Harrisburg Vacation

last week was our annual trip out to harrisburg for the 2008 CHAP Convention .. and as usual.. we went out a few days early to spend a little vacation time away :)

we arrived in the harrisburg area tuesday night and spent that night and the following morning with my mom's good friend missy and her family..

they have this awesome stream that runs thru their backyard..

i can remember when i was little.. coming here and looking for crayfish in this stream.. and i had no idea what a crayfish was.. and kate was so used to finding them that she would turn a rock over and catch one real quick-like.. and suddenly realizing that crayfish WERE NOT the cute little goldfish type things i assumed them to be.. i quickly became terrified and refused to even lift a stone to find one :)

of course.. the great entertainment of staying here was the trampoline in the backyard..

while we were packing the van to leave.. and the kids were taking one last jump.. emma who was up on the porch.. quite calmly yells "hey look! there's a skunk over there!" sure enough.. there was !! o.O he's hard to see on my picture tho'..

haha doesn't he look like he's just suspended there?

missy and mom..

so then on wednesday when we left missy's.. we drove over to the herr's factory.. we quickly came to the conclusion that we were NOT meant to get to the tour on time.. in fact we didn't think we were meant to get to the tour at all.. as we got stuck and detoured behind one accident.. and then when we finally got back on the right road.. came upon a road block.. just a road block with no explanation or anything.. so the person in front of us just got out of his truck.. moved the blockade and we kept going.. sure enough there was a reason.. and we soon came to a complete standstill again.. because a track-trailor had overturned.. so we had to turn around and daddy turned on his "daddy-radar" and SOMEHOW.. without any maps.. directions.. and completely devoid of knowing where we were.. he got us to the herr's factory.. and we only missed 5 minutes of the video :)

i was bummed though.. because they don't allow you to take pictures inside the factory :(

so after our little adventure at GETTING to herr's.. we made a stop at the BEST place to eat.. if you are EVER out in the harrisburg/lancaster area.. you HAVE to stop at Shady Maple Smorgasbord .. even if it is totally out of your way.. it is WORTH IT..

wednesday night we stayed at a farm.. mom always tries to find somewhere different for us to stay when we're out there.. and this was really nice.. we got there early in the evening.. allowing us ample time to explore the farm.. see all the babies.. watch them milk the cows.. and just spend the evening relaxing..

love the shadow !

as you can see.. amy kinda fell in love with the cats.. if you started to pay attention to one.. suddenly a whole bunch of them would appear !

nice smile amy..

stephen up in a tree..

and yes.. there was a kitty that followed me around too :)

the miniature horses were beautiful..

hehe amy and her animals :)

stephen.. looking all handsome :)

this is the house we stayed in.. we had an upstairs apartment..

a farm across the road.. i love the area out there.. its all so peaceful and quiet.. very laid back and slow paced..

ruby !

i think emma sat in this same spot all evening long.. until it got dark out.. just playing with the cats !

'His eye is on the sparrow..'

mmm.. buttercups..

and.. i was actually inside.. we were all chillin'.. watching a movie.. when daddy called me outside.. he said i couldn't miss the sunset..

so then.. on thursday.. we took our time getting up.. and our day consisted of a little bit of shopping.. driving around the countryside.. and i was quick enough to catch this sight out the window as we were driving past..

thursday night we stayed in a marriot suite with the balegas.. it was lots of fun.. including ms. barb's usual practical joking self.. when on friday night.. when we turned out all the lights.. she dumped water (from up in the loft) onto amy's head :) like i said.. lots of fun !

they had this awesome indoor pool that was very newly built..

stephen normally isn't a huge water fan.. but by the end of the night he had realized that he could walk around in the 3ft end and thought himself the coolest kid ever because he could do so..

max.. showing off his amazing "belly-flop" skills..

so then.. all day friday and all day saturday we were at CHAP.. we bought a lot of books as usual.. and i now have sufficient reading material to get me through the summer..

CHAP is a very tiring day though.. and ruby just couldn't take it any more.. what's really funny is this picture was taken at the end of early bird shopping.. before they allow the general public to come in.. (we're special and get in for early bird shopping because we volunteer our time to help)

all in all.. we had a wonderful time away as a family.. it left us all looking forward to our first BIG family vacation in a few years: the first 2 weeks of august when we're going to the beach !!