The Jerome's in Steeler Country

Valentines Day

2012-02-14T14:15:00.001-08:00

Our annual treasure hunt for Valentine's day began in the attic and ended in the basement freezer! The kids look forward to it every year. The M&Ms they received were extra cold and they thought that was fun!
Darrell brought home my Valentine's day gift....Limonata! A delicious lemon soda from Italy....brings back many fond memories. What a thoughtful gift.....it is hard to find here!
““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” John 13:34-35NIV

Tiki Classic 2012

2012-02-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was our gym's home meet, called the Tiki Classic. Ann-Marie's level 4 team competed Saturday morning and took 1st all-around. They did a great job. Ann-Marie placed 5th on the bars. It has been so much fun to see all the girls improve throughout the season. I posted Ann-Marie's beam routine, because it was her best beam routine this season. She stayed on the beam until the end, however, she dismounted wrong and had to re-do her dismount.

A whole month.....

2012-02-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, we're still around. A whole month has gone by, and what do we have to show for it? Well, miles traveled to gymnastics competitions and basketball games. Practices for a musical performance. Family visiting for a milestone birthday. Memories made and time marches on. The pictures shown are from our homeschool group's musical performance this past Friday evening. Everybody had a line (or several) to memorize and lots of songs to perform. Evan even had a solo. We had a FABULOUS music teacher that has been working with them since September...thank you, Mrs. Cline!

Now onto February, which is going to be a very busy month. Evan has two more basketball games, a basketball dinner, and a birthday to celebrate. Ann-Marie has three gymnastics competitions. And we try not to leave Alec at any events! He's counting the days until soccer starts again. So, I will try to be better about taking pictures and keeping the blog updated for you family and friends out there that keep up with us. No promises, however.....

The Super Bowl

2012-01-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

Evan is my guest blogger today. Here are his thoughts about the Super Bowl:

I want the Giants to win the Super Bowl. The so called 'experts' think the Patriots are going to win. Last time these two teams met in the Super Bowl the Giants won 17-14. Eli Manning you can do it.

Playoff Picture

2012-01-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl match-up I want is Giants vs. Patriots. The experts think it is going to be 49ers vs. Patriots. I want the Giants to win towards the 49ers. I also want the Patriots to win towards the Ravens. I hope the Giants win the Super Bowl.

Stars and Stripes Gymnastics Competition

2012-01-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

Ann-Marie's second gymnastics competition was this past weekend in Erie, PA. I saw improvements in all of her routines, but we were really excited that her bar routine came together. She was able to put all of the moves together, which was a first for her. Above, some of her gymnastics teammates.

My Reaction to the Steeler's Loss

2012-01-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Evan is my guest blogger today. This is his reaction to Sunday's game:

Ike Taylor is the player that had the worst game. Ben had 5 sacks and 1 interception. Brown and Millers' catches were about the only ones remembered. The Steelers were smoked. Bottom line.

What do you get when......

2012-01-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

you reorganize a certain girl's closet? A pleasant little reading nook only she can fit into! Now that is one happy girl.

The New Year

2012-01-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

This blog post is by Evan, age 10:

This year I resolved to change my attitude. I'm giving the credit to God. I used to think all about me. For example when I scored a goal I celebrated by shaking my hands. Now I am going to look to the heavens and thank God.

Images of Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T10:31:00.001-08:00

Opening stocking stuffers Christmas morning....
The presents....thank you to all our family who sent gifts....the kids loved each and every one of their presents!

and the famous hair straightening....my Christmas present to Ann-Marie. We didn't realize how long her hair truly was until we straightened it!

Our family hopes that you and your family had a memorable Christmas 2011. We pray that you will experience many blessings in the new year!

With much love, the Jerome family.

Christmas Eve's Eve

2011-12-23T10:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas activities for us this year have included the children's Christmas choir at church (Ann-Marie and Alec), decorating the Christmas tree, making Christmas cookies, driving around to see Christmas lights (see previous post by Evan), visiting the Merrick Art Gallery for their train display and Christmas decorations, and seeing the live Nativity in Beaver. What has been your favorite memory made this season so far?

The Minivan Express

2011-12-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

Evan (age 10) is my guest blogger today. His blog is about an adventure our family went on this past weekend:

On Saturday night, we went on the Minivan Express to see Christmas lights. We were tricked into thinking we had to go to bed at eight. We put our pajamas on and found a golden ticket on our pillows. We gave our golden ticket to Dad, in exchange for popcorn and cherry Kool-Aid. There was a spill of Kool-aid. Alec, of course. Even Comet came along. Mr. Conductor, A.K.A. Dad, drove us around our neighborhood to see Christmas lights. I fell asleep halfway through. We drove around for a long time, about an hour. It was exciting.

The Jerome Story of Three

2011-12-09T11:59:00.001-08:00

Three weeks plus three children equals three cases of strep throat. Throw two double ear infections within three weeks for the third child.....and that lucky child gets a pass to have his third set of tubes (in three years) put in next week.

Ann-Marie's first gymnastics meet

2011-12-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am posting a video of Ann-Marie's first gymnastics meet. The video of her floor routine came out the best, so that is the one I am sharing. Vault was her best event, followed by floor, bars, and finally beam. We were proud of her hard work, dedication, and poise on each of her events.

Alec's 6th birthday

2011-11-27T16:34:00.001-08:00

What a birthday week! Alec turned 6 on Wednesday, November 23rd. Birthday child gets to choose the menu for the day, so we started with cinnamon rolls for breakfast, hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch, and ravioli for dinner. A special playdate with his friend David rounded out his day.
Thanks Aunt Carla for the cool nerf gun!
Special birthday dinner plate.....
and thank you Aunt Sheila for the Catwoman addition to the Batman house.
Alec's requested dessert was brownies, since the birthday cake was saved for his party.....and now a pause for Thanksgiving......
resume for a birthday party on Saturday! Lots of friends, food, and fun rounded out the evening!
Birthday theme was Gormiti, which are action figures from Italy. The cake was the Island of Gorm, which has a volcano on it, so the messier, the better!

Birthday friends.....
and special visitors.....the youngest being 3 1/2 weeks old! Thank you Shullenbarger family, for making the trip from Maryland!

Darrell's creative pizzas were a hit among children and adults!

We are very thankful for a double garage that can host a wild tag game to burn energy out of the early elementary aged crowd!

A little flashback six years.....my how things have changed!

Fall Fun 2011

2011-11-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

Fall festival at our church....Alec was Batman, Ann-Marie was Pippi Longstocking, and Evan declared himself too old to dress up, so he volunteered to be in the dunk tank to raise money for missions.

Do you notice who is first in line to dunk Evan? (above)
Of course, the pumpkin carving was a hit....
our guest, Glori, enjoyed herself also, and hammed it up for the picture.
We love going to the zoo in the Fall, and we have had an unusually nice stretch of weather......we actually haven't been to the Pittsburgh zoo for over a year. We were pleasantly surprised by several changes made to the zoo.
The rays are always a hit, as well as the meerkats....
and below is what Ann-Marie is looking at face-to-face.
We hope you and your family are also enjoying the beautiful Fall days!

Colorado - the places

2011-10-30T16:10:00.001-07:00

This will be the last post about our Missouri/Colorado trip....I am getting behind and need to get some fall photos up! I tried to show all we did in Colorado, but it's hard because we packed in a lot. Above, the Air Force Academy Chapel....
playing in a penny arcade in Manitou Springs.....
discovering the Narnia Wardrobe at Focus on the Family.....
strolling around Cripple Creek, Colorado.....
holding up the Balanced Rock at Garden of the Gods....

touring the Olympic training center.....

taking the tour OVER the Cheyenne Mountains Zoo....

hiking up to Helen Hunt Falls.....

exploring hands-on activities at Starsmore Discovery Center......
not quite making it all the way to the top of Pikes Peak, but close......
and a little side trip and a shout out to a small but wonderful pumpkin farm in Iowa!

October Missouri Trip....the places....

2011-10-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

If you go to St. Louis, Missouri, you have to go up into the arch. Here is our family picture at the top....and below, Ann-Marie below the arch. The kids actually went up into the arch twice, compliments of Grandpa and Amma.
We had two favorite eating experiences...the first was Crown Candy. If you're a fan of the TV show "Man vs. Food" then you might have heard of Crown Candy.....

Walking around St. Louis was fun....the city garden is a very interesting place to discover.
The St. Louis zoo was a short, but wonderful trip, compliments of New York Life. Highlights were the elephants, the penguins, and the big cats. We could have spent a day just in the insect building!

We enjoyed a morning at the Missouri Botanical Garden....the children's garden was amazing. What caught Ann-Marie and my eye was the Chihuly glass.
Another favorite eating experience was Pappy's BBQ....another feature on "Man Vs. Food." (I'm sensing a theme here.) We're not huge BBQ fans, but it was good. We loved all the silly sayings on the walls and shirts about BBQ....like the sign out front?
I found a motorcycle museum for Darrell....we all enjoyed seeing the foreign, vintage motorcycle collection.
The last night in St. Louis was the Beatlemania concert, hosted by New York Life. It was a lot of fun.....hundreds of balloons around for the kids to make silly hats, as you can see.
So this last picture proves a strong genetic link....Alec definitely has the Jerome sleeping gene....he can sleep anywhere....even in the middle of a loud concert in uncomfortable bleacher chairs.

Missouri/Colorado Trip - The People

2011-10-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

We recently took a two week trip, traveling to St. Louis, Missouri for a New York Life Convention, then onto Colorado Springs, CO to see my youngest sister and her family, and finally making a one-day stop in Iowa on our way back to Pennsylvania to see my other sister and her family. What a wonderful trip! This post is about the special people that we were able to spend time with on our journey....the next post will be about the places we visited. Above, my dad and step-mother came to St. Louis to spend time with us.....
The pictures above and below are of the Campbell family: Kris (not pictured), Jennifer, Benjamin, Jonah, Abigail, and Nathanael (the baby). I have a long friendship with the Campbell family....I grew up with Kris, met Jennifer when they were living in Alexandria, Virginia, and we have managed to coordinate trips back to Iowa to see family and keep in touch since they moved to Illinois. On this trip, we stayed overnight with them the first night, then they were able to come into St. Louis to have dinner with us another night.

While we were in St. Louis, I was able to meet my cousin's wife, Katie, and their children at the Botanical Gardens. What a treat to be able to spend time with family we do not see very often! We missed seeing Steve, but had a great time with Katie, Dacia, Tucker, and met new baby Chanel.
Now, to Colorado.....my youngest sister, Sheila, and her husband, Kurt, and their family - Silas, Nathan, Abby, and Selah (the baby) graciously hosted us while we were there. How do you get two sets of children, seven kids - ten and under - to sit still for a picture? While they are watching TV!
Finally, the Iowa "day-trip" to spend time with my next younger sister, Carla, her husband, Richard, and their children - Isabelle, Wade and Will....yes, identical twins. In small town Iowa, Carla and I received several questions about whether we were twins...I don't know how Carla felt about those questions, but I loved it because it immediately shaved four years off of my age!

A big thank-you to Josh Westurn and Mike and Chelsea Johnston.....our Pennsylvania neighbors and friends who watched our house and took care of our dog!

September Wrap-up

2011-09-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

So what has the Jerome family been up to in the month of September? A new haircut for Evan....totally his idea....
Evan is playing on a middle school travel soccer team......
discovering a new art class at Uncommon Grounds in Aliquippa.....here are the kids' oil pastels in the style of Amedeo Modigliani.....
a pyramid project that lasted three weeks, but the kids all enjoyed working on it together.....
and Darrell's birthday!

It's been very busy here, which is why the blog has not been updated this month. Managing three different curriculums, teaching a certain joyful 5 year old to read, keeping track of three different activity schedules (Evan-travel soccer; Ann-Marie - team gymnastics; Alec - recreation soccer), teaching a new Sunday school class at church, teaching a new geography class at homeschool coop......well, you get the idea - September has been a little overwhelming. True to Jerome style, however, a BIG trip is coming in October.....so stay tuned!

Discovering Raccoon Creek State Park

2011-09-05T04:49:00.000-07:00

The last two weekends we have been exploring Raccoon Creek State Park as a family.
We explored one of the hiking trails....explained off of their website:
Mineral Springs Loop: 1.2 miles, easiest hiking, white blazes
This loop trail begins and ends across from the park office. Mineral Springs Loop passes through one of the park’s historic areas, once known for the “healing qualities of the mineral water.” Above the springs are the remains of the 1800s Frankfort Mineral Springs Resort.

This past weekend we went back and just enjoyed the beach area....it was wonderful!

Now, for those of you who haven't seen Evan's new haircut - here it is! Just in time for the cooler weather?

Remembering a birthday....

2011-08-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

What would you be doing
today on your 62nd birthday?

Did you like cake and ice cream?
Would you allow 62 candles to grace your dessert of choice?

Would you pass on the years of wisdom
to your daughters and grandchildren
reminiscing
with us?

Would you have a blog detailing your growing family?
Would we skype you today?

I take a moment today
to remember
to question
to wonder
and I know that is o.k. to do
on what would have been
your birthday today.

In loving memory
of
Brenda Marie Conklin Shippy
on what would have been
her 62nd birthday....
all who loved you dearly
still remember.

Bethany Beach Fun

2011-08-18T04:25:00.001-07:00

We were blessed with an invitation from Darrell's Dad's best friend and wife (did you follow that?) to come stay with them at their beach house in South Bethany, Delaware. (Same beach as Ocean City, Maryland....just due north). We had one full beautiful beach day, one-half of another, then the rest rain....but we still had a lot of fun and did a lot of activities.

Once the kids got used to the waves and the ocean, Evan and Ann-Marie enjoyed boogie-boarding. Alec, however, enjoyed the sand a little more as the waves were intimidating at first. He did do more swimming with Darrell and I once he got used to the waves.

Silliness at the beach house.....Ann-Marie got a hold of Darrell's shirt and my sunglasses.....
One of the rainy days we went to see the lighthouse and visit the marker that divides Maryland from Delaware....how much fun to put a foot in each state!

Ann-Marie and I took an early morning walk on the beach.....
The request from the children was to eat at an "all-you-can-eat" seafood buffet. We chose Phillip's since it was closest. The kids really enjoyed it. They discovered crayfish, learned how to open crabs, and dug into crab legs.

I love this picture, because we have one just like it when we were in Italy in March......so the kids were able to look across both sides of the Atlantic ocean this year!

On the way back home, we drove through Lewes, Delaware (the first town in the first state) and stopped at Cape Henlopen State Park.
Climbing the fire control tower.......
finding out how stinky horseshoe crab shells are....
enjoying the view of the lighthouse.....
and exploring the nature center.

A big thank you to our gracious hosts, we had a fabulous time!!! Another thank you to the Blietz B&B in Silver Spring, Md....we were able to break up the drive home and spend time with friends. Thank you again to our wonderful neighbors, Mike and Chelsea Johnston, who look after our house when we're gone!
And, this sums it up.....a good vacation leaves you well-rested! Yes, Alec did fall asleep like that while watching TV.....I think we wiped him out!

Summer update

2011-08-08T12:27:00.001-07:00

Where are all the pictures of summer? Where has the time gone? Well, we have been doing a lot, but I haven't taken many pictures. Honestly, I have just been trying to enjoy the kids this summer and take it one day at a time. It seems that the kids are growing up so fast these days....time just keeps moving and I want to stop and catch these memories before they are gone. I guess I should take more pictures then....

Evan has been spending his summer working through the Redwall book series...I think he's on book 15 out of 20. He did a week of flag football and a week of soccer camp through Skybacher's ministries. He is almost as tall as I am and I had to buy him shoes this summer that are the same size as my shoes. Too bad he isn't a girl.....I guess I'll have to wait for Ann-Marie to reach my shoe size. Ten years old and going into 5th grade......

Ann-Marie has spent a good deal of time in the gym as she is on team gymnastics. She LOVES being at the gym and working hard at these new skills. As we speak, she is rearranging her room with Darrell, because she wants the room to "be her idea, and not her mom's." Independent? She certainly is her own person at age 8 and working her way through 3rd grade.

Alec has had a big summer! Teeth a popping out and molars are pushing in. He was able to attend his first sports camps with Skybacher's ministries. He is definitely a "school-ager" now with his interests, his energy and his enthusiasm. He has asked throughout the summer to practice reading, so he's ready to go! I can't believe my baby is 5 and ready for Kindergarten.

Darrell has balanced his summer between work and spending time with the kids and I. You never know where he will be in Beaver County or beyond...so keep your eyes open! He continues to love being a financial adviser....

And I continue to teach fitness classes, with my newest classes being with the older population. I have started teaching Silver Sneakers classes and love it.

We are heading to Bethany beach this week for a last summer trip, then school starts on August 22nd. Maybe I'll start taking more pictures and keeping up with this blog once we're back into a normal routine. I pray that you are enjoying your summer!
Alec getting his flag football Skybacker's certificate....
BodyCombat launch 48 with co-instructor, Matt.

Teeth just falling out.....

2011-06-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Alec has been losing teeth quickly and early for his age. One of his top teeth fell out before the Iowa trip, one while we were in Chicago, and now, the bottom tooth fell out this morning!

Day trips in Iowa

2011-06-19T04:15:00.001-07:00

What is there to do in northeast Iowa, other than experience rural life? Well, plenty. Since our children are old enough to appreciate and enjoy museums, we have started exploring the treasures of Iowa when we go there in June every year. This year, we took two separate day trips and had a blast! We visited the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa. This is a must see if you happen through this area. We found that our FONZ zoo membership got us in for half off, which was a plus.
There are several aquariums scattered throughout the two buildings.

Lots of hands-on activities for the kids!

The special exhibit was about nocturnal animals....any guesses as to what Ann-Marie turned into?

Of course, there was a water room for the kids to play in also!
Below, the crew....Uncle Jim and Aunt Bonnie, Dad, Carla and Isabelle along with my family made for a really fun and memorable day! Also, the Shot Tower Inn is a great family-friendly lunch or dinner spot nearby to eat at.
On another day, Dad took us to Spillville, Iowa to tour the Bily Clocks Museum....we took a guided tour and learned a lot about these clocks, the men who made them, and the historical time frame that they were made.
No pictures are allowed inside the museum, but there are some interesting things outside the museum also....for example, the old Spillville Jail.....

and the school house.

We then headed into Decorah, Iowa for lunch and to visit the Seed Savers Exchange.....
Ann-Marie especially likes this place because of all the unique flowers, herbs, and plants. Later, Darrell and I went back to Decorah to eat at the Dolce Vita Restaurant....we highly recommend this restaurant! They have wood-fired pizza and a great international menu.

So many treasures in northeast Iowa to discover.....we will look forward to next summer!

Iowa trip 2011

2011-06-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

Almost two weeks in Iowa and lots of great memories made. First, I want to thank everyone who made this trip wonderful. Our neighbors, Mike, Chelsea, Allan, and Anna - for watering our flowers and plants, mowing our grass, and picking up our newspapers. To Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle in Illinois - for being wonderful hosts as our halfway landing spot between Iowa and Pennsylvania, as well as being gracious enough to allow our dog to stay also! To all our friends and family who carved time out of their days to come visit us - Jack and Verna Ouverson, Karl and Doris Erickson, Wally and LaFonda McIntyre, Cletus and Lorna Bouska, Aunt Jill and Uncle Scott and Tyler, Aunt Pat and Uncle Kent. To Uncle Jim and Aunt Bonnie - thank you so much for taking a day off work to spend time with us in Dubuque - that was a really special memory. To Carla and Isabelle - thank you for the surprise day in Dubuque also! So with that being said......most of our time in Iowa was spent just spending time with family and friends.....

My dad with Evan....

Amma making cakes with Ann-Marie....

Dad showing off his farmer strength.....

My grandparents with my kids....

Grandma teaching the kids how to make her famous buns....

My sister!

My cousin, Tyler, and my niece, Isabelle, and nephews, Wade and Will, with my kids....

seeing double.....

some downtime activities....

and the trip isn't complete without animals....new puppies!

Finishing Well

2011-06-03T03:41:00.001-07:00

Summer has officially arrived at the Jerome household. School is finished and preparations are being made to make our annual trek to Iowa. I wanted to pause a moment and reflect upon the past year of homeschooling for us. As I took pictures this past week of our everyday, "normal" activities, I was struck at how this second year of schooling at home just felt so natural to us. The kids enjoyed it and it fit our lifestyle so well. We are thankful for all the memories that we made together this year. So, for us to remember and to share with you.....here we are during a school day.....above, Alec playing Zoodles on our home computer.....
and Evan completing a Calvert on-line computer lesson (notice his "Redwall" book nearby - he is really into that series right now).
Our workbox system went very smoothly this year......

Evan's

Ann-Marie's and Alec's

Alec's calendar and theme for the week.......

The children choose where they will do their independent work, so Ann-Marie did hers close to the butterfly house and was rewarded by getting to see one emerge from the chrysalis.
Evan is a voracious reader and he really enjoyed "Island of the Blue Dolphins" as part of his fourth grade curriculum. Comet obviously enjoyed it also.
Just to show you I'm really not as organized as you think.....the school room table often looks like this!
To end, my little gardener potting her plants....she has a green thumb, I do not. In Ann-Marie's words as we were buying her flowers, "Mom, don't touch anything because they will die!"

So now onto summer.....camps and swimming and unstructured time.....we are ready for you!

Guitar....

2011-05-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Evan and Ann-Marie were able to take guitar lessons this semester through PACyber. We borrowed guitars from a friend - thanks to the Richards family. Evan really enjoyed it so I think we will be pursuing further lessons and his own guitar in the future. Ann-Marie just liked to sing - she didn't really care for the guitar. David Granati, of the Granati brothers, taught the class. He is well-known in this area.....I don't think in Iowa, however, as I had never heard of him. He definitely made the class fun and exciting for the kids!

The class put on a performance for the parents and it was fun to watch. Great job!

Wordless (or Toothless) Wednesday

2011-05-18T16:58:00.001-07:00

May.....

2011-05-16T08:16:00.001-07:00

Halfway through May, and what have we been up to?

Tolerating a very dreary and rainy month.

Finishing strong - school will be done on June 3rd.

Activities ending and final performances.

Gymnastics and Soccer.

So much going on, yet not a lot to talk about. So we continue to live each day, trying to keep dry, trying to keep a positive attitude amidst the dreariness, and looking forward to the ending of Spring and the beginning of Summer.

How is your May going?

Ann-Marie is 8!

2011-04-29T03:28:00.001-07:00

Ann-Marie's birthday was on Wednesday, April 27th. We had a playdate on Monday at a park for her friends.....the sun even came out for us, which was a treat! Pap stopped by earlier in the day to wish her a happy birthday.

She wanted her cake to be a Build-A-Bear cake so we compromised on trying to replicate her Build-A-Bear. She was happy with it.

The morning of her birthday, she chose chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Lunch was hotdogs and corn. She opened presents throughout the day....highlights were Calico Critters and Littlest Pet Shop. She is my little collector.Dinner was spaghetti with shrimp and green beans. We all went out for ice cream after.

And even Lily received a birthday present....purple glasses like Ann-Marie!

Happy Birthday to my daughter....I am so thankful to have a joyful eight year old. She is a blessing to our family every day.

Scenes from Easter 2011

2011-04-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Letting Alec use glitter on the Easter eggs means that we will be finding glitter throughout the house for the next six months!

Critiquing the eggs....

Alec's basket was hidden a little too well....Darrell had to retrieve it for him!

Happy basket finders!

Kindereggs....smuggled in from Italy.

All dressed up.....

and Comet gets in on the actions too!
Happy Easter!

Fast and Furious, but Fun

2011-04-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

With barely under two weeks at home from our last trip, we headed east back to Maryland. Crazy? Maybe, but my youngest sister, who lives in Colorado Springs, was going to be there with her family. Maryland is a lot closer to Pennsylvania than Colorado Springs! We combined a visit with the Shullenbarger family in Knoxville, MD, so Ann-Marie could celebrate her birthday a little early with her friend, Rebekah. We left Friday morning, picked up Rebekah at 2 p.m., drove to Columbia, Md (the closest Build-a-Bear store), and were back by 6 p.m. for game night at their house. The lady at Build-a-Bear made Ann-Marie's early birthday so much fun, it was well worth the effort. Best friends picked out matching twin bears.

On Saturday, we drove to the National Harbor, as my Brother-in-Law was able to get us a room at the Gaylord Hotel. It was beautiful! Our room was on the 17th floor and our balcony looked over the lobby and out the glass windows you can see across the Potomac into Alexandria, VA and D.C.

The best part was spending time with my sister, brother-in-law and their three children (one more on the way!!!)
Little Abigail chilling (because she hadn't taken a nap!)
Kurt and boys enjoy (COLD) swimming pool.
Darrell having a moment with Evan (who had just found out Maryland state law prohibits anyone under the age of 18 to go into the hot tub. He was not happy!)
Our kids with their cousins.
The younger boys - Alec and Nathan. My little guy isn't so little in comparison to his cousin!
The older boys - Evan and Silas.
The girls - my sister Sheila, Abigail and Ann-Marie.
Enjoying the harbor and the sights.
And the light and water show inside the hotel.

We were only in Maryland just over 48 hours, but it was time well spent to see friends and family!

Thank you.....

2011-04-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

I am doing these posts backwards...I do realize this, but I don't want too much time to get away from me and lose precious memories. So now that I've posted the Italy pictures, I have some huge thank-yous to make.

First of all, thank you to our Father God because He guided us, protected us and allowed this trip to happen. I know that His timing is perfect!

Next, the Shullenbarger family, for providing us with a friendly place to stay while we were waiting to see if we would be able to get enough seats on the plane. You are always home away from home for us!

Thank you to the U.S. military for allowing retirees to use extra seats on their contracted flights. These flights are primarily for the troops, but it is a really nice perk to be able to use the extra seats if you are retired. Also, a huge thank-you to all troops deployed right now....we traveled with some of them during this trip.

To Tanya, Kurt, Riley and Chase McCormick - without you, we would not have been able to do as much as we did in Italy! They provided us with a place to stay, a car to drive, and wonderful hospitality. They made this trip affordable to our family!

To the Blietz family - thank you for being flexible last minute and letting us stay with your wonderful family overnight. We were unsure of when our flight landed in the U.S. and needed a place to sleep before completing the trip to Pennsylvania.

To our nephew, Nicholas - thank you so much for staying in our home while we were gone and putting up with our incredible naughty dog. We so appreciate you!

And to all of our friends and family who prayed for us and have asked about our trip - thank you, we truly feel loved!

So if you're still reading this, here is an itinerary of our trip, so the pictures make a little more sense -

We drove to Maryland on Saturday, March 19th, so that we could participate in a friend's birthday party. We were in Maryland until Wednesday, March 23rd, when our flight took off from BWI (Baltimore Washington International Airport). (Fun in Maryland pictures to come). The plane actually took off at 1:10 a.m. Friday....but that we didn't know until we got to the airport. We arrived in Italy around 6 p.m. Friday (Italian time). The following is the order of our travels:

Saturday, March 26: Venice
Sunday, March 27: Drive into the Alps - Lake Barcis and Longarone
Monday, March 28: Aviano Air Base Day - gave the kids a break, also most things closed in this area of Italy on Mondays. We enjoyed some new parks, the bowling center and driving around seeing how much things have changed.
Tuesday, March 29: Trieste
Wednesday, March 30: Piancovallo
Thursday, March 31: Flight home

It was a quick trip, but very well worth it. We hope to do it again.

Day Five - Piancovallo and Casa di Gahja

2011-04-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

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Day four - Trieste

2011-04-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

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Day three - into the Alps

2011-04-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

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Italy trip 2011 - day two

2011-04-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

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Our Italy trip 2011

2011-04-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

As I get organized from our trip, I will be adding more pictures. A big apology to my Facebook friends as this will probably be double-posted. We had a great time - enjoy the pictures!

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My Grandpa....

2011-03-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Conklin will turn 90 while we are traveling. So this little post is a tribute to him:

My Grandpa has helped shape the woman I am today. I grew up doing chores with him, playing baseball in his yard, eating dinner at his table, and generally, being around Grandma and him most of my growing up years. When I was younger, I remember Grandpa as being quiet, but you never wondered where you stood with him. He was a steady and strong influence in my life. Now that I am grown, I enjoy going back to Iowa to visit Grandma and him. I appreciate his love for me, his sense of humor, and his dedication to those he loves, especially Grandma. Most of all, I love how he loves the Lord. His prayers are powerful and I love to be near him when he is praying. Thank you, Grandpa, for loving me. Thank you for praying for me. And have a most wonderful birthday!

Green Eggs and Ham

2011-03-02T17:00:00.001-08:00

I will have to say that this was the most fun Dr. Seuss Day for us to date! We began the morning with green eggs and bacon, compliments of Chef Daddy. Alec LOVES his eggs to be colored!
We then spent the entire afternoon at friends' house, doing Dr. Seuss activities and just enjoying time with each other. Even the two oldest guys (10 and 11) completed a Dr. Seuss informational scavenger hunt.....I now know many more interesting facts about Dr. Seuss! Thank you to the D. family for the fun day!

First child in glasses.....

2011-02-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

Ann-Marie insisted that I post before and after pictures....so above, before....

and after!

The BIG 1-0!

2011-02-19T16:38:00.001-08:00

A fun-filled birthday weekend for a new 10-year-old boy includes:

A Football Cake;

Three friends for sleepover, one friendly neighbor who could stay for dinner, and a younger brother (sis' found a friend to stay with to escape the boys);

fun presents;

and chosen dinner menu of shrimp and angel hair pasta.

Our first child in the double digits....a decade of parenting behind us - fond memories, yet anticipation for what is to come. This ten year old has brought much joy to our family since making us parents for the first time on February 19, 2001! Happy Birthday, Evan.

This is how we roll......

2011-02-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a recap of our very busy weekend....may we not forget how hectic this season of life is sometimes so we can be empathetic to other harried parents even after we become empty nesters!

Saturday morning: Up and out of the house - aim for 7 a.m. but leave closer to 7:30 a.m. - packed in the faithful minivan are three kids, one dog, and all necessary supplies for 24+ hours away from home......off to Evan's last basketball game (one hour drive, we will barely make it in time for the game to start.)

Sit through two back-to-back basketball games, while often going out to the van to check on the dog. Now here comes the unexpected - Ann-Marie hits her head on the bleachers hard enough to draw a LOT OF BLOOD. Enter the athletic trainer, many other caring parents, and our dear friend from home who is a doctor and who just happens to have a son playing in the next game. No stitches required, but a very bloody young lady with a growing goose egg on her head. Since no medical attention was required, onward we went - good parents that we are, we cover Ann-Marie's head with her winter hat and eat lunch at Eat N' Park before heading to our next stop.

Next stop - dropping the kids and dog off at Darrell's sister's house in North Huntington and heading onto Blairsville for New York Life's annual awards dinner. Deep breath - check into the hotel, relax in the hot tub and nap was required after the day we had. Now for fun....we get to get dressed up like "real" adults and head to the dinner.
Here's where I get to talk a little about Darrell - I am so proud of him! This journey in the financial world has not been an easy one for us, but every year he does better. He is persistent, thoughtful, caring and balances providing for us, being a great father, and a wonderful husband. Every year, the awards banquet helps me refocus on what Darrell does and how hard he works. Thank you, honey, I'm proud of you!
Sunday: Sleep in! A luxury for us who are normally up really, really early. On the way back to pick up the kids, we get to sneak in an early Valentine's lunch at a fabulous Indian restaurant in Monroeville, called Udipe Cafe- we love this little place for authentic Indian food! What a treat.

A huge thank you to Toni, Tim, and Mike for watching our kids this weekend. Another big thank you to all who were at Hillcrest Academy and helped with Ann-Marie's head injury. We have wonderful friends and family. And Happy Valentine's day!

Science Fair 2011

2011-02-01T03:55:00.001-08:00

Evan and Ann-Marie participated in the Homeschool Coop's science fair this year. I am very proud of both of them because they worked very hard on their projects and we all learned a lot in the process. They both did receive an award in their respective age categories (Evan - 2nd; Ann-Marie; 1st) - however, all of the children who participated had wonderful projects and displays. For us, the awards gave my kids the confidence boost to (hopefully) enjoy science projects more than Darrell or I did growing up. Evan did his project on how camouflage helps animals survive. Ann-Marie did hers on the viscosity of liquids (how thick or thin the liquids are). What a great experience!

It's my birthday.....

2011-01-31T03:37:00.000-08:00

and I can ramble if I want to! Today, I turn 39. Why is this a significant age for me? It is an age my mother never got to see. Read my post about turning 38 here for a refresher.

I walked through that door, not by my own strength or luck, but by God's grace. He has given me another year and for that, I am truly thankful. It's the best birthday gift I could receive, I truly do not need anything more.

How have I handled this past year....I guess for the truth you would have to ask my family. It was kind of surreal, but not all-consuming. It made me realize I need to work on slowing down and appreciating all the gifts in my life - my family, my friends, my health, and most of all, my faith. Did I perfect this - nope, I'm still a work in progress!

I do not make New Year's Resolutions....I wait until the last day of January to take stock of my life. So this year, I am focusing on being more grateful in the midst of all circumstances.

So here's to my last year in my 30's.....for me, turning 40 next year won't be so bad....just another door to go through that I will be grateful for when the time comes.

^"11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13

Jerome Family Girls' Day Out 2010

2011-01-10T03:53:00.000-08:00

It took us three years, but the Jerome side of the family finally organized another Girls' Day Out in Pittsburgh. We began our day at Lidia's restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful brunch together. You will notice one male in our crowd....Pap came as our honorary "Grandma"....we really enjoyed having him there. Darrell's side of the family is a little short on females....only four granddaughters out of 13 grandchildren....so they stick together.
I ordered a grilled octopus plate, and Ann-Marie was brave enough to try it...see below! She liked it so much that she kept picking pieces of octopus off of my plate!

Ann-Marie took control of the camera and took a picture of the enormous glass chandelier in the restaurant.....
Next stop was Phipp's conservatory, where we enjoyed the last day of the winter show. Needless to say, we had one last shot of Christmas, as there were many poinsettas, Christmas trees and Christmas music playing.

Ann-Marie has a special gardening relationship with her Aunt Toni, so she spent most of her time talking to Aunt Toni about what flowers and plants she was seeing and enjoying.
We made the four girl cousins endure many photo sessions along the way.....above is my personal favorite. We treasure the times we can get them all together as the oldest, Natalie, is in college and is heading off at the end of the month to study in France for four months.
The last time we all visited the Phipps was when they had the Chihuly glass exhibit and we were pleasantly surprised to see how much glass sculptures they had kept.

Can you spot the snowman and snowwoman in the above picture?
Here's what we would like to say to winter......but I hear we have more of the white stuff coming so I'll just enjoy this picture until Spring.

What a memorable day! Time spent with family is precious!

Date night - Jerome style

2011-01-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

Date night at the Jerome residence is on Tuesday night. It came about after a rough move from Maryland almost 4 years ago and 7 months living with Darrell's dad. Needless to say, funds were low, so creativity was high. For the past (almost) four years, Darrell and I have tried to keep Tuesday night open for us. Typically, we don't leave the house and the children don't either. When the kids were younger, we would feed them kid-friendly food, put them to bed (a little early?), and make an adult-only meal. Nowadays, we rent a special movie on Tuesday nights, still feed the kids a kid-friendly meal and let them watch their movie while we eat our meal and catch up with each other. Sometimes we get take-out, but most of the time one of us finds a cool recipe to try and we (o.k., usually Darrell) makes it. We really look forward to our adult-only meals on Tuesday nights. Above was tonight's dish.....Kale Lasagna Diavolo from the magazine Vegetarian Times, January/February 2011 issue. Excellent! The conversation and company was excellent too! We do occasionally get a babysitter and go out for a date night, but this keeps us connected on a weekly basis. How do you and your significant other stay connected during the week?

Christmas in the city of Pittsburgh

2010-12-31T04:48:00.001-08:00

We took our annual Christmas trek into downtown Pittsburgh to enjoy the holiday decorations. We always enjoy the PPG Place Wintergarden, with Santas and customs from around the world as well as the gingerbread houses designed and built by many local schools, businesses, and organizations. Above, the kids' favorite gingerbread creation was Heinz field.
I couldn't resist taking Alec's picture with the Heinz ketchup dinosaur, since he's my ketchup kid!
Then we did something new to our family and visited the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. The Nationality Rooms are a must-see, especially during the Holiday season.

We thoroughly enjoyed our family day in Pittsburgh this year and even experienced some new sights. Happy New Year to you and your family!

Snapshots of Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T04:45:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! We enjoyed our Christmas very much and hope that you and your family did also. Here are some snapshots of our Christmas day....above, opening the stockings.....

all of the gifts were very much appreciated.....

and helping Darrell open his big gift was fun....(an espresso/cappuccino maker)....

Christmas dinner at Uncle Mark and Aunt Joanne's house....

helping Pap play "Santa".....

and almost all of the cousins (Bruce was missing) plus one girlfriend!

Unfortunately, we added one sick child to the mix...can you guess who is wrapped up there?

'Tis the season.....

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for making gingerbread houses....this one they all worked on together and showed off the side of the house they completed.....

and for ice skating.....Alec was crazy on the ice once we borrowed this red "ice walker"...it gave him way too much confidence!

Ann-Marie and good friend, Danelle......

and Evan looking not very thrilled....he only went around a couple of times before calling it quits. We all had a good time anyway and many of our friends were there to hang out with. We're loving Christmas break!

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-13T04:16:00.000-08:00

Cookie baking and decorating.....

and decking the halls and tree....

Merry Christmas!

Ravioli Day 2010

2010-12-08T04:14:00.001-08:00

Ravioli day at the Jerome family means it is getting close to Christmas! Above, two of Darrell's sisters (the expert dough checkers) testing out the rolling machine.
Darrell and his sister making meatballs for Italian wedding soup.
Ann-Marie apprenticed this year on the dough rolling.....Aunt Karen even made a special batch of dough just for Ann-Marie. I think she got a little too involved.....
lovely Analise showing off her dough...
the four beautiful granddaughters in their handmade aprons....a tradition and they all still fit!
The Ravioli and meatballs are made and frozen....the countdown to Christmas begins!

Alec's 5th birthday party

2010-12-05T04:07:00.000-08:00

In our family, the 5th birthday is a BIG one where we invite lots of friends and go do something special we wouldn't normally do. This was our last 5th birthday celebration and Alec chose Fun Fore All in Cranberry. His theme - Green Lantern (a good guy superhero....the cake is in the shape of his symbol.)

Alec invited friends from his homeschool coop preschool, Sunday school, and our Maryland friends came also!

Blowing out candles,

spinning the birthday wheel,

and a group picture (I think we were missing Gabby!)

Our wonderful friends from Maryland!

And one of the guests hit the jackpot....1,000 tickets! She was able to do some Christmas shopping in the prize store!

Alec and his best buddy from Pennsylvania....

and his best buddy from Maryland! Everyone had a great time.

PACyber Old Economy Christmas tour

2010-12-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

A nice way to begin the Christmas season was to have a tour of Old Economy and learn about German Christmas traditions. We heard a story about the leaning tree, saw a variety of Advent houses, learned the history of hanging stockings, and saw simple, yet beautiful decorations.
Singing "Jingle Bells" with real jingle bells was fun!
To end our tour, Belsnickel grumpily greeted us to a Christmas party, complete with cookies, drinks, and a peek into his "naughty and nice" book to make sure all the children were listed in the "good" category (they were!). What fun!

The Wonder of the First Snowfall of the Season......

2010-12-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

A reason to love western Pennsylvania.......

2010-11-28T15:03:00.001-08:00

it is perfectly acceptable to wear your Steeler jersey to church on any given Steeler game Sunday....which is almost every Sunday from September to almost February, depending on how the team is doing. This makes my 9-year-old a very happy young man!

Alec is 5!

2010-11-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

Alec had a wonderful birthday and it is hard for Darrell and I to grasp that our baby is 5! Birthday tradition at our house is that you get to choose all the meals on your birthday, so here was Alec's menu:

Breakfast - Bagels with Nutella
Lunch - Macaroni and cheese
Dinner - Chicken nuggets and french fries.

Dessert was rootbeer floats with chocolate ice cream! Since Alec's birthday is so close to Thanksgiving this year, his birthday party (and birthday cake) will be December 4th.
Alec was excited to open presents from family....thank you to Aunt Carla for some new legos....
and to Aunt Sheila for a new DVD.

Alec continues to bring so much joy to our lives and we are thankful for our Thanksgiving baby! Happy Birthday, little guy!

Random pictures

2010-11-25T07:45:00.001-08:00

Fall yard work is well under way.....Evan is now big enough to help drag garbage cans full of leaves all the way down our steep yard.
It was time to bury "Miss Juliette", Ann-Marie's faithful tomato plant. She produced wonderful tomatoes right up until the end. Ann-Marie insisted upon the burial spot.
Comet has a biscuit problem....sometimes his "stray" mentality still shows through.

lazy, rainy day

2010-11-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

the last three days
have been filled with
a long family bike ride in unusually warm November weather
a school night sleep over
gymnastics
and several playdates.....

so today brings
rain, cold, and dreariness
sleepy children and dog
sharing a heating vent

it's good to slow down every once in awhile

Kalahari 2010

2010-11-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

We ended our trip with an overnight to Kalahari...we visited last year and the kids have been begging to go back again. If you visit during the school year and in the middle of the week, you get great prices!

We had a great time on our vacation!

Chicago trip 2010

2010-11-06T06:22:00.001-07:00

A trip to Chicago was just what our family needed. We enjoyed staying and spending time with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle. The first day, we were pretty tired so we did two low-key activities in Wheaton, Illinois: Cosley Zoo - free with our FONZ zoo membership and Catigny park. On Sunday, we went to church and just hung out, roasting hot dogs and s'mores with my aunt and uncle. Needless to say, we had GREAT weather in Chicago!

On Monday, we headed into Chicago to visit the Museum and Science and Industry and we had a wonderful time. Highlights include the weather exhibit (40 foot tornado and experiencing 80 mph winds), the body exhibit (giant heart beats in time with your heartbeat), and watching baby chicks hatching. Our Carnegie Museum Pass got us in free, parking is $16.00 and lunch in the museum was plentiful and affordable.

Fall Festival

2010-11-06T06:16:00.001-07:00

These pictures are little late, but here they are. I was in Colorado when our church hosted the Fall Festival, so Darrell got to handle the pumpkin carving and dressing up. This was the first year he let Evan wield a knife by himself and carve his own pumpkin. He did a fine job!

Ann-Marie was a cat, Evan was Darth Vadar, and Alec (for the 2nd year in a row) was Spiderman.

Ann-Marie really wanted a picture with Comet.....cat and dog!

Volcanic Ash and Ear Infections

2010-10-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

What do volcanic ash and ear infections have in common? Never in my wildest imagination would I believe these two things would completely cancel our twice-planned trip to Italy. In April, we had cleared two weeks of responsibilities to take a stand-by flight (perk of Darrell being retired Air Force) to Italy where we used to live and visit friends that live there. It was the exact time that Europe experienced the volcanic ash incident that grounded hundreds of airplanes. We made it over to the Atlantic Ocean, put our toes in it, and vowed that we would try the trip again in the Fall. So here we are.....cleared another two weeks, preparing for the trip and poor Alec comes down with an ear infection. His first set of tubes, which worked lovely while they stayed in place, had become dislodged earlier in the summer. So when Darrell took him to the ENT on Tuesday, the dr. said NO FLYING! Alec is scheduled for surgery next Thursday. So no trip again. Since we're persistent in this household (note - a kinder word for stubborn), we will try again for Spring 2011. We do believe that everything happens for a reason, and we have peace that this is in God's hands. So no gnashing of teeth and ripping of clothes here in frustration - there is always a plan B, C, D, and sometimes even E. Plan B - heading to Chicago to spend time with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle for five days. I'm sure we'll find plenty of exciting stuff that we haven't done yet there. So off we go in faithful Blueberry (our minivan) on another adventure!

Colorado trip

2010-10-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have two younger sisters, one of which lives in Iowa and the other lives in Colorado Springs. My brother-in-law blessed my Iowa sister and I with tickets to spend a long weekend in Colorado Springs this past weekend. Neither of us have been out to see where they live. What a GIFT! Here is a sampling of how I spent my time - playing at the penny arcade in Manitou Springs......

touring the Olympic Training Center and Focus on the Family headquarters......

enjoying my nephews and niece......

visiting the breathtaking Garden of the Gods (above, balanced rock)....

kissing camels.....

riding the skyride above the Colorado Springs zoo.....lots of giraffes.....

and mountain goats.....

and most of all, sharing some sister time, which is rare since we all live so far apart.

I am looking forward to visiting again sometime, with my family in tow!

The Versatile Blogger Award

2010-10-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

Versatile Blogger Award

I don't win many awards and I don't know what criteria my excellent friend, Anita (It's Fun Being Me) used to nominate me...but here it is!

In order to accept I must blog 7 random things about me:

1. I grew up on a REAL farm in Iowa and actually milked cows for most of my growing up years.

2. I lived in Italy for 5 years.

3. I have two wonderful sisters who live too far away from me - one in Colorado Springs and another in Iowa.

4. I've tried out for one "pageant" (not beauty!) in my life - "Little Miss Squirt" (another dairy reference) and did not win!

5. I am very short - barely grazing the 5'0" line and my husband is very short also - but neither of us seem to realize this fact most of the time unless you point it out to us! :)

6. I grew up in the country but I am really a city girl at heart - put me in a busy downtown area and I am the most content!

7. I do not eat red meat due to some stomach issues and if my family would cooperate, I would make us all vegetarians.

So there you go! In the spirit of passing on the honors, I hereby nominate the following blogs:

Little Bits of Me

Elysia, Geronimo, Aramis, and Arwen....

Aichele's Out West

From More to Less

PACyber field trip - Clydesdale horses in Hermitage

2010-10-16T04:34:00.001-07:00

A cool, October Friday afternoon just begs for a hayride pulled by Clydesdale horses,

a corn maze,

fun on some hay bales,

and beautiful Autumn scenery.

Our Wednesday Adventure

2010-10-13T17:47:00.001-07:00

A canceled class led to an apple orchard experience which led to.......a day filled with rich memories! We have not explored eastern Ohio very much (except for the East Palestine pool in the summer) - so we decided to head west to visit Peace Valley Orchard in Ohio (sounds so far away, but really very close). Darrell was even able to come along as we headed out after lunch. Peace Valley Orchard boasts their own patented apple - the Buckeye Gala.
Enjoying Snickerdoodles and Apple Dumplings....
observing a Buckeye Gala tree up close.....
and of course, buying plenty of goodies!
We had time to spare and had heard of a wonderful farm near Columbiana, Ohio, so off we went.....we never found the farm but we found (can you spy them?) a marsh with sunning turtles and a robotic tractor driving endless circles testing Firestone tractors at the Firestone tire testing area.
As we headed towards Chippewa, Darrell took a detour and said he had always seen the sign for "Prayer Mountain" but had no idea what that was....so we drove a very curvy hill up to what might possibly be the highest point in Beaver County with beautiful overlooks. As we were driving slowly around the grounds of what obviously was some sort of a ministry retreat, an elderly man in a golf cart flagged us down. He was the pastor, founder and president of "Prayer Mountain" and gave us a tour and let the kids play around the grounds. What a fantastic experience!

To travel outside of your "bubble", to meet new people and experience new things....even those within a close distance of where you live.....now that is living! And we did a lot of that today!

Where have we been hiding?

2010-10-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Not much blogging going on here....too many Fall activities going on. Now that all three kids are into activities, these past few weeks have been a whirlwind. We do limit activities to one per child per season (usually only Fall and Spring), but this season each child chose something different. Evan chose Baseball, which has been more of a time commitment than what we're used to. Ann-Marie chose gymnastics, which she has been invited onto pre-team and that means two practices a week, instead of one. Alec has been enjoying soccer. To add to that, I have been busy preparing for launches at the gym, Darrell is always busy with his work (good thing!), and we have been volunteering time at our church to help with the children's department renovations. Looking forward is my Colorado trip in a week and a half and our Italy trip - we are trying to get there the first two weeks of November. Oh yes, and keeping up with school. So we are not hiding, but we are out and about.....lots going on, not a lot to blog about....finding praise in everyday activities. Enjoy this time!

Happy Birthday, Darrell!

2010-09-27T03:57:00.001-07:00

This weekend, we spent an overnight in Pittsburgh to celebrate 13 years of marriage and Darrell's birthday. Thanks to Darrell's dad, who watched the kids, and our friends who took our dog for the night, we were able to get away. We ate at a fantastic Ethiopian restaurant, Abay. The food was amazing and you had to eat with your hands! The food comes on a thin piece of bread, which you tear off and scoop up the food to eat. We had a great time!
We also meandered through an Italian festival and just relaxed and enjoyed each other. Now we're ready for another week!

Two adults+four kids+one dog=fun outing!

2010-09-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

The flexibility of homeschooling allows our family to be spontaneous and we enjoy this aspect, especially when it means we can spend some quality time with family and friends. So on Friday, I heard that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were taking time off of work to hike McConnell's Mill State Park and we thought that would be something we would like to do also. So, we rearranged our plans, called a friend, packed a lunch and headed out to spend (possibly) the last hot, sunny day of 2010 hiking. It turned out to be the perfect thing to do! Above, my three kids, Evan's friend, and Maura (Darrell's sister).
The Mill was open and Ann-Marie was very fascinated in reading all the informational signs inside.

The boys......
Ann-Marie and I.....
and Comet too! Thanks, Maura, for sticking around and enjoying the afternoon with us!

Linking up.....Ordinary Days

2010-09-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've never done this before so bear with me.....I'm linking up! My friend, Alison, over at Stuff and Nonsense blog is hosting a link-up about ordinary days. So here it goes....a somewhat ordinary Wednesday for a PACyber-schooling family.....

6:00 a.m. - wake up timefor me to spend at least 30 minutes in quiet time devotions. (The main way I stay sane).

6:30 - 7:30 a.m. - I check e-mails and blogs and facebook. Then I spend time working on my fitness routines (I teach fitness classes at a local gym).

7:30 a.m. - Breakfast time for everyone. Usually kids are up around 7 a.m., so they choose to read or hang out quietly playing a board game, legos and such.
Breakfast time means family meeting, announcements for the day, reciting Bible verses that we are working on, and doing family devotional.

8:00 a.m. - Getting ready - showers, brushing teeth, any morning chores.

9:00 a.m. - official start to our school day. Evan (4th grade) and Ann-Marie (2nd grade) use the Calvert curriculum under the umbrella of PACyber Charter School. They are required to log-in to their school computers for attendance and announcements. Evan likes to get on his computer early (usually 8:45 a.m.) since he does keyboarding, spelling, and art on-line independently - he likes to get these done before the official start of school. I show Alec what is in his workboxes so he completes his independent activities while I work with older two children. Alec's workboxes have lego projects, playdough, puzzles, books on tape, wikki stix, etc.

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. - I work with Evan on math, science, social studies, and/or composition - whatever he has for the day that needs explanation. Ann-Marie works through her independent workboxes (hers has math practice, handwriting, reading, a book to read to Alec, Bible study, and anything else she can complete independently.

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. - Evan and Ann-Marie switch and I work with Ann-Marie while Evan works through his independent workboxes. Evan's contains grammar, handwriting, learning chess, Bible study and anything else he can complete independently.

11:00 a.m. - 11:30: I work with Alec - we complete calendar activities, theme activities (we are working slowly through My Father's World Kindergarten), any letter or pre-reading activities I might have planned for him.

(*typically we break for lunch at noon and do group time at 1 p.m. - but this is about what our Wednesdays look like, which are a little different)

11:30 - Evan takes dog on short walk, everyone gathers a lunch (premade by mom, of course) to eat in the car and we are in the van ready to go at 11:45 a.m. (we almost made it!) Drive to Wexford (about 45 minutes).

12:30 - 2:45 p.m.: Evan and Ann-Marie take a recorder class (instrument/music) and a creative arts sampler class at our PACyber Charter School support center. I drop them off and take Alec with me on errands (not a popular idea for him!)

2:45 p.m. - drive home

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. free time - Wii time, screen time is popular during this time, although we do limit screen time to no more than one hour.

5:30 p.m. - dinner

6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Alec has soccer. Evan and Ann-Marie come also, since Darrell has a night appointment.

7:00 - 8:00 p.m. - bedtime snacks, baths or showers if needed, getting ready for bed.

8:00 p.m. - everyone in bed and reading or looking quietly at books. Alec has lights out at 8:30 p.m., Evan and Ann-Marie have lights out at 9:00 p.m.

10:00 p.m. - is my bedtime! I am not coherent past this point.

So there you have it! Go visit the Stuff and Nonsense blog if you want to participate or peak into another family's daily homeschooling routine!

Tall Ships at Erie, PA

2010-09-11T04:09:00.001-07:00

We took a day off of our regular schedule and went to Erie, PA to see the tall ships. We toured the museum and two of the ships (there were five of them.) It was fun to see them, but there were a lot of people there! Some of the highlights.....

the presentation of how a cannon is loaded.....

a small replica ship firing upon the larger ship.....

enjoying a view from above....

then after lunch, Darrell and I took the kids to Presque Isle....we enjoyed the warm sand (as it was only in the upper 60s) and the kids played in the waves at the water's edge (getting pretty wet, but they didn't care.) It was a relaxing day for us!

My favorite picture of the day is the foot picture....this signifies to me relaxed time spent together.

One......then two.....

2010-09-05T03:25:00.001-07:00

Both of Alec's bottom teeth have been very loose for the past several weeks. Alec let Darrell pull one on Friday night.....

and the other came out on Saturday night. My baby has lost his first baby teeth!

Baseball Fever

2010-08-29T04:02:00.001-07:00

For Evan's 9th birthday (back in February), we gave him a real bat, balls, and glove with a promise to sign him up for Fall baseball. Well, the time has come.....here is Evan in his baseball uniform.
He is doing very well for his first time playing baseball. He seems to really like it.
Here's what we're learning about youth baseball:
1. Games are an average of 2 hours......twice a week.....usually both weekend days.
2. This is first year kid-pitch.....so expect your child to get beaned once a game.
3. Nike bat bags, Nike batting helmets, Nike batting gloves....baseball can get expensive - sorry to say we're the cheap parents.
And I couldn't resist this last picture....a boy and his dog.

Old Economy Village

2010-08-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

We were able to attend a field trip this week to Old Economy Village and we all enjoyed our visit. Our group was large enough that we were split into age groups - so Evan and Ann-Marie went with older groups while I hung out with the youngest group (which is why most of the pictures are of Alec). If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend the child's tour if you have school-age children. It was very well done and there were lots of hands-on activities so even Alec's age group didn't get bored.
No indoor plumbing? How about pumping your own water and carrying buckets on your shoulders with a yoke?

Recess games.....

chores.....

school.....

and printing. We also experienced bread-making and cooking in the communal kitchen. What a fun and educational day!

Aunt Helen

2010-08-17T04:10:00.001-07:00

How do I
write about a woman
I loved so dearly?

It's difficult to put into words,
the love she shared with Darrell,
the connection I felt with her,
how important she was to our family.

She held all three of our babies,
treasured our visits to her farm,
was our link to Darrell's mom.

Our visits to the farm,
family get togethers,
all treasured memories that are hard to put into words.

Thank you, Aunt Helen,
for accepting me for who I am,
for loving us,
for laughing with us,
you were truly a special woman,
who will be dearly missed.

Visit Wrap-up.....

2010-08-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Friends have gone back home to Maryland, but the sweet memories of a fun week remain. A water balloon fight was on the list of "must do activities." Adults vs. kids.....do not worry, no children were seriously harmed during this activity (although Darrell looks pretty serious!)

Then onto Ohiopyle....enjoying the Youghiogheny [yaw-ki-GAY-nee] River Gorge, the waterfalls, and the natural waterslide. Who knew this was all in Fayette County, PA - my Iowa friends will appreciate that.

Our friends left to go home from Ohiopyle, so we ended our week of fun there. We will be cherishing these memories for months to come.

A quiet blog means....

2010-08-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

friends are visiting from Maryland and we are busy having fun! At the Brady's Run Creek, swimming pool, and

Cleveland Zoo! This marks our official end of summer week, and we are enjoying it to the fullest!

This is only our second visit to the Cleveland Zoo and it was well worth the repeat visit. Special exhibit was "The Scoop on Poop"....definitely a favorite subject for the school-age crowd; and we discovered the Rainforest building (a must see!)

What a life.....

2010-08-06T06:51:00.001-07:00

Janoski's Farm City Days

2010-08-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

We decided to spend our Sunday afternoon at Janoski's Farm City Days....and my town kids had a great afternoon.......

getting close and personal with chicks and calves......

Grandpa Shippy would be happy to know that all the tractors were RED (Farmalls).....

Now onto pick-your-own produce.....

potatoes

eggplants, stems so hard that you had to cut them with scissors and watch out for thorns!

green beans.....
sweet banana peppers and the hot ones too....

tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.....

happy kids and happy adults!

Mid-Summer Signs

2010-07-26T06:43:00.001-07:00

Ann-Marie's tomato plant, Ms. Juliette, is taking over the deck and has produced her first tomato (which I ate and it was GOOD!)
Below, Evan has had a huge growth spurt in his feet - two sizes since the beginning of summer. Look at the shrinking size difference between my foot size and his - my foot is on the left.
And the last summer camp of 2010 for our kids - Skybacker's soccer camp. Evan had a blast!
Now we plan to slow down and enjoy late-July and early- August with a lighter schedule and some special visits from friends. What are some signs at your house that it is the middle of summer?

ArtReach camp and Kennywood day

2010-07-20T03:53:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy, busy week for us. Ann-Marie had Art Reach camp in Wexford every day in the mornings (2nd week of a two week camp.) The boys and I had Vacation Bible School in the morning and we had Kennywood day on Friday (New York Life day). So it took some coordination, patience and energy since all activities landed on that week. Friday was a fun cap to our activities....above, Ann-Marie is performing songs she worked on in her voice class.
Onto Kennywood.....Alec enjoyed Kiddieland again this year, and Ann-Marie was delighted to find out she could do two more rollercoasters this year (Exterminator and Racer!) but she also informed me she could still enjoy Kiddieland with Alec.
Evan is now tall enough to ride all of the rides (over 52") and his new favorite rollercoaster is the one Darrell rode when he was a child - Thunderbolt.

It was hot and humid with one rain shower mixed in - which wasn't bad because we had a pavilion to hang out in and it made the lines shorter. My family really enjoyed the water rides!

We were glad to be able enjoy all of the activities this past week, but we are looking forward to a couple weeks of less activities.

A new addition......

2010-07-14T13:36:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our family....Comet!

Visiting childhood places

2010-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

Two farms, one mile apart from one another, hold most of my childhood memories. One farm, my Dad's farm on which I lived; the other farm belonged to my grandparents, the farm on which I spent helping my parents with milking and chores. Both farms now belong to other families...I have been back to our farm once, but have not been back to my grandparents' farm...until this visit, almost 23 years later. Above and below, the double 6 milking parlor, where I spent a lot of time helping my Dad milk cows....very little has changed.....
The old hay barn.....lots of work and play occurred in that building.....
This is the photo that I had to work for....this barn is falling down so I had to climb through a hole in the side to get through the barn to the other side to get my picture. This farm had been in our family for over a century when Grandpa sold it in 1987....ironically the same year my mother died. The date "1887" is on the brick on the side of the barn....Grandpa told me that was the year that the barn was built by his great-great-uncle, but it was not the year the farm was established....I think the farm was established about 20 years before the barn was built.

In between the two farms is a cemetery, where my mother is buried. This might be the first picture I've had taken at my mom's grave. It was time.
My dad's farm has changed a lot since the new owners have turned it into a dairy farm....Dad had livestock and pigs when I was growing up, but the dairy operation was at my grandparents' farm. Below is a not very good picture looking out from the edge of the acreage....I used to go out and just stare at the lonely trees in the middle of the field.
Ann-Marie loved the farm and all the animals!
Below is our old house, and the apple tree that my mom loved still producing apples!
And a nice surprise to see that our last farm dog, Buck, was still living at the farm and he remembered us! "Buck" and "dog" were Evan's first words so this dog made an impression on Evan.
Each visit back to Iowa as I get older brings more healing to my life. I really felt as if I could let go of some painful memories this trip by visiting some of the special places I remembered and capturing them on photos. I find as I do this, I am remembering more positive memories than negative, and that is good.

Special Days in Iowa

2010-07-05T05:28:00.001-07:00

We had two special last days in Iowa, when my family played "tourists". The first, my grandparents and my Aunt Pat took us on a journey through northeast Iowa. I love that my grandparents, my mother's parents, are still healthy and energetic in their late 80s to be able to make these type of memories with my family. They first took us to Osbourne nature center to see animals and look at exhibits in the building. Then onto Gunder, Iowa for the famous Gunder Burger.....
which I think Evan could have finished the 1 lb. burger, but we didn't allow it this trip!
The onto Gilbertson Nature Center in which the highlights were the potbellied pigs!
The next day, my dad and step-mother took the day off from work to take us to Bur Oak, Iowa to tour the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. This was interesting to my kids for two reasons: we are reading through the series right now and Iowa is not included in the series because the Ingalls family only lived there for a little over two years.

The last stop on our "Iowa tourist" trip actually took us into Minnesota and memories from my childhood. Dunromin' Park Campground was where I spent a week each summer camping. I have wonderful memories of the campground and it was nice to walk around the campground again with Dad reminiscing. Although the campground is a little different now, 20 years later, and it was recently flooded, most of it looked the same.

We all enjoyed the zip-line at the playground.

And the old barn with video games is still standing....spent lots of time in there! The pool is still open and looks exactly the same also.

I am so thankful that we could enjoy these two days, experiencing northeast Iowa with my family. I will have fond memories of this trip for many years!

Top Ten Iowa Trip Memories

2010-07-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

Before my memory fades, here are my top ten memories from our Iowa trip (in no particular order):

1. Darrell and Evan tipping the four-wheeler over - no permanent damage done.
2. Crawling through a dilapidated barn to get the photo I wanted of a brick with the date 1887 on it....more about that in another post.
3. Baby Grant pulling on Baby Abigail's "baby bling" during family photos.
4. Racko competitions....one which lasted until almost midnight.
5. Huge potbelly pigs at the Gilbertson Nature Center...and the sound they make when one gets a "hairball".
6. Evan's ability to eat half of a Gunder burger.
7. Almost all of the cousins playing all afternoon with a hose, a bucket, some cups, and a sprinkler.
8. Catching up with friends from high school at the class reunion.
9. Meeting a unique and interesting family while touring the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Bur Oak, Iowa.
10. Experiencing the zip-line through my kids' eyes at the campground that held many of my childhood memories in Minnesota.

There are more memories and pictures to come, but those are the ones that stick out for me right now.

Time with cousins

2010-07-04T04:56:00.001-07:00

Our annual trip to Iowa to see my side of the family is always a special time, and this year was no exception. Both of my younger sisters and their families were able to come also - one from Colorado and one from Belle Plaine, Iowa. All of the cousins enjoyed each other, and we were able to meet two new cousins, both just born this year!

We enjoyed Great-Grandma's waffle ice cream cookies together - a classic treat!

The closest in age cousins especially bonded - Alec (4) and Silas (3) as well as Ann-Marie (7) and Isabelle (5).

Meeting Abigail (note the "Baby Bling" she wore for family pictures) and Grant - and attempting family pictures was priceless!

Other pictures are my sisters and I (we don't look anything alike!).....my first cousin Tyler with his second cousins on the Merry-Go-Round.....Ann-Marie loving Abigail.....and the Grandparents will all of the grandkids (it's getting to be quite a group!) More pictures and memories will follow in days to come.....

Sliding into Summer

2010-06-20T03:53:00.001-07:00

Evan had a week of Skybacher's Basketball Camp to kick off the summer. If you look really closely, you can pick Evan out on the court (look for the curly hair!) Below are the three amigos....Zach, Joseph and Evan....good friends!
Yesterday was our church's Family Fishing Event....a couple from our church graciously opens up their lake once a year and lets us come and fish and picnic. This is our third year and we always enjoy it.
Ann-Marie just likes playing with the worms...what is it with my family and worms????

Darrell did most of the fishing with the kids...I don't enjoy fishing as much. He had a good time and even caught himself a Father's Day present (although all the fish are catch and release).

I'm going to take this opportunity to thank my husband for being a wonderful husband and father. Darrell is selfless, loving and giving and our family would not function and thrive the way it does without him. I love you and appreciate you, Darrell!

On another note....next adventure - Iowa! We'll be heading there on Monday...I'll try to post updates on the road.

Finishing Well

2010-06-13T11:01:00.001-07:00

We did it! We finished our first year homeschooling with PACyber. This post is labeled "finishing well" because, quite frankly, we all experienced a bit of burn out in late May/early June. I thought February would be hard to school through, but that was a breeze compared to the Spring fever I caught! We persevered and I couldn't be more proud of my kids. To celebrate, we invited another family to come with us to SportsWorks in Pittsburgh. What a fun day!

On another note, we are trying to "finish well" the myriad of home projects that have popped up in the last couple of weeks. There are just not enough hours in the day! A dead bush (which is now a big hole in the front yard), stripped and not-yet repainted garage doors, and a basement office that had some water leakage due to the torrential rains we've had complete a list of never-ending projects. We figured that the home office was one of those projects we would get to eventually.....but since we had to empty it, dry it out and clean the carpet, we might as well complete the project now. We had some left-over paint from last summer's painting projects....a light shade of blue that Darrell took to Home Depot to tint what we hoped to turn out an Air Force Blue.....instead we have more of an tropical island blue, but we like it. Ann-Marie decided she was going to get in on the painting and she did quite well.

Pap will be proud.....a little painter apprentice to follow in his footsteps!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

2010-06-02T04:05:00.000-07:00

Not many pictures from this weekend, but lots of wonderful memories. I sat back and enjoyed the time with our family and PA friends, so the camera was left behind. Here's a recap:
Friday, we headed to Idlewilde for a PACyber field trip. It was hot, so we rode some rides and then spent the majority of the time in the water park, until 4:00 p.m. when the thunderstorm came through and closed the park down. Alec rode his first adult-sized water slide. Good times!

We stayed overnight with Toni (Darrell's oldest sister) and family...this overlapped with Micheal's last day of high school, so we met several of his friends as they were having a sleepover in the basement. On Saturday, we left for home, but Ann-Marie stayed and spent some quality time with her Aunt Toni.

Sunday brought the annual family gathering at Karen's house and we had wonderful weather for enjoying her swimming pool. It was nice to see everyone there, as several of our nieces and nephews are now college students with busy schedules. Ann-Marie got to show off her new plants (compliments of Aunt Toni) to include a tomato plant named Juliette. I'm hoping to keep Juliette alive this summer!

Monday, we met a group of our close friends in Beaver to watch the Memorial Day parade. We then all gathered at one of their houses for a cookout and stayed for the majority of the afternoon. Adults and children had a great time.

This weekend we were blessed with a wonderful combination of family time, activities, time with friends, and great weather. We hope that you enjoyed an excellent start to your summer also!

Moraine State Park - Spring 2010

2010-05-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Our favorite activity on a sunny, Sunday afternoon in the Spring is to head to Moraine State Park and hang out. This year, with two of our three children being proficient bike riders, we decided to add a twist to things and declare a bike ride day on the paved trails. The problem....too many bikes and not enough room....the solution: a creative husband who took the bike rack that fit the car and made it fit the minivan. Marvelous! There were two bikes on the outside, two on the inside plus one bike trailer, a portable grill and food enough for dinner. Impressive!
The kids ended up riding for about 7 miles.....above, we are taking a break at the halfway point. They're still smiling!

We ended the day playing on the beach (no swimming yet, as signs were posted - but it was warm enough!) and grilling out. A stop in Ellwood City for an ice cream cone at our favorite ice cream shop (Berry's - cheap and good!) and we rounded out a very fun day.

Carnival

2010-05-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

The homeschool coop that my children have been involved with during this school year put together a carnival, which was Friday night. The kids spent part of the year planning it, and the proceeds were given to one of our families to help them with the cost of adopting a child from China. Everything at the carnival was donated or lent or homemade, and it came together quite nicely. All who attended had a great time!

I love being part of a community that comes together and actively supports one another! I also love that my kids are learning what it means to be a part of a community and what it looks like when you give back to that community. We had such a good time and learned some valuable life lessons through this experience.

Living Treasures Animal Park

2010-05-20T04:06:00.001-07:00

We are certainly enjoying our field trips - they have really helped with our "spring fever". We visited Living Treasures Animal Park on Tuesday. It was cold and rainy, but we still enjoyed this small animal park. We were rewarded with a guided tour by a man who bottle-raised many of the animals at the park (lions, wolves, and leopards included!) He was very interesting and we learned a lot about the animals at the park. What a great experience!
Some of the reptiles he brought out for a closer look.

Alec was able to hold a baby turtle (above) and the peacock was gracious enough (or mad enough) to show us his feathers.

Yes, they really are that crazy!
Ann-Marie and Alec fell in love with the foal!

Raccoon Creek State Park

2010-05-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we went on a field trip to Raccoon State Park, hosted by PACyber. We went on a guided wildflower hike, led by a park ranger who has a specialty in botany. The kids really enjoyed it, even Alec who pointed out that we have small Bluets in our backyard. Ann-Marie took her sketch pad and sketched some interesting plants and insects (above, they are looking at a caterpillar that is curled up.)

As a bonus, we met up with another family we knew and hung out with them after the field trip. What a nice way to end our week!

A reminder of a rough winter....

2010-05-13T03:59:00.000-07:00

While we were walking around the tidal basin in D.C., heading toward the Jefferson Memorial, we found this....
we were amazed at the age of the tree and reminded of the rough winter we had just been through. It makes us appreciate Spring this year even more (rain and all).

Science and Geography Fair

2010-05-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Friday night, our homeschool coop had their science and geography fair. This was a way to showcase what the children had learned this year. Each child chose a topic to research and present. Ann-Marie chose Italy - people, places and pizza. Evan chose the 3 biomes of Assateague Island. They worked very hard and did a wonderful job on their displays.
Evan's best buddies - Joseph and Silas.
The preschool crew - Trenton, Judah, Jeslyn, Kaelyn, and Alec.
The other part of the evening was the "press conference." The children were grouped according to a subject they learned about during the year - space, Columbia, 7 wonders of the world, and China. The dads in the audience were given "press passes" and could ask questions of the children pertaining to the subject. The kids did very well and it was an entertaining and informative evening. The preschool also sang a song and recited a verse.

We were very blessed to be a part of this group this year...it truly enriched our first year of homeschooling. The kids are sad that it is over for the school year and are already talking about the Fall!