A journal of our adventures as we travel around the country with my husband's job while homeschooling our four children. What wonders God has in store! Favorite Motto: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:12:00 -0500 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:12:00 -0500 After our visit with Art and Betsy in PA, we battled NY traffic and finally made it to Grandma’s house. When we arrived on my parents’ block, my mom ran down the street to greet her grandchildren while we were still trying to find a place to park. It was so touching. Other relatives were there to meet us, including my birthday aunt, Titi Martita  (I was born on her birthday when she was a young teen)  with her husband Jim. They had driven down from northern NJ to see us since it had been years since we last connected. My sister and her whole family were there, including my niece’s two little ones Kaylie (age 2 yrs) and Layla (age 2 months). And of course my brother and my parents were there as well. What a happy family moment. Here's Kaylie meeting her two aunts for the first time! The next day, Uncle Joe (my baby brother) took my parents and my little crew sailing on his sailboat where we were treated to a view of NY's scenery from the water, NY Bridges, light houses, Execution Rocks and more. We were even able to point out old stomping grounds to kids, like Kings Pt Academy, the place where Greg and I met working on a harbor simulator. We also sailed by where Greg went to college:  Ft Schylur, SUNY Maritime College. My brother then sailed us over to City Island where we anchored and went into town for dinner. My kids experienced a seafood bonanza of lobster, scallops, Alaskan crab, calamari, mussels, clams and more, all courtesy of Uncle Joe. They tried everything - not a squeamish one among them. Then the nine of us lumbered our way back to the boat and sailed home. The high light of the trip was going into NYC the next day with my parents, my sister and my brother who joined us later. Since we had only one day, we opted to do lower Manhattan, saving Midtown for another visit. We rode the subway in (a first for my kids) and went to the World Trade Center site and visited St. Paul's Chapel, which was home to an extraordinary eight-month volunteer relief effort after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. We saw my old place of employment on 130 Liberty Street, which is presently being demolished, due to unrepairable 9/11 damage. We also visited another very old church, Trinity Church (founded in 1697), a calm respite right across from the NY Stock Exchange. It was very moving and very sad as I remembered how these places were 20 years ago when I worked in the area. People are still remembering the tragedy, and may we, as a nation never forget. Uncle Joe met us and we all rode the Staten Island Ferry so the kids could see the Statue of Liberty from the water since tickets to the statue were all sold out. They couldn’t believe people actually had to commute by ferry to work each day. We then went to South Street Seaport. Joe took the kids on the 'Shark', a high speed boat ride through NY Harbor where they learned that in New York, "BMW", stands for three of the NYC Bridges….the Brooklynn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges.Kimberly even had her picture drawn by a street artist. We also packed in tours of the seaport museum and an old lightship, the Ambrose, built in 1908, that Greg's grandfather used when piloting ships in and out of NY harbor. Then came a walk over to China town with good food and great buys. We shopped and ate and then made the long trip home. We were exhausted but happy. We stayed up and visited with all the family back at my parents’ home one last time and then we arose at 5:30 am the next day to make the long drive back to Charleston. But the trip wasn’t over yet. We stopped for 2 hours in Washington D.C. and visited the Lincoln Memorial, which the younger kids learned about this year, the WWII Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Of course we had our National Passports stamped appropriately. All in all, it was a whirlwind trip filled with many unforgettable moments. We were so blessed by so many people. I am so grateful. God is so good to us. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/710212/ Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:12:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/710212/ We were speared by road debris while driving on the turnpike from Philly, PA towards Staten Island, NY. Amazingly, it went into our bumper and didn't hit the windshield or get caught in the undercarriage of our vehicle. (God was definitely looking out for us!)  Pretty funny stares from people as we drove into the nearest rest stop to see what had happened.Thank you Lord! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/703663/ Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/703663/ Last week we drove 12 hours north to visit Greg’s family in PA, where his sister Lori spoiled us and gave us the whole top floor ( all three bedrooms) for us to relax and settle in. We visited his mom at her retirement community and had dinner with her in the main dining room. So many of her friends came by to comment on her grandkids. I think secretly she was thrilled.  See her smiling in this picture. She is only 88 yrs young. There was a married couple there in their hundreds! The Eddy family: Lori and Dick, their son Erik, and the newlyweds, Nick and Courtney, (Lori’s daughter Jenny was in Boston) spent time with us, feeding us good meals including a backyard barbecue, wiffle ball and ping pong, ten mile bike rides, orienteering (with ticks and all), and of course a little bit of shopping for the girls. We enjoyed many pictures from the wedding, courtesy of the proud mother of the groom. Plus we were able to spend more time with Grandma. It was a very relaxing fun time. Just the bit of rest we needed before we headed east to Long Island. On the way over, we stopped at the home of an old maritime buddy of Greg’s, Art and Betsy. Oh my, what an interesting afternoon. Art and Betsy have restored a farmhouse originally from the 1700’s and it is absolutely amazing. It is filled with nooks and crannies and hidden compartments. They have it furnished with all sorts of exotic antiques collected from all over the world during Art’s 30 years of shipping out. It was like being in a museum, only better. Art had a story about every piece, from so very many different countries, like suits of armor, an elephant’s foot, a ship's wheel, port holes and so much more. It was a homeschool mom's dream. Just think of all the history and geography they could learn there! Betsy was such a patient and generous host, plying us with food and answering our many questions. They are both so busy with their jobs and their home, yet still made time for us. I wish we had taken a picture of them. What neat people. Maybe next time. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/700974/ Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:42:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/700974/ Stranded in Shreveport, LA Isn’t it funny how unexpected interruptions can sometimes bless you in the midst of a stressful situation? As we headed east from spending the last few months in Texas, our truck overheated on the Texas/Louisiana border. I mean literally on the border. The truck and the camper were on the LA side and the van with the kids and I were on the TX side. God in His providence had provided a pullover area at just the right time. After much waiting for help to arrive, we drove to the nearest motel and Greg drove back to the stranded truck and camper. After all, it is very difficult to find a tow truck able to tow a truck and a 5th wheel late on a Sunday night. Fortunately we were eventually able to obtain someone to help us and he towed it to the motel, since the dealership was closed at midnight.  Now this meager motel was nothing to write home about, but, praise God, my kids were such troopers saying things like “it's not so bad” “at least they had a room available etc.” And it was true. While it was definitely not up to preferred standards, it was clean and provided necessities..a bar of soap, clean towels and toilet paper..what more do you need? The six of us managed to fall into an exhausted sleep in two full size beds (not queen size and yes no one complained..that is truly a miracle!)  The next morning Greg had the truck towed yet again where it was finally repaired after a couple of days. What was so revealing to me was how God blessed us in the midst of it. Since we were stuck in Shreveport, LA, we all piled into the van and discovered a charming city. We had a fun time visiting Sci-Port, Louisiana’s Science Museum with our science museum membership, which had lots of fun hands on activities to do, plus we meandered around in shops at the Boardwalk across the way. We enjoyed eating out a couple of nights in a row. My family blessed me another day with a few stolen hours at a lovely art museum called the R.W.Norton Gallery, located there in Shreveport . For some strange reason, the kids preferred to revisit the science museum from the day before rather than roam hallways of artwork.  Imagine that, kids preferring to play instead. This art museum was filled with an eclectic assortment from  favorites like Mary Cassatt and Auguste Rodin to major “Western” icons Frederic Remington and Charles Marion Russell. It just did wonders for my soul! I love being reminded of God’s wonderful handiwork in so many different ways.  Even the grounds surrounding the museum were beautifully landscaped along meandering walkways. Sigh…isn’t that just like God to bless you when you least expect it. Greg and the kids picked me up later and we went to the fountains where the two younger ones laughed with delight as they ran through a forest of jumping geysers. Ah....to be young again. We never did find an affordable restaurant for famous Louisiana cooking where we were at but we had such a good time just being together and not being able to school or work or even do laundry. Greg’s cracked rib got a few extra days to heal as well.   After three nights,(we were able upgrade to two rooms for the remaining two nights), we were finally on our way. After a couple more vehicle/rv “challenges”, shall we say, we eventually made it to South Carolina where Greg’s nephew, Nick, was getting married. We met up with aunts and uncles and cousins, played on the beach, ate good food and had great fun dancing at the wedding. Seeing Aunt Lori, the mother of the groom, rock out made an especially happy memory. Here's a picture of the happy newlyweds Since then the past couple of weeks have been spent finishing up school, becoming acclimated to a new town, and swimming in the pool everyday it isn’t raining. Summer is here. We spent the weekend in Charlotte, NC (4 hours north) visiting our dear friends, the Hueys. They spoiled us rotten with food and fellowship and we loved every moment of it. Our girls decided to stay on a couple of days visiting with them. We will pick them up on our upcoming trip North to visit lots of family. What a blessed and happy time we had visiting them. Such a special special family! Here's a photo of our Charlotte friends: Once again I am so grateful for the little life lessons God is teaching all of us along the way: To be grateful in all  circumstances,  to trust His Heart and to seize life’s precious moments. Honestly, in the heat of a challenge, I don't immediately respond well, but I am so grateful to see how God's hand is there all along (whether I realize it at the time or not!) How great is our God! Until next time, Be Blessed! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/697403/ Tue, 9 Jun 2009 13:45:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/697403/ Okay, its been a long time since I have been able to post,  so grab a cup of coffee or tea and prepare to relax and enjoy lots of pictures while we catch up. Our next stop in our travels landed us in a quiet little campground in Provo, Utah amidst beautiful fall foliage beneath towering snow capped mountains. Every weekend it seemed we were either biking or hiking somewhere enjoying the beautiful scenery surrounding us. It was amazing. We climbed Bridal Veil Falls, where the water was seriously ice cold. We hiked trails through Rock Canyon where the family managed to hike up to a cave in the side of a mountain. We visited Sundance Resort, biked as a family along the Provo River Parkway bike trail that meandered for miles and even managed a couple of homeschool field trips with our friends, the Steeles, to Wheeler Historic Farm and went Geo-caching with them at Jordanelle State Park.  Geo-caching there was quite engaging solving the supplied riddles and following our GPS coordinates while exploring the diversified terrain. Kelly did a wonderful job setting the field trips up for everyone. Oh and what a sweet weekend we had at Kelly and Chris’ home. They made us feel at home where we enjoyed wonderful fellowship, food, and laughter.  It was such a precious time getting to know one another better, hearing their hearts for their family and for reaching others. They even had their first Christ Fellowship group online service while we were there. They had 10 people in attendance. (Our two families combined ) Hopefully they will kick it off soon with the other relocated CF families and families from the community. They graciously showed us around Park City, where we shopped and dined and desperately long to come back during ski season. Since it was autumn, we enjoyed some fun fall activities there. There was a unique display of scarecrows created by local families for their annual tradition of Scarecrow Alley. We also went on a historical reenactment graveyard tour of the Glenwood Cemetery that gave us a glimpse of how the city was founded and the rigors of life in that time period. This is only done around Halloween and was surprisingly quite interesting. Another unusual homeschool outing! God providentially brought us to Christ EV Church in Orem, where we met some terrific families that made us feel welcomed. We hung out with the Brandley family several times, doing different things from contests at Macy’s, to pizza at Costco after church, to dinners at their home where we just enjoyed each others company and the kids just had fun bonding. All we originally planned was a hike together as families, which we never did get around to. The church itself welcomed us and helped us get plugged in right away through bible studies, youth retreats and children's programs. I was able to attend a Beth Moore Bible Study where I met some really lovely women like Nan Skurga, who has a gift for making make every person feel special. Christy Brandley and I bonded over so many many things, I am so grateful to have met her and made a friend for life. Terry Balian and her daughters made our family feel so at home from the very beginning, starting at the student retreat through bible study and even lunch at Mimi’s.  She and her husband unsuspectingly had our family over for dinner, where we enjoyed getting to know one another and laughed and laughed way into the wee hours of the morning. So much fun!  The kids are still enjoying the friendships we made and so look forward to returning soon. The colder weather was on its way so we had to make our south. We did manage to have our first family snowball fight after church one Sunday. I didn't get a good picture of the snow that day but here is one from later on in the week. It seemed funny to have snow on the ground while there were golden yellow and orange leaves still on the trees. But that is Utah weather I am told. We didn’t have the right gloves but we had so much fun. It's amazing how a snowball fight brings out the kid in you. It had been years since Greg and I threw a snowball. The kids even built a miniature snowman. Sadly we said our good-byes, including to a campground cat, whom Kristin named Pickles. This cat would not leave us alone and decided to adopt us while we were there, despite the fact that my family is allergic to cats. He was a very personable cat despite my efforts to the contrary. Eventually we headed 1200 miles southeast to Dallas. We stopped at Arches National Park along the way and saw some unusual rock formations. Yes, I made the kids go see more rocks but they were beautiful! The kids were good sports about it too. Jon helped with the driving, now that he has his permit, and we made it to Dallas in time to visit with the Gregorys and the Durruas before they headed east to Tennessee. We reconnected with the Peck family as well. Having a number of DMD families all together was such fun. Unfortunately due to the upcoming holidays and the nature of the job, it did not allow us a long stretch of time together, so we enjoyed ourselves as much as possible. I felt so blessed. God has indeed placed some incredible people in our lives that we would have missed out on if we were not on this wild journey. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/644007/ Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:14:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/644007/ "You're taking us to see MORE rocks?" wailed the children.  Ah, but they had never seen rocks like these before, that's for sure, as we ventured into Bryce Canyon, the land of hoodoos, jagged cliffs, and deep valleys. "Hoo what?" you ask...Hoodoos - strangely shaped rock formations that have been formed when ice and rainwater wear away at the weak limestone that make up much of the canyon. We had a wonderfully exhausting time of hiking, day after day, and then taking much needed soaks in a hot tub at night to ease our poor aching muscles.  (Ruby's Campground lets their campers use the pool and hot tub affiliated with their hotel. We were so blessed!) Seeing God's handiwork all around us was just breathtaking. Scenery I had never imagined existed, just spread out before us. The sunrise, Greg and I sneaked out for at Inspiration Point, was just beautiful.  Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is truly worth a visit. We also had a chance to glimpse plenty of wildlife such as Pronghorn Antelope, Mule Deer, Utah Prairie Dogs, Golden Mantle Ground Squirrels, Uinta Chipmunks and a strange looking mammal called "tourist". Oh yes, that was one of us.  Click on the link below called "Bryce Shots" and see a small slide show of our pics. Hope you enjoy!    Bryce Shots Can you find the Lion Hoodoo in this picture below? Hint: it is to the right of the tree. Have a wonderful day http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/611366/ Sat, 1 Nov 2008 16:35:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/611366/ We actually saw buffalo, deer, and antelope within days of each other as we headed into Utah. We said goodbye to our friends in Prescott and headed north to visit a previously unexplored state for us, Utah. But first along the way in Page, AZ we stopped to view the Glenn Canyon Dam and appreciate the beauty of Lake Powell one more time before heading north to Zion National Park. Once again the scenery along the way was beautiful. Here's our boys being forced into yet another pose for the camera! I love being a parent! As we drove into the park, we were impressed by the massive canyon walls and the array of colors from cream to pink to red on those towering cliffs. We saw our first herd of buffalo; met a great heron perched on a rock in the stream while on a hike; startled a mule deer in the woods; and had a chance to admire some crazy rock climbers. Just another typical day at Zion National Park. P.S. The antelope were spotted the next day at Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park Zion is unique in that we experience the view from the bottom of the canyon rather than the top like we did at the Grand Canyon.  It gives you an interesting perspective as you meander along the trails on the valley floor. “What is man that You are mindful of him...” Psalm 8:4a   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/600071/ Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:18:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/600071/ Lake Powell, Utah has to be the most beautiful place to enjoy skiing and tubing. We raced up there one weekend from Prescott ( a mere 5 hours)  to visit cousins David and Lisa, who were vacationing  there while the weather was still warm. We wanted one more chance to see them before we had to leave Prescott for good later in the week. We so enjoyed their company, their generosity, and their sense of adventure! They recently moved into a new home so we didn't get to connect with them this time around as much as we hoped.  We will miss them very much! Happy memories have been formed while we were here out west. Here’s my sweetheart waterskiing…not bad for a 48 yr old! Here's Dave showing us how it's done! The birthday cousins deciding whether to scale that mountain!   Lake Powell itself was incredible. The skies were blue, the cliffs just towered above us, and the water was so calm and warm. It was fun to swim, tube, ski and soak in the gorgeous scenery. We even picnicked on a private island and let the kids explore. As the ten of us all jumped in for one last swim before bringing the boat in for the day, a fleeting thought crossed my mind "Who's manning the boat?" Such a glorious day! Here are some photos. Isn't God's handiwork amazing? Look at these cliffs! Incredible!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/593169/ Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:37:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/593169/ We are in Prescott AZ now. Its very pretty up here and so much cooler in temp than Phoenix. We are in a remote campground since we couldn't find any RV parks that would allow kids. We finally found one and while it's not the best of places, it is very scenic. The funny part is that the only way to get signal on our cell phones is to go climb up high on some rocks just like in the movie "RV." This is a picture of my son finally getting signal for me. By the time I get to the top to make my call, I'm so winded I can't talk! Then, it is what they call "monsoon season" here, so we have to make sure we leave ourselves enough time to get back down the mountain everytime time we see a storm roll in. (The storms, which roll in quickly, are beautiful here, by the way) It is very funny and definitely a challenge to stay in touch with everyone.         The countryside in this part of Arizona is beautiful. The mountains, the sunsets, the rolling green hills ( my soul was thirsty for green after being in the desert for so long), the climbing rocks, the vast expanse of sky, I just keep drinking it all in everytime I'm out and about running my errands.          We went to downtown Prescott, visited a sweet local museum where my children had more enjoyment from the snail they found outside than the artifacts in the buildings.The ensuing science lesson was much more fun. We've definitely had our fill of pioneer history I'd say. We enjoyed the shops and eateries downtown. We visited Jerome,AZ which involved a very scenic drive up through the mountains. The ride just kept getting prettier and prettier. We learned the history of the town ( an old mining town once known as the largest ghost town in the US - Take note of the sign Daniel got a kick out of!) but found God's handiwork so much more interesting. With all the beauty surrounding us, the town seemed more like an eyesore. There was a mineral display, which took ordinary looking rocks, lit a black light by them and displayed beautiful florescent colors. Kind of like what God does with us. He takes ordinary experiences and produces beauty in our lives through them. The town's artist colony was interesting but they all seemed to be trying to imitate nature. The kids decided God was the ultimate artist after all.         We've been enjoying the cooler weather while we try to gear up for the next school year. As a family, we have been getting involved at a local church here, which has been nice. The kids have been hiking all over the terrain as well as taking bike rides to explore the lake. All in all its been beautiful. God has defintely been blessing us again ! Here's the view from our campground "The Lord God is my strength. He has made my feet like the feet of a deer, and He makes me walk on high places." Habbakkuk 3:19 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/576034/ Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/576034/ God blessed us again, this time with the opportunity to go see cousins Eric and Eleanor.  One weekend we all piled into the van and headed off to San Diego, California to see Eric and Eleanor in their new home. It finally sunk in how far west Phoenix actually is when you realize it is only a short 5-hour drive to San Diego. It was amazing how much the scenery varied along the way in such a short period of time. There were desert scenes that looked like we were in the Sahara, then  rolling green hills and even huge man-made windmills.  I had never seen windmills up close before. They truly are enormous. The final touch was arriving at Eleanor's at sunset and seeing hot air balloons up in the sky. We definitely were not in Kansas any more. The next day we took the kids to see the Pacific Ocean. The beautiful coastline wasn’t anything like what we see on the East Coast. There was even a mama seal and her baby were swimming nearby. The kids had the opportunity to experience the cold Pacific seawater as opposed to the Gulf Stream back home. My sneakers still smell of the salt water since I wasn't paying attention to the waves. Sigh! We ate delicious Wahoo fish tacos, an apparently San Diego classic.   Later we were lucky enough to spend the evening with Eric’s brother Kyle, who lives in Irvine, Ca. He drove down with his family and his mom and her grandson, who were both visiting from NY. We hadn’t seen any of them since the family reunion in PA last year. Kyle, his wife, Robyn, and Titi Ramona whipped up a gourmet masterpiece while Eleanor and I just sat at the counter and watched the masters at work. It was like watching a cooking show on TV. It was quite educating and entertaining and filling. The food was wonderful. In the meantime, the cousins, all eight of them, had fun running around the house playing 'Sardines'. The next day Eric and Eleanor took us to the famous San Diego Zoo. Eric even took the day off from work to be with us (a miracle!) I had visited the zoo when I was thirteen years old with my family on vacation and here I was (years later!) with my own 13-year-old daughter.  The zoo is still huge and remarkable.  All of us had sore feet and big smiles.  We saw animal after animal after animal. Kristin took some great pictures! It occurred to me that since we started on this traveling adventure, our family has gone to more science museums, art museums, history museums, botanical gardens, national parks, state parks and zoos than I ever thought possible. What a way to experience science and culture while seeing our vast country! Speaking of museums, the next day before we left, Eleanor managed to take us to Balboa Park where we went to the Fleet Science Museum and the San Diego Natural History Museum before making the trip back to Phoenix. Here’s a photo of Dan the Shipbuilder. One more notable point was when Eric took us to his latest place of employment, an exclusive hotel in the San Diego area where many wealthy and famous people stay. We saw a high-end suite of rooms that are rented out for thousands of dollars per night. The cost to furbish this suite was over 3 million dollars. Could you imagine? Eric took us to eat at the premier Japanese restaurant in San Diego, which was quite an experience. Dish after dish was brought out. So this is what it felt like to feast like kings and queens. Why is it that whenever we are with this side of the family, food has such a primary focus? It is always exceptional with them. For us though, the best part was just being with Eric and Eleanor. Having fellowship with them no matter where they are at in life is always sweet. Being able to come alongside them in prayer is what matters most. San Diego was certainly one of the prettier towns we have visited. I’m sorry it was such a short visit. We hope to come back for a longer stay and get to see the relatives from the other side of the family who are living here as well. So much to do so little time. Here we are at the San Diego Zoo!! "He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea."Job 9:8 (another photo by Kristin)   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/567654/ Fri, 8 Aug 2008 08:08:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/woodfamily/567654/