Benjamin's Guitar Recital...

On Thursday night, 1/29/09, Benjamin had his first guitar performance. It was a three minute slot that students in grades 3 through 5 town wide were eligible to participate in. A form went home in the backpacks at the beginning of December asking if our child takes music lessons outside of school and would like to perform in a little concert. I sat Benjamin down and asked him if he would like to, explaining that if he committed to it, then he had to practice every day until the concert. Once he said yes, I called up our Guitar Teacher Extraordinaire, Uncle Jeff, and asked for Emergency Guitar Lessons. Benjamin had ceased having lessons in the few months prior to our receiving the concert notice, so if he were going to do this, he would need to brush up on his playing. He decided to play "Happy Birthday" and the Theme from Jaws. On the day before the concert, he had his final lesson. Uncle Jeff actually started teaching Ben a new song, that is, the Theme from Star Wars (which he is REALLY into these days!). He wanted to perform it, but we didn't think he was quite ready to do that one in public. About a week before the concert, he was giving me a hard time about practicing daily and started to say that he didn't want to do it. It was not because he was nervous though. It was because he would rather play on the computer at the time. I reminded him of his commitment and he was fine. He is such a great kid... He did a terrific job in the end. He told Jonathan that it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. He told me that he pretended that everyone was sitting there in only their underwear. Ha ha ha!

Kitah Aleph Havdalah celebration...

Tonight we enjoyed a lovely Havdalah celebration with the other families in Joshua's Kitah Aleph class. We all went to the Goldstein's home, brought pot luck dairy dishes, and made 3 items needed for Havdalah. I don't know whether Joshua or I had more fun making the arts and crafts! We made a spice box, a candle and a candleholder, and a kiddush cup... Joshua did his in unique Joshua style- lots of colors all over the place. Rabbi David, Melissa Rudman (the Family Educator), and Mr. Barry Mindes (Aleph teacher) were there to explain to the kids about Havdalah. Some families there already do it weekly and others (like us) don't usually do it. Afterwards, I spoke to a few of the other moms about creating a rotating monthly Havdalah group amongst ourselves. They were excited about the idea too. I mentioned it to Melissa who thought it a nice thing. Jonathan remembers fondly when he was growing up doing this very thing with his family and other local families. I really would like to carry this on so that our kids have a sense of the end of Shabbat, a sense of being part of a community, and a place to welcome in the new week. We only had 75% of the brood with us tonight, since Aiya has Samantha sleeping over her house. People wondered where she was. We told them that anytime we have an offer from someone to take a child off our hands, we take them up on it! Thanks, Aiya! I took some great photos tonight, but unfortunately, I did not get many of our family. So, I will post a few of the other families... Shavuoh Tov! (translated: Have a good week!)

Zachary's first haircut

Today was a big day for little Zachary. It was his first haircut, at 14 and a half months. I so loved his little curls that I didn't want to do it, but I just sucked it up for the good of those around me. I have to admit that he does look quite good now. He does not look like a baby boy anymore though. He looks like a little boy. Tony, the barber, was so good to us. He left his curls in the front, so it isn't totally scalped. Tony kept commenting that Zachary was the best one yet, sitting there so nicely. Until the end when he became a moving target who was tired and hungry. Poor guy had lots of hair in his mouth by the end of the ordeal. We didn't even have to bribe him with a lollipop like we have had to do with the others! It was a big Production, of course. We came in with the videocamera and the digital camera crews. All of the customers in the whole shop were into it; they were watching the whole thing transpire and laughing. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. Tony does our kid's first haircut for free; that is, until he realized just how many children we were having! No, only kidding. He gave it to us gratis today. Thanks, Tony; we love you!

Photos from Pinewood Derby...

Zachary walks...

About one week ago, Zachary started to take actual steps (that is, more than one at a time). He was doing the zombie walk for weeks beforehand. It was so cute; I am sorry to see that one go! Now, he is prancing all around the place. Argh, my life has just become even more complicated, by this one little achievement of our littlest member. Not so little a victory, actually! The other kids are so excited about it. They yell, "Look at Zackie, he's walking!" many times per day. I will have to catch him in the act and post a photo, once he wakes from his nap. You know how it is, so many new skills, we all need our naps!

The Pinewood Derby...January Pack Meeting

Well, I didn't realize just how much fun it would be to watch the big car race! Last night, the boys competed in their first Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby. Jonathan and they were so busy for weeks before preparing their blocks of wood. Literally, they are giving a wood block and some wheels and are supposed to create a little race car of their own expression. Joshua's came out just perfect for Joshua. It was carved in a few places and had a triangle on top of it (perhaps for the driver?) and was painted all different colors in blotches throughout. Benjamin's was more of a sports car. It was basically a block with a few screws for headlights and a rectangle with black paint on an incline in the front for the windshield. He decided that he wanted to make his a hot rod so he painted on orange flames on the sides. He named his “The Hot Rod”. It was such a great experience for the boys (and for Jonathan, I might add!) Jon remembers his time in Cub Scouts with fond memories of Herb Kupchik helping him out with his winning Derby car. Aiya says that she has that car still somewhere and will look for it. I took lots of photos of the races and the various cars. Jonathan volunteered to man the Registration table and some of the time, I sat with him there. It was quite amazing to see the variety of cars that walked in the door. Some daddy's had a great time designing their son's cars. Jonathan did help the boys, but he made certain that the ideas were all theirs. Benjamin commented at the end, “We'll have to come up with something better next year.” Actually, Joshua won second place in his Tiger Den! And, the nice thing was that every boy was presented with a superlative certificate, even if he didn't place at all in the race. Joshua won “most colorful car” and Benjamin won “best Hot Rod”!!! Check out the photos...

My husband, the planner...

Well, our trip was a HUGE success! In no small part this is due to Jonathan's geekiness (which I fully embrace now!) He did an extraordinary job setting up the itinerary for our Road Trip. He looked up on Google distances between locations to determine where we would stop, hotels on the AAA website to determine where we would stay, and gas prices online to estimate the fuel costs for the trip. I could not have done what he did. He has a skill that is valuable to me. Well, he has many, but in this instance, I am referring to his geekiness. I am so thrilled with the way the trip worked out. We did so many cool things and saw so many special people along the way. The moral of the story: IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A NERDY HUBBY... Thank you. I love you, Jonathan!

POAD TRIP 2008-2009 - Some notables to ask us about

Hippopotamus on Ice
Hey Kids, "We're in ....."
Boys as lifeguards
Star Wars and Pokemon discussions
In car vomiting
Wafflemaker
Ice cream sundaes with Magic shell
Zachary's must-have blankie in the car
"Are we staying in another Comfort Suites?"
Peewee and Ellie Mae
Stargazing Anthony

ROAD TRIP 2008-2009 - MORE PHOTOS

ROAD TRIP 2008-2009 - SOME PHOTOS

A Dinner Parade

A video from our dinner with Mel, Bonnie, Linda, and Brooke tonight. The girls were hilarious once they got comfortable with each other.

ROAD TRIP 2008-2009 - Hershey, PA cont...

Today has been another great day on the trip. It is Day 15 and we are still managing pretty well all together in close quarters. Tomorrow we leave and drive home, which will be a welcome part of the trip. It is very nice to get away and see things, but it's even nicer to get home to our warm and cozy home that is ours and get back to normal life. We went this morning to drive on Chocolate Avenue to check it out. We saw the street lights made out of Hershey's kisses that someone told me about. Benjamin noticed that there was a pattern- one silver, one brown. Jon noted that it was a wrapped one and then an unwrapped one- how cute! Hershey's Chocolate World is a fabulous place and of course is totally set up for tourists. We did the Factory Tour in which you ride in a little car and you get taken through the entire process of making chocolate from cocoa beans to store shelves. It was very well done. At the end of the tour, you are handed two pieces of candy (today they gave out Hershey's Bliss pieces). Needless to say, the kids devoured those in about 20 seconds. We did some other things after this tour, but they decided that they wanted to do it again (can you guess why?!) I took them and Jonathan hung back with Zachary, so the boys, Samantha and I all got two more pieces of chocolate, yum! Another thing the kids did was to Create Your Own candy on the factory line. They got little paper hats that said "Factory Worker", lined up at stations, and were instructed to push a button that dropped a couple dozen Hershey's kisses into a container. Then, they took it to another conveyor belt where the container was wrapped. We could have purchased this for $8.95 each, if we so chose (which we did not). They all had a FUN time doing that. Photos will follow once we get home. After this adventure, we drove around looking for a lunch place, even though I had made PB&J's for the kids. We found an adorable little place called the Soda Jerk Diner in Hummelstown, PA. Everything about the place was enchanting- the decor, the friendliness of the servers, the good prices on the menu, and the food itself. I wish I had taken a photo there, but didn't think of it. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to put the littles and me down for a nap. The boys took off to a place called the Indian Caverns which as it turns out, was just down the street from the diner we ate lunch at, about 25 minutes from the hotel. The reports I heard were that it was "AWESOME". Beforehand, when I had mentioned it to the boys as a possibility after lunch, they said that they already saw stalagmites and stalagtites on Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. They wanted to go to the pool/waterslide/arcade again. Jonathan convinced them to go to the Caverns. Benjamin threw a fit and was not happy about going, but he was the one who ended up enjoying it the most, go figure! So, I heard about the Pennsylvania Hermit and the Mystery Box from them, but I am going to have Jon and the boys write more about that later on. At 4:00 we got ready to go to the Pike's for dinner. How wonderful it was to have a nice homecooked Shabbat dinner while on the road! Samantha and Brooke played very nicely together after they warmed up to one another. The boys headed down to the basement pretty soon after we arrived. Dinner was delicious and lovely together. Sorry that Aiya was not with us at her friend's house. Maybe next time. We do plan to come back to this area in the warmer weather sometime. There is SO much to do around here during nice weather that was closed now. I have a memo with a running list on my Palm Pilot. We took some great photos at their house and will post those later too. Now, it's 8:45 and Jon and I might go play mini golf down the hallway. Until we reach MA, night, night!

ROAD TRIP 2008-2009 - Hershey, PA

Today we awoke at 6 am ready to start the day... Breakfast was nice, so we ate. We had an in-day at the Hotel. The boys frolicked in the pool and on the waterslide, played mini golf and arcade games, and generally had a blast. Samantha watched television while Zachary and I took a snooze. Jon woke us up at 11:40 am just in time to have lunch and make our way over to Dallastown, PA for a visit and dinner with Jon's friend from college, Anthony Wolfe and his wife and 3 daughters. We journeyed there at 1:15 or so and arrived around 2:30 pm. When we arrived the two older girls were downstairs playing with their new Christmas gift, the Wii video game. Lisa was in the kitchen prepping meatballs for dinner, and Anthony was carrying Katrina around in his arms. Once the girls came upstairs, it took a while before they and the boys would talk to each other. Pretty quickly, Benjamin and Joshua found their way downstairs and became acquainted with the Wii. I stayed upstairs with Lisa chatting, while Zachary wreaked havoc on their toy areas. Lisa was gracious and offered hot cocoa and cookies to the kids as their snack at around 3:45, which she said is the usual time that her girls have their daily snack after school. Her homemade cookies were delicious- chocolate chip, oreo cookie-like ones, and gingerbread men. Samantha liked the small trampoline in the basement and was happy doing that for a while. She and Katrina were having a bit of a turf war about it, but Eva was such a great mediator with the little ones that things worked out fine after some intense negotiations. Anthony had asked Jon in advance about what the kids eat, so of course Lisa was fabulous in obliging us by providing Joshua with a hotdog on a bun instead of the regular fare that everyone else ate, spaghetti and meatballs and sausage with pasta and salad. Thanks so much! Dinner was wonderful. We enjoyed their company very much and are grateful to have people like them who welcomed us with open arms when we announced we would be coming to their area. Our boys and their girls were upstairs in their rooms doing who knows what for some time. They really seemed to take to one another at some point. Personally, I think Benjamin has a crush on Eva, the 8 year old. After dinner, Anthony was excited to show us the stars in the sky with his very high tech telescope. Joshua was most excited about this since he wants to be an astronaut. Even I was thrilled to see the craters on the moon through his viewing lens! When they came back inside, Anthony took out his books and began showing Joshua various constellations. I don't know who was more into it, Anth or Joshie! Lisa then offered us brownie sundaes for dessert, which we took her up on no questions asked. Again, Lisa's offerings were scrumptious. Before we knew it, it was 7:00 pm and we had to say goodbye to our friends. Lisa and I discussed the possibility of meeting somewhere in CT since they travel there frequently to see her parents. Lisa mentioned Sturbridge Village, which our kids have never been to. An exciting idea! We arrived home at 8:00 pm and everyone went straight down to sleep. That is, except for Jon and me. He went on the computer and I went to check out the Hollywood Casino up the street from our hotel. I donated $25 to the PA Gaming Commsission (or whoever gets the proceeds of the casino's earnings), but I was there for almost 2 hours and I had a fun time. I mostly played the 1 cent machines, so not too much strain on the wallet. When I got back here, Jon was still awake. Now, it's off to bed for me. Tomorrow is our day at Hershey's Chocolate World... Talk later.