Living the Life!

2012 has been an epic year; for many reasons.  Those of you who see me on Facebook know that we have been on the road a bunch this summer.  We have had so much fun and have seen some great sights; let me tell you.

During the last part of June and the first part of July, we were lucky enough to join my family in the Pennsylvania hills for some great family time.  As always, we enjoyed the picturesque country around Gettysburg.  We spend time on the battlefield; the kids visited "the castle" at Little Round Top and climbed the rocks at Devil's Den.  I have to say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that they love this part of the country and that they look forward to our visit every year.

Erin & Allie on the top of Little Round Top

"Dad.... catch me!"

Matt and Will at Devil's Den

"The Castle" aka the 44th New York Infantry Regiment Monument

While we were back east, Matt and I took our kids on an overnight excursion to Niagara Falls and upstate New York.  Niagara Falls is one of those bucket list items -- and was so very much fun.  Nearly all of the kids loved it and I'm so glad we went.  A travel trip for those who go, stay on the Canadian side of the Falls; Canada has it's side made up much nicer.

We took the kids on the Maid of the Mist.  It was so fun to see my little family outfitted in their little blue ponchos.  Most of them loved it -- Will hated it!  Something about getting his face wet just rubs that boy wrong!  I think he gets that from his Grandma Homer.  Needless to say, he screamed the ENTIRE time we were on the boat!  After a while, only Allie and I were left up top to tell the tale.

Look at those good-looking folks.... Will's poncho is already half off.  That should have been my warning.

After our excursion on the water, we headed for dinner at where else?  The Hard Rock Cafe!  Technically there are TWO Hard Rock Cafe's at Niagara Falls, one on each side of the Falls -- pretty sad that I know that, eh?  Dinner was your standard Hard Rock fare but we got to eat in the Elvis Presley room which Erin loved.  After dinner, we walked along the midway back to our hotel; stopping for an awesome bit of ice cream along the way.

The next morning, we were up and out of there bright and early.  Back across the border we went and onto Palmyra, New York.  This little out-of-the-way town is very significant to members of the Mormon faith.  I plan to blog about some those experiences separately, but suffice it to say, it was a wonderful thing for our family to do.  We learned a lot, and I think, in general, learned to appreciated the sacrifices made by Joseph Smith and his family and the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

After we saw the sites, we had lunch at what my Uncle Dave would have called the "the local greasy spoon."  And true to form, Matt ordered "the special."  So many fun memories of road trips with Uncle Dave.  While riding back to Gettysburg through the Pennsylvania countryside, we introduced our kids to "Alice's Restaurant," an Uncle Dave favorite and to the greatest hits of Ray Stevens.  The kids loved The Pirate Song.

Speaking of music, it was so much fun to be with the kids in the car this summer.  These youngin's have very distinct musical tastes; which made for a really fun trip.  You haven't lived until you've heard Jack sing, "I'm Sexy and I Know It."

We finished up in Gettysburg with some shopping at the Outlet Malls, a little antiquing and a visit to the Eisenhower Farm.  The farm in Gettysburg is the only house that Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower ever owned; him being a career military man.  The farm is now run by the National Park Service; so fun to get that stamp in our National Parks Passport.

The end of this Pennsylvania trip culminated in a trip to Hershey.... the town that chocolate built!  How much fun we had.

For a treat, Matt and I stayed with our kids at the Hershey Lodge.  We loved this hotel -- the wallpaper and bed linens were covered in Hershey's Kisses, you got chocolate everywhere you went, the shampoo was made with chocolate and for the first time this summer, we got to do a big water park.  At the entrance to the park, kids are encouraged to find the candy that represents their height.  That way, they know which candy sign to watch for instead of constantly asking, "am I tall enough to go on that ride?"

If you go to Hershey, the amusement park is fun (duh) but if you're not looking to spend the money on theme park tickets,  the Hershey's Chocolate World experience is cool, in and of itself.  With your admission, you get to do a number of fun things.  We saw a 3D movie about chocolate, participated in a chocolate tasting course, took a tour of the town and made our own custom chocolate bars.  None of us have actually eaten them yet, but sometimes they beckon from the cupboard late at night!

Erin looks totally thrilled to be with her family, doesn't she?  Will didn't want to leave his cap on and we were threatened with expulsion several times during the tour because of this.

Here Allie & Jack are watching their chocolate bars go through the curing process before they get packaged up!

Here are some of the fun pictures we took and the great times we had.  Read the story of Milton Hershey and his chocolate empire here. All You Ever Wanted to Know About Hershey, PA!

The kids and Grandpa with the York Peppermint Patty.  A Homer family favorite for sure.

Jack with Mr. Kit Kat

Kids with Mom's favorite chocolate treat......

Who knew you'd have to eat so much chocolate?

We knew it was time to go home when the kids were turning down the chocolate they were being offered.  We had so much fun but I have to say after the trips we had this summer, there's no place like home!