On Friday, I worked half a day, and then left so that Jaxson could have a little Birthday party at Daycare.
It was kind of nice not having to rush on Saturday morning. Of course, I was up with the boys, but it allowed me time to
finalize packing, and start loading the van. It also allowed us to get some coffee and a spot of breakfast before heading
North to "Home Home." We got on the road about 9:30. We didn't want to start much earlier than that anyway, because then we'd
hit the Seafood place before it opened at 11:00. Had to get some CRABS!!
The trip wasn't too bad. Long, as usual, but with a couple of movies, easy access to toys, and some books on CD, we made
it in time for dinner. I called right about the time we got to town, so Dad got the water heating for the crabs. It was pretty
nice just pulling in the driveway and dumping the crabs in the pot. Once we got sorted out, the boys had a great time playing
with Aunt Dawn and Grandma.
That evening we just chatted amidst picking crabs, and then watched a little tv after the kids went to bed. Liam got to
stay up so he could go sleep in Doc's camper with Aunt Dawn.
It was nice to be able to sleep in a little bit on Sunday. Lucky for us that Jax is a late sleeper too, but I know that
Liam had Dawn up early. Once we did venture upstairs, we had a little breakfast, and then Dawn, Dad, the boys and I went for
a walk with the dogs. We crossed the crick, went around the flat, up by Charlotte's and then back down around by the Rowe
barn. On the return trip across the crick, the boys got to take a dip in the wading spot. Liam was very thrilled to dive right
in as Dawn and I laughed. He's a true pices, for sure! I let them splash around a bit with Aunt Dawn while I headed back up
to the house.
Once the boys got into some dry clothes, we introduced Dawn to the WiiFit. It was pretty funny watching her do the balance
games. Dad, too, gave it a try. After lunch, Russ and I decided to head into town to get a few groceries and some cleaning
supplies for the farm house. The tenents were nearly moved out, but we new we had some serious cleaning ahead. I was more
than happy to supply plenty of bleach, masks, and rubber gloves.
After dinner that evening, we went down to Middlebury to get some ice cream. The line wasn't too long, and we enjoyed a
spot at a picnic table. We ran into some folks we knew, so we had a nice conversation while trying to guide ice cream into
the boys' mouths, instead of all over each other! Liam had strawberry, and Jax enjoyed some Rainbow Sherbet. It was so cute.
Of course, getting them wound down for bed once we got home was another challenge!
We knew that Monday was the last day for the tenents to move out of the farm house. There wasn't much we could get started
on anyway until they were officially OUT of there, so we decided to make a trip to South Williamsport to Reptileland! We passed
by this place on almost every trip, and just wanted to wait until the boys got a little older before taking them. Monday was
the perfect opportunity, and we were happy to have Aunt Dawn come along too. We had a really nice day. We all especially enjoyed
the tortoises. We got home in time to make some steaks for dinner. After dinner, we shared a slide show of the pics of the
day on the Wii, and all had a nice evening.
Tuesday, July 1st, was Jaxson's birthday. We planned to clean up at the farm house for a little bit, but wanted to have
a nice birthday dinner for Jaxson later that evening. Dawn pitched right in the kitchen, and I went to work scrubbing the
bathroom. It was literally a top to bottom effort. Every once in a while we took a break from scrubbing to just pitch stuff
in the big dumpster that Dad had delivered. It didn't take long to nearly fill it. Russ stayed down home with Mom to keep
an eye on the kids, and wrap a few presents for Jaxson. He also worked on a photo program on the computer for Dad.
About 3:30 I left Dawn and went back down home to get the oil frying for the turkey. Dad came down soon after, and sat
with Russ while the oil came up to temperature, and Mom and I got the table decorated for Jaxson's little birthday party.
I also put the sand in the sandbox, and the boys had a grand time sifting through it while we dropped in the turkey. Dawn
came down right before the turkey was done. We happily carved it up and sat down to a yummy birthday dinner. Then, we let
Jaxson put on his birthday shirt, and brought out the Bob the Builder cake. Once we'd all had a slice (or two) we let Jax
open his presents. He got a lot of Bob stuff, and quite a few buses, since he seems to have a thing for them lately. He really
enjoyed himself. Big brother, Liam was fairly patient, but did have a few moments requiring slight reprimand. It's tough giving
up the spotlight every once in a while. We think he was sincerely happy for his brother though, and that was pretty cute.
The party was fun, but we really wanted to get the boys settled down in bed before 8:00 because Russ and I especially wanted
to watch Deadliest Catch. Russ helped bathe the kids, and we both helped read stories and tuck the kids in. I only missed
the first few minutes of the show. I tried to watch through to the part where the boat captains interview at 10:00, but my
eyelids just wouldn't let me.
Wednesday morning was a day off from cleaning. Dawn went to Stoney Fork to her friend, Sue's, campground, and Russ and
I decided to go out to lunch, and do a little geocaching. It gave us some time to touch base with each other, and get out
in the mountains a little. Kate also rented a car and Dad picked her up in Elmira, so she arrived mid-morning as well to help
Mom with the boys while Russ and I had our "date."
We only hit three caches before dinner time, but boy…. What stories we now have to tell! The first cache wasn't so bad.
We actually set out to find one in particular, but then found that we were closer to one we'd previously given up on. So,
our first find of the day, "Wanna take a Leek" proved fairly easy. It was out past the Butler Farm, and nestled near a stream.
Very pretty, and a nicely stocked cache. Russ then had a hunch where we went wrong initially, and soon we were going up Baldwin
Run to find the Plantation Trail caches. We found ourselves near an old Fire Tower site, and were happy to easily locate the
geocache as well. We took our time meandering back down the path, and enjoyed the scenic Mountain Laurel. We made a right
at the fork in the trail, knowing that we'd be heading for the second in this series. About 30 yards down the trail, in a
small clearing, I noticed a bear trap. I said, "Hey, there's a bear trap." I didn't think much of it, because it looked like
it was empty. I was just about to walk past it, when I looked to my right and saw…. A bear! Now, grant it, it wasn't an especially
large bear. My first instinct was to turn and run, but I just took an "about face" and took rather large brisk steps past
Russ as I said, "TURN AROUND AND KEEP WALKING." At that point, Russ, looked to where I'd been and happened to notice said
bear take a couple of leaps toward us. So, we went another few yards, and then stopped when he turned around and went back
up into the Mountain Laurel.
So though our hearts were pounding a little, we had to make a decision. Either call it quits and head back to the van,
or muster up some courage, pass the bear trap, and continue on to the second cache location. So I shouted, "Go Away, Bear"
and we took a few ginger, but steady paces past the bear trap. We continued on up the trail, only stopping to find a couple
of threatening walking sticks. It didn't help our nerves any to flush a half dozen grouse in the middle of the trail either.
Nonetheless, we made it to ground zero and began searching for the cache. It was tough because we couldn't help searching
for bear either. Finally, after consulting the hint, we found the cache. We sad down on a log to sign in the log book and
heave a sigh of relief. We made some bear-able comments, and then Russ said, "I keep hearing that rustling noise again!" At
those words I glanced to my left, only to see a bear…. AGAIN! So we grabbed our cache stuff and stepped back a few feet this
time…. Getting braver, I guess. Russ tried to snag a picture, but the bear's black fur just blended in with the tree shadows.
Finally, we quickly returned the cache to it's hiding location, and decided to nix the third cache on the trail, and head
back to the van while we still could. We didn't know if it was the same bear (I swear the second one looked bigger) or another
one, but we knew that being around a bear trap wasn't the best of positions to be in.
Needless to say, we were happy to get back home with eager stories to tell. It was nice having dinner together with both
Kate and Dawn, and we tried not to tell our bear story over and over… but it was hard. After dinner, Uncle Wally and Aunt
Pat came over, so we spent some time visiting in the living room before I sent the kids to the bathtub to get ready for bed.
It was another eventful day, and Russ and I were grateful for the chance to spend some it together.
Thursday was get-down-to-business day at the farm house. Kate had helped Dawn Wednesday afternoon while Russ and I were
wrestling with bears. Russ and I agreed to take any cats caught up to the pound. We took Jaxson with us, since Liam wanted
to stay with Grandma and play with his new Indiana Jones figure that Aunt Dawn had given him. Unfortunately, the pound didn't
open until 11:30, so we needed to kill a little time. Thankfully, the cats were in an airline carrier, so the van was relatively
safe from unpleasent stains. The poor Momma cat was due to pop out kittens at any time. We felt bad about taking them to the
pound, but I'd called a couple different no-kill rescues, but they were full. It's that time of year, when cats and kittens
are in surplus. While we waited for the pound to open, Russ, Jax and I meandered up to the used book store, and then over
to the candy shop. Then we got a few more groceries at Weis before dropping off the three cats.
Then we got back home, and had some lunch. The boys went down for some nap time, and Russ and I went up to the farm to
relieve Dawn and Kate so they could come down for lunch. Russ and I went to work cleaning out the attic. It was a big job,
but was probably the first time in 100 years that it'd been cleaned, so it was well worth doing. Then Russ took a turn cleaning
the bathtub with the CLR that we'd bought at the store… but it didn't help the gross stains much. Later, Dawn and Kate returned
with Liam. Russ went back down to the house to shoot clays with Dad and some of his friends. Dawn and I started hoeing out
the basement, and Kate finished up the attic with the shopvac. Then we sorted through some of the attic stuff before calling
it a day and heading back down home for dinner.
Our cousin, Lori, had stopped by to visit, so I chatted with her a bit before making a beeline to the shower. We had leftovers
for dinner, and had just planted ourselves in the living room, when Walt Owlett stopped by and chatted with us about their
road trip to California. It was good to see him, and I always find it endearing the way folks "just drop in and set a spell."
You just don't find that much anymore.
Friday was another day off from cleaning. Dawn went up for a few hours, but Kate and I stayed down home to help get things
ready for a picnic at Ives Run later that afternoon. Rich arrived right around lunchtime too. Dawn had found a bunch of berries
left up in the freezer up at the farm, so Mom made some biscuits for Strawberry Shortcake. Kate made a Maccaroni salad, and
Mom also worked on a potato salad.
After the boys' nap, Russ, Dawn, the boys and I headed over to Ives Run. I wanted to go a little early, so the boys could
have some time swimming in the lake. That was great fun, but I had to get my suit on too, because Liam was all too happy to
wade out up to his neck. Then we let them go over and play on the playground for a bit after we'd set up the table that Russ
and Dad had claimed earlier that morning.
As dinnertime approached, Mom, Dad, Kate and Rich arrived. We set up the croquet set and had a grand time figureing out
(or making up) the rules. After a competitive game, Barry and Willie arrived, and after some Taco dip, we commenced to playing
round two with Barry. It was another neck and neck game and it was great fun.
Then we all sat down together for some burgers and the tastely picnic fare. Just as we were ready for dessert, Denny, Joan,
their daughter, Charity, and her Boyfriend, Matt, arrived… with PIES. Kate, Rich, Dawn and the boys went back down to the
water, as I gorged on Shortcake and Charity's blueberry pie. The evening was especially nice, and we all found the company
relaxing.
Finally, the boys' were getting played out and were ready to settle down on laps and under blankets to watch the fireworks.
The fireworks are especially awesome at the lake because the explosions echo off the mountains for a extra climactic effect.
We were lucky to avoid rain, and even packing up to go home after the show was easy and quick. They really have fine tuned
that event to make it enjoyable for the entire county. Just can't beat it. Both boys were asleep in the van before we got
home.
Saturday it was time to pack the van and head home. It had been a nice visit. Sure, there were some tense times, and I
know that Mom needed a few extra prayers because her shoulder is still bothering her. We aren't sure what will become of the
farmhouse now. It's empty pretty much, and getting as clean as we figured we could get it in the short time allowed. There
are curtains in the windows and a dumpter has been filled and hauled away. Dad thinks it be good to get another one to get
rid of stuff out of the barns too. Still, the house needs an incredible amount of work and money. There is extensive water
damage, but now that there's a new roof, it shouldn't get worse. The porches are also in a sad state, and really should be
completely redone. Not to mention that the floor is still uneven, suggesting that the foundation should probably be investigated
and jacked up. Of couse, that would mean the plaster walls would need to be replaced too. Every room needs major attention.
It's sad, but at least something was done. It seems us kids are just not ready to throw in the towel on the old girl yet.
We found a document that said it was a century farm back in 1975, so the history just might be the best value to begin with.
I understand the plan now is to just secure it and close it up. Some decisions will need to be made, but at this point, it's
just a cleaner emptier house.
Our trip home was long, but the boys (and me) slept a lot of the way. I was glad that we headed home on Saturday. It was
nice having yesterday to recoup a little. I got things put away, some laundry done, and even took the dogs to the dog park
for a run. Now, we're back to work/daycare and trying to get things back to normal. I was telling Russ, that I really don't
quite know what normal is anymore. It seems we always have some sort of challenge to face, but I guess that's just the way
life is. I suppose it'd be pretty boring otherwise. Next week, I get my shoulder carved on a little too. Like Mom, I have
some bone spurs that have to go, but unlike Mom, I have no tears, so I'm hoping my recovery will be reasonable. Then in August,
we'll be moving Russ's mom out of her apartment in Doylestown to a more modern one in New Hope. Then our friend, Paul, is
getting married in September. Maybe the fall will bring "normal" again.
