PA, Day 7...Departure

All good things must come to an end. This time with our PA family is no different.

Leta made delicious lunches and dinners for us all week. Michael is the breakfast champion in their house. That morning he got up and made pancakes for everyone...with his kitchen help!

Note the pancake in her hand. Aunt Debra (in TX) refers to this as "Quality Assurance!"

Cutie Katrina at the kids' breakfast table.

Another picture of Michael and Olivia!

We headed out bright and early that morning for our LONG LONG drive home. We stopped in West Virginia for lunch. It was quite the Podunk town, complete with Rebel flags hanging from store fronts and all!! However, we did find this place to sit at and have lunch:

Pretty huh?

I saw this on our drive to PA, and was glad to see it on the way back. It is just a huge white cross out in the middle of nowhere!

We made it home safe and sound! We look forward to many more visits with The Michael Bulgrien Family!!! We love you guys!

PA, Day 6

Our last day with our PA family was a very busy, yet fun, one! The day started out with the boys playing some sort of Lego game, as usual! They did this the entire time we were there.

Benjamin loved having someone who liked to play just the same way he did.

I got this one of Katrina when she was just laying down and thinking.

Kevin's Aunt Beulah (his mother's sister) came over for lunch. She lives in a retirement facility in Mechanicsburg. Benjamin has only seen her once, and Olivia has never met her.

She was quite fond of the children. I actually have a picture of Kevin's mom making this exact same face and talking to Olivia. I like it!

I rather like this picture!

Afterwards, we all went down to the Mechanicsburg Jubilee Day! It is exactly like our Alley Fest. It was very hot and sunny.

The children all decided to wear their hats!

They had a couple of display cars. Benjamin had never seen a VW bus before. You know we must take pictures if there is a VW in the vicinity!

Giving the baby a drink requires teamwork! ;-)

Olivia and her Uncle Michael again! She liked him VERY much!

We finished up our Jubilee Day with a treat at the ice cream shop on the way home. It was a perfect ending to a hot outing! Oh, and we also found a geocache while in the parking lot!

That evening, we had more company. It was the pastor and his wife that used to be at the BIC church in Michigan. Everyone had a nice time sitting around talking, enjoying a dessert Julia made, and playing around. Olivia weaseled her Uncle Michael to play with her! I'm guessing he didn't mind......

Being wheeled around on Uncle Michael's special seat invention!

Playing Peek-a-boo!

Flying baby!!

This is probably my favorite picture from the trip of the two of them. Look at the smiles on their faces!! They're just cracking up! He's a good uncle!

Another trip on the seat with Julia!

Helping Auntie Leta do some sweeping!

It was a very nice ending to a very nice week!

Playing Catch Up!

Ok, time to play some blog catch up! I'm going to be posting things that are very far behind. I often just don't put things up because I am so far behind, but I just thought, "Who cares? I don't want to not have it recorded because of that silly reason!!" So, bear with me over the next few days as I list old things.

Peanut Butter and Heartbreak

Last week, a friend and I were making cookies. There was some peanut butter left on the spoon we were using, so I let Olivia have it. I put her on the stool and let her have at it!

She really liked my idea!!

A LOT!!

However, taking away the clean spoon didn't go over so well! (Is it terrible that I chuckle every time I see this picture?!)

Olivia went on the potty!!

For the past few weeks she will run to me and try to pull off her diaper. Then she goes and slaps the potty until I put her on it. She has yet to do anything in the potty, but I figured she would eventually.

Today, I noticed that she was about to mess her diaper and scooped her up and put her on the potty. She went without any trouble. Yay!!!

Hopefully she will equate messy diapers with the potty. Hmm. One can hope!

Conversations in the Car

On the way home from VBS today, Benjamin and Jasper were talking about what they learned today.

Jasper: This fish picture means that I am a Christian.
Benjamin: I am too. I'm a Christian.
Jasper: I've been a Christian for a long time. Like, since I first heard about it!
Benjamin: Me too!

Another conversation went like this:
(Benjamin drops his VBS craft on the floorboard)
Benjamin: I sure love having feet!!
Jasper: Me too!
Benjamin: 'Cause if you drop something in the car then, bwoop, you can pick it up with your feet!
Jasper: Or you can open the gate with them!!
Benjamin: Yeah!

It is hard not to laugh. So cute!

Rice Krispies...not a treat!

If you ever wanted to know what an entire box of Rice Krispies would look like on your carpet, then this is the post for you!!

Caught red-handed!! (not that it would have been anyone else's doing but Olivia's. Kevin is trained now. LoL)

Trying to hide the evidence in her mouth?

I felt better after I could see the deep remorse in her little eyes...not to be confused with the little Rice Krispies on her lips.

I was on the phone with a friend who is the mother of James. Even though I was tempted to pick Livi up and smother her...in kisses...I realized that Olivia, like her friend James, is just having a good time!! And James' mother is such a good sport! So, I can be too!

We had James' siblings stay over for dinner tonight. They were playing Crossfire with Benjamin and Kevin and we just figured that we might as well make an evening out of it. It is nice to have them over. They are very well mannered! At one point during dinner Amara was telling me how she didn't really care for tomatoes. Josiah piped up and said, "I don't either, but I am going to make a choice to eat them anyway!" He had dinner with us another night this week and said the same thing then as well. That makes me feel very happy. I told Josiah that his mother would be very proud of him for saying such a thing!! Good job, Steph! Here's our dinner crowd: