We were so happy to be able to visit my parents in New Jersey last week. It has been a long time coming. The last time Gabriel and I were up there was when Gabriel was 6 months old. Can you believe that?! That last time Brian was up there...when I was just 5-6 weeks pregnant with Gabriel. And well, Lorelai...she's never been. That area is one of my favorites on the planet. I would move there in a heartbeat. And I'm so fortunate to be able to share it with my kids. We had wonderful weather, although I caught a cold from the plane that I was nice enough to share with a few others. :/
We spent the first couple of days around the house and neighborhood. We fit in some time at the park. The kids were a big fan of this giant, steep, twisty turny tube slide.
Of course every trip needs a good Grandpa with his tongue out shot...
There was a lot of Lego and Play Doh play happening...
We hit up the Philadelphia Zoo. Gabriel was in charge of the map. He did a really great job of finding our location each time, and he can show you where we went even a week later. They've really done a nice job with it. The new kids area is nice, although not as interactive as I thought it would be. Also, very crowded with kiddos on field trips, so maybe if it had been a bit calmer I would have felt differently about it. Here are the kids watching ants...
There were pony rides. Both kids were excited until they realized they had to go without us. Lorelai was happy because we told her it was Snow White's pony (she wanted to ride only Snow White's...not just a regular ol' pony). Thank goodness the employees played along with us while we were talking to her about the Snow White pony...they had very confused looks on their faces at first though.
Gabriel kept his eyes covered or closed the entire time so he didn't have to see the people helping him and his pony.
Gabriel did really enjoy the snake house though. A huge reticulated python slithered along the wall over to him and they were face to face. Very exciting for him! And later (on a second run through the reptile house) the King Cobra came over to him. The kid was in snake heaven. Cobras are his favorite.
We also went to the
Howell Living History Farm. This is a stunning part of the country side. The drive is right along the Delaware River (Washington's Crossing area). The houses are for the most part really old and fabulous, and the trees, the canal, the river... Can you tell I'm in love with it there??? The farm was fantastic. There was a pesky field trip here as well, but we finally got our timing right between rotating groups so we could have our time at each animal paddock. They do everything the old fashioned way here. No fancy tractors or anything. It was very peaceful.
They had chickens, and draft horses...
This draft horse was HUGE and oh so sweet. He just wanted a bunch of hugs and pats.
Lorelai was a huge fan of the cat. Not so much the horse. Gabriel is a lover of pretty much any animal in existence.
Grandpa crawled under the corn crib and got some loose kernels for the kids to feed chickens with. :) Thanks for doing that, Dad! They really enjoyed themselves.
This darling little lamb kept trying to eat Gabriel jacket. :) He thought it was funny, and was also wondering why on earth it would
want to eat a jacket.
Lorelai isn't big on close encounters with the animals, but eventually warmed up to the idea of the sheep.
She wanted to feed them their bedding.
Mostly I think Lorelai loved the land (well, and the cat and chickens).
Grandma was really great with the water pump.
So, the kids had a go.
I was impressed with how well they both did at it.
On Thursday we had the opportunity to see Matt for a couple of hours while he was in New Jersey on business. That was a fun little surprise for all of us. :) And then my cousin Brad and his lovely wife Johanna visited us for the afternoon. We had a lovely time visiting with everyone that day, and I wish I had remembered to snag a few pictures!
We spent Friday at
Sesame Place. I sort of remember bits and pieces of this park from when I was a kid. And it's geared right towards the age range of my kiddos, so it was the perfect time to go. We had a great time riding the rides, climbing, bouncing, seeing an Elmo's World show, and eating. We climbed around in this giant spider web, Lorelai wanted to climb through all of the connecting rope tunnels which were
very high up in the air. So, I took her up...I was really impressed with her stamina!
We went to Ernie's Bed Bounce. The kids had to go in without us, and I was very impressed that they did! Gabriel says he wanted to watch over Lorelai. (Sweet big brother. Although, Brian and I have our suspicions that it was more so the other way around.)
They both enjoyed the big tunnel slides...
The carousel...
And we ended our day on the swings.
It was funny to see how both of my kids gravitated towards almost completely opposite experiences. Gabriel loved the rocket drop, Lorelai was terrified. Lorelai loved meeting characters, and Gabriel covered his eyes. Gabriel rode the roller coaster with me (another shocker). It was really a great day with short lines, and nice sunny weather. We couldn't ask for more. We ended the afternoon with a drive past my old home and school in Pennsylvania. Not much has changed, and yet so much has changed. Funny how that happens. I'm really glad I got to see it all again, such great memories there.
We left on Saturday afternoon, but the kids made sure to get in some Lego and Play Doh time with Grandma first.
We had such a lovely time, and it was really hard to head home. It's always nice to go home though. Gabriel says he's very happy to be back in Oklahoma, but he misses his Grandma and Grandpa. Hopefully we'll see them again soon. Thanks for having us! :) We love you!!!
