Dutch Wonderland

Bryan and I know we are theme park snobs. We love the Mouse. We are gearing up for another year of Disney starting after Thanksgiving. But it is far and expensive (although I am appalled when I hear how much people spend on Disney vacations!) and Dutch Wonderland is just 90 minutes away in good old Lancaster, PA. And it is designed for little kids and fairly inexpensive so we got discount tickets and journeyed up 83 the Sunday after Labor Day.

Kellen loved Dutch Wonderland. He was a bit too short for a few of the biggest rides but could do almost everything and still talks about how fun it was. Noelle liked it too, although there really was just the one coaster that she was super excited about and then the rest of the rides were a bit less thrilling for her liking. Bryan and I didn't love it. The staff were all 15, I stepped on gum and the cafe was pretty dirty, lines were much longer than I expected, and in general I found the park to be less than efficient. But I know I am biased and it is unfair to hold a local, small theme park to Disney standards. It was also pretty cold the day we went so maybe that affected my opinion. Whatever our feelings on the park itself, it was fun to see the kids having so much fun and I am definitely glad we went.

I am not sure if we will be back as an entire family but I might take Kellen next year while Bryan and Noelle do something else - maybe Hershey Park would be a better fit for her thrills? Here are some pictures from our day at the Kingdom for Kids.

Sky Way - Bryan's look was pretty much this one of "I'm not impressed" throughout the day...

Kiddie Coaster

Frog Jumping. The best part of the day was watching Noelle take care of her brother. She helped him on and off of everything, made sure he was buckled, and they were holding hands constantly.

Driving the race cars

Noelle took her driving seriously. She was really bad at it so 10 years from now we'll have our work cut out for us!

Again, Bryan loves it. I continued to be amazed that this guy is as Disney obsessed as I am.

Dino Trail! Bryan might actually be smiling.

The cutest baby dino

We seriously waited like 45 minutes for the monorail. Noelle rode 6 rides during this time. Lots of the rides had really long lines which shocked me. 

 

Monster Truck Racers

We rode the flying baskets. I thought I was going to hurl after Noelle (my child that gets carsick) spun us around so many times.

At Dutch Wonderland Noelle counted as a responsible rider who could go solo with our son in this crazy flying kite contraption. That is insane. 

Goodbye, Dutch Wonderland. See you again, maybe!?

Knight Night

The Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the local Chick-fil-a had a Mom and Son Knight Date so I signed Kellen and I up for an early dinner. We had a great time!

We arrived to a decorated restaurant complete with tables with menus laid out, knight, dragon, and castle props, and waiters and waitresses to take our orders. We ordered and then did some playing. The kid area was closed off to people not at the event and they had a balloon station in there plus picture opportunities. The whole thing was adorable and ended with me getting a rose, Kellen being offered a goodie bag, plus cards for a free sandwich and free ice cream on another visit. Oh and we each got a free dessert while we were there. Win!

I love my knight and hope we can have more date nights in the future!

 

Parks, Zoos, and Concerts Too

On the last Friday of August, Noelle was finishing her first week of school but Kellen was still enjoying summer break with me. So we hit up the playground, the zoo, another playground after Noelle got home, and then the last Friday night concert of the season.

Our friends were off Friday too so we met them at lunch time for a zoo excursion now that we are official members. Since we had to get a late start, we had time for the farm animals, lunch, and the Africa section which was just enough time to see lots but get back to Catonsville to get Noelle off the bus at 3:50. Kel and Annabelle had a great time!

Lion Tamers

Or sheep and donkeys?

Giraffe?

Actually they are dinosaurs

That like to watch chimps...

Kellen transfered from car to chair to stroller after the zoo. That is one tired kid :) And then slept for the first 30 minutes at the tire park. 

Then it was concert time! We met friends and grabbed pizza and then since it was the end of week one of school and the summer concert season we went all out with ice cream, face painting and fun. It seemed everyone in town was in attendance and it was a great time!

They went with dolphins and spiderman.

And found random kids to play with. 

We waited in several bathroom lines. 

And were so tired when we got home that Spidey spent the night at our house. 

It was a crazy but fun day and a great end to August!

The Running Bug

In the past year I have started running a lot more. I found several great running partners that push me to go farther and help me drag my butt out of bed many mornings. I have the Baltimore half in October, the Bay Bridge 10K in November, and most exciting, the Disney full marathon in January. Apparently Noelle may want to follow in my foot steps and do some running too.

The weekend before school started we had a make-up kids event with my running group for the rained out celebration a few nights earlier. The kids got real bibs, raced down the trolley trail between Hillcrest and Opies, got medals, and then got a treat. Noelle loved it. So much that she hit my interval track workout the next morning at the high school! Kellen is still pretty small and gets tired quickly but even he did a great job running down the .4 mile trail. Pretty sure Noelle is the future athlete in our family but we will see! For now, I am just excited that she wants to run with her mommy sometimes!

The running line up :)

And they are off!

Race complete!

 

And the treats after.

Mommy Daughter Track Workout

First Grade

On August 24th Noelle started first grade. The week before we went in to "sneak a peek at her seat." I also went in to formalize her medical plans with a 504 so was able to meet her teacher twice. Her teacher is new to the school but not new to teaching as she switched over to Hillcrest after taking 2014-2015 off for her own little ones. She seems nice but firm with high expectations. Noelle was eager to start, although a bit nervous to have a new teacher, new classroom, and few friends in her class. But the first day she bounced off our walls, got ready in record time, and patiently posed for pictures before heading to the bus stop. We found out a boy from the next street is actually in her class and Noelle found out that while only 2 of her classmates from last year are also in Mrs. Engler's class, that she knows other kids from other classes and the pool. Everything went well and she is loving first grade. And I am loving first grade homework which is somehow much less complex and time consuming than Kindergarten homework! Here is hoping the year stays fun and Noelle continues to love her teacher, school, and her new classmates! And since all of the first graders have lunch and recess together (only one recess now after two last year, the big bummer of the year for Noelle) so she'll still get to see all of her other friends. Yay for another school year!

 

The Bus!

Since Noelle looked so old and grown up as we left the house, I couldn't resist taking this picture when I returned from the bus stop. These guys joined her at the breakfast table. Somehow that made me feel a lot better!

Noelle's Beach and Pool Birthday Celebrations

I have a 6 year old. That seems totally impossible. We celebrated Noelle's 6th birthday on the 16th in OBX style. The day was spent on the beach and at the pool and then we had pizza for dinner as white pizza is by far Noelle's favorite meal.

Yum, pizza.

Noelle also was spoiled by grandma, pop pop, great grandma, Uncle Mike, and mom and dad. She got a swim cover up for future meets, art supplies, a game, and lots of clothes.

It will probably be warm and never rain again at a swim meet now that we are prepared :)

Hugs for Pop Pop. Uncle Mike looks pretty psyched about the whole thing...

Sharpies. Every 6 year old girls dream!

After our evening walk, we came back for ice cream cake and the end of our celebration.

 

This year we had an actual party for Noelle as well. We decided a pool party with Sorrento's pizza would be about the same amount as a party at home (most of her friends are pool members too) so we invited friends and had a very low key swim party with pizza and Costco cake. The weather was lovely, the pool was almost empty with the exception of our group, and besides picking up the pizza and cake all we had to do was cut some watermelon. Win! Thanks to all that came out to celebrate our big girl the Friday night before school started!

The younger kids getting in on the pool action.

Pirates Booty!

The crew.

Hugs

Noelle requested rainbows. It was one of Costco's ten designs so she got lucky!

It is possible Wyatt blew out more candles than Noelle

Cheese!

The big kids swimming

Bryan and his BFF Connor.

Ugh I hate when kids open presents at the party. Noelle didn't care that I thought it was a horrible idea.

Happy Sixth Birthday, Noelle! Don't get too used to parties though as we'll probably agree to another one when you are 10 or so!