Pennsylvania

For our Anniversary this year Ryne bought me a plane ticket to see my best friend Angie in Pennsylvania. I had a wonderful time! I got to spend a whole week with her family. Being around her family made me love her even more! Angie and her wonderful family will be back here in Texas sometime after Thanksgiving and I can't wait! We had lots of fun while we were there. I had never traveled to that part of the country and I fell in love! She lives in "Amish Country" (oh and the County as Kate Goslin :) I am already trying to figure out when I can go back. I never got a picture with me and all of her sisters, but I fell in love with them too. Ang is one of four girls too! I wish that I had more pictures but I was afraid my camera was going to die on account that I had lost the cord. (until yesterday, I found it :) I didn't get any of me and Angie's sisters. Thanks Joy for letting us use your room and thank you all for loving on me so much. I miss you all very much and can't wait to bring my sisters up for a really big party!

Ok so now for some pictures:
I almost didn't post this picture because it is so horrible of me but... As we were driving back from the airport Angie told me that people eat corn at almost every meal :) There were corn fields everywhere! This is a picture of me husking corn for my very first time! ha. At one point in time Angie said she felt as if a foreign exchange student was living with her haha

While Angie is in PA she is helping to teach English to a family from Nepal. This is where they live. I was just so impressed because most of the houses in downtown area were like this. As a matter of fact I hardly saw any houses that were not a duplex. It was a great experience to work with this family on many levels. On one level it deepened my love for my friend. Angie's family has lived in Africa and one day she would love to return as missionaries with her own family. I know that the desire has been on her heart but I was able to see her interact with this family and I saw her radiate God's love. She was so "in her element." It reminded me of how we all need to treat others and show God's love. On another level, it was a great experience since I want to be a teacher. I know that I will be interacting with ELL and the practical applications were numerous!

This is us at the "Green Dragon" It was a GREAT farmers market meets Canton, TX type of thing. There were many Amish vendors there selling some things.

I was super excited because I found some honey sticks and some not-quite-as-bad-for-you little suckers for the kids. I had been looking for something like that at our FM with no luck. The man who was selling the stuff and I chatted for a brief second and the kids REALLY loved their little suckers :)

And yes, we saw a lot of horse and buggy's

This is Angie's father, but really I was trying to get a picture of the Amish ladies in the background. They were making fresh squeezed lemonade and it was the best that I had ever had! (Close second Chik-fil-a)

This is just another shot from the market

I tried an "authentic sausage sandwich" at the green dragon. I have to admit, it was quite wonderful along side my lemonade!

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Ok. I had to get a picture of me in front of some of the corn. Yes I know that we have some in Texas but it was everywhere!

After church on Sunday we ate at a little hole in the wall, The Pretzel Hut. So of course even though everything looked great I had to get a pretzel sandwich. I will most certainly go back next time I visit. I even got a free shirt from there thanks to Angie's grandpa! (I am actually wearing it right now :)

Alivia loves the ice cream

This is me and Ang's parents. Thank you both so much for welcoming me into your home. I truly felt right at home. I loved to discuss the bible and recipes and loved getting to know you better.

Behind the Pretzel Hut they had a little miniature town and petting zoo. We had lots of fun playing with all the fun animals and buildings.

Later that day we headed to Hershey, PA! I was super excited because my cousin who lived in VA was moving to MA and it just so happened she would be driving through PA. After trying to figure out the details we settled on Hershey. We met up at Chocolate world to go on the free ride and look around. It was a nice air conditioned place to sit and visit. -Yes I gave my free candy at the end of the ride to someone else :)

This is Rach and I after our visit. Thank you SO much for stopping during the middle of your road trip to catch up. Being able to see you during my visit was just the cherry on top. I am so excited for you and your new job. I think next time we meet up in Hershey though we should go to Hershey Park!

On the way home we took a detour to the church where John and Angie were married! It was so wonderful to be there because I have been so blessed by both of them. It was neat to talk about our weddings and to relive some of the joyful emotions with Angie. Not to mention it had an incredible view!

Another morning Angie and I headed out for a breakfast date. I felt so special because she took me to a place that was a childhood favorite and held many memories. Her grandma and grandpa used to take her and her sisters here every single Saturday. And as you see, it was the Pancake Farm so I ordered some delicious strawberry pancakes! They also had something called "dutch fries" on the menu. Of course I had to get those too. I figured I might as well!

The day before I left we headed out to the beach and Oh My Goodness... I fell in LOVE!! As it turns out I love the beach. We didn't go very much growing up and this was the first time that I went to a beach "like in the movies". I loved how some people were flying kites, or sun bathing, collecting shells, throwing a football or Frisbee. There was so much going on. When we first got there I even saw some dolphins playing out beyond the horizon.

Ang, Alivia, and I. We are already planning when we can get our two families together at the beach! I had so much fun and I can't wait to take my kids!

Now this may be insignificant to others but I thought it was hilarious. On the way to Delaware, I saw places in the road with these huge white dots! (yes, polka dots on the road) Anyways, there were signs that said, keep two dots in between you and the vehicle in front of you. I just laughed because that would never have gone over well in Texas. I am pretty sure you could fit at least four cars in between two dots haha. If you look really hard you can find it.

And last, but not least... A horse can buggy on the road. I just found this fascinating!