Back to blogging?

Posting the above picture is proof to me that I can still blog. 

Well, too much has happened over the course of a year to document in one post.  But my life has changed in the past few months and because my dear friend Laura will be posting fun adventures often and I will be checking up on her adventures often, well, I was thinking maybe I should blog.

Updates:

Matt - enjoying life as a professor teaching kiddos about his favorite subject:  history

Collin - took a brief break from acting but was able to audition for a PIXAR movie (he was not cast) but that revived his love for acting so he's on the lookout for parts.  Is training for cross-country - his first sport since tball in prek.  Is very excited about middle school.

Katie - lover of all sports and generally spunky and busy girl, played volleyball for the first time.  She was the smallest on the court but very tough.  Loves basketball, gymnastics, and swimming.  

Jackson - lover of trains, specifically Thomas and friends.  Has learned to read this summer.  He is a charmer with the ladies (older types).

Me - wrapped up 11 great years at Sonshine School in May, wrapped up 1 1/2 years at OCWA in June, heading back to work full time teaching preK at Oklahoma Christian Academy, began my masters degree in Educational Leadership - LOVE IT!  (I started this masters with 1 class in 1998.  I was 24, knew I wanted it someday, didn't really care that much about it then.  Really care now!)

Husband brag:  Matt has turned into Mr. Mom (like at the end of the movie, Mr. Mom - not the soap opera watching one).  He has been in charge of our kiddos all summer as I go to class and soak up information.  He has...made them do chores, taken them to the zoo, taken them to play dates, had picnics at the park, gone swimming, taught Jackson how to read, done laundry, read countless books with and to kiddos, and just generally put his work life on hold to help me get my masters degree. 

 I love him.  :)

Traveling from Hurricane, Virginia to Arlington, Virginia

 We left the hotel early this morning after stopping at an auto store to get a new windshield wiper (we heard it rains a little bit each day in DC).  We took the "Midland Trail" scenic drive.  It follows the Kanawha River and is oh-so-beautiful!  I have really loved taking the road less traveled on portions of our vacations.  Above are the Kanawha Falls.  This portion of the scenic drive is in the Allegheny Mountains - lots of switchbacks but such pretty views. 

 We stopped at the New River Gorge National River site and saw the New River Gorge Bridge.  I'm scared of heights.  Very scared.  And driving over a high bridge isn't my cup of tea.  But apparently it's my family's cup.  :)  So we drove across...twice.  We stopped at the Canyon Rim visitor center and the big kiddos became Jr. Rangers again.  :)  You can learn so much when your kiddos become Jr. Rangers.  We also snacked and took a small hike along the rim of this canyon.

 Two historical points of interest.

 I had to get my John Denver on as we traveled through West Virginia.  It is so, so pretty.

 Our last scenic stop of the day was at Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home.  This is the coolest presidential home.

 The kiddos loved the kid's center at Monticello.  I was so impressed with this place!  Last time we were here we didn't have kiddos, so I'm guessing we didn't visit this center or it's new.  Katie is doing a rubbing of the home.

 Jackson is pretending to draw water from a well.

 Katie is pretend cooking over a fire.  I know God made me born in the 70s for a good reason.  I am an adequate cook with all my kitchen conveniences!

 Collin remade the porch of Monticello in blocks.

 One of our few family photos on the trip.

 Here is a small glimpse of Jefferson's massive gardens.

 Thomas Jefferson liked to come to this small house to look out at his land, gardens and think and write and plan.

 We really enjoyed this day of traveling.  We had some lovely stops and plenty of time to get wiggles out during the drive.  We made it to our hotel in Alexandria.  It was a Springfield Marriott.  Very modern.  We had two queen beds and a "living" section of the room where there was a couch.  This fit our family of 5 really well.  Also had a tiny fridge and microwave so we had a place to keep Jackson's food fresh.  (Huge relief to this momma).

End of Day 3, June 29, 2013

Day 2, Day 2 - Vacation post

 We left St. Louis and headed east.  We stopped along the way at Thomas Lincoln's farm.  Here is Collin as Honest Abe and Katie measuring her feet against Abe's.

 This is a beautiful, not very well known National Park in Indiana.  It cost only $5 for the day to explore and hike and learn about Abraham Lincoln as a boy.

 After a movie and quick trip through the museum we are off to find the farm.

 Abraham Lincoln's mother died at a young age of "milk poisoning"!!  That means the cow ate some sort of grass that tainted the cow's milk.  It sounds like this was a long drawn out death and very painful.  Several in the little community here all had it and all died.

 Our Chubba Chubba Choo Choo had to have his picture taken on the train tracks.

 

 We visited the reproduction of Thomas Lincoln's house, a one-room house that had bed, table, fireplace and the upstairs loft where the boys slept.

 Katie and Collin both decided that the upstairs they sleep in is a little more comfortable and had such a hard time imagining kids not being afraid when they slept up there.

 Mom and Dad Lincoln's bed along with trundle bed for the sister.  Going to really try not to complain about my old queen size mattress anymore.

 The smoke house.  Also hard to imagine a time where there weren't grocery stores and just getting meat whenever you wanted, but killing the animal you were going to eat later.

 We took a hike down to the Lincoln's well.  And it was a hike!!  Makes me also appreciate WATER and the fact that I can have it anytime I want and anywhere I want.

 After a picnic lunch on the Thomas Lincoln farm we headed into Kentucky.

 I know I'll mess up this historical moment, but I believe Matt wrote a portion of his dissertation on the Cane Ridge meeting house.  Is that right my love?  Anyway, he/we wanted to see it.  And while we did get to see it, apparently we spent too long at the Lincoln farm and did NOT take into account a time change so we arrived just at closing.  Matt got to go in and see briefly while the custodian was cleaning.  I stayed in the van with the kiddos.

We've made several travel notes about this day.  Thomas Lincoln's farm is worth seeing again.  We want to stop in Santa Claus, Holiday Indiana and go to Holiday World, a little theme park dedicated to holidays.  And re-see the Cane Ridge meeting house.  We traveled on from Cane Ridge, Kentucky all the way to Hurricane, Virginia to spend the night.  On this night our right windshield wiper on the van started acting up.  (more on this story later.)



In 2013 we took a little trip

 We got an early start on the morning of June 27 and made it to this rest stop in Missouri by 9:00am.  My heart was quite glad as I like to stick to my schedule.  :)  The kiddos had fun playing on the playground at the rest stop and looking at all the license plates on the wall.

 My type A personality is not liking the fact that my pictures are out of order and I don't know how to rearrange.  Let's move on.  The photo below is me smiling because we are on solid ground!  I do not like heights.  My palms are sweating just thinking about being up in the St. Louis Arch.

 Matt is not scared of being up high.  And let the kids look out of these tiny windows that slanted out!!  I felt sure their body weight on the window sill was gonna knock that thing over.

 Under the arch is a lovely museum.  We wish now we had sprung for the IMAX movie on Lewis and Clark, but oh well. 

 A great carving on the wall of the museum.  It showed all the monuments and how tall they were.

 Yowsers!

 Since I am not blogging from my notes, but only my memory...something really important in US history happened in this building.  I can't remember what...something like a freed slave sued his master.

 See that teeny-tiny smidge of a walkway.  We walked across it.

 A pretty fountain in the lobby of our hotel.  I highly recommend this hotel if you are ever staying in St. Louis!!  Drury Inn at the arch.  Fantastic!  And I am somewhat of a hotel snob, so says my husband.  Popcorn and cokes from 3-10 in the lobby.  Appetizers from 5-7.  Breakfast, like a big, delicious breakfast made by chefs not a warmed over pastry from 6:30-10.  All included in the price.  Will stay with them again!

 This photo is for Pops:  Katie with Sacagawea.

 Fitting a family of 5 in a hotel room can be challenging.  Jackson was really excited that they had a "perfect size for me" bed AKA a chair and ottoman.  He slept there all night.

 You see how these photos are out of order and I tried to move this one and it attached itself to the above photo.  Here are kiddos are the rest stop playground.

 

And here they are at the playground in somewhere, Missouri.  Yay for picnicking along the way.  Very fun!

 I like to find and eat at local restaurants while we are traveling.  1) we don't eat out much because of food allergies and 2) it's fun and a bit risky.  I like to live on the edge.  Here we are at Charlie Gitto's.  Supposedly this guy made up the fried ravioli!  So we had some for appetizers.  Along with some pretty pricey pizza.  (packed in J's dinner, don't you worry about him).  Don't believe we will return to this place.  A plus...it was close to arch and hotel.  A minus...I make a better homemade pizza.

 Door number 5 for the 5 McCooks held our pod to take us up to the top of the arch.

 The joyous faces and Katie with her "safety stick".  I was the only nervous one!  And I tried to hide it and be brave.  Matt said it was obvious to all that being up high is not my forte'.

 Becoming a Jr. Ranger at the Arch.

 Katie and Collin, with help from dad, found Jesse Chisholm's picture in the museum.  Their elementary school is named after him.

All in all a very fun day 1.