Driving and Philly Cheesesteaks

Maddie did quite a bit of driving today, first with Nana just over to Wal-Mart for a big first:  filling up the gas tank.  Yep, she went to a gas station.  Another thing we did at home in the driveway:  check the oil.  Maddie learned how to use a dipstick, and not the candy kind you use to dip into a bag of powdery sugar mix.  

Later on, she was driving over to taekwondo tonight, and even home afterwards.  There was one little spot of difficulty with a turn on the way home, but other than that she was flawless, taking her time and keeping within those lines.  She did great!

We got home tonight and this was one of the few Braves games that was blacked out for us, but did that stop us from catching the game?  No sir!  Mom and I set up the fire pit outside on the back deck and listened to the game online, just enjoying the nice weather under the canopy all lit up with Christmas lighting.  It was a very pleasant evening out there, made greater because the Braves won yet again, continuing on with the best record in baseball right now.

Mom's been dealing with poison ivy a lot, so she was a bit uncomfortable tonight.  We're hoping this is gone in a week, because we're getting close to embarkation day.  More than once the two of us have sat there watching a live feed of the Disney Cruise ships docked at either Port Canaveral or Port Nassau.

Today's viewing, however, was with our astronaut theme:  Mom and I were doing a few things while watching "The Reluctant Astronaut" again, probably the first time since 2020 when we were writing that KidPak video inspired by that movie idea.  Today we were watching it because we'll be at Kennedy Space Center soon enough, and of course I'm also walking virtually towards the moon and back.  I finished up "From Earth to the Moon" earlier while on the treadmill, so I'm really spaced out.  But what were we doing while the movie was on?  I was cutting out a lot of pieces for this weekend's small group activities.  A lot of work ahead of time on this one, but it should be fun for the kids, and hopefully helpful.

We got some more patriotic decorations out there today, including a new US flag and a new garden flag too, one commemorating the semiquincentennial.  Which I never get tired of saying.  We spent some time talking with my parents, and oh yeah, there was this: 

I haven't had one of these in a while.  In preparation of the visit by the Philadelphia Phillies tonight, Mom made me a Philly cheesesteak, and it was absolutely amazing.  And of course, the Braves beat the Phillies tonight, and that was amazing too.  Sorry, Philadelphia.  But you still have great cheesesteak sandwiches!

Tonight Maddie and I read a bit from "Thud!" and then... that's the noise we made as we hit the bed.  We were all pretty tired today.  Great day though!