Family Farm Weekend

The McAllister family gathered once again this year for a family reunion at "the farm". The weekend was packed with good food, good games, good company, and great fun. I'm sure Michael's grandparents were smiling down on their family gathered together at the one place that was nearest and dearest to their hearts. I don't know of anyone who has visited this place that hasn't been amazed by it. Even if you aren't the "outdoorsy" type (which I clearly am not), you still have to appreciate the sheer beauty that the farm has to offer. I mean, just look at these views:

One thing about the farm that cannot be captured on film is the peacefulness. As you travel down country road after country road, and then turn into the driveway (which itself is a mile long), you slowly leave the rest of the world behind. When you finally reach the house, you exhale, and all of your worries and troubles melt away. It is quiet, it is calm, and it is beautiful. Well, with 32 people there it wasn't so calm and quiet, but that was half of the fun this time. The kids did not sit still all weekend. During the day they swam in the river, played in the sand, rode on the four-wheeler, ran around, and climbed trees. At night, they played flashlight tag, ran around with glow sticks, watched fireworks, twirled sparklers, and then they collapsed of sheer exhaustion, only to wake up excited and rarin' to go the next morning.

Rex was eager to swim in the river (despite his irrational fear that crabs were going to pinch his toes), but Sean took some persuading. He was perfectly content to play in the sand at first, but he did venture out into the water eventually. Then he didn't want to get out! And despite my irrational fear of water that is not contained in a chlorinated swimming pool, I waded in right along with him.

Of course, we can't forget the highlight of the weekend- the McAllister Family Olympics. This year, each person competed in a ring toss, an egg-in-spoon race, an egg toss, a water balloon toss, bocce, and a three-legged-race. The hula-hoop contest had to be scrapped because of a lack of hula-hoops (and while I did go out and buy a hula-hoop this year to practice with, I must admit- I was not too disappointed that I couldn't show off my skills. I think another year of practice will do some good.)

Each family had their own team shirts to wear for game-time (Kudos to Matthew for making those!).

I think our family was at a bit of a disadvantage considering Rex and Jack slept through the whole thing, and Sean was much to busy pretending to drive the Heidmous' minivan to compete. Maybe next year...

Congratulations go out to Nicole and Kerry for winning the Under 18 and Over 18 competitions, respectively. Their names will forever be etched into the McAllister Farm Games plaque.

And if I could award another plaque, it would be to Bobby for killing and beheading the water snake from the river. And then I would give one to each of the kids who actually touched it, also.

Can't wait for next year's reunion! We'll be practicing!

Hershey Park

Each year at the end of the school year, the neighborhood kids get together for a fun, rewarding day to celebrate the beginning of summer. The past few years, we have gone to Dutch Wonderland, and we have had a wonderful time. But some of the kids are getting a little older now (I have the youngest kids in the group), and a little more adventurous (my kids included!), so this year we decided to try out Hershey Park.

It's about the same distance away, and has a very large selection of kiddie rides as well as some great rides for older kids and adults. We had a great time! The weather was gorgeous, and the crowds were not bad at all. The boys loved riding on the rides, and I am beginning to see that somewhere in the gene pool they have inherited a love of roller coasters. (I know they did not get this from me!) The park has a system of different height categories on each ride to let you know who can go on a particular ride. Sean was still too small for some of the rides, but for most of them he just had to be accompanied by a "responsible rider", which is someone from one of the taller height categories. Our neighbor Delaney was very good about taking Sean on the kiddie rides where he required a responsible rider, and this saved me from trying to fold up my very long legs to fit into the miniature ride seats.

Delaney has always been very good with Sean, and he adores her to pieces.

Rex was in a height category that often did not need a rider to accompany him, so he really felt like a "big kid". He loves all of the rides- fast, slow, spinning, up and down,- you name it, he'll ride it.

While Rex was off riding one of the bigger kid rides, Sean got to meet the Hershey Park mascot, the Hershey Kiss. He was a little unsure about approaching a larger than life piece of candy with arms, but eventually he warmed up and gave him?/her?/it? a 'high-five'.

Jack was not able to do much this year, but he was pretty content to hang out in his stroller and watch the scenery.

Hershey also has a very cool water park which is included in your admission. We headed to that part of the park in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't realize it closed at 6:00, so the kids did not get to play there very long. Sean had fallen asleep in the stroller by this point, so he actually missed the whole thing! I think next year, we may have to do a two-day trip in order to incorporate time for the water park, too. I really wanted to do a tour of Chocolate World, but I guess that will have to wait for next year, too. I did manage to purchase a very large chocolate bar at the gift shop on the way out. It's about the size of a license plate. While the boys did not inherit my fear of roller coasters, they did inherit my love of chocolate, so I'm just hoping this candy bar lasts throughout the weekend!

Making the Cut

I finally did it. I've spent the last two years growing my hair long (while still getting regular trims every 6-8 weeks to keep the ends looking nice), and I finally had the eight inches necessary to make the cut for the Pantene Beautiful Lengths donation program. Donations are used to make real-hair wigs for women who have lost their hair during cancer treatments. I've always admired people who donate blood- it's something I've never been able to do. (Given the fact that I faint at the drop of a hat). But when I read about this program, I thought, 'Hey, I can grow hair!" I was a little nervous- I've never really liked having short hair- but I figured there is a woman out there somewhere who is going through the toughest time of her life, and if there is someway I can make her feel even just a little bit better, then it is worth it. If anyone is interested in making a donation, just visit the website http://www.beautifullengths.com/ for step-by-step instructions. Here's a look at the old/new me.