Crazy busy, but fun weekend

What a crazy busy weekend we just had!!  Crazy busy, but fun.  I think we saw more family and friends in one weekend than any time since my dad's funeral.  

But before I start on the weekend, I have a picture I took on Friday when I was walking Austin to show how beautifully green the trees have become.

Friday after Dick was finished working we packed up and headed toward Lancaster County.  Two weeks ago the mountains were just beginning to finally look green, but this time they were really green and the sun was shining on them, and as usual, I was just blown away by their majesty and beauty, which my cell phone pictures do not do justice to.

We picked up Destiny first, and then went on to our Lititz house.  Destiny always falls asleep before we get there.  Her mom has to take her to the YMCA very early every morning on her way to work, so by Friday evening she's ready to crash.  

Saturday morning we went to the annual benefit auction at Manheim Christian, where I used to teach, for their delicious country breakfast.  Oh my!  I could barely make it to the breakfast line as former students saw me and stopped me for hugs along the way.  What a good time, seeing so many of my students, their parents, family members (including my step mother), and my coworkers.  I never once stepped inside the auction tent, but I loved getting to talk with so many people. 

Destiny spent most of the morning at the children's activities.  This was the first year I felt like I didn't have to be out there watching her all the time.  The BIG event for the children was awesome.  A candy scramble with a twist.  I kid you not, they had someone with a small airplane fly over the athletic field many times, dropping candy from the sky. Talk about excitement!!  How will they ever top that??

Sam and Jennifer came up for the weekend and joined us at the auction, which made it even more special.  

That evening Destiny's mom had tickets for the Disney on Ice show in Reading, so her weekend with us was going to be cut short.  But then I got a good idea.  Sam and Jen had given us a very nice gift card for Boscov's for Christmas which I had never had time to use, since there is no Boscov's in State College.  But there is a Boscov's in Reading.  So while Destiny enjoyed the Disney on Ice show, I enjoyed a leisurely evening of shopping.  I LOVE BOSCOV'S!!  Everything I bought was already discounted, I also had a 15% off coupon which could be applied to one item, and a $100 gift card to spend.  What fun!!!

On Sunday morning I led worship at church and caught up with some of my friends there.  Two of my former students (sisters), Leah and Hannah,  played a piano duet for the offertory.  I was so proud of them.

After church we had another 60th birthday celebration for Dick, this time with Sam and Jenn and Destiny and her dad, Frank.  We went to Garfield's for old times' sake.  When we had so many teenagers in our house we used to always take them to Garfield's for their birthday meal, because it was free!  Now it's 50% off.  

After we came back to our house we had Dick's birthday cake with ice cream.  The cake was a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting that I had bought at the benefit auction.  Scrumptious!  The only non-pink candles I had in the house were football candles.  So we put six of them on the cake, one for each decade!!

But the fun was still not over.  After Dick took a nap, we went to visit his parents.  His stepmother had a breast lumpectomy done this past week and will be getting radiation next week.  She's feeling really good, thankfully.

From there we went to see my stepmother.  I knew my sister Mary Ellen would be there too, but I guess more family members thought it would be a nice evening to visit Grandma.  My step brother  Gary and his big family were there too.  After a while another car drove up, and it was my step brother Lester and his wife.  And then another car drove up, and it was my sister Doris and her husband and daughter Ellen.  Grandma has a big stretched-out table and, of course, fed us all, whether we were hungry or not!  Feeding people is one of her many love languages that you just can't resist!

What a good time we Zimwits have together.  Once again I walked back into that sun room and the tears came.  I looked in that corner where my dad's hospital bed had been, and I remembered the way we all cared for him until he left us.  Beautiful, bittersweet memories.  How we miss him!

Dick and I left there about 7:30 to take Destiny home, then went back to our Lititz house to clean up.  We drove in extreme rain and lightning.  This morning we drove back home to State College, again in rain the whole way, but not heavy like last evening.  

I'm sure Austin will be waking from his nap any minute now.  Can't wait to see him again!