Summer Fun!

Makenna is already asking when we can go on vacation again, and we've only been back a few days! She must have forgotten the long drive . . .

Even though going on vacation is fun, we've been having lots of fun at home this summer. The girls like to play outside. Isaiah mostly stays inside with me. Although he will motion for us to take him out to the swings or to see the kitty. Today, he was helping me empty the dishwasher, so I gave him a spoon and plate. I figured he could multi-task and learn how to use a spoon and plate while entertaining himself, so I could get the dishes put away. The first time I tried to give him a plate at the table, he just dumped it upside down.

We had another picnic in the kitchen today. This time with the kids' table and some chairs. Zaya liked being included with the big people.

This looks like black mail to me! The girls had left some Little People out. When Isaiah woke up from his nap, he decided to play house. He is so good at sitting quietly and playing for which I am truly grateful.

Earlier in the day, he was playing with Little People's Noah's Ark. He just realized he could put things in the windows. This sequence of shots cracks me up . . . I tried to stand still and not laugh so he wouldn't notice me, but it was so hard.

In go the people . . .

Where did they go . . .

Hello in there . . .

Aw, now I don't have any thing to play with . . .

Isaiah is learning so many new things. He can pull himself up on almost anything. He likes to push the chairs to get around. He has finally master squatting when he wants to get down and go somewhere else. At first, he was his own prisoner stuck on the front of the couch or on the side of the tub because he wouldn't or couldn't get down.


From time to time, we all do something outside together. Mommy had helped trim with the push mower while Daddy was riding the tractor. The girls helped push the mower back to the shed. Madi was so excited she had a handle to push.

Isaiah loves to ride the tractor with his Daddy. Well, he just plain loves his Daddy! Rick can't come home without picking him up and holding for at least 5 minutes. This particular day, Zaya rode around with Rick almost the whole time he mowed. Rick said Zaya's eyes were getting heavy and he almost fell asleep. This is so foreign to us as the girls were afraid of any tractor at this age.

We occasionally start a fire to make S'mores, but this evening Mommy just made them in the microwave. Madi was in such a crazy mood, and she really had a time eating her S'more. She was so giddy and wanted her picture taken. She is a bit of a neat freak, but we had to explain to her that a napkin wouldn't help the situation and that she'd have to wait until she was done to wash with soap and water.

At a recent church picnic, someone had brought a bubble machine for the kids to play with. Pappy couldn't resist buying one for the grand kids. Sometimes Makenna thinks she's too big to run around and play with the bubbles, but Madi enjoys every minute of it.

Sweet Hershey, PA

We had the wonderful opportunity to take our family to Hershey Park this weekend thanks to Rick's boss giving us tickets. Since the saying goes "Half the fun is getting there", I'll start from the beginning . . .

Not realizing how crazy it would make our lives, we scheduled to have carpeting put in the day we were planning to leave for our mini vacation. Things like emptying closets, clearing dressers and bedding, removing shoes, toys and boxes from under beds while trying to do laundry and pack for five people (including a baby and all their accoutrements) never entered my mind! We also decided to ride to work with Rick on Friday and visit with his aunts for the day to save on travel time since he works an hour and twenty minutes in the direction we were headed. Again, not thinking that we would all have to be up, dressed and in the car by 7 AM! So that's were the 2 1/2 hours of sleep comes in.

It would have been great if the kids had slept in the car on the way to work, but of course when you are excited about going on vacation, who can sleep?!? After visiting, shopping and eating lunch, we headed over to pick Daddy up from work and began our journey to Hershey. It didn't start off too well when we hit traffic in Pittsburgh, but the girls enjoyed riding through all the tunnels. The kids were a little restless, but we pressed on toward Harrisburg stopping as little as possible so we wouldn't get in too late.

When we finally arrived at the hotel, the girls were so excited (most likely just because they could get out of the car). Makenna's face was beaming as we rode up in the elevator to our room, suitcase in tow. We dropped off our bags and headed for dinner since it was already 7:00 pm. We politely asked the waitress to request the kid's food come right away. She graciously obliged. Unfortunately, the kids were done eating and our food still had not arrived. At that point, we asked to have our meal "to go", and back to the hotel we went. Since it was so late, we told the girls they could go swimming in the morning.

After a half-way decent night's sleep, the girls and I went down to the lobby to retrieve breakfast for everyone. We stopped by the pool on our way and found out the maintenance man was there for a cleaning. The girls were disappointed, but quickly recovered when reminded of the day's events. Since it was vacation, Mommy let the girls pick out donuts which thrilled them to death. Makenna also decided she wanted to make a waffle which Daddy ended up eating since Makenna doesn't usually eat much breakfast. Then we packed up our things and headed to Hershey Park.

There was a lot of traffic on the road, in the parking lot and entering the park, but we finally met up with our friends, Sarah and Kevin, for a day of fun in the sun. Did I mention the forecast was 89 degrees?!? That's very warm for us north easterners! The kids did remarkably well considering it was hot and they were tired. We stayed in the front of the park where the family and kids rides were located. Madison was a little apprehensive about the rides while Makenna was ready to ride the big, wooden coaster (as long as Daddy or Sarah would ride with her). But since the line was over 30 mintues long, we convinced her not to ride it. Isaiah's favorite was the Carousel. He kept reaching out to it and "talking" (which being interpreted is "I want to ride on that".)

And again, not thinking, we planned to drive back 4 hours home that night, so we were only able to stay until the late afternoon. (Notice that 4 hours does not include potty and sanity breaks. Next time, we will definitely stay over another night when driving that far with small children.) On our way out, we stopped at Chocolate World. We took the kids on a riding tour of where chocolate comes from and how it is made. Then took a quick run through their HUGE candy store before hitting the road. We arrived home just after 11 PM -- exhausted, but we had a great time and made some memories that will last a lifetime!

PS: Since this is my first time posting pictures (and I didn't know they load in reverse order) and it is very late, please excuse the fact that they are out of order. If I have time later, I may come back to rearrange them.

Riding the tram back to the car -- Hi, Bubby!

Playing with the basketball Kevin gave him on the way home.

Taking a break from the drive at a rest stop.

Our day at Hershey Park (Milton Hershey pictured too)

Our friends, Kevin & Sarah

Our sweet kisses

The chocolate capital of the world and Makenna wants cotton candy!

Riding on the chocolate tour.
The kids' favorite was the singing cows (pictured in background).

Madi all wet from the sprayer.

Playing a little skeeball with Daddy.

Madi ventured out and tried a "big" ride.

She was scared during the middle of the ride when I moved around to get a different view and she couldn't find me, but she enjoyed the ride in the end although not enough to ride again.

This kind of ride was more her style -- Little Monkey Madi!

Riding on the Tiny Tracks

"Wave Hi to the camera" -- What a parent wouldn't do for their child!

One of Madi's favorite things, playing in the sprayer.

Kenna joined in too!

Thankfully Isaiah took a nap. Poor guy was so hot.

Makenna's a really good driver!

Once Madi found a riding buddy, she had a great time on the rides.

Rick, Makenna and Sarah on the Wave Swinger (3 along the bottom)

Isaiah wanting to ride the Carousel

High Fives on the Carousel

A New Experience

As our economy continues to change, we are looking for ways to cut costs. Since blogging is free, I am going to attempt to get the hang of this before our website subscription (www.babyhomepages.net/mytwogirls) runs out. After November 1, 2008, you can check in here for our family updates. We hope you enjoy reading our stories and looking at pictures of what we are up to and how the kids are growing!