Florida trip #6

Nadia and Ian have been on vacation in Florida six times in their lives. This is Oliver's fourth trip because their first two trips were in 2010 and 2011. The last time we were in Florida was in May 2015 with Paul's parents. We spent the past six days in Floriday. Last Saturday we were in Jacksonville, and we spent Sunday in St. Augustine. On Monday morning as we drove from Daytona Beach to the Canaveral National Seashore, we stopped at Dunkin for breakfast bagels. Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we got our National Park passport books stamped, watched a 15-minute video about the park, and picked up three Junior Ranger badge booklets. We then spent the next several hours at the beach. During our time in the park, we saw a variety of lizards, birds, and more gopher tortoises. Usually when I pack for a vacation, I like to pack two days before we're leaving because it gives me an opportunity to remember things I forgot to pack. Because we went to church and Knoebels two days before we left for this vacation, I didn't pack until the day before our trip. The things that I wish we had brought include: the kids' Union kepis, waterproof bag for the cell phone, bug spray, something from Nadia's Hermoine costume for her to wear at Universal, ChapStick, beach umbrella, and beach chair. I rented an umbrella and chair at North Beach on Tybee Island, but that wasn't possible at Canaveral. We had brought a shovel, bucket, beach towels, and a tarp for the sand. I don't ever want to spend that many hours lying on the sand again. It is not comfortable! The waves were a bit too strong for me. Of the five of us, Oliver is the least prone to getting sunburned, and Ian and Nadia are the most prone to getting sunburned. All five of us got at least some sunburn on Monday despite the fact we used a lot of sunscreen. On our way out of the park, we stopped at the Visitor Center so the kids could receive their Junior Ranger badges and patches, and we also used showers near the entrance to the park before changing out of our swimsuits. We had dinner at Olive Garden and then drove to our hotel in Orlando. The hotel had a pool, but we had already swum enough that day. 

On Tuesday morning I woke the kids up prior to 7:00am for the first time since the day we had left for vacation. I would have gotten them up even earlier than I did, but the hotel didn't start serving breakfast until 7:00am, and we wanted to eat breakfast as we only eat two meals a day when we are on vacation. We then drove a very short distance to one of Universal Studios hotels. We checked in many hours before our room was ready because the room keys allowed us to go in the Express lines for most of the rides. This was the entire reason we spent one night at one of their hotels. They didn't provide any free breakfast, we had to pay parking, and it was the only room I reserved during our vacation that didn't include a sofa bed for Nadia. Nadia slept on the floor as we didn't bother bringing a air mattress on the trip for just one night. The hotel also cost FAR more than we've ever spent for one night before, but it was worth it because we could use the Express passes for two days for all five of us, and those typically cost $110 per person per day plus tax. Also, we were allowed to enter the park an hour before it opened each day. I was trying to get in the park at 8:00 and go directly to Hagrid's motorbike, but by the time we checked in and rode the water taxi, it was about 8:20 when we entered the park. The line for Hagrid's motorbike ride was already 2.5 hours long, and that is one of the few rides that doesn't have an Express line. We stayed in the park until 9pm, and during that time according to my phone we walked 11.8 miles. I wasn't the only one having leg or foot pain in our family by the end of that day! 

Originally, I hadn't planned to buy the tickets that included the ability to directly from one park to the other. We never bought that kind of ticket when we went to Disney because it costs more, but we ended up getting them this time because it was the only way to ride the Harry Potter train. I personally have issues with how very expensive it is to visit Disney or Universal. It just doesn't seem worth the hefty price tag to me when I compare it to what it costs to go to Carowinds, Six Flags, DelGrosso's, or Knoebels. The kids had a good time, but I doubt we'll return to Disney or Universal again. In hindsight, since we bought tickets for two days, I think we should have skipped the two-park option. Although we spent a full day at the park on Tuesday, we really only needed a little time on Wednesday to finish up. If I had to do it over again, I would have bought park to park tickets for just one day. I think one full day would have been enough to do both parks. Considering it cost a LOT of money to spend a day there, we stayed until around 5pm while the kids repeated some of their favorite rides. They rode their favorite one a total of six times! The kids were not interested in getting photos with any characters, and we didn't watch the parade. We caught a minute or two of a couple of shows in Islands of Adventure, but we did watch two shows in Universal Studios. One show featured animals that have been in movies, tv shows, or commercials (dogs, birds, etc.). The other was a Bourne stunt show. The Express pass worked well most of the time. It didn't work well on a King Kong ride because we waited for 80 minutes even with our Express passes whereas the wait time advertised for the NON express line was supposed to have been 50 minutes. There were two popular rides that didn't have an Express line, but we waited until the wait time dropped under an hour and then Nadia and Ian used the single rider line. I think they waited about 45 minutes (much better than 2.5 hours!). There were many times we waited less than 10 minutes thanks to the Express passes. Our other "splurge" at the park was buying Nadia an interactive wand. The kids have wanted to buy a similar type of wand at Great Wolf Lodge, and we've never done so, but since Nadia is a big fan of the Harry Potter books and movies, we got it for her as an early birthday present. In my opinion it wasn't worth the hefty price tag. I'm thankful we only bought one wand. I saw many families who had purchased multiple wands. As it is our two days at Universal accounted for about 50% of the cost of our fifteen-day vacation.

Andersonville National Historic Park

On Tuesday we ate at the Leaky Cauldron, which was in Universal Studios. We planned to eat at Three Broomsticks on Wednesday in Islands of Adventure, but we got breakfast at Cinnabon inside the park since breakfast wasn't included (it was cheaper than what they were selling in the hotel), and since we didn't stay as long as planned on Wednesday, we had dinner at IHOP after we left the park. Although we didn't have a meal at Three Broomsticks, we did buy one cup of Butterbeer that Nadia and Ian shared. Since it tasted a bit like cream soda mixed with root beer, Ian really liked it because he loves root beer. The kids were lobbying to swim at the hotel's pool, but we just drove to Tampa. It is a bit ironic because the swimming pools at that hotel were MUCH fancier and larger than any other hotel we've stayed in for many years, and we didn't swim in them at all, but we were there not for the pool but for the "free" Express passes. We did ride two water rides on Wednesday and got so soaked that the kids didn't even want to ride the third water ride! Nadia and Ian rode far more rides than Paul, Oliver, and I. I rode the fewest rides because of motion sickness issues. 

On Thursday we visited our fourth and final amusement park for this vacation - Busch Gardens. I hadn't planned to purchase the Quick Queue passes for Busch Gardens. The only other times we've ever used any sort of "fast pass"

was at Disney (where they didn't cost money) and at Universal (where we got for free through our hotel). At Carowinds, we didn't regret that we hadn't purchased fast lane passes. The park opened at 10:00. It took longer to get from the parking lot and through security than I had anticipated, so we didn't actually reach the first ride until 10:30. The line was already very long. Nadia and Ian waited 90 minutes to ride the first rollercoaster. At that point I decided to buy two quick queue passes for them. I bought the "cheaper" option that they could only use once per ride. It was worth the $40 I paid for each because we used the pass on ten rides, and most of the time they had a very short wait. Oliver and Nadia used the pass for the two water rides, and Ian and Nadia used the pass for eight roller coasters. Oliver rode one of those roller coasters without an Express pass. I had purchased the Busch Gardens tickets using credit card points, and I had selected the pass plus "eat free" option. The Busch Gardens website only mentions a "eat free all day" option so I thought that is what I had purchased. I usually take fruit snacks and granola bars in my purse when we are skipping lunch, but I hadn't taken any snacks in on Thursday because I thought we were getting two free meals plus free drinks. We were

disappointed when we found out that #1 we could only get one free meal and #2 although the all day dining pass could be redeemed at Chick Fil A, the one free meal pass could not. Busch Gardens is a large park, and it was only open for 8 hours on Thursday. In addition to the rides, there are many animals there such as giraffes, lions, tigers, elephants, etc. We saw some of the animals, but didn't have time to see all of them due to the time spent riding rides. 

Our last hurrah in the state of Florida was snorkeling with manatees in Crystal River. In the winter there are 900+ manatees here on a daily basis. There are only 30-40 that stay there all year. We had to get up at 6:00am. Thankfully we were staying at a hotel that was only 6 minutes away from where the boat was launched, and the hotel began serving breakfast at 6:30. We wore wet suits for the adventure. As a child I loved spending time at amusement parks, but at my stage of life I much prefer snorkeling with manatees. This activity took almost four hours altogether. Not counting the two employees, there were three couples on our tour. We were the only American guests on the boat as the other couples were from Switzerland, Germany, and British Columbia. Next, we drove back to Georgia. It was raining duringp part of our 4.5-hour drive, but it still hasn't rained while we've been outside during our vacation, for which we are very thankful! While we drive, we alternate between listening to audiobooks and listening to the radio while two kids have screen time. At the beginning of the trip we were listening to a book from Lamplighter, but lately we've been using Audible to listen to The Man Born to Be King (BBC radio drama about the life of Christ) and The Candymakers. We will be in Georgia until Sunday night. We toured the Andersonville POW camp. It was overwhelming to think that there were 2,000 soldiers living in each acre of that small camp. The kids earned Junior Ranger badges, and then we went to a pizza place. 

I had planned on using gift cards for almost all of our meals on the trip. The exceptions were the two meals at Universal Studios and twice eating pizza. The pizza tonight was at a very simple place in a strip mall where most of the costumers were getting their pizza by carryout, but it cost a lot more than I budgeted. For one thing, they charged almost $2 for a cup of tap water!!! I hope I have learned my lesson to ask how much a cup of tap water costs before I order four cups of it. The price of one large pizza down here is almost the same as two large pizzas where we live. We got one cheese pizza, a chocolate chip cookie that we shared, and drinks and the bill was around $40! I had budgeted $25 for that meal. We then drove to our hotel. Paul and the kids swam in the indoor pool for an hour before we watched some Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle on television. Thankfully, we don't need to get in our vehicle until 8:30 tomorrow morning.

Forts, Family, and Friends

On Saturday the kids each earned at least three Junior Ranger badges. Our first stop was Fort Frederica in Georgia. Our second stop was Kingsley Plantation in Jacksonville, Florida. The plantation owner's wife was a freed slave. It was definitely surprising to hear that as a free woman she owned slaves herself. Our third National Park site that day was Fort Caroline which is also part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve. My friend, Jo, whom I met online in 2003 lives less than ten minutes from Fort Caroline. Over the past years we've met in person three times in Pennsylvania and now twice in Florida. The last time we met at the Jacksonville Zoo in May of 2013. I had previously met her husband and two eldest children, but this was the first time I met her five-year-old daughter, Eden. We spent a few hours at their house and had a lovely time. The kids played games together and also enjoyed meeting their kittens, and the adults enjoyed chatting together. Jo served a delicious dinner. Over the last nine years I've seen my Aunt Tina twice in Florida, once in Virginia (my dad's wedding), and twice in Maryland (funerals). Nine years ago, we spent time with Tina at the zoo, her apartment and swimming pool, and a beach near her home in Ponte Vedra Beach. On this trip she was originally planning to meet us on Sunday in St. Augustine, but due to car trouble, she asked her best friend to drive her to our hotel on Saturday evening. She and Janice spent about two hours visiting with us at the indoor pool at our hotel. It wasn't exactly the most photogenic place for photos, but we got some. Sadly, I forgot to take more pictures at my friend's house. I only snapped one showing Noah, Ian, and Nadia playing a game together. I had originally thought of trying to also connect with two friends from my childhood who live in Atlanta on this trip, but when it turns out they live west of Atlanta. I'm thankful that we were able to spend time with dad, Margie, Tina, and Jo's family. 

We visited forts #14-15 on Sunday. The kids enjoyed these two the most of the five we saw on this vacation. Our first stop was Castillo de San Marcos, which was a Spanish fort built in St. Augustine over 300 years ago. Oliver just earned a badge. Ian and Nadia earned both a badge and a patch. And they each received a Spanish "gold" doubloon after they played a game the soldiers played hundreds of years ago. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings we had a very nice hot breakfast. We typically don't eat lunch on vacation. We had packed sandwiches for our first day, and we had lunch with dad and Margie the second day, but since then we haven't had lunch. It's much easier to skip lunch when we have a nice breakfast. You could argue that our lunch yesterday was chocolate because we participated in a chocolate tasting tour at Whestone Chocolate from 11:15-12:15. We learned about the history of chocolate and this company in particular, walked through the factory (which wasn't in operation since we were there on a Sunday), and tasted five different kinds of chocolate plus one kind of fudge. Our tour guide was hysterical! Paul's favorites were the San Marco blend white chocolate and the cookies and cream fudge. Nadia's favorite was the De Leon blend dark chocolate that contained 47% cocoa. The healthiest one we ate was the Menendez blend dark chocolate that had 72% cocoa. My favorite was the Aviles blend milk chocolate, which had 31% cocoa. Paul and the kids each purchased a treat of some sort in the gift shop after our tour concluded. There are so many different sites one can visit in St. Augustine. The kids wished I had included the Alligator Farm on the itinerary. I hadn't because we visit Reptiland near our home once a year. I'm going to try to keep that request in mind for future reference now that I know they would have enjoyed that. We had planned to visit the lighthouse, but it was closed for renovations. Our last stop in St. Augustine was Fort Matanzas. It was a smaller fort, but we rode a free ferry out to the fort, climbed up a steep ladder through a very narrow hole to get to the top of the fort, and enjoyed seeing a variety of animals on a nature trail such as gopher tortoises, lizards, crabs, etc.  Oliver just earned a badge. Ian and Nadia earned both a badge and a patch. I should also add that it's such a relief not to need to wear masks at National Parks like we had to in 2021. COVID hasn't really been a factor at all on this vacation so far, which is a first in 2+ years.

We had an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse and played miniature golf before we checked in at our hotel at Daytona Beach. Paul came in first at miniature golf, I was second, Ian was third, and Oliver came in fourth. The kids each made at least one hole in one, but Paul and I didn't accomplish that feat. This hotel doesn't include a free breakfast, so we'll be stopping at Dunkin Donuts this morning. Since this place also doesn't have a swimming pool, we let the kids swim in the ocean last night. I picked a suite that had two bedrooms plus two sofa beds. Since Nadia usually has the sofa bed on our vacations, we let her have one of the queen size beds, and the boys each slept on a sofa bed in the living room. They usually sleep together in the same bed on vacation, so they enjoyed having their own beds last night. 

It has rained a few times during our vacation thus far, but it's never rained when we've been outside for which we are thankful. It was really hot on Thursday and Friday, but since we were at the beach on Friday, the only time it really bothered us was on Thursday. Despite using sunscreen many times that day, Ian and Nadia both got sunburned pretty badly on Friday. Today is our next day at the beach. We're using different sunscreen and hoping they don't get any more sunburn today! As for my ankle, it bothered me quite a bit when we were walking on the beach last night, but in general it hasn't been much of a factor at all on this trip! I'm so thankful that unlike our last vacation I'm not wearing a boot, using crutches, using office chairs as wheelchairs, etc. I'm not taking my mobility for granted!!!

Fort Matanzas

Fort #11

Paul, Ian, and Nadia have all driven through Georgia en route to Florida in the past. I spoke at a conference in Atlanta in March of 2008, and I think that is the only other time I've been in Georgia. Yesterday was the first time that any of us visited a site in the state. Our first stop was Fort Pulaski. Over the last 4.5 years we've visited the following forts: Fort Ligonier (PA), Fort McHenry (MD), Fort Frederick (MD), Old Fort Niagara (NY), Fort George (Canada), Fort Hunter (PA), Fort Sumter (SC), Fort Ticonderoga (NY), Fort Smith (AR), and Fort Boonesborough (KY). We are planning to visit two forts in Georgia and three forts in Florida on this vacation, all of which are National Parks. One interesting fact about Fort Pulaski was that it is very close to the location where John Wesley gave his first sermon on American soil in 1736. After we toured Fort Pulaski and the kids earned a Junior Ranger badge, we spent the next six hours at North Beach on Tybee Island. Although Nadia prefers forts over battlefields, she's not a fan of forts so she was thrilled that most of the day was spent at a beach. Earning Junior Ranger badges does help her to have a better attitude. The kids and Paul played in the ocean and also in the sand. I kept thinking about our trips to Long Island over the last five years. We had eaten breakfast at the Red Roof Inn that morning, and I went and got us a large pizza to share around 3pm. During our 1.5-hour drive south to our next hotel, we stopped at a Rita's for dessert. The kids swam in the outdoor pool of the hotel last night. Nadia had her own "apartment" again in Savannah as the sofa bed was in another room of the suite. The room we stayed in last night just had the sofa bed next to the two beds, but the beds in this hotel were FAR more comfortable than the ones the previous night. My back is rather particular, but thankfully of the first four nights of the trip I've only had one bad night in terms of my back. Also, I am very pleased to say that my ankle has continued to improve over the last four days. I don't recall having any ankle pain yesterday, and that's such a relief!

Oliver in the prison where the Confederate prisoners of war were held

Georgia!

This morning we woke up in North Carolina and then spent about seven hours bopping back and forth between North and South Carolina because we were at Carowinds, an amusement park that is located on the line dividing those two states. It was a HOT day. The high was in the mid 90's, but the "real feel" was well above 100 degrees. Unfortunately, the water portion of the park doesn't open for another 8 days so we didn't have any opportunities to get wet. Thankfully, I had purchased a drink cup ahead of time for $16 which enabled us to have free refills all day long (as frequently as every fifteen minutes). We mostly asked for Powerade. Once we got lemonade, one time Hi-C, one time Root beer, and Paul got some other soda a couple of times. They also give our free cups of water. We didn't purchase any food in the park. I brought in a couple of granola bars and a few packages of fruit snacks for our lunch for the day. We were very ready for dinner at Denny's after we left the park because the grab and go breakfast this morning was very minimal.

Thankfully, the park was not crowded. In the beginning of the day the kids were able to walk right on to the major roller coasters. They did have to wait some later in the day to repeat some of the roller coasters, but in general the lines

were nonexistent or very reasonable in length. The majority of the guests were school groups. In addition to the water section not being open, there were some other major rides that didn't operate today, but the kids still rode quite a few rides. Ian now enjoys riding just about every ride in an amusement park, which is a big improvement for him. I am very proud of him! Nadia has always been eager to ride any ride a park has deemed her tall enough to ride. Oliver has a lot of room for growth in being willing to at least try something once before deciding if he does or doesn't like a particular ride. Near the end of our time at the park he finally rode one of the big rollercoasters. It didn't go upside down, but it went pretty high!

After we ate dinner, we drove three hours to Savannah, Georgia. This is Oliver's first time ever being in this state. Ian and Nadia drove through the state with Grandma and Pop Pop on their way to and from Florida, but tomorrow will be their first time doing something in the state. When we get home, I'll be able to add another picture to our map that is on our family room wall. Georgia is the 37th state the kids have been in - only 13 to go! Thankfully the kids and Paul were able to swim in the outdoor pool at this hotel, and

I think the breakfast will be much better tomorrow morning compared to what was in the brown bags this morning. It's supposed to be really hot again tomorrow, but since we're planning to spend the majority of the day at the beach, we shouldn't mind the heat as much tomorrow because we can get wet!

I checked in with our neighbors, and she said Milo is doing great! He's sleeping with Karyss, and Maddox has been feeding him and taking him out to go to the bathroom. We miss him, and we're relieved that he's doing well so far. That is an answer to prayer! 

First two days of vacation

I am happy to say that we survived the grueling week of play practices last week. I'm not certain if I'll be willing to do that again, but the kids did a good job at both performances. Paul and Pop Pop attended the show on Thursday night. Oliver, Tab, Micah, and I attended on Friday night. I was told that I would need to stay until 10:45pm to help with cleaning, but thankfully another mom came up to me and offered to do my assignment for me. That literally brought me to tears. I was so exhausted, and it was such a relief to be able to leave at 9:15pm. On Saturday I stayed at home sweet home all day. Kay and Allen spent a few hours at our house playing games and eating dinner. On Sunday we went to church, came home to change clothes, get Milo, and eat lunch, and then the five of us plus Milo and Nadia's friend, Jill, drove to Knoebels. Melinda and her son, Xander, met us at the park. We had six free handstamps. I didn't use mine, so we gave our two extra stamps to Xander and Jill. The forecast was not the best, but I think that was a blessing because I think that was likely the reason the park wasn't crowded. It rained a little around 5pm, but they didn't close the rides, and many people left the park at that time. We stayed until a little after 7pm. Everyone, including Milo, had a great day!  Paul went to work on Monday. I had a very busy day between a 2-hour

appointment for the van, a haircut, packing, mowing, buying some clothes for Paul and the kids at Walmart, and weed whacking. It rained on and off which made it more of a challenge to finish mowing the lawn, but I did manage to finish before it got dark. 

We left the house at 6:45 on Tuesday morning. I had made egg and cheese bagel sandwiches for everyone, and we had packed our lunch. Our first stop was Catoctin Mountain National Park in Maryland. We hiked for one hour, and I didn't break any bones! Our second stop was Harper's Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia. The kids earned two Junior Ranger badges on Tuesday. We had dinner and spent the night at dad and Margie's house. We played games and played with their cat (Onyx) and kitten (Ollie). We all slept well last night because we had gotten up earlier than usual (I had gotten up at 5:15am). The only thing we spent money on that day was gas and a magnet that we bought at Harper's Ferry. Thankfully the gasoline is cheaper than in Pennsylvania. 

This morning Margie served a large, scrumptious breakfast of bacon, eggs, potatoes, grapes, donuts, and English muffins, and we also made sandwiches with her homemade bread for our supper this evening. She also sent us with some of the kids' favorite snacks. Dad and Margie had wanted to visit the National D-Day Memorial for a few years, and it finally happened this morning. After a guided tour of the memorial, they treated everyone to lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I think it was the first time the kids ate in a Ruby Tuesday. After a late lunch, they returned to their home, and we drove 30 minutes to the Booker T. Washington National Monument. The kids earned another Junior Ranger badge. Since we had a large breakfast and ate lunch at a sit-down restaurant, we had sandwiches in the van while we drove for three hours to Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally, we had planned to spend time at two attractions in this city, but those places weren't actually open today. We planned to swim in the outdoor pool at the hotel, but there wasn't any water in the pool. The breakfast tomorrow is "grab and go" which certainly isn't our preference, but it's better than nothing. Our hotel room is a suite. The second room has a sofa bed and a full kitchen. I told Nadia she has her own apartment!

I have taken VERY few pictures for the past eight months, but over the last six days I've taken quite a few. At the moment it's hard to choose which ones to include in this post! I will post more of them in the future as it's time to go to bed. 

Exhausted!

Last Thursday was our last day of "school." To me the counting of days is rather arbitrary. We listen to audiobooks almost if not every day of the year. On Friday the kids participated in a three-hour program about soil at Ricketts Glen State Park; so obviously I'm still trying to provide the kids with educational experiences even if we're officially on summer break. Saturday morning Nadia and I planned to spend multiple hours shopping at yard sales as she needs summer clothes, but the almost non-stop rain we had on Friday and Saturday thwarted those plans along with my plan to mow the lawn. Our youth pastor and his family came over for dinner at our home that evening. His wife grew up in Thailand, and it was interesting to learn more about her experiences. 

The Stars on Ice show had two other performances in Pennsylvania which were actually closer to our home than Pittsburgh, but those shows were at 7:30pm, and since I'm not a night owl, I chose the 4:00 show in Pittsburgh. If I had known that Nadia's drama rehearsal schedule would be so demanding this week, I wouldn't have made the choice I did. On Sunday morning we left our house around 7:15am. Our first stop was the Carnegie Science Center which is right next to the Steelers' stadium. Unfortunately, because there was a flood warning for the Ohio River that day, the submarine was closed. We are 0-3 in touring that submarine! Our time in the science museum included a planetarium show and a program about liquid nitrogen. The last time we were there we had seen the electricity program that featured a Tesla coil. Our only cost (aside from gas to get there) was parking. I had planned to use gift cards at a TGIF near the Penguins' stadium, but it turned out the restaurant has permanently closed. We rolled with the punches and shared a large pizza instead. Eating a pizza is faster than eating at TGIF so we had some time so spare and considered visiting another site in the city, but in the end, we opted to arrive at the ice show earlier. The show was outstanding; our two favorites were Nathan Chen and Jason Brown. For 10+ years I've had this experience where I well up with happy tears when I'm experiencing something special with my kids. That hadn't happened for about 3 years, but in the past, it's happened when I took the kids to the circus, Disney on Ice, a Broadway musical, etc. Even though I find it a bit embarrassing to shed happy tears at random moments, I'm truly grateful for the privilege to create memories with my three kids. Oliver gave me a Mother's Day card on Saturday, Ian gave me one on Sunday morning, and Nadia made me one during the drive to Pittsburgh. I also received a card from my dad and Margie. Since we had a very early "dinner" at 2:15pm, we stopped for ice cream at Dairy Queen on the drive home. We got home around 10pm and were so very thrilled to receive a very good report from our neighbor about Milo's behavior at their home in our absence. We tried to give them $20, but they declined any payment, which was very kind of them. Hopefully this means he will be a little angel while we're on vacation for the last two weeks of May. 

Monday morning the kids and I were out the door a little before 8:30 for drama. I was planning to sign Nadia up for drama at the co-op next spring as well as sign Nadia and Ian both up for art at the co-op next spring, but this tech week schedule has been BRUTAL. As of now I'm thinking I'll sign them up for chorus and possibly art at the Christian school instead. What made the schedule particularly repulsive to me was the fact that they were expecting the four of us to spend 48 hours at the church this week. I have never been asked to stay at any of Nadia's drama rehearsals over the last nine years that she's been involved in theatre. Ian helped out as a member of the stage crew. Oliver helped some and played some. I was working in the kitchen for many of those hours as three of us were responsible for cooking dinner for eighty people four nights in a row plus providing snacks for the cast all the hours they were there. I pushed myself too much on Monday as I was up at 6am cooking our dinner, started mowing the lawn around 4:15pm after we got home from drama, finished mowing and weed whacked after dinner, and then cooked sloppy joe meat to bring to the co-op on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday morning I was not in good shape physically or emotionally. I chipped a tooth the day before Easter, and the earliest I could be seen by the dentist was May 10. At the time I thought my 2pm appointment would mean Nadia was only leaving a little early from drama, but they lengthened the rehearsal that day to 11 hours long. Although I don't enjoy having my mouth numb for 3 hours, I was thankful that the dentist appointment gave us an excuse to leave much earlier that day. Lately the only places we've had to wear masks have been medical facilities. I was pleased to see that masks are now optional at the dentist for the first time in two years. 

I have been careful NOT to push myself at home the last three days, although I have still taken Milo for a 30-60 minute walk each day. This morning we had our homeschool evaluation from 9-10am. Thankfully our evaluator came to our home. Paul didn't get home from work until 9:15pm on Monday. I asked him to come home a bit earlier on Wednesday for Milo's sake as the kids and I didn't get home from co-op until 9:30pm that night. Paul and Pop Pop plan to attend Nadia's show this evening. Oliver and I left around 6:30pm to come home since Paul could take Nadia and Ian home. The Schrecks, Oliver, and I plan to attend the show tomorrow night. There was a cast/crew party this evening that was supposed to last until midnight (seriously are these people all energizer bunnies?), but our kids aren't participating due to the time of day the party is being held and the fact we will have another long day tomorrow. Our evaluator took literally more than 1,000 pictures during a dress rehearsal yesterday, so I didn't bring my good camera to the co-op yet. I probably will bring my camera tomorrow, but since she was allowed to move in very close to the actors, I hope she got some great shots.

Part of what has made the week challenging for me is the number of hours I have spent on my feet every day. The pain level has gone up dramatically over the last four days, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise if it will help me to be better prepared for our upcoming vacation? I'm learning to just deal with the pain as I refuse to be a couch potato any longer. On Saturday I had two things on the agenda - a program about snakes and a couple I've known for 26 years (they're in their 80's) are coming up for dinner at our house. I think we're going to skip the snake program as this week has been very draining for me. On Sunday we're planning to go to church and then to Knoebels. Monday I'll be getting ready for our vacation: mowing the lawn, getting a haircut, getting the oil changed and the tires rotated on the van, and packing. And Tuesday will be the first day of our vacation. The primary election is on Tuesday, so I mailed in an absentee ballot today. Sometimes I feel like it's challenging to know whom to vote for in a primary election. I rarely have that conundrum during a general election.

Today marks exactly one year since Paul's mom passed away. I was given one thing of hers following her passing - a yellow tablecloth. I have that tablecloth on our dining room table now, and I think of her every time I look at the table. I'm grateful that she's no longer in any pain, but we miss her very much! Unfortunately, Oliver doesn't have any memories of my mom because he was only three when she passed away. Thankfully, all three of my kids have memories of Paul's mom. 

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is in five days! For about ten years of my life Mother's Day was a challenging day for me emotionally because I wondered if I'd ever be a mother. Finally, at the age of 36 I was pregnant with Nadia on Mother's Day, which made the day very different than previous ones. I was also pregnant on Mother's Day when I was 37 and 40. I really, really wanted to spend Mother's Day in 2016 with my mom, but she insisted I spend it with my children. I knew it would be her last Mother's Day on earth, and it was. Paul's mom passed away a few days after Mother's Day last year. I am very thankful for my mom, Paul's mom, and the fact that I've been blessed with three children on earth and more children in heaven. If I made a list of the biggest blessings in my life, my three kids would be near the top of that list. Friday night I took Nadia and Ian to a For King and Country concert in Binghampton, NY, which is a little over two hours from our home. Normally, I would not be willing to drive that far for a concert, but I love my kids very much and that group has been Nadia's favorite for several years. We paid $4 for parking but attended the concert for free as we were volunteers with Compassion. 105 children were sponsored that night! We had been signed up to volunteer at one of their concerts in Hershey in 2020, but it was postponed until October 2021, and I couldn't take them then because of my ankle surgery. Unfortunately, Ian got carsick for the first time in his life about 45 minutes after we left home. Cleaning up vomit is definitely one of my least favorite parts of motherhood. Some of my favorite moments include hugs, reading books together, worshipping together in church, doing service projects together, and making memories together on vacations, at amusement parks, field trips, etc. At the bottom of this post, I included a short video that a man from our church made on Saturday about a Voice of the Martyrs service project we participated in. The kids and I are in the video. Thankfully, he didn't show the time when a trailer crashed on my head. Ouch!!! The woman who witnessed the incident was afraid I had a concussion. 

As I was growing up, the only pets we had were cats. When I moved to Annapolis in 1994, I took my cat, Snowflake, with me, but he had a very difficult time being left alone all day when my roommates and I were at work. I ended up taking Snowflake back to my parents' house, and he was much happier there. The next time I lived in a home with a pet was December 2016 when we got our first two guinea pigs. I've known other people who consider their dog to be their child. I never felt that way about a cat or the guinea pigs, but I admit I do feel like I'm a mom of Milo. He follows me around the house whether I'm collecting dirty laundry or vacuuming the carpet. When I go to the bathroom, he waits for me outside the bathroom door. My mom would have called him my shadow. Thankfully his behavior has improved a LOT over the last 16+ months that he's been in our family. We don't even lock him in the crate when we leave the house, although we still make sure the bathroom and bedroom doors are closed before we leave. He's turned into an obedient dog (most of the time anyhow) and has always been a very affectionate dog. Now to hope and pray that he will handle our vacation better than he did last September. He'll be spending most of our vacation with our next-door neighbors and Memorial Day weekend at a kennel. Unfortunately, he'll be spending a lot of time at home alone next week due to Nadia's lengthy drama rehearsals. Considering that for decades I wasn't fond of dogs, it's quite amazing to me how much I love Milo. 

I am also very grateful for the privilege to be a stay-at-home homeschooling mom as this enables me to spend many more hours with them each week. Our 180th day of school will be tomorrow, but Thursday will be our last day of school. We're planning to attend a three-hour program about soils for homeschoolers at a state park on Friday. Including field trip days, I believe we'll hit 194 days by the end of June. I've done most of the lesson planning for next school year. We never have a guarantee what will happen tomorrow (much less a year from now), but I definitely feel more comfortable making longer range plans now than I did the last two years. For example, Nadia has been asking for a few years for us to see the Broadway musical, Wicked. I haven't purchased the tickets yet, but I have tentative plans for us to see it in Saint Louis in April 2023. As of May 1, attending a Broadway show no longer includes a requirement to show proof of vaccination (yay!). 

Physically I take after my dad more than my mom, but there are certainly ways I take after my mom. Enjoying planning vacations would be one example. Growing up my mom tried to include an industrial tour on our vacations when possible. I recently read a list of the 25 best factory tours in the USA. I have no idea why they included the White House on the list of factories. Of the 24 factories listed, we've been to five of them so far (Crayola, Henry Ford, Julius Sturgis, Turkey Hill, and Louisville Slugger). We have also been on other industrial tours that weren't included in this list such as Corning Glass, Hershey, Purity Candy, Martin Guitar, BWP Bat, Schimpff's Confectionery, Boone Creek Creamery, and Salt Works. We have plans to visit eight others from the list of twenty-four: Jelly Belly (2023), PEZ (2022), World of Coca Cola (2022), Utz (TBD), Ben & Jerry's (2022), American Whistle (2023), Boeing (2023), and Roasterie (2023). I had originally planned to visit Taza in September, but I think that one will be eliminated. We had tickets to tour the White House in 2020, but those were cancelled. I do want to take them there at some point over the next four years, but I don't consider the White House to be a factory. I also have plans to take the kids on some other industrial tours not included on the list such as the Harley Davidson factory (PA), Tabasco Factory (LA), Snyders of Hanover (PA), Whetstone Chocolate (FL), Herr's Snack Tour (PA), Mack Truck (PA), and Herbaria Soap (MO). I haven't given any thought yet to what we might see and do when we visit Alaska and Hawaii so it's possible that I might add another industrial tour to the list in the future.

Speaking of planning vacations, I've had to make several changes to our upcoming vacation recently. Flexibility is vital! I had to eliminate Monocacy Battlefield (which thrilled Nadia and was a big disappointment to Paul), Discovery Science Center, Billy Graham Library, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove, C&O Canal, the National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse due to changes to the days of the week the site is open or construction. I added some new stops to replace some of the ones that were deleted such as Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Catoctin Mountain, National D-Day Memorial, and Booker T. Washington. The kids will still have the opportunity to earn a total of twenty Junior Ranger badges during the vacation. They are most excited about the two beach days, four amusement park days, and swimming with the manatees. 

I love my husband and children very, very much, but celebrating birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, etc. is not their forte. There have been years when my birthday wasn't celebrated at all. This year I planned a special outing for the family on my birthday, and I'm glad I did because I received three birthday cards this year - one from my dad/Margie, one from a lady in our Sunday School class, and one from my friend Tab's sons.  I received two gifts. Ian and Nadia together purchased a digital book for me, which I read a few days after my birthday, and my dad/Margie are going to pay for a new door for our home. It wasn't intentional, but it so happens that I scheduled a special outing for the family on Mother's Day this year, so the day will be special even if I don't receive anything. We are headed to Pittsburgh! Nadia wanted to see the Stars on Ice show for the first time, and we're also planning to visit the Carnegie Science Center for the second time. We didn't watch the Winter Olympics at all this year, but we're looking forward to seeing some of the ice skaters in person! When we visited the Carnegie Science Center in December 2016 with my dad, we weren't able to tour the USS Requin submarine in the Ohio River, but we should be able to tour it on Sunday.