Splash Fest 2011

I have so much to blog about (gymnastics, ballet, summer day trips, Caitlin's OBSESSION with wearing sunglasses).....the summer is so busy!

A few weekends ago was Bass Lake Splash Fest, the festival weekend at the lake.  It's always so busy, and so much fun!  This year I added a little "twist"...the Bass Lake 5K.  Usually I run the race, but this year I RAN (as in "was in charge") of it.  It added a little chaos to the weekend, but I had AMAZING volunteers (all happen to share a last name) to help me...and I'd say we pulled off a successful race with 58 runners signed up, but 122 runners participating!

The rest of the weekend was spent doing what we love to do the most:  relaxing!  There was pop n wines, golf, water slides, sand boxes, beaches, fireworks, parades, and LOTS of swimming!!!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend (you always know when you are having too much fun when you forget to get the camera):

The CHAOS that was the 5K race (check out one of my volunteers...doesn't he look so cute in his safety vest....it was SERIOUS!)

USS Bass Lake (with full dining availability)

WATER SLIDE

Stina's tie-dye shirts

The finished products!!!  Watching the parade!

The parade crew...staying cool in the shade!

The following few are from a family boat ride we took Sunday morning: 

Sesame Place, Part 2

After a good night's sleep, we headed back to Sesame for Round 2.  Sesame Place is half waterpark, half dry rides, so we planned on the water park for Day 2.  We didn't take very many pictures since we were on waterslides most the morning!  I think our favorite part of the morning was the lazy river with the kids, but we didn't get any pictures.

Playing in Ernie's Garden (everything was gigantic).

Abigail and Daddy at the bottom of the waterslide.

Abigail coming up the ramp after the big girl waterslide.

After a morning of swimming and waterslides, we headed back to the hotel to take a nap.  While there, we received the sad news that my grandma wasn't doing well and would be moving to hospice.  We spent a lot of time debating if we should head back or stay the night (and if you don't know, my nickname with my family is "Tears" so yes, there were plenty of those too) and we made the tough decision to stay the night and let the kids finish their vacation.  We had promised them the light parade, the Elmo Live Show, and to pick out souveniers, so after nap we decided to head back.  We decided not to drive through the mountains at night and just get up first thing the next morning (4am) and drive straight through 15 hours.  I am happy we decided to do that because the kids weren't aware of what was going and they didn't miss the end of their vacation...and I still got 24 amazing hours with my grandma and family!  I have to admit, my heart wasn't into Sesame Place very much....but it's hard not too have fun when the kids are having so much fun...and I know my Grandma would have wanted the kids to get their vacation.  She was so selfless and always worried about everyone else above herself (I would visit her weekly when I worked by her house for 6 years, and every single visit she would make sure Rob had something to eat for dinner when I got home because she didn't want him hungry while I was visiting...that's just the amazing person she was!)

First thing we did when we got back was to get our souveniers:

I'm so frustrated this picture of the girls and their souveneirs won't download correctly...it was so cute.  Abigail picked out Abby Cadabby and Caitlin picked out Elmo....and Lucy got an Elmo picture book!

After shopping, we headed to the big awaited show:  Elmo's World.  It was set like they were recording it for TV and very cute!  (Although the pics weren't great)

After the show, we did more rides before the parade:

Abigail and Daddy on the Bug ride (sort of like the pirate ship ride).

Swings

This one shocked me that Abigail went on it!  They take you up to the top and just drop you!  She LOVED it!  It was so cute because in Abigail's row were 3 little girls and 3 dads...and the 3 moms (all with little babies too) stood there and took pictures!

Having so much fun!

And my favorite partner-in-crime!  We did this Elmo fish ride (similar to the Dumbo ride at Disney) LOTS!!!!!

After rides, it was time for the parade.  This night, we staked out a great, front row spot about an hour before the parade.  Then, it was time for funnel cakes and ice cream while we waited!!!!!

My 3 favorite people..and one lady eating ice cream!  ;)

Abby's float stopped right in front of us (they basically stop along the way and do a show)...the girls were excited.  Abigail held her Abby up the whole time and was yelling "I Have You!"

And what is Sesame Place without Elmo.

It was such a great vacation.  From spending 3 days relaxing at Oglebay to our 2 amazing days in Sesame to our first real roadtrip as a family, it was a vacation not to be forgotten!

Now that we've done Sesame Place, I think it's time for the BIG one!!!!!  Disney!  Let the researching, saving, and planning begin!

Sesame Place, Part 1

We had such a great 2 days at Sesame Place outside Philadelphia.  We started this leg of our vacation with a trip downtown to Philly for their famous Philly Steak Sandwiches....YUMM-O!  We then headed to our hotel for some swimming (which all parents know is a kid's FAVORITE part of a vacation).

The next morning, we were up bright and early and headed for Sesame Place!

"Sunny Days, Sweeping the Clouds Away, On our Way to Where the Sun is Bright..."

Miss Caitlin and Mommy waiting for Abigail and Daddy on a ride.  We did a lot of this, but we had a lot of fun (and ate our way through Sesame)

The first thing we saw when we walked in was the roller coaster.  Abigail and Daddy headed for this...which made me nervous because I thought she'd hate it and not go on any rides....but Daddy was right and she LOVED it!  I think she did it a total of 5 times on this trip.

Proud Riders of Vapor Trail (and yes, there is Grover's voice everytime they rode it...)

On the stairs of Sesame Street (very cute little road that looks like the show)

Waiting for a ride

Abigail jumping on Ernie's Bed (Caitlin was in there somewhere too)

Merry Go Round

Slides

Slides

Hugs with Ernie

and Bert

What a GREAT vacation!

Elmo Rock's Show (one of 3 shows we saw)

Dancing at the show

Kisses for Daddy...Caitlin had such a great time

Caitlin's favorite area...Big Bird's Nest

Sesame is so cute...even the bushes have Elmo in them!

Dancing at the Abby Cadabby Show

After a great morning and lunch (which Sesame is a GREAT place because they let you bring in coolers so we were able to bring food for the kids to eat (and of course stop and buy more food there...and of course we had to get an Elmo Soft Pretzel in the shape of Elmo's head) we decided to head back to our hotel for nap.  This really was the best thing we did for the kids because they were able to enjoy their evening (sort of...see below).

After naps, we headed back to Sesame for Dinner with Elmo and Friends.  Rob and I were so excited to take the kids to see all the characters and have a nice meal together.  See Below...this is right before the CHAOS began:

About 3 minutes after getting seated, Cookie Monster (who is HUGE and BLUE) came out of no where and scared Caitlin, which lead to her SCREAMING the entire meal...not crying, not whining...SCREAMING!!!!  That lead Abigail to crying...and the two of them continued to scream every time a character came within 20 feet of us.  So we never got a picture with Elmo which was supposed to be the highlight of the trip.  I am convinced that if Cookie Monster hadn't freaked out Caitlin, they would have been fine...but nevertheless, it was an "interesting" meal with lots of screaming!

I was able to convince bribe Abigail with cookies to see Abby Cadabby because I knew she really wanted to see her and would continue to talk about it after, which I was right. 

Abbi and Abby

WE DID IT (if pictures had sound, you would hear Caitlin screaming)

Screaming!

After a nice relaxing dinner, we headed out for more rides!  Swings, Elmo's Fish, more roller coaster, etc...

We found Dorothy (Elmo's fish)....that was exciting for these two!

There is a big electric parade at night, but we were having too much fun on rides to get a seat.  So we sort of "watched" as it passed, but promised the kids we'd watch it the next night!

(I am going to do a "tips" post about things that worked for us)

We brought the girls light up necklaces from the dollar store at home so they had lighted toys like the ones they were selling for ridiculous amounts of money!

Watching the Parade

Well....There's Day 1!  (Can you imagine our pictures when we go to Disney?)  We had such a great day..and were really looking forward to going back for Day 2.  We spent the day going into stores and deciding what "souvie" we wanted....so the girls were very excited to get back the next morning!!!!

Stay tuned for Day 2 and Tips for Sesame!