Visiting Matthew and Kasey

After Carson's baptism, I drove up to Cleveland with Matthew and Kasey and stayed for several days. Matthew had some time off, so they invited me to come and have some fun.

Our week was filled with lots of activities. We walked the Metro Parks several times, took rides and day trips, picked blackberries and raspberries and Matthew made some frozen custard with our berries. One day while Matthew and Kasey were working, I rented a car and drove to Kirtland and the John Johnson farm in Hiram. I picked up some tomatoes and corn at a road side farm. When I toured the temple, I was the only there, so that made it extra special. Of course, I took lots of pictures.

Everyday, we did something exciting. When Kasey had a day off, we wrote down to a little town that was an Amish village. We saw many buggies and horses. All of the stores had Amish people in them. We went to really neat Country Store and bought some goodies. We also stopped by a huge farm. We saw some Amish riding in vans and pick-ups instead of their buggies. We didn't think they were supposed to do that. Matthew commented that they must be "Jack-Amish"!

There was never a dull moment or any lack of activities or good food and hospitality. Thanks for showing me a great time, Matt and Kasey!

Carson's Baptism

Carson was baptized on August 27th by his father. It was a simple, very beautiful baptism and we were so glad that we could be there. Uncle Matthew and Aunt Kasey came down, along with Jen's mom and Heather's children. Carson looked like an angel and we were so proud of him. He is such a sensitive, caring boy and we could tell that he was feeling something very special that day. I was able to give the talk on "Baptism" and Jen's mom talked on the "Holy Ghost". Afterwards, Jen fixed a huge spread for all that attended. We were so grateful to be a part of Carson's very special day. That is what makes it all worth while for "Grandparents"!

Putting on a Show!!

Uncle Matthew and Aunt Kasey saw this lion Halloween costume and couldn't resist. They bought it for Cameron. We put it on him to try it out and then we all sat around for half an hour and watched as Cameron put on a show and entertained us! It was hilarious. The costume fit perfectly and he looked adorable. It has cute lion feet for shoes and a long tail with a red ribbon on it - like the lion from "Wizard of Oz". We laughed and laughed until our sides ached. The more we laughed, the more he showed off!!

Apple Picking!

Gary and I flew back to Pittsburgh for a few days. It was the beginning of apple season, so we took the boys to our favorite farm to pick some. Last year, we went to Simmon's Farm later in the season to pick pumpkins and have a hay ride, but it was too early and the only thing they had available now were apples. We were the only ones there, so it made it extra nice. A ladder was available to us, so we took advantage! Even Cameron tried to get up on it. Each boy has his own bag and filled it to the brim. They let us borrow a wagon because we had to walk a ways, so Connor and Cameron climbed in and Carson pulled! What a good older brother! Since it was the beginning of the season, we got the best pickins' and there were bites taken out of several of them (Connor and Cameron!). We purchased some fresh peaches and a few tomatoes and of course got treats and a drink afterwards(thanks, Grandpa)! We had a great time!

Elizabeth is in Town! (Marc & Laura, too)

Marc, Laura and Elizabeth were able to come into town for a visit. It was very short, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Elizabeth is getting so big and changing so much! We loved holding her and playing with her. Erik, Emily and their family came over and they took turns playing with her. The girls loved it. Elizabeth is such a good baby and she doesn't mind at all playing with her cousins. We were so glad that we had that time with all of them, even though it wasn't long!

Performing at Granddad's Care Center

Rachel, Amy and Kate joined a performing group during the summer that sang Broadway tunes. When the ladies in charge of the group heard that the girls had performed for Granddad, they wanted the whole group to come. A date was arranged and they came and sang for about 1/2 hour. It was great. There were about 30 kids. All the songs they did were familiar old Broadway tunes, so the residence really enjoyed hearing them. The girls had several solos and did a wonderful job. We were so proud of them!

Back up to the Cabin with Gary

I had just gotten home from the cabin with my friends, when I turned right away and drove back up with Gary. It had been almost a year since he had been able to go. We ended up staying about 10 days!! That was a record. We kept thinking about all of the reasons we needed to come back and then just decided to stay one more day . . . about 5 times. We could have stayed longer if there hadn't been so many commitments back home. The temple had its' closure for 2 weeks, so that allowed us to be gone that long.

We didn't take many projects or work up there, so we had lots of time to work around the cabin and complete some long overdue projects there. Every day, we took at least one ride up the mountain. We would see tons of elk, so we keep going back up. There had been recent fires up by Greer, so we figured that is why the animals had moved down from the mountains and were very active. One day, we made a huge loop around Springerville and Eager to view the fire damage.

We also had rain storms - our favorite. Our friends, the Powell's, came up over a weekend and we enjoyed their company. We took Joni up to view the animals and gave her a tour of that part of the state! In return, she made us homemade ice cream! Nice trade-off! We really hated to come home. We could have stayed much longer.