Jim Thorpe and the Johnson Tribe: 2021

Pete and Sarah are THE Jim Thorpe benefactors, and our summer stay in Jim Thorpe in the last week of June was a welcome break from all that pressed me down at home.  I don't have many pictures, but Millie took some on our walk in the woods, though she was stymied by the camera's crankiness and bad lighting.

Wee little Joshie still looks like an angel.

I wish the lighting was better here so that August the Intrepid Explorer could be seen as he deserves to be seen

And Annika the Intrepid...Ballerina???

My favorite part of the walk was when Simeon asked if I would hold his hand. His shorter legs were the perfect match for my broken-tailbone-doughnut-belly-huff-n-puff. And guess what we talked about?  DOUGHNUTS!!!! Yes, indeed. And root beer. And chocolate and bacon soda. That small time with Simeon was a highlight of the trip for me, and this picture makes me happy. 

I took the rest of the pictures with my camera when John and I took the youngest for a heat-wave walk into town. 

We made a brief stop at the library so that John could beat Zeke in a game of checkers.

And then we stood next to the tourist train so we could race it once it started moving.  (Those silly tourists who pay lots of money to RIDE the thing were kicking themselves when they saw how much fun it was to run, instead.)

We also spent a day at the lake, but I mostly stayed in the water, breaking only to take these pictures of Mopsy and Ransom. It was one of the best days of my entire summer, just floating in the lake for a few hours. At home, I usually take the children to the lake when John's at work, which means I stand knee-deep and guard Ransom for the whole time. It's fun to watch the children enjoying themselves, but it's not the same as actually submersing and cooling off. The trick is to have a Mopsy on the shore! Bliss.

Oh, and here's a picture of the children watching the Dages girls and our oldest five girls after they climbed down a ladder into the underground river. So long, dearies! (They returned safe and sound.)

And because every last visit of ours to visit Pete and Sarah has involved ice cream or a frozen treat of some kind or other, these last two pictures are a fitting end. My children think Aunt Sarah is a queen-- a benevolent emperor of ice cream.

...and Lark looks creeeeeepy.