Livin' the Pennsylvania Life

We are currently without cameras. Both Brant's and mine have in some way bit the dust. This is a bad situation for me, one I need to rectify SOON. But in the meantime I wanted to post about two awesome activities we've participated in . . .
first: A few weeks ago we went to the Elizabethtown fair just a few miles down the road. We brought my dad, who was going to be a contender in the . . . horseshoe competition!!! Unfortunately, though, we didn't realize it was an all-day commitment, so we all (Brant, Annie, my dad, and I) ended up just sitting in the wooden benches and watching for a few hours. We also spent some time letting Annie converse with the goats and cows and eating yummy fare that can only appear out in the Pennsylvania countryside. It was a fantastic morning. Brant and Annie even attracted the attention of a newspaper photographer. We didn't know it had been published, but at a family gathering in Gettysburg a few days later, my grandmother pulled this clipping from her purse:

Annie's first newspaper appearance!!
(It's a picture of a newspaper; sorry, that's the best I can do) The caption reads:
"Annie Ellsworth, 1, gets a high-in-the-sky thrill from her dad, Brant Ellsworth, while they watch the horseshoe competition at the Elizabethtown fair."

second: We went to Kipona, on a whim put into our minds by our friend Spencer. Kipona is an arts/outdoor fest that occurs in downtown Harrisburg every summer. I remember last year's well, as the city was still recovering from it when I showed up at the hospital downtown on Annie's due date. Well. Spencer asked Brant to compete with him in a canoe race that's part of Kipona, and of course Brant took him up on it and Annie and I joined the affair as spectators. Our adventurous friends Scott and Nancy (and Anne, who's always up for any adventure) met us down there. To make a long story short, Spencer and Brant WON. They WON!!! The CANOE RACE!! They entered as novices, and their heat was intense, as far as canoe races in the Susquehanna River go, and let me tell you, this is the only one I've ever seen, but Annie and I were cheering very VERY loudly from the river banks. :) Scott was nice enough to take a video of the race, and I took some pictures on Spencer's camera, so those (along with pictures of Annie's birthday, don't forget) will be posted as soon as I get them! And you all can feel as if you were there with us!

third: This isn't really an activity, but I just wanted to say how happy it makes me that Annie still makes this face when she's looking at something really up close:

(5-day old Annie Jo)
I love my cross-eyed baby!! :)

And here's one of my favorite pictures I just found. Why not post it too?

And, just in case this post hasn't been rambling enough, here are some examples of the crazy funny things Annie's been up to lately. She's really into attaching things to her body and walking around like that. Let me illustrate:

She's so into this dishtowel that hangs from the oven, walks with it over her head and will wrap it around her shoulders and pose.
She'll ham it up even more if we say, "Ahh, soo pretty!"