Kennedy drank her way into adulthood with a Butter Beer! She said it would be really great if we could go to Harry Potter World for her 18th birthday... we aim to please! The kids spent the 14-hour drive to Orlando watching all the Harry Potter movies. It kept them occupied and entertained so we had a fight-free drive. We went to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios which both had sections of Harry Potter. The kids were in awe of the realistic elements of HP World and they loved it! The lines stunk but they didn't seem as bothered as the adults (Kennedy wasn't quite an adult).
New Year's eve we started our drive back home and stayed in New Orleans to ring in the new year and let the kids have a small taste of the city. The Sugar Bowl was happening in a couple days and there was an awesome college vibe in the air. We went to go to Cafe Du Monde for beignets (like scones with tons of powdered sugar) and the line was really, really long. Eric disappeared and came back 15 minutes later with a bag of beignets. He has a way. He said he paid a lady to get them for him. Whatever it takes. We ate the beignets while observing this gold-painted guy. An artist at his best.
The city looked pretty good considering it was New Year's Eve the night before but Kennedy had it in her head that this was a dirty, filthy city full of vulgarity and indecency and wanted to leave the minute we got there. I told Eric he would need to bring the boys back to enjoy it. But not enjoy it too much.
Kennedy spent her actual 18th birthday in the van doing her online Geography class that is/was the bane of her existence. She wasn't happy.
Once we rolled back into town, we made a pit stop at one of her favorite restaurants, Pappasito's and rang in her birthday and the year. I am sure she will have fond memories of her 18th birthday but she will also have some memories that don't rank at the top. You take the good, you take the bad and there you have the facts of life. A nod to my past (the show The Facts of Life). Kennedy is the most adult 18-year old I know and ready to take on the next chapter. She is proof that the future is in good hands. We love you Kennedy!
