Virginia to Connecticut and back again

Ever since The Sanofsky Family (aka Erin) moved to Connecticut last winter I naturally started making plans to visit.  My original plan was to go in February when Bethany flew in, but Erin advised against this because of the cold weather, and boy I'm glad I listened (Bethany had a major snow storm hit while she was there).  Then I learned that Jenn and her kids were going in April, so I invited myself along.  As the time got closer I realized I could make this trip all about me (lol...the kids) since a husband wasn't coming along that needed to be catered too - we love him dearly and missed him a lot.  Mom pointed out Lancaster County, PA as a potential stopping point on the way up, so I went with that and made it into a trip of several destinations.  I invited Scotia and Alisa along because I'm just that awesome of a sister (Ok, maybe it had something to do with 3 little boys ages 5 and under, but I do like to think I gave them some fun experiences).

We left Saturday, April 13th, around 7am and drove the 7 hours to Ronks, PA (Lancaster County).  The boys were great travelers and we arrived at our hotel with lots of energy to get some playing done.  I got an amazing deal at the Fulton Steamboat Inn (a hotel shaped like a steamboat that is surrounded by water, pretty cool) and it had a really nice playground and indoor pool so everyone was excited.  We couldn't check in yet so we went over to the farmer's market and walked around for a few minutes then grabbed some ice cream before heading back.  Once checked in we then headed to catch a horse and buggy ride through Amish Country.  We all enjoyed it, but Scotia and I definitely enjoyed learning more about the Amish and their way of life.

Next we headed back to the hotel and the boys played on the playground for a little bit before we headed to Diener's for dinner.  It was a buffet of Dutch style cooking, and highly recommended.

Scotia w/ the boys while we waited an hour for a table

 After dinner we headed back to the hotel and went straight for the pool.  That night Carson got really sick and vomited numerous times throughout the night.  This was on top of Caden coming down with Pink eye the night before we left.  I felt terrible taking the potential sickness to the Swapp's and Sanofsky's (I said a million prayers that our issues wouldn't be passed onto others).

Sunday we packed, got popsicles, stopped at the outlets briefly, and continued on our journey to CT.  We arrived at The Sanofsky household around 5:30, The Swapp's around 7:30, and the fun began.

Monday we decided to chill at the house since we all arrived exhausted from our travels.  Put 11 cousins together and you don't really have to do a lot of entertaining - they tend to entertain you.  We did head to the park that afternoon to encounter a little bit of drama between Katie & Ella, and one of Katie's boy classmates who had a crush on her, and wore a gold chain around his neck (Would you let your 6 year old wear a gold chain around his neck?).

These boys played on this slide forever!

 

 Cooper fell and busted his lip pretty bad so that was about the point we decided to head back.

The Clan - without Caden and Jaxon who Scotia willing watched back at the house
Cooper, Addy, Ella, Carson, Katie, Sam, Madeline, Alisa, Marcus, Max

 Tuesday was the BIG day.  Erin got a babysitter for Caden and Jaxon, and the rest of us got ready and headed into New York City.  I had told the boys it was the biggest city in the United States, so then Carson wanted to know what the biggest city in the universe was (Hong Kong? - I don't actually know the answer). We rode the train into Grand Central Station.

Notice Cooper's fat lip?

Bad Lighting, but it represents us at Grand Central Station

 From Grand Central we took the Subway to The American Museum of Natural History

 They were excited to see the dinosaurs, and especially T-Rex

After the museum we walked across the street and hit Central Park.  It's such a beautiful park and makes you feel like your not even in the city any longer.

 The kids had a ball climbing all the big rocks

Cooper, Marcus, Carson

 Once they climbed, walked, ate, climbed, and walked some more, we came across the carousel and let our legs take a break.

Our last stop was the playground in Central Park

Carson, Cooper, Sam

 Finally, back to the subway, then train, to head home for the day.

Carson, Ella, Katie, Madeline
The 3 girls chanted "1,2,3...say Carson" - you had to be pretty cool to hang out with this group of girls so I think he felt special, but one day he might possibly be embarrassed by this picture :) And by the end of this trip Ella was definitely a new favorite to Carson.

 We ordered pizza for dinner and grabbed promised ice cream for dessert, and off to a good night sleep they went!

Wednesday, our last day in Conn, the kids played around the house while I dropped Scotia and Alisa at the mall (Alisa's first time going inside of a real mall) while I ventured to Trader Joe's (a first for me).  Then that afternoon we packed a dinner and headed to the beach.  It was such a beautiful beach (Greenwich, CT).

This girl is something else

Love Ella's look here

Hang out with Katie long enough and you see that she is her mother reincarnated - Good luck Erin :)

Alisa and Jaxon

 I had to snap a picture of each individual child (except Jaxon)

Carson

Addison

Madeline

Cooper

Sam

Ella

Caden - he really wasn't impressed

Marcus

Max

Katie

Katie, Jenn, Sam

Marcus and Addy going crazy dancing on a rock - too cute!

Mischievous group of kids

Katie - insisted I allow her to close her eyes, then open them, and then snap the picture 

Since we were leaving bright and early the next morning I took the kids to an amazing cupcake place (Crumbs) before heading back to Erin's.

check out those cupcakes

They all insisted on Mint Chocolate Chip

After eating 1/2 cupcake he said "I feel like I just ate a horse"

 The best for last - After the kiddos were in bed Jenn (and Erin) made Spring Rolls.  They are something I hadn't had before and were absolutely amazing.  Thanks Jenn for sharing your cooking talent with us.

Finally, Thursday morning at 5:30am, we packed the car and headed home.  We drove straight home that day, but did make a quick stop at Hershey's Chocolate Factory.  If you ask Carson or Cooper what their favorite part was then they either say "The whole trip" or "The chocolate factory"...they loved it.  We just did the ride that showed how chocolate was made and then got the free sample at the end, but they thought it was so cool and tried to convince me to go back on it.

We made it home around 6 o'clock that evening, and it was a little bit refreshing.  We had such a fun time and really enjoyed every stop that we had the opportunity to make.  I love showing my boys other parts of the world, and especially love when that involves spending time with family.  I am grateful for the time I got to spend with my sisters, and nieces & nephews.