Summer Happenings

I'm back! I have so much to write about but I can't spend the rest of the night at the computer - so I'll attempt to cover as much as possible in a short time.

So the last time I wrote, I was heading to State College for the Arts Festival. It was a great time and I was able to squeeze a lot into just a couple of days. When I arrived to town, I met up with my mom, Jeannie, Evan and Conell. It was kid's day, so we walked around and checked out the crafts. It seems to me that there are more and more cool ideas every year. I was especially excited to see some duct tape and papercuttings being represented!

Here is a cicada that Evan found, which had just come out of it's last molt. It was really cool - the boys loved it!

Evan & Conell eating lemon creamery ice cream - yum!!

Aren't they the cutest!

There was a parade towards the end of the day - everyone was pretty psyched about it :)
(Here is my mom, Evan, Conell & Jeannie)

My friend Joy and her family were also in town. It was the first time that all 5 were in State College - I guess ever (at least since Avi, the baby, was born). It was really great to see them all. Her son Gabe was in our wedding - he's now 10!! So crazy! Her kids are great and we all had some fun bonding times.

Here's Joy holding Avi and her husband Josh next to her.

Me and Gabe!

Layla and Avi - they were posing for me :)

I also got to spend some time with our friends Scott, Ellen & their daughter Olivia, Scott's parents and grandma and the Readinger's too! It was so nice to see everyone and to see how much Olivia has grown.

Here is Ellen with Olivia.

I was also able to catch up with my friend Justine. (I didn't get a picture - boo). But it was so good to see her. She has actually been in State College for several months helping her mom recover from a serious surgery. It was really great to have some quality time with her and catch up. We had lunch at Otto's (State College's brewpub) and then walked around the People's Choice Festival in Boalsburg.

So overall, the trip was very fun-filled and full of nice visits. I must admit that I didn't get as much time at the actual festivals that I had hoped for, but I have a feeling that they will be back next year ;)