Back to Grovetown

Ah, here we are at Cracker Barrel once again, this location at Grovetown, which is about three hours from our house.  Maddie's down here for a competition with her friends at Edge, and we got here the night before so that we could get a good night's rest before the full day here.

We enjoyed our meal together, and it was a busy night there.  And as we left, Maddie picked up some Twizzlers... she said they were for tomorrow and they'd be either Celebratory Twizzlers or Emotional Support Twizzlers.  You'll find out tomorrow which they are!  

The drive down was long but pretty uneventful.  We didn't stop anywhere really except for Lexington, where we did an emergency restroom stop at a Burger King.  Might as well pick up some onion rings while we're there - we hadn't had those in a while.

But here's a tradition now!  There's a Vampire Penguin that is very close to where we're staying, so yes, we went there tonight as well.  Maddie met one of her Edge friends there, Kaylee.  She and her mom enjoyed a some really great desserts together!

It was a quiet day.  We left at an earlier time and just rested at the hotel, really.  We watched the semi-final sled hockey game where Team USA defeated Czechia 6-1.  It was a closer game than the others, as the Czech team is really good.  Now off to the finals where we have to face the same hockey foe that we've went up against in the Winter Games.  Yes, Canada got by China to advance to the finals, so here we are with another USA vs. Canada hockey match.  We'll have to watch that one certainly!

It was a long night.  I couldn't sleep tonight, and Mom must have caught something or ate something off - the next morning was a little bit of a scramble for us, but Maddie seems to have slept well tonight, and that's the most important thing.  We'll catch up tomorrow.

Moving On

 

Yay, another post card from Ireland!  It's a virtual post card, of course, because this whole walk is virtual.  But it's been fun, and today the actual walk was at the Gainesville College track where I did another 5K there.  

Maddie had taekwondo tonight, although a bit more briefly because it's Thursday night.  She helps out as an instructor for the first class, helping out smaller kids, and then off to leadership class, a quicker night but still a good one for experience.  

We did a thing today - there's a new way to see the Atlanta Braves, and we actually paid for this access via something called "BravesVision."  We have the app on this computer and on our television at home, so now we can watch not only the rest of these Spring Training games (for research, of course!), but also watch something like over 140 Braves games this year.  That'll be fun!

Look at some of our table settings for Easter!  Mom has ordered some great new plates and napkin holders and other items for each place setting.  It all looks so nice.

Oh, speaking of looking nice, the Bradford pear trees are blooming, and that's a great visual... but not a great odor.  Yep, it's that time of year again!

And speaking of this time of year, Easter is coming soon - Resurrection Sunday - so look what Mom gave me for this year!  It's a LEGO Resurrection set to put together before Easter.  That'll be fun!

The weather is cooler out there, although some really cold weather is due to hit us again next week.  Winter is still hanging around, just like the Groundhog said.  We read tonight from our "Night Watch" book, and then after that prayers.  It's been a good day today!

Shamrockin' Cookies

Say hello to this year's St. Patrick's Day batch of cookies!  Mom made the shapes for us all, and the three of us had some fun decorating shamrocks and pots of gold tonight, and for a special added touch, we watched "The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold" as we were putting down all those green sprinkles.  Maddie was happy when I brought down the eyeballs, and Mom was wondering what was up with that - but that's just one of those things we have to do:  make odd faces on sugar cookies. You can see a few of those below, and other designs too.  A wee bit of fun tonight!

Afterwards we were watching the mixed teams wheelchair curling match where the US team did pretty well and got their groove back, defeating South Korea in a must-win scenario.  Good game!

We had an active day today - we went over to a Greek restaurant called "The Greek Tavern" for a chance to hang out together as a team, and that was a lot of fun - plus a good meal, with lots of leftovers!

Meanwhile, Maddie was having a nice lunch with Nate's Mom, and earlier than that, Maddie was out doing another driving lesson with Nana and Ye-Ye, which made for a pretty full schedule today.

It was a great day.  There are storms coming tonight, and colder weather too.  Tonight we read from our book again, moving along with our story from Ankh-Morpork from the past.  After that, it was time for prayers, and a little sleep!

Leveling Up Again

Okay we finished the booklets today, and we're ready for our next series.  Here's the cover for "Level Up," a series we've done a few times and now are repeating once again with some completely different Bible messages that are sort of tied to video games the best we could do.

One thing that we do at KidPak is head over to an elementary school nearby for an afterschool Bible Blast session.  We have worship, videos, games, and of course a message.  We do this on Tuesdays - here's just a few pictures from today's meeting.

Later tonight we were pretty close to finishing off another box of Lucky Charms while we watched the US sled hockey team dismantle another opponent.  It was a closer game with a final score of 7-1, which is still not that close in terms of hockey, unless there's a ginormous momentum shift that I can't imagine.  Bottom line, we're looking really good on the ice out there, and it's a fun team to watch.  We'll be following them into the semi-finals for certain!

So today the grass got mown, and that's a sign that spring is on the way.  The birds are all out there looking for food and shelter.  We have a few bird houses available, and certainly a lot of food.  The subscription for food has more being dropped off each month to keep with the demand.  And these sparrows are really demanding!  Just kidding.  

It was a good day though.  We closed it out with prayers, and of course we were reading from our book.  I've been walking pretty well again, averaging about 2.75 miles or so a day either outside or on the treadmill.  The virtual walk through Dublin has been interesting - I got a little update with a visit to Merrion Square Park there, a pleasant place for a walk with statues and greenery.  Of course there's greenery.  It's Ireland.

Okay, time to get some sleep.  We have a lot to do before a little trip this weekend!

Taekwondo Mondays

Maddie was at taekwondo tonight, because it's Monday night and that's what happens on Monday nights.  The group was there training, and doing quite a bit of sparring, which was fun.  Maddie was also squeezing in a bit of training with Master Edge, who was giving her tips on her form demonstration.  I was there watching it all, also getting in some reading and catching up at "my office" there on the counter.

We were watching a few games today, suddenly sports people in a way.  Tonight's game was a massive upset, a wheelchair curling victory for the US team as we beat China at the very last end of the game with a great strategic move.  Knowing their strengths are take-outs, the US team set up a shot where their opponents would have to draw in the stone to a target area, and it seemed like it was highly doable... until it wasn't.  Such a topsy-turvy game too, with momentum changes and a huge comeback.  

The other game we watched earlier - just in the background as we were working - was the Braves game down in Florida for Spring Training.  We've now been pretty regular viewers of Spring Training, and the Braves are doing really really well with these games.  They beat the Twins today 9-8, with eight of those runs scored in one inning, the first.  The crazy thing is that they were all pretty much scored on singles.  Everyone scored on the team except for poor Matt Olson.  These have been fun games to watch.

Nate didn't make it to taekwondo, so Maddie dropped by to visit with him for a short while.  She had a quiet day today, part of her Spring Break, and basically a week off.  I got my walking in, logging in another few miles in a virtual walk around Dublin - on the treadmill.  This time I was actually watching an old television special, "A Little Bit of Irish - Bing Crosby in Dublin."  It's just a collection of musical numbers - and poetry recitals - in different locations around Dublin, but it's nostalgic and pleasant.  Good background stuff as you're exercising!

Tonight we read before bed, more from the Discworld and this time reading about a young Vetinari, who just might have a larger part to play in this time-traveling story.  We said our prayers after this, and everyone got to sleep, knowing we can sleep in tomorrow!

Resting

Maddie was over at Nate's church this morning, visiting with his family there, so no pics from KidPak this morning.  But we had fun with another baseball skit continuing our series, "Spring Training."  It's been fun, and perhaps occasionally a little chaotic, but ultimately the worship and the altar services were strong and that was what really matters on Sunday mornings.  It was good.  It was also Daylight Savings Time, so we're all somewhat off in our sleeping schedule, aren't we?

We got home and watched some Paralympic ski boarding, which was pretty cool as always.  USA took a silver - these were the races where four snowboarders were speeding down the hill competing against one another to the finish line, the top two advancing to the next round until there were just the winners left.  Thrilling stuff!  We also saw the last of the wheelchair curling game, where the US team dominated the Italians to stay alive in their hopes for a spot in the finals.  In order to get there though, they have to win against an undefeated China team.  Gulp!

Nice weather outside!  We're supposed to get really warm... and then get really cold.  Up and down, that's the nature of the spring weather this year.  I think it might be cold on us when we get down to Grovetown later.  We'll see.  

I got in some more virtual walking, and later on Mom and I were watching "Leap Year," a great flick that takes place mostly in Ireland with lots of great scenery.  After that, we read a bit and said our prayers.  Time to try and get some sleep.