La, La, La

Basically, I'm ignoring (for now) January through August.  In my alternate life I have the time to catch up on the year and on each month of 2014.  In reality, my laptop stopped working and January to April pictures are on the other computer, and really, there just hasn't been the time to go back and post pics from those months (for now).  So we are just going to start with the beginning of our school year and carry on...

2013 in Review

My blog has felt neglected and alone these past few months.  It doesn't understand that my multi-tasking skills are woefully inadequate as is my tendency toward perfectionism.  My last posts were of our church youth group's history trip.  Even those posts were left undone as I was unable to achieve good wi-fi signal at our hotel.  Upon returning from the history trip, I dove headlong into planning Aly's 13th (yes, I said 13th, how in the world does that happen!) birthday party.  And after that, planning for our school year and our co-op, where I'm teaching three classes this year.  All of this has really taken up a chunk of my time.  Anyway, I couldn't just pick up and post (OCD tendencies as well).  I needed to at least document some of the past things we had done!  And that is where nothing got done!  So here it is, March 1st, and my blog is calling my name.  I've updated her, gave her a fancy new look, and she is ready for me to try again!  Seeing as how I'm still OCD, I couldn't just leave last year unattended :)  So here are a few of my favorite things...

 Christmas in January with Kenny, Danielle, and family

Skyeler, Aly, Madi, and Makenna

 We celebrated Christmas in January with Cheryl and the boys.

Carter, Bryce, and Aly enjoyed the hot tub in the winter weather.

Obviously nothing happened in February because I have no pictures from that month.  I know I 

was busy decluttering the house but I'm not sure what else!

 In March, Aly had a sleepover with Noelle and Priscilla and their American Girl dolls

 Easter was celebrated at Aunt Cheryl's house since Skyeler and I shot Dan's friend 

John's wedding the night before. 

 Aly joined an American Girl Book Club in April and May with Hannah, Priscilla, and Nina.  

Here they are dressed up for Hobo Day while reading the Kit books.

 We spent Memorial Day Weekend with my parents.  It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend.  

The highlight of the trip for Skyeler - the BUNNY!  She has been begging for a bunny but our answer is no.  At least at Randy's farm she was able to snuggle one for a bit.

 Skyeler wanted an updated picture for her blog profile.

 Aly and Granny (and O'Malley) goofing off while I'm taking Skye's pictures.

 June brought VBS.  Instead of doing our normal "Toss for a Fish" game at the VBS carnival, Dan made Ooblek.  All the kids had a marvelous time playing in it.  I don't know if Pastor was so appreciative, it DID make a big mess!  Aly, Kami, and Skyler Ray taking a turn.

 Skyeler and Elizabeth jumping in it.

 There is always face painting at the VBS carnival.  With this year's craze of My Little Pony, many of the girls had Cutie Marks painted on.  Elizabeth-Pinkie Pie, Aly-Rainbow Dash, Madi-Rarity, Skyler Ray-Rainbow Dash, Skyeler-Fluttershy, and Victoria-Twilight Sparkle.

 Skyeler decided to paint her room in July.  She and Aly did it all by themselves!  The turquoise blue color really goes well with her black and white accessories.

 On one of the hottest days of the summer, Danielle and I took the kids to Cox Arboretum.  

We enjoyed the Butterfly House and splashing in the creek.

Makenna, Aly, Sam, and Madi on the Butterfly Bench.

 Skye and Makenna taking a break.

 I posted some about the history part of our teen trip.  So here is a little fun.

Dan and Aly running down the beach at Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey.  

It was cold and overcast and the sea was rough, but anytime you are on the beach is a good thing!

 Aly and Dan come down the Alpine Slide at Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania.

I was too scared to ride the ski lift to the top :)

 In August Dan and I met Gene and Sue at the Columbus Zoo for the Day.  We enjoyed 

spending the day with them until a huge storm moved in.  It flooded the gift shop of the manatee exhibit

and the tunnel leading back to the other side of the zoo.  The ONLY tunnel leading to the other side

of the zoo!  We had to take our shoes and socks off and wade through almost knee deep water.  Ick.

 Aly's 13th Luau Birthday Party!  We had a BLAST! 

We had crafts (you can see their flip-flops we made in the picture), swimming, lots of food, candy kabobs,

hula and limbo contests!  Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day but Aly enjoyed it so much!

Abigail, Skyler, Nina, Madi, Aly, Makenna, Noelle, & Brianna

 We lost Sparkles to Congestive Heart Failure in September it was sudden and heartbreaking

for all of us.  We still miss him all the time.  Here he is at Aly's Luau party with a Lei around his neck

courtesy of Skyeler.  

 Dan ran the USAF Marathon in September with his best friend Roger who was in the 

country from Kenya.  Dan not only ran with him, but also trained three others who ran 

with them that day.  I'm always so proud of him, and I know he was excited to have 

people to run with!

 Skye, me, Dan, and Aly after the Marathon

 Aly had to do a Nature Scavenger Hunt for her Science book and we took Madi along too.  It was a very warm September day but we enjoyed walking around the Arboretum.  Aly and Madi were very serious about their hunt and were upset that we didn't have more time to complete it.  Here they are looking at a woolly worm we found.

 Sam enjoyed the Arboretum as well!  He likes it when he gets to go on field trips :)

Skyeler likes it too, until she realizes just how tiring taking Sammy on a field trip is lol!

This was such a cute picture of the two of them!

 We had snow on Skyeler's birthday in October...that should have been a warning to the horrible, horrible winter we were going to have.  Aly got the chance to Trick or Treat again this year with Priscilla.  The were both Elvish Princesses.  It was cold and rainy and by the time we finished we were all soaked through and the cape Aly was wearing must have weighed 10 lbs!  The girls still had a ton of fun, though!

 What's our favorite thing to do in November?  Thanksgiving at my parents with Cheryl and Glen and the boys!  This year it snowed!  That hasn't happend.  Granny was so excited that she and the kids could get out and go sledding.  And they did, every day!   This is my favorite picture from the weekend :)

 Our annual picture of the Yahoo's.  I remember the first year when Skyeler had to hold Carter!

Now they are growing up so fast we are afraid to blink!

Aly, Carter, Bryce, and Skyeler

 Thanksgiving around the table, yes I make everyone wait to eat until I've gotten a picture :)

 Me, Mom, and Cheryl

At this point in the year I have lost 19lbs, and darn it if the picture doesn't seem to show it!

I'm glad, though, that we got an updated picture of the three of us.

 We always look forward to Granny and Papa coming for Christmas.

Papa and his girls

 Granny, Papa, Aly, and Skyeler

 Our Christmas tree-Doctor Who style.

In celebration of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary, Dan and the girls wanted to make our tree a Doctor Who themed tree.  So we have a Fez, Fez's are cool! and red bows, bow ties are cool! and Sonic Screwdrivers, 3D glasses, Snowmen and Snowflakes, Bad Wolf, Weeping Angels, and a Tardis ornament.

 Aly and Elena looking all grown up!  

Dan's family

So now I can begin 2014 with a clear conscience.  

Hopefully, it won't be another seven months before I post again :)

New Jersey Highlights

I'm updating from my phone for the second time this week.  As usual,  we have had some late nights and I'm having trouble updating.  I will get some pictures up when we get home. I have plenty.

We are on our way home from Point Pleasant Beach.  It was chilly today here so there was no swimming,  however,  that didn't stop them from getting wet!  But I get ahead of myself.   Today we saw the site of Log College which later became Princeton University.  We stood on the site where George Washington crossed the Delaware River.  That was exciting! ! God blessed once again.  It's so exciting!  We were running late today.  (Totally my fault. .. couldn't get out of bed on time) but that is ok.  God had a plan.  Because we were way off our itinerary, we saw a bumper sticker on the car next to us that said "I am not ashamed." It turns out that it was an Answers in Genesis bumper sticker.  That led us to a couple Christian ladies who gave the tour of the ferry house where Washington stood and hired ferries for his troops. They were excited to see a group of young people excited about our history and the hand of God in it.  We traveled then to see the grave of one of the Baptist signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Our final history stop for the week was Princeton University cemetery.  The famous Ivy League school. .. Princeton's third  president was Jonathan Edwards, (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.). In fact,  the first four presidents of Princeton were Reverends, two which were instrumental in the Great Awakening.   How sad for a college that has such roots to have fallen from its original purpose.

We ended the day with a trip to the beach and Jenkinson's Boardwalk.   As we are 30 minutes from the hotel,  I'm thankful once again for this opportunity to learn about these great men of God and pray that these kids remember.

We will be heading back tomorrow.  We have a surprise fun stop to break up the trip again and then it is back home.

12 Hours in Philly

Thank you all for the prayers!  We made it into Philadelphia with little traffic.  It was a little dicey finding a parking spot but God was good there too.  

We began our day in Philly at 9 a.m. at the visitor center where we picked up tickets to see Independence Hall.  We ended our day at 9 p.m. by seeing the statue of George Whitefield in the Quadrangle at the University  of Pennsylvania.   Lunch was real Philadelphia cheesesteaks at Campo's. Dinner was a surprise treat at the City Tavern where George Washington and other members of the Continental Congress ate on a regular basis.  A very exciting stop and delicious food.

Tomorrow we will be traveling into New Jersey for four more history stops and an evening trip to a boardwalk on the Jersey shore.

Technical Difficulties

Sorry about the lack of pictures so far!  I am having major trouble with our "high speed" internet.  I am currently unable to even post upstairs in the room, let alone upload a picture.  I will try and get back downstairs tomorrow to get a few more uploaded.

After visiting the Colonel Washington monument, we drove (forever) through Pennsylvania and some storms to the Baptist Church of the Great Valley to learn about Chaplain David Jones.  

We headed out early to Ephrata Cloister.  God really blessed today, our tour guide here was a Christian.  Though those that lived in the Cloister were...interesting, this is where the man who walked 70 miles to petition George Washington for his enemy's life lived.  Our tour guide recommended a buffet for us to try on our way to Valley Forge.  It was the biggest buffet any of us had ever seen!  The boys ate their money's worth ... easily :)  It WAS good, and they enjoyed the little side stop, though it got us to Valley Forge a little later than we planned.

We drove through some awesome countryside back to Valley Forge, and then spent over 4 hours exploring the grounds and huts and headquarters there.  God blessed again with another Christian tour guide in Washington's headquarters who spoke with our group for a long time and even started giving away Dan's notes for our Thursday stop!  It was an amazing time with some great history.  

The kids have enjoyed a swim in the pool and are now headed up to get ready for bed and our long day tomorrow in Philadelphia!  

Colonel George Washington and the Indians

Dan and I left this morning with 10 of the youth from our church for the 3rd installment of our Baptist History Tour.  Philadelphia.  Currently, it is Tuesday evening, and we still are in possession of all 10 :D  Even though this is our 3rd time, I am still amazed at all of the history that I, and most of the Americans in our country today, don't know. 

Our first stop today was Braddock, PA, just 7 miles from Pittsburgh.  We meet a young Colonel George Washington, just 23 years old, who finds himself leading the troops after General Braddock and over 50 officers are killed in the battle to take Fort Duquesne in the French and Indian War.  Colonel Washington was also presumed dead. In a letter to his parents to let them know he still lived, he cited Providence (capital P) as the reason.  Though he had horses shot out from under him and multiple bullet holes in his jacket, he was completely unharmed. God had a purpose for the young 23 year old Colonel Washington.   

Not only did Washington realize God's hand in keeping him alive that day, but the Indian chief that ordered his braves to target him realized that the "Great Spirit" was at work keeping the young Colonel alive.

Here is Dan gathering his notes in front of the monument of Washington.  The monument actually depicts a younger Washington and has "Colonel" not "General" or "President."

This plaque actually marks the spot where they were defeated.  It is currently on the side of an apartment building in a not so nice part of town.  

The crew and Washington

And so our trip begins.  It is always exciting!

LAMBS Choir Performance

Last Sunday was our Showcase Sunday in which the children of the church get a chance to display what they have done and/or accomplished throughout the year.  Our co-op had a choir again this year, led by Natasha.    10,000 Reasons was one of the two songs that the choir performed during the morning service.  I *heart* hearing the kids sing.  It makes me all mushy.  They did a beautiful job.  

Disclaimer:  I am sure someone else took a much better video...I have a bum shoulder and was kind of shaky holding the camera.  I didn't get Lorin at the piano.  And I was sitting too close to Natasha, and it picked up her voice some of the time.  But here it is anyways :)

Front row:  Max, Skyler, Hannah, and Colin

Back row:  Leah, Aly, Riley, and Priscilla

Not pictured in the video but pictured below:  Lorin at the piano.  He was practicing two hours a day to get ready for the performance.