Washington DC!

We finally made the trek out to Washington, DC to see all the museums, sights and memorials!  Wow- it was amazing!  After 4 days our feet were DONE and our brains were FULL!  It was a treat to have daddy with the kids so much and spend time as a family.  Enjoy the pics :)

General Grant 

Capitol

Washington Monument

WW2 memorial 

reflecting pond 

museum of natural history

Lincoln Memorial 

Thomas Jefferson 

Martin Luther King Jr

Lincoln 

Vietnam Memorial 

random ferry on the way home

Korean War memorial 

Kentucky State Fair 2012

We made it to the Kentucky State Fair this year with our dear homeschooling friends the Huesteds.  We watched some of the horse events but were still confused after a few rounds of fancy horses and riders.  We're used to the draft horses and wagons.  As usual there were unbelievable cakes and quilts to admire, copious deep fried foods that would have been sampled if Keith was with us ( the kids could have talked him into something greasy and gross to try) ,fun 4-H displays, pens of smelly but cute livestock that I do not miss,  booths and booths of vendors with freebies :) and of course some live shows to entertain. 

We left with sore feet, sun burns and great memories! 

Prize winning honey

Beautiful Horses! 

She won- but I'm not sure what she did to win.

This is a cake! 

Cannot believe how creative these cakes are

Fair Food- all fried! 

What I think of the donut burger

the greasy donut burger- not ours!

Massive Watermelon!

Fall 2012 and Football for Luke!

We are settling back into a routine of sorts with Keith beginning his last semester for his MDIV and the kids homeschooling this year.  It was a hard decision to leave the school the kids were attending as they loved the sports, friends and academics.  I am trying to pace myself at jumping into the books with the kids, but we've been at it for 3 weeks now and have gradually added new subjects each week.  By the time September starts we'll be full time in all subjects and hopefully have things sorted out.  There have been some tears - not only mine- since we have started math :(  It is hard to do school work when the weather is still so nice outside, but 3 months off from school is plenty enough- time for a routine again.

I do believe that this year will prove to be anything but routine!  We are still unsure about Keith doing more schooling after his MDIV which will mean us being all done seminary after December and making plans to move north to Canada once again.  Please pray for us as we make these decisions- it not an easy process and we intend to go where ever the Lord leads.... It is exciting and terrifying all at once!

Unfortunately the girls are not able to play on any volleyball teams this fall- bummer!  So one Friday afternoon I found myself spontaneously signing Luke up for ... FOOTBALL!  He loves it.  His arms are covered in bruises.  He is TIRED every night and falls asleep before his head hits the pillow.  I ask him to do 100 push-ups and sit-ups - "yes ma'am" he says! I have purchased an orange shirt so I can blend in with the other cheering moms- this would be my first orange shirt ever in my life! Megan and I had to endure the trip to the sports store to buy football pants and "other needed items" - all I can say is that Keith is going next time because I do not like the "cup" isle :( and neither does Megan :(  and Luke REALLY does not like his mother or sister helping him shop in the "cup" isle.

We go to these football games with other 'orange clad' enthusiastic parents who loudly cheer for their boys to "chase that boy with the ball, crush him and take him down!"  All the games are well attended and supported.  If the American anthem is being played anywhere within ear shot even during practice - EVERYONE stops and faces the flag with a hand over their heart.  I feel like we are getting the full American experience with the football crowd- it is fun.

Luke's good buddies Andrew and Josh

This is Luke's friend Hunter showing Luke football 101

the Denver "Detour"

As we walked off the airplane in Denver- our stop over on our way home from Canada- we found out that our flight was cancelled :(  I was so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed BUT it turned out to be a great opportunity to make a PLAN "B" and go with the flow...  After a few tense moments we were able to get into a hotel room in Aurora, CO for one night and rent a car for a day.  Keith looked into all the fun things to do in Denver and he chose going up Mt. Evans as our spontaneous adventure.  It was like being back in NZ- kids crammed in the back of a small SUV, Teresa with the map (always an adventure!) , searching for decent coffee, navigating new roads and out to see what is around the next corner.  We named our rental the "Sugar Cube" and it was a wonderful unexpected day as a family!