SESAME PLACE

As mentioned, we visited Sesame Place northeast of Philadelphia at Langhorne, PA (we actually visited it twice – one day when it was cloudy and cool and the other when it was very sunny and very warm). The girls had been looking forward to going there for years since their maternal grandmother had given AJT04 a brochure about Sesame Place a couple of years ago.


While there, the girls and Daddy were the ones to ride the rides while Mommy was the photographer; the girls seemed to enjoy all of the rides with the exception of the Blast Off which AJT04 did NOT enjoy because of the intermittent up and down motion. The girls also enjoyed the other activities, such as Ernie’s Bed Bounce (like an inflatable bouncy huge air mattress) and Cookie Mountain that the girls could climb and then slide down. On the dry side of the park, the girls were able to have a grand old time over the two days. As for the wet side, we did pack swimsuits so that we all could go on some of those rides (the ones that were open). I did ride the Sky Splash, which was essentially a very large and very twisty water slide, but due to the twisty nature I did not enjoy it, on the other hand, the girls definitely did and insisted on riding it again. AJT04 also wanted to be deluged by the huge bucket at the Count’s Splash Castle, so I went with her and both of us were thoroughly drenched but at least it was a very warm day.



We also enjoyed two live shows – Elmo’s World Live and Abby’s Treasure Hunt. Since she was old enough, AJT04 was selected to be a helper on Elmo’s World Live and was dressed as a fish to be a helper since Elmo was thinking about fishes that day. She was able to go on stage and pretend to swim with Elmo and Mr. Noodle; unfortunately, AJT07 was not old enough to be on stage although she will tell you that she is “too old to go down” – I think that we need to work with her on time and age. Abby’s Treasure Hunt was very enjoyable for the girls since Abby Cadabby was the star and Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Rosita, Zoe and even Oscar the Grouch made appearances in the show.






The other highlight of the time at Sesame Place was the character meet and greet opportunities. Both girls met Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, Count von Count, and Zoe. Since AJT04 was riding a mini roller coaster with Daddy, only AJT07 had the chance to meet Super Grover. Overall, the girls had an absolutely wonderful time at Sesame Place and are already asking when we can go back.

PHILADELPHIA

Although Sesame Place was the girls' primary focus, we did visit other places in Philly and the surrounding areas. Since the girls have been watching "Liberty's Kids", it seemed only appropriate that they should see some of the places mentioned in the show.



The first place that we visited Valley Forge; AJT04 attempted to complete the Junior Ranger book for the park, but was a bit overwhelmed. The girls did learn about the hard times experienced there and AJT04 toured the Potts House with Mommy and actually touched some banister that George Washington would have touched -- she was very excited about that.


We spent the better part of a day at Independence National Park; not only was it a very warm day, but there were several school groups touring as well, so AJT07 grew a bit tired during the day. We did tour Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell, entered Congress Hall (where Congress met while the capital was Philadelphia), stopped at Carpenter's Hall (where the First Continental Congress occurred), visited the Chemical Heritage Society Museum (Daddy grew a bit frightened since he recognized many of the chemicals and devices displayed), and ate at Old City Tavern (the original tavern was a meeting place for the likes of many of the Founders of our nation). Mommy was thrilled with the history (what a surprise, right) and both girls were excited to recognize the places from "Liberty's Kids". The girls were also excited to receive their first Junior Ranger badges at Independence National Park -- AJT04 had now said that she wants to collect badges from all of the national parks, I think that might be a while yet.


We also took a day trip to Easton, PA, home of the Crayola Factory. The girls were thrilled to visit that facility, even with all of the other school groups there. We learned how crayons are manufactured, how markers are made, and played with clay. With our admission, we received several tokens so that we could pick up souvenir crayons (including the special crayon known as "macaroni and cheese") and markers. We did tried to allow our clay creations to dry so that we could bring them home; unfortunately, some of the creations had some minor problems and did not quite make it home in one piece. Even with that, the girls had a great time at the Crayola Factory and Mommy was able to pick up some presents there as well.


On the way back to the hotel, we also stopped at Washington Crossing Park in New Jersey, so the girls could see where George Washington and the Continental Army made the Christmas crossing of the Delaware River to surprise the Hessians. AJT07 seemed to enjoy the boat as much as anything there and AJT04 had a good time at the museum especially talking to the docent and receiving some really neat booklets. Since the park on the Pennsylvania side of the river was closed, we were only able to drive by the monuments and park on that side of the river. Once AJT04 saw the "Liberty's Kids" episode about crossing the Delaware, I think the visit there was even more special.

We had a very enjoyable time in Philadelphia and I think the girls did learn more and I believe that at least one girl appreciates the meaning of Independence Day a little more.

HARPERS FERRY AND ANTIETAM

While staying in Gettysburg, we also traveled to Harpers Ferry, WV, and Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland. Yes, both were at Mommy's insistence with my interest in the Civil War.






Both girls enjoyed walking around at Harpers Ferry and seeing the old buildings as well as seeing the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. I tried to explain the significance, but at least some of it was lost. AJT04 also enjoyed talking to some reenactors that were portraying soldiers from the War of 1812 and AJT07 enjoyed walking up to the monument that commemorates where "John Brown's Fort" was located. AJT07 also was reading the letters to Mommy, rather reminiscent of another girl reading letters and numbers at that age. We were able to have a picnic lunch near the rivers so that we could enjoy a bit of a breeze that was coming through the valley prior to traveling to Antietam.






The Battle of Antietam is very significant in that it was the bloodiest single day of the Civil War and it provided the "victory" for President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Today the battlefield includes many monuments and has a very good Junior Ranger program. We toured the battlefield and I tried to explain what happened at the different locations, while the girls may not completely grasp what occurred, AJT04 did seem to understand that a very bloody battle occurred there. Both girls were able to complete the Junior Ranger booklets and were sworn in as Junior Rangers at Antietam National Battlefield; they wore their badges with pride the rest of the day.

On the way back to the hotel we traveled through a rather hilly region and took a road with several turns and elevation changes -- needless to say, the girls loved that and were begging for more. I think I know who will be riding roller coasters with Daddy in the future.

GETTYSBURG

I have a feeling that no matter your familiarity with the Civil War, you have heard of Gettysburg. Given that it was probably the largest battle in the Eastern Theater and probably has the most monuments of any of the battlefields, then it is pretty well known.



AJT04 enjoyed the Visitor's Center, as did Mommy, and she tried to complete the worksheets that I found online. (The work sheets were actually for school groups, but that did not stop her from trying to complete them.) Since AJT04 also said that President Lincoln is her favorite president, then she was very interested in the sections about the Gettysburg Address. The Visitor's Center has done a good job of presenting what the battle meant to the civilians in the area and I think that AJT04 discovered that she would not have wanted to be living in Gettysburg at the time.









Both girls enjoyed looking at the monuments, particularly for ones with animals or ones that were to Ohio or Indiana units. There were two monuments that they could climb -- the Pennsylvania monument and the 44th and 112the New York Monument. They climbed the monuments with Daddy and enjoyed it so much that they wanted to do it again, particularly AJT07. The monuments also presented AJT07 with another chance to read letters and numbers and a chance for AJT04 to read more about the units or about the Gettysburg Address and the National Cemetery. We also stopped by the historic downtown portion of Gettysburg and AJT04 stood by the statue of Abraham Lincoln that stands outside the Wills House where he spent the night before delivering the Gettysburg Address. Since it had been several years since my last trip to Gettysburg, I enjoyed seeing the updates to the town and the new Visitors Center as well.

We also visited the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, where the girls wanted their pictures to be taken by the mannequins dressed as soldiers and sailors. Unfortunately, the light was dim (probably to help preserve the artifacts) and the pictures did not turn out too well. The girls did find the soldiers interesting but were somewhat frightened by the recreated cannon fire. (AJT07 disliked the cannon fire so much that anytime we were near a cannon she would ask whether it would go off and even if we said no would still cover her ears.)




Prior to the trip to Harrisburg, we did stop at Boyds Bear Country in Gettysburg where both girls were able to have eyefuls of bears of every kind and sort. We allowed each girl to make one animal and AJT04 chose to make a pink bear while AJT07 made a frog -- they have loved their animals and sleep with their animals every night. I particularly liked the bears known as Mason (Union) and Dixon (Confederate), Daddy was not surprised in the least that those were the ones I would pick.

We had a very memorable time in Gettysburg and the surrounding areas and I know that I am looking forward to returning there someday (who knows maybe I can convince Daddy and the girls to return about July 1-3 of 2013).

TRIP HOME

As mentioned, on our way home, we made a stop in Bellaire, Ohio. The girls' maternal grandmother first introduced us to the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum in an article in a magazine. Who would have thought of Bellaire for that? Well, the building may not be much to look at from the outside (it is a former school) but it is very impressive inside. Daddy and the girls loved seeing the Lego displays including some rare displays from Legoland and specially designed displays. While we were there, some volunteers were painting rooms to provide backdrops for some displays and another display was being built. I think the girls saw that you can do many things with Legos whether you are a child or an adult.

BUILDING

Well, it has been awhile since I added anything to the blog, but I think that the past few months could be summed up in one word -- “Building”.

In February, “Bob the Builder” returned to the Children’s Museum and the girls had to go see him, again for AJT04 and for the first time for AJT07. We were able to go see him one weekend and then at the end of March, Mommy and both girls went down to see him and the crew again.









Also in February, the girls built hearts from Duplo Legos for Valentine’s Day. Mommy helped get them started and was the official photographer of the hearts. Then in March, for Daddy’s birthday, the girls built a Lego birthday cake. Fortunately we warned him so there were no surprise dentist bills or anything like that. Another thrill for the girls in March was going to the BrickWorld exhibit/convention; as you can guess, many Legos were involved and the girls were able to have an eyeful of displays ranging from all of the Star Wars Lego sets to a huge diorama with trains, mountains, and houses as well as a cityscape. Needless to say, after all of that, the girls are becoming Lego fans, like Daddy.




While we did not build any Easter eggs or build massive rabbits from Legos, the weather was beautiful for Easter and the girls enjoyed an outdoor Easter egg hunt for a change. AJT07 quickly figured out what to do -- she enjoyed filling her basket so much that she will take her basket and fill it with whatever is available and pretend that it is Easter again. I guess you could say that the "building" theme continued on Easter as the girls are “building” vocabularies and logic skills since they received books, games, and puzzles for Easter.




That is all for now; I will try to update more frequently as the girls continue to “build” vocabularies, skills, and personalities.