100 years old

The amusement park that I have lived the closest to for the past 30 years is Knoebels. It's a unique amusement park in that they don't charge for parking (it costs $35 to park at HersheyPark), and they also don't charge for admission. The only other amusement park I've been to like that is Delgrosso's, and I've been to a lot of amusement parks. Knoebels opened on July 4, 1926, so the park is celebrating 100 years this summer. The carousel (still in operation today) was built in 1923. Some of the rides were purchased from West View Park, which had been owned by my dad's grandmother. The park has been owned and operated by the same family since the day it opened. I think that's impressive, especially considering the park had to weather things like the Great Depression. When the kids were younger, we used to go to Knoebels multiple times a year; we've been taking them there since 2010. 

Lately we've only been going on WVIA Day, which is usually the first weekend of May. We used to use all six free handstamps for family members (Paul's parents, niece, or nephew would be the ones to use any extras that we had). The last several years we've been letting the kids invite some friends to join them. Typically, they'd invite two friends, but last year I brought six kids to Knoebels. If the weather forecast looks good, then we also bring Milo. Many people bring their dogs with them to Knoebels. That's another way this park is different from most amusement parks. Once we realized that we'd have three nephews and one niece with us, we paid for another WVIA membership so that we'd have 10 wristbands for Knoebels and 6 lift tickets/ski rentals for Elk Mountain next January (compared to 6 wristbands and 4 ski packages that we've had for many years). Since the cousins that Nadia usually hangs out with were going to be in Ohio for Andrew's graduation, I encouraged her to invite 1-3 friends. She only invited Faith. If I had to do it over again, I'd have offered two wristbands to any of our friends if they had just met us there at the park. Usually, Paul and I would ride some rides, but because I was busy taking pictures and we had Milo and the kids no longer ride many of the rides we used to ride with them, Paul and I didn't end up riding a single ride. It was chillier than normal, which meant no one wanted to ride either of the two rides that involve water. However, there wasn't any rain in the forecast, which meant there were more people at the park on WVIA Day than there had been the last few years. The lines weren't ridiculous, but they were definitely longer. About ten rides weren't running, which also didn't help with the lines. Thankfully, all of the rollercoasters were running. The kids rode three of them multiple times - Twister, Impulse, and Phoenix. That morning we went to the first service at church, came home to change clothes, get Milo, and make sandwiches for lunch, and then we drove to Knoebels. We arrived a little after the park opened at noon. In the afternoon we bought a snack or a drink for anyone who wanted one, and shortly before the park closed at 6:00 we bought three large pizzas for the ten us of us to share. While we were at the park Yvonne and her family were driving back from Ohio. They arrived after 10pm. Jenna and Toby drove back home that night as they only live 90 minutes from us. Nine of the Towfighis left our home the next morning. 

The last time I wrote a gratitude list was April 15. Here are some things I've been thankful for over the last few weeks:

1. I love being outside in the spring. I enjoy seeing more birds, flowers, blossoms, green grass, etc. 

2. We got the piano tuned on April 20. Last year he replaced some strings, and those strings didn't stay in tune for long. I enjoy listening to Ian play the piano more now that it's all back in tune. Ian is currently practicing Flight of the Bumblebee, Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin), and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach).

3. To celebrate my 54th birthday I had lunch with Cheri at Panera, breakfast with Tab at Dolly's Diner, and got some ice cream for the family from Old Mill Creamery. 

4. Ian was offered two jobs for the summer. He accepted the offer from Joyful Petcare and will start his training on May 28. 

5. Despite Ian being whacked in the face at the first performance and Nadia's face being burned by a curling iron the night of the second performance, all went well with the three performances of The Little Mermaid. Ian was hysterical as Chef Louis, and Nadia did a great job getting into her part as the sarcastic Mersister, Aquata. Eight Towfighis joined me in attending the first performance. Cheri joined Paul and I on Friday night. Paul's dad, Jenna, and Toby joined us on Saturday afternoon. The kids received various treats in their bags at each performance (candy, flowers, etc.). 

6. There was a brief break in the rain on April 25 which enabled me to take pictures of seven kids who went to the prom together. I was very thankful that Ian decided to go this year since it was Nadia's last prom. Ian borrowed Paul's shoes and dress shirt. I need to buy Ian a long sleeve white dress shirt as Paul's was too big for him around the neck. He wore his own black pants along with the green vest, tie, and suit jacket that he wore in the Wizard of Oz last year. They just barely fit him, but it was nice to be able to use them one more time. 

7. The boys and Paul enjoyed seeing the Super Mario Galaxy movie on April 26 while Nadia was at work. They ate my free birthday popcorn during the movie.

8. Seven of us enjoyed seeing Joshua at Sight and Sound on April 28, which was my 50th spiritual birthday. We also enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden including a free birthday dessert for me (black tie mousse cake).

9. Andrew has graduated from Cedarville, moved into his first apartment (in Ohio), and has started his first FT job. He's planning to stay in Ohio for about 18 months until his girlfriend graduates from college. My kids have never attended a graduation before. They were quite shocked at how boring these ceremonies are (I showed them part of the livestream so they could watch Andrew when he was on stage), and Ian was surprised to find out that Andrew is his middle name, ha ha! We enjoyed having four of his younger siblings with us for a few days. We spent time at the playground on Friday and Saturday and at Knoebels on Sunday. 

10. Yesterday I went for a walk with Ian's piano teacher for about 75 minutes. I always appreciate getting some exercise, but I also enjoy being able to talk with a friend, especially one I don't get to talk to at length very often. Similarly, I'm meeting another friend at Panera today. I see her even more infrequently. There are many weeks that the only people I talk to are those who live in my house (aside from pleasant greetings at the grocery store or church), so I always appreciate opportunities for lengthier conversations with my sisters and female friends. 

11. Ian's college classes came to an end on April 30. Despite a few missteps on his part (ex. not realizing an assignment was due by 11:59 pm and trying to submit it after midnight, forgetting to take a picture when we entered Sight and Sound for his humanities assignment, etc.), he earned an A in Humanities and a B+ in Old Testament this semester, which puts his cumulative GPA at Cedarville University at 3.675 (he's earned 12 credits total so far). Today I registered Ian for his fall classes at Cedarville - Introduction to Programming with C++ and a Physical Activity course (5 credits total). Next year I want him to begin taking some CLEP tests in addition to the dual enrollment classes.  

12. Nadia and Oliver are done for the school year. Nadia's Introduction to Research class doesn't technically end until May 15, but she submitted the final assignments and took her last test early due to our trip to Europe. Ian will hopefully finish English (King Lear) and Physics by May 8. He has the incentive of spending time with a friend on Saturday if he accomplishes those goals. He'll have until the end of June to finish Precalculus (he's currently finished 3/4 of the class through ASU). Normally I'm excited about the end of a school year although I know by August, I'll be itching to start the new year, but this year it's bittersweet since it means Nadia has graduated from high school. I look forward to seeing her soar at Liberty next year. 

13. I'm thankful that Aer Lingus was willing to change our flight to Manchester since they cancelled our flight to Liverpool and that it wasn't hard to change our rental car reservation. I'm also hoping the War in Iran is truly over because there was a significant risk of the airlines in Europe not having fuel by the time we'd be trying to fly home from Dublin on May 26. I wasn't in favor of the war from the start so naturally I've been praying for it to end ASAP. I think our country's track record after WWII has been pretty much a total disaster when it comes to our involvement in wars (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc.), which is why I wasn't at all keen on the idea of starting a war with Iran. Sadly, I'm not sure anything good came out of it, but I'm grateful it's hopefully over. I had hoped that Trump wouldn't start any wars just like he didn't during his first term, but unfortunately, that hasn't been the case this time around. Thankfully, I know the Lord is ultimately in control, which is very reassuring when I'm not liking the actions/words of our current President. 

14. I recently read a book that I really, really, really enjoyed called Theo of Golden. I hope Allen Levi writes more books in the future!

15. I've been elected to the school board at Meadowbrook Christian School. Praying that I can be a blessing to them over the next few years. I'm also hoping to begin leading a small group on Isaiah on Wednesday nights starting in September. So far three other couples (in addition to Paul and I) have said they'll join the group. Praying we get a few more people to join us between now and then. Another woman requested we do an OT prophecy book (because we're in the NT in Sunday School), and Paul asked for Isaiah in particular. I'm grateful for opportunities to serve. 

Six Flags over Texas

Nowadays Six Flags has 24 amusement parks across the USA. Today we went to their first one. When I was a child, I visited this particular Six Flags. The one we went to in San Antonio didn't exist at that time. It was at this Six Flags that my bubble was burst as to my ability with playing games at amusement parks. I didn't realize I wasn't actually winning the prizes at West View Park. When I asked my dad to play a game at Six Flags, he explained that he had paid for our admission to the park, and that only covered the rides. I assured him that I was very good at winning prizes in these games. He replied that I had been given prizes in Pittsburgh because I was related to the owner of the amusement park. Since that day, I've never been tempted to pay money to play a game at an amusement park, ha ha! My kids have never played a game at an amusement park. They've been to six different Six Flags parks. I think their favorite is the one in New Jersey. They've been to a total of 32 different amusement parks so far. I am hoping to take them to Kings Island in Ohio at some point in the future, but other than that I don't have any plans to take them to new amusement parks in the coming years. I'm thinking we will probably only go to Knoebels next year. 

The park opened at 10:30 and closed at 6:00. We were there at the opening but left before it closed. A few of the big rides (including roller coasters) were closed today. The lines in general weren't long, but the kids did make use of their flash passes. Their favorite rides were the New Texas Giant and Mr. Freeze roller coasters. Some of the rides (such as the flume) were much better at the Six Flags we were at two days ago. I rode three rides with the kids, and Paul rode one of them with us. We had *very* little driving time today as we drove for about 20 minutes from the hotel in Dallas to Six Flags and then drove less than 15 minutes total from Six Flags to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings to Walmart for some more groceries and finally to the Comfort Suites. In contrast, tomorrow will be the day of our trip that involves the most driving time. We'll be spending 4-5 hours in Fort Worth before we drive to Carlsbad, New Mexico. We're stopping for pizza along the way. We will have a little more time in Texas on Saturday afternoon at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 

Dallas

Yesterday we spent 6+ hours at Six Flags Fiesta in San Antonio. There weren't many guests there that day who traveled there via a personal vehicle. The vast majority came in a school bus. We had never purchased a flash pass before at a Six Flags. Paul referred to them as "insurance" to make sure the kids could ride all of the roller coasters. The park wasn't crowded. Some lines had a 45-minute wait without the flash pass, so the flash pass definitely was helpful but wasn't essential. Nadia had the flash pass on her phone, and she was the one who used it for herself and her brothers. I was going to use one of the flash passes for the white-water rapids ride, but after I got fairly wet riding the flume with Oliver, I decided I didn't need to get wet again. I knew that Ian and Nadia wouldn't go on the white-water rapids of their own initiative. Paul didn't ride any rides, and I only rode the flume. We had only purchased three flash passes so I couldn't ride a roller coaster with them if they were using the flash pass. It was very hot (high of 98 degrees). Many of the food service stations were closed, and the ones that were open almost always had very long lines. We had prepaid for a package that included two drinks, two snacks, and two meals. Paul had a Coke, and the boys shared a Powerade. Nadia and I just had (free) water all day to drink. Oliver, Ian, and Nadia shared a meal that consisted of a pulled pork sandwich and macaroni and cheese. Ian and Nadia shared a vanilla milkshake (snack). Paul had a slice of pizza and would have eaten the bag of Doritos chips that came with his pizza if they hadn't been stale. Paul and I shared some garlic knots (snack).  Ian's favorite ride was the Iron Rattler and Oliver's favorites were the flume and the Wonder Woman single rail roller coaster. Ian left his glasses at the one roller coaster, so the last part of the day was spent going to various places around the park trying to find his glasses. Thankfully, I was able to locate them. Considering Paul didn't ride any rides, and I only rode one ride, I wish more theme parks operated like Knoebels and allow non riders to enter the park for free. We only plan to go to three amusement parks this summer. We've already been to two of them - Knoebels and Six Flags Fiesta. Tomorrow will be our third and presumably last for 2025 - Six Flags over Texas, which I went to when I was a child. 

After we left the park yesterday, we drove to Culver's for dinner/ice cream. Due to traffic and a stop for gas, our trip took a little longer than anticipated, but we arrived at an Embassy Suites in Dallas around 10:15pm. The one downside of this hotel chain is they always charge for parking, but the upside is the breakfast is amazing (including made to order omelets). When choosing which hotel and which room, I usually make the decision on my own. In this case I had discussed options with Paul because this one was a little pricier than we are usually willing to pay for a night. The reason we opted to splurge a little is because this suite contains two bathrooms and what is in essence three rooms. Paul and I have a king size bed, the boys are in a room with two double beds (they typically share a bed when we're on vacation), and Nadia as usual gets the sofa, but the living room area has a door she can close. There are also sinks outside of the bathrooms. Typically, the five of us are sharing one toilet and one shower when we're on vacation. 

Our first stay at an Embassy was in February 2024 when at the last minute (due to snow) we realized we needed to drive to Baltimore the night before our flight. We also stayed at one in Virginia last year in May. Both of those times we weren't at the hotel during the "happy hour." We also were too late last night, but tonight we finally saw firsthand what it entails. At this hotel they provided drinks (adults could have two free alcoholic drinks but we passed on those), pretzels, Fritos, goldfish crackers, cheese, crackers, pineapple, and some fresh veggies and dip. In other words, they provide snacks and drinks (some members of our family had some soda) but not hot food like Drury does. What Embassy offers doesn't replace dinner in my opinion. We had already eaten dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was our fifth time dining at one of those restaurants as a family (once per year starting in 2021). I had a coupon for one free slice of cheesecake and a gift card to pay for the rest of the meal and tip. Nadia likes it if we go to one once a year, but I don't think we'll go to one next year given where we plan to be on vacation in 2026. 

Today we were in Dallas, Texas. I lived in a suburb of Dallas for 2.5 years while my dad was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary. He also was a pastor in Cleburne for most of that time. Neither Paul or I enjoy driving in cities, and we've been in several cities over the last week - New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. We'll be leaving Dallas tomorrow morning, and I think we won't be in a large city again until we're in Phoenix at the end of our trip. None of us are a fan of the traffic! As we live in a rural area, we are not accustomed to dealing with traffic. Today we visited three sites in Dallas - the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Sixth Floor Museum, and the Dallas Arboretum. Our hotel is less than 4 miles from the first museum. We parked near the museum until it was time to drive to the arboretum. We walked between the Perot Museum, Subway (where we had lunch), and the Sixth Floor Museum. When the kids were young, we went to SO many children's museums and science museums, especially if we could get in for free with an ASTC membership. The kids first outgrew the children's museums and then also lost interest in science museums, so we've gone to very few of those in the last few years. I wouldn't be surprised if the one we went to today was our last one as I don't think we'll visit any in Hawaii or the places we plan to go in 2026. I used to get a membership that only gave us ASTC reciprocity, but the last couple of years I joined a different museum that gave us AZA and ASTC reciprocity. I will probably let that membership expire this summer. Thankfully, we visited the science museum today for free aside from paying for parking. It was a good science/ natural history museum. We were there a little less than 2 hours. Ross Perot's children donated 50 million dollars toward the construction of this museum. As a side note, Paul voted for Perot in 1992. My grandpa tried to convince me to vote for Perot in 1992, but I voted for the other candidate who didn't win that election.

Our second stop was the museum where Oswald shot JFK. Paul and I aren't 100% convinced he acted alone, but given the significance seemed like a worthwhile place to visit. We had to pay full price there and also at the Dallas Arboretum. I wouldn't recommend the Dallas Arboretum given the cost, especially if you've already been to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. After dinner, the kids went swimming in the indoor pool at our hotel. 

First prom

Two weekends ago, we had one special event on the calendar - going down to Lancaster to see Noah at Sight and Sound. We saw the same musical in 2013, but given our three kids were 10 months, 3.5, and 5 years old at that time, they don't exactly remember that performance. We had planned to tour an Amish home and school, but those plans were scratched once we realized that we'd be dog sitting Cooper that day as we didn't want to be away from home for more than eight hours. Cheri and Pop Pop joined us for Noah and a meal at IHOP. They recently announced that they are doing a brand-new show next year - Joshua. I also recently read about a new Broadway musical that is debuting in London later this year about Paddington! I had planned to try to get tickets to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang next year in May, but now I'm also hoping we might be able to see the Paddington musical. Ian still regularly eats orange marmalade which I introduced to the kids when I read the Paddington books aloud to them many years ago. 

This weekend our schedule was much more hectic. On Friday morning I picked up Cheri and Nathaniel and then drove to Ricketts Glen State Park for a homeschool program on vernal pools. After the program we ate lunch with the Schrecks and then went on a short hike. Friday night the kids from the co-op that meets in our home put on a 30-minute play about Robin Hood at our church. The kids had a dress rehearsal, the parents/grandparents/siblings watched a performance, and then we ate a meal together. Ben had to fill in for Julianna for the part of Friar Tuck. Nathaniel did a wonderful job playing the Sheriff of Nottingham. Nadia (who was Maid Marion) was primarily insulting him throughout the play because he was trying to force her to marry him. Lydia did a great job portraying the part of Robin Hood. There were about 50 people gathered together for the performance (guests plus the actors). I had the kids vote last week on what play we should do next fall, and I think they've chosen Peter Pan.

Nadia worked a morning shift (7:30-12:00) on Saturday morning. I picked up her corsage before I picked her up from work. In the afternoon six of the seven kids met at Faith's house to do their hair, eat a little, and then I took pictures of all seven of them at a pretty spot near their home. I was so very grateful the weather cooperated as the forecast wasn't very good. I have barely used my camera in 2025, but I definitely used it this past weekend! Nadia wore a necklace, earrings, and bracelet that had all been my mom's. I had signed Paul and the boys up for a father/son burger burn at our church that took place on Saturday evening, but those plans were cancelled as Paul wasn't feeling well. Dave Seibert drove the seven kids to the prom. 

Paul stayed home on Sunday. The kids and I attended only the first service at church. Then I took six kids to Knoebels. It rained off and on. I was the only one who brought a rain jacket or an umbrella (I brought both). I shared my jacket with Ian. The upside of the rain was that attendance was very low which meant almost all the rides had a short line or no line at all. Oliver and Xandir rode the Impulse for the very first time in their lives, and they ended up riding it eight times over the course of the day! James joined them for six of those times. The park was open until 6:00, but we left at about 5:15 to get some pizza at OIP before going home. Thankfully the rain didn't interfere with the kids' ability to ride the rides. 

Here are some things I'm giving thanks for.

1. Everything went smoothly with watching Cooper. Ben picked him up on April 27. Next week we'll be dropping Milo off at their house before we leave on vacation.

2. Nadia has been helping me a lot in the kitchen lately with cooking and baking.

3. It took a while, but we finally found someone who can watch Milo while we're attending the Bible quizzing national competition in Indiana in June. Although I'm very thankful Nadia can work at a kennel, we're also very glad we don't need to board Milo in a kennel.

4. On April 28 I celebrated my 49th spiritual birthday. I'm eternally grateful for salvation through Jesus Christ! Tab took me out to lunch that day to celebrate my physical birthday. I thought it was special that the day that worked best for her ended up being my spiritual birthday. It was lovely to be able to chat with her for a couple of hours.  I am also grateful for the gift my dad gave me for my spiritual birthday. 

5. On Wednesdays I usually drop the kids off at 1:15, and Paul usually picks them up at 8:00. Last Wednesday I walked around the church property while the kids had art/chorus so I could take Nadia shopping at the thrift store before bringing the kids back to church for Bible quizzing/youth group. I got Paul some polo shirts and Nadia some shorts and jeans. We also used a gift card to get pizza from Pizza Hut, which is Nadia's favorite place to get pizza (and not a place we go very often). 

6. I'm thankful that Nadia enjoyed going to the prom with some of her friends, that the performance of Robin Hood went well, that the rain didn't interfere with our time at Knoebels yesterday afternoon, and that we were able to go to Ricketts Glen State Park. I'm also thankful for the pictures I was able to take on Saturday evening. I took a LOT of pictures to share with the other families. 

7. The kids are doing a good job with completing their work so that May 8 can be our last day of school for this year. Ian has the most work left to do of the three, but I think he can do it if he works hard these last few days. 

8. Most of the time the van driver's side door opens. Sometimes I have to climb in or out by way of the passenger side, but this can lead to a dead battery because the van doesn't totally shut off until the driver's door opens. The first week of June it's supposed to be repaired. When I don't have many riders I need to transport, I have been opting to drive Paul's car. 

9. Tomorrow will be our last day of co-op for this school year. We're planning to take the kids to the playground instead of playing board games after we've done chemistry, personal finance, and book groups. Isaiah will be graduating, but two new girls plan to join our co-op next fall, so it looks like we'll have 16 kids in our co-op for the fall session. Right now, we have 5 middle schoolers and 10 high schoolers in the co-op. I think next fall we'll have 6 middle schoolers and 10 high schoolers. This session we've had 8 boys and 7 girls, and I think next session we'll have 9 girls and 7 boys in our group. As much as the kids enjoy having their friends come over each Tuesday, I am looking forward to having a break for four months before the fall session begins.

Ontario take two

We planned to visit Ontario for the first time in September 2017 in conjunction with visiting Niagara Falls. After I accepted a job offer to return to BU that month, we cancelled those plans. We visited Niagra Falls and spent a day in Ontario in August 2018. In May 2020 we planned to spend more time in Ontario and visit Quebec for the first time in conjunction with a trip to New England, but that trip was cancelled. The New England portion of that trip ended up happening in 2022, but the COVID restrictions involved with crossing the border at that time meant we didn't visit Canada on that trip. We still haven't been to Quebec, but we spent two more days in Toronto this past Sunday and Monday.

The Bible quizzing competition wrapped up late on Saturday afternoon, and then we headed to the dining hall for dinner at 5:00 followed by the award ceremony and then some team photos. We were trying to leave as quickly as possible as we had a three-hour drive to Toronto. We spent two nights at a Staybridge Suites, which was very nice. There was a door separating where the kitchen and couch were, which meant that Nadia had more privacy as the couch is always her bed. After eating breakfast at the hotel, we drove into downtown Toronto. Our first two stops were the Ripley's Aquarium and the CN Tower. The Aquarium was nicer than some (ex. the Virginia Aquarium) but certainly not in the top tier. We'd rate our top four as the ones in Baltimore, Chicago, Camden, and Atlanta. Some highlights included a giant octopus, two cuttlefish (one of Ian's favorite animals), and watching a diver feed some large sting rays. Although the CN tower is three times higher than the Space Needle, which we visited last September in Seattle, I would say the overall experience is much better at the Space Needle. One pays quite a bit of money to basically just ride an elevator at the CN Tower. Our third stop of the day was at Fort York which is also in downtown Toronto. It was attacked by Americans in the War of 1812. It was free to visit this site, and we had a guided tour. 

Our cell phone plan doesn't include Canada, and so we had turned our phones on airplane mode as we neared the border on Saturday night. We had free Wi-Fi at the hotel which made it possible for us to use my phone to give us directions to the Aquarium/CN Tower. There wasn't any Wi-Fi at Fort York, which meant we had no way to use the phone to give us directions to the Toronto Zoo, but we managed to get there. We received a 50% off discount with our AZA membership. I was most looking forward to walking through the kangaroo enclosure, but sadly that ended at 3:00. Had we known we could have gone directly to that exhibit, but we didn't, and it was closed when we arrived there. We spent over three hours at the zoo. Similar to the aquarium I would say it was nicer than some zoos (ex. the tiny one in Delaware) but also certainly not one of our most favorites. It was a large zoo in terms of how much walking was involved. One of my favorite sights in that zoo was of a baby rhinoceros. 

We planned to have dinner at a Cheesecake Factory. There aren't any Olive Garden's in Toronto, or I would have chosen that since it's Nadia's favorite and it was the day before her birthday. Cheesecake Factory is one of her most favorite places, and I got a $100 gift card from credit card points. This was a mistake because I was forgetting that we couldn't use a US gift card in Canada. We plan to make other trips to Canada in the future as I'd like the kids (or at least the boys) to visit all the provinces of Canada, so hopefully I'll remember this lesson learned in the future! When we arrived, the wait for a table was 90 minutes long, and it was already after 6pm. It was located in a large shopping mall. We were in sticker shock when we looked at a menu of another sit-down restaurant in the mall, so we opted to eat in the food court. One upside is the exchange rate was in our favor, but a downside was the additional 13% tax added to everything. Ian, Oliver, and I loved what we chose to get in the food court. Ian has been wanting to try a chili dog, and his wish came true. Oliver always wants to try new foods, and he had dim sum, and I got a burrito from Chipotle. We did splurge (and I do mean splurge!) and got two slices of cheesecake to go on our way out, which was when we learned they don't take US gift cards. I think it was a blessing in disguise that the wait was so long. I think the prices were likely much higher than at the same restaurant in the US, and we couldn't use our gift card. Nadia got her own piece of cheesecake, and the boys shared s slice. Paul got a soda at a gas station as his "dessert," and I didn't get anything. 

On Monday morning we checked out of our hotel after eating another nice breakfast and used the free Wi-Fi to give us directions to Canada's Wonderland. We had purchased the dining plan that included snacks and drinks in addition to meals. It was a bit of a letdown as there were very few options for "snacks," but none of us went thirsty or hungry. There are 18 rollercoasters, but the kids were only able to ride seven of them. We arrived when the park opened and went right to a roller coaster, but even that first line was much longer than we expected. Paul didn't ride any rides, and I only rode one. In hindsight, we probably should have splurged and got the kids fast passes. We did buy them each a fast pass to ride one ride one time as we wanted them to at least be able to ride the three best rollercoasters one time. They did really enjoy those three roller coasters, but this was our worst experience in quite a while in terms of time spent waiting in lines. The park was open until for twelve hours that day, but we left 3.5 hours before it closed because we had to drive a little over 5 hours to get home. So far, the only time we ever bought the kids a fast pass was at Carowinds, and back then we only bought two because Oliver wasn't riding the big rollercoasters at that point. We don't plan to visit any more amusement parks this year, but we'll try to keep this in mind if we encounter really long lines at Six Flags in Texas in 2025 or at King's Island in 2026. The kids have now been to 37 different zoos/aquariums and 30 different amusement parks. 

It was hard to get up early on Tuesday morning as we didn't get home until midnight on Monday night, but the kids and I helped out at our church's VBS this week from Tuesday through Friday, and the teen helpers are supposed to arrive at 8:00 for a devotional with the youth pastor. Nadia helped with the fourth-grade girls, I was one of the leaders of the first-grade girls, Oliver helped with the four-year-old boys, and Ian helped with the third-grade boys. They provide a lunch for the volunteers, so we were there from 8:00-1:00 the last four days. On Tuesday Nadia also had a physical, and I mowed the lawn as we had been gone for five days. On Wednesday we picked some blueberries, and Ian had a piano lesson. On Thursday I took Nadia to get her learner's permit, bought Ian some sandals, got some groceries, and let Nadia get behind the wheel (in a parking lot) for the first time. Today I drove Nadia to the Wilkes Barre airport so she could fly to Chicago to spend five days with Rachel, Grace, and Wendy. Paul and Oliver left for a one-night camping excursion this afternoon. They'll get back around lunch time tomorrow. Right now, Ian and I are holding down the fort along with Milo and Lily. I'm thankful I don't need to go anywhere tomorrow, and the only place I'm going on Sunday is church because Paul is driving Oliver, Ian, and Xandir to overnight camp on Sunday afternoon. Aside from church on Sunday, I think I'll stay home sweet home until July 4 when I promised I'd give Nadia some more experience driving in a parking lot. 

Sweet Sixteen

 

Sixteen years ago, my dream finally came true with the birth of Nadia Renee, whose name means hope reborn. We began celebrating her birthday at 7 pm on June 11. Three of her friends (Leila, Faith, and Julianna) and Pop Pop met us at the bowling alley in Milton. I had rented two lanes for two hours It turned out we had the whole place to ourselves. Pop Pop brought sugar cookies from Aunt Millie's bakery as Nadia had requested. The three girls then spent the night at our house. Ian and Oliver joined them for a game of manhunt outside, and then the girls hung out in the family room until they went to sleep around 1:00 am. They played more games the next morning. Faith and Julianna were picked up sometime between 10-11, and Leila was picked up around 2:30 pm. Nadia received money, an Amazon gift card, a shirt, and a book from her friends. We gave her puzzles, a portable phone charger, earrings, Wheat Thins, peanut butter pretzels, and a roundtrip ticket to Chicago so that she can spend five days with Rachel. June 13, we spent the day with most of the Towfighis at HersheyPark, which was the day before Andrew's 19th birthday. Nadia's actual birthday will be spent at Canada's Wonderland, which is an amusement park near Toronto. We splurged and got the tickets that also include food and drinks. She has a physical scheduled for tomorrow, and at that appointment the medical portion of her learner's permit application can be signed. She plans to take the driver test later this week. 

Here are sixteen ways she's changed over the past six months.

1. She has begun taking guitar lessons. If she continues to practice faithfully, we're planning to buy her a better guitar than the hand me down she inherited from her cousin.

2. She recently resumed taking piano lessons with me. I honestly didn't think this would ever happen. It's 100% at her initiative right now. 

3. She had her largest role in a musical to date as she played the part of Mrs. Mayor in Seussical. She's hoping to start taking voice lessons in the fall.

4. She visited South America for the first time. 

5. She completed three more college classes through Grand Canyon University - English Composition, World History, and a Communications class. After completing five courses, her GPA there is 3.94.

6. She was appointed to be the team captain for our church's "B" team at the Bible quizzing Nationals last week. She qualified to be in the finals of the individuals, and the team she was on qualified to be in the top division of the finals! Her performance at Nationals was SO much better than the first three years she participated. 

7. She was offered a job to work at Camp Susque this summer for four weeks. 

8. She's been working on jigsaw puzzles almost every day. 

9. She's recently gotten in the habit of drinking a glass of milk every day. Since she almost always skips breakfast, I'm glad she's drinking milk, but it has meant that I need to buy milk more often. She eats breakfast when we are staying at hotels, and she also eats it when we have Cinnabon cereal.

10. Hot pockets are still her favorite lunch, but when we don't have those, she's not been always having grilled cheese sandwiches as she had done for quite a while. She's recently discovered she enjoys having a tuna salad sandwich for lunch, for example. 

11. She's been studying to take the test for her learner's permit. Driving here we come!

12. Her closest friends at the moment (aside from her cousin, Rachel) include Leila, Faith, and Julianna.

13. She completed Marine Biology in science this school year. Next up is chemistry.

14. She completed a course in Algebra 2 this school year. She had an easier time with this class than she did with Algebra 1 or Geometry. Next up is pre-calculus. 

15. She registered to take three classes (worth a total of seven credits) at Liberty University this fall.

16. She's been using the iPad less, which means she's hardly been watching any shows, which means she's been having less screen time. 

Thankful Thursday

 

1. The Schrecks came over for dinner on May 25. We always enjoy spending time with their family. Another family was supposed to come over for dinner on June 8, but they accidentally forgot. Because we've been hosting the co-op and homeschool game nights at our home, I haven't been attempting to have one family over for dinner every month, but we still have more people coming over for dinner than we used to.

2. Cheri joined the five of us for the movie Sight at the theater on May 26. we're so thankful there are many more Christian movies now than ever before

3. We had a nice vacation in Virginia from May 27- June 2. The weather was wonderful which was an answer to prayer. The top three highlights for Ian and Oliver were the two amusement parks, Virginia Beach with their cousins, and water skiing. Paul really enjoyed the Udvar-Hazy Center and the Virginia Aquarium. The fact that we also got to spend time with 8 of the Towfighis and Grandpa while we were in Virginia was definitely icing on the cake! 

4. One of my most favorite desserts is chocolate peanut butter twist soft serve ice cream or custard. I never had it in 2023, but I've had it on two different days over the last few weeks as I had some at a Kohr's in Virginia Beach and then again at an ice cream shop on the way home from Hershey Park last week. 

5. We've been enjoying watching season four of The Chosen. We've seen five episodes so far, which means we have three to go. Lazarus is going to be raised from the dead next Sunday! 

6. While we were on vacation, I received word that my mammogram was normal, and while we were at Hershey Park last week, I received word that my pap smear was normal. Those two tests cost us $614.90. I am very grateful for the $18K we received from the insurance company. I think that will end up covering all our medical, dental, and orthodontic bills for this year. 

7. Paul and I have enjoyed the first two weeks of our Intermediate Cha Cha class. We will miss the class tomorrow because of the Bible quizzing, and we will miss next Friday because Paul and Oliver will be camping for one night, but we hope to attend the last four weeks of the class. It had been ten years since the last time we took a class. Hopefully not nearly that much time will pass before we take another class!

8. On June 8 I had a belated birthday lunch at Panera with Cheri. I always greatly appreciate having time to chat with a friend!

9. I was the substitute teacher for our Sunday School class on June 9. We discussed the first half of the book of Amos. It went well. 

10. The kids and I saw a movie at a Drive-In theater for the first time. It wasn't a first for Paul. In hindsight, we shouldn't have brought Milo. He just couldn't settle down! We saw Garfield. I think we all decided we prefer to see a movie in a theater, but I'm glad we got to try something different. 

11. On June 11 Pop Pop and three of Nadia's friends joined us for two hours of bowling. The girls then spent the night at our house. It was an early birthday party for our girl who will soon turn sixteen!

12. Oliver is very glad that he has been promoted to the youth group at church. He attended his first social on June 5.

13. On June 13 Paul and I were fingerprinted in Hershey for TSA PreCheck. The closest location is in State College, but since we didn't have any plans to head that direction, we went to the one in Hershey on the same day we met eight of the Towfighis (plus three of their friends and Joe's sister) at Hershey Park. It was a very hot day, but at least it was a dry day. Paul and I spent the first six hours with Wesley, which meant we rode a lot more rides than we typically do when we are with our kids at an amusement park. He's seven years old, but he's very small for his age. We walked through the Zoo and saw the show featuring seals and sea lions in addition to riding rides. The other kids exclusively rode roller coasters all day. My kids love spending time with their cousins, and they love roller coasters, so the combination of the two is amazing for them!

14. The kids had extra 2.5-hour Bible quizzing practices on Friday and Monday. They missed the one on Thursday due to our trip to Hershey. I'm thankful for all Dave Seibert does for the teams!

15. Paul's dad came over on Saturday for Father's Day. The kids played Mario, foosball, and Labyrinth with him. We had shrimp, prime rib, Nadia's favorite kind of macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, and cheesecake for dinner. I sent some shrimp and corn home with Pop Pop. Paul had prime rib again on Sunday and Monday. 

16. On Sunday afternoon the five of us saw a production of the musical Oliver. Nadia had read Oliver Twist earlier in the school year. Some of the kids' friends were in the musical. The man who played my husband in Sount of Music was also in Oliver. Next year one of the productions they will be doing is A Wrinkle in Time, so I've decided to require Ian and Oliver to read that book next year. Nadia already read it several years ago. 

17. Nadia was supposed to babysit for the youth pastor on June 3, but several of us had a stomach bug that week. She was able to babysit for them on June 17. 

18. On Tuesday Julianna joined the kids and I at Montage Mountain. The weather has been hotter than usual lately (highs in the 90's!), but that weather was ideal for a day at a water park. I spent more time in the water than I usually do when we go to a water park!

19. Nadia and Ian have been working diligently to prepare for the national competition for Bible quizzing. Paul, Oliver, and I didn't arrive up here in time to see the first rounds of the individual competition today, but we were able to watch the team competitions. The team Ian is on won all their matches today. I was rather impressed with how much Nadia improved over the last year. She is the captain of our church's B team. Ian is on our church's A team for the first time. 

20. Someone picked up our spinning seesaw on Monday. Given how many people contacted me after I posted it on Facebook, I probably could have sold it instead of giving it away, but nonetheless, it has been taken away. The kids had stopped using it, and the seat covers needed to be replaced. The concrete pad it was attached to is still on the lawn, but we've made progress. Paul and I have made significant progress with removing our fence. I probably also could have sold that. I buy things second hand sometimes, but I almost always just give our unwanted stuff away instead of selling it. I'm looking forward to NOT needing to clean the fence every year, and I will also be doing a lot less weed whacking once the fence is totally gone. Yay! The concrete pad the shed was on is still in the yard, but I think we'll save that project for another year. Unfortunately, the fence was installed incorrectly 14.5 years ago, and we didn't figure it out soon enough, so it's never done us a lick of good, but that's how it is in life. Some purchases end up being worth far more than you paid for them, and other times you realize it was a waste of money. Thankfully, most of the time I haven't regretted purchases that cost us thousands of dollars like the fence did. 

21. Paul, Oliver, and I saw the movie Arthur the King on Wednesday afternoon. Aside from the fact it had some language, it's my kind of movie - heartwarming and based on a true story. 

22. We received our "known traveler numbers" through the TSA. The kids need to be on our reservations in order to go through TSA Precheck with us. Thankfully, Alaksa Airlines was able to make a switch so that all our kids will be able to go through the Precheck. They were able to fix it only because Oliver is under the age of 13. I'm grateful as I had a bad experience with TSA in March, and we're hoping using TSA Precheck will prevent that from happening again.

Virginia Vacation

The kids have been to Virginia multiple times over the years. In 2015 the kids and I spent a week in Williamsburg with my parents. We had been on many vacations with them prior to that, but it turned out that was the last one with them as my mom passed away a year later. In 2019 we spent a few days in Virginia on our way down to Myrtle Beach with Paul's parents. Similarly, it was the last vacation we took with Paul's parents due to COVID and then Ellie passing away. My dad moved to Virginia in 2017 so we also made a few trips to Lynchburg over the last six years. Despite having been to Virginia multiple times, there were still some places that I wanted to take the kids in this state that we hadn't been to yet. So, I planned a one-week trip to Virginia. Since my dad still lives in Lynchburg and Nadia plans to go to college at Liberty, I anticipate future drives to Virginia and back, but I don't think we'll spend another entire week here on vacation in the future. 

We left on Monday morning (Memorial Day). Our first stop was to drop Milo off at the Seibert's house. Then we drove to Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick, Maryland. The kids each earned a badge. In hindsight we could have spent more hours at the battlefield because the Ranger station at our next stop (Wolf Trap) was closed. Because we had appointments for the kids to have water skiing lessons from 5:00-7:15, we were somewhat limited in what we could choose to do instead. We ended up visiting another National Park site - Prince William Forest Park. There are times when we scratch our heads a bit wondering why a particular site was chosen to be a national park. This would be one of them. The kids earned their second badge of the day. After eating an early dinner at Subway, we headed to Bumpass, Virginia for water skiing lessons. 

Nadia has been wanting to try water skiing for many years. It has been challenging to find an option that wasn't extremely expensive. We had originally planned to go to this place last year in August, but it didn't work to do it that month albeit we did make two trips to Lynchburg, Virginia that month. The weather forecast hadn't looked good for Memorial Day, but thankfully the weather forecast was wrong. The weather was perfect, and the water temperature in the small lake was 80 degrees! Oliver chose to go first. I thought he'd have the hardest time of the three kids, but I was completely wrong. It didn't take him long at all to get up on the water skis. I had gone water skiing on Long Island with my aunt's family when I was growing up, and I knew from experience that was the hardest part of water skiing. Once you're up, it's not nearly as hard to stay up. Oliver did fall off a few times when making turns, but he easily got back up, and he didn't fall of his skis that many times. Of the three kids he definitely spent more time water skiing around the lake as his lesson lasted a full 45 minutes. After his lesson was over, Oliver and Nadia sat in the back of the boat while another man had a very short lesson on his slalom ski as he was preparing for an upcoming competition. Nadia went next. She couldn't manage to get up on the skis. After many attempts, they gave her a break, and Ian had his lesson. He also didn't struggle with learning how to get up on his skis, but he fell off more than Oliver did. Also, he got a bad leg cramp, so his lesson was cut short. The rest of the time we had paid for was given to Nadia. They tried again having her use a pole instead of the traditional ropes, but she also struggled with that. She was up for a few seconds one time with the pole. She said she'll stick with snow skiing. I felt badly since she was the one who most wanted to try water skiing, but at least she knows we have been trying to work through her wish list. Other things on her experience wish list that haven't happened yet include sky diving, swimming with dolphins, hearing Riley Clemmons in concert, visiting England, France, and Italy, and scuba diving lessons. The boys however had a blast, and they both said they want to go water skiing again in the future. I'm not sure when or if that will happen, but I'm glad they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

On Tuesday our first stop was at Maggie Walker's National Historic Site in Richmond. I honestly had never heard of her before, but she was truly a remarkable woman! We watched the movie, and the kids earned a badge. If it had been possible to tour the house sometime between 9:00-10:00 we would done so, but the first tour didn't begin until 10:20, so we skipped the guided tour of her home and went to King's Dominion. When I was growing up, that was my favorite amusement park that was within a reasonable driving distance of our home in Maryland. The "Rebel Yell" was my favorite wooden roller coaster until I moved to Pennsylvania in 1996 - at which point the Phoenix at Knoebels became my favorite. Unfortunately, the roller coaster that looked like it is the most intense one at that park wasn't open (Intimidator 305). Nadia and Ian rode the rest of the 13 roller coasters. I rode some of them, and Oliver rode most of them, which was a big improvement for him as he's usually been too scared to try many of them. His favorite was Twisted Timbers, which we rode multiple times. The only three rides that Nadia and Ian rode that weren't roller coasters were the pirate ship and white-water rapids - both of those I insisted they ride because of my walk down memory lane and a huge drop tower. At most amusement parks the pirate ship doesn't involve going upside down, but I remembered going upside down on the pirate ship at King's Dominion when I was their age. The day we were at King's Dominion it was in the 80's so it was a perfect day to get soaked, but we didn't ride it until closer to 5:00. The kids didn't enjoy getting soaked. My family used to love that ride on a hot day. Paul didn't ride any rides until after we had dinner. He rode three rides altogether - bumper cars (not as good as the ones at Knoebels), old fashioned cars (we hadn't done those in a while), and a wooden roller coaster called the Grizzly with Oliver. For the first time in our lives, I had purchased tickets that included an all-day dining plan. It didn't include drinks. Three of us just drank water all day long (free). Paul purchased two sodas, and Ian used some of his money to buy one soda. We were allowed to get an entree and a side every 90 minutes. I got two meals (lunch/dinner). The rest of the family got three meals because the pizza dinner only included one slice of pizza (with a salad or two breadsticks) so they went back 90 minutes later to get a second slice. Nadia's lunch was gigantic. She couldn't possibly eat it all. I really enjoyed my lunch from the burrito place, but the pasta I had for dinner was a small portion and not very tasty. The meal plan I bought for Canada's Wonderland on Nadia's birthday includes drinks and snacks, and I'm certain we will greatly appreciate those additions. Nadia used some of her money to buy an Italian ice from Rita's. Oliver and I didn't get anything beyond what was included in the dining plan. Although the water park portion of the park opened the previous weekend, it wasn't open on the Tuesday that we went. Altogether everyone had a good time. We're looking forward to seeing the Towfighis again in a little less than two weeks at HersheyPark, and we should be meeting Brendan for the first time that day.

On Wednesday morning after eating an amazing (free) breakfast because we had spent the night at an Embassy Suites, our first stop was Fort Monroe. We were planning to have a guided tour, but once we found out that the Towfighis were meeting us at the beach that day we scrapped the tour and also our plan to visit the Virginia Zoo. The kids earned another badge, and we visited the Casemate Museum. We met the Towfighis a little before noon at Virginia Beach. Eight members of their family plus Toby's sister (Lily) joined us at the beach. Yvonne, Jenna, and Brendan didn't come. My dad met us there a few hours later. The weather was perfect! The kids enjoyed the beach FAR more since they were enjoying it with their cousins. Joe taught a class online for about 2.5 hours, but Paul and I were able to watch the kids while he did that considering only four of the kids were under the age of twelve. We had dinner at a pizza place and sang Happy Birthday to Joel as his 13th birthday was the next day. Grandpa bought 7 large pizzas for our group of fifteen people. The next day I found a place that sells 28-inch pizzas - those slices are gigantic! Probably just two of those pizzas would have been enough. Micah, Julianna, and Wesley spent some time in the outdoor pool at our hotel before their family began the drive back to Maryland. After they left, we went to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream (cost a small fortune!) and also bought t-shirts for me and the kids.

Thursday morning my dad joined us for a trip to the Virginia Aquarium and for lunch at a sub place. We had packed a lunch for Monday, got lunch at King's Dominion on Tuesday, and skipped lunch on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The kids appreciated that my dad treated us to lunch on Thursday. He left after lunch, and we headed to the beach for a few hours. It was a little cooler on Thursday, and their cousins weren't there, so the kids didn't last as long at the beach before they switched to the swimming pool. We had pizza for dinner (just one large for our family), and we had custard from Kohr Bros. (so so MUCH better than Ben and Jerry's). My most favorite ice cream is chocolate/peanut butter twist soft serve. I never had that in 2023, so I was thrilled when I saw that was one of the choices. It was SO yummy! Nadia got something from Sweet Frog instead. Oliver tried my favorite (and also loved it), and Ian had their version of a peanut butter cup "Blizzard."

Friday morning, we left Virginia Beach and drove to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. The kids were at Busch Gardens in Tampa in 2022. Oliver had made progress at Kings Dominion, but he made even more progress at Busch Gardens as there were only two rides that he declined to do. Wow!! Way to go, Oliver!! He discovered he enjoys going upside down on roller coasters. Nadia and Ian only rode one ride that wasn't a roller coaster - Finnegan's Flyer. That was one of the two Oliver skipped. Oliver rode 9 of the 10 roller coasters. They rode some of them multiple times - especially Apollo's Chariot. I insisted that we watch one show that featured Irish step dancing. The kids weren't thrilled by my request, but they enjoyed the show after all. I rode several of the roller coasters. Paul didn't ride anything We didn't have a meal plan. We brought in some snacks (crackers, trail mix bar, etc.) that constituted our lunch. We bought two pretzels to share (which were very overpriced), and we waited to have dinner until after we left the park. We went to McDonald's, and when we found out their ice cream machine caught on fire earlier that day, we went to Rita's for dessert.

Unfortunately, as I was checking into our hotel on Friday night, Oliver started vomiting. He didn't have much success with doing this without making a mess. Thankfully he didn't throw up in the bed, and thankfully Paul was a saint and he cleaned up the messes during the night. The last time it happened was 2:00 am. We had planned to be out the door at 8:20, but we delayed our departure until 9:30 in light of his GI issues. We had planned to attend two programs at the battlefields, but those plans were scrapped. We made a brief stop at George Washington's birthplace. The kids had already earned a badge for that site when we were at another park. Although George Washington is Paul's most favorite president, we weren't too impressed with this particular site. I again found myself wondering why it's a national park site. As of today, we've been to 156 National Park sites in person. Some of them I'd highly recommend, and others I'd recommend skipping. Today Oliver earned his 200th Junior Ranger badge. Nadia has earned 214, and Ian has earned 216. I'm hoping they each hit at least 250. Today the kids earned three badges at Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, and Fredericksburg. They could have earned a fourth, but we didn't make it to Wilderness. The kids and I are not fans of battlefields. Nadia dislikes them the most. I said it was an early Father's Day gift for Paul, as he loves visiting them. We had dinner at Bob Evans. We shouldn't have bothered ordering Oliver a meal as he still doesn't have much of an appetite. Thankfully he hasn't thrown up since the middle of the night, but he has still been dealing with the runs. I'm not sure if he caught a bug or something he ate didn't agree with him. Thankfully the rest of us have escaped it thus far. 

My original plans for tomorrow had been to visit Prince William Forest (which we ended up visiting on Memorial Day), Theodore Roosevelt Island, and Great Falls Park. It turns out the Visitor Center is temporarily closed at Great Falls Park, so I totally revamped our plans for tomorrow. At the moment the plan is to listen to our church's 9:00 service while we drive to the Udvar-Hazy Center (larger site for Air and Space Museum). After lunch at a sit-down restaurant, we might visit Clara Barton's National Historic Site before driving home (and picking up Milo!). We hope to be home by 7:00 so that we can watch the first episode of season four of The Chosen. During this trip we've continued working through the NT portion of the Bible Recap together. It's a plan to read the entire NT in 92 days. We've also been listening to the 7th book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series together. During our trip I also began the 8th (final!) unit in Duolingo. I'm so thankful that we can take trips like this and make memories together as a family, and I'm so thankful Paul has a job now that he can do just about anywhere as he can make stock trades on his phone even when we're at an amusement park!