Knoebel's Amusement (?) Park

Well......

Knoebels Amusement Park, otherwise known as the Pennsylvania Woods of Horrors!

We took the kids for one of our annual (or as many times as we can) Park and Pizza nights.

We put AnaGrace on a ride with her sister and she seemed to enjoy it.


Dear Rachel, on the other hand.......

You see, this little girl is incredibly contemplative. She likes to figure things out before jumping in - kind of the epitome of "look before you leap". We enjoy her thoughtfulness (especially in the light of AnaGrace or DaniRae who are definately "leapers" not "lookers"!).

So, why, you ask, would we think that putting her on an unknown ride, with weird sized cars and stuff, that really go no where, with no child protective seats or airbags would work out fine????? Even the presence of her hero Miah did not quell the tears!

OK. So that didn't go so well. How about AnaGrace on her own?

If you peek into the background you will see a vision of "things to come".


Yep, even her superhero Daddy could not chase the shear fear away.



We had a wonderful evening and enjoyed the pizza, which Rachel was definitely OK with! As we were leaving, the older two wanted to go on the water ride on which NO ONE comes out dry. I mean NO ONE. Well, they asked all of the adults, several times in fact. Just as I was giving my camera to Marlene, Kelly took off with them. No, really. I WAS just about to go with them. Honestly!!

Oh well. Kelly did go and became a "supermom" for doing it. There might have been two square inches on her that were dry but not much else! Way to go, Kelly! I did it for you now its YOUR turn!!!

Mom and Dad's Anniversary

This summer marked a milestone for my mom and dad. They celebrated 60 years together! In anybody's book, that is an accomplishment. I praise God for the heritage that is mine from these two sweet people - my parents.


I don't know why this pic keeps on coming up sideways. It did not seem to matter for we ate it anyway!



Mom was introduced to the newest grandchild on our side - Naomi Kelly - a mere 81 years her younger!


The barbershop quartet that I sing with, "The Only Town Four" were gracious enough to make the trip down to my parents to sing. My mom and dad haven't heard me sing since I was in High School All-State so that was a thrill for them as well as for me. It was touching as we sang "Love Me Tender, Love Me True" and I saw dad holding mom's hand as he cried. Wow.




These two are trouble when they get together. Miah and Weston, Doug's boy (one of them!)


Here is Doug's girl (one of them) Ali with Naomi,


And here is DaniRai with Doug's girl (one of them) Anna


And then there is AnaGrace playing with BFF Rachel.


Here are "da'Boys" with mom and dad. Doug, David and Don.

This is a pic of the entire clan that made it. We were missing a few due to distance and other obligations but most of us were there for mom and dad.


And this it specifically the line that went through me. My two boys Ben and Joel as well as my other boy, Dan along with my daughter Kelly and my other two daughters, Jill and Anna.


Love ya' mom and dad.............and thanks.

Da' Shore - Finale

Just some closing pics for you.
The wild horses were exceptional this year. There were a lot of them and they were very close! These two pics were in our yard! The stairs you see behind are the steps we take to the beach. You can see them in some other pictures.


Again, one of the blessings of our week at OBX is the time each family can have alone, if they want. Some really special memories come from these times.

Having the pool is a real advantage. It is relaxing to come back from the heat, wind, salt and sand and be able to enjoy the pool water.

Uncle Joel and Ana


Ben and his princess...


What can you say about an uncle like this but "Tankyou, Unkin Joel"!



The ladies decided to offer the girls a toenail painting session! Anna took DaniRae, Kelly took AnaGrace and Jill took Rachel. Look how intent the little ones are! It was quite humorous!



Don't know who is having the most fun!

No rest for the weary! Dr. Pah-pah had to do one of his patented "headbumper" tooth extractions! Dr. Uncle was close by to learn the finer points of this procedure - one that was not covered in dental school.



The result!

Dad and son. Is Miah towing his dad?

Ben and Joel enjoy the ocean kayacks.



And once in a while (?) this is the result...


Here we have the Right Reverend Daniel Renno practicing his baptism technique! Honestly, that is what he said as he almost drowned his wife!


This is our beach house. The dunes have grown since we first went there. There is actully a floor you can not see where the pool and garages are. We are blessed beyond words.

And this is the view from that top deck you see in the other picture. We are so thankful for our family and are truly honored that they actually want to spend time together.

We are blessed beyond measure.


A final goodbye from the newest beach girl.

Da' Shore - 3

OK. Were up to the "older" two grandchildren - DaniRae and Jeremiah. The only beach they actually remember is OBX for Miah was only 3 when we first took him and Dani was 16 months old. So this is "Pah-Pah's beach house" (I could only wish!!!)


Dani Rae looking quite the beach girl.


And Miah pausing for a soda before getting back into the pool.


This was soooome sand castle. Uncle Ben and Pah-pah gave their assistance. Uncle Ben felt the king needed some anti aircraft turrets. You can see them on the front wall and next to the high tower. Pah-pah designed an airport, complete with and F-15 "Sandshark" fighter. Oh, and a zip line with an escape capsule for the king was directly linked to the airstrip. Note the seagull feather flag, too!


DaniRae enjoyed the raft we got her. The boogie boards are a year or two away.

Miah, on the other hand, took to the ocean like crazy this year. He was out with Uncle Joel, Uncle Ben and Daddy and rode the boogie board really well. His "fear" of the ocean and waves is gone and now he really likes the water.


Eat your heart out David Hasselhoff!!


DaniRae enjoying some deeper water in the safe arms of her Daddy.




Each year, Dani and Grandma find some alone time to look for shells. They will walk down the beach, sometimes for an hour! It is special time for both of them.

The isolation of the 4 wheel drive area along with the freedom of each family to do its own thing creates special moments all through the week for all of us. We enjoy the fun and fellowship of being together but then there are those sweet moments like this one....

Da' Shore - 2

Moving on to the next age group, here are the inseparable cousins - AnaGrace on the left and Rachel on the right.


Beach shot of AnaGrace complete with sandy nose!


and Rachel posing..

This is as close to the ocean as either of them wanted to get! Notice, the chairs are barely in the wet sand!!


Most of their time was spent in their own "portable ocean" which the daddies and the uncle faithfully filled with ocean water each day at the beach.


C'mon - ya' just gotta smile at that face!!!


Windblown look...

The two girls were pretty much inseparable for the whole week. We were very pleased that there were really no "crises" to speak of. They played sooooo well together. It was a really memorable week watching them relate. BFF???


Days did come to a close and bedtime did come around, much to the pleasure of the parents!! Now, just how much time do you think it took these two to go to sleep in the room, by themselves in the trundle beds? We peeked in a few times and it was "sleepover" stuff each night! Talking and laughing. What a blessing!!