Doodle Acres » Travel

A Weekend Adventure

Heather — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:23:48 +0000

Last weekend we spent a WONDERFUL weekend with our “Pondered in My Heart” friends in PA. Kimberlee did a great job of chronicling our adventures (in film-making, eating, singing around the piano, and more eating…). I’ll just add a few pictures…

Kateri joins in on the musical fun…

Beware of Lenny…

Mary Rose, Lily, Hope, and Lenny…

Eliza, enjoying the bird call book we brought…

And finally, Kimberlee and I, the happy mothers of these wonderfully crazy children…

I Wish I Had a Picture

Heather — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:08:30 +0000

Well I am posting this from beautiful Vermont. The children and I are visiting my parents at their home on Lake Dunmore. It was a beautiful day today and we had a great day down at the ”beach”. Some friends mentioned that they were going to go to the “jumping off rock” and invited us to come with them. Lily has been talking about jumping off again from this 10 foot+ rock formation at the lake’s edge since we were here for July 4th week. So I figured this was a great opportunity to fulfill her wish and earn some points for having done so on the first day of our vacation.

So the girls, Peter, and I piled into the canoe while Lenny joined us in the kayak. We were trailed by our friends in various other boats. When we arrived there, all went smoothly until Hope(17) tried to get out of the canoe and into the water in order to work her way to the favorite jumping spot. Needless to say, she capsized the canoe with Peter(4) and I still inside. In her defense, she had expressed concern over this very possibility and I had assured her that it would be fine. So I couldn’t even get mad at her. It was totally my fault.

Now you might ask why I would want a picture of this little accident. Well it is because I wasn’t wearing a bathing suit but rather was fully dressed in a tank top (thankfully not white), a long denim skirt, sandals, and pearl earrings. Yes, I was quite a sight and it really would have been fun to have a lasting remembrance. But then again, I doubt the children will ever let me forget it!!!

A Blogger Mom Roadtrip

Heather — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:02:03 +0000

Last Thursday and Friday, we were privileged to spend two wonderful days in Pennsylvania with two blogger mom families. We (the children and I) headed out to Lancaster at 4:30 a.m. Only those who live on Long Island understand the need to beat the morning rush hour through NYC. :) At 7 a.m. I headed into a rest-stop and took an hour and a half nap. This nap enabled me to revive enough to enjoy our visits.

Thursday was spent with the Quigleys of Family-Centered Life. The children got along great. My children discovered the joys of “Rock Band” and the day just flew by as Michele and I chatted about home-schooling, blogging, good books, food, dieting, calendars, planners, marriage, friendship, etc. Neither of us are quiet and from my perspective, we never lacked for a mutually enjoyable subject on which to share. (You can click on the photos to enlarge them)

Friday was spent with the Kimberlees (that’s our nickname for them) of Pondered in My Heart. We all had a hoot. They are just as creative and fun as they come across in their blog. The older children spent much of the day shooting a script-less medieval themed short film, filmed and directed by Josiah of Random Interesting Stuff. Kimberlee and I talked for hours about home-schooling, baking, books, home-schooling paperwork, portfolios, babies, etc., while the little ones (Peter, Eliza, and Kateri) enjoyed playing together in Kimberlee and Michael’s beautiful home.

Friday evening as we headed home, we said many prayers as we traveled through NYC. My GPS (we call her “Jane”) took us through a part of the city I am unfamiliar with and we prayed many prayers as we traveled through the Holland Tunnel and Canal Street. Jesus, the Blessed Mother, St. Michael, and our guardian angels all delivered big time!!! We even made it home before midnight!!!

My children are already “nagging” me to make a return visit to PA to see their new friends. Hope, Lenny, and Lily have all requested to come with me to the Family-Centered Learning Conference in July (which is where I first met these lovely families last summer). So this year’s conference should be even more fun!!!

A big thank you to the Quigleys and the Kimberlees for their willingness to share their homes with us for a brief but uplifting visit!!!

Our Annual Visit to Trinity Acres

Heather — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:05:30 +0000

Last month, the children and I took a roadtrip to visit Julie of Trinity Acres and her family in Wisconsin. We visited last year about this time of year. We had such a wonderful visit that we decided to go back again this year. Julie has a great post about our visit – complete with lots of photos!!! And we are already looking forward to next year!!!

Family-Centered Learning Conference 2008 – My Photo Journal

Heather — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:27:58 +0000

My daughter, Hope, and I returned last night from a whirl-wind trip to beautiful Lancaster, Pennsylvania and the F-C Learning Conference. We headed out Friday morning and arrived at our hotel about three hours before the Family Picnic at a local park. After taking a quick tour of the area, we arrived about 10 minutes early at the park. For those of you that know me in real life, you know that I am an early bird. What a thrill it was to have Michele Quigley, the organizer of this extraordinary conference, pull up in her SUV and give me a great big hug!!! Meeting Michele after getting to “know” her on-line was such a thrill!!!

Michele and I

Maggie Quigley blowing bubbles – it was quite a test of my poor photographic skills to finally capture a bubble on film

Other thrills included meeting some of the bloggers that I “know” through their blogs. However, I came home and added some new blogs to my Bloglines subscriptions after having met those bloggers in person. Here are some more picnic pictures:

Margaret (Minnesota mom) and Maryellen (Tales from the Bonny Blue House)

Michele and Tim Quigley

Michele with a beautiful St. Anne’s chaplet (made by Kimberlee of Beads of Mercy), given to her by Alice Gunther (Cottage Blessings)

Margaret, Karen Edmisten (Karen Edmisten), Meredith (Sweetness and Light), and Diane (Journey of a Mother’s Heart)

The next morning we arrived early (of course!!!) at the Liberty Place Conference Center for an inspiring day of talks. The day just flew by as I participated in the opening mass, listened to so much wisdom, shopped at the vendor tables, visited with old and new friends, and of course ATE!!!

Maryellen (one of the wonderful speakers) with her very best friend, Chris Volpe (and my friend IRL)

Alice Gunther (Cottage Blessings and featured speaker), Meredith (another of the gifted speakers) , and Kimberlee (Pondered in My Heart and Beads of Mercy)

Hope and I

Sweet Erica Sanchez from CA – not a blogger YET!!!

So at 8 p.m. we hit the road to head back to Long Island. We arrived home at midnight after experiencing heavy traffic in NYC, stopping at a most hideous gas station bathroom (I didn’t take a picture of that!!! Ugh!!!), and listening to the Mets lose a heart-breaking game in 14 innings. But most of all, Hope and I arrived home happy that we had gone and looking forward to our next trip to PA to visit the Quigleys and next year’s Family-Centered Learning Conference (hint, hint, Michele!!! ).

Our June 2008 Trip to the Bronx Zoo

Heather — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:09:24 +0000

We took a wonderful trip with some friends to the Bronx Zoo last month. My husband is an avid amateur photographer and boy, does he take some terrific pictures. His zoo pictures over the last few years have been just stunning and this year’s do not disappoint. You can view a slide show at Flickr. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Even The Car Didn’t Want To Leave

Heather — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:17:32 +0000

Yesterday morning we were all set to leave from our Vermont paradise at Lake Dunmore. We had kissed my parents good-bye, packed ALL OUR STUFF into my husband’s Expedition, complete with two carriers (one on top and one on the hitch), and stuffed two adults, four children, and five dogs into their assigned places. And wouldn’t you know it – THE BATTERY DIED!!! Well thank you Jesus for jumper cables and my father’s van battery. We were on our way (although reluctantly) in a little over ten minutes. Our trip home went very smoothly and while it was hard to leave Vermont, I must admit that it’s good to be home!!!

And Yet Another Reason I Love Being Catholic…

Heather — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:06:38 +0000

This morning we had the privilege of worshiping at St. Mary’s in Middlebury, VT. And what makes participating in the mass at a parish other than our own so special? It’s the continuity. I love that going to one Novus Ordum mass is much like going to another. And while we usually attend the Extraordinary form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) back home, it is so comforting to know that we can find the mass (in some form – NO or TLM) just about anywhere we go, even in Protestant-dominated Vermont. God is good!!!

“Five Children and It” by Edith Nesbit

Heather — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:13:22 +0000

During our recent car trip to Vermont, we listened to Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit. My children enjoyed the ill-fated, although humorous wishes of the children in the story. At one point, as the car ride seemed to be dragging, Hope (15) declared that if she had a sand fairy that granted wishes, she’d be wishing that we (including our Expedition full of stuff) were home right now!!! Now that would have been a wish worth having!!!

Where I’ve been…

Heather — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:34:35 +0000

I get wanderlust just looking at this map!!!

create your own visited states map

HT: Mary Ellen