Rockwood in the Summertime

For our last week of summer (meaning the last week before my classes started), the girls and I were able to visit our western Pennsylvanian relatives. We stayed with my grandmother, visited the barn cats, and spent time with my aunt and uncle.










One day took us to Idlewild, an amusement park near Pittsburgh. Ruby was pretty thrilled to meet Daniel Striped Tiger. The park is in the process of updating an old Mr. Roger's Neighborhood section for fans of  the new PBS cartoon show with most of the same characters.

We were grateful to my aunt for taking us, and braving the ferris wheel with the two little ones. She let me go with Pearl because I am a ferris wheel wimp and needed to keep my eyes closed.  







My classes have resumed, but this semester I only teach two nights a week, which gives me an extra evening to sit back on our porch and enjoy the view.

The barn cats played whatever role Sapphire wished to give them in her elaborate games

We all rode the little roller coaster, but the carousel is a favorite

Bible School, 2014

Sapphire toned down her crazy dancing for the closing service

Last week was Bible school. I had been preparing for this since February, and, because of all of the motivated helpers, it was a great week.  Daniel floated around, filling in for a crew leader one night and the story lady two nights.

The girls like Bible schools in general, but when they get to be with their church friends every night for a week, it is just perfect. Pearl said out of the blue one night, "I love Bible school." On the way home one night, Ruby told me about how she put her sins in a trash bag, which was part of a skit I oversaw and narrated, with her daddy as Jesus on a cross lit with Christmas lights.

After the closing worship service on Sunday, we visited the MA and PA Railroad, in Muddy Creek Forks PA.  Today it is just an intersection, but, according to the nineteenth-century photos, it used to be a commercial hub. The girls took the hour-long train ride. We last rode this together as a family the day before Sapphire was born, and I attribute the start of labor to the train ride.

Pearl has over thirty days of school in already. Now that she is over eight, we have to count our days. With piano lessons, karate, and our field trips, she is speeding through the school year without even realizing it. As I type this, she and her daddy are on a day-long fishing trip off the Delaware coast.

These are just a few more pictures from youth day at the PA Renaissance Faire.  We took a family picture in the same spot just before we left for China two years ago. 

The mermaid at the Renaissance Faire had such a convincing tail, I'm pretty sure that the two little girls now think that mermaids are as real as dolphins.  Sitting beside her was a highlight of the day for them. 

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The kids from our home school group

 

Last year we missed out on our annual Youth Day trip to the Renaissance Faire, so this was Ruby's first visit. She was shocked to see the mudlarks jumping into the mud. Why would grown ups want to get so dirty?

Sapphire said she liked it all, but I think she especially enjoyed the wandering costumed performers bowing to her and calling her princess. She even developed a little curtsy by the end of the day in response.  We will definitely dress up next year. 

With the summer sadly drawing to a close, I have been gearing up for our church Bible school, which always falls late in the summer. I've also been preparing for the school year with my college syllabi, the new books Pearl needs, and reviewing the kindergarten lessons that I'll now be covering with Sapphire. 

Last weekend I had a mommy-daughter weekend with Sapphire, and we chatted about her future plans over our breakfast tea party. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, she said "I want to be parents." I'm not sure why that is plural, but I did ask if she wanted to adopt or grow her babies in her belly. She said she wanted to adopt at least one so she could fly on a plane.