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First off, daddy and Devon made a nice trip with friends up to see a Phillies game! I took pics before we left! And my friend took some from her house. And off went the boys and the girls!!!! They had a lotta fun and the Phils even won!!!
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Edmund's cousin, wife and cute little boy came by for a short visit after dinner one night....the kids played blocks and logs on the floor while we chatted! 
He's so cute!!! And so well-behaved!!!!
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Friends of Edmund's from Florida also came up for a visit! We went to the Wildwood Boardwalk (again) and had lots of snacks, rides and pizza!!!! Here are a bunch of pics from that fun night. You may recognize this family from our Hollywood Studios Day in Disney last November...the girls really had a great time together again!!!
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The last week in July the girls started up bi-weekly swim lessons for the next 5 weeks!!! At this point Devon swims rather than sinks and Brooklyn is pretty close to being able to float unasisted as well!!! Here they are practicing their kicks at the beginning of the lesson!!!
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Later that week, was the annual Captain Kidd Treasure Hunt on the beach in Cape May!!! We made it a whole family outing including a stop at Hot Dog Tommy's (yummo), some mini-golf, some shopping ( I needed a dress for a workshop I was giving on August 2nd) and of course the treasure hunt itself. This year the girls were in the next division up...the 5-8 yr olds!!!
Devon wore her girl-pirate shirt and Brook wore Tink!!!
Off we went in search of lunch.... Tommy is quite a character!!!
I love all of the colors!!! Next we made our way to the arcade for a little bit.... I took pics of the pretty Cape May beach expanse!
Finally it was time to get ready for the treasure hunt. You can line up and parade down the boardwalk but we cut to the chase and just headed to the beach!!!! We met up with lots of friends and other people doing the same thing!!!
We lined up and awaited the "GO" signal from Captain Kidd himself!
And everyone was off!!!! See all of those kids??? I think they only buried about 20 to 30 (at most) treasure chests...and they were buried too...not on top showing a little bit like in the little kid division! So....the girls dug and dug and dug......
They dug for at least 1/2 hour to no avail....our friends didn't find a box either....
The parents chatted and just kept saying dig and look but alas.... finally everyone gave up!!! Oh well!
Hmmmm some sad but sandy faces but at least Brooklyn got a hat! LOL! So that was our pirate day!
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Next up was my workshop! I spent several days preparing for it and making a huge powerpoint and handouts and I brought food and wore my new dress. I was VERY nervous! Fortunately my colleagues are awesome and they really liked the workshop! We even will do a follow-up in the fall. The topic was motivating students! Quite a tough job! :) After that I joined my girls at their friend's house and we all went swimming. It was such a nice afternoon!!! Thanks Tammy for watching the girls and having us over!!!!
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The next big event was the Queen Maysea Coronation and the Baby Parade. The Coronation practice took a few hours two different mornings!
Here they are finding their places and where to walk and when and what to say!!! Lots to remember for a 5 and 6 year old!!! I thought this was such a good experience for them to get up on stage and speak in front of an audience on a microphone. I joked that it was as close to Toddlers and Tiaras that they were going to get!!! LOL I also loved that it was part of a long-standing Cape May tradition! Here are some more practice shots....
Sarah and her friend Haley helped all of the girls up and down the steps...each girl had to come down the steps and around the audience and up the other side!
After two days of practice...everyone was ready!!! I think I showed you the dresses earlier in the summer but I didn't tell you who was wearing what....I also found I needed to complete the look with some homemade jewelry and hair bows! I trekked over to Michaels Crafts and picked up supplies...
...while I crafted the girls made more polymer clay things!
Can you believe you bake the ribbon set on dowels??? But I finished the project! In between all of this crafting we also went to National Night Out. Do you have that where you live??? There were lots of free food and venders, a band and even pony rides! Here are a few shots...
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Finally the night of the Coronation arrived! The girls got all dressed up!!! Here they are!
Brooklyn wore blue and Devon wore purple!!!
My friend's son was the page boy and carried a pillow with the crown!! So cute!! Once back inside I got a picture of the girls with the outgoing Queen....
And this year's new Queen....
After a few more pics and a bit of a wait....
It was finally time to start. All of the girls went back stage to line up and were introduced one by one. They came across stage and introduced themselves: name, age and town. It was so cute. Then they walked around the audience while the MC read a card about their interests. They came back on stage and sat in their seats!
The Queens then exchanged crowns and curtseys and there was a little speech and walk about!
The entire court! The ceremony ended with the major of Cape May giving each girl a trophy. The girls also had received a flower basket!
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And there you go!!! We had a day of rest in between and Friday, Aug. 6th was the Cape May Baby Parade. The girls have been in it since they were born but this year, they got to ride on the Queen Maysea float! They also got to meet Miss New Jersey, Ashleigh Udalovas. She was absolutely lovely and I got to talk to her briefly!
The girls boarded the float and soon enough they were off down Beach Ave!
The parade route ended and everyone went up to the boardwalk. We waited with one of Edmund's friend who had brought her girls. They were so cute in their zebra pillowcase dresses!!!!
It was pretty hot!!! But Edmund's friends won 4th place!! Yaa!!! We headed back to the car to change and relax a bit before heading home....Edmund talked to the arcade owner! We got frozen cokes and tried a few rides!
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And there you have it!!! Are you still hanging in here?????? I tell you what, if it weren't for all of these pics I take I wouldn't remember half of this stuff!
So the day after the parade it was Edmund's 29th birthday...again!!!! LOL! He has been running this summer so he decided he wanted to run in a local race, Douglass/Coombs 2-mile run! It wouldn't have been my birthday choice I can tell you that!!! LOL~ So we got up nice and early and somehow I still almost missed the start of the race! I took a few pics and off they went. The last to go were a company of Coast Guard recruits. I love how they yell out to each other!!! I could hear them long after they went out of sight!
Here's daddy's big finish.....
There was also a simultaneous 5-mile run and I waited around for my vice-principal, who I knew was running, to finish! Great job Pete!!!
We rested during the afternoon and later that night we went out to dinner in Cape May. Then we had cake! The next day, Edmund's friend came over with a cookie cake! Isn't that too sweet??!!! It was all very yummy!!! Happy Birthday to my dear sweet hubby!!!
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After all of this celebrating, it was time to pack for our big camping trip! Well, it was actually only two days of camping and 2 days of Hershey, PA!! We tried to get a nice cabin (read fully equiped) at Jellystone Campground in Quarryville PA but none were available. We ended up with a new two room rustic cabin...sans bathroom! If you know me, bathroom and kitchen are a requirement but we decided to go ahead and try it out since it had lots of activities for the kids! So, we packed the kids and the car and off we went on our little PA adventure!!!
Here are pics of our cabin upon arrival!!!
After settling in we drove around the campground and also played on the air mattress! It was this cool air filled jumping mattress and it didn't have an annoying air pump...I have no idea how they got it filled each day but it was super fun! Adults could go on it too!!!
Of course the first thing kids want to do when they get anywhere with a pool is go in it!!! So the kids got in their suits and we all went to the waterpark/pool for a few hours before dinner! It was so fun and splashy!!!
I ran over to the gift shop ( by the way it was an awesome gift shop but I don't think I remembered to take any pics inside) to get the swimmies for Brook and the ring to play with in the pool! They had fun! We stayed till around 7 pm or so and then headed back to the cabin for dinner and relaxation. The cabin had lights, AC, a small fridge and a flat screen tv. Outside it had a table, grill and faucet! It was so cute!
The next morning we got up and headed to the main lodge to meet Boo Boo bear! Course Devon would have nothing to do with him...though she did like Yogi!
There was a koi pond and a playground and a nice patio to relax on! My friend Carla called, who was on her way to meet up with us here at the campground. I was so excited to finally see her again! She was bringing her adorable son Louie to have fun and hang out with us for the day!
They arrived and we all headed over to the mattress and petal track for some fun!!!
The petal track was pretty big and it was located on an incline. F=ma.....know what I mean??? I am surprised no one got hurt! LOL!
No bones broken, we went to jump for a bit before it got too hot!
Finally it was time to head over to the pool! We actually had to wait until the gates opened at 11 am. It was hot waiting but finally we got in and Edmund located a great spot between the pool and waterpark areas. Carla and I visited for hours! The kids played and swam and splashed! So much fun!
Midday we headed back to the cabin for lunch and then returned to the waterpark. Carla and Louie left late afternoon and we headed out soon there after. We tried out the showers and had a nice cook-out for dinner too! (I forgot to mention that the bathrooms were clean however they were at the top of a huge hill. Edmund and I joked it was uphill both ways!)
After dinner we went to the pavillion to join everyone for Candy Bar Bingo! It was a popular event! For each game of bingo, they increased the number of bars won! Somehow we won three times and took home quite a bounty of yummy bars and candy!!!
(I totally forgot to tell you that the first night in the cabin, I woke up with vertigo! Oh and Devon kept waking up and wondering. Edmund was up taking care of us! I finally settled propped up in the car, and he took Devon to the bathrooms. When she was younger and just potty trained at night, she would wake up around 2 or 3 am and start wondering around the house. You would have to guide her into the bathroom and then she would go and go back to bed. Well, we totally forgot about this until finally Edmund figured out why she was wondering around the cabin! lol! I barely slept and the neighbors woke up early, 6:30 am and let their very loud children out of the cabin. They proceeded to yell and talk until the entire circle of cabins was awake including ours! Ack! I really had to work hard to fight the vertigo/hangover the next day. The second night I made sure to take some exedrine pm and I slept much better. I think it was the new wood smell in the cabin that set off the vertigo....apparently strong odors can do that. Its the only thing I could think of.)
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OK onto the check-out day!! We got up and packed the car and headed to the gift shop. The kids played on the petal track, mattress and playground one last time. We perused the gift shop too! They had a wonderful deck and rocking chairs too. I tried to imagine I was at Ft. Wilderness rocking on their deck!
With the purchase of some ice for the ice chests we checked out and loaded up.....there was no room for any stowaways!
We headed out through beautiful Lancaster county. This is where I should live! It has gorgeous green rolling hills and farms. We stopped off at a local grocery just to check it out! We had plenty of time to kill before checking into our hotel in Hershey PA.
This is the sign to get off the main highway and head out to Hershey. Along the way, we stopped for go-cart rides and a little stretch for everyone! Due to ages, Daddy got to take each little girl once and Sarah got to go by herself! My vertigo had me enjoying the view only!!!
They also had water boat rides, batting cages, laser tag course and an arcade and ice cream place! We were really hot....it was super humid this day so we walked around a little bit and headed out!
Next we made our way into the town of Hershey and drove around a little bit! Its such a cute town. The lamposts in the center of town are huge Hershey Kisses!
Then we headed to Fudruckers! We love their burgers! It was so nice to be in the AC. I was hoping it would cool off some!
Even though it was a few hours before check -in, we headed over to our hotel to see if our room was ready! Thank the Good Lord it was!!! We all really wanted to take showers, relax and get ready for Hershey Park Twilight Admission!!!! It was a good sign when Edmund went in and didn't come back out right away! Yaaaaaa....our room was ready!!!!
Feeling refreshed, we got back in the car around 3 pm and drove the 5 minutes to Hershey Park. The plan was to tour Chocolate World first and then arrive at the gates at 4 :30 pm for the 5 pm twilight admission. We've done the chocolate tour several times now. Its corny but fun! It kinda reminds me of Living with the Land....must be those cows or something....lol!
The ride ends and you get off and go up steps to a ramp overlooking a humongous candy store! Oh and they give you a free sample. I took a pic of the ride pic(we're #498)....the lady put her hand up to stop me and I just kept going....hey, in Disney everyone does that!
Then we meandered towards the gates. They have height requirements for rides (of course) that are creatively shown by different candies. Both littles were Reeces and Sarah was a Jolly Rancher. I think Disney should do something like this....it saves so much trouble! Just look for your sign at the ride and if its there....you can go on it!!!
After our wait, we made it in!!!! They had a pretty fountain with a Milton Hershey stature...again it reminded me of the statues at Disney! OK ... no more comparisons!!! LOL
Notice Devon has the map! We decided to start at the top of the park and work our way down. Sarah's first ride was a roller coaster so I took the girls on a trio of rides nearby. They LOVED this froggy ride and rode it multiple times during the night!
They have lots of coasters and Sarah rode many...until she was coastered out! (no thats not a word)
Feeding the ducks from the bridge!
We came across some YUMMY CANDY and even Devon made it into the picture!
Swinging Ship...for Sarah and Devon. I chatted with the Line CM...he picked out Sarah as being mine! LOL!
This next ride was a blast! It swings really fast and you can control the direction of the sail! You just laugh the whole time! I watched from the safety of the bench!
We waited on another bench while Sarah coasted again!
Then the girls went on an old-fashion whip and the musical express!!! How do they do it???
Next up was the railroad! Toot toot! I made it aboard too!
Then we took the monorail ride. Darn...I was so appalled that I didn't get a pic of this family ahead of us in line...ugggg. They were quite a treat. The one youngster about 16 or 17 had a dull expression....think duhhhhhh? and was wearing a hat with pot leaves all over it. We sat far away from them on the ride!!!
I love this ride...its so cool and relaxing...reminds me of the People Mover...not that I am comparing! You go over the entire park and swing around near the Hershey factory!
We headed over to the Classic Cars. By the way, you could bring your empty water bottle to any vender and they would fill it for free. At this point of the night we had done that about 10 times..a few pit stops occurred whenever we were near a bathroom! It was starting to get dark and we decided to eat after this ride!
I sat with Sarah who drove...yikes...this is reality in about 4 more years!
Devon was bugging me to take a pic of us. So here is Devon's pic under the sign...Hershey's Kisses...course she cut off the sign so this makes no sense. No really...ask her! LOL!
Here's our restaurant...with outrageous prices...the girls all had pasta...Edmund and I were too hot to eat so we shared a gatoraid. Three kids pastas and a gatoraid came to like $25. How do they sleep at night????
Devon, Sarah and I went up the Kissing Tower and I tried to get some pics but it was dark and the kiss window was plastic. You could see everything from up there....it was beautiful with all of the lights and stuff!
At this point it was getting late and all of us were really tired and hot! We headed to the beginning of the park for a last ride...the caroussel of course...
and we also found a Hershey Bar meet and greet... to end our park evening!
We certainly were able to get to all of the rides we wanted...it wasn't very crowded at all. There is a whole section we skipped....the waterpark area...which is really nice. Had we done an all day pass, we probably would have spent lots of time there during the heat of the day!
We went back to the hotel and slept great on the soft beds! In the morning there was a complimentary breakfast...all the crowds and waffles you want! No matter..we survived! We checked out and packed up yet again and headed east to Indian Echo Caverns.
There was so much to do here! They had a mining area and cute gift shop and playground! We signed up for a tour and we were ready to go within about 20 minutes!
Our tour guide in blue. He was nice and kinda funny! He led us down the path...see that house...soon we would be 100 feet below it!!
Our group! Ready to go in....here are the doors to the cave....hahahahaha!
It has come to my attention that not everyone likes caves. Now I am not of the spelunking variety ( like my older sister) but these caves are well pathed and lit! I tried to reassure Brooklyn of this!!!
Seeee....I'm not scared!!!!
We were all thoroughly enjoying the tour..the girls kept asking to take pics too! A nice guy from NY took our family pic!
I think you've seen enough cave shots! We made it out alive, only to be faced with 71 steps back up to the top!!!
Next, the girls tried mining for gems! The nice guy had Brooklyn help count the money and then we got our bags of "dirt" and the girls were ready to try it! They divided the bags among their three sifters and let the water run over them. It took away the dirt and left the gems!!!
Lots of pretty stones!!! Here is a display of possible ones to find! Next the girls played for a while on the playground. Edmund and I prepared a quick picnic lunch! We found a nice table to relax and eat at!
And then it was finally time to pack up and head home!
LOL...poor Sarah! We took some highway (and I was the person in charge of the map) back to Philly and it seemed to take forever to get there!
Here's the Walt Whitman over to NJ!
And there you have it folks...our little 4 day trip! It was great fun! My hubby even helped with the unpacking and laundry. Luckily I had cleaned the house before we left!
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So the only other thing to catch you up on is a little bit of sewing I did in the last few weeks! First I decided to try some "I Spy" quilts. These are quilts which use all kinds of novelty fabrics and you combine them. The kids can play the game I Spy with it. Or try to match blocks etc. I ordered some novelty squares from ebay and used some of my stash too. My good friend Marlo was so sweet and sent me some of her leftover disney fabric scraps....and I think I already mentioned before how much fun the girls had picking out their fabrics!
So...here is what I've done so far. This is Brooklyn's and she picked pink as her accent color.... I still have to layer, quilt and bind.
The other new project I have going on are cute in-the-hoop Mini-Kimmy dolls from swak embroidery. Click Here. I made my first doll for my friend Marlo's daughter Nicole! So here is the process and result:
First you make the doll...
Then the hair...there are lots of choices...
Then the clothes...I picked the Sisboom Carla dot!
And here she is all completed!!!
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OK, so you actually made it to the end of this blog. There is really too much to even comment about I am sure! Just know that I had to get it all out there. This is kinda like my journal of my family!! So I think we are finishing out the summer with some workshops (for me), a middle school orientation (for Sarah) and a few more fun things I can think of....lol! We've signed up for dance for the fall and will do a little school shopping I am sure. I am going to keep working on the quilts and dolls and some Halloween things too!!!
Hope all is well and thanks for reading along! Be back soon!!!
God Bless,
Cathy
WOW! i feel like I spent the summer with you! I wish I did!
ReplyDeleteSo much fun always going on here! I want to be a kid in your family! Love your long posts...
ReplyDeletexo,
annie
I will echo the previous comments, "I wanna be in your family !!" You guys always look like you are having so much fun. As much as I have been to the shore, I have never been on the Wildwood boardwalk, looks like fun. The teacup ride is so pretty. Love all the picures, the gowns the girls wore were so pretty ! Love Hershey Park, and the cabin looks cute. Summer is quickly winding down, boo hoo.
ReplyDeleteLisa Holmes