wedding recap quickie

so i need to post something, and i want to be able to post about all sorts of details about the wedding in detail (because i was all about details), but i wanted to  give you a little taste of how the day went.

well, first off, remember when i wrote about how worried i was about the weather? the weather on my wedding day ended out being (in the words of our photographer) "the most perfect weather day of this years wedding season." it was 75 and sunny with little to no humidity. we had white puffy clouds during our photos, clear blue skies during our ceremony. the temperature was PERFECT. i was hesitant about an august wedding and that it would be too hot. but it was perfect.

so here are some pictures other people have posted--just want to give you the idea, and we'll get into the good stuff soon. 

we got in last night at midnight from our honeymoon, have a lot to do, andy's got a cold, and our landlord re-did our bathroom while we were gone, which is great, but there is dust EVERYWHERE. so i need to clean the toaster before i can make breakfast.

anyway, here's some photos:

bouquets

bridesmaids: twin, sister, and sister-in-law

the guys (including dads)

ceremony

and for full effect

oh yeah, the kiss.

we did it!

place cards

first dance: I'll Always Be Right There by Bryan Adams

dance with dad: Then They Do by Trace Adkins

fingerprint tree guestbook

sweetheart table

my sister and i and our husbands :)

yes, that's the one i just married. and yes, he's on the floor.

party time! (and this photo features my boston friends)

hope you enjoyed them! it was a GREAT day. the PERFECT day.

warning: not a happy topic, but keep reading.

A friend had posted a link on facebook to a blog post about "What you can do to help a grieving family." The blogger, a mother who lost her son in a tragic accident this past September, posted this wonderful list of things to do or say. Most of us are paralyzed in these interactions, not wanting to upset someone who is grieving.

On Christmas Eve 2011, I woke up and found myself going through old emails--the ones that I had from when Meghan, my classmate and friend from my study abroad program, was killed in a bus accident in Peru. I had written about her, on the fourth anniversary of her death, in my old blog. The group of us had put together a memory book that summer (and through the fall and winter), which traveled around the world, collecting stories and photographs from the 14 of us, which was hand-delivered by one of our group to Meghan's parents in March of the following year. Meghan's parents had asked us to write, and I never felt I was close enough to her, or I didn't want to upset them. 

But for some reason, I felt compelled to write to them on Christmas Eve. I wanted to tell them about all of the times that I've thought about Meghan over the past 5 1/2 years. She loved monkeys, so when I went to Africa, I naturally thought about her. She was one of the reasons I wanted to get a DSLR to take photos (which is now one of my favorite things to do). I shared with them the things I have wanted to share with Meghan. I shared with them what her death has meant to me. I offered to send them an email she had sent to us just hours before she was gone.

I have not heard back from them, and for a time I've regretted it. Until I read this post from Anna at An Inch of Gray. The only regret I have is not sending the email sooner.

I feel I've been surrounded by so much loss in my short life that I need to be better prepared for dealing with this. I hate being at funeral homes, and I've been spending a lot of time there recently, after losing Uncle Ken and Poppa in the past few months. And we're just a few weeks away from 10 years without Uncle Parkie. (I was not able to write that without getting a huge pit in my throat and starting to cry).

With my upcoming wedding, I've been thinking about ways to honor family members mentioned, especially because their absence will be very noticeable because of how fresh some of this is. I have seen calla lilies on the alter during the ceremony for those no longer with us. And Pinterest gave me this idea:

source

but the number of pictures I would have to have, just for my family would take over my bouquet (I'm at 8, just out of grandparents, and aunts/uncles). So I'm working on something else. I'm hoping with my renewed sense of how to help those grieving (myself included), that a remembrance gesture like this would be well-received.

Thanks for reading and putting up with this. I feel that the tips on what to do and say are helpful for all, so I just needed to share (and then my heart takes over and the above mess is what results).

Have you seen other ways to remember loved ones at a wedding?

random tuesday thoughts: helicopter parents

i was reading an article entitled "3 things you should never do for your child." now, i don't have any children, so this may seem odd for me to read. but i like to be prepared about these things.

but as i started reading the origination of "helicopter parent," i realize that by their definition, my parents were helicopter parents. i never felt this was the case, as i think my parents did a good job of supporting me, but keeping a respectful distance. they came to my tennis matches, softball games, and orchestra concerts, but they didn't insist that i play in every game (ever), and they didn't sit outside the door for every rehearsal. actually, given the choice, my mom would have waited in the car during all of my viola lessons, and never pressed me to give all the details afterwards. they wanted to be involved, but they wanted to give me a chance to grow up. 

but apparently the term "helicopter parent" came from parents who 'sweep in to rescue their children from the perils of higher education.' there are two such instances where this was the case for me.

credit

case #1. april, my freshman year. my parents and my aunt were coming up to visit for easter, and at 5am, i woke up to my roommate having vomited all over the floor, herself, books, etc. and she was naked in our room [she often was drunk, and was quite a disturbance for my academic pursuits, stole things from me, etc.]. i had a midterm exam that morning at 9am, and another class at 11am. my parents were to arrive around noon. and now my room was overwhelmed with the smell of vomit. 

i begged my roommate to help me clean it up (she didn't), but another girl on the hall did help. the room still reeked, as many of her belongings still had vomit on them. i got back from my first class, asked her if she would please clean the room up as my parents were going to be there in less than 2 hours. she cursed at me and rolled over in her bed. i was furious. 

i told my parents what was going on, and we went up to my room when the arrived. i had no idea what condition it would be in, but surprisingly it was as cleaned up as it could be and my roommate was MIA. the room still smelled gross. my parents pushed me to talk to the Residence Life staff (my RA was constantly MIA, so she was no help). usually if one roommate has an issue with the other, the plaintiff is the one to move rooms. It was April. I didn't want to get a new roommate somewhere else on campus for the last month of the semester. With my parents there to push, and my roommate's previous alcohol infractions in the dorm, she was required to move out that night. [i was an RA for two years in the same building, and i have never heard of another situation like this or even close to it, and most of the upper level ResLife staff hadn't either.]




case #2. november, my junior year. when i declared my major during my 1st semester of my freshman year, i was informed of what classes i had to take, among them were two math classes: Calc 1 and Calc 2. In the midst of me taking (and doing very poorly in) Calc 2, I was informed that that curriculum hadn't been approved yet, and since I declared before the approval, I needed to take Calc 1, and Stats/Probability. No Calc 2--good thing, because I got a C- in Calc 2, which means I would have had to take it over again. So I took Stats/Prob and got an A during the spring of my sophomore year. So we were good to go.


Then I was going to apply to the combined BA/MA program during my junior year. The new curriculum had been approved at this point, and anybody entering the BA/MA program would be on the new program (aka the Calc 2 route). I balked at this, and got everything approved by my department heads to be able to substitute Stats/Prob for Calc 2, so that I could just be on the new program to move forward with the Masters. I did everything I needed to so that there would be no problems when I went to the dean's office to change the curriculum. all on my own.


They had instituted this new online curriculum check-off system that put the required classes in, and they were checked off when you completed the class with a sufficient grade (C or above). They would use this to determine if you were eligible for graduation when the time came. I went to the dean's office, explained my case, provided all the appropriate documentation, and they said no problem. When the online system was updated, it didn't reflect that substitution. I went back to the dean's office, and they told me that I couldn't substitute a class (Stats/Prob) for a required class that I had gotten an insufficient grade in (Calc 2). I continued to explain that the head of the department/director of undergraduate studies in the department (aka the one who signs off on the curriculum and my graduation paperwork) had signed off on it, fully knowing that I had been jerked around curriculum-wise. They said there was nothing they could do, the system cannot be overridden in that case, and I would have to take Calc 2 over again.

No way. By this time, I was home for the weekend. I had to have knee surgery. I told my parents what was going on. I didn't want my parents to get involved, but I didn't want to take Calc 2 AGAIN even more. So, my dad sent an email to the same person I had been working with. I read it, it said nothing different than what I had already explained. By the following afternoon (when I got home from the hospital), they had suddenly found a way to override the system. I didn't have to take Calc 2 again. 


I spent weeks putting together my information, getting my ducks lined up, appropriate signatures, pleading my case. for nothing. My dad sent one email and it was fixed immediately. I mean, miraculously. 


---------
Both of these situations illustrate that having the one who pays the very expensive bill deal with a situation is necessary in some cases. These are the perils of higher education, not a mom advocating to a professor about why a college student should be allowed to re-take a test if he/she is sick (because that is wrong). If my parents hadn't stepped in, I would have had to move out because my roommate screwed me over. I would have had to take an extra class (over again, for no additional credit) that my department said i wouldn't have to (and he had SIGNED off on!). That could have hurt my ability to complete the BA/MA program on time, or it could have prevented me from an important summer internship to take it as a summer class. If that was the case, I probably would have taken the class in Summer 2006. And i would have missed out on the opportunity to meet the guy I'm going to marry this summer.


So if that means that my parents are 'helicopter parents,' i'm really happy about it. I don't think they fit in AT ALL with the current meaning of the phrase. because i do agree with the rest of that article-- you should not do your child's homework, you should not talk for them unless it's necessary, etc. 


what are your thoughts on helicopter parenting?

so long 2011, hello 2012!

2011 was by far dominated by ups and downs. i started off the new years with andy's family out in northwestern PA, while my parents packed up the home they had lived in for my whole life and moved to texas. andy and i had started looking at houses in late 2010, and we spent all of 2011 continuing to live in our rented 1890s farmhouse. 

we had some adventures:

Texas (San Antonio & Houston)

Promised Land State Park (PA)

lots of kayaking

river safety patrol

Madison, Wisconsin

Siesta Key, Florida

 We reached some milestones:

100,000 miles on the Echo.

and a car with 7 miles on it.

 We had some setbacks:

my poor echo

a basement full of water

We spent some time with family and lost some family.

I took up a new form of exercise (hot yoga!!).


I had some major work projects come together, ones that i put together all on my own and saw them through to completion. [hey, maybe a promotion in 2012?]


and of course, the most exciting news of all- we got engaged!

maybe you can't tell it from my face, but at this point, i'm still in disbelief.

the last two months of 2011 flew past as we set a wedding date, picked a place for the ceremony/reception, booked a band, ceremony musicians, a photographer, and i bought the dress! 


we spent thanksgiving with andy's family, and christmas with my family (almost all of them!)

just the grandkids (mom's side)

dad's side (minus 3)

earthquake, hurricanes, snowstorms in october... all in all, i'd have to say 2012 was good, even with the pretty rough patch in the middle there. hopefully 2012 will be good all around. i have a feeling that august 18, 2012 will be an especially good day! :)

happy new years!

quick holiday recap and rant

i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! i was able to spend time with andy and my family this year for christmas. we bounced around from place to place over three days, stayed at a hotel with my parents (even though this was just over an hour from where we live, but all the driving back and forth for 3 days would have been a little crazy and exhausting). it was good to be with family, but it was a sad christmas too. this was our first christmas without poppa, but they still wanted to have it at the house, and as somebody pointed out, that's the only place we've all known for christmas morning for our whole lives (aside from the one year we had it elsewhere when grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer). and this would be the last year we would have it there. so it was a bittersweet day. i do have to realize that i'm pretty lucky and that each christmas that i spend with my family, i do (usually) get to see every single one of my aunts and uncles and first cousins. not a lot of people can say that, so its nice that we can usually catch up at least once a year.

andy started with a cold on the eve of christmas eve. i managed to try to avoid him until he gave me an adorable card for christmas and i had to give him just one kiss on the lips. and then of course, the following evening, i started feeling sick. i can't blame it all on him, because my mom was sick too, and then my dad got it, so it was just a matter of time.

our last holiday event was monday, and then when we got home it was really starting to hit me. i woke up and felt awful on tuesday morning and called out of work. i had a meeting on wednesday that was related to probably the most important project of my career so far. i told my boss i would meet him for the meeting and that's probably all i would work on wednesday. i did make the meeting, even though i felt worse on wednesday than i did on tuesday. i've been going to bed at around 8:30pm every night i've been sick, and just spending all day in bed. aside from our appointment to look at two townhouses on tuesday and to take my mom to visit my dress today.

[here's the rant part] but i have to head in to work tomorrow because if i call out sick tomorrow (the last work day before a holiday), i won't get paid for the holiday on monday. regardless of the fact that i've been sick for three days, with an obviously contagious head cold. so, i'll drag my sorry, sneezy butt out of bed tomorrow morning, and potentially contaminate my officemates. sorry, co-workers, but i'm not going to not get paid. i at least only have to work 6 hours because i've pushed off my two hours left of vacation that i have to use this year until tomorrow (i was going to use it this week for some of the other errands, but now i've been sick). ugh, such a stupid rule. i totally understand that people will take advantage and try to extend their long weekend by being "sick" but obviously that's not the case here. so just sucks for me.

anyway, hope you all have a wonderful new year's celebration--i have a feeling that it will be pretty low-key for us sickly folk. hope you all have a wonderful 2012!

life update--including that i found THE DRESS!

so, i know. i haven't been writing very often. and that's because things have been crazy. between vacation and holidays and wedding planning and that other thing--oh yeah, work, i just haven't gotten around to it. or cleaning my house (which is a whole other story).

after we got back from florida, we went back to work for a couple of days, and then we headed off to visit andy's family for the thanksgiving holiday. we went out for a whole week, because andy really misses hunting. well, and he sure got to go hunting a lot. he shot a turkey on thanksgiving morning, and he got an 8-point buck. he got to spend a lot of time with his dad, which made him really happy. i spent my time doing wedding planning online, spending a lot of time on pinterest, and even getting some time in at the local Y out there (yay for the Y AWAY program!)

when we got back, we decorated the house, and then a few days later, my mom, my sister and i met up with some old family friends and resurrected our formerly annual holiday cookie baking extravaganza. we used to eat raw cookie dough bake cookies from noon until 9pm. and i mean sugar, spritzer, choc chip, gingerbread, snickerdoodles, fudge, and everything. dozens of dozens of cookies. we didn't make nearly that many this year, now that we're older (i think the last time we did this was maybe 10 years ago?). but it was fun.

in wedding news, i have done a lot of dress shopping (which resulted in a lot of crying--mostly from stressing out), but i'm so glad that on the first day i was able to go with my mom (who lives in TX), my sister (who lives in PA), and my best friend/twin (who lives in SC).  mostly the morning after i thought i liked a dress, i woke up at 3am, panicked because i found a bazillion things wrong with the dress. i did find the right color/fabric dresses for my bmaids on the first day, although i didn't find my dress. on the same day of my first dress shopping adventure, we met with an invitations person, and got to check out another band. it was a good day, so i'm glad i've been able to get a lot done. and we LOVED the band! (we being: andy and i, my sister and her hubby, my mom, and twin--so happy i could have almost everybody there, just missing my dad). I'm so glad we were able to get that figured out and we're all set with the band. And the invitations I think will come along nicely!

after my first dress attempt, i had to head out to more stores. i made three appointments the next weekend, and twin was able to come with me and spend the night. i really liked this organza with fern design dress at david's bridal and i thought it fit my personality perfectly, it was just a little too much dress and train than i was looking for. although i didn't get a dress, i'm so happy twin was able to spend the night, and spend time with andy and i. andy even made waffles and mini omelets the next morning!

organza and fern dress by vera wang
this was not the dress i chose,
but still beautiful!

on sunday i had two more appointments scheduled with my sister. i liked the first place (some things were a bit too expensive), but i found a dress that made me look AMAZING. i liked some details of another dress, and they said since each dress is made to order, they can make it how i want it to be. i didn't want to commit to anything since i was thinking about the fern dress, and i knew we had another appointment. we went to lunch first, and i realized that the fern dress was really not what i wanted and that the amazing dress was what i had been looking for all along. the 2nd store was a DISASTER. both places said "bridal couture"--which i scoffed at, and my sister told me it didn't mean couture like i thought it did. but for this place, it did. nothing looked good, most dresses actually made me look like a house.

i had been so overwhelmed with how awesome i looked in the dress at the first place, that i forgot to picture myself walking down the aisle. we called them and asked if we could come back before they closed. i knew when i put it on that it felt so right. i was hesitant because i hadn't slept on it and it was more than i anticipated spending on a dress. but i was going to be so comfortable in it, and i wouldn't have been in any other dress. and it was going to be made custom for me. so we placed the order! and the more i sleep on it and think about it, i'm so glad that's the dress i chose.

so, we got our save the date proof--it looks ADORABLE. i still have a little shopping to do, although most of my shopping was done and wrapped before thanksgiving. which is a good thing since i really haven't had any weekends free since then. this weekend won't help: we're going to a wedding! [since i'm surely not wedding-ed out] the bride, andy and i were 3 out of the 4 interns the first summer at PEEC. it is crazy where life takes us in just a few years.

hopefully i can blog a little more frequently than once a month! just in case, happy holidays and a happy 2012!

(i have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a wonderful year! i can't believe this time next year i will be MARRIED.)

a little of this, a little of that

in case you're wondering where i ran off to, it was here:

 my home away from home, my parent's other home, in florida. pretty much one of the most awesome places on earth. we had perfect weather (low 80s and plentiful/abundant/radiant/etc sunshine--according to weather reports, every day).

andy and i spent 8 days down there, my mom was there the whole time, my dad there for a couple of days. we got to see my great aunt & uncle who are snow birds down there, and some awesome family friends. i enjoyed some delicious margaritas at various places (airplane margaritas are NOT recommended), while seated outside enjoying the summery atmosphere, even in November.

we got to see some awesome sunsets, like this one:

we nearly missed this one, but it was awesome that we caught it! (the huts are the lifeguard houses at our beach, the most awesome beach in the world, well, at least the US. yes, it's ranked the #1 beach in the America this year.)

we visited the sarasota chalk festival (and got to see some 3D chalk drawings)

terracotta army in legos!

viewing the above drawing from the opposite corner.

that's us. in this sea turtle-VW beetle-barrel full of something.

spent some time by the pool, on the beach, at the aquarium, at the botanical gardens, on our friend's boat, watched andy go fishing (see below), ate a bazillion calories worth of food at Ruth's Chris to celebrate our engagement with my parents (which was all so worth it), you know. vacation.

and in the midst of all of that, we got some tough news on the wedding planning front: our band backed out. they were supposed to be sending us the contract the next day (as they had confirmed availability nearly 2 weeks beforehand), and whatever. just really tough, because now we're 9 months out, and the good bands are already booked because people have longer engagements now and have been planning their wedding for 6 months already.

anyway, sorry for my rant. but the good news is, is that i feel more in love with andy than ever. i just can't wait to be married to him. it's a good thing we're not waiting until 2013. and there was something i saw on Pinterest (omg, just got introduced to this and it's AWESOME)--and my re-pin failed... but it was something to the effect of: a wedding isn't a performance, things may not go as planned, but as long as when the day ends you're married to the one you love, it was a success. and i'm going to try to really tell myself that over and over again. so if you see it on Pinterest, let me know. because i want it. thanks.

hope all is well!

mixed emotions

so this weekend was filled with mixed emotions. we went out to visit andy's family (planned), but had to cut out early before their big fall festival/neighborhood pumpkin carving event to get back for my grandfather's wake and funeral. 

but backing up--we had plans to meet with my mom at our top wedding location choice on friday, for a 2nd meeting, and we booked the date! August 18, 2012 it is! (i'll post some pictures in the next post)


after having lunch with mom, andy and i headed off to his parents' house. we spent some time catching up with his fam, talking about the wedding planning, went apple picking on saturday, prepping for their big event, and unfortunately had to head out fairly early on sunday morning. 


we headed back across PA and into NJ, and met my family for the viewing. it was so weird to have everyone saying "i'm sorry for your loss, but congrats on getting engaged!" all at the same time. i was in a very weird place on sunday. monday for the funeral it really hit me, there was little happy talk, and just very sad.


these things are exhausting. i think i'm still recovering.


and i'm just trying to keep going, and i feel guilty for not really grieving aside from monday, but i know he's happy now, and he wasn't before. so i'm trying to be okay with it.

but on the happier side of things, wedding planning is moving right along. we've been engaged for less than 3 weeks, and we have:

ceremony/reception location
officiant
reception music
ceremony/cocktail hour music (i've put in that we're looking to book, just waiting for confirmation)


and we've been reaching out to a few photographers, and meeting with a handful this weekend/early next week... and hopefully we can get that figured out next week, because they'll probably get booked soon!


so, in my efforts to look my best in a wedding dress, i'm trying something new tomorrow... hot yoga. any tips, words of wisdom?


hope you're bundling up for the SNOW we're supposed to get tomorrow!



 

poppa

i come from a big family. especially on my mom's side. my mom is one of 7 kids.

and from that, i am one of 21 grandkids on that side.

and yesterday, we lost my grandfather.

while i don't feel that i was ever particularly close with Poppa, i know he was always excited to see each and every one of us, and i loved knowing how excited he was to receive father's day cards from me (i think i was the only grandchild that send him one).

i'm glad that i got to speak with him last week to tell him the good news, and how excited he was. he always referred to Andy as my "friend," and asked me how Pennsylvania was. (everybody, aside from me, and one uncle/aunt, live in NJ, all about 1 hour apart--i only live an hour and change too).

this was expected and unexpected at the same time. Poppa would have been 92 in February. just over a month ago, he fell climbing the stairs to get to a party at my sister's condo (which is on the 2nd floor). he broke his hip, had to have surgery, was going through rehab, and was just about to get released to go to assisted living (he had lived on his own since my grandma passed away in May 2007).

and then he dislocated his new hip. and had to have surgery again. and it was a difficult road since then, but we all thought he'd be okay. and then he just slipped away with my mom by his side.

i'm sure when i talked with him last week, he was already thinking about dancing to "Unforgettable" at my wedding next summer, just like he did at my sister's. he absolutely loved that moment, and it was the point where my sister cried the most during the whole day.

he danced with all of his granddaughters at his 90th birthday party back in 2010.  to "Unforgettable."

i take solace in that he's where he's wanted to be for the past 4 years. 

we'll miss you Poppa. give Grandma a kiss for me.

#13 Promised Land State Park

It's been almost a YEAR since we added a new PA State Park to our list. I know, ridiculous. We really like camping on the 4th of July weekend, and it gives us a good excuse to check out a new park each year. 

We had chosen #13 as Promised Land SP (Greentown, PA, in the Poconos) as we had planned to camp with two other couples. We wanted to visit a park that was close to the other couples and that had activities that everybody would enjoy: hiking, boating, fishing. Well, the plan fizzled out (partially over the course of the weekend, due to work commitments and illness). So Andy and I camped on our own. 

there's our spaceship tent!

On Friday, we set up, got organized, and drove around the park to check out the different areas (day use beach, boat launches, trailheads, etc). It's a big park, so there was a lot to see just by car!

On Saturday, we went for a 3-4 mile hike in the AM. The first part was a mountain bike/hiking trail, and was VERY muddy. The next section of the hike was a horse/hiking trail (watch out for road apples!), which apparently is not used very often. We were essentially bushwhacking through trees, shrubs, ferns, and the occasional raspberry bush (read: thorns). There were a couple small stream crossings (less than 5 feet across), and then we reached this:

We had to cross this stream--no bridge, nothing. Good thing we were wearing our Chacos! Once we crossed the stream here, we were in the home stretch, and going past the waterfalls! I had carried my DSLR & tripod for 3 miles in anticipation and hadn't take it out once. Unfortuantely, the light was not good, so I didn't get any good pictures. It was beautiful though!


We headed back to our site, had some lunch, and was near ready to pass out. We decided to head to the day use area and lay down under the sun for a bit. Andy wanted to go fishing, so that was going to push dinner later, so we stopped at the unofficial camp store and got some ice cream! We got out our kayaks and fishing poles, and headed to the Lower Lake (that was where our campground was too--there are nearly 500 camping sites at this park!). We weren't catching any fish, so we decided to just paddle around. Yay kayaks!

We had a late dinner and headed to bed. Andy woke me up at 4:30am saying a storm was coming in and we should pack some things up. So we did, went to the bathroom (modern facilities just a little walk away! the tent sites were a little too close for comfort for me to use the great outdoors), and put our camp chairs in the car, and put a garbage bag around the stove. On the way back from the bathroom, I realized it was officially my BIRTHDAY!

The storm hit at around 6am and was one of the most intense thunder/lightning/rain storms I have ever been in [it did rival some good storms from my time at summer camp where we turned the picnic tables over to act as barricades from the rain]. I couldn't sleep because the rain was deafening. About two hours later the rain stopped. It drizzled on and off, but not stopping for enough time for me to decide to take my pj pants off. It started pouring again around 10:30am = time for nap. When we woke up around 12noon, the rain had stopped, and most of the campers around us had packed up and left!


We were meeting my parents for dinner at 5:30, but decided we should get ready early and find something to do indoors (like shopping!). We knew one of our favorite Poconos camping stores (Alice's Wonderland) was semi-near the park, somewhat out of the way of where we were going for dinner, but well worth a trip.

Unfortunately Alice's closed 30 minutes after we got there. Still some time to peruse the store. Luckily my parents were arriving early, so we met up with them at the Apple Valley Restaurant in Milford, PA and did some shopping around there. We had a delicious meal, and several hours together to enjoy each other's company. [My dad kept saying that he traveled over 1500 miles to be with me on my birthday] I think they were just happy to see me.

We headed back to our campsite, and the sun was out (finally!), but I wasn't yet ready to take my camera out to the waterfalls for fear another storm would start up. Even though the light was perfect. We had eaten too much food, so Andy and I walked nearly the entire campground, scoping out the RVs, pop-ups, and mansions tents.

across from our tent site

On Monday morning, I woke Andy up early because I needed to get my waterfall pictures. I think it was worth it!

We packed up our stuff, said goodbye to our site and headed home. We had a lot of washing & drying of gear to do. I thought vacations were supposed to be restful? :)

Hope you had a fabulous 4th of July weekend!