Cleveland, Toledo, and Chicago

On Friday morning the kids and I began our drive around 8:00; we made only one stop (for gas and a bathroom break) en route to the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland. The four of us got into the museum for free because of our ASTC membership. We only had to pay for parking ($8). I found it interesting that in both Cleveland and Pittsburg the science museum is right next to the football stadium (Browns and Steelers), next to a river, and in the river was a ship that could be toured in the summer months as a part of the admission to the museum. On the bottom floor they had a temporary, traveling exhibit featuring Legos. That was a hit with my kids. After spending almost 3 hours in the museum, we drove about 45 minutes south to spend some time at my cousin Sam's house. Sam is two years younger than me and is one of my mom's sister's eight children. He and his wife Heather have two girls who will be turning 8 and 10 next month. They are in 2nd and 4th grade. So Lauren, Megan, Nadia, and Ian are all between the ages of 7-9. With our five kids we had one first grader, one second grader, one third grader, one fourth grader, and Oliver. The kids also enjoyed their boxer, Rocky, although I noticed Ian was definitely allergic to the dog as his eyes were bright red and he was sneezing quite a bit.

 

Sam grilled some burgers and hotdogs, and the kids had a wonderful time playing together. We left around 8:30 on Saturday morning. It took about two hours to get to the Imagination Station in Toledo. It was also free for us to visit this museum although the Lego exhibit cost an extra $4 each at that museum so we skipped it because of the cost and also the fact we weren't planning to stay in the museum for more than two hours. I would say that parts of the museum were like a science museum and other parts more resembled a children's museum. We attended one show, and as always Nadia volunteered to participate. The show was about Newton's three laws of motion. She knocked a plate off which caused an egg to drop into a glass of water. There was also a ride that cost $2 each that we skipped. There were a couple of neat things there that our kids couldn't do because you had to be at least 54 inches tall. It's only 10 minutes off of I-80 so if we're ever coming out to Indiana or Illinois again, we could visit it again when the kids are taller. We definitely could have spent more time there, but we were getting very hungry for lunch and also wanting to finish our drive to Chicago. One thing that was free at that museum that often costs extra was the hurricane simulator.

We stopped at a Panera for lunch. I had packed our lunches on Friday, and we used a gift card for Panera so thus far after three days of our vacation our only costs have been tolls, parking, and gas. I have no idea how much we have paid for tolls because we have been using our EZpass. With the one hour time difference, we arrived at my sister's house a little after 4:00. I am very pleased to say that the drive went very smoothly. Oliver didn't cry at all. Yay!!!! We listened to Guinea Dog book cds for a few hours, and the kids also read a little, played with toys a little, played on the iPad, and watched a couple of dvds. The weather changed drastically during the first three days of our trip. It was snowing while we were driving on Friday morning. They actually got four inches in the Cleveland area! On Saturday it was in the 30's when we left, but by the time we got to Chicago it was in the 60's, and today it was 74 degrees this afternoon! Thankfully we brought a wide range of clothes (short and long sleeve, light coats, heavy coats, etc.).

This morning we went to church with Drayton and their kids. Wendy had a violin gig at another church. Drayton packed our lunches, and we ate lunch at the school playground. Their church meets in a public school about one mile from their home. Then after the kids played on the playground we walked to the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago. It contains many artifacts from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, Assyria, etc. It's not particularly geared for young children, but having Drayton serve as our tour guide was a big plus. The rest of the day was spent at their house - playing outside, playing inside, and watching Alice in Wonderland. Tomorrow we are planning to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Nature Museum!

And we're off!

Tomorrow morning the kids and I will begin our seven day adventure in the Midwest. Our first stop will be the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, and then we'll be spending the night at my cousin Sam's house. He and Heather have two girls who are very close in age to Nadia and Ian. Saturday morning we plan to stop at the Imagination Station in Toledo as we make our way to my sister Wendy's house in Chicago. My kids can't wait to spend time playing with their four cousins! We plan to spend five days in Chicago before we head back to Sam and Heather's place in Ohio and then back home on Good Friday. Paul will need to take care of the guinea pigs in our absence. Ian and Oliver have never been farther west that Ohio. Nadia has technically been in Chicago twice. The first time she was in my womb was I learned that I was pregnant while I was in Chicago in 2007, and she came with me again when she was an infant when I was speaking at a conference in Chicago. Those two trips I flew to Chicago. The last time I drove to Chicago was in 2001 with Paul.

I would appreciate prayers for a smooth and safe trip, especially for Oliver not to cry too much as he's not exactly been the best traveler in the past. The kids are really enjoying the Guinea Dog books on CD that I got from the library, and they're bringing some toys and I'll let them use the iPad a little and also watch DVD's during part of the drive. I think the longest stretch of our trip at any point is about 4.5 hours. Hopefully stopping at museums will help to make the drive more tolerable for everyone. I picked museums that will be free with our ASTC membership.

I wasn't sure if we'd actually go on our field trip today to Bald Eagle State Park because unlike yesterday's weather of 60's and sunny, today it was supposed to be in the 40's and rainy (including thunderstorms), but they didn't postpone or cancel the event and all three kids said they wanted to go (my vote was to stay home). So we went. Thankfully it didn't rain during the three hours we were there. They cut the program short by an hour (didn't do the shelter building or compass scavenger hunt activities). I think the turnout would have been a lot more if the

weather had been nicer. There were about 20-25 kids there. Activities included a demonstration with two live animals (screech owl and black rat snake), a campsite crime scene, painting picture frames, identifying a variety of mammal pelts of mammals found in PA (black bear, fisher, skunk, opossum, raccoon, beaver, deer, etc.), and wilderness first aid. They also played with a parachute and played a game of predator and prey. Everyone present won a door prize. Ian and Nadia each picked a nice orange water bottle that contained some candy and small toys inside, and Oliver picked a 100 piece puzzle. We wore rain boots and brought umbrellas. Thankfully we didn't need those, as it didn't rain while we were there, but we were very glad we were wearing our winter coats as it was cold out!

When we got home I was very busy with cooking the pork for Paul to eat while we're gone, baking six dozen cookies to take with us as hostess gifts, doing a load of laundry, helping the kids pack their suitcases, finishing my Bible study lessons for my study this evening, etc. I am going to sleep well tonight!

Soccer, strawberries, and softball

Originally I planned to take the kids to the Children's Museum for a Homeschool Hangout focused on fossils today, but then I decided we would skip it and wait two weeks to go to the one on robots and programming. I thought we'd be at a field trip tomorrow and decided to get some errands done today instead. In addition to returning things at the library prior to our trip to Chicago and also doing some shopping at CVS and the grocery store, we were on a mission to buy strawberry plants to get them planted before we left. First we visited a large farmer's market that is held every Wednesday all year round near the library. We bought some grapes, but the only plants we saw for sale were flowers, bonsai, etc.  - no fruit or vegetable plants. Then I drove to where I had purchased some plants and bushes in Milton last year only to discover it's now an antique store. Oops! Next we tried an Amish greenhouse in Turbotville. They had plenty of vegetable plants for sale (broccoli, cabbage, tomato, etc.) but no strawberry plants. Our last stop was at a hardware store in that same town which has a greenhouse, but they won't be selling plants until May 1. They WILL be selling strawberry plants so I will either purchase them from that store or I might buy some online. I know we won't get any fruit this year from our strawberry or blueberry plants but I want to at least get them planted this year so that we can enjoy the fruit in future years. I think we'd get some strawberries next year, but we'll have to wait longer for blueberries. Until then we'll keep going to the berry farm to pick strawberries and blueberries.

The weather was simply gorgeous so the kids enjoyed playing outside with some of the neighbors for awhile in the afternoon. I would have loved to have been able to go for a walk or a run, but there wasn't time. I made rigatoni and meatballs and started the process of making pulled pork so that Paul will have food to eat while we're away. I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies to give to my cousin's family in Ohio on Friday. I was planning to make two more batches of cookies (M&M and white chocolate macadamia nut), but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I am making those so that Paul will have some cookies while we're away plus so I have some to take to my sister's family in Chicago. I also planned to start packing today, but that didn't happen. After dinner we rushed out the door so that Oliver could have his first soccer practice of the spring season and Nadia could have her first softball scrimmage. She was only there for half of the game because of AWANA. They were playing the other softball team from our league.

I brought my new lens, and it is definitely a good one for softball. If money were no object, the 70-200mm lens would be the ideal lens for softball, but that one costs far more than the one I got (and also is a lot heavier). I can crop pics when I edit them to compensate for the fact I can't zoom to 200mm, and I will probably bring a second lens to some of the games so that I can get a wider angle than I can with the 135mm.

Tonight was the second to last night of regular AWANA (not counting the night they do the car races). The kids all had their cars weighed. Oliver's was perfect. Ian's is a little too heavy, and Nadia's is a little lighter than is ideal. Paul will adjust the weights over the next two weeks. Ian and Nadia did a great job of saying several verses tonight, and this means Ian only has ONE verse left to say to complete the extra credit book. He already finished the regular book twice. Nadia only has to do three more sections to finish her book (not counting the extra credit portion). Next year I'll make sure she stays on track to also do the extra credit part. I realized rather late in the game that she was not on track to finish the book so she really had to kick it into high gear the last few weeks to be able to finish it. Oliver's memorization skills thus far are nowhere near as good as Ian and Nadia's were at this age. Hopefully he will be able to handle the Sparks book in the fall once he turns five as that involves a lot more memorization than the Cubbies books he's done the past two years.

Originally we had three field trips planned for this week. The one to the alpaca farm on Tuesday was rescheduled to next week due to rain. If it actually happens next week then we'll miss it. If it gets postponed yet again, then we will be able to do it. Today's field trip was cancelled by me for reasons that had nothing to do with the weather. Tomorrow's field trip at Bald Eagle State Park was originally supposed to take place last Friday. If it had been rescheduled for today that would have been perfect as it was in the 60's and sunny out. Tomorrow's forecast looks very dubious. Even if we end up staying home tomorrow, they won't be doing a math paper because Nadia finished the third grade textbook today. If we have math tomorrow, we'll be doing flashcards. She ended on a positive note by earning a 92% on her paper today (a review of algebra that included addition, subtraction, multiplication, long division, and word problems). Many times if I were to grade her papers her score would be MUCH lower than that (often in the 70's and sometimes even lower) so I was very happy with that 92%. Math definitely isn't her strongest suit at this point in her life. I am hoping that working with flashcards over the next two months will help her to be more successful in fourth grade in the fall.

Thankful Tuesday

1. The kids enjoyed building bunny baskets at Home Depot on Saturday morning. Nadia can now do the projects independently.

2. The kids also participated in an art class focused on Andy Warhol at the Children's Museum on Saturday morning. Nadia and Ian completed the project that involved coloring nine soup can labels with complementary colors. Oliver listened to the introduction and brief biography of the artist, and then he opted to play in the museum instead of completing the art project.

3. The weather has turned warmer again. Yay! I was able to go for a 3 mile walk on Sunday afternoon while the kids watched something on Right Now Media while I was gone (and Paul was home). Yesterday the kids and I walked to the playground. It was Oliver's very first time walking there as I have declared he is too old to go there by stroller any more. It is so wonderful to get some fresh air and exercise!

4. Paul had a doctor's appointment yesterday to have a mole removed, and this meant he came home from work a few hours earlier than normal, which meant he was able to have dinner with us (yay!) and also take Nadia to her softball practice for the first time. The boys went with him as there's a playground there, which meant I had the extremely rare treat of having the house to myself for a little more than an hour. I watched part of a movie (that Paul would consider a chick flick) that I had gotten from the library. I had read the book previously so I wasn't surprised by the plot twists, but still it was a nice movie (Light Between Oceans).

5. Nadia hasn't been too thankful for the rain lately because some of our field trips have been postponed or cancelled, but I am thankful that the grass is turning green and the flowers will be blooming soon. The rain has also delayed the start of the soccer season, but I haven't minded that either.

6. Saturday afternoon the five of us drove down to Harrisburg to meet my Dad at Perkins for dinner and then to see a Passion play at Christian Life Assembly. The story was told from the viewpoint of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. The church offers free child care for those under the age of five so we took advantage of that for Oliver because the performance was more than two hours long and naturally the crucifixion scene might have been too scary for him. The church our family attended starting when I was in high school put on Passion plays and I was in those for many years, but it had been quite a few years since I had seen a Passion play. I was glad Nadia and Ian were able to experience this for the first time. It's one thing to read the description in the Bible, but it's even more powerful to see it enacted and be reminded once again what an incredible act of love it was for Jesus to go through all that torture on our behalf. The evening was even more special because Grandpa was with us. Thankfully the kids slept almost the whole way home.

7. Nadia enjoyed her first sleepover on Friday night with Grace and Claire. She stayed up a little past midnight! I am thankful that she has made friends at church.

8. Our field trip to Camp Susque last Thursday afternoon wasn't cancelled. The two hour program was about weather and during that time Nadia and Ian each constructed a thermometer, anemometer, and barometer.

9. I am so, so, so, so glad we don't use bedding in the guinea pig cage any longer. Some hay still spills out of the cage, but that only happens in a small area whereas the bedding was ending up ALL over the house. I no longer have to vacuum the family room every single day. Yahoo! One yard of fleece was enough to make three liners for the cage, which is more than enough as I do a load of laundry at least a couple of times a week.

10. Oliver has been choosing to do 100 piece puzzles lately. He likes some help, but I'm glad he's trying more challenging puzzles. I also found out

recently that he *has* already learned the sounds that many of the letters make. I didn't know he had learned any of those so that was a pleasant surprise. Last week there was a funny moment when Paul asked Ian, "What's 64 divided by 8?" and before Ian could answer, Oliver said, "8 times 8 is 64". I wish I had that on video. I was laughing my head off because it seems like Oliver is very advanced in his math skills, but actually it was just 100% luck. He doesn't know any math facts, but he has a knack for shouting out answers that are correct periodically.

11. Our church was giving out copies of the book The Blessed Life. I haven't finished reading it yet, but I highly recommend it.

12. Ian and Nadia are enjoying the vocabulary portion of the writing curriculum we started recently.

13. I am thankful I am able to attend Bible studies at my church. I usually have it one night a week, but this week I have it twice because of a night we missed due to the snow.