Melins on the Move - The End

Lesson we learned: If you ever go north, don't come back south.  It makes the hot even hotter!  We spent the next two days in D.C.  The first day we spent walking the National Mall.  The big five were able to earn their Junior Ranger badges, but that is no easy feat!  It required lots of walking and fact finding.  However, have snacks - will travel.  We made it from one end to the other and even hit up some Smithsonians in between.  By the end of the day both Danny and I had a baby on our backs and another on our fronts.  We were a sight to be seen!

Their album cover!

Working on their Junior Ranger badge work!

It's PINK!

People always offer to take our picture.  I guess they figure if we did the work to get us all here we should have a picture! 

When we got back to our van we were blown away by a terrible smell!  After checking for a lost dirty diaper (it's happened before) and the bottoms of shoes we still hadn't found the source.  It was very fishy!  Finally, our sniffers led us to Jonah's seat.  He had saved the lobster claws from our meal a few days back and some crab parts he had found at the beach.   Since our van had gotten hot it really made them putrid!  Even after smelling the offensive smell Jonah still cried to keep them!

The second day in D.C. we went to the National Zoo.  This is one of our favorite zoos because of the apes and elephants.  However, this time we found some new animals to love.  The armadillos were running laps.  Nothing is cuter than those little legs going a million miles an hour under those shells.  Well, probably a few things are cuter, but they are cute.  My kids also went crazy for the naked moles rats.  We stayed at that exhibit so long Jonah was giving lessons on the animals and correcting the errant parents who gave their children incorrect information.  Sigh.  The chimpanzees had a new baby that provided hours of entertainment.  They also loved how active the leopards and cheetah were.  After seven hours we headed back to pull out the couch bed and have family movie night!

Our long journey might have been coming to a close, but we got to go out with a bang.  Our last stop was in NC to visit our niece and nephews!  More cousin fun!  We hadn't seen them in so long, but Zeke was instant buddies with Danny and the big kids were all off playing within seconds.  So thankful we had the opportunity to stop by!

So, now we are in South Carolina.  We continue to have adventures, discover new places, make new friends, and make memories.

For those of you who pray for us here are some prayer requests:

- Endurance as Danny goes to class each day while also finishing his doctoral work
- Peace as we await news of our next assignment and comfort to know that is just where God has planned for us to go
- Joyfulness in all aspects of life (schooling, parenting, homemaking, etc.)
- Sweet friendships will develop quickly

Thanks!

Melins on the Move! - Part 6

I love when I give God my plans and He makes them even better.  Our next day was like that.  We got an early start in our room (like I mentioned before) so we were up and out pretty quickly.  Our goal was to make it to D.C.  Somewhere along the way I had the thought that our lunch stop could be in Philadelphia so we could see the Liberty Bell.  Well, that stop turned into a whole day of fun surprises!

First, we made our obligatory circles to find parking.  While making the rounds I saw that the Federal Reserve Bank was open for free tours!  The kids loved the $100 of shredded money they each received and seeing all the stacks of cold hard cash!

Inside the Visitors Center we were able to meet some actors who pretended they were actually living in the past.  It was a little confusing for the kids but they enjoyed the activities that were offered. One had pens of the day to use to write their names!  An added bonus: whenever we saw a park ranger the kids could answer questions to earn trading cards of historical sites and figures.  This teaching mama was thrilled with all the facts we were learning!

On our walk to the Liberty Bell we had to wait for a Juneteenth parade to pass.  This holiday was new to me, but we celebrated just the same!  The music was peppy.  We were all dancing, and they threw out beads!

Longest line of the whole trip, but we got to see the Liberty Bell!

Isn't she just so cute?!?!  Just thought I would throw that out there.

On our way back to our van we ran into another fun surprise!  A Chinese Lantern Festival!  This was a colorful display of lanterns in all shapes and sizes.  We walked through a giant shark's mouth, saw little pandas, and danced beside a huge dragon.

Our time in Philly was short but we packed it full.  We did finally make it to D.C.  We stayed at Andrews AFB.  We were even able to walk and see Air Force One (from afar) on the way to get groceries! Score!

Melins on the Move - Part 5

After our journey north, we returned to Boston. This time we started on the opposite end of the Freedom Trail.  We went to a top-notch museum by the USS Constitution.  I was amazed at how hands on they had made the exhibits.  The kids hoisted a goat onto the boat, swung in hammocks, furled sails, cooked in the galley, and pretended to by sailors.  We really could have spent all day there because after we did everything once the kids were ready to do it all again.  However, it was time to board the ship!  

Navigating the ship was tricky with carriers on our backs.  Each level lower also meant the ceiling got lower.  By the time we got to the lowest level we had to walk in a permanent squat position – talk about a quad workout!  

We knew we didn't have time to walk much of the Freedom Trail but we had one goal - climbing the Bunker Hill Monument.  That feat would require getting all nine of us 294 steps to the top after walking to the monument itself.  So, with plenty of water and snacks we started on our way.  About 50 steps up Juliet was done. Danny and I switched back and forth carrying her.  The big boys all made it themselves.  With a breathtaking view before him, Benaiah was more worried about how three pennies found there way outside the window way up that high.  Juliet did make the trip down on her own two feet.  Woohoo!  Sweet success!

Completing that climb was empowering for the boys.  Even when it was hard they kept going, but the trip back to the car seemed a little longer than the trip to the monument :)

The next day we started trekking southward again.  We knew it would be a long day in the car and wanted to break it up with fun stops.  The first bottom break was Plymouth Rock.  We were just in time to hear the ranger tell the whole story.  The boys were captivated because the ranger was a great storyteller.

The second stop was the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory.  We aren't really potato chip eaters, but who doesn't love a factory tour?  Free chips were a perfect addition to our picnic lunch too!

We took our lunch out on Cape Cod and then went for a swim.  We were shocked to see signs that said not to swim with seals because sharks were actively eating seals.  We were even more shocked to see seals as soon as our feet hit the sand.  No sharks, thankfully.  The babies loved the sand.  Theo liked eating it and Poppy made cute little trails from crawling.  We build many rock castles and the water was warm enough to really swim and play.

Next came the only unwise choice we made.  It was already late in the day and we needed to make sleeping arrangements for the night.  We knew there was an Air Force base in Trenton and we could get there a little before midnight. Well, we could if we were driving country roads in the middle of nowhere.  Unfortunately, we were driving on crowded northeastern roads with wrecks and construction.  We showed up a little before 2 in the morning with a sleeping crew.  If only my lack of sleep made them sleep in.  It is times like this you say, "Oh, well!  Make the best of it!"  So, I hopped in bed and prayed for miraculous multiplication of sleep.  Oh, and they only had two hotel rooms so I took the babies and Jules with me and Danny had the boys.  I got the short end of the stick . . . I mean I got the opportunity to enjoy every moment of the day - even before sunrise.  :) Lucky me.

Melins on the Move - Part 4

The following day we headed north to New Hampshire.  Thanks again to Blue Star Museums we were able to get into Strawbery Banke for free!  Strawberry Banke is a collection of houses that have been refurbished and used as a living history museum.  The kids were able to ask a cobbler a million questions, learn to weave with a loom, try to shop with ration stamps, roam through a “victory garden”, play with a hoop and stick, and so much more!  To top it off, all the local schools were still in session, so we had the place to ourselves. 

We had already put in a full day, but who could resist a hop over the state line and a trip to the beaches of Maine?  Brrrr.  It was very windy and the water temperature at Long Sands Beach was in the mid-forties.  Jonah thought we were going swimming.  He did get in up to his waist but that didn’t last long.  The other kiddos loved building with the rocks, watching the birds, and chasing the waves.  It was a unique experience for kids that have only been to the warm waters at southern beaches. 

On the way home we stopped at a diner on the water to let everyone try lobster.  They even got to pick out the poor guy.  Each big kid eventually tried it . . . and liked it! I think Eli enjoyed it the most but as he put it, “I wish lobster wasn’t a lobster.”  He felt bad eating the little creature.  Silliest dinner!  What was supposed to be a peaceful dinner watching boats pass and water creatures roam turned into a workout as I tried to pry lobster meat out for everyone and a comedy show as Danny made us all laugh giving the lobster a voice and having it “talk” to the babies.

We were all still trying to warm up as we rode back home to rest up for another day!

Melins on the Move - Part 3

We are not city folk, so we knew navigating Boston was going to keep us on our toes.  (I mean, who would have thought the GPS would lose signal while you are in a tunnel under the water where there is an exit ramp you will need to take? Crazy, right?) Then, throw in the fact that a 12-passenger van doesn't squeeze into the squatty parking garages and you have a recipe for driving around in circles.  Also, does the parking meter start when you pull in or when you actually get everyone unloaded?  That is about a 15 minute difference we are talking about there.

Regardless, we made it into the big city.  First stop: The Public Garden.

Like the good school teacher that I am, we read Make Way For Ducklings on our drive so we would be prepared to ride the swan boats and see the duckling statue.  It was a pleasant surprise to see a flock of nesting swans as well.  All the circles were worth the smiles.

We also wandered to the Boston Common and up the Freedom Trail for a few stops.  We were limited by little legs and hot sun, but the bigger boys were impressed by the fact they were standing were all the historical figures we had read about had once stood.  (We had brushed up on our history with Liberty Kids on the ride up.)

When lunch time rolled around, we decided to break out of the city a bit and go to Fort Independence.  Unfortunately, it had some construction inside but the outside had a two mile walk out over the water!  The breeze was perfect and the kids could run and be free.  We waded in the water and found hermit crabs galore!

This day was a real eye-opener for us because we realized that we were not going to get as far as we hoped.  It took a little longer to move 9 people around a city than we first thought.  But, that was okay.  We were having a blast and worn out from lots of laughs and adventures.