Harpers Ferry

We took a day trip to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia from Dover.  Harpers Ferry has an interesting history and it is located in an area where lots of outdoor activities are available.  We did not visit the battlefield, but we did go downtown and check out the historical sites- most of them relating to John Brown's raid. The buildings downtown are old and most of them are protected as national landmarks.

 We saw the spot where the National Armory used to stand, and we saw the old firehouse that John Brown used as his stronghold.

 The Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet up near the downtown area, so we were able to see the two rivers join together.

 There are several large hiking trails that pass through or near Harpers Ferry- including the Appalachian Trail.  We hiked a small portion of this trail.  The portion that we hiked crossed a footbridge and gave us nice views of the town.

Before leaving the downtown area we paid a visit to the John Brown Wax Museum.  This museum uses wax figures to educate visitors about John Brown's life.  It was informative and a little creepy.

Hanging with the Family

 We enjoyed spending time with our family while in Delaware.  We were there for a week, so we spent a lot of time with Poppy and Nana.  We were also able to visit with Uncle Brandon and meet Katy, his fiancee. In addition, we paid a visit to Uncle Mike and Aunt Connie (and took a little side trip to Byler's too =) ).  Family time is always the BEST part of the trip.

Killens Pond State Park

On our second full day in DE, we visited Killens Pond State Park.  This state park had a small-ish waterpark, so that was our first stop.  The water was pretty cold still, so the kids only stayed in it for about an hour.  The favorite activity of both Olivia and Owen was going over the floating bridge.

 Upon leaving the waterpark, we hiked a three mile trail around the pond.  The trail was relatively flat, so it made for an easy trip.  We saw some wildlife during our hike including frogs, a snake, and a turtle.  We had a pleasant day at this park.

Morey's Piers

Our first full day in Dover was a Sunday, and we decided to take a day trip to Wildwood, NJ.  We had visited Wildwood a few years ago and had seen all of the things that could be done around the boardwalk area, but our visit took place on a weekday and everything was closed because schools up north don't let our until mid-June, and "the season" doesn't begin until then.  This year I checked the operating calendars for the attractions in the area before we went and I saw that most things were open on the weekends.



We took the Cape May / Lewes Ferry over to New Jersey and we arrived in Wildwood around lunch time.  The whole beach atmosphere at Wildwood is so different than what we are used to with our local Florida beaches.  To start with, there is a two-mile boardwalk that runs along the coastline.  I say along the coastline, but the boardwalk is pretty far from the actual ocean.  Jutting out from the boardwalk is a series of three different piers.  These piers make up the Morey's Piers Amusement area.  The three piers are huge and are crammed full of amusement park rides and games.  There is even a water park area on two of the piers.  To illustrate what I'm talking about, here is a picture of the kids on the beach.  We are standing on the boardwalk taking the picture of them, so you can see how far away the beach is.  There is also on of the piers in the background to give an idea of how huge those things are.

 We spent all day on the boardwalk and did all of the "boardwalk" things like riding the tramcar and eating lunch at "The Original Hot Spot".  We had pre-purchased arm bands and those gave us unlimited access to most of the attractions on the piers. There were several roller coasters, and those were big hits with everyone.  After about seven and a half hours, we began our journey back home.  We were beyond exhausted when we finally made it back to the house.  This was a very long- but fun- day at the beach.

Road Tripping

We've just returned from our annual trek to visit Brian's family in Dover, DE.  The drive is always a long one, but the kids have done it many times and are pretty good at sitting in the car for extended periods.  On the way up, we split our travel time over a two-day period.  This gave us time to stop at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and enjoy a sit-down meal at our favorite little Italian restaurant on the Delmarva peninsula.  We arrived in Delaware just in time to see American Pharaoh win the Triple Crown- how exciting!  On the way back home we just did one long driving day.  We did a lot in our time up north, so I will be doing extra posts on those things.  Here I have posted pictures of us road tripping and of our stop at the bridge-tunnel.

Blast to the Past VBS

Our church held its VBS during the first week of June. Somehow I ended up being the VBS director this year, and I now have a new appreciation for all of those who have done this job before me.  Our theme was "Blast to the Past", and it was a really well put together program. The kids "traveled through time" to learn about God's love.  All week long, the kids participated in games, crafts, Bible learning, snack, and missions activities.  All of the mission projects were aimed at helping our church and local community.  The kids wrote cards to elderly/ shut-ins, planted trees, helped to re-decorate part of the Sunday School building, and made large snack boxes for community workers.  On the last night, the firemen, police, and EMTs arrived to pick up their snack boxes and brought all of their vehicles for the kids to check out.  That was a definite hit.  We had a good turnout- especially considering that a lot of other churches in town were having their VBS the same week that we did.  I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful church family.

Lil Lady Gator Basketball Camp

It is common for many of the athletic teams in our school district to hold day camps during the week of post-planning.  Most have a minimum age limit of 8, so Olivia was finally able to participate this year.  She (along with Ava and Claire) attended the Lil Gator's Basketball Camp.  This was a three-day camp.  On the last day, there was a little awards ceremony where all of the girls received a t-shirt and certificate.  There were also a few individual awards.  Ava and Olivia both received a few of these.  Olivia got candy for winning the dribble game, and she got the hustle award.  The prize for the hustle award was a basketball, so she was really excited about this.  Olivia had fun at this camp, and it was a good way to keep her occupied while I was at work.