Staying Behind

With Eric & the older ones back now from Europe, I can relax and count my blessings that the family is home again.  But while they were gone, Mommy & my little girl had lots of fun...just the two of us!  We....

Enjoyed breakfast at Cracker Barrel, practiced gymnastics....

















Picked blueberries.....

 

Stayed up late trying to get giggling girls to go to sleep....



Made brownies.....

















And swam.  Whew!  No wonder we were exhausted!

You Go Girl!

It's no secret that our oldest is an athlete.  Her latest competition was a women's only triathlon.

They began with a 250-yd swim, a strong event for her.  Out of 133 participants, she was 6th in her swim time.

Next was a 10-mile bike ride, and her weakest event.  She was 13th place for the bike, which was also a personal best time since much of the course was uphill.  Whenever endurance is involved, she dominates.

And finally, the 2.5 mile run.  She came in 2nd for this event with a time of 17:58.

Overall, she came in 4th place, but was1st in her age group.  A tremendous accomplishment!  Next year we'll have to work on her transitions since that's what kept her from the top 3 spots.  Looks like we'll have a tri-suit, sockless shoes, and pull string laces for her gift requests this fall & Christmas.

New Office

After only 18 months into my new job, they give me the corner office!  Below is the office with green walls before the remodeling.

And here is the new look after hiring the best crew ever (Eric & the kids) to re-paint and spruce it up!  

The new position is one I feel qualified to handle from an operations standpoint, but I will have to work on my marketing, public relations, and development skills.  For example, I never knew that a press release needed 3 number signs (#) at the end of the message.  Maybe my awesome brother-in-law could give me a crash course!  

Here's my head shot I'll be attaching to the press release.  Apparantly, this is what companies do for free advertising, and they maximize the heck out of it.  So, my picture will be plastered all over Greenville media outlets in the coming weeks.  

The Board of Directors delivered this huge bouquet today in congratulations.  It's beautiful, and super nice of them.  But soon all the hoopla will be over.  I've had 10 months to think about what I'd do if given this opportunity.  Time to get to work!

CHWC

Catholic Heart Work Camp, or CHWC for short, is a week-long mission trip for the youth and their leaders.  http://heartworkcamp.com  Many churches throughout the US do some type of youth summer mission camp, but each denomination calls it something different (ex. the Methodist one is called Salkahatchie).  The projects are usually focused in some type of home repair.

This year, Eric decided to go since he has a lot of experience with building decks, replacing floors, and pretty much anything else needed.  Our two oldest went as well.  The youth are from all over the US, and those from the same parish are quickly separated so they meet others from around the country.

CHWC has grown tremendously, and there were 50 locations to choose from this summer.  The youth at our church all voted on Betsy Layne, Kentucky.  It was a small rural town, and the campers stayed in the classrooms and gym of a local elementary school.  All money raised for the trip included their food, transportation, and supplies needed for their week-long projects.

What the youth receive in return is amazing spiritual growth.  They get to meet other Catholic youth from around the US, serve the poor, celebrate daily Mass, and feel blessed for the things they often take for granted.  The groups are up early and at their jobsites by 8am, often working with few breaks.  They leave the sites around 4pm in order to get back for showers, dinner, and Mass.  There is also a program each evening where the groups do ice breakers, perform skits, and enjoy local bands.

The groups learn to work as a team and trust each other.....

After the projects were completed, the youth returned the host school back to it's initial state, minus all the sleeping bags.  They enjoyed the trip and are already placing their votes for next summer's destination.  This was an "original" heart camp where 8th graders and up can attend.  For 2015, they are wanting to attend a "next level" heart camp for high school and above.  Those work sites are usually more difficult and the Mass service also includes daily adoration, exposition, benediction, and the rosary.  There have been so many requests for "next level" camps that the number offered in 2015 are greater than "original" camps.  What a positive direction for our future!

Not Niagra

Our first night was with a nice family in Rochester, NY.  The beautiful home dates back to the 1930s, and all the lawns in the area were impeccably manicured.  The owners had two sons, one attending Boston College and the other just finished school, but both boys and parents enjoyed sailing.  They invited us to their yacht club and cottage on the water, but we were eager to see Niagra Falls. On another visit, we could easily stay several days just with them and enjoy their bike trails, hiking, and sailing.

















For the next three nights, we stayed frugally at the Air Force Reserve in Niagra.  Where most hotels can run upwards of $200/night, we were only paying $55/night, thanks to the Colonel who went with us on the trip.






















The girls wanted to do a 5K on the trip, and this one was in Buffalo, NY.  Above are their "before" pictures in clean white shirts.




















And, their after picture.  Not sure of 1) why anyone would want to run a race while on vacation, but 2) run a race where you breathe in dye during and after!  Below is the dye party.  I stayed my distance and was happy to just take pictures.

















One final thing we enjoyed was a dinner & show featuring traditional Canadian cuisine, Canadian music, and a comical play making fun of their culture, customs, and pastimes. Great show, eh?

Niagra Falls - Canadian Side

Day 2 we headed into Canada.  The girls had their passports ready and were excited to embark on their international destination.

















I had always heard that the Canadian side is prettier, and was told to make sure we see the falls from that side.  Now I know why.  Once you cross the bridge, their well-manicured landscaping and gardens immediately give the impression of cleanliness and pride.

















The girls got a stamp in their passports and we saw for the first time that you really do have a better view of the falls from this side.  You're able to look at them head-on verses a side view.

















Since we did so many tours the previous day, the only new one we did was Journey Behind the Falls.  This tour took you through some tunnels so that you come out behind the Horseshoe Falls.  You don't get as wet on this  tour, but the roar of the water could definitely be heard.

















This is the closest we got to the Horseshoe Falls, but it shows the shear volume of water (600,000 gallons per second) that pours over the cliff.  In comparison, the American Falls has only 150,000 gallons per second.

















With all the mist, you could see a rainbow from pretty much any angle at Horseshoe.  It was beautiful!

 















This was my favorite picture from Day 2.  Just up river before the Niagra waters get to the cliff edges, an island known at "Goat Island" splits the river, which creates both falls that make up the famous landmark.  Since we stayed 4 days, the last post will be on our activities outside the falls. 

Niagra Falls - US Side

My oldest daughter & I celebrated her 11 years of Girl Scouting with a trip to Niagra Falls.  What started as a Daisy troop of 12 girls ended up with 2 who stayed committed to the program until their senior year.  The trip was paid out of their funds from all the years of dues and cookie booths.

The picture above is the Niagra River upstream.  It's a river that flows north from Lake Erie and into Lake Ontario, Canada.  The elevation drops considerably as it flows, so there are lots of rapids.

















From the US side, you get a close up and personal look at the mighty falls.  You can feel the mist, hear the roar, and sense it's power.  The river is the international border with Canada. 

















After the falls, the river goes into a small lake where it swirls.  This is called the whirlpools, since it's made up of several circulating pools as  the water tries to flow through the small outlet on the other side.























One of the tours available is Cave of the Wind.  On this tour, you walk through a cave in the rock bed that brings you right up to the base of the American Falls.  These yellow ponchos helped somewhat, but we really got drenched.

















Our next tour was Maid of the Mist.  This tour is a river boat that sails right by each of the falls.  The first one we passed was the American Falls, and makes for the prettiest pictures.  It has large boulders at the bottom which keeps the mist down.

















The other one is called Horseshoe Falls, and is mostly on the Canadian side.  Since there aren't any rocks below to break the splash, there is a huge plume of mist that rises above the ground.  This is the side where people have attempted to go over the waterfall for their 15 min of fame.  The first successful plunge was a 63 yr-old woman in a wooden barrel back in 1901.

My favorite picture from day 1.  Absolutely amazing!