6/28/13 - Washington D.C. for Kennedy's Bday

 One of Kennedy's best friends in Texas, Raven, was coming to visit Washington D.C. with her family before going on a cruise out of Baltimore, MD.  They asked us if we wanted to come down and spend a couple of days in D.C. with them.  Nick wasn't able to come because he had to work.  I LOVE D.C.  It is now my favorite city on the earth.  I LOVE American history and their are so many things to do and see in this city.  My favorite part of the day was the time we spent at Ford's Theatre where President Abraham Lincoln was shot.

 Another favorite was Arlington National Cemetery.  We took a picture of Kennedy in front of the grave of the president that shares her name, John F. Kennedy.  The ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a very reverent and patriotic moment.  After the changing of the guard the people in the crowd all left but Andrew stayed where he was and didn't move.  I let him stay there for awhile starring at the soldier standing guard.  Then I went up to him and told him we were leaving.  Drew didn't want to leave.  It was very cute for this little boy who loves soldiers.

 We had a great time sightseeing.  I cried at almost every stop.  I love the sacrifice that so many people have made so that we can live in the greatest country in the world.  It was a humbling and sacred experience for me.

 At the end of the day we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Washington D.C. to celebrate the fact that it was Kennedy's 13th birthday that day.  The people at the Hard Rock were awesome to Kennedy when they found out it was her birthday.  They played her favorite songs, put her up on the stage with an electric guitar to take some fun pictures and then they got her up on the stage again and made everyone in the restaurant to sing happy birthday to her and then gave her a big ice cream Sunday.  It really made her birthday extra special.

6/19/13 - Six Flags Great Adventure

After unpacking our stuff in our new place we decided to spend the rest of the summer exploring our new area.  If we didn't keep busy we would just end up staying home, feeling lonely and sorry for ourselves.  Our first big adventure was an Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.  The whole family went for the day and had a great time on the rides.  The boys got tired when it got dark so Nick took them home (we anticipated this happening so we had driven separate cars) and Kennedy and I stayed to go on some "scary" rides.  I had been beginning Kennedy to go on the Kingda Ka with me but she was terrified and completely refused to do it.  I finally acted as though I was very upset and let down and I manipulated her into going on it with me.  She stood in the line looking at the straight drop the ride would take and she was holding back tears the whole time.  When we were all buckled into the ride she almost tried to flag one of the operators down to let her off the ride.  I felt bad for her but I kept telling her she was going to love it.  The ride sends you down to track so fast!!!!  It was an awesome feeling.  When the ride finally came to a stop Kennedy started screaming about how much she loved it and she wanted to go again.  We rode 2 more times before the park closed.  FUN DAY!

6/7/13 - Goodbye Party & Moving In

 After the moving truck took our stuff away we had planned a big going away party for Kennedy and her girlfriends.  We spent the day at a movie and the mall and then I get the girls there own hotel room (joined by a door to my hotel room) so they could stay up all night and have a good time.  They swam in the hotel pool, played in the splash park, hung out at the outside fireplace lounge and bought food at the restaurant.  I think they had a blast.  In the morning I had to take them all home and we had to say goodbye to them and their parents.  EVERYONE WAS CRYING.  All the girls were sobbing, I was a crying mess and almost all the other parents cried too.  It was so hard.  Kennedy cried on and off for the rest of the day.

Then it was off to the airport to catch a plane to out new home state.  Ready or not PA......here we come.

We spent a few days in a hotel before the moving company brought our things.  The kids were running around the tiny little empty townhouse we were renting.  Kennedy kept the boys busy by chasing them around and wrestling with them (she's such a great big sister) and I got to work on the nightmare of unpacking.  

6/6/13 - Moving Day

The moving van showed up and the moving company packed up all our stuff and then loaded it into the truck.  All of Kennedy friends were at our house sitting on the porch watching the truck get loaded.  Sad :(

6/4/13 - All "A" Honor Roll 2 Years

I went to Kennedy's school to attend her awards ceremony.  She got a special certificate for being on the All "A" Honor Roll for the 2 years she has been attending Strack Intermediate School.  This was a big accomplishment because she was taking 4 Pre-AP classes; English, Science, Social Studies, and Math.

This was kind of a sad assembly as well.  This marked the end of the school year which was all that had been keeping us from joining Nick in Pennsylvania.  Now, it's time to move :(