Bye bye bunk bed

 

Nadia and her cousin, Rachel, had a photoshoot last week

For four days we had four kids in the house, but only one was our own child (Oliver). Yesterday I drove to Messiah to pick up Ian and give Nathan three of his siblings. It doesn't feel normal yet to be a family of four, but for most of the year that will be the new normal. At least I keep in touch with Nadia via texting almost every day. Ian had a good time at the cybersecurity camp, and he also enjoyed spending time with Jenna, Toby, and Nathan. He and Jenna played multiple games of chess. I think she's the most skilled chess player when it comes to my nieces, nephews, and kids. Ian never beat her, but he said they got to an endgame several times, and Jenna said some of the games were close, which was an encouragement to Ian. He played video games and board games like Exploding Kittens with Toby and Nathan. Now that Ian is back, he needs to focus on finishing precalculus, finishing memorizing I Corinthians chapters 7-8, and working. He worked for over 5 hours today at the kennel, and including today he's working 9 of the next 12 days. Nathan isn't a morning person, and Ian usually relies on me to get him up in the morning. I was impressed that Ian used an alarm and got Nathan up each morning in time for them to arrive at Messiah by 8:30 each morning. Similarly, I was surprised that Ian was already up when I went to get him up this morning for work. 

Blackhead Coastal Path, Northern Ireland

Many of the Towfighis were sick last week, and some were still under the weather when they arrived last weekend for Nadia's graduation party. Oliver has come down sick, but so far, the rest of us are healthy. Hoping he feels better soon! 

Our van has been making a strange clanking sound since last Friday night when Paul drove us home from ballroom dancing lessons (which as a side note were cancelled for the rest of the summer, so sad). I was very nervous about driving it for over three hours round trip yesterday, but everything went smoothly. I usually do all the car appointments, but I was nervous they'd try to take advantage of me. The van had a safety recall, and it was due for an inspection by the end of July. I never take it to a dealership for the inspections, but since that's where you need to go for a recall and we thought if a part was needed to fix whatever was causing the sound, they were most likely to have it. So, Paul took the van for all three reasons today. They wanted him to replace the tires, but since they technically passed, we got our inspection sticker without buying them. I'll get new tires elsewhere this summer. Paul had hit a curb on Friday night, and when he did it had dislodged a cap or cover or some sort. They just fastened the cap back on, and Paul didn't hear any clanking on the way home. PTL! That was a big relief.

Milo used to alternate between sleeping with Nadia (on her loft bed) and Ian (on his top bunk). Last summer that came to a grinding halt. He slept with Paul and I for a couple of months, and then we gradually and painfully transitioned him to sleeping in his crate in Oliver's room, which is what he's been doing ever since. For whatever reason, when we got back from Europe, Ian started having Milo sleep with him again. Milo was back in the crate the last several nights while Ian was in Dillsburg, but yesterday he and Paul took the top bunk to the basement as Ian said he would just sleep on a bed at a normal height for Milo's sake. So, it seems that whenever is at home over the next two years, Milo will be sleeping with him. I had suggested this idea to Ian last summer, but for whatever reason he didn't want to do that last summer, but he did want to do it now. I'm sure Milo likes it better than being locked in his crate.

I'm continuing to make progress with the license plate game even though I had decided not to play it this year, ha ha! I saw New Mexico yesterday, which like Hawaii and Wyoming is usually one of the hardest ones to find. I have eight states left to find, and I think the hardest one on my list is South Dakota. 

I tried to call the IRS ten times over the past two days regarding a tax issue with the trust, and when I called at 4:48 yesterday afternoon, I was put on hold for the first time. The other nine times the call was disconnected due to high call volume. I even tried at 7:00 am on the dot as I had read online that was the best time to call, but there was already too high of a call volume at that time. When I finally got through, I was on hold for over two hours, but I finally actually spoke to a human shortly before 7:00 pm, and at 7:10 pm she told me the matter had been taken care of. Mission accomplished! I hope that I don't need to call the IRS again any time soon.

Eilean Donan Castle (Scotland)

Thankful Thursday

1. The kids were able to participate in a Bible quizzing competition that our church hosted on January 9-10. Ironically the teams closest to us (also in Pennsylvania) didn't come, but some teams from two different churches in Indiana participated. Ian's team came in second place, and he also tied for fourth place in the individual part of the competition. I served as an official from 6-10 pm on Friday night and from about 9-4 on Saturday. I'm thankful the kids can participate in this program, and I'm praying that all three of them will put more time into studying I & II Corinthians over the next five months. 

2. While I was serving as an official, Paul took the van for an oil change and tire rotation. Typically, I'm the one who takes our vehicles for all their appointments, so I was happy to relinquish that duty this time around. Unfortunately, I forgot to give him a coupon he could have used at the appointment. 😞It was possible for us to be doing two things at the same time because we are back to owning two cars for which I am very thankful.

3. On Sunday afternoon Nadia, Abby, and her older brother went ice skating.

Nadia made this in art class at MCS - Lion Witch and the Wardrobe inspired

4. There are two shows that I look forward to watching the new episodes each year - All Creatures Great and Small on PBS and The Chosen. The newest season of All Creatures was released on January 11. Paul and I have watched three episodes together so far, which are sort of like little dates. I had planned for us to attend a ballroom dance at a Methodist Church on Saturday night, but Paul wanted to work on spackling in the kitchen. Hopefully, we'll make it to the next dance I have on our calenda (March 7). Wendy got me my first pair of ballroom dancing shoes for Christmas, and I want to try them out! My first ballroom dancing lesson was on January 31, 1997. It's about time I actually own the correct shoes 🤣. I've read or listened to quite a few of James Herriot's books. I'm not sure how many seasons PBS will make of the show, but they have no lack of material to use from his many books! 

5. Nadia drove the Subaru for the first time on January 10 while I was in the vehicle. She began driving herself to work and herself plus her brothers to church for art class, Little Mermaid rehearsals, and youth group starting on January 12. Thankfully, all has gone well so far. I don't take that for granted. I also appreciate a temporary reduction in the amount of chauffeuring. Ian plans to get his learner's permit this summer, but for the next about four months I shouldn't need to drive as much as I usually do. 

6. Ian's piano teacher was flexible and allowed us to move Ian's piano lesson from Friday to Tuesday so she could help him prepare for being part of the youth worship team on Wednesday night. In addition to working on his recital piece by Rachmaninoff, he also has begun working on one by Bach.

 7. Paul and I joined a new small group on Wednesday nights. We are discussing the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. 

8. Our co-op resumed on Tuesday. We have 16 students participating this session as Ben has moved to New York and two girls have left our co-op to join one that just started this month. This session will be much easier for me as another mom is teaching art, Paul is doing chess and physics, and one of the students in the co-op is teaching ASL. I created the lesson plans for the ASL class, but the only things I am teaching are photography and book groups. In art the students studied some of Grandma Moses' artwork and then began drawing a sketch of a project they will be painting with watercolors. Some weeks I might be babysitting the art teacher's three youngest children for 90 minutes, but this week she didn't need to bring them along. Each week I have two different students choose what games are played from 12:30-1:30. This week Julianna chose Dutch Blitz and Lydia chose Jackbox Games. 

9. I'm continuing to make progress with planning our vacation to Europe, which is only four months away. We have our rental cars, lodging, and airfare. I've booked a few of the activities. Would you believe the time slot I had originally chosen for touring Jane Austen's house was already booked? For many of the attractions it's still too soon to book the tickets. Unfortunately, the Palace of Holyroodhouse will be closed on the days we will be in Edinburgh, but so far that's the only thing I've had to completely scratch from the itinerary. 

10. For most of the day yesterday I was unable to make or receive phone calls due to a problem Verizon was having. Thankfully, Nadia's and Paul's phones were not impacted so I was able to use their phones to make a few phone calls. Today I found out Verizon is giving me a $20 credit on our next bill due to the inconvenience.

11. I recently listened to The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. I did so because he's one of Paul's favorite presidents. I didn't know that much about him prior to listening to this book. I agree with Paul's assessment. I wonder if we'll ever have a president like him again. I am not at all happy with our current president, but I rest in the knowledge that God is in control. I am thankful that over the years *some* of our presidents have been excellent albeit it's been a while since we've had one I'd put in that category. 

Giving Thanks

 

1. Paul and I enjoyed our Intermediate East Coast Swing class. We made it to 7 of the 8 classes.

2. All of us (except Nadia) attended a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace at a church in our town. None of us had seen that play before.

3. Nadia has completed two courses so far this semester through Liberty University. She earned an A in her theology class, and she currently has an A in her Developmental Psychology class. She had an A in her astronomy course, but she accidentally didn't complete one of the quizzes due the final week of that class, and that zero brought her grade in the course down to a B. Ian's Bible and the Gospel class came to an end through Cedarville University on November 21. He earned an A- in that course. His speech class doesn't end until December 11. I will say that the courses Ian has taken through Cedarville are MUCH more challenging than the ones Nadia has taken through Grand Canyon and Liberty. 

4. I've been able to play hymns on the piano at our church in between the first and second services and after the second service in the foyer three of the last five Sundays. I also enjoyed teaching our Sunday School class on November 9. Paul and I enjoyed packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child at our church on November 15.

5. Unfortunately, Nadia was in a car accident on November 7 on her way to Camp Susque. She had only had her driver's license for six weeks. Thankfully, she wasn't injured, and she didn't hit any other vehicles. She was driving Paul's Mazda 3, which is a very low riding vehicle, and she ended up in some mud and tall grass. She had no cell service. We feel the Lord did a miracle in that #1 the vehicle wasn't stuck in the mud and #2 that she was able to drive another 10-15 minutes despite the fact the radiator fluid was draining out. Paul worked on the vehicle on November 14 (removing the bumper that was barely hanging on, etc.), but after he discovered the condition of the radiator, he knew we couldn't drive it home. We are supposed to be receiving $800 for it from a salvage company; they retrieved the car from Camp Susque for us on November 17. We opted to take the loss of the vehicle without reporting it to our insurance so that our rates wouldn't skyrocket. Nadia has been saving up money, and we're planning on going in with her to purchase a vehicle in January that she and Ian can use. We don't allow her to drive our minivan so for now I've gone back to being the chauffeur. Cars are replaceable (even if that doesn't happen immediately), but daughters are irreplaceable!

6. Nadia has been working at Camp Susque most weekends. The weekend of November 14-16 all three kids attended a retreat there with our church's youth group. Nadia has earned the nickname of the "dish fairy" because she often does the dishes in the morning at 6:00 am so the dishes are done before the others show up in the morning. Even the weekend she was there on a retreat she (without earning any money) went into the kitchen bright and early and did the dishes and helped prepare breakfast. I'm very proud of her and glad all three kids had a good weekend there with friends. 

7. Paul and I attended our first Classics social. We played games for about three hours. Paul had an easier time guessing the name the pastor had put on his back (Shakespeare). I had a much harder time coming up with Roy Rogers. Another man at our table had a very challenging one - solar eclipse! We introduced another couple to the game Quirkle.

8. Twenty-one months ago, we purchased 1/4 of a grass-fed cow from someone in our church. We finished that beef recently and this month bought another 1/4 of a cow from him. It's definitely more affordable than buying beef at the grocery store, especially considering how lean it is. 

9. The kids were able to audition to be in Little Mermaid at the Christian school. Nadia will be Aquata (one of Ariel's sisters) and also a princess, Ian will be Chef Louis, and Oliver will be in the ensemble. Ian was really hoping to be Sebastian, but we think he'll also have fun being Chef Louis. Their friend, Lydia, (who is also in our co-op and was Tinkerbell in Peter Pan) did get the part she auditioned for - Scuttle, and we were very happy to hear that. One of Nadia's closest friends, Leila, will also be a mersister, and that is also a blessing. 

10. Our performance of Peter Pan went well on November 21. Nadia was Wendy, Ian was Captain Hook, and Oliver was Nana (the dog) and the crocodile. A little over 40 people came to watch the show so there were about 60 of us eating dinner together afterward. After the play was done the kids surprised me with flowers, a card, gifts cards to Red Robin and Panera, and one of the girls gave a little speech about how much she appreciates being in the co-op. It was very sweet and unexpected. The flowers are very pretty! We had a dress rehearsal at 4:30 and let the guests come in at 5:20 for the performance. Thankfully the performance went far more smoothly than the dress rehearsal. Ironically, when I was a child, I directed a performance of Peter Pan that my sisters and some of our neighbors put on for our parents. In that instance we wrote the script ourselves and had far fewer people in the cast. I didn't write the script we used this time, and we had eighteen kids in the play. Ben was the only student from our co-op who didn't participate in the play. He went and picked up the pizzas from Domino's during the performance.

11. Nadia had been driving herself and her brothers to art class twice a week, but I've been driving them since her accident. Last Monday I was able to sit and talk with a friend (another homeschool mom) during the art class, which was a treat! 

12. We began another week of dog sitting last Friday. Thankfully, Cooper is doing MUCH better than he was the last time he was with us. Also, Milo has been sleeping in a crate in Oliver's bedroom for several days. I really, really appreciate not having a dog in my bed at night. PTL!

ABCs of 2021

A - Our senior pastor, Pastor Arlie, retired in May. Nadia and Ian attended a one-week art camp at our local public school. We toured Shedd Aquarium with the Benners. We spent two days in Arizona- we visited Horseshoe Bend, the Grand Canyon, Lowell Observatory, Walnut Canyon, Meteor Crater, and Petrified Forest. 

B - We visited the Benners in Chicago in September. Wendy, Grace, and Rachel also spent time at our house in August and Wendy and all four of her kids spent some time with us here in December. One of the kids' favorite national parks that we visited this year was Badlands in South Dakota. We visited forts/ battlefields in Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. All five of us individually read many books, (Nadia read more than 77 books this year, Ian read 50 books, Oliver read 24 books), and the kids and I (and sometimes Paul) also listened to 132 audiobooks. 

C - Paul and I each had two doses of Pfizer's COVID vaccine; we don't plan on getting booster shots or having our kids receive that vaccination. None of our immediate family have tested positive for COVID, but some of our extended family members have had COVID including Paul's mom and Yvonne's family. The most recent case was Margie who just tested positive yesterday. Her chemo treatment had to be postponed. I took the kids to see a production of Charlotte's Web.  I signed the kids up for co-op classes, but we were only able to attend once due to my broken ankle. We went to the movie theatre for the first time in 2 years in December to see Christmas with the Chosen. Earlier in the year we watched the second season of The Chosen. 

D - We visited Darien Lake amusement park in New York for the first time in May and a dairy farm in Wisconsin in September. I went almost 11 weeks without driving due to my ankle. All five of us have been doing Duolingo for several months. Paul and I are both in the fourth unit. We started a tradition this year of each child getting two dates per year with a parent. Nadia and Oliver had both dates. Ian is still waiting for his second bowling date with Paul.  

E - Paul and the kids skied at Elk Mountain in January. Nadia and I saw a production of Emma. On our way home from Long Island, we visited Thomas Edison's laboratory in New Jersey. I broke my right ankle at Effigy Mounds in Iowa on September 12 and had surgery on it at Evangelical Hospital on October 7.

F - During our final visit with Aunt Janet on Long Island, we visited Fire Island for the first time. We enjoyed learning about Henry Ford at the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and Ford Rouge Factory in Michigan. One of the highlights was riding in a Model-T! We had new flooring installed in our dining room in October. Nadia began learning to play the flute.

G - The kids lost their second Grandma in May when Paul's mother passed away. All three kids participated in a theatre camp at Greenview Alliance Church in August. In December we spent two days at Great Wolf Lodge as part of Ian's 12th birthday celebration. On the first day of our vacation in September we stopped at President Garfield's home in Ohio. 

H - In July we traded our grey 2012 Toyota Sienna for a white 2022 Honda Odyssey. 

I - During our 25-day vacation we drove through 25 states. The only state we drove through but didn't do anything in was Indiana. Ian entered middle school this fall, which meant that he joined the youth group in June. The boys went 21 months without going ice skating due to COVID, but then we went ice skating twice in December.

J - The kids earned around 30 Junior Ranger badges on the vacation. They each have more than 100 badges altogether! My niece, Jenna, is now living two hours south of us when classes are in session at Messiah University. We were able to go to a Christmas show and take her out to dinner on December 4. Sadly, Nadia's five-year-old guinea pig, Jenna, passed away on December 17. 

K - The kids spent a day kayaking and fishing in June. We visited Helen Keller's birthplace in Alabama. We learned more about horses at the Kentucky Horse Park. Milo had a fabulous day with us at Knoebels amusement park!

L - In Montana we visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield.

M - Our first year with Milo and first visit to Mount Rushmore.  Pop Pop joined the kids and I at Montage Mountain water park. The kids spent five days at Good News Camp at Mountain View Bible Camp. We visited Mesa Verde in Colorado and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Paul and the kids played miniature golf in Tennessee. We enjoyed watching the first season of the Mysterious Benedict Society on Disney+.

Talking with their cousins in Quito via FaceTime

N - Nadia was in an online drama production of Nancy Blue.  Aunt Janet moved from New York to Nevada.

O - Ian's first year of seeing an orthodontist (he had expanders and then a retainer this year)

P - The boys attended 6 nights of overnight camp at Pocono Mountain Bible Camp. We visited Paterson Great Falls in New Jersey, Petroglyph in New Mexico, the Parthenon in Tennessee, and Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. Oliver began learning to play the piano.

Q - Nadia participated in Bible quizzing events in Indiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The team she was on won in Oklahoma which meant Nadia won a little over $1,000 college scholarship. Ian also participated in the event in Ohio. Yvonne and her family (minus Jenna) moved to Quito in September.

R- We had a new roof installed on our home in October. The kids and I made our annual trip to Reptiland. 

S - We spent 2.5 days at Six Flags America and Six Flags New England. Nadia spent 7 nights at Camp Susque and participated in a two-week Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theatre camp. In July we visited the Springfield Armory, Springfield Museums, and Old Sturbridge Village. Oliver received stitches under his chin following an accident at the swimming pool. We visited science museums in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

T - The kids took tennis lessons for two weeks in Lewisburg in the spring. We visited Theodore Roosevelt's Inaugural Site in Buffalo in May and his National Park in North Dakota. The kids and I saw a production of The Tempest in August. Nadia became a teenager in June! We watched the first 5 episodes of the new Tuttle Twins show.

U- We spent three days in Utah at Snowbird Ski Resort, Bryce Canyon National Park, horseback riding at Kodachrome, Zion National Park, and touring a slot canyon. 

V - The boys attended two weeks of VBS, and Nadia joined them for one of the weeks. I started making better videos. Speaking of which, I finished Ian's 12th birthday video yesterday.

W - Paul's dad joined us at the WWII weekend at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum. The kids went white water rafting for the first time in the Poconos with the Towfighis in June and again with Paul in Oklahoma City in September. I went 9.5 weeks without using my right leg to walk. We enjoyed spending a day at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. 

X - Ruth had x-rays of her right ankle taken in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 

Y - We had a great day at Yellowstone National Park.

Z - Nadia had voice lessons via Zoom during the spring semester. She also chats with her cousin Rachel by Zoom on a regular basis.

Susie gave Nadia and Ian each a drawing lesson

Thankful Tuesday

1. We are still enjoying our new van. It gets a little bit better gas mileage, it's far easier to listen to audiobooks, and the front seats are far more comfortable. The color continues to grow on me. I'm very glad we didn't try to hold out for a different color.

2. We were offered trial subscriptions to Sirius in the past (such as 9 years ago when we bought the Sienna), but we didn't actually give it a whirl until last week. I figured that the three month free trial would come in handy during the weekend getaway to Massachusetts, our trip to Long Island, and our vacation out west in September. That has absolutely been the case. It's so nice to not need to try and find another station when driving through different areas of a state or different states. They've offered to extend the subscription for 3 additional months for a grand total of $2. I haven't decided about that yet, but I'm very grateful for the three month trial.

3. I had a lovely lunch with my friend today! The restaurant we had picked wasn't actually open today, but we found a diner in that small town that was open. We weren't there for the food but rather to talk and enjoy each other's company. I hadn't seen her in two years, and her husband passed away in November. We've been friends for 27 years, but we haven't lived near each other for 25 years so our visits tend to be few and far between. I drove a little over an hour to get to the diner, which is not something I'm usually willing to do for a meal, but it was definitely worth it as we chatted for 3 hours (part of the time sitting outside). That is a very rare treat for me.

4. I'm thankful for ice cream. I know it's not a healthy food, but let me tell you it's one of my most favorite foods. Currently my four most favorite flavors are Cherry Vanilla (Weis), Blueberry Crisp (Weis), Chocolate Fudge Brownie (Stone Ridge Creamery), and Maple Caramel (Stone Ridge Creamery). YUM!

5. I'm thankful for safety as we traveled to and from Massachusetts. I'm also thankful that in our area we don't encounter the traffic we encountered on an Interstate in Connecticut on Sunday. I'm thankful we were able to stream the last sermon in our new senior pastor's 8 week series on Nehemiah while we were driving home. I prefer to worship in person, but it is nice to be able to attend online when we are away.

6. I'm very thankful the Springfield Armory recently reopened and that we were also able to visit the Springfield Museums and Six Flags New England for free on July 23-24. We also were very grateful that a gentleman secretly paid for our large pizza. I'm also thankful that kids are able to visit the Sturbridge Village for free in July and that we were able to use gift cards to pay for our breakfast and dinner on Sunday (we skipped lunch).

7. We're grateful that our friends took care of Milo .I wish he hadn't been such a handful for them. Tab called me on our way home and said she thought we might need to take him to the vet, but he's fine. I think it was a combination of separation anxiety plus adjusting to a transition from puppy to adult dog food. 

8. Oliver is very grateful that his four sutures were removed on Monday morning as that has meant he can SWIM again!

9. I'm getting a new (to me) lens for my camera! I haven't gotten a new lens in five years. I'm really looking forward to using this wide angle lens on our vacation in September. Almost all of my lenses are Canon lenses, but to save money I got a used Sigma lens; however, it's from their Art series which are supposed to be excellent lenses. 

10. My cousin, Brent, who turned 47 years old ten days ago became a Dad today! This means that my Aunt Janet (age 78) became a Grandma today!!! Woohoo!!!! We're hoping to meet her grandson at some point in the future when we take a trip to Lake Tahoe.

11. We've been looking forward to our annual trip to visit Aunt Janet, but now we have even more reasons to be excited about it. First, my niece Rachel will be spending a week with us (part of that will be in NY), and secondly my sister, Wendy, is flying to Long Island to spend 3 days with us. It will have been two years since I have seen either of them, and I've never gone that long without seeing Wendy before. We are thrilled, and Aunt Janet is also very excited!

12. I'm so thankful that Dee (our neighbor) is taking the kids to camp, and Paul is picking them up at night. I am very, very grateful for the reprieve from chauffeuring. As much as I love spending time with my kids and do NOT look forward to being an empty nester in potentially 9 years, I have to say having a few days a year when I can have several hours of quiet time by myself is also greatly appreciated. I'm also thankful that the kids are having a great time and that this camp was practically free. We only had to pay a tiny fee to cover a t-shirt and their snacks at the Sugar Shack. As much as my kids enjoy these camps, they also give me a renewed appreciation for one of the benefits of homeschooling - not needing to get the kids up and out the door before 8:00am. I really don't like having to wake the kids up, and I don't enjoy a rushed morning, which is what is happening this week. Thankfully it's a rare occurrence in our household as during the school year we very rarely leave the house before lunch. 

13. We found a way to watch the Olympics even though we don't have cable. It turns out there is an app to use to watch local channels for free.

14. I placed an order today for new flooring for our dining room. I remember 13 years ago telling my mom that if we stayed in this house after Paul graduated from PSU, the first thing I was going to do was replace the flooring in the dining room as I thought off-white carpet didn't make sense in a dining room. We have changed the flooring in five other rooms in this house over the years, but the dining room still has the 22 year old carpeting. In hindsight I wish I had done both the dining room and kitchen five years ago, but it seemed like too much money at the time. I say that because now it's impossible to get the same flooring. So I tried to pick something out that looked okay next to hardwood (what is in the living room) and what is in the kitchen. Milo's accidents have left stains in that room, the family room, and the upstairs hallway. We keep all the bedroom doors closed so he hasn't damaged those carpets. We've never had our carpets cleaned before. I made an appointment today for someone to come on Monday to clean the family room and upstairs hallway carpets. Hopefully that will do the trick, and I really, really hope that Milo is done having accidents in our house. 

Thankful Thursday

 

1. I took the boys to the orthodontist on Monday. It was a very quick appointment, and he said that I don't need to return for 6 months because Ian needs to wear his retainer longer before the next step and Oliver isn't ready to begin. 

2. I used to shop the clearance racks at department stores several times a year (primarily JCPenney or Sears), but since malls have pretty much become a thing of the past, I haven't done that in several years. On Monday I used a $5 off coupon at Kohl's to get a winter dress for Nadia for $7.41 that was originally $68. I get most of the kids' clothes at yard sales, but it's not always easy to find dresses for Nadia now that she's older. It was very easy to get dresses for her at yard sales when she was younger.

3. Nadia and Ian really enjoyed the color war event at youth group the previous Wednesday night as well roller skating with the youth group last night. They also attended youth group at FBC on Sunday night. 

4. All three kids enjoyed VBS last week. Ian was thrilled to be one of the eleven children picked to "plaster the pastor" with paint on Thursday night. 

5. We bought a lot of fruit on Monday at ALDI. Eating plums, grapes, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and other types of fresh fruit is something Nadia and I really, really enjoy about the summer! Oliver has discovered he likes honeydew as much as I do. His obsession with watermelon has waned some this year.

6. Peppa's eye healed on its own. Whew! So glad we didn't need to take her to the vet, and also thankful she seems fine now.

7. We are thankful we were able to purchase a minivan during this time when it's challenging to do so. The kids and I like it a lot more than the Sienna for a variety of reasons. I'm also thankful for the 9 years we have been able to use the Sienna.

8. The kids enjoyed going to Dairy Queen on Tuesday night. It wasn't a cheap dinner! Unfortunately they didn't have any brownies as Nadia and I wanted to get a Blizzard that had brownie in it, but we still enjoyed what we selected. It brought back memories as I remember going to DQ when I was a child in Texas. When I was a principal, DQ actually delivered school lunches to our students once a week. Those school meals were FAR cheaper than what we paid on Tuesday night. 

9. Helen joined us for lunch and swimming yesterday after art camp. 

10. I installed 60 Dig Defence barriers around the fence yesterday morning so that Milo *hopefully* won't be able to escape. He wants to spend more time outside than he usually does. Paul needs to put something on the bottom of the two gates, and then Milo can have free reign in the backyard without a leash when he wants to go outside!

11. Paul is generally very good at rolling with the punches. He had a lot of practice with that this week. On Monday he drove to Reading for naught, he had to drive to Stroudsburg on Tuesday evening to sign the title, and I entered the wrong month for his dentist appointment. He showed up on Tuesday morning when actually his appointment is in August. OOPS! He was very gracious about my error. Thanks, honey! Would you believe the woman who failed to tell me on Monday that the van had been sold on Saturday night texted me on Tuesday asking if Paul had come down on Monday and said the vehicle was still there. What in the world?!? I told her that Paul had left work early and driven two hours in vain only to be told the van had been sold on Saturday evening. Oi vey!

12. Nadia and Ian have been enjoying the art camp this week. I want to frame at least one of Nadia's paintings. All of the projects have been with watercolor. It's the first time I've ever dropped my kids off at a public school! There are only eight kids in the art class - Helen, Ian, and Nadia are three of the eight.

13. Oliver's chin collided with a wall in the swimming pool yesterday. At first I thought only his lip was bleeding, but there was also a gash under his chin. Thankfully, our neighbor was also at the pool. She said Nadia, Ian, and Helen could stay for another hour. Helen's mom came an hour later to pick her up, and our  neighbor took Nadia and Ian home along with her two kids and a friend of her daughter. Years ago when Ian had a gash under his chin at the ice skating rink, I took him to the Urgent Care, and they said the only could treat with glue. Since his wound required sutures, I had to then take him to the ER. Thankfully the policy has changed over the years as they did stitch Oliver's wound at the Urgent Care this afternoon. We had a very small wait. Oliver was a trooper because wow it looked very painful to receive the injection in his face to numb the area. He screamed but was in the words of the doctor "very compliant." Unfortunately, the stitches meant we had to cancel our plans to visit DelGrosso's today (and we had invited four other people to join us). He can't swim until they come out. Hopefully he will be more careful in the future! I'll attempt to reschedule the DelGrosso's trip for sometime in August. The tickets will cost more then as today they were on sale for only $16 (half off). 

So Long, Sienna!

I started driving in January 1988. My first vehicle was a manual silver Toyota Tercel. The car didn't have air conditioning, and when I was working on my master's degree in South Carolina in the summer of 1994 I decided it was time to trade the car in for one that did have a/c. My parents had picked the first car out, and I bought it from them in 1991. I knew exactly what color car I wanted in 1994. I bought a mint green Tercel which I owned for several years. While I was working on my doctorate I traded my second Tercel in for a beige Toyota Corolla. In 2009 I traded the Corolla for a red Prius (hybrid). When Paul and I got married 20 years ago, he had a Honda Civic. Over the past 20 years he's purchased two vehicles. The first was another Honda Civic, and the second was a grey 2016 Mazda 3 which he bought in May 2018. It didn't have many miles on it when he bought it, but he drives 600 miles a week to and from work so the car already has 113,000 miles on it only three years later. In 2012 we traded his Civic in for our first minivan. The red Prius became his car at that point, and for the past almost nine years I've been driving a grey 2012 Toyota Sienna. That was the first time either of us ever purchased a brand new vehicle. We planned to buy a used light blue minivan with heated seats, but Oliver came home from the NICU in a car bed because he was too small to use a car seat, and we had to buy a van the same day he was discharged or I would have been at home the next day with three kids who couldn't fit in the Civic or Prius while Paul was at PSU. We weren't able to shop around for that vehicle purchase. 

For the past 30 years I've traded in my car once it's hit about 100K miles. The van has 152,000 miles, which means it's the most miles I've ever put on one vehicle. Over the past 33.5 years I've purchased five different Toyotas - three of which I wasn't really crazy about the color and two I did really like the color (mint green Tercel and red Prius). The color I disliked the most of the five is the grey I've been driving for 9 years. To add insult to injury, Paul bought a grey car 3 years ago. The color of a vehicle is unimportant to Paul, but the kids and I have been really looking forward to trading in the van for another van or SUV that we liked the color. We considered a red Sienna, but the kids preferred the Obsidian Blue Pearl Odyssey. It's a really pretty color - even prettier than the light blue we considered getting in 2012. We were planning on buying a used one this time, but considering the very small discount for a used minivan, we decided it was better to buy a new one. A dealership that had one in the color we wanted was south of where Paul works so he drove the Sienna to work on Monday morning, and I drove his Mazda when I took the kids to art camp, orthodontist, library, grocery store, and such today. Paul owned two Hondas, but the Odyssey is the first Honda that I've owned and our first vehicle with heated seats. As a person who doesn't like being cold, I am really excited about the heated seats! If we own this one as long as we owned the Sienna, we'll have it until Oliver graduates from high school. I had thought that Paul's Mazda could become our third car once Nadia started driving in 2024, but at the pace he's going there will be over 200K miles on it at that point. We shall see how long we keep the Mazda. While I was a FT adjunct at BU from 2017-2019 I set some money I made aside for a few big purchases, and we are using most of that money this summer to buy this van and replace our roof in September. Usually when you earn money it goes towards things you can't really "see" such as paying for gasoline, property taxes, life insurance, utilities, car insurance, etc. 

Paul was at work on Saturday and wasn't able to go to the dealer that day, so on Saturday I made an appointment for him to come down on Monday evening. I confirmed the appointment on Monday morning as I knew there was a chance it had been sold since I made the appointment. The confirmed the appointment, Paul drove down there, and they told him they sold it on Saturday night and weren't expecting more until September. Ugh! He left work early and drove an extra two hours for nothing. The only Obsidian Blue Pearl ones that we found within a 2 hour radius of our house were of a more expensive model. Paul knew how much I had disliked the grey color the last 9 years and was willing to splurge on one that had more bells and whistles, but I wanted to see if there were other options. Although I've never been a person who was really interested in vehicles, liking the color did make it a more exciting purchase. I found a 2020 blue one in Stroudsburg that only had 201 miles on it (seemed new even though it was listed as used), and I made an appointment to see it at 1:30 today. As soon as I picked Nadia and Ian up from art camp at noon, we started driving to the dealership. The blue one was still there, but I quickly learned it was missing many features that I wanted such as it only had 7 seats (we've had 8 seats the past 9 years), didn't have the magic slide for the middle row (which I was eagerly anticipating as it will make it easier for people to get into the back row), didn't have heated seats, etc. I asked if they had any 2022 Odysseys, and they had one white one in stock which was thankfully not the more expensive model. In the end I decided that it was more important to get the features we wanted than a color I wanted. I would rank white as fifth in terms of my favorite colors for vehicles. It's not as pretty as the Obsidian Blue Pearl, but it's much better than grey. 

The Bluetooth was truly a royal pain to use in the 2012 Sienna. It is a billion times easier to listen to audiobooks and use any other feature of my phone via the vehicle's touch screen in the 2022 Odyssey. It has heated seats, and I can set the temperature for three different parts of the vehicle (can be three different temps) - drive, passenger, and rear. The driver's seat is far more comfortable than it was in the Sienna. It also has blind spot information system, adaptive cruise control (ex. if the vehicle in front of us is going slower than what I've set the cruise control to then the vehicle adjusts the cruise control setting accordingly), the car brakes on its own if we are too close to another vehicle, the car also has a lane keeping assist system. In other words the car literally drives itself by controlling the steering wheel and brakes at some points! The only feature it didn't have that I was hoping our next vehicle would have was a power tailgate. When we buy groceries, many times employees are waiting for me to hit a button that I don't have. That's not changing even though we have a new vehicle as we'd have to have gotten a more expensive model to have that feature. It does have a remote starter which I've never had before. It's not plain white - sort of a pearl color. It's growing on me, but I still hope that our next vehicle is a color I prefer. I realize it might be another 9-10 years before we trade this in. If there wasn't such a shortage of vehicles at the moment, I would have held out for blue, green, or red, but I contacted quite a few dealerships and many of them had ZERO Siennas or Odysseys in stock. 

It took almost two hours to drive there, and we were at the dealer for three hours. Milo was a very good boy during the 8 hours he was alone in his crate during our car buying adventure. Since we didn't leave the dealership until 5pm, I treated the kids to dinner at Dairy Queen as going to to DQ was on our bucket list and we hadn't been there yet. Because both my name and Paul's was on the title for the Sienna, they needed Paul's signature. They wanted both of us to sign it in the presence of a notary tomorrow. Paul wasn't sure how to accomplish that in light of his work hours. So Paul drove to the dealership this evening. I certainly hope the next time we buy a vehicle we don't have to drive so far to find one! The kids and I drove about 3.5 hours round trip, and Paul drove a total of 5+ hours to dealerships the past two days (just what he drove to the dealership, I'm not counting the time he spent driving to work). Nadia said she hopes she doesn't want to be around the next time we buy a vehicle, and she said if she's married she'll have her husband do it as she doesn't want to go to a car dealer again. LOL! She might change her mind in the future, but I agree car shopping is not exactly pleasant! Usually we try to negotiate the price, but I figured it was pointless in the current market where there is a shortage of vehicles available for buyers. I asked if they would give us $400 more for the trade in than they initially offered, and they gave us $200 more than what they initially offered. That's not much but considering places are requiring people to make offers that are HIGHER than the sticker price, I was thankful we "only" had to pay the sticker price and that he gave us what I thought was a reasonable amount for the Sienna. Here's to hoping and praying for many years of safely driving our new white Odyssey! 

Nadia and her new friend, Helen