PA: Part 1 - the family stuff

 Earlier this year, Matt and I had a big discussion about our family. This was after we had said good bye to another of my grandparents. The result of the conversation recalculated our family vacation plans - we both decided it was important for Matt to spend some time with his last remaining grandparent and also introduce our kids to him and him to our kids. So off we went to PA. We also decided it was important to have a multigenerational approach to this so Matt's mother could be a part of the conversation. 

There we were at 5 AM, waking the kids up with Grandma and Grandpa, to tell them that we were going to Pennsylvania and going by plane - first time for some (E flew when she was 4 mo old and says she remembers it - Who am I to question her). I had already packed their clothes, packed busy bags, packed water bottles, packed shoes, packed stuffies, packed pens, hopes, dreams, and anything else so all they needed to do was wake their "happy" selves up and get on the plane. They were excited and it was fun to see their anticipation. 

After switching planes in Minne, we arrived - got a rental and headed out of town directly to Judy's. We had sheet pizzas that night with wings. We were crashing in the camper while at Judy's.

Our first day involved a trip to Grandpa Dave's. Matt helped with a house project and the kids fell in love with the creek - walking, exploring, and hunting for crawfish. Cousin Liam came with us - he is about 2 years older than Eleanor. They played quite a bit over the week. The other creek that gave them a ton of fun was the one behind Judy's house. That night after a fireworks run, we all had italian hoagies. 

On Saturday, we did a Independence Celebration of sorts - East Coast style - meaning clams. We had clam chowder and stemmed clams - completely new concepts to my kids. It was also a bit weird convincing them to have soup when it was 80 degrees, with 875% humidity but it was very tasty and I was proud that each of my children tried it. E seemed to like the clams well and we ate until we exploded - mostly because 800 clams had been purchased. We watched fireworks that night - Chris and Judy don't take the 4th lightly... they got the big booms. Memories were made!

The next day we went to Steamtown - a national park dedicated to trains. We even went on a steam train ride that went through the town a bit and by a beautiful water bed. We also went through the museum, including a round house and some cars. I liked the mail car the best and I also was fascinated by the hobo culture surrounding train life. The kids' favorite part was either the ride or ringing the train bell - depending on when you ask. 

We had Texas weiners at a Coney Dog place in downtown Scranton. We also are dealing with E's ability to read a menu - there's no getting things slide by her anymore. We headed to Natalie and Matt's house - Natalie is Matt's cousin, she's a bit older than we are but the two were thick as thieves growing up and it was fun to hear them chum. Our kids paired up with their girls pretty quickly, making it easy to chat with the grown ups. 

The next day, us 5 headed to the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour - this had been Matt's idea and I was mildly interested but upon completion, it was fascinating. I really enjoyed it. You go a quarter mile underground and then the tour is a mile through the mile and then they drag you back to the surface. It's a hour in totality. I would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't been responsible for lugging the 30lb whine ball. See, when you go underground the temperature is consistent - 50ish degrees. It was 90 degrees above ground with 327% humidity but underground it was pleasant - unless you were Ainsley. Our children (in tanks and shorts) were too cold and the smallest one was freezing. With the low ceilings, I thought it was best if I carried her so they both didn't crack their head on the rock ceilings. The interesting parts to me were the child labor situations and the operations of the mine - including the contracting, the safety, the hauling... Our guide was fantastic too. 

Afterwards we went for ice cream and that night we went to Uncle David and Aunt Liz's. They've always been good to us and they have a beautiful family. It was good to meet brand new baby Cameron as well as hear Paige (their middle child) stories as Matt thinks Ains and Paige have the same streak in them. Our kids couldn't decide what they liked more... the chickens, the pool, or the berry picking!

G upon landing in Philly: This is my favorite part!

Ains leaving David and Liz's after 9:30: You are wasting my bedtime.