St. John's Church

Our first stop was St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia. I have to admit that I felt a little like Benjamin Gates in "National Treasure." St. John's Church is where Patrick Henry gave his famous speech that ended with the quote "Give me liberty or give me death." Dan printed out the whole speech for the kids to read and went over some key points before we walked over to the church. The speech is spectacular and really shows Patrick Henry's belief in the Almighty God. As an interesting side note, not related to our tour, Edgar Allen Poe's mother is buried in the cemetery of St. John's Church.

One of the many monuments that has Patrick Henry's name on it. The glass above (not pictured) has the last part of his speech. It did not photograph well.

St. John's Church. Our tour guide told us that it sits on the highest point in Richmond and before the buildings and trees grew, you could see the James River in the distance from this spot.

Our group inside the church. The church has had a couple additions since Patrick Henry's time. The teens are sitting in the part of the original church. You can see the beautiful stained glass windows in the background. They were added at a later date.

A little hard to read on the blog, but Exodus Chapter 20, the 10 Commandments. are listed here.

Another tablet stating Patrick Henry's involvement and importance.

The tablet is on the wall above the pew where it is said that Patrick Henry was wont to sit. It really was a different feeling knowing that we were standing where he stood. That history had taken place on the very ground we were treading. I'm not sure that I had ever had that feeling before. It was incredible, really making the history come alive.

A nice gentleman took a picture of our group. We are standing in front of the original part of the church. Just through those doors is where Patrick Henry argued for our liberty and freedom from England.

You might wonder what this had to do with Baptist history. Well, learning about Patrick Henry here set the stage for our next stop in Chesterfield, Virginia. Unfortunately, this is all I have time for tonight as it's almost midnight and we have an early start to our morning. I will try and get our trip to Chesterfield and then our next stop, Bath, NC up as soon as I can!

On the Road Again

Our youth group is hitting the road again, only this time we are not headed to church camp. After much prayer and deliberation, Dan felt he was being led to put together a historical trip. Specifically, a Baptist history tour. The teens were excited. Our pastor was excited. Even the parents were excited (oh...wait...they were excited that we were taking their kids away...just kidding!). There are always smiles at the beginning of every trip. It is yet to be seen if they will look this way upon our return! Our first stop will be Richmond, Virginia. Saddle up!

Front row: Calleigh & Victoria
Middle row: Elizabeth & Skyeler
Back row: Colin, Lindsey, & Riley

Whew! What a May!

Now that I've got it all typed out and the pictures posted, I realize just how much we had going on in May!  No wonder I'm tired :)  Who says homeschoolers are unsocialized?!  I think we are over-socialized LOL!  That pretty much catches up May.  If I can ever figure out how to post those videos Skyeler took, then I'd like to get them up.  She is having a ball with her little Kodak Playsport.  I love how she is experimenting with it.  For Elizabeth's birthday she made an awesome dvd of the two of them.  She's working on one for Aly and Amy now.  If you haven't been around in a while, you can see the links to Skyeler's blogs to the left in the sidebar.  Now if I can just get on the ball with June....

Pedicure Party!

What happens when you have five girls at your house all looking for something to do?  Just about anything with this bunch!  I believe the catalyst for this little pedicure party was Skyeler telling Riley she would paint her nails orange for his birthday (don't ask, not sure, don't care *grin*).  So the obvious spot to paint your toenails (and fingernails) is...the trampoline!  Of course!  Why in the world would I not think of that?!  After all, it's the sturdiest, least bouncy place, perfect for a bottle of nail polish.  Oy!  Where is the rolly-eye smiley when you need it  :)  Ah, the joy of having girls! 

Tori, Amy, Aly, Elizabeth, and Skyeler

Nail polish...lots of colors...funny, I don't see the orange!

Getting it done!  

Testing Day!

Testing!  Blah!  As homeschoolers, our state requires us to either do a portfolio review or a standardized test to turn in to the local school districts with our intent to homeschool.  We do a standardized test (though don't get me started on how I hate them!).  It is something Skyeler dreads every. single. year. and Aly looks forward to with much anticipation.  Our testing takes one day to complete and we like to make it fun for the kids.  This year was the first year that Aly was old enough to be in the testing room with the big kids.  She insisted that Sharon be their tester.  Sharon has been Aly's tester since she started, I think.  Aly said they've bonded.  :)  This year is the last year that Skyeler will have to go through this.  She graduates next year (crazy!!) and therefore, will not need a test score for the following year.  That made this year's testing bearable.  

Toni, our lovely "lunch lady" at co-op, planned for a trip to Chuck E. Cheese after testing was done.  The kids, young and old alike, had a ball!  They ate pizza, played games, and went through tons and tons of tokens.  The moms had "fun" planning next year's co-op.  

Amy, Aly, and Tori

Elizabeth, Calleigh, Skye, and Riley

This game was the most popular of the day!  A virtual jump rope.  Aly is jumping here but Skyeler woke up the next day with sore legs :)

Little Skyeler, me, and Aly.  You could goof off...um, I mean dance...in front of the blue screen and it would show up on the TV above.  What a hoot!  

I think this might have been the second most popular game, weird as it was.  You are a fire fighter putting out fires.  Elizabeth and Riley spent quite some time here.  Skye joined them after she took some video.

P.S.  Both girls did very well on their testing.

Kings Island

Our homeschool group went to Kings Island again this year for Math & Science Days.  The kids LOVE Math & Science Days.  Maybe one of these times, they will actually do math and science on the trip :)  Aly was beside herself with the fact that she just might be tall enough for the 54" rides.  I had measured her at home (without shoes) at just over 53".  Once in the park we had her officially measured and sure enough, she was 54".  They gave her a band so she wouldn't have to be measured at each ride.  Did I mention she was beside herself?  *grin*

My girls constantly amaze me.  I get car sick (train sick, boat sick, plane sick...you get the idea!) AND I cannot ride 90% of the rides at Kings Island.  The girls also get car sick, sometimes just going from home to church, and yet they manage to get on almost everything in the park!!  Without loosing their cookies!!  It's crazy!  Every once in a while they get a little queasy or dizzy.  Skye got it a little worse this year.  But overall they have a great time being completely like their daddy and making me nervous :)

They all had a great day riding rides with all their friends (and the parents, too) and we got home pooped.  And for the record, I rode the Racer (wooden roller coaster, no sharp turns or upside downs) three times, and the Top Gun ride once (though it made me a little sick as it was much faster with sharper turns than the Iron Dragon at Cedar Point).  Then I was free to take pictures and fret over everyone in the group staying together and having fun (my specialty).  

Our group. Kind of the back from l to r: Philip, Riley, Jen, Michelle, Emily, Tori, Elizabeth, & Calleigh
Kind of the front from l to r: Sarah, Skyeler, little Skyler, Max, Aly, Amy, Josiah, & Nina

Everyone but those in the second row from the bottom are part of our group.  Aly's at the top two from the right and Skye's second row from the top two from the left.  

This ride makes me sick to watch!  I keep expecting people to start falling out and splatting on the ground.  I know, I'm weird.

Ah, the Scrambler!  Every year, no matter how many big rides the kids go on, this is always a hit.  They spend time riding with different people and being crazy.  Skye got a video of this, but I'm still having trouble uploading her videos to the blog.  This is Amy, Aly, and Philip.

Tori, Dan, and Aly.  I think they ride together every year.

This monstrosity is Diamondback.  Sharon took the picture from the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Aly was dying to get on this ride and Skyeler loves it.  The lines were not long and I think Skye rode this multiple times in a row.  If I could ride big rides, I would want to ride this.  It really does look cool!

Here's Aly (and Riley, Julie, and Roger) in the Diamondback car just finishing up the ride.

This is the Vortex. It goes upside down 6 or 7 times.  They rode this twice in a row.  That was the only time all day that Aly felt sick :)  Skye and Josiah in the first row, Amy and Aly in the second, and you can see Tori in the third.

And for the little ones, the day would not be complete without getting soaked on the water ride.  Skyeler, sweet girl that she is, promised to ride this with the little ones.  

This is what they looked like afterwards, of course :)  Skye, Aly, & Amy

Picture Day

Pretty self-explanatory.  Each year we take portraits for our yearbook.  We just got it in under the wire this year as we took pictures on the last day of co-op.  Fifteen kids + one beautiful setting = quite the crazy time.  Here's a small sampling of Aly and Skye plus a few extras.

 Amy, Aly, and Philip

 Skyeler, Elizabeth, and Emily

 Riley's Angels (being the only teen boy does have its advantages)

Jen, Emily, Skyeler, Michelle, Elizabeth, Riley, Tori, and Calleigh