The View

Slowly but surely, I'm getting the posts for our trip put together!  Springfield, Illinois is a small city compared to Greenville or Richmond.  The tallest building by far was our hotel.  I found this picture on google (because I forgot to take any pictures of the outside of the hotel). 

We were on the eleventh floor and had a great view of the city. In fact, we were facing a train track.  Each time the train whistle blew, Ashton and Brenna would run to the window to watch it come by!  That's great entertainment for a one and three year old!

By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were all exhausted.  Ashton walked in the room and said, "Be quiet everyone, it's time to lay in the beds!"  Then he noticed the window and Brenna noticed the phone and Daniel started checking out the flat screen tv!

We truly enjoyed our stay at the Hilton.  Thanks to a hotel messup and some gifting of free meal tickets, the kids and I were able to eat breakfast at the hotel most of the week.  And let me tell you, it was the best hotel breakfast that I've had!  Delicious fresh fruit, yogurt, smoked salmon, cheeses, eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, grits, oatmeal and many other wonderful things!  It's amazing that I only gained 5 pounds while eating out for an entire week!  And with any hotel, having someone come in and clean the room for you is priceless!

The Arch

A friend of Daniel's told him that the St. Louis Arch was not far outside of Springfield. After a little research, we found that it would only add about 40 minutes plus visit time onto our trip.  We decided that the chance to visit it was too good to pass up.  As we pulled into Missouri, the kids were asleep!  Daniel and I enjoyed sneaking peeks of the arch from the highway.  The closer we came to the arch, the more impressed I became with the simple, yet powerful design.  Coming on the bridge over the Mississippi River, the full magnitude of the arch was evident.  It's size was inspiring.  I knew it would be big, but it was larger than I expected.  (Not that I had huge expectations to begin with!)

As we pulled into St. Louis, the kids started to wake up and take notice.  One of the best things about having children, is that you get to enjoy watching them as they discover new things with you. At one, Brenna is an easy sell on most things.  But Sarah and Ashton really get into seeing new sights.  We walked up to the arch in the blazing heat and could not wait to get into the air conditioning!  Who knew that Illinois could get so hot!  And the humidity!  Goodness, I was wearing Ian and we were sweating like crazy!

Under the arch is a museum and the entrance to the tram that takes you to the top of the arch. All Ashton wanted to do was ride the "train" (tram)!  We had to wait to board and went looking through the front portion of the museum section. It focus' on the arch being the gateway to the west. Eero Saarinen won the contest with his simple, yet elegant design.  He used stainless steel for it's strength and because it represented the time.    As an added bonus, the arch reflects the light and colors of it's surroundings.  

 They also had a dozen or more peace medals.  These medals were awarded to Indian tribes that made treaties with the government.

 We also saw many talking exhibits.  I think their were motion sensors in the eyes that allowed the figure to follow the movements of people. 

On the way to the tram, we had to wait by a huge image of one of the final sections of the arch before it was completed. Brenna rarely stands still for a picture!

 And Ashton sometimes gets a little crazy.

 And here is Sarah suffering through another picture that her crazy parents made her take!  (We gave up on getting Brenna to stand still for a group shot!)

After the wait, we headed out to board our tram.  Each group got their own little car for the ride up to the top.  The door to enter was only four feet tall!  Since Daniel is 6'3", he started to get a little nervous about the size of the tram car!  

By the time we got on the tram, Daniel and I were worn out.  Ian did not like standing in line.  He screamed for 20 minutes. Add that to a three year old who thought he was Tigger and a one year old whose favorite word is NO and you get two frazzled parents!  But we made it to the tram and I convinced Ian to suck on my finger!  He hasn't figured out how to get his to stay in his mouth and he thinks I've gone off the deep end if I try to get him to take a pacifier!  The tram was a lot of fun.  The car small, but not so small that I started to feel claustrophobic. The ride up took four minutes. We were able to see the inside of the arch through the windows in the door.  While Daniel, Sarah and I enjoyed the ride, Ashton and Brenna were overly excited!  They wanted it to go faster and giggled with glee as the chains moved the car up at an angle.  Daniel was worried that they would scare Brenna, but she has more courage than most 1 year old children that I know.

We were checking out the view at 630 feet!  I was impressed that the kids were not concerned at the height. Brenna wanted to people watch while the rest of us could not get enough of the view. After taking in the view and snapping all our pictures, we headed back down the Arch. 

Sadly, we were all exhausted and did not stay to finish our tour of the museum at the base of the Arch.  But that is what happens when you have so many young kids with you and it's 90 degrees outside! After a short stop at Burger King, we headed straight to our hotel. When Ashton saw the bed he said, "Everybody stop!  Let's go lay down!" Then he saw the view from the eleventh floor and forgot his desire to rest!

Our Day at Riverbanks Zoo

On the way to Charleston, South Carolina, we stopped at Riverbanks Zoo. It was a gorgeous day to walk around and enjoy the animals. Ashton and Sarah loved the petting zoo. We also made it in time to watch the gorilla's eat lunch. I didn't hear much of what the docent said because we were surrounded by a ton of school kids!

Ashton's favorite part was the birds. They were the only animal that would move enough to keep his attention. Sarah, as always loved the snakes. Daniel and I just had fun watching them enjoy the zoo.

What's new?

Not much. I've been wanting to post something since I got back from Virginia, but the words are stuck inside. Hopefully now that I've started, they'll spill out.

It all started last Friday when Daniel, Sarah, Ashton and I went to pick up Sam and Cesar for the trip to the Charlotte airport. Daniel, Sam and Cesar are part of a missions team to Romania. Our church, East Pickens, helped a church in Turner Severene open an orphanage many years ago. The guys were going over to teach VBS and do some prayer walking.

After dropping them off, we headed on up to High Point, NC to spend the night with Daniel's aunt and uncle. Allen and Kylene are always wonderful to stay with. Kylene spent some time doing some girly things with Sarah that involved skin care, lotions, makeup and jewlery. Sarah loves that because I only occasionally dabble in the girly girl things of life! Ashton, as always was a big hit as well. He did the funny giggle thing that is now his trademark. It's so cute and he does it all day long.

The next day, we did a bit of shoe shopping before I had to drop Sarah off. Our efforts were unsuccessful. But, I did find a cute pair of sandals for Sarah today. I dropped Sarah off with her dad on Saturday and headed on to Mendota, VA. Mendota also is referred to as the middle of nowhere!

It was so wonderful to see Teresa, Adam and the kids. Teresa is one of my closest friends and we have not seen each other in almost a year. This was her first time seeing Ashton. It was wonderful. We spent time catching up and bearing our hearts as only old friends can do. Wesley and Shane (her two little ones) are so great! Shane will be one in a few days and is already walking. Wesley is boy version of Sarah - so smart and he never quits talking! Our time together was too short. Lord willing we will be able to see each other again before another year goes by.

On Sunday, I went with Adam and Teresa to their new church. We had been praying about them finding a church for some time. It's not so easy to find a church home when you move to a new town. A month or so ago, they managed to find one that is wonderful. When I came in with them, I was welcomed and I could tell how much they loved Adam and Teresa already. That night, we came back for a fellowship dinner. It was a blast. Ashton was doing his funny laugh and that endeared him to everyone.

After the dinner, a few folks (including Adam, Teresa and I) stayed to play cards. We played some golf card game. I was skeptical at first, but ended up loving it. I've got to get the name from Teresa and buy a set of the cards. Teresa and I have a habit of becoming a bit unruly and that night proved no different! Adam made a comment and then I made a comment and for the rest of the night, we continually erupted in laughter. At times, I was crying and couldn't catch my breath. It was so much fun. I'm just hoping that the Associate Pastor doesn't have to go in front of the church to repent for... well, I wont say what from... Somehow, I end up bringing a bit of trouble to gatherings where Teresa and I are involved. Anyway, I would have paid top dollar for a picture of Adam's face when I replied to one of his statements. I'll leave it at that.

The rest of our time together was spent talking, moving furniture and perusing shops. I'm so thankful that we got to see each other. I consider Teresa to be a sister to me and an Aunt to my children. That's how close we are. I only wish we could live closer but that's not to be.

One other interesting thing. Being in Mendota fried my cell phone. I went to bed one night and forgot to cut it off. It spent the whole night searching for a signal and ended up being fried! Can you believe that? It was crazy.

Anyway, I ended up driving home on Tuesday. I wanted to visit some with Daniel's grandparents, who live close to Teresa but was too tired to try and find my way. Hopefully Daniel and I will get to do that within the next few weeks.

One thing I want to mention is that Eastern Tennessee is gorgeous. I think it's even prettier than the mountains of VA and NC. The farm land is uncluttered by subdivisions or trailer parks and the views are stunning. I was so blessed to have to drive through their on the way home.

Our Holden Vacation

First let me start off by saying that Daniel and I rarely have things happen without unexpected suprises. This trip was to be no different.

We had planned to pick Sarah up from her dad on Sunday, June 15th. However, we got a call on the 14th telling us that he was in Burlington to drop her off. Daniel and I were shocked. We had just started to pack for the vacation and were not that far along. I told Sean we would try and figure something out.

Daniel and I talked and decided to figure out a way to get Sarah on Saturday instead of sending her home with Sean that night. She was so excited about going to the beach and if we didn't get her, she would have spent two full days on the road. Daniel called his aunt and uncle who live about 45 minutes from Burlington but they were at their boat and could not make it. Then his aunt mentioned her son might be able to do it. Thankfully, Charlie was able to make the trip over to grab Sarah. Since she didn't know Charlie and Tisha that well, Daniel and I decided to pack everything (in 45 minutes), then drop the dog off at his moms and head on. While we were at his mom's, I checked and made sure that I didn't screw up the dates and was glad to see that I didn't!

Anyway we picked Sarah up in our new van. She didn't know that we had traded in my aging Impala. When we arrived, we were greeted by Lizzy, Charlie and Tisha's 4-5 year old daughter. She was such the little hostess! I can't begin to tell you how adorable she was. She invited Daniel and I to have pudding and then when we were leaving, she said something to the effect of "Thank you so much for having Sarah hear, we'd love to have you back." Just imagine that in a kids "grown up" voice.

As we walked out the door, Daniel and I pretended to not know where our car was. We acted like it was stolen. Sarah, sensing the trick, looked at us and said it was probably behind the silver van. We walked over and there was nothing there. I looked at Sarah and said, "Oh well, we'll just have to take this van." If you know Sarah, you understand that she has a good sense of what's right and wrong. She looked at me with the most serious expression she possesses and said, "You can't do that. It doesn't belong to you." I kept on putting Ashton in the van and looked at her and said "Oh well, we're going to take it anyway." She started to rip into me as I quietly said, "Sarah, we own it." That stopped her. She looked confused and shook her head no. Then Daniel and I spilled the beans. She couldn't believe we tricked her so well!

After all the drama and excitement, we ended up at the house around 2 or 3 Sunday morning. Daniel and I were exhausted. We spent Sunday getting groceries, walking on the beach and sleeping! On Monday, it was going to rain so we headed to Myrtle for some shopping. While at Barefoot landing, we managed to get free tickets to Medieval Times. All we had to do was listen to a time share spiel for 2 hours. That would not have been bad if the woman did not possess the most obnoxious laugh that I've heard in a while. But, 3 hours (not 2 but 3) of nodding our heads and trying to ignore the irritating laugh was worth $150 worth of tickets. The show was great. Sarah and Ashton were so enthralled by the knights and horses. Our knight even threw Sarah a carnation for being on the loudest cheerers! Oh, and we ended up getting the best seats in the house. But that story is for another time.

I'm going to stop going on about the trip and post a few pictures. Ashton by the way will join his sister in being a beach bum. He loved the water. Sarah became interesting in searching for loggerhead turtles laying their eggs. We didn't find any, but managed to see some washed up jellyfish and catch a few ghost crabs. Next year, we'll have a better idea of what to look for. Sarah also managed to get a hole in one at putt-putt.

Coming Together

This weekend, we went up to North Carolina to visit our family. We stopped by to see Granny and Papa. Granny was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently having radiation. We were so happy to find out that the cancer was very small and had not moved over to the lymph nodes. Papa is slowing down some more, but was able to enjoy the visit.

After spending time with Granny and Papa, we went over to spend the night at Grandmomma's house. The next day many of the family came over for lunch and a trip to Andrew's Geyser.

Here is Sarah in the tree at Grandmomma's. I can't seem to keep her out of them!Sarah and her cousin Seth in another tree...Sarah hitting a home run! Great pitch Grammy! This is a pretty little creek that winds it's way around the geyser. Daniel worked hard to try and convince Sirius to play in the frigid waters. Sirius was not interested! Aunt Jen and cousins Emma and the Mighty Will!

Before we left, Aunt Jen took this great picture of the four of us and Sirius. Ashton loves the dog and refused to look up!