Strasburg, PA

A good friend of mine from back at BYU, Gabby, took a trip out east and we met in Pennsylvania for the day. It was so good to see her and her husband and to see their little girl who is only 11 days older then Annie. She's one of those people who I can not see for years and when we do get back together it's like we never lived apart.
We played at the playground, went on a buggy ride, saw some covered bridges, spent the night in a caboose, and watched the kids play.
Our hotel was completely surrounded by Amish farms. We saw horse and buggies go by every couple of minutes. It was amazing to watch the farmers plowing with five or six horses. And I knew my mom would love a picture of that.
This is the caboose/car that we slept in. I never realized how huge these cars were. Our room had a queen and double bed and bunk beds with a full bathroom. Alex loved sleeping in a train. It was hard to get them calm enough to go to sleep. I slept pretty well, but the first thing I noticed when I woke up as the smell. It smelled just like Rick's College did first thing in the morning... that delightful dairy farm smell. It did bring back memories of living in Rexburg, which was fun.
After Gabby left to tour other parts of the east, Annie, Alex, and I headed over to the Strasburg Railway to ride a real steam engine. Both my kids jumped up and down and oh'd and aw'd about the steam train. Alex wouldn't let Annie go anywhere near the train tracks for fear she would get run over. At least I don't have to worry about him playing on the tracks. He couldn't wait to get on the train and give the conductor his ticket, but I guess I let the kids stay up to late the night before cause half way through the train ride Alex relaxed as he watched the scenery go by and fell completely asleep.
And that big scab on Annie's eye? She fell a few feet off playground equipment while we were discussing how non child proof the equipment was. Luckily Gabby's husband, Stephen, is a nurse and was able to check her out for anything serious. Besides the scraps, she was just fine and still smiling.