Almost Heaven....

West Virginia.

Part II of our trip took us from Happy Valley to West Virginia.

Almost instantly, the cousins acted as if they have never been apart!

 
Many four- wheel rides for the little ones...

 

 
...and then for the big "kids" too!

 
We went on an amazing ride through the mountains...

 

 

 

 

 ...and MUD!

 
(this really happened)

 

 

 
Grandma, Grandpa, and Granddaughters.

 

 

 

(look at how big everyone has grown in just a little over 2 years!)

 



 

We are....

Penn State!!!!!!

We just returned from a wonderful visit back home. Our trip was a three part trip and the boys were super travelers!
First stop....Happy Valley!!!!!
 
 
Sullivan and I on the flight! He was a great travel buddy!

 
They even carried their own suitcases :).

We arrived (after a 4:30 wake up call, 3 hour flight, and 3 hour drive) at our first stop...Nittany Lion Inn! It was so much fun to be at Penn State during Alumni Weekend.

 
We got to have dinner with a friend (hadn't seen her in over 10 years!!!) at the Corner Room!

 
Then we enjoyed grilled stickies (a PSU tradition) on the lawn.

It was the perfect evening. The boys even got to catch lightning bugs (yep- we definitely took a few back to our hotel)

 

After walking around...we had to rest a bit while we waited for the shuttle. The boys were such troopers.

 Sound asleep...and all snuggled up. How sweet!

 (oh, just playing with some cars while mommy and daddy get ready)

 "Lets go! I am ready!"

 A little snack before we head out to the Waffle Shop for breakfast....

 

 

 

 Playing "I spy" on the mural. Can you find Joe Pa?

 

 

 What do you eat for lunch when in Happy Valley? Ice Cream of course!

 

 Bye Bye Penn State! See you next time!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 (all pictures taken with phone so they are a bit fuzzy!)

Maybe if I post about rain...

....it will actually rain?

There was a 50% chance all day. I had my fresh pot of coffee ready to go and even a few slice-and -bake cookies waiting. But it rained for about 7 minutes. That is all. Maybe I should move to Seattle. I love the rain...

...and so do the boys!

It didn't start that way though! They didn't like the rain at first.
But then we told them
that rain makes the flowers grow.
That God gives us Rain.
That when it rains we can splash in the puddles.

and they love puddles!

(just a few pictures of the boys in the puddles while daddy and Grandpa built their play house out back!)

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! (a few days later!).

What a great day we had! We enjoyed the red-white-and blue parade and then celebrated with some great friends!

 

Lots of

red, white, and blue

popsicles

ice cream

friends

running in the grass

football

(and then probably some more ice cream)

 

 

 



 (I think he spotted a fire truck!!!!)

 

 

Getting ready for the Fourth

Yesterday we did some crafts that will help us get ready for the fourth of July! It was a lot of fun! (I also learned that one of my boys loves taking his time with crafts and being very intentional about where the paint goes...and one does not!)

 

 
(when you don't have gloves that fit...you get creative!)

 

 

Can't wait to show you how the finished products turned out!