Sesame Place

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…)

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Restaurants in fancy malls.

Hotel swimming pools.

Posing with foilage.

Riding Big Bird’s Carrousel

I have no idea what this is…

“Elmo goes up and down, up and down, up and down.”

Nets to climb.

Blocks to carry.

Lounge chairs to relax in.

Waterslides to conquer.

Peek-a-bug to work REALLY hard to keep my food down afterward.

THE coolest family water ride ever. (Just ask Tabitha.)

Characters to meet…

“Monsters” to dodge.

Ernie’s bed to bounce on… (If you are 7 and under…)

Parades to watch.

Hotels… (sigh… I hate hotels.)

Tweedle bug cars to “drive.” (With a little help from a big brother.)

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.

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.

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

Sesame Place was a blast. The LORD blessed us with just amazing weather. After the cold, rainy May we had it was such a treat to be so hot!

The park was a zoo on Sunday, as it was Passport Members Bring a Friend Day and western NYer’s suck-it-up-and-make-the-best-of-it day.

Beau loved the rides and the waterslides, trying out a few new ones. He found that he had aged out of a few attractions, but he handled both that and the food restrictions with grace and maturity. He was outstanding on our trip and recieved great praise from us. And some fancy markers. 😉 He squeezed in a few last times through the 7 and under attractions, knowing it was his last time.

Champ had a super time, as well. He loved the rides and tried a few new waterslides. He enjoyed being 5 and his last year on a number of attractions. Five is really a perfect age for the park. Old enough for everything, but young enough for everything, too. He ate like a Champ, too!!!

Skeezix didn’t like the rides as much as we thought she would. She got scared a bit, and didn’t love the waterslides, either. But she did have a lot of fun, and loved the water attractions. She and Champ both got picked to be Elmo Dancers, and she was so cute! She was NOT so great in the car, but man can her smile light up a room! ♥

Angel hated the rides. Even on the Carousel she wanted us to hold onto her. She did enjoy the water attractions but NOT the slides. She had NO potty accidents the entire trip. YAY! She ate more french fries this week than most people do in a year. Gag me.

Our dear friends the Skoorbs, came as well. Their little Bear and LaMB are the other adorable girls in the matching bathing suits! At any given point there were a dozen little girls in said Target bathing suits! We have good taste! 😀

Thanks for looking – and watch the video! Go to the second half for the dancing! 😉