The First Day of School

I can't believe that summer is over and it's back to school time!  We met with the teachers the week before school started and the kids were excited to see their new classrooms and visit with their friends again.  

Bud is in sixth grade and has a very academic teacher.  He will be busy every minute of the day and have lots of homework at night.  He is relieved that even with the school being rebuilt behind the existing school, there is ample grass area to play football at recess.  Rosie picked out a new backpack in July and is thrilled to finally use it.  She agonized about what to wear the first day of school for weeks and finally decided upon white pants, red shirt and red crocs.  She was so happy that a friend from our neighborhood transfered to our school. (Coleman started school the next week.)

The night before they started school, Jono gave them a blessing. I packed their lunchboxes and Rosie instructed me to write a note to tuck in her lunch "like all the moms do on the first day of school".  I wrote her and Bud notes telling them I love them.  The next day I had to wake everyone up, and soon we headed off to the bus stop.  They ride their scooters, which is fun for them.

I thought about Bud and Rosie all day!  The first thing Bud said to me after walking in the door was, "Don't ever put a love letter in my lunch box again! Just tell me that you love me before I go to school, don't write it in a letter. Luckily I was the first 6th grader in the courtyard and when I saw the note I crinkled in up and put it in my pocket before anyone saw it."  Isn't that hilarious? They both had a great day.

A week later it was kindergarten's first day.  Coleman goes to school in the afternoon, but I had to greet the morning kindergarten parents in a "Boo-Hoo Woo-Hoo" breakfast from the PTA.  It's called that because sometimes parents say "boo-hoo" when their child goes to kindergarten, and sometimes they say "woo-hoo".  I situated Coleman in the back of the library with a donut and blocks and welcomed the parents.  When it was my friend's turn to talk she asked if the parents were boo-hoo or woo-hoo.  Coleman jumped out of his seat and ran to the front of the room shouting, "I'm woo-hoo!"  Finally I got him to play outside and he got wet up to his thighs from jumping in a large puddle.

After the breakfast, we went home to eat lunch and change Coleman's clothes.  I dried his new red Vans in the dryer so he could wear them to school.  Soon it was time to go.  My heart started pounding as we drove to school, I have been dreading this day for a long time; my baby is going to school!  I parked and helped Coleman out of the car.  He hugged me tight and said, "Bye mom, I love you!  Now you're going to be all alone, except on Saturdays and Sundays." I almost started crying.

Inside, Coleman hung up his new Jazz backpack and sat down.  I gave him a kiss goodbye and walked out.  Whew!  At least kindergarten is only half day, what am I going to do next year?

At 4:00 the bus pulled into our neighborhood.  Coleman stepped out followed by Bud.  He had a great day and loves kindergarten!

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Fun Day @ Lagoon

We chose the last day of summer to go to Lagoon, along with our Summerhays cousins and the rest of the state, for what turned out to be the best Lagoon day ever!  We started out with our favorite ride Rattle-Snake Rapids and rode it twice.  We all got wet but Rosie and Will got sopping wet!  We rode the Log Ride next, then went to Lagoon-a-beach.  The kids, Greg and Jen F. waited in long lines to go down the giant water slides (except Coleman, he was a good 4 inches too short to ride the bigger rides.) 

After that we met Jono (he drove up after work) and ate dinner; we were all starving.  Then we had a fabulous time exploring the rest of the park.  Waiting in line with cousins made the wait shorter and we had a great time daring each other to be brave.  Rosie rode the Jet Star 2, Wild Mouse and the Rocket for the first time ever, and Will and Max rode everything.  Jen F. almost passed out on the Flying Aces, but she survived.  Greg, who is afraid of heights, couldn't believe how high up in the air the Rocket takes you, and Jono rode his favorite ride the White Roller Coaster. Coleman got to ride the train and Jen F. loved ending the day on the House of Terror.  It was such a fun day!

I spoke with Grammy on the phone while we were here; 

she and Grampy are definitely IN for next year!

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Lake Herriman

The last week before school started we went to Lake Herriman, one of the last things on our summer to-do list. We went with Laura, Sara and their kids and had a great time! (except Coleman who was under the weather). Here are pics to prove it...

Coleman perked up a bit at the end, then went home and took a two hour nap. He was just fine the next day and we all went to Lagoon on Friday. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Sara running through the water Baywatch style with her shorts and shirt on to rescue Abby. (Abby's lifejacket made it hard for her to stay upright in the water.) It's amazing how fast moms can run when their children need help! Our consensus of the day is that this is a fun place for kids, Julia is a perfect baby, and that Herriman is really far away.

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Our Last Day :(

We didn't fly home until late in the afternoon, so we went to the zoo on Saturday. So did half of Pennsylvania, but Grampy found us a parking right across from the entrance and we were inside in a flash. We love the zoo here and the kids were very excited that they got to visit. They especially liked the primate house and the sharks and seals in the aquarium. We had a wonderful time. (I used my camcorder to film the zoo animals and Oettli animals so there aren't very many pictures.)

After the zoo we stopped by McDonalds for ice cream. I love how Grammy always make sure we get treats! It was so sad to say good-bye, this is our last time visiting the Pittsburgh mission. We flew to Chicago, had a four hour layover, and then arrived home at 11:30 pm. The kids slept during the last flight. We want to thank Grammy and Grampy for a fabulous vacation and we love you both very much!

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A Quieter Day

I have been running us all around the state of Pennsylvania this week, cramming multiple activities in one day; so I decided to give us the day off. We ran a few errands in the morning, met the missionary office staff for lunch, then went to see a movie. After a quiet dinner at the home, the kids went for a walk with Grampy around the neighborhood and then we watched a DVD. It was a nice day!

The first picture is Coleman and one of the AP missionaries having an arm wrestle. Coleman won, of course. He always wins! He brags about his "big guns" and tells everyone he can beat his dad and grandpa in an arm wrestle. At lunch Rosie sat on the opposite end of the table as we did and said the prayer. She's full of spunk!

The movie we saw in the theater was Ramona and Beezus. It was adorable! We loved every minute of it. At night we watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It was also a good movie. Bud just finished reading the first book and has started the second book.

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Mining in Western Pennsylvania

Today we visited a coal mine, about an hour away from Grammy and Grampy's house. It was fascinating! It was a working coal mine until 1970, now it is open to the public for tours. We all got hard hats, crawled into a real coal car (it was very small), and traveled 1/2 mile underground into the mine. It was a noisy and dark ride! It was cold in the mine, so we all wore sweaters and sweatshirts borrowed from Grammy and Grampy. We learned all about mining coal; canaries used to warn the miners when the air was unsafe, a worker went into the mine early in the morning to check for methanol, the lunch boxes the miners used had a place to hold their homemade wine, and the different ways mining has changed in the last hundred years. It was very interesting!

Bud, Rosie and Coleman all got to use a pick and shovel on a wheelbarrow full of coal, it was a miracle Coleman didn't hurt someone with the heavy pick! Grampy could barely stand up straight and in some places he had to hunch over. The machinery was very loud in such a small space, I don't know how the workers survived their 12 hour shifts. Children as young as 7 years old worked in the mines. We discussed how sad life would be as a miner, and that night kind-hearted Rosie couldn't sleep this evening because she kept thinking about working down in the mine. The property also had a museum filled with artifacts that miners' used and replicas of houses in the late 1800's.

When we came out of the mine Coleman's arms and legs were covered with hives. This has happened many times this summer, Dr. F. says it is an allergic reaction to the sun. I guess it can also be an allergic reaction to mining!

Before we went to the mine, we went a huge park by Grammy and Grampy's house that had buffalo, peacocks and a pond with turtles. It was beautiful. It is amazing how green and lush Pennsylvania, it makes us realize that we really do live in a desert.

Later that evening, we ate pizza for dinner and played a game of steal the flag in the backyard. It was boys against the girls and the girls won. (I should add that the boys team only had Bud and Coleman!)

This is what poor Grampy looked like all day!

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Hot and Humid @ PNC Park

On Wednesday the Pirates played a day game, so we headed into town once again. Coleman was thrilled to drive through the tunnel again and over a bridge. Once in our seats we realized what the temperature was going to be like for the day, hot and humid, the weather PA is famous for! Our baseball seats were in the shade, but it hardly mattered; we were hot! But, it is always fun to be at a ballpark, cheering for the home team. We sat by our friend again, and he and Jono chatted the whole time. He is 80 years old and has been coming to watch the Pirates for 70 years. That is a true fan! He reminds Jono of his Papa Bud. We all ate hot dogs and peanuts and wore our Pirates hats.


After the game, we drove to a nearby park with a lake. Grammy and the kids waded their feet , Jono dipped Coleman in the water, and Coleman pushed Rosie in; so they all cooled off in a hurry. The society Kayak Pittsburgh brings several kayaks here each evening for the community to use and we checked out two of them. Rosie and Bud rowed in one, and Jono and Coleman another. They had the best time! Grammy waded her feet and watched. I also took a turn with Coleman and was amazed at how much fun it was to go around the lake and under the bridges at each side. We raced Bud and Rosie and once they rammed into us. We floated around for 30 minutes until a storm approached and we had to get out. What a great day!

We held our breath in the tunnel on the way on and then ate tomato cheese bagels with corn and watermelon again for dinner. We described our adventures for Grampy, he was dealing with disobedient missionaries all day and couldn't join us. We checked all the mouse traps; just one false alarm with the"electric chair". Grammy tucked all the kids in bed and they fell right to sleep. We love being here!

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