Trip to Pennsylvania

Last Friday, after our missionary friends left, we quickly turned our attention to packing for a weekend trip. As soon as Dad got home from work that evening, we loaded up the van and left for Pennsylvania.

 

This is one of the very few times that our whole family has made a trip like that at night (we tend to leave first thing in the morning on most trips.) We packed a sack dinner to eat in the car on our way. Unfortunately our trip was extended by an extra hour due to various stops, including a very long stop trying to figure out how to put exhaust fluid in the van. Dad and Ben couldn’t get the cap off and had to find a wrench to get it off.

 

We finally made it back on the road. Most of us read until dark, and then pulled out flashlights. Once it started getting really late, we curled up with blankets and pillows to nap. We made it to Grandma and Grandpa’s house pretty late. We had all taken showers before we left, so once we unloaded the van, we collapsed into bed!

 

The next morning we all slept in quite late. When we woke up, we ate a breakfast of muffins, cheese, and cantaloupe. Around 11:00 a.m., we piled into the van to go see Grandma at the nursing home.

 

We were very happy that she seems to have improved since our visit in July. She got a very cute haircut, and her spirits seemed much better this time.

While we visited with Grandma in her room, Josiah entertained himself with dominoes in the lounge next door whenever he got restless. Those dominoes entertained him the entire weekend we were there!

After visiting with Grandma for awhile, we went out to lunch with Grandpa. Since the weather was rainy and quite cold, we were all in the mood to go to our favorite local restaurant for some hot soup and sandwiches.

 

I ordered a cup of hot chocolate, and ended up with a cup overflowing with whipped cream! Luckily, Roma had declined whipped cream on her chocolate, so I shared with her. Whoever said hot chocolate had to be made into a dessert?

Mom and Josiah at the restaurant.

I had a delicious cup of broccoli cheese soup, and a hot Reuben sandwich with homemade potato chips. It was a very satisfying lunch!

We went home for a few hours to rest. While everyone else did quiet things, Dad and I ran out to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Around dinner time, we headed back to the nursing home to see Grandma again.

 

We brought in pizza, popcorn, breadsticks, and soda to have a picnic dinner with Grandma in the lounge. We ate off of paper towels, and borrowed 9 plastic cups from the cafeteria and made-do with what we had!

The next morning we had breakfast at home before heading over to the nursing home one more time before we left.

Meet Mr. and Miss Comic Relief! J There is never a dull moment in the nursing home while we’re there, I can guarantee that!

I know I’ve said this before, but I am really thankful for the example my Grandparents have set for my siblings and me through their marriage. After all they’ve been through together in 57 years of marriage, they still greet each other with a hug and kiss. I hope I have the blessing of being married that long one day!

Since we didn’t go to church that morning (so we could spend more time with Grandma) we had our own little service in the lounge. We showed Grandma and Grandpa the highlight video from our trip to Haiti. Daddy then read a portion of Philippians, and we all shared our testimonies from the trip and our experiences there.

Grandma’s birthday was coming up later in September, so we celebrated early with her. We brought her a bouquet of flowers, two different types of candy, and birthday cake! We all sang to her and enjoyed Mom’s delicious triple-chocolate cake.

Before we left, we got a picture with Grandma and Grandpa. We love you both so much!

We went home and had a quick lunch of sub sandwiches before packing up to leave. That night, we made it home quite late again, but we were really thankful to have the opportunity to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, it may be a couple of months before we get the chance to see them again, but that makes us all the more thankful that we saw them this month!