TN Vacation Day 3

On Wed. we decided to venture out and take a hike. There was one paved trail in the park that led up to a Laurel Falls. It ended up being a very wet hike. We hiked 2.5 miles up a mountain with a stroller in the rain. It wasn't too terrible once we were wet...so we tried our best to enjoy the hike. We saw the fall, which were beautiful and turned quickly around to head back down.

On our way down the mountain we met another couple that said that they had just seen a mother bear with her cubs right off the trail. They gave us a few pointers on what to do if you come in contact with a bear and sent us on our way. With hearts pounding a little, we whispered a prayer and continued, keeping close eye out for her. It was actually the perfect situation, we got to see a bear and her cubs, and she didn't bother us at all....it's really neat to see animals in their own natural habitat like that :)

We got back to the condo and rested while Hannah took her nap. By the time she got up, the sun had come out so we headed out to the pool. Hannah got to swim in a pool for the first time this vacation. She loves the water!

A super exciting part of our day today was, Hannah pooped on the potty for the first time. I was planning to begin potty training when we got home in the fall, but it kinda just happened. She's showing all the signs of being ready to begin: She knows what to do in the bathroom, and tells us when she wants her diaper changed and when she's poopy. It just kinda happened this day. I think I smelled her and decided to put her on the toliet...wouldn't you know it...she pooped! Let the potty training adventure begin!

TN Vacation Day 2

On Tuesday we arrived in Gatlinburg. We were so excited to get to see our condo and the beautiful view from the balcony.

living room

kitchen

bedroom

wonderful bathtub

the beautiful view of the mountains from our balcony

The view of Gatlinburg from our condo

We settled in, had dinner, and then went for a walk in downtown Gatlinburg.

Vacation Day 1: Creation Museum

We had such a nice time on our little family vacation. It was different traveling with a little one...but fun too. We took our time getting down to Tennessee, which worked out really well. We drove down to Grandma and Papa's house on Sunday and spent the evening and night with them. In the morning, we were off to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati (thanks to the Lucas family for sharing your guest passes with us!). We enjoyed our time at the museum. It was neat to see and we definitely want to take Hannah back when she gets older.

Hannah loved most of the dinosaurs (there was one moving one that scared her)

Our favorite part of the museum was Noah's ark. The ark model that they had built was only 1% of the size of Noah's ark.

This is a sad reality in our world. The Creation Museum did a good job of using scripture to show God's plan for the world and His perfect hand in creating it.

The outdoor gardens were beautiful!

Hannah's favorite part was the petting zoo.

We drove and spent the night in Jellico, TN that night; then finished our trip to Gatlinburg in the morning.

A quick visit from Caleb and baby Ethan...and their mom and dad too

It was so fun to get to meet baby Ethan and play with Caleb. Their family was up in our area for Mr. Andy's brothers wedding. It was so nice of them to stop by and visit with us in the midst of the busy weekend! I had fun showing Caleb around my house (the last time he was here...he was just a tiny baby). We had fun playing with blocks, trains, and just running around the house together. The moms and dads had fun talking while we played. Caleb's dad just got a new pastor job...we were excited to hear all about their new church and what God is doing in their lives.

running around with Caleb

such a great pic of all of us!

Caleb makes a great big brother

Popsicles!

Hannah loves popsicles! It's so cute to hear her say "popsicle" so I took a video on my camea, unfortunately, it's sideways again..maybe one day I'll learn :)

Camping with the Roths

I guess I'm catching up with blogging from a while ago....

At the beginning of August we were able to go camping with my family down in Ohio. We went to Alum Creek State Park. Each one of us got our own little camper cabin, it worked out great. We enjoyed sharing meals together, going for walks, and spending time at the beach. It was a relaxing, refreshing, and enjoyable time with family!

Nana brought playdough for Hannah to play with. This was the first time that she played with playdough without eating it. Notice the two very silly uncles...

It's been a super long time since we've gotten to see Aunt Beth. Her tummy is growing as we get closer to the day that the baby comes. Hannah loved rubbing her tummy and saying "baby"....such a sweet moment!

Alum Creek has a very large, beautiful beach. Hannah was so excited to get into the water with Daddy and Uncle J.

one of my very favorite pics from the summer

Hannah played in the sand with her Uncle J for a long time

She sure LOVES her Uncle Jeremy (note the tip toes...too cute!)

What a wonderful weekend...too bad it had to end so soon!

Things I Love Thursday- My grill basket

I love cooking on the grill in the summer! Actually, I should rephrase that,
I love when my wonderful husband cooks on the grill in the summer. I always get everything ready for him, and he willingly cooks it up. I was so excited to get a grill basket, and let me tell you, there is nothing like fresh grilled veggies! Even Hannah eats them right up! Cut up your favorite vegetables, toss them with some olive oil, basil, italian seasoning, or whatever you like and grill them up...so delish (and healthy too)! :) For more Things I love Thursday head over to the Diaper Diaries.

A wedding reception for Uncle Adam & Aunt Jill

It was really nice to have some time with family over the past few weeks. We haven't seen either of our families since May...so it was refreshing! We arrived at Grandma and Papa's house on Friday evening. We didn't even make it inside before Grandma pulled out this little trike that she got for her grand kids. Hannah had fun trying to learn how to use the pedals, and Papa had fun helping her. We enjoyed some time with Mom and Dad F. and Adam and Jill that evening.

On Saturday morning, Cody & Erica came. Soon after we headed over to the church for the reception. Adam and Jill were married on May 16,2008 in PA. Mom F. planned a reception in Ohio for family and friends who couldn't make the trip out to PA. As always, she did such a great job. It was nice to see some of the people from Meadowbrook again and of course so nice to family! Adam and Jill opened their gifts, which was fun to watch.

After the reception we went to Cody and Erica's house. It was so nice to just laze around the house and enjoy time chatting and laughing. Hannah said everyone's names!

The newly weds :)

all of the brothers and their wives...and Hannah too!

our little family :)

Hangin' out with Uncle Cody

WFMW: Craigslist + Garage Sales= cheap fall wardrobe

I LOVE garage sales! But with having a little toddler, they have been a bit more challenging this summer (ie: putting baby in and out of the car seat, baby running up and down driveway, etc.). My rule of thumb is that (if we are actually in town) on Thur. I get on craigslist and search in my town for garage sales. I scroll through the ones (only in my town) that have baby items listed. I make a short list and off I go. We usually only go to one or two. This system has worked out great for me because I know that I'm going to a garage sale that has baby things. No more stopping at Grandma's garage sale and getting baby out of the car seat for nothing. Works like a charm! A few weeks ago (haven't had much time to garage sale since) I hit up one sale. She had fall clothes all in 18 months...how perfect! I got 6, 3-piece outfits for $2 at piece, plus jeans, pj's and other cute tops. I got shoes and a bundle me to sell on ebay, something for my sisters baby, and even a few tops for myself....all because I took a few minutes to get on craigslist before me left. So much fun!

Tons of great clothes for the fall (and some for summer too)

for ebay

and even a few things for me :)

For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas head over to We Are THAT Family

My first french braids

Mommy says that she's always wanted a little girl, and that she's always wanted to braid her little girls hair. My hair is just now long enough to put french braids in. Here are some pics for you to enjoy of my first french braid...there will be many more to come! :)

Kids Kamp

It's been a busy summer...and a challenge to keep up with blogging, but I have a few minutes to maybe work on one post. We had another great week of Kids Kamp this year! We had 108 kids come out, and only about 20 of them were our own church kids...so we were really excited about the chance to reach out to our community.

I worked with the preschoolers for the week. They sure kept us busy..by Tuesday I think that all my strength was gone...good thing that we don't do it on our own! I can really see how God saw us through the week. Seth worked 70+ hours that week and did such a great job as always. We are already starting to think about and plan for next year!

One of the highlights of the week for me was watching our teens serve the Lord. They served with happy hearts and were so willing to do whatever needed done. They didn't complain...and they just loved on those kids. We are SO blessed to work with such a great group of teenagers!

I also loved watching the kids sing our theme song for the week "One Way", that I wrote about in a previous post. Check out the video of them singing...isn't it great to hear children singing to the Lord?!

Thank you to those who lifted us up in prayer during the week...it was a great week!

The munchkin skit takes me back to our svr days...I loved doing this skit with my friend Teri. I'll have to dig out some old pics and scan them in. :)

"Ya putcha" skit crew

just a few of my preschoolers on water day

what a team!