The Good Samaritan

This morning was one I will probably never forget. Until this morning, I had never put myself in this type of situation. It all started when I left home to take the boys to their sitter's house. I was quickly reminded by the little orange light on my dash that I needed to get gas, and according to my car's brain, I had approximately 18 miles of "cruising distance". So, I tell myself that I'll just stop and get gas after I drop the boys off as there are two gas stations fairly close to her house. I pull into Shell and get ready to fill up when I realize that I left my wallet on my desk at work. I think OH MY GOODNESS! What am I going to do? Can I call someone? Should I go back to the sitter's house and try to bum some cash? Then I noticed that I still had my BP card (that I never use!) in my purse. So, I decide to just leave Shell and try to find a BP. Well, I don't remember when this happened, but at some point, Shell took over the gas industry, and finding a BP station is far more difficult than it should be. Perhaps that's why I haven't used my card in so long... Anyway, I finally found a BP station after I had driven about 6 miles. So now my car says I have 13 cruising miles. I pull into BP and pray that my BP card works, because that's my last hope. Well, IT DIDN'T! So, I walk into the BP station trying to figure out how I'm going to get at least $5 in gas to get to work. Thankfully, the very nice man at BP decided after I showed him that I have no other way to pay for gas that he would pay for $5 in gas for me. I was so thankful!! I was so frustrated and mad at myself that I forgot to ask the man's name or when I might be able to bring the money back to him. So, after I got to work I decided to look up the station's phone number and call to find out the man's name and how long he will be working today. Sam, the very nice man, said that we did not need to rush to get the money back to him, but I told him that my husband will be there this afternoon to repay him.

I learned two very valuable lessons today:

1. There are still good people in the world.
2. Never let the gas light on my car come on again.

On the road again...

Well, we made another trip up to Santa Claus, IN this weekend. The boys were really excited about getting to go to the water park again. I was excited about getting another opportunity to ride some roller coasters! Clarence and I have now ridden all of the roller coasters at Holiday World - the Raven, the Legend and the Voyage! I have to say, the Voyage is still my favorite! Nana and I rode Pilgrim's plunge again, and I actually kept my eyes open all the way to the top this time (a feat not previously accomplished!). Nana accomplished her goal of keeping her arms raised all the way to the bottom. We both overcame our Pilgrim's Plunge fears! The sissy men wouldn't even get on it with us! :) It's a good thing we rode it when we did though, because a little while later there was a boat stuck at the top of Pilgrim's Plunge. I'm not sure how long it took to get those people down... YIKES! We had a great time seeing more of Clarence's family. There were several cousins to hang out and ride rides with; it was great! The children were the only ones who did not seem to be phased by the cool weather. My boys still had a great time on the water slides despite the fact it was only about 70 degrees! Brrr. I wanted to get in the lazy river, but I couldn't find any takers to go with me... We spent the whole day there, arriving at 8:45 am and leaving at 9:00 pm. It was one long day, but definitely worth it! Here are some pictures from our day.

For some reason, my boys won't pose with Santa. So here's Devin, Jaylen, Noah and Donevyn

Devin and Alex

Noah and Donevyn

Jaylen and Nana

Isaac

Alex

Devin conked out after lunch

Jaylen and Isaac getting ready to ride a big water slide

Poor Bryce didn't feel well

Pops being silly

Precious Lilly celebrated her first birthday at Holiday World

Isaac, Melissa, Noah and Cassie

Nana and Bryce - ice cream makes everything better

Vacation

Well, since Clarence lost his job and is going back to school, we did not get to go to the beach yet another summer... boo! BUT, we did get to go to Holiday World and Splashin' Safari for a few days. Despite the stinky weather, we had a great time! Nana and Pops just happened to be going the same time we were, so we had even more fun hanging out with them. Isaac really enjoyed playing with his cousins Jaylen and Donevyn. We drove up there on the Thursday before the 4th of July and came back on Sunday the 5th. Our trip up there was uneventful, and the day started out dreary. :( By afternoon though, the sun was shining and we were all having a great time. When it came time to leave the park, it was time to find our hotel in Jasper, IN. So, we put the hotel's address in the GPS. Little did we know, we need an updated map! We ended up driving down a dirt road (yes, they still exist) through the middle of a corn field. At least there was still some daylight. It would have been a lot creepier in the dark! We finally made it to our hotel an hour after we left the park only to discover when we arrived in Jasper that the time changes there. They are one hour ahead; talk about a weird feeling! We all slept good that night and rested up for a great Friday at Holiday World. Thankfully, the sun was bright and it was warm on Friday. It was the best day at the park by far. Our last night in IN went stayed with Nana and Pops, Jay, and Donevyn in the RV they rented. We grilled hamburgers and roasted marshmallows that night on the 4th of July. We all had a great time! Despite the rain all day Saturday, it turned out to be a good one. It was still raining Sunday morning, so instead of going to the park like we wanted to, we decided to pack it up and head back home. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

On the road... too early for Alex

Isaac eating his goldfish and waiting to get there...

The cool bridge on the way to Santa Claus, IN

Riding the tram from our truck to the gates

oh, brothers!

waiting in line to drive the little classic cars

standing in the trees waiting to drive the little classic cars

Alex riding the Freedom Train with Daddy

Alex playing in the water at Holidog's Playground

Donevyn on the bumper boats

Isaac on the bumper boats

Jaylen on the bumper boats

(Alex was big enough to ride the bumper boats, but he wouldn't even try it!)

Isaac and Alex on the Carousel

Isaac was excited to ride on the airplanes. His sense of adventure was so exciting! He would ride anything he was big enough to!

Pooped out!!

Alex hitching a ride with Nana. Nana broke her foot not too long ago, so walking a lot was out of the question. Alex appreciated the break too!

The boys loved having this wagon for when they got tired. Pops and Clarence took turns pushing it. It was one heavy load with bags and three growing boys!

Alex and Pops - Alex always found a way to keep from walking

Nana and Alex in line to ride the Freedom Train - again! It was Alex's favorite ride

Rain, rain, go away!

Alex at Kima Bay - his favorite water slides! Or as he called it, the slides with the Monkey with the Blue Glasses. Yes, it was raining in this picture, but that didn't matter to him. He just wanted to slide.

Isaac and Donevyn outside playing while Clarence grilled hamburgers and hotdogs.

The whole crew roasted marshmallows

Alex really enjoyed them

I don't think Nana wanted me to take her picture while she was enjoying the marshmallows... :)

Donevyn enjoyed them too

One of my silly boys!

Happy Father's Day

We spent Father's day as we usually do, with family. Here are some pictures from our day.

C and Isaac riding the motorcycle from our house to the campgrounds where we had a picnic.

Isaac blowing bubbles

Alex eating a chocolate chip cookie - one of his favorite things to do!

My husband and our boys. Clarence really is the best husband and father I could ever imagine. He does so much for us, and we are so thankful for him! We love you!

My father and me. With everything my father has been through in the last 6 years, I am even more thankful for him.