Summer 2016 Status Updates

Time always goes quickly around here, so I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed on what's happening in our neck of the woods.

The kids at AHUMC VBS. They had so much fun!

Paul finished second grade and is headed to third. He also wrapped up a great baseball season. He excelled at first base and at batting. His hand-eye coordination is remarkable and one of his coaches was surprised to learn that he just turned 8 during the season.  Paul's favorite activities this summer include building with Legos and reading books. The series he's passionate about right now is How to Train Your Dragon.

Claire has finished fourth grade and headed to fifth grade, her last year in elementary school. This fall we will be applying to various middle schools across FWISD. Claire currently plays volleyball at the YMCA. She is amazing at writing and crafts a new story nearly every day. She likes making family newsletters as well. She also loves reading and is currently rifling through the collection of books I accumulated when I was her age. (Tip: Don't get your daughter hooked on Sweet Valley Twins because they are incredibly hard to find now.)

Adam still enjoys his work as a structural engineer. He has been enjoying the kids' love for roller coasters and all three of them ride together while Sarah waves from the ground. He's great at origami, fixing and building "stuff" with the kids. He loves reading Mark Twain and science books. He also teaches the kids how to rock at video games.

Sarah is still in seminary at Brite Divinity School. I can only go part-time due to family and work, but I love it. At this rate, I have four years left to get my Master of Divinity degree. This last semester I changed jobs and currently work as the ministry assistant at the TCU Wesley Foundation. I'm still also a Fort Worth ISD tutor. I'm also in the ordination process to become a UMC deacon. After graduation/ordination, I'd like to work in pastoral care/counseling and write curriculum for churches.

Cpt. Midnight Sugar Dot Express has enjoyed being the lone dog on the range. He enjoys snuggling and lying in the sun. He does not enjoy Claire holding him like a baby. He's iffy on enjoying Paul wrestling him. Postal employees are threatened with their lives when they deliver mail to the house, but cats are only scared away if he has space in his agenda for chasing them.






Overall, we're all doing well, working hard and having fun.

Our Trip to the Northeast: Ending in NYC

When I was a kid, Pace picante sauce had a commercial about salsa made in New York City. It ended with some cowboys protesting use of a salsa made in New York City.  "New York City?" They exclaimed. "Get a rope!" said another.

Click here to see this commercial.

The entire time we were in New York City, I kept replaying that commercial in my head and finishing every "New York City" with "get a rope."

Despite my annoying internal monologue, I love New York city. The crowds, the people from all over the world, the food from everywhere, the subways, the walking, the big buildings and lights; I love that city. I could never live there; it's too fast paced for my every day, but I love visiting it.

We arrrived on July 4 and were able to see the Macy's fireworks. Police officers were everywhere to ensure everyone's safety.

This was the first time on our journey that we were actually hot. Not Texas hot, but still pretty warm.

Thanks to Adam who secured tickets in February for the Statue of Liberty. It was exhausting to climb all the way to her crown, but also exciting.

When it was time to come home, we were all ready. Both kids had survived a stomach bug and I had a bad ear infection. We were desparate to sleep in our own beds and be back at home. However, the airline cancelled our flight. We stayed one more night and flew out the next day.

I took many, many photos, but here are my favorites.

New York City - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

Our Trip to the Northeast Part V: All The Little States on Our Way

We drove from NYC to Niagara Falls and hit as many states as we could on the way. We stopped in Plum Island, NY to experience the beach. We heard the water was 58 degrees and a tiny dip of my toes into the water confirmed it. Adam and the kids swam anyway.

We went whale watching, but whales are so fast that I was unable to get a picture of them. We did get to see two whales from our boat. 

We also stopped in Troy, New York and connected with our friend Ellie. I worked with Ellie on several college newspapers and have enjoyed keeping up with her adventures through the years. 

Here's a slideshow of all the little states and beach time.

Little States - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

Our Trip to the Northeast Part IV: Boston

We were only on Boston one day, but it was a big one. We walked almost the entire Freedom Trail. There are 16 historical sites on the trail, and by the time we left, we had seen them all, at least briefly. Also by the end, I was completely tired, grouchy, and wanting a vacation that included sitting on the beach drinking pretty drinks. Nevertheless, we were making memories with the kids and learning about our country's history.

Notable to our day were our lunch at The Bell and Hand, which is our country's oldest tavern. It's also a restaurant and we enjoyed fish and chips with the locals. We also saw several historic churches, statues, graves, and thousands of people.

We bought the kids each a Boston cap from a street vendor. They each wore their caps every other day of vacation, prompting everyone to think we were from Boston until we opened our mouths to reveal our accents. We loved hearing all the northeasterners talk and each of us privately practiced talking without Rs and with different A sounds. We quickly realized it was easier just to talk the way we normally do.

We also met a professional photographer, who took family photos of us for free. Some of the photos below are from him.

Here's some photos from the Boston leg of our journey.

Boston - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

Our vacation to the Northeast Part III: Architecture

We noticed a difference in architecture everywhere we went in the northeastern US. Here in Fort Worth, we have a few historic buildings and houses that boast 100 years standing. In the northeast, that's still babytalk.

I've also included a few signs that I noticed. Here's one from Willington, CT. Apparently the entire town has a prayer meeting each week.

Below is a slideshow of some of the signs and buildings we saw on our trip. I don't know the history behind most of them (except the Freedom Tower) but they caught my eye.

NE Architecture - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

Our Trip to the Northeast Part II: Mark Twain

We visited Mark Twain's house in Hartford, Connecticut and later, his grave in Elmira, NY.

His Hartford home also had a museum, which we enjoyed. You can learn more about it here. We toured the house with the "gossipy maid Lizzie Wills." The "maid" gave us a tour of the house and insider knowledge. It was a lot of fun.

This Mark Twain was made entirely of Legos.

Here are a few photos of the Mark Twain leg of our journey.

Mark Twain - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

Our Vacation to the Northeast Part 1: Farm Life

When Adam and I first got married, our local grocery store had an airline mile reward program. Every dollar we spent at the store was rewarded with corresponding frequent flyer airline miles. We kept banking them, knowing one day they would come in handy. We cashed them all in this year, 15 years after we got married.

In January, I had gone to bed and Adam woke me up to say that he'd thought of some tentative plans for summer vacation. We hadn't talked about it yet and I was asleep, so I said okay and went back to sleep. The next morning I woke up to a spreadsheet on my side of the table. Flight numbers and destinations were all filled out on a calendar for vacation.

From January to June, Adam worked to research and book our vacation. He found the best deals and the best experiences and made sure we didn't miss a thing. He worked hard, and we all were grateful. Many of our activities had to be booked months in advance. For example, we climbed to the crown of the Statue of Liberty because he had purchased tickets at the beginning of February. Some times had already sold out that far ahead. We visited the Statue of Liberty on July 7.

We started vacation on June 28 with a flight out of DFW airport to New York City. This was the kids first time flying, and they were ecstatic. Since Adam was in charge of all the details, he was constantly checking off lists in his head and verifying that we had everything. I was hyper vigilent about the kids, worried that some silly move in front of a TSA agent would derail our vacation. Luckily everything went smoothly on our way out of town.

We landed in New York City and then got a rental car to drive through the Northeastern US. 

Our first two nights were spent at a farm in Connecticut. We stayed in a barn loft at Bluebird Farm in Willington, Connecticut. The price was very affordable, but more than that, we were invited to participate in farm life! (If you are interested in staying here, you can click here. If you want to learn more about their pig, Daisy, and some of the products they make and sell, click here.)

Here's a brief slideshow of our farm adventures. 

Bluebird Farm - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker