our trip home was overwhelming and fantastic, all rolled into one neat little sesame seed cracker and topped with roasted red pepper hummus. and yes, reader, we ate plenty of hummus. as well as countless other spectacular dishes our families indulged us with. our first stop was pittsburgh, where we spent just a few days catching up with mom, mark, crystal, and grandma, before we jumped on the next train to harrisburg. side note here: the train is an awesome way to travel. so much leg room, such comfy seats, and occasional nice scenery. i highly recommend it for the traveler with ample time.
we arrived in harrisburg and miraculously had the whole first day to enjoy mom, sis, and jafael, while the girls were still living it up in disney world. the next day the family got busy cooking and preparing, as we all geared up for a stellar cookout. it was great to see everyone and share in all the love. we also may or may not have developed a slight wii addiction during our stay in harrisburg. it’s just so darn fun, and brooklyn and justice had already created mii’s for us. anyway, ladies, one of you better beat uncle coy’s obstacle course record by the time we get home for christmas! but watch out, we’ve been getting serious about exercising here again!
things got pretty heated at the family cookout, and coy and sis took on every kid in the house as an unstoppable tag team wrestling duo.
coy took the opportunity to begin teaching brooklyn the basics of chess.
us and our beautiful neices, brooklyn and justice!
classic family portrait!
before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. we headed back to pittsburgh for a few more hugs and a lot more food! thankfully crystal was fully prepared to meet our new obsession, and brought her wii over to mom’s house so we could continue the mayhem for a few more days. i went on more than a couple shopping sprees, preparing for our next tropical weather adventure and replenishing weary undergarment supplies. we ate and ate and ate some more.
for my 30th birthday, we reunited with steph and don, and this new little guy, max. we took a relaxing float down the river in kayaks, stopping along the way to enjoy our packed lunches. it was great to catch up with them and to be reminded of the beauty of central pennsylvania. thanks for an awesome trip, guys!
steph, don, and max navigate the not-so-treacherous waters.
but we didn’t stop there! dinner was an italian feast, followed by no less than two birthday cakes! that’s right, kids, when you become an old person, you get even more cakes. just kidding, it was really so that i could have a proper birthday cake and then my absolute favorite in all the world: cheese cake. ohh it was so delicious i can still taste it now...
finally, we geared up for yet another family cookout featuring more food than we could possibly ingest. but we did try. it was great to see everyone after so long. and thanks to all of you who humored us by sitting through our slideshow-it really meant a lot to be able to share our belizean life with family and friends back home.
before we skipped town, i did manage to pay a special visit to grandma, who has been on the lookout for supplies to assist the sonadoras del futuro in all our crafting expeditions. she sent me away with cross stitch supplies and crochet patterns, as well as the renewed hope that i can actually teach the ladies some of these skills. thanks, grandma!
back on a plane. then another. then a bus. then another. next a taxi. then a church bus. an anxious wait. one taxi. then another. finally home. entire journey: approximately 22 hours. how amazing did our bed feel? you can’t even imagine.
we would like to extend our love and gratitude to everyone who made our 14 days in pennsylvania so very special. from opening your doors to us, to chauffeuring us around, to preparing delicious meals, to going completely out of your way to see us, to giving copious hugs, to listening to our anecdotes, to sharing your lives and new babies, to just plain loving and supporting us---thank you family...you are the best!
as much as we enjoyed our visit, it feels so good to be home again. we were greeted by several scorching hot days, just to remind us that pa summers are no comparison, but we jumped right back into the swing of things. we’ve been getting settled and cleaning new cobwebs out of the corners this past week, as well as rediscovering new passions, like studying chess books, and crocheting and cross stitching.
my current works (bag, cross stitch, crochet hair accessories)
meanwhile, i have been planning for school projects this year, and hope to do a teacher training using the life skills manual i mentioned in an earlier post. school starts on the 1st of september, and we only have a few short months before we’re gone...
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