Family time in Pennsylvania
Over last seven years, our travel schedule was largely dictated by appointments with seemingly endless fertility doctors and ongoing treatments, so I haven’t have a chance to make it back to Pennsylvania during the summer for some time. With that world now behind us, I took the opportunity this year to make a trip home to my parents house in Pennsylvania before the end of summer for some long overdue family time.
The day we arrived I took a walk with Mila, let her sit and play in the soft northern grass, and my mom and I showed her the farms by the house where I grew up (where my parents still live).
After everyone regrouped from the flight, we packed everyone back up in the car and drove to nearby Delgrosso’s park. This small amusement park has been open for nearly 100 years. It has traditional amusement park rides like the Scrambler, Tilt-a-Whirl, and an old carousel that I rode as a child, my mom rode as a child, my grandma rode, as did her mom before her. I was full of nostalgia watching Max experience rides that I experienced as a child with my parents…
The following day, my mom and I took the kiddos to spend the morning visiting with my grandma. We stopped at a Mennonite market to buy some baked goods afterward, and took the long way home to look enjoy the farms and rolling fields that look like they are straight out of a children’s book.
On Saturday we spent the morning exploring the mountain, streams and bridges around my dad’s cabin that he’s been slowly building and adding to over the last twenty years. We played the “Goin’ on a Bear Hunt” song while hiking the trails around the cabin (but secretly hoping we didn’t!)
Later that day went to the Fabina family reunion (my Dad’s side) and spent time with relatives I had not seen in years. All of my dad’s four brothers, his uncle, cousins and my cousins were all there, so it was pretty special. We ate lamb and pirogies and listened to my dad’s cousin play the accordion and sing Croatian songs. (Max even danced!)
This year it was a little too cool outside for lightning bugs to be floating in the fields, but we enjoyed toasting marshmallows by the fire. And my very favorite thing was going to bed with the windows open listening to the cicada bugs singing us to sleep.
