So long Summer

We will miss you Summer.  

Back to Eric's Roots

After our excitement in New Jersey...after all the rides and mini golf...after sharing time with family and friends...and lots of cheesesteaks and nights of indulging in ice cream...we hit the road.  Our destination was Lynchburg, Virginia: Eric's birthplace.  He was so interested in knowing what his first house (or apartment) looked like.  The girls were thoroughly impressed with the mountains we could see in the distance.  And Billy and I enjoyed riding around talking about our first two years of marriage.  When we drove up to our first apartment a flood of memories filled my mind.  We called it the Summer of Saturdays because everyday felt like Saturday...no jobs to go to.  No responsibility except to go to Walmart and buy all the things we realized we needed, like a broom and a toilet brush.  During our adventure we drove around and met up with a friend who showed us the new sights at Liberty University.  Tired already from driving, we went for a walk by the James River.  We didn't stop there...it was off the the hotel pool for a swim before bath time.  Once all six of us were squeaky clean and ready to crash we head back out for a dinner together, by ourselves...which actually took place four days later.  You'll understand after you scroll down.

We drove to the restaurant and waited with our little beeper for a half an hour.  Meanwhile, Billy began to sweat from head to toe...the soaking wet kind of sweat.  Terrible pain behind his eyes and completely ready to spew.  We still don't know what was wrong him that night.  So we headed down the road and back to the hotel with our McDonald's and Chic Fil A and ate in our hotel room.  Billy went straight to bed for twelve hours.  He woke up just fine...praise God!  And we hit the road again.  Just to let you know our trip finally ended with a spit ball fight in the van.  And we went to the Olive Garden four days later.  Together.  

Ocean City Boardwalk

The salty air. The view of a beach covered with umbrellas.  The life guards stands. The Music Pier.  The french fries.  The pizza.  The popcorn.  The attacks from sea gulls.  The mini golf.  The Surf Mall. The souvenir shops selling hermit crabs.  The fudge.  The Monkey Bread.  The lemonade.  The surrey rentals.  Ah. Yes. The rides.  Wonderland and Playland.  

The kids had a blast on the rides.  Eric and Alayna were braver than they anticipated they would be.  Eric ventured on to a SuperMan ride with Damian and Jordan.  He loved that high flying feeling.  Alayna dared to ride with Ava and Tabitha on a Big Kid ride.  The look on her face when this big ride (the name escapes me) was priceless.  I cracked up laughing the entire time.  When she got off and described it as a "stupid ride I am never going on again," I felt bad for laughing. But just look at that face.  Did you see how small her feet were compared to her cousins?  The kids were blessed with many memories...both with giggles and frowns.  Speaking of frowns...I had a sea gull attack me.  It landed on my head and tried to steal my french fries.  I ate dinner hiding under Ella's stroller.  The kids giggled.  A lot.   

More Pics...no video

Each trip we take and each holiday that rolls around, I tend to snap 10-20 seconds of video here and there.  I put them all together to make a short movie of memories.  That didn't happen this time.  Ugh.  The best moments on camera usually are candid.  The only video I have of our trip is in Ocean City while the kids are on the rides.  I can feel my stomach turn.  (No video viewing here.)   Here are a few pictures at the park, MomMom's house and at the zoo.  (NO animal pictures at the zoo...one only needs so many pictures of zoo animals on their computer.)

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Since Billy and I spent most of our lives in New Jersey, everywhere we turned there were more memories to laugh about and share with our kids.  The most significant though, by far, is sharing Aunt Mandie with them.  She died on August 4, 1999 right at the entrance to the development where I lived.  Now in Amanda Field's honor stands a sign and recreation complex dedicated to her: Amanda's Field.  A church in India and part of a Christian school in Mexico have also been dedicated to her honor, but to have the kids see where she went to heaven and play where her name stands is pretty special.

  

Just around the bend stands the house Billy grew up in from three years old til about ten years old.  "So he lived there when he was my age?" Eric asks.  "Cool."  We snapped this shot on a visit Billy and I took back in February.  The house stood right next to the road, right next to the road.  So the current owners, the couple that bought it from the Hasselmans' twenty years ago, decided to crank it...inch by inch, back further in the lot.  Pretty amazing!

Back at the park...Ella and Daddy both thought they were out the door too early.

They gathered up some steam to play, while Mommy sipped her Wawa coffee.  I filled up my travel mug everyday.

We called Ava "Monkey girl."

Cailin wanted to climb like a monkey, too.

How I wish Aunt Mandie could be in this photo!  (And how I wish I slept the night before!)

This is what Billy's old house looks like today. I practically screamed when I saw the house had quadroupled in size.  Billy knocked on the front door and pressed his luck to see if the owners were home.  The lady of the house answered and asked, "Are you a Hasselman?"  He got the grand tour. What a sight it must have been!

Mandie's memory still affects people today.  She died an fifteen year old girl.  And anyone who knew her, knew she was in love with Jesus.  Her journal entries stated, "It was the love of Jesus that saved me."  It's true.  Every year August the 4th rolls around and it hits me.  This isn't our home.  During my trip I began reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  It's about the vast love God has for us.  I am convicted of so much that I won't get into right now.  But I will end with this...

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:13-14

Make it count.

Summer Vacation...only the beginning

We rolled out of Hastings at 10am on a Saturday morning and after playing many car games, listening to the iPod until it died, listening to books on CD, and watching two movies, we arrived in Marmora, NJ at 1:30am on Sunday.  The kids did better than I anticipated and Ella actually took the best-behaved trophy.  And she only napped for one hour. That Sunday was filled with seeing so many familiar faces.  First, we got to see our Aunt Melissa!  Alayna had been asking to see her all summer and her wish came true!               

We were able to spend time with her at Aunt Darla's BBQ (as we say it in the North, otherwise known as a cookout in the South). The girls showed her the new cheers.  Seeing Melissa was bittersweet.  There's always so much to catch up with and so little time. We look forward to a visit from her whenever she can make it down here.  

At Aunt Darla's I was happy to snap this picture of MomMom and her girls!  This night was only the beginning of many others that they could spend together.  Alayna wanted to seeing Tabitha's room immediately...she had to see what Big Girl changes she made to the room.  (Disappointed there weren't Barbies to play with anymore though.)  

Alayna also was not shy about getting just as physical with her big boy cousins as she is with her brother.  Damian, Jordan, David, and Nathaniel understood Eric's pain just a little.

Cailin took a little while to warm up to everyone.  Seeing the crowds and crowds of people that knew her, but she herself didn't know...was a challenge.  I'm glad in this picture she was calm and relaxed.  Many times during the trip, meeting people overwhelmed her a bit.  It was during these times the I was reminded of my upcoming battle...PreK.  I know that she is going to enjoy it.  I also know that she will put up a fight in the beginning.  For Eric this phase lasted a whole month.  But ultimately, I know that breaking away from Mommy and socializing is best for her. (Deep breath.)  

Eric fit right in.  Being the oldest was his advantage.  He had the most memories of previous trips.  He also had several memories of living in New Jersey.    Now he just turned three when we moved to Florida and he had only lived there for just under two years. Yet somehow he developed a loyalty to New Jersey and swears its the best place on earth.  (He says its either New Jersey, or New York, or Los Angeles.)

They had chicken fights and a Slip N Slide covered in dish soap.  And a trampoline and swings and a slide built off a wooded firetruck.  What a night they had! 

Terri brought Popsicles!  They kids ran her off and tore into each kind she brought!

Eric even practiced football with the boys with Daddy has steady quarterback.  As if that night was not exhausting enough, it was only the beginning.  And I thought we were going to relax on vacation. (I'm such a fool).