The Countdown Begins!

There are 20 days until we'll be in Pennsylvania. Pretty exciting, isn't it?

Each summer, the children and I go to Pennsylvania for a month or so. Living in Arizona is hard for me, so having this time in PA is vital for my sanity. It's also so nice for the children to be with their grandparents and to actually spend their days outside!

This year we will be there for 2 months. I am happy to be able to spend so much time reconnecting with my roots, but at the same time, it's a long time to be away from Chris and so I'm really experiencing some good old-fashioned stress and anxiety about being away so long. I feel really bad about it. Typically, he'd come out for a week or so but this year he is really lacking on vacation days from work, so it looks like he won't be able to come out. :(

I've been asked quite frequently what we do when we're in PA. And honestly, I do a whole lot of nothing. We stay with my parents who live on 100 wooded acres. Their property also includes 3 ponds, a stream and part of a river! It's not an unusual sight to look out the kitchen window at night and see a black bear staring back at us! But more often than not, we see deer and turkey (there is a big bin of corn in the garage to throw out for the critters). At night we've seen possum, skunk (they are cute!), fox and a few stray cats. My parents have seen coyote walk around the house, too! One day my mom saw a sheep wander through their property. Yeah, strange!

Carena and Colt watching for wildlife:

Anyway . . . back to what we do when we're there. For the most part, I sit on the huge front porch and watch the children play. They have a swing set that gets used quite a bit. There is an ancient stone wall that runs along the driveway and the kids love walking along that. Carena's favorite activity is taking walks and overturning rocks looking for salamander and other critters. Many nights my father will make a campfire in the fire pit and we'll sit out beneath the stars chit chatting (and yes, eating marshmallows). It is serene there. It is home to me.

This year we'll be taking on a few more activities. Carena is signed up for horseback riding camp! Colt will be taking karate classes. I'm hoping to get out in the kayak this year and also plan on picking some wild blueberries. Keep your fingers crossed that it's a good blueberry season!

In addition to my parent's house, we also spend time at Bear Lake, where our ancestors have built a cottage and passed it down through the generations. Taking walks around the lake is a favorite past-time, as is blueberry picking, and row-boating and kayaking. Oh, and swimming! Although it is a bit chilly much of the time!

Bear Lake cottage - lake side:

Path around Bear Lake: