Guess Who Is 18?

Guess who is 18?  Unfortunately not me LOL

Shad and I share a birthday so this was a BIGGIE for him!  We wanted to do something special so we bought Universal passes so the 4 of us would have something we could do together as a family.  

So we surprised him by going over to Orlando for the weekend.  We went to Kobe Steakhouse for our birthday meal and spent the night right by Universal.  Then we spent the day at Universal and have passes for the next year.  

We have done most things over the years as a group but as everyone has gotten older it's been harder.  Obviously Selah doesn't go places like this. Sam and Sarah do not enjoy doing things like theme parks.  They like to be home and they like things quiet.  Years ago we took them to Disney.  They did ok but we could tell they just barely tolerated it.  IF they were alone in the parks and could just ride the rides over and over again they would probably like it LOL But they don't like all the things that go along with a theme park!  

It's so important when you have kids with special needs to make time for the ones who do not have special needs.  Often our lives are consumed with Selah Sam and Sarah's needs and rightfully so but we have always tried to stay connected with Shad and Steve too.  Thankfully we have managed to do it.  Last Christmas we made a list of things for the 4 of us to do together this year.  Some were easy-trying new restaurants and others required a bit more effort to make it work.  We have a wonderful caregiver who is like family for Sam and Sarah so we feel comfortable being away for a little bit.  Selah has her nurses so she is well taken care of with no problems.  

Kobe Steakhouse!  How do I have 2 adult children???

We had such a good time!

Ok I have to admit I love Harry Potter!  We never watched it until right before Steve went to college.  It was the last movie series that we watched together as a family before we moved to the new house.  At our old house way out in the country we had terrible wifi and no extra channels so we still watched DVDs  So we had tons of DVDs and old movies and tv shows.  We would watch together after supper at night.  Sweet memories!!!  I'm so glad that we had terrible wifi.  If the kids played video games it was not live and with other people so there was a bit of a balance.  YAY for bad wifi!  Anyhow those days are dear to me.  Sometimes I'm sad because things are different now but I'm so glad for the times we had!   I will tell you the Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure is insane!  My poor husband gets motion sickness he was not thrilled LOL

And look at us!  We went by ourselves with no kids last week!  Both of the boys were shocked when we told the we were going (they both were working hahah)  I reminded them that their dad and I were going places together long before they were born!  

So Happy Birthday Shad!  We are so glad you are our son!!!