A long, relaxing weekend

Our family went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a weekend of fun and excitement. Initially, we had planned to pull out with the RV on Friday night, but the forecast was calling for severe snow squalls in the Lancaster area and when we called the campground; we were told by the owner that it was not safe to travel up there that night. We waited until Saturday morning and left early and drove up without incident. We sat up in a snow squall when we arrived, and then jumped in the vehicle to head to the Bird-in-Hand Amish market. I bought fresh apple cider, bread, concord grapes, homemade fudge, cheese, bolgona and other goodies. George and I was sad to see that the local fire department had taken down our favorite sign. The Amish will ride on the fire apperatus but will not drive it. Of course, their beliefs against motorized vehicles also causes them to respond a little differently than most of us are familiar with as well. I took this picture last year while we were there and I guess they had so many people taking pictures of this sign, someone decided it had to go. We had bought tickets to the American Music Theature's Christmas Extravaganza for Saturday night and we really enjoyed the show. The kids loved the Celtic fiddler and the dancers. Becky is studying the violin in school, so she was thrilled when she found out that the 20-year old performer had started in 3rd grade just like she did. Ray enjoyed the comedy acts and we all enjoyed the singing, dancing and other performances.

A walk along the stream between the campground and Amish farm.

Our view from the camper.....

Sunday we spent the day relaxing and hanging out at the campground for most of the day. I just had to include a picture of my bulldog, Dudley; getting a belly scratch while hanging out with the family. That evening, we took the kids to Dutch Wonderland which is an amusement park that is specially geared towards kids under the age of 12. In November and December, the park decorates in Christmas lights, has carolers, shows, and some rides for famillies to enjoy. The Christmas light show was a newer attraction this year and was neat to watch. It was very, very cold but the kids loved running around looking at the reindeer, visiting Santa, riding favorite rides; we even took a Skyride over the park so we could see the entire park from above.

Becky and Ray hanging out at Dutch Wonderland....

We had befriended a Amish family that comes around the campground during the summer and sells their baked and canned goods a while back. When we were at the campground on Saturday evening, they had came through in the buggy and invited us to their farm on Monday. The kids were excited to think they were going to see an Amish farm.

I didn't get much stitching done this weekend but I did have a chance to kick back and spend some quality time with the kids and the rest of the family. We all enjoyed the snow and a beautiful view from the camper. The crisp air and seeing the Amish farmer preparing their fields for winter really was a wonderful site to see.

Stitching, scouts and stuff

I went to a podiatrist last week and was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, which is a precursor to heel spurs. Unfortunately I have developed this in both feet at one time and so I ended up taking two days off and stayed off my feet! Stitching goals were worked on and I'm hopeful that I can complete a few projects before the end of the year. I completed the Hinzeit Lighthouse (will provide a picture later after I attach the charms) and also completed 2 more blocks on my Lizzie Kate Christmas Blessings! I even completed about 1/2 of the last block so there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.......

I received a lovely package from Tineke in the Netherlands last week from a exchange in my one group, Stitch-It-Quick. I received 2 speciality thread packs from the House of Embroidery which is hand-dyed in South Africa. Thanks Tineke for the wonderful threads and needles - I'm looking forward to stitching with them in the future! I'm also participating in a few exchanges online for Christmas and I have enjoyed picking out gifts and will be sending them out by the end of the month.

Girl scouts had a weekend trip to the Naval Academy Farm for a Country Hoedown including hayrides, square dancing, a cake walk and barbeque. Everyone had a great time and Becky came home with a cake and worn out as well. This is a picture of some of my girls during their hayride and a picture of Becky playing around the hay stack.

Today we recognized the Vetereans at the Glen Burnie United Methodist Church and the Cubscouts received their God and Me awards. This is a program designed for scouts to learn about their faith and based on the scout motto which states, "A Scout is reverent. He is reverent toward God." Ray completed the first of five levels of study in this program and will continue through the path as he continues through scouting. The picture of me and Raymond was taken by Becky today and she is so proud of taking this picture. She really did a great job!

Well, it is time to get ready for work this week. Hoping to complete LK's Christmas Blessings by next weekend. The family is also going on a camping trip to Lancaster and going to the American Music Theature for their Christmas show which is always outstanding. Hopefully, I can keep the stitching needles going and finish up my Christmas project. Wish me luck!