We've been really busy again, so here's July update in December. For Lucas's birthday, I was looking for something new to do with his siblings, and I saw a Groupon for indoor skydiving and thought, would he be up for that? But he said he would try it, so I went ahead and booked it for a weekday as that was cheaper as well. That meant Manny could not go, but we celebrated with him at home on Lucas's birthday. I sometimes miss the old pool parties we used to do for Lucas's birthdays, when we could just invite family and kids from his classes and they would come. I did ask if he wanted to invite anyone, but he just wanted to go with his siblings. Naomi opted for the stationary skydiving, but the boys did the extra high-flying one and spun I think 30 ft up. You can see it in the video below. They enjoyed it.
I also took the boys to see Superman that same day. Kind of funny to fly around and then watch Superman. The only showing we could go to in the afternoon also was the only one with enough adjacent seats available for us. I found out why once we got there. It was an experience showing, way too loud for me and Lucas to where our seats were shaking from the sound. Isaac didn't mind it. These days I like it quieter with subtitles. The movie had some great scenes, especially with Krypto the dog, but I didn't like the backstory change (or retcon as it's called). Manny saw it later and didn't like it. We grew up with the story of Kal-El/Clark's parents that we enjoyed. But it was still nice to see a movie again.
I joined this homeschool teen group that had planned social gatherings for the kids, so we went to our first event, a craft fair, and while Lucas did have a nice conversation with another boy, no real connection was made, I guess. Then soon after, due to low turnout, the group was discontinued and merged back into the general group. It's too bad, but at least Lucas still has other things he's participating in, and I'm proud of him for getting out there and trying. The craft fair was huge, and it was so loud and crowded in there, which was hard for both of us.
Manny got tickets for us to take Lucas to see MJ: the Musical. I thought it was a good idea since that would be a musical where he knew some of the background and was familiar with the characters and the song. Lucas didn't say anything other than it was good, but I think he was really happy he went and brought it up with his homeroom teacher at school.
Manny planned a family outing to Red Robin as well, but the one we usually went to closed. There is still another one open, but it's not as nice. We live in an area with high rental costs, and many restaurants around us did not recover after the lockdowns and now with rising food costs. It's a shame. However, we do also get new places as well, like the Hello Kitty Cafe that opened. I went on opening day 45 minutes before opening, but the line was already so long, and I had to leave before I got to the front for a planned lunch with Naomi. I met someone in line who'd driven an hour to come to the opening, and she and I struck up a nice conversation with her and we exchanged numbers. She volunteered to buy something for me and hold it (some of the items were only available that day), but I didn't want her to have to stay and wait for me, so I declined. I will go back hopefully around my birthday with Naomi for their tea option.
Naomi went to a concert on her own, a Japanese singer. I was there to drop her off and pick her up, and she met a couple of other girls and just hung out with them. She didn't want me to go with her, because while I love Japanese music, I'm not a huge fan of the scream rock stuff, and she'd have to be concerned about it being loud or unenjoyable for me. I'm the same way about a lot of things. I'd rather go along than feel like I dragged someone to something. But I made sure to be in the area 40 minutes early for pickup and have a clear designated spot. How did our rides do this back in the days without smartphones? I guess we would just say we would be at a certain spot at a certain time and be there. And then use a payphone otherwise and hope the person's line wasn't busy or that they had call waiting!
My friend O. and I tried a new (to me) restaurant, Left Bank, and they happened to be decorated for Bastille Day, so that was kind of fun. My fish was really good. I also took my young friend A. from church, who was in between jobs at the time, out for hotpot. All that good eating was done by the end of July, though, when it was time for my colonoscopy. My first ever. Because there is a lot of cancer in my family, including my dad having it twice, and my maternal grandmother passing away young from it, they said I should go in a little younger. Now they have lowered the age to 45 I think. Colorectal cancer used to be an older person's disease, but now it's become alarmingly more common in young adults.
I have a friend who is a gastroenterologist and I did not take advantage of that connection and went with the colon prep that they prescribed. She told me it was one of the worst ones of all. I think I figured that out after the first 30 minutes. I had to drink 4 liters over two sittings, and it was a lot. It helped for me to chase down the awful flavor with some frost (cherry-flavored) Gatorade. It's white, which is okay. You can't have anything that is red, blue, or purple and should just try to stick to clear liquids up until you have to stop consuming liquid as well. I'm glad Manny was able to pick me up. I was so out of it.
I don't remember much about that day. I remember Manny getting me a salad from Chik-Fil-A. And then I was saying weird stuff to Naomi, like how cute the little car was in the Grubhub app and how she shouldn't go to London because they don't speak English there (yeah no English in England). I was just goofy. My doctor friend said it shouldn't affect me much, but I was out of it that day and the next. It's the anesthesia, which I generally do not take well to, as well as painkillers unfortunately. I am allergic to vicodin and don't do well with acetominophen, but also something I was giving for Naomi's birth which was not disclosed to me for some reason). I can take ibuprofen.
