More Vacation Pictures

I'm back!! After two weeks away from home, I was so happy to be in my own bed again last night! I have never been away from home for that long before! We had a great time visiting my family. We made a giant circle: starting from our home in Illinois, we drove to my parents' house in Michigan, then through Canada to Niagara Falls (see pics here), and on to Pennsylvania where we stayed with my brother last week. On the way home, we stopped overnight to stay with my sister near Dayton, Ohio and then back home to Illinois on Sunday afternoon. Whew!

Our time in Pennsylvania was pretty laid back. We spent time visiting a few state parks: playing, hiking, swimming.

Our hike at Lackawanna State Park was cut short when a thunderstorm rolled in earlier than we expected. We made it back home before the downpour. We enjoyed playing a board games the rest of the afternoon!

We spent another rainy day meeting up with my friend Jessica, who drove halfway from New York for a playdate at an indoor "Family Fun Center". We hadn't seen each other in 8 years since our oldest kids were not quite 2 years old! Jessica and I used to work together when she lived in Illinois and it was Jessica who introduced me to Stampin' Up! almost 13 years ago! It was great to catch up and meet her beautiful daughters!

On July 4th, we spent the day visiting some of Mark & Angie's friends up at the "farm" and "lake".

 

On our way, we stopped at Archbald Pothole (above) and had a picnic lunch on the rocks.

We stopped at the farm first and got a close-up visit with chickens, ponies, pigs, goats, sheep, and calves. On our way over to the lake house, we stopped at Bucks Falls. It wasn't Niagara Falls, but it was quaint and beautiful!

At Coxton Lake, Thomas and Claire tried kayaking.

And since they were already wet, they decided to go swimming! All four kids changed out of their sweatshirts and into swimsuits and life vests. It was too cold for me, but they had fun!

We grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner and left the Farm with enough time to get back home for fireworks. We found the perfect spot in a field near the launch site. It was chilly, but we snuggled on blankets and enjoyed a long and brilliant fireworks display. I didn't take pictures because my arms were full of snuggles! It was the perfect end to our vacation!

Click HERE to Order Stampin' Up! Products Online, Anytime!