Trip to The East Coast Part Deux - York/Red Lion and Lancaster, PA

We built seeing mommy's great friend Casey and her family and seeing Grandma and Grandpa into our itinerary.

We spent time hanging at Casey's house just relaxing and visiting.  There was an electrical storm and the house lost power.  The view of the thunderclouds was amazing.  Garrett loved the backyard and garden (until it rained!) and Brady loved all of the activity and kids running around. 

We went to the Turkey Hill Experience instead of the York Fair since the weather was so dismal.  It was a blast.  Super funny. 

Turkey Hill Dairy makes ice cream, drinks, and frozen treats "imported from Lancaster County."  They created a huge place for kids to play which is really a big advertisement for all of their products.  It was much more high tech than we expected though - all types of interactive computer programs to create your own flavors, packaging, and commercials.  Very impressive!  Watching all of the kids run around and interact was really fun.

A must-do - a stop at the Tasting Bar.  Free samples!

 

When does Brady ever get to play with a real Turkey Hill truck??!!

 



 

 

At first he wasn't thrilled with being inside.

And then . . . look mom - I'm driving . . .

We also had a great Italian dinner afterwards, but didn't take any photos because we were too busy wrangling and getting six kids to eat.  It was super hard to say goodbye - we had such a great time.

The next morning we visited with Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandma was tired, but talked to us a bit and knew who we were.  Her face lit up watching the kids run around.  That made the visit worth it just to see that expression on her face!

We also appreciated staying at the Lancaster Arts Hotel.  Go Lancaster!  Finally - a cool, hip boutique hotel.  The halls were lined with work by local artists and the vibe was cool, but also family oriented (a hard combo).  We would have loved to stay for more than one night.

Off to VA/PA!  Part trios to follow . . .

Trip to The East Coast Part Un - NJ and Phlia

OK - it has certainly been awhile since a post to this blog.  I guess that is the impact of a trip to the East Coast, lots of fun stuff upon our return, croup (Garrett), and bronchitis (mommy).

So . . .  here we go . . . this is what my failing memory can recall .  . .

Mommy, Garrett, and Brady tagged along with daddy on a business trip to see the folks at ARI.  We made a whole big deal out of it and went to NJ and Phila and then York/Red Lion and Lancaster (part deux to come), and then VA/DC (part trois to wrap it up).

We had a blast.

The Battleship NJ -

 

 

Note the hand - Garrett felt better with a little grip to secure him.

 

 

Captain G in charge.

 

 

Mommy, Brady, and Garrett hanging with other crew members.

 

 

And afterwards Brady put on a one man show at the hotel restaurant.

Day two in NJ/Phila  - park and art museum (daddy wined and dined the ARI folks at lunch and then the Phillies game).

Just hanging out watching the brothers have fun and burn off some energy.

 

A pretty serious conversation followed by some pretty serious running .  . .



 

 

Brady was into some major hydration this day . . .

 

 

When you travel to the East Coast for a week - word of advice - keep the kids on West Coast time.  later nights and sleeping in the next morning.  What a blessing.  So - thank goodness for late night Friday nights at the art museum in Phila!  Fun.

 

 

 

 

Garrett was standing on the bench too, but I didn't get a photo because we got yelled at . . .

 

 

Garrett was artistically inspired and snapped a shot of mommy's toes.

There was a dance performance outside which blew Garrett's mind.  They invited the audience on "stage" at the end and mommy, Garrett, and Brady joined in the dancing.