Road Trip to Cumberland

Yesterday, we made the trip to Cumberland to see Thomas the Tank Engine. It took us a little over two hours to get there, and Alex said that he didn't need to drive this far to see Thomas ever again (he later said "I was just kidding!!"). However, we managed to get there without incident in plenty of time to participate in the various activities before our 4pm train ride.
















Drew and Alex got their picture taken with Sir Topham Hatt (he didn't talk so he didn't tell them that they were very useful or, as may be more correct, had caused confusion and delay). They also got temporary Thomas tattoos which you can't see very well in the picture. Alex climbed the rock wall and did an excellent job -- he may have a future in extreme outdoor sports.
















We took the very brief train ride (22 minutes round trip) and then tried to take a picture in front of Thomas. It's really difficult to get Drew and Alex to both look at the camera at the same.














We had dinner at Kline's Restaurant/Lover's Leap Lounge after the train ride (and after Alex ran headfirst into a parking meter-OUCH!).


After dinner, we looked at the CSX train across Will's Creek. It looked like they were doing a shift change so we waited a little while to see if the train would leave (which Drew and Alex wanted to see). I guess the CSX boys weren't in a big hurry so we finally left before they did.

We did a little scenic touring in Cumberland and the surrounding area. On the way home, we stopped at Baskin Robbins in Hagerstown for ice cream. All in all, it was a very good day.

Centennial Playground

Today, since Adam was not working, we decided to get outside for a little while. We still haven't resolved the bike rack situation, so we decided to take Drew to the Centennial Lake playground. It was definitely minivan heaven there this morning, probably due to the beautiful weather.

Adam and I have decided to take Drew and Alex to see Thomas the Tank Engine at the Western Maryland Railroad on Friday. My dad told me that my step-sister, Jodi, had a birthday party for her oldest son, Ryan, there last weekend. I had completely forgotten about Thomas being there now (yes, I actually keep up with this sort of info), so we're taking a road trip to Cumberland. We're not taking Hailey with us so she won't have to suffer through it this time ("this is so boring!") like she did when Andy and I took the kids to Strasburg last year.

Farmer Drew

I haven't managed to post an entry for almost a week. Drew had a cold most of the week (his nose was full of "burgers") and not much has been going on. We did manage to get on the bikes on Monday, but the bike rack that we use to transport the bikes on the car is now broken so we either have to fix it or buy a new one. That means we ride from home or not at all. Adam is enjoying his last week before his new semester starts (he got an A in his class last semester!), and I cooked for my summer client for the last time on Wednesday. They gave me an extra $100 as a thank you which was a nice surprise.


















Yesterday, we drove to Pennsylvania to visit some old friends of Adam's, Bill and Ruth Smith and their daughter, Caitlin. They live in a little town named Bechtelsville, which is just up the road from Pottstown. In other words, they live in the country. Ruth grew up in the area, and they finally moved back last year after many years in the Army. We got to their house around 3:00, just as Caitie was getting home from school. Drew ran all over the house chasing the cat -- they showed him that shaking the treat can usually brings the cat running, but for some reason the cat didn't want a treat that badly when Drew was handing them out.

After Caitie finished her homework, we took off for the Oley Valley Community Fair which is one of the last not-for-profit fairs in the country. We saw lots of farm equipment, and lots of animals including this mommy pig and all of her piglets. Drew got to earn his Farmer For A Day ribbon by collecting 1 apple (from a wooden apple tree), two potatoes (from a sand box) and three eggs (from fake chickens). He also got a chance to milk a wooden cow, although real milk (or some kind of liquid) really came out when it was milked.

Bill, Ruth and especially Caitie were very good sports with Drew as he was just a tad wound up by all of the exciting fair attractions. He got to go on some rides while Adam talked Caitie into going onto the ferris wheel and the tilt-a-whirl.
We ate hot dogs, pork barbeque, french fries and assorted baked goods. They have this strange way of selling the food -- separate lines for each food item. In other words, you have to get in at least 3 different lines to get a full meal. Everything was good and is mostly homemade, so my only regret is not eating more! We had to hit the road by 8 though, because Adam had to work first thing this morning.

We got the beat

Our friends, Jill and Jerry had a party at their new house today. Drew and I made a chocolate cake to take with us, and Drew did a tasting of the batter when it was all mixed.
Luckily the rain stopped in time for the party (since it was outside), but Drew's favorite thing was playing the drums in Jill and Jerry's cool new music room. He's definitely interested in all things musical.

The best of intentions

Well, we had the sleepover tonight with Hailey and Alex. I think this will be the last attempt at a sleepover for quite a while. I guess Drew just can't settle down with other people in his room, so the room was completely trashed before Hailey and Alex finally took refuge in the living room at around 10:45. Big fun.

On an unrelated note, hopefully, no one is eating bagged spinach right now. Of course, you'd have to be living under a rock not to have heard that it's being taken out of all of the grocery stores, and restaurants aren't serving it until the E-coli outbreak is handled. Unfortunately, I made a huge pan of spanakopita (Greek spinach pie for those of you not in the know) for my client on Monday for a dinner party she's having Saturday night. I called tonight to tell them to serve it at their own risk, but I'd advise throwing it out. The spinach is cooked in the dish, but I wouldn't take the chance. My $2 million insurance policy sure won't cover killing people.

To Infinity and Beyond!

I was supremely unmotivated today. I was out of the house 5:45 am and then came home after voting at 7. After Adam went to work, Drew and I lounged around reading books and watching Maisy. It was a little chilly in the morning so I decided that I better get Drew a couple pairs of sweat pants. Now, Adam somewhat disapproves of sweat pants, because, given the choice, Drew will wear them every day (he calls them sweater pants). But, come on! Everybody needs some sweat pants! So off we went to Target since we got a gift card from Grandpa Tom for Drew's birthday.

As you can see from the picture, Drew also got a new pair of pjs. He really likes picking out clothes for himself (this worries me as it could get expensive later), and he was very adamant that he wanted the Buzz Lightyear pjs. Lately, he's always trying to get me to pretend that I'm Woody and he's Buzz, and he makes me say "You are a toy!!" just like in the movie.

Back to School Night

Tonight was Back to School Night. Drew's teacher, Miss Stephanie was a good sport and let me take her picture. She's very upbeat and positive -- which I guess you'd have to be when you're dealing with 3 and 4 year olds all day. She tells me that Drew is doing very well so far this year, and that his vocabulary is definitely growing. There's a double-edged sword for you!

Tomorrow is the primary election, and I can't wait for it to be over. I'm hoping that means that these unbelievably annoying spam phone calls will stop. I resolved not to vote for anyone that called me and left me these automated messages, but now I think I've gotten one of these phone calls from every single candidate, so now what do I do? I'm afraid that the phone calls will start up again next month before the general election. Adam said they should be on the Do Not Call list, but, of course, that law couldn't have passed if the politicians got included! That's the end of my political commentary. You'll notice I neither endorsed nor opposed any candidates in my speech.

The elusive Hailey reappears

We finally got to see Hailey today. She's not off to far off places with someone else's family this week. Andy and I met at Meadowbrook Park so the kids could play on the playground. They lasted about 30 minutes (there's not much shade - it gets pretty hot), and then were ready to head indoors.

I promised the kids a sleepover next Friday. We haven't tried to have them overnight since the last episode involving hot dogs, projectile vomiting, and Hailey and Alex being picked up by Andy at 11:30 at night. I'm hoping this time goes a little smoother.

Put me in the zoo

I realized recently that Drew will be less than pleased when he gets old enough to have opinions about his pictures being posted on the Internet (who knows how long I'll keep this up though). It's way better than just pulling out the photo album when the new girlfriend first comes over. Not that I'm trying to torture my child or anything -- it was Adam that made him look like Ed Grimley while he was in the bathtub the other night.


I can't believe that it's Friday already! This week flew by -- I guess that's what happens when it's back to school time. Drew had his 1st full week of school, and I'm looking forward to hearing how's he's doing when I go to Back to School night on Monday and talk to Miss Stephanie.

Today, my friend Marta and I took Drew to the Maryland Zoo. It was a great day for it, not too hot and not too crowded. The camels were running so we decided to take a ride. Drew really enjoyed the ride, although I'm not sure the camel felt the same way.

We had to have a photo outside of the zoo. Drew has previously had issues with Marta, somehow she scared him once when he was a baby, but now she's his friend. He insists that we're all going to the zoo again tomorrow.

Here's Drew's favorite part of the zoo (this and the tundra buggy by the polar bears) which has nothing to do with animals, of course. He had to go down the tree slide (3 times) before his visit was complete.

A day of cousins

Today, we got to spend time with some cousins. After church, Drew and I met my aunt Liddy (who was in town for the weekend), my cousin Deb and her kids, Becca and Ben for lunch at the Bagel Bin. Ben doesn't like to open his eyes for the camera, apparently and Drew is easily distracted. Becca was a good sport, however.

We had tacos tonight at Andy and Carole's. Alex was stunning in his Spiderman costume -- it looks like he's really been working out! We didn't get to see Hailey (again!) since she's off gallivanting at the beach for the long weekend. I haven't posted a picture of her yet so I guess I'll have to post one from our Michigan vacation when I get a chance.

Adios Ernesto

It's been raining here the last couple of days because of Tropical Depression Ernesto. We really needed the rain, but I wasn't very motivated to leave the house in the downpour. I wanted to do some cleaning, but, as anyone with kids knows, it's hard to do anything for more than 5 - 10 minutes without interruption. Drew is not a fan of the vacuum cleaner at all - he runs to another floor when I get it out and then keeps saying "Are you done, Mommy? Are you done?". However, toilet bowl cleaning is a big hit. I figured, if he wanted to help, I wasn't going to stop him, and I know that being Mommy's little helper won't last forever. I'll take it while I can get it.

Nice Corndog

Yesterday, we made our big trip to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA. You can tell just by looking at the picture of the entrance that the cheese factor was high. It wasn't quite as cheesy as Deer Acres (for those of you in the know), but it was a close second. I say that with love, of course. Speaking of cheese, we outdid ourselves with food yesterday. We started out the day with breakfast at Wegmans (it was on the way!) with danish and muffins. For lunch, we all enjoyed the frankfurter in one form or another (although Adam's was technically a sausage). You gotta love the corndog.
We had a great time, even though a couple of the rides really scared Drew (the Crazy Plane and the Double Splash Flume), but he loved the Gondola Cruise and the Wonderland Special (train). His favorite was probably Duke's Dozers--you can see he looks very intense trying to make the bucket go up and down.
They had a very nice park area at the back of the park. We took a boat ride and also managed to get a good picture of all of us.
We left the park around 5 pm and did a mini scenic tour of the Amish Country while Drew took a short nap and then wound up having dinner at The Family Cupboard in Bird in Hand which is just this side of Intercourse. Adam and I ate way too much. Besides dinner (2 trips to the buffet for me--love the stewed tomatoes and Harvard beets), we had three slices of pie and 3 other kinds of dessert between us. It's salad for us for the rest of the weekend.

They had a little petting farm right next to the restaurant so Drew got to feed and pet the goats, potbelly pig, sheep and llama before and after dinner. It was a great way to keep him somewhat quiet during dinner ("no animals if you don't stop yelling and start eating your dinner"-you get the picture)
Maybe we'll go back again next year. I think we'll stay overnight if we go again, though. There's a lot to do and see in the area. Adam and I (being the know-it-alls that we are) decided that we need to do some research because neither of us really knew the difference between Amish and Mennonites and who really can have electricity and other pertinent information. Thank goodness for Google.