18 years old!

The age one is considered to be an "adult" seems a bit up for grabs. You can legally vote once you're 18, and you can get an unrestricted driver's license in Pennsylvania when you turn 18. You have to be 21 to purchase alcohol or cigarettes. I hope our kids never purchase cigarettes! Sometimes you need to be 25 to rent a vehicle.  Sometimes you need to be at least 21 to check into a hotel. In my mind, you're an adult when you're no longer a dependent, which for many is probably closer to age 21 than age 18, but maybe the reason it's hard to nail down exactly when someone becomes an adult is because it's a gradual process of moving towards independence. Although Nadia certainly isn't financially independent, I realize that her days of living here under are roof are definitely numbered as she plans to spend several weeks at Camp Susque this summer before moving to Virginia in August.

Over the last twelve months she had many first-time experiences including visiting Hawaii (the fiftieth state she's traveled to), learned how to parallel park and got her driver's license, swam with dolphins, sea turtles, and manta rays for the first time, had her first surfing lesson, went parasailing (1,000 feet) for the first time, traveled to Europe for the first time (Dublin, Paris, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), played the part of Aquata in The Little Mermaid at MCS and of Wendy in our homeschool production of Peter Pan, was in her first car accident, saw Joshua at Sight and Sound, saw Phantom of the Opera and Paddington the Musical in London, got her first Kindle, graduated from high school, earned sixteen more college credits through Liberty University, went to a Josiah Queen concert with Maddie, and began connecting with other incoming freshmen at LU including her future roommate, Carolina. 

Nadia received her main birthday gift from us a few months early - a new cell phone. The new phone came with an international plan, which she greatly appreciated using in Europe. I also got her a memory foam mattress topper for her to use in her dorm and an attractive hamper that she had on her wish list for her dorm room. She has more t-shirts than she knows what to do with, but still I got her two t-shirts. She wanted one from the Isle of Skye in Scotland, and her I've traveled 50 states got a hole in it (not on a seam) after the first time she wore it. I got her a replacement as she had been the one to pick out those shirts last year. She invited five girls to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with her. Four of them joined her for a painting night in Williamsport last night. We planned to celebrate her birthday (as a family) at Olive Garden on Monday, but Nadia, Paul, and Ian weren't feeling well that day so that outing has been postponed. The kids traveled to Houghton today for Nationals. I will join them tomorrow morning. Paul planned to go with me, but due to the fact that he and Milo aren't feeling well, they are staying home.

Here are eighteen ways I'd describe Nadia:

1. Brave - ever since she was very young, she's wanted to try new experiences whether that be an amusement park ride, going to summer camp, being on stage, etc. She'd like to go sky diving, and she plans on learning how to scuba dive while she's in college.

2. Although I wouldn't always label her as being super competitive, it most regards I'd say she fits the "Type A" personality, which is very typical for firstborn children. Since she was very young, she has been very focused on schedules, calendars, and such, which is not true for her dad or brothers. She had a very smooth transition to taking online college classes because she was easily able to meet the deadlines without any encouragement from me. Similarly, she began interviewing for her first job a few weeks before she turned fifteen. She worked for Reptiland in the summer of 2023 and has worked at Camp Susque and Joyful Petcare from 2024 to the present. 

3. She greatly values her friendships. She's been close with her cousin, Rachel, for many years. At the moment I think her closest friends are Faith, Abby, Leila, and Maddie. She's made friends through working at Camp Susque and at church. Many of her friends are in Bible Bowl and our homeschool co-op. She enjoys talking, texting, shopping, playing games, and having coffee or a smoothie with her friends. 

4. She prefers colder temperatures, so it makes sense that two of her most favorite activities are ice skating and skiing. She hopes to live in a colder climate after she graduates from college. I'm hoping that means the northeast rather than Alaska. Time will tell!

5. She remembers Bible verses she memorized many years ago in AWANA. Her long-term retention of Bible verses amazes me. Over the last six years she has grown in her skill with Bible quizzing. I look forward to seeing her compete Thursday-Saturday in New York for the last time. She is the captain of the B team (other members are Lucy, Daniel, and Alex). I expect they will compete in the A division.

6. She loves animals! I look forward to seeing what pets she will have once she's living on her own. She's the reason we had guinea pigs from 2016-2026 and a big part of the reason we have had Milo since 2020. I look forward to seeing exactly what type of job she'll end up having after she earns her degree in zoology and wildlife biology. She is currently leaning toward marine conservation. Her favorite animal is still a sea turtle. I didn't find that option for painting a canvas, so she chose to paint an orca last night.

7. She is very close with Ian. They are going to miss each other! I hope the two of them stay close friends for the rest of their lives. Just looking at how many pictures of Ian are on her phone is proof of their strong bond.

8. She really enjoys reading whether that means listening to an audiobook, reading a physical book, or reading on her Kindle

9. She has done a great job of saving money over the years. If she spends her money, it has typically been for clothing, a coffee, or an energy drink.

10. She loves listening to music. Two items that she's had to replace MANY times over the years have been watches and earbuds. She currently pays for a Spotify subscription. Personally, I enjoy wearing earbuds to listen to something while I'm mowing the lawn or going on a walk by myself, but I have to say I think that many teenagers tend to wear their earbuds too much when they're around other people. Because she *always* wants to have carry around her phone and earbuds, it's a requirement that all of her pants and shorts have pockets. The only time I've seen her use a purse was when her prom dress didn't have a pocket. 

11. She loves doing jigsaw puzzles. The kids and I spent many hours in 2020 doing puzzles, but it was a temporary thing for some of us. It hasn't been temporary for Nadia. Earlier this month I organized the cabinets that contain our games and puzzles. During that process I discovered that Nadia owns seventy puzzles that each contain at least 1,000 pieces. She plans to take a few of them with her to college, and I think once she moves out on her own after college she will take far more of the puzzles with her. Many times, after lunch and dinner she would spend time working on a jigsaw puzzle in the dining room.

12. She's what I would call a Messy Marvin. I'm hoping that this won't be a problem with her roommate and suitemates. They have dorm inspections twice a week which should be helpful. 

13. She loves to eat fruit and baby carrots. She typically eats at least one apple a day, and she enjoys just about every kind of fruit except for bananas. Some of her favorites include pink lady apples, clementines, red grapes, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, plums, peaches, and nectarines.

14. Her favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. She loves their salad, breadsticks, and five cheese ziti al forno.

15. She uses her cell phone a lot. She's not into video games, but she likes word games, Sudoku, texting friends, listening to music or audiobooks, etc. On a larger screen (ex. Chromebook or laptop) she enjoys watching shows such as Boy Meets World or Full House. 

16. She loves to drink vanilla lattes and if given the choice will choose an iced coffee over a hot one. Ian hadn't gotten her a birthday gift, so I suggested to him that he treat her to coffee at Wagging Tail as her birthday present. He liked the idea, and that is what they did this morning. They also stopped at Dollar General to buy some energy drinks to take with them to Houghton.

17. Her least favorite subject is math. She has two required math classes for her major. Her score on their math assessment was high enough for her to register to take the statistics class this fall. Her SAT score was not high enough for her to take Calculus next spring. If she doesn't take the College Algebra CLEP test, she will need to take College Algebra at Liberty prior to taking Calculus. She also wasn't a fan of physics, so she has opted to take other classes which isn't a problem as long as she doesn't want to get a master's degree. I'm hoping that she will excel in ALL of her classes at Liberty - including math. I know she's definitely capable! 

18. She rarely eats breakfast, and when she's at home she almost always has a grilled cheese sandwich on Italian bread that she makes using a panini press. She also usually makes Ian's sandwich. Her sandwich usually contains a slice of provolone cheese and a slice of ham. She has been doing most of the baking in our house for at least the past year. She has been dubbed the "dish fairy" at Camp Susque. I haven't seen evidence of that at home. I clean up in the kitchen after she's done baking. Between her experience with cooking dinners and baking at home plus her experience in the kitchen at Camp Susque, I think she's gained a lot of skills that should come in handy the rest of her life!

Graduation Party

It's been a month since I wrote a gratitude list. Here are some things I've been thankful for over the past month.

1. I am thankful that we have all been healthy for more than a month, and considering we were on several flights during that time (which seem to be an easy place for germs to spread), I am very grateful for good health. 

2. After the panic over needing to adjust plans when one of our flights was cancelled about a week before we left, I am grateful that nothing else was cancelled on our trip (except by us). 

3. Aside from a downpour when we were at the Arc de Triomphe and a mist being blown onto us (which caused us to be rather soaked) when we hiked on the Isle of Skye, we didn't experience any rain, which is quite amazing for that area of the world. The temperatures went from unseasonably cold at the beginning of our trip to a record-breaking heat wave at the end of the trip.

4. Although renting vehicles was more expensive and stressful than anticipated, I am very grateful that Paul was able to navigate driving on the "wrong" side of the road, endless roundabouts, and very narrow roads, parking garages, and parking spots without incident.

5. Our accommodations were very nice during the entire trip. Typically, I use Priceline.com, hotels.com, Airbnb, and VRBO to find places to stay. The website that was the biggest help for this trip was Booking.com. 

6. We had some amazing experiences on the trip. If each member of our family was asked what their top 3-5 experiences were, here are some of the answers that would be given: Alnwick Castle, Phantom of the Opera, Paddington the Musical, Conwy Castle, Snowdon Mountain, Caerphilly Castle, Big Ben, Camera Obscura, Arthur's Seat, Quiraing, and the coast of Northern Ireland.

7. Milo was well cared for by the Seiberts while we were gone.

8. Xandir spent some time with my boys at our house on May 9, and Abby and Faith spent some time with Nadia at our house on May 28-29. 

9. Ian started his first job on May 28.

10. The Schrecks came over for dinner on June 4. 

11. Rachel spent a few days with Nadia. She flew here on June 4 and returned back home on June 7.

12. Paul and I started another eight-week session of dance lessons on June 5. This is the first time we're taking two classes at one time (two hours each night).

13. We had Nadia's graduation party at an indoor roller-skating rink on June 6. Based on the RSVP's, we anticipated over 70 people attending. The amount who came was much less than that, but Nadia had a good time. Our neighbors won the prize for having the very best reason for not attending. Shortly before they were about to leave to come to the party, the wife was struck by lightning. I'm sure they would rather have been at the party than the hospital! Thankfully, she is fine. We had a lot of extra food, drinks, and paper products, but they will be used eventually. I don't think I'll rent an entire roller-skating rink again, but I think it made for a special graduation party for Nadia. I made a 17-minute slideshow that was playing on our television that we brought from home during the party. If any of you want to see it, let me know. I can't post it on YouTube or anything like that because I used some of her favorite songs as the background music, but I can send the link to the file on my Google drive by text or email.

14. Nathan and Wesley arrived at our home on June 5, and the rest of the Towfighis (plus Jenna and Toby but not including Andrew) arrived on June 6. Most of them left on June 7, but Wesley, Micah, and Julianna are still with us. I'll be driving them to Messiah University on Thursday afternoon, which is also when I'll be picking Ian up to bring him back home.

15. Ian has been attending a cybersecurity camp at Messiah University this week. He's staying at Jenna and Toby's home, and Nathan is also staying with Jenna and Toby and is driving Ian to and from Messiah.

16. Micah, Wesley, Oliver, and Julianna have been enjoying having a free lunch at the park each day this week (starting on Monday). 

17. Aside from a dress I got for Jenna's wedding, it had been nine years since I got myself a new dress. My dad gave me money for my birthday that he wanted me to use toward a new dress. I got myself two new dresses, and I wore one of them this past Sunday. I got the WORST haircut of my life on Thursday so it helped to at least have a pretty new dress to wear when I was feeling self-conscious about my hair. Ian's reaction when I first came home after my haircut was that he was very grateful that I cut his hair (because he thought I do a much better job than the woman who botched my hair). Yvonne's first reaction when she walked in our house was "I'm so sorry" when she saw my hair, and that was after I snipped some more to try to even it out. In addition to being 2-3 inches shorter than I requested, the sides were very uneven. I am determined to not be in any photographs until it grows out and doesn't look so embarrassing. I'm hoping that will be true in August when we are in Canada, but time will tell. The good news is that it's just hair, and it will grow back. I wish I liked wearing hats as that would be a great way to cover it up. 

18. Yvonne gave me money towards a new ski coat for my birthday. She knew I haven't ever liked my 1980's ski coat. Instead of getting a ski coat, I recently got a longer really warm coat that I plan to wear when we walk Milo and it's very, very cold outside. I donated my 1980's ski coat to Goodwill on Thursday. It was still in great shape as most years I only wore it when I went skiing. 

19. This recent vacation was definitely not one of my favorite vacations, partially because I kept waking up too early the entire trip. A few days ago, I had my best night of sleep in over a month. It felt heavenly. Also, my right knee was in a lot of pain during the trip, which was problematic given we were typically climbing hundreds of very narrow, spiral staircases on many days (in castles, Big Ben, National Wallace Memorial, etc.). Thankfully, I've been wearing a knee brace, and my knee is doing much better. I've decided that in the future I should always bring a knee brace with me on vacations just in case it's needed. My right elbow has been in pain for months, and I haven't found a way to reduce that pain yet, but that doesn't slow me down when walking. I'm having serious doubts about the idea of going to Japan (Ian's request) in 2028 due to how long the flight would be and also how significant the jet lag would be (13 time zones away). I have two future trips planned - an 11-night trip to Canada this August and a 5-night trip to Canada in August 2027. I've begun working on a trip (I'm guessing it will be about 9 nights long) to Utah and Nevada for May 2027. I'm trying to make the trip a loop so that we can rent a vehicle through Turo. I don't have anything planned beyond August 2027. At one point I said I wanted to visit Australia and Africa at some point, but right now I'm content to stay in North America.

20. I've enjoyed listening to the series The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion the last few weeks.

Home Sweet Home

Although it is nice to be able to visit other places, there's nothing quite like being at home. I always feel like I have to hit the ground running when we return as there are usually a list of tasks that need to be done as soon as possible such as doing laundry, putting away the suitcases, mowing the lawn, calling the orthodontist to reschedule the boys' appointment for June as it conflicted with Ian's work schedule, and buying eggs, milk, and produce. Ian and I were affected by jet lag the most as we were both waking up far too early the first few days after we returned home. Susie's 22nd birthday was on Wednesday, but due to jet lag plus the fact that she's in California, I waited until Friday to talk with her. The only thing on our calendar on Wednesday was Bible quizzing for all three kids plus Nadia's small group met after that. On Thursday Ian and I went to the high school to get him a work permit. Nadia worked the morning shift on Thursday, and Ian worked his very first shift that afternoon. Abby and Faith came over in the afternoon on Thursday and stayed until Friday afternoon to spend time with Nadia. She is seizing these opportunities before she heads off to work at Camp Susque and then moves to Virginia after that. The boys both had a tooth extraction on Friday at the dentist, which was at the request of their orthodontist, and Oliver also got his first filling. Nadia and Ian haven't had any cavities yet. Nadia and Ian worked a shift together on May 30 which was special. Nadia has worked at the kennel since November 2024.

Being at home also meant a return to our church. On May 3 and 10 we attended only one service at our church, and we were in Europe on May 17 and 24. This meant Paul and I had missed four weeks of our Sunday School class. We're studying the book of Acts currently. We were able to attend both services on May 31, and I was asked to play the piano in the foyer after both services. And being at home means Ian has his first piano lesson today since May 8. It will actually be his only piano lesson this month. Next month he is scheduled to have five piano lessons and four voice lessons. I also was able to go to the library and get a DVD for us to watch as a family (Soul on Fire) and also a book for myself. I've been busy preparing for Nadia's graduation party which is this Saturday. I've put MANY hours into making a 16-minute slideshow that will be playing on repeat during her two-hour party at the roller-skating rink. I've taken thousands of pictures of Nadia over the last almost eighteen years. I selected about 400 of them for the slideshow.

Although we are back at home, at least for Nadia and Oliver, they are not back to doing schoolwork. Ian is still finishing his precalculus class through ASU. We shall see if he finishes it by the end of the month or not. Oliver knows that I expect him to do three things every day - read, study I and II Corinthians, and get some exercise. He has really enjoyed listening to audiobooks for some time, but thankfully he has recently become more of a reader and has progressed to reading longer books. Nadia has begun the process of going through her bedroom to figure out what to give away, throw away, leave at home, and take to college.

My faith in the USPS has definitely fallen over the past several months. I had an incident awhile back where a Christmas card I sent to Annapolis took more than six months to come back to me. In December I mailed a 9x13 envelope to the PA Dept of Treasury with tax documents from the trust. It came back to me about one month later. The accountant showed the image of the envelope to someone at the PA Dept of Treasury, and they couldn't understand why it wasn't delivered because they said it was the correct address. They gave an alternate address to use, and I mailed it again in January. Unfortunately, the accountant accidentally put an extra 1 in the zip code. The employee at the Post Office caught the error, but instead of deleting the extra 1 in the middle of the zip code she just took off the list digit. That 9x13 envelope has yet to be delivered OR come back in the mail to me (4 months later), and we only live a 90-minute drive from the state capitol. At the beginning of May I mailed the documents a third time, but this time I used UPS instead of USPS, and they delivered it the very next day. Similarly, I mailed Susie her birthday card before we went on vacation, and while we were away it came back in the mail to me. I showed her a picture of the envelope. She said I had addressed it correctly but that she frequently has the issue of mail bouncing back. So, I took a picture of the card so she could see what I had written, ripped up the check, and sent her money by Zelle instead. I remember debating with my friend, Joanna (who is a lawyer in Annapolis) back in the early 90's that I thought the USPS should be privatized, and my opinion has not changed over the last 30+ years! 

Here are some additional random observations from our trip to Europe:

1. I was never asked to show a credit card or ID when checking into a hotel or any other type of lodging. I remember 20+ years ago being asked to show a passport, and of course here in the US I'm usually asked for a credit card and a driver's license. 

2. Often when traveling to a foreign country you have the issue of encountering a different language. The only time this happened on this trip was during our day in Paris, but English was easily spoken by ever person we spoke to on the trip. In Ireland and the UK English is spoken, but of course with a different accent than we have here in the US. In our experience, the Scottish accent was the one that was the strongest and sometimes made it harder for us to understand what was being said. While we were on vacation, I started listening to a book series (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion) which is read by a British actress. There are eight books in the series, so I've continued to listen to them since we arrived back at home. There are also instances where different words are used than we typically do here in the US. Garbage is rubbish. The place where rubbish goes is called a bin (not a trash or garbage can). Bathrooms are either labeled toilets or WC. Traffic circles are roundabouts. Parking lots are car parks. Chips are steak fries, and what we call chips are called crisps. 

3. We did get confirmation on Friday that our second parking ticket would be cancelled because we submitted proof we had paid for parking prior to the ticket being issued. We were very grateful for the rare instances when we had free parking. This happened in Alnwick and also when we visited the C.S. Lewis Square in Belfast. 

4. As I said, we usually attempt to curtail how much we spend on food on our vacations. One way we did this on this trip was to buy meal deals at some convenience stores. They varied in price but were often around 5-6 pounds per person and included a main dish (ex. a ham and cheese toastie) plus a drink and a snack (usually candy or crisps). The kids would often choose an energy drink in this instance. When we were punting on the River Cam, our tour guide informed us that it was actually illegal in the UK for Oliver to have an energy drink because he was under the age of sixteen. Oops! They let kids have wine at a meal starting at age sixteen, and they can have any liquor at age eighteen, but they are stricter with energy drinks.

5. Nadia and Ian definitely consumed more caffeine than they usually do. Nadia and Ian had coffee almost every day, and Nadia also had many cups of hot tea. Ian almost always orders a mocha. One time he had a double shot of espresso in his mocha. Nadia had at least one latte in France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Norther Ireland, and Wales. All but one time she had a vanilla latte. She broke that trend and had a caramel one the last time. The coffee machines available with the Holiday Inn free breakfast even made lattes and such. I'm the only person who didn't consume any caffeine on the trip. I had only two hot drinks - hot chocolate both times. The first time I was grateful for the warmth it provided my hands because I got it after we climbed to the VERY cold and windy summit of Snowden Mountain. I wasn't keen on the taste, and after I had a free cup of hot chocolate at a Holiday Inn I then came to the conclusion that I like hot chocolate better in the US, so I just stuck with water from that point onward.

 

Off to Dublin

When choosing the dates for our trip to Europe, I wanted it to be after Ian's college classes ended and before Nadia left to work at Camp Susque in early June. Typically the kids have a quiz in Indiana the day before Mother's Day, so I scheduled our first flight for the evening of May 10. A couple of months ago they announced that the quiz in Indiana wouldn't be taking place this year. Nadia had then been planning to go to a graduation party more than two hours from our house on May 9 so I invited Xandir over to our house to spend time with Ian and Oliver. Ian was still finishing his physics exam on Saturday morning, but he was able to play with Xandir most of the six hours he was at our house. I also allowed Ian to finish unit C of Precalculus on Saturday evening after Xandir left even though originally I had said he had to finish that first. Nadia and Oliver are done with their schoolwork for the year. Ian just has one more unit of Precalculus to finish by the end of June. 

My kids aren't typically very good at remembering their parents' birthdays, Mother's Day, or Father's Day. On my birthday Oliver was the only one of my kids to even say the words "happy birthday" to me last month. He gave me a card he made, a hug, and the gift of not playing monopoly for one month. This year Nadia and Ian together made me a Mother's Day card and bookmark, and Oliver also made me a card. I'm very grateful for Paul's mom and my mom. Their presence is missed, and I'm very grateful after years of singleness followed by infertility that I became a mom about eighteen years ago (technically I've been a mom for 21 years as we lost our first baby in 2005). 

Sunday morning we dropped Milo off around 8:45 before attending the first service at church. He was very nervous at home when he saw the suitcases and very nervous in the van, but he was thrilled once he realized he was at the Seibert's house. We are very thankful that they can watch him while we're gone. On our way to the Newark airport, we stopped to get some sandwiches at Subway. I had brought some bananas, carrots, chips, and brownies to supplement our lunch. It is much cheaper to park at a hotel than at the airport, so we parked at a hotel and took their free shuttle to the airport. There was zero wait for the TSA screening so the TSA Precheck wasn't necessary, but I'm always grateful to go through a metal detector instead of a body scanner. We got to the airport a little over three hours in advance, which is what they typically recommend for international flights, but it meant we sat at the gate for over two hours before the boarding began. However, it was a case of better safe than sorry. I originally thought we'd only have two flights on this trip (to and from Dublin), but due to the fact you can't take rental cars on ferries, we also need to fly to England and then from Scotland back to Northern Ireland. I thought we'd take the train to Paris, but it was actually cheaper to fly on the particular date we are headed to Paris (normally the train is cheaper). The only train tickets we have are for the end of our trip to get us from Belfast back to Dublin. Paul and I made three tips to Europe together from 2002-2004, but this is the kids' first time on this continent. The kids were pleasantly surprised to find out that they would be feeding us (free) meals on this flight, and I was surprised that we will be offered blankets and pillows as those haven't been offered on our flights lately, even our lengthy flight to Hawaii. Praying for a safe trip, for all of us to stay healthy, for things to go as smoothly as possible, and for Paul not to have too much trouble driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Usually the first day is the hardest due to the fact we probably won't get much sleep on the plane tonight and we won't be near a bed until late on Monday night in Liverpool, England. I told the kids if they don't sleep on the plane they will be awake for about 34 hours straight.

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. 

Almost done

Our school year is very close to being done. Oliver only needs to finish his final vocabulary lesson, and he'll be done with seventh grade. He finished physical science and math today. Yesterday we finished economics, which was a subject all three kids were doing together although only Ian and Nadia were taking the quizzes and tests. If I could go back in time, I would have bought the curriculum from Notgrass instead of Boundary Stone. Nadia finished 12th grade English last week, and she gave up on physics months ago. She isn't sure if she's going to attempt to pass the College Algebra CLEP test this summer. The kids will have two more art classes at MCS next week. Aside from those art classes, all Nadia really has left is to finish her Introduction to Research class. She wrote her final paper on quantitative research. She just has to complete a presentation and take the final exam. The course officially ends on May 15, but she's planning to complete it by May 8 since we're leaving for Europe on May 10. I will submit the paperwork for her to receive a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma from the Department of Education in June. She has to be at least eighteen years old before we can submit the college transcripts for her HS diploma. Ian needs to finish reading King Lear by May 8, take one test and one semester exam in physics by May 8, and finish precalculus by June 30. He finished his Humanities course through Cedarville today. I want Oliver to keep reading every day. All three need to keep studying 1 and 2 Corinthians. Ian will keep practicing the piano every day. We'll keep watching World Watch News every day (M-F). Nadia needs to take her technology assessment for Liberty. I've already finished her high school transcript. Her cumulative unweighted GPA is 3.85. Speaking of "lasts," last night was Nadia's last night of going to youth group on a Wednesday night. She will be able to attend Bible quizzing practice on a Wednesday night three more times between now and the national competition in New York that starts on her birthday in June.

 On Tuesday seven of us traveled to Lancaster to see Sight & Sound's production of Joshua. Their special effects have come a long way over the last 14 years. I can't recall the first time I saw one of their productions, but it was definitely in the late 90's. The first time we went as a family was to see Jonah in 2012 to celebrate Nadia's fourth birthday. When Nadia was three, Jonah was definitely her favorite Bible story. I was pregnant with Oliver. Thankfully, the doctor allowed me to be discharged from the hospital and attend the show as long as I went by wheelchair. We've taken out kids there thirteen times altogether, but they've seen the same production twice (Noah in 2013 and 2025 and Moses in 2014 and 2023) so they've seen eleven shows there so far. Today they announced that next year they'll be doing Jonah again. Since I was pregnant with Oliver, Ian was 2.5 years old, and Nadia had just turned 4 when we saw Jonah in 2012, we're planning on seeing the show again next year. We'll make sure to go at a time of year when Nadia can join us. After the show, we all had a meal at Olive Garden. It turns out Paul's dad had never been to an Olive Garden before. I was pleasantly surprised that our bill (before tip) was less than $90 for seven people especially considering we purchased two additional take home meals (for Paul's dad and for Nadia) and they gave me a free dessert (black tie mousse cake) because we were there for my birthday. I figured it was close enough to my birthday (7 days later). We were too busy last week to go out to celebrate my birthday, and Tuesday was actually my 50th spiritual birthday. Ian and Oliver ordered from the kids' menu, and Cheri and I both got the soup, salad, and breadsticks option (which is cheaper than an entree), but still to spend only a little over $100 including the tip for a sit-down restaurant for 7 people (especially considering we also bought two chilled entrees). Nadia has eaten her leftovers and take-home entree the past two days, and she hasn't finished it yet. 

I've been working on next year's lesson plans and objectives. Sometime in May I need to go to the school district to get Ian's work permit, and I'm hoping to submit next year's objectives and unsworn declaration as well as the evaluations from our supervisor at the same time (if I have received them). Next year I'm planning on having both Ian and Oliver study biology and geography. It feels so strange not to be doing any lesson planning for Nadia.

I'm also almost done planning our vacation, which is good because we leave in ten days. My heart got a workout this morning after I read an email saying that our flight from Dublin to Liverpool had been cancelled. They had rescheduled us for a flight eight hours earlier in the day, which would basically mean we'd miss doing most of the activities we had planned to do in Dublin on May 11. The flight they switched us to is currently the only flight that day from Dublin to Liverpool on any airline. Thankfully, I came up with another solution. I called Aer Lingus, and they switched our flight to one that was leaving at the time I had originally chosen but is going to Manchester instead. I was able to change our rental car reservation so that we could pick it up in Manchester instead of Liverpool without any difficulty because I had booked it through credit card points. I looked into switching our first night of lodging from Liverpool to Manchester, but the reservation I had made using Alaskan Airlines miles was nonrefundable. So, we'll have a little more time on the road in the evening on May 11 (driving from the airport in Manchester to our apartment in Liverpool), but other than that the flight cancellation hasn't interfered with our plans. I'm hoping the rest of our flights will take place as scheduled. The kids are happy because I ended up booking a vehicle that is larger than the one that I had booked in November. 

What a week!

Last week was show week! Our kids played on a variety of athletic teams when they were younger, but that hasn't happened for a little over six years. Ian has piano recitals, but otherwise the big weeks for our kids are Bible quizzing nationals in June and show week for the musical.  On April 12 all five of us helped in the afternoon with moving the set into the auditorium. The kids had rehearsals every day from April 13-18 (some went until 10pm and one was over 7 hours long) as it was tech week. They got one day off (April 19) and then had dress rehearsals April 20-22. Theater kids from the local public school came to attend the dress rehearsal on April 22. I also attended that one because parents are allowed to take photos that night, which isn't possible during the actual performances. The theater director from that public high school told Ian that he had never seen a better performance of Chef Louis. 

The performances took place in the evening on April 23 and 24 and in the afternoon on April 25. Nine members of Yvonne's family came up in the evening on April 22 so that they could spend the day with us on April 23 and see the show that night. They left to return home in the morning on Friday. Paul stayed home to babysit Brendan when they attended the performance. Cheri joined Paul and I at the performance on Friday night. Toby, Jenna, and Paul's dad joined us on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Grimsby whacked Ian in the face with his walking stick during the performance on Thursday night. Despite the fact that he was bleeding, Ian kept singing, running, and acting until his song was done. Once he was off-stage, a doctor who was in the audience looked at Ian (said he needed stitches). After he was bandaged up, Ian asked if he could return onstage for the finale. He slept in a recliner on Thursday night to help reduce the swelling in his chin. I bought him wax for his braces as the inside of his lip was also ripped up. On Friday his chin was rather swollen, but Ibuprofen and ice packs helped to bring the swelling down. Ian said he'd rather have a scar than stitches, so we didn't take him to a doctor. Honestly, I'm not sure they would have actually used stitches. His chin is still a little swollen, and as I write this, he has an ice pack on his lip, but it didn't stop him from participating in anything the last few days. He received a LOT of very positive feedback for his performance. He's already excited about being in Newsies next year, and I'm grateful that those performances will be taking place in March during Nadia's spring break at Liberty University, which means she will be able to see him perform! I'm not sure if Oliver will work backstage, be on stage again, or not participate at all in Newsies. Time will tell. The boys have decided to join the school's chess club that meets on Thursdays from 3-4pm.

Ian and Nadia also attended the homeschool prom last night. It was Nadia's second time attending a prom, and it was also her last since she's a senior. It was Ian's first time attending a prom. I think Oliver will be our only child who will likely attend the prom four years in a row. He would have gone this year if he was old enough to participate. Due to rushing to get ready after the Little Mermaid matinee performance, the photo shoot was more rushed this year. We were very grateful we could do it outside because it rained most of the day. The kids got ready at the Seibert's house, and Dave drove the seven kids to and from the prom. Originally, we thought we'd have nine kids going together this year, but one girl decided to join other homeschoolers, and Joey ended up not going to the prom. The five girls who went together this year also went together last year. Nathaniel and Ian were the only boys from our group. Last year the only boys were Isaiah and Nathaniel. Isaiah graduated from high school last year. Nadia said the kids danced a lot more than they did last year. Ian said he won't go to the prom next year, but he will go his senior year because Oliver will be able to go that year. 

Ian had his second job interview last week. He had an interview on February 3 with Camp Susque, and they did offer him a job as SIT this summer, but he turned that down because he decided he'd rather work at Joyful Petcare. He had an interview with Joy (Nadia's boss) on Tuesday morning. I need to get his work permit from the public school because he will be starting his first job (kennel assistant) on May 28. 

Finally, I turned 54 years old on Tuesday. Cheri took me to lunch at Panera on Tuesday, and Tab took me out for breakfast on Wednesday. Wendy gave me two foldable foam mattresses which the Towfighis used last week and will use when they visit us again this week. Yvonne gave me some money towards a new winter coat. She knows I haven't been a fan of my ski coat, which my mom got me in the late 1980's. Most of those decades I only wore it when I went skiing, so I didn't really care if I wasn't fond of it. However, I've been wearing it far more often over the last five years when I walk for a few miles in the winter. I've found the coat to be hideous for about 40 years, so Yvonne decided it was time for me to have a coat I don't dislike. Greatly appreciated! Paul's gift was another recliner for our family room. Ian had been using mine (the one I bought in 1994) instead of the beanbag I got him, so I had been sitting on the couch, and I greatly prefer my recliner. The beanbag was relocated to Oliver's room, and Ian can now use the new recliner, which means I get my old recliner back again. Paul had offered to take me out to dinner, but due to our crazy schedule last week, I opted to buy 1.5 gallons of ice cream from Old Mill Creamery, which we hadn't had in over a year. The kids and I all love their peanut butter Oreo ice cream. It's more expensive than what we usually buy, but it was a delicious birthday treat! 

The last eight months I have taken very few pictures (aside from at Jenna's wedding where I made up for lost time), but I took almost 100 pictures on Wednesday night at the dress rehearsal and took about 70 pictures during the prom photo shoot on Saturday night, so I have no lack of pictures to choose between for this post! Our vacation is around the corner, so my camera won't be gathering any dust in May. Bit by bit I've continued to finalize the plans for our vacations. Last week I found out that we won't be able to visit the Parliament while we are in London. So far there have been four things that have been scratched from the UK trip. I added the Tower Bridge into the schedule once I realized we can't visit the Parliament. Paul and I did the Tower Bridge in 2002, but it will be a first experience for our kids, and we were already going to do the Tower of London that day. 

This week won't be as crazy of a week as last week was, but it's still a week filled with some special activities. Paul and the boys finally went to AMC to see the new Mario movie (that outing had been rescheduled multiple times), and since it is my birthday month, they enjoyed a free large popcorn. Tuesday we're heading to Lancaster to see Joshua at Sight and Sound. The Towfighis will be coming back on Thursday night. Some of them are then heading to Ohio on Friday morning, and four of the kids will be staying with us for a few days including a trip to Knoebels with us on Sunday. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Earlier in our marriage Paul and I used to celebrate Valentine's Day by exchanging gifts and cards and going out on a date. I think it's been about 14 years since we went on a date around the time of Valentine's Day. We do have other Valentine's Day traditions. Brownie batter donuts are the favorite for the kids and I, but Dunkin only has them available in February. We usually buy a box of 6 donuts four times a year - once for each of the kids' birthdays and also for Valentine's Day. I also make heart shaped food for Valentine's Day - heart shaped egg inside a piece of toast and/or a heart shaped pancake. I bought the donuts on Thursday evening, and tomorrow for lunch I'm making egg in the toast with a heart shaped hole. Several years ago, I started the tradition of getting the kids each one gift for Valentine's Day. Some years I got them each a jigsaw puzzle, for example. This year I gave Oliver a book, Nadia a comforter for her dorm room, Ian a game, and Paul a t-shirt. This evening Nadia is babysitting at the youth pastor's home so that he and his wife can go out on a date. The girls had a Valentine's party on Wednesday night at youth group. Nadia and Maddie made sugar cookies at Maddie's house on Tuesday afternoon for that party. The homeschool roller skating party is usually the week of Valentine's Day, but this year it's not until February 25. Nadia got a Valentine's card and some chocolate from her boss when she was at work yesterday. If Jenna's wedding hadn't been on February 7, I think Paul and I would have attended a dance at the Methodist church. I'm hoping we make it there on March 7 as our last date (East Coast swing lesson) was on November 7. 

Nadia and her Great Aunt Janet

Jenna and Toby's Wedding

 

My preparations for Jenna and Toby's wedding began months ago. I purchased two (physical) wedding photography books and four wedding photography e-books, borrowed many wedding photography books through Kindle Unlimited, purchased gifts for the couple, purchased additional memory cards, a dual camera harness, and camera batteries, and created lists of shots that I planned to take at the wedding. Nadia and I had appointments for manicures and haircuts on February 3. The stylist was running behind so Nadia was the only one who got a manicure. It had been 12 months since Nadia had a haircut, and it had been 7 months since I had a haircut. I got myself a new dress for the wedding a few months ago. Last month I bought Ian and Oliver dress shirts for the wedding at a thrift store. Nadia wore the dress I got her for the Ray of Lights Awards event she and Ian attended with the cast of Seussical in 2024. On the way down to the church on Friday, we stopped at the thrift store and Boscov's. Paul got himself dress pants and a dress shirt at the thrift store as that morning he had discovered the ones he owned don't currently fit him. The kids got some clothes at the thrift store and also used the Boscov's gift cards that Paul's Aunt Debbie had given them for Christmas. Nadia and Ian got clothes at Boscov's, and Oliver used the last $10 on his gift card for a watch. Both Ian and Oliver are now wearing men's size small! Oliver loves the fact that he is now a smidge taller than me, and I think Ian might be taller than Paul. We brought a variety of things down with us including a ladder (for me to use for some photographs), clothes to donate to Yvonne's family (that the boys have outgrown), cameras, lenses, etc. 

Six of Jenna's cousins, three of her uncles, and two of her aunts

I started taking pictures on Friday afternoon of the dress (on a hangar), her earrings and necklace, her boots, their wedding rings, etc. I also tried to scope out where I would take photos outside the next day. I took a few pictures of their rehearsal. Paul ironed tablecloths for the reception for hours on Friday. Many people were working hard with decorating, cooking in the kitchen, etc. Since they met at a Chick-Fil-A where they were employed in the fall of 2020, food from Chick-Fil-A is what was served at the rehearsal dinner. 5 years plus 3 months passed from their first date to their wedding. Paul and I dated for 4.5 years before we were married. I have some of my niece's and nephew's birthdates memorized, but in most cases, I just remember what month they were born and use calendar reminders so I can send cards and such. Several of Jenna's siblings have birthdays that fall on holidays, so I easily remember those (Julianna's is on Valentine's Day, Wesley and Joshua's birthdays are on St. Patrick's Day, etc.). I am quite certain I won't memorize all the anniversary dates for my nieces and nephews, but I do think I'll remember Jenna's because February 7, 2026 was the 29th anniversary of the date Paul and I met at a ballroom dancing class at the Boscov's in Pottsville, and it's also Oliver's half birthday. 

Normally a macro lens would be used for this shot, but I don't own one. I still like the picture.

Ian spent the night on Friday night at an Airbnb that Toby had rented for one night. Toby's groomsmen plus Joshua, Nathan, Joel, and Ian spent the night together. They played games for many hours and slept a tiny bit. We had four rooms at a Holiday Inn that night. Aunt Janet had a room to herself. My dad had the room to himself on Saturday night, but Oliver joined him on Friday night. Drayton, Adam, Grace, and Rachel shared a room on Saturday night, but on Friday night their room was used by Grace, Rachel, and Nadia as Drayton and Adam joined Paul and I in the room we got for one night. I got barely any sleep. I ate breakfast as soon as the buffet opened (about 6:55 am) and then I drove to the church so that I could take pictures of the bride and bridesmaids getting ready. They showed up 30 minutes later than planned, and some of the groom's family weren't there in time for us to get some of the photos that we had planned to take before the ceremony, but we did get some photos done before the wedding. Jenna wanted a winter wedding because she wanted snow in her wedding pictures. The snow that fell two weeks before her wedding was still on the ground because it has been so cold lately. That was an answer to prayer, but it turned out that the temperatures that day tied a record low from 1948. It also was VERY windy (up to 50 mph). With the wind chill, it was as low as -20 degrees!! I went outside to take photos four different times. The first time it was -12 out, and I didn't have a coat on because I was wearing my dual camera harness. The fourth time I went out with a coat and just one camera around my neck (much better). The lighting was much better the fourth time we went out. The sun was too bright the first three times. I own a reflector and planned to use it, but no one was outside helping me with the photographs. If I am ever asked to be a wedding photographer again, I am going to make sure someone is helping me with things like a reflector. At one point it was also TOO windy. Toby's hair was standing straight up from the wind. I hadn't planned on taking pictures in front of the brick wall at the church, but we moved there as it wasn't as windy. I'm very grateful they were willing to brave the elements as most of my favorite shots from the day were taken outside. I wish we had taken a couple with the entire bridal party outdoors, but understandably some of them wanted to stay inside. 

The wind blowing the veil was a blessing in this shot

Almost everything went smoothly on their wedding day. Nathan (age 17) really struggled to play an arrangement of Holy, Holy during the wedding. It seems he was very nervous. The guests started leaving the reception long before Jenna *thought* the reception would end, so the plan to give the guests sparklers to use when they left was ditched. I took over 600 photos. Nadia also took a few as she stood behind Jenna when she walked down the aisle with her dad. Did I nail every shot? Absolutely not. Did I get a lot of good pictures? Definitely. I uploaded 333 photos this morning for the bride and groom and some guests to enjoy. Some of the pictures I deleted were from when I took multiple pictures of the same group of people due to the fact sometimes people are blinking, not looking at the camera, not smiling, etc. In other instances I deleted the photo because I hadn't done a good job in taking it (ex. the ones of the first kiss in the wedding ceremony). Thankfully I got some other good pictures of them kissing. 

I finished the photos this morning. I got up at 4:30am, which is definitely earlier than normal, because I wanted to get tickets for us to tour Big Ben in May, and the tickets for May were released this morning at 10:00 London time, which was 5:00am our time. Although I was clicking on the site as soon as the clock turned to 5:00 am, I was too late to get 5 tickets for any of the time slots on May 16, which was my first choice because the Parliament tours are only available on Saturdays. I then started searching through the time slots for May 15, but most were sold out and the others only had 1-3 tickets available per time slot. I then looked to see what was available for May 18. The first time slot that day would have been ideal, but it was already sold out. The earliest time slot that still had 5 tickets available was the 12:45 tour. I bought them before they also sold out. I had read that typically the entire month's tickets sell out within 10 minutes. I'm guessing they sold out within 5 minutes or less today. My mom always referred to our grandfather clock as "Big Ben." Paul and I didn't visit Parliament or Big Ben when we were in London in 2002. So I'm grateful that I was able to get five tickets even though it might mean that we won't be able to tour the chapel at King's College in Cambridge that afternoon as planned. I decided this morning that touring Big Ben was more important to me if I had to choose, and when I told Paul what happened later, he shared my opinion. I knew that I would be unable to get back to sleep even though I had only slept 6 hours, and I prefer to get 8-9 hours of sleep. So I continued to work on editing photos, deleting photos, and uploading photos to a Google photo album so that Jenna, Toby, and other friends and family could access them. 

I thought Jenna's boots were so cute! I took several pictures of them, ha ha!

I have zero desire to be a professional wedding photographer, but I am definitely willing to help out another niece or nephew in the future if any of them should ask me. I am quite certain I wouldn't be willing to do so for Brendan given I'm 52 years older than him and would likely be in my 70's if he got married in his 20's, but for those closer in age to Jenna, I would be happy to do this again. Her brother Joshua will probably be the next one to get engaged, and Andrew (who is graduating from college in May) also has a girlfriend. We shall see. In case I am ever asked again, I want to record a list of lessons learned that I can look back at should the need arise. I don't have any control over the time of year they will choose to get married, but I'm hoping any future weddings that I photograph will take place on a warmer day when we can take more photos outside (especially of all the wedding party). Borrowing Wendy's camera body and zoom lens were definitely helpful. In the past I've exclusively used prime lenses, but her zoom lens definitely came in handy on Saturday. The dual camera harness was also very helpful, especially during the ceremony. I had asked several friends to pray that I would get some good photos that Jenna and Toby could treasure for years to come. I think the Lord answered those prayers.

1. I need at least one "assistant" with me during the photo shoots - to hold a reflector, to help fetch the people needed for the next shot, and to help me with posing the people and giving them instructions. I had a list of instructions in my head prior to the wedding (ex. girls should hold the bouquet with one arm in the shape an L at their waist). Sometimes I remembered to give some instructions (ex. men put your hands in your pocket, Jenna lower the bouquet to your waist, etc.) but many times I had too many things on my mind (figuring out what lens to use, what settings my camera should be at, etc.) and we were very pressed for time and needed to move as quickly as possible as the reception was to start at 1:00. When I was editing the photos, I noticed things like Jenna's bouquet was often held too high (covering up the bodice of her dress). The pictures taken outside when I didn't have a coat on were rushed for another reason - we were all very cold! Two heads are better than one. 

2. The ladder was helpful. I would bring that again, but next time I will make sure the ladder is with me when I'm taking photos of large groups of people.

3. Next time I want to bring a pillow that I can use for my knees when I am kneeling to take photos. My knees were in pain for a couple of days afterward. 

4. I brought a black backdrop and clamps. I would have greatly preferred to use that for all the myriads of group photos that were taken in the sanctuary. A drum set and such is really not the ideal background, and it often looked like the cross was coming out of someone's head. The lighting in the foyer was MUCH better than in the sanctuary. For a whopping $30 I could buy an adjustable background stand. If I am asked to photograph another wedding, I'm planning to buy one so that will be an option (although outdoor photos would still be "plan a" for me). I could also have used that backdrop for the getting ready photos. There were NO windows in that room, and the walls were a really dark shade of teal, not exactly ideal! But I worked with what I had. Not every picture is going to be hung on a wall or in a photo album. Some are just for documenting the very special day.

5. I brought a squeaker toy to attract Brendan's attention, but it was downstairs while I was upstairs. I need to keep it with me in the future!

6. If I am taking group photos that include young children, I need to take MORE photos of each pose than I typically do. Usually, I would find at least one pose for each group that I thought worked in terms of people having open eyes, looking in the correct direction, and smiling, but that wasn't true for the photo of Jenna and Toby with Jenna's immediate family. Bummer! 

7. I was so busy taking pictures for Jenna and Toby that I forgot to get a group photo of my three kids or one of all five of us. If we're at another wedding in the future (even if I'm not the photographer), I want to make sure I get those! I did get one of Nadia/Ian, but it's nothing to write home about (taken in the sanctuary). 

8. If it seems like I'm going to be asked to be a wedding photographer more than one more time, I think I should invest in a macro lens for the detail shots unless I'm unable to borrow Wendy's zoom lens in the future. If that happens, then instead of a macro lens I should probably get a zoom lens.

9. Wear comfortable shoes! I was on my feet for many hours, and the boots I wore were not comfortable enough.