More Pictures from Independence Day

Along the Cave of the Winds Decking

1. Eating Pizza and getting ready to watch fireworks

Donning our plastic bags for Cave of the Winds

Fourth of July at Niagara Falls - lights on the Falls

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

We only had a hour and a half to drive today.  Yippee!  After yesterday's marathon, it was nice to be able to be out and about and not have to spend the day mostly in the car.  We went into Buffalo which was a treat for all of us who have studied the Erie Canal with our Epikaria Curriculum www.epikardia.com for so many years now.  This was the terminating point, in Buffalo.  All of my children except the baby were singing, "Low bridge, everybody down, low bridge, for we're coming to a town; you will always know your neighbor, you'll always know your pal, if you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal..."  Hardly any of the canal is left along New York and the parts in Buffalo are covered over by buildings and some of the foundations are under the Memorial Auditorium.  Since that is impossible to see, the best pictures are on this website here which shows the old canal system on top of the city streets today and pictures of the foundation.  A great book, actually a "must" when studying this, is, Cheryl Harness's "Amazing Impossible Erie Canal". 

We crossed the Niagara River and then went on into Niagara Falls, actually the name of the town, not just the falls.  Niagara is an Indian word meaning "Thundering Waters", very appropriate.  There are actually 3 falls, The American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, both in the US, and Horseshoe Falls, partially in the US and partially in Canada.  The border between the countries is right down the middle of the river so we spent the day looking into Canada but not going over just yet. 

There is quite a bit to do here so the cheapest and easiest was the buy a daily pass for it all.  2 of the children were free (another plus!) We went on the "Maid of the Mist" boat tour which takes you right into the mist of all the falls.  We watched an Imax movie at the Discovery Center, went out onto the observation deck, went to a small aquarium, and went to the Cave of the Winds, a walk out onto some steps and decking right into the mist of Bridal Veil Falls.  The park around this area was so nice and delightful with lots of trees for the children to play around as we sat on the grounds and ate a picnic lunch.  Our tickets included unlimited trolley rides which took us around to all these places.  This was wonderful since we otherwise would have done a ton of walking.  We had debated about whether or not to bring the main stroller or the smaller umbrella one and I'm so glad we decided to bring the larger stroller along; it came in handy for storage of food and other items as well as being easier than carrying her all day. 

On the "Maid of the Mist" boat tour, we all got to wear blue plastic ponchos which we could keep.  We got quite wet and baby didn't like this so well; it really wasn't the water that bothered her, it was something about the boat and the noise and the mist.  She loves water but she cried a little off and on throughout the tour.  Everyone else though, had a blast.  By the time we got to the Cave of the Winds, we were prepared for her to be scared again.  This time we got yellow plastic trash bags, although not as sturdy as the blue ones, more like wearing a yellow trash bag.  However we were in for a surprise.  Not only did she not get scared, she loved all the mist and water and wanted down and literally danced around slapping her bare feet in all the puddles.  I wish I had pictures of this to post but we had to take them on JB's underwater camera he uses sometimes for work.  We would have ruined any other camera.  We were all dripping wet by this point.  The others had so much fun too and everyone there was pointing at this baby who was wearing her own little version of a trash bag dancing around in front of the falls. 

After this, we decided to ride the trolley back into the town and go to our hotel.  We had had enough of wearing hot sticky trash bags and walking around in special Cave of the Wind sandals.  However, everyone now has a spare pair of shoes since we got to keep the sandals.  Every Friday and Saturday nights in Niagara Falls, there are fireworks.  Apparently on the 4th of July there is even a bigger show.  Even though the event started at 10 pm, we were hard-pressed to get everyone back to the hotel, clothes changed, supper, etc... in time.  Anyone who has traveled with a group (regardless of their ages, but especially more so the younger they are), knows that there is a certain amount of organization, sorting, and redoing that goes on at least daily.  Finding places to put things, putting items back where they are supposed to go, collecting dirty laundry, filling water bottles, packing up the overnight bag, stocking more diapers in about 5 places (back of front seat, diaper bag, pick-up and go bag, overnight bag...) all of this requires a little work and cooperation.  JB and Scott left the hotel after a quick change to go get some pizzas.  The rest of us worked on these tasks and changing clothes and watching the baby.  Then as soon as they came back, we were ready with filled water bottles, carrots, some fruit, and cleaned up children to walk back over to the Falls area.  We were fortunate enough to be able to walk to the fireworks; traffic was really backed up when we walked back.  We found a place on the ground, spread our blanket and had our dinner.  Then the show which was grand.  Afterwards we looked at the falls with the colored lights shining on them, very pretty.

I find it extremely interesting that the fireworks are shot off in Canada but over towards the American Falls.  I wonder if on July 1 (Canada Day), they do it the opposite way?  There must be quite a bit of easy cooperation between the 2 countries here.  Everything indicates that, from the fireworks to the tourism, to the electric power plant they co jointly control and benefit from. 

Another LONG day is over and everyone falls to sleep again at once; the one benefit of a busy time.  We've worn trash bags and funny looking rubber sandals, waited in line to be handed the trash bags and sandals, climbed aboard trolleys packed like cattle cars, gotten soaked by nature twice, eaten lunch and dinner (pizza) on the ground, watched the Niagara River rapids, saw Lake Erie, taken a multitude of pictures, heard the survival stories of the Falls, viewed Canada from the US, and generally had fun but have worn ourselves out.  And tomorrow is another day...

Quote of the Day:  "I can't wait to go to Cave of the Winds, so I can get those shooooosz [shoes]. 
~~~Elizabeth

Quote of the Day #2:  "Please stop spitting on my eyelids." 
 ~~Sarah Kelly to one of her brothers

The First Day

Tuesday, July 3

Yesterday we accomplished our goal.  We drove 690 miles, actually a little more than we had planned.  Sometimes we make a reservation in advance and sometimes we decide along the way how we want things to "play out."  We were in Pittsburgh by 5:30 pm; JB actually stopped by his company's office there.  Now of course he's been there a lot before but he thought it might be kind of fun to leave a note on the window of one of the vehicles.  Instead of having the manuals for the course he is teaching shipped to Canada, he picked them up.  We were going right through this area so it made sense. 


We had a few bathroom and gas and scenery stops along the way but we kept busy in the car today doing some schoolwork; I played a game with some of the little ones; we read aloud from The Secret Garden; we are about 2/3 done with it so I brouight it along; we ate snacks and I fixed lunches in the car too.  We stopped at a Moe's for supper and somehow I fed everybody for $13.  It was Tuesday night of course, and even though they don't have buy one, get 2 free like in Mt. Pleasant, they did have $1 off special for any taco.  We should have paid $23 with the discount, but the register wouldn't let us pay for it at once.  Then the gal tried ringing up everything separately so I could pay 3 times for 3 sets of tacos but it still locked up on her.  The manager came over and when the subtotal before discounts was at $26 and he tried to put in the discount, it went down to $13.  At that point, he said, "just pay this, is that okay?"  So, we got $26 of funk meisters for $13 and of course plenty of salsa and water.



After eating, we drove through the mountain, into the tunnel and popped out into Pittsburgh.  JB of course knew what was coming and had everyone prepared to look as soon as we exited the tunnel.  I was amazed.  What a beautiful city.  You pop out of the mountain and there where the 2 rivers (one the Allegheny) come together to form the Ohio River, is the city.  I had no idea there would be so many bridges, one set called "The 3 Sisters".  I wish we could have explored some but we didn't want to get everyone to bed so late.  We were only about 30 minutes from where the Santorum Family lives in Penn Hills along the river.  It would have been so fun to stop and say "Hello".  But as we didn't think of this before now, it was too late to find out if they were even home.  So we went on to Erie, PA and spent the night.  JB got us a reservation while we were in line at Moe's and he was able to get us a room using points he accumulates while traveling.  He stays in Holiday Inn Express and even though we would rather have him at home rather than him travel sometimes, it is a blessing when we stay on the road for free and we have a filling hot breakfast the next day.

 It is about 9 pm when we pull in and everyone settles down fairly fast because we are all tired.  I was too exhausted to post; I had had 3 hours sleep the night befire so after nursing the baby, I slept hard and well until awakening this morning on the 4th of July at 7:30 am.

Quote of the Day: "Hey Mommy, Mommy, look at those coot [cute] birds, I just want to jump out and catch them."  ~~Jackson

Canada

Off We Go!
Well, it's time for a little trip; well maybe not such a little trip but maybe a shorter trip.  We are going to Nova Scotia, Canada, as in another country.  We've had lots of preparation in a short amount of time.  We found out that we were going about 3 weeks ago so needless to say we have been very busy. 
JB is teaching a bridge inspector refresher class for 3 days while we are there.  We're taking about 6 days to get to NS and then we'll stay there a week and after that we'll come back home taking more time than needed to get back so we can stop and see the sights. 
Realizing last year how well the "bin" system works, we rounded up some more of these handy things and that has helped streamline our packing and organize us better.  The one bag a day system worked great when we moved to California, staying in a different hotel each night, so we are doing that again too.  Of course when you add in the overnight bag that goes in every night, the bag with sleeping bags and extra blankets, the baby/momma bag (yes, I separate ours from everyone else's), the cooler, pillows, and "lovey blankets", it is a little more than ONE bag going in a hotel room but it's more manageable to have everyone's next day clothes all together in that one bag than each person having a bag with all they need for 6 days!  And it's not like we don't have lots of arms for carrying! 

 Here is our living room before we left and this is not all of it.  There are a lot of bins in the foyer packed mostly with food.  JB found some awesome totes that have handles and roll.  Two fit perfectly under two seats and one holds our lunch stuff and the other holds snacks.  We can just roll them out and pull out what we need and roll them back under.  There is a playpen, a booster high chair and other "deep pack" items.  We are walking around saying things like, "This is deep pack (means goes on the bottom, not needed until we get to the house in Canada), or this is top pack (meaning we need it daily or along the way)." 

 Okay, we are mostly packed here.  We think we should pack in this last little bit on the ground here and take her along.

Okay, new seating arrangements for this day.  We will move around occasionally but for now this is set.  Scott will be the co-navigator up front today.  I am going to sit on the back row today between Jackson and Harris and since that is a 4-seater we will have some extra room to spread out.  We are trying to split older and younger kids up and this will help with a long driving day and with activities in the car.  Our goal is to have a long driving day on the first day out, that way we can drive while everyone is still realitively under a spell of anticipation.  We'll try to make it to at least Pittsburgh but maybe Erie, Pennsylvania.  We would really like to be at Niagra Falls on the 4th.  Our wild card this year is the baby who knows what it's like to be out of the car seat but our saving grace is that she still takes 2 long naps a day so I think we'll manage.  I will be posting and blogging all along the way.  So, keep checking in!  It's 9:10 am on July 3; time to roll out of here!

A New Year

New Day ~ New Year

Today is June 1 and it's a new year at our house although you'd be hard-pressed to know it.  I slept in slightly and was pretty much completely unconscious early this am after a long night with the baby.  Not sure what was going on but she was up and down most of the night and of course when she went back to sleep I had had just enough of a "nap" to keep me awake until drifting back off and up she'd be again...  I'm sure it's short-lived, but whatever it was, I was one tired gal today.  So, not a great start and I needed about 3 cups of "joey" to get me going while I had dancing, bouncy children all around me asking when we were going to have our spelling test?  So first we decided to read; sit in the family room, cuddle up together and boy did we read:  history stories, chapter books, a nature book.  Then we tackled the other basics of school.  It turned into a long morning which went into afternoon but such is life and no one was harmed by that.  At one point I had all the children in one room listening while we read, although the older ones needed to filter in and out to take care of their pressing school needs.  I sat and savored that, while we were all there, together.  How much longer will I have them all here, under one roof?  I don't sleep well and struggle with "apartness" when one or more of my fledgings is out of the nest, even if just for a day or two.  I'm not sure how I'll do when Scott moves away to go to school or gets married or just goes to Boy Scout Camp for one week this month.  Yikes!  I'll still want all "my people" together the way it feels right. So I thoroughly enjoyed everyone sitting in one room today listening together, knowing that time is fleeting and flies through our fingers like a well-greased string.  And I was thankful for a great way to start an "official" new year.

At lunch everyone discussed that we were into a new month, June, so therefore it was the beginning of a new year, a new school year.  Yes, technically at our Covenant Homeschool, the end of one year is May 31 and the beginning of the next is June 1.  So everyone supposedly moved up a grade today but yet we were still working on the same books, reviewing the same concepts, and using the same curriculum as yesterday.  We work on and off in the summer and take breaks, but it's not really until sometime in August that I set a "start date" that is unofficial and we start back after some time off with new materials and make any changes in curriculum.  This gives me time in the summer to wrap up all loose ends, finish math books, etc.. and plan for the coming year.  Of course, I try to catch up on all my grading, filing, reorganizing, and occasionally move everything around just for fun.  Sometimes I don't think the children all know exactly what grade they are in nor does it really matter, we just keep going.  It's more of a label.  So, let's see, yesterday you were in 1st grade, but today you're in 2nd.  Really?  How does that work?  What works is that it is a slow process, of every day, doing a little bit more, then a little bit more, learning something new and little by little you've accumulated more knowledge, interest, or dexterity, especially related to new skills that require movement ( I'm thinking of all those piano lessons this last year.)  It used to be me explaining this to Scott or Sarah Kelly, now it was me and Scott and Sarah Kelly trying to explain this to the little ones who were all amazed that now they were in a different grade with just the turn of the earth in 24 hours.

This all made me think of the way our lives are like this in Jesus.  We struggle, work hard, pray, read our bible, talk and talk about how to live and we just keep plodding along, sometimes humbly, sometimes messing up.  We get enough grace to make it, one day at a time, enough to see us through.  We try not to borrow trouble from the days coming; we know that each day has enough worries of its own. And it's a daily deal.  Every morning I wake up I have to make a choice.  I have to choose to be thankful, rejoicing, happy, settled in Jesus, and peaceful.  I can make the right choice but I have to do it daily, each time I wake over and over and over.  And eventually I get some things right, do better at some skills (I'm working on gentleness right now), and move on to the next virtue. (In my case, I have a plethora of ones to choose from; let's see, patience, self-control, gaining wisdom, control of the tongue....)  I'm trying to teach the children math, science, love of reading, phonics, and so much more but what I hope to accomplish even more of is teaching them to love, cherish, honor, obey, serve, care, be responsible, giving, and many more character traits. 
Tonight one son was annoyed, highly annoyed by another son.  I said, we must all learn not to be annoyed by one another.  He was incredulous and said, "He ALWAYS is annoying."  I replied that we can choose to be annoyed by another's behavior and it's quite possible that if we choose to NOT be annoyed that we may find that we ARE not annoyed any longer.  Then, it hit me.  How often am I "annoyed" by one of my children's behavior?  This does happen.  Am I communicating annoyance?  Do the others see this and then are annoyed by their sibling?  Hmmm, something for my husband and I to talk about.  I'd like to think about this one some more, chew on it, and watch myself in the coming days so that I don't show annoyance and frustration.  This is very difficult and perhaps the hardest thing I have ever had to do, live my life in front of young ones who are learning to live theirs.  I can get scared and quit and make worse choices for my children or I can call out to God and ask Him to help me and give me wisdom.  I am not perfect nor do I profess to be, but I am forgiven and I know that God has given me enough grace for the day, the moment, the opportunity, and I am trying to use what he teaches me for His glory.  Hopefully this year I can teach my children this, there is forgiveness when we mess up, there is grace at the foot of the cross, there is always always love.  And somehow I think in my curriculum of life, this will be enough, just enough whether for preschoolers or high schoolers in our new year. 



Kelly, married to Jeff, is the mother of 9 children, 7 of whom are still physically living in her home on this earth.  She lives, loves, laughs, cries, and writes in her upcountry SC home with that awesome man she married who fathers all those babies ranging in age from nursling to, as of today, high schooler.

Rowe Triplets on WLOS-Channel 13 News - February 29, 2012

Hi Everyone!

Here is a link to the News Story that ran last night.

Several disclaimers:
1. We're almost done with the kitchen but not quite as you can tell.
2. They didn't focus on our faith the way we had hoped but we still have opportunities as a result of this and this story can continue to glorify God. John Le seemed to focus more on the "sensationalism" of it all. He asked if we had ever lost children and we never thought that would be part of the story so that was surprising.
3. The reason Kelly is shown working on the laptop is that we were finding and printing a birthday invite that John wanted to see. We had the laptop in the kitchen (unusual) b/c he wanted to read the Blue Ridge article too.
4. Those are chore charts behind our heads; lots of people have asked what that was! We had 1 hour notice they were coming; we were cleaning up from breakfast; we had icing for Sat. and Wed. that Kelly had made and all the stuff was still out; no kids were dressed; and they asked that we prepare a flashdrive of about 20 pictures which took us almost the hour to do! We didn't have time to look around and see what was maybe going to be in it.
It was a crazy morning. We also had to be prepared to leave quickly afterwards as they wanted to follow us to the bowling alley and Piggy's/Harry's for ice cream!
It did turn out to be a fun day and we're really surprised no one tripped over the camera! There's a lot more behind the scenes craziness and some interesting moments such as when the triplets decided to hold Rick Santorum's sign and ask the photographer to take their picture! I'll post about the "rest of the story" on my blog!

http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/features/absolute-le/videos/wlos_vid_464.shtml

Special Days

All week I have been thinking about special days that happen in the late spring.  I wanted to write a post on Father's Day that I have been mulling over since last July and then I thought of a good one for Mother's Day as well.  But this musing of a mother is a little bit different. 

The past week I have been watching and listening to my children more and slowing down a little bit, it is near the end of May for which I am so thankful to Jesus!  So with a decreasing schedule coming upon us, now there will be more time for refelction, more time to plan, set goals, think, play, and just be. 
This morning during Sunday School I was actually in the Sanctuary.  We have some nice fellowship there.  The children's classes start right on time and our class, well, maybe it begins some 20 minutes or so later.  Therefore JB has made a habit of taking the baby in to see "Grandma Shirley" who plays the organ.  They sit and chat and she used to hold the baby but now we just watch her run all around.  Then we mosey on down our way.  Today, however, I was still there putting my Mother's Day present together.  JB and the children added another shoe to my necklace and all the shoes were in the wrong order (since I dropped it the other day in haste to an event), so I needed to spend a few minutes with this having promised the children I would wear it today. (If you don't know why I didn't get this done before leaving for church, just come hang out with us sometime, or read more of my blog!)  While I restrung it 3 times (yes, I kept messing up, not their birth order, although this would hardly be surprising given that there have been 9 births in 13 years), I let myself drift back 11 years. 
Sarah Kelly is such a young lady, on the verge or the cusp as it may seem of a whole new world.  Childhood is still here but the promise of what is coming is right on the horizon.  I indulged in all the memories I could think of in that short time period, both in the sanctuary and the last 11 years.  It really feels short and it is short, she looked so much like our baby now and I remember the little dresses and the beach and her hair all wrapped up on her head, teaching her to read, JB teaching her how to ride a bike, her first bike when I was very very pregnant with triplets, birthday parties, reading aloud, baths with Scott in the tub, working in the kitchen.  I thought of each age, one year at a time, all those times, I was pregnant but focused on loving and living with my children at the same time. I remember her enthusiasm with Jackson as an infant, her desire for another baby when Jonathan was being "stitched together" in the womb, her prayers for a new baby being answered in our newest addition.  Right now, I am sitting on the front porch wathcing her run and play in the yard with that new babe, chasing the ducks, pulling her in the wagon, belly laughing and flopping on the grass. She stops the wagon for an instant so the baby can wave at me and goes on.  Just like her life, it is here an instant and then it goes on, whoosh!  And I am so not ready but all so ready at the same time.  For as much as I want to freeze the days, the moments, the smiles and yes, the tears, I want what's next too, the next stage, the next time with these precious children. 
Reality is reality though, something I remember when people ask me why I have so many children.  This is not always Norman Rockwell.   I'm not obscure or only bliss, children do mess up our lives.  They break our stuff, they ruin things, they sometimes are the cause of our dissapointment and our gnashing of teeth.  Right now, as I type, our car is an absolute mess, really it's just disgusting, my kitchen floor is gross because of a neglect, the trash can has something gooey in the bottom, *someone* still hasn't taken their laundry upstairs, piano music is scattered all over the living room, *someone* else is in their room for climbing the trampoline pole and ripping the padding and it could go on and on.  My husband has said today more than once that he just doesn't understand how this all happens. 
But here I am on the front porch stepping away because when I take a breath, or rather ten breaths, I know this is all about stuff, it's about selfishness, I see it for what it is; that I am viewing it as what is happening to me or my stuff.  Forgetful, impatient, argumentative, impulsive... Yes, children are all these things, but it should not be about what is affecting me, but rather, how I am affecting them for I am sometimes those things too.  For there will always be those inconveniences and such but I am in this for the long haul. So is there no training, no consequences?  Or course not, but I look forward to tomorrow and the coming years because I want to be with my children forever and a lot of what I do today including if I lose it because of my selfishness, has a lot to do with eternity. 
The wagon just went by me again, the triplet wagon, full one time, years ago, now with just a babe in the back, the first 2 seats glaringly empty and SK exclaiming that she could pull Peter and Jon Jon in there as well as the baby.  "Will she see them again?" she asks even though she knows the answer.  It all brings to my mind those popular song lyrics:  "You are more than the choices that you make, you are more than the sum of your past mistakes, you are more than the problems you create, you've been remade".  I've been remade and I need to remember that my wonderful lovely children who give us such good times but fail also, sometimes just need the same privilege I've been given.. to be remade. Sarah Kelly has chosen Jesus, his redemptive power in her life, she walks in grace.  She will see her brothers in heaven one day and hopefully raise up a flock of believers herself.  I am reminded once again that despite occasional heartache, trials, and difficult times, my goals for my family are out of this world because only eternity will afford me the pleasure of holding my 2 sons once again as well as the pleasure of being surrounded by all the others and what I do today might make all the difference.