Visiting friends and family!

I have just been to busy to keep this blog up to date, so Makayla has decided to take things into her own hands. I'm OK with it. In fact, I'm guessing most of you have given up reading this anyway because it has been so long since I did anything with it. Are blogs a thing of the past? I like that they are an avenue for us to keep in touch with family and friends, but I have fallen out of the habit of posting pictures and stories even though we always have a lot of amusing stories to tell.

Anyway, below is Makayla's first post on our blog. She did a great job . . . .

This summer has been so much fun. We visited friends and family in Washington, Utah, and Colorado, it was like having a HUGE family reunion on both sides. Starting with visiting Grandma and Grandpa Mergenthaler and our cousins.

We had so much fun taking walks to the beach....

....And having lunch with grandma and grandpa at the park. The kids especially LOVED the zip line, and pizza swings.

After staying a fun week at grandma and grandpa Mergenthalers in Washington. It was already time to go. We drove to visit The Davis's we had LOADS of fun.

After our wonderful day, we took a plane to Las Vegas, met up with Cathy, Megan, Lilly,and David and drove to grandma and grandpa Gudgel's house in Moab,Utah.

We had so much fun visiting grandma and grandpa. We went swimming at the rec center,

Played belly bump!!!,

And visited Wilson's Arch!!!!

We also visited Great Grandpa Gudgel in the nursing home.

Then we left Utah, and drove to Colorado to visit Chelsey and her family.We went river rafting,came home and played lots of fun games.

Thank you all for the fun times. We can't wait to see you again.

Comments

That Sinking Feeling - Real Talk From Your Mother

Also found at Letters from the Nest: https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/that-sinking-feeling?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Dear Nestlings, I hope you don’t mind a little stream-of-consciousness letter today. I don’t know if I have anything specific to share, so let’s see what floats to the surface. It’s a bright fall Friday morning. These last few weeks in central Pennsylvania have been lovely, sunny, and warm. I know winter is coming, so I try to be outside as much as possible to take advantage of the sun before it hibernates. I just completed the forty-minute round trip to drive one of you to the high school. You know who you are, but maybe in a few years, when you read this, you won’t know because every one of you has missed the bus sometimes and has endured lectures about planning better and showing your respect for my work by not requiring forty minutes of my life for your convenience. Anyway, everybody is at school and work except...

Gavin in a Million Words or Less

Way back when Emily was in 6th grade, her teacher, Ms. Grey, asked parents to write about thier children in a million words or less. I posted what I wrote about Emily on our blog. I wish I were more organized and tech-savvy to find the link to that post and put it here, but I'm not. It's a nice idea that maybe I'll do later. Anyway, you get to read what I wrote to Gavin's fifth grade teacher who made the same requests of parents: Gavin is the youngest of seven children. His three oldest siblings have flown the nest, so he talks to them on the phone and looks forward to holiday visits. This summer, his oldest sister had a baby, so he’s an Uncle! He has three older brothers, who sometimes make life tricky for him, but are also sources of wisdom, rides to the store to get candy, and annoying TikTok phrases. He sometimes wants to be more grown up than he actually is. This little guy is academically oriented. He loves to read BIG books. He rarely reads a standalone nove...

Back To School Meanies

Letter From the Nest August 15, 2025 https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/back-to-school?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web One August, more than twenty years ago, at an evening book club discussion, my “older” friends (now I look back and know those women were the age I am now), were discussing the woes and triumphs of back-to-school season. One woman was anticipating her youngest child’s senior year of high school. She said, “For more than two decades, our lives have revolved around the school district’s academic calendar. I don’t know how I will plan my life without knowing about school breaks or holidays.” I remember her bittersweet tone as she anticipated freedom from school schedule constraints but also mourned how those constraints guided her choices. What would she do? Other women joined the discussion, wondering if their kids would have good teachers, if they’d be able to balance volunteering in the classroom, how to streamline school supply pu...

The Mergenthaler Family

Search This Blog