Thankful Thursday

1. On Friday afternoon Paul rented scaffolding for finishing painting in our foyer. This was nerve wracking for both of us to put it mildly, but thankfully he wasn't injured while he painted on Saturday and Sunday. There was a very tiny section near the top of the steps that he couldn't reach even when we had the scaffolding on the stairs, but he should be able to reach that part with just a ladder. He was also able to clean the chandelier and one side of the window while he was up there. If we ever move to another home, I don't want to live in another house that has this high of a ceiling. I love the new paint color. The part Paul painted hadn't been painted in 26 years. We had originally planned to hire a painter due to the difficulty, but we saved a lot of money by doing it ourselves. Paul returned the scaffolding on Monday morning. 

2. Last Friday I decided not to walk for 3 hours during the boys' Stronghold camp as I had the previous four days. Instead, I bought some clothing for myself and Nadia at Salvation Army (2 skirts and 2 pairs of shorts for less than $11 total) and had my first pedicure in more than a year. The boys enjoyed the camp last week. The last day (Friday) they stayed an extra hour. Afterwards, I treated them to a trip to Rita's. Yum! 

3. The boys enjoyed swimming at a pool party hosted by our church on Saturday night.

4. Last Friday evening the tickets to tour Ford Island (at Pearl Harbor) on August 8 became available at 9:00 pm. I logged in a little before 9:00 pm and tried to buy five reservations (only $1 each) right when they became available. I wasn't the first person to click "purchase" as some were already gone, but thankfully I was able to get 5 of the 40 reservations available for that day. They were gone in minutes. Paul would have been devastated if I hadn't been able to get them. Thank you, Lord! I am going to attempt a similar feat on Monday at 1:00pm when I will attempt to get reservations for Hanauma Bay. If I'm unsuccessful it won't be as devastating as there are many places to snorkel but only one USS Oklahoma and USS Utah. 

5. Shopping for bathing suits isn't exactly my favorite activity. Although I was never one to spend a lot of time in shopping malls, I definitely prefer trying shoes/clothes on before buying them. I know in some places shopping malls still exist, but they have become a thing of the past in our area. I had planned to try to buy a bathing suit at Kohl's prior to our merengue lesson last Friday night, but Paul was so exhausted from setting up the scaffolding, he just wanted to stay home last Friday night. On Sunday I decided to order a bathing suit on Amazon. I was thrilled to discover I had chosen the right size and liked it, especially since it only cost a little over $20. I'll be wearing a bathing suit more than usual while we're in Hawaii, so I'm thankful I have one I like and isn't one I inherited from my mom after she passed in 2016. 

All the counselors for girls' camp

6. I *think* our first vacation in 2026 will be to Europe in May. I can't plan that trip yet because I'm waiting to find a good airfare deal. We think our other trip in 2026 will be to the northeast part of Canada in August 2026. I can start planning that trip because we will be driving our own vehicle to get there. I am not going to be making any reservations for lodging or activities anytime soon, but I have begun to flesh out an itinerary. I like to do it well in advance and then revise and tweak it. I sometimes feel like it's a massive jigsaw puzzle as certain places are only open certain days of the week. I have us visiting some National Park sites in New York on the way up to Canada and some others in Massachusetts on the way back home that I hadn't been able to include in previous trips to that area due to the dates they were closed (or in the case of JFK the whole site was closed for renovations the last time we were in MA). I have a tentative initial itinerary (places to eat and places to spend the night are generally TBD) that is for 11 nights/ 12 days. Two days are in the US, one day each in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and 4 days each in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. When I was growing up, we went on several vacations in Canada. I had expected to like Prince Edward Island the best due to my strong affection for Anne of Green Gables, but my favorite province was actually Nova Scotia. I've never been to Newfoundland. It was tempting to exclude Newfoundland again due to the time and expense involved in taking a ferry to get there from Nova Scotia, but it looks like there are some amazing sights to see in Newfoundland, and we doubt we'll be in that area again in the future, so Paul and I decided to include Newfoundland. So far, the kids have only been in Ontario, but I'm hoping over the next few years that we can visit all the other provinces. I doubt Nadia will visit all of them, but I do think she can join us to visit these four provinces. I enjoy learning more about different places through all the research I do prior to planning a vacation. Did you know that the only place on earth where you can walk on the earth's mantle is in Gros Morne Park in Newfoundland? The Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world. We're planning to visit Hopewell Rocks, and Oliver is hoping it will work out for us to go on a tidal bore rafting trip in Nova Scotia at high tide. If this trip does happen, I'm planning to buy a photo map of the provinces of Canada that I can hang on the wall and fill like I have done for the states of the US over the last several years. Since there are only ten provinces in Canada, the kids will have been in half of them after this trip since they've already been to Ontario. 

7. It's been very hot over the last week. I'm thankful for air conditioning, and I'm thankful it's not as hot today as Paul and I have only been walking Milo once a day lately due to the heat.

8. Even though the warehouse isn't air conditioned (it was 90 degrees inside while we were there), we didn't let that stop the three of us from volunteering at Experience Missions yesterday morning. We were packing kits for Voice of the Martyrs. Thankful for an opportunity to serve. 

9. Our separation from Nadia is *almost* done! I will be picking her up on Saturday evening. I'm looking forward to talking to her later today. I haven't talked to her in eight days. I'm thankful she's been able to work at a Christian camp this summer. 

10. The mirror cover is going to be replaced on our van at 1:00 today. Thankful!

11. On Monday night Oliver asked to go on a date with Paul to Bonanza. We hadn't eaten there since December 2022. Monday is family night, which means the adult and children's prices are reduced a little, and Oliver will only qualify for the kids' rate for a few more days as he turns 13 next week. They enjoyed their meal. Oliver is the most proactive of our three kids when it comes to requesting to have a date with one of us. 

Cousin time!

My kids really, really love to spend time with their cousins. 2020 was a rough year in that department. Thankfully 2022 has been much better in that regard. At least some of the Benners have traveled out to our home from Chicago four times over the last eleven months and we went to their home once in that time span, which is in contrast to not seeing them at all for the 24 months prior to that. We were able to spend four days with Wendy and Grace and three of those days also with Rachel. Nadia and Rachel were pretty much inseparable, but they did join us for a few activities like playing Codenames, eating meals, swimming, roller skating, bowling, and a trampoline park. They created a brand new, very non-traditional cookie recipe. They called them "apple lime cookies." Their recipe included marshmallow fluff, apple pop tarts, key lime pie yogurt, whipped cream, etc. A few were eaten but no one was crazy about the final product so most of them ended up in the trash can. The girls laughed their heads off through the baking process. We weren't told what was in the "mystery" cookies until we each ate one. On Wednesday night they had a "sleepover." They always plan out their night ahead of time. They managed to stay up until 4:15am! I was soundly asleep LONG before that. Grace, Ian, and Oliver enjoyed playing together both inside and outside the house. They opted to play arcades instead of bowling on Thursday. They chose to eat at Kid's Cafe on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday they had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and on Wednesday they had pancakes and bacon. We had macaroni and cheese in honor of Grace on Monday and Tuesday, spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread at Rachel's request on Wednesday, and Wendy requested white chicken chili and cornbread on Tuesday as an early birthday dinner. On Thursday we had pizza after the kids spent two hours at Kaos (laser tag, trampoline, bowling, and arcades). On Tuesday night Aunt Wendy, Grace, Ian, and Oliver watched the first Sonic movie for free through Hulu. On Thursday I splurged and paid for a rental of Sonic 2 on Amazon because it hasn't come out on DVD yet. Paul and Ian had already seen it at the theatre, but it was the first time that Oliver, Wendy, and Grace saw the movie. We might get to see them in December, and we are planning to go to their home next April. Susie is headed to college in California in September! When Ian went up this evening at 6:50pm to ask Oliver if he wanted to play Quirkle with us, he discovered Oliver was already fast asleep! Even though he didn’t stay up nearly as late as Nadia and Rachel, he was definitely tuckered out!

The Benners started driving back to Chicago early this morning. Nadia, Oliver, and I spent a few hours yard sale shopping this morning. I spent over $100, and most items were $1-2 each. We mostly purchased clothing and shoes for the kids. I also bought myself one dress for $3, six books for the kids (50 cents each), and rollerblades for Ian. Since we plan to be away during our town's community yard sales in September, I imagine I am now done with yard sale shopping for 2022. Although I often take the kids to the pool, today was the first time this summer that I got in the water as it was very hot out today. Tomorrow we're signed up as volunteers to help run the inflatables for an hour at our church, and then we'll be attending concerts and fireworks at our church. On Sunday we're having a combined outdoor service at 10:00am (combining two services into one and also two campuses into one) and then Dave and Marla (Dave works for Paul) are coming to our house for a meal. 

Weekend getaway

On Friday morning we drove toward the southeast area of Pennsylvania. Our first stop was the Brandywine Battlefield where we were defeated by the British on September 11, 1777. We had a one hour guided tour of the home of a Quaker family because their home was used as Washington's headquarters. We also spent time in the museum. Paul and I briefly visited there in 1997. We spent more time here this time, but Paul still wants to return some time in the future to spend more time hiking where the battle was fought. I think he'll have to wait until we are empty nesters. Our second stop was Longwood Gardens which is the largest botanical garden in the United States thanks to Pierre du Pont. Paul and I had also visited this site in 1997, but it was the first time the kids were there. The kids enjoyed Longwood Gardens more than the battlefield. Flowers are also more my cup of tea than battlefields. We saw two shows at two different water fountains. Nadia took a LOT of pictures of flowers using my old camera. We had dinner in Delaware at Red Robin using gift cards. It is the only restaurant where Nadia still orders off the child's menu. I had a bowl of chili for my dinner, and then I shared a pineapple upside down milkshake from the kids' menu with Nadia and Oliver. I ordered the one from the kids' menu because it was smaller (less calories). It was AMAZING! I think it might be the best milkshake I ever had in my life. YUM! During our most recent vacation we never spent two nights in the same hotel. We did spend two nights in a row at two hotels that were less than a mile apart from each other in Orlando. For this weekend getaway I booked us two nights at a Best Western in Dover. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I hadn't been able to find a reasonably priced room that included an air mattress. We used an inflatable raft plus four pillows to create a bed for Nadia on the floor. The breakfast at this hotel is above average, but the mattresses on the beds are awful. On our last trip I found 2/14 mattresses to be hard to sleep on. I will be very glad to return to my own bed tomorrow night!!! The hotel advertised an outdoor pool, but it isn't actually available for use.

This morning after we ate our free breakfast, we visited the First State National Historic Park in Dover. We had a (free) private walking tour, attended a Juneteenth program that focused on the experience of African Americans in the military during the Civil War, and also had a tour of the colonial courthouse. We learned that Delaware used to be part of Pennsylvania. Delaware became the thirteenth colony shortly before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Because slavery was legal in Delaware, there was debate as to which side they would join in the Civil War, but they sided with the Union. Originally, I had planned for us to visit Rehoboth Beach. The kids have never spent time at a beach with a lengthy boardwalk. Rehoboth's is one mile long. After talking with a woman from our church on Wednesday afternoon, I had decided to take her recommendation and visit the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park instead of Rehoboth. I have fond memories of going to Rehoboth as a child and also in my early 20's, but evidently, it's changed a lot over the last almost 30 years. The weather was cooler today than yesterday. It was cloudy, but thankfully it didn't rain while we were at the beach. Because of the cooler air temperature plus the fact that the water temperature was 69 degrees, we didn't spend as many hours at the beach as planned. We shared a large pizza for dinner in Dover. 

Our first stop tomorrow morning will be the Air Mobility Command Museum. We drove by it today, and Paul is very excited about seeing the aircraft there tomorrow. I made a last-minute decision to include a visit to the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington tomorrow before we see Matilda (musical) and then head home. We're planning to stream the church service tomorrow evening during our drive home. I decided to purchase a zoo membership because it will give us a membership with AZA which means we will get 50% off at other zoos I planned to visit over the next year. If I had made this decision earlier, I would have purchased a membership at WNC Nature Center because a membership there also includes an ASTC membership. Later this summer I'll renew our membership with Owensboro Museum which will give us an ASTC membership for $40. Hopefully Milo isn't too distressed by our absence. The kids will be attending overnight camp and Bible quizzing in South Carolina, but I think it will be three months until he'll be separated from me for more than several hours. I'm looking forward to printing two more photos for the map in our family room - Georgia and Delaware! We are now down to twelve states left to visit. 

Delaware

I remember going to Rehoboth Beach as a child and also as an adult, but the kids haven't been in the state of Delaware before. The timing of our trip was based on wanting to see a production of Matilda. Although Nadia loathes some of Roald Dahl's books, Matilda is one of his books that she loves. Our itinerary for this Friday through Sunday includes Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, John Bell House (part of the First State National Park), Rehoboth Beach, Air Mobility Command Museum, and seeing Matilda at the Wilmington Drama League. Maybe the gas will be cheaper in Delaware? It went up to $5.15 in our town yesterday, EEK!!! Our neighbors have graciously agreed to watch Milo again for us. I am really, really hoping to get a nice family photo of the five of us either at Longwood Gardens or the beach. Also, since Oliver was very interested in the go karts in Pigeon Forge, I decided we should let the kids experience a go kart racing track for the first time in their lives at Rehoboth Beach. After we visit Delaware, the kids will only have twelve states left to visit! We're hoping to cross Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont off the list in September. Speaking of vacations, below you will find the video from our recent vacation (or field trip as Oliver calls it).

We were in South Carolina on May 19, and Nadia and Ian are planning to return to South Carolina on June 15 with other kids from our church's Bible quizzing team. They should be returning home on June 19. The quizzing on the books of Romans and James will end on June 18. Jill, Macey, Ben, and Chris will be on our church's team that is competing in the A division. Faith, Keegan, Nadia, and Ian will be on our church's team that is competing in the B division. Since five of the team members are homeschoolers, they began having extra practices last week before school let out. Nadia and Ian have practiced with the team at least two hours a day for six days in a row as of today. Although summer doesn't officially start until June 21, it truly feels like summer has begun now that the kids around here are also on summer break. Today is the first day that Kids' Cafe is serving lunch in the park, and today is opening day for the swimming pool that we joined for the third year in a row. My kids didn't eat at Kid's Cafe today because Pop Pop picked them up from Bible quizzing to take them to lunch at Bonanza, but we did head to the swimming pool for a quick dip this afternoon. Although we might be on summer break, it doesn't mean that all learning has come to an end. Tomorrow I'm planning to take the kids on a tour of a courthouse and jail that also includes a demonstration by a K-9 dog. Wednesday we're planning to take a tour of a local snowboard factory.

ABCs of 2021

A - Our senior pastor, Pastor Arlie, retired in May. Nadia and Ian attended a one-week art camp at our local public school. We toured Shedd Aquarium with the Benners. We spent two days in Arizona- we visited Horseshoe Bend, the Grand Canyon, Lowell Observatory, Walnut Canyon, Meteor Crater, and Petrified Forest. 

B - We visited the Benners in Chicago in September. Wendy, Grace, and Rachel also spent time at our house in August and Wendy and all four of her kids spent some time with us here in December. One of the kids' favorite national parks that we visited this year was Badlands in South Dakota. We visited forts/ battlefields in Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. All five of us individually read many books, (Nadia read more than 77 books this year, Ian read 50 books, Oliver read 24 books), and the kids and I (and sometimes Paul) also listened to 132 audiobooks. 

C - Paul and I each had two doses of Pfizer's COVID vaccine; we don't plan on getting booster shots or having our kids receive that vaccination. None of our immediate family have tested positive for COVID, but some of our extended family members have had COVID including Paul's mom and Yvonne's family. The most recent case was Margie who just tested positive yesterday. Her chemo treatment had to be postponed. I took the kids to see a production of Charlotte's Web.  I signed the kids up for co-op classes, but we were only able to attend once due to my broken ankle. We went to the movie theatre for the first time in 2 years in December to see Christmas with the Chosen. Earlier in the year we watched the second season of The Chosen. 

D - We visited Darien Lake amusement park in New York for the first time in May and a dairy farm in Wisconsin in September. I went almost 11 weeks without driving due to my ankle. All five of us have been doing Duolingo for several months. Paul and I are both in the fourth unit. We started a tradition this year of each child getting two dates per year with a parent. Nadia and Oliver had both dates. Ian is still waiting for his second bowling date with Paul.  

E - Paul and the kids skied at Elk Mountain in January. Nadia and I saw a production of Emma. On our way home from Long Island, we visited Thomas Edison's laboratory in New Jersey. I broke my right ankle at Effigy Mounds in Iowa on September 12 and had surgery on it at Evangelical Hospital on October 7.

F - During our final visit with Aunt Janet on Long Island, we visited Fire Island for the first time. We enjoyed learning about Henry Ford at the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and Ford Rouge Factory in Michigan. One of the highlights was riding in a Model-T! We had new flooring installed in our dining room in October. Nadia began learning to play the flute.

G - The kids lost their second Grandma in May when Paul's mother passed away. All three kids participated in a theatre camp at Greenview Alliance Church in August. In December we spent two days at Great Wolf Lodge as part of Ian's 12th birthday celebration. On the first day of our vacation in September we stopped at President Garfield's home in Ohio. 

H - In July we traded our grey 2012 Toyota Sienna for a white 2022 Honda Odyssey. 

I - During our 25-day vacation we drove through 25 states. The only state we drove through but didn't do anything in was Indiana. Ian entered middle school this fall, which meant that he joined the youth group in June. The boys went 21 months without going ice skating due to COVID, but then we went ice skating twice in December.

J - The kids earned around 30 Junior Ranger badges on the vacation. They each have more than 100 badges altogether! My niece, Jenna, is now living two hours south of us when classes are in session at Messiah University. We were able to go to a Christmas show and take her out to dinner on December 4. Sadly, Nadia's five-year-old guinea pig, Jenna, passed away on December 17. 

K - The kids spent a day kayaking and fishing in June. We visited Helen Keller's birthplace in Alabama. We learned more about horses at the Kentucky Horse Park. Milo had a fabulous day with us at Knoebels amusement park!

L - In Montana we visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield.

M - Our first year with Milo and first visit to Mount Rushmore.  Pop Pop joined the kids and I at Montage Mountain water park. The kids spent five days at Good News Camp at Mountain View Bible Camp. We visited Mesa Verde in Colorado and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Paul and the kids played miniature golf in Tennessee. We enjoyed watching the first season of the Mysterious Benedict Society on Disney+.

Talking with their cousins in Quito via FaceTime

N - Nadia was in an online drama production of Nancy Blue.  Aunt Janet moved from New York to Nevada.

O - Ian's first year of seeing an orthodontist (he had expanders and then a retainer this year)

P - The boys attended 6 nights of overnight camp at Pocono Mountain Bible Camp. We visited Paterson Great Falls in New Jersey, Petroglyph in New Mexico, the Parthenon in Tennessee, and Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. Oliver began learning to play the piano.

Q - Nadia participated in Bible quizzing events in Indiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The team she was on won in Oklahoma which meant Nadia won a little over $1,000 college scholarship. Ian also participated in the event in Ohio. Yvonne and her family (minus Jenna) moved to Quito in September.

R- We had a new roof installed on our home in October. The kids and I made our annual trip to Reptiland. 

S - We spent 2.5 days at Six Flags America and Six Flags New England. Nadia spent 7 nights at Camp Susque and participated in a two-week Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theatre camp. In July we visited the Springfield Armory, Springfield Museums, and Old Sturbridge Village. Oliver received stitches under his chin following an accident at the swimming pool. We visited science museums in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

T - The kids took tennis lessons for two weeks in Lewisburg in the spring. We visited Theodore Roosevelt's Inaugural Site in Buffalo in May and his National Park in North Dakota. The kids and I saw a production of The Tempest in August. Nadia became a teenager in June! We watched the first 5 episodes of the new Tuttle Twins show.

U- We spent three days in Utah at Snowbird Ski Resort, Bryce Canyon National Park, horseback riding at Kodachrome, Zion National Park, and touring a slot canyon. 

V - The boys attended two weeks of VBS, and Nadia joined them for one of the weeks. I started making better videos. Speaking of which, I finished Ian's 12th birthday video yesterday.

W - Paul's dad joined us at the WWII weekend at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum. The kids went white water rafting for the first time in the Poconos with the Towfighis in June and again with Paul in Oklahoma City in September. I went 9.5 weeks without using my right leg to walk. We enjoyed spending a day at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. 

X - Ruth had x-rays of her right ankle taken in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 

Y - We had a great day at Yellowstone National Park.

Z - Nadia had voice lessons via Zoom during the spring semester. She also chats with her cousin Rachel by Zoom on a regular basis.

Susie gave Nadia and Ian each a drawing lesson

Birthday Boy!

On December 12, 2009, Ian Alexander was born, and on December 12, 2020, Milo joined our family, which means tomorrow is Ian's 12th birthday and the first anniversary of Milo's "gotcha day." Ian's birthday celebration began on Thursday, which was also Aunt Janet's 79th birthday. A few years ago, we started a tradition of going to Great Wolf Lodge in December as a part of Ian's birthday celebration, but we didn't go last year due to COVID. We go with a homeschool group from New Jersey which enables us to pay less than half of the usual rate for our room. The room is decorated in the theme of a wolf den and contains twin bunk beds (Ian on the top and Nadia on the bottom), a full-size sofa bed (Oliver), and a full-size bed (Paul and I). Thankfully the resort just relaxed their mask policy earlier this month, so we didn't wear masks during our getaway. 

Usually, we arrive earlier on the day we check-in, but Thursday morning the kids attended a Christmas program at Camp Susque, which was put on by missionaries from Tanzania. Tab drove a carload of seven kids to the event. The same group of kids went roller skating together at a homeschool Christmas party on Monday, and the same group of kids are gathering for a play date at Tab's house in the afternoon on December 13 in honor of Ian's birthday. Paul, Milo, and I met them on their way home, and then the five of us took Milo to a pet sitter who lives 25 minutes south of us. This pet sitter charges $45 per night so we won't want to use them for a vacation as we paid far more for Milo than we did per person for the rest of us for this getaway! Owning one dog is far, far more costly than owning three guinea pigs. Milo was shaking as we were driving to the pet sitters, but thankfully he really enjoyed their dog, Penny, and he was very, very happy when we picked him up last night! When I take him to the vet later this month for his rabies and distemper vaccines, I am also going to ask for the Bordetella vaccine, which is required by kennels so that we will have the option of placing him in a kennel when 

we go on vacation in 2022, as the kennel charges around $25 a day which is more than we paid our friends but a lot better than $45 a day. The kennel, which is also MUCH closer to our home, wasn't an option this time because he hasn't had that vaccine. After dropping Milo off, Paul drove us to Great Wolf Lodge. After checking-in, I drove to Domino's and Dairy Queen to pick up our dinner. The kids were expecting pizza from Domino's, but they were surprised by the DQ Treatza (ice cream) Pizza I got for us to share for dessert. After eating, the kids played in the water park for three hours.

This trip was different from past trips because both Paul and I currently have mobility issues. On December 3 Paul hurt his back. We weren't sure if we'd be able to meet Jenna on December 4th, but thankfully we were able to go to the Christmas show and take her to dinner at Texas Roadhouse last Saturday. I am grateful I can walk on two legs, but I

walk VERY slowly. An elderly woman using a walker passed me out as I was walking into Christian Life Assembly last Saturday afternoon. In the past I've always used my camera at Great Wolf, but this time I just used my phone. Due to how much my ankle swells when I use it, I didn't take many pictures or videos. I didn't bring a swimsuit. Paul didn't go down any of the water slides because of his back, but he did go in the swimming pool, hot tub, and lazy river. Even the wave pool was painful for him. So, most of the time Paul and I were sitting in chairs in the water park and the kids were on their own. Thankfully I can tolerate my right leg dangling for longer periods of time than I have for the past 3 months. They had a great time, but Oliver was frustrated sometimes when he wanted to ride a water slide that didn't accommodate single riders as most of the time Ian and Nadia were doing things together. On Friday morning the kids and Paul slept in as the water park doesn't open until 10am. Paul brought back breakfast from Dunkin. We skipped lunch as the kids used the water park for almost 6 hours straight. We had dinner at Red Robin before driving to pick up Milo and then returned home. Some of the servers sang happy birthday to him at dinner last night, and he was given a free ice cream sundae. I had a coupon for 50% off one entree which meant that the $50 gift card covered our five meals and the tip. We used gift cards for Texas Roadhouse last Saturday, Dominos on Friday, and Dunkin and Red Robin yesterday. Now I'll start stockpiling gift cards for our vacation in May. Thankfully credit card points can be used not only for restaurant gift cards but also tickets to Busch Gardens and Universal Studios. 

We don't have any birthday celebration plans for today, but tomorrow Paul's dad and brother are coming up. Ian has requested pizza from Venarri's and chocolate cake with peanut butter icing from Aunt Millie, and he will also open his birthday gifts tomorrow. We gave him his biggest birthday gift from us two months early as I paid for an Amazon Music Unlimited annual membership in October which the kids access via the Echo dots. Nadia has asked to go ice skating with Paul for her half-birthday date later this month, but Ian hasn't decided what he will do with me for his birthday date. We are very, very grateful that Ian joined our family twelve years ago. I can't believe in one year we'll have two teenagers! Ian's new privilege is that he will have the opportunity to be paid to babysit Oliver when I need to take Nadia somewhere, and his new chore will be that he will be doing the dishes after dinner one night a week. I think Ian's birthday celebrations have gotten off to a great start especially considering his birthday was pretty much a nonevent last year due to COVID. which is partially why we got Milo on his birthday last year. Nadia is definitely his best friend, but I'm thankful that from December 6-13, he will have been able to spend time with Micah and Ean on three different occasions; he really likes those two boys but can go months without spending time with them. 

Dinner with Jenna at Texas Roadhouse on December 4

Craft time at Christmas Around the World - Nadia was at a different table with some girls she knows.

Horses and Daniel Boone

 After eating a hot breakfast this morning, we planned to leave the hotel around 8:50am. We ended up leaving an hour later than planned because Ian had thrown up at 3am and still wasn't feeling the best when it was time for us to leave. I went down to breakfast with Oliver and Nadia, and I brought some food for Paul back up to our room. He had stayed in the room with Ian. Ian didn't eat any breakfast. Because we showed up at the Kentucky Horse Park a few minutes after 10:00, we had missed the morning grooming session and the 10 minute horse drawn trolley ride. Thankfully, they had a wheelchair for me to use, which meant I was actually able to visit the museum, attend two horse shows, etc. One of the horses used by the mounted police was named Oliver! The kids would have enjoyed riding horses again today, but they were charging $25 for a 30 minute ride which seemed a bit pricey. We ate a snack in the car as we drove from the Horse Park. Ian ate some crackers and kept them down. Progress!

Our second stop was Fort Boonesborough, which is located in a state park in Kentucky. There weren't any wheelchairs available, and it involved too much walking for me on crutches. I hung out in the van while Paul and the kids explored the fort (from the time of Daniel Boone). We had dinner at Cracker Barrel on our way from the Fort to our hotel in West Virginia. Our hotel room does have an office chair with wheels. Paul and the kids went swimming for a little while in an indoor pool this evening, and we will be able to eat a hot breakfast tomorrow morning. Altogether of the 22 nights we spent at hotels, 10 mornings we were offered a hot breakfast, 1 continental breakfast, 6 grab and go breakfasts, and 5 times no breakfast was included. We drove 195 miles today, which puts us at 6,622 miles total for the trip over the past 24 days. We spent most of the day in Kentucky, but we ended the day in West Virginia. Presuming the kids each earn one Junior Ranger badge at Friendship Hill in Pennsylvania tomorrow, Nadia will have earned 30 Junior Ranger badges on the trip, Ian 25, and Oliver 24. Nadia spent some of her money to buy prairie dog earrings. I bought three other pairs of earrings along the way for Christmas gifts for Nadia and one of my sisters. The boys didn't buy any souvenirs. We bought one thing each for Addi, Westyn, Isaac, and Micah along the way as thank you gifts in addition to the money we gave them for caring for our pets in our absence. 

Thankfully Ian is feeling fine again. I think it might have been from something he ate at Chili's last night. The same thing happened to me on September 23, and I think that time it was from something I ate (I had chicken and mashed potatoes) at Applebee's the night before. The good part about it being from something I ate rather than a GI bug was that it wasn't contagious. Having GI issues at the same time as a broken ankle was very unpleasant as I couldn't get to a bathroom as quickly as usual. I was very relieved when I felt back to normal. Paul had one day when he didn't feel well after he slept in the cabin without a pillow. Nadia and Oliver have felt fine the whole trip. All in all aside from my broken ankle things have gone smoothly. I made an appointment for Paul to take the van for a tire rotation and oil change on Sunday afternoon. Normally I handle those appointments, but we don't know when I'll be able to drive again and we hit the point when the van was due for those two things a couple of days ago. From what I've read online, usually you have to wait 6 weeks to drive. The shortest I read anywhere was 4 weeks. On Sunday it will be 3 weeks since I broke my ankle so I figure I have 1-3 more weeks before I can drive again. We shall see what the doctor says on Tuesday morning! My swelling continues to go down, but it's still a challenge to sleep at night due to the pain. Sleeping in a hotel room is usually a challenge for me because #1 I often feel cold and #2 most mattresses feel like a torture device to my back. Adding a broken ankle to the mix hasn't exactly helped! I keep reminding myself that at least my broken ankle is a temporary condition. I've had to deal with not being able to drive for an extended period of time two other times over the past 33 years - #1 when I broke my ankle about 29 years ago and #2 when I was pregnant with Oliver. The times I would want to drive next week would be to take the kids to co-op on Tuesday afternoon and to church on Wednesday night plus getting groceries and picking up books at the library. I think it's going to feel like we're back in lockdown mode, but at least it won't last as long as the lockdown did in 2020.

Kentucky

We spent the first week of October 2020 in Ohio and Kentucky. Originally I hadn't planned to include visiting Kentucky in our big road trip, but since some things were closed last year due to COVID, I decided to include some time in Kentucky on our way back home. The Toyota factory still isn't giving tours, but the kids and Paul were able to do a 2.5 hour, 2.5 mile guided tour inside Mammoth Cave (which included climbing 600 stairs) today, and we're planning to visit the Kentucky Horse Park and Fort Boonesborough State Park tomorrow. 

After we ate a hot breakfast this morning, we drove to Mammoth Cave. I spent about 3.5 hours sitting on a bench in the Visitor's Center. Thankfully they had wi-fi so I could work on Duolingo while they were on the tour. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge. I'm very glad that Paul and the kids have had a good time on the vacation. Since I broke my ankle the vacation for me has primarily consisted of being in a hotel bed, sitting in the van, sitting on a bench in Visitor's Center or museum, and eating in a restaurant once a day. I try not to think about it because I'm prone to tears if I do. I really wanted to take this tour of the cave today, for example. 

We had a hard time deciding about our second destination. We considered visiting the General George Patton Museum in Fort Knox. If they hadn't relocated most of the tanks to another state, we would have. Paul was leaning that direction, but since he's been doing all the driving and that was a bit farther away than the other option, we ended up picking Abraham Lincoln's birthplace instead. The kids earned their second Junior Ranger badge of the day. We had dinner at Chili's en route to Georgetown, Kentucky. We drove 184 miles today. The last few hotels we stayed in had outdoor pools. Tonight Paul and the kids were able to swim in an indoor pool. The hotel room does have a chair with wheels, and I was told we will be able to have breakfast tomorrow morning. We plan to spend one night in West Virginia tomorrow night, and then we will be home the next night with Milo and our three guinea pigs. 

Colorado

Originally I had planned for us to visit Arches National Park in Utah, which is on the eastern side of the state, but somewhere along the line I deleted Arches and added Bryce Canyon and Zion. I also had intended for us to visit Four Corners Monument which again would have put us closer to Mesa Verde in Colorado. Even though it added some extra driving time to visit Colorado (just as was the case when we added North Dakota), I think everyone thinks it was worth it because #1 we added another state to the list and #2 we had a good day in Colorado. The hotel we stayed at offered a grab and go breakfast, but at least theirs included options like yogurt and an apple which was better than the hotel we stayed at in Michigan. Originally I had hoped we would visit two sites that were close to Cortez, but due to COVID Canyons of the Ancients is only open certain days of the week, and Wednesday isn't one of them. At Mesa Verde I had planned to have us drive to the Wetherill Mesa section to take a self-guided tour of Step House and a guided tour of Long House. Since I goofed up and we didn't have tickets to our the Long House, we instead drove to the Chapin Mesa section. We hoped to take a self-guided tour of one house there, but it was closed due to a rock slide. Paul and the kids got out multiple times to see sites such as pit house and a sun temple, and we also could see the Cliff Palace at some of the overlooks. The kids earned a Junior Ranger badge. Nadia has earned 18 so far on the trip, Ian has earned 15, and Oliver has earned 14 so far. 

Our second stop was supposed to be a science museum in Durango. I had checked their website the day before do make sure their hours hadn't changed. They hadn't posted it on their website, but they were closed for two weeks for some renovations. Thankfully we hadn't driven much out of the way to go to this museum as what was supposed to be our third stop was less than 2 miles from the science museum. When I found out that we couldn't visit Canyons of the Ancients, I tried to find something else to do in Durango. I presented the kids with a few options (one was zip lining), and they chose the Durango Community Recreation Center (like a YMCA). The rock wall was closed due to COVID, but the swimming pool area was pretty amazing for a community pool. It included a 2 story water slide, a lazy river, water cannons, see saw in the pool, etc. Nadia and Ian spent almost the whole time in the lazy river. Oliver went off the diving board and used many of the other features.

We had dinner at Applebee's in Durango and then drove 3.5 hours to Albuquerque. We drove 312 total miles yesterday. During our drives we haven't listened to music that much. Either we're talking, listening to an audiobook, or the kids are having screen time. Ian uses the Switch, Nadia uses our newer iPad, and Oliver uses the old iPad. Some of the books we've listened to from start to finish on this trip include: River Secrets by Shannon Hale, Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis, The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. We're currently in the middle of The Horse and His Boy and Book of a Thousand Days. The indoor pool was closed due to COVID, but they had an office chair with wheels in the room, which is so helpful for me. We had adjoining rooms for the second time on the trip. Paul lived in Albuquerque from 1994-1996 (right before I met him in Pennsylvania). We're spending the day doing things in and around Albuquerque, and then we're driving to Amarillo, Texas, which means we'll lose another hour tonight as we move back to CDT. 

Thankful Thursday

 

1. I took the boys to the orthodontist on Monday. It was a very quick appointment, and he said that I don't need to return for 6 months because Ian needs to wear his retainer longer before the next step and Oliver isn't ready to begin. 

2. I used to shop the clearance racks at department stores several times a year (primarily JCPenney or Sears), but since malls have pretty much become a thing of the past, I haven't done that in several years. On Monday I used a $5 off coupon at Kohl's to get a winter dress for Nadia for $7.41 that was originally $68. I get most of the kids' clothes at yard sales, but it's not always easy to find dresses for Nadia now that she's older. It was very easy to get dresses for her at yard sales when she was younger.

3. Nadia and Ian really enjoyed the color war event at youth group the previous Wednesday night as well roller skating with the youth group last night. They also attended youth group at FBC on Sunday night. 

4. All three kids enjoyed VBS last week. Ian was thrilled to be one of the eleven children picked to "plaster the pastor" with paint on Thursday night. 

5. We bought a lot of fruit on Monday at ALDI. Eating plums, grapes, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and other types of fresh fruit is something Nadia and I really, really enjoy about the summer! Oliver has discovered he likes honeydew as much as I do. His obsession with watermelon has waned some this year.

6. Peppa's eye healed on its own. Whew! So glad we didn't need to take her to the vet, and also thankful she seems fine now.

7. We are thankful we were able to purchase a minivan during this time when it's challenging to do so. The kids and I like it a lot more than the Sienna for a variety of reasons. I'm also thankful for the 9 years we have been able to use the Sienna.

8. The kids enjoyed going to Dairy Queen on Tuesday night. It wasn't a cheap dinner! Unfortunately they didn't have any brownies as Nadia and I wanted to get a Blizzard that had brownie in it, but we still enjoyed what we selected. It brought back memories as I remember going to DQ when I was a child in Texas. When I was a principal, DQ actually delivered school lunches to our students once a week. Those school meals were FAR cheaper than what we paid on Tuesday night. 

9. Helen joined us for lunch and swimming yesterday after art camp. 

10. I installed 60 Dig Defence barriers around the fence yesterday morning so that Milo *hopefully* won't be able to escape. He wants to spend more time outside than he usually does. Paul needs to put something on the bottom of the two gates, and then Milo can have free reign in the backyard without a leash when he wants to go outside!

11. Paul is generally very good at rolling with the punches. He had a lot of practice with that this week. On Monday he drove to Reading for naught, he had to drive to Stroudsburg on Tuesday evening to sign the title, and I entered the wrong month for his dentist appointment. He showed up on Tuesday morning when actually his appointment is in August. OOPS! He was very gracious about my error. Thanks, honey! Would you believe the woman who failed to tell me on Monday that the van had been sold on Saturday night texted me on Tuesday asking if Paul had come down on Monday and said the vehicle was still there. What in the world?!? I told her that Paul had left work early and driven two hours in vain only to be told the van had been sold on Saturday evening. Oi vey!

12. Nadia and Ian have been enjoying the art camp this week. I want to frame at least one of Nadia's paintings. All of the projects have been with watercolor. It's the first time I've ever dropped my kids off at a public school! There are only eight kids in the art class - Helen, Ian, and Nadia are three of the eight.

13. Oliver's chin collided with a wall in the swimming pool yesterday. At first I thought only his lip was bleeding, but there was also a gash under his chin. Thankfully, our neighbor was also at the pool. She said Nadia, Ian, and Helen could stay for another hour. Helen's mom came an hour later to pick her up, and our  neighbor took Nadia and Ian home along with her two kids and a friend of her daughter. Years ago when Ian had a gash under his chin at the ice skating rink, I took him to the Urgent Care, and they said the only could treat with glue. Since his wound required sutures, I had to then take him to the ER. Thankfully the policy has changed over the years as they did stitch Oliver's wound at the Urgent Care this afternoon. We had a very small wait. Oliver was a trooper because wow it looked very painful to receive the injection in his face to numb the area. He screamed but was in the words of the doctor "very compliant." Unfortunately, the stitches meant we had to cancel our plans to visit DelGrosso's today (and we had invited four other people to join us). He can't swim until they come out. Hopefully he will be more careful in the future! I'll attempt to reschedule the DelGrosso's trip for sometime in August. The tickets will cost more then as today they were on sale for only $16 (half off). 

Three Campers

All three kids are attending a camp this week. Paul took the boys to PMBC on Sunday afternoon. It's the first time I've not been present when any of our kids have been dropped off at camp. I always take a picture of each child with their counselor. I'll have to wait until Saturday morning to do that. Matt is Ian's counselor, and Caleb is Oliver's. I didn't accompany them on Sunday because our church had an outdoor baptismal service at 4pm, and I had volunteered to serve food from 5-6pm. It has been beastly hot out the past three days - meaning the high's have been close to 100 degrees WITH humidity. The temps are supposed to drop significantly tomorrow so I'm waiting until then to mow the lawn. Serving hot dogs for an hour in that heat was a bit more than my body could handle. I hung out inside the church (yay for air conditioning) for awhile and then asked our neighbor who was also at the event if they would mind taking Nadia home after the fireworks were over later that night. Thankfully they didn't mind doing that. I put a couple of notes in each of their suitcases, and I've been emailing the boys once a day. They print out the emails and deliver them to the campers at dinner. I can't wait to hear all about their week on Saturday morning! I'm missing my boys, but I loved camp as a child and hope they are both having an awesome week.

Nadia's two week theatre camp started on Monday. They are meeting outside at a playground, but thankfully they can use a covered pavilion which provides shade. The camp lasts from 1-5pm, and they are working on a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Nadia is one of the dwarfs. Milo is thankful that I have been coming home during her camp. Nadia was surprised on Monday that I had Milo with me when I picked her up. I took her swimming on Monday and Tuesday evening, but tonight we're having dinner at Red Robin and shopping instead. I've tried to make this week special partially as a continuation of her birthday celebration and also since it's a "girl's week" for us while the boys are at camp. Her birthday celebration began on June 23 with the trip to Montage Mountain water park and the trampoline park with a friend. On her actual birthday (24th) we had dinner at Bonanza and she opened her gifts. Nadia had her annual physical on the 25th; our teenager is currently 5ft 1.75 inches tall. She was grateful it didn't involve any shots. I'm thankful that's the only time she goes to the pediatrician. She ate her birthday donuts and got to spend time with her cousins on the 25th, and that evening we served her birthday brownies and cupcakes from Aunt Millie. She picked red raspberries, went white water rafting, and had dinner in Jim Thorpe (using a gift card) with some cousins on the 26th. We didn't do anything birthday related on Sunday. On Monday I took her to Sweet Frog on the way to theatre camp for frozen yogurt. Yesterday I took her to lunch at Olive Garden. She had ziti al Forno, salad, and breadsticks; I had salad, breadsticks, and pasta fagioli soup.  Last night Jill, Faith, and Grace met us at our pool. We brought pizza. The girls ate and swam for about two hours. I'm not sure how late they stayed up, but we heard a lot of laughter after we went to bed. Faith's mom is picking her up around 11:00, and I'm taking the other two girls home on our way to theatre camp. I think the last birthday treat will be a hot chocolate from Dunkin tomorrow. We watched "I Still Believe" on Monday night, we're going to watch the newest episode of Chosen tomorrow night, and we're going to watch "I Can Only Imagine" tomorrow night. 

Because the boys are away, Paul and I moved the guinea pig cage to Ian's room on Sunday night so that Milo could sleep in Nadia's room. Last night Milo slept in our room since there were four girls sleeping in Nadia's room. Between the girls' laughter and Milo, I definitely didn't get a good night's sleep. I'm thankful he'll be sleeping in Nadia's room again the next three nights. We'll move the guinea pigs back to her room on Saturday as Milo can resume sleeping in Ian's room that day. Speaking of Milo, he turned 9 months old today which for a Bichon Frise means he's now considered to be an adult. The kids insist he will always be their puppy no matter how old he is. He still has accidents now and then which is rather frustrating. He peed in Nadia's room yesterday morning, for example. He still hates it when we leave him alone in his crate, but that's happening more often lately and he's gone as long as almost 9 hours in the crate without an accident.