First Family Vacay

Well, we just got back from our first family vacation to Lancaster, PA.  We have been on many trips, but it has either been with other family members or we have gone to see family members. 

We had a great time in Lancaster.  We headed out Tuesday afternoon after we got done eating lunch.  It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive.  It was such a relaxing trip as we got out of the city and were surrounded by hills and trees instead of cars, buildings and cement.  We arrived at our hotel around 4:00pm and got everyone settled.  Then we headed out for some dinner.  We ate at the Hershey Restaurant and Inn.  It had some AWESOME Amish food!!!  We decided not to order off the menu, but instead try the smorgasboard---or buffet.  I had a taste of their fried chicken and declared it the BEST fried chicken I have ever eaten!!!  Josiah was digging their yellow cake for dessert and couldn't get enough of it.  We headed back to the hotel and got the kids ready for bed, and we went to bed ourselves--at 7:30pm. We got up once during the night and the kids slept until almost 7:00am.  That is the most sleep Chris and I have gotten in a really long time.  After the kids got up, we got ready for the day and had some breakfast.  We headed out to the Strasburg Train Station where we rode Thomas and enjoyed some other activities.  Josiah was in absolute heaven.  I got a couple of tears in my eyes when he first spotted Thomas and was so excited to see him.  Sophie had a good time, too.  She just enjoyed hanging out in the sling next to Mommy.  The scenery on the train ride was absolutely gorgeous.  We saw hills, trees, cows and barns.  It was so funny because we did see a cellphone tower and it looked so out of place, but here in VA it is a normal everyday view.  After going to the train toy store and buy a  few things, we left to go get some lunch.  We ate at an authentic Amish restaurant.  The service was so nice.  There was a teenage Amish girl who was waiting on tables.  Chris made me chuckle because he said if I were Amish, I would be like that girl.  I asked him why, and he said because she was making Amish her own by wearing a hoodie.   Again, the food was absolutely delicious.  I had chicken pot pie, but it wasn't at all like I thought it would be.  It reminded me more of chicken and dumplings.  Then I tried some shoo-fly pie which is a well known pie for the area.  It tasted just like a fig newton cookie--it was pretty good.  After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap.  Our kids slept for over 2 hours.  We took advantage of their nap time and slept with them.  After nap, Chris dropped me off at a boutique so I could purchase some things for my birthday.  I got some shirts and quite a bit of necklaces with matching earrings.  Chris was really surprised at how many jewelry sets I got.  I told him they are things that I would like to have, but wouldn't just go and spend money on them just because.  So I used the money he gave me for my birthday to buy them.  Sophie is definitely LOVING my new necklaces.  She sees them as her own personal teething ring.  That night, we ordered a pizza and watched some Veggie Tales on the computer while we ate dinner.  TV is not a big thing around our house, so this definitely was a treat for Josiah.  The kids went to bed early again, but this time Chris and I weren't tired, so we watched a little Cosby Show on the computer, then we texted each other while lying in bed since we didn't want to talk in the same room as the kids.  We got up the next morning and got ready and ate some breakfast.  Then we headed to the outlet malls.  I took advantage of a sale that Carter's was having and got the kids--OK, mostly Sophie some warmer clothes.  The outlet mall had some playgrounds around the parking lot for kids to play in, so Josiah and I played while Chris did some shopping.  After shopping, we started our drive back home.  It was nice to get back home, but Chris and I thoroughly enjoyed all the country side.  I didn't know how much I was missing the hills and greenery until we were surrounded by it. 

So overall, the first family vacay was a big hit.  We were able to spend some time as a family and relax.  I look forward to many more family vacays--Chris and I were even talking about driving to Alaska one day with the kids.  We shall see if we are crazy enough to do it

32 Years

Well, I celebrated my 32nd birthday on Sunday. The celebration started Saturday night around 9:30pm.  Three of the girls from the youth group came over to the house and brought some wonderfully nice cards and a diet coke--one of my favorite splurging drinks.  I have spent the last few months getting to know them, and they haven't spent a lot of time at our house.  I was really sad when school started because I knew they wouldn't be dropping by in the middle of the day. 

On Sunday,Josiah and Sophie gave me a wonderful present--they slept until almost 7:30am!!!   Josiah and Sophie gave me some sweet birthday cards that they picked out--OK, Josiah picked out Sophie's card, too.  Chris gave me a very nice card, too.  We got up and started getting ready for church.  We didn't have Sunday school, so it was a relaxing morning as we got ready.  We headed to McDonald's for breakfast, so I wouldn't have to make breakfast--it's the little things that I appreciate.  We went to church and enjoyed our time as a family.  We came home, fed the kids lunch and then rested for a little while.  The girls came over to drop off a cake that one of them made.  Josiah and I would eat it for breakfast a couple of days later.  It was one of those morning where I didn't want cereal, but didn't want to make some hot, so what else do you do?  Eat CAKE!!!   Josiah thought it was awesome, and I enjoyed not being the stuffy Mom. 

Sunday evening, some of our good friend here in NoVa, came over to watch the kids, so Chris and I could go out to dinner.  Chris took me to a Japanese restaurant so we could have Habachi.  It was DELICIOUS!!  We enjoyed having dinner and not having to feed or cut up another person's meal.      We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up a cake.  Our friends, John and Jen, stayed and had some cake with us.  

On Tuesday, some of the ladies from our Home Fellowship Group, took me out to dinner for my birthday and then we went and some Blizzards from DQ.  It was great to be able to go out with the ladies for a couple of hours.  I totally enjoyed carrying a purse instead of a diaper bag and not having some kind of stain on me!! 

I got quite a bit of gift cards and birthday money, so I will be going on a mini shopping spree to find some new clothes.  It's been a couple of years since I got some new clothes--not including maternity clothes.  I look forward to going and get some new things--it's so easy to not spend as much time getting ready, so maybe this will inspire me. 

As you can see, I had a great birthday.  I look forward to seeing how God is going to grow me this coming year

First Day of School

Today we had our first day of school.  I took plenty of pictures to show what we did.  Josiah had A LOT of fun.  I don't know, but I still continue to be amazed by his memory. 

After Chris gets home from each day, he spends a few minutes letting Josiah show him what we did for school that day.  I'm keeping all of our activities in binders to help in this process.  Josiah was showing Chris our weather calendar with the sunshine on it. Then out of no where he says, "Wednesday, Daddy."  We talked just a few moments about today being Wednesday early in the day, so I was totally surprised that he remembered it.  Then we did a Bible lesson on Doubting Thomas.  We then did a craft with hands that had red "nail holes" in them.  When Josiah was showing Chris his craft, he said, "Nails.  Jesus' hands."  Again, this was first thing in the morning and he remembered what we talked about.  He was also able to point out the capital A and the little a when we asked him to. He also, told Chris the sound that Aa makes and that apple begins with Aa.

So we had a great first day.  Josiah had lots of fun doing our activities and Sophie enjoyed supervising his work.  I think our schedule is going to work--we got school work done and Mommy was even able to get some cleaning done and made dinner.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the daily chores, but everything worked out just fine.