Manassas Heritage Railway Festival

We decided to check out the Manassas Heritage Railway Festival this weekend in Old Town Manassas. We enjoyed a short round-trip ride on the VRE to Clifton.


Nathan was really excited to ride on the upper deck of a double decker train car. And to be honest, so were Dan and I. It was pretty cool.After our train ride, we enjoyed viewing several model train displays. We were really amused by the Lego train displays. Nathan also loved pushing the button on one display which made the train drop off and pick up a bag of mail.

After a delicious Po-Boy Shrimp Sandwich from Okra's, the boys enjoyed a little time on the moonbounce. What's a festival without a moonbounce?

When we got home, Nathan was agreeable to quiet time in his room, but said he did not want to take a nap. Well, this is how we found him an hour later....

Good thing... because we had plans for later that evening.

Fun at Fair Oaks

On Friday night, we went over to Fair Oaks Mall to grab dinner and do a little shopping. It has been a really, really long time since we have been to the mall. But now that Andrew is mobile (still mostly by crawling) we decided to let him play in the children's area for the first time. He soon discovered that he LOVED going down the slide and did it over and over again.

Memorial Day at Lake Anna

On Saturday, we finished packing up the minivan (which by the way is almost 1 year old and already has over 20,000 miles on it) and headed to Lake Anna. My uncle and cousins from New Jersey were visiting and we were looking forward to catching up with them. It was a beautiful weekend, so we were able to enjoy spending most of the time outside.

Nekije and her boyfriend, Billy, enjoyed lounging on Big Mabel.

Sue enjoyed soaking up the rays and reading with Sophie on her lap. Lucy enjoyed resting in the sun.

Nathan discovered a new thrill at the Lake... the super soaker water guns.Luckily, he still needs some help to make them squirt. Look out paparazzi!!!!
Andrew was not a fan of the baby pool, but he loved hanging out in the swing on the dock.

We also discovered that Andrew is a big fan of graham crackers. He was double fisting and ate almost a whole sleeve of them!

Luckily Grammy had a whole 2nd box so we could make S'mores. Everyone enjoyed the addition of peanut butter to this yummy treat. Next time, we might switch out the Hershey bar for Reese's peanut butter cups or York pepperming patties. YUMMY!

Who wants to ride with me?

Despite all the other fun Nathan was having, he was most happy when he was out riding the jet ski. "Anyone want to ride with me?"

Pop-Pop's turn.

Mommy's turn.

Daddy's turn.

Uncle Matt's turn.

"Okay, who wants to ride with me next?"

A Visit from Old Friends

On Friday night, we enjoyed a special visit with some old friends who were in town from Arizona - Brandi, Tim and Devon. Brandi and I have known each other for over 20 years (yikes.. that's a long time and makes us really old). Devon and Nathan enjoyed pushing each other around on the deck while the adults chatted and enjoyed the beautiful evening outdoors.

The boys had such a fun time playing together, that is was hard to say goodbye. But once the clock struck 11 pm, it was time to say good night. Given that this was the latest Nathan had ever stayed up, Dan and I braced ourselves for a massive meltdown before bed. Luckily, he surprised us and we all settled quickly into our beds to catch some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Trains, Trains, Trains

On Sunday afternoon, we made a quick stop at the Strasburg Railroad. It was nice to walk around and see it on a non-Thomas event weekend.

Then on Monday morning, we took the boys to the Choo-Choo Barn to check out the model train display. It was pretty amazing. In addition to many trains, there were lots of other animated parts of the display. Some of the favorites were of Dutch Wonderland, a mountain with skiers, parades and a fire truck racing to a house that was on fire.

We then ended our trip to PA with lunch on a dining car at the Red Caboose Motel. It was nothing fancy, but still a fun ending to a fun weekend in Lancaster.

Chocolate World

The weather on Sunday was a little dreary, so we decided to drive up to Hershey to visit Chocolate World.
We realized we were here with Hills over 3 1/2 years ago when they agreed to accompany us on a weekend getaway to Scranton to babysit for Nathan while we attended a wedding.

We all enjoyed yummy Hershey bars after the tour and some of us also splurged on a delicious ice cream sundae! How can you pass up a Reese's sundae with peanut butter sauce?!?!? Especially when the Reese's car is sitting right there?