Gettysburg Family on Vacation, Again...

I do enjoy vacations. Lots and lots and lots of fun. And with my brandy-new camera, I have lots and lots and lots of pictures. I won't overwhelm you with all of the photos at once. So, if you haven't heard, we went to Upstate New York to visit friends and family. We packed a lot into the week. The following photos are all from our visit with Janna and Gretchen and their families. For any of you who don't know, Janna and Gretchen have been my bestest friends since we were in the third grade.

Let's start with a picture of kittens, shall we? I mean, Atlee and kittens. What's the cute factor on that? Gret's neighbor had kittens. While Atlee enjoyed playing with them, we managed to escape the visit without taking home a kitten. That's willpower.


Here's Gretchen. And me.

Here's Janna. And me.
Did I mention they're identical twins? Beautiful, blond identical twins. A little tough on the self-esteem in the teenage years. Funny thing about those teen years, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I bet if I asked them, they'd say it was tough to have a gorgeous brunette Amazon as a friend. Right? Gret- Janna- right? Oh, never mind...

Greeley had fun, too.

There's been some concern expressed over Shea. He's still part of our family... it's just that he's frequently in front of a screen. Not so exciting for pictures. See? He and Gret's son, Gabe, immediately bonded over the computer.


Did I mention the kittens? Atlee said it was her absolutely favorite part of the whole week. I had to frisk her as we got into the van to leave. I was pretty sure she'd try to smuggle one home.

More vacation pictures to come... I know, I know... it's kind of like looking at your cousin's slide show. Too bad. I have lots more vacation pictures to share.

Pssst...Guess What I Got?....

Hello. How ya doing? You know what happened to me? My brother-in-law (also known as the bestest brother-in-law in the whole world... Which was a tough competition- I mean John bought me a bathroom at the Mountain house...but, Michael?) , Michael, bought me a Canon PowerShot A560.

The best part? Clearly that it takes the picture when you push the button. Not seven seconds later. Seven seconds later, with kids? Forever.


I get lots of pictures of Greeley- 'cuz. um, she's usually attached to me and all.


The other night? I took all my free raspberries from the mountain house and made daiquiries. See the glass with the bunny straw on the railing? Yum... Raspberry Daiquiries, thanks Cooking Light. Thanks Mom, for the Cooking Light subscription.

Greeley was oh so cranky with our friend, Christy. Totally not her fault. Not Chrisy's fault that is.
Look! It's Deanna from New York. Yeah- it's a smackdown. All you Adirondack folk who said, "(squeal!!!!!!) I love Gettysburg... of course we'll visit!!!!!! (squeal!!!!!!)" Deanna and her husband, Steve, came to visit. So, um, what's your excuse? Yes, you, you know you'd said you'd visit...

We had fun.

Well, Rich, the kids and I had fun.

We hope Deanna and Steve had fun. Although, she did mention that she knew she'd end up on the blog.

Ooooooh. Yeah. I said blog. Mom blog. Yeah- I participate in a Mom Blog. Look! It's Rich and Greeley.

So- the new camera. It came with the card that holds 16 pictures or so....

A lot of the 16 was Greeley. Again, she's attached to me and all...

See?! Those are Rich's boxers I'm wearing...

The new camera captures Greeley climbing (again!!!!) over the couch to the desk to the printer....

Oh! How she climbs.....

***This post and all future photography funded by the "Uncle Michael Wants to See More Pictures of the Kids" fund.... thanks, Uncle Michael.....***

Clive Cussler

Rich, Greeley and I were settling into bed the other night and discussing what we were currently reading. I told him it was a Clive Cussler book. He looked at me and said, "Let me guess. He's the best at what he does. He works for the best government agency. He has a lot of money and is the best at whatever he collects. He saves everyone, using the best equipment out there. The girl and his friends are all also the best at what they do." "Ummm, yeah."

***I promise we're still here. But, it's raspberry season. Raspberry season, people. Picking and eating. And picking and eating. Yummmmmmm.***

Wait! The Drums Have Stopped...

I think all moms have had that moment. It's the one where you realize it's quiet, too quiet. And hey- just what are those kids up to? I had one of those moments again yesterday morning. You'd think I'd be quicker on the uptake with the third, right? Um, no. This was what I found....

That's a baby on the dining room table surrounded by the contents of a family size box of Cheerios. It could have been worse, of course. The gold standard for me is my sister-in-law Bev's story. Her sister got in the shower quickly. When she emerged the toddler had coated the cat in Vaseline. I can't even begin to imagine how you clean that mess up. So, tell me- what have your kids been up to in their too quiet moments? (Non-kid folks can certainly substitute pets. My mom's dog has caused more destruction than all three of my kids combined...)

Atlee, Optimist

The night before we left for Maine, Atlee was out catching fireflies. Rich found a big mason jar for her to use. She was very excited to go to sleep watching them light up. The next morning, I had a host of things to do before we left and honestly, forgot all about the fireflies. I forgot all about them until we got home and Atlee went running inside, "I'm going to check on my friends, the fireflies!!" "Ummm, Atlee, I don't think they're still going to be alive." She went running to her room to look and came back to report, "Mommy, you were wrong! They're fine... they're just sleeping- on their backs."

Works for Me Wednesday...

Hello there Wednesday folks! I'm sure you're finding lots of great tips at Shannon's Rocks in My Dryer. We recently went on vacation to the family camp in Maine. I didn't have enough room in the van to bring baby's stroller or backpack. I realized how unfortunate this was when the family took a walk around the lake. Sure, I call her a baby- but she's over twenty pounds these days. Even though she was propped on my hip in that age-old mommy carrying position, my arms still went numb with the weight of her. So, I started thinking about women around the world and how they carry their babies. I started thinking about slings. I realized generations of women were not able to buy slings on Etsy. So, I got creative. I used a flat double size cotton sheet. (It was probably a 400 thread count or so, I'm not sure.) Anywho, I folded it in half length-wise. Sitting on the couch for a little support, I propped baby on my hip and tucked the middle of the sheet under her fanny- spreading it out enough to support her in a little pocket. I then wrapped the two ends across my body, one across the chest and one across the back. A double knot on the opposite shoulder secured it. I still kept one hand around her while we walked, since I wasn't 100% sure of my new innovation, but it was unnecessary. It worked well. We were able to stroll along the lake in happy comfort. Perhaps not as good as a legitimate sling, but worked for me in a pinch. Have a great week!

Gettysburg Family Goes to Camp

First, let me address the needs of those Google folks here looking for camping possibilities in the Gettysburg area- Campgrounds in Gettysburg, PA.

Now then, friends and family, we went to the camp in Maine. If you're operating on dial-up, I'm sorry. There are a lot of pictures. Shall we start with the view?


The camp in Maine is a leisurely pace sort of place. Relaxing in many, many ways. Games.

And puzzles. (And if you're Shea, lots and lots and lots of Cartoon Network on that sweet, sweet cable TV.)

And eating. Oh the eating. Atlee had strawberries with whipped cream for breakfast every morning I think. Well, Atlee had whipped cream. Cady the dog had the strawberries.


And there's lots of time to just sit on the porch.


Greeley and Cady the dog got along really well. Greeley is finally overcoming her fear of dogs. She also discovered that if you feed a dog whatever food is on your plate, that dog will be your friend. They bonded over hot dogs.

And of course, there was the lake.
I'm missing the lake today.

It's supposed to be ninety degrees, AGAIN.

Nope. No lake here. No paddle boats. Or row boats.

When I was a little girl, I thought everyone grew up on a lake. Or had a camp on a lake.

Stinkin' realty.

Back to the camp. There was work done too. Greeley helped by getting out all of the tools from the tool drawer. Very helpful.

Grandpa and Rich pulled a great big rock out of the ground to make room for the new laundry room expansion. Washer and dryer coming soon.

Enough work. Back to relaxing. Rich enjoyed sleeping out on the screened porch.

We'll finish up with a picture of the loons on the lake. Oh- you can't see them? They didn't like the paparazzi shots. And you might have heard my camera isn't so good. (Nikon? Hello? Do you get the hint? Please ship free camera WITH AWESOME TELEPHOTO LENS to me. I will give you credit on each and every photo I post. That's a chance to persuade up to fifteen readers a day. That's power.)

Atlee isn't the only one who wants to go back this time.

Be Careful What You Ask...

Rich and Atlee were recently having a discussion about mistakes, and how we all make them. Rich said, "Sometimes Daddy makes mistakes too. What does Daddy say when he makes a mistake?" Atlee promptly responded, "Shit."

Gettysburg Family on Vacation...

I should not be sitting here writing this post. I clearly have 6,000 things to do before we leave on vacation. I'm very good at procrastinating, though. We're off to the camp in Maine with my parents. I probably won't be able to share photos until we return. Dial-up, you know. But, I don't want you to forget us. (All four of you....) So, here's my thought: Come up with a question for the Gettysburg Family. No, no, no- not what do you actually do all day Gettysburg Mom. My husband asks that one often enough. So, let the questions roll. Please?