This summer we extended our east coast tour by another week, in hopes of escaping more of the brutal Texas summer heat. While we had great fun, I think we brought the heat with us for part of our trip. We began our trip by heading to Pennsylvania first...me, Matthew, Ellie and all of Matthew's "babies".
In the few summers that we have been doing this trip, the kids have already made their list of "must-do's". An old fashioned train ride in the Pennsylvania country side is at the top of Matthew's list. This year he was not as scared of the loud train whistle as he was before.
We added a visit to the Winterthur Museum Children's Garden! This life sized bird nest began two weeks of playing "baby bird". More "baby bird" pictures to follow.
The Enchanted Mushroom Fairy Circle was a close second to the bird nest. As soon as you entered the ring of mushrooms, a cloud of mist began pouring in...it only took Ellie a few minutes to find the sensor that tripped the mist machine!
Matthew enjoyed gently fanning away the mist while perched on a mushroom.
Next we headed down to Rehoboth Beach, DE! This sand pit was a daily feature, and yes, needed re-digging by myself and Nana, with the "help" of Ellie and Matthew. The kids had a ball chasing waves (bigger than our Gulf waves), building sand castles, and hunting for sand crabs.
This is what happens after a full day at the beach. So, sweet!
This sweet, calm picture may have been taken only seconds before the arrival of the massive wave that Nana and I had to rescue both kids from, while accidentally throwing my Kindle into the ocean...thanks for the new one, Amazon!
Matthew made anew best friend on this trip. Now, that's some of the best sharing I have ever seen...both from child and cat!
We spent a day at Sesame Place again this year, and convincd Nana to come with us! We even convinced (tricked?) the kids into going on some of the bigger water rides. Matthew loved them, sitting tall, waiting for the spray of water! Ellie...was pretty mad at us for a while.
Once we got to Grandmas house in NY, the three (Stooges) cousins were right back at it....fun and games and silliness all around!
This time they welcomed cousin Ian into the games...I think they ate just about every meal at this little table outside. Now that's one way to keep the crumbs to a minimum with seven kids 5 and under, in one house.
We went to Gilbert Lake twice! Matthew is my little fish, actually swimming with the little fish :)
Ellie, again the cautious one, preferred to stay in the shallow water where she could see her toes...I know how you feel Ellie :)
Cousins! Friends! Even though they haven't seen each other since Christmas they picked up right where they left off.
Ahhh...the "baby birds" return. With nests made out of pool noodles covered by towels, this game went on for days. They even fed each other "worms" (spaghetti).
Ellie took a real liking to "baby Shane" who with the addition of Keegan and Sloane, is no longer the baby of the bunch. She said she felt like a teenager, helping Shane in her new bathing suit.
Matthew in a fleece...in July. What a wonderful opportunity to be cool for a while! Although the kids were a little confused by the cold mornings. They kept asking when it was going to snow! Thanks for a wonderful trip everyone!!!
