August 9, 2010: Kids Castle and Yum Yum Donuts

Now that Kirsty was in town with her kids, it was time to take another trip to Kids Castle--but this time in the morning before it got too unbearably hot!

We started the day off early with a stop at Yum Yum donuts. These donuts are just what the name says: Yum Yum! There are only supermarket and Krispy Kreme donuts in Utah (at least that I've been able to find) and I miss the variety of Dunkin' Donuts. But then Chris introduced me to Yum Yum and I've been spoiled ever since. So we ate a few ourselves and then brought some to the park for Kirsty and her kids.


Ellie is so good with Everett and Gage was pretty good on his own, so we'd just track him down here and there. Kirsty stayed with baby Layla while I trailed the kids taking pictures.

August 7, 2010: Peddler's Village in the Summer

You may recall (or not) that the last time we went to Pennsylvania, it was in the fall. When we visited last time, Peddler's Village had been transformed into a Scarecrow Festival. This time, it was the height of summer and it was quite beautiful. I wanted to make sure to include some of the beautiful gardens they have, as well as include some pictures of the beautiful flowers in MY garden (aka, my children).




Getting Griffin to pose for an artsy shot is a bit tricky.








After some time outside, we went to Giggleberry Fair so the kids could take some time in the play area while Maggie and I did some more "looking around." Grandma Hopkins was kind enough to provide tickets for the carousel as well.







Part of the day's activities included dinner from Nat's Pizza. Our favorite? The Stromboli! This one is half cheese and half pepperoni. Each slice is a meal itself, so a whole pizza is like 3 days of food!

And you can't go to Nat's and NOT get a cheese steak, so we had a few of those as well.

Italian Ice and Cannoli

One of my splurge purchases was my own Philly Phanatic. I'd been looking online for one and they were kind of spendy, but was able to find one on sale in one of the shops at Peddler's Village. He sits proudly on my dresser.

August 6, 2010: Wow! Who Knew Fireworks Were SO Loud?

My brother, Chris, has been a pyro fan for a long time. His family regularly drives up to Montreal (an 8-hour drive) several weekends each summer to watch 20-minute firework shows. (Granted, it is the International Championships, so they're pretty cool.)

While we were visiting, he and a crew he works with were in charge of a display for a local town. Since we were family, we were able to get "backstage" which meant, sit in the cornfield a couple hundred feet away from where the shells were set up. While this was VERY cool, I had no idea how LOUD they were when you were so close. I mean, the crew had earplugs in, but for the rest of us folk, we would just watch for the shell to go up and then cover our ears!

It was awesome to feel the power of the shells in your chest as they'd go off--particularly the larger ones. But it was a reminder of just how powerful these things are.

August 4, 2010: Heading Home to Kids Castle (PA)

One of my favorite things to do (duh!) is go home to Pennsylvania. We have been so fortunate to have free tickets because of our "bump" a couple of years ago that enabled us to take another trip back.

Of course, one of the first things my kids want to do is go to Kids Castle, an enormous structure in a park built by people in the community. But one of the things you'll notice right away is the red, sweaty faces of the kids. Yes, it is Pennsylvania in the summer--August no less--and they were smack dab in the midst of heat and humidity. When you come from Utah, you can handle the heat; it's the humidity that does you in.

We grabbed the two youngest kids of my brother, Rhiannon and Connor, to play with Ellie and Griffin. But after only 30 minutes, they were so hot and sweaty (and tired from the trip) that we decided it was more than time to head to Friendly's, my favorite ice cream/restaurant in the world. Chris came to help transport kids and we enjoyed our favorite treats while planning our weeks' worth of movie-viewing.