Last week we had several days of very hazy skies caused by the fires in Canada. This was our third round of it. So these blue skies on Friday was a very welcome sight!
My last post was all about my weekend with my sisters. A few days ago I came across a family photo from around 1969. The ones on the back row are no longer living here on earth. But the six girls on the front are us. Can you match us up with our current line-up?
As always, gotta share the most recent pics I've taken of my flowers.
Here are some cute pics of Elizer. Most of them were taken by his daycare teacher. The one on the top left was here one evening last week. I was blowing up balloons for Elizer. When he was playing with one of them the static electricity caused it to hang onto his hair as he walked around. Of course we then had to rub the balloons on his shirt again and again and again. He thought it was so magic!
Beautiful mother-son photo. But do you see the photo bomber??
Here's a sweet conversation I had with Elizer on Thursday.
Gotta share this sweet story. Today Elizer’s teacher said that he’d had a really rough day with his friends. This was our conversation as we drove away from daycare:
Elizer: I will go right to time out when we get to your house.
Me: Ok. You can also ask Jesus to help you be kind to your friends.
Elizer: You can do that.
Me: You can too. Jesus is everywhere and when you talk to him he can hear you.
After a while I heard this:
Elizer: I wasn’t nice to my friends, Jesus. But I want to be.
We had VBS at church last week. I did not get involved this year because I knew my sister weekend would overlap a bit. Elizer isn't quite old enough yet. But I did go one evening to snap some pictures for our church FB page.
It's exciting to see progress at the new church building site!!
On Saturday we had a Honey Baked Ham sandwich sale. We sold out way too soon and will certainly make more next time. Have you ever had one? Absolutely the best ham sandwich EVER!! Especially with the honey mustard sauce.
I was here by myself most of Saturday and got a lot of necessary work done here at my computer. Mostly working ahead on church stuff and catching up on our bookwork.
On Sunday after church we went to Knoebels Amusement Park. It was our first time there! Everyone we know has been raving about it, but somehow we just never went there. It's about an hour-and-forty-five minutes from here. It's in the country. Mountains, actually. There's no entrance fee. We just got tickets and paid only for the rides we went on. That doesn't mean it was cheap, however! But certainly less than getting three adult tickets at most other amusement parks. There were lots of big shade trees and many pavilions. We would definitely go again!
Our first ride was the ferris wheel. It was hot, but there was a wonderful breeze as we rode. I would have gladly stayed on it all day!
Dick and Destiny were the adventurous ones. On the picture below they are on the far left.
There was a wonderful, shady pavilion to eat our lunch.
This was a children's roller coaster that Destiny took Elizer on. They were on the very front!
The longest waiting line was for the little train ride. We loved it. It runs with coal!
Of course Elizer had to dance to the live music in the band stand!
On this ride Elizer kept looking back at the girls behind him, then he'd turn around and steer like a mad man. When I showed him this picture yesterday and asked why he was looking back he said, "They were the bad guys. I was getting away from them." Hahahaha!!
For a dollar he could sit on this digger and actually move dirt!
Dick and Destiny went on two more roller coasters. I took Elizer on a teacup ride that was way faster and jerkier than I was expecting. I was glad to get off. Dick said that one of the roller coasters was as much as he could handle. I guess we really are getting old. We used to be roller coaster fans, especially Dick.
We took the tram out to the parking lot even though we could have walked there faster. It was a nice ride.
Yesterday I made pulled chicken in the slow cooker and took some over to Anthony and Lori. I had to stop at Wegmans to get rolls and cole slaw for them. Elizer was so excited to steer me where I needed to go!
Today is Lisa and George's 25th anniversary! We have such wonderful memories of that day! Each of our seven children were in the wedding party pictured below. Can you identify them? If you can't remember what they look like now, check my side bar.
Well, gotta run! Busy days ahead! This weekend we're going to Bellefonte KOA for our annual camping weekend, and then a week from tomorrow we'll be flying out to Portland!! Yikes! I have a lot to do!!
My days and weeks are so very full this summer, but I still determine to write about it here so I don't forget!
Starting, as usual, with some of my flower pics. My roses are bringing me so much delight!
Last Monday, July 10, was the last time I updated here. It was the first day of "Grandma Daycare" for one week since his daycare was closed. Here are some pictures I took. We didn't go anywhere special that day.
On Tuesday morning we went to Talleyrand Park in nearby Bellefonte. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time walking around the beautiful paths.
Of course the playground area is a favorite too. He tried a new challenge this time. No problem! He's so sure-footed and athletic.
This park is gorgeous everywhere you look, even the view under the playground equipment!
In the evening we went to the pool for a while.
He was so silly after we came home and he needed to change out of his swim suit!
Wednesday was Kids' Day at State College's arts fest. Austin and Hunter had a stand to sell their spinners and Austin's origami boxes. Elizer and I headed there midmorning and found a parking spot on the top floor of a parking garage. Thank God I had brought his stroller, because we had to walk blocks and blocks in the heat, some of it uphill. There were at least three blocks of kids' stands on each side with crowds of people between!
Here are pictures I took of their wares. Such amazing talent!
More spinners!
After I left I went to pick up Destiny. She was having her lunch break and really wanted to see the boys' stand. I dropped her off as close as I could and then just circled the blocks a few times till she was ready to be picked up.
And I just missed Dick! He had walked up from his work place during his lunch break.
I made this video in the evening to show what I had bought.
On Thursday our outing was a trip to the airport. As before, we got to see a plane take off. So exciting!
Friday was the big day I'd been waiting and planning for! The beginning of Sister Weekend! I was taking Elizer to be with his dad and family, so I was aiming to do my driving during his nap time. I left here at 12 noon and had to go to Sam's Club for gas. Elizer was so mad that I was stopping at Sam's Club before taking him to his daddy's house! I told him I needed gas so I could get there. He didn't really believe me. He fell asleep while I was pumping gas!
The trip went great! He slept the whole way to Manheim, about two-and-a-half hours. We stopped at Park City Mall near Lancaster to bide some time before we would meet Alex's dad at a Sheetz gas station.
He had the greatest time! I used to take Destiny to this very play area in the food court when she was his age!
Later I met Alex's dad and then headed to the countryside near Lititz/Ephrata where some of my sisters already were. We had reserved this amazing airbnb for the weekend.
That huge back porch with its big oval table was the SPOT. We spent more hours there than anywhere else. There were ceiling fans and the sound of birds. Heaven on earth!
Friday evening pictures. We had pizza for our meal.
Before we went to bed Doris started to prep the slow cooker egg and sausage breakfast which was going to be cooking overnight. But alas, she had forgotten to bring the eggs! So she and Betty headed out to see if they could find eggs at a Sheetz gas station. The nearest one was out of eggs, so they went to another one. There they found just two dozen eggs. They needed one dozen. They opened one of the cartons and found a cracked egg in it. So they opened the other carton and found one missing. Ugh! It was after midnight, and the place was absolutely hopping with business, so they took the cracked egg and put it in the other carton, then took a good one to replace it. And they had one good dozen!
On Saturday morning we had her delicious egg dish and fruit and lots of coffee! We sat around that table for hours and hours before getting ready for the day.
Around 2:30 we finally headed out to Lititz Springs Park, a childhood favorite. We'd had many annual "Wenger Reunions" there and loved being able to buy trinkets and candies at the little store.
From there we went to our sister-in-law Nancy's place. It was our first time there since our brother Dick passed away. How we missed his humor! Nancy first of all showed us how she had transformed Dick's vegetable garden into a flower and bird bath garden. She said she loves to sit out there and reflect when the weather is nice.
We husked some ears of corn, and after they had cooked we added them to the Barbecued Chicken and Baked Potato meal from a nearby Amish farm. Everything was so very scrumptious!!
We spent the rest of the evening playing our bi-annual game of corn hole, complete with lots of laughter, relaxing and talking in the living room, and finally some delicious ice cream around the kitchen table. It was a wonderful evening!
We sat in the living room afterward and talked some more, then went back to the kitchen table for some ice cream. It was a really wonderful evening with Nancy. Of course we needed a group picture before we left.
Left to right: Nancy, Doris, Rose (S. Carolina), Barb (Utah), Betty (New Hampshire), Mary Ellen, Jeanie.
We talked way too late when we got back to the house, but that's what we were there for! We also watched Leanne Morgan's "I'm Every Woman" on Netflix. Lots and lots of laughs!
Sunday morning found us around the big table on the porch again. Mary Ellen had brought her delicious baked blueberry oatmeal. I was wearing a gorgeous loungewear item that Jeremy had bought for me in Cozumel in 2015 when we were on a cruise. I had never worn it before, and this was the perfect occasion!
When we're together we talk and we cry and we laugh so much. If you want to hear what we sound like when something cracks us up, here you go. We were remembering a hilarious story from the past.
We finally got ourselves dressed for the day and went to nearby Landis Homes to visit our dad's sister Grace Shenk. She is the widow of David Shenk who passed away this past winter. They spent much of their lives as missionaries in Africa.
Seven weeks ago Grace had an aortic valve replaced and during the surgery something went wrong and she almost did not live through the surgery. But she DID! And we were completely amazed by her recovery from something so severe in just seven weeks!
We had a precious time talking with her. We asked her many, many questions about her childhood, and her answers gave us insights into our dad that we had not known before. She is a beautiful woman, so worthy of the name Grace.
Before we left we sang "In the Garden" in our beautiful three-part harmony.
From there we went to Fairmount Homes to visit our dad's brother John Witmer and his wife Evelyn. (Evelyn is a sister to Dick's stepmother, Grandma Arlene!) We had so much fun! We again asked many questions and got even more insights about our dad. We had forgotten how funny and talkative Uncle John is, and we enjoyed him immensely.
Again, we ended our time together singing "In the Garden."
This is the view from their front door!
Out of ten children, Grace and John, and Aunt Lois in upstate New York, are still living. What a treasure they are!
When we got back to the house I started my meal of sausage hoagies. I had brought pepper and onion slices which I planned to fry in butter, but alas, I had forgotten the butter. So off to Sheetz went Betty and Barb to bring home the butter!
Everyone loved the sausage hoagies. They also loved my peanut butter rice krispie treats so much that there were none left for my meal, hahaha!!
So later in the evening we went to nearby Oregon Dairy for ice cream.
Again, we were up really late. After "settling" expenses with each other we watched "Ticket to Paradise" featuring Julia Roberts and George Clooney. Again, lots and lots of laughs!
We needed to be out of the place by 11:00 am on Monday, so we didn't sit as long eating leftovers for breakfast. As we were getting ready someone thought they heard a person on the porch. It was our cousin Judy Horst! She is Uncle John and Aunt Evelyn's daughter and lives just a mile from our airbnb! I was in the middle of doing my hair, but I wasn't going to miss the chance of seeing her in person, so I came as I was! That's Judy in the lower left taking the selfie.
Soon after she left we also said our goodbyes to Betty who needed to drive back home to New Hampshire. We prayed together before she left.
The rest of us went to Mary Ellen's house and had a light lunch and relaxed and napped a bit. Then we went to the Twin Kiss in Manheim for more ice cream! We all had memories of this place in our home town. We sat there talking for a long time.
After we got back to Mary Ellen's place I said my goodbyes to my dear sisters and went to meet Alex's dad to pick up Elizer. I guess it was about 7:15 when I finally headed toward home. What a trip! It started to rain when I got near Harrisburg, and when I crossed the river at Duncannon there were flashing warnings about severe thunderstorms ahead and to be cautious about standing water. Ugh!!
So I drove about ten miles further in really bad rain, then got off at an exit to wait a while. Elizer was as good as gold. Of course I was on the phone with Dick and with Destiny while I waited. After about 15 minutes I got back on the highway again, but it was still storming and raining hard. And it of course got dark - all the things I hate while driving. Eventually it slowed down, and slowly, but surely I made it to Destiny's place to give her sweet boy to her. Then I went home and thanked the Lord!!!
That was Monday and this is Thursday already! I'll just sign off with a few pictures of my lilies.
