What a long strange trip it's been....

No, I am not a "deadhead" however I thought this quote was perfect to describe my adventures during my 9 day (more like 15 days) of travelling for The University of Scranton. I can now appreciate and understand Dorothy's quote from the Wizard of Oz...there's no place like home....

A REALLY long story short: my first day out (July 7th) I started to experience car trouble. I was in denial and attributed my car's tempermental behavior to heat. In the end, it was my transmission. Apparently Honda had a Class Action Suit against Honday Odyssey's 1999-2002 models for transmission failure. Ours, of course, is a 2000. And naturally, we were out of the warranty period and mileage. I left my car at a dealership on Long Island and borrowed my parents' car to complete my visits to my students (which by the way, the car decided to test my patience my first day in NJ, as the air bag light illuminated on the dashboard and the handy dandy owner's manual states: bring to dealership immediately). I was in touch with Honda America and they ended up covering half the cost. Not too bad, but still not the best. But then again, they technically didn't have to cover any of the cost so I am thankful! The kids (who left home July 3) and myself headed home July 22. Tom was very excited to have us home and even brought home a dozen roses for me. The neighbors the next day said my husband was making them look bad since he brought home roses. I informed them to tell their wives to go away for 2 weeks and they too would get roses! For those of you with Honda Odyssey's, I share my research with you:
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f0fa11e (car space automotive)

http://www.hondatransmissionsettlement.com/php/login.php# (settlement)

Moving along....
The kids headed to Lebanon on July 13 to spend the week with their Nana and Papa. They started their week with a party for Papa's birthday. Monday was a calm day at the house. Tuesday, Nana and Papa took Gabriella and Thomas to Hershey Gardens where there is a children's garden and a butterfly house. Putting Thomas in a butterfly house is a death sentence for the butterflies! However, I heard that Thomas listened and did touch nor stomp on any butterflies! Wednesday they spent their day at Uncle Kevin and Aunt Karen's house playing with Alex and Jocelyn. Thursday was a trip to Hershey Park. I was done with my visits at this point and was able to join Nana and the kids for the fun. It was hot day but it didn't stop the kids from hitting all the rides they wished to go on...again and again and again. Friday we picked up Alex and head to the Hands on House in Lancaster. All three of the kids had lots of fun playing. After about 4 hours we headed back to Nana and Papa's house where Uncle Kevin and Aunt Karen joined us...with Jocelyn of course. We then headed over to the church festival for dinner, some games and of course, a pony ride. Around 8:00 we headed home, took showers and headed to bed. Alex spent the night too! Saturday morning we headed back to Long Island to wait for our car to be fixed.

While we were away, my uncle and cousins headed up this way to help Tom with the deck. They were able to get the ledger board up and the holes dug for the footings. Since my return, Tom and I have spent 2 hours every night outside pouring concrete for the footers. Hopefully by this upcoming weekend (August 2) we'll be ready to frame the deck!




The kids have kept busy since returning home with birthday parties, speech therapy for Tommy, High School Musical 2 dance workshop for Gabriella, swimming, bowling, trips to the park, seeing Seussical Jr. (a play), playdates, shopping for clothes & backpacks for school, and a day with friends at the Splash Pad in Clarks Summit. Think Disney fountains that you are allowed to run through. Enjoy the videos of the kids at the Splash Pad.




This upcoming weekend we will be heading to New Jersey for the annual Haskell family get together. The kids will be heading to Long Island to attend Vacation Bible School with Grandma and Grandpa. That's about it for now...keep checking back...and only 25 more days till school starts!!!!

We all go our own ways...

Hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July! We did! For those of you that don't already know, Tom and I are kid-less for 17 days!!! Here's how the story goes....

Last Sunday (June 29th) Grandma Aleksak came to PA. On Monday, after lunch, Gabriella and Grandma travelled to Camp Archbald (and no, it's not in Archbald...it's in Kingsley) for a Girl Scout Me and My Gal mini camp session. They were at camp from Monday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon. Their days were filled with great adventures including hiking, playing games, swimming, boating, outdoor cooking, and the list goes on. The program was for girls going into first through sixth grade. All of the girls were together so Gabriella and Grandma had to keep up with the soon to be sixth graders! Needless to say, upon returning home, they both were pooped but had tons of stories to share about their time at camp. Gabriella became "one with nature" and instead of going to bed Wednesday night, cried that she had to catch the fireflies outside (this was around 9:00 pm). It looks like Gabriella will be attending many more camp sessions!

Thursday morning Grandma loaded the kids into the car and by 9:30 am they were off to see RETIRED Grandpa for a fun filled 10 days! Thursday evening Tom, myself and our friend Heather went out to dinner. We had a nice, relaxing dinner! After dinner we headed over to our friend's house for a pre July 4th party and to watch the firework show at Mellow Park. You could see the fireworks from their porch...it was great!

Friday....July 4th.....

Grandma, Grandpa and the kids head down port for the parade. A thanks to Grandpa for the pictures! After the parade the kids swam and tried their hardest to stay up and watch the Macy's Fireworks on TV. Word is, the didn't see too much of the show! Back in PA, Tom and I headed to Tom's cousin house for another July 4th party. It was a blast!

Saturday...July 5th...

Grandma, Grandpa and the kids head to Home Depot for the Kids Clinic. They both made a birdhouse. For anyone that doesn't know, Home Depot does a kid's program the first Saturday of the month. It is free! The kids get an apron to wear and a kit to make a wood craft. After the craft they get a certificate saying they completed the kit and a pin to put on their apron showing which projects they completed. Tom and I had a very romantic day. It involved me locking myself up in "Grandpa's Florida Room" for 11 hours to get a jump start on preparing my lectures and labs for the fall semester. I'm proud to say I got the first 4 weeks completed!

Sunday...July 6th...

Grandma, Grandpa, and kids hit the senior citizen mass (7:30) and then head out to breakfast. After breakfast is a trip to see a puppet show of "The Little Mermaid". Aunt Barbara accompanied them on this trip and now Grandma and Grandpa had three children! =) Tom and I on the other hand went to a late mass, followed by running around and me getting my hair cut. Not for nothing, getting a hair cut is a major chore when the kids are around! So, I took full advantage of the opportunity.

Grandma and Grandpa have more plans for the kids in the upcoming days. Keep checking back for an update.

I will be heading out to visit occupational therapy students on their 12 week fieldwork. The fieldwork coordinator is not able to visit all of our students due to the increasing enrollment in the OT program. Last year she asked if I could help and has asked again this year. I will be travelling throughout Westchester County, NYC, Long Island, Staten Island and Northern Jersey. I will be staying with some family and will be hitting a Yankees Game with my cousin Jen on Tuesday night. It should be a fun time.

Tom will be home attending to the house and building a deck! Anyone who wants to help, come on down. Heck, it might be comical!

Tom and I will be with the kids on July 12 and in the evening we have a wedding. On July 13 we will ship them over to Lebanon to celebrate Papa's birthday and leave them there for a week of fun with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Anna. They will have the opportunity to see their cousins Alex, Jocelyn and Jack and both kids are looking forward to that.

Well, that's it for today! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoy the summer heat that's heading our way in the NE!