Slippery Rock's new generation

We had a blast the remainder of the weekend. Definite highlight of the weekend were all the kids. Six grandkids in all from ages 1.5 - 3.5 yrs. Endless entertainment watching them all interact with each other. Taking Henryk fishing for the first time on those lakes made the drive out worth it alone. I hope he doesn't expect fishing to be this easy everywhere we go.



The Mashudas have done an amazing job keeping the property up and looking like it's been for decades. Uncle Dan puts a ton of work into it, always a chore to keep those pesky beaver out of the lakes.

The weather could not have been better, we enjoyed countless hours outside eating, drinking and having fun! Another highlight was me winning the largest fish caught in the "adult" category, and Henryk actually winning the "kids" trophy. Monday morning we all packed it up, said our goodbyes, and headed off in all different directions.

Slippery Rock, PA...The Cottage

After one night in Pittsburgh (Gibsonia) at Grand Ma and Grand Pa's, we made it to the awesome cottage in Slippery Rock. Mark has been coming here once or twice per year ever since he can remember. Lots of pictures from previous cottage visits were passed around that included perms, bangs, shoulder pads and high-wasted acid-washed shorts! Friday night there were about 1/3 of the weekend attendees and then the rest arrived Saturday. I think there were 22 adults and who knows how many kids!

From the start, Mark and Henryk got in a memorable fishing trip with Grand Pa. Henryk was having so much fun. Every cast brought in a blue gill and a few bass. H was getting the reel, wanted to touch the fish ("kind of sharp") and enjoyed throwing them back in the lake. Henryk even knew how to get the trolling motor going. The night was actually cool. Henryk is sleeping on the floor of the camper and Kennedy in her pack n play (waking up at 4a). Kennedy has been such a great baby on this whole trip. She is rolling over quite a bit and even reaching for toys, wishing she knew how to crawl.

Mark may win the trophy for the longest fish. So far, he's got the record (18.5" bass).

Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at the cottage...not enough time. Hot days, cool nights, lots of boat rides, hikes and fishing. And eating. And drinking. Henryk is having a blast with the other kids, yet still plays by himself nicely. He's also very sweet to Kennedy, ensuring her happiness. I think we all wish we were closer to do this more often.


-erika

PA.....finally! 5/27

So, if you've been wondering what your stimulus money has been doing, it's been rebuilding our ENTIRE highway system coast to coast. Am I tired of construction, slow speeds, narrow detoured highways? YES!! A "short" 2 hour drive on the Ohio and PA Turnpike (gotta love those tolls when you have 4 axles) and I brought us all to Grandma and Grandpas house. Grandpa was waiting to teach Henryk how to cast a fishing rod and take him for a tractor ride.




Several of the Sabatos Uncles, Aunts, and cousins came for dinner to meet Kennedy and see Henryk (I KNOW they're not here to see me, I'm not cute like little Kennedy). Henryk had a blast on Uncle Bill's toy Power Wheels quad. He expertly rode it all over the yard like he's been doing it his whole life. Rode it until the battery died.


His cousins Reagan, Addison and Quinn came over too. He had a blast playing with them, riding in the wagon behind the tractor, throwing bean bags, swinging in the hammock, etc. I wish it was easier to see everyone so he could see all his cousins from Chicago to Florida more often.




We're off to Slippery Rock tomorrow morning for more fun!

---Mark

5/26--Illinois, Indiana and OHIO, Hudson that is!

It was a "short" day of driving from Naperville (THANKS ARI!). About 7 hours, $50 in tolls, through 3 states and lots of construction = slower speeds. We've seen a lot of tin roofs rusted!


We had to run around a rest stop in Somewhere, Ohio. Mostly for Mark--3 straight days of driving this rig was getting to him.



We rolled our rig into John and Betsy's driveway at 6p last night, sure to perk up the HOA board! Henryk had so much fun running around with the dogs and cleaning off their slide with his bum. John grilled out an awesome dinner and still had energy to play with Henryk (piggy backs and bumble bees). We slept late this morning--Ali and Jill had already left for school and John gone to work. Thank you again for the stop in Hudson, OH.




We're off to PA. Over the river and through the woods to Grand Ma's house we go. ETA: 1p.

Made it to Naperville 5/25 7p

Very talented road tripping...both kids eating toes!

So it took a couple of extra hours yesterday. ARGHHH. First there was construction where I-80 was closed and detouring around Davenport. And then there was amazing amounts of rain falling and we could drive no faster than 50 mph in order to see the road. Another scary day of driving for Mark but we made it.The Sheridans welcomed us into their house very quickly. Henryk was thrilled to run around in the back yard with Britt and Riley. His first experience with a slip n slide (a little hesitant). He had no problem playing in their sand table and jumping on their trampoline. Henryk went right to bed when Aunt Ari said it was time....hhmmmm. Apparently we need Ari to call our house at 8:30 every night. Riley and Britt are seen here checking out the camper:Today we have a 6.5 hour drive to Mark's cousin's in Hudson, Ohio. Let's hope it is not windy, raining or lots of construction!

We're having a great time and this is one for the memory books.

-erika

Leaving Nebraska (sounds like a fun band!) 5/25

Since we are at KOA Kampground, we hooked up the TV last night. We're really roughing it on this trip! During Dave Letterman (when they go to a commercial, Henryk asks "where's Dave?"), there was a scroll on the bottom of the screen about severe thunderstorms in various counties. We had no idea what county we were in but pretty sure we'd get hit. It made a lot of noise in the middle of the night, according to Mark. It's times like that, I don't mind having bad hearing!
We all woke up around 7a, had breakfast and showers and one last run around the playground. We were on our way out of Nebraska by 9a (Central). Nebraska was windy and flat. Iowa is hilly and thankfully no wind today. Iowa has a lot of wind generators; Nebraska could power our whole country if they'd had a few! The view from I-80 in Iowa: many gorgeous, hilly farms and lots of green vegetation.
We stopped at Quizno's in an office park in Des Moines for lunch. Henryk ran around, hit some baseballs and did somersaults down a hill. He didn't eat much but got tired and again have two kids sleeping! We'll be crossing over to Illinois by the time they wake up and should be at Aunt Ari's by dinnertime!

-Erika

Made it.....worst windy drive ever

That was the toughest drive I've ever encountered! 60+ mph gusts coming in straight from the side. I could barely keep the rig on the road. Slowed us down a bit, and got lousy fuel mileage (don't ask). Pretty sick of Nebraska by now. And the humidity, WOW, forgot about that since we live in dry Colorado. One of the most exciting things for Henryk was the truck full of pigs!
We got to our very welcoming KOA campground at about 6pm. About 25 miles West of Omaha, 550 or so miles from Denver. Excellent playground for Henryk to burn off some energy!Grilled out a great steak and veggies, and enjoyed a fine glass wine. ----Mark

Leaving Colorado Monday 5/24

We left at 812a with a camper loaded and two cheerful children. We've got a lot of hours ahead of us in this truck but we are looking forward to this adventure.

Henryk has been pointing out every truck trailer, train, tee pee, lake and the fact that it is windy. It's so windy, motorcyclists have to ride at about 30 degree angles.

We are camping at a KOA near Omaha, NE, tonight and should arrive around 5p (Central). We just stopped at a rest stop for lunch and now have two sleeping kids! And thus, I have the time to set up this blog. This is my first time, so I'm learning how to do this going 70 mph on I-80! I have to figure out how to post pictures next!

Happy Monday everyone!