Grand Tour of Pennsylvania

Immediately upon returning from Connecticut, the kids and I repacked and headed straight out for Pennsylvania. We had important people to see!

First stop: Chambersburg. Kris, my bestie from college, lives there and I hadn't seen her in way too long. And despite the fact that Daniel and Sarah are much older (14 and 17), they were awesome with CC, Sweet Pea, and Little Man. My kids warmed up to them immediately, and especially to their dogs -- two pugs who were thoroughly exhausted by all the attention. We went rock-hopping in a local park stream, and caught fireflies while we watched the pugs race around the yard.

Kris, Daniel and Sarah took us to Hershey Park, and we had a great time at both the water park and the amusement park. Little Man preferred the water park, while CC and Sweet Pea got their fill of roller coasters. At the end of the day, CC was devastated when a thunderstorm closed out a rollercoaster that she, Sarah and Daniel had waited 40 minutes to ride -- when they were literally the next ones in line. Sweet Pea, Little Man, Kris and I stayed warm and dry under a pavilion, and when Daniel, Sarah and CC joined us, dejected and drenched, we took them indoors to learn about chocolate making and sample some amazing chocolate milkshakes. Cheers to sweet endings!

After bidding farewell to the Fosters, we headed to Pittsbugh to visit the Pohls. Carol and Tom were thrilled to see their godchildren again, and the kids had a blast playing Legos, dolls and arts & crafts with Tommy, Kaya, and Patrick. Little Man finally had someone who was as knowledgeable as he is about Star Wars (Patrick came downstairs to report that Little Man and Tommy were "speaking Star Wars language up there").

We went to the Pittsburgh Zoo, which was fun (but unfortunately the polar bears weren't out the way they were last time). Then we took a boat tour of downtown Pittsburgh, which was really interesting and gave us great views of the city.

The girls' highlight of our visit with the Pohls was when they got to meet and ride Winter, Carol's horse. They will treasure the experience forever!

Here's a video of me and the girls riding Win:

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/Fkyyw0fYLpk

We couldn't have asked for a better trip. Heads up, Kris and Carol -- we might make our Grand Tour of Pennsylvania an annual tradition! But for now, we're happy to be back home with MJ and Amber, who we missed terribly. One week to relax before the kids head to camp!