Hershey Museum

Last week, as a final summer activity, we used a family pass I had purchased at our older boys' school's auction last spring and visited The Hershey Museum in yummy Hershey, PA. We live less than a half hour from Hershey, so this was the perfect little afternoon trip. The Hershey Museum, while not large, proved to be perfect for our boys. There was enough interesting trivia and information to keep the older boys intrigued, yet enough hands-on activities to keep Benjamin out of trouble. Nathaniel was pretty much just along for the ride...as you will see in one of the photos below! A kind stranger attempted to take a family photo for us (first photo below) but it was next to impossible to get everyone looking in the same direction at the same time. I think it turned out okay nonetheless! After the museum, we walked over to Hershey's Chocolate World and rode the free factory tour ride with the free chocolate handouts at the end...yum!

Here is our attempt at a family photo...four out of six ain't bad!

Dave obliged me for this photo of PA Dutch settlers' clothing.

These are some of the original character costumes used in Hershey Park over the years.

This is an original car from one of the historic roller coasters at Hershey Park.

Here's Mr. Ham-it-up-for-the-camera!

The following photos are from the hands-on children's area at The Hershey Museum. Benjamin loved playing with the food ("May I take your order?") and the old-fashioned household items. Jonathan and Sabastian enjoyed putting together informational puzzles (as a competition of course! ) and they obliged Mom for a photo on the covered wagon horses. A fun day was had by all!

First Haircut...Before and After

This sequence of photos probably doesn't need any explanation for those of you who have experienced the "first haircut". These were taken on Dave's camera phone since we didn't really plan on getting Nathaniel's hair cut when we did, but the stylist so wanted to cut his hair (because she wanted to hold him!) that we went ahead and did it. She was able to shape it up a bit before we decided enough was enough...there was no way he was going to allow her to cut too close to his ears! We think it turned out pretty cute...

First Haircut...the Results!

(Are you happy now, Pop-pop?)

Thousand Words

Our youngest has recently decided that he likes the camera now, and never wastes a chance to ham it up!

A Happy Birthday Trip for Two

This past weekend my husband, Dave, and I got away for a couple of nights without our four boys for the first time in almost two years...way to long, in my opinion...to celebrate Dave's 40th birthday. My wonderful parents agreed to watch our boys--quite the undertaking when you are not used to it!--and survived marvelously...thanks Mom and Dad! Dave and I headed to East Rutherford, NJ, right outside New York City, to attend a preseason football game that pitted last year's Super Bowl Champs (the New York Giants for those who don't follow the sport!) against Dave's favorite team, the Cleveland Browns. It was the first time I attended a live professional football game, and only Dave's second--he went when he was five or something like that! Of course it was preseason which means the starters only played in the first half, but it was still exciting to watch all the big names that you usually only see on television. We were only halfway up the first section, so we were pretty close to the field, right behind the Giants' bench. I watched Eli Manning's back all night! Following are a few of the MANY photos Dave took to commemorate the event...

We stayed at a nice hotel right near the Meadowlands Sports Complex. In anticipation of our trip, I had researched restaurants in the area and found La Fusta, an Argentine restaurant close by. I made reservations for a late lunch on Monday and, after a few wrong turns, we had one of the best meals ever! If you don't know anything about Argentine cuisine, they are known for their beef. We had a "parrillada" or mixed grill containing chicken, pork, and beef, which all just melted in your mouth. Of course we had to have empanadas, traditional ensalada, and an Argentine dessert to top things off! I found the Argentine cuisine to be very reminiscent of Chilean cuisine, so I felt right at home! If you are ever in Northern Jersey or New York City, I highly recommend La Fusta!

It was a wonderful couple of days of relaxation and refreshment, but we were excited to see our boys again, too. The older boys went on a big fishing trip with their Grandpa and one of his friends...and came back with even bigger fish tales to prove it! The younger boys hung out with Grandma...she even braved the grocery store with both of them...and had a great time. Yesterday, when we returned to pick up the boys, we also had a nice meal and a cake to celebrate Dave's birthday with the family. He didn't want a lot of hoopla on his 40th birthday, so I think he enjoyed his quiet celebrations. Happy Birthday, Honey!

Now we are on a countdown to the start of a new school year and all of the fun all activities. Monday is the boys' first day of school and I think we are all ready for a change of pace again. This summer went by way too fast, but it was an enjoyable one, mostly spent in and around our home. Fall is on its merry way, though, and I think we are ready for the changes it will bring!

Calling All Cooks...Recipes Needed!

Do you like to cook? Do you have a favorite family recipe or two? Then we could use your help! We are going to publish the "Forever Family Cookbook" as an adoption fundraiser. I need at least 250 different recipes from at least 150 different individuals, so...please pass the word to families, friends, Sunday School classes, women's groups, etc., etc.! I would love to receive recipes from around the world...in fact, it would be really neat for people to submit favorite family recipes that highlight their family's heritage. You can send recipes to me via e-mail at tfisher83@myexcel.com, or, you can click here for a .pdf file that you can print, fill in, and send to Terri Fisher, PO Box 146, Jonestown, PA 17038. Please include your name and, if you know it, the "heritage" of the recipe (english, german, chilean, etc.) so that they can be included in the cookbook. Feel free to print several forms and pass them to friends and family, and if you have a blog, please help us get the word out...we need all the recipes we can get! Recipes can be for anything edible, so pull out those recipe boxes, old cookbooks, and tattered pieces of paper, and get typing...or writing...so we can bring Sophia home! (And stay tuned to our blog to learn how you can order a cookbook soon!)

He's Crawling!

News flash from the Fisher family...Nathaniel is finally crawling! It took him awhile to get all that girth up onto his knees, but he's finally mobile. Watch out world!

Check Out Our Adoption Blog!

Don't forget to check out our adoption blog, Our Silk Road, via the beautiful red link on the right! The adoption ball is starting to roll, so there will be more posts there in the days and weeks to come! Join with us as we bring our little Sophia from China to home!

Last Week in a (Sorta Big!) Nutshell

Last week was a very busy, but fruitful and fun, week! While our oldest son went to a week-long camp last Sunday, the other three boys and I piled into the family van and drove a couple of hours southeast to my parents' home in Delaware for the week. The reason for the trip was to participate in the Daily Vacation Bible School my parents' church was having all week long. I was asked to teach the 2's and 3's which is a class for children of that age whose parents are working at the DVBS. I had six little ones, including my son Benjamin, and on two days, when there was no nursery, I had my son Nathaniel and another little girl. Fortunately, I had a great helper, too, so I wasn't by myself. The theme of this DVBS was "Digging for the Truth of God's Word" and the Bible stories were basically Creation and Noah's Flood. So, we did a lot with dinosaurs and animals which was really fun for me and the kids. Here are some photos to show you some of the fun things my little group did...

...we put on dinosaur masks and played "Dino Tag"...

...we stenciled dinosaurs onto t-shirts with sparkly fabric paint--too cool!...

...and we made dinosaur hats!...

Of course there are many hilarious stories to be told after working with this age group, but I won't get into all of that! Suffice it to say that it was very fun, yet extremely exhausting, and I was more glad than sad when the week was over!

Another happening last week was that our youngest son, Nathaniel, now 10 months old, finally figured out how to pull himself to standing pretty consistently. In fact, the toy box in our classroom served as a great stability object to do just that. Here he goes...

You can see he's pretty tickled with himself! I guess the toys were a big motivator for him, and he figured that since he was with the "big kids", he ought to start acting like one! (Now if I could only have Benjamin use that logic when it comes to going on the big boy potty!)


After the busy week of DVBS, I deposited the children with my hubby, and my mom and I went to Valley Forge on Saturday to attend the Creating Keepsakes Convention there. We had a blast shopping all the vendors and taking a few classes. When I totally complete the projects, I'll make sure and post photos...they are pretty neat if I do say so myself!



As icing on the cake, I received some pretty nifty stuff in the mail this past week. What a nice treat to come home to! Remember my post about Postcrossing, the site where you can send postcards to people around the world? Well I received two postcards this week, one from Indiana here in the US and one from Finland. I am really enjoying being a part of this site. Here are the postcards I received:






And last, but certainly not least, in today's mail I received a huge surprise treat from my good friend Beth at Red Yarn...Benjamin Bear (and other goodies!) made by my new friend Kathy at Lizzie Jane!

What sneaky gals, I must say! Ever since I saw Benjamin posted on Kathy's blog, I was enamored with him...and now he's residing at my house! Thanks, Beth, for being such a thoughtful and wonderful friend, and thanks, Kathy, for making such delightful creations!

Wow...I wonder what this week will hold! Whatever it holds for you, have a happy one!