Trip South

Last spring (let's just ignore how far behind I am on my blogging) we decided to take a trip south to see some new places we had never been, and visit some dear friends we hadn't seen in awhile.  One of the wonderful things about New England is that, because the states are so much smaller than they are out west, and there are so many large cities so close together, there are SO many neat things to see, all within driving distance!!  We decided we needed to take advantage of that, and so we planned a last minute trip!

We'd driven south through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey before, but starting in Pennsylvania, we were in new territory! First stop - Lancaster, Pennsylvania (isn't it fun to travel in your pjs?!)

We had initially just planned to stay the night in Lancaster on our way to Hershey, PA, but while researching the city, we found that there is quite a lot to do in Lancaster itself!!!  So we explored the city a bit; we travelled around Amish country, learned more about the Amish and Mennonite people, went shopping in various boutiques and country shops, and saw LOTS of horse-drawn buggies on the road, and farms and grain silos.  Unfortunately we didn't get pictures of most of it - but we were sure to take a picture of the "shoo-fly pie" we tried!  I didn't even know shoo-fly pie was a real thing before we saw it advertised at several shops- but boy, was it delicious!!!

Our kids in their bed....these guys are such troopers when it comes to travelling!  We sure love our family road trips!!

Next Stop: Hershey, Pennsylvania

I went to Hershey with my grandparents when I was 8 years old, and still have memories of it!  I was so excited to be able to take my children back, and it did not disappoint!

It was FRIGID outside, so we were happy to stay inside and tour the factory!

 The factory tour is SO much fun - and you get chocolate samples at the end!  What's not to love?  The kids would have gone through 100 times if we had let them! :)

Of course, trying out the enormous chocolate candies was a close second!!

We let each of the kids choose a (small) chocolate - and they each selected a cadbury egg.  (Good choice!!)  The older 2 wanted to save and savor theirs - but Wiggles dove right in!!

Next Stop: Wheatland - home and estate of President James Buchanan

Unfortunately, though we arrived in time for the final tour, it was sold out so we didn't have the opportunity to go inside the estate.  That was a bummer.  But we spent some time looking around, learning more about this distant relative of ours...

After driving through Maryland.....

And then West Virginia,

....we made it to Virginia!!

We visited an old friend in Roanoke and met her cute kids (wish we had gotten a picture!!), drove through the beautiful Shenandoah valley, and some incredible caverns!!!

The caverns were INCREDIBLE!!! The pictures do not do them justice at all.  It is amazing what is right below your feet, and you'd never even know!  We had a private tour (since we were the only ones there at the time) and our tour guide was wonderful, so we learned a lot!  And each child got to pick out a special souvenir - which is why Grins is holding up a rabbit foot (the souvenir he chose).

The caverns were beautifully lit in certain places...

This was an incredible reflection pond that looks super deep, but is actually quite shallow (just a few inches!!)  It was SO crystal clear and still!

There were these amazing 'flower' like crystals that were very beautiful.

Of course, the kids were most interested in playing hide and seek! :)

Then we headed down to North Carolina, our furthest point south.  Along the way, we saw a town named Buchanan, so we had to stop!

We finally made it to North Carolina!! Fuzzy picture without the flash....

And this is what happens when you use a flash on a road sign:

We met up with one of our all time favorite families, the Stimpsons.  We love these guys SO much, and they were so gracious to host our whole gang in their brand new house!  We had a WONDERFUL time catching up!

We headed out to a fun park/zoo nearby that was SO much fun (despite the chill in the air!)

How many kids can you fit on a little coin-operated horse?

The petting zoo was a hit!!

Until the Mr. did something that made the donkey mad - and the donkey went into a full-on fit, donkey kicks, brays, etc.  It was actually quite entertaining to watch!

The boys entertained themselves with sticks, naturally!

These 2 little friends make me laugh!  Is it wrong that I secretly hope Wiggles will marry Parker some day?

These girls had a grand time being silly together!

And this sweet lady is one of the best I've ever met! Love her!

Slumber parties are such fun!

We were so sad to leave and have to bid our friends farewell.  Trips are always SO much more fun when you get to share them with good friends!!!

Speaking of good friends, after leaving the Stimpsons, we headed north again to Virginia to see some other wonderful friends, the Orsaks.  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of our families together, but we did have a lot of fun visiting the Capitol Building and the Botanical Gardens with them!

The tour of the capitol is amazing!  They distribute headsets so you can hear your own tour guide - and ours was fabulous!  We learned SO much!

We had to get a shot of the "Maine" statue!

And James Buchanan's plaque!

Then we headed over to the Native American museum which is AMAZING!  (And stopped by our favorite, the Air and Space museum as well....and, coincidentally, were there while Neil Armstrong's passing was announced.)  The kids built an igloo...

 ....then enjoyed making music together!

The trip home wasn't nearly as exciting as the beginning - it's always sort of a bummer to have to leave behind wonderful friends and exciting journeys.  But the Mr. read "Trumpet of the Swans" to the children, so fortunately, that (and his crazy travel songs!) kept us all occupied and entertained, making time pass quickly!

Our last state sign: Delaware.  During this week long trip, we drove through 12 states and 1 district! (Maine, NH, Mass, CT, PA, NJ, NY, W. Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, N. Carolina, Washington D.C.)  Not bad for a few days of driving!!!

Here are the oldest 2.  Wiggles was.......

 ..................passed out in the car.

Heading home with my favorite travel companions!  We sure love our family road trips!  We can't wait for the next one!  Come visit us and we'll show you around New England! :)

Wiggles

While the kids were in school and I was busy cleaning/cooking/etc, Wiggles' dolls and stuffed animals (stuffies, as they call them here) became her friends and playmates.  One day while I was cooking, I heard some whispering.  I looked over to see Wiggles cuddled up, whispering with Rapunzel.  It was so adorable I had to snap a shot!  Fortunately I got a couple shots before she noticed...

Childrens' State Projects

In the spring, all of the 1st and 2nd graders at Angel and Grins school studied a state in the USA.  At the end of the unit, each child created a float and they had a big parade.  It was so much fun, and a great learning opportunity for the students!!

Angel's teacher randomly assigned them, and Angel got Minnesota.  She did a fantastic job researching the state, learning all sorts of neat facts and information.  What's more, her class was very first in the parade - and Angel was first in her class line-up - so Angel was the VERY FIRST PERSON in the parade!!!  I didn't know it until she came around the corner, smiling.  It was adorable, and one of those moments when a mother believes her heart may honestly burst with joy for the love she has for her children, and seeing them so proud of the hard work they've done.  

Here she is, leading the parade (with her sweet teacher, Mrs. Ardito)

Here's Angel with her float:

A shot from behind...the halls were all very crowded; I was so proud of Angel for bravely marching right along!

Some more peeks at different elements of her float:

She did such a fabulous job, and did the majority of the work herself!  I was so pleased with her!

Grins' class got to choose what state they studied.  Grins selected Oregon.  We had a hard time coming up with a float idea for him - but finally decided on a covered wagon.  It sounded like a good idea - but was more difficult to build than I would have imagined!  I took some pictures of him in his pioneer outfit the night before (out in the garage because it was too cold and wet outside - sorry for the messy pics).  I'm SO glad we took pictures beforehand, because 2 things happened at school the next day: 1 - he was embarrassed and refused to wear his pioneer outfit to school the day of the parade, and 2 - he had some difficulty steering the 'float' during the parade, so I had to help him get on course and thus missed the opportunity to catch any photos of him in the actual parade.  So, these will have to do:

Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen???!!!

Oh - and that's a beaver tucked into his vest, since the Beaver is the state animal.  The only beaver we could find was an itty bitty stuffed beaver - but it worked. :)

Here he is right before the parade - without his costume, the little stinker. :)  And his beaver is now sitting on top of the float...best seat in the house. :)

After the parade, each class did a little presentation in their classrooms.  Since I had 2 students in separate classrooms, I kept running back and forth between the 2 (lucky for me, their classrooms were next door to one another!!)  so I missed bits and pieces of each one, but was able to catch a bit of each of their performances!!  Let's see if I can get these videos to upload correctly:  (Sorry they are sideways....does anyone know how I can correct that?  I can't seem to figure it out....)