Gettysburg

Warning! This post has a LOT of photos!
Steven and I are both fascinated with history, and Steven has always loved learning about the Civil War. So when we decided to spend the summer in the states, we knew we should go to Gettysburg. The drive there was nice and the scenery was beautiful. Unfortunately we left later in the day we had planned so we didn't get to do everything or see everything that we wanted. We did notice that they are gearing up for the 150th anniversary of the 3 day battle so we decided we need to get back there for that. So here's to hoping that that actually happens!
One of the great things about Gettysburg is the auto tour of the battlefields. There's a map and signs pointing out the route and it was very easy to follow. There are monuments all along the way. We stopped at a lot of them but it was obvious that we couldn't stop at every single one, we just didn't have that much time left in the day. We did make sure we stopped at the Texas monument and the Robert E. Lee monument.

The photo in the bottom left corner is from the big observation tower. I got up maybe 2 flights of stairs and chickened out. Steven made sure to take lots of photos for me. This was a map that was up there and pointed out the directions of several important places in Gettysburg, like Little Round Top.

And I made sure I took lots of photos of the cannons for Papop!



Here's Ruby modeling one of the cannons for Papop!


The pointed monument is the Massachusetts monument. Oh and if your wondering if our kids think they're Texans or New Englanders, they're English! They'll tell you they're from England, ha!




The guy on a horse is Robert E. Lee and the next photos are from the Lee monument. One interesting tid bit- they actually had to put up a sign there that said do not deface the Lee monument. Steven was worried that the girls couldn't go near it, but I assured them that they were just going up to take a photo there.


This is all three girls on the rock wall of Seminary Ridge.


The cannon is also from Seminary Ridge and I didn't get what the other monument was. We just drove slow by it so that I could get a picture.


The one on the left is the Texas monument and the one on the right is the Louisiana monument.


Here's a closer picture of the Texas one.


And just because I love this one of Ruby!


One more funny tidbit- We were in my parent's basement looking for some dolls. My dad found a print of Abraham Lincoln and asked the girls if they knew who it was. Lilly says, "Ben Gates?", from National Treasure! So when we were walking around Gettysburg he kept asking the girls who all the photos of Lincoln were. Thanks to that day, the girls now know who Lincoln is and what he looks like.
We really had a good time and can't wait to go back. And hopefully with Memaw, Papop, and Shelby!

Peach Picking

We were trying to figure out something to do one weekend. We looked at a few different things but the weather didn't seem like it would stay clear for long. Rain clouds just kept coming in. Gabbie mentioned going fruit picking since she has been craving fruit so far in this pregnancy. Strawberries were all picked but the peaches picking season had just begun. So peach picking we went. We all climbed into the car and headed for Strawberry Acres farm.

The summer before we left England we took Lilly and Sadie strawberry picking and they loved it. The had so much fun and we got some great fruit. I knew they would love this too. The only thing I was worried about was them picking too many and not wanting to stop, but that was only an issue for a minute. All of the girls picked some and we got some really good peaches.

To get the right area to pick the peaches, we had to ride in a bus up the hill. It wasn't a very long ride at all. The best part was that the bus didn't have top to it. It was like a bus convertible that you couldn't put the top back on. It was a bumpy, but fun little ride. And since we were on a hill, the view was amazing. The ride was just too bumpy. Instead of taking photos of the view, we were all holding on tightly to the kids.

They also had some farm animals that we could go see. The girls love animals so it was another win. They had so much fun and didn't want to leave. Since it was getting darker and darker out from the rain clouds coming in, they didn't put up too much of a fight. They were just excited to get home and eat some peaches!
Oh and just because Ruby looks so cute and a little disproportionate-more maybe a little TOO proportionate, here's one of Miss Ruby Doobes.

-k

Peddler's Village

My parents live in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, right next to Dorney Park. Dorney Park is an amusement park much like Six Flags. We drove by it all the time and Sadie fell in love with the ferris wheel. She wanted to go and just ride the ferris wheel all day long. Well tired little girls and hot weather don't make for a very good day for anyone, so we offered her an alternative.

Peddler's Village is an outdoor shopping center that has something for everyone. There's shopping, restaurants, festivals at various times of the year, and Giggleberry Fair. Giggleberry Fair has an enormous carousel that I can remember riding when I was little, but back then it was called something else. It also has arcade games, like Chuck E. Cheese, and an indoor playground. So we headed off for an afternoon at Peddler's Village.

When we got there we first headed out to find something to eat. It was passed lunchtime and we were all hungry. While we walked around trying to find someplace to eat, we took some time for a few photos. It is really beautiful there and they have some amazing flowers and landscapes. The girls were awed by the water wheel and were asking Daddy and Papou for all their coins to make wishes. Lunch was quick and delicious. The restaurant we ate had some really great kid activities for them to do while they waited. It had some crayons and coloring pages, and wiki sticks. Wiki sticks are waxy "strings" that you can mold to make whatever you want. Daddy used them to make all his girls the same ring he made me when he first proposed. The girls were in love with them and asked that he make them so more jewelery.

After lunch we headed for the carousel. Lilly, Ruby, and Sadie rode the first time and loved it. Ruby kept screaming "Weee!" and "Yaw!" the entire time. After the first ride, Steven took the big girls to play some games while Gabbie and I took Phia and Ruby to ride again. Phia was terrified for one turn of the carousel and happy for the next, then terrified and happy again. This went on the entire time, she was so cute.

After that ride Gabbie and I gave Yiayia and Papou some tokens to take Ruby and Phia on some of the rides. Gabbie and I went to play some of the arcade games and had a blast. The big girls were loving their time with Daddy and enjoying all the "kid things" to do, as Sadie would say. Ruby was loving the rides and would have sat on that carousel on the same horse all day.

That place was so much fun that we ended staying there a lot longer than we had planned.

After a while the babies joined us and wanted to play some games. They even tried Whack-A-Mole and Dance Dance Revolution.

After we left there we stopped at a couple of stores and then headed home. By that time it was almost 6. We had to take two cars down there so Steven drove my mom's car so I went with him and we had Sadie drive down with us and Lilly drive back. We played the alphabet game with her. We each had to say a word that began with every letter of the alphabet. She blew us away with some of her answers and even gave us a word when it was our turns, just in case we couldn't think of one. She is just too smart.

And on the way home, we stopped at Sonic for some cherry limeades and Steven's beloved Ocean Water. Since Lilly was the only kid awake she got a cherry slushie that she loved. It was a good day and we were all pretty much wiped when we got back.

-k

Ruby's First Build A Bear

So I know I haven't posted in forever but now that we are back home in Turkey I am trying to get things updated. I am going to write separate posts on some of our outings we did. Right now we are home and resting. Phia had croup right before we left and it got passed to Ruby, me, and now Lilly. I've gotten it very mildly so in between resting when I have spurts of energy I've been unpacking and cleaning. Jet lag isn' so bad this time. They been sleeping at night but have been waking up a lot then going back to sleep. But thankfully, they slept straight through the night last night. I think I was anticipating them waking up a lot so I woke up a lot and they were sound asleep. We are just hoping everything is back to normal by September 6th, when Lilly goes back to school.
Up first is Ruby's first Build-A-Bear experience. She didn't build a bear, but instead she built a monkey! She had started stealing Lilly's monkey, Louie, and not wanting to give him back. So in trying to keep the peace we decided we needed to find Ruby her own monkey. Thankfully Build-A-Bear did have a monkey to build.
She was so excited when she saw where we were. She held onto her monkey and waited patiently for someone to help her. She got a little over excited in trying to stuff the thing. They showed her where the pedal was and what to do and before the stuffed animal was even attached she hit the pedal pretty hard. Stuffing flew out everywhere and we all had a pretty good laugh.

She looked so cute watching the monkey come alive. Her sissies were just as excited for her and enjoyed trying to help her and watching too.

She was just in awe the whole time. Once the monkey was stuffed we had to go find an outfit for her. We looked at all the clothes and Ruby just couldn't make up her mind. There was just too much to choose from. After walking around for what seemed like forever, Ruby spotted a Tinker Bell costume and that was her hands down choice. After she found that she was done looking at all the clothes.

She then sat down will Daddy and made her monkey a birth certificate. And then it was time to sit in the stroller and nuggle with her new monkey named Belle.

While Ruby was building her monkey, Lilly and Sadie picked out a dog to build for their cousin Phia. And then they picked out a small stuffed dog for themselves. They were so happy, considering we have a no stuffed animals policy. They have SO SO SO many stuffed animals and they just keep multiplying. They all just love Build-A-Bear and who knows when we'll be able to get back there again, so we let it
slide :)

Afterwards, Steven and i had a date night! We rarely get date nights so it was nice to not have to worry about the girls while eating a good meal. We went to Carraba's per everyone's advice and it didn't disappoint. Everything was really good and we really enjoyed our time together.


-k