Water Adventures

The weekend was HOT and called for including water whenever we could. First up was a great pool. Unfortunately a storm was rolling in as we arrived. We got about 20 minutes of swimming in before the thunder started. Our first thought was to wait it out...

...but instead we found some water at Fallung Waters falls. Our family had been here last year but Karen had not seen this fall that is tucked away right beside the road. 

The water was extremely cold but on this hot day that did not stop us!

Ice cream was on the agenda next and then the children made their own water park at Grandmas house. 

On Saturday we wanted to do something and Christie recommended Devil’s Backbone Park. We hiked a little nature trail and then the water called us us—despite not be dressed for water. This is Antietam Creek. It was warm water and made us wish we had kayaks. 

Ice cream again!

The night ended with Grandpa’s 4th of July fireworks that he saved for us. I’d say it was a very good weekend. 

Jellyfish

We were having a lovely time at the cove with Mom and Meghan and the boys, when Isaiah came up crying. He was obviously in pain and was able to tell me that a jellyfish had wrapped around his legs and poked him. And then he started crying hard. Isaiah is a tough kid and gets over his every day bumps and bruises quickly so I knew this was bad. I tried to calm him but it wasn’t too long until he just wanted to go home. This was fine with me because I had nothing on the beach to take care of him with! Meghan assured me the sting would subside, and she was right, but it was brutal while it lasted! Meanwhile, the big boys found the jellyfish, got it on the beach and killed it. Isaiah did find some satisfaction in that! 

Isaiah and I headed home. Isaiah wanted to call Daddy in the car. We did and Isaiah started crying again when he heard his Daddy’s voice. Jeremy also looked up treating jellyfish stings and gave me some ideas for when we got home. 

The ferry was closed which added 20 minutes to our drive. Isaiah didn’t think we were EVER going to get home. At that point I told him we would get McDonald’s because we were going to have to drive right past. That brightened his outlook and I sprung for a milkshake so that he could put the cold cup against his legs. 

We finally got home and went straight to the bathtub. 

The pictures aren’t the greatest...his legs were red and puffy from his thigh to his ankle with a few white spaces. That jellyfish must have been wrapped around his legs. He had really settled down by the time we got home. The cool water felt good and he wanted to finish eating lunch in the tub. 

By the time he got out of the tub his legs were just pink. And a couple hours later you couldn’t tell that anything happened. 

Moral of the story—jellyfish can ruin a day at the beach. The sting will subside but is brutal while it lasts! 

19 Years

Jeremy and I celebrated 19 years of marriage this week. 19 years...I've lived married with Jeremy longer than I lived as a child with my parents. Our marriage years have reached adulthood and, in some ways, it feels like it really has. In the past couple years, it feels like we have passed the hard push and pulls against each other (the teenager years, if you will) and have settled into a deeper partnership, a deeper sense of contentment and security, a more mature love and respect. I like where we are at together at this moment in our lives.

There's a funny thing about how life and years change a person. Or maybe it is just YouTube tutorial videos that have changed Jeremy. When I married Jeremy I was convinced that he would never do anything in the handyman realm. Those things just didn't enter his consciousness. I'm not sure when or why or how it happened, but Jeremy now keeps things well pass the time of needing to be replaced, like lawnmowers and cars, and our house (?!) working. I never would have imagined he would be the guy that would have an old lawnmower and an even older lawnmower for spare parts in the garage!

I know the next 19 years will bring their own surprises, changes and discoveries. Before I get scared thinking about the future, I'll leave those years in the hands of God and trust Him for today.

Day 6

Home. Exhaustion immediately settled in for me. 

Here’s some things I want to remember about the last 5 days:

-Every day at least one child commented that they wished Daddy was with us

-The many times Aliza and Josiah thanked me for making the trip

-I really like  mountains and trails

-Grandma was happy that we visited

-Josiah could not have been more happy to get to see Joel on the way home

-Anna is irrationally scared of thunder and rain

-Aliza loved watching Hamilton and may now be obsessed with the soundtrack 

-My children are big kids now—easy to travel with, trustworthy, responsible, reasonably flexible 

Day 5

This morning we packed up and said good bye. 

It gets harder to say good bye each year. I just want to linger a little longer. 

Josiah told me that he wanted to give Grandma Rhoda a hug. He hung back until last and he did hug her. Aliza and Josiah thanked me multiple times for bringing them to Ohio and all the things we did. 

And then we drove 8 hours. In a spontaneous decision, the children and I spent the night with Jeremy’s parents. Uncle Joel came over and we got to spend the evening playing outside and visiting. 

Now we are all very ready to get home to Daddy! 

Day 4

It was 10 degrees cooler today and so much more comfortable for walking around and being outside. We spent another day at Sauder’s Village. The kids knew what they wanted to see and do. 

We started at the Lutheran Church where this sweet lady played the 150 year old organ. 

Anna...at Anna’s Spinning Shop

The thunderstorm that threatened all morning started in earnest while we were on the train. 

It was time for lunch so we went ran from overhang to overhang back to the cafe where Isaiah earnestly prayed for the rain to stop. 

The rain stopped and we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. 

We had supper at the park with Grandms Rhoda. 

This park is on the kids list of must do things when we visit Grandms Rhoda. They had a lot of playing. 

Day 3

After a few minutes of saying hi to Grandma, we went over to Sauder’s Village. Grandma quilted in the Museum for years as a volunteer and in return she is a lifetime Member of Sauder’s Village which includes a very discounted admission for her guests...a pretty special gift that she give us!

My children love Sauder’s Village. This is our 4th year in a row and they knew what the wanted to see and do. First on the agenda was visiting the new 1920s Main Street. About half of the sites were open. 

A full service gas station

My favorite was the barbershop. It was recreated from a local barbershop that closed in 1988 after the barber retired after 60 years. Sauder’s squired all of the furniture at that time and took pictures of the interior. 

Janell and I were loving some 1920s decor...like this floor! 

3 years ago when Janell and I took our 6 children to Sauder’s, they were younger and a little more unpredictable in behavior. So we sat them all down and told them it would take obedience and cooperation for us to have a good day. We pumped them up by saying “W are the H Team!” Janell and I both have last names that start with H. Well, the H Team stuck to the point that we made H Team shirts which were proudly worn. 

It was a HOT day. Very, very hot. 

The Indian Village is another favorite stop. They found a bit of shade...

I always learn something from the docents in the Indian Village. This time it was about Indian  planting techniques. Corn, beans and squash were planted together on mounds. The corn gave height for the beans to climb, beans put nitrogen back in the ground and squash could spread out at the bottom. 

The train was repaired just in time for a ride. 

Mom and Grandma met us for ice cream in the Cafe. I got my Buckeye ice cream for this year! 

Day 2

This was our day of exploring at Hocking Hills State Park. We planned 2 hikes. The first was a mile to Old Mans Cave. The second was a quarter mile to Cedar Falls. 

We thought we found the prettiest spot right at the beginning of the trail. 

Mom, Laura and Sean stayed in this spot while the rest of us continued to hike through the gorge to Old Mans Cave. 

It was walls of layered rock on both sides. Since it’s summer the riverbed were mostly dry which gave the children lots to explore. 

It was HOT and these 6 big kids did not complain at all. 

Going into the cave tunnel...

We were all ready for water and needed to catch our breath when we got back to the top of the gorge. 

And then we went a little farther to find a letterbox. Josiah was my hero...he climbed the last steep part with me and found the box!

We had a picnic lunch and then did the Cedar Falls trail which turned out to be a bit anti climatic after the gorge. It was still pretty though!

There it is! Just a trickle in this dry summer! 

The hike back through the rocks was neat. 

They were worn out!

Ice cream was a must before we drove the last 3 hours to our Air BnB. The ice cream was perfect. The drive was long. But we made it safe and sound!

Day 1

Today begins our annual pilgrimage to Ohio to visit my Grandma. I went into this trip feeling very ambivalent. Maybe the feeling came from not knowing until just a couple weeks ago whether it would be feasible to make the trip because of Covid. Maybe I just wanted to remember Grandma the way she was last year yet I don’t want to miss a chance to see her again. We all had a harder time leaving Jeremy at home this year. 

Once we got on the road and the dust settled from all the last minute packing and car loading, I settled into the rhythm of this trip. 

We drove 8 hours with 2 minivans, 3 sisters, 1 Mom/Grandma and 7 cousins. 

The day went amazingly smoothly. Isaiah spent the afternoon in the other van and I heard that he got to be the big cousin and did a fabulous job entertaining Sean. 

We pulled into our hotel exit at 6pm, hungry and road weary. We tried 3 sit down restaurants that we all closed and then settled on the Arby’s drive through. After what seemed like 15 minutes but was probably only 5, we realized the line was not moving. The truck at the ordering position was in park. In the rain I walked up to him and asked if everything was ok. Arby’s did not have power due to the storm. The 12 other cars in line were glad I asked! 😂

We had to settle for McDonald’s. It was quite the process to get food, eat in the hotel room, carry all our luggage up, get settled...

Just when Janell and I thought we could settle in, at 8:30pm the indoor pool reopened from the storm and we took some very happy children to swim. For the 4 who wanted to swim, it made their day, which, of course, always makes it worth it for the Mom to put in the extra hour after a long day! 

Joy Dare::June

7207. Afternoon of playing outside with friends

7208. Finding the quiet place

7209. Surprised with lunch

7210. A beautiful day to visit on the porch

7211. The women I get to call friends

7212. Little white flowers

7213. A spot to sit on the beach
7214. Isaiah sleeping on my arm

7215. My heart at peace

 7216. Forging a new friendship
7217. A full calendar
7218. Aliza and Anna thrilled with their finished blankets
7219. Bike ride with the boys
7220. Warm mornings to walk
7221. Alone in my house for an hour
7222. Sister time
7223. When the road trip get to the point where all you can do is laugh
7224. Kenyan tea
7225. A quiet morning to relax
7226. Surprising Bea
7227. Safe drive home
7228. Beach time with friends

 7229. Family evenings
7230. Holding a baby
7231. Isaiah kept himself quiet for an hour
7232. Learning to love my teen well
7233.Friends
7234. Rain
7235. Showing up for others
7236. Ocean waves
7237. Grandad is ok
7238 After beach ice cream
7239. Jeremy got the mower running
7240. Giving Grandad a hug
7241. Weekend sleeping in
7242. A working day with Maria
7243. Picking up supper and eating with a friends
7244. Hearing all about the childrens' days
7245. Healthy kids
7246. Isaiah wanting all the Daddy snuggles
7247. Bonfire evening
7248. 4 kids with clean teeth and no cavitites
7249. Talking to Karen
7250. Jeremy calling during the day

7251. Evening at home

7252. A slow day

7253. Steak dinner for Jeremy

7254. Jeremy laughing

7255. An evening with friends

7256. Ice cream cake

7257. 10 children playing together

7258. My Dad

7259. My children’s’ Dad

7260. Planning again

7261. Playing hard

7262. Pacing myself

7263. Heart to heart talk

7264. Spontaneous plan for the day

7265. Flipping off the surf boards

7266. Girls playing piano every day

7267. New shoes for the kiddos

7268. When Isaiah falls asleep in the car like he’s still a little kid

7269. Cut hair—8 inches shorter

7270. Anna loving her shorter hair

7271. Not too hot to play outside

7272. Finishing the 4th blanket top

7273. Eating intentionally

7274. Singing hymns

7275. Dividing the produce into boxes to give away

7276. Morning with Aliza 

7277. Summer tea time

7278. Flowerbed weeded

7279. Sunday morning walk

7280. Sunday rest

7281. Sunday fire and s’mores

7282. Happy news from the dance studio

7283. All the new books

7284. Isaiah walked a lap with me

7285. Home all day

7286. Interactions with friends on text and phone

7287. Compelled to pray