Cowan's Gap

A few weeks ago we went with my parents to Cowan's Gap State Park, a beautiful place in the mountains near Altoona. I just found the pictures from that adventure. We swam and paddle-boated in the lake, hiked the mountain, and enjoyed being in such a natural setting.

Annie and Poppy scouted out the perfect picnic bench by the lake.


While taking a break from swimming laps in the lake, Annie sported her trendy beach cover-up.


We had so much fun (and got so much sun!) paddle-boating around the lake. It was beautiful!


All ready for the hike up the Horseshoe Trail. See Annie in Brant's backpack??


The trail was marked at a high difficulty, but we figured we could handle it. Boy, it was steep!!


On the way back down, Annie refused to be in the backpack anymore. She was so tired. So I carried her like a little baby all the way across the backside of the mountain. Luckily it wasn't steep anymore. :)


Walking around at the overlook


What a lovely summer vacation!

P.S.-- Today is my 25th birthday! Brant, Annie, Memphis, and I are are about to leave for some more adventures!

Happy December!

Hi there! Hope everyone is getting excited for Christmas!! Well, this has been me lately, sick and homebound for the last three weeks or so. I've had two really nasty colds, one of them may have been the flu, I'm not sure. And I'm still trying to get over a bad cough and a nose that just won't stop running. But we've still been busy around here! Here're some pictures to illustrate . . . :)


Annie learning to appreciate some semblance of tummy time without throwing a fit. :)


Thanksgiving evening, when we got back from dinner in Lancaster with my dad's family.


Our dear friends from Boston, Jared and Laura (and their little girl, Evelyn) came to visit us! We knew them in Provo, and now they're at dental school at Harvard. It was SO wonderful to see friends here! We took them around Middletown and drove down to Three Mile Island so they could take a picture by the power plant. We also went hiking then went to the house of a family in our ward, where we played softball in the cold! So much fun!!


Annie almost permanently has a bib attached to herself now. She drools so so much. :)


Filled with wonderment at the toys on her bouncy seat. She's finally come around to enjoying all the stuff we have to entertain her with. Makes me very happy--and keeps my hands free a lot more now!


Brant and our little Latvian sailor, asleep on the sofa


Hanging onto Brant's hair--very tightly!


Last week Annie and I (and Memphis) traveled down to Gettysburg to bake Christmas cookies with my mom. Annie had a great time. We were there all day and evening, and we made so many yummy treats! Unfortunately, I spent half the day lying down with a high fever and chills. But it was still a great trip.


Annie and Grandma in the sunshine


Swinging in the basement at my mom's house. Annie was totally zoned out as my mom sang Christmas songs to her. (And she lulled the dogs to sleep too!)


So Annie's new thing is her tongue. She sticks it out at everyone and loves the reaction she gets! She smiles so big and just keeps doing it. And if you stick yours back out at her, she'll study it closely, just be mesmerized. It's really cute.


When I was still sick, my mom came up to our house to help out with Annie. More Christmas cookies were baked, of course, in addition to dinner. :)


Annie was continually startled by the beater and consequently very intent on figuring out what was making such a noise.


And Memphis licked the bowl!


Brant read the most recent Harry Potter book while I was sick. Here he is reading it to Annie. She just kept staring at his mouth as he talked.


Dancing to Christmas music in the kitchen


Stealing a kiss :)

And here's a video of Brant reading to Annie. She was really getting a kick out of it, at least in the beginning.


Happy holidays!! Since I've been so sick I haven't yet put decorations up, so I can't wait to do that! We've got a lot going on these next few weeks. This weekend we'll be going to my friend's wedding in Maryland. There are also a number of holiday festivals and such in all the towns around us. So this weekend should be a lot of fun. Hope everyone's having a wonderful season!

Happy November!

Well, it's warmed up here! And we've been going on all sorts of adventures the last few days, so I have a ton of pictures to put up! Today we went to Lititz, which is about 35 minutes northeast of where we live. It's a gorgeous old town with a lot of cute shops and great buildings. We got there kind of later in the day, so a lot of the places were closed. We walked around, though, and had a good time. I found a used book shop that's REALLY cool. I can't wait to go back. I bought some children's books for Annie. So, the picture above is of an inn--and in the bottom right corner of the picture is a statue carved right out of a tree!

Annie had a lot of fun just rolling around in her stroller!


Taking a break to play with Daddy.


A girl's boarding school--as it says, the "Oldest in His Majesty's Colonies."






We also went to a park along the Susquehanna today--Chickies Rock, it's called--and there was a trail to an overlook. There was a huge group of Mennonites walking along the trail, and we had a great time chatting and showing off Annie. :)
The overlook at the end of the trail.




Exploring the woods along the trail.





These pictures are a little backwards . . . the rest of these are from yesterday, Halloween! Annie and I spent most of the afternoon on campus with Brant. He got a lot of work done on his term papers, and I finished watching the West Wing! 7 seasons--and we've watched them all since Annie was born--a true accomplishment. Halloween was pretty uneventful, honestly. The kids trick or treat on the Thursday before Halloween (to keep crime under control or something), so yesterday we just had a restful evening inside, once we got back from campus.
Campus at sunset!

Annie's Halloween photo shoot on the sofa!





warm afternoon on the front porch


sleeping soundlessly in Brant's arms



So, it's November now! In other news, Brant found out the book review he wrote for The International Journal of the History of Sports has been accepted for publication! His classes are going great, and his teachers are being really helpful in his search for scholastic opportunities. Tomorrow we're going down to Maryland for a dinner at my aunt's house. Chicken pot pie, a tradition! yumm!

Meeting Great Gram

Today we drove over to Lancaster with my parents to visit my grandmother. So Annie got to meet her great grandmother! Annie is the third great granddaughter on the Quinn side. No great grandsons yet! Afterwards we drove down the road to Conestoga, PA, where they were holding a fall festival at the local historical society. We watched lots of old fashioned craftsmen and tradesmen. The best part about the day was the drive along the Susquehanna. I discovered some really cool old towns along the river. :)