One Last PA Post- Saying Goodbye

Awww look at those slumbering beauties. They had fun sleeping in those slippery slidey warm and cozy Grandpa sleeping bags. As you can see, Lex does best without a pillow (because she's still my cute little baby). On Sunday morning, the last day we would all be together at home, we woke up to a nice big yummy breakfast. Dad was cookin bacon on that George Foreman grill like nobody's business! He even did some extra crispy for me.

Lexi and little Owen...cute kiddos.

Cami and Ari with their giganto piles of waffles, and orange juice in their Christmas mugs. That was such a fun thing that Mom did...she had enough Christmas mugs in her cupboard, that everyone picked one to be their designated drinking cup. We used them the whole trip, and it worked out quite well! (And yes, they were washed from time to time). Oh, and notice Dad at the grill...with his white rag hanging out of his pants. He keeps a rag handy at all times, and leaves others lying all around the house. It's quite comical. But gotta love him!

We went to church- this time at my old beloved ward in the Lewisberry building. It's now the Dover Branch. But it's full of people who are near and dear to my heart, and it was fun to see people and be there on Fast Sunday (shhh don't tell anyone about our big family breakfast). Testimony meeting was lovely, and Mom and I got up and bore our testimonies, and Cami was so impressed with the plethora of kids that bore theirs! They just don't do it back here at home! So I think it was helpful for her to see that she can get up the courage and do it too, one of these days.

I can't even remember where this was...the Primary room maybe? Cute singing pic.

I love this after church photo!

Jake had to get back to work on Monday, so he left right after church to fly home, stopping to see the D.C. Temple on the way. The next day, Brittney and I took the girls to Grandma's Pre-K classroom to visit. Cami and Ari were twins, of course, and they stuck together as they explored Grandma's classroom.

Lexi and I worked on this seasons puzzle on the floor, and made some friends in the meantime.

Playing house

Britt and her family had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa that day, and we took them to the airport in the afternoon. Cami enjoyed the trip to the airport with Bryan and Matt. We did a spelling bee most of the way there, and they all did great! And Matt impressed Grandpa and I with his crazy math skills!

Grandma told all the grandkids that they could take whatever stuffed animals they wanted from the house. So it was cute to see what the kids picked out and grew attached to. This was Matt's new buddy. (And Cami and Lex brought home a big yellow lab dog that we call Phoebe, after our dear old dog my parents had for many years).

It was sad to see the numbers dwindling as the vacation wore on. I'm glad I got to stay longer, but it was a little lonely after everyone left.

That night, my sweet old friend, Sommer, came up from Maryland to visit. We went to high school together, and were some of the only members of the church in our whole school. We stuck together and had a lot of fun, before parting ways to go to college. It's fun keeping in touch and catching up with her. She has 4 kids! Crazy.

And what's better than reading time with Grandma? The girls loved spending their last evening right here, enjoying Jan Brett books.

On Tuesday, it snowed a ton, but I braved it to go visit my dear friends Brooke and Jolene Shoemaker (now Fike and Howell). We had a fun visit with all the kiddos running around, and then before we knew it, our trip came to an end! It was time to go on Wednesday, after one last night of Hand & Foot with Mom and Dad. I had to say bye to Mom early in the morning, and then Dad took us to the airport. I loved these beautiful sun rays as we were leaving Pennsylvania.

It was sad to say goodbye, once again. I sure do love this house. Every time I see it, I get a warm, happy feeling of home. So many good memories in this house.

I do, however, look forward to the day that my parents will sell this house and move to Utah to be closer to all of their family. :) Dad needs to retire in a year or two first, and then maybe all of us kids will fly back to PA to return to this house one last time. They'll need all the help they can get with packing the decades worth of memories. :) But until that day comes, I will enjoy having them in Pennsylvania and having such a beautiful, welcoming home to walk into.