Spontaneous, Flexible, Responsive . . .

. . . these are not words that normally describe our family. I would say we're about as maneuverable as an aircraft carrier! But yesterday we were amazingly flexible and spontaneous.

It started around lunchtime, when I decided to sign up to make a meal for our pastor's wife. Our homeschool co-op is making meals for 2 weeks, and no one had signed up, so I jumped right on that! A little before 2:00 (1:47 to be exact), I was puttering around the kitchen, thinking that I should just start making the meal right then, so I could deliver it early for a change, and not be rushing around in the afternoon/evening. At that moment, Nathan came thundering up the stairs from the basement. "MOM, I HAVE A DENTIST APPOINTMENT AT 2:00!!!" Oh yes--the second orthodontic consult. The one that I had gotten an automatic reminder call for on Sunday night, and the one that I had then filled out all the paperwork for, but never thought about one tiny bit all day on Monday! Oops! Well, now my afternoon is filled! We literally leaped into the van and rushed off to the appointment, which fortunately was about 10 minutes away. Whew! Once again I was tremendously thankful to have older boys--I could leave everyone else at home with Luke, including Micah, who I had just put down for a nap. Otherwise, I don't think we could even have found shoes for everyone and gotten out the door in 10 minutes, much less actually arrive anywhere!

So . . . we made it there, had a good appointment (topic for another post!), and came back home so I could put the meal together. Then Bob called. He had a TDY to Quantico Tuesday, and it's a real pain to get down there from here, so he was going to spend Monday night in the TLF. They had given him a 2 room suite with 2 double beds and a pull-out sofa--did we want to go to Quantico that night with him? Yes! I have wanted to go to the Marine Corps Museum since it opened a few years ago, but I've never made the trek down there with the kids. Now we'd already be down there!

Bob delivered the meal and took both boys to football practice while I packed up stuff for everyone for the night. He picked the boys up, we loaded up the big van and the minivan, and we left about 9:15 to drive south. We didn't get in until 10:30, so the kids weren't in bed until 11:00, which made for some crabby girls today, but oh well.

The girls did sleep in a little bit, and once I nursed Micah (a second time, since he was up at 5:15, grrrr), we were ready to go eat around 8:30. I decided to run out to the van to get a stroller for him to sit in , and when I passed the breakfast area, a guy was wiping down the counter and putting the last bagels in a box! Not to worry--I had been afraid there wouldn't be any breakfast at all, so I had packed a cooler with milk, along with cereal, oatmeal, and hard-boiled eggs. So we just ate in the room. Whew! The paper in the room said breakfast was until 9:00, but clearly it was over . . . that's the military way, LOL. As we went out to the van, I eagerly looked forward to the day when we could take a simple overnight trip without requiring a luggage cart to get our suitcase, 2 pack-n-plays, 2 sleeping bags, 4 pillows, toiletries bag, cooler, grocery sack of food, and other random items out to the van!


The National Museum of the Marine Corps is an impressive building that you can see from I-95. We've driven by it several times at night, when it is all lit up. The spires and metal actually reminded us all a little bit of the USAFA Chapel, but it is supposed to invoke the image of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima, with the angle of the pole.
There is an atrium filled with tons of light right when you walk in.

In the atrium were some cut-outs of previous Marine uniforms that you could stand behind. Here Caleb is modeling a uniform from Revolutionary War times. Quite dashing!

The museum was set up really well, with lots of galleries, and many interactive scenes, dioramas, videos, and so on. It was really moving to hear the interviews with Marines, such as from World War II, that were playing. We made it all the way through the World War II gallery, but we didn't get to the "Cold War" gallery, and I believe there might have been another gallery or 2 that we missed. It was really a big place--bigger than it looks on the outside. There were a few interesting-looking movies that were playing in theater-like rooms, but we didn't watch any of those. Faith was being a real stinker, and I knew she wouldn't sit happily through a movie. I had to carry her pretty much the whole time, and I wished I had put Micah in the Ergo and her in the stroller! Of course, then she would have wanted to be out, because what she REALLY wanted was to be contrary, LOL.

The kidi did sit through several of the short little films showing around the exhibits. The one below had several news clips from World War II, as well as some cartoon commercials for war bonds (seeing Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck was what drew them in!).

I would like to go back to see the rest of the exhibits. It is always moving and humbling to spend time contemplating the tremendous price people have paid for our freedom. We are especially proud of Bob's brother Dennis, who was active duty Marine, and now is in the Army reserve!

That Sinking Feeling . . .

This morning we cleaned and did a bit of school, and this afternoon we left around 2:00 to head to the commissary. The trip was uneventful, and we got less stuff than we normally do. Usually we spend around $650 every 6 weeks there, but this time is was just under $550. I knew it would be less because the two carts were not piled roundly high, where I have to wedge things in so they don't slip off the top of the mountain!

There are 2 ladies who work in the meat department, and they recognize us now, and always come out to talk to us when they see me browsing the meats! They really like the kids, and this time we got around to introducing all the kids. The ladies recognized all the names as Bible names, and said they thought our kids were as well-behaved as the Duggars, LOL. They're both fans of the show, apparently. It's fun to be recognized in a good way, though!

After we brought the car around for the bagger to start loading, I immediately started putting brown paper sacks of groceries on the floor under Faith's feet, as I usually do, while the bagger put stuff in the back. We always have to put stuff at Nathan's feet, and usually on the floor at Luke and Grace's feet too, so I was mildly surprised when the bagger finished up, and shut the door, without needing to put anything on the floor at all! Plus, he was really speedy too. Wow! But it was almost 100 degrees at the Ft. Myer parking lot today, so I didn't stand around cogitating. I hopped back in the van, cranked up the air conditioning and headed home. Who knew spending just $100 less would make such a difference in the amount of bags we had?!

When we got into home, we leaped into action, since I told everyone that we had lots of frozen stuff, like a 5 qt. tub of chocolate ice cream--don't want that melting into a puddle! Everyone worked like a well-oiled machine, bringing bags of groceries in, unloading inside bags, and unloading bags in the garage into the outside fridge and freezer. Nathan kept asking where the big ice cream tub was. And the frozen pizzas. Hmmm. We got all the bags out of the van in record time and were almost done stowing them . . . when we realized the ice cream just wasn't there. Neither was the apple juice. Or the big jug of veg. oil. Or any frozen vegetables, lunch meat, 2 family-size packs of boneless chicken breasts, a watermelon, and random cans of tuna, soup, peanut butter, etc. One whole cart of groceries, in other words. No wonder everything fit so easily! We got the receipt and realized it must have been the first cart loaded because it was primarily everything from the beginning of the receipt. So that cart must have been pushed aside while the baggers filled up the other carts, and never brought outside with us. Grrrrrrrrrrr. It was now after 5:00.

Bob came home from work, and we related our sad tale of woe. We called the commissary and left a message, and they finally returned the call. Yes, they had found the cart. They had wheeled it into a walk-in fridge, and they had taken out the bags of frozen stuff and put them in a freezer. At least my ice cream wasn't melting! They offered to take everything out, scan it, and give up a refund, but I needed the stuff! We have company coming tomorrow! Bob's retirement ceremony is Thursday! So clearly I would have to make the trek back into D.C at rush hour to rescue my poor groceries.

I took Nathan with me so I could HOV on the way home. There was tons of traffic, as you might expect, so it took us about 2 hours, round trip. I was glad we went though. There was a bagger number on the receipt, #80, and so I was definitely grumbling about him in my mind. When we got there, the head bagger was quick to help us get our groceries out, and another gentleman pushed everything to the van. As we were walking out, he pointed out another older black gentleman and asked if that was who my bagger was. I told him that man had helped bag, but he wasn't the guy who pushed everything (not) out to the curb and loaded it. The man said the older gentleman was #80, so I was so glad I was there to clear his name, so he wouldn't be blamed for anything! It was this younger kid, and I guess he just wasn't paying much attention. I described him, and the man said, "Ah, yes . . .I know EXACTLY who you are talking about . . ." So I'm thinking things aren't looking so good for that guy.

As Nathan and I were driving home, as soon as we got on the highway, we saw an accident on the other side, where we had been driving maybe 20 minutes before! The police were already there, so it must have happened just moments after we had gone by! We saw a second accident also on that side as we continued on home, so we felt like we left accidents in our wake! I wasn't driving crazily, honest! It was pretty bumper to bumper, though, so I guess people weren't paying attention. So glad I wasn't involved! I am pretty sure that would have made the day rank right down there with our zoo trip last year where my wallet was stolen. Now, to turn into bed early . . .

Busch Gardens!

Wednesday afternoon we drove down to Richmond, where we stayed with Bob's sister Ann and her family. We had a delicious meal of grilled chicken ka-bobs, and we walked over to a really nice playground near their house.

Thursday we were all up bright and early for the trip over to Busch Gardens! Ann and Wally's son Matthew went, as did their daughter Christi and her husband Andres. Again we all wore red shirts, so we could keep track of each other! This was our last time to get the "Here's to the Heroes" passes for 4 of us, since it is Bob's last summer on active duty. Busch Gardens is also celebrating the 1 year anniversary of their Sesame Street Forest of Fun, so they were offering free passes to kids under 5. I had to fill something out on line and bring their birth certificates. So we only paid for Caleb and Jonathan! Actually, when we got to the window and laid out all our IDs, birth certificates, etc., the lady working there said they would have "taken care of us" for Caleb and Jonathan, so we didn't need to buy them tickets. But we couldn't have possibly known that, since everything about the program says "up to 4 free tickets"! We can't complain though--$78 for all 9 of us! Even a better deal than last year!

Last year, the weather was absolutely perfect--overcast and cool, looking the entire day as if rain were imminent. Thursday was hot with nary a cloud in the sky. I was so glad I wasn't carrying a nursing baby in a frontpack, like I was last year, or pregnant! Our niece Christi is pregnant, however, so I really felt for her! I always really felt the heat while pregnant. The park was more crowded than last year, but it was still not "crowded", so there was hardly any waiting in line, and everyone could ride as much as they wanted to.

Anna and Grace both enjoyed all the kiddie rides. Anna was tall enough this year to ride the Elmo roller coaster in the Sesame Forest of Fun, so that was VERY exciting and monumental for her, LOL. Grace managed to lose her hat on one of the first rides she rode on. I was bummed because it was a light khaki Old Navy hat of which I have one of every kid size, from 12 months up to medium. But as we were walking out of the park at night, I stopped by Lost and Found, and voila, there it was! Someone had turned it in! I was very excited! I don't think she cared much either way. It wasn't purple, LOL.
Jonathan was still just a hair too short to be able to ride the big roller coasters, much to his disappointment. Here he is on the Battering Ram with Andres and Ann. He said he had a good time when he got off, but Luke, Bob, and Nathan were sitting on the other side of the ram, looking across at him, and they said he looked terrified! I was watching too, and I saw him clutching Andres for dear life! He tells me it was his favorite ride, though, so he did like it!

Caleb could have ridden the roller coasters, but he had no desire to do so. He even held back on some of the other rides. His favorite one was the Roman Rapids, where everyone got soaked. He rode that a few times! The water felt very refreshing!

Luke also held back on the roller coasters, but he rode the other rides. He still likes going in circles, but not the slamming aorund of the g-forces in roller coasters. His favorite ride was also the Battering Ram.

Nathan was a super-coaster rider, riding all the coasters at the park, even the Griffon, a floorless dive coaster. Here is a description: Each train consists of three rows of ten seats. Once strapped in, the loading platform floor drops and a voice recording says, "Now, prepare to enjoy the power and speed of the mythical Griffon!" After a right turn out of the station, riders climb a 45-degree lift hill running about 10 feet per second (6.8 mph), 205 feet up. Then they make another turn to the right and face the Royal Palace Theatre. The trains pause on a holding brake for six seconds before dropping 205 feet at 90° hitting 71 mph. The ride then goes into a 146-foot Immelmann loop before making a sweeping turn upward to the left and into the block brake. Riders will then drop 130 feet down at 87° toward The Rhine River and into another 100-foot Immelmann inversion briefly showing the Loch Ness Monster. Finally, riders will exit a bunny hop into a water splash pool. Each of the three trains produces a different water spray pattern up to 45 feet high. Riders then encounter a small dip just before the final brake run and station.

Andres was the convincing factor here, and he was proved right--they ended up riding it 5 times! First they were in the back row, then the middle, and then 3 times in the very front. Bob said that was really windy, though. It was Nathan's favorite ride.

Bob rode the Griffon and also the Loch Ness Monster, but that was all the roller coasters for him. He did accompany Jonathan and Caleb on a few of the "spider"-type rides, where your car spins around and goes up and down, and he was glad for that to be over!

Faith's favorite thing to do was watch, LOL. She did not want to be in the stroller, but she also was not a big fan of any of the rides. We had to stop 2 of them to get her off! She even fussed on the carousel, sitting with me on a BENCH! After lunch we played for while in the very shallow wading pool area, and she was very happy there. Just as long as no one is making her go in circles or up and down!

As for me, I rode on a few rides. Like the teacups. And one kiddie ride. And, let's see . . . well, the carousel. That's about it. I used to really enjoy going around, like in the teacups. Wednesday night, at the playground, they had these neat little cups on a bent pole, and when you sat in them, you twirled around. It was so fun! I rode around and around! And when I got off, I started not feeling so good, LOL. I had a headache and a bit of a stomachache for the rest of the evening. I never was big into rides, and now it looks like I'm just done. I'm definitely getting old! Hey, someone's got to watch the stroller. (Maybe that's why we keep having babies?!) Here is a picture of Luke in the crazy cup thing at the playground:

We didn't eat lunch until about 2:30. Nathan had been busy Tuesday, so we had a wide selection of dehydrated fare to tide us over--strawbery fruit leather, pineapple, and jerky. Plus, who wants to go on roller coasters after eating lunch? Although after lunch is when the Griffon was ridden, LOL. We had a nice picnic on the grass by our vans. This is a picture of all of us excpet Matthew and me.

Once again we closed out the park. On our way home, we stopped for pizza in Williamsburg at Sal's, like last year, although Sal's is in a different location right now. That's because just shortly after our visit there last year, it burned down! So they are in a temporary locationw hile rebuilding. The pizza was still so good! We were all ravenous, and we consumed 3 extra-large pizzas in very short order. We got back to Ann and Wally's house around 10:30. Everyone slept well that night because we were so exhausted!

Colonial Williamsburg

Tuesday afternoon after Nathan's writing co-op, we packed up the van and headed down to Richmond. We got to Bob's sister's house after dinner, and our niece Christi was even there to visit for a little while too! The next morning we were up and out of there by 9:00. This may not seem like very early to you, but believe me, for us it is a very good time, LOL. We got to Williamsburg by 10:30, and we picked up our tickets at the visitors' center, which was very nice. Colonial Williamsburg is having "Homeschool Days' right now, from Sept. 12-Sept. 27, and the deal is amazing. If you preregistered, which I did, the ticket prices were $5.50 for an adult and something like $3 or $4 for kids ages 6-12. I think we paid $36 for all 11 of us to go. Normally the ticket prices are almost $40 a day per adult!! The ticket included everything too--the movie at the visitors' center, which was very well-done, and a wonderful introduction to everything, the tour of the governor's palace, riding on the bus (which we never did due to all our stuff, LOL), the special activities . . . It was truly an amazing deal.

After watching the movie in the visitors' center, we walked over to the main village part, and we ate our picnic lunch. Then we took the tour of the governor's palace, since we were right by it.

When you walk in, the entry area is quite large, with a very high ceiling. The walls on all sides have weapons up and down them--swords, muskets, pistols, more swords. You can probably imagine how impressed the boys were by this. "It's like they wall-papered the walls with SWORDS!" It really was quite impressive.

By the end of the tour, Faith was getting very tired and squawky. We were in this huge ballroom, and Bob and I were at one end, juggling her around, bouncing her up and down, trying to keep her quiet, while the tour guide was at the other end giving his spiel. He was not impressed withour efforts, and when someone asked some question, he replied rather testily that he couldn't think clearly because of all the noise. Geesh! It was only Faith who was making any noise at all! Everyone else was at the other end of the ballroom, quiet as mice! We decided he didn't have much experience with real noise, LOL.

Next we headed over to the other side of the village, to one of the museums. They were having a special thing for kids called "Cracking the Code". It was about the codes used in the Revolutionary War. The boys enjoyed this, although Nathan said he had read a book called, George Washington, Spymaster, and all their information was from there, so he already knew all the codes. While they were in there, I enjoyed looked around the building where you enter the museum. It was a public hospital for the insane, begun back in the late 1700's, and they had a fascinating exhibit about how they used to treat insane people (like prisoners, really, in cells and everything) back then, and some of the equipment and practices used over time. Very interesting.

Then we headed back to the center part of the town, where most of the shops are, and we stopped at a few of them along the way. Williamsburg does this thing starting at 3:00 called "Revolutionary City", where the tourists are sort of bystanders to the drama of the time. Actors (with mics so you can hear them) do these little vignettes on the street about the hardships of the time, trying to convince people to support unification with the other colonies, introducing Benedict Arnold, etc. They also do a reading of the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the House of Burgess, as if it had just been printed off and received here in Virginia. It was very moving!

While they were reading the declation, there were 2 patriots on horseback that rode up right next to our stroller. I didn't think Faith would mind too much, but I fully expected Anna and Grace to be terrified. After all, they are petrified of dogs and cats, and horses are so huge, right? Wrong. They were fascinated by the horse. No tears or screams of fright at all. Just when you think you have your kids figured out . . .

After the Declaration, Bob, Faith, Ann, Wally, and Grace took a tour of the House of Burgess. The boys did not want to do any more tours, especially one that was half and hour, but it was a hot day, and Bob was lured in by the promise of air conditioning. The boys, Anna, and I laid on the grass for a few minutes, and then we meandered down the street, watching ladies make baskets, and visiting the wig maker's shop. Eventually we just sat on a bench and waited. We were surprised to see Bob and Faith come down the street, but not anyone else. It turns out that Faith got them kicked out of the tour! She was squawky again, although Bob said she was not actually as loud as she had been at the governor's palace! There was a toddler who was running around all out of control, and the tour guide told the mom not to let the boy run around, but he just kicked out Bob and Faith! We decided Williamsburg is not really the most baby-friendly place around. I think these tour guides maybe take themselves just a LITTLE bit too seriously!

After we all regathered, Nathan was so ready to go. He was quite whiney--good thing he didn't try to take the tour, LOL. Here is the obligatory picture in the stocks, where he is actually just making a face. He really didn't look like this, evn when whining about how hot and tired he was! Bob and I had heard there was going to be a military review in the green behind the courthouse at 5:00, and it was about 4:45, so we were trying to stall so we could at least see a little bit of that before we left. Some people went inside the courthouse for a few minutes, and some of us watched the shoemaker, which was quite interesting. Finally the review started. Actually, the fife and drum corps, plus the militia, marched down the street from the courthouse, with all the tourists around them and following them. We were in front of them, watching it all, and it looked like the last scene in the Music Man where the whole town is marching alongside the band. It was funny.

On the green, the militia did some moving around, and then they loaded and fired off their muskets several times! The boys were not expecting them to do that, so that perked everyone up, even Nathan. Anna was not a fan of the loud noise, so she clapped her hands over her ears and tightly screwed her eyes shut for pretty much the remainder of the time, LOL. The militia then charged the flag. They charged on "Huzzah", which the boys all got a kick out of. "That would be like charging on 'Hooray'!" Then, as a grand finale, they fired the cannon off 3 times! That was very exciting! Everyone was glad we stayed for that after all. As we were walking out, a nice lady took a group picture of us all in front of the governor's palace.

Then we all had a very delicious dinner at Cracker Barrel before driving back home. It was a fun day, and we were so glad to spend it with Ann and Wally! We got back late, and I had to stay up even later to finish preparing for Classical Conversations. We were all so tired the next day!

Greentop Weekend

This weekend we went camping with a bunch of other big homeschooling families from our co-op, and from the church that hosts the co-op. It was so much fun! We were all so tired (and dirty) yesterday when we got home! We went to a place called Camp Greentop , in Maryland not too far from us. It is part of Catoctin Mountain Park, but I thought the most interesting thing is that Greentop is practically across a small road from Camp David! We passed the turn-off for Camp David ("Do not enter. Not open to the public. Violaters will be fined . . . "), which is also surrounded by a big electric fence in case you are just innocently hiking along, LOL.

Actually, that is not the only interesting thing about the camp. It has a unique history as well. Here's some of what the website says:

Camp Greentop was built in 1937 as part of the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District. Although the original concept called for a camp almost identical to Camp Misty Mount, plans were modified to meet the needs of its first tenants, the Baltimore League for Crippled Children. Thus, Camp Greentop became one of the nation's first camps specifically constructed to meet the needs of the handicapped. The American Chestnut cabins, built by the Works Progess Administration, and the surrounding area look much as they did in 1937. The Baltimore League for Crippled Children, now known as the League for People with Disabilities, Inc., has returned to Camp Greentop for over 70 years, their tenure interrupted only by the military occupation of the camp during World War II.

Here is the dining area and conference room, which the kids used as a huge indoor playroom, especially on Saturday, when the weather was rainy off and on. Several kids had brought "rip sticks" and "wave boards", which are new-fangled skateboard-y things that the boys had a lot of fun learning to ride on. The dining room had a ton of huge tables, and a large commercial kitchen. In front of this complex, there is a big field and also a swimming pool and basketball court.
Here is our cabin, which had beds for 10. Since it was built for disabled people, there were no upper bunks, which is nice for little kids. When you walk into the cabin, you are in a entry room, and then there are 2 rooms with 4 beds each on either side, and a leader's room with 2 beds and a door straight ahead. We let Faith sleep in there, since we could close the door, but the walls did not go all the way up to the rafters, so it was still louder in there! She was so tired that she still napped and slept fairly well. Since the camp is for disabled kids in the summer, there are ramps up to all cabins, and paved walking paths connecting the buildings, which was nice for the stroller. It was so beautiful!
It poured down rain Friday night, but Saturday dawned foggy and cool and misty, but not with drenching rain. We all went on a 1.4 hike to Cunningham Falls. Bob carried Faith in the backpack, and the girls walked. We fell off the pace almost immediately, LOL, but they were real troopers and made it the whole way. People were so surprised when we showed up at the Falls after they had all been there for awhile! Obviously the boys were in the front group, so when we got there, they had climbed up on the rocks around the Falls and were having a great time. Craig McC was up there with them, so we didn't worry too much, LOL.

Here is a picture of Nathan, Luke, Jonathan, and Caleb . . . McC. Our Caleb had already headed back with another family. It's good to know that when we need a Caleb, there are others around to fill in!

Here are Christine and me. She is 35 weeks pregnant, so she was not enthusiastic about having her picture taken, but Bob appeased her by cutting us off at the tummy.

The only fly in the ointment this weekend was some mysterious stomach bug we seemed to have picked up last week. Thursday I noticed that Grace was having some diarrhea, which didn't make me wonder too much, other than making a note to bring the Desitin on the trip. When we got there Friday night and were eating dinner, she was not eating much, although she did drink a big cup of lemonade. I put a bite of lasagna in her mouth, but she never really swallowed it, so Bob picked her up and held out his hand for her to spit the bite into. She spit out the bite . . . and vomited all that lemonade out too, all over Bob's shirt! She didn't eat any more that night, but she didn't seem to have any more problems.

Saturday morning, Anna woke up at 7:00, coughed twice, and threw up in her bed. Ack! Fortunately, there were washing machines we could use, so her bunny, sleeping bag, and pillow got washed. She seemed to feel fine, so we even went on the hike. She ate fairly normally the rest of the day. Every so often she would complain that her stomach wasn't feeling well, but the feeling would pass. She did, however, throw up again at midnight Saturday night which necessitated a second use of the washers! I was glad we didn't have to take stinky things back home to deal with! Her bunny and pillow have never been so clean, LOL. She has been fine since then, however. Luke and Jonathan have had a bit of queasiness, but nothing else, and everyone seems to be fine now. Two other kids also threw up on Saturday. Both kids were also in our Tuesday co-op and Classical Conversations on Thursday, so we all probably picked up the bug from the same place. Oh well.

It was a lot of fun being there with all these big families. Since a lot of them are in TNT with us, I knew the moms, but Bob had never met the husbands. Also, a lot of these big families have 7-10 kids, but only the youngest ones are still in TNT. It was neat to see some of these theoretical "older kids" that I've heard about but never seen! So it was a great weekend, but I must say that being gone 2 weekends in a row was a bit ambitious, even for super-packing me. I am so glad we're staying here next weekend!

Visit With Rose

Bob's sister Rose and her 2 girls, Maddie and Amanda, came to visit Wednesday afternoon for a few days. We just hung out here Wednesday, and the kids played, which was nice. They had a good time playing Balderdash in the evening.

Thursday Rose wanted to go somewhere, and I was having a hard time thinking of what to do. I have not bounced back really quickly from this cold thing I've had, as well as some canker sores, so a trip downtown was very daunting. Then Bob thought of the Udvar-Hazy Annex to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Perfect! It's close to us, but it has tons of parking so even I am not intimidated by driving the big van there!

First we met Bob for lunch at Cici's Pizza, and then our plan was for him to drop us all off at the museum, then later come back to pick us up, as there is a $15 charge for parking (but no admission fee). But when we pulled up to the "Bus/Taxi?shuttle Drop-Off" gate, there was a big sign saying, "No Free Drop-Offs", which the gate attendant confirmed. We certainly weren't about to pay $30 to be dropped off and picked up, so we backed up and went back to Cici's so Bob could get his van and got back to work. The man had told us that Bob could let us off before the gates, and we could just walk up, but the gates are actually quite a ways from the entrance, and I told him since we had our 7 kids plus Rose's 2 . . . no, thanks.

As we were driving Bob back, we were wondering if school buses had to pay the $15, and Bob told me to ask the attendant when we went back. Then we had some funny imaginings on what if we get a big sign for the side of the van that said, "school bus", LOL.

When I pulled back up to the gate, the line for the parking lot side was long, because the first car was evidently having some big discussion with the attendant. ("Fifteen bucks to park?! Are you nuts?!" LOL) The man on the bus/taxi side got out a big flag and waved another car and us over to him. I grumbled to Rose about having to deal with that man again, but when I pulled up, he asked me, "Who do you have in there?" I said my 7 kids and my sister-in-law's 2 kids. He waved away my $20 bill and got out this big yellow notepad. "What's the name of your organization? he asked. I told him the "Lumen Gratiae Homeschool" and he dutifully wrote that down and waved us through. So I guess that answered our question about buses! He definitely recognized me as soon as I drove up again. He must have had some time to think about us or something! Too funny!

We first went up into the control tower they have. It looks out toward the Dulles Airport, which is quite the happening place. You can see airplanes taking off and landing on 2 runways, but the closest one to us had planes landing, then taking off, then landing, etc. every few minutes. The little girls could have stayed there forever! Grace especially really loves the airplanes that fly over our house (we're under and approach path), and so she was jumping up and down with excitement to see the airplanes so close!

Next we went down into the museum, and everyone really enjoyed the exhibits. We looked at the military planes, including this Marine F-4, and then we headed into the Space Hall.

We cruised through the commercial side on our way back, as people were getting tired. We also went up to this catwalk that is 3 storys high, which I have never been on before. The airplanes that were hanging close to it were these hilarious tiny little planes that basically looked like tuna cans with wings! They were the kind that people would maybe build in their garage or something, and we all agreed that we would never set foot in any of them! One of them stated in it's info that it "handled poorly in any but the lightest wind". Ummm, yeah . . . My favorite was this "Waterman Aerobile" built by none other than Waldo Waterman (surely you've heard of him? No? LOL!) He built it in the 1930's I think, and he used car parts to "maintain the look of an automobile". The kids were all like, "That doesn't look anything like a car!" I told them they needed to think more along the lines of Grandpa's Model A Ford, rather than our Toyota Sienna, LOL. Bob's sister Ann and her husband Wally came up from Richmond in time for dinner, and we had lots of fun playing Taboo afterwards! Then they all got up really early and left at 7:00 Friday morning to tour the White House. From there, they drove to Ocean City, MD for a weekend at the beach before heading back to their homes! We had a really fun time with them, even if it was short!

Zoo

We are having a great visit with Melinda and Emily! We picked them up with no problems yesterday afternoon at Baltimore. It was right at rush hour, so we decided to drive on into Baltimore, to the Inner Harbor, and walk around there for a little while. It was a beautiful day, sunny, but not too hot, so it was a nice time!

Today we headed to the National Zoo. It was a hotter day, but Melinda is coming from super-hot Texas, so she wasn't too impressed, LOL. We saw animals, we sweated, and my wallet got stolen out of the diaper bag in the bottom of the double stroller. So as you can imagine, that is what left the most lasting impression, rather than the animals. We called to cancel credit cards right away (thankfully we had all of Bob's there so we knew which ones to call), and we found out they were already using mine, so it didn't take them long. Sigh. Tomorrow we will have to try to get new ID cards for Nathan, Luke, and me, as well as a new driver's license. It was such an amazingly incredible hassle last time I tried to get a VA driver's license that I am not sure how that is going to go. Not a good feeling, realizing your wallet is gone.

Fun at Busch Gardens!

Yesterday we had such a wonderful time at Busch Gardens! It was so great; I think we will be spoiled any other time we go to any amusement park! The weather was absolutely perfect. It was just as Michele said in the comments on my last post--it was much, much cooler and very cloudy all day. It kept looking like rain was imminent, but the Lord held off the rain until we had left the park and were eating dinner! The gloomy clouds kept a lot of people home, so the park was not crowded at all. In fact, several times we had our own personal family ride, and everyone could ride every ride pretty much as many times as they wanted too, sometimes without even having to get off and get on again. Nathan, Ann, and Wally rode the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster for half an hour without getting off! The cooler weather meant that everyone was so much more comfortable. Faith rode in the stroller a lot, but I also carried her in the front pack quite a bit, which she loved. I would not have been able to do that in the broiling heat and humidity that we often have in June! We all wore red shirts, which made it very easy to keep track of everyone. Wally is tall and wore a red baseball hat as well, which also helped!

We got there around 11:00, and we started in this new area for kids, the Sesame Street Forest of Fun. Anna was in a very crabby mood, made crabbier by the fact that she couldn't ride the kiddie roller coaster. She was also very alarmed by the presense of all these Sesame Street characters, in fuzzy costumes, strolling around and talking to the little kids. She has not gotten over all her phobias, LOL. Fortunately the characters all went off to some other place when it was time to walk past them. Then the little ones all rode this cute this boat ride, where they floated around this little circuit. Anna was grumpy here too.

Next was this Elmo Spire thing, where they blast off and bounce down. All the kids rode this, even Grace, who looked very tiny in her seat. Although she is smiling in this picture, she was not a fan, and they had to stop the ride to let her off. Anna was on the other side, and she was not enjoying it either, but she just grimaced and looked terrified, instead of crying loudly, a la Grace, so she didn't get off. Anna did get off in the middle of the next ride, although again, it wasn't her that stopped the ride. She and I took a potty break at that point, and we talked about the day so far:

Me: Why are you being so grumpy?

Anna: Well, I just really didn't want to go on that ride, and so I was grumpy. (said with lots of drama)

Me: Well, what about that boat ride? Wasn't that fun?

Anna: No . . . I was just mad on that ride. (said with lots of emphasis)

Me: I think you need to change your attitude . . . (little drama queen)

We moved on to the Italy part of the park. Here I realized how brilliantly Busch Gardens is set up--there are kiddie rides scattered all throughout the park! Nathan and Wally went off to ride adult rides, while everyone else rode this flying kiddie ride, which is supposed to look like an invention of Da Vinci's. They rode this several times, even Grace, and finally Anna decided it might be fun after all. So she rode with Aunt Ann and had a good time, which put her in a better mood for the rest of the day's rides.

Here you can see her even braving the teacups! Grace went on this too. She looked so tiny, and I could never even get a very good picture of her! Grace enjoyed all the other rides as well. Caleb and Jonathan switched back and forth, riding whatever adult rides they were allowed to, as well as all the kiddie rides. Jonathan agreed that Busch Gardens was even funner that Chuck E. Cheese's, which was where he had wanted to go for his birthday! He is eager to go back when he is tall enough to ride all the big rides, especially the roller coasters. He is quite the little thrill-seeker, as it turns out.

This was the first time that Nathan has had the opportunity to ride big roller coasters, and he obviously inherited his enjoyment of them from his father. The only one he didn't ride was the Griffon, which has this straight-down drop, before which the car comes to a complete stop, so they are just hovering there, looking straight down. Blech. Not my cup of tea. Luke is in my camp. He didn't ride any big roller coasters either, although he did enjoy almost all the other adult rides. He likes going around in circles, which I also find much more tolerable than going up and down. I must say that I only rode kiddie rides, and then only when my presence was required. I'm not that big into rides. I have given birth naturally 7 times, with no pain relief medication whatsoever, and I no longer feel any need to prove myself by riding around in little metal buckets, LOL. Now I enjoy watching my kids have fun while I keep watch over the stroller. Hey, someone's got to do it . . .

The park closed at 6:00, so we made our way back to the van, having done all that we wanted to do several times or more! We went out to eat at this Italian restaurant in Williamsburg with Ann and Wally before driving back. We were amazed that they ever discovered this place, tucked way back into a strip mall, but it sure had delicious pizza! It was the perfect end to a perfect day. We got back late last night (almost 11:00), but it was worth it! I called off school for today, and everyone slept in. Now we're trying to get cleaned up for Bible study here tonight. Back to normal!

River Cruise

Here is the boat we were on, the Spirit of Washington. It was big and new, compared to boats from some of the other companies that do river cruises. Of course, we didn't really have a choice, since we went with a group from the base, but I think they picked a nice one!

Here we are at our table, squeezed in with 8 close strangers, LOL. The tables were all full, and the tables were also pretty packed in there, so it was hard to get in and out. That was why we decided to stay outside once we got ourselves out there! I should have taken a picture of the whole dining room, but I forgot. There were also 2 other levels of dining rooms above us.

Standing on the deck at the back of the boat, the wind wasn't quite so vicious. We saw several little sailboats out. Brrr. I could not imagine being out there, bobbing around on a tiny boat in that weather. Why?! Obviously the sea is not in my blood, LOL.

Unrelatedly, I look like a giant Easter egg in my bright purple coat, don't I? Before you get on the boat, photographers take your picture, which they try to sell to you for $20 when you get off. (I don't think so!) It was easy to pick our picture out of the crowd--look for the purple blob! I was glad to have my coat though. Some ladies were frigid as they scuttled around the bloat, trying to look enthusiastic at the view with their dates, LOL.

You can barely see the Washington Monument in the background here. This would have been really pretty if all the cherry blossoms hadn't fallen off because of the rain and wind the night before!

Field Trip!

Today Bob took leave, and we headed up to Ft. Meade, MD to visit the National Cryptologic Museum . This is a place we've been meaning to visit for a few years now, but it took our friends Krista and Matt being assigned up there temporarily to make us actually get up there! We drove up this morning and ate lunch with Krista and little Henry at Wendy's before we all headed over to the museum.

The museum is free, which is one thing that had originally caught our eye, LOL. When we walked in, the man at the front desk gave the boys a scavenger hunt to do through the museum. Nathan did his all by himself, while the one for Luke turned into more of a joint effort with everyone else, even Jonathan, helping to write on it.

The museum was very interesting. I've always thought cryptology was fascinating, and I would have liked to spend time there with no little kids, so that I could actually read all the descriptions!

The museum had things like signal flags and cipher disks from the Civil War, and they even had a French Cipher that may have been used by Thomas Jefferson! I thought the World War II section was the most interesting. I've always thought the story of the Navejo code-talkers was amazing, and I also have enjoyed reading about the German Enigma machine, along with the machine that broke that code, which was invented by a man at NCR in Dayton.

This museum actually has several of the German Enigma machines, plus the American Bombe machine invented to figure out what the rotor settings were on the Enigma for the coded messages the Nazis were sending. That is a big, complicated machine! Each Bombe could go through all the rotor combinations of one wheel (the Enigma could have as many as 4 wheels) in 20 minutes (something like over 456,000 possible combinations), and there would be as many as 121 I think running at one time, so that all intercepted messages could basically be deciphered in real time. I'm going to get some books out of the library on the subject of the Enigma and the Bombe because I just think that is such a neat story, and I'd like to understand better how it all worked, and how the man invented the Bombe. (That was one of the description plates I could only skim over, LOL.)

So all in all, a very educational day, and the added bonus was spending time with Krista and Henry. Henry, Anna, and Grace maybe did not retain as much of the actual information, LOL, but they did enjoy playing around with each other and making each other laugh!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Yesterday we headed downtown again to watch the national fireworks. We caravanned out with 3 other families from our Friday night OCF Bible study, and we went to our usual watching point of the Carillion, next to the Iwo Jima Memorial. My friend Johanna and her family were there when we got there, and my boys had a great time playing football and frisbees with hers. Later on, Bob's sister Ann and her family came as well, including Christi and her new husband Andres.

When we first got there, the weather was nice, but a little overcast. It started getting gloomier, and soon Red Cross people started coming around and telling us that big storms were on the way, and we were advised to seek cover. It wasn't even really raining at that point, so we all sat tight. Eventually it did start raining, and we hunkered down under a huge plastic sheet that Ed and Elizabeth had thoughtfully brought. Then the loud speaker came to life and said that severe weather was coming, with thunder, lightening, and high winds. Hmmm. So we packed up and made our way back to the hotel parking garage . . . except we never made it there. As we were walking back, the rain stopped, the skies got lighter and lighter, and we realized all we were doing was giving up our good space! So we turned around and went back. We had eaten our dinner (tuna sandwiches) before it started raining the first time, so this time we broke out the cookies and grapes. This was also when Ann and Wally showed up. When we were coming back, police officers had told us that another storm was expected around 7:00, and sure enough, it started raining again. I felt very wet, and I really wished I had brought our bag of light jackets that was in the back of the van. If we had gone back to the garage, I planned on getting them then! Christi was very nice and volunteered to go back with me (in the downpour) to get the jackets. Sure enough, as we got neared the garage, the rain let up and stopped! But we got the jackets, and I for one was glad to have them as it started raining one more time right before the fireworks started.

The first fireworks were lovely, but then the bad weather came back to bite us. The smoke just sort of lingered and never cleared, so we watched the rest of the fireworks through a malevolent dark cloud, as you can see by the picture below.

I'm sure you all have read A Wrinkle in Time, right? I thought we were seeing the "Dark Thing" that had so many planets under its evil grip, LOL. By the end of the display, you couldn't even really see the top of the Washington Monument anymore. But it was still a fun-filled evening, and I'm glad we went. Maybe the weather will be better next year!

Cedarville Dinner

Last night, there was a dinner in downtown D.C. for Cedarville alumni, parents, and people interested in attending. This is the first alumni event we have heard of around here, and it was a free dinner, so we decided to go. One of my friends at our homeschool co-op, Jill, is also a Cedarville grad (91) who happens to have 5 boys. I was so excited that she was able to go as well--in fact, she rode with Bob and me! Bob was a real trooper. He drove us downtown in all the traffic, and then he dropped us off in front of the restaurant, since we were a little late, and he dealt with the parking issue all by himself. The parking garage was full, so he found some street parking that didn't even have a meter, thus saving us $4 an hour. Yay!

I had looked at the list of attendees online and didn't think I was going to know anyone, so imagine my surprise when someone I knew named Mike sat down at our table! (Hint for Amy: He should have never given up Julie, LOL) Too funny. We sat at a table with the families of 2 prospective students. One seemed pretty set on Cedarville and wants to major in electrical engineering. The other one wants to major in international business/global economics, and she was keeping her options open. She had many great and glorious plans for the future, LOL. Ahhh, to be young and dreaming big again . . . But I digress. No one was interested in hearing about a biology/math double major, so I pretty much just talked with Jill and Bob.

The restaurant was named Clyde's, and it was pretty good! We were expecting a buffet, but no--it was a sit-down dinner . . . salad and bread, chicken, mashed potatoes, and sauteed pepper strips, and cheesecake for dessert. I kept gobbling up each course as if I wasn't going to have time to finish. Jill laughed at me, and I realized I was eating so quickly because well, that's what I have to do at home. Someone always needs me, and I never have to time to just sit and eat a leisurely meal. I wonder if I'll ever lose this habit?!

The only bad part of the room we were in (well, the whole restaurant, I think) was the acoustics. It was so loud!!!! We were all shouting across the table, which you can imagine cut down on conversation except with those immediately beside you! Bob got involved in a deep theological conversation with the man next to him, who is a pastor. I really enjoyed talking to Jill and getting to know her better. No one else at the table was interested in swapping stories about homeschooling lots of kids, LOL.

After dinner, Dr. Bill Brown, the president of Cedarville, talked for awhile. He went through the mission and vision statements of Cedarville. I really appreciate their focus on developing Christians with a solidly Biblical worldview, and also their committment to the inerrancy and supremacy of Scripture. I enjoyed hearing about the new projects that are going on a Cedarville such as the building of a new Center for Biblical and Theological Studies, and also the beginning of a pharmacy program. I think I would have really enjoyed majoring in something like that. Well, I'm not going back--I must be firm on that! LOL

We finally ducked out at 9:40, although the evening had still not ended. Ed was back here holding the fort by himself since Elizabeth was in Colorado with Anthony who had knee surgery yesterday. We didn't want to leave Ed there too late, especially since the boys and Amanda, Jessica, and Zachary were all still up! Grace was surprisingly cooperative--he put her down 2 hours after we left, and she just slept until we got back. I was so worried since she has pretty much firmly decided that bottles are absolutely not for her. Anna went down with no problems, and everyone else had a ball in the basement playing and watching videos. We are so very thankful for good friends who are willing to watch all our kids! What a tremendous blessing!!! So it was really a fun evening, and both Jill and I are hopeful that there will be more alumni association things happening here--maybe even in northern Virginia, so we can skip the killer trip into the city and all the parking woes!

Battle of the Bands

This morning at soccer, Christine McC mentioned that she was going to take her boys to a marching band competition at a nearby high school. They used to live right by this high school, and she remembered taking her boys then. It was free, and they loved the big drums and horns. We thought that sounded like a fun thing, so after naps, we loaded everyone up and headed out.

As we turned into the high school, we saw a sign that mentioned "tickets", which made us think that perhaps this event was not free after all. This concerned us, as we had only $1.00 cash on us, but we decided to park and see what the price was. The lot was really full and crowded, but we miraculously spotted Christine's van and pulled in next to them. With her 4 boys and all our kids, we were quite the procession. We trouped up to the ticket window . . . where we saw that tickets were $11.00 a person. $11.00!!!! What?! For high school kids?!! We asked if kids got in free. Well, just those 5 and under, which certainly helps, but we were still looking at $44.00 for our family. I don't think so! We told the boys we were not going to go, and so we wandered over to the fence to look at the band that was lining up to march in. They had a cool, medieval theme going on, and their (not sure of the word here) flag girls? even had shields with crests on them. As we were talking about the band, a lady from the ticket booth came over to talk to us. As it turned out, she was from a family of 10 kids, and so she said she knew how hard it was to find things to take the whole family to when you have a large family. She told us that if we paid for 4 tickets, she would get all of us (including Christine and her kids) in. Christine saw that as a direct sign from the Lord, as she also would have had to pay $44 (her third boy has already turned 6), and she only had $22. So Christine gave us her $22, and we put the 4 tickets on our credit card. The lady said we were all with her, and marched us right past the ticket takers! It was amazing how it all worked out, even to meeting up with Christine in the parking lot. I don't think the lady would have really paid as much attention to just our family, but the 10 kids made a bigger impression.

So we watched 2 hours of the competition, and it was really fun! We all agreed that the first band we saw, the ones with the medieval theme, were the best. The girls even had this fake battle with pugel sticks! After awhile, I started idly wondering what a school would do if a boy said he wanted to be one of the flag girls. I mean in this day and age, it's not like you could tell him that frankly that is a wussy thing to do, and we'd rather just have girls. The very next band up did in fact have a boy as one of the flag people! The girls all wore velvet costumes, and he wore pants and a t-shirt with suspenders. And you know what, he looked like a real wussy. That cheesy big fake smile, the head thrown way back, the very expressive face, the huge flag--yeah. Not real masculine, gliding around the field with mincing little steps. The flag group as a whole was very good though, with a more complex routine than some of the other bands.

Some of the bands even had girls twirling batons! Christine and I were both surprised at that--we thought that was something that went out with the 70's! The ones that were out there were really good, and I didn't see anyone drop a baton the whole time. One girl even juggled 3 of them! I think I would be so terribly self-conscious to be prancing around in basically a swim suit and hose. Weird concept.

After the sun went down, it got kind of chilly, and we hadn't eaten any dinner, so we headed out. We left at 7:30, and there were still 11 more bands to go! Those people are going to be there all night! This was a bigger competition than I think Christine knew (hence the ridiculously inflated ticket prices), and bands were there from all over VA and MD. It was good to get out and see something different, and I think we definitely had $22 worth of fun (but not $44, LOL)!

Roosevelt Island

Bob took a day off on Wednesday, and we went to Roosevelt Island, which is in the middle of the Potomac between Arlington and D.C. It is connected to a Virginia by a little walking bridge, and the island is a preserve with quiet walking trails and big trees. Except for the constant noise of traffic from the George Washington Parkway, you'd think you were all alone in the woods, LOL! No, it really is a nice retreat in the middle of the city--and since it is so shady, it was a great place to go on a hot summer day!

In the middle of the island is a memorial for Teddy Roosevelt. It has this big statue of him as well as big slabs of concrete with quotes of his. One is on "youth", another on "manhood", one is "the state", and the last is "nature". There are also 2 big fountains, and the whole thing is surrounded by reflecting pools and bridges. Very lovely and serene.

Although I would have to say that in general he doesn't seem like he was as deep a thinker as say Lincoln, some of his quotes were good. I liked this one on "youth"--I want to see you game, boys, I want to see you brave and manly, and I also want to see you gentle and tender. (Address at Friends School, Washington, DC, May 24, 1907) Yep, that's what I want, too! Also, I liked this one on "the state"--If I must choose between righteousness and peace I choose righteousness. (America and the World War, 1915) Amen!

We didn't pack a lunch, but after we got back to the van, I nursed Grace while everyone else had juice boxes and granola bars for a snack. It was a nice morning outing!

It is at times like these that I wish I could post more than one picture without locking up our slow dial-up connection. But wait . . . change is in the air! Verizon is in the process of installing FIOS cables in our neighborhood, and when they are all hooked up, we are going to go with their all-in-one package, which includes TV, internet, and phone for I think $99.99 a month. Somehow our neighborhood got skipped for DSL and broadband, so this is really our first quick option, other than cable (and we don't like Adelphia). We're pretty excited! We'll be able to wach the funny videos online that everyone talks about! Open up web sites with lots of pictures! Download songs (hey, maybe we'll finally get an iPod!)! The possibilities are endless!

Chocolate and Friends

Yesterday was another big day! after our late night, we got up and left at 9:30 to drive up to Hershey, PA to meet up with friends. My best friend Amy (in the blue shirt) and her family were camping there with Julie and her family. Julie is another old friend who went to Dayton Christian and also to Cedarville with us. It was so fun to see Amy and Julie and spend the day with them!

We went to Hershey's Chocolate World, which was very, very crowded and loud. We ate lunch first, and then we went on this cute ride through a simulated chocolate factory to learn about how chocolate is made. It was very interesting, and just as I was saying to Amy and Julie, "They ought to pump the smell in here to make it realistic", then sure enough! It started smelling like chocolate! YUM! I could have ridden around smelling that for quite a while longer! At the end of the ride, everyone got free samples of Kissables, those little candy-coated kisses. Bob mentioned to the lady that Caleb and Zachary couldn't have chocolate, and so she gave them Twizzlers instead! That was nice. The best part was that this all was free! Nothing else was, that's for sure, LOL. It was a very commercialized place.

After the tour, the kids went though the "Factory Works" line, which we thought would be something sort of hands-on and educational, but in actuality was a commercialized gimic to get you to buy expensive small boxes of Kisses that your children had packaged and otherwise bonded with ($5.00 a box!). We had to pass on that. Then the others went in to see a 3-D animated show that was $5.95 for adults and $3.95 for kids 3-12. We decided that was just to steep for a 30 minute show for our big family, so we went outside and found the Hershey Museum, a little walk away, over by the entrance to HersheyPark.

The musuem also was not free ($7.00 for adults and $3.50 for kids 3-12) but Bob got in free, being active-duty military, and we could stay as long as we wanted! Plus, it was very quiet in there, and after the noise and crowds of the Chocolate World, I was really ready for something quiet. The museum was very interesting, and ironically, it was much more hands-on than the Chocolate World. We got to see and handle equipment from the old factory, read what workers from long ago said about the factory (for example, it was really hot because they could never open any windows--they had to keep bugs out of the chocolate), and learn about how Kisses got their names (it could be from smooching sound that the depositor machine made when a glob of chocolate was dropped out into the Kiss shape). There was an old-fashioned candy shop set up, with display cases that Mr. Hershey used in his shop. There was an exhibit about HersheyPark and its history, with a nice video to watch while sitting in a roller coaster car. There were items from Mr. Hershey's house, and an exhibit on the school he and his wife set up for orphan boys once they realized they would never be able to have children of their own. Mr. Hershey seemed like a wonderful man. There was also a discovery hands-on room for kids where they could try on clothes from the Victorian era, play in a pretend general store, cook in a Victorian kitchen, etc.

Mr. Hershey also had an extensive collection of Indian artifacts, including some relaly nice headresses and outfits. There were items from tribes in all different parts of the U.S., and there was a hand-son station there too, where kids could feel wolf pelts, use a pump drill to make holes in wood, try on snowshoes, and also try on Indian leather clothes.

So we really enjoyed the museum. The kids did a scavenger hunt that they were handed when we went in, and so they got little dollar store rings and coins. They were thrilled with them, of course. We did stay about half an hour longer than we needed to because while we were in there, a torrential downpour began. I wondered if we would ever be able to get back to our car! Fortunately it did eventually stop, so we were able to meet up again with the others, who had been souvenier shopping after their show.

We were very happy to find out that we didn't have to pay for parking (free for 2 hours, then $8.00 for 2-4 hours, and then $11.00 for a day--yow)! We think it was because of all the rain, since the parking is also for HersheyPark, which had to close the rides because of the thunder and lightning. We drove just down the road to the campground where Amy and Julie were camping. Although it was sprinkling, we decided to make it work there for dinner. Julie's camper has a little stove, so she boiled hotdogs for the kids and cooked steaks for the grownups. By the time everything was ready, it had stopped raining, so we had a lovely dinner. The kids ate first, then they ran around and played while the adults ate. Grace took a nice nap on the bed in Julie and Tim's camper. Anna wandered around getting watermelon juice all over her outift, which was already soaked from her falling down on the wet ground. It was so much fun to be able to catch up with Amy and Julie.

Unfortunately, it was 8:00 all too quickly, and I nursed Grace before we headed home. Grace and Anna were pretty much shot from 2 days out of their normal routine, and so they cried . . . well, just about the entire way home. Did I say "cried"? I actually meant to say "screamed", because that's a more accurate description, LOL. We had been listening to Johnny Tremain, a very fitting book on tape for around the Fourth of July, wouldn't you say, but we had to turn it off because we could not hear it at all. We made it home a little before 11:00 and got everyone down before collapsing into bed ourselves.

We've been taking it easy today. Nathan and Luke rediscovered a book on making paper airplanes that my mom and dad gave them awhile back, so that was what they spent the morning doing. I slept in until 10:00. Ahhhh. Anna took an early nap. Now the boys are outside. Unfortunately I have just discovered that the garage door where the van is parked is mysteriously not working, so tomorrow might not be so relaxing, LOL. I guess we are not supposed to go anywhere else for a few days!

Fireworks From the Iwo Jima Memorial

We went downtown to the Iwo Jima Memorial to watch the national fireworks on the Fourth of July. We went with our friends the Ls as we did 2 years ago. The weather played a bit of havoc withour plans, but it all worked out.

We were supposed to leave at 5:00, so we went to Ed's parents' house, where the Ls were, right at 5:00, but there was all this serious weather west of us, and we weren't sure where it was headed. We didn't want to be driving in it, so we hung out there for awhile talking with Ed's folks. Ed's brother, an airline pilot, made paper airplanes for the boys and Amanda to fly around, which amused them greatly. Finally we left about 6:45, and I was very afraid that we wouldn't be able to find a good place to watch, especially once we heard that the Iwo Jima area had never been closed, as the Mall was. I was afraid a lot of people would have left the Mall and come over to the Iwo Jima.

It was very crowded once we got there, but fortunately we were meeting some other friends, Brian and Angela, and they rode the Metro in. They were able to save a really nice big area for all of us. Whew! We brought our usual large amount of food, but since we didn't really get settled until 7:30, it seemed like we hardly had time to make and eat our sandwiches, much less fruit, cookies, etc. So we ended up with a lot of extra food.

We really enjoyed the fireworks. There were some new things we hadn't seen before, like fireworks in the shape of a huge star, and some in the shape of Saturn--a big ball with a ring around it. Cool! We were worried that Anna would totally freak out because she's in a weird phase right now, where she has decided to be frightened of all sorts of things, like the vacuum, swimming pools, women who cover (like Muslims), etc. But just to keep us on our toes, she was completely blase about the loud booms and the bright lights of fireworks. Go figure. But it made for an easier viewing experience, LOL.

Unfortunately we were sitting in front of a long-haired twenty-something year old man who thought he was the cleverest and wittiest cool dude of them all, and so he blathered on and on and on the entire show. He wasn't not exceptionally profane--just a few of the more mild cuss words sprinkled throughout--but he sure was inane and annoying. It was especially annoying because you could tell he thought he was just. so. cool. and that we should all be grateful to be getting this free comedy show. His girlfriend was beside him, and she laughed loudly at all his jokes, so I guess someone thought he was funny. True love.

We made it home a little before 11:00, proud to be Americans, and proud that we didn't lose anyone yet again in the huge crush of people walking along the streets in the dark.