Camping in the Catskills

Terrill and I met the Ball Family (Terrill's sis) for a great weekend of camping! It was our first time camping together. We left on Friday confident we were ready to camp. That morning we went to the grocery store to get the food. 15 minutes after we got back I realized I forgot something. Then we realized we needed wood and matches so we went to the Home Depot. Home Depot didn't have matches so we went back to the store again! Then we packed up the car and were on our way. We were excited and ready for a great weekend. 1/2 way into the trip I realized a whole list of stuff that we had forgotten including: silverware, spatula, skewers, sponge, cutting board, knife, rain jacket, tongs, tin foil and paper towels. Wow! so we made a pit stop at Wal-Mart on the way up. We finally arrived around 5:30 pm. The mountains were beautiful and the drive was fun. The ball family arrived a little later and shortly after they arrived we made hot dogs and roasted corn with peach cobbler for dessert. It was delicious!

The next morning we got up and had some yummy breakfast burritos. Then we decided that it would be a good idea to go on a hike. We scouted out a couple and narrowed it down.





Although the picture above isn't the trail, that is what the trail pretty much looked like the whole time. It was sooo rocky and sweet Kayla was getting tired. We decided to turn around and come back about 1/2 way into it. It was still lots of fun though! After this we decided to check out a swimming area for a little while. Luckily it had a play ground for Kayla to play on.


She was so cute coming down the slide. It was this massive industrial pipe thing and her feet kept catching as she was coming down, but she didn't mind she was just happy to be coming down!

After this we decided to walk around the town of Woodstock. It was awesome and reminded me of Santa Cruz!



We got our fill of Woodstock and then headed back for some yummy dutch oven cooking and S'mores. Unfortunately it rained! But it stopped and we were able to cook and eat everything just fine!






*Please note with picture above. Terrill taught Kayla a new trick...sticking out her tongue! haha

So, the whole weekend was great! Throughout the weekend, there were only a few things that we forgot in addition to the list above: A backpack for the hike, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner (Terrill's). We realized we need a little practice in the camping arena, but you live and learn. Luckily Tiff and Braden were so prepared and let us use some of their things...thank you!

Boston

Last weekend, Terrill and I drove up to Boston to see his family. We started driving on Friday morning and realized that there are crazy drivers on the east coast!! We arrived in boston around 11:30 AM. It was much bigger then I pictured it to be. We ended up going to out to lunch with his fam and then doing the freedom trail, which is a walk that goes all through out boston and it stops at a bunch of historical sites along the way.

This where the declaration was read to the city for the first time.

This statue represented democrats. Terrill was standing on a plaque that said "opposition stands here".

This cemetary was really awesome. There was a ton of old graves, one of which included Paul Revere

On Saturday, Terrill and I got up super early to go for a five mile run along the Charles River. It was a beautiful morning and the weather was perfect! After our run, we all headed out to Crane beach to spend some time in the sun. It was very relaxing. After the beach we walked over to the Crane Mansion, which was the Crane Family's summer home in the early 1900's. (the cranes were a family made wealthy through a successful brass and plumbing manufacturing company)

Crane Beach

The Crane Estate

Hanging out on some random statue

On Sunday we headed out to church and then were on our way home. The whole weekend was a blast and we really enjoyed spending time with family. The only bad part was that it poured rain the whole way home, which was a little scary to drive in!

Phillies Vs. Giants

We went to a Phillies game tonight and guess who they were playing?? The Giants!! It was awesome. We were secretly cheering the giants on all night! Lockheed gave out tickets to the game and had a tailgate party beforehand with yummy food. Of course you can't attend a baseball game without getting a hot dog... so we made sure to check that off our list! The game was kind of interesting but baseball is a rather slow game to watch. Terrill and I entertained ourselves by calling all the pitches to be either balls or strikes, eating ice cream, doing the wave and taking pics. We are exhuasted but had a great time.

The Wolf's Come to Visit

This past weekend Terrill's parents and sister came to visit. It was so much fun to have visitors and we had a great time. On Saturday we toured historical Philadelphia and surprisingly the weather was nice. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, a cool Cemetery and the Betsy Ross home. All were very interesting and I learned a lot.

Liberty Bell

Independence Hall

Out to dinner in downtown Newtown

Middlesex County Fair

We decided to go to the Middlesex county fair last weekend. It was a fun night filled with greasy food, a horrible ride, cloggers, square dancing, and barn animals. It was a blast! The night started out by admiring the redneck atmosphere :) See events below. Doesn't it look riveting!



After a little walking around we decided to go on one ride. I picked a ride that looked fun. Well lets just say I was completely wrong. Not only did I unintentionally squish Terrill the whole time, I felt like I was going to lose my dinner. I have never been that sick on a ride before in my life. Let's just say it took some sitting down and drinking water for Terrill and I to feel right again.

Right before the ride...so happy

Mid-ride experience


After we recovered from the ride, we got a funnel cake. Terrill was great at finishing it off!


Later on, we went to check out the barn animals. It was awesome. Let's just say I was glad to have a fence between me and the cows. That is why I look so happy :)

Baltimore Half Marathon

Okay, something really exciting happened today. Terrill is going to run the Baltimore, MD Half Marathon with me on October 16th at 8:00am. I am soooo excited that we are going to run together. Terrill is the most supportive husband ever when I know running long distances isn't always his thing!!

So now it is training mode. I am determined. The third place finisher last year got 1 hour 36 minutes. Do you think I can beat her?? I am sure going to try! But it will take some hard core training. I love running!! Check out the course below.

New York Part II

Yesterday we spent the day in New York, NY. It was awesome and Terrill planned a great day! In the morning we drove to Staten Island (1.5hrs) then took a free ferry to Battery Park (.5hrs). We are trying to save up our money to buy a house and so we now always take the lower cost alternative. By driving to Staten Island and then taking the ferry we saved $34 of transportation fees, as opposed to taking the NJ transit into NY!! Yipee.






The first activity of the day was going to the Temple, which was beautiful and a great start of our day.


Then we stopped at a cafe for lunch. I would rate it a 2.5 out of 5. But I wasn't hungry anymore when we left and they had a yummy peanut butter brownie. Please note below our skill in taking this picture. We propped the camera on the top of a garbage can...the only thing we needed was the flash! Oh-well.


The surprise activity was going to the American Museum of Natuaral History. We were able to get in for free since Terrill works for Accenture, but the Museum was amazing! We like stuff like this and when you are done you always feel like you've learned something new! We also got to walk through central park which was nice.




Meteor of Iron

I hate bears.


By the end of the day we were tired from walking a lot. It is kind of sad to say :) This shot was taken on the Ferry back. Sweet dreams Terrill.


We left the house at 6:45am and got home at 8:00pm. Let's just say we slept well last night.