Days with the Amish

On July 22nd, my mom and I took Kathryn and Madelyn on a trip to Lancaster, PA. It would be our first time away together, without Bill. We left him home to golf and live like a bachelor.

The ride out to Lancaster was uneventful. The girls slept part of the way, and grew very excited as we approached the open, beautiful farmland. As they spied each horse, cow and cornfield, the excitement built. We arrived at Willow Valley Resort mid-afternoon, right around lunchtime. This resort holds a special place in our hearts, as we've been vacationing there since I was one year old. It's the type of place that feels like a home away from home-clean, very family oriented, nice people, and comfortable beds. Our first day there consisted of a trip to the resort's pool and small waterpark, a walk to the playground and pond, and an excellent smorgasbord dinner. As a side note, I must write that Kathryn had been there twice before, once with us and our dear friends Al and Anne Marie, and once with Grandma and Grandpa. However, this would be the first she'd hopefully remember. On Wednesday we ventured out to Dutch Wonderland, a small amusement park perfect for little ones. The rides and shows there are geared towards toddlers and preschool aged children-the girls loved it!!! Without a stroller and without a nap, Madelyn even held out until about 4:00!!! She walked the entire park without one complaint!!! She's a trooper:) Both girls were exhausted by the end of the day, so after another delicious dinner we decided to get them to bed early...Thursday we visited Kitchen Kettle Village-it's an area in Intercourse, PA with mostly Amish run shops, a petting farm, and horse-and-buggy rides. Kathryn REALLY wanted to go on a horse-and-buggy ride, so we took a 15 minute ride driven by a young girl who grew up in Lancaster. She was able to tell us a bit about the Amish way of life. Both girls loved it! I think they mostly remember when we got off the horses and one proceeded to urinate all over the ground as the other horse stepped in it!!!

In one of the little shops, we were able to find a teddy bear wearing a shirt that read "Gabby." We picked that up for my mom, since Madelyn has called her that for awhile now. It was a nice remembrance of our trip.

When we woke up on Friday morning, Kathryn asked me, "Mommy, are we leaving today?" When I replied, "Yes," she said, "But I don't want to leave. I want to stay." Those words were music to our ears. It was official-Kathryn loved Willow Valley just as much as we did, and still do! We left Lancaster and headed towards home on Friday, just in time for me to return to work. Kathryn and Madelyn were very happy to see Bill when we got home, and he most definitely missed them a lot!! Maybe being a bachelor for a few days isn't everything it's cracked up to be!

Fun with Bert and Ernie

On July 16th, we took our second trip to Sesame Place. It was just me and Kathryn, meeting our friends Paul and Keri for the day. We had such an amazing time together. I forgot how easy it is to have only one child (sorry Madelyn, but it's true), especially since Kathryn is over four years old and fairly independent. It was a hot day, so we spent a lot of time in the water areas. We watched the parade with all the characters, saw the Elmo's World show, and went on a lot of rides. I think the parade was her favorite, along with our trip down the Lazy River, which was in fact my favorite as well. I could have spent all day floating around in that tube, dodging the waterfalls. When it came time to take pictures with the characters, Kathryn ran up to Bert and Ernie and gave them a huge hug. It was very cute...she's really coming out of her shell.