When Nana's away... & a day at Poe Valley!

Over Father's Day weekend, my mom had been on a special trip to visit family in Texas, but Dad decided not to go along with her.  So, the kids and I decided we should go to Lewistown to check on Pap and see how he was making out without Nana around.  Despite the fact that we bring chaos and destruction along with us, I think he was happy to see us.

Pap cooked supper for us on the grill and then we headed outside for some playing before it was time for tubs and bed.

 Lauren's first tractor ride with Pap

 Look who is driving!

 This shirt (and the spunky look on her face) pretty much sums up Lauren!

On Saturday morning, the kids and I got up bright and early (Joshua was awake at 5:45 announcing that he was ready to go) and got on the road to Poe Valley.  Aunt Libby and Uncle Zig (and Stacie and Anna) were camping in the park for the weekend and had invited us to come and have some fun with them.  I have seriously had this date circled on my calendar for months and couldn't wait to breathe the Poe Valley air again.  It was bittersweet, as I haven't been back to Poe Valley since Pap sold his camp there that essentially sums up my summer childhood memories, at least all of the important ones.  So many summer weeks/weekends were spent there and I treasure those memories so much.  So, I got a little sad driving past F. Duck and seeing other people there enjoying it.  I must say that it was easier to let myself believe that it was still sitting there on the hill waiting for the whole Richard gang to call a homemade ice cream & humper fire night.

So it had been at least 7 years since I had been there, possibly more, but it was all just as I remembered it.  Libby and Zig had an awesome set up with the motorhome and a very homey campsite.  The kids immediately got to work digging in the dirt and rearranging all of the stones in the campsite.  Pretty soon we all packed up the wagon and took the troops to the playground for a little fun before lunch.  They loved it!

After that, we came back and ate some hot dogs, pasta salad, brownies and watermelon for lunch.  We needed our strength for the afternoon!

The kids absolutely loved the beach.  They had a blast playing in the sand, splashing in the ice cold water and chasing each other around in circles.  We headed back to the campsite late in the afternoon and I started packing up my crew for the ride back to Pap's house.  We couldn't leave before Joshua got his s'more, so we made some of those while we finished packing up for the ride back.

I hadn't even made it back to the dirt road (2.6 miles from the park) before both kiddos were zonked in the backseat.  I guess the fresh mountain air served double purpose---- bringing back floods of memories for me and playing the two sweetest little ones in my life right out!  Thanks Libby, Zig, Brooke, Stacie and Anna for letting us crash your party.  And when are we doing it again?