New Experience

Today's picture is from the Hershey Gardens. They were on a trellis and it was very pretty. :)

Today was busy at school. A friend and I worked on our school textbooks. We had to get them organized by grade and counted to make sure all had arrived. It is a necessary thing but not something I look forward to doing. lol At least I can always be nosey to see how the books come in and all. I carried around enough boxes today to last me for a while. :)

Tonight we had a new experience!! My brother and our family went to a Brazilian steakhouse. It was QUITE the experience. :)
You are able to eat food from an "all you can eat" style buffet but then they bring around different kinds of meat that you can add to your plate!! They give you a card and when you are ready for more meat you turn the card over. We had filet mignon and other types of steak as well as chicken wrapped in bacon. Wesley and Mikayla really seemed to enjoy it! Steve and my brother also tried CHICKEN HEARTS... yes, you read correctly. YUCK. lol Steve was not very fond of them... said they were quite chewy. ha! I didn't try them... I didn't think I would keep the other parts of my meal down if I ate one. (Wesley actually tried the chicken hearts that Steve had put on his plate... but he didn't realize what he was eating! It was funny to watch him because he kept chewing and chewing and finally spit them out having this funny look on his face. He never knew what he had chewed and it was a good thing.) Mikayla was funny... right after we got there she was asking about the restaurant. I was trying to explain to her about South America and Brazil and where they were located in relation to us. Mikayla looked at me and said "But we don't live in South Camerica!" She was very intrigued by the live band they had. It was just a great experience. I am stuffed beyond measure... ate more than I should have. We also got dessert and a cappucino that was NOT de-caf. I am feeling the jittery effects of it right now. NOT good because I have to get to sleep sometime tonight. ha!!

Well, I need to go try and calm my jitters down. Maybe I'll read for a while.... I should be able to finish the rest of the book I am on the way I am feeling right now! ha!! Have a good one everyone!

Somethin' is loose...

....Wesley's tooth!!! He came to me this morning complaining of it hurting and when I checked it..sure enough it was loose! He was SO excited over this and has wiggled that thing all day long. It isn't THAT loose yet but it will probably be out before we start school again. Mikayla was not happy that he had a loose tooth and she didn't. lol Ah, the sibling "jealousy" is so nice... ha!!

I don't remember if I have shown this flower before or not. Can't remember what I have posted and what I haven't! Anyway, I took this at my in-laws house this past spring. :)

Today I worked on scrapbooking and got a few pages done. I am planning on working on it some more when the kiddos go to bed. While I was talking to someone on the phone and working on my scrapbooking the kids had made a tent in the office. I helped them try to secure it better with some duct tape that held if they would just keep their legs and hands off from knocking the sheet around everywhere. Well, the next thing I know I am hearing what sounds like a hammer. I thought "OH...Wes is probably just pretending he's working on their "house" and stuff..." I WAS WRONG. He was in here hammering thumb tacks through the duct tape and sheet to the casing around our windows in the office!!! We now have four or five little holes so nicely displayed in our casing. Mikayla told me I shouldn't worry because tape could cover them. It is a good thing I was not in school right now because my patience would have been thinner... They had to tear down their tent immediately and put away all of their toys. They weren't happy, but they didn't think on that one. (OR...maybe they thought about it a little TOO much...hee hee) I just chalked this one up to the many things that we'll look back on one day and chuckle about. I wasn't chuckling then, but I am able to get a bit of one now. lol I tell you...this summer they are getting into things like they did when they were TWO!!!!

Well, it is time to get some munchkins in bed. Wes wants to call my daddy and tell him about his loose tooth. He's pretty tickled, can you tell? Off to another adventure with the silly twins... Until next time!

Silly

Here are my silly children today. I was working on the play for my grade level today and I was quite focused on it to get it done. Well, the kids were quite busy entertaining themselves. Mikayla had that "play dress" on first...then, in comes Wesley with it on. It was quite hilarious. I took the first picture right after that. When they saw that I thought it was quite funny they started to go silly with it. Mikayla became the "boy" and Wesley became the "girl" and they had a grand time. I had a few chuckles over their outfits. Eventually, like most children, they began to take it too far and I knew then it was time to clean up and move on to something else, but they surely had fun while it lasted. Notice in the second picture... Mikayla has on Wesley's Sunday shoes and Wesley has on her pink feather fluffy dress up shoes with socks. He still made himself "manly" with the ties and the baseball cap. ha!!

I was quite into doing that play today. That has been something I have been thinking about for a while now and knew it needed to get done. I finally saw it had come today and began working on it immediately. I was planning on doing scrapbooking today, but did any of that happen???? NO...I worked on that thing for around 5 hours today. When I get in focus mode....I am IN focus mode. ha!! I do feel like a small burden has been lifted, though. Now comes the other necessary things that go with it, but they aren't as deep thinking as this was.

I had two answers to small prayers today. I couldn't find my catalog and list for something I needed to order for school. This was not something I was happy about because I had a lot of different things on that list I wouldn't be able to remember. Well, I just prayed all day that the Lord would allow me to find it. I looked everywhere I thought it would be... but it wasn't there. I was beginning to be concerned that in my cleaning out mode I had accidentally thrown it away!! When Steve got home I asked him if he had seen it. He had not seen it so I began to try to figure out again where it could be. I walked in the office and saw one of the bags I had taken to school. I picked that thing up and looked in it... guess what I found???? Yes....God is good, I found that list and catalog. I thanked Him right then and there! The other little prayer he answered was with some cloth drop cloths we use for backdrops for school. I wanted to make sure I had them in hand early so I thought we'd go get them tonight. When I went to the store I couldn't find them anywhere. I asked a store clerk and he said what aisle they should be in and if they weren't there then they were gone. ugh... Well, I began searching again and asked the Lord to please allow me to find one. Well, I looked up and in the middle of a bunch of other stuff, there I found one. Right underneath the pile I found another one so I went ahead and got both of them!! I thanked the Lord, yet again. I am so glad God listens and helps us with our small requests as well as our big ones. It teaches the kids that God is not too big to listen to our needs. I am thankful.

Well, I am hearing two kids get silly again and they need to get themselves in bed!! Off to go wrestle two crazy kids before the tear up something again... Have a good one!

I know..I know....

...I haven't posted in a week now. It was just one thing after another and I didn't get here to post. After the 'Canes won the Stanley Cup we were all into that, Tuesday was my birthday, Wednesday I just hung out and worked on stuff for school (yuck), Thursday I went shopping with a friend since the kids had spent the night with Mom and Daddy (it was nice to try on things without worrying where the kids were! lol), Friday I cleaned a little more, Saturday I cleaned a small amount and went with a friend of mine from college out to eat lunch. Yesterday we went to church and then since it rained all day we just hung out after we got home from Mom and Dad's for lunch. I actually got to scrapbook again last night!! It was wonderful and I would like to do some more tonight, but I don't think I'll have the time.

I had to take a class for credits today and tomorrow and I have been gone all day. I know they are necessary but I surely don't enjoy being away from home during the summer. I find the older I get the more I don't want to even think about school while I am out on break...and just enjoy the time to be myself and be with my family and friends. It can be frustrating sometimes when I have to think hard on something that my brain is telling me it doesn't want to do at that moment. lol

The pictures today are from when we went to watch the 'Canes practice one time. Mikayla was cold and I caught her "showing me" and Wesley was counting all of the rows behind where we were sitting. It was really cute.

Well, I need to go start supper (shock, I know...don't pass out y'all...) and help the kids with their Summer Fun Books. I also need to go color this hair since I just got it cut....want to get that gray out! lol

I'll work on doing better this week about my blog. Forgive the absence. :)

Whatever It Takes!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited right now! Steve and I just watched the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup. My title for today was their "slogan" for the playoffs and they did an excellent job! Our state has never seen anything like it and it is awesome. I stood up for most of the game, twirled my hair and got right up to the TV...you would have wondered who I was because normally I don't get THAT excited. lol I went to the practice again today with some of my friends. It was neat to watch them play. The one with all the members playing near the goal was when they were near the end of their practice and just having fun. I was glad to see them kidding around and enjoying themselves. The 'Canes were amazing tonight and gave us their all. I am so proud of them. It is a pretty neat moment for us! Cam Ward won Most Valuable Player and he deserves it. The bottom picture is of him last week when I went to watch them in practice. I give the Lord the credit for their win because I have been praying that He would allow it and He did. What an awesome and fun evening. I am so glad I could share that moment with my best friend...of course, when we knew we won I jumped up into his arms and almost killed both of us. Oh, to have had a camera set up then...hee hee. This is a great day-early birthday present for me. :) More later... :)

Goin' nuts

Today's picture was taken at Hershey Gardens in their Butterfly House. I was so excited to get this picture. :)

If I don't finish cleaning this house soon I think I am going to pull my hair out!!! I think I could do something to this house for the rest of my summer! ha!! I am going to do the best I can and by next week this time I should be done. I just cannot believe how much dirt/dust, etc.. are found around here. Oh well....at least I know it is done.

Yesterday was a gully washer of a day!! The tropical storm Alberto's remnants came up our way and we got over 7 inches of rain!! We had places flooding all around. I even drove in it to go see the Hurricanes practice. We had hoped they would win last night, but they didn't. The kids enjoyed watching them practice, though. Anyway, once we got home from that my friend came over and we began to clean out mine and Steve's closet. I had some dresses and such in there that I have had for YEARS. Once we cleaned it out (12 kitchen sized trashbags later....) I couldn't believe how great it looked!! It didn't even look THAT good when we moved in here 9 1/2 years ago! ha!! We got a few good laughs over some of those clothes. Now I need to go shopping!! ha!! I got all "fifty" pair of my Birkenstocks put away nice and neatly... except for 2 pair I just realized were still not where they should be. hee hee...

Today I worked on cleaning the windows and blinds in the kitchen. You might think it took me a while to do that....YES IT DID. I went through and cleaned EACH PART of the blinds. I am NOT doing that to each and every blind in this house... the others will get vacuumed. ha!! I just wanted to do it to the ones people see more easily. I still have lots to do with that tomorrow. I also need to finish the last one. I can't go to bed without that door window/blind being cleaned. I am halfway done so it shouldn't take long. :) We also went for another play date and the kids went swimming. They really enjoyed themselves. (I must admit I kept thinking of how much I needed to get done at home the whole time, but they didn't need to know that...)

Well, that blind is calling my name. Steve is going to go pull weeds. There is ALWAYS something to do. Maybe I'll eventually get around to my scrapbooking again. At least I hope so...

A Happy Little Girl

Today I worked in Mikayla's room. My day didn't turn out quite like I had thought, but it was quite productive anyway. We had to run a few errands this morning so I got started on her closet a bit late. I went through her clothes and got out those she can't wear anymore. I also switched out her bookcase we had put in her closet as storage with the one in Wesley's room. Her dresses are getting longer now and she needed a lower one. The bookcase from Mikayla's closet actually looks better in Wesley's room.

Mikayla had called Mom to come down and see the office because it was so clean. (lol) She came down to see it and loved it. I began talking with her about different parts of Mikayla's room and it dawned on me that while I was doing the heavy cleaning in Mikayla's room I needed to go ahead and get her new bed. We have been thinking on this for over a month now but I don't like to do anything with money in a rush!! Well, today I called the place, had them hold the bed and mattresses and then Mom and I went to find her new bedding. She had a queen sized bed before from when Steve's Dad had given us furniture. It has really been too large for her but we made do with what we had. :) We got her a full size bed this time. We put it up tonight and I can't get over how CUTE it looks and how much more room she has!!! I didn't realize just how much that queen sized bed took up. She is SO tickled with it and I am thrilled, too. This will enable her room to look more perky and show off some life in there. Her other quilt had been in there since she moved to that room when she was two, so it has been a good one.

I still have so much to do to this house. I am seeing so much progress, though, and it thrills me beyond words. It feels SO good to get things cleaned out like they should be. I am taking it one day at a time, though....

Tomorrow we are going to go see the Carolina Hurricanes practice. Tomorrow night they could win the Stanley Cup!!! That would be so awesome. I am taking the kids and am hoping they will enjoy watching the practice. After we do that one of my dear friends is coming over and helping me clean out MY closet. We are going to have a lot of laughs with some of the clothes I have hung on to after all of these years. hee hee

Well, off to bed before another day is upon us. I need to get up early so I can get everything accomplished that I need to tomorrow. lol

One room down....

Yahoo!!! I am ecstatic that I finished cleaning out the office today. I still have a few things to do... pictures in those bins on the top of my cubicles to be organized and a few other things in the closet... but overall it looks ten million times better than it did!! I worked in it all day today and it was great. It is amazing how much you can get done if you can just be at home. Wesley and Mikayla were too cute when they saw it finished. They were surprised and, I think, motivated to get their rooms looking more like this. I took out almost 3 trash bags full of junk from this area....and a bit from other areas, too. What a great feeling it is for me to come in to this room now. This was the one that got on my nerves the most but I knew I never had the time to get it done so I just had to learn to get past it. I finally had the time!!!!! These bookshelves looked horrible when I started. I now have more room for my scrapbooks and other books. I should have taken before and after pictures but didn't think about it until I was already into the cleaning. Y'all would have been amazed.

As I was cleaning out today I stumbled across a book one of my students had given me this year. I have recently been having some moments of not being so sure I am even making a difference in my teaching. It gets frustrating when you give 150% every day and you don't always see the outcome you think should happen. I have been reminded by the Lord through various ways these last few days of cleaning that I am doing what I should be doing. Reading the cards this past weekend was a really big way of me seeing how I have affected so many children and parents in the last eleven years. Well, today when I looked at that book I just flipped it open to the first page and this is what it had at the top: "Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." OK....God made that very plain to me today. lol The last paragraph of the little devotional states this: "God's word says that we are to work at whatever we do with all our hearts, remembering that whatever we do is for the Lord. Whatever we do, we need to work hard at our professions." It goes on to say a bit more but this is the part that clearly stood out for me today. Through my cleaning out of this house it is like the Lord is saying to clean out my heart and my thoughts I have had and to get the cobwebs clear so that I can do what I am expected to do for Him. I am not in this to please other people, although I do want to be liked as a teacher. I am doing this for HIM because He is the One Who has given me the ability to be what I am. I have shed tears today over some stuff that most people would probably think silly. It truly is like I need to shed some of the burdens I have been carrying and cast them on the Lord. God is so good to show me what He is wanting for me in my life. I thank Him for the ways He has been teaching me.

I forgot to say yesterday that on Saturday we went to see Cars!!! That was the CUTEST movie and we loved it. There were tractors in it, too, so Wesley was on the edge of his seat when that part was on. The thing I really enjoyed about it was that it had a great story behind it. It was from what adults and children alike could learn something. I would love to go back to the theaters to see it again, but will have to wait till it comes out on DVD. This is definitely another one we'll be getting. :)

Well, I guess I need to get back into the den. We are watching the 'Canes play their fourth game in Edmonton. We would love to see them win the Stanley Cup at home. Off to go watch!

Looking back

Here is a picture from Hershey Gardens. You don't know how long I stood near these Siberian Iris to capture this bee. He was doing what he should be doing, but not giving me the opportunities I wanted. lol I finally got this shot of him and thought it turned out quite neat. He could have landed on a better looking flower, but I took what I could get. ha!!

I have been tearing out more and more since I last posted. Oh my... the office looks horrendous. I don't really care, though, because my house is finally getting organized again. I went through notes, cards and pictures from parents and students that I have saved for over 10 years of teaching. After feeling so down on Friday, this was actually a good thing because I was able to look back and see the many lives I have touched through the years. It humbled me yet again to realize how God has used me with many children and their parents. There were things mentioned in those cards I had long forgotten. I am thankful for the gift God has given me. I know I still have lots to learn, but I also know I have gained a lot through my experiences.

I just went through cards I had kept from when we were expecting Wesley and Mikayla and ones from after they were born. I'm keeping all of those for the most part. I realize some people may think they need to go, but like my teaching cards, I'll always look back and see what people thought. I read a few from people who have already died. A lot changes in six years.

Yesterday was my brother's birthday so we went up there last night for his celebration. He fixed some yummy burgers for his birthday.... I can still taste them now. :) They were not your regular mustard/ketchup/mayo kind of burgers.... they were more like an Italian burger with a kick. We also had grilled asparagus, homemade onion rings and cake. It was wonderful.

Today we were at Mom and Dad's for lunch and to hang out a while. We got the kids in bed early tonight because they have been so off schedule for 2 weeks now and it was showing. I don't care what people say....we all do better when we stick to more of a schedule. It didn't take them long to go on off to sleep. We are supposed to be having some storms tonight so I don't know how long they will be in their rooms. :)

Well, Steve has come home from getting us more milk. :) We are out of pretty much everything still, but I am in no mood to make glamorous meals until I get this house back in some order. (I know you all are thinking..."WHEN does she ever do those kinds of meals????") Anyway, have a good night. I'm going to continue working on this office/house. :)

Friday :)

Ahhh...Friday. Now, normally during the school year Friday is my let down day. During the summer it just means that Steve will be home more during the weekend and we can be more of a family. :) Tonight is Wesley and Mikayla's commencement for VBS. I love VBS and that they can go, but I must admit I will be happy to get back on our "normal" schedule next week.

Today's picture was taken at Hershey Gardens. That monarch butterfly was just beautiful. I loved how it stayed on that flower so I could capture it. Normally butterflies are hard to capture in the "wild".

I began taking things out of our office closet today. I started it right before we were supposed to go to a play date. That was a big mistake because I was on a roll and had to stop mid-cleaning and when I got back home I was too overwhelmed to begin again. I have since found my second wind and am trying to get going again. I have pictures and negatives coming out of my ears. I have to get them organized as well. Let's just say that my organizing this summer will probably take the whole summer! ha!! If I can have a more organized house because of it, though, I'll take it.

The play date went well and the kids had a lot of fun. I was glad they were able to have that time together.

I must say that I am feeling a bit discouraged today. We got their report cards and Achievement Test scores in the mail today and it wasn't pretty. Now, I already knew it wouldn't be...that is why they are repeating Kindergarten, but when you see it in black and white it takes the air out of you. I, at times, feel like a failure. I often wonder what I could have done differently with the kids and how I could have been more of a teacher to them....after all, that is what I do for a living!!! Since school has gotten out there has been a nagging in me that won't go away. I find the older I get the less I know and the less "great" at things I realize I am. I look around at everything, and like Solomon says in Ecclesiastes....all of life is vanity. How vain of me to think of myself as something awesome when I am but a speck on this earth. I am thankful, though, that God loved me, speck and all, that He sent His Son to die for ME. I know I am loved and appreciated through His eyes even though some days I wonder about it myself. Forgive me for the rambling. I have just had these feelings heavy on my heart for a couple of weeks and today they came out in a large way when I saw those papers.

Well, enough of that. I have to go feed the kiddos and get them ready for VBS. Thank you for reading about my life. :)

Monticello/more cleaning!

Well, here is Monticello pictures. We went to Monticello last Saturday on our way home from PA. WOW... so beautiful. I didn't realize that the part that is so famous on the house and that is on the nickel is actually the back of the house. It really is lovely. We took a tour of the house and got to see the bottom floor. Thomas Jefferson was such a smart man and I am amazed at the knowledge and "inventions" they thought of then. While we were on the tour Mikayla asked the tour guide if Thomas Jefferson knew God. Out of the mouth of babes, huh? I thought it was precious that she would think that much of it. She told me later that since he was dead she wanted to make sure he knew God and went to heaven. Their little minds can think pretty deeply sometimes. I have lots of other pictures from Monticello...especially of the gardens and such, but I'll save them for a later time. Many of the flowers we saw were actually planted by Thomas Jefferson. It was so beautiful and peaceful on that little mountain. I really do wish our lives were more slow.....especially as I was in traffic today. ha! The last picture is of his little pavilion type thing that was in his vegetable garden. It was beautiful to sit in and look down the mountain at Charlottesville below. I wish I could have stayed there a lot longer but we had to make the trip back home.

This morning we went to visit a friend in the hospital, ran to Walmart and then went out to eat lunch with Mom and Daddy. The kids loved going to the Vet Clinic and seeing the horses. It was a fun and unexpected treat for us.

Later today I "purged" more trash/mess/stuff out of this house. Granted, the house now looks worse than it did before I started, but OH WELL...that goes with the territory. I am involved in so many clean outs at the moment that I have a lot to clean up afterwards. ha!! Daddy and Mom came down again tonight and helped us put up the cubicles. They look great. I'll take a picture of them and post them later. Wesley's closet also looks much better. I have got to now train him to keep it that way. Mikayla told me tonight she just loved the cubicles with all her "stuff" in them and is excited to have them look like they do. I really do hope this helps them AND me keep it better during the school year. I still have lots to do, but this is a great start!!!!

Well, I must go and calm my nerves down so I can sleep. I am so keyed up from getting things cleaned out. lol :) Have a terrific day!

Cleaning day!/Strasburg

Whew...what a day. Didn't sleep in today and been working on this house all day. I washed so many loads of clothes that it looks like a Chinese Laundry shop. lol I felt like I accomplished a lot today, but by the looks of my house you would never know it. BUT....before you can get organized totally, you get totally disorganized, right? I went to Target this afternoon and got some cubbies for the office and for Wesley's room to store toys and other stuff. I am trying to de-clutter and make toy stuff look better. Let's just say it is interesting around here. Steve went to the Hockey game tonight (GO 'CANES!!) with one of my former parents and my parents and brother came down to help me put together this shelving stuff. It is going to take a while to get everything the way I want it, but it will happen. :)

Today's pictures are of the Strasburg train we rode last Friday. What a wonderful train ride and a great experience. We got to see more countryside and enjoy the ride on a real steam engine. Later that day we went into the Railroad Museum before heading to Charlottesville, Virginia to spend the night on our way back home.

I'm off to work on the shelving more and get ready for the second period of the hockey game. I'll type more later!

The Amish country

The Amish country was just beautiful... I didn't want to leave. The slower pace and the beauty of the area was just a peaceful thing. It made me realize just how hurried a life we lead. I realize those people work VERY hard and I know that I am not cut out to work a day like they do, but sometimes I wish life was more like that. When people worked hard like that for their things they appreciated them more. It seems we work hard now, too, but differently, and we are such a disposable society that it doesn't take much for us to dispose of something or someone. We went on an audio tour in our vehicle first and then went on a buggy ride later. It was great. We learned quite a bit about the area around us and got to see a lot of farms and areas that normally we wouldn't have seen. The Amish are an interesting group of people. I saw some children in different places that we went and they were just precious. There was one little girl, in particular, that I just wanted to get some pictures of, but I respected their wishes of not having any pics taken. Something else that amazed me about them was that ones that I saw on their farms walked around everywhere barefooted!! I don't know how they handled the hot asphalt that I saw some of them walking on. I guess they are used to it....goes to show you that I am the "city girl" I didn't think I was. LOL I kept thinking..."I guess they don't get manicures and pedicures, huh??" Of course, not that I get them much either.

Today I slept too late again. Not a good thing....I am a night owl by nature and can stay up late and get up late, but life goes by you when you do that. There are so many things I could accomplish if I had just gotten up out of that bed. LOL BUT...I have done that all year so this is a nice break. I do plan on doing more work around the house tomorrow. Today we went to visit my best friend's daughter who had her wisdom teeth taken out. We spent all afternoon there and then it was time to take the kids to Vacation Bible School. Steve and I went out to eat supper after we dropped them off, then we went shopping for a couple of things. On the way to the restaurant we saw another beautiful double rainbow. It was so bright and vibrant!! It had been a weird weather day...sunny outside and thundering at the same time, so I wasn't surprised when I saw them. Just another sign of God's promises to us. He never fails and I am so thankful.

Off to eat some more Hershey chocolate...... hee hee

So glad I didn't have to get up early this morning. Today was my "official" start of summer. I haven't had the time to have a slow day, really, since school has gotten out so it was nice to sleep in.

Well, here are some pics from Hershey Gardens. We went there last Wednesday. Originally, we were going to spend the day at Hershey Park, but we went there for half a day the night before and decided to do the gardens on this day. I am so glad we did. First of all, Mom couldn't have handled the park all day and secondly, the gardens are more my speed and were just beautiful. I could have stayed out there all day long and not gotten tired of the view. The fountain in the middle was lovely and the roses..oh, the roses...they were awesome. It had rained the night before so I had gotten some pretty shots of plants/flowers with rain on them. I'll share more of those later. If you look closely on the rose picture you can see drops of rain. (Again, I think you can click on it and see it larger.) Wesley and Mikayla had fun in their Children's Garden...that was really nice. It was quite hot at that time so we didn't get to hang out in that area like we would have. Mom was getting pretty tired so we had to start heading back. Oh...funny thing was Wesley saw a John Deere Gator and then a Kubota tractor filling it with dirt. It was the sweetest thing to see him standing there watching that with all of those beautiful flowers around. We also went into the butterfly house there and Mikayla was honored when one of the butterfly landed on her. She was tickled. I thanked the Lord for allowing her that special moment. She does love butterflies.

After we went to the gardens we went up to the Hershey Hotel and looked in on the lobby area. WOW....what a beautiful place. It was stunning inside and this picture is pretty good to show the inside but just being there made it quite neat. They had painted the ceiling to look like a blue sky with fair weather clouds. It reminded me of somewhere in South America, which only makes sense since that is where a lot of cacao beans are found to make the chocolate.

Today I spent the time getting over 200 pictures developed...and, overall, they turned out GREAT! I have lots of scrapping to do!! I also went around the house with a trash bag and began throwing away stuff. I must say I feel a bit overwhelmed at the magnitude of a mess I have on my hands so I figured I start there. Things are beginning to look somewhat better but I still have a lot of work to do to get this house back, unfortunately. I know a lot of it has to do with the fact I couldn't do any cleaning really last summer because of Mom's illness and then school on top of that has just made piles on top of piles. NOT fun. I began ironing tonight around 7:00 and as of 10:00 pm I am still not finished...does that tell you anything????? I would like to finish it tonight but I wonder if I will. I am watching the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey game right now, too. Not going well for our 'Canes at the moment, but it is just the first game. We'll see how the third period goes. **update when third period began...we finally scored again. hopefully it will last!**

I hear that iron calling my name again so I guess I need to get back to it. I'll post more tomorrow. :)

Hershey!!!

Here are some pictures of us at Hershey. Wesley and I loved, loved, loved the chocolate parts!!! We did Hershey on Tuesday when we got to Pennsylvania. We went to Chocolate World first and then went to the park for half day passes later that afternoon. We bought lots of chocolate and it was hard not to go crazy with buying the stuff. :) I have been enjoying my special dark Hershey Kisses since then, though. ;)

We had so much fun on the rides. The park was not crowded by the time we got there so we could get on and off the rides easily. Daddy, my brother and I rode the Scrambler first thing. Steve said he couldn't handle that so he got to be the photographer. This picture is my favorite of that ride...we were packed in that thing like sardines and laughed the entire time. Daddy had a blast. Mom stayed with Wesley and Mikayla while Steve, my Dad, brother and I went and rode roller coasters. These were the first roller coasters Steve had ever ridden and it was fun to watch his expression and hear his happy shouting at the fun he was having. :) I had to ride one of them barefooted because my Birkenstocks would have fallen off since our feet dangled. lol We did the water "log" ride with the kids. Wesley loved it and rode it again but Mikayla did NOT like that long hill and getting wet. She was funny.

It was terribly hot that afternoon, though. Thankfully we did it later in the day. Mom could not have done a whole day of that...she had a hard enough time as it was. The kids got to ride a lot of rides as the evening wore on before we left. They were just over the size of Reese's for the rides. They enjoyed themselves a lot. Hershey Park is definitely a fun place to be. It was also neat to see how they make the chocolate. We knew it wasn't the real thing but it was interesting to see what it takes to make something I love to eat so much!!! By the end of the evening as we were walking out we finally saw one of the characters and the kids got their picture with it.

Our day was busy and we were tired at the end of it. We went to Hershey Gardens the next day...I have lots of pictures from that. :)

The thing I loved the most about traveling up to PA was the farms I saw all along the highways in Virginia and also in Pennsylvania. It used to be like that here. It made me realize how much I miss those days. I feel like a "city girl" now and, I guess, I have become one. I don't like that at all... I would have loved to have stopped the entire way up there and taken pictures of all those farms but I wouldn't have had enough time or space on my memory card!!! I did, however, get a picture of this creek on the back roads of Virginia. We had stopped for a potty break...out in the middle of nowhere because Mikayla was in dire need of a place to go....and we saw this as we passed over on the bridge. Steve and I walked over to it while my brother turned the vehicle around and I took these pictures. It was so peaceful and beautiful. This is another thing I miss...we are so busy in our lives now that we don't take the time to stop and look at the beautiful things in life all around us that God has given us. I just wanted to stand there and soak it all in but we had to go. Believe me...I had more opportunities to see God's handiwork and creation in the coming days. As I have said before, though, I miss the slower pace of how things were when I was growing up. Everything is so rush, rush now and I don't want that for my children. I want them to see the small things in life that God has given us. Things like the peacefulness of this creek.

Well, I have a wedding to attend this afternoon and must get going. I will post more on our trip tomorrow. :) Of course, I will also be doing some heavy cleaning beginning tomorrow as well...yuck. hee hee

Home

We are home!! Wow, I can't believe the week has already passed but am glad to be home. It is great to go other places and see different things but it is also a wonderful feeling to be back in your own bed!!

I have so much to write about but tonight is not the time. I'll be writing about our adventures in the next few days. You'll be seeing a lot of pictures from our vacation! I took over 400!!!! I uploaded many on to the computer tonight for everyone's enjoyment. :) The picture I have tonight is from Luray Caverns in Virginia. This was a beautiful place and our first stop on our way to Pennsylvania. WOW...to see how God's creation works underground was totally amazing. I continue to marvel at God's handiwork. The pictures will not do it justice, but just know it is beautiful.

We got back late and I have had things to get ready for washing and such so I won't be on here long. Can you believe my maid STILL didn't show up while we were gone!! Next week is going to be cleaning central around here... Back to reality!!