Pennsylvania, Part 1

In July we spent a wonderful 2 weeks in Pennsylvania.

I will admit, I was pretty anxious about flying with the 3 kids by myself.  I bought tickets to fly out of Orlando, and I'm not sure what I was thinking because there is no way Garrett can just drive us to the airport in the middle of the week!  I guess I just thought he could take us since it was an early morning flight, and he would have still gotten back to work by 9 or so.  But, a few days after buying our tickets, Garrett found out he would be working nights during that time and instead would be finishing up a shift around 9 a.m.  Thankfully we got things worked out - a friend's mom was flying into Orlando a few days after we left so she just drove my car home.

But that led to another slight problem... how was I going to park the car in long-term parking, and lug 3 kids, suitcases, and carseats to our gate all by myself??  Well I know you are on the edge of your seat... let's just say I survived.

We had a direct flight from Orlando to Pittsburgh, which was wonderful.  And, the flight was only about 1/3 full so Olivia got her own seat...

....and the girls each got their own row!

We left our house before the sun was up, and 8 hours later we were in heaven:

Doesn't my mom have the prettiest garden?  She has fruit trees, veggies, blueberries, etc. The fence is to keep the critters out (mostly deer):

This is the little farmhouse that my parents live in:

We were welcomed by a giant double rainbow on our first evening there:

Ellie picking flowers by the barn:

Fun with cousins!  All the girls in the family came (Molly, Shauna & her 4 kids, Emma & her 3, and me & my 3), and Molly's husband John was there for a while too.

Shauna brought Courtney, who was my bff in junior high and high school.  We even roomed together our freshman year at BYU.  She lives back in NH now and she and Shauna are good friends.  I love that she comes to the farm in the summers - she is definitely part of the family!

Taking a walk with the twins (Shauna's youngest):

Ranger rides with Grandma:

Grandpa showing us how to build a fire:

Courtney & Shauna with the twins:

Life is so perfect at the farm:

Ellie and JB (Emma's youngest):

Roasting hot dogs:

And s'mores.  I don't really like s'mores so I usually roast a marshmallow, and then when it's ready I stick chocolate inside and it melts immediately.

 Yum!

Courtney teaching the kids how to do back bends:

I can't get enough of this picture.  Olivia loved riding in the Ranger!

Grandpa took Chris and Carter out to do some chores in the woods and this is how they rode back:

So idyllic.... this is one of my favorite views of some of the property.  The farmhouse where my parents live is on the far left, and my grandparents live in the big house on the right (which is where we all stay, too).  They own 100 acres, surrounded by a creek.  This picture was taken from the bridge going over the creek.

We didn't leave the farm too often, but one day we did go to a local Wildlife Park.  Also, here's a picture of all 10 grandchildren!

Every year we also do a lot of 1000-piece Charles Wysocki puzzles.  We didn't do very many this year (we had other projects going on), but we did do a few.

Ellie & Courtney on a 4-wheeler (see that bridge in the back?  That's where that other picture was taken from).

My cousin Nate came by one day:

Ellie & Marian

Meals were pretty chaotic, as you can imagine.  My grandparents have a little kitchenette down in the basement, so every year we set up a giant table down there and eat most meals there, so we aren't in my grandparents' way.  We also spend most of our time down there because that's where the toys, puzzles, and pool table are. I'd hate for my grandparents to lose their sanity with all those crazy kids around!

Another cousin, Noah, stopped by another day.  Olivia wasn't a huge fan, as you can see:

And of course, Elza!  We love Elza.  She used to come spend several weeks with us every summer when we were growing up in New Hampshire.  She came to girls camp with us, Youth Conferences, etc.... she is also like part of the family and I think she has as many friends in NH as I do!

We did fireworks one night:

Emma, you put an embarrassing pic of me on your blog, so this is payback!  Sidenote: doesn't Emma look about 15 years old when her hair is in braids??  You'd never guess she is 18 weeks pregnant in this picture, with her fourth baby!)

We spent afternoons down in the creek:

The kids loved swimming and playing in the mud, which they named "Creek dough":

Looking for crabs... sadly she never found any ;)

Creek dough:

Blueberries from mom's garden:

More Ranger rides:

Mom had a birthday while were there!  The kids said she was "fifty ten"!  Haha she liked that.

After the kids went to bed, we stayed up LATE playing Mexican Train.  It's a family tradition!

This is one of my favorite candies and they always remind me of my grandpa.  He used to always give these to me, and sure enough I found a stash while I was there:

My mom volunteers at a nursing home every week, and we joined her one day.  The kids sang lots of songs and the people there loved it.

Playing Candyland with Grandma:

MORE Ranger rides:

Payback part 2:

Making breakfast one morning

And, breakfast another day.  When my Grandpa was growing up, he and his brother used to buy day-old rolls from a German bakery near their house.  They would bring them home to the family and they would eat buttered rolls dipped in hot chocolate for breakfast.  We've been doing it ever since I can remember - another favorite Siebach tradition:

Ellie and great-grandpa:

Dad took Emma and me on a Ranger ride around the property one day, and he showed us this fallen red oak tree.  The wood is very valuable so he was showing us the parts that they were planning to sell.

Another Siebach tradition: liverwurst with bread & butter pickles.  We usually eat it on pumpernickle bread, but we didn't have that this time:

Great-grandpa took the kids out for Ranger rides a couple times, too:

Me & dad:

Sisters (& another fallen red oak tree in the background):

Olivia & me at church:

More pictures to come!

Lately, in pictures

Garrett had a chance to go fishing with some fellow residents.  He caught a big red fish and it was delicious! (remember when I swallowed a fish bone?  That was from this guy)

The girls helping me grocery shop:

We bought Garrett a pair of new suits.  He needed one for upcoming fellowship interviews and Macy's was having a BOGO sale.

 Olivia is growing so fast:

She finally started feeding herself recently, which has been a huge help to me!  Finally, we can eat our meals without her screeching impatiently in between bites.

Ellie made a "menu" the other night while I was cooking dinner.  I told her the letters and she did a great job!  She's come a long way over the last few months:

I helped throw a baby shower last week for a good friend of mine.  She has three boys and is having her first little girl, so we needed to celebrate!

Sidewalk chalk with the girls:

Painting:

Some of our friends who moved gave us this little motorized bike.  Ellie calls it her motorcycle and is pretty obsessed with it.  Unfortunately, it has to charge for about 16 hours and then runs for 15 minutes and dies, but oh well.  It's still a lot of fun:

Playing with playdough:

"101" Update

Just about 8 more months to complete my goal!

And, as a sidenote... some of my original goals just don't interest me anymore, so I'm going to switch them out with something else.  I'll blog about the switches when I do them.

20. Learn to french braid hair

Thanks, Emma, for letting me experiment on your hair!  I know it's not perfect but it's a heck of a lot better than I used to do.

I've also gotten halfway decent at french braiding my own hair.  I don't wear it out like that, but I like doing it for sleeping in.

Family History, I am doing it

Here's a little update from my "101 in 1001" project.

13. Scan pictures from my grandparents' slideshow (pics of my dad and his siblings growing up) and make the pictures accessible for all of the Siebach family (discs, or online, or something)

Done!  I scanned some pictures from the slideshow when I was at the farm three years ago, but then this past July I scanned the rest of the slides and even scanned a ton of my grandparents' photos - over 1500 total.  The pictures start in the early 1950s (with a small handful pre-1950) and go all the way into the 1980s.  I even discovered some slides of my parents when they were dating at BYU, and pictures of my mom's apartment in Provo.  It was so fun to see pictures of my dad and his siblings growing up, especially since many of my cousins look just like my grandparents or their parents or even an aunt or uncle.  Genes are so interesting. I put all the pictures in Dropbox and sent the link to all the Siebach family so they could download them.

And to go even further, I scanned over 100 additional pictures of my ancestors and uploaded them into FamilySearch.org. These were mostly Stickland family photos (my grandma's mother's side).  It's so much fun to see the family resemblances there too!  She also knew lots of stories about people so we uploaded those online also, so that everyone in the family can enjoy them.

My grandparents:
                                                        

Grandma and her firstborn - my dad!
                                            

My dad was the cutest kid... I think he looks a lot like Emma's oldest!
                                                    
When my dad was little, his family spent a big portion of one summer up in York, Maine... just a few miles from where I grew up in New Hampshire.  In fact, see that building on the left that says "Goldenrod Kisses"?  Those saltwater taffies are a family favorite.  In fact, my sister Molly had some specially shipped to Utah and gave them away as her wedding favors a few years ago.

It's so inspiring for me to see my grandma as a mother of young kids.  She is such a strong woman - look at those 4 little boys!  Her second oldest (sitting next to her) passed away not too long after this picture was taken (he had cancer).  I come from a long line of strong women.  Four generations of women (in a row) have lost very young children - my mom, my grandma, my great-grandma, and my great-great grandma.  I can't imagine the heartache they experienced.  So thankful that families are forever.
                                  

A few years later, with my great grandparents:
                                     

My dad:
                                      

Grandma and my dad, right before he entered the LTM (Language Training Mission).  (It's now known as the Missionary Training Center, or MTC):
                                         
Seeing all the pictures makes me wish I had known my mom, my grandma, my aunts, etc. when they were my age - young moms, trying to figure out how to raise a family.  I hope I can do as good a job as they have done.