Good morning to you on Day 2! For this blog post to be genuine, I should share that there were no leisurely sleep-in mornings. No sir. We were up and at it by 7am, and partook in a little breakfast. And then hit the road. And just 30 minutes later, because someone needed the bathroom, we stopped near a stream. Potties were used, and then we looked at this pretty little river. I was going to take a cute picture of the three boys, but Grady had taken a tumble and was not in the mood for picture taking. Instead you get Cole standing about, and Keith trying to explain to Grady why he cannot go down the steep embankment to the water to see the shish.
Sometimes its better to cut bait instead of explaining things to a 2 year old. Back in the car we go. And more fun with the $1 notebooks. Parents everywhere, take note: when you give one kid a washable marker, and the other doesn't ask for one, it's likely the silent child already found a highlighter to use, which is not washable.
We finally made it through Virginia, and on to the next state.
And the next.
And, finally, FINALLY, we made it to Pennsylvania's border, and drove a very long last few miles to our first official pit-stop.
Before I tell you about this stop, I have to tell (excitedly) that we saw several Airstreams this day. Why excited? Keith and I want one! Then we can road-trip to our hearts content.
So, we were going to PA to see lots of Ellerman family people, including this little girl, Maya. Now pay attention for a second, we have some family tree branches to clear up. Maya's grandma is Aunt Linda, Keith's aunt, and Grampie's sister. She is married to Uncle Fred. With me so far? Linda and Fred have a daughter (you'll meet her tomorrow), and a son. Maya is the son's little girl. Her mom is Saria, and the dad is Eric. There, keep that straight.
I've had a little baby fever lately, so it was nice to get a fix.Cole seem to tolerate this ok.
While I monopolized Maya, Aunt Linda and Uncle Fred gave the boys presents! Presents that kept the boys busy all the way to our next stop later that night. Whoot. Good gift picking, Aunt Linda!
Sadly Maya realized that I was indeed not her mother and demanded to be transferred to her rightful keeper.I gazed longly from afar while the boys tore into their toys.
And then Keith had a turn with Maya.
And to be fair,we have to give credit to the creators of the cuteness. Cousins Eric and Saria
While I'm looking about, Cole was hard at work protecting his new toy from Uncle Fred. It seems Uncle Fred also likes Agent Oso.
Grady did too, but was exploring the way to get from one side of the coffee table to the other. Here he chooses to slide over it. Aunt Linda is on safety patrol.
Then he saw his Agent Oso toy had a "wadybug" rocket thing and he was mesmerized. OOOOH, wadybugs!
Uncle Fred spotted an opportunity and claimed Oso.
And later refereed the boys' balloon/kick/throwball.
While most of us were lounging about, chatting and playing, Aunt Linda was preparing a feast. Keith's great-uncle James joined us right before dinner.
You know no Ellerman family gathering is complete without group photos on the couch after the meal. Keith, our boys, and great Uncle James.
Eric and Maya join the party.
Now all the adults off the couch, please.
Cole was extending a little love towards Maya.
And she tried to return the love.
Which he wasn't so sure about.
Then some kisses for Maya.
Which I was convinced she liked. They certainly did.
Then I saw her face. Not so sure.
Sadly we only had a few hours to spend in Carlisle, PA. Our final stop for the night was with Aunt Linda and Uncle Fred's daugter, Cousin Julie and her family, in Ephrata, PA. We said our goodbyes and hit the Turnpike for another hour.
We did have some really nice farmish scenery to look at while we headed to Ephrata.
I had not been to Ephrata, honestly I had barely heard of it before I knew of Julie and her family, but it turned out to be the cutest little town. I snapped a few pics of the downtown as we drove towards their house, but two little men in the backseat kept needing Agent Oso toy parts picked up, so the only decent pic is this. I think we took more another day.
And then we were to Cousin Julie's! We only had a little time before bedtime, but got right to playing.Who'stoys are we playing with? Madelyn, pictured below, and JD, not pictured yet. These two are Cousin Julie and her husband Mike's two kids, and they were the most gracious two little kids ever when our two barged in and took over their toys.
In addition to the boys playing with JD's mini-man tools, the boys also got a little girly playtime in. I'm hoping this will help foster their softer side later. Seeing that Cole is trying to climb onto the pink bed the most precarious way ever, likely not.
Oh! There's JD, flying into the sky. Julie, let's pretend Keith didn't just catch him breaking a house rule.
So back to the softer side. Madelyn has not heard my two curly hair rules. 1. Condition, condition, condition, and 2. Never brush curly hair. Here she is showing Cole how to brush his hair. And he pretended not to like it.
But, clearly he did, because when she turned her back...hahaha. This is just the first of new fun playtime experiences Madelyn will lead.
And now we're back home and the fatigue has set in, so I'm signing off.
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