Basketball 2019

Wynn got to play on a basketball team with a lot of his classmates this year which was super fun for him. In fact, the coach was the dad of a boy in his class who he hasn't always gotten along with really well this year, so I was really worried at first. However, it helped them get to know each other better and they became good friends by the end. Now they are good buds and even play together outside of school. It was really a blessing for Wynn because he got to see how getting to know someone can change your opinion of them and help you find friendships you wouldn't ordinarily have found.

Another challenge he got to face this basketball season was the the only day his coach could set up practice was on Sunday afternoons. We had a talk about how we don't do sports on the Sabbath Day and asked him what he thought a solution might be. He mentioned maybe practicing with a different team. I reached out to the parks and recreation department and explained the situation and they reached out to the other coaches. It turned out that there was a team willing to let him practice with them on Fridays even if he wasn't on their team. We were so grateful that that worked out for Wynn and allowed him to keep playing basketball and keep the sabbath holy. I'm glad he got to have that learning experience and grateful for the coach who was willing to work with someone not on their team.

St Patty's Day

I usually don't post about St. Patricks Day, but we do have a tradition of making some green foods, which this year were white chocolate dipped pretzels in the shape of clovers and white chocolate dipped strawberries. The kids also made their traditional leprechaun traps but that sneaky guy got away again this year. At least he left us some Skittles and Rolos as consolation prizes anyway!

Post cruise Florida!

After our cruise, we stayed in Florida an additional week while Andy waited for his annual ATTSA convention to start in Tampa. The kids each got to choose one place they really wanted to visit and then had to earn their own money to go there. We sold cans, and Sydney even made keychains, did a lemonade stand, and a bake sale to earn her money since Universal Studios, her choice, was so much more money than the other options.

First stop was NASA.... Andy's choice. There were some great displays and a favorite part was the bus tour out to see the landing pads and hangars where they build the rockets. Andy enjoys showing the kids the rocket launches as they happen and regularly follows the progress of the SpaceX program, so they kids weren't completely in the dark about what they were seeing and it was nice to see the other exhibitions we didn't get to see at NASA in Houston last year.

Wynn's choice was Legoland. He loved it there and so did we because it is never crowded and there are so many areas for free play.  The rides are simple and the kids have fun. We all love Coke freestyle machines for the bunches of flavor combinations so rather than buy food in the park that day, we bought a refillable freestyle cup. They told us we could only refill it every ten minutes, so we just each took a turn choosing the drink. The kids thought it was so funny that we had a timer set for the next time we could go fill up the drink bottle. It was super unhealthy, but they drank so much soda they were never hungry (less money spend for us!) and never ran out of energy so in my mind, for a one time thing it was definitely a win. Its a story they love to tell now too about the day we let them drink however much soda they wanted. 

My favorite day was our third day at Wild Florida. We got to go on an air boat ride out into the start of the everglades and that has always been something on my bucket list for some reason. I expected a musky swamp area but what we got was a sunny warm area full of flowering lily pads, birds, baby crocs, and even cows! I was so surprised. It was peaceful out there and very unique. Apparently there is so much food out there for the crocs like birds, fish and turtles that they don't bother trying to take down a whole cow so they just roam free and graze in the marshes. After the boat ride, we visited their gator park and got to see the gator trainers work with the animals which was crazy. We held a baby gator too. So much fun! Then that night we went to a magic comedy dinner show and had a blast. Wynn and Abby were dying laughing and it is so fun to watch them crack up!

Sydney and I spend the fourth day just the two of us at Universal Studios Florida. She really wanted to go see Harry Potter land there and the others weren't quite tall enough for most the rides, so it was just the two of us. We had a great day. She got to try 'butter beer' which was delicious. Get a genuine Hermione Granger time turner necklace, and ride some of the biggest roller coasters yet. She was so proud that on her first roller coaster that went upside down, it had SEVEN upside down loops. She was super nervous while we waited in line for "The Hulk coaster" but she powered through and was super proud when she was done. 

Finally, it was Abby's turn. She chose to go visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater Florida. She has really enjoyed the movie Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2 lately and was ecstatic when she learned that she could actually go see Winter and Hope the dolphins in Florida. She enjoyed seeing them swim around and getting to learn about Winter's prosthetic s, but honestly she was most excited to buy her very own souvenir with her own money. She didn't seem to understand why the exact characters from the movie weren't there and didn't grasp the concept of an actor very well. Anyway we had a good time and are glad we went. 

That was it and we flew home, while Andy stayed for his work conference. It was a week to remember for sure and I'm glad we got to see so many different things. We are definitely blessed!

Abby time

Abby and I have been enjoying the one on one time we get together on Fridays. She recently has wanted me to paint every my little pony on her face and has been so patient to sit there while I try to copy a picture from my phone and do it. Luckily it stays on for a few days after. She also got to take her first swim lessons recently and did really well. Ordinarily, we sign up for lessons at the local pool, but a friend of mine teaches lessons at the local health club, so we gave that a try. The kids favorite thing about that was that they get to swim on the other end of the pool during each others lessons. Abby did a great job and is looking forward to doing them again.