Cascade Lake

Recently we went to Cascade Lake a local swimming hole:-) It is about 30 minutes from the house on some nice scenic back roads. There are many slides and platforms built for sliding and jumping in the lake, there are paddle boats and trails too. It is a quiet place to go not crowded, good for a relaxing time to play.




going down the big slide was a lot of fun, Grace must have done this 100 times she is so full of energy:-)





building in the sandy beach is fun. This is Shawn's favorite thing to do. He did like this water though it is much calmer then the ocean and not so scary he could just sit and let his feet get wet and work up to other parts of his body:-)



this is my step dad jumping off the platform this just cracks me up. When he went out the teens on it asked if he was sure he wanted to do this- I think they thought he was a little nuts:-)He said it was a lot of fun he did it twice:-)




swimming in the lake was refreshing. we had a few fishes nibble on our toes:-)







stopping from all the fun for a brief snack. all the exercise builds up appetites




It was a fun day at the lake it rained on us a bit but it was brief and quick and we where wet anyhow. after snacks we walked around the lake and saw some turtles floating in the water and talked to some ladies fishing it was fun.

Ocean City Here WE Come:-)

We spent three fun filled days at the beach:-) It was a lot of fun just getting away with our family and forgetting our cares. I love watching the ocean it is such a vivid image of our Lord and Savior and how awesome and strong he is.







The kids had a blast playing in the sand and splashing in the waves- Shawn never went near the water though, he enjoyed the sand and frisbees and snacks:-)-

Riding the Rails

we went to the Straushbugrh railroad with my mom and stepdad two weeks ago, after our visit to the Choo-Choo barn we went to ride the big trains.




Having a cool drink in the shade while we waited for our ride to come. And some of the big engines across the street at The Strausburgh Train Museum.





Here comes our train:-) The kids where very excited to see this old iron horse come around the bend:-)



All Aboard!!!For a fun ride:-)






some of the farms we rode through it was a very scenic ride.




Our conductor collecting tickets.. when we jokingly said Grace did not have one he said all the kids with no tickets got to go to the candy and chocolate car:-) Very funny, Grace laughed :-) She is my sweets girl so just a joke will make her eyes light up:-)


This was such a fun trip, the kids liked the trains and it was not very hot, a perfect afternoon.

Choo-Choo Barn

We spent most of our morning here at The Choo-Choo Barn. My kids are big into trains so this was wonderful for them. We go to all the local train displays around the holidays each year, but this was amazing




some of the trains and models we saw, there was so much I could never post it all here. The boys got birds eye views on Doug and Pops shoulders and the girls loved all the scenes. And of course we could not leave with out a photo of Thomas.








This Amish barn raising model was amazing every person on it moved, either hammering, climbing ladders or sawing, really neat to see, there was a sign that said this took 100 hours to build.



when we left and had lunch at the restaurant next door the kids hoped on Thomas for a quick ride:-)




After we left the train displays we headed up the road a bit to Strausburgh to ride the big trains, will post those pictures tomorrow.For my train loving kids- Doug included- this was a perfect day. They do come by it honest, my father, step-dad and father in-law are all train buffs.

Willow Valley

We spent the first night of our vacation ....




In this lovely hotel, so named for all the weeping willows on the property, they where huge, and the kids loved them, Adam called them Peter Pans house:-).This was also Adam and Shawn's first time in a hotel room so there was much excitement.





playing in the pool, Willow Valley has three, plus a hot tub. This was so much fun and a good way to wind down from the excitement of the day.





the kids loved playing on the playground , which was across a little stream with crayfish in it so that was a lot of fun.




posing around the grounds for pictures.







We had a wonderful time just at this beautiful hotel, it is a vacation all in itself. Can not wait to go back again.We also went to Dutch Wonderland the day before, but I forgot to put the memory card in my camera so no pictures of that:-(

And tomorrow the next stop will be....:-)

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

We spent Monday at Sesame Place in Pennsylvania it is outside of Philly, we actually rode right by the stadium on the way home and they where shooting off fireworks, which was cool. Anyhow this was a great day nice weather, no crowds just a good time.




we had lunch with the characters, at which Adam danced in a conga line with Big bird- too funny-. Shawn spent this time latched to my neck-.






enjoying the rides and other play areas. Shawn was so tired at this point, he cried all through lunch cause he did not like the characters.








riding on the peddle trains, Shawn got a helping hand form his big sis Madeline. He was relieved no characters where lurking around here:-)




we got home that night close to midnight exhausted but happy. What a great day. We spent alot of time on the water rides and in the splash zones, I don;t have many photos of that though .