One Last Post From Our PA Trip

It is obvious from the previous posts that our relatives kept us very busy during our trip. Below are a few of the activities that filled in the gaps between our big field trips.

Ace, Ben, and cousin Finn, playing in Me-Mom's backyard.

Ben and Ace, swimming and splashing at Alverthorpe Park.

Enjoying snow cones at the park with Chris and Carolyn W's kids

A visit from Uncle Jim and Aunt Ann. (Uncle Jim runs a 7 minute mile!)

Ben, in Uncle Jim's convertible. He loved it!

Ace and Daddy and the life size Thomas. The buddies were so excited!

The buddies, checking out the big Amish guy.

Ben and Lindsay, sharing a swing ride.

A Trip Back in Time - The Strasburg Railroad

The Strasburg Rail Road, located in the heart of Penn- sylvania Dutch Country, is a historical steam locomotive tourist railroad. It is considered the oldest railroad company operating in the United States under its original charter, dated June 9, 1832. The trains take visitors on a 45- minute journey past breath- taking scenery and real working Amish farms. Passengers ride in beautifully restored, authentic passenger cars as they are pulled by a huge, coal-burning steam locomotive.

The buddies could barely contain their excitement when we arrived and they caught sight of the train. Huge smiles appeared on their faces and both shouted "choo-choo!" and "woo-woo!". We missed the first train by a few minutes, but our dis- appointment didn't last long since the next ride arrived shortly after.

During the ride, our conductor filled us in on the train's history and Amish customs. We viewed the beautiful farmland and the simple lives these hard- working and faithful people lead. I can't say that I could give up the con- veniences of our modern world, but I am envious of the beauty that surrounds them. Between the antique train and the lovely scenery, it truly felt like a trip back in time.

Fun at Knoebels Amusement Park

Granddad and Lindsay treated us to a fun day at Knoebels, America's Largest Free Admission Park. The park, nestled in the hills and forests of central Penn- sylvania, got it's start as a "tally-ho" (a hayride with a destination) around the turn of the last century. The Knoebel family added a pool in 1926 and began adding rides in the early 1940's. Check out the park's interesting history, if you have some time.

It goes without saying that the buddies had a blast. Knoebels has a huge Kiddie section, with plenty of buddy- friendly rides.
Ace and Ben's favorites were the rocket ships with guns that made "real" laser shooting noises, the train (of course!), and the merry - go - round. Some of the rides went really fast but they never seemed to get scared. I think we might have two amusement park junkies on our hands in the future.

Steve and Lindsay enjoyed riding a few roller coasters and the log flume. After a long day of rides and snacks, we headed back to Granddad's house to rest up for the next day's adventures.

K-Family July Fourth Party

Steve's Uncle Walt and Aunt Michelle threw their annual July 4th party during our trip and we were able to join the family for a fun day on the lawn of their Pottstown home. Ace and Ben enjoyed the many kiddie activities, including Foosball, a slip n slide, and lots of outdoor toys.

Ben quickly became reacquainted with Uncle Ben. When he discovered that Uncle Ben shares his blueberry desserts, he didn't leave his side. Ace enjoyed barking at the friendly dog and tossing balls around the front lawn.

There were also lots of activities for the young at heart. Tony, the hypnotist demonstrated his skills but was unable to hypnotise me, probably due to the buddies yells in the background and the busy street in front of the house. As I closed my eyes, all I could think about were the cars racing past and my wild boys (although properly supervised) running around just a few feet away. Steve participated in the fashion relay race (see picture of him with panties and bra) and the Texas Hold 'Em tournament.

It was a great time to catch up with Grandmom and our aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Ocean City, NJ

The buddies enjoyed their second trip to Ocean City, NJ, Me-Mom's favorite family friendly beach. The same cast from our zoo trip joined us at the beach, along with Aunt Kate and Uncle Chris.

The morning rains didn't stop the buddies and their cousins from having a blast. They all dipped their toes in the cool ocean and had a blast running around on the beach. By 1:00, the rain ceased and we were able to play under the shade of the clouds, without getting too hot.

The kids enjoyed playing in the beach pit, dug out by Ace and Ben's daddy. The buddies even helped him haul buckets of water from the shore to fill it. We had five very muddy kids by the end of the day.

After a full day of fun at the shore, we headed to the boardwalk for dinner, shopping, and rides. The buddies loved the tea-cup ride with Aunt Amy and Finn, but Finn thought it spun a little too fast. After all three kids rode the train with Steve, we called it a day and headed back to Me-Mom's house. Ace and Ben hope a trip to the shore becomes an annual tradition during our summer visits.

America's First Zoo

During our PA trip, the buddies jumped at the chance to visit America's First Zoo. Although the zoo was chartered in 1859, it's opening was delayed by the Civil War until July 1st, 1874. This 42 acre zoo is home to 1,300 animals. We were only able to see a fraction of them during our day-trip, but the buddies enjoyed it all. They saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, and hippos for the first time and also enjoyed checking out the primate exhibit and the giant turtles.

Me-Mom, Aunt Amy, Daddy's cousin Rachel, and cousins: Finn, Alex, and Charlotte joined us for a fabulous time. All the kids loved running around and checking out the animals.


After viewing the animals and eating Nathan's hot dogs for lunch, we hit the many fun rides. Ben and I shared a swan paddle boat ride (although I had to do all the paddling). All five kids piled into the caboose of the train ride and went for a spin around the track. The Zoo Balloon was closed (much to Aunt Amy's dismay) due to impending storms and heavy winds, so we'll just have to return on a future trip.

Super Dad

We are back from an 8-day vacation in Pennsylvania. We spent time in seven cities in two different states, took four big field trips, saw countless family members and friends, and made enough memories to last a lifetime. We are exhausted, but it was so much fun.

I'll post pictures and stories of many of our adventures as soon as I emerge beneath the mound of laundry in my bedroom. For now, I'll just share a quick story and brag on my husband. Our flight out of Austin didn't go well and I swore I would move to Pennsylvania just to avoid having to get on our return flight with two 2-year olds. So, Steve sat with both boys on the flights home, allowing me to relax across the aisle.

Granny and Gramps' 60th Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary over the weekend. Uncle Jeff, newly-ordained on the Internet, performed the renewal of the vows for the happy couple. Some highlights of the ceremony: 1) The vows: Gramps said, "Wanda, loving you is oh so nice, I'd marry you not once, but twice." Granny followed with, "Jeff, loving you is oh so great, I'd do another 60 straight." 2) The surprise song that Gramps sang for Granny. 3) Celebrating six decades of love and devotion by two of my very favorite people in the world. Everyone present made memories we will treasure forever.

The happy couple, immediately after the ceremony.

Ace, dancing it up with Daddy.

Ace and Ben relaxing on the porch during the reception.

Ben, stealing the bride away for a quick dance.

Boating Buddies

We are officially exhausted after a 4-day weekend at Lake Texoma. The buddies enjoyed lots of family time as we celebrated my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary in conjunction with our annual family reunion. It was a busy four days but the buddies managed to escape for a few hours of boating fun. Yes, we were with them - they didn't take the boat on their own! We have at least a couple of years before we start worrying about that.
Ace loved driving and Ben took his responsi- bilities behind the wheel very seriously. Check back soon for more pictures of our weekend!

Summer Fun

The buddies met their twin friends for a play date in the park and pool this morning. We played at the park for an hour while we anxiously waited for the pool to open. Ace and Ben spent lots of time playing with (but not throwing!) the rocks. They ran around, getting hot and sweaty in our warm Texas weather.

At 11:00am, the gates to the pool swung open and our crew of toddlers ran towards it with cheers and shouts. They couldn't wait to cool off in the water. Ace and Ben both loved the fountains in the toddler pool. Ace had a blast swimming with his tube around his belly.

Two hours and a couple of meltdowns later, we'd reached our limit of fun for one day, so we headed to the car with all of our stuff, minus our ring floats. They were being enjoyed by some kids in the big pool and at 88 cents a piece, we didn't mind parting with them. We'll be back for more fun in the sun again soon.

Kiddie Acres Play Day

Our playgroup met at Kiddie Acres for some wild rides this morning. All the rides are toddler- sized and perfect for a couple of wild boys. The buddies rode everything there and had a blast running around the place with their little friends.

There were so many rides to enjoy. We started our day with a ride on the train and then moved on to the carousel, airplane swings, cars, boats, and ferris wheel.
They seemed to enjoy the airplane swings the most but once we'd had a turn on everything and had a few tickets left, they chose to use them on the cars. The ferris wheel was their least favorite ride. The three of us sat on our enclosed bench, surrounded by all of our friends in the other cages. By the end of the ride, my two were trying to open the door to get out, even when we were at the top.

After splitting a pizza with our friends, the buddies enjoyed their first snow cones. The owners of Kiddie Acres placed the "treat sign" at toddler level (smart marketing!) and the buddies, who have never seen snow cones in their lives pointed and said, "Yummy!". Although they wore more of their snow cones than they ate, they did indeed think they were yummy treats.

The Little Creamery in Brenham

100 years ago, the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, Texas started turning excess cream from local farmers' milk into butter and ice cream. Fast-forward to today and this little creamery produces the third best selling ice cream in the country, while only distributing to grocery stores in 17 of our states. If you are not lucky enough to live in one of those states and have not tried Blue Bell ice cream, get to one as fast as you can! It is delicious.

This morning, the buddies and I travelled the 105 miles to Brenham, Texas to meet up with Aunt Carlee and Cousin Michael and tour the Blue Bell Creamery. During the 45 minute tour we learned about the history of Blue Bell Ice Cream and saw first-hand how ice cream is made and packaged. At the end of the tour, we were treated to a scoop of our favorite flavor. Ben preferred birthday cake and Ace's favorite flavor was peach (although there could be a tie with Aunt Carlee's strawberry, which both boys devoured for her).

An interesting tidbit about Blue Bell: the slogan, "We eat all we can and we sell the rest" really is true! Employee break rooms at the factory are heavily stocked with pints of the creamiest ice cream in the country. Our tour guide admitted that at 11am, she had already eaten some ice cream... and she probably would eat some more before leaving for the day.

Once we had eaten all the ice cream our stomachs could hold, we spent some time on the front lawn of the creamery, burning off our sugar highs. The buddies loved the Blue Bell train out front and enjoyed wearing their free souvenir hats.

Happy Birthday to Mia!!

The buddies attended a great 2nd birthday party in the park this morning for their friend Mia. Mia's parents showed everyone a great time with Little Bear themed cake, decorations, and goodie bags. They even thought to provide trucks, chalk, lots of good food, and had a personalized Happy Birthday song on their ipod for the birthday girl.

Mia loves Ben and typically follows him around saying, "Bennnnnnyyyyy, Bennnnnyyyyy, " but today she was distracted by her little girl friends, presents, juice, and cake.

She did sit with him long enough to cover the sidewalk with chalk. Ben had a great time drawing circles around himself. Ace was too busy riding trikes and playing on the playscape to take part in many of the quieter activities.

<---- Check out the cake, baked and decorated by Mia's mommy!

Our Field Trip to Sweet Berry Farm

The buddies enjoyed their first berry picking experience today. We joined some friends on an adventure to Sweet Berry Farm, a popular destination about 50 miles West of Austin. All eight cars in our caravan enjoyed the scenic drive, winding through the Texas Hill Country. We arrived sun-screened, bug-sprayed, and ready to pick berries!

Sweet Berry Farm offers their customers the opportunity to hand-pick strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, pumpkins, and gourds, depending on the season. Ace and Ben LOVED picking berries. It took a few reminders to get them to stop picking the green berries but once they figured out how tasty the black ones were, they only picked the juiciest ones. Both boys sampled berries as they picked, especially Ben, who after 15 minutes of picking, sat down in the middle of the row and ate and ate. At the conclusion of our picking, I had too very purple boys on my hands. They loved it!

Afterwards, we joined our friends for a picnic lunch and fed the goats and horses at the petting zoo. The buddies even got to chase chickens and cats around the grounds of the farm.

When we returned home, we turned our hand-picked blackberries into a blackberry crisp, using a recipe from Grandma Pat. All in all, it was a great day. Two very tired buddies went to bed a half hour early and their mom may just do the same.

Splash Day

We met up with our twin friends this morning for a backyard playdate. Eight sets of twins and two singletons (all 2-3 years old) met up for a rowdy time. The kids enjoyed swimming in the kiddie pool, running through sprinklers, playing soccer, building sandcastles, and scootching outdoor trucks and trikes. Ben didn't venture into the water, but chose to spend his time with the trucks on the porch. Ace thought it was great fun in the pool.

They both enjoyed flirting with their pretty friend, Parker on the porch swing.

Chinatown May Never Be the Same...

Our friends Elaine, Jason, and their identical twins, James and Brandon invited us to join them for lunch in Austin's Chinatown today. The buddies were so excited to see their playgroup friends on a weekend! I shot some video of the four of them, upon arrival. It's a good thing the restaurant was empty!

Once everyone settled down, we enjoyed a nice lunch of crawfish and french fries. Then, it was off to the Chinese Supermarket where Elaine helped me pick out treasures to use in my cooking and the kids got to look at the live fish in the seafood section. Ace and Ben puckered their lips at all the fish, except for the catfish. Ace said, "eee-iiii, eee-iii, eee-iii" which means "meow, meow, meow". It's pretty funny that he saw their whiskers and associated them with cats, rather than fish. We'll have to explore them up close with Grandpa this summer.