July 13-16 Hattie’s Visit

"To my grandchild, you are my reminder that the simple things in life bring the most joy." –Unknown 

Hattie's visit to the boat was all about being on or in the water. She requested we pick her up and go straight to the boat. No wasting time in Lewisburg...at least not at the start of her time with us. It was the perfect weather to spend hours on the water. In fact it was the only way to stay cool. It was very hot and humid and the lake water felt amazing.

 
You know it’s hot when we don’t even want to get in the car to go have ice cream. We saved that actually for on the way home. Since it was hot and the smoke from Canada was making life a bit miserable in Ithaca we headed to the house on Wednesday. But we still had fun. We stopped for lunch at Dairy Queen topped off with a dip cone. Then we had fun playing at the house, watching a movie, eating popcorn and ice cream and chasing fireflies.

Hattie was so happy to be on the boat.

Summer just doesn't get better than this.

Tubing on the lake is the best thing to do on a hot day.

Driving the boat is almost as much fun as tubing.

Swimming in our favorite little cove is so fun.

But it can wear a girl out.

It can wear a big girl out too.

We always leave a little time for art. Our first morning was so nice we painted outside.

The bike trails are so nice around the marina so we always take time to do a little riding. We did over three miles and even rode over to the children's garden.

Dairy Queen isn't fancy but the ice cream is pretty good.

Even better at the house with chocolate syrup and sprinkles. 

June 17-21 Cora's Visit

My heart is full of love for my granddaughter, but each time she smiles, it becomes fuller. –Unknown 

As I look at our calendar and I can see the summer flying by already…and the actual season has just begun. Cora was the first to come spend time with us. We had a wonderful five days while Graham and Hattie were at camp. 

We began our time together at the house and then spent three days on the boat. Cora really enjoys the miles and miles of wonderful bike trails around the marina. We did 17 miles while we were at the lake. We also hiked a few miles along the Cascadilla Gorge in Ithaca. The gorge connects downtown Ithaca with the Cornell Campus. It's a short hike in length, but long on amazing waterscapes. There are eight waterfalls along the gorge ranging in height from 25’ to 80’. The steepness and depth of the gorge hides the fact that it’s surrounded by roads and buildings…it’s a little oasis in the midst of a hectic world. 

The temperature was perfect for riding bikes while Cora was with us...although a little bit windy.

Some of the things we spotted on our rides. We think the turtle was laying her eggs or at least preparing where she was going to lay them.

I love these smiles.

The Cascadilla Gorge trail.

Cora likes picking flowers.

The view from the fly bridge.

All the kids enjoy playing on our driveway and quiet street. Lots of room for skating and biking.

Chasing lightning bugs.

May 21-25 Allegheny Vacation

"The memories we make with our family are everything" -Candace Cameron Bure

Memorial Day can still be cold at the lake so this year we decided to do something a little different. There are so many beautiful and interesting places in Pennsylvania to explore, so we decided to stay closer to home. Nice weather is always a plus but warm weather isn’t needed to hike and explore.

We chose to spend the long weekend in the Allegheny Mountains near a town named Austin. The property we chose had 93 acres of private trails and ponds. Located in an area of Pennsylvania that is absent of light pollution making it great for stargazing. Unfortunately the weather didn't give us many opportunities to see the stars. But it was a perfect place for exploring, hiking, painting, cooking, fishing, playing baseball and relaxing.

The house and yard

The drive up to the house.

One of the lakes on the property.

The girls loved fishing with Poppy.

The living room

The kitchen and dining room.

The bedrooms

The theater room downstairs. It was a great place to watch movies when it was raining.

The porches

The view from the porch.

Campfires are one of our favorite things to do in the evening.

Watching the kids run, play and be silly is very entertaining.

The property had a star barn and plenty of open fields to look at the night sky.

We only had one evening that was clear and we enjoyed seeing the stars, but the large moon made seeing the Milky Way a little hard. None of us wanted to get up in the middle of the night after the moon set to see the sky.

We had fun with a family baseball game.

The girls had fun making a fairy house in the tree next to the house.

The girls painted a few rocks but Brytanie and I practiced our watercoloring skills.

Some of our artwork.

Cora and Graham like to cook and we like eating their creations. Graham made s'mores nachos and Cora made brownies and a rhubarb strawberry tart.

Even though the weather was a bit cool and wet we still got to do a little hiking. It was nice that we could just walk outside to begin our hikes.

Looking back at the house.

We enjoy doing puzzles and this one was a challenge. Bryt and I did most of it...with a little help from everyone else.