Madison’s Many Adventures

This summer held a number of milestones for Madison – some were more fun than others.

The first one came just after we got back from Myrtle Beach.  She turned 15-1/2.  Which means…. she could get her DRIVER’S PERMIT!!!!  But she had to pass the permit test first.  We got to the BMV and were greeted by a super nice receptionist, which helped ease her nerves a bit.  She had a seat at the computer, took her time, and PASSED her test!!  Pretty big deal!

We are now off and running, trying to clock 50 hours before December 31st when she can get her actual driver’s license.  We started off small – just the cul-de-sac.  Moved to driving around Dalton, navigating stop signs and stop lights, using turn signals, and encountering other vehicles.  Now, we moved on to driving on Back Orrville Road to get to Wooster (numerous times!) to church on the Zuercher Road hill to crossing Route 30.  We have briefly navigated driving ON 30, but have not used that as the major thoroughfare yet.  While I still sit there on high alert, I am able to relax a little bit on the routes we have taken more often. 

Milestone #2, not as fun…. the day after she got her permit, she had her wisdom teeth extracted.  She was pretty nervous about it. It was her first surgery, the first time to go under, the first in the family (between her and Ellie) to have this done.  But they took her back and she had no choice but to go through with it.  She said she remembers very little.  Then, she was up coloring a picture before I cam back.  Things went well for her.  She had virtually no pain – she took her pain meds for the first couple days, iced as much as possible, and rested.  The worst thing was just the swelling she had to deal with.  Here is her photo progression (without the final “normal” recovered picture)

     

Milestone #3 – going on a multi-day trip without any parent!  For many kids at Dalton that would have happened with the 8th grade trip to Washington D.C., but, selfishly, I usually like to go (and the school lets me).  I also asked her if she minded if I went, and she didn’t.  So, this was the church trip to MCUSA National Convention with the youth group.  It briefly crossed my mind to go as a delegate because I love convention, but I decided not to; this was her moment to love it to!  And she did.  She went with three sponsors and 6 other girls from the youth group to North Carolina.  They joined others from across the U.S. to worship, learn, and have fun together.  They made memories, grew closer together, and did some fun stuff. 

Florida Family

Jeremy’s aunt, uncle, and cousin’s family from Florida came to visit at the beginning of July.  They were on a two week Ohio-based journey; they have a family home in Ohio they usually check in on and stay in.  Then, they venture out from there.  The highlight for the girls is that Lori and Ryan have two little kids, Piper and Pace. 

They came one night and met us for dinner at The Barn – classic salad bar, Amish cooking, and some geese/ducks down by the pond.  We had nice conversation before heading out to entertain the kids. 

They came over the next day for the afternoon – a lot of playing in the basement with our toys we kept for this exact reason.  Then, we had supper together.

The highlight was the Fourth of July parade in Orrville.  They had come a couple years ago for the same event (well, they happened to be here that time!) and had a great time. The evening started out a little rocky with some crazy skies and some heavy rain as we drove there.  Thankfully, after a brief wait in the car, we got out and set up all our chairs. 

This year, they came prepared with headphones for their kids because there are SO MANY horns!  The girls had fun passing Pace back and forth, pointing out things to Piper, and grabbing pieces of candy. 

       

It was good to be together…

Myrtle Beach (Part 2)

Wednesday – We started out the morning joining some others on the beach doing something new… catching sand fleas!  I had no idea what these things were, and, to be honest, they kinda freaked me out.  BUT I was really intrigued by them.  I have no idea their purpose or what they eat or even where they live.  They swam around in the tide pools and then buried themselves in the sand when we would get close.  Some caught them with their hands; others used shovels or the like to get ‘em.

Madison was the bravest, willing to fish them out with her bare hands.

I eventually held one in my hands and let it tickle my palms.  We hung out for most of the day with our normal lunch break. 

Then, we got ready to go out to see the Pirates Dinner Show.  We had been years ago, but the girls wanted to go again. 

We got tickets last minute and ended up in a good/bad seat – right on the floor, but kinda tucked back with an somewhat limited view. 

What we really liked that the actors would sometimes interact with us.

And we could see their stunts up close.

    

And we watched as Salty the Seal misbehaved…. and was offered treats to do the right thing – just like when Pepper misbehaves!

It was a good night.

I almost forgot!  You always walk through the gift shop as you leave.  When we went three years ago, we got a great picture of Madison trying on some of the costume gear.  She obliged and tried on similar gear – and gave us the “pirate pose”!  Hilarious!

    

So…. Thursday came, and I had booked a virtual scavenger hunt.  I thought it could be fun to trek around Myrtle, solve clues, and do fun games/challenges.  It wasn’t any of those things… even the fun was hard to come by.  It was the biggest waste of time and money, but live and learn. What it was was a Canva of 9 slides of places or things to do or try.  There were no clues, no puzzles, nothing to get the next clue; just some slides with info on it.  We made the most of it on a really hot day.  Anyway, here are things we did. 

Have some fun in a souvenir shop…

    

Photobomb a picture and enjoy fancy drinks

    

How we felt…

    

The octopus made out of recycled ocean trash

A hotel named after Ellie with a fun flair…

    

Then we just explored and had lunch…

      

We came back to enjoy the beach.

         

That evening, we took our kites out to the windy beach.  The girls don’t remember ever flying a kite on their own, so it was a good activity.  Had I had a chair, I would have just sat and held my kite in the sky.

         

We took our family picture that night too.

         

Friday, we made sure to enjoy the beach.  We ended the night at Boardwalk on the Beach enjoying some shopping and a meal at Flying Fish.  Pictures three years apart. Time keeps ticking…

    

The girls tried (cooked) oysters for the first time.  They did not fall in love with them, but neither have I. 

    

Saturday, I went out to the beach for a short farewell moment. 

   

Then, we packed up, cleaned up, and headed out by 11am.  Just when everyone else goes out on the road.  We stopped at Bucc-ee’s for lunch and gas.  I have never seen something so crazy, and we have been to Bucc-ee’s before.  The line for the bathroom snaked around multiple aisles.  It moved quickly because they have 25 very clean bathrooms for just the women!  Then, we grabbed some sandwiches, Beaver nuggets, and some drinks and took off.

Our trek was pretty good until it wasn’t. And then we creeped and crawled our way to Princeton where we had supper and stayed the night.  We ate pizza at a fun little restaurant.

    

Got home on Sunday.  Mom and dad had the dog at their house.  I was very thankful they offered to keep him until we had a minute to unpack and settle.  When they brought him home, they stayed and we had share our picture night.  It is always fun to relieve our vacation. 

Thanks for a memorable time, Myrtle Beach.