Bushkill Falls!

This past weekend my family decided to do something fun for the summer. My dad has been getting flyers from all across Pennsylvania about things to do. We talked about all different options but we decided on going to Bushkill Falls. It's this beautiful trail in the Poconos in Pennsylvania that takes you to see 8 different waterfalls. It took us about 2 hours to drive up there because of 4th of July traffic but it was worth it once we made it. We chose the longest path- the red trail, which allowed us to see all 8 waterfalls. It was really beautiful. The trail had a stream next to it almost the entire time, with beautiful wood bridges and a canopy of trees overhead. In the end it took us 3 hours to hike the whole way but it didn't seem that long at all. It was so pretty and the waterfalls were amazing. At the end of the hike, we even saw a live monkey! This guy was just sitting there and had a pet monkey. He told us we could pet it and so we did. Here are just a few pictures from the hike! 

Ashley's Wedding!

A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to attend my good friend Ashley's wedding. Ashley and I met on the first day of 6th grade and were best friends all through middle school. I spent a lot of time at her house eating pancakes with peanut butter, maple syrup and applesauce, playing life, watching movies, and spending time with her family. I have a lot of good memories from time spent with her.

I am really glad I was able to go to the wedding. The ceremony was really sweet and Ashley looked so beautiful. The reception was really nice. I loved the decorations. Of course they had Ashley throw her bouquet, and I stood in the back row not expecting or really trying to catch it.  Then of course what happened was the bouquet ended up about landing in my hands. I caught it! I thought it was pretty funny and sat down. They threw the garter and someone I didn't know caught it. What I didn't know would happen was that they would have me sit in a chair and have the total stranger who caught the garter reenact the scenario, by placing the garter up my leg. Can you say embarrassing? But I'm still here so I survived :) Now I can laugh about it.  It was pretty great day. I'm so glad I could be there for my friend on her special day!

Pictures from Mark's Half Marathon

I know I previously posted about Mark's half marathon when it occurred. I wanted to post some pictures of the event though. These were all taken by Emily. Enjoy!

Mark at the end of the race, receiving his trophy.
He placed third in his age group.

Mark at the very end of the race. 

Mark at the beginning of the race.

Here's Mark after the race with his medal. 

Mark with his trophy!

Mark before the race, ready to go.

Mark at the finish line.

Close up of Mark after the race.

close up of Mark's medal he received

Trip to Bellefonte!

After Mark's half-marathon, we were only an hour from Bellefonte, PA so we decided to continue on. This is where we lived for 9 years and I grew up there. We haven't been back all together as a family since we moved. We left 7 years ago. We only stayed Saturday night and Sunday but it was so nice to see everything and everyone. We were able to go look at our old neighborhood, see some neighbors, visit the park and the penny candy store, go to our old ward at church, and see a lot of people. I'm really glad we got to go.  Here's a video of us driving into town. Sorry its upside down. 

The exit into Bellefonte.

My old house!

Mark's Half Marathon

This last Saturday was Mark's half marathon. He was so excited and has been training all year. He started out at 5 miles or so a day and worked up to running 13 on the weekends. Mark has been in cross-country for years, but the past couple of years he has been running all the time to get faster and better. The half-marathon was in Danville, PA, about 2 hours from our home. We traveled there and then walked to the start line with Mark. While we were waiting, there was a festival going on and so we walked the festival. Then we came back and watched Mark come in at the finish line. Here's a video I took of him finishing. Sorry it's sideways, I don't know how to fix it.

Here's a video of all of us with Mark after he came in from the race. We are all so proud of him. Mark ended up with a time of 1:48 and came in 3rd in his age group (16-20). Congratulations Mark! 

Crystal Caves

 Today I had the opportunity to go on a field trip. My brother Scott is in 2nd grade and got to go to Crystal Cave. My dad was supposed to go with Scott as a chaperon but  its an hour drive from our house and Dad gets really stiff from his Parkinson's so I went with him and drove. I'm really glad I went. It was really cool. The last cave I went in was Timpanogos Caves which was when I was a sophomore in high school. When I was Scott's age, I used to go to Penn's Cave, but its filled with water so you ride in boats throughout the cave. It's really neat. Crystal Cave is a lot smaller but the kids still had a lot of fun. Here is Scott at the beginning. 

The guide called this an upside down ice cream cone. Interestingly, the guide was trying to teach the kids about stalagmites vs. stalactites and to teach them the difference he said if you jump up high and hold onto something you want to hold on "tight" vs. so the ones on the ground are stalagmites. 

Does this look like bacon strips to you?

The guide was also saying that the cave was also used as a place to celebrate. It is always 54 degrees. So in the winter, its warmer than the outside and in the summer its cooler than outside. People used to have babies baptized, weddings, dances, and meetings in the cave. This formation was used as a pulpit for meetings in the cave. 

The cave used to be full of water, but this is all that's left.

Called "fried eggs", this formation is a result of the removal of stalagmites. It is also the only formation in the cave that could be touched because it is already dead. 

 

coming out of the cave 

looking down from the top of the cave

Scott in front of some of the signs for crystal cave, and the Amish Buggy .

In front of the ice cream parlor... too bad it was closed!