Our "new" Home away from Home

In January Jason and I bought a travel trailer/camper/RV. We are not sure what to call it. We are so "new to this" that we don't quite have the lingo down yet. We have been so excited to take it out for our 1st camping adventure. So last weekend we went to Pennsylvania and opened our family up to a new adventure. Our niece Thea came to join in on the fun all the way from California! It was the best trip. All the kids had a great time. Jason and I can't wait to do it again. We now just need to find a quiet weekend without sports etc so that we can go again before Memorial Weekend.

So we loaded up our car with 6 kids and our dog Joey for our trip to State College, PA. for a couple of days and then on to Hershey, PA for the rest of the week.

Here we are eating our 1st breakfast in the camper.

The Easter Bunny even knew we would be "on the road" but he stopped and filled our camp sight full of eggs.

At the Hershey Campground they had a huge Easter Egg hunt, so the kids got even MORE candy!

Here are a few photos that I hope capture the really great time that we all had. From a 15 year old down to the 4 year old. Everyone loved the trip. The only question Jason and I asked ourselves was "why did we not do this sooner"

The kids borrowed these cool bikes that they had at the campground and raced all around.

All showered up, sipping on Hot Coco and getting ready to start our card game on our last night.

Camping can actually be relaxing, CLEAN and fun!

It was so exciting and really eye opening to meet and see all these other "camping families". Everyone was so nice and friendly. Families sit out and talk, kids ride bikes and play games. It was awesome to just sit and enjoy each other. Spending time together as a family for a little while in this crazy life we live. I love these kids, they are so thoughtful and loving to each other. I love Jason for pushing me on buying this trailer. He usually knows what this family needs better than I do. Happy Camping!

Hershey Park!

We went to Hershey Park for Spring Break and boy was it fun. It was totally different than I had expected. I had no idea it was so big and so fun! Why have we not been going there every year? I think that we just found our new Spring Break destination. Hershey World is a store/visitors center/factory tour/restaurant. The kids loved learning all about the Hershey Family and CHOCOLATE!

Hershey Park is a great amusement Park. We spent 2 days riding ALL the roller coasters! We invited our cousin Thea all the way from California to join in on the fun. It made our Slatter Seven ---- Slatter Eight so everyone had someone to ride a ride with.

Here are the some of the kids getting measured to see what rides they were able to go on. (don't know who the Reeses girl is... she ran in the photo at the last second?)

A day at the Dentist

Today was our 6 month trek to the dentist. I go back and forth whether I like to take the kids all at once or split them up. Today the entire clan went to the dentist. It is about 20 minutes away so it takes half a day if all goes well. I had to capture this shot of 4 of them being seen at the same time. Dylan is now too big to see the "baby" dentist so he goes on the other side of the wall to the "adult" dentist.

Clara has only been a couple of times, but boy does she just sit and let them do anything to her. They are always so amazed at how she just lies there. What a little peanut

Isaac was getting some sealants done, so I steeped around the corner to check on Dylan. When I got back I saw this sight. Clara had pulled up a chair to a scared & crying Isaac and grabbed his hand. Sometimes your kids just amaze you.

We finished up the trek with our celebratory lunch at Chick-fill-A to eat nuggets and Oreo shakes!

LAX =Lacrosse

The Lacrosse season started this weekend. It was a perfect weekend to get out and watch. Jason is coaching Dylan's team (the Bandits) this year. It is Dylan's 3rd season playing and Jason's first time EVER coaching any of our kids (let alone a bunch of 14/15 year old boys in LAX a sport he does not know that much about).
It was fun to see Dylan #55 take the lead when asked by "Coach Slatter" to lead the team in warm ups. Coach Slatter , and his two assistants Clara & Camilla, during the pre-game talk.

Dylan is playing goalie this year. His usual position is middie, but Jason, I mean Coach Slatter wants him to try goalie this season to challenge himself a little more. Dylan was stressed out for the first game, but he did awesome. It was really fun to watch the game. They lost, but they are a young, small team with a lot of 1st time LAX players, so they were just glad to get the 1st game under their belt. Way to go Bandits!

Signs of Spring

Birds chirping , flowers & trees blooming are the first signs of Spring to me. For the last few days the neighbor kids have been coming out more and more to play. Today at one point I counted 15 kids running around playing tag in the back yard. Skinned knees & tired kids.... Spring is here

American Girl Fashion Show

Every year Camilla and I attend the American Girl Fashion Show & Tea.

It is such a fun afternoon. We get dressed up along with Camilla's favorite doll that year. This is an event that benefits hearing impaired children. They have young girls model the clothes with a matching American Girl doll. We eat finger sandwiches, drink tea (lemonade) and have fun desserts. It was so much fun to see Camilla act like a little lady with her girl friends Hanna and Claire. We had a great afternoon together.

Hope

Lately I feel surrounded with sadness. There is lots going on in the world. Grief, despair, abuse disconnect.

I have been affected the last while with the death of a close friend & a cousin, divorce in our family and a random act of violence just down the street from our house this past weekend.

It is amazing what a neighborhood tragedy can do to your sense of safety. I drive the neighborhood 100 times a day. My kids ride their bikes up and down the sidewalk. I go running all around the neighborhood several times a week. We socialize with our neighbors, BBQ, lunch together, but in one random act of violence your whole safe world can collapse.

It seems the same with marriage. Jason and I have been married for almost 17 years. I love the man to death. He knows me. He gets me. He can figure out my mood within 2 minutes of coming into the house. He drops everything, just to make my life easier. We laugh, cry and share our lives together. But when someone you love gets divorced it makes you look a little deeper into your own marriage. It makes you not take all those amazing things that your spouse does for you for granted.

Our High School friend died last fall of cancer and my cousin just died of cancer a few weeks ago. When I think of their kids, wife and parents going through life without them I hug my kids a little tighter and squeeze Jason a little longer each night.

With all this sadness going on around me. I am also surrounded with amazing happiness. I am filled with HOPE. I am filled with gratitude.

I have thought today of my Grandmothers and all the sadness that they saw in their life time. The depression, loss of children, siblings, disease, hardship and much more than I can possibly imagine. Both of my grandmothers were strong. They had a strong sense of family. They built a legacy. I am proud to be from such an amazing heritage of women. I am glad now, in this sad time of my life that I can look to their examples. They acted not re-acted. Women that stood up for what they believed. Woman who raised large families and took pride in doing so. Women who served those who needed service. Loved those who needed love, and found happiness in a world sometimes filled with sadness.

To my amazing Grandmother's.......who are no longer with us.

Thanks for your example.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

With a mischievous leprechaun running wild through our house. We had green milk, green toilet water, chairs stacked on the table and even green dots on the kids arms when we woke up this morning. It will be good to have things back to normal tomorrow.