The next day we headed out to Strasburg, PA. It was a lucky coincidence that Thomas the Tank Engine was at the Strasburg Railroad that week, so, we took the kids for a Day out with Thomas. We did this a few years back and Jamie was so tired and grumpy he couldn't enjoy it properly. We are happy to report that it all went much better this time. They all 3 had fun, and, now Morgan is almost as fascinated with "choo choo"s as his older brother.
After we finished up with all the activities at the railroad, we headed on over to the Toy Train Museum just up the road. That was also a success. Seems I missed forgot to get pictures, but, the older 2 kids and Mom also got in a round of miniature golf in Lancaster in the evening.The next 2 days after that were spent at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA. I wanted to be sure we got in the Dutch Wonderland trip before they were too old to enjoy it. It was a good year to go. Jamie would have been too tall for some rides next year and Morgan was big enough to enjoy enough rides to keep him happy. They all had fun and I think Mom and Dad even had a little fun too. Corinne is going to be Mommy's roller coaster buddy when she is bigger, she road their coaster 5 times while we were there. Dad and the older 2 played in the water park portion of it the 2nd afternoon while Mom stayed at the hotel with Morgan for some much needed nap time.
The next day was our final day in PA, the comfort of staying in a suite may have kept our sanity, but, it also ate up more of our budget, so, we checked out of the hotel and drove over to Hershey, PA to take the kids on the Hershey Chocolate World tour. We then snagged up a big bag of chocolate in the store and head back home. It was Thursday, so, that gave us plenty of time to mellow out before getting back to real life.
The 4th of July weekend some friends invited us to their firework party. Basically, a large scale show of the small fireworks. Then, we lit off our own fireworks Sunday evening at home. Then, Monday there was a patriotic music presentation at the church and we tried to watch the fireworks in Woodstock with all our church friends, but, they were postponed due to rain. However, we didn't miss out. We made it home to Strasburg just in time to watch those fireworks. It was a good show, they sprung for a couple of cubes and smiley faces this year. We were by no means lacking in fireworks. But, the kids disagreed and we headed out to Woodstock again on Saturday for the postponed show. And, let me just say it was not a good year for fireworks in Woodstock. Shortly before dark the sirens went off and the emergency vehicles went flying down the road. Turns out, a man on the interstate over-corrected shortly before the Woodstock exit and ran his car into the deep ditch on the side of the road. He was thrown from the car and had to be sent by helicopter to the hospital, his passenger, another man, was also eventually flown out over 45 min. later after they freed his arm from under the vehicle. So, with all this helicopter activity they couldn't be lighting off fireworks right next to them. That meant the show was delayed once again. Our family gave up at 10 pm and drove home, others stayed and the show didn't begin until nearly 11pm. Made for an interesting day at church the next day with all those sleepy kids.
So, same day as the postponed Woodstock fireworks, we celebrated Miss Corinne's 5th birthday. She was a lucky girl this year and was granted her wish for a party at the Stony Creek Roller Rink (I'm sure I will get those pics up at some point). She and her friends had lots of fun and Grandma, Great-Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Heather even drove all the way out as well.
Next up was a trip to the beach. (I'm sure I will get pictures of that up at some point, too) We have never taken them before and Corinne has been asking to go for months. So, since we already took our vacation for the year, and since Mommy is not a big beach goer, we did a short 1 night stay trip to Virginia Beach. They loved it! We spent 2 hours on the beach Friday afternoon and then another 2 hours on the beach Saturday morning, then, ate lunch at a Mexican place on the boardwalk, and headed home. There was a little bit of sunburning, but, not bad. The worst of the aftermath was a bad blister that left Mom hobbling for a couple of days. Corinne is already asking us when we are going back.
And, summer is still not over. Next up, this weekend we will have a mini family reunion and meet a young cousin of Jenny's for the first time. There will be a family dinner and manicures for all the girls in the family. The week after that, our little man Morgan turns 2. And, the week after that the older 2 kids are signed up for swim lessons. This summer has been fun and flying by fast.
