DF visits-Day 10, Thursday, August 4

Bagels, village, library, writing and chess!

Our late outing last night helped us sleep in until 10 am today. The kids were playing Monopoly when I came downstairs. I have been carting these two "poor" kids around so much that I've hardly had time to stock our kitchen so we had breakfast at the bagel Chateau in downtown Maplewood. They then decided to stay at the toy store while I visited the post office and grocery store nearby.
After breakfast and toy shop we headed to the Main library where I took out a few books for them to do their report about hot air balloons and the materials used to make them. They will be giving an oral presentation to their fellow homeschooling friends tomorrow, when we will meet at a county fair nearby to enjoy a tether balloon ride. They are working on the presentation together, taking turns to write their information and using books and internet resources for research.
So we had a quiet day filled mostly of reading and writing with breaks for monopoly, lunch, dinner, and one hour of TV. This was much to the kids' regret, as they tried to convince me to take them to a lake, beach or pool instead of staying at home (specially after I reminded them about their report). They charged on, worked on it and are now eager to finish and present their findings.

Hubby returned from Boston today and after supper we all attended our first chess club meeting which was a lot of fun. DD just found out about it and really wanted us to check it out.
Then hubby treated us to late-night ice cream at the village, where we got to walk the quiet streets in the warmth of the night and window shop a bit.
The day is now coming to an end and the kids are determined to get up early to finish their presentation.

So good night to all! tomorrow will be another busy (and fun) day!

DF visits-Day 9, Wednesday August 3

Ringing rocks, stalagmites, cave corals and roller coasters!

WE got going a little late in the day so everything happened a bit later than planned. Still, we enjoyed a good day full of activities.
After a good night's rest and breakfast we headed back to Pennsylvania as there were a few places that I wanted to make sure DF got to visit. We visited Ringing Rocks park and had our packed lunch there. DD took a moment to show us how to do the acorn whistle on our way to the rocks. DF had a lot of fun climbing the rocky landscape. I tried to do my best to find steady footing and hammer away on the rocks. It was unusual, educational, free and fun, so it was well worth the effort of getting there!

Then we headed for Indian Echo caverns. Being a bit on the claustrophobic side, I was apprehensive about this outing, although I never mentioned anything to the kids about it; my dislike of dark and tight places was in the back of my mind. Top it off with the thought of being a few hundred feet under solid ground and I had a secret mini-anxiety attack to keep under wraps.
Luckily I kept my cool before our excursion and was pleasantly surprised when we reached the bottom. The caverns were immense, with beautiful color rock ceilings and walls sometimes over a hundred feet tall. There was also a crystal clear water pool that had a magical quality to it.
We were entertained by the creative story of a ghost, giant and dragon that the guide told us in order to explain some of the rock formations. The place was a pleasant relieve from the humidity and heat of the outside. DF just kept saying how much he wanted to live there. I agreed emphatically. It is beautiful country right outside the caverns. We learned about William Amos, the Pennsylvania Hermit and how he managed to live in the caverns for 19 years.

By the end of our caverns visit it was 6pm. Now we were ready to close the day with a bang: A surprise visit to Hershey Park, just a few minutes from the caverns. We purchased the twilight price tickets (half off) and the kids had a blast.
DF warned us that he would not go on any roller coaster, so of course, I was not surprised when he kept running up to ride the most fun roller coasters time after time (he had said the same about the diving board, the ocean and the lake). They also rode on The Falcon, The Howler, the Music Express and other fun rides.
We had a late night, leaving the park at closing time (10:00 pm) and arriving home at 1am! Luckily for the kids, they slept while I drove.
I think it is funny, how after such a day, I found DF's head planted on a book that he foolishly thought he could read for bedtime! Such is the force of a -good- habit, I guess.

DF visits-Day 8, Tuesday August 2nd

And fun was had by all!....
After breakfast, showers and two attempts to get to the train on time we finally managed to catch the 11 am train to the city and made it to the American Museum of Natural History. We paid a small donation to enter so we only had access to the permanent collections, no special events. Still, we managed to be busy during our whole visit. We visited the American mammals wing, bio-diversity hall, ocean life hall and climate of NY state hall, where DF became completely captured by a giant model of a malaria mosquito. "I don't understand why young girls don't get how cool insects are" he said to DD. I shared his wonderment over the model, not necessarily because of the "awesomeness" of the subject but rather because of the high level of its craftsmanship. I must admit that even though I'm not a young girl anymore, I still don't "get" how cool insects are either -but he doesn't need to know that.
After a light lunch we visited the human origins hall, meteorite and minerals exhibits. By then the kids had reached information overload mode so we took a walk in Central Park. We walked past the Swedish cottage marionette theater and Shakespeare's garden up to Belvedere's castle to enjoy the view.

We then took the bus to the second "required" stop of the day: (as requested by the children) Dillan's candy bar. These two friends were so happy that they were literary dancing in the hallways. After ogling at every candy and running around for what seemed like hours they finally decided how to spend their $6 limit for the visit. We were all pretty done with sugar by the time we got out of Dillan's so we headed to a health bar and had a nice tossed salad supper.

Then I got my pick of activity and special treat: attending the free 4x4 concert at St. Peter's church just minutes after supper. The timing couldn't have worked out better if I tried. I had heard of the concert series a week before on the radio and made a note of it. I'm so glad I did. The music was absolutely beautiful. We got a chance to hear music composed by Bach for the organ and could feel the vibrations of the enormous instrument at our feet as the music played. We also got to see a lute played for the first time, inspect a harpsichord, study the complex music sheet used and look at the pipe organ closely. After the concert I compared the music to going into a lake and having all stress released from your body as you submerge yourself in the water, one inch at a time. DF agreed in his own way. "It cleansed my ears, brain and soul but my body was getting stiff", he said after the 1.5 hour long concert. A few people complemented me on my "very well behaved children" (they were the ONLY children there). I told them thanks, they behaved as expected.

So here we are, heading home in the subway after a busy day and I take out a surprise bag of Extreme sourhead candy that I had bought at Dillan's. The kids tried it together, then I tried it alone, then DF with me and DD tried it with me. Lastly, the kids tried them while controlling their faces. We had so much fun with them! I highly recommend them for entertainment anytime, anywhere!

Now all is quiet. They are both asleep in their in beds, waiting for another day of fun. And who can blame them? Sweet little trouble makers!

Look for photos of today's outing added to the DF album on the right.

Tomorrows' plan: a visit to ringing rocks, Indian caverns and a surprise outing, all in Pennsylvania.

DF visits-Day 7, Monday August 1st

Well, apparently DD has convinced DF about the greatness of baseball enough for him to want to give it a try. I woke up this morning at 8:30am to see them playing in the yard, with DF determined to rope daddy into practicing with them after work.
After breakfast, we picked up our dog from our friend's house and headed to the South Mountain Reservation, only a few minutes away from us. We took a short walk in the woods and enjoyed the morning sunlight filtering thru the trees. The kids raced each other in the dog park's obstacle course (no pups were present except our own).
After lunch we headed for DD's first group archery class with the New Jersey school of Archery. She is very excited to start and wanted very much to share it with DF. He had an introductory lesson while she practiced and got to be a guest in the group class.
After two hours of archery, we had lunch and headed to the mall to buy new earrings for DD. And that's how a girl knows she's got a good friend: he's willing to help her pick earrings!
You'd think that would be enough action for some but our young heroes decided to head to the pool and cool off with a splash in the diving tank.

Now it is dinner time (sure enough after practicing baseball with daddy) and the closing of another fun day; which I'm sure will end up with a bit of quiet reading and a good night's sleep. Until tomorrow comes!

I think one of the best parts of the day for me was hearing DD repeat a few words from Lincoln's Gettysburg address as she stepped up to a statue's pedestal to take a photo at the dogie park. I guess you never know how much they really retain after all...

Look for today's photos in the DF album to the right.

DF visits-Day 6, Sunday July 31st

We slept like babies in the dark, air conditioned room until our eyes opened. Or better said, until DD opened the black-out curtains and created a rockus of screeching complains and moans from it. We all agreed that it was the best sleep we had gotten in a long time! We all wanted to move into the hotel permanently. But alas, reality hits and we must go on with our day.
After a short TV show we headed down for brunch at the cafe. The food was great! DF had a delicious crab omelet that he could not finish because it was too big!
When we got the Gettysburg national park we chose to do the movie, cyclorama, museum and auto tour. What an absolutely amazing place it was!
Hubby is a history buff and was thoroughly surprised to see the sheer size of the battlefield grounds. I was most impressed with the cyclorama exhibit and the museum. It is not everyday that one gets to see a slave sale program with dozens of humans for sale, ranging from an 11 year old boy for $900 to a 27 year old woman for $1800. It broke my heart to see such items and brought me to tears to see the pain and sacrifice that took place during that time, by everyone. My visit was deeply personal an emotional, even though I was accompanied by my family and our friend, I think that each of us walked away with a very personal impression of the place.

The children found the cyclorama, cannons and battlefield to be the most unforgettable.
We got home late at night, loaded with information and unforgettable images recreated in our minds by seeing the place first hand and having stood where heroes of our nation's history have once walked.

Look for photos of the day added to the DF album on the right.

DF visits-Day 5, Saturday, July 30

Saturday was the most important event of the week: the much anticipated world premiere of the kid's movie from Apple camp. Yes, we all dragged ourselves out of bed one last time for the big event taking place at 9am. The proud producers shined with happiness as their work was shown in front of their peers. They composed the music using the i pad, choose the footage and edited the piece on their own. They were very excited. Apple send them home with a certificate of completion and a disk of their work. Very cool.
We finally got to sign happy birthday to hubby and share a cake for the occasion! After some group DS playing with friends, the family packed up and took off to Gettysburg, PA, (only 3 hours away by car) to learn all about the place.
That evening the kids enjoyed the hotel pool and then we took part of a ghost walk. Although the stories were not gory or violent, they made enough impression on me! I did not want to go by myself to the basement restrooms afterward! DD was kind enough to hold my hand and come with me while hubby and DF busted laughing.

I'm sure glad I choose the "mild" tour!


Look for photos of the day added to the DF album on the right.

DF visits-Day 4, Friday July 29

Friday was a rest and leave-it-up-to-the-kids-day. So the sequence of events definitely follow a child approved pattern.
I thought the kids would sleep until mid-day but low and behold, the first thing I saw in the morning when I woke up at 8:30am was the two of them dressed and completely engrossed in reading their library books. Hey, I'm not complaining! They had a hearty breakfast, played Pokemon, rested and after lunch decided they wanted to go for a swim in a lake. Our family had discovered Sunrise Lake in one of our outings (only 30 minutes away) and DD wanted to share it with DF. So, we asked a few more friends to come along, packed the van and headed for the fun. Sunrise Lake is known for its "Wibbit", an inflatable water toy that kids love to play in. They all had a ton of fun and then some. They went on a row boat and after about 3 hours of lake play they were forced to come out because the life guards heard thunder. The lake was closed for 30 minutes so we just decided to leave. The rain was done by the time we got to the car and we got to drive thru some beautiful little roads in Morris Lewis park (the boys were playing with the Flashmaster and the girls were making plastic lanyards in the background). Our DF is absolutely amazed of how green it is here and how much it is like Vienna (his mom's native land) and Hawaii (his dad's home state). I'm glad he thinks that, being that not everyone gets to see the beauty of NJ right away. I'm glad we have gotten a chance to show him a few good natural settings. I think he is having a good time.
After the lake, I discovered a small Colombian restaurant in Morristown that I could not pass, so we had a chicken soup, arepa, beef, beans and rice before heading to the movies. We watched the much awaited "Harry Potter 7" in 3D. Again, it was a late night but it was a fun one, so that's OK. That's just what vacation should be like right?