Finally Home + Noah's Birthday

We are home! Our Spring Break travel adventure has finally ended… almost 48 hours after the time we were supposed to be home, we are finally done.

It’s all fun and games until you get stuck in Charlotte without your luggage. ⁣

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We had a great time in Bradenton, Florida for baseball spring training. I went to a couple of the Pirates games with Morry, Evan, and Noah, but what I would do was drop off the boys early. Then, I’d head to the beach or river for a while and come back to see the last part of the games. ⁣

We played mini-golf, ate a lot of good food, played on the beautiful white sandy beaches with turquoise water, and more.

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We were supposed to get home on Thursday, the 18th. There was bad weather in both Charlotte and Dallas that apparently caused lots of issues for both airports. We knew there was going to be bad weather in Charlotte and we even got a warning from American Airlines that our flight might change. But American wouldn’t let us change our layover to a different city even though they knew that the bad weather was coming through Charlotte. Well, that was unless we wanted to pay an extra $400 something dollars per person.⁣

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So after our first flight from Orlando to Charlotte was delayed, we eventually landed in Charlotte, a lot later than planned. We turned on our phones to an email that our next flight home to Austin was canceled.⁣

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After a couple of hours of trying to figure out how to get home, we realized there were no options that night.  We even tried renting a car to drive home, but there were no cars available. 

The kids and I took the hotel shuttle while Morry stayed at the airport a little longer hoping to get our luggage.

As soon as the boys and I checked into our hotel room, around 10:30pm, I ordered a couple of pizzas from Domino’s.   

We waited and waited for our pizzas. I even called to check on them and was told they would be coming soon.  

In the meantime, Morry came to the hotel finally but without our luggage.  American said our luggage would be sent to Austin the next day on the first flight out.

After two hours of no pizzas, and completely exhausted, I finally called to cancel our pizza order and get a refund.

We ate snacks from the gift shop for dinner at almost 1am and then went to sleep.

We woke up at 6:30am Friday morning to head back to the airport to try to get a flight home.

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After a crazy day, trying flight after flight to fly standby we eventually were able to get on a flight to San Antonio. 

Only one of our suitcases (mine) made it to San Antonio.

The cheapest way to get all of us back to Austin was with a rental car. So funny thing about the rental car. We just wanted to get home last night from San Antonio and they said for $30 extra we could have the BMW and drive it right then, otherwise, we would have to wait about 10 minutes for another car. So we went with the BMW, although it took us about 10 to 15 minutes to even figure out how to start the car and put it into drive. We had to actually Google it.

We finally got back to our house around 8:30pm last night.

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This afternoon, the other suitcase was delivered to our house. ⁣

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Our kids were troopers. All of the airline staff were super friendly and helpful. I don’t know how people did it with young kids or even babies. What a mess!⁣

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After Evan’s baseball game this afternoon, we drove back to San Antonio to return the rental car.  We had to return it to SA or pay a large fee for not returning it at the pickup location.⁣

Since we had such a crazy last few days, we are celebrating Noah's birthday today and tomorrow rather than packing everything in in one day.

Today, he chose Wholy Bagel for lunch and Black Rock lavender lemonade to drink.  Wholy Bagel made his sandwich wrong, so I had to go back out to pick up the correct one after we got home.  They threw in several desserts to make up for it.

When we went to pick up the car in San Antonio, we stopped at Genghis Grill on the way home.  Noah loves that restaurant, but we no longer have one in Austin.

When we got home, he Facetimed with Michael, Jen, Maya, and Artie and then Grandma and Papa.

Labor Day Weekend

Early Friday morning, we woke up at 1:50am and drove to Dallas for our 7:40am flight to Pittsburgh for Dora's Bat Mitzvah.

After getting our luggage in Pittsburgh we took the bus to our hotel which was near the Pitt and CMU campus.

We walked got lunch at a deli/sandwich shop, which the kids loved.  Then, we walked around campus.

At night, there was a Shabbat service and then dinner.

Saturday morning was the Bat Mitzvah.  Morry had the honor of holding the Torah.  Dora did a great job.

We took it easy in the afternoon at the hotel.

The party on Saturday night was at a private school.  They had a DJ as well as a photo booth and caricature artist.

Sunday morning there was a brunch at the hotel.

After that, we walked around town.  We walked to Eat N Park to get Smiley cookies and then to Mike and Darcy's house.  Mike gave us a ride back to the hotel and then to the airport.

We arrived in Dallas around 8pm and we drove back to Austin.  It was a little after midnight by the time we got home on Sunday night.

We took it easy most of the day on Monday.

At 4:00 we went to Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy's house for a Labor Day dinner.  Grandma and Papa rode with us.

This morning it was back to a full day of work and school.

Evan ate dinner at Grandma and Papa's.

Morry is at Evan's Back to School night now. 

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Still Hurting

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I think all of us are still hurting from losing Lizzy.  I know that Rachel and I are struggling.  Evan did not go to school today as he was so upset that he got physically sick before school.  Noah was very difficult this morning.  I think there were a lot of causes, but he grieves differently than Rachel, Evan and me, so I'm not sure if that was one of the reasons he was difficult this morning.

Rachel and I did go to Camp Gladiator this morning.  We pushed ourselves to do it.

Later in the morning, I took Grandmom to the airport.

In the early afternoon, a family came by to see Adam.  I think they'd like to adopt Adam, but we're waiting for them to go through the process with Austin Pets Alive.

We walked to get Noah.  He was in a good mood this afternoon.  He went straight to Grandma and Papa's house.

I took Evan and his teammate Braeden to practice.  I don't believe that Evan is contagious.  I think it's emotional.  I wanted him to get back out and do what he loves.  He did well.  I think it's still really tough for him.  He only smiled a bit.  I think he just feels really empty right now.  It's just going to take time for him, as it will for all of us.

Rachel went to tutoring and now she's at Evan's Back-to-School night.

The boys are upstairs and are going to get ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Goodbye Fran

This morning we all drove Fran to the airport.

When we got home I went for a run.

When I came back, Evan invited his friend Reid over.

Evan and Reid had a good time together this afternoon.  They were outside most of the time.

Around 5:30 we took the kids to Grandma and Papa's.  They had dinner with them and Morry and I went out to eat at Little Barrel and Brown.

Now the kids are getting ready for bed.

Driving

This morning we walked to school without Lizzy and then went to Camp Gladiator.

I left CG early to take Grandma and Papa to the airport.

I spent a lot of time in the car today.

Morry had a meeting this afternoon, so I had to get Evan to baseball.

I had tutoring scheduled for 4:15-5:15 and Evan's baseball is from 4:00-5:00 about 20-30 minutes away from one another.

I drove to pick up the kids from school and then took Evan to baseball a little bit early.  Noah came with me to tutoring and then we drove back to pick up Evan from baseball.

We got home around 6:30.

For dinner we had baked breaded chicken that Morry made.

Evan is in bed and Noah is getting ready for bed now.

Sunday and Monday

Yesterday I took Evan to camp info session and Morry and Noah went to Noah's football game.  Noah played well, but his team lost in overtime.

Evan seemed to really enjoy the camp presentation.  The kids who had gone were very excited and had only good things to say.

I exchanged phone numbers with a couple of other women there so we can hopefully get the kids together before camp.

Today, Morry and I went to Camp Gladiator in the morning.

Around lunch time I took the boys to Half Price Books and then got them lunch at Sonic.

I took Noah to his football practice and the coach asked if Evan would like to help out and play as well.  Of course he said yes.

Later, Morry took both boys to Evan's baseball lesson.

I picked up Grandma and Papa from the airport and then we all met at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. The food was good and the boys ate well.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

No New Food

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was raining hard when we got up so we drove the boys to the front of the school.  They had predicted a chance of rain, but I was still surprised to see how hard it rained.

Rachel took Grandma and Papa to the airport for a trip shortly after we got home.

Rachel and I had a phone meeting with Focus Forward.  After that we went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.

It had stopped raining earlier in the day so we were able to walk to school.

Evan and I had a parent/player meeting to kick off the spring season at TRPD.   The director of the organization spoke to the parents and Evan's coach talked to the team.  They got their goal books for the season.  Everyone on the team except for one boy is returning from the fall.  The "new" boy is not really new.  He played on the team last spring but took a break in the fall.  While Evan wasn't on the team in the spring, Evan knows the boy.  He played with Evan on the Marauders and they played against each other for years at Oak Hill.  It's nice to keep that consistency.

Evan went home with a boy from the team - Everett - after the meeting.  He'll be staying over Everett's tonight and go with Everett to practice tomorrow where I'll pick him up.

I stopped at Via 313 on the way home and got dinner for Noah, Rachel and me.  Noah seemed to enjoy having us to himself.

Until next time...

Google Fiber

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The title of this post is Google Fiber, but it could have easily been "Very Cold".  This morning, it was 23 degrees on the walk to school.  It was not windy so I don't think it was any colder than that.  But it was cold.  Rachel seemed very uncomfortable.  Lizzy and the boys didn't mind.

I had a meeting where I gave a demo when we got home.  Then Rachel and I went to the airport.  Rachel had a meeting to get her Global Entry.  My meeting is scheduled for January.  We were hoping they could fit me in but they couldn't.

We stopped at Academy on the way to get hand and foot warmers.

Just after lunch, Google came to the house.  We had schedule Google Fiber to be installed.  With that we'd get 1 Gigabit download and upload speeds.  For comparisons sake, typical internet speeds are between 10 and 20 Megabits.  So this is 1000 Megabits.  I have been looking forward to this.  The installer was very good.  He knew what he was doing.  He actually came early which is a first for this type of service.  Aaron came over and we talked through some stuff with the installer.  Papa also stopped by to see how they were setting it up.  Aaron and I are going to put some hardware for work in the house since the internet speed will now be that good here.

Rachel went to pick up the boys since we were still dealing with the installation.

For dinner, we had some coupons and a gift certificate to Taco Cabana so Noah and I went and picked up the food and brought it home.

The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Busy, Busy

This morning we walked the kids to school.

When we got back home Morry took Jack to the airport and I went to HEB.  We needed groceries badly.

When I got home, Morry was back and we quickly put the refrigerated items away.

Then, we went to the later Camp Gladiator class.

We walked to pick up the boys from school.

On our way home, Noah asked if he could go straight to Grandma and Papa's house instead of waiting until 4pm.  So, he went over there right after school on our walk home.

I left the house around 3:30.   First, I voted and then tutored two students.

Morry and Evan went to baseball practice.

I picked up Noah from Grandma and Papa's house around 7:30pm.

Morry and Evan got home around 8pm.

It's been a long day for all of us.

No Kids, but Busy Day

This morning the CBS Austin news woman came to our house to interview me for a coupon story.  I enjoyed that.  She was here for about 45 minutes.  She asked me some questions and had me show her how I find coupons and save money by preparing the kids lunches ahead of time.

Around noon I took Morry to the airport.

I stopped at Costco on my way home.

At 6pm I went to Mom and Dad's house to celebrate Dad's birthday.  Uncle Marvin, Aunt Sandy, and Joel came too.  Aunt Sandy made most of the dinner.

At 6pm we watched the news to see the coupon story.  Here's a link to the story and video.
http://keyetv.com/news/local/high-tech-coupon-clipping-creates-big-back-to-school-savings


Now, I'm just taking care of the animals and will get ready for bed soon.

The Boys are Back in Town + iFly

Yesterday, I picked up Morry, Evan, Noah, and Jack from the airport.  They had a fun trip to Florida for baseball Spring Training.

We ate lunch at Torchy's tacos.

Last night, for dinner we ate at Genghis Grill.

Today we took it easy.  We had lunch at Texadelphia.  Both boys ate really well.

For Hanukkah, we got the boys gift certificates to iFly (indoor skydiving).  We finally got around to making reservations for them to use their gifts.  They had 6:00 spots for tonight.  We had to get there at 5:15 so they could get a lesson before flying.

First, we picked up Grandma and Papa and then made the drive to North Austin.

Evan and Noah both really enjoyed iFly.

For dinner we all went to Caspian Grill.

Now, the boys are getting ready for bed.

Here are some pictures and video from yesterday and today.

Competitive

This morning we walked to school.

I walked on the treadmill this morning and then took Grandma and Papa to the airport.

I had an early tutoring today, so Morry went alone to pick up the kids from school.

The boys played outside with other kids from the neighborhood.

When I got home we made burritos for dinner.

The boys are in bed now and Morry is on the treadmill.  He's in a weekly challenge on Fitbit and trying to get the number 1 spot.

Bat Mitzvah Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Friday, just before lunch, my cousin Allison, her daughter Avery and Grandmom flew into Austin for Molly's Bat Mitzvah.  I picked them up at the airport.  We went to Torchy's Tacos for lunch.

Avery hung out with Noah in the afternoon while Allison, Rachel and I picked Evan up from school.

Allison, Grandmom and I went to Friday night services for Molly.  Rachel bought the boys and Avery to the dinner at Matt and Rachael's house after dinner.

Saturday morning, we went to the Bat Mitzvah.  Molly did a wonderful job.  Her voice was good, she read well, she projected and she was confident.

After the Bat Mitzvah, we decided to show Allison and Avery some of Austin.  Rachel, Evan and I took Allison and Avery to Lady Bird Lake to walk around.  We brought Lizzy.  It was cold and windy but we had a nice time walking.  Evan and Avery enjoyed each other's company.

We stopped at Pho Thai Son on the way home and got spring rolls as a snack.

The party on Saturday night was at a place called Main Event.  They have indoor miniature golf, bowling, rock climbing, laser tag and video games.  The kids had a really good time.  Both boys climbed the rock walls.  They had a good time at laser tag and mini golf.  I watched the Steelers game in the party room.

We didn't get home until nearly Midnight.  Allison, Avery and Grandmom had to be taken to the airport around 6:30 in the morning.  Evan insisted on coming with us as I drove.

I went back to sleep when I came home, but Evan stayed up.

We watched the Vikings-Seahawks game in the afternoon.  Then the boys and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  Evan fell asleep in the middle of it.

Grandma and Papa are on the way over.  They picked up Chinese food for us for dinner.  Evan is still sleeping.

Until next time....