Raystown Lake

We usually go to the beach for a summer vacations, but this year we headed to Raystown Lake to try something new. A little more than two hours northwest of us, we pulled into the cabin my mother had found, one that abutted state game lands and a state park with nice trails.  Nature came calling upon us one morning when my brother spotted a black bear trolling through our garbage. He plucked the bag out of the large trash can, and we watched as he dragged it up through the woods.  

On the one wet day we went to Lincoln Caverns, an underground cave formation not far away.  We also stopped at an alpaca farm, and the girls got to see a two week old alpaca cria.  He was so soft!  

During the sunny days, we went to the little sandy beach beside the lake. The water was warm and perfect for the little girls. We rented a kayak, and Daniel and I took turns paddling the girls around on the lake. After my brother and his wife arrived, they paddled off together to some cliffs, and Pearl surprised us by coming back to report she had jumped from the ten foot cliff into the water. 

We found it very relaxing, and I could have stayed longer, but we needed to come home for one of our favorite summer events, the church picnic. We had worship outside in camp chairs, then a wings contest, kids’ games, and an auction. 

Family Building

We had another fun fall weekend visiting Hurricane Hill's corn maze.  We only tried out the baby maze and the other activities. The big girls especially loved the long tube slide. They discovered that if they held on to each other, the combined weight sped up their descent.  Here's Pearl on the cow ride. We spent 2.5 hours of outdoor fun. Thanks Nana!

Ruby stayed with Popi and took a nap.

While we didn't need any more pumpkins, we did enjoy seeing the pumpkin patch. It was fairly sincere.

Sapphire enjoyed an extra treat this week. She's had some bumps in her relationship with her daddy since we returned from China. Part of it was the jealous fighting over mommy, as I was Ruby's main focus too.  That left Daddy freer to tie shoes and dress the remaining girls, but Sapphire would have none of it.  She's been a little more accepting of him lately, but at Nana's suggestion we decided to send Sapphire on her own special vacation with daddy.

Her excitement as they left Monday afternoon was so sweet. She knew she was receiving some special attention, and she must have yelled "I love you. Good bye!" from her car seat about ten times. Her daddy said she talked the whole way to Lancaster.  

The hotel pool was the highlight, and then the next day they explored the Hands on House. This was our first experience there, and they really enjoyed it. Sapphire's favorite part was looking at the plastic bugs and painting her daddy's hands with face paint. 

We always try to squeeze school in before lunch, but today we took a break for story time.  Ruby paid a little more attention today, but she's not into sitting quietly and listening to books yet.

She's started carrying around a washcloth as a comfort object. This is what she likes to kiss as she falls asleep. It really is a handy cuddly, since we've got a shelf full of them and she's happy with anything terry cloth! We're trying to pick the right name before a bad one sticks. Pearl's insisting on "Washy-clothy" and doesn't care that it is a mouthful.