Not enough time

We spent tons of time with Kelsey and her family this summer, but it is never enough.  Before we headed to Vermont we had about 36 hours with just Kelsey, Scott, the girls, and Jack....not enough time!  But, we jammed packed those 36 hours with fun!

Our first adventures was Six Flags.  I really don't like amusement parks at all.  I hate roller coasters and any ride that spins.  However, Emma did not get to go with us last summer because of gymnastics and her broken finger.  So, I was easily talked into taking everyone again.  The park is literally ten minutes from Kelsey's house.  They have a season pass because it is so easy for them to go.  All the kids except Samuel and obviously Jack are adrenaline junkies.  Elena and Leah would love to go on the big rides, but they aren't tall enough yet.  The older kiddos would spend all day on the roller coasters.  It was a great day to chat with Kelsey because we did a lot of waiting!

Jack needed a little nap

These four spend much of the day together.  Samuel doesn't like the roller coasters and he doesn't mind riding the "kiddy" rides.  He was so sweet helping Jack on the rides.  He also spend some time just hanging with me while we waited for people to get off of rides. 

 

Mostly the roller coaster junky group

Six flags was our big adventures.  The remainder of our time together was just filled with playing.  These sweet cousins are truly best friends.  They get along so well and really always want to be together.  It is such a joy!

Olympic Ring snacks....awesome right?

Jonah would spend every second playing with Jack if he could.  They are definitely good buddies!

Wax museum tag...so fun to watch!

Kels and Scott are two of my favorite people!  They are so inviting and welcoming.  We pack tons of crazy and they never mind that we invade for so long (except this summer).  I know our next adventure together will be awesome.  I just wish I knew when that would be!

48 hours in PA

We normally spend more time in PA with my parents and my sister and her family.  For various reasons that wasn't possible this summer so we had to jam lots of fun into a few short days.  There are certain things I like to do or visit every summer so I can get my PA fix. Thankfully we managed just about everything.

Kelsey and her crew came up for one day which was fun.  We all met at Roots, a wonderful country market and auction.  Oh my goodness the food and food and food.  I was in heaven and probably gained weight just looking at everything.    Lancaster County food is something special!  After our "stuff your faces" visit we went to my aunt and uncles for some pool and creek time.  This is a must every summer and we had so much fun.  Everyone, even Owen, enjoyed the pool this year.  The creek was also a big hit.  With lots of adventurous cousins exploring the creek had to happen!

Why is this the only picture we took of the three of us this summer?

Leah is that little.  She isn't standing in a hole

Tuesday was National Night Out which is something we never attend at home.  NNO at home has been in October and we are busy with sports.  So, this was a fun experience for all of us.  The kids did like everything and they especially liked holding/touching a rat snake.  That was gross so there will be no pictures of that.

Going along with my theme for the summer which included playing outside in the woods as much as possible (obviously not when we were home) we hiked Grubb Lake.  We did this two years so it was nice to visit there again.  It was a lot of fun to watch Owen keep up with his cousins!

recreating a picture we took two summers ago

Wednesday afternoon we took the kids swimming at the Manheim Pool.  I swam there as a child and it hasn't changed one single bit in way too many years.  The pool has a high dive which the kids thought was great.  They have no fear!  The pool is also right next too my favorite covered bridge so we again played there.

So much visited and so many memories made in just a short time.  I love sharing Lancaster County with my kiddos and being with family is just a bonus!

Our final stop....Twin Kiss because it's just that yummy!