Idlewild

We went to the best Amusement park in PA; it was called Idlewild.

There were so many rides and no lines and even a water park! No pictures of the water park, it was raining when we went so I didn't want to get the camera wet, but here are some pictures of the park.

Esther and I on the train. This is where we met up with Sandy, Joe, Lisa and Jack so Jack and Van did some of the bigger rides together while Esther and I explored.

I loved all the rides they had for toddlers to do all by themselves. She was so pleased.

Van jumped on here at the last minute and decided he needed to get on with his sister to help her out. I love this series of pictures.

They both loved the ball pit.

Esther and I on the Ferris Wheel but this was actually a mistake. She was so tired by now and not wanting to sit still and behave.

There was so much more! But you can't take pictures all the time so this is all I have....

Baltimore, MD

Baltimore was one of my favorite parts of our trip. I love dropping into a new city I have never seen before. It was a beautiful city.

It's 80 degrees, but the wind came up so Esther is convinced she's cold. I let her wear my cardigan.

 We're heading to the Aquarium, you can see it up ahead.

Esther in the Aquarium watching the bubbles.

Riding the escalator.

A big whale skeleton.

 Van watching the fish.

 Taking a break

 The dolphin tank.

 A kid pile.

This sculpture was right out in front of our hotel. There was a DJ playing music in front of it. Van was dancing.

Esther and I in our matching sunglasses.

 Van got some too.

This is the view from the garden level in our hotel.

Unfortunately the kids and I decided to check this out just after Andy had checked us out and we got locked out. We had to call into the hotel for help. It was beautiful though.

Anchorage to Baltimore

The first leg of our trip was traveling from Anchorage to Baltimore.

We had to wake everyone up in the middle of the night...

They started traveling with about 3 hours of sleep.

 But they were still helpful in the airport.

Wait, Van's backpack is getting too small for him! Luckily grandma bought him a new one while we were on vacation.

Ready to go

On the first flight I pulled out all the stops. I had legos for everyone, coloring books, magnets, snacks, etc. We played the whole time.

Luckily that meant by the second flight, everyone was able to sleep some.

This is Esther in the cab the next day in Baltimore...

Stuff before the trip

I'm really behind on blogging. We went on a big vacation, and then Van started school, so I will attempt to catch up but I will need to do some grouping. Here are several groups of pictures I was saving from before we left on vacation.


We biked to frozen yogurt as a family. I convinced everyone to leave a truck down at the Service Trails, so we biked all around, got frozen yogurt and then didn't need to bike back up the hill.

Esther playing on the airplane

Van and Esther playing with Sam, John and Wyatt. For my own sanity I don't let them in the house. Their house is next door so they have to find somewhere between the two houses to play. But this day they really wanted the blocks so I let them play on the back porch.

Van and Sam, playing on this fence. Sam is like spider man. I've seen him climb up walls.