Our adventure...

We left Monday morning for a whirlwind, crazy fun adventure to Sesame Place in PA! Jemma, James and I pulled out of the driveway at 10 am and picked up Trina and Derek. Yes, that would be two three year olds, one sixteen month old and two Moms in a minivan... a little crazy, but we made it work!

We had a great drive up. We made it almost to the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel when we had our first potty request. At an hour into the trip, I was a little worried that this may be the trend, but it wasn't. We stopped again 20 miles south of Salisbury at a Friendly's for lunch. It took us more than an hour to eat, but the kids were happy and we all had a good lunch so it was worth the stop. Then we stopped at a park just before Dover. It is truly a great park for the kids!! :)

We made it to Andy and Suzanne's just before 7. The kids had been fabulous! I drove and Trina rotated toys and DVDs. James and Derek both took a nap. Jemma is my non-napper, but she was content to play and watch TV.

The big day was Tuesday. We arrived at Sesame Place at 10:15. (The park opened at 10.) Trina took Derek and Jemma to wait in line for tickets while I got James ready. When we walked into the park, I rented a double stroller with James while Trina took Jemma and Derek on the Vapor Trail, a roller coaster. We were so lucky... one of the park attendants volunteered to ride with Derek so Trina could ride with Jemma. I could not believe that Jemma wanted to go on the coaster... it was pretty big and fast! And when she got off, she wanted to do it again! From there, we went to the Count's Fount where they played in the water. Then we went to ride on the Flyin' Fish. Again, we were very lucky... there was a mom with a small child and an older daughter who offered to ride with Jemma so I could ride with James. The kids then slid down Snuffy's slides (just a big straight dry tube slide) before we went to see Big Bird's Beach Bash. James had the most fun... he was clapping and moving to the music and so excited! Jemma & Derek watched and enjoyed it, but James was truly into the music!

We ate lunch and then headed for Sky Splash. It was a water ride with a large tube that we all piled into. Such fun! Then we went on Slimey's Chutes. It is a water slide that I never would have dared put my kids on before! But Trina insisted that it would be ok, so I decided to give it a try. It was a twisty water slide that you could either go on alone or have two people. So, Trina and Jemma went down first. Then Derek followed alone. (Trina and Derek and Derek's Dad go to the waterpark in Virginia Beach often, so Derek is familiar with water slides.) Then, James and I went down. All the kids wanted to do it again! Trina said that James had the biggest smile on his face as he came down the slide. So, we did it again. This time Trina and Derek went down. Then, Jemma got into her tube. Somehow, before she even got onto the actual slide her foot slipped into the center of the tube. The life guard helped her get back into the tube properly, but she was saying, "I don't want to do this... Mommy, I want out." I told her that she was ok and she was going down... then the life guard gave her a little push. James and I followed after her and she was fine. The kids wanted to ride again, but I couldn't do it... carrying the tube and James with a lifejacket up all those stairs was quite tiring. Plus, Trina had to carry two tubes, which was not easy.

So, we went off to Abby's show. That show was loud! I think James was the only one who really enjoyed it. In fact, Jemma laid down on the bench during part of the show like she was bored. After the show, James fell asleep sitting up in the stroller. So, we unbuckled him and put some towels down and laid him down for a more comfortable nap. Derek climbed up high into the Nets, Jemma went to the monster maze for a little while, then we rode Big Bird's Balloon Race while Trina stayed with napping James.

We had such perfect timing. There was noone at the Elmo picture booth when we decided to try to get the kids' picture with Elmo. A worker said that Elmo was on break and would return in a few minutes. Less than 5 minutes later, Elmo came out. Our three kids got to hug and give Elmo high fives until the camera operator came out. It was great!

Then, we went to the Elmo World taping. After the taping, we headed back to the Vapor Trail. Trina volunteered to watch James while I took the kids. First, Derek and I rode, then Jemma and I rode. The park attendants were wonderful and watched the kid that had to wait for me to ride. When we were walking to ride the coaster again, I spotted a Dad riding alone. So I waited for him and asked if he would ride with Derek. He agreed and since there was no line, his wife and kid rode again too. It was so nice! Then the kids played in the Sesame Neighborhood and we ate dinner. Then, we watched the parade. The parade was better than I remember it from 2 years ago when we took Jemma. Jemma and Derek enjoyed the parade, but James LOVED it!

It was a wonderful, wonderful day. There were times that I wished I had my camera to capture the pure joy on the kids' faces, but I really enjoyed not having to worry about the camera or "getting the picture."

The trip back was great, too. The kids were a bit whiny because they were tired, but it went rather smoothly. We stopped in Smyrna for lunch and to play at the rest area. Then we stopped in Salisbury for gas and potty. We didn't stop again until we arrived home.

I am so grateful to Andy and Suzanne for letting us stay at their house. They fed us a wonderful dinner Monday night, Suzanne helped me give the kids a bath and read Jemma books before bed. They were such wonderful hosts!!! And it was so great to have a cozy place to rest and recharge. I'm glad that we get to spend some quality time with them in a few weeks. Cassandra is a happy, wonderful little baby. I gave her lots of snuggles and kisses, but eagerly await more quality time!