Amish Country

We had the opportunity to go to some friends home yesterday and see Santa Clause and visit their historical home in Gap, Pa. Their home was built in 1720, where they now give tours of their home. We spent some time in their renovated barn that is now a craft store, where they sell their home made candles etc. It was the first snow of the season and the kids had a ball playing in it(that is before they turned into ice cubes). We had a wonderful time together as a family and we wish that the week ends wouldn't go by so fast. We also really enjoyed seeing the Amish buggies drive buy, that is always a highlight of visiting Lancaster County.

Don'd blink or you'll miss it!

It is so hard to believe that Halloween and Thanksgiving are behind us and Christmas is only a few weeks away. This year has really flown by.

We had a nice Thanksgiving with our cousin's, the Hickman's and also Emily, Jenny's sister. It is so nice to have the Hickmans' so close to us.

We are getting ready to go to Michael's Christmas choir concert tonight. He has been working hard to prepare for this.

As always there is an excitement in the air and the kid's all seem to have more energy this time of year. They can't wait until Christmas, in fact, the 3 oldest ones started making their lists yesterday. I guess that means I better get shopping. I'm not really one for crowds, it's to bad I'm a procrastinator.

We hope you are all doing well. We miss you all.

Love,
The Horlachers

Our Busy Lives!

We have been very busy with the 3 oldest children starting school on August 26th (my birthday). Michael started the 5th grade. Scott started the 4th grade and Hilaree started 1st grade. Leaving Brandon and I home during the day. It is much easier having only 1 home. No fighting is proboly the best part! I really enjoy my time with Brandon. He is a sweet little mommies boy.
We took the kids to New York City with our cousin's the Hickman's and also Nate Guymon, our cousin as well. We had a great time riding the subway and seeing so many sites that we usually only see on tv.
Over labor day we visited the Indian Echo Cavern's that are less than a half hour from our home. We went with the Gagon's. Our friends from the ward. It was neat to go on the tour of the cave and I think we make it with out any melt downs. Yea!
We also celebrated Scott's ninth birthday on September 15th. He is growing up so fast. He is enjoying 4th grade and being in the same school as his brother Michael.
We were also lucky enough to have Grandpa Horlacher and Uncle Fred come and visit us. We had so much fun with them. We were so sad that it was such a fast trip. We look forward to having visitors in the future.

Our trip out west.

July 1st began our adventure travelling across the United States. The first day Duaine set the alarm for 2:30AM and off we went. We made it to St. Louis to visit some friends the Halverson's. We had a great time visiting and almost stayed up for 24 hours. I don't recommend this while driving across the country. The next day we got as far as Centennial, Colorado. It brought back a lot of great memories. We loved living in that area. On the third day we made it to Glendale, Utah to Grandma and Grandpa's Ranch. We had a great time spending time with the whole family. All of Duaine's siblings were there as well as Mom and Dad Horlacher. It was so exciting to see all of the cousin's get reacquainted with each other. The children were able to be in the 4th of July parade in Glendale, go on rides up the mountain on Grandpa's mule, go horseback riding, watch Uncle Charles shoot a snake and eat it (my boys also had a taste. YUK!), the older kids were able to drive a golf cart and loved every minute of it. We roasted marshmallow's every night and had a wonderful time being together.
We were also able to go to St. George to see Duaine's 102 year old grandmother. That was neat for us. I am so glad that our children were able to meet her. She is such a sweet woman. While in St. George we also had to stop by In and Out hamburger. One of Duaine's favorite hamburger joints. We were also able to drive through Zion's National Park. What a beautiful Park!
After our time in Southern Utah we headed North to Idaho. We started off by going to the Leishman Reunion in Island Park, Idaho. I love it there. It has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the country. It had been many years since our family attended a Leishman Reunion, so it was very special for us to be there (even though we were sick of camping by then). While in Island Park we went floating down the Buffalo River. It was a lot of fun. Even Brandon enjoyed himself. We also had a great time just visiting with our family that we hadn't seen in years. After the reunion we went back to Shelley and enjoyed some time there. We had more family pictures and had a great time being together.
The last night we were there Duaine and I went to Idaho Falls to The Destination Inn. Where each room is designed like a country. We stayed in the "England" room. It was soooo nice. We don't get to spend a lot of time with just the two of us, being so far away from family and all. So we appreciate Grandma and Grandpa Weist for watching the kids for us.
We love our family so much and we want you to know what a great time we had with you all. We made a lot of wonderful memories. We can't wait to see you again.