Starting off here with a collage of this FIVE month-old!!! Oh my dear, babies just don't keep! But they do keep getting more fun! I just want to pick her out of the picture and kiss those cheeks and hear her giggle!!
Last week one day I was treated to Austin's rendition of "The Imperial March" from Star Wars. I'm sure he just learned it from listening to it.
He also was doing pull-up after pull-up - his style. What a guy!
On Saturday afternoon we went to downtown State College for their Juneteenth Celebration. It's always fun to see friends from Unity Church of Jesus Christ where we first attended when we moved to State College in 2009. Their worship team was on the line-up (top right photo.)
How about this group?? Jump DC. I could barely see them because of the crowd, but I tried to get a short video.
Sunday morning at church was another joyful time. The entire band was there. Here's a picture of the children's time with Pastor Jim.
It was Father's Day. This is a collage I made of the fun family times Dick had this past year.
We have these two wonderful pictures of our dads, each taken about a year before they passed away.
This is turning out to be an amazing month for our flowers!! I just took a walk outside and I'm going to post each picture separately because they're so delightful!!
And now I need to finish up here. VERY EARLY on Thursday morning (like at 2:30 am) we will be leaving for the Harrisburg airport, about a two-hour drive. Bless my dear husband, he will drive me there, then turn around and come back home for a 7:00 am dentist appointment!! Thankfully he will have time to nap after that before he goes to work at 4:00.
And what will I be doing?? Meeting my sisters Doris and Mary Ellen at the airport where we will get our flight to Barb's place in Idaho!!! I have never been there in all the years since they moved there in 1993!! Of course Rose and Betty will be flying there too from S. Carolina and New Hampshire respectively. Five days of sister time!!
It's hard to put this post together, because each picture makes me miss them SO MUCH!!! Seriously, I just want to cry.
A week ago (Tuesday) Destiny, Elizer,Ketsi, and Destiny's good friend Amber arrived from Indianapolis just as Dick and I were getting ready for a cook-out. He had off work that evening!
First we helped them to carry things into the house. They all were glad to be out of the car. This was our first treat - getting to watch this smiley, happy baby in action!
We had such a wonderful time making hot dogs, eating corn on the cob, baked beans, grapes, and s'mores. And getting acquainted with Ketsi. Elizer wanted to run around the house and have me count each round like we used to do when he had too much energy inside the house! You can see him go in the lower right picture.
Just last week Destiny started giving Ketsi baby sweet potatoes. WELL, turns out she likes to taste everything, including hot dogs and corn on the cob. She was just sucking away on them, haha!
Elizer was banging away on that tree stump with his little hammer that Dick keeps in the shed.
When we went inside the LEGOS were brought out, and that took up the rest of the evening.
On Wednesday morning Destiny and Ketsi were sleeping in, so that gave Elizer a chance to play in a bubble bath. He had a great time!
I took a sneak peek in the guest room and found this adorable sight!
Dick and Elizer played together. He was starting to learn the strategies of Connect Four.
He also LOVED looking at pictures on our computer. I have a lot of our pictures in albums according to month and year, and I showed him which albums to click on. Of course I knew which ones would have lots of pictures of him! He sat there so many times in the three days they were here.
We went to downtown State College and got a very late lunch at Yallah Tacos. I didn't even get any pictures. Then we went to the pool where Destiny's long-time State College friend Hailey joined us. Anthony and Austin joined us too!
It had been a dreary day, but got warm and quite humid around 5 PM. Perfect for being at the pool! I wish somebody had taken a picture of me in the pool with Ketsi. She was in a baby floating device and I just walked around in the pool with her.
We left the pool around 7:00. Anthony picked up some pizzas on his way over to our house. Lori and Hunter came too, and then Dick got home from work. It was loud and fun and crazy around here! We ate pizza and ice cream and we played games, and the men watched the Knicks. Austin played the piano for along time, so that added to the noise level since we have no doors. Hunter and Elizer had fun even though they tend to bicker a lot. Of course everyone was crazy over Ketsi. I think they stayed till after 11 pm!
Destiny, Hailey, and Amber.
On Thursday morning Dick helped a group from church to get welcome packets ready for participants in the upcoming Ironman triathalon race. We participate in that each year, but he has never been available to help because of work. He was so glad to be able to this year.
Meanwhile I took Elizer to get his hair cut. He was very happy with his cut afterward.
I had laundry and music prep to do that day since it was Thursday. So I didn't gowith the crew when they went to Starbucks at the Penn State library where Destiny used to work. She wanted her former manager to see Ketsi. They got something to eat downtown again.
Before choir practice we went to Sam's Club to see Grandpa at work! That was fun!
I took Elizer with me to choir practice. Destiny came to practice before it started to show Ketsi to everyone.
After practice it was still daylight! Yea, June!! So Elizer and I stopped at the playground at the entrance to our community. There is new equipment there since he was here last. He immediately tried the new monkey bars. They were easy peasy. Then we went to the old ones and didn't quite make it the whole way across. He used to be able to do that. I'm sure with a little practice he soon would again.
Friday morning was here TOO SOON. Look at Ketsi! That is how she wakes up! She is just the smiling-est baby I have ever met. She and Elizer love each other so much.
Grandpa fed her some applesauce while I was making "dippy eggs" and toast for Destiny - the exact way I have been doing it ever since she was a little girl. Amber thought they looked pretty good, so I made her some as well.
Then it was bath time for Ketsi.
While they were getting all their stuff gathered together and loaded into the car Elizer and I had some conversations. Our time together was so short and we would miss each other. But he will be at his daddy's place in Lancaster this summer, so maybe we will see him before Destiny comes back in August for camping.
Saying "goodbye."
I felt like I had no energy or ambition after they left. Actually by Thursday evening I was so sleep deprived and tired I was actually feeling almost glad they would be leaving in the morning. But after they left I just felt like crying. Everything in the house reminded me of the good three days we had had together. They were going to Reading and Lancaster to spend the weekend with Destiny's mom Enid and her dad Frank and her sisters.
But I had a lot to do, so no time for a pity party. I went for groceries, cooked for Anthony and Lori's family, took their food to their place, came home and made a layer salad for the next day, and folded all our laundry.
On Saturday we went to a camp in the mountains owned by the family of one of our church friends. They provided ribs and everyone else brought a side dish. We had a wonderful time, and I forgot to take pictures until we had to leave for Dick to go to work. I didn't even get a picture of their beautiful cabin.
This beautiful sight on Sunday morning of all those children coming front to listen and interact with Pastor Jim always blesses me to pieces. A few years ago we often had just three or four kids.
