{Spring Break} Chocolate and Crayons

What a day!  We woke up early and headed over to visit with Grandma L. for a little bit before leaving my mom to visit with her in peace the rest of the day. 

We made our first stop at Hershey's Chocolate World...

We rode the Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour Ride (twice)...

 

explored some old equipment...

and packaged our own Hershey's Kisses in the "factory"...

After getting all sugared up, we headed East to The Crayola Factory.

The factory (and everything in it) was our canvas as we drew on a car...

the windows...

and the walls...

and then had a serious discussion about how such behavior is only allowed within the walls of The Crayola Factory and nowhere else!!!

We created masterpieces...

and drew on the (inside) sidewalks...

We even got to "paint" with melted wax...

Of course we also got to learn how both crayons and markers are made.

We watched a worker make these two red crayons (still warm) from start to finish...

B thought that it was really neat that all of the Crayola markers start off with a white tip...

It took a good hour until the tip turned completely purple!

We couldn't leave without popping into The Crayola Store to see the world's largest crayon...

Check out the wall when you walk in!

After dinner with Grandma, Aunt B & Uncle K, we headed back over to see Grandma L. one more time before settling back into our room for the night... 

Stay tuned for another adventure tomorrow!!!

More Spring Break 2012 Fun

Philadelphia

{Friends, Food & Fun} Houston, TX

 I just got home from Houston, TX where I spent a few days attending a volunteer leadership conference.  Though I really like to travel & to go new places, I was wary of this trip because it was my first time flying in years and the first time flying at all since my girls were born.  I know (& believe) what everyone says is true, that airplanes are safer than cars, but there is still something that changes your point of view (at least for me & for many of my friends) when you become a parent.  I was excited, but very nervous about popping up into the sky and leaving my little ones down below!

Anyway, I have to say that I had a great time.  There was a group of about 8 of us from our state that stuck together.  We were in meetings, plenaries & workshops most of the days, but we did make time for a little fun at night.

Here are some of the highlights (friends, food & fun) from our trip!

K & I were the representatives from our organization.  She picked me up at 4:30am for our 5:50am flight...  Needless to say, we made it to Houston in plenty of time to grab breakfast!

Check out K's Texas Waffle from one of the hotel restaurants...  The blueberry represents Houston...  Clever, huh???

Our hotel was right across from theGalleria mall, so we did a little shopping before meeting up with some more of our crew from Columbia & Charleston.

We grabbed a delicious lunch in the hotel...

before setting off on a mission to buy some cowboy boots!  So, new friends E & L hopped in a cab with K & me, and we headed out to Cavenders.  Let's just say that it did NOT disappoint!

I settled on this pair...

and K got a pair for each of her little ones...

After our afternoon meeting, we enjoyed a reception held at the headquarters building of our local counterpart in Houston...

and then headed out to dinner at Guadalajara del centro downtown.

The next day was full of sessions until dinnertime when the 8 of us met up with the North Carolina girls and headed out to eat.  After dinner, our little group of 8 from South Carolina went dancing at Wild West.

On the last day of the conference we had another full day of sessions.  Half of our South Carolina group headed home & the 4 of us that were left headed back downtown for dinner at The Grove.  I have to say that it is a beautiful restaurant in a fantastic setting & has great food, too!  I even got to try a piece of cactus from MK's plate!

It was pretty good, too!

After dinner, we made a quick stop at a local bookstore to pick up gifts for my little ones...

This one for B - This is Texas...

This one for L - Heart of Texas: A Lone Star ABC...

This one for M - Goodnight Houston...

and one more for all 3 of them - L is for Lone Star

K & I caught our 1:45pm flight out of Houston & landed at our local airport about 4:30pm.  I'm so happy to be home, but look forward to my next conference trip in the Spring!

Walt Disney World - Day 5

So, the original plan was to get up and begin our journey home early Sunday morning, but staying on schedule can be quite overrated, right?  What fun is it to always stick to the plan?!?!?  HA! 

We were having so much fun & didn't want to leave without visiting EPCOT, too...  So, we again got up early, packed all of our bags in the car, checked out of our hotel and caught the monorail over to EPCOT...

We took a few photos in front of Spaceship Earth...

before experiencing the attraction first hand...

Hubby & B stayed around to explore both "Future World East" and "Future World West" while the girls & I headed over to the

"World Showcase".

B's favorite attraction was Mission:  SPACE where he got to command a space mission to Mars!

While the boys were blasting off to space, the girls & I were visiting with yet more princesses...

We encountered Marie (from "The Aristocats")...

on the way to see Belle in France...

We met Mulan in China...

and chatted with Snow White in Germany...

Snow White left L with a KISS!

As we were leaving Germany, we spotted Bolt!

We met Princess Jasmine & Aladdin in Morocco...

before catching up with Hubby & B for a quick & delicious lunch at Tangierine Cafe...

After lunch, we made our way through the United Kingdom

visiting with Mary Poppins...

Alice...

and both Winnie the Pooh & Tigger, too!

We were well on our way home by late afternoon, but it made for a late night driving for sure.  At least we had a very, very, VERY quiet ride...  The little ones slept through almost the entire trip waking only for our dinner stop outside Savannah, GA...

Hubby & I are in total agreement that we definitely made the most of our few days & had a fabulous time enjoying the ride as our little ones experienced the magic of Walt Disney World for the first time!