The Seven Days of the Best Christmas Ever

This year we looked forward to Christmas particularly because our grandchildren would be at our house!! Oma and Grandpa started hanging lights and decorating at Thanksgiving! The first few days after they got here were a mix of last minute preparations, long extended meals especially breakfast, and the joys of spending extra time with jet-lagged children.

William and Margaret have a fabulous imagination and play well for hours. They also love to read and anytime is storytime.

I bit the head off the Gingerbread man!!

We had a great time while waiting for the big day!

On Christmas Eve after church we visited the Dougherty family and low and behold... Santa stopped by!!!!
Finally.... Christmas morning.
In deference to our sleep deprived state Santa waited and ate cookies and milk until 6:30 a.m

William made a special gift for Mommy and Daddy at school.


Holly is always, always hungry.

The dinosaurs are ready for turkey.
Is it dinner yet?

A great time was had by all! Merry Christmas!

Yes, Fall did arrive in Pennsylvania

The first sign of Fall in our school is on the day that Mrs. Appleseed visits second grade. As wife of the late John Chapman alias Johnny Appleseed, she tells the story of her husband's travels. She also has a pot full of apples, a Jonathan, a Mackintosh, a Braeburn and a Fuji, a Gala and a Granny Smith, and of course a Red and a Golden Delicious. Connie, my secretary, makes for a great Mrs. Appleseed.



The Fall colors have appeared as well. Right around our school we have Dogwoods, Chestnuts and various types of Maples. The display seems to be extra beautiful after the long wait (our temperatures have been in the seventies and high sixties until this past week).







Fall also means that our third grade is making "foot print turkeys" for Thanksgiving.

Ms. Z. does this with 20+ kids every year, so how about it Katy? Isn't this a great activity for a rainy afternoon?

Halloween Parade

Every year we have an all school Halloween parade. It's a big event and many parents come out to see the parade and help run classroom parties. We dismiss early so that all the moms can enjoy the sugar highs!! Actually this year our parties were candy free!! Cookies, cider, apples, and a cupcake were some of the selections.

The Quest to Find Signs of Fall in Pennsylvania

Every year Glenn says to me,"Wouldn't it be nice to drive upstate and see the mountains while the leaves are at prime color." This year was no exception. In addition Glenn heard that the first week-end in October would be the time to go to the northern part of the state for a glorious display. He heard it on the Weather Channel.

We set of early Friday afternoon for a week-end trip to the Endless Mountains region and the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in Wellsboro. We spent the first night in a motel high on a ridge overlooking this beautiful valley. The sunset was spectacular!



A heavy morning fog made the view less than what it could have been but we also noticed that things were looking pretty GREEN! The Weather Channel had been wrong!


We hoped that going west would bring some more color but as beautiful as the Pennsylvania Grand canyon was.... this is not the kind of color we expect to see in Pennsylvania.


I have to add that on this week-end the crisp autumn air was at about 89 degrees. Few fall colors AND too hot to hike.



We did drive to a small campground where I photographed the exact spot where we camped with the boys many years ago (probably 25). After that we drove through the mountains for hours and did see some beautiful leaf colorings at some of the higher altitudes.







I wish there was a way to show you how truly endless the mountains are up here. Hours and hours of driving through forested mountains is truly a great lift for the concrete/asphalt weary!


On our way back driving through the old Coal Regions we stopped for a picnic at Mauch Chunk Lake, still warm enough for swimming.



Holly loved racing back and forth on the beach and being patted by many visitors. We had a great trip. On my next blog I hope to show you Pennsylvania when it's really fall!

Oma finally got her frogs

Every year I have been trying to have frogs in my pond. People always said they would just show up but that did not happen. Some years I had frogs but they left after a while. One frog stayed but didn't make it through the winter.

A few weeks ago I went to a friend's house and got myself some beauties from her abundance of frogs. Since then one volunteer has joined the group of three I brought home. I call them Jack, Jim, and Jennifer (I hope) and the volunteer is very tiny. So s(he)'s called.... yes, Tiny!

Holly loves to make them jump in the pond but I'm teaching her interspecies no-bullying skills! Are they cute or what?