Boston Pictures

Finally.

Whale Watching

We spent one Saturday afternoon whale-watching off the coast of New Hampshire. We saw an incredible 50-foot Fin Whale. We have no pictures of the whale. If you've never been whale-watching, yet heard the rumor that you will get sea sick while whale-watching, know that the rumor is true. Therefore, we took no pictures on the boat!

Sights from the Freedom Trail

Balcony of Original Declaration of Independence Reading

Tombstone of Samuel Adams

Massachusetts Statehouse

Boston Harbor

These scooters came in handy as the kids rolled right along from one sight to the next!

American Girl

Allison was lucky enough to visit the Boston American Girl store twice during our trips out east.And, the Natick Mall definitely does it right, by putting the Lego store right upstairs from the American Girl store.

Road Trip

The kids and I made the 12 hour journey either to or from Boston four times by ourselves!

Why I Love This Picture So....

Last night Chick-Fil-A hosted a Back-to-School Pirate Party.

All over the eastside of Cleveland, school starts this week. Some started Monday, most started Tuesday. Our district starts today. However, we are embarking on a new challenge this year. We've decided to homeschool both Alex and Allison. Alex will be starting second grade, and Allison will be starting kindergarten.

It was always something we had considered doing ever since we taught both children to read (here and here). But, very early last winter we began thinking and praying much more specifically about it. After a lot of reading, researching, and investigating, we knew by spring that this was the right decision for our family. We waited until the school year was finished before we began processing through our decision with the children.

Truthfully, we are all very excited about it for so many reasons. We are excited to allow the children to move at an unfettered pace. We are excited to incorporate more things in to their educational experience that are of specific interest to them. We are excited to give them more time to be active. We are excited to incorporate the truth that there is a Creator, and that they were designed for a purpose, into their education experience. We are excited for them to become self-learners. We are excited for the freedom in the scheduling. And the list goes on and on and on. The kids are just as excited as we are!

So, back to the picture. In previous years, I spent the day before school started, labeling each crayon, discovering the child's teacher, hoping to meet the child's teacher, finding the right outfit, making sure all supplies fit into the backpack, arranging carpools, packing lunches, etc., etc. Yesterday, after a leisurely morning at the park, we spent the afternoon going through our wardrobes and dress-up clothes in order to assemble the perfect pirate costumes. I feel that the picture above captures beautifully our new lifestyle.

This Blog Needs an Update....

It's been awhile, I know. Truth is, along with the 3-Day, we've had a pretty crazy summer. Adam was in Boston for 10 weeks. Yes. You read that right. 10. The entire time the kids were out of school Adam resided in Somerville, a suburb of Boston near Cambridge. He consulted this summer for the Boston Public Schools. He was offered the job last winter, and since it was inline with one of his specializations, we figured he should take the opportunity. Of the 10 weeks he was gone, we were together 4, so the weeks moved quite quickly. I was hesitant to say anything sooner since our picture is front and center on this website along with our city of residence. I figured the internet did not need to know that Adam was out of town all summer.

He liked his job, and we really loved Boston. It had been awhile since either of us had been there, and when you're there for that amount of time, you get to know the city far more than your average tourist. I have tons of pictures to upload and post once we finish unpacking.

We arrived home late Thursday night and today Adam resumed classes. Not much of a break. We did a lot of traveling during the summers while employed by Campus Crusade for Christ. Since this was our first summer not serving full-time with the ministry we thought it would be less chaotic. However, this one proved to be one of the busiest, but like all the others, well worth it!

More 3-Day Pictures

Friday morning we began with opening ceremonies in downtown Cleveland with lots of rain. Fortunately the rain stopped by about 7:30 am. It rained again Saturday night and for part of Sunday's walk. Aside from that the weather was fairly pleasant.
There were 500 of these pink tents all lined up at the Westlake Recreation Center. The 3-Day also brings in mobile showers, a dining tent, a full-fledged medical center, a lounge-type area, etc. Its quite impressive.
Reminders of why we walk.
We walked through many suburbs of the west side of Cleveland. This was fun for me because I am very unfamiliar with the west side. We saw some beautiful homes and some great views of the Lake. Westlake put up these signs for us, and when we entered Westlake for the first time, we were greeted by an official looking man in a tie. Nice touch, Westlake!
This was my tent-mate, and six year Breast Cancer survivor, Sandy. This was the beginning of the third day. We had 43 miles behind us at this point. In this picture my face was a little sunburned. I didn't even realize it until I returned home, because I hadn't looked into a mirror once the entire weekend.
This is my friend, and Crew Member, Polly. The Crew is an amazing group of over 250 volunteers who make the event happen. They hydrate us, feed us, bandage our blistered feet, throw away our garbage, watch for traffic as we cross the street, etc. They get up at the crack of dawn and go to bed long after we do. I think they work much harder than the walkers, and no one is cheering for them every step of the way.

By the way, this picture was snapped at the last pit stop (places along the route where we could stop to drink, eat, stretch, etc.) on Day 3. It was Mile 58. Trust me, at that point I felt like I had walked 58 miles. The last 2 miles were the longest 2 miles ever! On Day 3 we walked 17 miles. It took me 3 hours to walk 11 miles to lunch. It took me another 3 hours to walk the 6 miles to the finish. You do the math.
Energizer is a fitting sponsor. The bunny was always there to remind us to Keep Going.....

One element of the event that I didn't get many pictures of was the amazing crowd and community support. People were constantly out in their front yards cheering, handing out candy and lemonade, inviting us in their homes to use 'real' bathrooms, and more! My walking days are going to be a little bit more uneventful in the future because I won't receive a standing ovation, or hugs from an elderly lady in her pink survivor t-shirt, every time I cross an intersection.

I'm recovering well. I feel pretty good today. My muscles aren't sore at all, which must mean my training paid off. I still need to carefully select what shoes I wear for the next few days because of the last remnants of the blisters on my feet. At this point, I'm maybe 75% certain I'll sign up to do it again sometime in the future. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again for your support. The Cleveland event, alone, raised over $2.3 million dollars for breast cancer education, research and treatment. Plus, the experience was definitely worth it.

60-Mile Feet

I snapped this picture last night after I returned home. It really looks worse than it is, and by this morning, most of the swelling has gone down. I had a great time, and I promise I will update you with more pictures in a bit.