Friday, December 14, 2012

Kentucky: Corn Mazes, Cookies and Catching Up (Roadtrip Series)

 Instead of taking it day by day...I figured I would condense a little and show/tell what we did while staying the week in Kentucky. If you haven't had the chance to read about our Road Trip Adventure you can start here and then go here. That should get you all caught up! Now that we have safely arrived...the meat of our trip has begun.



The best part of the trip was watching two families merge into one. We've known Karen and her daughters for probably 9 years. Karen and I have walked through some incredible storms together, holding each other as we bravely sought the face of God together and did serious battle with the enemy. When you come through something like that, well, you can't help but bond a friendship that will last for eternity.

Watching my boys, bond with these special people...is something that can never be taken from them. Immediately I knew that I wanted Karen to feel like she had family visiting, not a friend that she had to entertain. So I took to the kitchen, baked cookies, washed dishes and my boys happily did chores too. We fit right into the daily life of the Foldy family. Our time together was priceless!


 
 Some of my most favorite times were early in the morning. Shane and I would wake up and have our coffee before Karen and Anna would be awake. We would sit and pray together and talk about how much we loved being right where we were.  

Here are a few of the things we did together:

We visited Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary where Karen and Lauren (and Mark) all work. What a beautiful campus, and beautiful facility!

We did a Civil War Corn Maze. So much fun. Took a hay ride out to the corn fields that were shaped as the confederate states in the Civil War. Our mission was to get through the maze and find clues by reading about the battles and facts about each state. I'm glad I'm writing this, because now I can remember that we may not have done any "official" school while we were gone for 10 days...but we did indeed learn!


 
 Here is Anna, reading out loud before we enter Virgina! We laughed, got lost and were freezing, but we loved doing it together! Plus, really we were all a little competitive so between having 2 former teachers and a teenage with technology...we were going to get back to base with all the answers for sure!

 Kyle would run ahead and try to blend in with the corn...such a cute scarecrow! So we decided that we should be a scarecrow family!

 
When we got back to the base, we had to answer a few questions. If we got the questions right we could shoot from the corn gun! YES...that was fun. What was more fun was watching the golden retrievers run and retrieve the corn and bring it back!
 Lots of awesome photo opportunities for sure! We watched a pig race, saw all kinds of animals, and even stopped at a quaint little country store on our way home. This is where the boys got their treasured boxes.


You know, the boxes were only $3, but the sentimental value is priceless. Karen bought the boys these boxes to thank them for doing chores around the house. Made from a rugged tree, these boxes hold memories on the inside and out!
 We also had an opportunity to visit the Alliance Church that the Foldy/Reyes family all attend. Surprisingly my boys went straight to Sunday School as if they had been going there their whole life. WOW! So proud! After church we spent the afternoon at Mark and Lauren's home.
Enjoying the view from their beautiful property. We had a wonderful time catching up, having a delicious lunch (I brought cookies...because..that's what I do)...the boys played with Moxey and Lewis (the dogs)....


 Karen and I had a few pictures taken...
 
And yes...the highlight for the boys was the intense Nerf Gun War with Mark. Lots of property equals lots of ways to tire out all the men!
 What a wonderful couple of days. We still have Shaker Village, Raven Run, and High Bridge to cover before we head home from Kentucky. Stay tuned.....
 
 ...and hang in there like Butterscotch...we'll be back with more reflections of our road trip!!

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