Lancaster, Pennsylvania

We cashed in on our second free hotel stay earlier this week. We decided to spend a few days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, exploring Amish country.

The kids were so excited to sleep in a hotel and somehow managed to sleep in each morning. We actually woke up before them. A true vacation.

Our first day we went to Strasburg to take a ride on the historic train. Then we drove through Intercourse where we saw lots of Amish people and buggies and picked up some famous whoopie pies.




























(We stopped at this Amish farm to pick up some homemade root beer. I wasn't a big fan, but Elsa loved it.)

County Fair

On Monday we spent the morning at Pirate's Cove Waterpark. In the afternoon we all had dentist appointments. To celebrate a cavity-free family, we drove out to the Loudon County Fair in the evening. The girls loved checking out all of the animals. The goats and sheep were being judged while we were there. There were also a lot of chickens and pigs. A highlight for the girls was getting to ride a camel. While riding, Elsa yelled out "Look at me! I'm riding a camel!" After eating lots of fair food, the main event was the demolition derby.

Our Turn

Last weekend it was our turn to watch kids while our friends enjoyed a weekend alone. The girls really had fun playing with Ethan and Jonah all weekend.

How they kept busy:



Amelia and Ethan recreated Target in our living room. Amelia has spent enough time there to know the exact layout. They enjoyed it so much that they set the whole thing up again on day 2 after we cleaned up the first Target.


Pictured above is the stuffed animal aisle and the pony/Barbie aisle. Not pictured are the baby aisle, book aisle, food aisle, and the checkout station.

Amelia and Ethan also decided to have a rock concert (Amelia on vocals, Ethan on guitar). I heard them getting ready in the bathroom...doing their hair. Amelia picked out her various hair pieces and then Ethan followed suit (picking out a very manly orange headband that a rockstar would wear). I heard Amelia saying "If you're a man and you want to look REALLY handsome, you wear a bow tie." I heard Ethan asking Amelia if he looked okay.





We made birdseed cookies and then hung them up outside the next day:







We also had fun making (friendly) monster pillows while Jonah and Elsa napped:





Friday night involved grilling burgers in extreme heat and cooling off in the pool. There was also a water balloon fight thanks to Ben who worked constantly to keep the supply of balloons going.

Wisconsin Part 9: Washington Island

Part 9!?!? Okay. This is the last Wisconsin post. I think I've put up so many posts that some have already been pushed to the archives. But aren't you convinced that Wisconsin is a stellar summer vacation spot?

Our final adventure was to Washington Island located off the tip of the Door County peninsula. When I was a kid, we used to spend many Saturdays on family outings to Door County for biking, swimming, and exploring.

We took the ferry over to Washington Island and spent the afternoon there picnicking, exploring, biking, and swimming.










(How are we going to get rid of those fingers?!?)



Exploring a farm:











(Check out my sweet ride...my mom's Electra Townie!)





When we were back on the peninsula, we stopped for dinner at a traditional fish boil. Basically, fish and potatoes are boiled in huge pots and at some point they throw kerosene on the fire and it explodes, stuff boils over, and the fish is ready.


(Amelia immediately put her hands on those bosoms and said "what are THESE?!?")






(A Swedish restaurant that has live goats on the roof.)

I didn't get any photos of all the sailboats in the harbors, but it was lovely at sunset.

Before heading to the airport the next day, my dad whipped up one of his delicious pies for me...strawberry rhubarb. SO delicious! Thanks mom and dad for a perfect week in Wisconsin!