It was a chilly start in the snow, but we made it out on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving with the traditional feast with family. It was a very filling day seeing many folks we don't often get to visit much with and enjoy so much good food. The dessert feast was just as grand as the main course! Eric was the 'game boy' challenging anyone he could to Old Maid or Checkers or just quizzing them on animal trivia. Jesse cuddled up for some stories and seemed to be 'reunited' with some dinosaurs at Great Grandma's house.
The next day we headed to Hershey to check out Chocolate World and Candy Lane. It was a bitterly cold day, but was a fun time filled with lots of treats and activities. We did it all - from filling up tool boxes with candy wearing 'hard hats' to becoming a factory worker with official ID badges and processing Hershey kisses to the traditional Chocolate World ride of the process tour including lots of samples. We then went for an evening dip in the pool of our hotel and dined at our newest favorite place, Friendly's.
Saturday, we headed to the Crayola factory in Easton. We saw how they make crayons and markers and made use of LOTS of their products. We painted with wax, molded with clay, colored, drew on clear walls (with permission!), made gingerbread men puppets, cards and designed our own banners. We even got to help wrap our own red crayons and inspect some newly made purple markers. It was a neat place to see. After this, we headed to see some friends in the area. We hung out all afternoon at their place. They had a love bird nicknamed "chicken" that was spontaneously entertaining. I spent most of the time holding their newest addition, Braydon, who was born just hours before my birthday this year. He was wonderful and a joy to see, hold and cuddle! I am always stunned to see my Goddaughter who has grown up so much. She's a beautiful, quiet girl just rounding the bend to her 'teenager' years. After a nice visit, we headed back to Hershey for a late supper and bed at our same hotel. This time I had TWO boys and my bed and Daddy got to sleep (and snore LOUDLY) in his own bed. Jesse is a bed hog and Eric likes to climb on my back so restful sleep did not happen (at least for me).
After a morning swim and breakfast, we headed back home. It took about 3 and 1/2 hours but it was a prety good trip (even 59 degrees here now!). We made a trip up to the hospital to decorate a tree for our church together, followed up with hot chocolate which was fun. The boys then packed up again (okay, they really didn't unpack) & set out again for Erie to visit Grammy and bring back Tucker tomorrow as Eric is off from school. I stayed back to 'hold down the fort' knowing that I must return to work tomorrow. This allowed me to gather these few thoughts and post this now. We paced ourselves pretty well and had a nice little getaway weekend. Although it made the four days go by fast, we had fun together throughout our journey.
