The Pry house in Slippery Rock Township, off a road that narrows to little more than a dirt trail, is a place where nearly everyone is family. Adopted children, visiting family members and friends — the house is always bustling.

That's the way Lisa Pry, who works for Allegheny Valley Schools, and her husband, Dennis, a member of UA Local 669 Sprinklefitters, like to keep it. Whether it's a party at the backyard pool or a night bonfire complete with s'mores, this is never a dull place to be.

So it's no surprise that at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday the Prys are at it again. The pool is open and the family's five children — plus one special guest — are enjoying the sun and the summer fun.

The guest is Amaiya Buck, an 11-year-old from the Bronx in New York City who is visiting the Prys for the first time.

She arrived Friday night on a bus, but even before her foot hit the pavement of the Nixon Methodist Church, she was already family to the Prys. In fact, she's part of a tradition that stretches back nearly a decade, spans two states, and has brought two families from different parts of the country close together.

The story of how Amaiya became part of the Pry family before ever meeting any of them goes back more than a decade.

Lisa Pry gets “nudges,” she said — senses that she should be doing this or that thing at a particular time. Sometimes she resists; more often she rolls with the feeling and ends up being glad that she did.

That's what happened one day all those years ago, when she spotted a notice in The Butler Eagle for a Fresh Air Fund program. It was tiny, maybe an inch squared, but Lisa Pry didn't quite get the point of the program. She cut it out, tucked it away, and told herself she would check it out later.

That's how the Prys became a Fresh Air Fund host family. The program brings children from places like New York City to rural areas.

The Prys — still new to the program — spent a couple years hosting girls at their Soniga Road home. But year three in the program would prove a game-changer for the family.

That's when Lisa Pry decided to ask to host a boy. That year Gary Buck, an 8-year-old from the Bronx, stepped off the bus and into the Pry's lives. The rest, as they say, is history.

Tradition actually might be closer to the truth, said Lisa Pry. Gary and her oldest son, Denny, became fast friends, spending the summer playing basketball, swimming, and camping — no small feat for Gary, Lisa Pry said, who came to the Prys afraid of bugs and the dark.

It was such a good summer that the family asked to host Gary again the following year; and yet again the next year. They flew him to Florida for family vacations; and hosted him again, and again, and again.

By the time Gary was 17 he had spent nine summers with the Prys. It took medical problems and summer school to keep him from coming that final year — the last year before he aged out of the program.

Lisa Pry said the Prys miss him deeply.

“It's so comfortable for us,” she said. “It's hard for me to explain.”

Now it is Amaiya's turn. She is Gary's younger sister, who is spending her first summer with the family after hearing stories of her brother's exploits in all those summers past.

Three days into Amaiya's first summer with the Prys, Lisa Pry said she sees another friendship brewing — this one between Amaiya, who loves the woods and amphibians such as frogs, and her niece, Destiny Travis. The pair are virtually inseparable, and Destiny has already helped Amaiya learn to swim and to explore the woods around the Pry home.

It's a big change for Amaiya, who usually spends her days in a park near her home, or going shopping with her family. But she has been listening to her brother talk about the Prys for years, she said, and wanted to visit his host family.

“He said that it was really fun, and I wanted to try it,” she said.

Because of the program's regulations, Amaiya is only allowed to stay with the Prys for two weeks this year. But the family is planning on seeing the Bucks before next summer.

Sixteen-year-old Zack Pry, who has Down syndrome, has been selected as one of 400 people to be featured in a National Down Syndrome Society video that will air in Times Square in September. The family plans to visit New York City to view the video, and hopes to visit Amaiya and Gary on that trip.

Brenda McCall, the regional organizer for the Fresh Air Fund, said fewer families are participating in the program this year, partly because of an increase in state-required paperwork. However, she said the effort to get children out of the city and into rural places like Butler County remains a great opportunity for families to know other families and children.

“It's a chance for people to reach out and make a connection with another child; another family from a completely different place,” McCall said. “And many times its not a temporary connection.”

The paperwork didn't stop Scott and Brenda Henwood of Sandy Hill Road, Middlesex Township, from bringing back 9-year-old Amariah Morrison this summer, after hosting the Bronx resident for the first time last year.

Morrison and the Henwoods' daughter, Star, clicked almost immediately,

Star and Amariah enjoy playing in the woods, the Henwoods said, and keeping up with the family's dog, JJ. One of the girls' favorite memories from last summer, Star said, was her helping Amariah learn to ride a bicycle.

Since Amariah comes around the time of Star's birthday — July 17 — she also gets to help the family celebrate the occasion, and has become a neighborhood and family favorite.

“It's just been a very good experience,” said Brenda Henwood. “She (Amariah) just adapted so well and really has just become a part of our family. She's been anticipated; at last 35 people were asking, 'Are you bringing Amariah back?' earlier this summer.”

Scott Henwood said the best part for him was seeing the family enriched last year for hosting a visitor. The family put together a scrapbook of the girls' exploits for both Star and Amariah, and flipping through it brings a litany of anecdotes from day trips the family took to places like Kennywood, or everyday experiences like Star's horse riding lessons and the girls' daily routine of playing, reading and visiting family members.

This year, Scott Henwood watches the girls build forts in the living room or swim together, and he says he was surprised at how easy it was for Amariah to feel welcomed into their Valencia home.

“I marvel at how seamlessly she fit into our family. That was the part that really amazed me — and that's the risk,” he said. “Is this experience going to be a positive one? For us, it was.”

For Amariah and Star, it's difficult to explain why they click or what their friendship is about. It just is, and that's enough for both girls.

“It's fun and stuff like that,” Star said.

Amariah, who has traded the buildings of New York City for woods and grassy fields this month, says the decision to come back was an easy one. She and Star FaceTime each other regularly when they are apart, and she can't imagine a better place to spend part of her summer.

“Mostly because the family made me feel welcome when I came, and I got to meet a new friend,” she said.