Largest Model Train Display in the World!

The weekend before last, we ventured out to go to "Northlandz." What an amazing sight! It literally took 2 hours to go through the display. There are trains everywhere! There are bridges overhead, beneath and beside you. Words and the pictures cannot do it much justice, but suffice it to say, it is something to behold. From what we are told, it took years to build.



The kids had a great time. Luckilly, the bad weather stopped just long enough for them to ride the outdoor train, as well.


Another fun family day together! That's what it's all about, right? :-)

Please consider the millions who could lose their jobs

DID YOU KNOW….

• 1 out of every 10 U.S. jobs is auto-related, supporting approximately five million jobs across all 50 states.
• They support 14,000 dealers across the country, and these dealers in turn employ 740,000 people, with a total payroll of $35 billion a year.
• The auto industry purchased $156 Billion in raw materials annually and is the largest purchaser of U.S. steel, aluminum, iron, copper, plastics, rubber and electronic and computer chips.
• Autos account for $690 billion, or about 20% of all U.S. retail sales
• 4% of U.S. gross domestic product is auto-related and represents 10% of U.S. industrial production by value.
• Auto sales generate more than $10 billion dollars of annual tax revenue
• Domestic auto industry has invested nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars in the U.S., including $10 billion alone last year.
• U.S.- based carmakers have 105 plants in 20 states, including California, Texas ,Kansas, Louisiana and Maryland.
• The auto companies provide pensions for 775,000 and health care benefits for 2 million.
• The collapse of this industry would reach far beyond Detroit. The Center for Automotive Research predicts that a collapse would lead to:
• Widespread failures of supplier companies
• Put nearly 3 million people out of work
• Personal income would drop by $150 billion
• Tax and social security receipts would fall by more than $45 billion

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are not asking for a bailout or a handout, they are asking for a loan to be repaid to the tax payers! A loan to see them through the tough economical times that will only become tougher for us all if they are allowed to fail without our governments support!

To contact your members of Congress to ask them to support America’s domestic auto industry, please call the following number to be connected with your legislators - 1-866-927-2233. OR, you can visit www.gmfactsandfiction.com and click on "I'm a concerned citizen" button to electronically send a message to your Senator and Congressman if you prefer.

Either way, the process is quick, easy and necessary.

Bugs, Bugs and more Bugs!

Our local mall offers a free program twice a month for children. They bring in speakers, entertainers, museums, etc. It is always a great time and lots of fun.

This past time, they brought in "The Insectarium," the insect museum in Philadelphia. I believe it is the largest museum of its type in North America.

Kiddo #3, along with most of the other children was enthralled! There were bugs larger than I could have imagined that actually exist in the world today.
The kids eagerly touched millipedes and other bugs whose names I have conveniently wiped from my memory :-) and saw up close and personal insects such as scorpions and tarantulas. On display were deceased (thank goodness) insects of a multitude of (very large!) species from around the world.

The moms all cringed almost in unison as the bugs were brought around and one could hear a chorus of polite, but apprehensive "no, thank yous" as it was offered for us to touch the live specimen, as well. Some dads grinned and eagerly lined up to "pet" them with their children.

Kiddo #3's favorite specimen was that of the "Elephant Dung Beetle," since he is an elephant "expert." :-) You can see how thrilled he was to find that particular bug among the group by his huge smile in the photo.

We are looking forward to the next "Tuesday surprise" at the mall!

Halloween

Although all completely exhausted from our day at the parade (did I mention that there was a 2 hour backup on the trains coming home and I had to call my dad to come rescue 9 of us in his van?), the kids were determined to make it out for trick or treating after some pizza and fries and a quick review of the tape to try to find ourselves on TV. :-)

Kiddo #3 konked out after 2 blocks, the others not far behind at 3 blocks. Nevertheless, they still had practically a full bag of candy (people were especially generous since there were so many less kids. Maybe everyone else was still stuck in the city!) to dive into when they got home.

Kiddo #1, very predictably, was an Air Force pilot (Thunderbirds, specifically). :-) For those of you who don't have the pleasure of knowing kiddo #1 in person, he is bonkers about anything that flies. So much so, that he can identify planes by your descriptions to him of what you happened to see flying above you on any given day. He can easily differentiate between civilian and military aircraft and describe parts, engines, nicknames, etc.




Kiddo #2 was David Akers of the Philadelphia Eagles. Kiddo #2, who is bonkers about math and reading, has become enamored with the National Football League. He knows all of the teams and what city and state they are from. He can quote player statistics and knows the names of most of the commentators. Of course, he was quite pleased with the Eagles win this past weekend. :-)




Kiddo #3, our animal expert, was a polar bear for a Halloween party last week but decided on his elephant costume for the actual day. No surprise there. He is bonkers over anything elephant. As like with his brothers with their "areas of expertise"(except he with elephants), he can tell you the average weight of elephants, where they live, what they consume, how long they sleep and how much they relieve themselves every day, etc. :-)




Kiddo #4 was the shocker this year. She is the "princess" of the house and she very eagerly would tell you so. She has dress-up outfits of her favorite princess, Snow White, and others, which we were sure she was going to choose. Instead, she wanted to be an astronaut! She was a bit skeptical of her choice, at first, wondering if there were any "girl astronauts" in real life. After I told her of Sally Ride and the many others who have gone into space, she was quite pleased with her choice and she actually got many compliments while trick or treating on her choice and accolades of "you, go girl," etc. :-)

Us Among the Millions-The Phillies Celebration

Yes, we went. The kiddos happily played hooky from school (along with about every other kid in this tri-state area)and we boarded a train bright and early and headed into the city. We made it onto the 8:15AM train. We arrived at the ballpark at 9AM. The parade wasn't scheduled to arrive there until 2PM. It arrived at 3:30!


Although waiting 6 hours for a minute or two glance of your world-championship team may seem silly, it was so worth it! The kiddos will have those memories for the rest of their lives. They met other kids and played with them all day in the closed-off street in downtown Philadelphia. They played football, tag and the two younger kiddos were even finding and feeding bugs with some of their new friends. :-) The bonding with total strangers over an event that brought us all together is truly the highlight. Everyone was friendly, everyone shared tidbits, memories, joy and even some entertainment (footballs, baseballs, etc.)

It is something that the kiddos still are talking about. I still fondly remember watching the parade go by the last time the Phillies won 28 years ago when I was 12 years old. I hope that my kiddos will be sharing these memories with their children someday. So, if you saw the footage, there we were- a few specks among the 3 million cheering with the best of them! (some of kiddo #1's friends who actually went to school saw him on TV! We were lucky enough to have a news van a few feet away) :-)



Thanks again, Phillies and we love you!