Looks like we made it...

Hello all, Happy 4th! Back in MI all in one piece, husband and 4 kids still accounted for, although there were times over the last 7 days I was tempted to leave one or all by the side of the road in Pennsylvania. For those of you who don't know, we spent the last week in beautiful PA, touring the Hershey and Lancaster countryside, finally arriving in Philly for the end of the week. As Dorothy once said, "There's no place like home." Children are all tucked in to separate beds. No more, "Melissa won't stop talking" " Allison won't stay on her side of the bed." "Ashley keeps waking me up." "Katelyn keeps pushing on me."

Highlights:

1. Mechanicsburg hote...broken pool, horrible for everyone, planned to stay 4 nights, stayed 1
2. Willow Valley family resort...one room for 6 people, a little crowded, but made up for it with 4 pools, kids water play area, water slide, breakfast and dinner buffets every day, close to attractions...perfect for everyone!
3. Dutch Wonderland...perfect for everyone!
4. Lancaster countryside...perfect for Darrin and I. The big girls were so funny when they spotted "them"... the Amish children. It was so innocent but they would say, "I think I see an Amish over there." Toured a farm and learned about their beliefs, educational
5. Homewood suites...perfect for all, absolutely beautiful 3 room suite!
6. Philly...big, much bigger than I had recalled. Ben Franklin science museum, excellent. Camden NJ aquarium, very nice. Cool ride on the ferry across the river to get there. City Hall right downtown, beautiful! Parking...bad. Getting kids to "walk" many blocks to see things...not so good. Philly Cheese steak sandwich at Jon's restaurant (Larry from the 3 Stooges). Pretty tasty.
7. King of Prussia Mall...2nd largest in the US. BIG, very big, too big to add to the end of the day of sight seeing, but we can say we were there.
   
8. Fireworks and Elmwood Zoo, rained out, called it a wonderful vacation and left a day early. Beat the traffic traveling on the 4th.
9. Twins movie of choice for the trip??? How the Grinch Stole Christmas
10. Food kids ate too much of? Fruit snacks and chicken tenders
11. Did you know...Darrin hates driving in the mountains and over bridges?
12. Did you know...Cathy can feel car sick even when she is the one driving?
13. Did you know...The motion sickness bracelets must work because Katelyn didn't get sick the whole trip?
14. Did you know... Darrin can jump almost 10 feet out into a pool to rescue Ashley who had just flipped over in her inner tube? Forgot to mention, while fully clothed and placing our brand new camera on the ground prior to jumping? She was fine and only drank a little water.
15. Did you know...We are blessed with wonderful children and a drive for adventure? Our life will forever be busy, but trips like this make us realize we can experience the US and hopefully when we return we will be a closer family.
    

Look for photos coming via Kodak gallery in the near future.

Glad to be home...