Hershey Park Happy!

I feel like I am going a mile a minute right now.  Things are very busy, but it's a fun kind of busy.

Yesterday I met a friend and her kids at the 4H Fair.  This was our 4th time there this week.  It's free entertainment and just a few miles down the road- we can't resist.

Poor Olivia's eyes hurt from the sun.  I love this picture of Owen and Adam.

 We came home and headed straight for the pool.  My hope was to tire Owen out because I had a surprise for him that afternoon. 

We came home for naps after the pool and I REALLY needed Owen to nap which always means he won't...and he didn't.  I let him get out of bed around 4 and as soon as Mike got home from work we headed over to pick up Paige and Ella (who are here for the weekend because of my sister's bridal shower).  Then, it was off to Hershey Park!! 

We ran all over the park from 5 until it closed at 10pm!  Owen was a trooper for not having napped.  I think the cotton candy sugar rush helped keep him going.

Ella practicing her eating contest skills... just like her mommy- ha!

We finally got home at 11pm.  I think that was the latest he's been out in a looooong time (possibly ever). 

Today is another jam packed, fun filled day and somewhere in between I need to start thinking about going back to school!

Raystown & The Festival

We got back this afternoon after a quick trip up to the boat.  Owen had been there since Thursday and I was happy to see him.  I think Adam and Mike were glad to see him too. 

The weather was iffy yesterday so we didn't go out on the boat.  Instead, we took the boys to a little swimming hole in the lake.  They loved it. 

 The weather was beautiful today so we went out on the boat before heading back home. 

 Owen tubed again.  Maybe next year he'll try water skiing. 

 The water was warm.  Perfect for swimming.

Adam fake sleeping.  He does it all the time.

 Both boys were exhausted from playing in the lake and fell asleep on the way home.  Mike and I even stopped and had lunch while they slept in the car.

 There's a drive in place called the Red Rabbit. They have the most delicious bunny burgers and french fries with bunny dust.  Ha!  Both boys slept while we ate in the car.

 Tonight we headed over to the Lebanon Area Fair for some more fun. 

 Adam talking to all the animals was so funny.  Just another thing I'll miss when he gets older.

 Tryin' out the tractors.

This was just the beginning of our fun week at the fair.  Friday night is the tough truck competition and Saturday is the demolition derby- definitely don't want to miss that!

Date Day

Owen left Thursday afternoon for the lake with Papa and Finney.  I think he asked 341 times "how much longer till I leave for the lake?"  I miss him and can't wait to see him tomorrow morning!

Today, Mike and I had a date day.  It was his father's day/anniversary present.  First, I scheduled a massage for him at A Classic Touch (Alden Place).  I dropped him off and just as I was getting ready to leave our house to pick him up, he walked in the door.  He ran home in his flip flops (I didn't answer my phone..oops!).  He waited 20 minutes and the girl that was supposed to do his massage never showed up for work... until he was leaving.  So, to make a long story short, I really wanted to support a local business.  I used to get my hair cut there and love the look of the place, not to mention, the owner lives in my neighborhood.  However, we definitely won't ever be going back.  Thankfully, our day got better after that.

 

Next we went to Hershey to walk through the gardens and visit the butterfly house.  Then, we went across the street to the Hershey Hotel and had lunch.

We ate at two different restaurants!  It is such a pretty place to walk around and it was nice to be without kids and take our time.  After that, we went to the outlets so Mike could pick out his "first day of school" shirt and tie :)

We came home and napped before going to pick up Adam at daycare.  Actually, Mike slept for 3+ hours!  After dinner we went out to the Jigger Shop for some ice cream.  Adam loved his "pink" ice cream.  And now, we are getting ready to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics!  Go USA!

Mr. Owen

Today Owen had his 5 year well- child doctor visit.  I was kind of worried that Owen hadn't grown much since last year since he looks small compared to other kids about his age.  However I was definitely wrong!  He grew 3.5 inches (he is now 43 1/2 inches tall), and he gained 4.5 pounds (he is now 40 lbs).  His head also grew 1.5 inches!  That puts him in about the 50th percentile for height and weight.  Completely average stats wise, but definitely not just average to his mommy :)

He has been saying and doing some cute and funny things lately that I want to remember.

He asks a bazillion questions a day.  Questions like, "are you sure there's no last number?  why not?" "why does the needle in my shot go into my muscle?  how does it get into my blood?" "can God see under my covers?"  ha!  He's trying to figure everything out and doesn't accept simple explanations.

Most of the time he is so sweet to Adam, even though Adam can be nasty to him.  Owen lets Adam boss him all around and does whatever Adam wants.

Owen told me today that if I wanted he would make me a bead necklace to wear for Aunt Beth's wedding.  I told him that would be so sweet and maybe he could make one for everyone to wear at the wedding :)  He liked that idea.

He is getting very excited for kindergarten.  We went shopping and he got a few new outfits and his new backpack just arrived today.  He loves it and so do I!  It took me a while to let go and allow him to choose.  I finally pulled up a ton of options Online.  I was sure he'd choose the Batman or Spiderman one from Pottery Barn, but surprisingly, he picked a nice, simple one from Lands End.  He told me today that he might sleep with it and that all the other kids at school will probably like it.  Bless his heart.  I just hope he isn't completely bummed when most of the kids show up with Batman, Ninjago, and other superhero back packs. 

Last night we went to the Reading Phillies game.  Mike's friend from college is the famous "Crazy Hot dog Vendor" that all the kids love to see when they go to the game.

The boys loved meeting him and he gave Owen a vintage looking lunchbox which he has carried around everywhere since we got home last night.

 

He is going to the boat with Papa and Finney on Thursday afternoon.  Mike, Adam, and I will join them Saturday morning.  He is sooooo excited!  As soon as I told him he was going he packed his backpack with all the toys he wanted to take.  Then, he wore his backpack the rest of the night.  Always prepared!  He's asked me at least 10 times tonight how many more days till the boat.  Two buddy, two.

He's been asking me a lot lately when we can go on another trip, just the two of us.  I think he appreciated our trip to Mississippi more than I realized.

I call Owen the scootcher.  Every morning while I am sitting at the computer drinking coffee, he scootches his way onto my lap for some snuggles.

I love him. 

Factories

In case you haven't noticed... I love themes.  We had the butterfly theme, glowing theme, and now we're onto factories (sort of).  I guess it's the teacher in me.  Remember when everything was taught with thematic units?!  I made one on teeth and going to the dentist in college.

We actually didn't have any plans this past weekend.  It was so nice to do whatever we wanted without a set plan (although I like plans too).  Since it was raining we decided to take the boys to Chocolate World.  We've gone a few times, but the boys love it and it gave us something to do.  Mike and I were talking about how we are so spoiled having Hershey Park and Chocolate World right down the road.  There were cars there from all over the east coast.  Adam LOVED the short little ride.  He was waving and saying "hi" to the singing cows.  That's when we realized it may be time to start planning our trip to Disney.

After learning all about how chocolate is made, we let the boys each pick out a cookie.  Yum!

Saturday afternoon my blog book arrived in the mail!!  I had put off ordering our 2011 book since January so it was about time I checked that off my to-do list.  Owen loves looking through it which makes me so happy and let's me know this blogging thing is totally worth it.  I can only imagine how fun it will be for both our boys to read back over it many years down the road.  I love knowing that when I am no longer around, they will have sooooooo many memories written down along with pictures.  Maybe their wives will get a kick out of it too!

This morning my mom and I took the boys to the Julius Sturgis pretzel factory in Lititz.

We had a brief tour of the very old pretzel factory, learned how pretzels are made and how the process has changed over the years, and even got to roll our own pretzel.

After that we stopped by the Lititz playground.  Fun, fun!

Glowing

Aunt Beth came to visit for a few days at the beginning of the week.  Owen and Adam were soooo excited for her to get here.  They each had their own plan of what they were going to play with Aunt Beth.  Too bad she can't clone herself.

She pretty much lets them boss her around while she's here.  They are very lucky!

A very strong CHEEEEESE.  Look at those fangs!

Tuesday night was her last night here so we made the most of it.  First, we went for icecream.

Aunt Beth was nice enough to give her ice cream cone to Adam after only a few bites.  I guess he thought her's looked better.

Then we came home and waited until it got dark enough to go outside and catch lightening bugs!  First, we put on glow bracelets.

We had fun trying to catch them, but once inside the jar, those little buggers were fast!  Eventually, most of them got away, but that's ok.  It was Adam's first time catching lightening bugs and I think he really liked it.

After that we got out the sparklers.  Both boys are usually in bed every night before it even gets dark outside.

On this particular day, Owen and Adam had taken really long afternoon naps so they could stay awake later.  They had never seen sparklers and while it made me pretty nervous, I think they enjoyed them.

I had one last "glowing" activity for them and that was another glow-in-the-dark bath.  We took all the glow sticks and put them in the bathtub with the lights out.  They LOVED this!

After that, it was time to say "good-bye" :(  Luckily we'll see her again very soon!