Max--Tae Kwon Do Tournament

I believe I already wrote about Max in the Tae Kwon Do tournament, but here are a few photos. Emily and I are working together to get her 4-H projects done--the sewing machine is not cooperating. I'm afraid it might not work anymore. Bad timing. Maybe on payday we can get a new one--not sure if repairing is really cost effective these days. Anyway, it's a little stressful, but we'll make it.
It's been Hot, HOt, HOt the past few days!

Papasan with Max--when they came to visit for Emily's baptism, and baby Ginny, still in the hospital

More photos

baby Ginny, Emily with Tutu and Papasan on her baptism day,
Karen's Grandpa Gardner and Grandma Rae

Going through old photos

Going through some old photos, and since I'm having so much fun posting pictures, now, I thought I would put up a few. Many of them are of family. Others are baby pictures.

Various pictures

The silly picture of Max was taken by Emily as part of her 4-H photo project. She was having a lot of fun, and so was he, apparently. Trevor took the one of the the kids in front of the computer. Ginny is wearing the daisy dress that Emily wore to Nancy's wedding--time flies! And it was just a cute shot of Emily in our living room.

Ginny--ballerina or Tae Kwon Do black belt?

Last Saturday we went to Danville for Max's first Tae Kwon Do tournament. I think he was pretty nervous, although he wouldn't admit to it. Anyway, when it was his turn, he got ready to go down to the competition area, and I wished him luck and told him that we would be cheering for him. He looked at me with a very embarassed look, and said, "Please, mom, I DON"T need anyone to cheer for me!" He was probably worried that we (I) would embarrass him. He did great--although he forgot parts of the forms exercises. But, in the 1 steps (choreographed self-defense) he got second place! He was thrilled with his trophy! Ginny and Sam watched the competition all morning. (Emily watched Max, but was otherwise thoroughly engrossed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which she had acquired at the big book party at the museum the night before.) Anyway, we came home, and Ginny was prancing around the living room doing kicks and saying (Ay-Ya!) just like the kids at the tournament. Emily was concerned about this, and decided she needed lessons in dancing, which is more "feminine" So all week long, Ginny has been getting lessons in dance--Emily has actually got her doing plie, chasse, and twirling with her arms over her head. Meanwhile, she still likes to do the Tae Kwon Do kicks. It's pretty cute. Time will tell which she will like better--maybe both!

Hershey, PA

On our way to Gettysburg, we drove through Amish Country--near Lancaster PA. I really enjoyed seeing people out plowing the fields the old fashioned way-with horse and plow. It was fun to see all the laundry--aprons and overalls strung on long lines from the houses to the barns. We stopped and talked to some nice little girls who were selling fresh raspberries. (They were yummy!) We also couldn't resist stopping at Hershey Chocolate World. They have a fun, free ride where you can see how chocolate is made, all the way from the rain forest, through packaging and shipping to stores. Of course, at the end of the ride, there was a free chocolate sample. We thought it was so fun that we decided to do it again! The kids also got to be part of a production line packaging Hershey kisses. Then, Max, but virtue of making a really great, "I need a cupcake!" face, was chosen to be part of a show where a singing baker "Hershey-ized" a giant chocolate cupcake. So then, of course, we had to buy a few more cupcakes for the rest of the family. Sam was looking quite upset when he thought that Max was getting that giant cupcake and he wasn't going to get one. But we all enjoyed the sugar rush, and then hit the road for Gettysburg.

Gettysburg

Gettysburg was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! The boys especially loved it. We took several nice little hikes into the woods, and learned about different parts of the battle and the brave soldiers who gave their lives there. There were lots of good opportunities to talk to the kids about appreciating those who gave their lives so we could live in the free country that we do. I guess I did a little bit TOO good of a job of praising the soldier because then all Max could talk about was that he wanted to be a soldier when he grew up to protect our country and our freedom. This, of course, horrified my mother's heart, so I spent quite awhile explaining how terrible war is. Anyway, at least the boys (and Emily, too) have a profound respect for our country's history. I'm sure this was Trevor's favorite part of the trip. He was really cheerful, even though it was super hot, so you know he was thrilled to be there. I loved re-reading the Gettysburg address. Definitely inspired by the Holy Spirit. The words made me cry reading them in that national cemetery. People left pennies all around the monument.

Valley Forge

Valley Forge was really interesting. A nice peaceful Sunday afternoon activity. We did go to church in the morning, and drove through the beautiful forested hills. They emphasized that it was at Valley Forge that the American troops matured into an army that was capable of beating the British. Althought they were definitely hungry and not well-clothed, they worked hard during that winter to stay alive and learn army discipline. It was neat to see General Washington's house--80% the way it was in 1777-78.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia....was so much fun! The only thing terrible was the traffic getting there. On one day, the construction merges turned a one hour trip into a 3 hour trip. That was terrible, but once we got past the traffic and found a place to park, it was super! When we first arrived the kids were recruited by several revolutionary war re-enactors--Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and a recruiting officer from the army who trained the recruits in marching, etc. Emily got promoted to be a corporal, so from then on all the re-enactors congratulated her when they saw her stripes all day long. Sam and Max were practically drooling over the sword and rifle demonstrations. There was a lot of security, like going to the airport to see the liberty bell. We weren't able to go inside independence hall because the tickets were gone for the day, but we saw the adjacent buildings with some original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We also saw the site of Benjamin Franklin's house and printing shop, Betsy Ross' house, etc. The kids thought it was fun to send postcards from the post office there that had the same postmark that Franklin had in his day. The second day we figured out that we could ride the PHlash bus around town with a family pass (only $10) That was a lot less stressful than driving and trying to park. We went to the Benjamin Franklin Science INstitute and the Please Touch Museum for Children. The kids liked the Alice in Wonderland and Where the Wild Things ARe exhibits. I was particularly impressed with the city hall in Philadelphia--it was immense, and very intricately carved. Beautiful! The kids of course loved it when we returned to our hotel in the evening for a nice cool swim. It was REALLY hot!

Vacation etc

Well, I haven't written in here for quite awhile. I guess I just got caught up in trying to get the kids throught with the school year, finishing up dance and music recitals, etc. Then summer launched, and we have been so busy with 4-H projects (I'm teaching a calligraphy class--Emily is a natural--my mom would be so pleased!) We also have a summer pool pass, which the kids love, and the reading program from the library keeps us busy. I started out the summer by having the kids responsible for a chore, reading, practicing the piano, and doing a project each day. I wanted to keep things a little organized. We've been off and on about keeping up with this. When we left on vacation our structure sort of went out the window. That's okay though. The kids have been playing outside with the Cottrill kids a lot--and I really like them to play outside in the fresh air as much as possible.
So, on to our vacation! It was so fun! I'm so glad we went east this year. We missed visiting our families out west, but since we are thinking about moving out west, we thought we'd better go east while we still have the opportunity. Anyway, we went to Kirtland, OH first, where we learned so many interesting things about church history that I didn't know before. for example, I had forgotten that Joseph Smith actually translated the entire new testament. There were some incredible stories about he Whitmey family, and all they gave and sacrificed to build up the early church. The temple was really amazing to see--and there is a nice spirit there, even though it is now owned by the reorganized church. We camped on Lake Erie, at a beautiful camp site that was only $10 per night! That was so much fun. I cooked tacos for dinner on our new camp stove. We decided after that first night that the air mattresses I had purchased were worth their weight in gold! It was so much better not to sleep on the cold, hard ground.