Surprise trip

| Stacy
I packed when they were busy.
I packed when they weren’t home.
I packed furiously, and under the cover of Bible-study.
I was stealth-Mommy.
And we surprised them with a little vacation.
We hadn’t planned on any trips this summer.  Originally, we anticipated a new June baby.  Then, it was an October due date.  We committed ourselves to working on the house, instead.  But we really like to travel.  And we REALLY like amusement parks.
And John had gobs of points on his Priority Club card from traveling more than usual in 2011.  So, we booked a fast trip to Sesame Place, in Langhorne, PA, AND DIDN’T TELL THE KIDS.
After church on 6/10 we got into the discreetly packed van and started to drive another route home (after a quick stop at Walmart…)

Restaurants in fancy malls.
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Hotel swimming pools.
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Posing with foilage.
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Riding Big Bird’s Carrousel
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I have no idea what this is…
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“Elmo goes up and down, up and down, up and down.”
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Nets to climb.
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Blocks to carry.
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Lounge chairs to relax in.
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Waterslides to conquer.
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Peek-a-bug to work REALLY hard to keep my food down afterward.
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THE coolest family water ride ever.  (Just ask Tabitha.)
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Characters to meet…
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“Monsters” to dodge.
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Ernie’s bed to bounce on… (If you are 7 and under…)
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Parades to watch.
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Hotels… (sigh… I hate hotels.)
 
Tweedle bug cars to “drive.”  (With a little help from a big brother.)
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It rained… a lot… the second day.  But we got to meet many characters and the kids OWNED the waterslides. 
We ARE die-hard amusement park fans.  There is no doubt about it.  We did NOT let the (steadily coming) rain stop our fun.  It never hit downpour… okay – maybe for a few minutes.  But there was NO thunder.  So the waterslides were open.  I love my weird life.
 
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The rain did keep the crowds away and we left around 2:45 P.M. having done everything we could.
We even got to stop at Pizza Hut on the way home.
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Nigel lamented a bit that it was too short a vacation.
I told him not to think of it as a short vacation, but as a long field trip.
It was our seventh trip there in 11 years.  2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012.  It is likely our last trip.  The bigger kids had awesome attitudes and never acted, “too old,” but they really are aging out.  And it has gotten hideously expensive.  It was great to get away with the family.  Really, really great.  Smile
 

4 thoughts on “Surprise trip”

  1. Love it! We have 'surprised' our children like this a few times and watching them figure it out is PRICELESS! I loved the expressions on your girls' faces and Tab's joy made me tear up. Your boys couldn't resist grinning, either, once they saw the 'stash' in the back. Beautiful! I just love your family. So glad you all had such a wonderful getaway. 🙂

    Reply

  2. Love it! We have 'surprised' our children like this a few times and watching them figure it out is PRICELESS! I loved the expressions on your girls' faces and Tab's joy made me tear up. Your boys couldn't resist grinning, either, once they saw the 'stash' in the back. Beautiful! I just love your family. So glad you all had such a wonderful getaway. 🙂

    Reply

  7. So fun!! Love that it was a surprise. Hmmm, I'm thinking I need to take my boys there. Pretty sure it's fairly close to me, right?? You totally sold me on it!

    Reply

  8. So fun!! Love that it was a surprise. Hmmm, I'm thinking I need to take my boys there. Pretty sure it's fairly close to me, right?? You totally sold me on it!

    Reply

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