Summer Vacation 2015

So, we had this crazy idea that packing up 2 parents and 9 kids ages 18 years down to 6 months and packing our camper full of clothing and food and driving halfway across the country to see Philadelphia and Washington DC would be FUN. And you know what? It was!! Of course there were bumps and hiccups, when isn't there when traveling with kids, but overall, I had a really, really great time and I think hubby and the kids did too.

But just how exactly do you get ready for a trip like this? Research, plan, map it out, go over your plans with a fine-tooth comb to make sure everything runs like a well-oiled machine. Then relying completely on the grace of God, fully expect to be flying by the seat of your pants! OK, enough with the cliches, but really, flexibility is key (especially when a surprise passenger comes along).*

Entertaining while driving: You cannot possibly bring every entertaining toy you own, it's just not possible. A few favorites are good, but the toys that are the most entertaining are new and unexpected things. Red Solo cup. Babies LOVE these. Fisher Price needs to market something like this: crinkly and makes a nice echo, but without cracking. That was a bummer. Plastic water bottles. Same crinkly concept as the Solo cups and the liquid inside is appealing as well. A bottle without small pieces like twist-off tops that toddlers put in their mouths would be really handy. Diaper wipes. Who knew the fun that a 2 year old would have by throwing a diaper wipe from one van row to another. Extra giggles come when it lands on Mom's head!

Alright, let's get loaded into the van and we're OFF! Oh, wait. WHAT does that text say from your brother? *Let's turn back and bring the dog along too, since he spent the whole night barking at his sitter's! (see what I mean about flexible?)

OK now we're off.

First stop for sightseeing is the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, PA. Obviously since most of our kids were not even born when 9/11 occurred (I was pregnant with #3) the youngers couldn't completely grasp the solemness of it all, but we explained best we could. 4 year old Alex kept asking where the people went after they crashed into the ground. :'(

Bulletin board where you can post your own thoughts, prayers, and memories.

The wall with each person on the flight. They each have their own panel.

If you have a chance, stop by and see this memorial. Although it had the smallest amount of victims lost in the 4 plane crashes that day, it still makes a large impact on your heart to see this.

As we traveled on to our next campsite we were treated by the AAA map that we printed out to the ride of a lifetime! Apparently they felt that 6% grades through the mountains with a 30 foot camper behind you would be FUN! Have you ever seen the movie "The Long, Long Trailer"? Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Need I say more? If you plan on traveling with a camper, you must watch this right before your trip or while you are on the trip. Hilarious! Watch it and try not to yell out "trailer brakes" to your driver!

Next we toured Gettysburg National Military Park. We all enjoyed driving around looking at the battlefields and marveling at the loss of life on some of those ridges. Incredible.

Here's a picture of the Wolfe9 with Honest Abe outside the Visitor's Center.

The monuments from the states involved were very cool, some very intricate.

After returning to our camper for lunch, we embarked on another sightseeing venture. The National Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, MD. We watched a short presentation then had a guided tour of the grounds and the buildings she lived in. It was very neat to see the chapel she would go to Mass in, right next to the room she died in.

Then we went into the Basilica where her remains are under a side altar. We were also treated to some beautiful stained glass windows. The mosaics all over were magnificent!

From Gettysburg we traveled on to Eastern PA and stayed at a campground about 45 minutes from Valley Forge, about an hour from Philadelphia. All of the campgrounds we stayed at except for one were public campgrounds with full hookups (that means electricity, water and sewer) They are a lot less expensive than private campgrounds. Those are nice, but you are paying for swimming pools, mini-golf and other amenities that people like us just don't use. So we paid a little less, but traveled a little more to some of our places. After we got the camper unhooked and set up we drove to Valley Forge National Historic Park.

 Here are the kids "dressed" as George and Martha Washington! (top) 8 yr old Matt, 10 yr old Abbie,
6 yr old Jason, 4 yr old Alex (as Martha!?!) and Matt again.

Here is the house that George Washington stayed in while in Valley Forge.

Next stop on our tour was Philadelphia. We went to the Visitor's Center to get our free tickets to get into Independence Hall. I was next up in line and they ran out of tickets! Of course. Oh well, plenty more things to see, but it sure would have been nice to get in there and look around. Off to the Liberty Bell, it is.

Jason and Matt in front of the infamous bell.

Walking around in between all those old buildings, imagining what it would have been like in the late 1700's was incredible. While I was in awe of the history, I was taken a little by surprise that all this is right in the middle of hustling and bustling Philadelphia life! I figured it was set off to the side, in its own section, not right smack dab in the middle of everything. Traffic was a little crazy and trying to cross the streets with all those little kids was interesting! After all the historic buildings were done, we walked a few blocks to visit the US Mint and took their free tour. Everything we did on this trip was FREE! All the places we visited asked only for donations, so that really kept our costs down. It would have been nearly impossible to do this trip if we had to pay for every museum and building we went into. No photos are allowed at the US Mint, so I have nothing from that to post.

Hungry from all that walking, we hopped in the van and drove through some pretty crazy neighborhoods to a restaurant that was recommended to me by a Facebook friend. Oh the drive was worth it! Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks. They were delicious!! Thank you, Lisa! :) Gooey Looies was too small for our whole family to fit inside, thank goodness they had outdoor seating!

Since it was hubby Brian's birthday that day, we found a Dairy Queen on the way back to the camper and picked up an ice cream cake to celebrate.

After Philly, it was off to Washington DC. The next 2 days were spent doing all the typical DC touristy things. You really need an entire week to see everything. We had to skip a few things because we just could not walk any further! We had a great tour guide part way through the National Mall when our nephew Adam met up with us. Best part? He helped push strollers! Better part? He gave us directions to an amazing food court when our day was done and we were starving as all we'd eaten were snacks and shared TWO soft pretzels between the TEN of us!! (they ran out)

Our funniest moment of the day was when the foreign parking lot attendant asked Brian if we were the Duggar's and when he said No, then he asked if we knew the Duggar's! Ha-ha, yes--all the large families in America know each other, of course! We all got a huge kick out of that.

Here's a rundown of all the things we saw in our 2 days there. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, National Mall with all the war memorials, walked past the White House, Manassas National Battlefield, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum and the NRA National Firearm Museum.

Other interesting moments on the trip were getting a free night of camping at Bull Run Regional Park because the water hook-up didn't work and we had to move the camper to a new site, seeing a semi truck just about jack-knifed IN the campground, and being treated to a Blue Angels show while driving home through Chicago!

Well I hope you have enjoyed traveling through some of these great United States with our crazy family. While I can't speak for the other 10 people, I had a great time (some of the actual driving--with a 2 year old--was a little much at times) and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I sort of liken it to giving birth. It's one of those pains you soon forget and cannot wait to do all over again!

Summer Learning Fun! part 2

I know you have been on pins and needles waiting for day 2! :D

To start our day we practiced the Sign of the Cross and genuflecting again. Everyone picked the correct knee to genuflect on! Woot! Then we prayed our next decade of the Holy Rosary for our spiritual bouquet for our priests. Then I read a few more pages from this book

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After that, we looked through some memory cards I found somewhere on the internet of liturgical items: chalice, paten, purificator, censer, etc.
Then we read through all of these cards that I've had for years.

When they finished looking through all the cards, we popped in this DVD and we watched part 2 where the priest puts on his vestments, reciting the prayers for each one. Then the priest shows all the things that are used in the Mass, such as the chalice, paten, purificator, etc.

After lunch we finished up the rest of our "host" cookies.
That pretty much finishes our second day of Priest and Mass study. Come back tomorrow for day 3!

Summer Learning Fun!

With 2 girls gone to Schoenstatt Girl's camp this week and 4 little boys 'bored' without one of their favorite playmates to play with, I decided to put together something a little fun just for them. With my blog called "Just Heavenly" and our homeschool called "Heavenly Homeschool" and our homeshrine called "Heavenwards" you must realize that my one goal in life is to get myself, my husband and all our children to Heaven! Why not? Nothing else is as important to me than my children and their faith walk. Having 5 boys, 4 of them little and right in a row, hoping and praying that at least one of them chooses the priesthood is never far from my mind. So that was the main focus for our mini Vacation Bible School at home this week--the Priesthood and the Mass! So here we go!

First we started out practicing making the Sign of the Cross and genuflecting as a refresher for all of them. (The 2 year old of course looks like he is trying to poke his eyes out!) Then we prayed one decade of the Holy Rosary for our priests at church. At the end of the week, I will make thank you notes with an explanation of our week and informing them of the spiritual bouquet we made for them.

Then I read them a few pages of this book. I will finish reading it throughout the week. I love these books!

When we were done reading I gave them some coloring sheets and went over vestments with them, showing them how the priest's vestment colors are matched to the liturgical year. I found the coloring pages here and also used her Vestmant Craft (change the color) to have them change the vestments themselves! I also read to them the prayers the priest says as he is putting on each piece of clothing.

While they were coloring, I had some Mass songs playing in Latin in the background. When they were finished coloring, I took an old green bedsheet that I have already used to make them their own chasubles and cut out stoles for each one of them. Using fabric paint, I decorated each one of them. They will have to wait for the paint to dry to try them out though! (forgive our cutting and the wrinkly fabric! Mom has only so much time.)

After lunch was cleaned up we had to have a snack! Sugar cookies made to look like little hosts seemed to be a great finish to our educational and fun day. All four little boys helped with the measuring and then the 8 and 6 year olds helped roll them into balls to bake. I used a steak knife to put a little cross in each. I thought they turned out pretty cute!

That is the end of our first day of Priest and Mass study. I will post more pictures in the coming days so you can enjoy all the fun we are having. Thanks for reading and come back soon!