Up!

The buddies went to their first movie in a theater today! And loved it! Until the scary part at the end, when both boys dove into our laps, cried real tears, and repeated over and over and over, "I just want to go home!". These kids ride roller coasters that make my stomach lurch and beg for more, but apparently a pack of barking dogs and a 75 year old bad guy are just too much for them.

But it was fun, minus the crying and screaming at the end. Ben even says he wants to go to a movie ("that's not scary") again. Ace doesn't, but reminded us that he'd like to go back to "the place with all the rides" again.

Pudding Pops

When I was a little girl, my brother, sister, and I used to spend one or two weeks each summer with our grandparents. I have lots of great memories from those weeks but the other day, when I saw this, I was reminded of how Granny always kept a package of pudding pops in the freezer during our vacations. They were a special treat that we rarely had at home and we looked forward to them every summer. So, when I came across the recipe, I knew the buddies and I just had to make them. It was simple and fun and my two little chefs really did most of the work themselves. The hardest part was waiting 5 hours for them to freeze.

We even sneaked in a few math lessons in the process, which I always like to do when we cook together. Examples:

We need two cups of milk. Ace poured one cup. How many more do we need?

Who can count out 6 cookies? Now, give half to your brother.

We need to fill 8 cups with the pudding mixture. How many can Ben fill and how many can Ace fill?





They tasted great! The buddies can't wait to make them again. We just wish we could ship some up to Oklahoma to the great grands!

Dutch Wonderland

Granddad treated us to a day of fun at Dutch Wonderland, a cool amusement park designed for kids age 8 and younger. Our two tall 4-year olds were the perfect age for this place! Ben was a hair shy of the 42" requirement for many of the cool rides, like kingdom coaster and space shuttle, but he just stood on his tip-toes and grinned at the friendly attendants as he passed under the measuring stick. There was nothing our boys couldn't ride.


And ride, they did! We arrived shortly after opening and nearly closed the place down. We rode coasters and log flumes and trains and a myriad of stomach-churning, spinning rides. Amazingly, the buddies weren't scared of any of them. Bumper cars were a huge hit - Ben laughed and laughed as he and Lindsay repeatedly smashed into Ace's and my car. Granddad even found a water slide for them that they rode at the end of the day, since we had one change of clothes. Steve and I were grateful to Lindsay for riding with them!


We even took in a couple of shows. Thomas the Tank Engine was there with two singing engineers. We also saw a dive show, which was really pretty impressive.

After a full day of fun, and as we were walking to our car, Ace said, "Hey Mom! Can we come back to this place with all the rides tomorrow?" Sadly, the answer was no, as we had a plane to catch the next day.

Check out the rest of our pictures here.

Train Town, USA

During our vacation, we made a second trip to Strasburg, a cool little town packed with fun places for train-loving kids. During our first trip, we took a ride on the famous Strasburg Rail Road. This time, we decided to check out the National Toy Train Museum. It was awesome.



The place was filled with toy trains from the 1800's to the present. We checked out walls and walls of antique toy trains but the real highlight were the many large train layouts. They were the best we've ever seen, and we've seen quite a few. The layouts were even set up so that visitors could operate them. The buddies started train after train and also enjoyed turning the many accessories - like traffic signals, spotlights, and train whistles - on and off. We could have stayed all day but decided to move on after 2 1/2 hours.




Afterwards, we took the buddies for a special lunch inside a real train at the Red Caboose Restaurant. The food was marginal but we just couldn't beat sitting in an antique dining car. We even had a view of the Strasburg Rail Road and watched a few of the excursions depart. We also walked the grounds of the Red Caboose Motel, where guests slumber in actual antique train cars.






Next year, we'll check out the Choo Choo Barn or maybe the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. We could visit this little town yearly and not run out of places the buddies want to see.

Check out the rest of our train pictures here.

Swimming!

Check out Ace, swimming! Thanks to Aunt Julie and Uncle Henry for inviting us over for steaks, beers, and swimming!

More Fun with Me Mom!

After our tubing adventure, our visit with Me Mom continued to be lots of fun. Steve and his sisters threw a retirement party for her. It was great to catch up with friends and family and meet some new people too. Here is Me Mom with her three grandbabies after the party:

Guess what she plans to do with her free time during retirement? If she gets her way, she'll be spending as much time as possible with these three.

We also got to attend a lovely (and fun!) wedding for a childhood friend of Steve's.

I discovered the Mummers and feel a little slighted that I've been hanging out with Philadelphians for 10 years now and haven't been introduced to them before. What could be more fun than dancing around with a bunch of men in crazy costumes while waving little umbrella's overhead? Thanks to Aunt Kate and Uncle Wags for watching the buddies that night (and for introducing them to water ice!).

Check out the rest of our wedding pictures here.

Steve and I even got to take a little mini-vaca while Me Mom watched the boys overnight. We headed out to Jim Thorpe, PA, a sleepy little town just at the foot of the Poconos. We strolled the beautiful and historic main street, ate leisurely meals without interruption, went for a long hike and dipped our feet in the river, drank a few beers in a local pub, and then went to bed early and slept late. It was wonderful!

More Jim Thorpe pictures here.

Our visit also included lots of fun little excursions...like trips to the swimming pool and the park, a trip to Vincents for a cheesesteak, and a late night trip for custard and ice cream.

Tubing the Delaware River

Me Mom treated us to a fun tubing adventure on our first full day of our vacation. The five of us headed out to the Delaware River for a fun day in the sun. Ben enjoyed the short bus ride to the launch point, but quickly became skittish when he glimpsed the wide, vast river and realized that we wanted him to float in a wee-little tube. He shouted and scratched his way into my lap and insisted it was "too scary" on his own.




At the half-way point, we stopped for lunch with the Famous Hot Dog Man. After standing in a 45 minute line for the (so-called) famous hot dogs, we scarfed our meals and discovered that one of our tubes (a two seater) had been hi-jacked. So, there we were, on an island, in the middle of the Delaware River, with five people and only three tubes. We did what anyone else would do and stole someone else's tubes as well as some rope (and got caught) and continued our journey.


Ben still insisted on sitting in my lap for the second leg of the journey. Then, Ace decided he was scared too and joined us. The added weight was forcing me into a bit of a crunch position, and while I appreciate abdominal exercises, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of doing another hour and a half on the river like this. So, I offered up ice cream to any boy that was willing to ride in his own tube for the rest of the adventure. It's amazing how ice cream can diminish a wee person's fear. They both scattered to their own seats and low and behold...they realized it was fun!

We spent the second leg of the trip relaxing and laughing and taking in the scenery and just enjoying one another's company. And then, Ace fell asleep, in his tube, snoring loudly. It was an awesome adventure. Check out the rest of our pictures here.

Teddy Bear Picnic - Take 1!

A few days ago, Ben had the brilliant idea to host a Teddy Bear Picnic for our playgroup friends. We sent out the invitations, purchased and made foods that teddy bears enjoy (quesadillas, grapes, and teddy grahams), prepped our crafts, downloaded teddy themed music to my ipod, and threw down our picnic blanket in the middle of the living room.

And then Ben awoke with a fever and Ace woke up with a terrible cough. Boo!

So, I called our little friends and canceled the event, promising to reschedule for a later date, when our cooties aren't quite so fresh. But, since Mooberry and Thunder were already excited about their party, we just couldn't let them down.





Mooberry and Thunder had a wonderful time. Their people did too.

Hamilton Pool Preserve

Our summer tradition of "Adventure Mondays" continued yesterday. We enjoyed a great day at Hamilton Pool Preserve, a unique Austin swimming hole. The natural pool is surrounded by a collapsed grotto and canyon and a 50 foot waterfall trickles down from the Pedernales River. The entire property is truly breathtaking.




We met a few friends (4 moms and 10 children) and took part in all that the preserve offers: swimming, hiking, and picnicking. The buddies wanted to hike the trail around the canyon several times, and so we did. Add that to the half mile round trip hike from the parking lot to the pool (done twice because of a necessary trip back to the restrooms) and we probably hiked 2 miles altogether.

View the rest of our pictures here.