The End of a Chapter

Our family adventure in Maryland has come to an end.

We spent our last week with a few more beach visits, and a memorable trip to Annapolis, Fort McHenry in Baltimore, and Washington D.C..

Our first stop on Monday, July 3 was to the Maryland State House.

We did a self-guided tour of the State House.

It was very awesome to stand in the very room where George Washington resigned.  It was neat to be able to share this experience as a family, and explain to the kids why his resignation was so important.

We then walked to the U.S. Naval Academy.  We took a nice walk around, and took in some of the sites.

We then did a short walk by the water.

Annapolis was very nice.  Kind of wish we had spent more time in this area.  Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

We then drove to Baltimore for a visit to Fort McHenry.

As we pulled up the full sized Star Spangled Banner was waving over the Fort.  It looked awesome.  I wanted a photo now, but I was still driving.  Unfortunately by the time we got into the visitor center, the winds had picked up, and the large flag was replaced with the storm flag.  I was seriously bummed.

This place is preserved very well, and the presentation in the visitor center is very well done.  Another for sure visit if you're in the area.

I have this thing with making the kids pose for a picture whenever we are in a National Park.  This one is great just to show the scale.  The bridge in the upper left corner is about 4 miles away.  The British were about 2 miles away.  Francis Scott Key would a been a few to several miles out watching the battle, and then seeing the Star Spangled Banner raised over the Fort in the morning.  

Pretty awesome!!!

We then drove to Alexandria, VA for our night's stay.

The morning of the 4th, we made our way into DC.  We wandered through the American History Museum a bit.  I always enjoy this museum.  In this photo I found the name of the canning seals very funny.

We also wandered around the Mall.  

The balloons were all ready to go for the parade.

There were many circus acts practicing along the Mall.

Gavin was taking in all of the new trampoline tricks.

We then met up with the Carson family from Huxley to watch the parade.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to the hotel to rest and freshen up.......it was a hot, hot day!

I enjoy the DC Metro.  

(That is until it doesn't go according to my schedule.)

And it really stinks when you leave your newly loaded Metro cards at home........but that's a whole other story.

That evening with our Jimmy John's sandwiches in hand, we made our way to the Marine Memorial to wait for the sun to go down.

We ate our supper, and watched fireworks from other celebrations in the background.

This was exactly the view I wanted for us to remember.

It was also pretty awesome.

The 5th we headed back to home.  The 6th we loaded the truck.  The 7th we headed towards Iowa; spending the night in Cambridge, Ohio.  There were a few tears, and lots of emotions as we left our Maryland home.

We got in to Huxley about 8:00 Saturday night.

The house had been cleaned by cleaning fairies named Donna and Stacey.  They even did a bunch of yard and garden work. 

Our fridge had been stocked by grocery fairies named Stacey, Beth, and Mindy.

My mom and my sister's family came Sunday to help unpack.  Phil's mom also came to help, and returned the family cat.

This Saturday my sister hosted a nice party for us.

Sunday we went to church, and then out for pho.......the usual routine.

So that chapter has come to an end, and we are most thankful for the adventure.

The next chapter is beginning.

Phil is traveling this week for work.  He is busy with start up in Colorado, and finishing up the project in Delaware.

Cora is busy getting in as much Iowa as she can before she leaves in September for five months in Austria.

I have decided all three boys will be going to public school this year.  This decision didn't come lightly for me, but I do believe this is where our family is now.  I may look for a small bit of work, but I haven't committed to anything yet.

It will be very interesting to see what the next chapter holds for the Soash Family.

Thanks for reading  -Jessica

Coming to and End

We have one week left of our stay here.

We are beginning the packing process, and getting in as many beach days as possible.

Last week Cora had her Senior Portrait Session at sunrise in Ocean City.  I was told to go stand "over there", and not to interfere.  I had brought my camera, so I took in the view.

Sunday, the 25th we went into DC for a Nationals game.

Cora was very excited to see her friend, Lauren, and spend time with her at the game.

Monday, Cora's Austrian Visa came.  WooHoo!!!

We've rented a surfboard a few times in the last week, and the boys have been trying to figure it out.  There were a lot of spills and falls, but there were also a few successes.

This week we packed some more and took most of the furniture back to the furniture consignment store.

We're hoping to get in one more beach visit this weekend.  Then Monday through Wednesday we'll be in DC experiencing Independence Day.

Friday morning we'll all be packed up and ready to drive back.

Some days have been long and there have been some personal struggles and growth, but the time as gone really quite fast.

There's a lot that we haven't seen and done, but there is also so much that we have seen and done.  As I look back at posts and photos, it has truly been a great adventure! 

Thanks for Reading -Jessica

Here and There

June 8th the kids had their last official day of school at Salisbury Christian.  Phil and I feel very blessed for our kids to have had such a good experience at school out here.  Athan's grade had a picnic the last day.  I walked with him into his classroom after to gather all of his remaining things.  He walked right up to Mrs. Hudson with a big, big hug and lots of tears.  He was crying, she was crying, the assistant teacher, Mrs. Douglas, was crying, and I was crying.  He had a good first year with "real school".

The 9th the kids and I drove to Jersey City, NJ via the ferry.  It wasn't any faster.  It actually added time to the trip, but it was a very pleasant experience.

Phil wasn't able to fly in to meet us until Saturday afternoon, so after we got to our hotel in Jersey City we went over to Manhattan.

We enjoyed some fries from Pommes Frites at Washington Square Park.

We then made our way to Battery Park.

Our first stop was the SeaGlass Carousel.

The boys did a ride.  Cora and I enjoyed the experience of just watching.  I could have sat and watched this all night.

If you're ever in the area, it's a must see.

We then walked down to enjoy the sights.

Ok, the last picture of the kids was set up.  Cora wanted a serious kind of photo.

We walked North a bit to view the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial.

 The next morning we slept in, then ventured our way back over to Manhattan.  We tried to get to a store.  First we got onto the wrong train, then we finally made our way to the store, only to find it closed.

We then made our way to Tompkins Square Park to eat the lunch we had packed, then we headed back to the hotel to meet Phil.

After a short rest at the hotel, we were Yankees Stadium bound.

 Sunday we got going late, had ramen for lunch together, then we dropped Phil off at the airport.  He returned to Colorado, and we headed back to Eden.

We almost made it home and the alternator went out on the van.  Fortunately our neighbor, Tara, rescued the kids and AAA rescued the van.

The week before our neighbor, Buck, helped me install a new tire stud on the van.  We've definitely been blessed with good neighbors!

Monday we went to Assateague State Park.  I just purchased a year pass and it's already paid for itself.

Our spot was inspected, snacks eaten, and then taken over for a nap by the local "wildlife".

That night we drove to Wallops Visitor Center to watch the rocket launch, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate.

Tuesday we were back at Assateague, but this time with our snacks better secured.  We again drove to Wallops that night, for again a no go on the launch.

Wednesday, the 14th Cora had her Visa appointment at the Embassy of Austria in DC.

This Visa thing has caused me so much stress.  There is so much paper work for this adventure, and I don't fully understand a lot of it.

We were late to our appointment due to two Metro issues.  It was very hot and humid, so we all looked terrible after walking 3/4 mile in a hurry to get there. Then I realize in the mass of paperwork I have with me, that I forgot the actual Visa application.

New application filled out, and they ask for forms we didn't even know we had to have.  The man is amused that Cora is homeschooled.  He's more amused that we don't have any government permission to do so.  It's not going well.

Finally, I think we make progress, pay the fee, and we're off.  I'm just done with the day, but we drove all the way into DC.  We eat our lunch in some random park, then we take the metro back to the van.  I just cannot focus and make the most of the day.

That's a whole lot on that one experience, but it was a lot for me and Cora.

Good news: I just found out yesterday that her Visa has been approved!  

Thursday, the 15th I had my last day at the hospital.  

The nurses had cake, pizza, and one made spring rolls too.

A very nice card, and a gift bag of local goodies.

Late Friday night Phil got into NYC.

Saturday the rest of us were NYC bound.

This time it was for a Mets game.  I figured if the game was on Long Island, that we should just get a hotel on Long Island.......I figured wrong.

It was under the river and through the buildings, weaving through traffic, circling the block, and a 6.5 hour drive in total.  No parking at the hotel.  I dropped off the kids, Phil handed them the keys, and we left to go park the van a mile away.

A train ride back, a quick freshen up, and train ride to the game, and we made it.....an hour late, BUT we made it!

The game was a good experience.

The next day we voyaged back over to Manhattan.

Cora wanted to see Times Square again.  I think she'd be happy just sitting there and taking it all in all day.

I wanted to see the model boat sailing, so we took the subway and a long walk through Central Park.

We walked over to Pastrami Queen to grab a couple sandwiches.  We have slowly come to realize that these kind of places are not made for family dining.  So we took the train back over to Long Island, walked down to the river, and there ate our late lunch.

The view was well worth the hassle.

After enjoying all of that, Phil headed back to the airport to go back to Colorado, and the rest of us were home bound.

This time, it was a different route.  Driving 50mph on Staten Island is so much better than that Manhattan Island driving stuff!

 Yesterday we were back at the beach.

I rented a surf board for Obi and Gavin to try.  They were overruled by the strong South to North current, but I think it was a very good learning experience for them.  We will try again Thursday.

 Today we were invited by a family we know through school to their place on Deal Island.  I had to pass, but the kids went to enjoy the day.  I needed a day to just rest and get caught up on some details.  I'm pretty sure the kids are having a great time.  I've already been sent a photo of Gavin knee boarding on the bay.

Thanks for catching up with us!

-Jessica