Summer Vacation

Each year, the kids and I go to New York to visit my family. My 4 sibilings either live in NY (less than an hour from each other) or CT (about 2 1/2 hours away from the NY contingent.)  It is always a highlight of our year - and I'm so thankful for the opportunity for my kids to get to spend some time with their relatives on the Hendricks side of the family.

I am very thankful that the kids are such good travelers - and that Joe has come SUCH a long way in the last year. The long (9-10 hour) drive was no issue at all and he kept busy saying "hello" and talking to all of the diggers, bulldozers, trucks and cars that drove by. And, of course, eating.  My kids can eat.  If car snacking were a competitive sport, they could possibly be undefeated.

We made it to our final destination (Auntie Jen's house) with no issues and Liv was SO excited to see her favorite Auntie and her big cousins. Joe was, well, Joe ... and took a little to get settled in and was soon showing his cousins his trains, construction vehicles and firetruck.

For the next week, we were busy playing, swimming, seeing family, going to amusement parks, animal parks, going out for ice cream and swimming some more.  Obviously, the highlight of the trip for Liv was swimming in Auntie Jen's pool and hanging out in the hot tub (very briefly) with her cousins.  Joe-Joe enjoyed playing with his toys, going for ice cream to the "Ice Cream Train" and going over bridges or through tunnels. Perhaps his *favorite* part was riding on the train at Hoffman's Playland with Auntie Jen not once, not twice but THREE times while Kim, Nuna and I went on some rides. Sadly, this will be the last time that Hoffman's Playland will be open.  Hopefully, the pool will be a little more enticing to him next time.

Here are some pictures from our trip out east.  Enjoy!

My little equestrian

This summer has been quite exciting for nuna.  Last August, she started taking riding lessons and fell in love with the experience.  Earlier this year, she decided that she would like to compete in horse shows over the summer, a decision that caught us a little by surprise and we wondered how she would do with all eyes on her in the arena.  Liv has definitely rising to the challenge.

Riding horses has been an incredible experience for Liv.  She has become more self confident and poised, remains focused (when necessary) and. most importantly, is making new friends and having fun. We are very proud of how far she has come and can't believe how well she is doing having ridden for such a short period of time.

To date, Liv has been in 3 shows and has won 2 first place ribbons, 2 second place ribbons, a third and a seventh.  She loves everything about showing horses: the clothes, the excitement, the people ... and, of course,  showing off her skills. The older girls  in our riding club (Ashland Paint and Plain) who assist her have been wonderful at making her feel included and her instructor, Miss Emily, is nothing short of amazing.

We are very proud of our little equestrian and are looking forward to what lies ahead.  Here are some pictures from her first three shows:

Show #1 - Mother's Day

Getting very excited for her first event - and she wanted to go first

Going through her routine with Splash

Little miss after her first place win in showmanship. Cloud 9!

The riding portion is over - waiting to exit the arena

Showing off her ribbons

 Horse show #2

                                                         Hanging with Splash before her s 1st event of show #2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Joe Joe loves running around when he gets the chance

Liv and Ciera before she rides

 Show #3 - Father's Day

Joe says hi to EVERYONE he sees

 And a little video of her cantering during lessons.  She LOVES it!

We enjoy seeing her so excited about riding and being so proud of her accomplishments. We can't wait to see what she learns next - and how it will benefit her as a person outside the arena.  More to follow.

'Ketchup With Us' - Prompt #20 (My dear dad)

The twinkle in his eyes and quick smile showed his contagious joy

To hold his hand was to feel safe, secure, loved

In the Air Force, he was a brave defender of our country

As a pastor, he was compassionate and empathetic: listening to people’s problems, offering hope.

Taken too soon, he will always be my hero, my first love.

(I will try to post a better picture tomorrow - this is all I have access to right now) :)

'KETCHUP WITH US' - PROMPT #20

In this installment of ‘Ketchup With Us’, Michele and Mel have asked us to tell a story about a great dad in our life, fact or fiction in 57 words or less.

The Many Faces of Joe

It doesn't happen very often, but the other day Mr. Joe Sung Min was sitting still for an extended period of time and I was able to take a number of pictures of him.  He is a very expressive little dude and is very entertaining to say the least.  I've got to get some video of him because he is a very funny boy.

Enjoy!

 

My Doppelgänger

Twenty (mumble) years ago, I was likened to

 a jealous, plotting sister and a rebellious, dancing daughter.

What’s that you say? How can THAT be?

Relax, people.

The likeness was in looks back then – and now not quite so much.

There is ONE thing still the same:

Nobody puts Baby – or Becky – in the corner.

***************************************

This was written for the 14th installment of "Ketchup With Us." Michele and Mel challenged us to write, in 57 words or less about our doppelgänger. Do you see the resemblance?

Life on the Farm - An Update

Things have been quite hectic here these past few weeks.  The past 3 weeks I've been traveling and have been away more than I've been home.  That makes for an extra crazy time for the Papa, having to manage all aspects of the house and the farm.

The first week I was away, our long awaited dining room table and bench wer delivered.  By "delivered", I mean dropped off at the end of the driveway. For Brian to manage. Alone. He was not pleased.  Especially when he did get the table into the house but could NOT get it into the dining room. Oops.  I was convinced that when I got home, I could help him get it into the room, you know, having TWO people it would make the task easier. Well, mostly.  We tried EVERYTHING, and every possible doorway to no avail.  Finally, he had a moment of genius and begun to take out one of the windows.  Sure enough, we were able to maneuver it in that way.  What a relief.  It was definitely worth the effort.  What do you think?

Once the table was situated, I could relax. The weather outside was unseasonably pleasant so we all went outside and visited with all of the animals/pets.  They were quite happy to have some company.

First up, the chickens.  When they hear and see us coming, they come a-runnin' hoping for some crackers, cheerios or whatever goodies we are sharing with them.  They are quite silly.

Nuna couldn't wait to show me the trees that Mr. Alex cut down while I was away, in case I hadn't noticed the three big trees that were down in the front yard.  The kids had fun scrambling over the trunks and through the branches and they slowed down just long enough for a picture or two.

Next up were the turkeys and the pigs.  This, as we soon found out, is mating season for the turkeys and we saw Josey Wales and Mr. Drummond posturing around poor Smarty.  We left them alone and found that one of the hens had laid an egg in a little nest she made on the ground.  Awwww.

From there, we made our way to the back of the property where Wilbur and PorkChop reside.  Joe hadn't seen them in quite awhile and he was enamored with them.  He LOVES those piggies (who are an awful lot like dogs) and kept running back over to give them "pat-pats."

The busy day ended with each of the kids getting to ride on the tractor/bulldozer with Papa and then having some fun pretending to drive/and or sitting in the bucket.  From the looks of it, we are going to have quite a fun summer on the farm.  Who knew?!?

 

As we went in for the night I noticed we weren't the only ones getting ready for bed.   I'd never seen this before, but all five of the turkeys were roosting up on the roof of the wood shed.  I'm not sure if they stayed that way all night, but it made for a neat picture!

In the next few weeks we will be adding two goats to the mix so things will really start to get interesting.  Nuna suggested we give you all some video tours of the farm and I think that is a great idea - so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ketchup With Us #13

For this installment of Ketchup with us, Michele and Mel have ordered encouraged us to write about someone whose shoes we would like to walk in for a day.

With boundless energy and nary a care in the world, I would welcome each day with open arms.

Enjoying the small things: cheerios, coloring, being silly and playing outside for hours

Naps, family hugs, tickle fights and snuggles at bedtime would round out my day.

The best part? Tomorrow I get to do it all over again.