June days, my favorite time of the year!

 My life has gone to the pigs - and the horses!  And the sheep and the cows!

Each day when I drive Elizer to or from daycare we are always looking for animals along the way.  We go by several places where Penn State animals are kept, and it never ceases to be exciting!  I've found little side roads that we can take to get a closer look.  No one has chased me away yet, so I guess it's ok!

And now he's also interested in this purple house in State College near Dick's shop.  I remember seeing it a few years ago when the husband and wife who lived there both passed away, but I couldn't remember on which street it was.  One day last week I was cutting across some streets to go to the post office after I had dropped Elizer off at daycare and there it was!  So I took Destiny and Elizer to see it a few days later, and now he wants to see it again, haha!

We finally had a chance on Friday evening to go for a walk on the trail behind Destiny's house.  It had rained that day, so the trail was a bit yucky.

This was a mother-son stretching session on Saturday morning!  Destiny had had a very rough week with a migraine that lasted four days!  Thankfully by Saturday morning, with the help of some meds from the doctor, she was feeling much better. 

 

That afternoon they left for Lancaster for the weekend.  She took Elizer to his dad and she spent time with her mom and siblings. 

Saturday afternoon Dick and I went to downtown State College for a Juneteenth block party.  The weather was perfect and we had such a great time!  The music was awesome, and we reconnected with lots of friends from Unity Church of Jesus Christ where Lori and Anthony met back in 2002.  

Here are a couple of short clips of my favorite songs that day.

Hunter wanted to come home with us afterward, and that was fine with me!  He and I had a good time together while Dick went over to their place to mow.

He read a book to me.

He also played the piano.  I showed him the beginner book that Alaya had enjoyed a few weeks ago.  But he wasn't interested in it.  He much preferred to play what he felt, haha!

We also had fun with a bubble gun!

Meanwhile, look what Dick saw at Anthony and Lori's!  He was sitting in his truck after having finished mowing and checking his trail cams, and when he looked up, there was this beautiful deer!  

The mountain laurel was in full bloom in the woods when he was checking his trail cams. 

Sunday was Father's Day.  Here's the collage I came up with to honor Dick, a picture of him with each of our seven children.  In the middle column are our three biological children, Lisa, Anthony, and Jeremy.  Our four other children came to us as teenagers through foster care and adoption.  On the left side are Miki and Sam.  On the right side are Ray and Frank.  Of course Dick has been "dad" to many other children through the years too.  

At church on Sunday morning Pastor Jim "preached" his message through an interactive lesson with the children, demonstrating the effect, both good and bad, of what is put into a child's mind.  

Dick and I went out to brunch with friends from church.  Then we came home and did some very necessary work in our flowerbeds.  Lori gave us these plants, so we got a new planter to put them in.  

In the evening we went over to Anthony and Lori's for a delightful dinner on their screened-in porch, take out from the best Mexican restaurant in State College.  The weather was perfect, and we had the greatest time!

Most of the time our lives and theirs are so involved with work and responsibilities that even though our paths intersect we seldom have time to just sit and talk.  I cherished the chance to do that!  

Look at Lori's container garden on the deck!  

I had a great time at the pond with Austin as he tried to catch frogs.  He caught two, then released them. He was trying to catch the same big one he had caught the evening before, but no luck. 

Here's Anthony's video of that big one.  Did you know that frogs can scream??  We had no idea!

And one more video - these boys!!  

On Monday I got caught up on some things around the house and made plans for next Sunday's music at church, a rare weekday with less responsibility.  Destiny and Elizer came back home that night, but I didn't see them till I picked up Elizer early Tuesday morning.  He had gotten a summer haircut!  This picture was taken by the daycare teacher on the bus ride to the park on Tuesday.  

After I picked him up from daycare we stopped at airport park so he could practice riding his bicycle again.  Dick stopped in too on his way home from work.  Then we came home and Dick grilled some hamburgers on the grill he recently got from Anthony and Lori.  (They are totally charcoal people now.  Anthony makes his own charcoal.)  We ate on the side porch for the first time this season.    

This morning I saw this outside my kitchen window!

I went over to Destiny's to get Elizer and when we got here he wanted to sit on the porch before we went inside.  

We had fun watching this Eastern Bluebird going in and out of the bird house.  

Later I took him to daycare and now I'm trying to cross things off my never-ending list.  Soon I can cross off "Blog."  That's all for this time!

More June happenings

 We have been having a good bit of cool weather this past week.  When I get up in the morning I look at the temp to see if I'll wear long pants or capris, and quite often the early morning temp has been in the 40's and the high in the 60's.  I'm not a fan!!  

Last Thursday our air quality was really unsafe due to the forest fires in Canada.  So after I picked Elizer up from daycare we went to Rural King to see the baby chicks since it wasn't a good idea to do anything outside.  

We also stopped to watch the Penn State pigs for a while.  We are so hoping to see baby pigs sometime. 

It was a Thursday, but no choir practice.  (We are singing just twice a month over summer.)  Dick mowed our lawn and then took Elizer on his weekly ride through the neighborhood, this time with a mask on.

At Rural King I saw a camping chair his size, and I got it for him.  It even has a cup holder!

On Friday morning I went to church to help prep fresh strawberries for our upcoming annual Strawberry Festival.  We cleaned and sliced them, then put them into freezer bags.  Lots of fun working together. 

That evening I got this funny video of Dick and Elizer.  If you love to hear giggles, this is one to watch! 

When Destiny got here after work she had a surprise for Elizer!!  She had gotten a bike with training wheels off Facebook Marketplace!  

I helped him learn to ride it.  Good grief!!!  I'd forgotten how many things there are to learn!  Like how to pedal without going back and putting the brakes on.  How to hold the handle bars so you don't keep going sideways.  I was a tired grandma after half an hour!!  

On Saturday morning Dick and I hit the road to Manheim.  It was our great grandson Charlie's birthday party! 

When we arrived he was right at the door and I got this video of him walking.  He had just started the day before!!

Björn, Jess, and Charlie.  I love these three so much!

Charlie was getting a bit tired of the picture-taking by the time it was our turn!

Gift opening was fun!  I missed getting a picture of him with his cake.  

Is he not a BEAUTIFUL boy????

When we got back home that evening we picked up Elizer and took him to airport park so he could ride his bike.  He's doing pretty well!

Look at him go!

On Sunday after church we hit the road to Manheim again!!  It's a two-and-a-half hour drive.  It would have been nice to stay at my sister Mary Ellen's overnight, but we have responsibilities at church that make it difficult to take off too often.  Besides, Destiny and Elizer were going with us this time, and we stopped in Duncannon on our way to pick up Sammy and Bianca.  

The event on this day was a Stauffer family gathering at the home place!  Does it look familiar?  This was Grandpa and Arlene's house until it was sold at their auction in January 2020.  Our nephew Josh Stauffer and his wife Jill bought it.  

It was so fun to have a family gathering there!!

It was finally a really warm day, and they were prepared for it!  Look at Charlie getting right in on the action!! 

This gathering took the place of our annual camping weekend at Camp Hebron.  The past two years we had just a one-day gathering at Camp Hebron.  And this year we decided to keep our gathering in Manheim so that Grandma Arlene could be with us.  

We had one of our traditional camping meals - Mexican Pile-up.  We sat in the lower part of the lawn, a place that brings us so many memories of hot dog roasts at Grandpa Stauffers.   

This swing set is an old original.  Our kids had lots of fun on it years ago, and now the next two generations are enjoying it!  Grandpa Stauffer built it back in the 1970's.  

Sammy loved it!  Look at him go!

Josh and Jill have done a great job of updating the place.  Here are some before and afters.

Of course the people in the "before" shots are nostalgic.  We were mostly outside this time. 

Around 6:30 we hit the road for home.  I sat in the back seat with these two - always a fun, crazy time!   We met Sam and Steph at a Sheetz gas station in Duncannon to give them back.  I hope to have them here for a week this summer. 

On Monday we got RAIN!!!  A really nice, beneficial rain.  How we needed it!

That evening Destiny and Elizer had the best time with LEGOS.  It was so cute to watch them.  She made him a helicopter, and he was so tickled with it!

This is Wednesday, and we have had more rain this morning.  It's so nice to not need to water all our flowers each day.  And now I need to run!

A happening week!!

Time to catch up here again!  

As I showed you at the end of the last post, I had cleaned up the white furniture on our side porch.  On Thursday my project was cleaning the front porch.  I got a couple of new pillows for the rockers.  I'd had the previous ones for a number of years and they were faded. 

On Thursday I took food over to Anthony and Lori and got to see the rhododendrons again.  Definitely fading, but at least the sun was shining this time.  

When Dick got home from work that day he mowed our lawn and then took Elizer for his weekly ride around the neighborhood.  He came along with us to choir practice that evening.  He played in the nursery most of the time, but at some point he brought out a toy that has a tiny musical keyboard on it.  He also brought out a chair and situated himself at that tiny keyboard.  He was ready to accompany the choir!  Step over, Grandma, hahaha!!

While we were at practice Destiny was on her way to Reading to pick up her three younger sisters.  That's a 2.5 - 3 hour drive, depending who's driving, haha!  It would be late when she got back, so Elizer stayed here overnight.  

Friday morning I took him to daycare, then I went to Destiny's house to get the girls.  She had already left for work, but had "laid down the law" before she left, haha!  When I got there Jada had made sure they each had some cereal and were dressed.  

I brought them here for a while before heading out for the day.  Alaya went right to the piano.  V'anni had fun in the toy corner.  

Then I took them to Discovery Space - their first time there.  Dick and I have a grandparents membership and can take our grandchildren for free.  Believe me, we get our money's worth in a year's time!    The girls had so much fun!

From there we went to McDonalds drive-through and then to Starbucks at the Penn State library to see Destiny.  What a difference compared to the school year!  Almost no students there at all and only a few workers.  Destiny says it gets really boring.  So we livened things up for her!

Later we picked Elizer up at daycare, then went home and packed up for an evening at Bald Eagle Lake.  It was a REALLY HOT day.   Lori and the boys came too.  We had good time.

A gorgeous place!

That night V'anni and Alaya came here overnight.  Of course we were all dirty and sandy, so I filled up my big tup and they both got in to play for a while.  Then I washed their LONG hair!!  And combed it out afterward.  It reminded me of Destiny's long hair that I used to comb out every day when she was their age.  I texted her and told her I'm glad she has a boy, hahaha!  

On Saturday morning Destiny found out that Frank was going to be meeting her half way at lunch time so he could take Jada to her soft ball game.  So I kicked it into high gear and got myself and the girls ready to go.  I drove our whole bunch to meet Frank.  Dick was mowing over at Anthony's that day.  

We met at a Hardees and had lunch before the girls went home with their dad.  

On our way home we stopped at the Cove Barn, an antique/flea market place near Duncannon.  Destiny and I each found some bargains.  While we were so near Sammy and Bianca, I texted to see if we could meet up.  Imagine finding out that they were at Bianca's softball tournament just minutes from the Hardees where we had met Frank earlier!!

On Sunday morning Destiny and Elizer came to church.  Afterward we went to eat brunch with our group of church friends.  Then we went to meet someone at a Walmart about 45 minutes from here.  Destiny was buying something off Facebook Marketplace from someone.  Meanwhile we found out that Bianca's softball team had won their 10:00 am game and would be playing again at 3:00.  So when we left that Walmart we hit the road for the softball tournament.  

We sat with Sam and Steph.  Jenn was busy in the dugout, keeping the girls organized.  Sammy has apparently been tagged "team "brother."  He was often in the dugout helping the girls warm up before batting.  But when their team was in the outfield he played with Elizer.  Everybody loves Sammy!

It was hot in the sun, but not at all unbearable.  The temperature and humidity were much lower than on Friday.

The team they were playing against was the one they had played in the morning.  Bianca's team had to win this game or they would have yet another game that day!  It was SO close!  They were tie in the fifth (last) inning and Bianca's team was in.  There were girls on the bases when Bianca got up to bat. That's her in this picture.

Imagine the excitement when she hit that ball and her teammate made it to home base and they had won the game and the tournament!  I was so glad we were there for that!! We had not made it to any of her games this Spring.  Isn't this the greatest picture of her??

On Monday Elizer was here.  He doesn't go to daycare on Mondays.  He worked on his trucks and tractors.  We went for a walk and then went to the playground below our house.  He was thrilled by a cat that was actually being tame and friendly.  I cooked for Anthony and Lori while he napped and then took the food to their place.  Then I took Elizer to Destiny's place.  When I left he was having fun playing outside with his little neighbor girl.

And now I must tell you my "bad mom" story.  A few weeks ago Jeremy called and told me that he has a work event near Reading, PA on June 6.  I said, "If you're only three hours away, we're coming to see you!"  Then life got busy and I promptly forgot that I ever said that or that he was coming.  On Sunday evening after we'd gotten home from Bianca's tournament Jeremy called and said he was leaving on a Redeye that night.  I wondered where to.  He said, "Reading, don't you remember?"  No, I had not remembered!  Ugh!!  So that called for some quick plans to be made.  

On Monday Dick asked to take off work at noon on Tuesday, and they said he could.  Destiny gets off work just in time to pick up Elizer before daycare closes, so that was workable.

So on Tuesday Dick and I left at 1:00 and drove the three hours to Reading.  Jeremy's long-time friend Daryl Brubaker lives there and we met at his house.  It was quite a trip down memory lane as we drove on streets and passed houses that Destiny had lived in with her mom in years past.  Here's one of them.  They lived on the third floor, and we went up two long flights of stairs each time we picked her up and took her back home. 

Jeremy had gotten to Daryl's house right before we did and was standing on the porch finishing up a business call when we arrived. 

This is Daryl.  They met many years ago when they both worked at Martin's Flooring near Ephrata.  

We relaxed in Daryl's living room for several hours and talked and talked and talked!  It was the first we'd seen each other in person since last July!  We're hoping to be able to make the trip to Portland again in the next few months. 

We said our goodbyes and started the long drive home.  It took a lot longer than we had planned due to an accident.  We spent at least an hour just creeping along.  Thankfully neither of us had to go to the bathroom urgently, haha!

At least the sky was pretty, although we soon realized that it was the beginning of the haze from the fires in Canada.  We were able to smell fire!

Here are a few pictures the daycare teacher has posted on Elizer's portal recently.   He's really growing up.  Doing quite well with using the potty, dresses himself completely except for zippers, talks in complete sentences.  Just amazing!  He'll turn three in August.  

Out air quality is still unhealthy and the sky is hazy.  Is it keeping up cooler too?  We have just 60 degrees right now at noon!!  In June!  I hate it.  At least we have flowers!

That's all till next time!