have those, our insurance will increase by $300/month. Each. We are waiting until they can drive to school, so they will probably get them sometime this summer. 

It was fun celebrating Jack and Anna. They are great kids and we are so lucky they are a part of our family. I think back to how much I wanted children and how excited I was to be having twins. They have not disappointed! They were super fun little toddlers and they are super amazing teenagers. Every age has been full of much more joy than frustration. I hate to think that they are only a couple of years away from adulthood, but I am so happy to be their mom and to get to witness what life has in store for them. Happy birthday to Jack and Anna!

Surgery, Sick, Lana del Rey

Thomas had a surgery on his arm on Monday, September 18th. He had been having significant pain for a while and had tried lesser invasive methods with no luck. We had to be at the surgical center at 6am. The older kids leave for school at 605 and we didn't want to leave Luke by himself to wake up, get ready for school, etc. With some help from friends, we had it worked out, but then Sunday night, Jack didn't feel well. He ended up staying home from school Monday, which alleviated the childcare concerns. Thomas and I got there at 6 and they took Thomas back shortly thereafter. They let me wait with him for a few minutes. Then, they wheeled him away. 

pre-surgery Thomas. They wanted to make sure they cut into the right arm!

The surgery went well--we think. The surgeon called when the surgery was done, but it was an odd conversation. The waiting room was full of people, I wasn't expecting to hear from him in a phone call, so I didn't ask the right questions. I thought we would speak in person. He said that the surgery went well and the nerve was really tight and he thought this would fix the problem (or words to that effect). I was surprised by the non-committal language. 

Eventually they let me go back to see Thomas. It took longer than expected because he was in a lot of pain and they had to do a nerve block. I got all the instructions and we left there around 1pm. Thomas was pretty out of it, he asked me repeatedly if I had his sneakers. He was very worried about leaving them behind.

Because of the nerve block, Thomas couldn't feel his arm at all for the rest of the day, which was weird for him. We are now 10 days out. There is still a lot of pain and Thomas obviously can't use his arm, which is frustrating for him, but hopefully he is on the road to full recovery. He has met with a physical therapist a couple of times and will meet with the doctor next week to hopefully get some additional answers as to what they saw and did during the surgery.

He was allowed to take the bandage off on day 5. It looked like a withered, wrinkly mess!

Day 10, looking a little better.

In the meantime, my throat was kind of sore all day Monday. It was mild, so I brushed it off. Jack also had a sore throat. On Tuesday, he still wasn't ready to go to school. Luke also stayed home with an upset stomach. By Tuesday afternoon, my throat really hurt. At this point, Jack was feeling mostly better and was planning on going to school Wednesday. I tested him for Covid and it was negative. Anna's throat hurt on Wednesday, but her test was also negative. She ended up missing a day of school as well. I took Wednesday off from work, but felt considerably better on Thursday.

By the weekend, I felt pretty good, tired, but no sore throat or anything. Saturday, I took Anna to her skating session in Lakeland (stayed far away from everyone else). It did not go well. We knew her coach wouldn't be there, but she assured us the other coach would run Anna's program. He didn't. I was really annoyed. We don't need to get up at 430am and drive to Lakeland for her just to skate, she could do that at a more reasonable time and much closer to home. We left there and I came home and took Luke to his baseball tournament (Thomas couldn't drive yet). 

I was super tired, probably a little from being sick and a lot from not sleeping enough. It had been more than a week since I had gotten a full night's sleep, which is probably why I got sick in the first place. Sunday was more baseball tournament, they played three games, including for the championship. They lost the championship game and finished 2nd out of 15 teams. We were home by 3 and I was able to take it easy the rest of the day. This was important because Monday night was Lana Del Rey!

No shame in second place!

Kara LOVES Lana del Rey. She is a musician I had never heard of prior to her becoming Kara's favorite artist a year or two ago. I am not sure if I wrote about buying the tickets. If not, I will just say it was a bit of a fiasco. I didn't grasp how popular she was and got tasked with buying tickets for Kara, her friends and myself. Thomas and I both attempted to get tickets right when they were released, but trying to get 5 proved impossible. Eventually we bought two tickets, while still trying for 3 more (figuring that would be easier than 5). Well, we never got the 3. So, I had to resell the 2, one of the friends backed out, and we bought 4 on the resale (aka ridiculously priced) market. Kara was incredibly excited. I was super nervous when I got sick, but fortunately, I was over it before the concert and more importantly, Kara never got sick.

So, Monday night, I drove Kara and 2 friends to Tampa. The drive took about 2 hours, thanks to traffic. We stopped at a Wendy's, Kara's choice, for a quick meal and arrived in plenty of time, which was important because the merchandise line took 53 minutes. The girls got matching tour shirts and we were in our seats to watch the opening act (Nikki Lane). Then, there was a 30ish minute break before Lana entered the amphitheater to 20k screaming fans. Lana was a great performer and the girls loved the concert. They screamed, cried (at least Kara's friends did) and sang-along. I served as videographer. It was a fun atmosphere (except for one idiot smoking marijuana); people dressed up to look like Lana's various album covers. The girls all said it exceeded their expectations and they were super sad it was over. We got home shortly after midnight.

Wednesday, I took Anna to Lakeland for skating again. She had a lesson with her coach and it went really well. I dropped her off and then had a meeting with my dad. We did a tour of his community's assisted living facility. My dad was under the impression that he had a life-care contract. However, we learned he is merely a renter and assisted living would cost him over 5k a month, which he cannot afford. We are still hoping he will recover from the cognitive issues, which I am 100% convinced were the result of his surgery, but if not, we will need to figure something out. For now, he is going to stay where he is. 

Practicing for her program. Less than 3 weeks to go!

And, now, I am fully caught up!

Disney, HHN, Broken Toe and More.

Kara and I have been trying to get our money's worth from our HHN passes. We have gone five times. It has been nice having the multi-night pass. We still did the one super-long night, but our other visits have been shorter. We get in, get some houses done, have dinner and/or snacks and then leave when it starts getting more crowded.

Thomas and I did a Wednesday date night and went to HHN. He doesn't usually like those type of events, but I was pretty confident he would enjoy several of the houses. We weren't trying to see either of the two most popular houses, so we were able to take a more relaxed pace.  We had dinner and then ended up doing 6/10 houses and Thomas enjoyed all of them. He appreciated the elaborate sets and costumes, just like I suspected he would. In fact, he wants to try and go again. Unfortunately, Kara and I are at the end of our multi-night pass and I am not sure we will be able to get there, for reasons that will become clear below. (ohhhh, foreshadowing...)

Date night in the fog!

On Friday, Thomas and I took the day off and went to Epcot. We rode our favorite rides (Guardians of the Galaxy, Test Track, Soarin', and Spaceship Earth) and hung out in the aquarium for a bit. We had a nice lunch and then headed home. I bought Genie+ but we didn't use it that morning, because I spent the day stacking lightening lanes for our planned evening at Hollywood Studios. We bought our passes in May and have been wanting to ride Slinky Dog at night ever since. We have tried two or three times but were always thwarted by bad weather. 

Jack watched Luke and Thomas and I took the girls. We got there around 4:15 and immediately began using our lightening lanes. We rode a lot of rides and had a relaxing dinner at the ABC Commissary, where we played with all the Disney filters in the app and waited for our lightening lane for Slinky.

Then, the skies got cloudy and Slinky closed. We rode Toy Story Mania and Swirling Saucers and waited. They told us that the ride wasn't closed for weather, but for technical issues. So, we decided to try and wait it out. We rode Millenium Falcon (Thomas and Kara were stellar pilots) and then saw it was reopened. By now, it was after 8 and the park closed at 9. It definitely looked like it was going to start raining at any time and we were really nervous we would be thwarted again. We got to the front of the line and could hear the downpour. At this point, we were dry in the line. But, we got on the ride anyway and off we went. In the pouring rain. Let me just say, it was not fun. We could not see anything, the rain was cold and it was coming down hard and it hurt! But, everyone on the ride was laughing because it was just ridiculous and so uncomfortable! 

The ride didn't close because there was no lightening and when we got off, there was no line, because who would be crazy enough to ride it in the heavy rain? Us apparently. We walked right on (to a ride that is normally at least a 90 minute wait!). I wore my sunglasses (shared with Thomas) and could at least keep my eyes open. We ended up riding 4 times. Each time, the rain was a little less. It was hilarious and something I foresee us talking about in the future (remember that time we rode Slinky Dog over and over in the pouring rain?). I was sad the boys weren't with us. 

I love that the girls always managed to pose for the camera.

Zoomed in on Thomas and I on the first ride :)

We were soaked! This was after our first ride.

We would have kept riding, but the park closed. We hadn't intended to stay quite so late, as Anna and I had to leave for skating at 445am, but we couldn't help ourselves. We were still home and in bed by 10. It is nice to live so close.

On Saturday morning, I took Anna to skating. She went over her program and did a few classes, both on and off ice. We were at the rink from about 545-945 and then went and visited with my dad. He is doing slightly better. Meanwhile, Thomas and Luke had an eventful morning. Thomas went running and ended up tripping on a curb. He took a hard fall and broke his big toe and sprained his right wrist. Luke's hand was swollen from an ant bite he received on Thursday night, so he couldn't play baseball. But, Thomas still took him to the game and he served as a bat boy and was a good sport, cheering on his teammates. They were kind of a sad mess (Thomas and Luke, not the baseball kids).

And that, is another week in the life. I never got the part I was foreshadowing (Thomas had surgery on his arm--unrelated to the fall and I have Covid). But, this post is getting long, so stay tuned for another exciting post where I highlight this week's events. 

HHN, my Dad, Household Annoyances & Some Happier Stuff

I am pretty far behind in my blogging. As you can possibly tell from the title, lots has been happening here. I am going to a summary style because I don't really feel like writing, but I also don't want to fall further behind. So, in rough chronological order:

Kara and I have season passes for Halloween Horror Nights. So far, we have gone three times. The passes are only good for the first three weeks of September, so we are trying to get in as many visits as we can. We went on opening night and got drenched. It was an insane rain storm and we were stuck right in the middle of it. We went another day and stayed until past the 2 am closing, doing ten houses in a single night. The third time, Anna came with us. She was nervous, but wanted to try. She ended up doing 6 of the 10 houses and would have done more except we were all tired. She was surprised to discover she liked it. We had to go on a school night because I needed to take my dad to the doctor on our originally planned day.

Opening night monsoon! Kara and her friend, Shannon.

A mother-daughter tradition.

With both my girls :)

My dad had a procedure done a few weeks ago for a bladder/prostate issue. I don't want to invade his privacy by writing about his issues, but I will say that I had never heard of post-operative cognitive decline for older people who undergo anesthesia. However, it is a very real, and very common, problem. It can take up to 3-months to resolve and according to at least one study, may never resolve in about 10% of the population who experience it. Anyway, I took the day off on Friday and took him to the doctor. It is really hard to see parents get older and especially hard with the recent surgery after-effects. But, I am glad that I am (relatively) close by and can help.

While I am writing about bad news, we had to replace our water heater. We could have fixed it, but it was 19 years old so we knew we were on borrowed time. They told us eventually it would go out and probably create a flood in the garage. So, we spent way too much (about 3x what I expected) and had them replace it that day. Then, guess what happened? It created a leak and a flood in the garage. The installers fixed the leak, but claimed no responsibility for the water damage or the hole they had to cut in the drywall. Essentially, the installer connected an old pipe from the wall to a new pipe attached to the water heater. It was a concave connection and that is where the leak was. They said it was the fault of the old pipe. So, they fixed it by replacing the old pipe, but basically said they were doing us a favor. It makes no sense, but we are probably going to let it go. At the same time, we had an unrelated issue with our air conditioner. I think it is all resolved now, but I can't believe how many issues this house has! It feels never-ending. If I ever buy again, I want new construction.

In good news, Luke had his first tournament with the Vipers, which consists of most of the players from the Leones. They won the tournament for their bracket, which was a nice way to start the season.

The kids are now about four weeks into school and it is going well. Luke really likes his teachers and is enjoying 4th grade. He is working on reading the Sunshine State books and has read 7/15. Band is in full swing for Jack. He likes it better this year and has made some good friends, two of whom live in the neighborhood. One of them lives just down the street and we have been carpooling to all the band stuff, which has been amazing for everyone involved. As mentioned, Kara and I have been frequenting HHN. Anna is still skating part time in Lakeland and part time in Kissimmee. Her next competition is less than 5 weeks away! So, as always, we are busy, but (mostly) happy. 

Two final pictures:

Running the bases at a Flying Tigers game.

A fun night at Islands of Adventure

First Day of School & Summer Blahs

This is the time of year that I hate Florida. I debated "hate" because it is a strong word, but by mid-August, I think it is accurately describes my feelings. This is my 5th August here and I can now see the cyclical pattern. I love Florida in February. I like Florida from about November-May. I tolerate June and July and then I hate it beginning in August. The heat becomes unbearable and the holiday season is too far away. The kids are back in school and the work/school/activities are tiring. It is my least-favorite time of year.

This year has been especially depressing. Thomas and I had an anniversary cruise planned and we also had a family Thanksgiving cruise on our agenda. Both cruises had fun itineraries and we were excited. However, when final payment was due, I just couldn't bring myself to pay for the Thanksgiving cruise. It felt like too much money and I didn't feel like we should go. Thomas agreed. The kids were very disappointed, but they understood and we sold them on a Thanksgiving at home. And, after canceling the family cruise, Thomas and I didn't feel great about going on the anniversary cruise. Child care was problematic and it felt mean to cancel the family vacation but keep the adult only one. So, we canceled that too. The kids told us we should still go, but again, it just didn't feel right. Maybe the next time we hit 20 years we can do something fun <sigh>. I know that canceling was the right decision, but it definitely didn't help my mid-year-crappy-mood-slump. 

The kids are back to school. It is hard to believe that 3 of them are now in high school! We had some issues with Kara's schedule, they took her out of an academically advanced class and put her in child development. They said they had to "balance" the electives. Fortunately, we were able to get it fixed. The high school has 4600 hundred students this year and it is a mess. They have 60+ portables and the kids said at times it is difficult to even walk to their classes. And, they still only have two lunches, leaving kids to sit on the ground. The new relief school opens next year, so they just have to make it through this year. We did have a small victory with the buses. They were scheduled for the first run in the morning and the second run in the afternoon again. I engaged in another e-mail writing campaign (getting people on the phone was impossible) and they ended up reevaluating the bus routes and changing many so that the same kids aren't arriving early and staying late. I like to think that my efforts had something to do with the change, but who knows? I could definitely write an entire blog devoted to that topic, but I will leave it there and post first day pictures:

Still dark out. The plan was to do more photos after school with all 4 kids, but Jack had band practice and Luke had baseball and we never got it done.

Meanwhile, Luke is in 4th grade. He really likes his teacher and I think his year is off to a good start.

In other news, remember how we got Anna a new figure skating coach? Well, the ice rink fired her. They didn't tell her why, just that they were terminating the contractual relationship. Her coaching privileges were immediately suspended. She had only been Anna's coach for about a month, so I didn't feel a tremendous loyalty, but we did really like her. So, we said we would try and follow wherever she landed. I assumed it would be the other Orlando-area ice rink. But, nope. Somehow, we are making a trek to the Lakeland Ice Arena now. I used to complain about the 30ish minutes to the Kissimmee rink. Ha! Those were the days! We may have not followed, except Anna had signed up for a competition literally the day before the coach was fired. We told Anna we would make the Lakeland drive until after the competition (in October) and then reevaluate. 

Saturday was our first trip down. We had to be there at 6am which meant leaving at 445. In positive news, the drive down was super easy. The rink had an issue with the ice, so the schedule got messed up and they ended up doing a lot of off-ice training. While we waited for the ice to open, I met Marta for breakfast. It had been a while since we had caught up with just the two of us, so that was nice. Then, she came back to the rink and watched Anna skate. I would have seen my dad too, but he is having some health issues, so he asked me to give it another week. And, my sister was moving Amanda into college. I am hoping to work in lots of visits during my Saturday mornings in Polk County. Thomas is ready to trade-off the driving with me, but since I want to see my family, and with baseball tournaments starting soon, it makes sense for me to take care of the skating duties.

Screenshot showing off her new spinner from the jumps and spins off-ice class.

The drive home took about 90 minutes. Marta and Frank had planned on coming for dinner, but Jack wasn't feeling well that morning, so we postponed. I had bought a ham, so we had that. Jack was feeling better and wanted us to dress up and eat in the dining room. So, we did. It was pretty fun. We had a leisurely dinner and good conversation.

Being silly :)

Sunday morning, Thomas, Luke and I went to Volcano Bay while the teens slept in. We had a great time. 

That concludes the first full week back to school. Both of Luke's baseball practices were canceled due to the weather. Luke didn't mind, his interest seems to be waning. Band practices are back in full swing. And, to finish, two more random pictures:

Luke had to make a hat for a mad-hatter tea party. He added some mardi gras beads and called it good.

Jack's current "for fun" book. He is on page 929.

Summer Winding Down

Sunday, July 23 was Thomas' birthday. We went to the outlets and Thomas got a Purple pillow. Jack and Luke got sneakers and everyone got some clothes at Old Navy (we had an expiring coupon). Then, we went to Taco Bell for lunch (Thomas' choice). I can't recall what we did the rest of the day, it was whatever Thomas wanted. I do recall that we had homemade tacos for dinner. A double-taco day! And, while we are talking about Thomas, I think I mentioned that he set a goal to run 500 miles this year? Well, for July, he set a goal for 100 miles. And, he finished on July 30th. He was around 430 for the year at the end of the month. We are very proud of him :)

Birthday Boy!

On our Friday off, Thomas and I took Luke and Anna to Volcano Bay. We got there for early park admission and got so much done in the first few hours. Then it started to get crowded, so we left at lunch. It was super fun. I wasn't planning on renewing for Volcano Bay, but maybe I will, at least for those of us that like it.

Saturday,  I took Luke to baseball practice for his new team--The Vipers. It is largely made up of the Leones. Two of the three coaches banded together to form the new team and most of the same players joined. While at practice Luke got bit by something that caused big welts on his hand and arm. I thought it was just a bad reaction to a mosquito bite, and maybe it was, but his hand stayed swollen for several days. (After about 36 hours, we did a telehealth appointment to make sure it wasn't anything we needed to be concerned about and they said it was just a localized reaction.) Meanwhile, Thomas took Kara to Return of the Pride for the high school. She got her schedule and then got out of there.

That night, Thomas and I went to my final birthday request--dinner at the Titanic Museum. The Tilleys joined us, but we didn't prearrange to be at the same table and they couldn't (wouldn't) accommodate the request. Thomas and I arrived early and went through the museum. They had more actual artifacts but it wasn't as big as the one in Pigeon Forge. Dinner was fun. They did a good job of paying homage to the Titanic while still being entertaining. They had 5 characters representing people on the Titanic, including Molly Brown, Ms. Gibson (a famous silent film star who survived the sinking), the ship's designer, the captain and a maid who straddled both time zones (the others only "lived" in 1912). The food was just okay, but we enjoyed the evening. At the end of the experience, they had the passengers separate into gender and moved us to the "deck of the Titanic". It was solemn and sad. I can only imagine the confusion and terror those people felt that night.

Selfie in front of the recreation of a fancy suite.

Touching an actual piece of the Titanic

On Sunday, we went to a Tigers game and did the 34-Club. We had a really good time. It was a fun weekend!

Jack had band camp on Monday and Tuesday. He liked it much better this year. The show is Lord of the Rings themed. He and Anna got their schedules. Neither has as many classes with friends as they would like (according to Anna, she doesn't have any!). They do have AP World History together. The last class they had together was also history in 8th grade. The school is about 40% over capacity. They have 60 portables and I don't know how they are going to get everyone through lunch. I am also mad about the bus situation. They are doing two runs again. And, my kids are still on the first run in the morning and the second run in the afternoon. At the start of the summer, I contacted the transportation office and asked them to please not penalize the same kids twice again. They said they had more data to make better routes and would take parent feedback into consideration. So, I had hoped for a change. Nope! There is a bus in the gated part of our neighborhood who is on the second run in the morning and first run in the afternoon, so I know it isn't solely based on location. I am seriously very frustrated. The bus will pick them up  at 6:13, so they can sit around at school for an hour in the mornings. Then, they will sit around after school for 45 minutes. I wish we could drive them, but a) traffic (remember, 4600+ students) and b) I have a job. 

I think that is all the news for now. One final picture. Anna found a recipe for copycat Chick-Fil-A nuggets. It came out pretty good.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Friday was my birthday. I had to work, but I worked from home and Fridays are generally slow and a shorter day, so it wasn't bad. I started my day with exercise and a healthy breakfast shake (made my Thomas of course). Hopefully, that means getting the year off to a positive start. Each of the kids came downstairs and immediately wished me happy birthday. Except Luke, who came downstairs and said, "Happy Friday!" while giving me a mischievous grin. He asked me if I thought he forgot, then, he wished me a happy birthday too. 

After work, we started on one of my requests--two days of games. I laid out eight games I wanted to play and we got started. First, was Just One. Then, we played an old favorite Scattergories. We have had that game a long time, in fact, it predates the kids. It is fun to go through the box and see the old lists written by family and friends. Some of them I don't recognize and I wish we had people write their names on their papers. Regardless, it was nice to add to the collection.

Then, we went to Culver's for dinner. Following Culver's we had my very delicious, made from scratch by Kara, chocolate birthday cake. 

Then, presents! I know that I am difficult to shop for, I don't try to be, but I can never think of anything I want. I don't collect anything, I don't like clutter and I have everything I need. As my family well knows, my preference is always to spend money on vacations and experiences rather than things. So, I don't make it easy for them. But, they still managed to exceed expectations. Luke made me Mickey and Minnie Mouse out of beads; Jack gave me a coupon for 50 days of assistance in the kitchen, along with a very sweet note; Anna gave a fun watch band,

About a week before my birthday, Kara was asking what I wanted and I told her I wanted one of her famous home-made gifts. She has always made us very creative things, but she told me her crafting days were over. So, I was really glad that she hasn't lost her touch. She is way more creative than I have ever been. My mom was very creative and Kara is named after her, so I like to think she inherited the gene. She said this was the last time. I really hope not!

Thomas and I are going to a dinner at the Titanic Museum next week and he also got me a gift that is coming in the mail today (always fun when a birthday can extend over multiple days!). And, he has been celebrating my birthday all week--we went out to lunch at my chosen restaurants, he cooked dinners, and basically just catered to whatever I wanted all week. I was definitely well-celebrated!

After dinner, Anna and I went for a walk and then we all played game #3, Clue. And, in what can only be described as a birthday miracle--I won! The kids have demanded a rematch.

Anna and Kara liked posing the pieces.

It was one of my favorite birthdays! I really appreciated my gifts and Thomas and the kids were so kind and thoughtful all day. I felt loved and appreciated and special. There were lots of hugs and no one complained when they saw all the games I had planned for them. I also had calls, texts, emails, Facebook messages, etc., from friends and family, which was nice. When we went to bed, I told Thomas that I wished every day could be my birthday :)

So, happy birthday to me! Today, the boys have basketball and we will play more games. Then, tomorrow we get to celebrate Thomas. July is an amazing month!

Last bonus pictures, the girls both did Instagram "stories":