Out and about in Beantown

Noah is ready to go . . . although he's not entirely sure where we're going!

 Waiting for the blue line train to arrive

 Enjoying some absolutely yummy food in Quincy Market

 Lael was loving her pizza . . .

 . . . while Noah preferred the fries!

 We even ran into Benjamin Franklin . . . he was quite far from home!

 Some random pics

 The kids were excited to see this statue of Sam Adams.

 After an adventure-filled day, it was time to head back to the hotel for some swimming and wind-down time!

 Bye-bye, Boston!

Boston's Museum of Science

Boston's Museum of Science . . . where it's fun to find out! 

That was the advertising slogan for the Museum of Science in Boston when I was growing up.  I remember hearing that often when commercials for the museum aired on television.  Our family had a museum membership one year, and I remember enjoying it so much.

While up in New England for Thanksgiving, we took a trip to the Museum of Science . . . alot has changed in 25 years!  The displays are alot more "high-tech", but still so much fun!

We all enjoyed the mathematics exhibit . . . lots of optical illusions and things to figure out.

Then there was the "Creatures of the Night" exhibit . . .

Don't I have the cutest bats in the world?

Here's Jaden-the-bat . . . 

 . . . and Lael-the-bat!

 Yes, this is a picture of a picture of my kids!  They are in a completely dark room, and they're trying to figure out which hole a particular peg fits into - very tricky when you can't see what you are doing!

 A highlight for everyone was the lightning show! This was something I really wanted the kids to see because I remembered it from my childhood visit to the museum. (However, Noah didn't enjoy it so much, so he and I visited some other exhibits while Daddy and the big kids stayed.)

This is the Van de Graaff generator. During the lightning show, bolts of lightning are produced by this generator, which is the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator.

 Yes, that's Lael in the lower left-hand corner . . . she looks pretty little next to this dinosaur model.

 We had fun looking at models of sailing ships from different times - ancient Egypt, Greece, Phoenicia, Rome were especially exciting to see since we've studied those time periods in school this year!

 Lael would have spent all day here if she could . . . waiting for a chick to hatch!  Unfortunately, no chicks decided to emerge from their shells during our visit.

 The museum tired this little guy out!

 It was a great field trip . . . so much fun that they didn't realize how much they were learning!

Swimming fun

We took a much-needed family vacation/Thanksgiving visit to Massachusetts over Thanksgiving week.  For a trip to qualify as "vacation", we must stay in a hotel with a pool - at least according to Lael and Jaden!  So that's exactly what we did!

Noah enjoyed the water - as long as he was held close in Daddy's arms!  Otherwise, the water was a bit chilly for him . . . but he still didn't want to get out!

 Jaden loves everything about the water - whether it's hanging on the side of the pool . . .

 . . . or jumping in!

(Of course, making the biggest possible splash is a given!)

Lael loves the water too . . . and I've been so pleased to see how confident both of the big kids have become with their swimming!  They were swimming several laps the length of the pool! 

Jaden's also gotten quite good at floating on his back.

 One game everyone - even Noah - could play was "catch the ball" . . . Noah enjoyed throwing the balls for Lael and Jaden to swim after!

East Coast Conference 2009

We had a wonderful time at In the Light Ministries' annual conference . . . it's always wonderful to go back and enjoy times of worship and encouragement in the Word of God. It's also fun to see friends that we don't get to visit with very often. And we always throw a bit of "vacation fun" in there too! For Lael and Jaden, as long as we stay somewhere with an indoor pool, it's officially a "vacation". So Willow Valley Resort definitely qualified as a vacation spot -- not only was there a pool, but there were three pools and an indoor water playground, complete with a huge water slide!

We spent the afternoons at the pool -- and didn't get out of the pool until we were completely shriveled up!

At the conference itself, Lael really enjoyed the times of corporate worship, especially being able to worship with flags. And of course, both Lael and Jaden were glad to see their "In the Light" friends like Jenesis!

A definite highlight of conference for Lael and Jaden was the visit by Forgotten Friends.

Forgotten Friend's founder, herpetologist, author, photographer, and certified class clown, Jesse Rothacker is actually married to Brent's cousin (just a bit of trivia for you) . . . and he did a fantastic job teaching the kids all about reptiles.

The kids got a chance to be "up close and personal" with some of the reptiles . . .

. . . and some got CLOSER than others!

It was a whirlwind trip, packed full of fun and lots of wonderful memories!

Family reunion!

On Saturday we traveled to my aunt and uncle's home for a family reunion . . . we had about 40 people there, including my grandfather and his sister. This was a special day for me because it was the first time that Lael and Jaden were able to meet these two special people in my life!

In addition, I saw aunts, uncles and cousins that I hadn't seen in probably 10 or 15 years! Wow . . . time sure flies by! My "little" cousins are all grown up and are beautiful young adults who love and serve the Lord; that is such a joy to see! Here are just a few photos from the day:

All in all, this was such a wonderful day, and I'm so thankful that my mom and her siblings were willing to orchestrate all that went into making this reunion a reality!

A day full of "firsts"

As we continued our wonderful New England vacation, we travelled to Maine for what proved to be a day full of "firsts" -- starting with the first time Lael and Jaden ever visited Maine! It was also the first time that any of us had been to "Uncle Furry" and Auntie Kim's house . . . which is so beautiful!

One of the most special parts of this time was the fun we had playing with little Ashley -- Lael and Jaden's cousin . . . how cute is she!

When we got to Uncle Furry and Auntie Kim's house, we headed out to spend the day at the lake. First on the agenda . . . a boat ride (another "first"). Jaden got suited up and was ready to go!

Lael wasn't sure at first about the boat . . . it was going pretty fast and it was hard to keep your eyes open initially.

However, she soon got used to it!

Jaden, on the other hand, had no trouble adjusting! He absolutely loved every bit of it!

After riding for a while, Uncle Furry gave each of the kids another "first" - first time driving a boat! They both did a great job! Jaden really enjoyed having time to hang out with Ashley . . .

. . . as well as with his sister!

Then it was off for yet another "first" -- first time to go fishing!

Fishing takes a lot of patience, as well as the ability to be quiet . . . both things that Lael is very good at.

However, it was Jaden who ended up catching the first fish! (As well as the only fish to be caught by a kid . . . seems that the fish weren't really biting while we were trying to catch them!)
Uncle Furry is an awesome fisherman . . . and even he only caught one fish! Despite our lack of success, it was an awesome experience . . . Jaden got lots of practice casting -- and he "caught" more than a few tree branches in the process!
Finally, it was time for the last "first" of the day . . . a ride with Uncle Furry on the jet ski! Jaden, ever the adventure-seeker, had his ride using the "fast key" -- and loved every minute of it!

Lael, on the other hand, was content with the "slow key" . . . but she also enjoyed the trip!

They even got Mommy and Nana to take rides with Uncle Furry (sorry, no pictures of that particular part of the adventure were available at the time of publication of this blog entry)

It was an amazingly busy, fun-filled, memory-making day! And yes, two little people slept very well that night!