This Summer, Day 57

It seems like Leah has been gone so long!  This summer has been so strange because all of the girls have gone away.  I know Leah is having a wonderful time but I am looking forward to tomorrow!

Virginia's last day of catechism day camp was today, and the Pastor said she has done well this week.  I am proud of her and glad that she has begun catechism.
Daisy had a play date at the home of her friend Tacy Dale; I am so thankful to by friend Rebecca for having her over to play so that I could take Ruby on some vacation and school related errands!
We went to the bank, sold some of Ruby's things at Plato's closet, and did a little shopping for Ruby at Kohl's.  It is fun to spend time together, and Daisy is easily tired of stores.
Tonight, we packed and I mowed and pulled some weeds so that the yard doesn't become too jungley while we are at the beach.
I also finished Leah's room organizing surprise..can't wait until she sees it tomorrow!
Ruby went to the Saint Alexis festival tonight with some friends.

This Summer, Day 52

Leah set off for Camp Mission Meadows today.  We will miss her!  At the last minute, I felt she needed water shoes for Lake Chautauqua, so I made and early-morning run to Walmart for a cheap pair.  She was picked up while we were at church and I will ride up to New York to pick her up on Saturday.

After church, the Palmers hosted a church pool party at their pool in Moon Twp., and everyone had a great time.  The food that everyone brought and the food that Georganna prepared was delicious, and their was great conversation and swimming for those who didn't mind that it was only in the 70's and a little breezy!  That was all of the kids and a good portion of the adults, although I was not that brave!

When Russ, Virginia, and I got home, we played a few rounds of Blokus outside on the deck and had a snack before turning in.  It is good to have Virginia home, and she feels like an only child for once!

This Summer, Day 50

 Today Virginia came home!  I drove up to New York state to get her, accompanied by my mom, Daisy, Ruby, and Leah.  Leah and Ruby don't always want to tag along these days so I'm especially thankful that they came along for the six hour car trip to Virginia's camp.  We had to wake up at 5:30, really early for summer, in order to make it to the camp in time for the closing outdoor worship service.  Daisy made up her sleep on the way:

The service was great!

                                     Lake Erie is the background for the outdoor chapel.

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After the service, we all went to Virginia's cabin to meet her counselor, Sadie, and help her gather up her things.

Virginia slept on the top bunk, just like at home!

Here is Virginia's door and the names of the four girls who slept in her room.

Virginia said the food was pretty good, and if she didn't like what they were having there was always cereal!

Next, Virginia showed us around the camp and we went to the overlook to take in the view of the lake.  She said that they not only swam, but went tubing and kayaked.  They slept under the stars one night.  They played sports and games and did the climbing wall, zip line, and ropes course.  Of course they had daily chapel and Bible study!

After we left Camp Pioneer, mom and the girls and I stopped in Erie to have lunch and to shop at a fun accessories story, Charming Charlies.  Next, we stopped at the Grove City Outlets to wait for Dad to come for mom, Ruby, and Daisy.  We browsed a little, although it was not school shopping because school is still a long way off!  When Dad arrived, we said good-bye to Ruby and Daisy, who were off for a mini-vacation at their grandparents' house.

Back at home, we stopped over at the Cirota's house for pizza and drinks while the kids had a blast on their trampoline, as usual!  Leah began packing for her big week away at camp!  She and I had fun shopping at Target and Giant Eagle for some supplies and snacks to take.

This Summer, Day 49

It was nice to wake up with Mom here :)  Daisy and I showed her some of the sights in North Park, and then we stopped to play at the playground by the pool.

I got to see Amber, my hair stylist, to refresh my cut and such, while Mom and Daisy played games and took Daisy's bike around the neighborhood.  For dinner,we made burger and chicken sliders and ate on the deck.  Later, we went for ice cream at Brusters and they gave Daisy at least 15 eyes on her baby cone!

This Summer, Day 46

Today we have Ruby back but Virginia away....  Having the muffins Leah made yesterday for breakfast was a good start to the day.  Ruby, Daisy, and I had a marathon grocery trip, but Daisy enjoys the Eagles Nest now, so it was mostly just me and my big girl helping me.  She scanned and I bagged.  While there, we picked up some items for a care package for Virginia:  cheese Pringles, blow pops, a Russell Stover S'more, some almonds and a bookmark.  We sent it off with love at the post office.  Later, Leah, Daisy and I perused the pets and pet supplies at both pet shops.  Leah is considering tropical fish!

For dinner, I made this:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/#recipe-form-276483

It looked like this:  

It was delicious!

This Summer, Day 45

We dropped Virginia, our third daughter who is only 9 years old, off at camp three hours away in New York State!

The camp was homey and retro and looks like a lot of fun.  She can swim in Lake Erie, try the ropes course and zip line, climb the climbing wall, craft, sing, pray, and learn.  I can't wait to hear all about it, but I have to wait until Friday.

On the way, Russ, Daisy, Virginia, and I stopped to eat at Sara's on Presque Isle in Erie.  This is Virginia's second visit to an eatery mentioned on the Food Network this summer!

When we returned home at supper time, Ruby had been dropped off after her week-long trip to Pittsford, NY and, horray!, she brought presents for all of us!  Thanks, Ruby!

And, horray!, while we were away for the day, Leah made two kinds of fudge and chocolate chip muffins!  Thanks, Leah!

This Summer, Day 44

Ruby will be home tomorrow!

Virginia practiced at the bike skills park for the second time today, and Russ took the little girls to swim at the pool.  In the evening, Russ and I watched Back to the Future 3 with Virginia, and I think she is a fan of the trilogy.

Leah earned some bucks babysitting.

This Summer, Day 43

Paddy came over to play in the backyard and...he brought water balloons!  Hooray!  We had snow cones.

Daisy says that Paddy is her best friend, and he is a very kind and fun friend.

I drove Leah and three of her friends to Kennywood to ride with their night passes, and after the little girls and I took supper to grill at the pool as we waited there for Russ.  The sky darkened very, very gradually.  Only one grayish cloud loomed above, and it was off to the side.  It's funny how one smallish gray cloud could encompass the whole sky when it was above us!  Rumbles began, and the kids had to get out of the pool.  Still, though, I knew it would blow over and our grilling plans would remain intact.  I heated the grill.  The rain held off.  I put our sausages and chicken on.  It began to sprinkle.  Our food was 75% cooked.  The sky opened and lightning flashed down.  We grabbed the food and all of our things and met Russ at home for an inside picnic.

This Summer, Day 42

Today was Virgnina's last day of day camp, the most fun day of all, Water Day!  She wore her suit and I sprayed her up with sunscreen.  It was HOT, probably in the mid-nineties!  Her troop made some sort of pasta today over the fire, and they also got to do archery, MY FAVORITE!  I wasn't a helper today.

It was so hot that I took the two little girls to the pool after I picked Virginia up at camp, and she stayed later to swim with a friend a while.  Leah went to see Bye Bye Birdie at Robert Morris with her friend, Lindsay.

In addition, today was Grandma's Birthday!  We went to Bella Frutetto to celebrate, and the food was delicious.  Happy Birthday, Grandma!

This Summer, Day 41

Today was Day Two of Virginia's Girl Scout Day Camp at North Park!  Once again, we cooked over an open fire on a day with temperatures in the nineties!  Today it was a chicken stew with dumplings that turned out to be delicious, fruit salad, and little chocolate-filled biscuit bites cooked in our charcoal ovens.  The girls are doing a great job of starting and tending the fire, measuring and cutting the food, and trying new things.  They also did a creek hike today, but camp was dismissed early due to threat of storm.

This Summer, Day 20

Today we visited the beautiful and fun yard and pool of our friends the Schinkels!  Another family from First Trinity, the Bolengs, also went to swim and enjoy the great lunch that Gretchen made for us.  The kids had a great time together; it's so nice when they get to spend time together outside of church.  We are blessed and thankful to have such great families at First Trinity!

Daisy was a little tired on the way home.

Virginia's swim meet at Fox Chapel was rained out after six events due to a wicked and beautiful thunderstorm.

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Virginia received a late-night makeover from her big sister, Ruby.  Virginia is always beautiful, but tonight she looks glamorous, and WAY TOO OLD!

 Oh yes, and we also had late-late night waffles and bacon the end.

This Summer, Day 19

On Monday, we made a paltry attempt at laundry and ran a fun and productive errand to Target, but the day's real accomplishment is setting up the water zone on our front yard hill:

 The cow belonged to Russ's Grandma Polly.  His tail wags and sprays. It is a rare item and always a conversation piece!



Daisy and Paddy were supposed to hold hands and cross the road together!  Daisy didn't follow protocol:

We crossed to play in the yard and pool of our neighbor, Nicholas!

This Summer, Day 18

WARNING:   PHOTOS OF A LIGHT SABER BATTLE TO FOLLOW

After church we slurped some noodles at Noodles and Company, then cooled off a bit at the pool.

In the evening, Russ and Leah went into the city to see two films together, The Bling Ring and a documentary about the commercial fishing industry, Leviathan.  Leah's description of Leviathan insures that I will never see it, even though she wasn't awake for the whole thing and couldn't give a complete review.  The Bling Ring, I think, she and Russ found OK but not terrific.

The other girls and I had a french fry and story picnic in the backyard:

Then, the real excitement began when the neighborhood Jedis came over for a light saber battle with the two youngest Lucases.