We're at the Shore (beach)

We went to the beach on a whim. It was fun. Jaida is a fish. Just like Erman, she spent the entire time in the water! Here eyes stung afterwards from so much time in the salty water, no wonder. Kaylin had fun, but was ready to go home after the excitement was down. Landon did not want to go, then did not want to leave! As for Marissa, she loved the sand. We are thinking of you, our family on the family reunion at the beach! I know you guys are having fun.
We made our own fun because I was tired of Jaida saying, "I wonder what their doing right now?" about every 4 hours on Monday.

Happy Father's Day

We had a dilema while traveling to drop off dad's favorit soda- Route 44 Vanilla Coke.
Feed the baby without a spoon.
"Here, use the straw for dad's soda. Just suck it up and she will suck it out."
Mom licks the spoon clean. Dad never knew. Infact, dad said, "This soda was better than the last one."
That night as we are going to sleep I see Dad sleeping like a baby. He is holding the comforting clenched in his hand against his five 0'clock shadow face. He has no idea that this is the comforter that the baby threw up harves vegetables, not spit up, on from the food that was fed with his Route 44 Vanilla Coke.
I could not wake him.

Happy Day

Here is Landon's happy day. He is the seven!



Happy Birthday Isaac. He got an airsoft gun, but I made him promise not to shoot his leg to test it out. (like someone else we know) I told him he could look at the pictures at coontzclan for curiousity. I still laugh at Tyler. Isaac is loving his age and enjoys growing up. He went to Six Flags for 8 th grade graduation with his class (his dad). They rode Superman 6 times, Bizarro 7 times, Batman 4 times, Nitro 6 times, and El Toro eleven time in a row. They came home with bruises and Isaac's neck and back hurt. This will probably be Erman's last time. We look forward to Isaac's next 4 years in High School!
He is still trying to convince me that I need a facebook. I am amazed at all the people that have facebook. The geneologist at church is teaching a "facebook Geneology" class in Delaware this summer. So, maybe, eventually I will get facebook too. And what is up with this summer weather. I think Grandma and Grandpa brought the Austrialian weather with them to the states! It was 68 in NJ today and it has been raining for about 3 weeks and more is on its way!

The Smithsonian Carousel

We had our first spin about 10 years ago with Grandma and Grandpa Urmston. We had Isaac, and Jaida. Here we are 10 years later with three additions: Kaylin, Landon, and Marissa. My, how things change with a blink of an eye.




The Crusaders watched the young Arab men play games on horseback called “carosella” or “little wars”.

Sir Reginald and his fellow knights would practice on wooden horses that were supported by a central pole suspended from a beam. With the help of the knights’ strong squires, the horses could be moved up and down on the pole, simulating a real ride. The knights could improve their agility without tiring their horses.

The carousel in Washington D.C.was built in 1947 by the Allen Herchell Co. It was previously partner with the Armitage Herchell Co. in 1873. The Allen Herchell Co. was a major employer in the community of North Tonawanda. The factory complex in North Tonawanda is one of the last existing complexes in the United States which housed the production of wooden carousels. It once housed 50 to 75 carvers(from Denmark, Germany, Russia and Italy), a woodworking shop, a paint shop, a storage area, an upholstery shop, a machine shop and a roundhouse in which carousels were assembled and tested before shipping. Carousels from this company were shipped throughout the United States and Canada, as well as to all parts of the world, including South Africa, India, Tahiti, and Mexico. John Wendler owned it in the 30's. It moved to Buffalo, NY in the 50's and was eventually sold to a rival manufacturer of amusement rides Chance Manufacturing of Wichita, Kansas.

148 hand carved carousels still exists today in the U.S. This particular carousel was built in 1947 located in Baltimore MD. It was moved in 1981 to D.C. This one replaced a 1922 worn-out carousel.

After WWII the carousel making industry slowed down due to the need of the carvers and engineers. Carousels are a piece of American History thanks to the 13th century Arabian Crusaders. Not many years after Sir Reginald completed the tournament (and won), wood carvers began to create ever more beautiful and intricately carved horses. They created small carousels that were actually made to turn by real horses tethered to the carousel and walking in a circle around it. You didn’t have to be a chivalrous knight to brave the carousel anymore. Anyone could take a spin!

D.C. Fortunately

Fortunately, I want to move out of NJ.
Unfortunately, I would not be able to go to D.C. anymore.
Fortunately, my family is lives in CA and that is reason enough.
Unfortunately, Isaac starts High School this year.
Fortunately, Isaac doesn't care what his parents do, JUST DO IT ALREADY.
Unfortunately, the prospective of selling a house is not good.
Fortunately, the weather in CA is much better than NJ.
Unfortunately, there is not any trees in CA.
Fortunately, there are airplanes.
Unfortunately, We are broke.
Fortunately, Erman was given a winning lottery ticket.
Unfortunately, it is against my religion to accept the money.
Fortunately, we donated all the money to the AFONU.
Unfortunately, we we will not make it to CA this summer.
Fortunately, we are saving to come for Christmas 2008!

"I wanna be..."

Here is a story I wrote for Cameron, our foster child. He would always say I wanna be a firefighter, race car driver, astronout and cowboy. He loved fire trucks and so we arranged a trip to the local firestation. He ask and asked and asked, every kind of question from what do they drink in the morning (coffee) and what's that hole in the ground. He thought they drank hot chocolate. As we were there he and Landon climbed all over the trucks and so I imagined this...

One spring day Cameron said, “Mommy, I wanna be a fire fighter.”
Cameron’s mom corrected him, “Say, I want to be.”
“Let’s go to the town fire station and see a real firefighter,” said his mom. Cameron was very excited. He waited, and waited until the day finally came.
Cameron and his family went to the fire station to see the fire trucks. It was a cool spring morning. He wore his fireman outfit: red snow pants with suspenders, his yellow rain boots, and black wool jacket. He felt like a fireman.
The firemen were kind and showed everyone the trucks and their gear. Cameron wanted a fire man hat. He learned about the hoses, the first aid gear, and the shooter. The shooter was the best part of the fire truck. It was only used on big fires. It is a powerful jet of water that could reach high and low.
Cameron was hanging on the fire trucks. He thought, this is better than a play jungle gym. He was jumping off the grated steps and hanging on the long door handles. He was jumping from fire truck to ladder truck…when suddenly, the fire alarm went “ whoooo whoooo whoooo whooo.” All the firemen came sliding down the pole. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight- firemen jumped into their boots and gear and onto the trucks. Cameron’s family quickly moved out of the firemen’s way. However, Cameron had climbed onto the next truck and had lost sight of his family. As he was hanging on the fire truck’s ladder he felt the engine roar and rumble and suddenly the firehouse doors opened. With in thirty seconds the fire truck were rushing out of the building with bright lights flashing, the horn beeping and Cameron was hanging on the back. Cameron was scared, but he held on tight. He started to feel like a real firefighter going to put the fire out.
When they arrived at the fire Cameron hopped off the ladder. He looked around at the hustle. Then a fireman handed him a hat and said, “Hey, you better get your fire hat on!” Cameron looked like a firefighter with his red suspenders, rain boots, wool jacket and now a real fire hat. Indeed, the firemen thought he was a firefighter. Although he was short, they did not hesitate because this was a three- alarm fire and they had called in the surrounding towns to help. Everyone figured he was from the other fire company.
“Take the shooter up top!” a fireman yelled.
“Sure” said Cameron. He had always wanted to aim the water at the fire.
The three story building was in flames. The shooter truck was parked in front ready to aim at the second floor. Cameron firmly stood his ground with his toes wiggling inside his yellow boots. Suddenly the handle began to shake and he could feel the water racing through the hose to the shooter. “Sssshhhhhh,” the water gushed out of the nozzle. Cameron used all his might to control the shooter at the fire.
The firefighters on the ground were using their hoses to help control the fire. After one hour and fifteen minutes the firefighter had control of the fire.
Cameron climbed down from the shooter truck. The fire was out and the people were safe. He felt proud.
Suddenly he heard his mom, “Cameron, Cameron, what happened?”
“Mom! I helped the fire men. I got to shoot the water high up in the air on to the fire!” said Cameron excitedly.
“Oh…sure Cameron, I am so proud of you,” said his mom in disbelief. “You need to stay next to me next time,” said his mom.
“Mommy,” said Cameron.
“Yes,” said his mom.
“I wanna to be an astronaut,”said Cameron eagerly.
His mom corrected him, “Say, I want to be an astronaut.”