Sister Weekend 2014

On Friday evening and Saturday morning I was a busy bee, getting food prepared and my house ready for the arrival of my sisters.  (This year I have more jobs demanding my time than I had last year, so no windows got washed this time.)  As it got close to their estimated time of arrival, I opened the curtains so I'd be able to see them drive up.  I was so excited.

The first thing we did was have an early lunch of chicken salad wraps, and then we headed out to do some shopping.  We stopped first of all at the Mommy Shoppe at Houserville House of Hope.  They were open on Saturday, so it was fun to show them the place in action, as well as seeing all my friends there.  Clothes Mentor, a very nice consignment shop, was next, and we spent a long time there.  

It was quite a chilly day, but when we came out of Clothes Mentor, the sun was shining, so we decided to go to the Arboretum next.  Whenever the sun hid behind the clouds we were freezing.  

They were setting up for a wedding.  Such a beautiful place for a wedding, but we felt sorry for them that the weather turned out to be so unseasonably cool.

We wondered what would be blooming.  We remembered the beautiful tulips last year on the first weekend of May.  We discovered that this time there was a different variety of tulips profusely blooming. 

We had to try out those lovely chairs!

We remembered last year how warm it was when we sat on the "boardwalk" and talked for a long time.   Even though we were shivering, we walked down the path and sat there.  To our great delight, the sun came out and stayed out for at least an hour.  We had another great time of sharing and trying to solve all the problems of the world.  (-:   Doris took this picture, but I promise she was sitting right there on this side of Mary Ellen the whole time.  

Then the sun hid and it looked like it might rain, so we decided it was time to leave.  Our next stop was Berkey Creamery.  It's such a popular State College spot, that it's rare to go there without there being a line out the door.   But this time, with graduation a week past and apparently no sports camps being held yet, it was not as crowded.  I got my favorite - the WPSU Coffee Break cone.  Oh. My. Goodness!!  What was I thinking?  I don't even usually have any dairy in my diet.  This had to be more ice cream than I've eaten total in the past nine months!

From there we went to Macy's at the mall.  They do not have a Macy's in Lancaster, so it's a favorite destination.  We each found some clothes we liked.  

And at last we headed home for some R&R.   I read some things from my humor file to the rest of them  as we just lazed around on the comfy sofas.  

We eventually ate dinner - taco soup with cheese and corn chips, and strawberries with dark chocolate. (Yes, we allowed Dick to join us, hahaha!)

And then a funny Tyler Perry movie with MORE food - my peanut butter rice krispy treats (which we could NOT stop eating) and guacamole with blue corn chips.  

On Sunday morning we were delighted to see the sun.  And because it was shining directly on my side porch, it was warm enough for us to once again have our coffee together out there.  

We had plenty of time to relax, because I did not need to play piano at Fillmore's 8:15 service this week.  (They had a later outdoor service with the other two churches in the charge.)  So that worked out perfectly.  

Then we went to Houserville House of Hope and had coffee together again!  (We forgot to give Mary Ellen the "wear blue" memo.) 

After the worship service we went to nearby Olde New York for lunch.  We discovered when we arrived that Pastor Renee and her mother were there as well, so they sat with us, as did Anthony, Lori, and Austin.  

When we got home we browsed some pictures in my Picasa files, did some planning for our Witmer weekend in July, and took mini naps.  When they were ready to leave, Mary Ellen insisted on yet another sister picture outside my house.  I was feeling so drowsy, the only thing I wanted to do was lay my head on her shoulder, which resulted in this lovely picture!

Then we behaved ourselves and got one more.  Are you tired of looking at us by now?  Hahahaha!  We just have to document everything.  And we're always glad we did.  

And then they were gone.  Just like that, another fun weekend was over, except in our memories.  We are determined that next year we are going to make an all-six-of-us-sisters-weekend happen.  

Austin had come home with us after we ate lunch.  He woke up from his nap right after Doris and Mary Ellen left.  Later we went to Anthony and Lori's for an evening by the campfire.  And I ate some more.  Good grief.  I'm glad I have a plan to follow during the week or I'd be in trouble.  

I love this picture of Austin sitting with his Frozen book.  That, and Veggie Tales are his current loves. 

This conversation took place as this picture was taken.

Anthony: Austin be careful with that stick.
Austin: But I'm a superhero...
Anthony: You're not a superhero;  you are, in fact, a boy. 

Austin: I'm a boy superhero, you just don't know…

It's Monday morning.  I went to bed earlier than usual, totally overfull and overtired last night.  Unfortunately I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with too much on my mind, so I've been up a long time.  Got lots done already, though.  

Have a good week!