Almost Autumn

Today is August 23, and that might not seem like a very important date to many people, but when I looked at the calendar this morning I was pretty excited. September 23 marks the fist day of autumn and although I am very sad that there is only one short month left of this wonderful summer I have so enjoyed; I am ecstatic that according to my doctor, there is also only one short month left until the arrival of our own sweet little Autumn. I really can’t express just how excited I am to get to see and hold our new little girl. Hudson is especially excited and he gives my belly numerous kisses each day. He loves to tell me all the things he has planned to teach her. I think he is going to be quite the helper. We all love her so much already. I just hope she can handle all the love that is awaiting her, especially from Ellie. Whenever Ellie sees a baby or a picture of a baby, she gets so excited and in the only volume she knows how use, yells, “Baby Autumn” and squeals with delight.

This summer it has been so fun for me to watch Hudson and Ellie develop their relationship. They have become really good buddies and I love to sit back and observe them at play with each other. They make each other laugh, and comfort one another when “ouwies” happen. They certainly know how to tease one another and fight, but even that is fun to watch…most of the time. It’s just so beautiful to be a part of and I’m so grateful for them and that they have each other. It fills a huge gap in me that I missed out on as a kid. I’m so excited to add Autumn to the mix and watch how our family continues to develop and change.

We have had really crazy weather lately, with severe thunder and even tornado warnings. We have still made it out for day trips to the state parks but consequently have had to cancel many camping trips that we were all looking forward to. To make it up to the kids we have had inside camping nights where we set up their tent and sleeping bags and let them “camp out” inside. To my surprise children must come prewired knowing standard sleepover behavior, because even at 11:30 at night Jake and I lay in bed and listened to them telling stories and laughing inside their tent. I never imagined how fun it would be on the parental end of the sleep over and listen to them tell each other to be quiet as they hear us approach for the umpteenth reprimand and request to be quiet and go to sleep. I so love my little family!



                                                                       Ag Progress Days

Guess where the biggest outdoor agricultural expo in the nation is?.....not too far from here actually, and we went!  Jake said he wanted to take Hudson to see all the tractors and demonstrations, but I'm pretty sure he was just excited to spend a day climbing in and out of huge tractors he wished he could really drive.  I was excited to watch all the "interesting" people.  The place was full of Amish, Mennonites and a sea of cut off T shirts and denim.  It really was something to behold...and the tractors were cool too!

We visited Poe Valley, where Edgar Allen Poe is supposed to have written the raven.  We found a wonderful trail that ran through an incredibly creepy old train tunnel.  I hate to admit just how scared I felt as we walked through the abandoned eerie tunnel. The pictures make it look bright, but it was long enough that the interior was very dark.  Of coarse Hudson thought it was great although he could not figure out where the train had gone. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who got scared.  Ha Ha Maybe I'm just the only one who has read Poe? 

One rainy day took us on a hike that lead to a frog pond.  We were excited to see all the frogs, but the pond was also full of baby turtles.  I tried with all my might to catch one but they are surprisingly fast!  I could not keep the kids out of the pond.  They wanted a turtle as bad as I did.  They really weren't a whole lot of help but we had fun on our turtle hunt.  They did manage to catch a lot of mud, and seemed pretty proud of themselves.



Do I look done yet?

As a side note, we had a pretty good little earth quake today.  I was standing in the kitchen and thought I was having a dizzy spell, when I noticed the pictures and blinds were shaking as well.  The kids were asleep and I thought I still might be imaging things but a slew of phone calls from nearby friends assured me this wasn't just more pregnancy delusions.  It was a little unsettling as it was my first earth quake experience, but also pretty cool. After it was done I had to walk through the house and straighten all the pictures hanging on the walls. Its been quite a day. 



City of Brotherly Love

This past week we crossed two big things off our to do list.  The first was to get Jake through his statistics course; which he did with an A. YEAH! To celebrate the end of hours and hours of statistics homework we did the second, which was to visit Philadelphia. To make it even more of a celebration, Gram Andrea and Aunt Jenny flew out and met us there for a long weekend of sightseeing.  We had such a wonderful time.  The city was super interesting, the weather was good, and the company was great.  We did all the touristy things we possibly could fit into the amount of time we were there and finished each day exhausted.  Philadelphia is an amazing city that is full of history, and of coarse delicious cheese steaks, which we all scarfed down before we thought to get a picture.  

We took a ride on a double decker bus that toured the city.  It was a fun way to see lots of sights.  It was especially fun not to be the one driving because Philadelphia drivers are crazy.

 

Ellie sure loves her Aunt Jenny and wouldn't sit with anyone else.



We were worried about how she would do without her usual afternoon nap.  Both kids were really good the whole trip.  Ellie would go and go and then suddenly fall asleep with exhaustion wherever we were.  She is such a sweet little thing.....when she is sleeping :)

The bus dropped us at the Please Touch Museum, a huge children's museum.  It was fun to watch the kids explore and learn.

Gram and Ellie share a common interest.....KITTIES!

Hudson got to practice his recent obsession with playing doctor.

We all indulged Jake by visiting the Water Works Museum.  It was actually really interesting.

Jenny had to get a shot of our "Nerds in Training", as Jake taught the kids about water sheds.

Relaxing on the famous steps from the movie Rocky in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Strangely Gram Andrea and I were the only ones with enough energy to go to the top.



The Liberty Bell across the street from independence hall.
"Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof" (Leviticus 25:10).
It was amazing to be surrounded by so much History. 
Ellie was just as impressed with the history as she looks in this picture.



                                                              The Constitution Center 



Getting smashed penny souvenirs everywhere we went became quite the hit with Hudson.  He loved turning the crank.  After the Constitution center we visited the Treasury then rode a bus across the bridge to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey.  Then we visited the Mint and watched lots of shinny coins being made.  We were all as tired as Ellie and wished we had a stroller to fall asleep in.

The Adventure aquarium was really amazing with huge underwater tanks and a shark tunnel we could walk through.

We all loved touching the rays.  They would swim up and let the kids pet them.

Their was also a shark tank for petting sharks.  They were surprisingly rough like sand paper. 

On our last morning in Philadelphia we visited the Zoo. They has a really cool cat exhibit, and when you are traveling with Andrea and Jenny the cat exhibit is the main attraction.  Fortunately the kids likes it too!

On our way to State College we stopped in Intercourse, Pa for a visit to Amish country.

Gram Andrea and Jenny spent one night with us in State College.  The kids sure loved getting to show them their rooms and having them go to church with us.  We were all sad to see them go.  It was such a fun trip.

                                    As they drove away the kids watched sadly out the window.
                                              It was so nice to get to spend time with family.

Lots of Love

We have had a week full of love. Jake and I celebrated our sixth anniversary. It was so fun this week to focus on how grateful we are for one another and try to think of ways to express it. I had no idea when I married him just how happy our life would be together. I also had no idea that I would love him even more with time. Meeting Jake sent me down a path of happiness that I had no understanding for, and I truly know that only a heavenly father who knew me personally and loved me could have given me such a gift. If Jake had been all I got out of the deal I would have eternally grateful; but the addition of our wonderful children and the happiness and joy they bring is a blessing beyond my own capacity of expression. I have spent a lot of time this week quietly watching these people I love and feeling blown away by how my feelings for them grow everyday. I feel as though my heart could explode. I can’t even imagine how much I will love them all in

another six years.

We also celebrated our funny little Ellie's 2nd birthday! Unfortunately her two year molars decided that they would make their appearance for the big day as well. She has been pretty miserable this week due to them. We did our best to make it as fun a day as possible even though she wasn’t her normal happy self. We decorated the house with streamers and balloons, and set out her presents like Christmas morning. She loves animals and bugs so we decorated cup cakes with candy to look like butterflies and bugs. She was a pretty excited little thing when she came out of her room and saw it all, but I think Jake and I enjoyed it more then she did. The anniversary of the arrival of our sweet little girl was definitely worth celebrating. We are so lucky to have her, and she makes everyday special!

Her birthday must have worn her out, she sure crashed fast.

We enjoyed more time exploring Pennsylvania.  I am really enjoying this summer. We have been able to spend so much time in beautiful places.  The best part is that everywhere we go there is a lake to swim in!
Yesterday we headed out to map some trails at a State Park Jake is preparing to study.  The weather was a little overcast and we could see some lightening off in the distance, but it looked like it was blowing over quickly.  We were so wrong. As we pulled up into the park the storm hit. Large quarter sized hail pelted our car to the point I thought it would crack our windshield.  I was honestly a little scared, I had never seen such big hail. The temperature went from 92 to 65 in just a few minutes. Even as the hail started to subside, there was so many lightening bolts cracking all around us that we decided it was better not to get out of the car. It was quite an experience.  I just wish I could have gotten a picture of the hail.

My little explorers.

The cutest grad student I know!!!