Can we make it??? Yes we can!!!

I think this is the only car in America with more stuff in it than ours!


Tayter and I rested in the back while we left the boys in charge of driving.


We stopped in Springfield, MO for lunch at Arby's. Then, we hit the Red Box at McDonald's for some new entertainment. And we were off again. We crossed into Oklahoma around 2:00ish. The kids cheered with joy :-)


This sign the kids were really ready to see!


We had a great time and I am so glad we went. Kinda hurt that the kids were so ready to get back home to their friends but I guess I should be thankful that a)they even went with us and b)they have such wonderful friends in their lives! I love my family and am so blessed by them each day.
Hugs to everyone :-)

Welcome Home Tuesday

We all got texts, pics and posts about the flooding back home yesterday. We saw stories on the national news and even saw pics from Edmond in USA today this morning. Completely unbelievable!!! Our hearts go out to those back home. Praying for no more rain! The lasts 6 months have hit some Oklahomans hard with record snow fall, record earthquakes, deadly tornadoes, record hail and, now, record rain...

We hit the road leaving St. Louis about 8:30 this morning and are driving hard towards home :-)

Monday, Monday...

Not much to post for Monday. We left Clarksburg and saw more beautiful mountains. i took some pics but they really don't look like anything much. Went through Kentucky. Thought the kids might want to stop in Louisville and go to the Louisville Slugger Tour. Um...not so much. The general feeling we are getting from our little angels is that they are ready to see their friends. Weird! I don't get it! They aren't really open to stopping and taking any more time than necessary except when we were discussing where to stop for the night. When Tayter heard that we might stop in St. Louis by the Galleria Mall, she perked up a little bit. So, we pulled into St. Louis about 6:00, ate a little dinner and went to the mall for an hour.



We were all ready for sleep and to hit the road for the last leg home.

Sunday a.k.a. Chocolate Day

Left Philly on a mission. Hershey, PA was our goal. We took the senic route through Amish Country. I wanted to go to some of the Amish furniture stores and fruit stands. Their culture and their steadfast hold to it is very interesting to me. Kinds wanted to see it in person. The problem was that we went on Sunday and the Amish really only go to church and rest on Sunday. Only saw one carraige on the road. Maybe next time.

One thing we did see that really excited us...

SONIC!!!! Hadn't had a Sonic coke in a week and a half. We had to stop!

Next stop - Hershey, P.A. where the street lights are Hershey Kisses. Now that has to put a :-) on your face.


The kids didn't really want to take the time to go to the Hershey amusement park so we went to the Hershey Museum and made a Chocolate Bowl in the Chocolate Lab.


First order of business is to put the lab garb on. So cute!



We dipped ballons in chocolate a couple of times to form the bowl shape.



Word of advice to those who may go to the Chocolate Lab one day. Make sure to ask for more chocolate during the balloon dipping process because after all balloons at your station are dipped you get to eat the left overs! Very important tip!

After the chocolate balloons cooled in the freezer, we popped and removed the balloons. Then, we decorated them with some melted, colored white chocolate.


Crissy's Creation


Another piece of advice - be prepared to eat the bowl upon completion. We found that just a little while in the warm care turns the chocolate bowl into a chocolate plate. Still tasty though.

We decided to do some shots while we were there...Chocolate shots from around the world. Most were dark chocolate and not very good!






Logan trying to get the dark chocolate shot taste out of his mouth.


I did not want to go through Ohio again. We chose to shake up Lulu, the gps, and go a different way. We left Hershey and went to Baltimore, MD. Home of the Ace of Cakes! Sadly, Duff did not come out to great us :-(


They have a really neat area on the harbor with restaurants and shops.


This was a battle sailboat from the late 1800's.


We ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Love that place! The closest one to us back home is in Frisco, TX.) and headed off through Maryland and West Virginia. It was an absolutely beautiful drive. The mountains were littered with small towns that have been there for hundreds of years. I am in love with the old churches! I will definitely go that way again next time with my good camera and extra time to be able to stop. Finally stopped for the night in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Westward Ho!

Didn't realize how much luggage and stuff we had until I had to stand with it on the street waiting for Devin to get the car from the parking garage. We probably had more for our 2 week trip than most NYC people can even fit in their apartments.


Passed through the Lincoln Tunnel, after we finally found it and went to Hoboken, NJ. Yep - we went to see the home of the Cake Boss, Carlo's Bakery. Problem - we weren't the only ones. There was quite a line to get into the bakery. About 30 minutes later we were in and picking out some treats.






Next stop - Philadelphia, PA. Went to see the Liberty Bell and the home of the Declaration of Independence.



Walked around the park by the hotel where Tayter and I took a pic with this guy.

Problem of the day - we had our Cake Boss treasures in the car while we visited the Liberty Bell and it was an unusually hot day here. Logan's cake with custard and Taytes chocolate mouse cake kinda weren't cakes anymore.


Pic for my Harley friends. This was in the a store window:-)

Friday - Last Day in NYC

Spent the morning shopping around again. Went to Canal St. because Tayter wanted some purses of the faux kind. Stangely enough - couldn't find any faux purse peddlers. Well, found 2 but not for what Tayte wanted. She finally decided she would see what they had. Went back to find them and they were gone. We were told that the police are really cracking down on them and that our best chance would be Saturday. So, sadly, no fauxs.

Mama Mia was on the agenda for the evening. Logan backed out so it was just the 3 of us. Only in NYC - we passed this guy on the way to the theater. For a small fee you could take a pic with his buddy the Boa Constricter.


Mama Mia was at the Winter Garden Theater. It was beautiful inside. I love checking out all the different theaters. The show was really good. All the songs remind me of listening to our ABBA 8track tape growing up. The end of the show was the best when the cast just sang 3 of the songs like a concert. The audience was singing and clapping. Really got into it.


The weather was great so after the show we called Logan and made him meet us in Times Square. It really got crowded Friday night. So much fun to watch all of the people. Of course, we thought everyone was a little strange and that we were the only normal ones there.




We packed up the room and finally made it to bed about 1:30am. Loved NYC. Loved the hotel, AKA New York Times Square. Kinda ready to be home.

To Central Park and Back

We hoped the uptown bus this morning and toured the upper east and west sides. Even went through Harlem. Saw where Ex-Pres Clinton has his office and where The Donald lives, although word around town is that he is not home right now. Out traveling and spending money.


For lunch we went to Serendipity 3. Food costs too much, but we were there so we spent it. Of course, when you go to Serendipity, you must have the Frozen Hot Chocolate. We threw in a Chocolate Blackout Hot Fudge Sundae for good measure.




Just had to include this as proof that, yes girls, they do indeed offere a $1000 sundae.


After all of that, we had to walk some of it off, so we went to Central Park to see the fountain from "Friends". I love to walk Central Park. It is so pretty and the flowers smelled great today. We found a rock to sit on and watch the world go by.




Shopped 5th Ave. all the way back to the hotel. By shopped, I mean mostly window shopped. Logan found something interesting... And the rains came again! Sick of rain in NYC. Makes it harder to get around.



Off to see "The Adamms Family". Should be exciting!


A little dinner in Times Square after the show.

In NYC and Lovin' It

We have been introducing the kids to NYC. First, we rode the ferris wheel in Toys R Us at Time Square. Then, we went to check out Times Square. All the billboards, ain't nowhere else like it. We were told that TS buildings are required to be at least 18% covered by colorful signage. I think they have accomplished it.


Tayte kissing up to the cops.






We have been riding the tour buses around town and took the boat to the Statue of Liberty. Tayte didn't realize it was that big. Maybe she though Lady Liberty was lady size???


Tuesday evening we walked down 5th Avenue. Tayte and I seemed very "at home" there.


This guy was washing windows on the building next to us this morning. We sat and watched him probably longer than we looked at the Statue of Liberty.



Rained most of the day Wednesday. Had to buy a $5 umbrella on the street. Lasted almost the whole day so I guess we got our money's worth. We went to the "Top of the Rock" at Rockefeller Center. The "Ice Rink" at Rockefeller Center looks smaller in real life than in the movies.


Spent the evening with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at the Broadway show "Promises, Promises". We gave it 4 thumbs up. Loved it!!! Now off to bed and hoping no rain for Thursday. Off to Central Park and Serendipity for some Frozen Hot Chocolate tomorrow. Sounds like a great plan :-)