Back to School 2014

Well, the summer is over at our house.  We usually begin our rolling start to the school year on the Monday of the week in which August 1 falls.  However, August 1st was a Friday this year, and I didn't want to start back to school that week. 

Greg came home from Pennsylvania for good that afternoon.  He was gone for our 25th wedding anniversary, July 29.  So, we planned to celebrate when he got home.  Unfortunately, he had to take a safety class for a new job he got that Saturday morning.  So, we really didn't feel like we had time to go away somewhere.  (We ARE thankful for the new job, though!)

We had a staycation anniversary celebration.  After his class Saturday morning, we went to Orlando.  We spent the afternoon shopping at IKEA - Disney World for adults. :)  We had dinner at the Elephant Bar Restaurant, a place that was new to us.  It was good, though not really a place we'd probably go back to.  On the way home that evening, we stopped for dessert at Cracker Barrel.  We decided to hang around Ocala on Sunday.  So, we went grocery shopping at Publix (so much fun, right?) and then out to breakfast at First Watch.  This was another place we'd never been.  Again it was good, but it felt over-priced to us.  Probably not a place we'd go back.  We did a bunch of shopping (Burlington Coat Factory, Best Buy - Chase got a new laptop for school, Home Depot, maybe other places I can't remember).  We decided to see a movie at a historic theater that's been restored in our downtown area.  It's a neat looking place, but there is NO leg room!  We saw And So It Goes and enjoyed it more than we'd expected.  After a little more shopping, we had dinner at Jimmy John's and then headed home.  It was a really fun weekend, even though we didn't go anywhere special.

The next day, August 4, the girls and I started school.  We have two weeks under out belt now, and it'd been going pretty well.  This week, Chase took the U.S. History Part II CLEP test and passed it, earning her very first college credits!!!  Greg started his new job at Florida Concrete on August 4 as well.  He's been hired as a project manager for a job they got on a Fed Ex Warehouse being built in town.  It's a year or so contract.  If they have work for him after that, they'll keep him on.  Otherwise, he'll hopefully have made some connections working on this job so that he'll have other opportunities.  We're grateful that God has provided for us so well since January.

Landon is back living at home.  He decided he would die if he took one more college class.  So, he is not going to graduate school right now.  He got a job at Walgreens in our neighborhood, until he can figure out his long-term plan.  At least he's working.  :)

I'll close this blog post with a picture of the latest tea party at our house!  Aren't they cute?

Heading Home to Florida

On June 30, we spent our last day in Williamsport, PA.  It was Greg's birthday, so we wanted to celebrate with him.  We did some shopping and had a great dinner at Cracker Barrel.

On Tuesday, July 1, Landon, Carys, Chase, and I started the long trip back to Florida.  We stopped for lunch in Virginia, where I finally got to meet my online friend Kristine in person.  We've known each other for more than a decade as we've been part of the same online homeschool group.  Many of us in that group have grown close over the years.  Kristine has been a wonderful friend to me, always remembering to pray for whatever I'm going through at the time and always encouraging me.  It was so great to meet her and her family!

 Kristine got much better pictures, but I put crazy Chase in charge of my camera!  So this is the best one.

Here's what most of Chase's pictures looked like.

Here are Kristine's son, Trevor, Chase, Landon and Carys.  Her daughter Holly doesn't like to have her picture taken.  :)  Trevor, Landon and Chase got along well playing Mario Kart and eating the delicious lunch Kristine and Robert made.

Carys had the best time playing with Kota, the dog, and Robert, the husband!  Haha!

We left Kristine's and headed for the Mitchell's house in Greenville, South Carolina.  We've known the Mitchells since Carys and Rylee were born 8+ years ago.  We always look forward to a chance to visit with them when we can.  They put us up for two nights, and we enjoyed a down day on July 2 swimming in their neighbor's pool, eating subs and going out for frozen yogurt.

Mollianne, Rylee, Carys and Sadie Mae in the pool (not sure if I'm spelling the girls' names right!)

All the kids LOVED the Mitchell's dog, Marley, so much.  They also had cats and bunnies.  Such a fun place to visit. 

On Thursday, July 3, we set off on the final leg of our journey home.  A few hours later, Greg boarded a plane for Tampa.  We got home around 4:30pm.  He got delayed by weather and didn't make it back to the Villages (he takes a transport from the airport to there) until after 9pm.  We had a great trip, but it was good to be home.

Finally, just to get back at Chase for taking all those crazy pictures at Kristine's, I'm posting this one I took of her.  She sat in the front seat for the entire trip, and this is how much help she was to me!

Gettysburg

On Sunday, June 29, we slept in a bit and then headed to Gettysburg which was only 2 hours from Williamsport.  We stopped in the museum store and purchased an audio tour led by an actual guide to use as we drove through the park.  Gettysburg covers a pretty large area of land right in the middle of the town.  It was a very interesting audio tour.

There were several observation towers.  We all climbed up the first one.

Greg insisted on a picture with the Virginia monument, since he was born in Virginia.

 

This monument is reminiscent of the famous Iwo Jima monument/picture.

This picture was taken on top of Little Round Top.

It's hard to get a serious picture of Chase!

This is Little Round Top from the bottom.

This is the Pennsylvania monument, the largest in the park for obvious reasons.

This was the last observation tower we visited.  The kids climbed all the way up, but Greg and I opted to stay at the bottom! :)

It's easier to see Chase and Carys in this close-up.

This is the Soldier's National Cemetery.  It's hard not to think that this battle was such a tremendous waste of life!

We headed back to Williamsport in the late evening.  Our friends Dave and Matt Miskiewicz were on their way back to North Carolina from the races in New York at the same time.  We met up with them in Selinsgrove and had dinner at Applebee's.  This was especially fun for Greg who didn't get to see them like we did on the way up.

Niagara Falls

On Friday, June 27, we left Williamsport around 4pm and headed for Niagara Falls.  We planned this trip on the weekend so Greg could go with us.  We stopped in Buffalo for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory as I was having a craving!  We shared meals, drank water, and got out of there for $73 even with 3 desserts.  :)  We made it to our hotel around 9:30pm.  During the summer, there are fireworks over the falls on Friday and Sunday evenings.  I didn't realize that when I made the initial plans, but it turned out to be perfect.  We walked onto the observation bridge right as the fireworks started.  They were so beautiful as were the lights on the falls which are on every night.

 

The next morning we bought subs at a local grocery store for a picnic lunch and headed back to the park.  Niagara Falls is in Niagara Falls State Park.  You pay $8-10 to park in one of their lots, but that is all you actually HAVE to pay.  You could park on the street outside of the park and walk in if you could find a place.  We bought the Discovery Pass which allowed us to experience five attractions in the park.  The two main things were the Maid of the Mist boat ride and the Cave of the Winds.  Doing these two things separately would have cost the same as each pass, so we figured everything else was a bonus.

 

Look at that gorgeous rainbow in the background!

 We did The Cave of the Winds first.  This attraction wasn't really cave-like except that you took an elevator down into the rock.  After that you walked out on this contraption of stairs and bridges which they rebuild every single spring due to the wear and tear of the ice over the winter.

You were given these lovely ponchos and sandals to keep dry.  Yeah, right!

Look how close we were to the falls!

See the sign?  It says Hurricane Deck.  I elected to stay one deck lower and take pictures!

One season, four hurricanes hit Florida. We NEVER got this wet!

On our way to the trolley, we passed this statue of Tesla.  Carys and Landon both had to have their pictures taken with it!

We got to ride the trolley around the park all day as part of the pass.

 

So we rode over to the Maid of the Mist next.  These are the two most popular attractions, so we opted to do them first before it got too crowded.

The boat ride was incredible.  You rode right up to the falls.  At a certain point, you can't really see anything, though!

 A truly incredible sight!  "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls."  Psalm 42

The American Rapids from the trolley

We also went into the aquarium and the Gorge Discovery Center.  I'd heard how small and awful the aquarium was, but Carys enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the sea lions.

Carys wanted Greg to take her picture with every stuffed animal in the aquarium gift shop. 

Chase decided to get in on the action, except she was trying to imitate the expression on each animal's face.  It was hilarious!

 

We went into the Gorge Discovery Center simply to wait for the next trolley to the parking lot.  I made these people pose, but only Greg looks very happy about it!  I think they were making those faces on purpose. :) 

We were exhausted by the time we headed home, but it was worth it!  We made it back to Williamsport by about 7:00 that evening.

Philadelphia: Eastern State Penitentiary

Thursday afternoon, June 26, we toured the Eastern State Penitentiary. Chase really wanted to do a nighttime ghost tour, but it didn't fit into our schedule (and it would have freaked Carys out anyway). Apparently, the do a huge haunted house in the fall for anyone in the area who's into that sort of thing.

Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts. The price of admission included an audio tour which was full of many interesting details about the prison. You can listen to the tour here.

Here are the kids outside the prison.

The audio tour told you where to stop and look at accompanying displays.

All the prisoners were in solitary confinement, and silence was required at all times.  This was later found to be cruel and unusual punishment and the practice was ended.

Carys had a scavenger hunt to do.  The cells were pretty creepy inside, even in the daytime.

At least you had your own bathroom!  :)

Though the prison is "in ruins", you can still walk around most of it, including up these stairs to the second floor.

The stairs led to this bridge.

Look at the neat architecture of this place!  Really worth a visit the next time you're in the Philadelphia area.