Weekend Update--Philly Style

Well, with Rob getting back late Saturday night and knowing he would be unhelpful the first few days home, I decide the kids and I needed an adventure! So, I kept them home from school on Friday and after lunch we packed up the car and road tripped our way up to Pennsylvania . Now, I must tell you that driving to PA with four kids and with my husband's help is not an easy task--driving it alone, without Rob and without a DVD player was... awesome! Yep, that's what I said--I couldn't have asked for a better ride up. We took "the back way" which adds another 30 minutes, but who wants to deal with Friday traffic and I95, right?! As we neared Harrisburg, I took the kids to Bruester's for some ice cream. Anna had her very first ice cream cone (free for kids under 40")! Four and a half hours later...we made it in one piece to my parents home! Here are some weekend highlights:

• The Outlets!!! Not so fun with four kids in tow, but we got Rob a "real" pair of Crocs, the kids some jibits, and Ty and Jared picked out their very first pair of Sketchers! "Now we'll be faster!" And our stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, was a messy hit.
• Cousins!! Hanging out with the cousins is always fun for the boys. Tyler and Jared didn't get to see Spence and RyGuy "enough" but when they did they ruled over MiMi and Happy's (Bapa as Evan calls him) yard and climbed all over Squiggly the tree. Here's a pic of the four cousins who will be in kindergarten together (2012) --check out the size difference!! Alex and Anna are only 5 months apart!
  

Alex, Boston, Noah and Anna

Anna and Alex's feet (are Anna's feet tiny or Alex's feet huge?? Both!)

• Ditching Church!! I knew Tyler and Jared would make it to primary and roaming the halls for three hours seemed a waste of time, so my brother Joel and I took off for the "twenty" (really 40) minute drive to see his new home. Evan and Anna were great in the car, but stinkers once we got back to church. I sometimes wonder why I even bother going, but in a few years it will all be a distant memory...right?? Back to the house...I can't wait to see all the fun projects they have planned--they are both so creative!

• Limerick!! That is what we affectionately call the nuclear power plant that graces the sky line. Evan was always looking for it "Power plant? Where's power plant?" I guess he wanted the 25 cents I promised to the first one who spotted it!
• Rainbow PlaySets!! You know that company that makes the circus looking tents for their playhouses?! They actually have a huge show room with all kinds of playsets for the kids to test out their equipment. The boys convinced their MiMi that it was a high time they put something in their HUGE backyard. Now, they didn't get the $40,000+ playset they dreamed about, but they weren't disappointed in the final purchase. And they had a blast at the awesome indoor park (I'm going to look up and see if we have one near us--play date anyone??) We can't wait to go back and play at the new park!
• Sunday Dinner!! Church may have sucked, but once I calmed my troubled nerves I had an enjoyable time with my family before having to head back home. Here's a pic with some of my siblings--Jeff and Ali are missing. Can you guess who are my "real" siblings? We're a Brady Bunch family...
  

Brad, Audrey, Joel, Andrea and Kyle

The trip was fun and although it wore me out, I'm happy we did it! We made it home in under three hours! Anna was a bit of a crank, but once I gave her some pretzels to munch on, she was fine and dandy. We're happy to be home. Happy to see Rob. Happy to sleep in. Happy we survived!