So, we were all packed and ready to take a little trip to MI…

Tuesday night, around 10pm, Caleb woke up screaming. His throat hurt… and his ears hurt… and he was so congested he could hardly breathe. Phil and I had been fighting summer colds for the past week, so it was not altogether shocking that one of the kids would get sick. It was amazing, however, that Caleb got so sick, so fast. I spent the rest of the night wondering if I should just take him to the ER, but I couldn't seem to find time between all the breathing treatments, hot showers, and juice cup refills. Eventually we fell asleep. Try not to take that too literally, though. Actually, Caleb fell asleep in my bed, and I laid next to him, holding Ian, and listening to him breathe for the rest of the night.

In the morning, I gave Caleb a bath and some more meds and walked into the doctor's office. I try not to do that. I am actually very good about making appointments, and most of the time I even remember them. However, on this particular morning, I should have been across the state line already, and I didn't have a whole lot of time to waste. They took us right in, which was greatly appreciated… especially since Caleb didn't even appear sick anymore.

To make a long story short, we were on our way to MI, with even more medicine in hand, only 3 hours later than planned. When you consider the construction and grid-lock traffic, it's not so bad that I picked my mom up to go shopping only 4 ½ hours late. Please note the sarcasm here…

My mom and I had a very nice evening. We bought tons of clothes for the kids, because Seth and Grace are growing like weeds! Baby boy clothes are just too cute, so Caleb and Ian got some new things, as well. Mom and I had Chinese for dinner, which is always a plus, because Phil and the kids hate Chinese food, so I rarely get to eat it.

After a better night's sleep… not great, mind you, but better… we loaded up the van again and headed for Michigan's Adventure and Wildwater Kingdom with Phil's parents. I had never been there before, and I found it to be quite fun. It is not Cedar Point, but let's face it, what park can compare? I found MA to be very nice, because it wasn't so overwhelming. It was actually possible to ride everything in one day with time to spare. I didn't, however, ride everything, but we'll get to that…

We started the day with some kiddie rides. After that, we rode a small roller coaster, some cars, and the ferris wheel. Seth and Grace wanted to ride the frog hopper, but Caleb was a little nervous. Unlike at CP, where the frog hopper is strictly for kids, MA has a policy that allows some "small" adults to ride. I do not consider myself small. However, I am relatively idiotic when it comes to my desire to ride everything possible, so I thought it couldn't hurt to ask… The ride operator actually let me on the thing, and, yes, the seatbelt and harness bar snapped just fine. Of course, this picture is worth posting. Please feel free to laugh to your heart's content…

We rode an assortment of spinning rides next, and by "we", I mean me and the kids. Everyone else seemed... uh... content to watch. One thing that I noticed was that the measurements are very lax in comparison to CP. Grace was able to ride everything, without question, even though I think she was a little short for some attractions. At any rate, we were doing great until we boarded the Tilt-A-Whirl. For some years now, Tilt-A-Whirl type rides have made me mildly queasy. This one was the final straw. We spun around… and around… and around… I honestly thought it was never going to stop. And my kids were not encouraged by the words, "Mommy is going to throw up!" For the record, I did not, indeed, throw up. However, I am not going to be riding the Tilt-A-Whirl anymore. And with that, I realize that I have just become less fun to take to amusement parks… Oh well… I value my breakfast and do not wish to see it twice…

My Last Spin on the Tilt-A-Whirl

We walked back to the car and had lunch, but I'm not sure my stomach was ever completely settled after that. I did manage to have a great time at the water park and to enjoy the swan boats, large flume ride, and raft ride in the afternoon. It was a cool day, though, and we were soaked!

One word about Wildwater Kingdom… there is a good reason that Funnel of Fear has a 48" height requirement. Phil, Seth, Grace, and I rode together, and poor Grace bumped her butt all the way down the ride, because she was too small to fit in the tube properly. It is the only time I can ever remember Grace getting off a ride and informing us that she was never riding it again, because she didn't like it. The child will ride anything! She was just not the right size…

We rode the train to the front of the park and continued to ride bumper cars, the smaller flume, and more spinning rides. Eventually we worked our way to the Mad Mouse roller coaster, which was unique and quite fun.

Me and Ian on the Giant Gondola Wheel Grandpa and Caleb on the Train

Seth, Grace, and Me on Grand Rapids Phil and Seth on the Swan Boats

Let me backtrack for a moment and tell you that our "injury count" was already to 2 at this point… Caleb had slammed his forehead into a wooden post earlier in the day, and he was sporting a pretty nice bruise, and I had scraped my knee on one of the exits to a kid's water slide. So…

After we got off the Mad Mouse, we walked through the exit tunnel, and Seth and I were walking a little too quickly… OK… OK… We were running. Actually, we were intentionally running, because we were just having a good time and being overly silly. I am usually extremely cautious… as in, to a fault. I do not let my kids run if there is a rule about walking. Now I know why… Seth tripped on the cement, and although I tried to stop as quickly as possible, the momentum carried me. We were holding hands, so this resulted in my dragging Seth for maybe a yard or so. And now he had a matching bloody knee… I felt awful!

I sat down on a bench with Seth, while Phil went to get water and a towel from the stroller. Eventually, we realized that he really needed a band-aid. Our plan was to ride the Falling Star for a second time, since the kids had really enjoyed it earlier in the day, but instead, we were sitting on a bench waiting for Phil to go out to the car and return with what we needed from the first aid kit. Moments after Phil left, it began to sprinkle lightly. Then, there was a quick downpour. Phil's mom and dad helped me get the kids under a small roof that extended from some bathrooms that were nearby. Within seconds of us getting under the roof, it began to hail! These were very large chunks of hail. I have not seen hail too often, but this was definitely the largest I have seen. So, Phil's mom got into the women's bathroom with Seth and Grace, while I yelled at his dad to get into the men's bathroom with Caleb and the stroller. Poor Dad was trying to tell me that he couldn't do that without briefly going out into the hail, because there was a drinking fountain in his way. I, however, could neither see the fountain nor hear what he was saying over the noise of the hail and all the people, so I kept yelling at him. Finally, he did slide around the drinking fountain and into the bathroom, and then I felt free to take cover, myself, with Ian whom I was holding under a towel. A piece of hail did graze my face, and another hit Seth's shoe, but other than that we were fine.

In the meantime, Phil had been right at the exit to the park, getting his hand stamped, when the hail began. So, thankfully, he was under a roof, as well.

When the hail cleared, several park employees came into the bathroom. They were drenched and had been hit by the hail, but they had been unable to leave the rides when the storm began, because it came without warning, and there were still people on the rides. It was not lost on us that we would likely have been on the Falling Star, had Seth not scraped his knee. We have never been more thankful for a scraped knee!

At this point, it was only a little over an hour until the park was scheduled to close, and many (most) of the rides had been shut down due to the weather. With that in mind, we decided to leave. There were very few cars left in the parking lot when we pulled out.

We checked into our hotel, which was sort of a funny story in itself, went and ate at Pizza Hut (even Ian got to chew on some crust, because everyone's first "real" food should be pizza. ), and settled in for another OK night of sleep.

The following morning, we headed to Hoffmaster State Park and enjoyed the nature center, a trail, and the beach. Among the funny happenings was the kid's discovery of "preserved" animals. Grace went from one display to the next, explaining that the animals were dead. She even stopped to offer her condolences to one little bird. She looked right at it and said, "Birdie, I'm sorry the hunters shot you." There was also a room with live animals that I liked a bit more.

We had a nice hike up 17,000 steps, which culminated in a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. And the kids discovered that they really like the beach. I am getting tired and will let the pictures speak for themselves. It was a wonderful time.

I Admit, We Had a Little Bit of Trouble Getting the Kids to Focus on the Camera...

"Surfin'"

"Tri-generational" Frisbee Fun in the Sand

Lisa

I don't have a whole lot of time this morning, but here are Ian's new pics. Please feel free to leave comments about how he is the most beautiful baby you have ever seen... hehehe...

Lisa

So, I'm not quite sure how I let this happen, but some 11 days later, here's a new post... ugh...

I have several topics about which I am planning to write in the near future. For today, you get the latest highlights from Cedar Point... again... I'm sorry. I know that I am probably boring you all to death. I promise we'll take a real vacation next year so I'll only make one ridiculously long post about such things instead of many throughout the summer months...

On Wednesday, we left the house early (sort of) and hit the road for CP trip number 4. We met my mom and dad there again, and we could not have had better timing. We drove up right behind them on the causeway! The funniest part was that we were driving beside them and waving frantically for some time, but they never saw us. Finally, Phil slowed down and pulled behind them, and they saw us in their rear view mirror immediately.

Unlike our other trips, I went with an agenda this time around. Just before 10:00, we left all four of our little people with my parents, and we joined the mass of people, crowded at the gate. Then, when the gates opened, we began to run. This was slightly amusing to several people we passed, but I like making others laugh, so it's all good...

Since I am seriously out of shape, I did not run far. It would have been helpful if I'd had time to stretch out, but I didn't... bad idea... I'm not sure which is more humiliating... the fact that I couldn't even run as far as the Corkscrew or the fact that my legs are still aching today... At any rate, we ran... jogged... walked fast... walked slower, and eventually we made it to Maverick. The sign proclaimed a wait time of 1 1/4 hours, and we stepped into line. Although my effort to arrive at Maverick quickly was a little less than satisfactory, people who got there even 10-15 minutes after us probably waited well over 2 or even 3 hours to ride.

And let me tell you, Maverick was worth every single second of the wait time. WOW!!! It is not too often that I am this impressed with a coaster, but Maverick has definitely leaped into my top 3 (the others being the Raptor and, of course, the classic Gemini, both at CP).

We got to ride in the front seat, which is always a plus. I was really amazed by the shoulder harness mechanism, because it seems rather flimsy in a lot of ways. Of course, it is completely safe, but the very nature of the way you are strapped in added to the experience greatly.

That first hill is incredible. I actually like that many of the newer coasters have eliminated the slow, painful first lift. I have always hated the anticipation, so I think these quick take offs are much better. What was really amazing, though, was the greater than 90 degree drop. Riding in front, it looks like there is no track and you are headed for a free fall. The only thing that could possibly enhance this experience for me would be contact lenses. Unfortunately, I couldn't see as well as I would have liked since my glasses were stuffed down my pants... uh... yes. You caught that right. I didn't have a bag of any sort with me, and I was afraid that if I left my glasses in one of the bins on the platform they would be crushed.

The twists and turns were great, and the air time was unbelievable. At times, I seriously felt like I was flying. And the tunnel... yeah, another wow...

So, I liked the ride a whole lot, to say the least. Now, I am going to post the pictures, but I feel that I need to say one thing first. I do not look like I am having fun in these pics. There is a reason for this. I do not like losing my breath, so when riding coasters, I usually take a deep breath at the top of each hill and blow it out on the way down. This results in me looking like I might throw up in the pics. that are usually taken on the way down a hill. The truth is, I was having the time of my life. Maverick is awesome...

From there, we headed to the Mean Streak. As many of you know, I have this desire to "conquer" the park, and to me, that means riding every single ride. I currently lack only a handful of rides, and the Mean Streak was one of them. It seems that everyone rode it when it was first built (several years before I became a coaster enthusiast), and no one ever wants to ride it again. Finally, Phil took pity on me. If he hadn't, I might have gone ahead and ridden it alone, because it was long overdue to be crossed off my master list. My assessment of the ride is that it is, indeed, mean. It actually felt as if we were dragging on the track, so I may have had a more mild ride than some. However, I could tell that at top speed it would be very shaky, and I prefer a smooth ride. We were going to buy the picture, but by the time we went back for it, it wasn't stored in the computer anymore. I may ride it again, someday, in order to add to my CP pic. collection, but that would be the only reason. It was OK...

Since we had now been away from our children for close to two hours, we went in search of them. I figured that Ian would be rather hungry at this point. I had called my dad's cell phone 10-12 times, but no one answered. CP can be loud, so I wasn't altogether surprised. They didn't call me, at all, so I figured everything was going fine, anyway... Actually, they had lost my phone number, but everything was still fine. We went straight to Camp Snoopy, but Mom, Dad, and the kids were nowhere to be found. I was a little irritated. I could detail the next hour for you, but you really don't want to read about all of it. What it amounts to is that between Phil and myself, we searched every last inch of the park (and good portions of it twice), and Phil finally found them in front of the Jr. Gemini. I took the kids for a spin on that, and then we headed to the car for our lunch and mid day break. Dad turned the volume up on his phone, and we didn't have any communications issues for the remainder of our trip.

Just as we reached the van, it began to sprinkle. Then, it rained. We ate our lunches, cooled off, and changed diapers. Just as we were ready to re-enter the park, it stopped raining. Great timing...

For the past two plus years, I have had this growing desire to ride the Wicked Twister. Wednesday was the day. Phil and I waited in a short line, while Grandma and Grandpa entertained the kids at Kiddie Kingdom. This was, perhaps, not the wisest decision right after lunch. However, we endured the ride, and it was good. I would definitely ride again if I was with someone who wanted to. Phil did not enjoy it nearly so much, and he will just be glad to cross it off his list.

I talked my mom into getting on the Troika, which was quite an event. If they made a shirt that said, "I survived the Troika," I would definitely buy it for her. However, they don't.

I should mention, here, as well, that my dad rode a plethora of things in Camp Snoopy, and I was quite impressed. I wish I had been there to take video of him on the Camp Bus... hehehe...

It was a hot day, so we eventually made our way to Soak City. It felt so good to ride the lazy river and splash around in the kiddie play areas. The big treehouse area was fun, and I even took a couple of trips down a slide that I am technically too tall for, in order to satisfy Caleb. I also had a great time at Choo-Choo Lagoon with Caleb and Ian. We were literally the only ones there, and it was very relaxing. It was also tons of fun to ride the Family Raft Ride with Phil, Seth, and Grace, while Grandma and Grandpa watched our little guys.

When Soak City closed, we went to Johnny Rocket's for dinner. Then we walked back to the Power Tower, and I took my first ride down. I went up the year it debuted. This brought my "new ride total" to 4, for the day. I was pretty satisfied with that. Phil wanted to ride up again, which he did, but I passed. I was tired.

Realistically, I was too tired to ride anything else, but Seth and Grace talked me into one more spin on Iron Dragon. I will always love that coaster.

We boarded the Giant Wheel for one fantastic late night ride with all of the lights, and then we finally left the park after 12 hours of fun! We were exhausted. The kids fell asleep almost immediately.

We stayed at Holiday Inn Express, and we enjoyed our accommodations. In the morning we filled up on their famous cinnamon rolls and then took a dip in the pool and hot tub. The kids played putt-putt golf with Grandma and Grandpa and had a blast.

We ate lunch at Applebee's, said our good-byes, and did a little shopping. Originally, we were going to go back to CP, but we were just too tired...

So, another great trip is in the books... Here are some pics. Enjoy!

The Sky Ride

Ian's Adventure...

Asleep by Day... Awake by Night...

Putt...Putt

Caleb and Grandpa Playing Golf, In the Way Only Caleb Can...

We Thought All of the Animals Were Friendly. Unfortunately, Seth was Eaten by a Hippo...

Lisa

I don't know how I would have managed it with Ian... but that's really just my rather lame attempt to make myself feel better...

I'd rather be rockin' with Toby Mac tonite...

Wish I was there...

Following are the lyrics for "You Alone"

You are the only one I need
I bow all of me at Your feet
I worship You alone

You have given me more than
I could ever have wanted and
I want to give you my heart and my soul

You alone are Father
You alone are good
You alone are Savior
You alone are God

I'm alive I'm alive
I'm alive I'm alive

I exalt thee
I exalt thee
I exalt thee
Oh, God

Lisa

So, I find myself sitting in front of my computer... again... and thinking about all of the things that have happened in the week since I last posted... ugh... I am never going to remember it all...

We had a very nice Fourth of July celebration with Phil's family. We drove up early and stayed all day. Actually, we stayed longer than we'd planned, but we were having so much fun! The kids loved playing with their cousins all day, and I might add that Phil enjoyed playing with his brothers, too... Here they are on a slide at the park:

And here's the whole gang, posing for a pic. on the porch:

This particular pic. turned out FAR better than the last one, taken in 2005. Next time you see all of these faces together, I believe it will be "Cinderella Castle" in the background...

Caleb... always good for comic relief... entertained us by eating 3 hot dogs and an ice cream cone, which he consumed from the bottom up! Too funny...

On the 5th, Phil had an all day long train watching adventure with his dad and brothers. The kids and I joined them for dinner at the depot, because we never pass on pizza. Then Phil dropped us off at home, and we watched Toy Story 2 and fell asleep on the sofa bed...

And then, yesterday, we enjoyed Cedar Point trip # 3 of the season! It was extra fun, because Brad, Sheri, and Abby joined us for the adventure. Other than a few tense moments when Seth and Grace forgot that Abby was a human being and dragged her through the ride lines like a new toy, I think we did pretty well...

It was, by far, the worst weather we have had at CP, this summer. It was beautifully sunny, but it was way too hot! Sheri and I hit most of the kiddie rides with our little gang, and we were exceptionally thankful for the "Snoopy's Summer Vacation" show, because the building is air conditioned! Phil and Brad rode coasters for a good part of the day, but they met up with us several times, and we all spent the evening together. I finally managed to get Grace on the Mine Ride, but it took some doing. We had to wait until the ride operator changed, because the guy is starting to recognize us, and he will not let her on, even though she is about 1/1,000,000th of an inch too short. She, of course, loved the ride. We stayed for the "Hot Summer Lights" show, and seriously, I do not understand what all the hype is about. I did have one rather embarrassing moment, when, for the first time in my life, I couldn't fit quite right on a ride... It was the "Snoopy Express", and Ian and I just couldn't get the seat belt to snap around both of us... Eventually I put him on the seat beside Caleb and thought, for the billionth time... I need to lose weight. Following are some of the best pics. from this trip. Unfortunately, I was having trouble holding my camera still, or something, because I blurred a lot of shots that would otherwise have been very good...

Takin' Up Most of the Seats on the Jr. Gemini

Seth & Grace Phil & Caleb Brad & Abby

Spinnin' on the Super Himalaya

Grace, Caleb, and Me Abby, Seth, and Sheri

Ocean Motion is a Very Gentle Ride... I, uh, Promise...

See... I fit... Ugh...

Too Cute on the Carousel...

CP Nightlife... At it's Best

That's it for now. I have cleaning to do... Can anyone explain to me how my house gets to be such a mess when we are gone? It is a phenomenon that I cannot quite grasp...

Lisa

I need to make some changes...

OK, so that's always true, but I am referring specifically to my blogging format at the moment...

I currently have two xangas, a blogger, and a myspace. Technically I have some other site, too, but I only signed up for it in order to read Sheri's (my sil) blog. And this is not working for me. It's way too much to keep up with.

I initially separated this blog (which I call my "personal" blog) from my ministry related blog, because I felt that what I had to say about religion and the church might not be suitable for some of my younger readers. I wasn't saying anything inappropriate. It was just more mature content that was better geared toward readers who were interested in such topics and wanted to discuss them without reservation. In reality, this separation of blogs proved relatively worthless, because within a few posts some people who don't care for what I have to say very much were reading several times a day and leaking my new site (probably without knowing it) to the young readers for whom it was not. But I kept the sites separate anyway.

Over time, I have gained an international reader's list at my ministry related blog. I am not claiming fame or popularity. The list is small, but the point is... It's diverse. I am enjoying the people I'm "meeting" on-line, and it's all good. I, however, do not wish to combine the sites at this time, because I am not too interested in plastering pics. of my family all over the place for people I do not know. That said, if you read this site, I know it...

I also eventually set up www.blessedmommyof4.blogspot.com, because I wanted a place to specifically write about my kids, and because... as you probably already know... I earn money off of my advertisements on that site. So far I have earned a little under $9.00... hehehe... Don't any of you people shop at amazon?

At any rate, these are the three places I blog... primarily... And here's what I have decided to do about it...

From now on, I am going to make this my main blog. OK, so it has basically always been my main blog. But what I mean by that is that everything I blog will be posted here! If I make a post that is specific to religion, I will copy and paste it. If I make a blog that is specifically about my kids, and I think others might want to read it, I will copy and paste it. If you read this blog, you will not have to check each of my blogs anymore for new updates, because it will all be on here. (But you should still go click through to amazon and buy stuff... hehehe...)

With that, I have much to write about and precious little time tonight, because... hey... I want to watch The Cosby Show. If you find this pathetic, well... you're probably right. But I am too tired to do anything more interactive at the moment.

I will leave you with a couple of funny thoughts, though...

Tonight, we were doing our family devotions, and they were about the ten commandments. One of the questions for the kids was, "What are some of the rules at your house?" Caleb's answer was, "We have to eat!" He is a bottomless pit!

Another question was, "Why are rules important?" Seth's answer, "Well, rules about school are important so we won't be dumb." That cracked me up.

Well, I'm out for tonight.

Lisa