Our "Staycation"

I hate hype words like that. Although we had a vacation at home. Both Bobby and I (and the rest of Gebhardts) had a week off. Bobby actually had about 11 days off, but unfortunately he spent the first three days sick and in bed. I have to say, it will go down as one of my best weeks off. We kicked it all off with the Fourth of July. We went to Bobby's Aunt Val's house in Lenhartsville. Her and her husband have an absolutely gorgeous property. A creek runs behind her cottage, her garden is lush, and there are some very friendly cows nearby. They were having a clambake, so we drove down with Sue, Bob, Betsy, and Brynn complete with some blankets to lounge in the grass with. We spent the day enjoying the sun, the shade and the grass. We returned home to find a good spot to watch the fireworks. We decided on watching the Allentown fireworks and picked a nearby spot by a school. Bobby and I opened up the back of our van and sat there (yet another useful quality of our minivan) while the boys slept in their carseats. Believe it or not, they slept through each and every loud boom and explosion. They completely missed their first Fourth of July fireworks. 

The next day we went up to my Dad's for a Sunday meal. The weather was wonderful yet again and we enjoyed lunch with him, Claire, Sarah and Justin. Ben and Kyle enjoyed find the big fish in his pond and insisted that their sweet potatoes were the best food offerings. We decided on Monday to take a hike up at Columcille. I always find it so peaceful there. Bobby and I drove, missed the turn onto the correct route and took a slight detour through the Delaware Water Gap. Everything looked beautiful through there and I was envious watching the folks with their kayaks going down the river. We eventually got back to where we were supposed to be and took our walk through the woods at Columcille. The boys seemed to enjoy it and Emma really enjoyed it. We decided to take her since she was looking pretty depressed lately. 

My Grammy was up for the week from Hilton Head, so we went over to my Aunt Beth's on Tuesday to visit with her. It was her first time seeing Ben and Kyle. She looked great and it was so great to see her since she wasn't up for the holidays this past year. 

We were really looking forward to Wednesday since we were going to take our first trip to Knoebels for the season. Grammy Sue came along and it just proved to be such a great day! The weather couldn't have been better; it was cool and sunny. Ben and Kyle went on the train for the first time and loved the wind in their hair. They seemed a bit nervous when we passed through the tunnel, but other than that they were happy. We ate lots of food that was bad for us and did it happily. Bobby and I were able to ride the roller coasters while Grammy Sue sat with the boys. It was just such a great day. We also love driving up there and looking at all of the dilapidated coal towns. 

Thursday we went to go see my Grammy again after we ran some errands. Afterwards, we had a great dinner, thanks to Bobby. After the boys were in bed, Bobby and I just had such a nice time sitting at the kitchen table, finishing our wine, and talking. It was just so relaxing. 

We had our plans to go to NYC on Friday through Saturday, so Friday morning was a bustle. I had to finish up some things for work, so after we fed the boys in the morning, I went to work and hurried back home to start packing. Long gone are the days of heading to see some friends for the weekend and brining just a backpack full of clothes. I had to make quite the impressive list: both playpens, bumbos, clothes, bottles, food, spoons, blankets, diapers, wipes, etc. We were going to see our friends Dan and Lauren in Brooklyn. Of course, once I got there I realized I forgot the most important thing: formula. We had a nice dinner in their backyard and the boys slept through the night while on the road. The next day we took a walk down to Prospect Park and laid under the big trees. 

After returning home, it dawned on us that our week was nearly over. Sunday called for a swim. We walked down to the Fountain Hill pool and had our first swim. We bought Ben and Kyle floaties that they could sit in while we dragged them around the pool. Their initial shock at the coldness of the water produced a few cries, but once they got used to the water, they just lounged. They then took a good nap once out of the water. Bobby left to go get dinner, while Grammy Sue and I took the boys into the water one more time. Once we got home, we sat out on the deck, enjoyed the wonderful air, and ate the great dinner Bobby prepared for us. 

It was a good vacation indeed.