The rest of the story

Well, I told you about the speech.

And while I am thinking about it - it is only 2 months until the FFB walk!  Sign up to walk with us!  Get a shirt!  Help us raise money!!!

We did do other things while we were in Pennsylvania this past weekend.  Our other activity was the Pletcher Family picnic.

Friday we helped Mat's Aunt Betty and Grandma set up for the picnic at their house.  The kids had a great time.  Arlington helped Mat and Aunt Betty put up a new tree swing.  Then she tested it out to make sure it would hold.

 Finley helped Grandma (GiGi to her) bake some pies.

 She was really into it.  She rolled the dough, and then Grandma let her bake her own pie.

 Here is the end result of her brown sugar, butter and dough pie.

 And Finley ate the whole thing by herself!  I must say - it didn't look appetizing, but she ate it anyway.

 Arlington helped GiGi pick some corn for our lunch.

 She thought this was the best.  She loved being in the garden.

And then we all enjoyed eating fresh corn.

After we finished setting up for the picnic, we went with Aunt Betty and Grandma to dinner with the kids before heading back to Mat's parent's house for the night.

We spent some time letting the kids ride the little red car they love so much.

Gramma and Pappy bought this for the grandkids and the kids never want to stop riding it.

We let them ride around while we waited for Mat's parents to come home from their long trip from Florida.

Saturday - after the luncheon for Foundations Fighting Blindness, we went to the Pletcher picnic.

 It was great to see everyone.  We don't get to see Mat's relatives very often - his family is huge and spread all over the place.

There were card games.

And kid games.

There was a chance to catch up and just enjoy our time with family.

Finley did Uncle Zac's hair.  She tried to put it in a ponytail holder that Zac's girlfriend, Alison, gave to her.

The kids kept Alison on her toes.  Alison is really sweet and my kids adored her.

Arlington spent time with some of her favorite cousins "N" and "R".  I wish I would have gotten closer to take pictures.  You would not believe how much ALL of these kids look like Pletcher's.  No one else has strong enough genes to outdo the Pletcher features!  It is kind of amazing.

And everyone that was at this picnic had the last name of Pletcher.  This blew Arlington's mind.  There are not many girls in this family (and I mean Mat's uncles and Aunts and his first cousins - after that there are a lot of girls!) so everyone is a Pletcher.  It is funny.  "R" kept saying - "hey!  That girl has the same last name as me!"

Mat's uncle's Barry and Bill and Mat's brother Zac enjoyed time together on the porch swing.

We played into the night - enjoying each other's company.  Then around 9pm (way past the kid's bedtime) we called it a night.

We look forward to being able to come back next year and enjoy the company of these wonderful people yet again - it was great to see them.

We left Sunday morning and were home by dinner time Sunday night.  We had a nice weekend, and wish it wasn't so quick.  We won't be traveling again to Pennsylvania until October for the Visionwalk.  I need to give my driving leg a break!  4 weeks in a row - long trips - we need a rest.

Yesterday the girl's had their physical.  I cannot take all three kids at once (pediatrician's rule - not mine) so it was just the girls yesterday.  They both got shots, but did really well with them.  Arlington got a little anxious about it, but held it together and didn't cry.  Finley got three shots and a finger prick, and didn't mind at all.  She just sat and watched the doctor - barely noticing.  Then after she was done - she was sitting on my lap and said "Mommy?  I don't want a shot".  Yeah - too late kid - you missed it!

We have a busy week.  Arlington is taking an art class this week every afternoon.  She had a great time yesterday and today.  I am sure she will be sad when it is over at the end of the week.  Between appointments and the art class, there won't be time for much else this week.

Summer is ticking by.  We are trying to enjoy the last weeks of relaxing and sleeping in before school starts.  I hope you all are doing the same.

Watch for changes to this blog and an addition of a few things!  Can't wait to share our new Finley's Fighters website - where we will keep you up to date on fundraisers, cool events, and Finley's status.  Since Mixed Nuts is a family blog, we felt it necessary to separate some of Finley's stuff a little bit.  So now you will have more than one great place to visit!  Aren't you excited!  And there is more news coming soon!!

See you Saturday!