A Benefit of Early Mornings

One blessing about being up so early to take the kids to school is that we see some incredible early morning skies.  From our apt it's difficult to see the entire thing, but the colors off the clouds today were phenomenal!  Here's a pic of this beautiful day the Lord has made.  I'd really like to wake early and take the kids down to the beach to see the entire sunrise...Gotta put it on the bucket list!

Home Sweet Home

During our PSU weekend we also got to spend some time in Lancaster.  Sissy was a little nervous to go to Lancaster because she was afraid she'd feel left out since she's the only one who wasn't born there - usually she's proud of the fact that she was born in Jax, until we are in Lancaster where the rest of us consider it to be our "hometown."  After our trip, she wanted to stay in Pennsylvania.  She had such a great time.

After parting ways with my parents, we stopped by my BFF Beth's house for a visit.  Beth and I have been friends since Toddler Gym (preschool age).  We haven't lived in the same town since high school, but we have managed to stay close and know we can always count on each other no matter what.  There is a lot of security in having a friend like that.  Beth and I were both pregnant with our first borns (both boys) at the same time.  Our boys have been friends since birth and even though they don't see each other often, they are able to pick up right where they left off each time, just like Beth and I do.  It's so heartwarming for us moms to see our boys enjoying each other as much as we do.  

Here are 4 out of 5 of our kids.  They get along so well.

After we left Beth's house, we decided to make a quick stop in Hershey to take a quick ride through Chocolate World.  I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had plans for dinner.  The kids loved the ride and picking out a piece of chocolate from the shop.  You can find Hershey's everywhere, but some of the bigger sized stuff - things we always took for granted - were hits with our kids. Riley picked out a HUGE Hershey bar and Kendall picked out one of those GIANT sized Hershey's kiss.  

After we left Hershey, we drove to Lancaster.  Along the way, we took the kids on a walk down memory lane with us.  We explained things to them that they didn't know or understand - things like silos, bank barns, tobacco barns, chicken farms, pig farms, windmills, etc.  I forget our kids don't see these things every day like I did as a kid.  We headed over to Lancaster Brewing Company where we met up with some of Andy's family.  His mom, dad, dad's girlfriend, aunt, and one cousin with his daughter were able to join us.  It was wonderful to be able to visit with a lot of people at one time.  The kids were able to visit with their grandparents as well.  

After dinner I drove the family down to our hotel.  We stayed at Willow Valley (or what use to be Willow Valley).  It's owned by Hilton now and the old restaurant and inn have been torn down.  The kids LOVED the pool at the hotel.  While the kids went to bed, Andy watched the Dallas game and I drove back downtown and met up with some of my CV friends.  It was so awesome to see some of them and catch up over a few drinks.  I have missed them so much!

Easy to see why the kids loved our hotel, huh?  This is a big reason why we stayed at Willow Valley.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Columbia to the Turkey Hill Experience.  Along the way, we took the kids on a tour of our old stomping ground.  We showed them downtown, where my grandpa use to work at Hamilton Watch, the significance of Wheatland, the local TV station where Uncle Matt worked in college, where the old Mc Donald's use to be on Columbia Ave before it moved down the road and how it was a big deal to go to McD's as a kid.  We also showed them Hambright school where my dad and Uncle Kevin went to school.  We also told them that Pappy Hershock's grandfather built Hambright.  We showed them where Pappy Hershock grew up and how he lived in a house with his grandma, aunt and uncle.  We showed them where Uncle Kevin bowled as a kid and the road his parents still live on - Kendall wanted to visit his parents!  We also showed them where my parents got married, where my mom grew up and the road where we lived while waiting for our Millersville house to be built and the church where we got married.  Riley was impressed at how much of our family history was in such a small radius.  Both kids want to  go back and see the rest of the area where mom and dad grew up.

We finally arrived at the Turkey Hill Experience.  If they thought we had family history in Lancaster, we sealed it up here.

This is Chubb Frey.  His family started and continue to run Turkey Hill Dairy.  He and my grandfather were best friends.  My grandpa worked for Chubb for many years.  Chubb actually spoke at my pappy's funeral and his wife spoke at my nanny's funeral.  

This is my pappy - first row, second from the left.  

Andy and I love the Indian head on the old Turkey Hill signs.  It is significant in terms of the location of the dairy.

After the tour through the THE, the kids got to sample tea and ice cream.  Might have been their favorite part!

My two favorite NUTS!

We use to have a milk man drive a truck like this to our house every week.  Our milk man was awesome!  He use to love my cat and would let me play in his truck.  It helped that he was also friends with my pappy!

After our time at the THE, we headed to Baltimore to fly back to Jax.  The kids were both sad to leave.  They had a fantastic time.  We'd like to make a trip back up in the summer so the kids can see where we grew up, where we spent our childhood.  It was bittersweet for everyone.

Where Does The Time Go?

Can you believe it's been 18 years since Andy & I said "I Do."  Here's the math on our relationship:

18 years married + 2 1/2 years dating = 20 1/2 years together (over half my life!)

9 addresses + 6 states (2 of them twice) + 1 more address in April = Never buy a stamp with your address.  Always buy the stickers for return address labels!

1 dog + 2 kids + 3 in heaven = Lots of love

3 cars + 4 trucks + 5 dirt bikes + 2 4wheelers + 1 scooter = Lots of miles

1 man + 1 woman + 2 kids + God = Happy family

Proud Momma

We are officially one quarter of the way through the school year.  Whew!  4th grade has been a huge adjustment for all of us.  There is a TON of studying/homework.  Little Man struggled a bit with math this quarter which was a first.  I thought it was because we switched schools and curriculums, but after a few conversations with moms of kids who started in kdg, I was thankful to discover that this is a difficult concept rather than a curricular issue.  Ra was able to earn all A's and one B this quarter.  We are proud of how hard he worked, especially in math.  He got up early to go in for extra help 2x/week as well as studying over the weekends, doing extra work at home, etc.  I also proud to say that all his hard work has paid off.  His teacher texted me last week, the evening of his 1st math test in MP 2 to let me know he scored a 97% on his math test!!!  Maybe we've turned the corner.  His new goal is to earn all A's in MP2.  

Kendall has adjusted very well to kdg.  She's scored all S+'s and 2 S's.  She's only graded with S and N for needs improvement.  She's working hard with reading and memory work each week.  She's scored all 100% on all of her weekly tests during MP1.  This MP, she is going to have to take spelling tests.  I'm so happy she's doing well.  Being such a young 5 in her class, I wasn't sure if she could handle all day kdg.  She seems to be doing well.  She's tired after school, but is thriving.  She's a social butterfly and loves all her friends at school.  I'm so thankful for her teacher who she adores and is like a sponge in her class.  She has learned so much at school about Bible stories and scripture.  She told her Grammy that her favorite class is Bible.  That just warmed my heart to hear.

Okay, bragging done.  I'm so proud of my kids and all the hard work they do to score good grades.  I hope the rest of our school year goes as smoothly.  

Just the 4 of Us

Here's a recent family shot.  It's been awhile since I had a pic of all 4 of us.

50's Day

In kindergarten, they celebrate the 50th day of school with 50's Day!  They dress up like 1950 and celebrate with ice cream floats, poodle skirts, music, hula hoops, etc.  Here is Sissy ready for 50's day!  What fun they have in kdg!  I still can't believe we've finished the first marking period of school!

VEGAS BABY!

Last weekend we made our annual trek to Vegas for the Monster Energy Cup Supercross race.  Last year was our first trip and it was such a hit with our family, we decided to make it an annual trip.  The kids love Vegas, probably more than they should.  

Thankfully we've been able to shield them from the "Sin City" aspect but they did ask us why Vegas is called that so we had a discussion about how people visit there and are tempted to behave in ways they might not if someone they knew would find out.  

We flew out on Friday after the kids went to school for an hour and a half to take their tests that day.  We got there and checked into our room at the Hilton (which was awesome - 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen, washer/dryer and living room.  The kids loved it and the fact that there were 3 hot tubs and 2 pools!  We unpacked and headed out to the Stratosphere for dinner.  There is a restaurant on the top of the Stratosphere called Top Of The World.  It's 106 stories up and looks out over Las Vegas.  The restaurant actually rotates 360 degrees and it completely glass on the outside so you can see the entire city.  It takes over an hour to make a complete revolution so you can't feel it moving.  Outside, on the top of the Stratosphere they have rides and sky jumpers.  We got to watch a few sky jumpers while we were eating dinner.  They came flying by the window!  The kids thought it was as awesome as we did.  It was a rather fancy, expensive restaurant and sadly the kids were so exhausted (it was around midnight EST by the time our food was finished) but it was a good experience for them to understand how to behave and appreciate fancy restaurants.  

The Stratosphere - that round part at the top is where we ate.  The rides and sky jump are on top of the restaurant.  

Our view of the strip from Top Of The World restaurant.

Looking up from the entrance of the Stratosphere.

Remember the wedding chapel in The Hangover?  Here it is!  Andy and I considered renewing our vows...Ha!  The chapel was on the way to The Stratosphere.

The next morning the kids were up before the crack of dawn - that 3 hr time difference killed all of us!  I took the kids down to the pool to swim and burn off their energy.  They loved the pool and the hot tub, but that's no surprise, is it?

After we got cleaned up, We headed down the strip for lunch and to go sight seeing a bit before heading out to the Supercross race.

We ate lunch at the Harley Davidson Cafe.  I can't say I would recommend it again, but it was fun for the kids to see the motorcycles.  The food was average at best and we sat outside because the inside reeked of stale beer.  Live & learn!

When we got to Sam Boyd Stadium (UNLV) we headed into the stadium to catch part of trials.  We got to watch Barcia (mom's fav) and Dungey (Ra's fav) for a bit.  Then we headed out to the pits to take in the action and events.  

The track was similar in design to last year's track.  It was designed (again) by the great Ricky Carmichael who rides out and explains the track to the crowd from his bike before the race begins.

Riley watching Dungey in the trials.  Happy boys!

Hoping for a glimpse of Dungey, but we had to settle for seeing his bike.  We missed the autograph session, but I imagine the line would have been terribly long anyway.  Maybe we'll get a chance to do a meet & greet when they come to Daytona in March.

One of the Pit Party activities was a Toyota Truck Driving School.  They let you test drive their new Tundras & Tacomas.  Andy got to drive the Tundra that he's been drooling over.  They made some dramatic changes to the model and he'd like to trade his in for a new one when the time is right.  Here he is on the See-Saw/Log bridge.

Stopping to say hi to the kids.

Driving over the Tilt Test area.

Here we are...ready to watch the Monster Energy Cup Race!

Poor Sissy didn't make it to the last main event.  She crashed with 3 races left in the night.  This girl can sleep anywhere - Riley had to wear his ear protection because it was so loud!  It was another late night for our kiddos.

A view of the strip at night on our way back from the race.  My kids love the lights!  It's like Christmas year round!

They loved going into the M&M's store and picking out their own colors and flavors.

The kids are hoping that some day we'll be able to take them up the Eiffel Tower to see the view from the top of it.  Maybe next year...

We had a fantastic time and the kids were both sad to leave.  Sissy wanted to stay longer - but she also felt that way about our Pennsylvania trip.  I think we may have an explorer in our family!  I'm thankful we can afford to do this fun stuff with our kids and create incredible memories together.

WE ARE...

This past weekend we made the trip to Pennsylvania for the PSU vs. Michigan game for PSU's homecoming weekend.  What a fantastic weekend it turned out to be!  PSU eventually won after FOUR overtimes!  It was incredible and the crowd was on fire!  Our kids had a blast at the game and spending time with their Nanny and Pappy.  It's a great opportunity for all of us to enjoy time together as an extended family.  

Whenever we go to State College for a game, it's typical that we walk around downtown to do some shopping, etc.  Riley needed a new sweatshirt and of course, Andy and I found a few new items to add to our PSU wardrobe as well.  Here are some of the sights from downtown State College that we got to share with the kids.

The infamous mural featuring JoePa

Pre-game action outside the SBS

Pic with a JoePa cardboard cutout

Pappy and Sissy watching the team arrive.  She loved spending this special time with her Pappy (and I think he felt the same).  He held her up on a big rock so that she could see the busses pull up and the team enter the locker rooms.  She's holding her Nittany Lion that she picked out.  That lion never left her side the entire weekend!

We got a chance to visit some friends while we were at the game.  Some church friends from Manor and a friend of mine from CV.  The kids really enjoyed being at the game.  Riley got into cheering and waving his pom pom with the rest of the crowd.  He was intent on making so much noise that Michigan had to call timeouts and even had a false start.  I was so proud of how well they both handled the game, especially as long as it was!

SX Role Models

In this day of athletes being raised to superhero status, but not really being role models, I'm so glad that there are some quality SX/MX racers for my kids to follow.  If you check out Justin Barcia's website, you will find front and center on his page, Romans 8:28.  If you want to check out a very outspoken racer, watch Trey Canard's YouTube video called, I'm All About Jesus.  He explains salvation for those watching.  Trey is not afraid to share his faith with his followers.  He's the Tim Tebow of Supercross.  Here's a link to his other video called Revival 41.  It's about his crash last season and the year long recovery and trying to put his #41 back on top.  He has no fear sharing his faith and his higher calling to share the gospel through racing.

If you've ever watched any motorcycle, dirtbike, supercross racing, you will notice that the Monster Energy girls are worse (or better depending on your perspective) than the Dallas cheerleaders.  With all of those distractions and tempting situations surrounding racing, it's so encouraging to see riders like Trey step up and speak out.  

There are other riders as well who are Christian but not necessarily as outspoken.  Ryan Dungey (Little Man's favorite rider) also thanks God after each race and victory.  

Why is all of this important to our family?  Because we are a Supercross/Motorcross family.  We are making our annual trek to Las Vegas once again to see the Monster Energy Cup live and in person.  Kendall gets as excited about it as her big brother does.  There are some riders who I'd prefer my kids not to emulate.  Some riders are known for their selfish, win at all costs - no matter who they take out in their path to finish line.  Thankfully this is one thing we can do as a family that we all enjoy and I'm grateful that some of the racers my kids cheer for are men of character and faith.

Bring on the Monster Energy Cup!  Here's a video and pics of this year's TRACK.  Should be a great race and beautiful weather!  Can't wait!!!!

Rain Rain Go Away!

It's been raining hard - like cats and dogs hard since I picked the kids up from school today.  On the way to gymnastics tonight in the middle of the monsoon, Kendall asked why God is making it flood if he promised to never flood the earth again.  Love her perspective and that she immediately pulled up a reference to the Bible.  I had to explain to her that God won't ever flood the entire earth again, but he never promised not to flood parts of it at a time. :) 

The beaches area is a mess to say the least.  There is flooding all up and down 3rd/A1A.  Andy took the other north/south route to get to the gym tonight and it took him 30 minutes to drive 3+ miles.  He said a number of homes were flooded.  CRAZY!