Tuesday, August 16, 2011

July Trip 2011





















I LOVE traveling with my little family. I find it somewhat funny, because there are some days where I find that if I were a bit more nutty, it would be quite easy for me to be an agoraphobic. You know, to keep all of my littles safe and to kid myself into thinking that I can control pieces of my silly little world. (Just kidding, of course. Somewhat.) But most days, there are so many places that I want to see in this world! And when you want to see the world, staying home is not always the best option. So a few times a year, we go. We venture off of the compound, just the five of us (with sometimes a grandparent or two thrown into the mix for good measure!), and head for parts unknown. To see more and more pieces of this beautiful world that God created, to put more pegs in our map, to make more memories, and most of all, to just be together. In our regular world, we don't get much together time, the five of us, so we cherish the time that we get to be away. Time to turn off the distractions and focus on our children. For a few weeks a year, they get all of us, and I love those times. They are necessary in the line of work that we do. And we always come home feeling refreshed and ready to serve once again!

This year, my parents treated us to a trip to the Pocono's. We definitely had a wonderful time being together! We went hiking, attempted paddle boating (Side Note: about half way out into the lake the boat started to sink. Of course I panicked, but bravely decided to be the one to bail out and swim to shore for help. My heart was racing, my palms were sweating. Paddle boating was not how I wanted to die. Thank goodness when I jumped out the water only came up to my shins! It made my trip to the shore so much easier!), we played putt putt, played games, danced to the music in the yard, and consumed massive amounts of ice cream. But having said all of that, we will never venture to the Pocono's again. They were not mountains. They were small hills. Very small hills. And overall, we found the area to be quite overpriced for the amenities and activities that were offered. Oh well, live and learn.

The highlight of our trip? The day we spent in NYC! It was simply amazing. We rode the train in from Jersey, visited Ground Zero, ate a hot dog by the harbor, took a boat cruise out to see Lady Liberty, walked and shopped in Times Square, paid an outrageous amount for supper downtown, played in Central Park, and took a Taxi ride (where my children learned that the Easter Bunny is not real). It was seriously one of my most favorite days of my life! I was quite proud of my little agoraphobic self. I only suspected a few people to be terrorists, and only almost had a panic attack once. And that, my friends, is progress.

But do you know what they very best part of traveling always is, and forever will be? Coming home. Because there really is no place like home.

PS. I just noticed that the name of our paddle boat was ESCAPE. That should have been a warning to us, no?

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Aloha!























For her seventh birthday, Emma wanted a Hawaiin party. Grammy made her a beautiful layered cake with flowers, we decorated the school cafeteria with pineapples, streamers, and balloons, her favorite friends came, and it was so much fun! We played pass the pineapple (hot potatoe),a hula hoop game, we did the limbo, smashed a pinata, and slid down a slip n' slide. She had such a great time! Thank you to everyone who came and helped out with her special night! Our family is so blessed to have such wonderful people who love our children and are invested in their lives. To end her special day, Emma got to host her very first sleep over, something she has wanted for quite some time. The Boverie sisters were her guests, and they had such a fun time watching movies, playing Barbies, being silly, and splashing in the hot tub. Emma is one blessed little girl! What a great seven years!