Did I mention the Aisans?

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Abbie

Nothing truly exciting happened in D.C. Well, that isn’t totally true. If I had charged, I could have made a little extra money for snapshots of my kids. On our first day in DC, I decided to make everyone wear the same colored shirt so I could spot us all easily if we had to spread out on the metro and as we got on and off, etc. We went to the Postal Museum first (which is a very good hands on museum even if the security guard did follow us everywhere). After lunch, we had just enough time to hop on the metro, go to the Air & Space Museum and then hop back on the metro before rush hour.

When we walked into the Air & Space Museum there were a bunch of foreign tourists. This I know by the fact that they did not speak English and each one of them had a camera. They saw all my children and quickly motioned for us all to get together so they could ~~exploit~~ take a picture of us. The dear child that stayed with us while her daddy was in training during the day was thoroughly confused but happily obliged. Then, I explained to her that there are not a lot of large families in Aisan countries (nor ours for that matter) and seeing a bunch of little children all dressed alike was pretty exciting for them.

The next day, we headed back to the Air & Space Museum in an attempt to see all we had not seen in the 30 minutes we were there the day before. And, as we were taking a potty break, the same thing happened again. Except this time, each of the tourists wanted to get their picture made with our group. One at a time. As you can imagine, my children were quite tired of it by the time they let us go and they made sure to voice their opinions. They recovered quickly though and we made it through the whole museum without another invasion of picture taking. Mark told me I should charge should it happen again!

Birthday Celebrations

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Abbie

Busy, busy! But, here we are. To my birthday. For our celebration, I decided to go to the Yankee Candle Company Flagship Store in Williamsburg. We were were on our way to Alexandria, VA so it seemed like the best stop. And it was!

This is an awesome store. Animatronic “show,” indoor “snow” and all the candles that Yankee Candle Company has ever made.

They also have a place where kids (for a price) can make their own candles and such. Which we did. Which was probably after we left our camera sitting out in the atrium. Which is where it stayed until I realized it the next day and called and Yankee Candle graciously shipped the camera back to our house. Which is why there will be no pictures from our trip to Alexandria, Washington D.C. and the like. At least not now. There are a few on my camera and could possibly be a few on a camera that I bought for too cheap but I haven’t gotten to those yet.

Watching it snow indoors!

Another customer came by when we were walking around and told me all about the snow and how adorable our children were and that she had asked an employee to make it snow again so the kids could see it again before we moved to another area of the store. And they did! What an amazing store!

They were in awe of the talking mice in the clock.

After the store visit, we headed out to eat and found a great restaurant where I had the best barbecue of my life! No joke. It’s Pierce’s BBQ and if you ever go to Williamsburg you have to eat there! It’s a-maz-ing! Of course, no pictures because my camera was sitting lonely at the Yankee Candle store.

Let the travels begin

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Abbie

As stated previously, we went to Williamsburg in November. This was my first trip (and the kids too) and we were all so excited. We spent two days there and walked and walked and saw just about everything. It definitely was a good trip for us and a great learning experience for the kids. They only wore their costumes the first day. Which was good because the second day it was cloudy and rather cool.

The princess in her chariot.

To the stocks with ye!

Sad lot!

Might I say, we went at a great time and were able to see some beautiful fall trees! Bryant loved the leaves.

Lunch anyone! This was the only way I could get him to allow me to take his picture.

The hits for the girls: The Millinery and the Weaver. The boys: the Gunsmith and the Battery.

We didn’t stay in Colonial Williamsburg but opted for a very affordable resort, The Historic Powhatan (not paid to say that…we paid them) about ten minutes away (and a beautiful drive too). I would recommend searching the travel discount sites for reservations here. We got a great deal on a two bedroom, two bath condo. It was a wonderful resort recommended by a friend. They had an indoor pool and the rooms had a ton of space which was awesome for our size crew. The first morning we were there, we drove out and saw the swan above just a swimming in the pond. And then the geese. Oh my, they took their sweet time crossing the road but it was so neat to be close to such lovely birds!

We Are Here!

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Abbie

Just an update that in the past three weeks we have traveled over 2,000 miles and 36 hours. That doesn’t count the time that we spent in the various places we traveled to.

Here’s a quick recap and pictures will come later…not sure how long because I’m trying to decorate for Christmas, re-do the boys’ room, finish up Christmas presents, school, oh yeah, and feed the masses.

So, November 11th we set out early and headed to Williamsburg, VA. This trip was a jumping off point because Mark had training in Alexandria, VA the next week. We “piggy backed” on the trip and made a pit stop in Williamsburg for a mini-vacation. We loved it too! Leaving Williamsburg on my birthday, the 14th, we headed to the Yankee Candle Flagship Store which is a must in my opinion if you are ever near Williamsburg. It was there that I left my camera and had to take pictures with my phone and the $10 camera that I purchased at Wal-Mart and is the very definition of cheap…

So we pulled into Alexandria on the 14th and spent that week up until November 18th there. We took in the sights of D.C.. And since I’m not quite sure how the camera thing will pan out here’s what we did.

Oh, did I mention I had an extra child? Mark’s co-worker came along and his daughter tagged along with us while the dads were at training. She learned a lot about being in a big family. That’s all I’ll say about that.

November 15th: Metro ride, US Postal Museum, Metro Ride, Air & Space Museum Metro Ride…Hotel…ahhh.
November 16th: Air & Space Museum (of course on the metro but the 15th was our first day and we have to commemorate that I did not lose or gain any children during the getting on or off the metro.)
November 17th: Mount Vernon and it was cold ya’ll. Very cold. And wet. But we made it through.
November 18th: The Lyceum in Alexandria which is the history museum of the city. Nice but after seeing museums all week the little ones were done.

On November 18th, we left Alexandria and drove halfway home to Raleigh, NC. Where they were gearing up for the Clemson, UNC game. Lots of people at the hotel sportin’ their team colors.

On November 19th, we got home, unloaded for three hours and then Zoe and I headed out for the Jamie Grace/TobyMac concert. My birthday present. And we had a blast.

Recovered for three days then headed out on November 23rd to do Thanksgiving with my folks, Ge and Granddaddy, my sister and her family. That. was. a. blast. Especially when my mom, my sister, and my self headed out on Thanksgiving night at 10 o’clock to do the Black Friday thing and we didn’t get back until 7:30 or 8 the next morning. It really was fun! My mom and sister are a hoot and a half!

Got home on Sunday, the 27th and headed out to do pictures with Tracy! Can not wait to show those ya’ll.

Recovered a few more days and then headed out to another family visit in Alabama. on December 1st This time Mark’s folks, Papa & Grandmere, his brother and their cousins (the ones with all those kids). We rushed home yesterday to try and beat daylight to make it to the Christmas tree farm to pick out our tree. We succeeded and picked out our tree in record time (like 15 minutes or something). And it’s beautiful!

When we got home yesterday the questions started as to how many more days before we traveled again.

Believe it or not but we’ll be home this weekend and we couldn’t be happier! But that doesn’t mean we won’t be busy. We’ll be clearing out and moving out the boys so we can paint their room and start the big room make over. They are excited. I’m tired just thinking about it! But, I’m anxious to get it done because like it or not, there’s another boy that needs to share that room (well, his clothes do for awhile) in just a few short months.

Retreating…

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Abbie

Still in October (well, okay, we were almost out) the ladies at our church held a retreat at a beach nearby. It was so nice to get away and visit and relax and grow closer to these amazing women and, more importantly, to God! The theme was on organizing and time management. I learned a lot and got my focus back on what was most important.

I also got some beautiful pictures!

Sunrise our last day!

The wind was blowing the top part of the sand along. It looked like we were walking in a mist. Only it stung a little.

These two silly ladies were a part of our group and just had to get in the water. They said it was warm. Until they got out.

We found a ton of shells. Here is a little shell graveyard and I found the perfect spiral shell. I picked it up to take with us. We walked two steps. M. said, “Ew, that stinks!” I smelled it and she was right. I tried to wash it out but it was no use. The shell, along with whatever had crawled up inside and died, stayed on the beach.

I think these birds were begging for something to eat. They let me get really close before they walked away. I should have brought some bread and I could have had them eating out of my hands!

Now, here’s the coolest part.

We were in the migrating path of some Monarch butterflies!

They were all over this walkway as we made our way to the beach. And, they were all over the beach too! It was an amazing sight to see so many butterflies.

Just a handful of them as we came on to the beach. There were so many that we all just kept snapping pictures hoping to get the best shot. I got a few that I thought turned out well.

That was one that landed on a sand dune as we were walking on the beach.

My favorite picture by far!

I don’t think this was a butterfly. I believe it was a moth. Either way, he was right in the middle of the butterflies and I thought he was quite interesting.

Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take pictures of the house, the wonderful women present, or all the amazing food we ate! But it was all there and it was a blast! Mark was Super Dad while I was gone no doubt!

Give me Liberty…

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Abbie

Retreat Center in Gleason, TN. Basically, in the middle of nowhere. Well, actually, it’s near Paris…Tennessee. Yeah, that’s about it.

Anyway, Mark and I have been discussing mission trips to take with the family. There are several organizations that offer mission trips for families but at the cost of around $500 per person. Yeah, you do the math. Oh, I wouldn’t have to pay for nursing babes though…that’s $500 less.

So, we were brainstorming and remembered that we knew a family that ran a Christian retreat center. Mark contacted them and he said there were a few things we could do around the place to help spruce it up before their summer season started.

And off we went, (keep in mind that we had not been home since the homeschool conference). It just so happens that we scheduled this trip after the big storms in April. Thankfully, Liberty did not get hit with any tornadoes but they did have over twenty trees down just on the road to get to the driveway. And on the driveway a big oak (I think) fell taking two more trees with it. There was a ton of branches and such that needed to be picked up.

There was also a trail and a challenge course all covered with large branches from all the storms. All needing to be cleared so campers could use their facilities this summer.

So, we cleared. And cleared. And when the kids and I couldn’t take the heat and needed rest time, Mark cleared some more.

The bunkhouse on the left and the conference center on the right. These places were really nice.

A view from the semi cleared trail.

Josiah worked hard. Ceili Rain did too. At whining. Ceili Rain didn’t seem to enjoy the sweat and branch picking up job so much. She mostly just followed us around begging to be held.

Ahhh, rest time. And satellite tv. No internet but we could watch PBS so all was right with the world.

We didn’t just work, we also got to play. Well, we got to watch others play. The directors sons were playing baseball so we got to see the two oldests’ last game of the season. This was the first baseball game we’ve taken the kids to. They were more impressed with the clean up crew between games than the actual game. I don’t think baseball is in their future.

Liam tried to climb the 10 foot wall…

And quickly found the ladder instead.

Zoe really enjoyed this.

I kept my balance briefly, ever so briefly.

Liam decided he wanted down after climbing the ladder to the wall. We just threw him over the side and let him drop. Not really. I helped him down the rope and Mark caught him at the bottom.

The big oak that fell on the road (like that needed a description). They already had some people come and clear out to drive around it. But all the brush was left out and needed to be moved.

Do you see the cross in the shadow. Pretty!

Yes, we all slept good at night.

Clearing…

More clearing…

Ace likes a challenge.

Zoe too.

If you can’t pull it, might as well just climb on it. The tree was struck by lightening right near the base of it, so we used that as a little science lesson and looked at the black left from it.

This is where we moved all the brush. Big ol’ bonfire is acomin’!

And as we worked, Ace’s keen eyes spotted this sitting on one of the logs…

We took the kids in shortly after this. Mark didn’t have a snake disarming tool at the time and when he did, it had slithered somewhere else. We still haven’t looked it up, but we’re guessing it’s a baby copperhead.

After all our hardwork and leaving…all the brush is cleared away. Firewood is just waiting to be moved.

And Zoe and Ace enjoyed the three story tree house!

And we actually managed a great group shot all on our own.

Ya know, I worry every time we go somewhere that the kids might get bored if there’s nothing to do. But, we had very little “entertainment” in a one bedroom cabin and they had a blast! Lots of games inside and out that they made up and all. Having beautiful weather so they could go out and climb and play was a big bonus too.

Oh, and our tick count was at four. One on Josiah, one on Zoe, and two on Mark. He won. Not something to be proud of. I’m still itching and checking!

And, I’m back…sort of

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Abbie

Still trying to get through my list and get ready to start up next week but this here’s startin’ somethings we’ve been up to this past month…

After the convention we traveled to Alabama and picked up the other half of our kid crew. We enjoyed a short visit and stories about what they did while we were gone.

One of which included Liam refusing to eat baby carrots because he thought they were bay food!

Bryant loves getting cuddles! Grandmere was a little fond of them too.

The biggest treat for the older kids was a zipline Papa bought and installed. That was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Mark also made it a point to let Papa know that Josiah likes the dirt (he will literally roll in it at home). So, Papa made sure Josiah got some dirt playing time in.

Welcome Back!

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Abbie

We’re back in town for a couple of weeks. And back among the internet world. I know I was horribly missed!

So, you may ask (okay, you probably didn’t but it’s my blog so I’ll share anyway), where in the world did the Bunch wander off to this time.

Well, we were in quite a few places. We went to one state, dropped off three kids, and back to our home state to attend a home school convention. We took the nursing babe and Zoe and Ace.

So, who was there at the conference? Well…Ken Ham, Kevin Swanson and this man:

You may have heard me mention, a time or two, about Voddie Bauchum, Jr. Well, we got to listen to and meet him. In the flesh! That was after they found him though.

Yeah, I’m not sure how you lose a man this large at a homeschool convention, but they did. He missed his first session and they were not sure where he was. It was later that we learned that there was a miscommunication and his flight didn’t arrive into the area until 12. There was no way he could have done an 11 o’clock session.

We weren’t going to be total groupies and get our picture made with him…just decided to stalk him (after we met him) and snap his picture a few times. I know we are such nerds. Most people want to meet rock stars and movie stars. Us, we like to meet preachers and teachers.

And bloggers…

While I was waiting in line for the used book sell, I sent Mark with Ace and Bryant to check out the two math curriculums we had it narrowed down to. While he was meeting and schmoozing with Todd Wilson and other vendors, he saw a familiar face among the shoppers.

That’s them in the left hand corner. He was trying to snap a picture incognito to make sure it was them. Yes, he reads her blog over my shoulder.

It was Lora from Vitafamiliae. I was pumped. And Mark quickly came out and took my place in line so I could become a friend and not a blog stalker (which I don’t consider myself as such because I’ve posted on her blog many a time…because her life is sooo like mine). We chatted so long that we missed the start of the sell. And Mark had to come find me. I wish I had actually emailed her ahead of time to arrange a time for us to chat for real. Mark didn’t get to meet her husband (who is a lot like Mark, except he wears glasses) and we didn’t get to visit near long enough. Oh well maybe next time.

But back to the conference. It was awesome! Mark and I loved hearing the big speakers. So much so, that we didn’t really attend any of the other sessions but we did purchase cds of a few. I really could sit and listen to Dr. Bauchum preach all day long. Because I’m weird like that. But I didn’t have to tell you all that…you all pretty much can tell from what I write, huh?

Anyway, if you are ever near where Dr. Bauchum is preaching, you must drop all you are doing and go. Immediately. You will not be disappointed.

Attack!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Abbie

Giveaways going on now! Don’t forget to sign up to enter here and here.

So, Saturday of our Kabining trip was waaaay hot for the middle of April. To remedy that, we hit the local Wal-Mart and picked up enough water guns for a whole trip of campers. Fire Away! The afternoon was full of cool water fights.

This is how we filled up the water guns!

World’s skinniest Sumo Wrestler!

and Keep the Old…

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Abbie

No, I’m not referring to our friends as old…it goes along with the last post…”Make new friends, but keep the old..” Moving along…

Last weekend we met up with most of the Transue clan in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Turns out that’s the halfway point for both our families! And, that’s also a place with plenty of KOA Kampgrounds.

This was our first stay with KOA and while we thoroughly enjoyed it, I believe our camp hosts were a little worried about having so many children. We all survived and I think they were pleasantly surprised. They invited us back at least.

We stayed in a Kabin and it was super nice and way easier than transporting a tent. We did, however, have to bring all our camping supplies to eat and we had to do the community bathroom thing (which was pretty good trek with the kids each time and if we had to go during that night. That was the not so fun part).