Okay!

Okay, so 2+ months later I have finally come to the end of blogging about our fantastic summer vacation. We made a lot of great memories, unforgettable really! And had many great adventures! It was kind of hard to come home and be thrown into reality again. But, I must say we will not miss those traffic delaying "toll plazas" found everywhere on the Pennsylavania and New Jersey turnpikes (I finally took a picture of one).



Not a one will we miss! They take our change and souvenior (or ice cream) money (however you want to look at it) just to drive on not really great roads! Oh well - I guess better to have a road at all, huh? Anyway, it is always nice to be home! :)

Philadelphia, PA

So when we got to Philadelphia, we were running out of time. So, we decided the most efficient way to see the city was by taking a tour on the "Double Decker Big Bus."

Kavan was so excited. He thought it was great that he got to sit on the top, outside, with no seatbelt!



And although we saw lots and lots from the house of Betsy Ross to the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin, I thought I'd share just some of the things that made the kids go Ooooh and Aaaah!

The cemetery that Nicholas Cage runs through in the movie "National Treasure." (It seemed much bigger in the movie!)



The awesome old train bridge (seen in the "Rocky" movies).



William Penn found atop Philadelphia City Hall.



The "Friendship Gate" found in "Little China." It is put together like a puzzle - no screws,bolts, nails or glue. Pretty amazing! And if I remember right there are only 3 like it in the world, but I can't remember why. Sorry!



Philadelphia has a lot of great architecture, but they also have really great statues. That we loved!



And of course you can't go to the city of Philadelphia without acting like Rocky!
(I remember my dad taking us to see Rocky III in the theater with my Grandma Burgy! It was a favorite - and who doesn't love The "Eye of the Tiger" song!?!)





That Kavan is so competitive - did you see him push Kenzie and I at the beginning? That stinker cost me the race. Kyler won! (Hmmm, where do you think he gets that competitive edge frpm? - Yep, must be Layne, notice he didn't even race 'cause he was scared of losing! :) Just kidding! The kids raced so hard all the way to the top! And don't you love how other people started racing, too!)



Gotta love that Rocky for running up those steps of the Art Museum!

-But more than Rocky is the history of our "Founding Fathers."
Independence Hall...



And symbols that all Americans recognize! Got Liberty?!? Thank Goodness! :)

New Jersey?!?

So, for our next stop, we asked the kids if there was one thing they wanted to see during the summer what would it be?!?



Who knew we would be going to New Jersey!?! (My dad was in the Air Force and stationed in New Jersey until I was 5 years old. We even passed the exit where we used to live, but... that's not why we went to New Jersey!)

[I just love pictures like this! The boys hand in hand waiting for an adventure!:)]



It wasn't to see a ferry boat...



or Ellis Island?



Although the kids pretended to be interested. But that wasn't what they wanted to see.



So...how about the Statue of Liberty? Yep! They were excited!



There was definitely an "awe and a reverence" to seeing the Statue of Liberty. What an amazing thing! And the kids wanted to see it from every angle!



Since tickets to the crown were sold out until September (and we were there in July - I know I'm really behind in my blogging), we just kind of hung out, played on the grounds (wishing we had brought a picnic), and watched all the people. (What is it with "people watching" - I love it. I think it's fascinating - or fascinatingly funny.) We also talked a little about 9-11 and tried to identify the buildings in New York City.



And Kavan wondered what would happen if the "Liberty Statue" had to blow her nose?!?

It was a great day - inspiring and memory making!

Next Stop... How about a race up the "Rocky Steps?"

Amish Country

When you approach Lancaster County, you know you are in Amish Country.



So we decided to take a little train ride.







It was so beautiful. Lots of big white houses and barns. Clean and very green fields. Gorgeous horses and lots of cows, corn and tobacco.



We even saw a family cutting and putting up hay - by hand.



Then, as we were leaving, we saw the cutest little boy playing on a swing while watching his dad (we assume the man is his dad) working across the street.



My apologies for the pictures - they don't really do justice to the beauty we saw in Amish Country.

Next Stop - New Jersey?!?

The Morning After!

HeeHee! The kids were so wiped out! They were funny and pretty good sports about gettin' up and goin' so we could go have some more fun!




We drove through the super cute town with all its history and its Hershey Kiss lights. I wish we would have had more time in Hershey. Between the park, history, tours, antique shops, and outlet shopping you could spend a whole week there.



We found this great little cafe called Hershey Pantry and guess what I had?!? The black raspberry cream cheese stuffed french toast. Oh my goodness - it was so good! And of course the chocolate milk, made with Hershey's syrup, was the best ever! :)




So now we're off to Lancaster County, PA to ride the Strasburg Railroad Train through Amish country.

We're off to Pennsylvania!

That is - Hershey, PA! - The "Sweetest Place on Earth!"


First Stop: Hershey Park (10:00AM)


It had a whole water park inside of the amusement park. The kids were in awe of all the fun things to do and see - so excited! :)


Kavan measured up to be a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! (I always knew he was a little bit yummy!) :)


First Ride: a really high and pretty fast roller coaster. Here we are waiting our turn. I don't know why my face looks so serious...


maybe it's because I was feeling like a bad mom traumatizing Kenzie, Karlee, and Kavan with the very first ride of the day.

Thank goodness Layne makes anything seem fun! :)

They forgave us and were super content with other kind of rides!


And Kyler became our (Layne and I) roller coaster riding buddy!



However, the girls did decide that they liked the "round and round", "twirl and whirl", and "scramble your insides" kind of rides - much to my dismay! :)

Not my favorite kind of ride! (As Layne laughs and goes to ride another roller coaster with Kyler - oh what you don't do for your kids!)


Remember the water park - the three older kids loved it - played there for hours - and had so much fun!

As for Kavan, he felt how freezing cold the water was and decided to stay on this side of the fence. So Layne and him went to ride more rides.

The ferris wheel being one of his favorites! (Which makes me nervous, because how easy is it to exit a ferris wheel!!)


We decided on ice cream for dinner! (I love being on vacation!)


More Rides!




I believe Kyler "outrode" all of us, as he raced from coaster to coaster at the end of the night! (But the girls did ride the tilt-a-whirl about 15 times in a row - UGH!)

One final treat! (10:10PM)


What a great time we had together!