{Road Trip} Day Two - Sesame Place

Day Two took us to Sesame Place in Eastern Pennsylvania...  Thanks to Hubby's service (and ironically why he didn't start the trip out with us, but will be meeting up with us a couple of days later), admission to this park was absolutely free...

The first character that we ran into was Rosita...

L still wasn't so sure...

With free park admission, we did spring for "Breakfast with Elmo & Friends"...

Grover finally broke through L's shell!



She thought he was hilarious...

and that opened the door to a few more character encounters for her...

After breakfast, we tackled a couple of rides...

Vapor Trail...

Silly Sand Slides...

and Sunny Day Carousel...

 

took a stroll down Sesame Street...

rode another ride...

Elmo's Cloud Chaser and...

caught the "Elmo Rocks!" show...

Then, B rode the Blast Off ride a couple of times...

  

before hitting the "Elmo's World, Live!" show...

We rode one more ride, Big Bird's Balloon Race, before heading to the car to grab lunch and change into our bathing suits...

 

to enjoy some water fun!

 

We caught the "Neighborhood Street Party Parade"...

 

before embarking on the next leg of our trip...

More {Road Trip} 2013 Fun

Day One - Pennsylvania

Day Three - Bridges, Lighthouses & Methods of Transportation...Oh My!

Day Four - Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY

Day Five - More Presidents & a New Baby Cousin

Day Six - Notable Lunch Spots

Day Seven - Cheers! to the Presidents from Boston

Day Eight - Yogurt on the Way to Kennebunkport

Day Nine - Beaches, Shops & Lobsters!

Day Ten - More Parks - State, National & International...

Day Eleven - From Maine to Montreal...

Day Twelve - Canadian Holiday

Day Thirteen - Niagara Falls & Making Our Way HOME

Day Fourteen - Home Sweet Home

{Road Trip} Day One - Pennsylvania

We (meaning, I, along with my mom) got up e-a-r-l-y in the morning to embark on the first leg of our trip ~ a long driving day culminating with a stop to visit with my 98 year old grandmother (my mother's mother).

The children were remarkably good...remarkably...  Even I was pleasantly surprised!  :)

We made our first stop for breakfast only an hour shy of our halfway point...

and then, continued on until lunch...

We were so happy to cross into Pennsylvania...

and to visit with (Great) Grandma L...

before meeting up with Aunt B for dinner.

I know 3 little ones who are really looking forward to what's in store for tomorrow!

More {Road Trip} 2013 Fun

Day Two - Sesame Place

Day Three - Bridges, Lighthouses & Methods of Transportation...Oh My!

Day Four - Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY

Day Five - More Presidents & a New Baby Cousin

Day Six - Notable Lunch Spots

Day Seven - Cheers! to the Presidents from Boston

Day Eight - Yogurt on the Way to Kennebunkport

Day Nine - Beaches, Shops & Lobsters!

Day Ten - More Parks - State, National & International...

Day Eleven - From Maine to Montreal...

Day Twelve - Canadian Holiday

Day Thirteen - Niagara Falls & Making Our Way HOME

Day Fourteen - Home Sweet Home

Ready to Road Trip! {2013 edition}

And so we are OFF on our Crazy Family Road Trip for the summer!  When I say crazy, I mean 14 states in 13 days with 2 parents and 3 kids (7 and under) in a Suburban stopping at the homes of several U.S. Presidents, important landmarks and National Parks and eating at some unique spots, too...  We're even leaving the country for the first time with everyone.  So, crazy we may be, but we are looking forward to a fun time touring the Northeast and dipping into Canada, too!

Now, I am super lucky that my kids (all 3 of them) sleep well in the car...no problems there...  That, in itself helps to make them very good travelers.  With family as far north as New York City and as far south as the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we are no strangers to long car rides, but traveling this way for so long can take a toll on everyone involved!

In order to prepare, like last summer, I put together "Busy Bags" for each little one...

filled with books (both new and old), favorite toys, cards, games, etc.

I found some great "road trip" printables at MomsMinivan.com...

and of course, Leapfrog's treasured license plate game, a gift from good friend, S, when we met up with her in Philadelphia last year.

I also packed a "Bite Box" for each, which should come in super handy!

Lastly, I prepackaged each of the little ones' outfits for each day of our trip.  I labeled them and packed them in order by day in B's camp trunk so that each night (instead of taking 3 extra suitcases in) we just have to take in and unpack 3 ziploc bags!

I got this idea here, and it worked brilliantly on our road trip last year.

Looking forward to a FUN trip with our sweet family of FiVe!

{Road Trip} 2012 - A Look Back at LAST Year

Day One - Memphis, TN

Day Two - Arkansas

Day Three - San Antonio, TX

Day Four - Houston, TX

Day Five - On the Road to New Orleans, LA

Day Six - New Orleans, LA

Day Seven - Mississippi and HOME

{Friends, Food & Fun} Washington, D.C.

 On Wednesday evening, I left the little ones behind with my mother (since Hubby is still out of town) and ventured off to Washington, D.C. for a conference.  We grabbed a late dinner at Matchbox...

 

 Being in D.C., we had the perfect opportunity to meet with our elected officials.  On Thursday morning, we headed over to the Russell Senate Building to meet briefly with both Senators Scott and Graham from South Carolina.  Senator Scott was as kind as he could be...really, so genuine.  Senator Graham hails from the same neck of the woods as Hubby.  Being South Carolina's Senior Senator, he is well-known all over the country, but it is pretty neat that Hubby spent the summer between high school and college as his driver ~ yep, drove him all over South Carolina as he campaigned for his very first political office all those years ago!

 

 

We got back to our conference location in time for the luncheon and opening session...

 

before an afternoon workshop and then an evening reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts...

 

 

We enjoyed dinner at Zaytinya ~ some of the best Tabouleh and Falafel that I've ever had!

 

On Friday morning, we headed back to The Hill to meet with Congressman Trey Gowdy...

 

 

and were incredibly lucky to get invited in to witness part of the IRS hearing that was going on at the time.  It was really amazing to watch live a portion of what will most likely become a historic case.

 

Though we could've stayed there all day, we headed back to make both the morning and afternoon workshops, as well as a special luncheon.  That evening we heard the keynote speaker before enjoying our free night.  We went for drinks at the famous Round Robin Bar...

 

  

before dinner at OYA...

 

 

With our meetings on The Hill complete for the weekend, we spent the last day of conference at the final workshop and then annual meeting...

 

  

before spending our free afternoon with lunch at P.O.V. Roof Terrace atop the historic Washington Hotel ~ talk about some a-m-a-z-i-n-g views of the city, and particularly of The White House!

 

  

 After lunch, most of us toured the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum...  Wow, that was something else...

 

We got back to the hotel just in time to get ready for the annual awards banquet...

 

 

As always, a great conference with lots of opportunities to grow, learn and share!

 

Sooo glad to be back home safely with my sweet little ones!