Sammy and Bianca visit, part one

As I said at the end of my last post, Sammy and Bianca were coming to our house the next day.  Saturday morning I did some quick vacuuming, etc, then left at 10:30 to go pick them up.  I got to a McDonalds where we were meeting around 12 noon.  They had already eaten lunch, so we headed right back to State College.  

Our adventure that day was the lake at Greenwood Furnace State Park, about 45 minutes from here.  

Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was threatening to rain and people were leaving.  But it actually never did rain.  But was that water COLD!!  We would not have minded some hot sunshine!

The kids had just completed two-weeks of group swim lessons at their local swimming pool, and they had both passed!  They showed us their skills.  They had a good time playing in the sand. 

On the way back home we stopped to eat at our favorite BBQ place, Doan's Bones.  We hadn't been there in two years!  We were a bit disappointed that none of our favorite servers were there. 

We were amused by the picture of "pulled pork" above our table and also by the flying pig hanging from the ceiling. 

After we came home and showered, the kids and I played LIFE.  It had to be the craziest game we ever played.  We laughed so hard sometimes.  The house I bought was a fixer-upper, completely falling apart, and my salary was dreadfully low.  So when Bianca got a bit rambunctious and knocked my car and people off the board, I said, "What??  That car is my HOME!!"  They also decided that the paunchy guy at the gym looked like me.  But surprise, surprise!!  I ended up winning!!  Those LIFE cards that get added up at the end can be a game-changer, and they WERE!

On Sunday morning we went to church, then came home and packed up for a day at the lake at Bald Eagle State Park.  That is about 20 minutes from here.  What an absolutely beautiful place!  And it was sunny and hot!  We took our canopy along for shade.  

There weren't many people there when we arrived at noon, but it got much fuller as the afternoon went on. 

The kids found friends to play with in the sand.  We ate our packed lunch, then I went in the water with them for a long time.  It's so relaxing, now that they can both swim. 

Dick had discovered a crack between two of his toes the night before and, because of his diabetes, did not want to risk being in lake water.  So he hung out under the canopy.  Definitely not what we would have liked. 

Later in the afternoon Anthony and Lori and the boys came.  What fun for the cousins to finally play together for the first time in about a year-and-a-half!  We all had the BEST time!!  It was so beautiful in the late afternoon sun, we felt like we would never want to leave.  

We finally left around 6:00, planning to eat together at the Twin Kiss down the road.  When we arrived we found out that they had closed early because they had run out of food and ice cream!!  What????  We were so disappointed!  So we each just headed home, but the kids were really sad.  

I made burritos while the kids showered, and we also had ice cream here, so that wasn't so bad.   Sammy worked on something he was creating on his tablet.  Bianca worked on the intricate picture she was coloring.  She also modeled the dress and sandals she had worn to church so I could take the picture I had forgotten to take in the morning.  Silly girl!

Well, I'm going to wrap this up.  There will be a part two, because I have two more days of great times to document here!