What do you get when...

...you cross a sink, and it's stopper, a stool, and a three year old child?
A GIGANTIC MESS!!!
A whole lot of wet towels, and some very unhappy parents.
Again, we are thanking God for our little shop vac saving us once again.  Roy sucked up at least 10 gallons of water just out of our heating vents!  The floor was ankle deep, not only in the bathroom, but all the way to the back of the trailer.  And of course the three year old claims, "someone else did it!"
[sigh]

Are those your play shoes?

Hollie:
Steven is magnetically attracted to water.  If there are bugs or fish or crawdads or frogs to find, he MUST find them.  So this afternoon when I lost Steven, the first place I went to look was in the creek, and sure enough there he was.

Steven also has 3 pairs of shoes on this trip.  The ones he is wearing are the good shoes for leaving camp.  They are not to be worn for playing.  He is obviously stuck here.  Did I help him?  Of course not.  I did what any good mother would do.  I told him to get out of that creek fast, and he had better not get his good shoes wet. He hasn't come home yet.  Wonder if he fell in. :o)

What about Socialization?

Roy:

When we first started homeschooling 5 years ago it was simply out of practical necessity.  Hollie was spending over 20 hours per week just driving the kids to various private schools, kindergartens, and preschools (we had moved way out in the country and there was no convenient bus service for all of them).  I told her, “Just stay at home and I bet you could teach them in half the time you’re spending being their chauffer!”  And thus began our homeschooling journey.

At the time one of our biggest concerns was, “are they going to be able to develop adequate social skills outside of public education?”  One strike against them is that they have my genes, and no one has ever accused me of excelling at social graces! (and I even had the benefit of going to public school J).  I think our experience on the road has given us the answer.

At nearly every one of our stops our children have come into contact with one group of kids or another.  Sometimes it has been longtime friends they haven’t seen in years.  Sometimes it is children of our friends that they have just met.  Sometimes, it is just children they encounter on the playground of a park for less than an hour.  Every single time, without exception, there has been some significant bond that has blossomed almost immediately.  They end up having a WONDERFUL time playing together, regardless of any age difference or cultural difference or geographic separation: laughing and running and exploring and sharing together. When it comes time to say goodbye there are often tears on both sides and promises to keep in touch through various electronic devices (the norm I guess in this day and age).

We started out worrying that homeschooling was going to impede our kids socially.  We’ve been pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite to be true.

Hollie:  We met my friend Janice from college with all of her kids at Plymouth Plantation.  It was great for our kids to meet and play.  She too has chosen to homeschool for various reasons.  Again, it would be great to live next to them and share our lives and kids.

The Mama Katie Marie

Hollie

When I met Roy, he introduced me to his friend Katie Marie.  She was a sweet girl whose company I enjoyed.  About two years later I noticed that everyone was calling her Kat.  When I asked her why she told me that he name was Katherine and everyone called her Kat.  Only Roy called her Katie Marie.  WHAT???  I guess he liked the name and thought her personality fit, so that is what he called her.

There is a rumor in Roy’s family that his dad liked the name Mary Ruth and had decided that his last little girl would be named that.  Roy is the fifth child, and then his brother Steve, and finally his sister Mary (Ruth) was born and they stopped having children. It is hard to think how many children they would have had if Roy’s mom had kept having boys!

Following in his dad’s footsteps, Roy decided that his last girl would be named Katie Marie.  He had decided this long before he had met me.  After birthing Ruthie, I fell ill and it seemed like I couldn’t have any more children.  Then surprise! Six years later I found out I was pregnant.  Roy immediately knew this was his Katie Marie.

After Katie Marie’s personality started to shine, it became very apparent to me that she needed a younger sibling.  In her mind, all of her older siblings were created to worship and serve her.  In my mind, she needed someone who was going to steal her toys, share her clothes, and borrow her shoes and never return them.  To my amazement, God granted me this request and Ellie was born.  Katie Marie may not be his youngest daughter, but I am sure he doesn’t mind.  Ellie is worth it.

Of course we couldn’t come to Boston without Katie Marie meeting her name sake.  Katie Marie called her The Mama Katie Marie.

And Ellie received some Katie Marie loving that she didn't mind (unlike the "love" she receives from her sister).

Lemons

No childhood is truly complete until your parents have tortured you with lemons.

Hives!!!

Hollie

Roy’s Uncle Jimmy is allergic to shellfish.  There is a running joke in his family, “If you want to kill Uncle Jimmy, just sneak some lobster into his food!”

My grandparents lived on the Chesapeake Bay.  I grew up going out on the boat early in the morning, catching a cooler load of fish, and coming home and eating them for breakfast.  Just about every weekend during the summer, some distant cousin would show up and we would have a picnic at Nanny and Pap Pap Olie’s house.  We would eat crabs and shrimp cooked in Old Bay seasoning, corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes or zucchini picked from the garden.  The kids would beg the parents to take us swimming off the dock, then the parents would stay up all night playing pinochle while the cousins ran around outside catching lightnin’ bugs.  These are cherished childhood memories.

Therefore the first time Mary Anne complained that her throat hurt after eating shrimp, I was in total denial.  No kid of mine could have a shellfish allergy.  It wasn’t possible.  When she ate shrimp the second time and she complained of a sore throat and her tongue tingling, and maybe it was a bit harder to breathe, I had to let the reality seep it.  Curse you Uncle Jimmy!

Now back to Monday.  One of the things on mine and Roy’s Boston bucket list was to take the kids to Legal Sea Foods.  Roy grew up in the desert.  He told me he hated fish.  I took him to Legal Sea Foods to eat some fresh caught pan seared rainbow trout, and made a seafood lover out of him.  Turns out, the only fish he had ever had was frozen out of a box.

The waitress was amazing at taking down all of our allergies and making sure Mary Anne didn’t get any shellfish or dairy and Steven didn’t get any wheat.  Roy, MA, and J all ordered rainbow trout, Steven ordered lobster, the rest of the kids ordered popcorn shrimp and I ordered a bowl of clam chowder and shrimp.  Everyone loved their food and all was well. Ok, MA was wheezing a bit, which she does whenever we eat at a seafood restaurant, but other than that, all was well.  We left and went around the corner and had ice cream.  A very special treat indeed. We ended the day walking down by the water and watching the sun set. It was a good ending to a very stressful beginning of a day.

That is until about 10 pm when Ruthie broke out into hives and threw up!  Really Uncle Jimmy, you passed on your shellfish allergy to two of my kids???!!!  I am of course still in denial that it was the shellfish that made her break out. Maybe it was the ice cream.

Steven convinced Roy to eat the eyeballs off of his lobster.  This made Steven's day!

 The boys chose to match today wearing their new dino shirts and Boston hats.

 The girls in our new Boston sweat shirts.

 We bought a tripod for this trip to capture all of our family memories together.  Um, didn't figure in traffic.

That is much better!

Where it all began, is where it's all gonna END!

Hollie

Roy and I didn’t completely think Boston out.  Like where in the world are we going to park a 15 passenger van?  Most of the garages have too low a clearance.  The meters only allow you to park for 2 hours.  And some of the above ground spots charge outrageous prices!

We got a late start as normal on Monday, our first day into Boston.  We couldn’t really decided where to start.  Boston has so much history and so many places to go and do and see, it was hard to decide.  After much deliberation, we decided to go to George’s Island.  This is where Roy asked me to marry him.  We start on our journey and I discover that Roy really has no idea how to get there.  For some reason, he thought that despite it being years since he drove in Boston, it would all just come back to him.  It didn’t.  So now I am trying to look at a map and figure out where we should go.  How did people ever get around before GPS on their phones?

Trying to navigate Boston is kind of like trying to sail a ship in the middle of the ocean.  You have a general idea of where to go, but when it really comes down to it, you have no idea which way you are heading, despite a map and a lady on the navigator yelling at you that you missed the turn.  Oh wait, that was me yelling.

We finally figure out where the correct dock is, and realize we have no idea where to park.  Roy starts driving in circles, and ovals, and squares, and triangles and still we have no idea where to park.  Patience is wearing thin by now folks.  I direct him to one garage after another to find out they all have low clearance, or don’t allow vans, even though we would fit!  We finally find one lot and they want $40!  FORTY BUCKS!! Are you kidding me?  I immediately say no way, find somewhere else!  This is where the heated discussion begins (read: argument).

Roy logically points out that we have been driving for over an hour looking for a parking space and there are none that will fit our van.  I logically point out that FORTY BUCKS for parking is absolutely ridiculous and there is no way we can spend a week here and pay FORTY BUCKS every day!  The kids logically point out that they all have to pee and if we don’t find a place soon, we will have wet van seats.  Finally, Roy pulls into the FORTY BUCKS place and I take deep breaths and try not to hyperventilate.

Oh wait, it gets better!  After we finally get everything unloaded and Roy backs the van into a spot made for compact cars, we head toward the dock looking for bathrooms along the way.  We decide to split up, (no not the marriage, yet…) and he will buy tickets for the ferry while I take those who need it to the bathroom.  As I head back towards the dock, I see Roy with this look on his face that says “please don’t kill me”.  It seems the ferry only runs Thursdays – Sundays now.  Did I mention it was Monday?  I promptly told Roy that I just figured out the title of my next blog post.  You are reading it. ;o)

There is something about lunch that makes all your troubles melt away.  And it was sunny.  Sun helps too.

Where It All Began

Hollie

I met Roy at a Christian leadership retreat in Rhode Island with Campus Crusade for Christ. We both were assigned dishes duty. No, it was not love at first sight, not even close, despite the fact that he did dishes!

We became friends several months later.  That friendship grew into courtship, which grew into an engagement and 3 years after we met we were married.  Everybody saw this coming but me.

Our family arrived in Boston Saturday night and went to church at Park Street Church in Boston.  We then headed out to Medford to have lunch with our dear friends the Laymans.  Helen was my leader for CCC and she invested her life in me.  She taught me what it meant to live my life for Christ, and I will be forever thankful for her.  After I graduated college, the Laymans invited me to live in their home. I helped take care of their 2 boys for a reduced rate rent.  Since I was a very poor post college grad, it was a wonderful arrangement.  I loved their boys dearly and had already been babysitting them since they were babies.

Helen and Jim also helped Roy and I walk through our courtship and engagement.  When it came time for Roy and I to get married, we wanted someone who knew both of us to marry us.  Jim seemed like a great choice.  He knew us, and he had invested into us, and he loved us, and us him.  However, Jim wasn’t a pastor, and had no authority to marry us. We were excited when he said yes, and then went through the process to become ordained.

I met Helen when she was pregnant with Jono, and now here he is 19 years later with my baby.

Steven and Jim playing catch.

Helen and Jackie.

I think Caleb is getting tired of all the group pictures...

My First Twolley Ride

Dictated by Katie Marie:

When we were waitin for the twolley in Boston today my tummy hurted weally, weally bad and I had to go poop. So I told Abba that I weally had to go poop, bad! Abba picked me up and we wan to the bafwoom. As Abba pulled down my pants I had to go super bad. I couldn’t wait to get on da potty.  The poop just came out fast wike a twain.  It sounded like a gun was shooting. It sounded like pfhbbbbbbbbbpfhbpbfhb. I thought my butt was fwowing up.  It went like a arrow.  The poop wooked like mud almost everywhere on da walls and fwoor. Abba had to keep going out and out and out and getting whole bunches of nakins and coming back in and ceaning it up. Woofie and Caleb came in to be wif me when Abba was gone.  Den Abba washed my dwess and my pants in da sink.  A twanger came in when I was in the da bafroom and den went out cuz it smelled weally bad. Den Abba made me wash my hands and the dryer was weally loud and made my hair fly awound.

And dats my story and it’s a secwet.  Don’t tell Mommy.

Taxation Without Representation!

Roy:

So we’re finally in Boston, our first “Early American History Homeschool education” destination.  We pulled into a campground just outside the city that advertised “showers, laundry, etc”.  It is a massive complex that would be better described as a resort rather than a campground.

As I was rushing to get ready for church on Sunday morning I had to walk nearly ten minutes from our RV site to the shower building on the other side of the property.  I was already running late (some things never change, even when you’re on sabbatical…) so I knew it would need to be a quick shower.  However, when I got there I found that although they did have showers, you had to pay extra if you wanted hot water!  I could not afford the time it took to go back to my site for some quarters so I ended up suffering through an ice cold rinsing. 

As I walked past the office on my way back to our trailer I shook a shivering fist at the manager and hollered for all to hear, “Here, in the birthplace of democracy, and I have to pay for hot water in my shower!”.

New 'Puter Pals

Hollie:

There is something magical about when your kids meet your friends' kids for the first time and have an instant connection.  That is what happened when we went to visit our friends Mike and Emily. 

Their oldest boy and our oldest boy were so much alike.  They were both about 12 and by the time we left they had built a solar oven, built a solar water heating system, built an electrical current that blew up a fan, caught crickets and videoed them singing and talked endlessly about everything.  And we were there for less than 24 hours!

We both had nine year old girls that had so much fun together that by the time it was time to leave they had devised a plan to sneak a stowaway in the trailer so they wouldn’t have to be parted.

.

And our two seven year old boys were two peas in a pod!  Both full of mischievous energy that never ended!

And of course the parents had lots of catching up to do that kept us up talking way past the kids' bedtimes, and left us scheming to get together again next summer!

As a side note: Gone are the days of Pen Pals. With technology today kids keep in touch by chatting, emailing, and videoing. So, a while ago I renamed it 'Puter Pals, short for computer pals.  However, with two of my girls having ipod touches with which they check their email, play games, and video with their friends, I might have to re-rename it Pod Pals.

Water Water Everywhere and I Really Have to Pee!

Mary Anne:

Today we went and saw the amazing Niagara Falls. As we were driving there I drank a lot of water, so that by the time we got there I had to go to the bathroom. I informed my Mom that I had to go, but she just said; “Wait until we get there, please.”

We walked from the parking lot all the way to the Niagara Falls viewing point, stopping along the way to take a picture at the sign that said “Niagara Falls”. We stood at the overlook and gazed at the rushing water that tumbled down the rocky cliff and the colorful rainbows that danced off the water in the sunlight. By now I really had to go to the bathroom. I asked Mom if there was a bathroom nearby. She nodded and said we could take a bathroom break soon.

As we were walking around we saw a booth that said it was selling tickets for the Maid of the Mist, which is a boat that goes near the waterfall and let’s people see the waterfall up close and get soaked in the mist. We bought tickets, and then for some reason (unknown to me at the time) Abba and Caleb disappeared and the rest of us just stood around in the blazing sun waiting for them to get back. When they got back, Mom looked at her watch and saw that we had less than ten minutes to go down the elevator, walk the long way to the boat, get our ponchos on and board the ship before it left. “But Mom,” I reminded her, “I really have to go potty!” Mom looked confused and a bit irritated. “Um, Mary Anne, that’s what Caleb and Abba have been doing this whole time! But there is a bathroom near the boat, so if we hurry you can stop by quickly.”

We ran to the elevator and went down. The doors opened, and everyone hopped off. I was in charge of Katie Marie, so I grabbed onto her stroller and started to push it out the door. But it wouldn’t move, as the wheels were turned different ways. I fixed the wheels, and started to push it out the door. But the doors suddenly slammed shut. I pushed the open door button. Nothing happened. I pushed it again. Still nothing happened. The elevator started going down again. Katie Marie started crying, because we were still on the elevator and neither of our parents was with us. I tried to comfort her, telling her that when we got down to the floor, we’d just go back up again. Katie Marie still kept right on sobbing. When we got to the bottom, a group of Hindu people got on. The stared queerly at Katie Marie and me, and after a while, one of the girls asked in halting English, “Why is she crying?” “Oh. The elevator doors closed before we could get off”, I explained. “We’ll just get off when it comes to the top.” I don’t think they quite understood me though, as they kept giving each other confused glances. I felt uncomfortable, all cramped in a small elevator with strange people, and trying to keep Katie Marie quiet and my pants dry at the same time.

We finally reached the top, where I hurried out with Katie Marie and found my family right away. “Hurry!” Abba shouted. “The boat is leaving right now!” As I ran past the bathroom I glanced at it longingly and hoped there was a bathroom aboard the boat. I grabbed a rain jacket and leaped on the ship just as it was sailing away. After I finished struggling into the plastic blue rain jacket I searched for a bathroom. But sadly there was none on the boat. Trying to forget about it, I made my way up to the top deck just in time to get sprayed by the mist.

As we got closer to the falls, I ended up getting soaked, despite the fact that I had the rain jacket on. I stood there in the falling mist and listened to the rushing waves below me, the roaring falls in front of me, and the trickle of water dripping off my plastic poncho, trying to forget about my urgent need for a bathroom.

Despite the fact that I almost wet my pants, I still enjoyed the ride tremendously. As the boat pulled back into harbor I practically leapt off onto the dock in my hurry to the bathroom. And I’m proud to say I made it just in time!

The Swart Clan is a Delicate Balancing Act