More PA fun...

While we were in PA, we were able to meet up with my bestie Holly and her little girl, Emily, who is 8. The kids always have a great time together and it probably goes without saying that Holly and I very much enjoy catching up, just like old times.

The three younger kids had a blast playing inside and out!

Abby is still Abby. She pretty much spent her time in PA going from one sofa to another reading whatever book she had along. She will mutter a quiet, shy answer if asked a question, but then straight back to that book. Some things never change.

Emily and Marshall had a difficult time determining alpha roles... I mean, who is taller.

Holly had the great idea to take the kids to The Hands On House in Lancaster. The kids had so much fun. While not the largest children's museum we've been to, it was still lots of fun and offered something for everyone. Amelia loved the farming display. She picked ears of corn and then as the farmer, decided who to sell them to. You could pick between the grocery store, a farmers stand, canning companies and animal feed.

Here she is again, still in the farming area. If you didn't know, my sweet baby girl wants to be a farmer when she grows up. She is so jealous of Marshall's friend, Brett whose family got out of the military this summer and moved back to the Midwest to farm. Fortunately for her, she doesn't have the avoidance of nasty smells, dirt and mud gene that the other kids and I do....

Marshall found these really cool building blocks and built himself a little fort. Then in true boy fashion, kicked it down.

Abby did give "milking" this cow a try. I love how they use real equipment that you would find on a farm so the kids can really get in there and feel like they've seen something new.

Abby's favorite exhibit was the factory. She punched in and got to work. You have to follow the steps to assemble a whatchamacallit doohickey. If you do it right, it passes inspection. If not, they have an area where you can recycle the parts. I will admit that Holly and I had our full out OCD personalities along for the day, so we were obsessively sorting and putting back the recycled parts. Would it qualify as a mental disorder if I told you that it was FUN?

Probably the less said about this one, the better. We found this in the Elton John section... Actually, there is a stage and dress up area, and Emily LOVED it. I saw this jacket and couldn't help but get Marshall to put it on for a photo.

Amelia also liked the grocery store section. She spent a little bit of time collecting the items on pre-made shopping lists, but enjoyed ringing people's purchases up more.

Abby made good use of the face paint section. Holly was the recipient of a beach scene on her arm.

Emily's look is a combination of the dress up section and Abby's dalmatian face painting.

Amelia had this crab on the counter when I walked up with my purchases. I tried to include it with my order and was informed that it was her pet. Silly girl!

The Three Musketeers posing as flowers at the end of our day.

What a great time we had... Thanks Holly and Emily!!! We love you!