Beethoven and decisions

Lately we've been checking out DVDs from the library of movies the kids have never seen before. Two that recently saw were Babe and Beethoven. Beethoven (the movie about the St. Bernard dog) will always be memorable to me because it was the first movie I saw in a theater. Although we got a VCR when I was in middle school and had watched movies on tv (such as the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights), we weren't allowed to enter a movie theater. I graduated from college one month after I turned 20 years old, and that summer I started my master's degree at a university in Virginia. While in graduate school that summer, I went with my suitemates to the theater for the first time. It was a nerve wracking experience for me. I literally thought God might strike me dead just for walking into the building. Once I got over the trauma of entering the building, I did really enjoy the movie. I should add that somewhere along the way (when I was an adult), my dad started going to see movies with my brother, and sometimes we all go see one together at Christmas (ex. Star Wars).

Last spring I only signed Nadia and Ian up for the 2019 season of Upward Basketball because the first two years of team sports for Oliver (basketball, soccer, and flag football) seemed like a complete waste of time and money because he mostly just stood on the field/court and wasn't actually a contributing team member in any fashion. Taking him to a practice 1-2 times a week plus 1 game a week is too big of a time commitment if he's not really going to try. When I reminded him of this recently, he objected and said he really wanted to play basketball and promised to run and try to make a basket, etc. He has matured quite a bit in the last year so I signed him up this week (cost a bit more than if I had signed him up in the spring). Hopefully he will be a contributing member of the team this year! I wish that two of the kids could be on the same team, but since they are each two grade levels apart that's not possible. I am reminding myself though that we used to do three seasons a year of games on Saturdays (two of soccer and one of basketball) and now we're down to just one season when we have three games every Saturday.

On Monday Paul and I made a bigger decision. They are just starting to work on the summer and fall schedules so I haven't been informally asked yet (and a form offer wouldn't happen until probably May), but it is very helpful for me to know what my answer will be when they ask (I figure the latest they'll ask is in January). Paul thought I should work 50% (two math methods courses). I was asking if he thought I should work 25% (one night class), 50% (two afternoon classes), or 75% those two put together. This semester my two math classes are from 8:00-10:45 on T/TH. In the spring they will be from 2:00-4:45 T/TH. I am going to ask if they could be from 2:00-4:45 both semesters next school year. If I only teach those classes I would be gone from home from 12:00-5:30 two days a week. This means I would be able to homeschool my kids five days a week with the exception of if we had a field trip on a Tuesday or Thursday that would last past 12pm then Paul would need to take them. I'm very grateful that we have made this decision together. There are downsides to this choice such as I won't be eligible for orthodontic coverage for my kids. I would have been eligible the ten years I was FT at this university, but the kids didn't need braces during those ten years. My timing is off, but even that is not enough to convince me to work FT. If I could be FT without having any student teachers, I might be making a different choice. Thus far I haven't been given any online courses. I had taught several different online courses when I was there previously. Maybe I'll be able to teach an online version of the math class this summer? Considering I was at 125% last spring and this fall, 50% will be a drastic reduction. My working PT will enable us to have the money in the coming years to replace our roof, replace our minivan, etc. Now to decide what to do about Bible study. The kids (primarily Nadia and Oliver) really like going to BSF on Monday nights. I'm not a huge fan. I prefer the inductive Bible studies at our church. I will probably sign up for a study at our church starting next fall, but I am not sure what to do from December through May. We are going to keep going to BSF through November 19. Life is full of SO many decisions!!!

A snapshot in time

When Ian and Nadia were little I used to write a little synopsis of them every month, and then I went to every three months and now for awhile have been doing it twice a year - on their birthdays and half-birthdays. Today is none of the above for any of my kids, but I had the urge to just record  some thoughts about each of them today. Kids change so quickly!

Nadia had a phase this summer where she wore a million bracelets on her right arm. I never said anything (as long as I was sure none of them were cutting off her circulation), but I was not a fan of that look so I'm grateful she has outgrown that for now anyhow. She has been painting her fingernails a lot more regularly lately. I'm thinking one of her Christmas gifts this year will be her first professional manicure and maybe for her 11th birthday next June her first professional pedicure. I can't remember the last time I had either of those myself. It sounds like a fun "girls only" outing. She prefers to be with kids who are her age or older, but she does play with Ian and also Adalayde

(neighbor) who is 2 years younger than her. Her favorite pastimes are listening to Adventures in Odyssey CDs, listening to Christian contemporary music, playing with paper dolls, playing with Legos with Ian, and adult coloring books. She really, really wants to be promoted to Level 3 in gymnastics. She practices her cartwheels and handstands every day. She has already mastered her headstand so she doesn't practice that very often these days.

I finally integrated poetry into our homeschool curriculum (long overdue!). She wasn't too thrilled at the outset, but I have seen her reading poetry lately on her own initiative. She likes doing 5th grade math via Teaching Textbooks (online) this year. She had a couple of assignments that her grade was far less than desirable, but in general she's been doing well. All of her math quiz grades have been very satisfactory. She's just finished step 6 of 30 of the 6th grade spelling textbook. Nadia loves being in the 5th grade art class on Fridays.

Nadia and Ian both enjoy chewing gum. Thus far I haven't discovered gum put in any wrong place. I wish I could say the same about Laffy Taffy, but some of that ended up in a load of clothes. I didn't discover it until I was taking the clothes from the dryer. Nadia often chooses a salty snack (chips) as her "dessert" at lunch. The type of chips which is currently her favorite are Sunchips. She has them at church on Sunday mornings sometimes. I have never bought any, but I am planning to buy her a bag as one of her Christmas gifts this year.

Nadia abhors the color pink and loves various shades of blue (including aqua/teal). The boys don't feel as strongly about their favorite color as Nadia, but they both like green the best. The eye doctor on Monday said that Ian needed a new pair of glasses (his pair is almost 3 years old), and said Oliver needs glasses for the first time. That means Nadia will soon be the only member of our family not wearing glasses. Ian and Oliver liked the same frame, but I insisted they pick two different ones as that would be very, very confusing!

Ian and Oliver love for me to give him a piggy back ride up to bed at night. Although Nadia's "lovey" has remained the same for more than 8 years (her Poland pillow), Ian's "lovey" is constantly changing. Right now it's a tiny little stuffed animal (fits in your hand) that he has named "Squeakers." He got blood on it two nights ago when he was pulling a tooth, and he was very distressed when I temporarily took it away from him (so I could clean it). Oliver currently has two "lovies." The green blanket has been a lovey for most of his life. The small orange fish (plush) was purchased this summer with money Aunt Janet gave him for his birthday. Ian spends money as SOON as he gets it. He doesn't ever save up his money. Oliver is the most prone to saving his money. We just counted his money yesterday. He had over $18. I suggested he use part of his money to buy a watch because in the last week or so he has gotten in the habit of asking me incessantly "what time is it?". He selected a green watch, and Amazon is supposed to deliver it on Sunday. I also decided to start teaching him how to read an analog clock since he's so interested in knowing what time it is. Thus far Oliver's schoolwork only consists of reading, math, and handwriting. Spelling will be added in the very near future! He participates in some of what Nadia and Ian do for social studies and science.

Oliver talks ALL the time. This caused a problem during the 30 minutes spent in the one room schoolhouse on Thursday. When he was younger, he used to listen to the chapter books I read. He rarely listens these days. He does listen when I read picture books. I want to start reading a few chapter books more geared for his age (ex. Ramona the Pest or Charlotte's Web) and also break him of the habit of talking while I'm reading chapter books (even if they are geared more for his older siblings).

When it comes to eating, Oliver is by far the least picky child in our family. He has a few idiosyncrasies such as preferring to eat his hot dog bun separate from his hot dog and almost always eating dry cereal for breakfast. Although there are a few things that Nadia likes which Ian doesn't (like lasagna), in general I would say Nadia is the pickiest eater. Some of the things she doesn't like to eat include soups, bacon, stews, chili, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and salads. She is also very particular about the temperature of her food. She will eat egg salad sandwiches, but otherwise she

prefers to have hot food for lunch such as a ham and cheese hot pocket. Nadia LOVES eggs, and her brothers LOVE bacon. She would eat an egg for breakfast every single day if her Daddy would let her. She will only eat Italian bread. Her brothers eat almost every kind of bread (one exception would be pumpernickel). They all like to drink apple juice or apple cider. The boys enjoy chocolate milk. The vast majority of the time they just drink water. Ian is the only child who enjoys soda. The other two are like me and don't like to drink anything that is carbonated.

All three of them like the iPad. They usually earn at least one 20 minute turn per day. Of the three kids Ian is the most prone to earning two or sometimes three turns in a day. Oliver rarely has more than one turn. Over the course of a year Ian goes back and forth between using the Wii or the iPad. The last several weeks he's just been using the iPad.

Ian does not like to wear socks. The minute he comes inside he sheds his socks, shoes, and coat.

Nadia still gets carsick if she reads. Lately even watching a dvd in the van has caused her to be nauseous. Ian doesn't enjoy having his face painted, but Nadia and Oliver do. Oliver doesn't like to wear jeans, but his siblings do.

The boys like to watch tv once a day. Nadia does watch tv some days, but other days she chooses to stay in her room and listen to something on the radio or her CD player while they are downstairs watching tv.

Nadia likes coloring the most, and Ian likes drawing the most. Nadia and Oliver spend far more time playing outside than Ian does. Ian chooses to go to the worship service with Paul and I rather than attending the 3rd-5th grade boys Sunday School class. Nadia and Oliver choose Sunday School over the worship service. Oliver pays almost no attention to the guinea pigs. Ian spends more time with Patches than Nadia does with Jenna. Well I could write and write and write some more about my three precious children, but I think I'll stop right here.

Daddy took them to the trunk or treat at our church last night!

I had to take a picture to show that Ian lost a tooth on his bottom jaw this week!

Thankful Thursday

1. Several weeks ago I put the guinea pigs food and hay in a big bin on wheels in the living room (the guinea pigs are in a cage next to the piano in the living room). For the previous 18 months we usually had a trail of hay from the garage through the kitchen to their cage. Now the only place we have to sweep up hay is the living room.

2. The kids were able to sing in their choir in both services on Sunday.

3. The kids and I enjoyed seeing the production of Thumbelina on Sunday afternoon.

4. Nadia enjoyed the fall festival held for those in grades 4-8 on Sunday evening. She came home with candy, a large container of Oreos, and a jar of candy corn. She won the jar of candy corn because her guess as to how many were in the jar was the closest to the actual amount.

5. The kids participated in a Spanish class at the Milton library yesterday afternoon. My three represented half of the participants. The teacher taught them the alphabet in Spanish.

6. Paul and the kids enjoyed their tour, hayride, etc. at Rohrbach Farm on Tuesday. They came home with small pumpkins. I was hoping they'd come home with big ones that we could carve. It was a nice trip, but I doubt we'll do it again as it's farther away than where we usually go plus was a lot more expensive.

7. I met my friend, Cheri, for dinner on Tuesday night after I was done teaching. I drove about half-way home to a town that is close to where she lives. She picked a Mexican restaurant as she knows I love Mexican food and don't get to eat it very often. I'm thinking we will do this again before the semester is over because Paul and the kids don't get home on Tuesdays until 8pm so it's a perfect night for me to go out with a friend after work. Sometimes I have gone more than a year without seeing my friend, Cheri, and she's the only friend I have who lives within an hour of me that I ever do things with socially. Since my social life is very, very sparse, it was an extra special treat to have dinner with a friend! The only downside was

it meant I was away from home for 13 hours straight by the time I got home, which is exhausting for me, but it was worth it!

8. Our natural gas company was having a flash sale earlier this month, and I purchased a smart thermostat. Ours was almost 20 years old. I'm hoping in time the new one will save us money. Paul installed it this weekend, which was greatly appreciated by me! Now it means we own something in our home that "Alexa" (the dot) can control, ha ha! Actually I can control the thermostat with my phone even if I'm not at home, which can be rather handy if we're away and I forget to turn it down before we leave. I'm sure as the years progress more and more things in the house will be "smart" and able to be controlled by an app or a voice command.

9. Nadia kept saying she wished she could be with the 6th-12th grade group at BSF rather than the Kind-5th grade group. I decided to ask on Monday. I figured the worst they would say was "no," and they said yes. Nadia doesn't mind that the homework is more challenging.

She greatly prefers being with kids who are older than her to those who are younger than her. Hence why she gravitates toward Susie, Jenna, and Andrew when it comes to her cousins (who are between the ages of 13-15).

10. Today Paul and the kids went to the Landis Valley Museum. We went there in 2016, but the kids had really enjoyed the program, and since we are studying that time period now it seemed worth repeating. I emotionally struggled with missing out on the pumpkin patch trip on Tuesday. I've never missed the annual pumpkin trip with the kids before. It's usually a day where I take LOTS of pictures. Paul did take some with his phone. Today was easier (even though Ian kept asking me why I didn't join them which was hard) because I had been on the trip in 2016 (and Paul hadn't). He took my camera today, but it would have been much  better if he had just used his cell phone because there is a learning curve with using a DSLR camera and the pics he took were extremely blurry so I had to delete them all. The kids were wearing colonial costumes. It was the first time the boys wore colonial costumes. They are participating in a wax museum in February so I got them with that in mind. I also got Nadia a new one because the one I got her in 2015 is a bit too small. She wore the old one today because her new one came in the mail today. I usually only buy costumes at yard sales and consignment shops, but I deviated from that and shopped on Amazon for these. I paid more than usual, but I know the kids will get use out of them. Nadia has worn the colonial one I got 3 years ago many, many times. I just need to get Oliver a decent tricorn hat because the one that came with his costume was utterly ridiculous and went straight to the garbage. Paul also took the kids to their first trunk or treat for the year.  Oliver was Mr. Incredible, Ian was a character from Star Wars (can't recall the name), and Nadia was a character from Descendants. Our former babysitter took her kids on the field trip today and thankfully she got some pics that included our kids. I told my students at the university today that when I was a child Halloween was a one night holiday = trick or treating on October 31. Now it has morphed into a week long holiday it seems as the kids first event was tonight (which included free pizza from Domino's and free cookies from Subway in addition to lots of candy), and I think they have one trunk or treat or something along that line every day between now and October 31 except for October 29.

11. As of today I have completed 44 of 72 student teacher visits for the semester. That means I only have 28 to go! I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!

My 3 pumpkins

The kids were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch last month, but due to rain the trip was rescheduled for this week. Next weekend we should be carving pumpkins. For several years I've had a tradition of taking the kids pictures in a pumpkin t-shirt. We went from summer to winter weather and seemed to have skipped fall weather. So the kids were COLD when I asked them to take off their coats for a picture. This meant I didn't do my usual individual portraits. I just snapped the camera three times and hoped at least one of the pictures of all three of them would turn out okay. Oliver was complaining about how cold he was; the other two were urging him to cooperate. I hope I have a chance sometime in the next 10 days to take individual pictures of them in a costume (or costumes as they typically wear more than one as they attend more than one trunk or treat event). In other words I hope we have a day when it's at least a little bit warmer out (and I'm at home) so the kids will be willing to let me take more than 30 seconds to take their pictures. I also like to get pictures of them (in fall clothes) with beautiful leaves in the background. Not many of the leaves have turned colors yet. Last year I didn't get around to taking the fall pictures so hopefully I DO accomplish that task this year because I love my kids and I love the gorgeous fall leaves so that combination usually produces some of my favorite photos of the whole year.

Between field trips and me working away from home more than 2 days a week the past two weeks, when I exercised yesterday it was the first time I had done so in 12 days. I am thankful this week should be a normal week in terms of me homeschooling the kids three days and exercising four days. I hadn't read with Oliver in several days so yesterday (even though it was Saturday), I had him read me a story. I videotaped part of the story "The Pet Duck". He read the whole thing, but I figured the video would be too long. This week we'll be working on words with "nk" and "ng." This morning I recorded the kids singing in both services. I uploaded the second one. I liked the fact that this song included a chorus that was popular 20+ years ago ("I love you, Lord"). The choir is smaller this year (thus far anyhow). Hoping more kids will join as the year progresses. I'm thankful that Nadia's friend (Grace) is in the choir as I don't think Nadia would want to be in it because they are the only fifth graders in the choir, and there aren't any 4th graders in the choir right now. I'm also thankful that there is one other boy in the choir so my boys aren't the only boys in the choir. Paul's parents would have come up to hear them sing in church today, but I had tickets to take the kids to see Thumbelina at 2:00 this afternoon. After doing so much driving last weekend, I was grateful that aside from going to the hardware store and grocery store (in our town), the kids and I stayed home all day yesterday (Paul was at work).

Thankful Thursday

1. Earlier this fall I saw that homeschoolers could request a free (hardback) copy of one of the Rush Revere history books. After we got the book I received an email that if we uploaded a picture of one of us reading the book, we'd receive a free plush horse. The horse is about a foot long so it's not a tiny stuffed animal, and we paid not one cent for the horse (or for shipping). Now that Nadia has read the book she is to submit a paragraph about the book online to be entered in a contest to possibly win prizes such as an iPad! Our kids like books and stuffed animals, and you can't  beat free!

2. We have crossed the half-way mark in this fall semester! Last week was the mid-point for the classes on campus, and today marks the end of the first half for the student teachers. This means I won't be spending as many hours a day grading over the next few weeks as I have done the past 3 weeks. The intensity will pick up again as we near the end of the semester, but for now I am looking forward to a temporary reprieve.

3. The kids and I had a great four day trip to MD/VA this past weekend. This is one perk of the fact that I teach on Tuesdays/Thursdays. We couldn't take a four day weekend if I taught on MWF. The highlight for the kids was spending time with their cousins. My favorite moment was when we were driving to church on Sunday morning. I had my three kids plus three of their cousins in our minivan. We were listening to the local Christian radio station, and when one particular song came on, all the kids started singing together. It was so beautiful. I felt like crying happy tears to hear them sharing that moment together. We also enjoyed a few field trips over the long weekend including Ephrata Cloister (we're all very thankful our pillows are much softer than a wooden block), the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, a corn maze (which thankfully I was able to skip as it sounds like torture not pleasure to me), and Mt. Vernon. The traffic wasn't very pleasant, but we made it there and back safely, and it makes me appreciate the fact that we rarely encounter traffic where we live. Neither Paul or I ever desire to live near a city where there is so much traffic.

4. The Steelers won on Sunday! I actually watched the game because it was at 1pm (not past my bedtime like some of the games this season). It was an important win, and I was able to see the game thanks to the fact Joe has access to all the NFL games on his computer (so he can watch them in Turkey).

5. Paul was able to take the kids on a field trip to Ricketts Glen State Park yesterday. I had hoped to take them on that trip since it was on a Wednesday, but I needed to meet with student teachers. Between our field trips and me working the last two Wednesdays, I have only done a regular school day with the kids once in the last two weeks. I miss my kids!!! Thankfully I should be able to teach them three days next week.

6. Oliver is reading!! I know I already listed this last week, but it's SO exciting. He's even attempting to read on his own. For example at breakfast I will see him looking at the cereal box and trying to sound out words he sees on the back of the box. To me learning to read is just as exciting as a child learning how to walk, how to crawl, how to talk, etc.

Mount Vermin

This weekend we opted to miss art and gym classes on Friday, the ventriloquist show at our church on Saturday night, the rocket launch at Saturday Science on Saturday morning, music class on Monday, and BSF on Monday night so that instead we could spend the weekend with my sister and her family. I picked this weekend for three reasons: the Ephrata Cloister was having a special program for school children (mostly public school children) on Friday, Mount Vernon was having a Homeschool Day on Monday, and my sister and her family are headed back to Turkey next week. So it seemed the perfect weekend to venture down and see them one last time before they left. They weren't planning to join us at Mount Vernon, but some of their kids started asking them if they could join us, and that is what ended up happening - which made my kids very happy!

We spent six hours at Mount Vernon (which Oliver pronounced in a variety of ways including Mount Vermin). I suggested he just call it George Washington's House. During our

time there we toured the Mansion (and I forgot to take any pictures of the outside of it - oops!), visited their tombs, visited the farm, and Education Center. We skipped the Gristmill and Distillery. Usually when we attend a Homeschool Day event there are many special activities for homeschoolers and virtually no one else attends that particular day aside from homeschoolers. They did have some special activities, but for the most part I would say the main perk to going on Homeschool Day was the fact the tickets were a lot cheaper than usual ($10 for adults instead of the usual $20, for example). Joe and Yvonne only had to buy 4 tickets because I gave them Paul's ticket, three of their kids were free because they were under the age of six, and another man in line gave Joe two tickets. It rained on the way there, but thankfully it didn't rain while we were walking around the grounds. PTL! I carried my umbrella around the whole time to make sure I could protect my camera if needed, but the only time I used it was for a few minutes while we ate our packed

lunches outside. We spent the first two hours at the museum, tomb, and farm, and after lunch we spent closer to three hours in the Education Center. The kids loved it when "snow" fell on us during the winter scene of one movie about the Revolutionary War. We spent more than an hour in one room where you would learn about a specific incident in Washington's life (either as General or President) and then you would be asked to decide what you would have chosen to do if you had been the President/General. Then they would tell you what Washington chose to do.

All in all we had an enjoyable long weekend. I was exhausted when we arrived home at 9pm last night, in large part because altogether I had driven a little over 6 hours. It was supposed to take 40 minutes to get there (but took 60 minutes due to traffic); it was supposed to take 4 hours to get home (but took 5.25 hours due to traffic). I usually go to bed between 9-9:30 on Mondays because I am up at 5:30 on Tuesdays, but I was up until 10:30 due to unpacking, giving Paul the instructions for homeschooling today, etc. Today was a "typical" Tuesday which means I was at work, and Paul homeschooled the kids and then took them to gymnastics and the library. When the kids get home a little before 8pm, I need HUGS! I miss them when I don't see them for 23 hours. I'm thankful we live in this part of the country where we can easily visit a variety of historical sites, and I'm very thankful for George Washington's leadership of our army and our country 200+ years ago. 

A cloister, pretzels, chocolate, and a maze

Part of the reason I had to do observations on Wednesday was because I knew I was taking the kids on a few field trips on Friday. Originally Paul was going to join us, but this week he'll again be homeschooling the kids Tuesday through Thursday. This meant if had he joined us on the field trips Friday and tomorrow and time in Maryland with my sister's family yesterday and today, he would have been away from work for eight days straight. He hasn't been in this house in Maryland since December 2015, and it means he didn't spend any time with the Towfighis this year (the kids and I came down here three times over their four month visit to the US). The fact that I was out the door at 7am to observe student teachers and again at 7:00 on Friday to drive to Ephrata meant that I only exercised once this week - Monday. Once the schedule gets back to normal, I am sure I will get back to using the elliptical 3-4 times a week.

Our first stop yesterday was the Ephrata Cloister. We spent almost three hours there. It was built in the 1730's. We did all of the learning stations with the exception of "God's acre" (the cemetery). The tour of the Sister's House (where the women lived) and Meetinghouse was the most informative. Nadia always loves the time spent in a one room schoolhouse. We all decided we would *not* have wanted to become a member of the Cloister. They slept on a wooden bench with small wood block for their pillow. They slept from 9pm to midnight and 2am to 5am each day. They thought the Lord was returning during their lifetimes, and they thought he'd come between midnight at 2am, so they had a prayer service every night from midnight to 2am. Ian made the comment to me that when the Lord comes it will be a different time all over the earth. The other reason the kids said they'd never have wanted to join this group was because they only ate one meal a day. One of their claims to fame is that they published 1,000 copies of the 1,500+ page long Martyr's Mirror book, which was the longest book published in the United States prior to the Revolutionary War.

After we finished exploring the Cloister, we ate the lunches we packed as we drove to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Factory for a tour. This is the oldest hard pretzel factory in the US; it was founded in 1861. We weren't able to eat the soft pretzel that we rolled and twisted, but they did give each of us a little bag of Tom Sturgis hard pretzels. I learned that pretzels are brown because they are dipped in sodium hydroxide, otherwise they'd stay the same color as they look in their dough form. The pretzel factory is in Lititz. There is a chocolate factory very close to the pretzel factory so we made a brief stop there. There wasn't a tour, but we were able to watch some candy being made and they give out free samples of their Wilbur Chocolate Buds (either milk or dark chocolate). They must have liked the samples because Nadia and Oliver used some of their money to buy more of them. Nadia likes white chocolate and dark chocolate better than milk chocolate so she bought dark chocolate ones. I myself vastly prefer milk chocolate to dark or white chocolate. The only kind Paul likes is white chocolate. Then we drove to Maryland. After playing with their cousins, we had dinner at McDonald's and then went to a corn maze. I don't like corn mazes in the daylight, and doing one in the dark sounded terrifying to me. Wesley (who recently learned how to walk) and I skipped the corn maze. Yesterday and today we stayed at the Towfighi's home all day (aside from going to church this morning). Tomorrow we're headed to Mount Vernon and then home sweet home.