Lady Liberty

While the Sheas were here we finally visited the Statue of Liberty! Here's a little back story: when we learned of our assignment to New Jersey we needed a good way to present the move to our girls. We couldn't think of anything in New Jersey that they would know about, but we knew that the Statue of Liberty was fairly nearby (remember, our nearest Target store was a mere 104 miles away from us in Altus, so "near" is definitely a relative concept). Anyway, the Wonder Pets have been to the Statue of Liberty so my kids knew all about it. We talked up New Jersey by telling them how close it is to the Statue of Liberty and we promised them a visit. Needless to say, they have been bugging -er, I mean- asking us about when we would be able to go there since we got here.

The Sheas visit finally motivated us to actually get up there. Now before you think we're so lazy for not having been up there sooner, please be aware that one must purchase ferry tickets to get to the Statue. And it should be done in advance. There's planning involved here, people! Fortunately for us, you can also fly by the seat of your pants and buy your ferry tickets the day before your intended trip. That's our kind of advanced planning!

Lady Liberty did not disappoint. We stopped by Ellis Island, too, for a visit to the Immigration Museum. And then we rode the ferry back to New Jersey and visited the New Jersey Science Museum, which was also pretty cool. Both girls were so inspired by the Statue that they decided to be Statues of Liberty for Halloween (though there's quite a bit of time between now and then for a girl to change her mind...).

Our kindergartener

I'll get back to blogging about the Sheas visit later, but I needed to pause for a moment to announce that our Claire-bear is going to start kindergarten! Not long ago she was our little Claire-baby, toddling around and engaging anyone who would hold still in a baby-babble conversation. Now she's a school-aged KID! Crazy.

Anyway, I took that big kid to her orientation today. She told me that she felt a little shaky when we pulled into the parking lot. I held her hand and walked her in and kept my own tears in check. She got to meet her teacher and classmates and do a few activities while I went to the parent orientation. Then we got to do an orientation ride on the school bus. Yes, you read that correctly. My baby is going to ride a school bus. Eek! It's only about a mile-long trip, though, and the kids on her bus will be 2nd grade and younger. But it freaks me out a bit, nevertheless.

Her teacher seemed really nice, there were lots of little girls in her class, and the bus ride was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I think we're both about as ready as we're going to be for this step. Pretty sure I'm going to bawl when I load her onto the bus that 1st day, though!

going into the building

in her classroom

riding the bus!

The Shore with Grammy & Grampy

Phil was in charge of planning our excursion to the shore, so of course there was something tall to climb at our destination. He managed to find a lighthouse in a state park (the Barnegat Lighthouse, standing at 172 feet tall) and then he talked his dad and our two little girls into going up to the top with him. He claims they all wanted to go. I don't know about his dad, but Madeline loved it up there. Claire was a bit more timid at the top.
They all managed to wave at me and Sandi on the ground:


Next up: we hit Atlantic City for some dinner. The gambling will have to wait for another day -- we had some hungry kiddos to feed! We found some yummy fish and the girls searched the sand for seashells with their grandparents. Fun day!

Grammy and Grampy were here!

Truly, is there anything better than a visit from the grandparents? Maybe this isn't the case for every family, but when our parents come for a visit we LOVE it! They play with the kids. They take 'em for walks and treats. They can often be found doing the dishes or crafts with the girls. It's wonderful.

Our latest grandparental visitors were Phil's parents. We managed to cram in quite a bit of fun in a little over a week with them: The Jersey Shore and Atlantic City, the Statue of Liberty, a Children's Garden, and plenty of good old-fashioned play. Come back soon, Grammy and Grampy!

Yeah, yeah, I know you all want to see pictures. They're coming, I promise!

Yay grandparents!

Mom and Dad with the Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background, Philadelphia

Phil's parents just left here after a nice visit. I sat down to do a blog about it when I realized that I still hadn't blogged my parents' visit. From May. Oops. We were a teensy bit busy and I hadn't downloaded my pictures and... well I didn't get to it. So we'll travel back in time for a bit.

My parents were (again) so sweet and helped us move into our new home. They kept the kids for us, moved furniture, helped organize vast amounts of stuff and didn't complain one bit about staying in a small apartment on base for several days or about sleeping on an inflatable mattress amongst the boxes in the playroom in our new house. I am so, SO grateful for their support and help during our move. We had a few "situations" with our housing that made for a wee bit of unexpected stress, but having my parents around made it all so much better. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

That being said, it wasn't ALL work while they were around. We did find some time to see a few sights in Philly. We made a very brief trip to the shore. Mom and Dad explored Ft Dix a bit to find some of Dad's old stomping grounds, including his barracks from when he was stationed there alomst 40 years ago. And we tried Philly Cheesesteak Hoagies from several places in a quest to find the yummiest one. Since then Phil and I have found a few more yummy hoagie places, so hopefully my dad will heal up quickly and they'll be able to come visit us again soon!

Paw-paw helps Colin fly his airplane

Finding seashells at the shore with Grandma Bethie

Carriage ride in Philadelphia