Monday, March 16, 2009

Off to Africa

"Off to Africa" is code around our house for "going to the restroom". (Ellie made that one up.) We were off to Africa in a different way last week when we visited Kalahari Indoor Waterpark Resort in Sandusky, OH. I wish I had more pictures but water parks don't really lend themselves to getting snap happy, what with all the...water. So here's a picture of our arrival. Of course, the Africa theme was over the top with these life-size animals. Daniel was VERY impressed with this elephant (after he got over his initial fear of it). The other three were so excited at this point! We had been looking forward to this get-away for a long time, and we weren't disapointed. The water park was really huge. All the kids loved the wave pool and the Lazy River. The water slides were OK, but the girls weren't even tall enough to go on most of them. I made a mistake the first night we were there and took Joe and Ellie on one that I thought would be pretty tame. It was called the Rippling Rhino, and I figured anything with the word "rippling" in the title was going to be OK. I couldn't have been more wrong. We were hurtled at what felt like 60 mph through complete and total, pitch-black darkness. The kids are screaming and crying, and I'm just afraid that they're going to let go of our tube, so I'm trying to yell louder than them, "Hold on! Just don't let go!" Boy, were we a sight when we finally hit the splash pool! Ellie was shaking so badly she could barely walk out. And it's funny that I was afraid they wouldn't hold on because the whole time we were in the wave pool, they were clamped onto me and nearly dragging me under. There's nothing at all wrong with their grips! Anyway, after that water slide, Joe and Ellie were pretty skeptical of any others that I tried to talk them into. They each went down one more big slide, but after that we stuck to the lighter attractions. The important thing was that we all got to play together, and that was such a blessing!


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Truth Tuesday

...Your word is truth. John 17:17


So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
like the spring rain watering the earth.
Hosea 6:3



Monday, March 09, 2009

Catching Up

OK...I had one of those weeks. I had other things I felt I needed to focus on, but I really missed the blog too much. The next few posts are a little catching up.

Jungle Jack and the VonTrapps

Last week my mom treated us (me, Joe, Ellie, Erin, my sister, and her husband) to an evening with Jungle Jack Hanna live on stage. He had the usual assortment of interesting and unusual animals, plus lots of information. He really is very entertaining to just listen to. What made the night for me though...

Throughout the night, various animal handlers would come on stage and he'd ask us if we recognized them, telling us they were from a very famous family. At the end of the show he introduced them. They were some of his neighbors in Montana and the great-grandchildren of Captain VonTrapp from The Sound of Music (Kurt's grandchildren, for those of you who are officianados). Of course, they sing (are about to leave on an international tour), and so we were treated to three numbers, The Goatherd Song, The Sound of Music, and the Rwandan National Anthem. Amazing, amazing, amazing voices!

Thanks, Mom, for a very special night!

Tidbits That Made Me Smile

Here are some odds and ends from this past week that made me smile.

Daniel discovered the joy of sidewalk chalk. It's a good thing I got that "lifetime supply" back in July...he's got a lot more clothes to color.


Joe has been working on his juggling. He still has a long way to go, but he's getting better. Today, as he bent over to pick up his juggling blocks for about the 50th time, he said, "I know how to juggle, I just can't do it!"

And Erin...just as ravishing as can be!

Made for Work

If I had been more faithful to the blog this past week, this would have been my Thankful Thursday post. Joe was just on top of the world on this day when he got to go out and work in the yard. For some reason, the fir trees in our backyard dumped a boatload of little pinecones this winter. Joe raked and raked and raked! It made me think of a book that's on my list of ones I want to get soon, a devotional for boys called Made for Work. This day made me think we'll definitely be enjoying the thoughts shared in this book. Joe loves to be useful and see the fruit of his labors. This was an extra chore, so I offered to pay anyone who would work. The girls only lasted for about 15 minutes. Joe kept up with the work, but I don't think the money was really his motivation. What a blessing that kind of energy will be for his whole life!

Perfect Seven!

We celebrated Ellie's birthday on the last day of February. She chose a horse theme for her party. We had the cake... and a very special balloon to set the theme. (Side note about the balloon....She gave it a name and got very attached. Today she was in tears because it's starting to lose its air...the trials of being seven!) One of her favorite presents was inline skates (which she had really been asking for!). She's skated up a storm on our wood floor and has gotten pretty good. She says she feels like she's flying when she skates. She also got a pinafore as a gift. Nice ensemble, huh?Another gift she was really excited about was these two blank books for her to write her stories in. I can't wait to see those when they're finished!