Life Lists

Plane used on D-Day

My brother was an avid birder and as is true of many birders, he maintained a life list of all of the birds he had seen. My nephew, Adam, has more recently become an avid hiker and birder. I've been keeping some other life lists for my kids. I wish I had kept a list of all of the children's museums and science museums the kids have been to. We have visited thirty-eight states plus DC and Ontario so far. Our goal is that the kids will visit the other twelve states over the next four years; we might also go to Puerto Rico. If COVID hadn't made international travel more difficult, we'd have kept our plans to spend more time in Canada. Hopefully we can do so in the future if COVID tests and vaccinations are no longer required at some point. Other countries we are hoping to visit over the next four years include Guatemala, Ecuador, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. 

The kids have been to twenty-six different amusement parks so far, and I think we should hit at least thirty before Nadia graduates. I'm thinking that the next ones to be added to the list might be Six Flags St. Louis, Kennywood, King's Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. 

The kids have each earned approximately 140 Junior Ranger badges, but they earned about half of those at home. They have been to seventy-one National Park sites in person so far. We have plans to visit nineteen more in September. There are more badges that they could earn at home. As far as visiting National Park sites in person, I think we might visit 150 total by the time Nadia graduates from high school. I haven't given any thought to where we might go in Hawaii, but I am thinking that we might visit Denali and Kenai Fjords in Alaska. The kids should each definitely be able to achieve the goal of earning between 200-250 Junior Ranger badges. I told them that when they earn their 200th badge or patch, I will give them $50. 

I also have been keeping a record of the chapter books that we've read or listened to together. The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase was our 888th read aloud although that includes 51 books that we read more than once. I told the kids we'd do something special to celebrate when we finish our 1,000th book, but I'm not sure yet what that will be. I'm guessing we'll hit that mark sometime in 2023. I began reading chapter books aloud in December 2012, which means we've been averaging almost 100 books a year. 

Inside of the large airplane pictured above

Here are some things I am giving thanks for today:

1. We were able to spend a long weekend in Delaware; we are making progress toward our goal to visit every state! I would recommend The Dover Green (part of the First State National Park) and the Air Command Mobility Center (on the Air Force Base) if you are ever in Dover. Both sites were free and the tour guides at both locations were excellent. I found myself welling up with tears as we sat inside an airplane used on D-Day. If I could go back in time, I'd have picked something else to do in Wilmington before seeing Matilda, but as long as we use our zoo membership elsewhere over the next year, it won't have been a poor financial decision. 

2. Milo was a very good boy at the neighbor's house in our absence. It's such a relief to know he is handling our trips much better than he did last fall, and it's so convenient having our neighbor care for him. They very generously refused the money we offered them on Sunday evening when we returned. I'm going to take two of their kids on some fun outings this summer as a way of showing our gratitude.

3. Nadia and Ian are in South Carolina with our church's Bible quizzing team. Xandir came over for an eight hour play date yesterday. The boys played at our home, ate a delicious free lunch prepared by the local fire company at the playground, and swam for three hours. 

4. I lost four pounds in the first two weeks of my diet. Four down and nineteen more to go.

5. Paul and I have been enjoying watching episodes of All Creatures Great and Small via a PBS app together. Aside from The Chosen, it's been several years since he and I watched a show together, and this year we found two shows on PBS that we both enjoy (Around the World in 80 Days is the other one). 

6. It's definitely harder to find bargains in this time of inflation. I got a good deal on the deodorant Paul likes at CVS this week. I used coupons they had sent me plus it was on sale, and in the end, I paid less than a dollar total for two. A new Aldi opened in our area, and we received a $5 off coupon in the mail which I used, and I think that store opening prompted our local grocery store to issue four $5 off coupons that could be used on $25 purchases over a period of four weeks. Tab also received those coupons but doesn't shop at that store, so I ended up with nine $5 off coupons altogether! It's also been impossible to find two liters of Coke or Pepsi for less than $1.50 over the last 5.5 months, but Paul will also drink RC, and our local store has been selling that for 99 cents lately. 

7. I buy our cereal at Surplus Outlet, and a box I got there had a Nintendo code on it that Ian was very grateful to be able to use. If it weren't for Surplus Outlet, I don't think I'd be buying any cereal this year due to the soaring prices. 

8. I have been able to have lengthy phone conversations with three friends so far this week, which is a rare treat for me!

12.5 Years Old

 

I can't believe that Ian will be a teenager in six months!  He has finished his first year of being in middle school, in the church youth group, and on the Bible quizzing team. Thankfully, he still enjoys practicing the piano, although I still haven't been able to get him to play duets with me over the past year. Ian also still enjoys playing with the Nintendo Switch, reading, playing with Legos, playing with Nadia, listening to music, giving hugs, talking to his cousins (Joel and Nathan), and drawing with colored pencils. Over the past year he has switched to preferring to get up later in the mornings and has become braver at amusement parks. Lately he has been riding all of the thrill rides! Over the last year he's been wearing a retainer, and thankfully he's never lost it! A year ago, Milo was sleeping in his crate in Ian's bedroom, but now Milo sleeps in bed with either Ian or Nadia. As of today, Milo has been in our family for exactly 18 months. A little less than six months ago Ian's bed was transformed into a bunk bed, and he's been sleeping on the top bunk, which makes tucking him in at night more challenging. For the last several months he's been the only child who requests for one or both parents to come and kiss him goodnight in his bedroom. Although he's going into seventh grade, I'm planning on having him take Algebra 1 and complete a HS biology curriculum with Nadia this next school year. I love you so much, Ian, and I look forward to seeing how you will grow and develop in the coming months and years! 

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. 

Thankful Thursday

The last time I wrote a gratitude post was March 24. I'm not going to attempt to make a list today that encompasses all the time since then, but here are a few of the things that I'm thankful for today.

1. My ankle has improved SO much!!! I can walk as much as I want to. The only time I've had pain over the last couple of weeks has been when I stand for too long. I'm not sure why standing bothers me and walking doesn't, but I'm so grateful that I can walk for miles a day again!!! I've been taking Milo for multiple walks a day as long as it's not raining, and I've been walking an average of probably around 3 miles per day.

2. I hadn't attempted to lose any weight since August of 2020. I lost some in 2019, regained some of it, and lost it again in 2020. I started dieting again last Wednesday, and in the first seven days I lost 2.2 pounds. I'd like to lose 21 more. I really, really, really, really hope I do a better job of keeping it off this time around! I'm thankful I'm headed in the right direction.

3. Typically I haven't done a good job of inviting other people to our home for a meal aside from relatives. My goal is to have 12 couples or families come over for dinner in 2022 (not counting relatives). We've had three so far, and three more families or couples are already scheduled to come over sometime this summer. 

4. I'm so thankful that the family who lives across from us is always willing to give food and water to our guinea pigs when we're away. They'll be doing so this weekend when we're in Delaware. I'm also very thankful that another neighbor family takes care of Milo when we're away. After this weekend I don't think we'll need to ask for their help again until September, but it's a huge blessing to have someone who lives so close be willing to help us out. Some of the times they've even turned down the money we've tried to give them! 

5. Faith's mom helped me out a few times last week with taking Nadia and Ian to Bible quizzing practices which was a huge blessing. Her son, Xandir, and Oliver enjoyed playing together at our house during the practices. Yesterday the quizzing practice was held at Macey's home and included swimming and dinner. I served as the scorekeeper during the individual competition and quizmaster during the team competition. Oliver had a blast playing with the coach's three youngest children during the practice. 

6. We had a lovely vacation last month. Aside from being a little hotter than we prefer at the start of the trip, the weather was ideal. No bones were broken!!

7. I'm thankful for people who set up field trips in the area. We toured a snowboard factory yesterday, and on Tuesday we had a 90-minute tour of a courthouse that included a demonstration by a K-9 dog.

8. The candidate that I voted for Governor in the primary election won. Unfortunately, the person I really didn't want to win for Senator won by a very narrow margin. If I could go back in time, I would have voted for the man who was neck and neck with the winner instead of the woman I voted for although she did come in third place among the seven candidates. It's tempting to vote third party for Senator in the general election, but considering the make-up of the US Senate right now, I'll probably end up voting for the one who won and hoping against hope he'll be better than I think he will be. I am very thankful for the freedom to vote! I'm really glad I didn't live in the era when women were excluded from voting.

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.

2,972 miles

Last September we went on a 25-day vacation that involved driving around 7,000 miles through twenty-five different states and visiting twenty-seven National Park sites. Over the last fifteen days we drove 2,972 miles through nine states and visited sixteen National Park sites and four amusement parks. Last September we saw the license plates for all 50 states, DC, and several provinces of Canada during our vacation. This time we saw the license plates of 40 states, DC, and five provinces of Canada. We're going to see how long it takes us to spot license plates for the last ten states. For many years we've included at least one science museum in just about every vacation, but that didn't happen this time because the science museum in Charlotte wasn't open the day we were there and because the kids decided they'd rather spend more time at the Canaveral seashore, so we skipped the Orlando Science Center. We had visited the Carnegie Science Center earlier in May, but we didn't visit any during this vacation. During our trip in September the only times we saw any friends of family were when we visited my sister's family in Chicago and Nadia met her pen pal in person in Illinois. During this southeast trip we were able to spend time with my friend Jo and her family, my dad and Margie, and my Aunt Tina and her friend, Janice. With both trips we were very fortunate in terms of the weather. It was very hot at the start of this trip, but rain was never an issue, for which we were grateful. I worked on Duolingo every day during both vacations. During this recent vacation I achieved the badge in Duolingo that is earned by doing Duolingo every single day for a full year. We were also very thankful that no one broke any bones on this trip! Gasoline was definitely more expensive on this trip than our trip last fall. Of the nine states we drove through in May, the cheapest place to buy gas was in Georgia. We actually paid less than $4 a gallon once in that state! Here in Pennsylvania the price is inching closer to $5 a gallon. EEK!

I had made changes to the National Parks we would visit on the first and last days of our trip because some of the parks are currently only open five days a week. In September 2020 I learned to keep checking on the hours that places were open while we were on vacation because things were constantly changing. On this vacation I didn't do that, and this was a mistake in one instance. On Tuesday morning our first stop was the Peaks of Otter Visitor Center, which is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park. Unfortunately, it was closed, and driving there added about 40 minutes of driving time (round trip). Some of the other Visitor Centers in that park were open that day, but at that point we decided we'd rather just get home to Milo a little sooner. The kids earned another Junior Ranger badge at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, which is part of the Shenandoah National Park, after we hiked the Fox Hollow Trail. 

I took very few pictures from September 12, 2021 - April 30, 2022. I haven't made a photo book for 8 months, which again is very unusual for me. I took more pictures in the last month than I took over the combined previous

seven months. I'm going to make a video about our vacation and then start working on a photobook so that I will be ready the next time Shutterfly has an unlimited pages coupon code. There was a code that expired yesterday, but I had too many other things to do yesterday. Last October I was very frustrated when we came home because I was unable to help with much of anything. The grass was really tall when we got home. Paul started mowing it on Tuesday night while I was unpacking. On Wednesday morning I finished mowing the lawn, did the weed whacking, did two loads of laundry, vacuumed the van, and trimmed some of the bushes. I didn't finish the yardwork because it was really hot out, and I was exhausted. The most painful day for me in terms of my ankle on the vacation was May 24. The pain level was very high that night even when I was in bed. The next day my ankle only bothered me when I was standing still for extended periods of time. From May 27 to the present, I've had zero ankle pain! PTL!! Three months ago, I was beginning to wonder if my ankle would ever be back to normal. I am so, so thankful that I think it's back to normal now! I didn't take Milo for a long walk yesterday, but I'm planning to resume that habit starting today. Yesterday I also started dieting again. I am hoping to lose at least 23 pounds. 

Nadia and Ian had Bible quizzing and youth group yesterday from 4:30-8:15. Because the national competition is only 2 weeks away, they will have quite a few extra practices in the coming days. Today and tomorrow, the homeschoolers on the team are practicing from ten to noon. Xandir is going to hang out with Oliver at our house while their siblings are at the practice. Tomorrow two of Nadia's friends are coming here for a sleepover, and Ian and Oliver are going to Xandir's house for a sleepover. The whole Bible quizzing team will practice on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. All three kids are going over to the Schreck's house on Saturday afternoon so that Paul and I can have our second date this year, which is a huge improvement as previously we had gone 49 months without a date. I'm very thankful that I feel my ankle is ready to go ballroom dancing with Paul for the first time in I'm not sure how many years. We joined a swimming pool again this summer, and the pool opens on Monday. Tomorrow will be the last day of school for kids in our area. 

Georgia and Tennessee

On Sunday morning we arrived at the Georgia Aquarium at 8:30am. Parking at this location was definitely easier at that time of day than it had been the previous afternoon. The aquarium opened at 8:00 and coming earlier in the day definitely meant it wasn't as crowded during the first part of our visit. The aquariums website stated that the average visit was 2 hours long. We stayed for 3 hours. During that time, we visited all of the exhibits and saw both shows. We missed the 4D movie because we showed up 1 minute late due to the fact it took us 16 minutes to exit the dolphin theatre and walk a short distance to the theatre entrance because the aquarium was much more crowded at that point. We really enjoyed the sea lion show and the dolphin show. Nadia said she might like to study marine biology in college as working with dolphins would be something she would love to do. Earlier in our vacation Nadia had purchased three souvenirs in Florida - a pair of manatee earrings and two t-shirts. Ian purchased his first souvenir at the Georgia Aquarium - a plush river otter. Because we stayed at the aquarium longer than planned and because Paul wanted to have more time at Chickamauga Battlefield, we ended up skipping Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, which actually disappointed Nadia not because she loves battlefields but because it meant one fewer opportunity to earn a Junior Ranger Badge. 

I'm not sure exactly how many battlefields we have been to as a family, but I'm guessing we've been to around fifteen altogether. When a battlefield has a special day filled with hands- on activities, it's far more enjoyable to some of us (we have participated in events like that at Valley Forge, Antietam, and Gettysburg). Paul on the other hand loves battlefields and could spend many hours at each one even when they aren't having any special activities. On Sunday afternoon we participated in a caravan tour at Chickamauga that lasted about 2 hours. We also watched a movie at the Visitor Center. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge. After we left the battlefield, we had dinner at Golden Corral and then drove to a hotel in Tennessee. We watched our church's worship service online, and then Oliver, Paul, and I went to bed early that night. That hotel had a door that separated the bedroom from the living area, so Ian and Nadia were able to stay up later than the rest of us.

There were several activities I considered including in our itinerary in Chattanooga including the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, and the incline. The reviews on Ruby Falls were very mixed. In the end we decided to skip those, but we did drive up to the top of Lookout Mountain, which is a much cheaper way to reach the top compared to buying 5 incline tickets. The battle of Chattanooga took place at the top of Lookout Mountain. Because it's in the same National Park as Chickamauga, the kids weren't able to earn a Junior Ranger badge. We spent much less time at that smaller battlefield site. Our next stop in Tennessee was Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited National Park in the USA. There were a few times out west last September that we had to purchase Junior Ranger booklets; the only time that happened on this trip was at Great Smoky Mountains. We hiked to Cataract Falls, and then we went on a longer, steeper hike to Laurel Falls. Originally, I had planned for us to spend more time at this park, but when I shortened the vacation a little, the time we spent here was reduced. As we left the park the kids were rather impressed by all of the businesses catering to tourists in Pigeon Forge - many go-kart tracks, miniature golf courses, restaurants, and other attractions. I had planned for us to have dinner at Subway, but I made a mistake somewhere along the way and didn't have a gift card. We got a pizza from Papa John's instead as I did have a gift card that covered part of the cost of our pizza. Then we toured one of Pigeon Forge's attractions - the Titanic Museum. It was well done. We each had a handheld device to listen to an audio tour, and we were each given a boarding pass that gave us a new identity for our tour. At the end of the tour, we found out what happened to the person whose identity we were given. Four of us survived. Paul was given the identity of a third-class passenger who perished. During this trip we have typically not driven much after dinner, but last night we drove about 2.5 hours after we left the Titanic. We spent the night in Virginia. Today we are planning to stop at two National Parks in Virginia as we drive home to Milo. We miss him very much!

Mounds, Medieval Times, and MLK

This morning we spent the day in and near Atlanta. Our first stop was Ocmulgee which features burial mounds that were constructed thousands of years ago. The kids were a little nervous about visiting this site because I had broken my ankle at another burial mounds site in Iowa in September, but this trail was much easier to walk, and it wasn't raining. We watched a movie, walked around the exhibits in the Visitor Center, and then went on a short (1 mile) hike. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge, and I bought them each a $1 Gatorade because it was warm out. Our second stop was the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Park site. They haven't reopened the Ebenezer Baptist Church or the Firehouse that are part of the park, but we were able to visit the Reflecting Pool where he and his wife were buried as well as see the exhibits in the Visitor Center. They have resumed giving tours of the home where he was born, but the only opening they had for 5 people was at 4pm, and we were only spending two hours at the park. After the kids received their Junior Ranger badges, we drove into Atlanta. We had tickets for the World of Coca Cola at 2:30pm. We arrived at the building at 2:20, but it took us twenty minutes to get to a parking lot that wasn't full. We paid $20 to park in a Salvation Army parking lot. Then when we arrived at the World of Coca Cola,

there was a very long line to enter the building. Once we finally entered the building we had to listen to a little speech and then watch a short, pointless movie before we were finally able to enter the museum. It literally took more than an hour to park and make our way into the museum! It was VERY crowded. Unfortunately, at that point we didn't have much time to explore the museum as we had tickets for a 5pm show at Medieval Times. We walked through some but not all of the exhibits. We didn't watch the second movie. We did spend some time in the tasting room where we drank a wide variety of drinks that Coca Cola makes around the world. My favorite was a Mango Lime drink. It was the first place we went on the vacation so far that I wished I hadn't included it in our itinerary. I had considered the CNN tour but didn't end up including that one. We are heading back to the same exact spot tomorrow morning as the Georgia Aquarium is right next to the World of Coca Cola. I am hoping it won't be as challenging to find parking at 8:30 tomorrow morning. 

Our last stop of the day was Medieval Times. Several years ago, I had looked into getting tickets to

see this show in Baltimore on a day they were doing the program for school children. I remember going to Medieval Times with my family decades ago. On this vacation we could have gone to the one in Orlando, but I chose the one near Atlanta. It's something that's been on my mental bucket list of places I wanted to take the kids one time before they graduated from high school. One of the things Nadia is most looking forward to crossing off that bucket list is swimming with dolphins. We shall see when and where that might happen. We were assigned to cheer for the black and white knight. He won his first challenge but lost his second one. We were served tomato soup, garlic bread, chicken potato, and corn on the cob to eat without any silverware. We were given a plastic spoon to use with our small cup of ice cream. After the show, we checked into our hotel. We just have three days left of our vacation. I thought of Milo many times today because he's at a kennel this weekend for the first time in his life. I hope he's handling it okay. We will be home in 72 hours, Milo! We miss you! 

We've stayed at Holiday Inn's several times on this trip, and they have excellent breakfasts although the rest of my family would prefer if they served bacon instead of sausage. Thankfully, only one hotel on this trip so far has served a "grab and go" breakfast. Two of the places we stayed didn't serve any breakfast, but I knew that when I made those reservations. 

The kids say that their favorite part of the vacation so far was our time at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. My favorite day so far was last Sunday when we were in St. Augustine. I really enjoyed Castillo de San Marcos, the chocolate factory tour, and Fort Matanzas. As an added bonus, I ate some amazing key lime pie ice cream at Daytona Beach that evening. Other highlights of the trip for me so far have included spending time with friends and family and snorkeling with manatees. 

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.