A Quick Visit to Woodloch

A year and a half ago, our little family went to this enchanting family resort called Woodloch.  The resort, situated on a lake in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, created many fun memories for us.  We celebrated my husband turning 43 and Little Lewie turning 5; we celebrated a year of blessings for our family (when we went through some personal challenges and struggles); and we celebrated life as we know it.

Our trip was so magical that we vowed to do it again, and in fact, all three of us wore the bracelets the resort gave to us (for the entire year and a half) as a way of saying to ourselves..."Remember Woodloch.  Remember Family." 

Our trip this weekend, although cold and snowy, didn't disappoint.  Woodloch is known to many (including the advertising industry) as "The Ultimate Play Date".  I don't know how to better describe this resort as it provides tons of activities for family members of all ages.  On this trip, my husband enjoyed the zip line, and we as a family enjoyed the pool, the go carts, the bumper cars, the miniature golf, the arcade, and the delicious food served three times per day at their main lodge.  (Everyone from the resort eats together at the very same time like a family.)

Go Cart Racing!

 

Lewie lost another tooth!  He now has two missing front teeth!

A little bit of snow in the forecast.

Waiting for milk shakes at the "Treat Place."  (That's Lewie's term for the snack bar.)

Eating at the main dining hall.  Little Lewie takes the best pictures...

The awesome pool at Woodloch!

Playing some sort of SEGA Star Wars game...

On this particular trip, Little Lewie played BINGO for his very first time.  (The stakes were high as we could actually win $20 - $80 per game!)  We also had the joy of watching a Saturday Night Live type of skit (for all ages) on Thursday night that was held in their very large auditorium.  It was the first time Little Lewie really enjoyed live theater entertainment, and I was impressed that he understood the humor.  Our favorite skit of the show was when the cast pretended to do a synchronized swimming routine.  Everyone's bare feet went up into the air except for one person who was wearing colorful socks and clown shoes!  Lewie burst out into a roaring belly laugh when he saw the shoes.  I couldn't stop laughing either.

Our quick two night trip went by in a flash.  I wish it could have been longer, but then again, I'm thankful that we even had the chance to go back.  I need trips like this to remember what's important.  I now have an orange bracelet to go with the blue one I received during my very first trip to Woodloch.  I'll continue to wear them with pride and to remind me that no matter what, "Family is First."

Lewie's Toothy Smile

Lewie started losing his baby teeth last year.  He likes to recall the stories:  "I lost one at the charging station when you were charging your car...Remember Mommy.  I lost the other one in Aunty ReRe's pool."

Yes, Lewie lost his two bottom teeth at rather inconvenient times--while charging my car (last April) and while going for a swim in Delaware (last July).  Unfortunately, the missing tooth in the pool episode was just that--a missing tooth.  We tried to find it on the bottom of the pool or in the pool filter basket but with no luck.  It was sad for both Lewie and me who wanted the tooth for obviously two different reasons.

Around Christmas time, Lewie started noticing that his top teeth were loose.  One shifted and started looking rather awkward in his mouth, but Lewie wasn't ready to part with it, so the ongoing joke was that Lewie had a crooked tooth.  My husband tried to "help" by brushing Lewie's teeth rather aggressively one night, and this loosened it a little more.

The next morning, Lewie woke up and decided this would be the day to part with his crooked tooth.  He told me he watched a Youtube video on how to loose a tooth, and he needed an apple to do the job.  I grabbed an apple wedge from the refrigerator and gave it to him.  After two bites, the tooth was out!  "When did you learn this?" I asked astounded.  "Mrs. Kranz let me watch a video at school," he said proudly.

See his "bubble beard."  Little Lewie is playing "Santa."

Amazing, I thought to myself.  This generation has access to some much more information than I ever did growing up.  Now-a-days, if you want a tutorial on how to do anything, it's as simple as clicking on Youtube. 

We love Lewie's toothy smile, but it sounds like the next tooth on top will be coming out soon too.  He's already been complaining that he can't bite into certain foods because his tooth hurts.  We have an apple wedge saved in the refrigerator just in case...  What is your favorite baby tooth story?

Happy Easter 2015!

This year we celebrated a delightfully simple Easter holiday.   The bug exterminators came out for their last time on Friday (Good Friday to be exact), and while our home is clean and bug free, we haven't had a chance to move all of our belongings back inside.  We had no Easter decorations this year and no company; we chose to eat out with family instead.

The Easter Bunny arrived to an incredibly clean house this year and had to think extra hard about hiding eggs.  There were empty book cases and shelves, so the Bunny had to scope out secret places behind shades, couches, tables, and some of Mommy's exercise equipment.   The Easter "basket" (gift) was wrapped and hidden on a kitchen chair tucked under the table. 

Little Lewie, of course, didn't recognize the difference between this year and last year.  He was just happy to spend the morning finding his eggs, eating chocolate, and scoping out his Easter gift. 

The second joy came when we met up to eat a delicious Easter buffet with my family.  We tried a new restaurant in Middletown called The Canoe Club and enjoyed eating a yummy meal with good conversation.  My family (who hasn't seen Lewie in a while) was surprised at how tall he's grown, and they were especially impressed with his good manners.

Indeed, this Easter was much different than the ones from my childhood.  Easter used to be day where 15 or so family members would cram into our little house and eat a delicious meal around a long wooden table that was set up in our living room walkway.  After eating, aunts and uncles would fall asleep on the couch while others gathered their pennies to play a lively game of Pokeno.  I wish Lewie could have the same upbringing, but alas, many of my family members have either moved away or joined our Lord Jesus in heaven. 

Regardless of days past, this holiday was cheerful.  I had the blessing of celebrating it with my own little family, my mom, my aunt, and our "adopted" family friend.   We had a wonderful meal, and we had the joy in knowing that we could return to our happy, peaceful home.  In a few spare minutes of solitute, I also had the time to pray, reflect, and be thankful.  God is good.