Virginia Vacation

The kids have been to Virginia multiple times over the years. In 2015 the kids and I spent a week in Williamsburg with my parents. We had been on many vacations with them prior to that, but it turned out that was the last one with them as my mom passed away a year later. In 2019 we spent a few days in Virginia on our way down to Myrtle Beach with Paul's parents. Similarly, it was the last vacation we took with Paul's parents due to COVID and then Ellie passing away. My dad moved to Virginia in 2017 so we also made a few trips to Lynchburg over the last six years. Despite having been to Virginia multiple times, there were still some places that I wanted to take the kids in this state that we hadn't been to yet. So, I planned a one-week trip to Virginia. Since my dad still lives in Lynchburg and Nadia plans to go to college at Liberty, I anticipate future drives to Virginia and back, but I don't think we'll spend another entire week here on vacation in the future. 

We left on Monday morning (Memorial Day). Our first stop was to drop Milo off at the Seibert's house. Then we drove to Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick, Maryland. The kids each earned a badge. In hindsight we could have spent more hours at the battlefield because the Ranger station at our next stop (Wolf Trap) was closed. Because we had appointments for the kids to have water skiing lessons from 5:00-7:15, we were somewhat limited in what we could choose to do instead. We ended up visiting another National Park site - Prince William Forest Park. There are times when we scratch our heads a bit wondering why a particular site was chosen to be a national park. This would be one of them. The kids earned their second badge of the day. After eating an early dinner at Subway, we headed to Bumpass, Virginia for water skiing lessons. 

Nadia has been wanting to try water skiing for many years. It has been challenging to find an option that wasn't extremely expensive. We had originally planned to go to this place last year in August, but it didn't work to do it that month albeit we did make two trips to Lynchburg, Virginia that month. The weather forecast hadn't looked good for Memorial Day, but thankfully the weather forecast was wrong. The weather was perfect, and the water temperature in the small lake was 80 degrees! Oliver chose to go first. I thought he'd have the hardest time of the three kids, but I was completely wrong. It didn't take him long at all to get up on the water skis. I had gone water skiing on Long Island with my aunt's family when I was growing up, and I knew from experience that was the hardest part of water skiing. Once you're up, it's not nearly as hard to stay up. Oliver did fall off a few times when making turns, but he easily got back up, and he didn't fall of his skis that many times. Of the three kids he definitely spent more time water skiing around the lake as his lesson lasted a full 45 minutes. After his lesson was over, Oliver and Nadia sat in the back of the boat while another man had a very short lesson on his slalom ski as he was preparing for an upcoming competition. Nadia went next. She couldn't manage to get up on the skis. After many attempts, they gave her a break, and Ian had his lesson. He also didn't struggle with learning how to get up on his skis, but he fell off more than Oliver did. Also, he got a bad leg cramp, so his lesson was cut short. The rest of the time we had paid for was given to Nadia. They tried again having her use a pole instead of the traditional ropes, but she also struggled with that. She was up for a few seconds one time with the pole. She said she'll stick with snow skiing. I felt badly since she was the one who most wanted to try water skiing, but at least she knows we have been trying to work through her wish list. Other things on her experience wish list that haven't happened yet include sky diving, swimming with dolphins, hearing Riley Clemmons in concert, visiting England, France, and Italy, and scuba diving lessons. The boys however had a blast, and they both said they want to go water skiing again in the future. I'm not sure when or if that will happen, but I'm glad they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

On Tuesday our first stop was at Maggie Walker's National Historic Site in Richmond. I honestly had never heard of her before, but she was truly a remarkable woman! We watched the movie, and the kids earned a badge. If it had been possible to tour the house sometime between 9:00-10:00 we would done so, but the first tour didn't begin until 10:20, so we skipped the guided tour of her home and went to King's Dominion. When I was growing up, that was my favorite amusement park that was within a reasonable driving distance of our home in Maryland. The "Rebel Yell" was my favorite wooden roller coaster until I moved to Pennsylvania in 1996 - at which point the Phoenix at Knoebels became my favorite. Unfortunately, the roller coaster that looked like it is the most intense one at that park wasn't open (Intimidator 305). Nadia and Ian rode the rest of the 13 roller coasters. I rode some of them, and Oliver rode most of them, which was a big improvement for him as he's usually been too scared to try many of them. His favorite was Twisted Timbers, which we rode multiple times. The only three rides that Nadia and Ian rode that weren't roller coasters were the pirate ship and white-water rapids - both of those I insisted they ride because of my walk down memory lane and a huge drop tower. At most amusement parks the pirate ship doesn't involve going upside down, but I remembered going upside down on the pirate ship at King's Dominion when I was their age. The day we were at King's Dominion it was in the 80's so it was a perfect day to get soaked, but we didn't ride it until closer to 5:00. The kids didn't enjoy getting soaked. My family used to love that ride on a hot day. Paul didn't ride any rides until after we had dinner. He rode three rides altogether - bumper cars (not as good as the ones at Knoebels), old fashioned cars (we hadn't done those in a while), and a wooden roller coaster called the Grizzly with Oliver. For the first time in our lives, I had purchased tickets that included an all-day dining plan. It didn't include drinks. Three of us just drank water all day long (free). Paul purchased two sodas, and Ian used some of his money to buy one soda. We were allowed to get an entree and a side every 90 minutes. I got two meals (lunch/dinner). The rest of the family got three meals because the pizza dinner only included one slice of pizza (with a salad or two breadsticks) so they went back 90 minutes later to get a second slice. Nadia's lunch was gigantic. She couldn't possibly eat it all. I really enjoyed my lunch from the burrito place, but the pasta I had for dinner was a small portion and not very tasty. The meal plan I bought for Canada's Wonderland on Nadia's birthday includes drinks and snacks, and I'm certain we will greatly appreciate those additions. Nadia used some of her money to buy an Italian ice from Rita's. Oliver and I didn't get anything beyond what was included in the dining plan. Although the water park portion of the park opened the previous weekend, it wasn't open on the Tuesday that we went. Altogether everyone had a good time. We're looking forward to seeing the Towfighis again in a little less than two weeks at HersheyPark, and we should be meeting Brendan for the first time that day.

On Wednesday morning after eating an amazing (free) breakfast because we had spent the night at an Embassy Suites, our first stop was Fort Monroe. We were planning to have a guided tour, but once we found out that the Towfighis were meeting us at the beach that day we scrapped the tour and also our plan to visit the Virginia Zoo. The kids earned another badge, and we visited the Casemate Museum. We met the Towfighis a little before noon at Virginia Beach. Eight members of their family plus Toby's sister (Lily) joined us at the beach. Yvonne, Jenna, and Brendan didn't come. My dad met us there a few hours later. The weather was perfect! The kids enjoyed the beach FAR more since they were enjoying it with their cousins. Joe taught a class online for about 2.5 hours, but Paul and I were able to watch the kids while he did that considering only four of the kids were under the age of twelve. We had dinner at a pizza place and sang Happy Birthday to Joel as his 13th birthday was the next day. Grandpa bought 7 large pizzas for our group of fifteen people. The next day I found a place that sells 28-inch pizzas - those slices are gigantic! Probably just two of those pizzas would have been enough. Micah, Julianna, and Wesley spent some time in the outdoor pool at our hotel before their family began the drive back to Maryland. After they left, we went to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream (cost a small fortune!) and also bought t-shirts for me and the kids.

Thursday morning my dad joined us for a trip to the Virginia Aquarium and for lunch at a sub place. We had packed a lunch for Monday, got lunch at King's Dominion on Tuesday, and skipped lunch on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The kids appreciated that my dad treated us to lunch on Thursday. He left after lunch, and we headed to the beach for a few hours. It was a little cooler on Thursday, and their cousins weren't there, so the kids didn't last as long at the beach before they switched to the swimming pool. We had pizza for dinner (just one large for our family), and we had custard from Kohr Bros. (so so MUCH better than Ben and Jerry's). My most favorite ice cream is chocolate/peanut butter twist soft serve. I never had that in 2023, so I was thrilled when I saw that was one of the choices. It was SO yummy! Nadia got something from Sweet Frog instead. Oliver tried my favorite (and also loved it), and Ian had their version of a peanut butter cup "Blizzard."

Friday morning, we left Virginia Beach and drove to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. The kids were at Busch Gardens in Tampa in 2022. Oliver had made progress at Kings Dominion, but he made even more progress at Busch Gardens as there were only two rides that he declined to do. Wow!! Way to go, Oliver!! He discovered he enjoys going upside down on roller coasters. Nadia and Ian only rode one ride that wasn't a roller coaster - Finnegan's Flyer. That was one of the two Oliver skipped. Oliver rode 9 of the 10 roller coasters. They rode some of them multiple times - especially Apollo's Chariot. I insisted that we watch one show that featured Irish step dancing. The kids weren't thrilled by my request, but they enjoyed the show after all. I rode several of the roller coasters. Paul didn't ride anything We didn't have a meal plan. We brought in some snacks (crackers, trail mix bar, etc.) that constituted our lunch. We bought two pretzels to share (which were very overpriced), and we waited to have dinner until after we left the park. We went to McDonald's, and when we found out their ice cream machine caught on fire earlier that day, we went to Rita's for dessert.

Unfortunately, as I was checking into our hotel on Friday night, Oliver started vomiting. He didn't have much success with doing this without making a mess. Thankfully he didn't throw up in the bed, and thankfully Paul was a saint and he cleaned up the messes during the night. The last time it happened was 2:00 am. We had planned to be out the door at 8:20, but we delayed our departure until 9:30 in light of his GI issues. We had planned to attend two programs at the battlefields, but those plans were scrapped. We made a brief stop at George Washington's birthplace. The kids had already earned a badge for that site when we were at another park. Although George Washington is Paul's most favorite president, we weren't too impressed with this particular site. I again found myself wondering why it's a national park site. As of today, we've been to 156 National Park sites in person. Some of them I'd highly recommend, and others I'd recommend skipping. Today Oliver earned his 200th Junior Ranger badge. Nadia has earned 214, and Ian has earned 216. I'm hoping they each hit at least 250. Today the kids earned three badges at Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, and Fredericksburg. They could have earned a fourth, but we didn't make it to Wilderness. The kids and I are not fans of battlefields. Nadia dislikes them the most. I said it was an early Father's Day gift for Paul, as he loves visiting them. We had dinner at Bob Evans. We shouldn't have bothered ordering Oliver a meal as he still doesn't have much of an appetite. Thankfully he hasn't thrown up since the middle of the night, but he has still been dealing with the runs. I'm not sure if he caught a bug or something he ate didn't agree with him. Thankfully the rest of us have escaped it thus far. 

My original plans for tomorrow had been to visit Prince William Forest (which we ended up visiting on Memorial Day), Theodore Roosevelt Island, and Great Falls Park. It turns out the Visitor Center is temporarily closed at Great Falls Park, so I totally revamped our plans for tomorrow. At the moment the plan is to listen to our church's 9:00 service while we drive to the Udvar-Hazy Center (larger site for Air and Space Museum). After lunch at a sit-down restaurant, we might visit Clara Barton's National Historic Site before driving home (and picking up Milo!). We hope to be home by 7:00 so that we can watch the first episode of season four of The Chosen. During this trip we've continued working through the NT portion of the Bible Recap together. It's a plan to read the entire NT in 92 days. We've also been listening to the 7th book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series together. During our trip I also began the 8th (final!) unit in Duolingo. I'm so thankful that we can take trips like this and make memories together as a family, and I'm so thankful Paul has a job now that he can do just about anywhere as he can make stock trades on his phone even when we're at an amusement park! 

(belated) Thankful Thursday

 

1. I was able to walk and chat with Lyn (Ian's piano teacher) for thirty minutes a few times over the last several weeks. Another day I walked and chatted with Rosann for an hour. 

2. Our spring session of our co-op came to a close on May 7. The kids also put on a presentation of Alice on May 13 at CWC. Oliver was a pigeon, Nadia was Alice, and Ian was the Mad Hatter. At the moment there are eleven kids planning to be in our co-op in the fall. My kids love having co-op at our house!

3. This month I enjoyed getting my first pedicure in five years and my first manicure in two years. My nail appointments took place at the same time each vehicle was getting an oil change and annual inspection.

4. Nadia and Ian did well in the Bible quizzing competitions in Indiana on May 10-11. Ian has been working diligently to memorize the book of Colossians in preparation for Nationals next month as he has been selected to be on the A team, and Nadia has been selected to be the team captain for our B team. Dave thinks that both of our teams might make it into the A division at nationals which hasn't happened in more than 10 years.

5. Nadia and Ian participated in the spring program at Meadowbrook on May 14. Some of their artwork was also on display. 

6. Nadia has begun taking acoustic guitar lessons in Lewisburg.

7. Seven of the kids' friends also attended the Emergency Preparedness Day at the prison in Allenwood.

8. Nadia and I attended the CHEF co-op's production of Little Women with Faith, Melinda, and Xandir.

9. Nadia and Ian enjoyed attending the Ray of Lights Celebration for those who participated in high school drama productions. Paul and Oliver enjoyed seeing the movie IF that same evening. 

10. Nadia and I really enjoyed seeing the movie Unsung Hero on April 29. We highly recommend it if you haven't seen it! 

11. The $18K check from the insurance company was delivered by FedEx yesterday morning! PTL! 

12. Ian's $497 cardiology appointment on Monday was a waste of time, but we're thankful that the pulmonologist in Hershey was wrong and Ian doesn't have a heart murmur. I don't want to drive 2 hours one way to the ENT that the Healthcare Bluebook recommended, so I've made him an appointment at an ENT in Williamsport on July 23. 

13. I've signed my boys plus three nephews and one niece for Stronghold camp in July. We're excited that they will be able to spend a week at our house! 

14. We are spending more on Nadia's 16th birthday than we usually spend on a birthday. Her big gift from us is a roundtrip ticket to Chicago so she can spend five days with Rachel.

15. I also recently signed Paul and I up for a ballroom dancing class!!! We met at a ballroom dancing class in February 1997, and it's been ten years since the last time we took a class together. We are signed up for an 8-week Intermediate Cha Cha class. I think we'll be able to attend six of the eight classes. 

16. Paul and I have been lengthening the distance that we walk each day. If it's not raining our first walk is usually four miles long. 

17. It's been a while since I was able to cross a state off our license plate list for 2024, but on Tuesday I spotted North Dakota, and today I saw one from Kansas. We have five states left to find. Alaska should be really easy in August. :)

18. Oliver and Ian are done with their schoolwork for the 2023-24 year! Nadia still needs to finish Algebra 2, Marine Biology, and World History (through GCU). 

19. I recently had applied for an IHG credit card. The bonus points they gave us were enough to cover three nights at a Holiday Inn on Long Island in August, and because we used points for three nights, they gave us a fourth night for free. I had to pay a $99 annual fee, but for that price we are getting four free nights at a hotel on Long Island plus they will give us $100 refund after we pay for TSA Precheck. 

20. Alaska Airlines changed the time of our flights in August. I didn't like the times of the new itinerary that they had created. I called the airline yesterday and they changed it to a time I like better although I still prefer what I had originally picked. I'm thankful though that we will be landing there in the afternoon instead of 2:33am, as that sounds awful especially considering that will feel like 6:33 to our bodies.

Winding down

Our 2023-24 school year is almost complete. We already finished history, Life of Fred, Fix it Grammar, and the classes we were doing in our co-op. We had a dress rehearsal at 5:00 last night for our production of Alice, and put it on for the parents and some other family members at 6:00. After the show was over, we shared a meal together. We didn't have a set, but we had some props and costumes. The kids did a great job. Nadia had a LOT of lines to memorize, and she did a great job of projecting as we didn't use any microphones. Ian, who played the Mad Hatter, was definitely the funniest character. Julianna was sick, but her older sister filled in at the last minute as the Queen of Hearts and the March Hare. She had to read her lines as obviously she didn't have any time to memorize them. She did a great job with her part albeit she only joined us at the last minute. Nadia and Ian have also finished their art class at MCS. Today they had their last chorus rehearsal, and this evening they had their last concert for the school year. Field trips are a constant for us all year long. For example, over the next two weeks we plan to go to Hopewell Furnace NHS, Emergency Preparedness Day, a production of Little Women, Young Eagles flight, Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, Monocacy National Battlefield, Wolf Trap National Park, and Maggie Walker NHS. Although some things will continue throughout the summer such as reading and listening to audiobooks (all three), practicing the piano (Ian), and practicing the guitar (Nadia), here are the things that the kids need to finish to completely wrap up this school year:

1. Ian and Nadia need to finish Algebra 2. Ian should finish next week. It's going to take Nadia longer than that.
2. Nadia needs to finish Marine Biology, and she has until June 9 to finish her World History course through Grand Canyon University. 
3. Oliver needs to master the spelling of twenty-four more words.
4. All three of them are at varying places in demonstrating to me that they know the countries and capitals of Europe and Africa.
5. Ian and Nadia will continue to prepare for the Bible quizzing nationals which will be taking place in New York June 19-22. Ian wants to memorize the book of Colossians between now and then as he was recently told that he'll be on our church's "A" team. Nadia will be the captain of the "B" team. At the recent quiz in Indiana, the team Nadia was on placed first, Ian's team placed third, Ian tied for 2nd place in the individual competition, and Ian and Nadia were in 5th and 6th places in the written portion of the competition. Nadia won $30, and Ian won $40 at that competition. 

Because school has been winding down, I've been scheduling other types of appointments. Nadia had her first guitar lesson last week. While Nadia and Ian were in Indiana for a Bible quizzing competition, I took the van for an oil change, tire rotation, and annual inspection in the morning and then that afternoon took the van to the Honda dealer for a safety recall I had received notification about in January. While the van was being serviced in the morning, I got my first pedicure in five years. My dad gave me $100 for my birthday, and I decided to follow the advice Margie had given me when she was alive about using it for something I wouldn't normally have gotten. My first plan was to use the money towards a crockpot because the one my mom gave me in 2016 died recently, but for me a crockpot is a necessity not a splurge. I decided to use the birthday money towards my nails instead. Not that a pedicure cost $100! I'm planning to use more of that money towards a manicure next week when I take Paul's car in for an annual inspection, oil change, and tire rotation. Tomorrow Nadia and I are getting our hair cut. She typically gets hers done once a year, and I usually go 3-4 times a year. I cut Paul, Oliver, Pop Pop, and Ian's hair. I'm scheduled to have a mammogram on Thursday morning, and Ian has a cardiology appointment next Monday. Year round the boys go to the orthodontist once a month, Ian has a weekly 45-minute piano lesson, and Nadia has recently started taking a weekly 30-minute guitar lesson in Lewisburg. Ian is working on some music he's found online as well as Chopin's Military Polonaise, and a piano duet arrangement of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony. He's playing the primo part, and our neighbor, Addi, is playing the secondo part with him. 

Planning lesson plans, future vacations, and field trips is something I do regularly throughout the year. This morning, I booked an Airbnb for two nights in Houghton for Paul, Oliver, and I so we can watch part of the quizzing competition. We could also have stayed in the dorms like Ian and Nadia, but it was unappealing to us to pay $18.50 per person per night to stay in a dorm that doesn't have air conditioning. Sometimes those plans lead me to apply for a new credit card. This time I applied for an IHG credit card because the points we will be awarded after the first month of using it will be enough to pay for three nights at a Holiday Inn on Long Island in August, and whenever you use points for three nights, they give you a fourth night for free. The card has a $99 annual fee, but the card also reimburses up to $100 toward the cost of TSA Precheck, and Paul and I have a TSA Precheck appointment next month. This means we won't really be paying an annual fee, and we'll be able to stay for four nights for free on Long Island at a hotel that costs more than we usually pay per night. In the past we always stayed at Aunt Janet's home, but she moved to Reno a few years ago. It's much easier for us to travel to Long Island than to Reno. She spends a month on Long Island in August at a friend's house. We are looking forward to a wide variety of experiences over the next 3.5 months before we start the next school year. 

Doctors galore

For years we have suspected that Ian might have sleep apnea. When I asked his pediatrician about this years ago, I was told that we should just wait and see if he would naturally outgrow it. When I mentioned it at his physical in January, we were given a referral for a pulmonologist at Geisinger. Ian had a video appointment on April 3, which resulted in a sleep study being scheduled for August 19. Because we don't have insurance, they sent us an estimate of the cost. With a "cash" discount, the price was still $6K. I called Healthcare Bluebook, and they told me that Ian could have a sleep study at Hershey Medical for $1,500, and because it was the "fair price," we wouldn't have to pay the usual $400 co-pay. We saw the pulmonologist at Hershey Medical on April 30. It was worth driving 3 hours round trip to save our family $400 plus save the Samaritan system $4,500. An in-person visit was much better than a video appointment. He was able to see that one side of Ian's nose is completely blocked. Ian has said for years that he hasn't been able to breathe out of his right nostril. He's been a mouth breather since he was a toddler. The doctor said that he's too young to fix the deviated septum, but that the turbinate hypertrophy can be addressed. He submitted two prescriptions to address that issue and said Ian also needs to see an ENT in light of the size of his tonsils plus the blockage in his nose. Unfortunately, he sent them to a Walmart in Lewistown rather than Lewisburg, so I wasn't able to pick them up on Tuesday. I'm planning to pick them up tomorrow. I called Healthcare Bluebook to find out which ENT within a couple of hours radius of our home would do a tonsillectomy and/or open up his nasal passageway at a fair price. They are working on that. The good news is that if we go with one of their recommendations, we won't have to pay for the surgery, and our $400 co-pay will be waived. Normally you pay a bill, and then submit it for reimbursement if it exceeds $400. That will still be the case for pre-op testing and consultations, but not for the surgery itself which is nice as that can easily be $5,000 or more. We've been with Samaritan for 2.5 years and only submitted one bill for reimbursement so far. 

We are planning to stick with Hershey Medical for the pulmonology, but we're hoping to see a local pediatric cardiologist, and we have no idea yet where we'll go for the ENT. Ian saw MANY doctors during the first three years of his life due to his urological condition and eosinophilic esophagitis (GI, allergist, psychologist, urologist, ENT, and cardiologist). However, for the last almost 11.5 years, he's pretty much only gone to the doctor once a year for a physical. I feel badly that I never mentioned his frequent nosebleeds or his complaint about not being able to breathe through his one nostril the last several years, but I'm also wondering if I need to find a different PCP for him if he has had a heart murmur and they never detected it, and they also must never have looked into his nose because the doctor said it's 100% blocked. My sister, Yvonne, has an innocent heart murmur. Hoping if Ian has a heart murmur, his is also innocent, and I'm praying that the ENT will give us wise counsel as far as whether or not surgery is needed so that he can breathe better. I used to drive him to Philadelphia, Hershey, etc. for appointments in the first three years of his life. It seems like that will be the case again now for at least the next seven months as we already have two appointments scheduled in Hershey in October and November with the pulmonologist. Ian doesn't remember any of his urological surgeries or endoscopies. If he has another surgery this year, obviously he'll remember this one. 

At the doctor's office on Tuesday, they measured his height as a little over 5 foot 4 inches. He grew two inches since January! He's a tiny fraction of an inch shorter than Nadia. Her days of being taller than him are definitely numbered. Unfortunately, with his clothes and shoes on he only weighed 90 pounds, which puts him at the 2nd percentile for BMI. He lost weight over the last few months. I've asked him to try to gain at least five pounds. Oliver has been gaining weight like a champ the last couple of months as I told him he needed to weigh at least 80 pounds when we go ziplining in Alaska in August. I think it's going to be harder for Ian to gain five pounds, but hopefully he can get his BMI to at least 5%. As one who is often wanting to lose a few pounds, I can't relate to having a problem gaining weight. 

On March 22 the health insurance company told the investigator that they would reimburse us. We haven't received anything yet. Hopefully they haven't changed their minds. I found a cheaper place for a mammogram in Bloomsburg. I haven't had one in 17 months. They only reimburse the cost of a mammogram if a problem is detected, so I'm hoping never to be reimbursed for a mammogram. Oliver had quite a few doctor appointments and hospitalizations for the first six years of his life, but for the last almost six years, he's also mostly only gone for his annual physical. Nadia has been very healthy for almost sixteen years. Hopefully after we address the sleep apnea and other issues recently uncovered with Ian, we can again have a stretch without many doctor appointments. 

Prince Caspian

Supreme Court

In early September (2023) I purchased six tickets to see Prince Caspian at the Museum of the Bible in April 2024. One of the tickets was a gift to my dad. At that time, I thought April 2024 would be the next time we went to DC. As it turns out, we've taken the kids to DC four times over the last fifteen months. The two unexpected trips (November 2023 and March 2024) were to attend concerts. The end result is that we crossed off more sites in DC off the list I had created years ago earlier than expected. I will say that we've had really nice weather for all four of those trips. Our first stop on Friday was a parking garage. After that we walked one mile to the Supreme Court for a thirty-minute program. Next, we walked to the Museum of the Bible where we met my dad who had come into DC via the Metro. The show was three hours long (not counting the intermission) and was very well done! It was put on by the Logos Theatre from South Carolina. After eating a quick meal at Subway with my dad, we walked to the Spy Museum. Paul could have spent FAR more time in the museum. I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so crowded. We got Paul an early Father's Day gift at the museum - a t-shirt featuring his favorite president - George Washington. After retrieving our vehicle from the parking garage, we drove to Arlington and picked up two slices of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (one was free due to my birthday) on our way to our hotel. We stayed at the same hotel last month. Four of us shared the two slices of cheesecake. I really loved the one that Nadia and I shared. 

After eating breakfast at the hotel, we drove back into DC. There was a lot of construction near Ford's Theatre, but eventually we found a place to park. Our tickets included seeing a show called One Destiny, which was a short production put on by two men about the day Lincoln was assassinated. It was very well done! The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge, and we also made a quick stop at Petersen's House across the street where Lincoln died. Next, we walked to the National Archives. I had timed tickets, but on this particular day they weren't necessary. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but we did look at the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution. Our last stop before returning to our vehicle was the National Portrait Gallery. The kids and I did an art project, and all five of us explored the museum. The kids said they preferred the National Gallery of Art (which we visited last month) to the Portrait Gallery. Visiting art museums isn't their favorite thing, and we don't do it very often, but I'm grateful they've been to a few of them. We ate some snacks in our vehicle as we drove to Rock Creek Park. We watched a planetarium show, went on a very short hike (in the rain), and the kids each earned another Junior Ranger badge. The current stats are that we've now been to 139 National Park sites in person, Nadia has earned 207 badges, Ian has earned 209, and Oliver has earned 193 altogether. We stopped at Denny's for dinner on the way home. One of our neighbors watched Milo for us during the time we were gone. I'm grateful that in 3-4 hours we can be in NYC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and DC. 

I attempted to take Nadia to see Unsung Hero at the movie theater on Thursday night, but our tickets were refunded due to technical difficulties. We're going to try again tomorrow night as she's waited a long time to see this movie. Originally it was scheduled to be released in June 2023. I had a lovely two-hour lunch with Tab at Panera on Wednesday. All five of us went bowling this afternoon as our church rented out a bowling alley for two hours. Although it will take Nadia and Ian longer to finish some subjects (ex. Algebra II), for most subjects our last day will be May 9, which means we only have nine days left at this point! The end of 5th grade (Oliver), 8th grade (Ian), and 10th grade (Nadia) is in sight! Nadia has completed four college classes so far this year. She's currently taking World History, and that course will be finished by June 9.

Fifty-two

Yesterday I celebrated my 52nd birthday. On my birthdays I always miss my mom and my brother a little more than usual as I would normally have at least chatted with them on my birthday. Considering my mom passed away a few months after she turned 71, she only lived 19 years beyond her 52nd birthday. On Sunday a man in our Sunday School class asked me if we are in the Classics group at our church, which is for those age 55+. Since Paul will be turning 55 in January, we are eligible to join the group in a few months. When we were dating and in the early years of marriage, Paul used to take me out to dinner for my birthday. It's been quite a few years since that happened. This year he suggested all five of us go out to eat, which is something we usually only do when we're on vacation. He knows Olive Garden is one of my favorite places to eat and Nadia's most favorite place, so he suggested we go there. I used some points to request a gift card that covered almost the whole bill minus the tip. I don't usually get a dessert when we go out to eat, but since Olive Garden gives you a free dessert on your birthday, I requested the black-tie mousse cake, which is absolutely delicious. I shared a little of it with Oliver and Nadia, and they said I need to find a recipe online and try to make one myself for one of their birthdays. Will do! He had suggested going out on my actual birthday (Sunday), but since we didn't have any plans to leave the house on Friday, I thought it was better to go out that night since we have church on Sunday. We stopped at Lowe's on the way to Olive Garden and got my birthday present, which was a new faucet for the half-bathroom. The kids think it's the worst birthday gift idea, but ours was 25 years old and looking rather dated. On the way home from Olive Garden we stopped at Aldi's for groceries. 

On Saturday morning I put some beef, potatoes, and carrots in the crockpot and headed to a service project with Oliver. When we came back 4.5 hours later, I was flustered when I discovered the food was still cold. The green light was on, but it wasn't actually heating up. I switched to using the oven. The meat was cooked, but it wasn't anywhere near as tender as it would have been had it cooked in the crockpot for 9 hours as planned. The mashed potatoes, yeast bread, and fruit pizza all turned out well. Faith and Xandir were at our house for 18.5 hours, and their parents joined us for a couple of hours for dinner and some games. On Sunday we ate leftovers from Olive Garden and from what I had cooked on Saturday. On Friday night Nadia bought me a plant (lilies). Oliver made me a card and gave me some Andes mints. My I received two birthday cards in the mail on Saturday and one from someone at church on Sunday. I received several birthday text messages and two phone calls on Sunday from Aunt Janet and Yvonne. My dad called me today. My friend, Tab, is taking me out to lunch this week on Wednesday, and my friend, Cheri, is taking me out to lunch next week on Friday. I don't have any idea how many more years I have left on earth, but I am thankful for the years I've been given thus far and for the many blessings in my life including my kids, husband, friends, etc. 

The picture above is of Ian in his Vlad costume for the musical. Next year I'm going to take photos during the dress rehearsal. The picture below is from last Tuesday at our co-op. One of our classes this session is geography. Each of the kids picked a country and prepared a 3–5-minute speech about the culture of that country and also brought in a food item from that country for us to enjoy at a special lunch. Oliver and I made a pizza shaped pinata filled with candy for the kids to enjoy after the lunch. Foods brought that day included a soup from Vietnam, tiramisu cupcakes, sushi, Yorkshire pudding, honey joys, dumplings, Belgian waffles, churros, hummus, macaroons, and fairy bread. 

Seussical!

I haven't posted for three weeks. Here are some highlights as to what we've been up to lately.

1. I took Oliver to one egg hunt on March 23 and two on March 30. One was rained out on the 23rd. Next year will be the last year for Oliver to participate.

2. Rachel, my niece from Chicago, spent four days with us at the end of March. She and Nadia continued their traditions of having a very planned out "sleepover" and also making a mystery dessert. This one was by far the worst they'd ever made. Blech!!! However, they had a lot of fun making the cupcakes! I really liked the Good Friday service at our church this year.

3. Paul's dad joined us at church and at our home on Easter. 

4. I supervised a large service project at Meadowbrook Christian School. The students packed 3,300 kits for Voice of the Martyrs. 

5. While I was helping at MCS, the kids went with another family to a homeschool program about the solar eclipse at Ricketts Glen State Park. A few days later, all five of us did see the eclipse, which wasn't a guaranteed thing because it was a very cloudy day, but thankfully the clouds parted so we could watch it. We weren't in the path of totality, but it was 95% covered in our area. Considering the next one is in twenty years and won't be visible in Pennsylvania, I'm glad the kids saw this one (not that any of us know where we'll be living in twenty years). 

6. I attended my friend's mom's 91st birthday party at a nursing home. That same day Paul took Nadia to a Jeremy Camp concert in Stroudsburg.

7. Nadia, Cheri, her uncle, and I saw the movie Someone Like You in the theater on April 7. The tickets were a bit steep in price, but we enjoyed the movie. Nadia and I had read the book a few years ago. 

8. Nadia and Ian were in three performances of Seussical last week! It went very well. Different friends and family attended each of the three nights. I attended two of the performances. They had a LOT of lengthy rehearsals lately so I'm grateful it's come to an end. Paul's dad attended on Friday night and took them home because Paul, Oliver, and I were at a Casting Crowns concert in Williamsport. On Saturday afternoon Joe, my dad, and six of their kids came to attend Seussical, which was very special. They spent about 24 hours with us. Yvonne didn't come because she gave birth three days ago to their 7th son (9th child) - Brendan. Jenna and Andrew stayed in Maryland with Yvonne and the baby. 

9. Last Sunday I filled in as the substitute for our Sunday School teacher. 

10. This week Nadia is finishing her fourth college class (English Composition 1) through Grand Canyon University. She's starting her fifth next week (World History). In the fall she plans to begin taking classes online through Liberty University. 

Mac, Mercer, and Mack

Awhile back I asked Nadia what artists she wanted to see in person before she graduated from high school. We have been gradually working through the list she gave me. Ian's list was much shorter. There is only one artist left on the list she gave me - Riley Clemmons. Toby Mac was on both Ian and Nadia's lists, and we saw him in concert for the first time on Thursday night. When we attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert earlier this month, Ian was really hoping that he'd sing "Got to B Tru," and miracle of miracle, that was one of the songs in his set list! Considering how many songs he's sung over the decades, we didn't think it was likely that one would be on the list. When I asked Ian if he was hoping to hear a particular song from TobyMac, he said he wasn't because he likes all of his music. The other artists on this tour included Tasha Layton (who was also on Nadia's list), Terrian, Cory Asbury, and Mac Powell. Each of those artists was given twenty minutes on stage. The pastor's talk plus the intermission accounted for another forty minutes. TobyMac was on stage for the final ninety minutes of the concert, which lasted 3.5 hours altogether. 

The number of concerts we go to in a year will drastically go down after Nadia graduates from high school. However, when we attend a concert that's more than two hours from our home, I typically try to include some other "field trips" in the outing. Because Nadia and Ian have chorus and art at the Christian school on Thursdays, we couldn't leave until 3:00pm. At first, we were planning to have dinner at TGI Fridays, but then we decided that we didn't have quite enough time to eat at a sit-down restaurant. Instead, we stopped at a travel plaza on the turnpike. The prices were rather high, so we ordered a large pizza, but we had to wait twenty-five minutes for them to make the pizza. I had thought we should aim to arrive at the arena thirty minutes before the concert began. We did achieve that goal, but I hadn't reserved parking ahead of time. If we ever go to another concert at Temple University, I will absolutely reserve parking well in advance! It took us 45 minutes to find a place to park (due to the zany amount of traffic) and then walk back to the arena, so we missed about ten minutes of Terrian's time as a soloist on stage due to our late arrival. Usually Nadia buys a t-shirt and/or sweatshirt at concerts. She got a t-shirt and a sweatshirt at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert earlier this month. Surprisingly, she didn't buy any merchandise at this concert. Ian purchased a t-shirt for the second time in his life. Last summer he got a God's Not Dead one from the Newsboys, and at this concert he got one from TobyMac. I was very grateful at the end of the concert that we were only driving about 30 minutes to a hotel rather than driving 2 hours and 45 minutes to get home. 

After we ate breakfast at our hotel, we drove about 30 minutes to Doylestown where we had a tour of TileWorks, which is a historic tile factory that is still running today. After that we toured Henry Mercer's home (Fonthill Castle) and visited the museum he established in 1916. In hindsight, I could have allowed less time for Mercer Museum and more time for TileWorks. The Fonthill Castle tour is guided so there's no need to guesstimate the length of time needed at that site. We ate some snacks we had brought from home as our lunch as we drove to Allentown for our guided tour of the Mack Truck Historical Museum. We had dinner at Carrabba's for the first time ever. I'm glad we tried it once, but most of our family prefers Olive Garden. The portions were large, so I'm looking forward to eating the other half of my chicken parmigiana this evening. Milo was very glad when we got home about 7:00pm. During the 28 hours we were gone, a teenager in our neighborhood walked him three times and allowed him to sleep in her bed on Thursday night. As I'm not a fan of lengthy drives, I am glad that our next longer drive isn't until April 26. I'm sure Milo will also appreciate that as he really doesn't like it when he sees us packing a suitcase!

For years Nadia has been asking us to go to England. More recently she's expanded that to England, France, and Italy. I'm not sure if/when we'll make it to Italy, but we are hoping to go to England and France in 2026. Up until recently, Ian hadn't said where he wanted to go in 2028 (when he graduates from high school), but now he's decided he wants to go to Japan, which thrilled Oliver as he's wanted to go there as well. Paul and I have been to China so that won't be a new continent for us, but it will be a new country for all of us and a new continent for the kids. Maybe Oliver will choose to go to Africa or Australia? Time will tell. 

Daniel

In June 2012 we took our kids to Sight and Sound for the very first time. We saw Jonah, which at the time was Nadia's most favorite Bible story. Over the past almost twelve years, we've taken the kids to Sight and Sound eleven times. They've seen ten different shows, as we took them to see Moses in both 2014 and 2023. The sets they have in their current show (Daniel) outshine most sets I've seen at Broadway shows in NYC. We weren't expecting Ezekiel to be part of the show, but he was, and mention was also made more than once about Jeremiah. I thought Nebuchadnezzar's transformation (during the years he became like a beast of the field) could have been a bit more dramatic, and the "lions" were only digital for the lion's den scene, but overall, it was an outstanding performance. We recognized that the actor playing the part of Daniel was the same man who recently played the part of David. It's a blessing to be able to take our children to see such high quality, biblically based shows. 

Typically, I schedule something else for us to do in or near Lancaster when we drive down to see a show. Last year we toured a furniture factory. The previous year we toured the home of President Buchanan. My plan for this year had been to learn more about the Amish people, but those plans were scratched once I saw the Seussical rehearsal schedule. As it was the kids had to leave the rehearsal at 30 minutes early so we could get to the show on time. While they were at the rehearsal from 9:00-12:30 I took Oliver to an Easter egg hunt and baked two cakes plus an apple crisp. The latter was for our family to enjoy, and I took the cakes to our Sunday School class this morning. 

Steven Curtis Chapman concert (March 8)

Paul's dad met us at Sight and Sound. We enjoyed the show together, and then we had dinner at Red Robin. It has been the only restaurant where Nadia will still order off the kids' menu. Yesterday she didn't do that although truthfully, I think she would have enjoyed her meal more if she had because she loves their macaroni and cheese, but considering she'll be turning sixteen in three months, she wanted to order off the regular menu. After dinner, we drove back home as Milo had been left alone for almost nine hours at that point. 

Oliver in the National Gallery of Art

On Friday Paul and the boys stayed home all day. Cheri joined us for dinner, and then Nadia, Cheri, and I went to see the movie Cabrini. That was also very inspiring. I had never heard of the woman, although I had heard of a section of Chicago referred to as Cabrini Greens, which was named after her. Christian movies have come a LONG way over the last two decades both in terms of quality and also quantity. I'm amazed at how many are scheduled to be released this year! Nadia was fine with seeing Cabrini, but the two she really wants to see are "Someone Like You" and "Unsung Hero." We chose to wait to see the fourth season of The Chosen at home rather than at the theater due to the cost involved in buying five tickets to three movies. As we watched the trailers at the theater on Friday, we were interested in Possum Trot, Despicable Me 4, and Sight. I'm looking forward to seeing Boys in the Boat on DVD in the near future as we didn't see that at the theater, and I really enjoyed the book. It's not a religious movie. In the past I've often gone multiple years in a row without entering a movie theater, but I'm planning to see Ordinary Angels with Oliver and Cheri on Wednesday afternoon. This will be a new record for me to see two movies in two weeks, ha ha! 

White House, monuments, and more

Friday morning, we left our house bright and early (6:00) and dropped Milo off at our friends' home on our way to the White House. I had requested a tour through our Representative. Two weeks before our tour date, the White House confirmed that we could have a tour at 10:00 am, and we were told to arrive 15 minutes early. I had prepaid for a spot in a parking garage for the day ($18), but I didn't realize it was valet parking. Oliver had gotten carsick on the drive down to DC which added to the "adventure" of the morning. We walked rather quickly to the meeting spot for the tours only to find out that we were allowed to enter the tour line any time between 10:00-12:30. Seriously! So, if you ever sign up for a public tour, just keep that in mind! We wouldn't have left our house at 6:00 am had we known that. Also, I forgot that no bags were allowed. I had remembered they didn't allow cameras with detachable lenses, so I had left my camera at home, but I was using a small purse. Because the van was parked by valet, it didn't seem feasible to walk back to the parking garage and attempt to put my purse in the van. The park ranger said there was a hotel nearby that would store bags for a fee. If the purse hadn't been my mom's, I would have put the contents in my pockets and thrown the purse away, but it had enough sentimental value that I was willing to pay a fee for it to be stored for one hour while we toured the White House. It had been decades since I had toured the White House. Back in the day, we were taken into more of the White House and didn't go through nearly as much security, but I'm glad my kids have at least been in part of the White House.

Jefferson Memorial

After I retrieved my purse, we went to the White House Visitor Center, and the kids each received a Junior Ranger Badge. Our next stop was the National Gallery of Art. We explored a significant part of the West Building. We've studied quite a few different artists this year since we've been studying the Renaissance. It was exciting to see original paintings from many of the artists we've studied. The disappointment was that the one part of the museum I was most looking forward to seeing (French Impressionistic paintings from the 19th century) was closed as they are doing renovations. We each got one thing from a vendor (I set a limit of $4 per person) for our "lunch." I don't recommend buying a soft pretzel. Paul and I did so, and they were very stale. Our next stop was the Museum of American History. As a child, my favorite part of that museum was the First Ladies' inaugural gowns. That museum has changed a LOT over the last few decades, but they still have some gowns on display. 

Our next stop was the Washington Monument. I had been trying for years to take the kids up there. First, they had it closed due to replacing the elevator, then it was closed due to COVID, and then I had trouble getting one of the $1 tickets. Paul and I really enjoyed seeing the views from the top of the monument. We planned to visit the Jefferson Memorial on Saturday morning, but the weather was beautiful on Friday, and it was supposed to be raining on Saturday. So, we decided to walk to the Jefferson Memorial on Friday afternoon. The kids weren't thrilled because they were tired of walking. Who would think that two adults in their 50's would have a much higher tolerance for walking than three kids between the ages of 11-15? I had gotten our National Park passports stamped at the White House and the Washington Monument, but due to renovations, we were unable to get ours stamped at the Jefferson Memorial. Two monuments in DC that the kids haven't been to yet are the ones for Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. The visited the Korean War, Vietnam War, WWII, and Lincoln Memorials last year. After we walked back to the parking garage, we drove to Alexandria, Virginia. We had dinner at a pizza place and then attended a Steven Curtis Chapman concert at a church that is located in a shopping mall in Alexandria. The concert was the reason we headed to DC. Nadia would have liked it if we drove back after the concert because they had to miss a Seussical rehearsal on Saturday morning, but we wouldn't have gotten home until 1:00am (at the earliest).

Because it was raining on Saturday, the only place we visited was the Holocaust Museum. Four of us selected cards at the beginning that were of Jews who survived. I was the only one who had been there before, but Paul and I have both (separately not together) visited concentration camps in Europe. The museum had changed some since I was there (when you go more than 20 years in between visits that's likely to occur), but the part that had been the most impactful when I was there decades ago (the exhibit with the shoes) was currently under renovation (no shoes for the time being). In addition to the main exhibit, we walked through one about the more recent genocide in Burma as well as the children's exhibit called "Daniel's Story," which is based on an excellent book I used to read my students back when I was a classroom teacher.

We had eaten breakfast at the hotel in Alexandria, and the kids were grateful we left the hotel at 10:00 considering it had been 6:00 the previous morning. State College is the same distance from DC as our home, and so we drove to PSU from the Holocaust Museum to attend a concert called Winter Jam. On the way we stopped at Roy Roger's (my request) because I haven't been to one of those in many years and as a kid, I loved their strawberry milkshakes. Those milkshakes were our "lunch." In State College we stopped at Wendy's for dinner (using a gift card). It was raining in DC, raining during the entire drive, and raining while we stood outside the Bryce Jordan Center waiting in line to enter the arena. There were about 15,000 people in line. I am not exaggerating. You don't buy tickets in advance but just pay $15 at the door. Nadia and Ian joined the group from our church's youth group. They had been waiting in line for 2.5 hours, so they were at the front of the line and got in long before Paul, Oliver, and I did. But we all got seats. Four of us (Oliver being the exception) had the same favorites - Katy Nichole and Cain. I also really enjoyed the song "Arise my love" by Newsong. I was very grateful for my ear plugs for the entire event, and I walked around the concourse during two of the artists (the two Oliver liked the best). In the future, I doubt Paul and I will attend Winter Jam. We'd prefer just to let the kids go with the youth group, but this one time it was nice to go as a family. We skipped the last artist (Crowder) because I wanted to leave before most people did to avoid the massive traffic jam on the campus when that many vehicles are all trying to leave at the same time. The other reason I didn't want to stay until the bitter end was because we were losing an hour of sleep that night due to DST.

We picked Milo up around 12:30 after church as the people he was staying with live about 5 minutes from church. Thankfully while we were in Florida and Ecuador, Milo really bonded with their eleven-year-old daughter. Milo loves Lucy! Honestly, he gets as excited to see her as he does to see Ian, Nadia, or myself. Prior to her I had never seen him show that much affection for anyone outside our immediate family. He also likes their dog, Cooper. It's such a blessing to know he is happy to be at their house while we're away. We are scheduled to watch Cooper for about 10 days in July, and they are scheduled to watch Milo for one week at the end of May/early June and for another week at the end of August. I'm hoping that Lucy can continue to be our dog sitter for years to come! Milo was so excited when she came over to our house for co-op last Tuesday. 

It's been harder lately to find audiobooks that Nadia really enjoys. I recently hit the jackpot when I got the first book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. All three kids, especially Nadia, really enjoy this series. Typically, Ian is the one asking when we can listen to a book on a road trip. Now it's Nadia who is asking! The first few books in the series are each between 12-16 hours long, whereas many books we listen to are between 4-6 hours long, but we're already on the third book. I'm not sure if we'll listen to all ten books. Maybe the kids can read the last few if I get them from our local library? We shall see, but it's nice to find a series that Nadia really, really wants to listen to. 

View of the White House from the Washington Monument