Winterval in Waterford

This afternoon, we took the short ferry ride over to Waterford (as in Waterford Crystal), to take in the sights and fun of their winter festival (that's winter + festival = "Winterval," see?), where we ate junk food, rode carnival rides, and found a little Christmas cheer.  Our first stop was a night club/bar that has given itself a day job during the holidays. They have free showings of the movie "Elf" throughout the day while Winterval is going on. If popcorn, hot chocolate, and a giant elf named Buddy can't put you in the Christmas spirit, then nothing really can. From there, we headed over to the Helter Skelter slide--a twisty slide two stories high, which the kids descend on a mat, to maximize velocity. I couldn't even look at it without thinking of one of my favorite scenes in "A Christmas Story."

"Ho. Ho. Ho."

When Clay and Max had finished on the slide (of their own volition, and not because Santa kicked them down with the two of his boot), we all took a ride on a vintage Ferris wheel, which was a huge hit with all the kids. After that, we allowed ourselves a quick peek in the Waterford Crystal showroom...from the outside, because contrary to how I sometimes feel or act, I have not quite lost my everloving mind. Our last stop was the tiny carousel, that just happened to be sitting in front of the churro stand, which we felt obliged to patronize. It was such a fun outing and just almost more fun (and junk food!) than we could stand!

Little Clay with a big Buddy

Winterval Fun

Zooming down the slide

Ferris Wheel Riders

These two goofs deliberately refused to look at the camera.

 My Ferris wheel partner and I, getting ready for lift off

Look, but don't touch!

Riding High

Silly Clay on the carousel

Churros!

Warming up with hot chocolate in a very odd seat

This sign at the ferry landing made us laugh.
Fortunately, we made it onto the boat, without driving into the water.

Mandi's Highly Nerdy Virtual Bookshelf

Here are some of the things sitting on my virtual bookshelf right now, in various stages of completion. I'll be the first to admit that it is a bizarre, overly academic combination and probably not one Oprah will be recommending any time soon.

• The Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang--I just started reading this with the boys in our History class. I picked this version because it was free and because it was a bit more kid-friendly in language and content than some others.
• A handful of BOB books by Bobby Lynn Maslen--I'm going through some of these with my youngest reading student.
• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan--This is for my own edification and education--my "fun" reading, if you will. It is very eye-opening and thought-provoking. It's definitely making me rethink some of my family's food choices. (As an aside, I am curious to hear from any of you whole food advocates about how to make whole food eating work for a relatively large family of big eaters, that is not wealthy and does not have the desire or propensity to farm or garden. I'm interested in finding out more about co-ops, farmers' markets, and small, local whole foods type stores, as well as options for making this type of eating affordable. So if you have any info or advice about these things, please pass it along.) 
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean--The boys and I just finished this easy-to-read, kid-friendly version of these classic stories, and we really enjoyed them.
• Grammar-Land by M.L. Nesbitt--Max and I just finished going through this in his Grammar class, but all my kids love this story and barely even realize that they are learning important English Grammar lessons along the way. Weston even wondered aloud why someone didn't make it into a movie.
• Search for the Pirate's Treasure by Gerry Gaston--This modern day choose-your-own-adventure story for young readers is Clay's current favorite. 
• The Republic by Plato--I just finished this in preparation for Ruth's literature class. I found it very interesting, especially in the beginning, though I felt that it got a little tedious and convoluted towards the end. 
• Openstax College Biology--This is prep work for next year's high school biology class (but is also secretly fun for me). 
• National Geographic--I certainly don't read every article on the National Geographic site, but at any given time, I usually have a least a couple of tabs open with articles to peruse. Of course, I also enjoy skimming through the photos and uploading my own. 

A Walk on the Beach

We love having the beach to ourselves!

Duncannon Fort

Brothers and Best Friends

On the rocks

The Beach View Townhouses
(Ours is right in the middle.)

Our beautiful Waterford Harbor

Duncannon's First Ever Texas Appreciation Day

The other day, Jeff and Weston went to the tiny grocery store in our little bitty town. The man behind the counter had on a UT shirt, and so a conversation ensued. This man has traveled to Texas several times and loves the state like a native. He insisted that we have a party to celebrate our collective Texasness. His brother runs the pub (where we went for Jeff's birthday lunch), across the street from the store, so we all met up there this evening to eat chili, BBQ, chips, guacamole, and queso. Our new friend, John, proclaimed it Duncannon's "First Ever Texas Appreciation Day."

Texas Appreciation Day at The Strand

Seeing the good

Bad news seems to bombard us every day. And, sometimes it's hard to see the good in the world. The sensationalistic media is eager to get us worked up--to make us angry or afraid or outraged or entertained--but it rarely takes the time to report on the helpers and the givers and the positive outcomes. But, this good is real. Maybe even more real than the bad. These are the stories we need to hear, so we can be encouraged and challenged and blessed. These are the stories that renew our faith in humanity and in God. They are the stories that give us hope and propel us forward. I have one that hits close to home that I'd like to share:

Two weeks ago, my sister's house was hit by a tornado. She and two of her kids were inside at the time. They took cover in the pantry, and even though a portion of the roof was relieved of its duties and the house moved off its foundation three feet side to side and 18 inches front to back, she and the kids thankfully came out without a scratch. The insurance adjusters declared everything a total loss and promised full insurance payments.

Friends and family and a few strangers immediately came to their aid. People worked around the clock taking care of their kids, bringing them food and water, wading knee-deep in mud and debris to salvage anything that could be salvaged, taking clothing and dishes to their homes to wash and store, taking in their horses and dogs (which all made it through the storm), offering them rent-free places to live until they could get another place, and loving on them in lots of other tangible and intangible ways.

My brother-in-law works for a construction company, and the company donated the use of an excavator, a bobcat, two 18-wheeler dump trucks, and two drivers for the trucks. Chad (my BIL) was able to do most of the demolition work himself, beginning the very next day. Combined with the generous donations from the company, this allowed he and my sister to save about $10,000 in demo costs, and they are weeks or months ahead of many of their neighbors who also sustained damage to their properties.

Jodi's glasses and contacts were lost during the storm, and her eye doctor gave her replacements for free. The students at a rival high school raised a significant amount of money for Hailey (Jodi and Chad's oldest daughter, who lives with them and was in the house when the tornado hit). And, the daycare my nephew attends gave him a $100 gift card.

Ultimately, they were able to recover about 85% of their possessions. And after they had sifted through everything, they unselfishly offered some of their own salvaged possessions to neighbors who were hit harder and lost more. My sister and her family are currently living in a rental house and are making plans to rebuild.

This story has a happy ending. But even in tragedies more significant than this, there are opportunities to see the good, if you're willing to look. Sometimes it's in the midst of tragedy that we find the most faith, hope, and love. Sometimes, that's when we find the really good people. Or become them. Sometimes, that's when we see the most blessings, because that's when we know exactly how much we have to be thankful for.

JFK Arboretum

It has been raining here all week, and the wind has been blowing between 35 and 45 miles per hour constantly. So, needless to say, we haven't gotten our quota of outside time in, though we have tried to brave the elements a few times. My boys have literally been bouncing off the walls, and I've been ready to pull my hair out. We were all so thankful that today dawned clear and bright and that we were able to get out of the house and do some exploring. Apparently, JFK's ancestors are from this region, so there are a couple of memorials honoring he and his family nearby. We decided to go to the JFK Arboretum, where we found a fantastic playground, lots of lovely trails to explore, and plenty of fresh air and wide open space. I think we are all better equipped to face tomorrow now!

The Keeper of the Trees

Bunny Buddies

A walk in the woods is good for the soul.

There were trees of all kinds in the park, but the maples put on the best fall colors.

A beautiful day in a beautiful place

It's a jungle gym. It's a merry-go-round.
It's more fun than you can stand!
(And, not the least bit unsafe, I'm sure!)

These two were so excited to find a hedge house to play in.
It quickly became a fort, with a stockpile of stick weapons.

The immature hedge maze was pretty easy to navigate,
but these two "hunters" did it over and over!

Throwing lessons

Tossing the ball around is one of this kid's love languages!

My new addiction

Earlier this week, I decided to enter one of my photos in a National Geographic photo contest. I honestly have no chance of winning, but that wasn't really my goal when I entered. I have been in love with National Geographic my whole life, and I have been particularly enamored with the photography. I can't see one of their photographs without my heart beating a little faster and my breath catching just a little. I just wanted to be a part of that community. I wanted to see a photo I had taken represented, even in some small way, by that logo. Now, I'm sort of obsessed with adding pictures to my account and perusing the images of the rest of the NG community. Somehow, the photos just look better displayed on that site. Plus, it's really fun to have other photographers (real photographers!) looking at, liking, and commenting on my photos. I may not ever get another productive thing done, but I'm very happy! If you'd like to check out any of my photos or those of the rest of the community, click here. That link will take you to my page, but you can look at other photos by clicking on the "Photos" tab at the top of the page. Just make sure you have plenty of free time if you decide to go poking around, because it's hard to pull yourself away!

Play Time

The forecast for today was rain. And, it did rain all morning. But, by lunch time, the sun had come out, and it turned into a gorgeous day. So, we went for a walk on the beach and then played at the awesome Duncannon playground for a couple of hours.

Zippity Do Da

Possibly the best slide ever

Playing Pirate

Round and round and round they go

Working in a little workout

Full stride

We won't be able to watch the Aggie game,
but we're hoping the maroon rocks on the beach are a good omen.

Six Months Abroad

Amazingly, we have already been traveling for six months! And, what a fantastic adventure it's been! I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by. Someone asked me the other day if I was tired of it, and I answered honestly that I am not. Jeff and I absolutely love the nomadic life and could see ourselves doing this indefinitely. We are completely enamored with the sensation that comes from knowing a new experience is just around the corner and with the overwhelming sense of freedom that has enveloped us. We feel more like ourselves than we have probably ever felt, like we are finally wearing clothes that are tailor made instead of off the rack.

However, while our kids love traveling and are really good at it, they crave a bit more "normal," which we do not begrudge them in the least. So, we have adjusted our plans and will be making our way back to Texas a bit sooner than we had originally anticipated. We have already booked a flight to Austin, which has us arriving on July 7, 2016, a little more than a year ahead of what we initially envisioned. We will still visit all the places we originally intended to visit, but we will have shorter stays in several of them. The re-entry plan is still being worked out, so I don't have any details to share about where we will settle. I do know that, even we go back to a more traditional way of living, travel will always be a priority for us!

The half matters

Today is Clay's half-birthday, and in our family that usually means a half-celebration, because the half matters--but not quite as much as the whole. Clay requested "a pineapple cake, that is also chocolate, and has a bow and arrow on it. And sprinkles." So, using basically just imagination (because, while our our rental house has everything for basic meal preparation, it certainly doesn't contain most of the tools necessary to turn out a brilliantly decorated cake), I threw something together for him that pleased him immensely. We also got him a little crossbow toy, because we feel it is important to invest in our kids' futures. What an amazing 4 1/2 years with this little guy! He makes us happy in so many ways, and we are so thankful for his precious presence in our family.

Not the prettiest cake I've ever made, but it made a little boy's day

My favorite 4 1/2 boy!

Clay couldn't yet tell what the fancy wrapping held,
but he exclaimed, "It's a toy!"

Practicing with the crossbow

Hook Head Peninsula

It was an absolutely beautiful day here today, so we took the opportunity to do a little exploring. We made the short drive to the other side of the harbor, to see Hook Lighthouse, which claims to be the oldest operational lighthouse in the world. It has been lighting the way for sailors for the past 800 years, so that seems like a reasonable supposition to me.  From the observation deck, we saw several seals playing in the water, and our guide told us a pod of dolphins had also been seen recently and that the whales should be arriving within the month. This made me feel like there is a decent chance we could be coming back here! As we were driving home, we stopped to appreciate some beautiful church ruins. It was such a fun day!

Daybreak in Duncannon

Hook Lighthouse:
One of the oldest lighthouses in the world ,
and the oldest operational lighthouse in Ireland. 

"A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,
To see what he could see, see, see."

Weston volunteered to give the replica light a spin.
This light is actually three times smaller than the real light. 

The view of the Celtic Sea from the observation deck

One look at the rocky coastline shows the necessity of the lighthouse.
We had fun watching a couple of seals playing in the waves, just past these rocks.

The view toward Waterford Harbor, which is is the body of water our house faces.

On the lighthouse observation deck

While we were out, we also got to see the ruins of this church and cemetery.

Today, I Choose Happiness

Ever have a day (or week, or month, or year) when you're extra hormonal, or stressed, or maybe just too tired to fight off the negative thoughts that plague us all from time to time? It becomes so much easier to focus on those few extra pounds playing around your waist, and the middle-age hormonal acne stubbornly cluttering your complexion, and the ever increasing gray hairs sprouting out of your scalp like a nest of angry and unruly vipers. The people around you seem to be more annoying than usual, and your reactions are more snippy or harsh. You may have entertained thoughts of running away from it all, only to remember that you can't run away from your thoughts, which is where the real problem lies.

You may not have ever felt this way, but I certainly have. Just recently, I recognized this familiar but uncomfortable twisting of my mind, and I determined I would not allow my happiness to be taken prisoner in this way. So, I channeled my inner Stuart Smalley and came up with a written list of strategies I can employ for pursuing happiness. It is on the list-making app on my phone, and it is entitled: "Today, I will choose happiness!" I can't make a grocery list, or notes about school, or even look at any other kind of list without seeing this one. And, often, just seeing the app icon reminds that the list is sitting there, waiting to put me back on the straight and narrow when my thoughts start to stray. And, it may seem silly, but it does help me to have the goal--happiness--right in front of me all day long, and to be reminded that it is my choice.

I thought I would share the list here, as a quick reference for myself and in case any of you might find it helpful. My "Daily Affirmations" also include a list from T.D. Jakes that I came across just after I made my own list. To be honest, I don't always choose happiness. Sometimes, I have the feeling that I am powerless in the face of overwhelming negative feelings, and I give in and let them take my mind hostage. But reading through these lists helps me remember that I am (or can be!) in control and that I have the power to take my thoughts captive. If you have any go-to strategies for helping yourself choose happiness, I would love for you to share them, so that I may learn from you.

Today, I will choose happiness!

• I will choose to embrace the members of my household and others around me and see them as blessings instead of burdens. I will be interested in the things they are interested in, even if those things are not my favorite things. Their happiness may be entwined with my happiness, so I will try to make them happy, if I can. 
• I will let go of bitterness and offer forgiveness, even if it isn't asked for or deserved. 
• I will look for beauty and solitude where I can find it, and I will appreciate it for what it is. 
• I will not compare myself to others.
• I will focus the bulk of my energy and attention on controlling the one person I have complete control of: me.
• I will find something active to do. 
• I will pursue creative outlets.
• I will go outside.
• I will lower my expectations. I can pursue excellence without confusing that with perfection. 
• I will actively look for things to be thankful for. 
• I will close my eyes and take deep breaths, if I need to. 
• I will smile, even when I don't feel like it. 

From T.D. Jakes (along with some of my own notes):

• Own your own happiness--It is not anyone else's job to make me happy. (And, by the same token, no one can make me unhappy, unless I allow them to). I need to own my happiness and be responsible for doing those things that bring joy to my heart.
• Challenge your own story--I may be telling myself a story that isn't quite true. I can change the way I talk to myself and about myself.
• Enjoy the journey, not the destination--I don't have to wait for this or that to be happy. I can be happy in the meantime, all along the way.
• Make relationships count--I need relationships, so I must be intentional about working to make all my relationships work.
• Balance work with play--Take care of business, but don't forget to have some fun.

Happenings

There hasn't really been any one day since my last post that seemed worthy of its own post, but added together, the last few days have been pretty noteworthy. (Our Internet became pretty sketchy later in the week, and it just wasn't worth messing with, even if there had been a day deserving of its own post.) In case you're curious, there follows a list of things that have happened since my last post. Fair warning, I will be bragging on my amazing kids here, so if you aren't into that, feel free to skip the first half.

• Weston finished his 5th grade Math book, answered all the test questions out of the next book, and will be starting Pre-Algebra tomorrow. 
• Max finished his 2nd grade Grammar book, and we have started reading through Grammar-Land, which he (and all the kids) love and is a great way to reinforce some of the skills he learned in this last book, before we move on to the 3rd grade book.
• Weston finished reading the last of the Harry Potter books.
• Max finished reading the 5th book in the Narnia series and started the 6th (out of 7).
• The boys and I finished The Story of the Word: Volume 1, completed our studies of the countries we will visit on our RTW trip, and started The Story of the World: Volume 2.
• Ruth has been working her tail off studying for the SAT (the real-deal SAT, not the grade-level test she takes at the end of every school year), which she will take on Dec. 5, in France, to see if she qualifies for a special program Johns Hopkins offers for Jr. High students. We have been very impressed with her dedication and with her performance on the practice tests. 
• Clay learned the vowels and a few new word sounds and spent some time reading some new-to-him words.
• We had our landlords over for a visit. Like many of the owners of rentals we've stayed in on this trip, they are well-traveled and had some fascinating stories to tell of their adventures.
• My sister's house was hit by a tornado and destroyed, but, thankfully, she and her two kids, who were inside at the time, made it out safely! 
• I had an initial consultation appointment with the dentist in Dublin who will install the permanent crown for my missing front tooth. I don't believe I've ever been so excited about a dental procedure!
• We watched the ridiculous first half of the Aggie game, and then our Internet gave out. It was good to see some positive things happening on offense, for a change. If we could just get the offense and defense to both show up in the same games, it would be fantastic. We were relieved to learn that the Ags managed to pull out the victory in the end! 
• My hubby had (actually, is having) his birthday. We took him out to lunch at a fun little tavern called The Strand and then went for a walk on the beach.
• We made up limericks as we drove away from Limerick. It was pretty awesome! Not to mention VERY silly!
• We relocated. We are now in the south of Ireland, in a tiny beach town called Duncannon. Our lovely townhouse is perched just above the beach, and the view is amazing! We will be here for 27 days, making this the longest stop of our entire trip. 

Our Duncannon home

The view from the front of the house

The kids were enamored with this rainbow sculpture near the beach.

Birthday lunch at The Strand

The birthday boy chose the berry crumble for dessert.

But, I opted for a latte and the sticky toffee pudding

Clay insisted on a picture with the ice cream "statue."

This will be the boys' playground for the month. They (and I) couldn't be happier!