Summertime!

Since we are not going to to Montana for summer vacation this year, we decided to do lots of fun things in our neck of the woods - things that we don't normally do because we're out west. So, the next few posts are going to be about the new and exciting things we're doing this summer.

The first thing we did in June was go to Pittsburgh to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It's a wonderful museum and we had a great time. We especially loved the dinosaurs and the animals of North America. Then we walked down the street to a dive called The "O". It's a hot dog and french fry joint that's been featured on TV. We enjoyed an enormous helping of double-fried fries and their famous dogs.

It's about and hour and a half from our house and on the way home there was a wreck on the turnpike and we had to go about 20 miles an hour FOREVER. So it took us twice as long to get home, but we had a great time together and it was a fun way to start out our summer vacation.

Homecoming!

Our highlight of May was that Seth came home from his mission in Brazil. It was such a wonderful and long-awaited day! Steve and I took the day off from work, we took the kids out of school and we all went to the Pittsburgh Airport to pick him up. The kids had made posters for him and we went down to baggage claim to wait for him to come down one of the two escalators. There are two escalators about 50 yards apart and groups of people would come down one and then the other. We were pretty early because we didn't want to take a chance on missing him and we wanted to be right at the bottom when he came down the escalator. So we would watch one group of people coming down, then we would all run to the other escalator to watch the next group coming down. I don't even remember how many times we did that but we must've looked like such goofballs because people started to giggle at us. But we didn't care. We were so excited! And we had Brooke on the cell phone, too. There were so many guys with dark suits on and we were just watching for that nametag. Finally, there he was!! It was so wonderful! He looked a pretty tired and a little skinny to us, but what can you expect after walking around Brazil for two years!

Anyway, we are so happy to have Seth back. He was only home for two weeks and then went right out to school to take a couple classes. He got another homecoming at the Salt Lake airport with Brooke and they are happy to be at school together. Seth is especially happy that Brooke always has good food in stock and that she and her roommates are great cooks!

So, needless to say, I'm one happy mama!!

4 nights on Broadway!

Well, it felt like four nights on Broadway, anyway. The highlight of April was our school's musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Our four kids were in this production and it was AWESOME! Our school does a musical every year and our kids are usually a part of it. It's always so good and we always say, "that was the best yet", but this one was especially great. It's such a fun and upbeat musical with a great story and terrific music. We just left it feeling so happy after every performance. And another super neat part of it all was that Brooke flew home for it and brought Grandma Adele AND Great Grandma Taylor from Montana. It was the first time Grandma Taylor had ever been out here to see us and it was just priceless. We enjoyed their visit so much!

As for the musical, Kelsey was one of three narrators (and their harmonies gave us goosebumps), Jacob was Asher and Gideon and Savanna were part of The Children's Chorus. They all just loved it and had such a great time. For a small school, it's amazing how much musical talent we have and what our wonderful chorus director gets out of these kids. We were all so sad to see it come to a close and to have our sweet visit end, but what wonderful memories we have!

Summer's here!

So, we're finally out of school for the summer and loving it! Except for the fact that things haven't slowed down yet as much as I'd like them to. My blog is one of the things I wanted to catch up on so this is just a brief synopsis of what's going on at the moment.

Savanna just finished her softball season and Gideon is playing for the Little League Championship tomorrow night. Right now they are also both going to a daily basketball camp in the mornings. Kelsey is doing basketball and volleyball open gyms, basketball camps and getting ready for Girl's Camp next week. She was put in charge of the music at camp so she got a guitar, created a new camp songbook and is teaching herself to play the the guitar - in a month. Her musical ability is something else! Jacob is crazy for basketball and spends as much time as possible at the gym, weight room and anywhere that it's being played. So, that means lots of running back and forth for Mom.

Seth returned home from his mission last month, stayed for two whole weeks and is already out west with Brooke going to school. I will blog about that soon, but it is wonderful to have him home. Brooke is doing great and having so much fun at college. She loves having her brother out there with her!

We have decided not to go to Montana this year for vacation. Instead, we are going to explore the area around us and do things that we don't ever have a chance to do since we always go out west. I hope to blog about our adventures. We are excited to do lots of neat things together!

Missionary update...

I know it's been a while, but I felt the urge to post tonight. I was reading everyone else's blogs, loving them and just felt like sharing.

Something that is on our minds right now is the fact that Seth is going to be finishing up his mission next month and will be coming home. It is just unbelievable to me that two years have gone by already! Seth has been a great missionary and we are so happy for him and what the Lord has helped him accomplish. In these times of turmoil and unrest in all of the world, what a great blessing it is to have an opportunity like he's had to serve others and be a part of a great, positive and uplifting work.

Back to the grind....

So, school has begun again and our numbers have decreased again by one. It's so strange to only count four heads now. I've been so used to counting six heads for so many years that it just seems odd. My babies are growing up. Although the kids look relaxed and ready for the day, this was actually a crazy morning. I got up later than I meant to, was running everyone around like crazy, trying to pack lunches and get myself ready for school as well. I took these pictures in about 6 seconds flat! We jumped into the car and off we went. Luckily, I got my act together and mornings have been a bit calmer since.

Last week of summer

This was our last week of summer vacation before starting school. I go back to work tomorrow at the school as a kindergarten teachers' aide. I was hired last year in October and loved it. The kids start school on Tuesday. Back to the grind for all of us.

The last week of the summer is always county fair week for us. For those of you who don't know, the Snyders are pig people. That's pretty much all we do at the fair nowadays (show pigs), but it's a pretty big deal. We have one of the biggest swine shows in PA and Steve and the kids love it. Brooke didn't think she was going to get to show this year having to leave for college, but it turned out that she got one more year in. Steve has turned into quite the expert and we breed, raise and sell showpigs to 4-H kids for the fair. And when I say "we" I mean Steve and the kids because I must admit that I don't have much to do with it. The kids know exactly what goes on in the barn but that's not really my department. Anyway, they had a lot of success again this year. No grand champ this year, but we did have a reserve homegrown champ. And the girls each earned reserve champion showman in their divisions and Gideon got third place showman in his division. Jake didn't enter the showmanship contest since he was on crutches and in his leg brace.

One sad thing that happened this past week was that we had to have our beloved golden retriever, Silver, put to sleep. She was old and had cancer. She had stopped eating and couldn't get up anymore. It was a very sad day for us but we're happy that she's gone to a happier place.

A week in the life...

Ah, yes. A week in the life of a lowly freshman football player. Jacob was to join the ranks of the oh-so-revered JV/Varsity football team by starting camp last Monday. Oh, the horror stories he must have heard because not only was he a little nervous, he was scared out of his wits! He was so scared he could barely eat (and that's saying something for this boy) and he was sure he wasn't going to be able to sleep the night before camp. Well, he was able to sleep and was up bright and early Monday morning. I made him eat at least a banana and off he went to camp. I felt like I was sending my baby off to Kindergarten for the first time because I was a little nervous for him. Needless to say, he survived his first day of camp. He came home exhausted but alive and well, nonetheless. He actually loved it, could talk of practically nothing else all week and joined in the team comraderie by getting a handsome mohawk just to prove that he was part of the team!! Alas, along came Saturday and their first scrimmage of the year. Jacob blew out his knee, and we're waiting to see if it's the dreaded ACL or, hopefully, just the MCL, which would be much easier to deal with. So, after all that, our poor little - I mean, big and tough #54 may be kissing his freshman year of football goodbye. So sad...

Before...Can you smell the fear?:

After...Exhausted but alive:

Phone call from locker room that goes a little like this.
Jake: Hey, Mom. Sooo.. can I get a mohawk? The whole team's doin' it.
Mom: (Pause) Oh, I guess.
Jake: Ok, thanks.

Half hour later, after mohawk has been completed and I pick Jake up.
Jake: Mom, why didn't you remind me about the pig show at the fair on Tuesday?
Mom: Yeah, I know. I thought about that a little too late, too.
Jake: Oh, man. Dad's gonna be mad.

However, Dad was not mad but simply said, "enjoy it for now but it's getting shaved off for the show." So we are "enjoying" the mohawk while it lasts.

Uh oh:

You can say that again:

I LOVE SUMMER!

I really do love summer. I love when everything is in full bloom, the garden is producing and the sun is out in full force. Boy, do I need that Vitamin D recharge after the long, dreary winters of southwestern PA. Steve and the kids planted an amazing garden for us this year and it's doing great. So far, no blight on the tomatoes like last year and we're crossing our fingers on it staying that way. I have been finding and creating new recipes for fresh veggies every day and I haven't gone for a full load of groceries in over a month!! We've just been grabbing milk, eggs, butter, bread and cheese. It's been awesome! We have tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, onions, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, sweet potatoes, lettuces, spinach, basil, beets, cabbage, watermelon and cantalope. It's amazing how many different recipes you can come up with using these fresh veggies. And our little pear trees are loaded this year so fresh, sweet pears and pear crisp are always on hand. We're eating our own beef, pork and chicken from the freezer. It's my goal to see how inexpensively we can eat for these few months. I love it! I feel so self sufficient.

Not to change the subject or anything, but another thing I love is land. Ever since I was young, I've always gotten butterflies inside when I see a beautiful vista, whether it's a mountain range, valley, meadow, prairie, lake or cornfield. I just love walking out my door and knowing that the 22 acres all around me are mine. I adore the view out all of my windows. The window over my sink frames the most gorgeous, huge maple tree that changes the most spectacular colors in the fall. The other side of the house has a pretty pink flowering crab apple tree that we take a picture of the kids in every year. Several times this summer I have been gazing out a window and someone will say, "What're ya looking at?" I say, "Nothing in particular, just the view." I love that my kids can go out and run, play, ride, explore without ever having to leave home. With the overdevelopment and urban sprawl of cities and towns out across the farmland of our beautiful country, I am so grateful for my little corner of the world that I hope will always stay the way it is. Just a little, old, underdeveloped, beautiful farm.

The view from my back door:

The view from my front door:



My beautiful garden:

My abundant little pear tree:

Our "crabby" kids (haha):

My maple tree in the fall: