Hershey, PA

We weren't planning on stopping at Hershey but we were so close we made a little detour.  I'm glad we did, the kids loved it.  They have a free tour and then we spent some time in the gift shop.

This would be Cambelle's heaven.

Gettysburg

We woke up with hopes of leaving the hotel by 8:00 a.m. (that didn’t happen, does it ever?)  It’s always fun to share a hotel room with 5 people.  You start to find out all sorts of things about the people you love, for example out of all the kids Cambelle was named the “clothes changing ninja”, she changed the fastest under the “sharing of the room” circumstances.  We ate breakfast at the hotel and Sara and Cambelle shared a Siamese pancake, for some reason it came out looking a little like a snowman.  We made it to the Gettysburg museum around 9:15 a.m.  There was a short film and then an experience called a cyclorama.  The film was so informative and very well done, then we were moved into a room that was circular and on the wall was an enormous painting that was painted in 1864 just one year after the battle of Gettysburg.  It was restored in 2008 and is the longest oil painting in North America.  They had a narrator that told the story of the battle, at the same time there were lights that would highlight explosions with sound effects to go with it.  It definitely had an impact, I felt an intenstity that I can only imagine is minuscule compared what was felt by the soldiers those three days in July of 1863.  It amazes me the number of men that were involved.  We visited the museum after the film and cyclorama.  

Of course there were relics and artifacts that were beautifully preserved, then we made it to a room that had a voice over coming through the sound system.  It was the Gettysburg address being recited.  We sat down and listened and faced the words that were written on the window.  I was struck by the power of the words that Abraham Lincoln shared in a few short paragraphs.  I felt the importance that he felt in keeping the Union together.  We left the museum to explore the park that contains the battlefields and cemeteries.  The original graves were organized by regiment, in a circle surrounding a monument to the soldiers.  There were many unmarked graves and there was an entire section that were men that could not even could be identified by regiment.  I thought of the families that never knew what happened to their loved ones, it broke my heart.  It felt like sacred ground, to be where men fought for the freedom of others and all fought with the thoughts of their families at home.

 We headed into town for lunch after that and found a fun little corner diner called Luke’s American Grille.  It was the perfect 50’s diner and had amazing burgers and pulled pork.  The town itself is beautiful, so quaint and the buildings are all amazing.  We wandered to an ice cream, Mr. G’s,  place that was in a building built before the civil war, in fact the building is in a picture of Abraham Lincoln.  I got vanilla ice cream with a warm spiced apple sauce, it was like apple pie without the crust.  Out front there was a ring toss game that we played while we ate our ice cream.  I’m pretty sure that it was the video games of the 19^th century.  Cambelle was the first one to finally get the ring on the hook, J.T. and Troy both made it too.  Sara and I were not quite so talented.

This was the countryside that we were blessed to travel through....stunning.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

We drove to Salt Lake on Wednesday the 25th so we could fly out early on Thursday morning.  We parked the car and jumped on a shuttle to the airport.  The kids were a bundle of nervous, excited energy.  They were as excited as they are on Christmas morning.

Sara was nervous about going through security but everything went slick and quick and we were waiting for the plane to board.

We sat on the very last row.  The flight attendant visited with us for a minute and Sara told him that this was their first time flying.  When he began the announcements he started it by saying, "If you'll direct your attention to the back row we have some newbies with us."  The kids loved it and the flight was a hit.

When we landed in Baltimore we planned on eating at Bob Evans.  We arrived there and it was under construction so we had to find a different place to eat.  I told the kids that when you're on vacation sometimes your plans don't always go the way you expect and you have to be open to changes that come.  I had no idea how prophetic that statement would be.

Will it fit?

We had the opportunity of a lifetime this last week, we were able to take a trip back east with our kids.  Troy and I have been back to Washington D.C. several times and have always wanted to take the kids.  We have been planning for quite some time and thought that going during our two week break for harvest would work out.  I took an obscene number of photos and I have a feeling it will take me awhile to get through them all.  So today I will start with packing.  Boring you say?  Oh no, I love packing.  I told the kids to gather everything together that they needed to take and I would pack for them.  For the record I packed a 14 year old girl for 9 days in a carry on, yep, a CARRY ON!!  Yay me....  It's one of those quirks I have.  Anyway, lots of adventures and stories to come, but for now just take a moment and ohh and ahh at my hidden talent.

Sara's.....BEFORE

Sara's......AFTER

J.T.'s .......BEFORE and yes those are church shoes (go ahead be impressed)

J.T.'s ..............AFTER

Joseph and the adoring girl that lives in my house.

So my cute 14 year old was a part of a community play this summer.  They did a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and it was very well done.  She was an adoring girl and had quite a bit of stage time, and loved it.  During practice she was getting a little frustrated because it took a lot of time and priorities became a big deal.  She at one point said she didn't think she wanted to do another play, I told her to wait until the actual performance before she decided.  Well the results are in, and she LOVED it and my guess is that there are more plays in her future.  I loved watching her, and I know that she made some great friends and had a great time.

That is definitely an "adoring" girl.

Cindy and Adri made it up to watch her, it was so nice of them to make the trip.

500 MILES!!!

We did it, we did it! Between my cute husband, my energetic kids and my own little legs that  seem to be aging faster than I would like, we made it.  We accomplished our goal of 500 miles.  I have been so impressed with the dedication of my kids this summer.  There were many days J.T. and Cambelle would take a bike ride together to clock some miles, one day he even stopped at a little place nearby and bought that cute sister of his some ice cream.  I count that as success no matter how you look at it.

I had visions of a weekend get away to celebrate this huge accomplishment, but like so many other of my visions it didn't quite work out that way.  Sara is in a community play that has sucked away most evenings and every Saturday.  I can't wait to watch her, but we had to make some adjustments to our celebration.  We went out to a local steak house and had a great meal, and I brought a gift wrapped in a bow that held the "surprise" that the kids were waiting for.  They   opened the gift and found three notes for each of them.  The notes shared my own memories and the things that stood out to me.  I loved seeing Sara and Cambelle hold hands as we walked to the temple, their bond grew as the rode the bike path and played games like "I spy" and "What's your favorite..."  I was so impressed during the 5k that we ran when Cambelle had tears in her eyes but still didn't give up.  J.T. ran that entire race without stopping, it was the first time he had done that, I thought it was so cool.  This year Troy worked with us to reach the goal and that made it even better. There eyes lit up as they read the notes, I hope they know that they made my summer memorable, and I loved being with them.

Under the notes there was a bottle that contained money that we have been saving for a trip we are taking.  They have been saving the money to pay for entry tickets for many of the things we want to see.  The surprise was this, that Troy and I would take care of the tickets and they could use the money for souvenirs.  They were excited and so am I, they have worked hard.

When I think of all that was accomplished this summer it was so much more than tracking miles, it was about spending time together on our bikes, running, and taking walks.  It was about planning ways to be work toward a common goal and enjoying a little fun with each other.  I know that my kids are growing up faster than I like, and I want to have as many cherished memories as possible. The memories that we make are like little packets of sunshine that we carry with us forever.  It was a good summer.

This is when Sara realized what the surprise was.

This is when J.T. realized.

The burger was bigger than this cutie.