Fall Break at the Poconos - Bushkill Falls

From October 16-20, we used Bruce's fall break to take an extended weekend up to the Pocono mountains.  We booked a resort - "The Villas at Tree Tops."  The first two days we had mild weather.  We wore jackets and enjoyed the sunshine.  This was followed by a bitter cold snap.  It's a good thing they had plenty of things going on at activity central to keep us busy during the cold. 

We started our fall break by hiking around Bushkill Falls.  Yes, the waterfall was beautiful.  It is known as Pennsylvania's Niagara.  Yes, the hike was wonderful.  I was proud of my children for their excitement and endurance. Yes, we had a great time, a wonderful time, a fantastic time.  No, I don't agree with the $46.00 admission fee we paid to get in the park.  We've been on many wonderful, beautiful hikes with waterfalls that do not charge 15.00/adult and 8.00/child to hike the park.  Seriously, sometimes Pennsylvania bothers me in the ridiculous amounts they charge for things.  Despite that downside, Zabien, Eliza, and Hazel really were the best 4, 2, and 6 month old hikers out there. 

There were 4 different trails leading to and around the Falls.  The trails were marked by color; green and yellow being the easiest, blue moderate, and red difficult.  Most of the trail was a series of man made steps.  Some were steep and some broken.  Other parts of the trail were rocky and full of tree stumps.  The amount of stairs didn't deter the children.  They rushed forward as quickly as possible.  We had to keep telling them to slow down or stop and wait for us.  It's much easier for a small child to plow through crowds of people on stairs than it is for an adult, especially one that is carrying a baby in a front carrier. 

I can't tell you how many people stopped to both admire and compliment our three kids.  There were throngs of people hiking, but most of them were retired couples, families with teenagers, or young adults.  Very few children were hiking, and the few that were, were closer to 10 than 5.  Hazel particularly enjoyed hiking.  She didn't stop smiling, squealing with delight, or kicking up a storm as if she were trying to hike herself. 

The waterfall really was pretty amazing.  I loved how many different places there were to view the falls.  We stopped several places to snap some pictures with the beauty of the hike behind us. 

We stopped to take a rest and the bottom of this huge rock.  The kids were so excited to see what was up there, that without hesitation, they began climbing the side of the rock.  I really was surprised by their bravery.  They are generally more reserved when in a new place.  We got to the end of the longer easy trail and the parents thought we should turn around and head back.  The kids really  wanted to keep going.  Based on the immediate difficulty of the red trail and the fact that it was about 5 miles long, we really didn't think the kids had that much energy left in them.  We made the right decision in turning around because the last tenth of a mile on the way out of the park took a lot more time and a lot more coaxing than needed.  They were indeed tired of walking.

They may have been tired of walking, but they certainly weren't too tired to pose with his bear statue or eat a picnic lunch.  The picnic lunch was all the rejuvenation they needed.  Immediately after lunch, they spent the next hour running around on the playground.  They played all their favorite games at the park: 3 Little Pigs, Rapunzel, and Little Mermaid. 

By the time we got back to our resort, everyone was pretty worn out.  Hazel went to bed pretty quickly.  The others enjoyed a hot soak in the giant tub, complete with jets.  The kids really thought this big tub was pretty awesome. 

We managed to get 4 free passes to various amenities at the resort.  We weren't that interested in paintball with 3 small children.  The kids were too little and too young to participate in either zip-lining through the mountainous trees or the tree tops ropes course (which would have been awesome to do.)  We settled on "Blue Lightning." 

We rode a slippery inner tube down a giant blue slide.  The picture is deceiving - we went super fast. 

Our original plan was to take turns holding Hazel while one adult went up with the other two children.  It was a sad time when we were told at check in that children had to be BOTH 42 inches tall AND 4 years old.  Poor Zabien, my not quite 3 y ear old, - he was tall enough, but he wasn't old enough to ride.  As you can imagine, we were met with some rather inconsolable tears when Zaby found out that he couldn't participate in the giant slide.  We tried allowing him to sit in the tube with Hazel for a few minutes, but the tube didn't satisfy the desire. 

Bruce took Zabien and Hazel back to the van while Eliza and I enjoyed ourselves on the slides.  We had the place to ourselves

We used the double tube - Eliza squealed/giggled the entire way down every time we went.  Bruce told me he could hear her from inside the van.  With her reaction, I knew she was having the time of her life.

In an effort to console the unfortunate boy, Bruce raided my purse to find some coins to buy him some ice cream from the vending machine.  It was chilly outside, but Zabien didn't seem to mind. 

Our resort room came complete with a mini-kitchen, meaning we had a small fridge, a 2 burner stove and a few pots and pans.  I'm only mentioning this story because of the pure irony of it all.  Bruce decided to make some scrambled eggs one morning for breakfast.  Our stove was a bit fickle in that it was difficult to tell how high the burner was turned up.  Needless to say, when he put some oil in the pan to keep the eggs from sticking, he managed to start the pan on fire.  Yes, there were flames, but very little smoke.  I used baking soda to put out the fire, and we had cereal for breakfast instead.  Even with flames, the fire alarm did not go off.  Later that afternoon, another unit in our building set off the fire alarm, and we had to evacuate the building.  Everything was fine in that there was no fire, but we wondered what they did to actually set the alarm off.  When Eliza talked about this event later, she was sure to mention that daddy "fired" the eggs.  She also told Bruce that he should let mommy cook from now on.  I don't necessarily agree with her on that one, but it was a memorable story. 

The weather did turn a bit cold on us, so we spent one morning enjoying the planned activities at "Activity Central." 

Bowling

Bingo 

Eliza was able to manage 3 boards (with a little help from me). Out of the 5 games we played, she didn't win, but the caller thought she was a good sport for trying that she got a prize anyway. 

And because big sister got a prize, so did Zabien

We also painted masks and pumpkins

Eliza's was quite colorful. 

On our last day, we spent the morning exploring the local Christmas factory.  The kids really enjoyed this coin operated piano.

Later that afternoon we attempted 18 rounds of mini golf.  I say attempted because the kids only last through about 6 holes before they gave up to go and play on the nearby playground.  Bruce and I managed to finish the round.  Even cute little Hazel took a turn with the club. 

I love Zabien's excitement about everything.  Even though he tried to swing his golf club more like a baseball bat, that didn't stop him from picking up his golf ball and dropping it right in the hole, then cheering like he won the lottery.  He is so cute!  Eliza was very careful to line her ball up just right.  She used the one hand approach to pushing the ball directly into the hole.  Their methods worked out well for them.  They almost always managed to complete the hole in matter of 1 or 2 "turns." 

Overall, we had a great time at Bushkill Falls in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania.  I'm glad we decided to take this fall break. 

Vacation out West - Part IV Hazel's blessing

On July 12, we had the opportunity to give Hazel a name and a blessing in the Erda, Utah ward - the ward grandma and grandpa Richards are a part of. 

It ended up being a doubly blissful day as Uncle Luke gave his missionary homecoming address the same day.  Needless to say, Hazel (and Luke) were surrounded by family and friends.  It was really neat to share this special day with everyone – living in Pennsylvania we don’t get the privilege of sharing very many special days with everyone.  A big shout out to grandma Smith who supplied Hazel with her special dress. 

Hazel with Uncle Luke

Grandma Smith, Hazel, Eliza

Bruce was able to give Hazel her blessing with the following individuals standing in the circle:  great grandpa Smith, grandpa Richards, Uncles Travis, Blake, Dan, Clay, Michael, Luke, and 3 members of the Bishopric. 

 

 

 The blessing is as follows:  By the power of the Holy Melchezedek priesthood which we hold, we take this infant in our arms and give her a name and a blessing.  The name which we have chosen is Hazel Mae Richards.  Hazel at this time we give you a priesthood blessing.  We bless you that you will continue to be healthy and strong and to grow up in the gospel.  We bless you that you will be able to learn the beautiful truths of the gospel that you will gain a testimony of your Savior, Jesus Christ, and that you will know that He lives and the He loves you.  We bless you that you will also feel the love of your family, of your parents and your grandparents and of your ancestors who have gone before – your great grandparents.  We also bless you that you will be able to feel the love of your brother and sister, your cousins and aunt and uncles.  We bless you that you will have the desire to marry in the temple, that you will prepare for this great blessing to come into your life.  We bless you that you will have the opportunity to share your testimony with others and be able to share the gospel and teach others about your Savior, Jesus Christ.  We bless your that you will prepare to be a young woman, to become a mother, and a wife.  We bless you with joy.  We bless you with these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Aunt Katie and Hazel

 

The blessing was followed by a luncheon at the Richards house.  Although it was difficult to move around, it was fun to chat with friends (like Roni), and see members of my family I don’t get to very often.  Hazel was completely angelic like always – she smiled through the blessing, and was very cooperative through the millions of pictures we took of her. 

Great grandma Erickson, mom, Hazel, grandma Porter

 

Dad, grandma and grandpa Richards, Hazel

 

When I went to get the dress with the money grandma Smith gave me, I bought size 6-12 months.  The cashier wanted to make sure that I bought the right size.  My baby girl was 15.2 pounds at 2 months old – yes, I needed the bigger sized dress.  Hazel was nearly 3 months old before we had her blessed



 

I love her little feet

 

Hazel with great grandma and grandpa Smith

 

Hazel with grandma and grandpa Richards

 

 

Thank you for joining our family Hazel Mazel, you are a blessing to our family.

Vacation Out West: Part III Farmington Days Parade

After Zabien and Eliza attended their first parade on the 4th of July, they told my mom they would only give her a kiss if she took them to another parade.   Fortunately, their wish came true a week later when we took them to the Farmington Day Parade to see Grandpa Smith on a float for the veterans.  In their minds, this one was better than the first.   Not only were they experienced at picking up parade candy, but they got to do it with their cousins Ezra and Samuel.  They were all really cute sitting together waiting for the parade to start.  I grabbed small Ziploc bags from grandma Richards' house before we left, but they both decided that the big bags grandma Smith brought were even better.

 

Zabien wouldn't let go of his goodie bag for anything, and was pretty determined to fill it up before the afternoon was over. 

 

(In the bottom left corner, you can see Ezra and Eliza enjoying their Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches. Eliza was pretty sad when she didn't get one.  Grandma Smith loves that girl enough that she was willing to get any extra's from the people sitting down the road from us. She knew them so it all worked out, and the tears quickly turned to smiles.)

 Hazel got the best parade seat of all - Uncle Paul's lap.  She was pretty content for a while sitting there. 

Zabien's favorite part happened right at the beginning - the fire trucks. 

 

This is the best picture I got of grandpa on the float - he is the one in the blue shirt on the front row.  It was fun to see him waving to everyone from the float. 

 

Only in Utah would you see LDS missionaries riding a bicycle built for two in a parade.  It was quite fun to see, but I had to chuckle.  We would never see anything like this out in Pennsylvania. 

 

I appreciated this float dedicated to family.  The family really is the basic unit of society and what will forge us through trying times.

Pictured below is some of the Richards crew.  It was such a beautiful day, and thanks to Aunt Annette and Uncle Randy, we not only had saved front row seats, but we also had water and treats to munch on throughout the ordeal.  I must say, this parade was much longer than the first one the kids attended. 

 

 

Eliza managed to catch a T-shirt from a local dance studio.  It has now been dubbed her favorite nightgown, and she wears it frequently to bed. 

 

Luke and Samuel chilling on the side.  Samuel was too afraid to walk into the road for candy.  He had Eliza, Zabien, and Ezra pick it up for him and hand deliver it.  That's the way to do it my friend.  Hazel continued to look adorable - her best talent. 

 

 

 I liked this giant tooth float that went by.  We were not fortunate enough to snag free toothbrushes, but I thought it was brilliant to throw toothbrushes to the kids who were already picking up way more candy than they should be allowed to eat. 

At the end of the long parade, we headed back to grandma and grandpa Smith's house for some yummy lunch and good company.  Hazel enjoyed the swing with Aunt Laurie. 

This airplane teeter totter was a big hit with Zabien and Eliza.  If ever I couldn't find where they went, they were either riding the airplane, picking raspberries, watching the sheep, or feeding the chickens.  Eliza still talks about those yummy raspberries, and Zabien asks daily if he can go and feed grandpa's chickens again. 

 

 

It was a busy day in Farmington, but not our last fun day.  We had many more fun get togethers at grandma Smith's house.