A Little Amish Vacation?

Okay!!! Back and ready to move on! Yesterday I mailed back my company laptop, credit card and cell phone! I am officially no longer working for Bayer.

It was a nice run but everything has to come to an end and I was no willing to move so that is that.

I am applying for any six sigma jobs that are in companies I would feel proud to work for! Fingers crossed I find something quickly!

I went through what I would call a slight depression for a while there. I wasn’t depressed depressed but I was kind of sad. I knew it was coming and they definitely prepared us for it; but it hit me like a ton of bricks. I honestly thought I would retire at that company. And I didn’t realize how much value I put into who I worked for. I really loved that company and I gave my job my whole heart.

Anyway...I have my first interview tomorrow...wish me luck!

I have been spending as much time as possible with my family on the weekends! As you remember my sister‘s family, me and my parents have all been together often on since Covid hit in March. We were in Florida altogether when we first heard of Covid.

These are the people that I’ve been spending most of my time with. We are believers in wearing masks when we’re with other people and we are definitely trying to keep some distance between us and my parents so that they stay safe!

We went to Amish country over the weekend for a little getaway. We were wearing masks even though we were walking on the streets outside. We took them off for the pictures.

So much fun browsing and shopping and all of the Amish shops!

Of course we had to get ice cream! The ice cream was amazing at this little shop!

The girls wanted to pose on the giant chair!


We got home my parents house and could not wait to get into the hot tub! They only fill this thing in the winter and we look forward to it every year!

And Sunday was spent helping my parents rake leaves at the lake. They have a lot of leaves to rake and I needed the exercise! I love this picture with the lake and the flag!


I’m sorry I’ve been slightly MIA and I promise to change that. I’m now going to head off and catch up on all of you! Thanks for all of you who have reached out on Facebook and Instagram also. I am OK and I’m coming out of the funk slowly but surely. I think making a commitment to blog every day will help as well. So I plan to do this as much as possible.

I love the blogging community and all of you! Thank you for always being that ear when I need one to listen and thanks for making my life so much brighter and broader!!!

Hugs to you all!!!!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday weekend!

It was super hot in Pittsburgh over the 4th of July weekend. We made it to the mid 90's!!! I love hot weather so I was a super happy camper!

As I do on almost every weekend in summer; I spent the 4th of July with my family at my parents house on Lake Mohawk.

Here are a few from the past years...

2015 - Luau

2018 - Construction Site

2019 - Jungle Safari

 

The kids painted my nails for me...here we are styling....

Every year at Lake Mohawk there is a decorated boat parade. We choose a theme every year and this year we went patriotic with the other boats. Here is the pontoon decorated and ready to go. You can not tell here but the balloons had lights in them.

Here is a side view...

My Mom and sister...

My Dad, Ryan, Kyleigh, Aly and Steve (my brother in law)

Madelyn and Myself

As we drove around the lake there were so many fireworks...the public display was cancelled but people in their homes surely came through with a lot of noise!

So many boats participated this year! It us usually under 1 but this year we had 20 easily!

Spent the entire next day floating - literally!!! It was 95 degrees that weekend!!! This is where you will find me in the lake! HA!

 

Brody too!! The kids just swim all day if they are not skiing or tubing.

Here I am on the flamingo float!

Floating away....

My Aunt Marti came up for a picnic with everyone. It was great to see her too!! That is her on the far left!

Here is my brother in law Steve. Every year he debuts a new patriotic outfit. This was a winner!! HA! It is from Walmart and he said it had long pants but he cut them off into shorts! HA HA!

Here is the whole family at the campfire.  The kids were super excited because we were making hobo pies on the fire for dessert.

Do you know what a hobo pie is? It is two pieces of buttered white bread with pie filling in the middle. My family always uses cherry but you can use any pie filling you want. You put that in a pie iron and roast it on the fire. SOOOO YUMMY!!

We also always have sparklers at the campfire for the kids on 4th of July weekend.  Here is Kyleigh!!

And Aly

And Brody...

And Aly and Madelyn

Here is my sister and her hubby...

Another Aly....

And last but not least; this was set to me from my friend in San Diego. This is her daughter Charlotte Magdelana (Nena) and their dog Duke. Sooooo Cute, right?!?!?!

Happy 4th of July from my family to yours!!!

HUGS TO EVERYONE and thank you for stopping by!!!

How was your holiday weekend? Have you ever eaten a hobo pie or smores? Do you like them? Do you ever cook on a campfire? How are you feeling today?

2020 Lake Mohawk Fishing Tournament

Every year the lake where my parents lives holds a kids fishing tournament. 

The kids participated in 2018 much to their dismay. We adults thought it would be fun for them but their fishing attention span is not much more then 30 minutes and the tournament lasted 2 hours. My nephew Ryan is the only one that registered and took fish up to be weighed as I think he enjoyed it a little...HA!

Needless to say, after a miserable day of crying and complaining Ryan ended up with two awards. They got third place for the pounds of fish caught and also got the title for the biggest fish in his age category.  He won $50 gift card for the largest fish in his age group and $25 for third place in total pounds caught in his age group.

So, of course NOW ALL the kids wanted to participate since they know there is money involved....HA HA!

The family was out of town when 2019 kids tournament happened but two of the five nieces and nephews were there for 2020. So both Aly and Ryan participated this year.

Here is the recap....

They had a sign on the sign up table with our win from 2018...

It was all very distanced an Covid safe. They had sanitizer and gloves everywhere. It was held at the Lake Mohawk Marina.

Here is Ryan off his chosen dock.

And Aly trying to find a "good" spot. She walked around a lot before choosing her dock.

See how happy Aly is?!?!? She was fishing off a dock and immediately caught a fish.  She took it up to be weighed but did not leave anything on the dock to let people know that she was fishing there. Most kids left a tackle box at the end of their chosen dock.  So, when she got back another kid was using the dock that she had before. That kid was catching fish after fish...LOL! Aly was convinced that it was the sacred spot and she was ripped off. I told her - lesson learned; she needs to leave a tackle box to make her area. She complained the whole time that that kid took her spot and was catching her fish! HA!  That kid ended up winning the tournament. HA

Ryan had fun again...neither kid placed at all this year but fun was had by almost all - except Aly. HA

That night we had a campfire and smores and everything was again right in Aly's world. This is her with my Mom!! So cute!!

We love a night time campfire

This is my sister snuggling her little boy that is not so little anymore - HA!

The next day Aly and Ryan ruled to roost and got to tube more than ever since they were the only two up there on the fishing tournament weekend.

So much fun...

LOL

Bravery on the "Couch" Tube...HA! It is nearly impossible to fall off the couch tube....super stable for riding.

Silly girl...

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy!

HUGS TO EVERYONE!

Have you ever entered a fish tournament? Do you like to fish? What sports do you enjoy? How are you doing today?

Sunday Started the Summer Off Right

Sunday was a fantastic day at the lake over Memorial weekend!!

We got all the boats in and mother nature cooperated (it got pretty hot) and summer began!!!

Here are a couple of the girls on the paddle-board!

I love the boys faces and expressions in this picture...Ryan caught a really big bass and even surprised himself...HA! Brody is so amazed he is holding his head!!! Too funny!


Brody with one of his many fish...


The girls having fun on the floating mat!


A little paddle-board trip around the lake...


My "little brother" with his fish...he looks proud, hugh? LOL!


And my Dad with his...


The kids had a great time playing in the lake - it was the perfect start to summer!


That night we sang Happy Birthday to all the May birthdays...me included! Yippee! And enjoyed this delicious ice cream cake!


After cake it was off to start the first campfire of the summer...my favorite :-)


It was a fantastic start to the summer and a wonderful start to the Memorial Day weekend!

Do you enjoy fishing? What signifies the start of summer to you? Do you make and eat s-mores?? 

Hugs to everyone!!!