Upstate NY and Toronto

Since the kids had the week of Thanksgiving off from school, we decided to travel up to Toronto to spend a few days doing touristy things, with a few fun stops along the way.  Trip highlights included:

• Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
• Chimney Bluffs State Park
• Niagra Falls, Canada -- viewed during the day and at night
• Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in Niagra Falls 
• Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto
• CN Tower
• Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) with an exhibit by KAWS
• Lots of delicious restaurants -- e.g., Chef's Corner, Polish breakfast, Thai lunch
• Three nights in a cute Airbnb in Leslieville (Old Torono), near great restaurants, a terrific grocery store, and Tommy Thompson Park
• Tons of time in the car together -- James was a great navigator; Alma was in charge of snacks

While we missed Josh, who had to stay home for school days and parent-teacher conferences, it was SUCH a fun trip. We are great traveling companions and kept marveling at how easy the trip was because we were all so invested in having a great time and supporting each other. 

Fall Updates

In the best news, Hayden moved to Philly to attend Drexel. We are thrilled to have him in town and were delighted to attend a Phillies game with him.

My petite Development team hosted a great Alumni Weekend on campus that included Mansion tours, Fall Fest, All-Alumni Mansion Party, Mass, film screening, and a visit to the St. Frances Cabrini Collection in the library. Even with a big storm that came through the area and forced us to move all the events indoors, the weekend was a success with nearly 2,000 attendees.  I felt very grateful and proud of the team plus all the others on campus who made these events possible. 

Nana and Grandpa joined us for one of James's soccer matches.

I went on a lovely ride at Valley Forge.

Alma and I went on an overnight car-and-tent camping trip to French Creek State Park, which was so relaxing and fun.  

Back to School

The beautiful fall weather, with lower humidity, has us enjoying windsurfing (Laura), climbing (Alma and her friend Logan), soccer (James), slip-n-slide in the yard, and sailing at Marsh Creek.  

Alma is in 8th grade and James started at the middle school as a 6th grader.  

One last trip to the beach

Alma, James, and I were so grateful for a quick end-of-summer beach trip. 

  

 

Chincoteague and Cape Henlopen

Alma and I had a great time with Erica, Kate, and their girls in Chincoteague/Assateague, seeing the official pony swim, parade, and carnival.  As always, it's so great to have time with Erica and her girls. Plus, it was fun to catch up with Kate, who was my tennis partner in high school.

Then Alma and I went to Delaware to visit the beach and the bay at Cape Henlopen, a water park, and the outlet stores.  She is my favorite traveling and adventuring partner -- easy-going, flexible, creative, and joyful. Plus, she knew so much about the aquatic life in the bay!  It was awesome. While this summer has had many wonderful highlights, this time with my special girl was the best.

 

Pittsburgh

We were so grateful to be able to visit Pittsburgh again this summer.  The Kloders are always the best hosts -- delicious meals, fun adventures, and Rio! Plus, amazingly, the toaster I engraved for their wedding is still kickin'.

 

Pine Grove (6th year!)

The best part of Pine Grove is that we know the area, know what we like, and can easily get into "vacation mode."  Traditions include a park ranger talk (this year: lightning bugs), a movie at the R/C Carlisle Commons Movies 8 (this year: Into the Spiderverse), eating Al's Pizza the night we arrive, lots of bike rides and lake time, continuing on the Avengers coloring book, ice cream at the Pine Grove General Store, and playing games of Settlers of Catan and peanuts at night.  

This year's new elements were a dung beetle along the path and a trip to the US Army War College History Museum, where James knew a surprising amount about tanks, his newest obsession due to the World of Tanks video game.

I'm so grateful for this time together as a family. 

In the Heights (DeSales University)

We had a great time seeing In the Heights with Nana and Grandpa.  What a great production! Then we enjoyed a tasty meal at the Cooperhead Grill and ice cream at The Inside Scoop, which we love for its weird giant auto-mechanic-turned-ice-cream confectioner.  (His name is Chip, which somehow makes it funnier to us.)