I should be saying, "Whoa there, life!"...not just June (since it's September and I'm still working on June). But our 2nd trip of the summer was to none other than the beautiful state of Pennsylvania! Abby had been wanting to see where she was born so we said, why not!
Being in the military, we're always looking for steals and deals, so we hit up Sesame Place amusement park for FREE. Ben, Gavin and Abby were chosen to be in the Elmo's World show (Abby as a "fish" dancer and Ben and Gavin for the part where Elmo asks the "baby" a question and gives him a kiss). I LOVED Sesame Street and the muppets as a kid, so it made me smile to share that place with my kids.
We also visited downtown Philly in the pouring rain. We toured the Mint, then found our way to a HUGE market with lots of vendors and goodies (philly cheesesteak sandwiches, of course!...which happened to be closed by the time we got there but that's besides the point. Oh, and our umbrella got stollen. The Philly charm never ceases).
Our next stop was in Amish country! We stayed at a farm bed and breakfast (Rocky Acre B&B) and the kids LOVED it! They still want to go back. My favorite part was the breakfast feast and driving the golf cart, Ben's, playing with the kids, Livi loved the kittens, and Abby made a friend and had fun doing it all-- morning pony rides, hay rides through the country side, big tire swing by the creek, collecting eggs from the chicken coop, saying hi to the goat "Cookie"...
And finally, we made our way to Hershey and stayed with our gracious hosts, the Parrish's! Jackson and Abby are the same age and had loads of fun (so did Asher and Livi as they tried to keep up). We were able to hit some old hot spots in town, like Palermos for a stromboli, and Rita's Ice for a gelato-- Italian ice layered with frozen custard. I KID YOU NOT, they had SWEDISH FISH ice which was heavenly! Ben and Mitch took the kids on a canoe ride down the Swatara Creek, and Wendy and I took the babies to the outlets. Who can resist no tax on clothes! :) I also got to meet up with some friends from the playhouse I used to act with. Wendy is quite the photographer, so she did an impromptu family photo shoot for us at the Hotel Hershey. Thanks, Wendy! I love 'em, and trust me, we didn't give her much to work with :)
It's fun reliving memories with familiar places and old friends. Pennsylvania will always feel like another home to us, and that makes me happy.
