We closed on our house in Champaign last week. It was not a joyful experience, but we are all just glad to close that chapter of our lives. It was a pretty stressful couple of days and it came down to the last dollar on whether we would actually be able to close or not. God provided that last dollar though and it did go smoothly on the day of. It is disappointing to end up having to pay out money to sell a house, especially when it is selling for more than you owe. But fees and taxes got us in the end, and we've learned a few things to look out for if there is a next time. We aren't exactly newbies at selling a house - this was our third - and I still don't know if it was just how things are done in Illinois or a series of decisions based on bad advice, but we are done with it now and it's time to move on. So we are back to doing the normal. And we're looking forward to whatever God has for us in the fall, whether that is buying a home here or renting a house. We are all pretty much agreed that we do not want to stay in the apartment when our lease is up though. In the meantime, we can enjoy the apartment pool all summer!
We happened to pass by the fairgrounds last week while the horses and jockeys were practicing for the Preakness. It was really neat to see the difference between race horses (on the right) and normal horses (on the left). And it was super cool to see the horses running full out.
On Friday the girls once again joined students from the Lamb of God school for a field trip. This time we went to Walter's Art Gallery for a program on Ancient Greek and Roman art. Our tour guide was sort of soft spoken and not-so-enthusiastic, but the kids still learned some things and got to see some really spectacular pieces of art. I was proud of the girls and how much they remembered and made connections with as we went through the exhibits. At the end they all got to make a statue of a hero like the Greeks and Romans made of their heroes. Gwyn made one of Jason. Celee made Superman. Lyla kept changing who she said hers was. It varied from me, to various movie characters, to an angel.
Jason's mom got to come visit us for the weekend. The girls always love to spend time with Monty. We took her down to the harbor for one afternoon. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and got some of the biggest pieces of cheesecake ever! Then the girls got some balloon creations from a balloon man. They didn't last long. I think only Celee's made it home in one piece.
Celee and Lyla tried out for a gymnastics/cheer team this weekend. Lyla was pretty excited about it as you can tell from her pose. I don't think they'll actually join the team, but it was fun to try-out.
Gwyn went on a sailing overnight with her Girl Scout troop this weekend. They sailed out of Baltimore Harbor, spent the night at Camp Whippoorwill and then sailed back the next afternoon. They hoisted sails and swabbed decks. They got to fish and catch crabs and oysters. Gwyn had an amazing adventure!
Monday the Maryland Zoo had buy one get one free admission for Museum Week so we went. It is a really nice zoo. There were lots of kid things to do around the exhibits and the exhibits themselves are pretty large. It is a breeding zoo too, so we got to see baby prairie dogs and a baby lemur. We got to see the penguins being fed and one of the zoo keepers gave a talk about them and answered questions. It was neat because the penguins at this zoo are warm-weather penguins from Africa, so it wasn't the usual. The farm area of the zoo just made us all want a farm more. And Lyla was excited to pet the little donkeys. I don't know why but every since she could say "konkey" she's loved donkeys. That's on the long list of animals that they'd like to have one day. This zoo is very spread out and wooded so you feel like you're in a park that happens to have exotic animals around. We will definitely be going back!
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