Six Flags Great America

 We headed to the midwest for fall break this year.  Our first stop was Six Flags Great America.  We arrived around lunch and decided to eat before entering the park (because theme park food is $$$).  There was a little Italian place near the park called Tina's Italian Bakery, so we decided to give it a try.  What a nice surprise.  The family running the restaurant was actually Italian and spoke to each other in Italian.  The meal was so good.  I decided to give the homemade tiramisu a try, and it was also delicious.  After our meal, we drove to the park.  It was a Monday, so I didn't think that the park would be busy  I was wrong.  There were a lot of people there.  We weren't able to do everything, but we hit the highlights and did almost everything that we wanted.  Our favorite coasters were Goliath and X-flight.  We stayed until about an hour before closing.  Brian and I both agree that this is one of the better Six Flags parks. 

These Six Flags passes continue to pay off.  Stats this year:

Number of visits:  5

Number of parks visited: 4

Racing for Pinks

 The kids and I participated in the Racing for Pinks race benefiting local cancer patients.  Owen did the one-mile while Olivia and I ran the 5k.  Owen was happy because he ran the whole mile without stopping, I was happy because I ran the whole 5k without stopping, and Olivia was happy because she got first place in her age group.  It was a good race for a good cause.
 

Guns and Roses

 Jacksonville continues to up their game with the concerts.  The city has been attracting some really good acts lately.  In October we had the chance to see Guns and Roses.  The kids and I listen to classic rock in the car, so they are familiar with a lot of good bands.  This is one of their favorites, so we decided to take them.  The show was very good.  They played so many good songs.  I was a little worried about how the band would sound live.  After all, they're not as young as they once were.  This was not an issue, they sounded really good.  My only thing is that I thought that the music was a little too loud.  I know, it's a rock concert, but I still think it was too loud.  Or maybe I'm just getting old.

Olivia is 13

 I cannot believe that my baby girl is a teenager!  We celebrated her birthday with cheesecake and gifts.  The "big" gift that she wanted was a Slytherin jacket that she saw at Universal.  Here are some facts about Oliva at 13:

•  She loves to read.  Her favorite books are those in the "Warriors" series.
• She loves anime - especially Naruto.  
• Her favorite subject is math.
• She has reached the point where she can keep up with her school work / activities without intervention from me.
• Her room is still a disaster area.
• Her favorite snacks are pickles and strawberries.

I sure do love this sweet girl.

 For her birthday activity, Olivia chose to invite some friends to go play an escape room.  We played "Da Vinci" and made it out with time to spare.  This is no thanks to me, I was spinning around in circles most of the time trying to figure out what was going on.  Olivia reported that her birthday this year was "the best ever".

Hagrid's Motorbike

We have been patiently waiting for the summer rush to be over so that it would be worth it use our Universal passes again (and not spend all day waiting in lines).  We had an open weekend in early October, so the kids and I headed down for the day.  Our main mission was to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.  After a two hour wait, we accomplished our goal.  We all thought the ride was really good.  We spent the rest of the day at Islands of Adventure, rode lots of other rides,  met the Cat in the Hat, and ate at Margaritaville.  We still have ten months left on our passes, and we're hoping to use them more now that the weather is better.

The Sanders Wedding

 In September we flew to Baltimore for Brandon and Katy's wedding.  The kids were a little extra excited because we were flying up, and we haven't flown anywhere in about seven years. 

 We arrived to Baltimore in time to pick up our rental car and make it to the rehearsal.  It was here where we met up with our Sanders family, and we were so glad to see them all.

 Later in the evening, we attended a really nice rehearsal dinner at a restaurant outside of the city.  The kids had a great time playing with their cousins.  I was amazed at how much Addie and Gavin had grown since I had last seen them.

 The big day arrived, and everything was just so lovely.  The venue where the wedding took place was gorgeous, as was the bride and all of the wedding party. 

 After the wedding, we had a nice dinner followed by dancing.  Brandon and Katy started things off with a choreographed dance.  It was so cute.  None of us were topping that.  We danced the night away.  We had such a wonderful celebrating this sweet couple, and we wish them much happiness in their marriage.

Cross Country

Olivia has aged out of rec sports.  I still want her to stay somewhat active, so I told her that I wanted her to try out for at least one school athletic team this year.  She decided to try out for the cross country team, and she made it.  At the first meet, she finished about 30th out of about 60 runners.  I was surprised that she did so well because she's never run like this before.  As the season went on, she got better and better.  She was one of the seven runners on her team to go to the conference championship where she had her best time of the season and finished 20th.  Her team finished in third place at every single meet all season long, but at the conference meet they finished second and received the runner-up trophy.  All of that practice and running in the heat paid off, and the girls were so excited.  Olivia is now enthusiastic about running and is looking forward to trying out for the team again next year.  This has been a great experience for her.

Let's Get Caught Up

 I have been slacking big time on my blogging.  I see it's been two months since I've done anything.  We have had a lot happen in August-September, and this post will serve to catch-up on some of it. 

Family news:  We have spent as much time as possible with our favorite people.  We even had a visit from our Cook cousins, whom we have not seen in a while.  We also celebrated several birthdays- including Papa's 91st. 

 Church news:  Both kids are now officially in the youth group, and they are enjoying all of the activities of that program.  Olivia has also "graduated" from being an acolyte and is now working in the sound booth during the morning service. 

 Olivia's news:  Olivia is doing well in seventh grade.  She has a cell phone now, so we have seen an uptick in the amount of time she spends talking with her friends.  She ran cross-country this year and really liked it.  She even wanted to try a 5k, so she and I decided to go for it.  We have run two 5k races so far this school year.  I just may have found myself a new running buddy- even if she is way faster than me.

Owen's news:  Owen is loving middle school.  He has joined the band and is playing the trumpet.  He is still eligible to play rec sports, so he will be doing that this year.  He also tried out for the middle school robotics team and made it, so he will be joining his sister on that team this year. 

It has definitely been a busy start to the school year.