Week in Clearfield

We have been spending the week living at the Comfort Inn and swimming only keeps the girls busy for so long so we have started GeoCaching.  It is a high tech scavenger hunt using the internet and a GPS.  There are some special ones in Clearfield County that have stamps you can put in a book and if you get enough you get a prize, so the girls are all over that.  It has helped to become familiar with the area and have fun at the same time. 

After the Open House on Thrusday we went to see the Mountain Laurel (sorry no picture of that) and while we were doing that we cam across Anderson Creek.  We pulled off to get some pictures and check it out.  The girls asked if they could put their feet in and walk around a little.

Which lead to a little more, and a little more.

They were really having a fun time.

Until they slipped and fell in, then they decided it was not so fun anymore, so we headed back to Clearfield.

The drive back was beautiful, of coarse the pictures do not do it justice, but you could see for miles.  It was so pretty with the "bourgh" in the valley and "hills" all around.  I am not so sure what to call them "hills" or "Mountains."

You can see the plant right in the middle of the picture below.

On Saturday we all went (Eric too) to State College to the Spring Creek Family Festival at the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center.  A.K.A. tree huggers festival as Eric called it.  It was fun for the kids, they got their face painted, did a scavenger hunt, learned about rocks, played bird bingo, and participated in a duck race.  Not so ultra exciting for Eric but he was a good sport.


On Sunday the girls and I headed to the laundromat while Eric went to work for a bit.  Then we all went to Parker Dam, a State Park somewhat nearby.  The girls really wanted to go hiking.  We had never really gone hiking before so we got a map at the Ranger Station at choose The Trail of New Giants.  Later on I read that is was "more difficult hiking," but we all had fun and had some incredible views. 

Starting out all smiles.

A self done pic by Karinda at the top of the vista.

This was the view from the top of the Vista, once again the pictures do not do it justice, but it was beautiful.  You could see a lot of the park.  The lake in the middle is Parker Dam and that is where we started from.

Eric and his "cats"  I have no idea where it comes from but that is what he calls them and is kind of spreading to not just their daddy calling them "the cats."

Eric even posed for one with just me!!!

On the way down the trail.

Back to the road and still smiles.  The girls found this little stream and wanted thier pictures by it.  I think my camera was still on landscape setting, they really are not ghosts.

When we had first got there someone asked if we wanted to go to the CCC museum and I told him we would next time.  Little did I know it was only open Sunday afternoons.  This is a the machines used when making the dam and all the roads in the park.  Thank goodness for modern machinery. 

We walked across the big rocks at the dam.

 And climbed huge boulders on the other side.

The one creature we found.

 We had a great day exploring a new part of the country.

And to top off an already awesome day, Daddy went swimming with the girls.

Off to Clearfield!!!

Memorial Day weekend we got to spend up north as a family getting the cabin "renter ready."  Thankfully we did and about noon on Monday we left and headed for Clearfield, PA.  Eric has been spending most of his time there since the end of April and now we got to come and stay with him because the girls had off for the week.

On Thursday we got to be there for the PGP Open House/Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.  It was a beautiful day for it, and it was pretty short and sweet, Dan gave a little speech and then all the employees and some people from town got to cut the ribbon.

There really was just a lot of standing around and talking but it was nice to meet some of the employees and their families.  It changed things for me, from just being a place, to the place having people that cared.  I know it sounds silly, but it was a very good day for me.  The employees had spent a year working there without the plant running, not knowing what was going to happen.  That is a long time of unknown!  It was really good to talk with the employees and see their excitement and gratitude of being back to work.  I talked to one guy who seemed to be as amazed with Eric as we are.  He said if he could go to Cambridge and get that place up and going he is excited to see what he can do here.  Eric is always quick to point out that he can't do it alone.  There is a lot that goes into the plant and he is appreciative of all that everyone puts into it.

The girls liked being able to be there with daddy and grandpa.

We took a small walking tour of the facility.  A lot of the employees asked if we were going to move to Pennsylvania.  I just said what I always say, "I make no promises on anything."

This is the plant from the top of one of the "bins."  They are made of cement so I guess they are called silos.  It is a 110 million gallon a year plant, while Cambridge is 44 million a year. 

Back to Cambridge

 Right after our field trip, bright and early the next morning we got to fly back to Cambridge.  I know can you say spoiled???  SPOILED!!!  It was so good to see our friends again!!!  Although there wasn't enough time with everyone.

 The girls got to fly there on Wednesday and back on Thursday, then back to school on Friday!  We still got to go to the school on their last day and walk before school started, but the pool didn't open until after the girls left.  Eric and I stayed until Saturday afternoon, we filled the truck with as much as we could and headed back to Zeeland.  I cannot tell you what going back did for me.  It was wonderful to see my friends again and I felt so much more at peace when we left. 

Mackinaw Island Fieldtrip

 The whole reason the girls and I had planned to stay in Michigan was so Karinda could go on her field trip to Mackinaw Island May 14 & 15.  I hadn't planned on going at first but I am so glad I went with.  (Thanks Cliff and Karen for watching Kylie).  I appreciate Innocademy even more now after the field trip.  There was 91 people on the trip.  38 parents and 53 students.  Some of those parents had 2 or 3 kids so it was almost one on one with your kids.  To me it shows just how much the Innocademy parents care, and want to be involved with their kids.  We primarily hung out with Karinda's friends Merideth and Katelyn, and I had the privilege of getting to know their moms a little more too.  Such a group of wonderful Christian people!  I also got to know another dad on the way up on the bus ride and learned just how much prayer has gone into Innocademy.  We are so blessed to have our kids at such an awesome school!

 Merideth, Katelyn, and Karinda, and a larger group of kids from Inno, they pair off a little but they seem to all get along so well.

 We left the school at 7:00 Monday morning a little nervous about a 4-5 hour bus ride but it went wonderfully!  We stopped at Fort Michilimackinack to have lunch and then we visited the fort.  It was pretty cool, just wish I had more time there.

 Merideth, Katelyn, and Karinda as colonial people.

 The girls got to wash clothes like the people did back then, they thought it was pretty cool.

 After the fort in Mackinaw city we crossed the bridge to St. Ignace.

 And took the Star Line Ferry Across.

 There was 91 people on the trip and we all stayed in the Inn on Mackinaw, a bed and breakfast.  It was amazingly large and very pretty.

 The weather was beautiful and we had a little free time before dinner at the Yankee Tavern so we shopped, and the girls played by the water.

 The horse outside the B&B was a very popular photo op.  Karinda and Trina pose for a pic.

 We look like we are dressed like it is very cold, but we were comfortable.  It's not very often I have time with just Karinda.  While she was a little disappointed to have to room with just me and not her friends, I thought it was very nice!

 In the morning we visited Fort Michilimackinack.  I preferred this fort, it seemed cleaner and neater, and the view was incredible.

 We got to see the cannon go off (just not that one) and we watched them shoot the guns.

                                                  Such a cute lady.
Karinda and Kate as soldiers.  They had a whole area for kids where they could dress up and play games.  Here the guy would tell them what to do, they really had fun!



We were on our own for lunch and had a little more free time, so we rented a tandem bike and rode around the island.  We first started out just riding to see arch rock, but the stairs were closed so when we were about half way around Karinda realized it and asked if we were going around the island. When I said yes, she was ok with it, but when I had asked her the night before if she wanted to do it, 8 miles seemed really long.  We did it in just under an hour with a couple of stops and we both really had fun. 

Then we got to ride in a horse and carriage through the island.  It was really fun to see and hear about some of the things you wouldn't see or know on your own.

There are not supposed to be any cars on the island but we did see an ambulance and a police car.

Karinda did finally get to see Arch Rock before we headed back.  It was an incredible school field trip!