When school got out, our nephew Sam came to stay with us for 3 weeks to watch the kids while we worked. We still remember hearing the news of Elizabeth being pregnant with him a little over 17 years ago, and have loved watching him grow into the young man he is today. It was really special to have him with our family for a few weeks, and to get to spend individual time with him. The kids all look up to Sam, and we loved watching them bond and have fun together. Elizabeth and Abigail drove out with Sam, and Abigail surprised the cousins, which Eliza especially loved! They made it on time for Benjamin’s last soccer game, and the next day we got to visit with Jen, Joe, Michel, Catherine, Ron, and Nancy.
Sam kept busy with his cousins, each week they had different plans. Benjamin had 1/2 day soccer camp two of the weeks, the boys had sleep away camp the middle week, and Eliza had 1/2 day VBS one of the weeks, so they all got to spend individual time with Sam at various points throughout his time here. Sam kept them active, they did lots of fishing, swimming, basketball, bike riding, trips to the library, took Eliza to swim practice, bounced one day at Skyzone, and took trips into town for chocolate milkshakes. He did a great job planning active days that kept the kids engaged and having fun. I don’t have many pictures of their days, but here’s a few.
Fishing at the dock
Drop off for sleep away camp at Camp Highroad
Lots of time at the pool
One day we all went to the Shenandoah River to go kayaking and canoeing. We did a 7.5 mile trip, which took about 4 hours since we got out to swim, played in the rapids, and floated. Waiting by the river for the river company to open. There was only one other group of people fishing down the river, otherwise we had the entire river to ourselves.
We were driven 7.5 miles up the road then dropped off!
The boys had kayaks, and Nathan, Eliza, and I rode in the canoe, and sometimes we played musical boats.
Our exciting very small class 2 rapids, but the kids enjoyed playing there for a while.
It was a fun day!
Another morning when Caleb had gymnastics, Nathan took Sam and Benjamin hiking at Great Falls National Park.
The following week the boys were away at a sleep away camp and we had a day off work, so Nathan and Sam hiked Old Rag Mountain. It’s one of our favorite hikes in VA with beautiful views, it’s a challenging 9 mile hike. Nathan said they did it in record time of 3 hours and he could hardly keep up with Sam!
Another day when Caleb was at gymnastics, Nathan took Benjamin and Sam to the Dulles Air and Space Museum. The museum has thousands of aviation and space artifacts, to include the Space Shuttle Discovery, a Blackbir SR-71, and a Concorde. Sam is interested in aerospace engineering, and enjoyed seeing all the aircraft.
Another weekend we went to the International Spy Museum and the Bible Museum downtown. The Spy museum showcases spy tradecraft, its history, role espionage played in many world events, and it has the largest collection of espionage artifacts on display. A few years ago the museum moved to new location in a much larger building, and we all enjoyed visiting the interactive museum that took each person on a spy mission throughout their visit.
This hang bar was popular and everyone wanted to try it. Eliza held on for almost 20 sec, Benjamin for close to 30, and Caleb and Sam went the entire time to 60 second. As you held on it rotated and moved. They said it was challenging.
Sam loves history, especially WWII, and he soaked up how espionage played significant roles in major historical world events.
We packed a cooler and had lunch in the car, then walked about to the Museum of the Bible…it was a hot day!
The museum was opened in 2017, and it show the narrative, history, and impact of the Bible going back to Biblical times. It has 1,150 items in its permanent collection and 2,000 items on loan from other collections. The museum had 6 floors of history, and while we were only there for a few hours, one could spend a couple days there to see all the exhibits.
We visited multiple floors, starting with the history of the Bible, then visited an exhibit on the history and archaeology of ancient Israel, and we ended our visit with the Bible experience, which were two animated walk-throughs of the Old and New Testament, and an exhibit on Jesus of Nazareth. It was a such a well-done museum and we would love to get back to see more of the exhibits.
This was a collection of bibles that were transcribed into world languages. The bibles were characterized by fully transcribed Old and New Testament, just the New Testament, portions of the Bible, in progress, not begun, and not yet acquired. There was a large section of languages where it was prohibited to have a bible, and that was most of the ‘not yet acquired’ languages. It was a fascinating display and encouraging to see how many languages the Bible has been transcribed into.
Views of the DC skyline from the top floor of the museum.
While we all loved the museum, one of the highlights for the boys was getting to meet the University of Maryland Terrapins football team. Sam noticed the group during the Bible walk through, and rightly suspected they were football players. He and the boys may or may not have followed them to the bathroom and gift shop, before getting the courage to talk to them. The guys were so kind and offered to take a picture with the kids and signed some autographs. We later saw them at the ice cream truck outside the museum and talked to them a little more.
Another day Sam went to the Bobrowski’s, and Joe took them on a tour of the Pentagon. Afterwards, they visited the Arlington Cemetery, and toured many of the monuments near the mall. He said it was a great day and loved seeing the Pentagon and all the US history.
All good things must come to an end, but we were excited to visit IL. On the way back, we stopped at a couple of college campuses along the way. First stop was Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, home of the Hokies.
VT is a beautiful campus with lots of old brick buildings and open green spaces. It is a top rated engineering school, and Sam was interested in seeing some of the engineering buildings. We found the library and a couple of the engineering buildings. Each discipline had their own building! Afterwards, we played in the green space, had dinner at Mellow Mushroom, then called it a night.
The next morning we stopped at the field house on the way out of town, then headed to Knoxville to see the University of Tennessee.
Home of the Volunteers!
They are both very large college campuses with almost 30,000 students at each, but UT seemed liked a larger campus and has a more urban feel to it.
Football is very popular here too.
Future college soccer player
Future college track star
It was a great to show Sam a couple colleges, and a fun way to end our time together. Next stop, Herrin, IL!
Words can’t express how thankful and lucky the kids and I are to have Nathan as their father. He is engaged, loving, a great teacher, leader, coach, hiker, bike rider, fisherman, story teller, movie watcher, cuddler, and he is always challenging us to be our best person. This year it was fun to have Sam here to celebrate Nathan on this day.
Photo Booth at church
It was also the move-up ceremony celebrating 5th graders graduation from Kids’ Quest to the Rock Middle School group at church. Benjamin is excited to be with his brother at church this year.
Over Memorial Day a couple weeks ago, we visited the Fredericksburg National Battlefield, which is about an hour from our home. The town is lined with historic homes and churches, and was the site of some of the first urban combat in American history in the battle of 1862. We first walked along the Sunken Road, lined by a stone wall where US soldiers marched towards the Confederate line, but the troops behind the stone wall and at Marye’s Heights defended the line, leaving Federal soldiers with a huge loss.
Civil war cannons
Cemetery for the soldiers
Afterwards we walked downtown
There was a park down by the river.
Next we visited Chatham Manor, built in 1771 by slaves and craftsmen for William Fitzhugh. It sits on top of Stafford Heights and has a view of the town of Fredericksburg. The mansion hosted friends of the Fitzhughs, to include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and George Mason, until they sold it 35 years later. During the Civil War, the home was owned by the Lacy family. When J. Horace Lacy volunteered to serve in the Confederate Army, his wife Betty allowed the home ot be used as the US Army headquarters during the Battle of Fredricksburg, and then into a field hospital, where Clara Barton, Mary Walker, and Walt Whitman served in the hospital caring for the sick and wounded soldiers. Following the war, the home was sold a few times and is now owned by the National Park Service.
We all enjoyed visiting the Fredericksburg Battlefield and Chatham Manor.
Eliza is doing swim team at our neighborhood pool this summer. She is on the developmental team where they learn stroke technique and becoming stronger swimmers. Eliza has many friends on the team, so she is having lots of fun.
Swim assessment before the season started.
She is happy to be doing swim team with one of her best friends, Layla.
Eliza works hard and has fun. The season is off to a good start!
Benjamin had a fun season playing U12 spring soccer. This year he played on a new team with players who have been playing with this particular coach for the last few years, so he had to work hard to earn his place on the team. Benjamin did just that and he played striker and began playing goalie mid-season and enjoyed learning this new position. Benjamin worked hard, learned new skills, made new friends, and had fun season playing. Here are a few pictures and videos of his season.
Benjamin playing goalie
Coach Lito and Team We Win These.
Benjamin loves playing soccer and is excited to play in the fall.
All the kids had a great last day of school! We are so proud of how well each of them transitioned to their first year of school in the US, how they overcame challenges, and are thankful for their attentive teachers, and the new friends they made. Caleb had a great year at Ronald Regean Middle School. He had the biggest transition going from a small school with about 10-15 kids in his classes, to a school of 1400 kids with 30+ kids per class, and moving to 7 classes a day. He jumped into a new school curriculum, had to form many new work habits, made new friends, and he matured and learned a lot this year. We are proud of Caleb’s adaptability and resilience, and are excited to see what is in store for him next year.
Benjamin had an amazing 5th grade year at Alvey Elementary. (See 5th grade blog post). He adjusted well to the new school system, worked hard, made many new friends, and demonstrated leadership and rose to challenges when called upon. We are thankful for his wonderful teachers Mrs. George and Mrs. Cranston, who challenged and encouraged him. Benjamin is excited for middle school and we look forward to watching him grow in this new environment.
Eliza loved Kindergarten and had a great year! She learned how to write all of her letters and numbers, read, and many other new things. (See kindergarten celebration post). Eliza made lots of friends, loved her teachers Miss Pac and Mrs. Riley, and had a blast at her first year in school.
Peace out Kindergarten, 5th, and 6th grade….hello 1st, 6th, and 7th grades. And welcome summer!
Benjamin’s school held a 5th grade promotion ceremony that we attended the second to last day of school. Benjamin had a great first and last year at Alvey Elementary with Mrs. George and Mrs. Cranston. He adapted very well to the new school system and curriculum, made lots of new friends, and truly flourished in all ways this year. We are so thankful for the encouraging teachers and staff, and it was an honor for Nathan and I to be there for this day.
During the ceremony the principal gave a speech, teachers recognized students in the different clubs and announced awards, then the students were called up by class to receive their 5th grade graduation certificates and the teacher said what each student wanted to be when they grew up. Benjamin was recognized for his participation in the Strings Club, where he played viola; Alvey in the AM, where he and 5 other students presented the morning announcements the last quarter of school; and the 100 Club in PE, for students who completed more than 100 laps for the running pacer.
This year Benjamin took on a new nickname, Benji, and we hear it when we are at school and around town. Benjamin seems to know someone everywhere we go! It’s fun to hear all of his friends and teachers call him that at school, and he was really happy that his name was announced as Benji to receive his graduation certificate. Can you guess what Benjamin wants to be when he grows up?
We took a few photos after the ceremony
Benjamin came home with his participation awards from the ceremony, plus a Class Comedian award!
After the ceremony, the 5th graders had a picnic celebration for a couple hours, then a clap-out at the end of the day. One of the moms sent me a few pictures from the afternoon.
Benjamin works hard, plays hard, and loves life. We are so proud how well he adjusted and flourished this year, and are excited to see what 6th grade has in store for him!
The kindergarten classes had an end of year celebration, where the kids invited their parents to school to see their end of year project, and the work that have done this year. Eliza had wonderful teachers, Miss Pac and Mrs. Riley, who helped her learn and grow so much this year. This year Eliza learned how to read, write, and many social skills. She made many new friends and had an amazing kindergarten year! The end of year project was about sea turtles and jellyfish. They learned about each animal, wrote facts about them, and did fun related projects.
Eliza showed us lots of other work hanging in the kindergarten hallway. Eliza wrote about what she wants to do this summer - go to the pool to swim and jump on the diving boards and do gymnastics. She will have her wish this summer!
More sea turtle work.
After they presented their work, we had a picnic outside. Here is Eliza with some of her good friends from class, Korrie, Eliza, Charlotte, and Trystan.
Eliza and Trystan showing off their muscles.
Eliza and Korrie.
It was fun for Nathan and I to spend the morning with Eliza at school. We are thankful for her thoughtful and loving teachers, proud of her hard work, and that she had a great first year in school. This girl is ready for first grade!
