Joy in front of Robert Livingston's home, Clermont, which was rebuilt in 1777 after the British burned it in retribution for the Sr. Robert Livingston's patriotic affiliation . The Jr. Livingston was one of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration. He also was the man who negotiated the Louisianna Purchase and with Robert Fulton invented the Steamboat (the first one named after his home, "Clermont") Busy Man!

He was an extremely influential man from a family that made significant contibutions to American History. (Google him, you'll learn a lot!)

And here we are about to tour the Vanderbilt Mansion (I should say one of the Vanderbilt Mansions, since the family had a real penchant for building them.) It is the smallest one, but is extremely impressive (the servant's quarters were even very lovely.)

That's quite the back porch!

Joy and Kelly with the twins Willa and Luke in front of the Croton Dam, which creates a reservoir from which much of NYC's drinking water comes. It's a beautiful piece of Architecture in a lovely setting (and fall in New York is spectacular!)

Joy enjoying one of the most delightful parts of the visit . . .Willa! The kids now have 4 cousins on my side of the family!!

I LOVE CENTRAL PARK ! !

Central Park is one of the loveliest places created by man. The concept, to fashion a carefully crafted wilderness in the middle of an urban area, open to the public, is brilliant. (In contrast to Europe, where most of the famous gardens are privately owned and inaccessible to commoners.)

Rustic Bench (great Lunch spot.)

The Central Park Zoo (one of my favorite zoos).

Overlooking the lake . .

And the Delacourt Theatre (in Central Park), where Kevin Kline and friends first performed " The Pirates of Penzance", before taking it to Broadway.

Joy, in one of the turrets of Belvedere Castle, a Victorian "Folly" designed by Calvert Vaux (the genius behind Central Park) as a stunning backdrop for the views of the Park. The National Weather Service commandeered the Castle's tower in 1919 as a good location to measure wind-speed, precipitation, etc. which it still does today. The Castle also currently serves as Nature Observatory.

I enjoy the top of Belvedere Castle for it's great views of the City and Central Park (and Joy).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was greatly enjoyed by this artist, but not by her feet. I think Joy and I managed to see just about everything the museum has in just 2 1/2 hours (it was probably the equivalent of a 5K !)

The whole trip was a fantastic experience for both Joy and I. We made lots of very special memories, and we appreciate Kelly so much for making it all possible (and for the great lunches she packs!) THANKS KELLY!

THE HIKE 4 . . . OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO ! !

And they're off, leaving the Quakkelaar's, with 20 miles ahead of them.

The Hike is a very unique Fine Linen Tradition. After The Prince and the Pauper, our guys were suffering from Post-Production Depression Syndrome, so they decided to walk from the theatre to our house, about 20 miles just "for fun". It turned out about 15 people joined them that year and the event has grown each year.

This year over 80 people made the trek, including Wally, who was discovered by John in a ditch the first year and has been patched and repatched, not missing a single hike. John claims that he has more holes in him now than Wally.

Nathan's Orange Juice is another Hike Tradition.

Each year a different route is chosen, stopping for lunch at one family's house and continuing on to another family's house for dinner.
This year we started at Quakkelaar's, lunched at Quittschreibers, and finished at the Light's.

At every intersection, the group stopped to rest, pray, and re-hydrate.

NEW FACES, OLD TRADITIONS

This was Gracie's first year hiking, and she really enjoyed the experience. She also wins the award for "Hiker pushed by the most people."

This was also John's first year hiking. The Quittschreibber family adopted John and his sister Jen from Russia around Thanksgiving. John has experienced many firsts and has amazed me with his adaptability and enthusiasm!

Wildflowers are a mandatory part of the Hike.

As is friend "bonding time".

And these guys have wildflowers and bonding time!

UNCONVENTIONAL, UNIQUE, UBIQUITOUS (ok, that last one is a bit of a strech, but I like alliteration.)

. . .Although they really are kind of all over the place.

I love this picture; we have hikers running, hikers pushing babies, hikers in fedoras, hikers doing pushups (and none of them knew they were being photographed either.)
Random Acts of Fun !

Cool Socks!

The scenery was lovely, as are these ladies' smiles, Christiane , Sarah, and Kayla!

Multi-tasking: Keith had just bagged up trash from lunch, and then began grading final exams off the back of a 4-wheeler.

The traveling infirmary: John and Clarissa with friends (Earlier in the Spring, John's lungs collapsed and Clarissa broke her ankle, but both managed to recoup enough to perform in Seussical and hike the first 8 miles before lunch!) (after that they cruised along the line of hikers offering encouragement, drinks, and and occasional ride.)

THE FEAST OF ESTHER, PURIM, AFTER CHURCH

After church, several Sunday's ago, we had a short Purim celebration (Feast of Esther) and as part of this we re-enacted the story of Esther. We drew lots for parts (very appropriate) and performed a very entertaining rendition. Joel was King Xerxes and we see him on his "throne" with his royal secretary (also the narrator and audience cue person.)

Keith drew the part of the vile Haman with his wife and friends (Stacey Quittschreiber, Abby Hall, and Anna Nisbett.)

Adam, cast as Mordecai, shown in "sack-cloth and ashes" mourning at the City Gate.

James Quittschreiber as the Harem Master gives beauty treatments to Eva Quakkelaar, (and Glory, Anna, and Kelsey.)

Couriers on fast horses (Josiah and Joy) take messages to the Jews in rural provinces while Queen Esther (Kelsey) looks on.

MOTHER'S DAY OUTING

Rumor has it that a discussion happened several days before Mother's Day that sounded something like this:
"Do you have any good idea's for what we should give Mom for Mother's Day?"
"Well, on the radio it said that most moms like a day away from their kids best."
"But our mom isn't like most moms."
"That's true. . . hmm. . .well . . we could get her a new septic tank . . .

However, they opted for Dark Chocolate, a candle, getting one of my favorite chairs recovered, and a lovely trip to Meremac Springs Park.

It was a lovely afternoon that ended way too soon.

I actually would have liked a new septic tank.

As always, we were the last to leave.
Thank you for a lovely Mother's Day kids.

INTRODUCING . . . the NIZ-CURSION (or Niz-beast?)

We have been enjoying the new Ford Excursion that has replaced the Niz-Bus. It is comfy and with 4 wheel drive has been great to pull horse trailers, flat-bed trailers, etc.

The only place we haven't enjoyed having it is at the gas station; but fully loaded our mileage per/person/ per/gallon is better than a Prius!*

*based on two people in a Prius

THE NIZ-BUS ROCKED . . . AND ROLLED . . . AND IS NO MORE

We have been very thankful for the LORD's protection through several major events recently; in this case, it was the demise of the Niz-bus. Keith and 6 of the kids were on the way to rehearsal during a late winter storm, mixing snow, sleet, and rain (which created a nice SLUSH) when the van hydroplaned, slid and then rolled.

Thankfully, everyone walked away from the accident, no one even needed a band-aid.

John, who had just been released from the hospital was in the front passenger side. The LORD protected him, as the airbag did NOT deploy, which if it had, could quite possibly have re-collapsed his lungs.

John had gotten us such a great deal on the van (John is the head of our Purchasing Department) that
our insurance value on it was higher than our purchase price. In the big picture, money isn't important, but we appreciate John's careful shopping. We will miss the Big White Elephant . . . Niz-bus RIP.

The children were protected emotionally as well. After I commended Adam for covering Glory's face before her window broke completely apart Glory commented with dissapointment, "but then I didn't get to see everything." She didn't bear any emotional scars!