family

Taking a [spring] break

April 13, 2021 by Kristin Leave a Comment

I needed a change of scenery. After a year with a lot of days at home, I wanted to see a different backdrop to our everyday life. So we went to St. Pete Beach for Spring Break last week. So did a lot of other people.

We planned the getaway in February when we were in the throes of covid, quarantine, snowstorms, and my mother-in-law staying at our house while recovering from heart surgery. I knew then my girls, who gave up their spaces, deserved a treat. I knew my boy needed different ground on which to roam. I knew I needed an adventure and my husband needed a break from his work, which has been incredibly busy even in a weird year.

Greg went hunting two times. We all went to Busch Gardens one day. My girls and I went shopping one morning. But mostly we hung out at the beach, moved to the pool, and then went out for seafood. It was a welcome routine that looked different from our life in landlocked Kentucky. Plus I read three books. (See more about those here.)

I thought having covid restrictions would make Busch Gardens more enjoyable, but that wasn’t the case. It was crowded and took us more than an hour just to go through the temperature check at the front gate. And then we waited almost as long for pizza and chicken fingers lunch. We had to buy admission tickets in advance, so the crowd couldn’t have surprised Busch Gardens. But somehow it seemed to have. Many concession stands weren’t open, which meant the lines were long at the dining options available. And I’m going to wait a while before having to wear a mask at an amusement park again.

Even so, we had a good day at Busch Gardens. The lines for rides really weren’t that bad, other than the Cheetah Run roller coaster, which we would have wanted to ride had the wait not been nearly two hours. I particularly loved Cobra’s Curse (which we all went on) and also rode the thrilling Kumba with my big kids.

I didn’t cook all week, which was a good plan because our hotel kitchen was teeny tiny. But, goodness, we ate well so I’m going to tell you more about that. Unless noted, the restaurants are in St. Pete Beach.

Hurricane at Pass-a-Grille Beach — My shrimp tacos were good and there’s a rooftop option with great views.
Caddy’s — We met my cousin Jen here and I ate coconut shrimp. It was a family-friendly place and the kids’ food was served on a frisbee.
Shell’s Seafood — We ate at the Tampa one after we went to Busch Gardens and we all enjoyed our meals.
Snappers — This is a little more upscale food-wise than our usual, but we still wore shorts & T-shirts and loved it. Greg and I really like the different food choices. I ended up getting Coconut-Cashew Crusted Mahi-Mahi, which was delicious! The kids’ pizza and grouper were also good.
Crabby Bills — We loved the casual waterfront atmosphere. There’s an outdoor, rooftop option too. The hush puppies were really good.
Ice & Cream — We went there three nights in a row to enjoy delicious homemade ice cream & some unique flavors. I ordered Dreamsicle in a waffle cone every time.
Fo’ Cheezy Twisted Meltz — The girls and I happened upon this when we walked from our hotel to the Corey Avenue Shopping District so we stopped on our way back as it was almost 11 am. It’s a fun restaurant with tasty sandwiches.

Our break was welcomed and enjoyed thoroughly. Of course, we were glad to get settled back in at home for the last six weeks of school, soccer season, birthday season, and whatever other ordinary adventures come our way.

Hope at home with Dolphin Island

March 2, 2021 by Kristin Leave a Comment

We were at home a lot in February, thanks to sickness, quarantine, and winter weather. We had school-at-home days for my kids, who are 13, 11, and 5. We pulled out toys the kids hadn’t seen in a while. We scrolled all the streaming services for something new to watch.

And we were thankful for a family-friendly movie I got to screen from the comfort of our couch. My husband, mother-in-law, and I may have liked it more than the kids, but we also were glad for some clean entertainment to share with the youngsters in the house.

“Dolphin Island” is a heartwarming feature film about 14-year-old Annabel who lives with her fisherman grandfather on an island paradise. They operate a nonprofit marine research and conservation center. She is surrounded by an extended family of loving but quirky neighbors and her best friend, a dolphin named Mitzy. Everything changes when her maternal grandparents arrive with a shifty lawyer to bring her back to New York. Annabel and her friends navigate these circumstances to prove that love conquers all.

My kids all reacted like anyone who knows them would expect: Rachel, who is 5, talked about how much she likes dolphins and asked about going to the beach. The 11-year-old Ben liked the action that came with the pirate-like barrister, which of course we had to define as an attorney for him. Cate, the resident teenager, wasn’t so sure about an inspirational film, but she periodically made comments about the main character.

About the movie

This 91-minute movie is available on digital HD on most video-on-demand platforms starting today (March 2). It’s a sweet movie with some adventure mixed in is a good choice for families who want to watch a new movie from the comfort and safety of their own home.

Learn more at IMDB.com and the movie’s website, which includes additional resources such as a downloadable family discussion guide to spark meaningful conversations about courage, forgiveness, and faith. You can also watch the trailer on YouTube. It’s also available to buy or rent at Amazon.

Giveaway

One of you can receive a free digital code for unlimited access to this movie! This giveaway is open to North American residents. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win through Monday, March 8. I’ll announce a winner the following day.

Enter Dolphin Island giveaway here!

PLUS there’s an additional opportunity to win VIP access to “Dolphin Island” directly from the filmmakers. (Enter that giveaway here!) AND everyone who enters my giveaway with an email address will get a screen link to watch the movie.

*****

Many thanks to Entertainment Squad for providing this screener link for my family to review the movie. Opinions are 100 percent our own and not influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive the screen link and digital access to the movie in exchange for this review and post.

Hello, March!

March 1, 2021 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Hello, March!

Honestly, I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to need to recap February, just for documenting purposes and while hoping spring truly comes this month.

Cate came home early from school the first Monday of the month because she (and her class, and turns out probably her whole basketball team) was exposed to Covid. Ben came home early the next day because he didn’t feel good. He had strep throat. His Covid test was negative.

My mother-in-law Peggy, who had quadruple bypass heart surgery on Jan. 4 and recovered at our house, had an issue with her incision the same day Ben was sick, so I actually was on the way to the surgeon’s office an hour away when Ben called. Her incision was fine, but I’m glad we got it looked at and brought some advice home.

Rachel’s preschool teacher was exposed through a different student not in that class so Rachel didn’t go to school that week either. The irony of the Covid cases at school was the timing. We hadn’t had any students and only one teacher test positive while school was in session since August. Then the week multiple middle & high school students then teachers tested positive, several of us were able to get Covid vaccines. I’m thankful my part-time job at the school gave me the opportunity to get a vaccine.

On Thursday that first week of February, Cate started feeling tired and achy. She was up in the middle of the night with severe chills. I took her to get Covid tested on Friday morning. The rapid test said she had flu A, but we also did a send-off Covid test, which came back positive on Monday morning.

We all – including Peggy who was still with us – quarantined. Then on Monday, Ben’s teacher started with Covid symptoms so she and the students who had been at school were quarantined at this point too. Miraculously, nobody else at my house got Covid and a Cate was a champ quarantining in her little sister’s hot pink room while her Gran-Gran was living in her bedroom. (I shared some on Instagram here and here, if you want to read more about our Covid experience.)

Ice closed the school that second week of February – not that my kids were going at that point anyway. Then on Valentine’s Day, our last day of quarantine, we had a snowstorm. It snowed multiple inches multiple times that week. (Yes, of course, I posted some snow pictures here and here and here and here.)

On Monday, Feb. 22, all three kids returned to school after three weeks at home. The same day, the heart surgeon cleared Peggy to resume normal life, so she moved home that Tuesday after more than six weeks at our house. My sweet mother-in-law celebrated her 70th birthday on Saturday.

Last seemed incredibly busy because I was catching up on things with our vacation rentals, taxiing kids to and from school and basketball games, following up on emails and phone calls I’d put off, and sitting at the orthodontist’s parking lot for two hours while the dentist caught up on Cate’s mouth.

On Thursday, during one of those taxi services, I was rear-ended while stopped at a red light. At first I didn’t think much was wrong with my van, but I soon realized the trunk isn’t working properly. It’s dented right at the latch, so the vehicle thinks the trunk is open when it’s not and now it doesn’t actually open at all. We went to Walmart on Saturday morning, and I had to crawl into the back seat to get the things we put back there. A body shop is waiting on the green light from the insurance to repair my van, which, of course, really just seems like something else to deal with at this point.

We were on the way to church on Sunday morning when our road started flooding. We ended up not going to church. While watching church online, we heard what sounded like thunder and looked out our front window to see a mental culvert from our road not where it belonged. About an hour later, we heard the sound again. This time the second culvert from the same spot in our road was floating down the creek. Not long after, a third culvert, not belonging in our road, floated down from somewhere. We had almost four inches of rain in the morning hours Sunday. Once the water receded we saw just how destroyed our road is. It rained more that night. (See photos here!)

At this point, we are thankful for a house on higher ground, where we’ve been sheltered from so much this month. We’re thankful there’s another way out, and the school taxi commute is only about five minutes longer than usual. We’re thankful for health and each other and God’s goodness and provisions even when – perhaps especially when – we have no idea what’s around the next corner.

How was your February?