Of cousins, covered bridges, and candy sticks

This past weekend I was SO excited to get to spend some time with a few of my cousins, one of whom I see very seldomly. We met in a town called Newton Falls (which gets its name from the waterfall there, just so ya'll know...it took me a while to figure that one out, lol) where we had dinner and went for a walk in the park. It was a blast, complete with blowing bubbles, gummy worm eating contests, and laughing so hard that soda just about came out of our noses.









The next day, we went to a covered bridge not too far away (which just so happens to be the same bridge where one of my uncles proposed to my aunt!).


Jessie!!!!!!!!!


inside the bridge- I really like this one :)




complements of Jessie!

We enjoyed taking some pictures there before heading to the general store to pick up a few things.




YUM!


Jars of penny candy- this was a favorite when we were little...we awould always bring along a few dimes or nickels when we went to this store so that we could get some sweets :D


We passed quite a few Amish buggies on the way there, not an uncommon sight around here, but something which I've never attempted to photograph (the Amish believe that taking pictures breaks the 2nd commandment about not making a graven image, so you have to be careful about doing so. That's why all these pictures are from behind :D). While I was looking over these pictures, I was thinking about the simple way in which these people live. Most of them don't have cell phones, cars, or televisions. They live as a community, helping one another out when a barn burns down or a baby is born. They're quick to forgive and turn the other cheek. Their ways intrigue me...maybe it's because of the fact that this is the way in which my great grandparents grew up. My dad's family is from Lancaster, PA an area very populated with the plain folk. My grandpa grew up Mennonite before marrying my grandma and moving to Ohio when my dad was a baby. It's so strange to think that they once lived in a world so foreign to me. Anyways, that was my random though of the day :)

Trying out the my new camera :D

My wonderful parents bought me an awesome graduation gift- a new Canon SLR camera!!!!


I just got it yesterday and the little ones were more than happy to be my subjects in a test run.


my beautiful cousin Leah who was adopted from China 4 years ago. She and Grace and Ian all have a blast when they get together!


a very rare serious look on Ian's face...this kiddo is almost always smiling.


Grace's sweet smiling face :)

another of Grace

It was sunset so I had a little fun with sillouette shots!

ok, so everyone at my house thinks I'm crazy but this sunset reminds me of an American flag. Anyone else?

Popcorn!

I was making popcorn on the stove the other day and when I poured the oil into the pan, it formed a heart. Of course I HAD to take a picture ;)




before...


and after...yum!

Spring Break In South Carolina :)

A few weeks ago, during Jacob's spring break, my family, with myself excluded, packed up the car and headed to South CArolina to visit my grandparents. I was naturally disappointed that my studies had me tied up so that I was unable to join them. Realising this, my wonderful parents bought me a plane ticket and I flew into the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport last Friday for a week-long visit. Unfortunatley, the flight wasn't a straight shot, and I had to connect in Philly. Apparently that connecting flight had mechanical problems and was cancelled. I was told by the staff that the next available plane was at 9:00 PM (this was at about 8:30 AM) but they also gave me a stand-by ticket for a 3:00 flight. So, all by my lonesome I sat in the airport for 6 hours hoping to make it onto the 3:00 flight. I watched movies, wandered around the concourse, and ate lunch. The time seemed to crawl by. I was SO happy when there was room for me on the first flight! When my uncle picked me up in Greenville, I told him that I probably would have cried if I'd had to wait 6 more hours.
Once there, the excitment didn't settle a whole lot. With Grandpa, Grandma, Great-Grandma, my Aunt Mindy and Uncle Raymond, and their three kids (Jonathon, Hudson and Emily), there is never a dull moment. I spent Saturday at Aunt Mindy and Uncle Raymond's with the kids. Then on Sunday I went to church in the morning with Grandma and Grandpa, and then downtown Greenville and to church on Sunday night with Uncle Raymond and the cousins. On Monday, Grandpa took us younger folks out for lunch, and then the rest of Monday and most of the day on Tuesday were spent dress-shopping for Emily and me. Wednesday, Grandma and Grandpa took me out to lunch at a really yummy Thai restaurant, and that evening Aunt Mindy made popcorn and we watched The Blindside. Thursday morning I got up and finished packing everything (my suitcase gained 10 pounds!!! Possibly from all the new clothes I bought...4 skirts, a dress, and some new shirts :D). Aunt Mindy picked me up and we went downtown for a while and then had lunch at Chick-fil-a. Then they dropped me off at the airport where I had a very uneventful trip home to 85 degree, sunny Ohio! I missed everyone in S.C., but was certainly glad to see everyone at home. I'm pretty sure Ian grew a few inches while I was gone :P
Anyways, here's a few pictures...we had beautiful weather, the grass was so green, and the trees were blooming in full force.

This is a shot from downtown Greenville...they have an amazing park there at which I would have loved to have taken more pictures!




The trees were gorgeous!

Oh, yes, and the following is our family photo from Easter Sunday...

A Day on the Slopes

Last Saturday, Dad finally made good on his promise to take Grace skiing again. Feeling adventurous, I decided that it was time for Ian to hit the slopes on a snowboard. Both of the kids did great, and we all had a blast! Here are a few pictures :)


I love the look on his face in this one!


Ian's 1st time snowboarding; he did awesome!


Our little skier girl!


<3

Enjoying some soft pretzels and hot chocolate slope-side

Catchin' snowflakes :)

All in all, we decided it was a pretty great day!