Goodbye August

This past week every time we get out to do something I find myself sad and wondering if it is the last time we will be doing it this year.  For example we went to the pool today and the water was so cold that Ellie cried when she jumped in. The kids spent more time wrapped in towels staring at the water then actually in it.  It really kills me that summer is fading away.  As pleasant and wonderful fall is, I just hate to see summer go.  Thankfully the weather held off long enough to let us have one last summer camp out.  We had such a great time.  And let me just say that when you are camping with Hudson and Ellie the bears are the ones who are scared in the woods.

A child after my own heart.  Hudson loved finding things he could burn in the fire. We roasted hot dogs and Jake taught him how to roast (or burn) a marshmello on his own. 

Spending time in PA's woods we have learned a few new customs. For example' as Jake has been in and out of a lot of camp site's he has noticed that very often the dinner of choice is a sandwich you toast over the fire.  He made the mistake of finally asking someone what they were cooking and his question was met with pure disgust. "What you aint never had no Mountain Pie before", the man answered him. "You aint never been camping, if you aint never had no Mountain Pie".  Apparently it is something as well known as a smore out here; so to save any other ignorant people such as ourselves the embarrassment, let me tell you, a Mountain pie is two slices of bread with pizza sauce and a slice a cheese that is toasted over the fire.  We still have not tried it, so I guess we have yet to actually camp out here.


Ellie is rarely awake after dark, so she was super impressed to see "the night". 
She loved seeing all the bright stars and the moon. We were planning on letting them stay up pretty late to enjoy the fire and the night, but they were so excited to sleep in the tent they kept asking us if they could go to bed.



At first Ellie was pretty scared of the fire and would only stop crying if she was snuggled on my lap far from the flames.  It was nice to get the snuggles but I was really happy that she did finaly get over her fear and
"warm up to it"!

One thing that has really surprised me as we have camped out here is how noisy it is at night due to the density of the forest. There are so many more chattering bugs then what we were used to in Utah. The sound at night is almost hypnotic and defining. Thank goodness you can only hear them and can’t see them!

                                                                     The Grange Fair
We also, took a trip to the centre county fair, also known as the Grange fair. It is known as "the nations most unique fair." It was quite a lot like every other fair I have ever been to except, it was a lot bigger, and it has "a city inside a town". Thousands of people move into tents on the fair grounds and live there for about two weeks. These aren’t camping tents with sleeping bags and cots, people actually bring their own beds, couches, dressers and many other comforts from home. They give out awards for the best decorated tents and it is really quite a site to see. The tent plots are handed down generation to generation and are completely impossible to get. From what I understand there is a hundred year waiting list to get one.

We certainly enjoyed the familiar fair activities with carnival rides and adorable live stalk. Ellie was as excited as can be to tell us about every animal she saw. We sampled some fine fair cuisine including deep friend country pie with ice cream, and deep fried oreo's. Both were delicious! The kids got to ride some little carnival rides and thought it was pretty wonderful. We also, got to watch a pretty amazing tractor pull competition and Hudson and Jake got their fill of loud engines and diesel smoke. It really was a fantastic night!

Tomorrow is the first day of Sept. and also Hudson's first day of school.  I guess Summer is over!

It sure has been a wonderful one!