Lastly (and firstly?!)

OK- so I just realized I should've posted all these in OPPOSITE order. Oopes! =)

Here's a (backwards) look at our week in PA.

Our LAST day in PA was a busy day. We drove to see my Grandma for a little while. We introduced her to her 17th (I think) GREAT grandchild - little Owen Malachi.

Jaedon and Cavid (my first cousin) enjoying some ice cream

Then we had an amish reunion picnic. For those of you don't know, my neighbors and playmates when I was little were the Stoltzfus family- an amish family with 5 kids, the youngest was Dorothy and she was just a few years older than me. My mom and Mrs. S. have kept in touch over the years (via snail mail) and planned a reunion of the Stoltzfus family and Rices. I haven't seen most of them in YEARS. As in I remember changing diapers on one of the girls who is now married with 2 kids!! It was a hoot though to see my kids playing with Dorothy's kids! I was a bit concerned that Jaedon might make a big deal out of their clothes or something. He did say "Mama! They're all wearing blue!" but that was it.

It was quite an experience for Brad too. All the men sat on one side and the woman on the other. After a moment of silence (prayer time), the men went through the buffet line first (I had to tell that to Brad ;) .

Dorothy pulled out a buggy and took us on a little ride- which the kids just loved. My brother offered to take their kids on a van ride ;) haha...



So if you're reading this post first- stay tuned for the other adventures of our PA vacation!

Time with friends

Owen and Mama at the Park
Just hangin' out...
Dan and Brad diggin for... something...

We have some very dear friends that we try to spend time with each time we are in PA. Jaedon was the ring bearer at their wedding (at the ripe ole age of 20 months!). Janelle and I grew up together - literally I've known her since she was 3! We always enjoy our time with them and are so thankful they can squeeze us into their schedual when we're in town!

Here's a few pics of our time with them.

Ag Progress

Some tractor test drivers ;P

For the two of you reading this who KNOW what Ag Progress is, you can skip this paragraph...

Ag Progress is...hmm... kindof like an outdoor mall for farmers! =) Or...like a fair without the rides and animal barns (so really nothing like a fair at all ;) My dad has worked in the agriculture field (literally ;) his whole life so I grew up going to this. It had been at LEAST 15 years since I had been there and my brother and his family still go every year.
Seth and Brad "milking" a very large, very plastic cow!


We had fun too. They had about a zillion tractors (of every shape and size) that the kids loved to climb on. We saw some baby chicks being hatched (boy are they ugly! ;) we drank some cold milk, milked a "cow" (it wasn't real!), and went on a pony ride. Plus, I got a funnel cake! (WAAAy better than elephant ears ;) This was the day that Jaedon did not come with us (he and my mom hung out for the day b/c he wasn't feeling well)

Seth's pony ride

Camping

We really enjoyed our time spent with my brother, sis in law and the kiddos. That was my personal main reason for wanting to go out to PA. Christmas had been the last time we had seen them!! Too long! So while I may be guilty of ODing a bit with the cousin exposure- it was intentional ;)

Brad and Myron were able to go on a bike ride. Now when I say bike ride - in GR when our family goes biking it's a nice bike trail for several miles. When my brother says bike ride he's talking about either off road moutain trails (you can hear the men grunting can't you?!) or at LEAST 20 miles on the road. In fact he biked to my parents house - I think that's about 50 or 60 miles?! So I don't remember how long of a trip this ride was but Brad came back muddy and bleeding - ahhh...success! ;)

The guys set up camp in their backyard. We enjoyed a (REALLY) yummy chicken and Haitian rice meal outdoors followed by (what else) S'mores!! yummm....

Jaedon ended up getting sick that night so he slept indoors with me and Owen. He also missed out on our adventure the following day =(

Weee... with Wii

Even a three year old can get spares and strikes!! =)
My brother bowling
A friend, Dan and my mom bowling...yes we know there are MORE games than just that! ;)

Actually, Dan and Brad played about and hour of tennis together. (Dan said his shoulder hurt the next day ;)

Brad and Owen bowling- hey, where there's a Wii, theres a way ;)

Ok I'll admit it- purchasing the Wii has proven to be... well, FUN! I did not grow up with video games systems and I really wasn't sure this would be worth it! (They're not exactly pocket change...at least not in our household! ;) But we have used our Wii a LOT (but not so much that it's all we do either!) So we took it with us to PA. It certainly got used a lot! (a lot more than we usually do but it was vacation!!!! =D )

Yes I don't!!

The last few days have been a different dynamic around my house. Jaedon went home with my parents on Wednesday- so he's been hanging out in PA and we're traveling there tonight after Brad's meetings are done (around 4ish) and hope to get in around 2am.
It's very strange to have Seth be the "oldest" around the house and I am amazed at how much I forgot what in the world I did when Jaedon was 2 and Seth was the baby!!!
Seth, however, is a very different 2 year old than Jaedon. Jaedon always was (mostly still is) quite laid back and doesn't really exert the typical "mister independent" 2 year olds are bent toward.
Seth has the 2 year old thing done to a science! I(usually) enjoy his "no, NEE (me) independence and have fun watching him try to do things that you KNOW could be done so much easier if he'd just let you help a little tiny bit... =) So we've decided that Seth LOOKS a lot (like A LOT) like Brad did at this age but acts like...uh...me. (as noted by the fact that both grandmas have been around here lately!)
So that's fine- but the tiring thing is his indecisiveness! He will change his mind a million times about wanting to do something then not wanting to do it. UGGHH!!!
For example - this morning he decided he wanted to push the stroller around the house. Ok- no big deal- there are only 3 of us in it right now (instead of the 8 all weekend ;) so sure.
Then he thought he wanted to take it outside and push is around. Well, I put the stroller in the yard for him.
Mistake no. 1. HE wanted to open the door and carry the bigger-than-him stroller down the cement stairs (yeah right). So crying ensues.
Mistake no.2 was suggesting he put his crocs on the right feet.
"NO! Dis feets"
silly me.
Mistake no. 3 was suggesting he push his stuffed friends around in the stroller. That just meant he had to CHOOSE which friends he wanted!
Crying continues.
In the end, the stroller is still in the yard, the friends are sitting on the steps outside still awaiting their stroller ride and Seth has (finally) stopped crying (after about 30 mintues!)

I miss Jaedon! ;)

We've got a 5 year old!

We've had a lot of fun celebrating Jaedon's 5th birthday. On his actual b-day (august 5)- Brad was gone for the day so I (bravely) took the boys to the mall by myself. Actually, we had a drs. appointment for Owen in the morning so I figured, we're already all dressed and out of the house- may as well make the most of it! So we played in the play place, took a carousel ride and ate out (as in a sit down, have to WAIT for your food type of place!)
Jaedon requested stromboli for his birthday supper- and twist ice cream for dessert. Have we trained him right or what? ;)
This past Sunday we had a pirate party for some friends and family. Of course, what would a pirate be without some tattoos and a ship to play in?! (Seth is modeling is oh-so-fierce Thomas the tank engine tattoo! oh yes...and we had Dora, Ariel and Cinderella too... like I said, FIERCE and very piratee tattoos :) We also went on a treasure hunt and made a little pirate face craft.
So now we have a 5 year old!
I feel so OLD!!!

Our day at the Zoo

Ships Ahoy!

Brad was inspired to clean out some of the junk wood in our basement a few weeks - which I was thrilled with- and then discovered that it all ended up in our backyard!! He wanted to build the boys a pirate ship. It sat 1/2 done for several weeks (just the "poop deck" was done) so he was able to finish it yesterday and finished nailing the mast today. My niece is here visiting with my parents and they have have SOOOOOoooo much fun playing in this already. The PVC pipes are cannons, a cooler has become their treasure chest and the folding chairs were "safety rafts" =) oh to be a kid....

Happy 5th Birthday, Jaedon!!

 

ChEeze!

Time with Grandma Rice

 

My mom has driven out from PA to meet each of our boys after they were born- Jaedon and Seth were about a week old when she made her voyage. However, since Brad had planned on being away for a week to do bandcamp, I asked her if she would mind waiting her introductions and come this past week instead. So she met Owen at 7 weeks old. Sorry to make you wait, Mom! ;)
We had a lot of fun together and I'm really thankful that she was able to come out. It was a big help to me and the boys enjoyed her too.
We visited the children's museum, the splash pad,a park and the library. We went on walks, played in the pool and toasted s'mores. Here's a few pics from our week.
Thanks, Mom!