PocoYES!

Who knew that the Poconos could be more than champagne glass shaped jacuzzis and hunting lodges? Well it turns out that it is much more...in fact, it's a beautiful region of the world. Just ask Heather and Jeremiah as they were stranded about a half-hour outside our rustic retreat and had to enjoy sitting on the side of the road, taking it all in. I hear they found a wonderful place called "Dairy Queen" while they waited.

Anyway, truly, the weekend away in the wilderness was fantsatic. When I say "wilderness" I am saying that the road we were staying on was essentially unmarked and unpaved. After that, we had all the modern amenities, which is the only way I "camp." We were only 5 miles away from a grocery store but we were reminded of the Blair Witch Project every time we set out to find it. In a good way. In an exciting "we're on an adventure" way.

So it was a great time. Sawyer and Aaron (the newest babies) got to meet each other for the first time, and big brother Joshua (Aaron's big brother) definitely set a fantastic example for the other two boys. Poor little Joshua had fractured his tibia shortly before the trip, but it didn't slow him down one bit. He was so happy and playful and sweet and CUTE. It seemed pretty evident that Aaron and Sawyer plan to follow his lead...I'll tell you, the children of the GCC girls are real lookers.

Check out a few pictures from the weekend here. Everyone earned the title of "Guitar Hero," too ...you'll see everyone rockin' out to the tunes. Watching Dog and Jim was like actually attending a concert, they were movers and shakers. Literally. Next step...purchasing "Rock Band."

It should also be noted that we watched the space shuttle Discovery take off...courtesy of JC who is a big fan of the NASA channel. I had no idea there even was a NASA channel, but now I'm a little hooked.

And a very special "thank you" to Susan, Heather and Amanda for the absolutely spectacular photo book for the baby. I'll have to figure out some way to scan a few pictures into the blog, but this thing is amazing. Honestly, the book is so professional and beautiful, we still can't get over it. Thank you, girls! I read and re-read the book all the time! Also, I'm finally getting the hang of the alphabet, so thanks for doing the whole "a is for...b is for...c is for..." theme. My favorite is "n is for napping...that means you, baby." I still don't know where you found all those crazy pictures from our past, but I'm so glad you did.

Stay tuned for another Pocono posting as Kevin and I will be traveling back up there next weekend for the Vileation Nation family outing. It will be the first time Kevin's entire family will be together in a LONG time. Years. Since his three siblings are all affiliated with the military in some way, they seem to spend a lot of time serving our nation in foreign countries. We're just so glad they're not in some desert right now since it is a miserable 100 degrees in Maryland today.

And by the way, we're into week 35 of growing this baby, so I'm hoping that this heat wave is not labor-inducing in some way! I could use just a little more time to get ready for this person...