It's Time for a Catch-up Post

 

Vacation Time!

This Blog is becoming more like a diary for me but a very erratic one. I suppose that is okay. If I ever have something really important that I want to write about, I know where I can come to put my thoughts down. Maybe it is a good thing that my entries have been sporadic because it means that nothing really traumatic has happened and I do like when life moves along without too many bumps and turns.

Since my last post in June after the grandchildren camping week, we have had quite a few birthdays.

The first one was Kyle's who turned 2 on July 7.

Kyle had a Winnie-The-Pooh birthday cake and he was so happy to be celebrated. Here is a video of him blowing out his candles.

On July 12, Awstin turned 12.

Awstin loves sports, especially Philadelphia teams :)

July 16 was Clara's turn. She turned 8 years old.

Here's the traditional cake...

...and here's the pretzel jello dessert because Clara requested this also!

And then came the big one on August 8! Alexis turned 16 years old and was finally able to get her permit. She had been anxiously counting down the days for this happy occasion!

Lydia was taking a cake decorating class and decorated Alexis' cake!

August 23rd was our 45th wedding anniversary and we celebrated it by going to a Phillies game! We have been enjoying watching their games this summer and hadn't been to a game in years. We drove down on Saturday afternoon and checked into a hotel before going to the game. Then we just had to drive a short distance to our hotel after the game and returned back home on Sunday. It seems a simple thing to do for such a momentous occasion but we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the Phillies even won!

45 Years! :)

Citizens Park

On Sunday, August 24, we got together at Jay and Kristen's for our annual Lehman reunion with Steve's mother and siblings and grandchildren and families. We got a few pictures but none with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mom, children and spouses

 

Mom and children

September 10 brought another grandchild birthday. Seth turned 2 years old.

Seth loves any kind of farm equipment and trucks. Julissa made the cake!

Seth was a little shy about the cake, birthday song and candles. Here is the video.

In September we spent a weekend at a cabin with three couples from church. It is the same cabin I posted about earlier and is owned by Randy & Diane's daughter and son-in-law. We love going away with these couples and had a wonderful time together!

Just look at the beautiful mountains behind us! L-R - Randy, Diane, Becky, John, Me, Steve, Sue, Bob

 

Taking a ride in the buggy

Steve followed on a four-wheeler

In October, Jay & Kristen's four oldest children showed their hogs at the Manheim Fair.

Mark

Alexis

Lydia & Hannah

And more birthdays!

Bryce turned 6 on October 9

Bryce started Kindergarten this year and is loving it!

Cassidy turned 4 on October 26

Cassidy said she wanted a cat for her cake so Julissa made her one!

The last birthday in October was Mark's on the 29th. He turned 13 so entered the teenage years!

When one of their children, turn 13, Jay & Kristen invite grandparents, uncles, aunts & cousins from both sides of the family. We went around and said things that we appreciate about Mark. It was nice to see how his face lit up when people spoke about him.

The only grandchild yet to have a birthday this year will be Hannah on December 21, so I'll cover that in my Christmas and year-end blog.

The last thing I want to write about was our vacation week in Myrtle Beach as referenced in the first picture on this Blog. Randy & Diane were able to trade their Hilton Head timeshare for one in Myrtle Beach and invited us to go with them. An invite which we happily accepted! It was one of the most relaxing vacation's ever. We arrived on Saturday, November 1 and left the next Saturday, November 8. We purposely did not plan many activities because we wanted to have time to just enjoy the freedom of no schedule and the beautiful ocean setting. We had booked tickets for 3 shows which we went to on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They were all centered around Christmas and one was an acrobatic show, another a musical, and the last one was a Pirate Dinner Theater. All of them were really great and we loved them! We played miniature golf one day and usually ate out once a day, because what is a vacation if you don't enjoy different dining experiences! My highlight was watching the sun rise over the ocean each morning while drinking coffee on our deck. Of course we also spent plenty of time playing games, talking and laughing. We are so thankful for Randy & Diane! We joked that we are still friends after spending a week together but none of us were really worried about that! :)

Sunrise over the ocean

Sand, ocean & sky - beautiful!

We were on the 6th floor. Perfect for seeing out over the ocean!

This mini golf course was played on different levels with the top level showing a beautiful view out over the ocean.

I won! (But I didn't take the trophy home)

We were so fortunate to have beautiful weather all week.

Gotta have that picture on the beach!

Proof that I was on the beach!

Steve was the only one adventurous (or crazy enough) to go into the ocean. It was pretty cold! Here is proof that he actually did it.

That pretty much catches the year up. I'll be back to close it out late December or early January.