Six Flags in NJ

For several years I have signed Nadia up for Six Flags' reading program because the kids get a free ticket to Six Flags. As soon as Ian was old enough, I started signing him up as well. In the past I always selected the Six Flags park located in Maryland because it's only about 15 minutes from what was my parent's house. Last year I accidently missed the deadline. This year I signed all three kids up for the program for the first time. The first few years they would also give me (the teacher) a free ticket, but they changed the policy and to receive a free teacher ticket you have to have at least ten students enrolled in the program. When I registered for the program last fall, I didn't know at that point that my sister's family would be living in the house in Maryland this summer. I chose the Six Flags located in New Jersey. It's a tiny bit closer to our house than the one in Maryland, and I figured it would be nice to try a different amusement park. The one in Maryland is smaller, but it includes both a wet and dry rides. In New Jersey the water park is separate, but it includes a safari. Nadia rode every major

thrill ride except for one roller coaster (Superman) that was closed yesterday as well as one ride (Twister) that they wouldn't let her ride because she wasn't wearing sneakers. She rode some rides more than once. She was thrilled that she met the height requirements for ALL rides in the park. Once you hit 54 inches tall you can ride anything.

Ian was tall enough to ride four rides that Oliver couldn't ride, but he only rode one of them. Oliver rode everything that you had to be at least 42 inches tall to ride. Ian's favorite ride was a new one called the Justice League, which was similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride they have at both Disneyland and Disney World. We rode it quite a few times. Oliver's favorite rides were the flume and the white water rapids rides. He likes to get wet! Nadia really liked Kingda Ka, which is the tallest steel roller coaster in the world. She also liked Nitro, a roller coaster that I rode with her. She wasn't crazy about the Batman or Joker roller coasters. The food was very expensive, but at least they did sell a whole

pizza, which Disney parks don't do. We had eaten an early lunch in the van so we only bought one meal there. For Ian the scariest part of the day was when we were stuck 200+ feet in the air on a swing for 30 minutes because there was a "technical difficulty." I was in a swing with Oliver, and Ian and Nadia were in a swing a little bit ahead of Oliver and I. After we finally got out of our swings (40 minutes later), we were each given a free bottle of cold water and a flash pass to use on one ride. The flash pass wasn't very helpful because thankfully the lines were VERY small almost the whole day. We rode far more rides than I thought we'd be able to ride. When we were on the white water rapids ride, we were allowed to stay on and ride it a second time without getting off, for example. The most annoying thing about the park is that on certain rides that  are REALLY picky about you not having ANYTHING in your pockets. They make you pay $1 to put your purse or cell phone or keys or whatever in a locker. We only paid the $1 one time and we got a few rides out of that. I hope this idea doesn't

spread to other parks! I can understand it on rides where you are flipped upside down, but they even did it on a wooden roller coaster as well as the flume. What?!?! I'm thinking that maybe I'll only sign the kids up for the Six Flags program every other year. Yes the kids get free tickets, but when you add up the cost for two tickets for Paul and I, parking, one meal, tolls, and gasoline to drive 6 hours it cost us about $250 total.

The boys and I had enough by about 6:30pm so we sat on a bench near the entrance for about an hour while we waited for Paul and Nadia. While we were waiting the boys shopped in one gift shop and spent most of the $10 that Aunt Janet had given them last week. They each bought a small stuffed animal.

I'm keeping a "life list" for the kids of all the amusement parks they've been to, and so this trip added one more park to their list! I know some keep a life list of roller coasters, but I'm not getting that specific. Originally we planned to go to DelGrosso's tomorrow, but I am too tired for that. That park is much closer and they do a few 50% off days each summer. We're planning to go next year. One advantage to where we live is that it only takes about 3 hours for us to get to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh, which provides many opportunities for field trips!

Today we stayed home in the morning, and then I took the kids to the park for Kid's Café. They were serving taco salad and root beer floats. I need to make a taco salad in the near future as I enjoy them and haven't had one in I can't remember how long. Then I took the kids to the dentist for their semiannual cleanings. After that we spent a few hours at home before I took them to their next to last tennis lesson. I picked up some things from my office during their lesson. I pulled Nadia and Ian out a little before their lesson was over so that they wouldn't be as late to VBS this evening. Since we cancelled the plans for DelGrossos tomorrow, we will just be going to the playground for Kid's Café and then VBS at night.

So long, Long Island!

Friday was our last full day on Long Island. It was a rainy day, so we didn't go to the beach. The rest of the week no one asked about doing any other activities. Friday was the only day the kids started to ask questions like "is there a science or a children's museum we could visit?". We tried to find an indoor playground, but the ones we found were very small. Nadia didn't try either of them. The boys did them for a few minutes. Then it stopped raining and they played on the outdoor playground by the swimming pool. Janet had grilled food at the beach the previous four nights (chicken once, hamburgers once, and hot dogs twice), but on the last night she treated us to dinner at Don Quixote, which was fancier than usual for us (water goblets, cloth napkins, etc.). The kids liked that they were served a basket of chips. Aunt Janet knew that I love Mexican food and very rarely get to eat it. My chimichanga and enchilada were delicious! Ian had a cheese quesadilla, Oliver had two soft tacos and refried beans, and Nadia was the only one who didn't get any Mexican food -

she had macaroni and cheese.

Aunt Janet gave Nadia a birthday gift - a pair of pearl earrings (that she wore to church today) and $2 because that was how much Nadia still owed me toward the dolphin she bought in NYC. She gave Oliver an early birthday gift of $10 and Ian a half-birthday gift of $10. Aunt Janet also gave me another pair of good earrings that I am to give Nadia when she turns 16. Isn't that so sweet! Considering my mom won't be able to do something like that (although I have saved some of my mom's jewelry to give Nadia when she's a bit older), it's even more special when my Aunt thinks of passing some of her jewelry on to Nadia. Just like last year, Ian cried the last morning because he didn't want to leave, but then we reminded him that he'd be seeing Daddy and the guinea pigs again when we got home. He loves staying with Great Aunt Janet!

I was planning to stop at the New York Hall of Science on the way home, but Nadia said she really wanted a children's museum so we spent two hours

at the Long Island Children's Museum instead. It didn't cost us a penny. When we got home I started unpacking and Nadia told me that her earring back was lodged inside her ear lobe. The earring came out, but neither Paul or I could get the back out. Paul took Nadia to an urgent care center since it was about 6pm on a Saturday. We don't know what the co-pay is for that. We know an ER copay is $200 so we're hoping the urgent care is not as much. The doctor had to dig around, but since they had numbed her ear lobe it didn't hurt. She got it out with tweezers. Hopefully we won't have any more adventures with these piercings. While they were at the Urgent Care, the boys and I ate dinner and went to the grocery store and CVS. We had quite a catastrophe at CVS as Oliver dropped a 2 liter of Pepsi and it exploded in the store. What a mess! And Paul wonders why I prefer to shop alone???

This morning we went to church. We were home all afternoon, and the kids had VBS this evening. We had a great week with Aunt Janet last week and hope to visit her again in future years, but it's also nice to be home again.

He's swimming!

Last summer Oliver only wanted to stay near the steps in the shallow part of the pool. This year he's swimming the whole length of the pool! He still is lacking some courage, but he's definitely making progress. You can watch him swim in the video below.

Last night we made sure the kids got baths when we came home from the beach because they hadn't gotten baths the previous evening. As you can see they enjoy taking bubble baths in Aunt Janet's jacuzzi tub! We actually have a jacuzzi in our master bathroom, but we go years without ever using it so it has been a novelty to use Aunt Janet's jacuzzi.

Yesterday we played Yahtzee at the beach. I think it was Ian's first time playing the game, and he won! I was helping him decide what to try for when he was rolling the dice. Oliver was on Aunt Janet's team and helped her by rolling the dice for her.




They have an ice cream bar at the beach which we visited twice this week. An employee scoops out the flavor of sorbet or ice cream that you have chosen, and then you get to put whatever toppings on it such as gummi bears, chocolate chips, whipped cream, caramel, sprinkles, etc.

We'll be leaving tomorrow morning. We will stop at a museum closer to NYC on the way home, but I won't be driving through the city again. Assuming we keep coming once a year, I think we'll visit Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on the way here or the way back in 2019 or 2020.

Happy birthday, USA!

While we were at the beach yesterday they had a flag ceremony around 6pm which included singing a couple of patriotic songs, saying the pledge of allegiance, and the kids marching around in a parade waving flags and wearing patriotic hats or tiaras. Most girls picked the tiara, but Nadia picked the hat. Aunt Janet had invited her son-in-law's brother's family to join us. Mike and Emma (age 4) were there most of the day, and then his wife showed up in the evening. She didn't get the day off of work because she is a ranger at a National Park, and they were having patriotic festivities yesterday. Oliver and Emma had a great time playing together yesterday. We had burgers and corn on the cob for dinner. The club was giving out free ice cream yesterday. Three of us chose to have chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. Oliver picked an ice cream cone. Then the kids also got ice cream cake later in the evening. They had their first experiences with silly string and watching Aunt Janet send several sky lanterns up into the sky. We stayed later than usual, and all three kids fell

asleep in the van on the way back to Aunt Janet's house. They usually use her jacuzzi tub to clean up after we get home from the beach (get rid of the sand and such) but yesterday the kids just wanted to change their clothes, brush their teeth, and climb in bed. Ian was the first one up this morning. Oliver woke up at 5:30, but thankfully he went back to sleep and slept almost 3 more hours. Ian and Nadia were playing in her room while Oliver was sleeping upstairs.

It didn't thunder yesterday, but the temperature did drop part way through the day which was greatly appreciated! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I think today will be our last day at the beach. We are driving back on Saturday. Nadia's friend from last year hasn't been here thus far this week. Her grandma told me she'll be arriving later this week, but Nadia made friends with someone else's granddaughter yesterday. There were definitely more kids at the beach yesterday than there had been on Monday or Tuesday.

I've made some progress on my syllabi for next semester this week. I would like to finish the math and student teaching syllabi within the next few days so that next week I can start focusing on the assessment class, which will take a lot more of my time because I haven't taught that course since 2012 and from 2010-2012 I taught it as an online course, which means the last time I taught it face-to-face was 2009. Yesterday morning I prepared my Sunday School lesson for this coming Sunday.

On Tuesday night Oliver's body kept ending up in a diagonal line in which he was taking up most of the bed and kept bumping into me. Last night I put two pillows as a barrier in between "his" side and "my" side of the bed, and that worked much better. My back usually is not keen on other mattresses when we sleep in a hotel or at someone else's house, but I have to say I really like the mattress on Aunt Janet's guest bed.
In light of staying up late last night (went to bed a little after 10:00). I want to hit the hay early tonight.

NYC

I guess this will be a week in review post as it's been a week since I've written anything here. The kids loved their horse back riding camp last week. Ian was thrilled that he made a new friend, a boy named Ari. Oliver rode Clyde (the pony) the first four days, but on the last day he rode a horse! I wish I had a picture of that. I did receive one photo of each child that I will scan and upload in the future. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I stayed down near where the camp was located. I did a little bit of shopping but mostly I was using my laptop. On Tuesday and Thursday I came home. On Thursday I took the van to get the tires rotated at Walmart. I did take the kids to their tennis lessons on Tuesday. I didn't end up doing so on Thursday because it was raining when I was driving to get the kids, and I was afraid it might be raining in Bloomsburg. I didn't want to drive all the way there only to find out the lessons were cancelled due to rain. Nadia tried to convince me to go anyhow, but we just came home.

Originally I had planned to take

the kids to a parade in Lewisburg on Saturday morning, a program at a state park in the afternoon, and fireworks in Lewisburg that night. Due to my exhaustion, the fact that it was REALLY hot (90's), and an invitation to a birthday party, I scratched all of those plans. We stayed home all day on Saturday with the exception of Isaiah's 5th birthday party.

On Sunday we drove into NYC. I have driven into Long Island many times, but I almost always avoid going through Manhattan. I usually go by way of the Bronx. When I have gone into NYC to see a Broadway show, I have usually driven to Newark, parked the car, and taken the PATH train into the city because the parking is cheaper in Newark, and I didn't want to drive in NYC. Granted it was a Sunday, which I am sure made it better than usual, but I have to say it was less stressful than I anticipated. I parked right by Times Square. It took almost exactly 3 hours from getting in the van to parking it, including a stop for gas. The kids had never been to Times Square before so

we explored a little. They were amazed at a two story McDonald's, enjoyed the Tangled themed escalator in the Disney Store, and thought Donald Trump was there (it was just someone dressed up and talking like him). Nadia shopped in the Disney store but didn't end up spending her birthday money until later. I bought Oliver a pair of $2 flip flops on the third floor of the Old Navy store. The reason I drove to Manhattan was to take the kids to National Geographic's Ocean Odyssey. We spent about one hour there, and Nadia bought a plush dolphin in the gift shop. Hopefully the next time we return to that area we'll be able to see a show (maybe Aladdin, Wicked, Lion King, or Anastasia). The traffic wasn't bad getting out of Manhattan, but we did hit some traffic on Long Island. It took us about 1 hour plus 45 minutes to drove to Aunt Janet's house. The island is long like the name implies! We had eaten a packed lunch as we drove to NYC, and she had dinner waiting for us when we arrived at her place.

After we ate dinner, we swam in the indoor pool. It's a heated pool, but actually since it's been so hot lately, the water in the outdoor pool is actually warmer than the indoor pool! Yesterday and today we swam in the morning (outdoor pool yesterday and both pools this morning) for about two hours and then walked back to her place for lunch and then in the afternoon drove to the beach. We had dinner in her cabana yesterday and today. The first thing the kids noticed yesterday in the water were horseshoe crabs. Their mating season is taking place later than usual this year. Sometimes you will see just one horseshoe crab swimming by you, but typically they are found as pairs. We also saw some coming up and burying their eggs in the sand. Ian was thrilled to see them. Nadia was a bit scared of them, and this meant she didn't spend nearly as much time swimming yesterday as she normally would have. Today none of us spent much time in the water at the beach because it was thundering. We left right after we ate dinner. In the evenings we've been playing games that

we brought such as Suspend, Apples to Apples, Big Picture, and Life. Nadia is sleeping in a sofa bed downstairs. The boys and I are upstairs. Ian and Oliver started out in a sofa bed upstairs, and I was in the guest bed. Around midnight the first night I had Oliver join me because it wasn't working too well for the boys to share a bed. Since then we've stuck with that arrangement that Oliver and I share a queen bed and Ian sleeps near us in a sofa bed.

Although for some reason Oliver refused to get in the pool at Isaiah's birthday party (even though it was beastly hot outside), he has been doing a great job in the swimming pools. Each day he gets braver and braver! Today he swam half of the length of the outdoor pool multiple times, and for a good chunk of that the water was too deep for him to stand. Yahoo! I'm hoping by the end of the summer he'll be a confident swimmer like his siblings.

The dolphin Nadia bought cost $20, and she only had $15. I told her she could pay me back. Well yesterday she lost two teeth so that enabled her to pay me back $2 of the $5 she owed me, ha ha!