Hershey Park

Last week we took an overnight trip to Hershey Park. We knew the kids would have a blast at the park, and my BFF Colleen and her family (husband Joey and kids Jonathon, Caitlyn and Danny) live just 20 minutes from Hershey Park and have season passes, so it was the perfect opportunity for us to spend time with them too! As predicted, Charlie and Lily had a fabulous time!

Hydrating before hitting the water at the Hershey Park Boardwalk.

Hanging with their new BFF Caitlyn.

Charlie hopped on almost every ride with Caitlyn so Lily rode with Danny. He was such a sweet little guy and tried hard to charm Lily, but Miss Independent was having none of it.

If you're planning a trip to Hershey, I highly recommend the MainStay Suites in Grantville. Just 10 minutes from the park, the hotel had great rates, the suites are huge and have full kitchens and it offers free breakfast, an indoor pool with water slide and an indoor mini golf course.

Charlie and Lily were fans of the king size bed.

Having breakfast before starting day 2 in the park.

I love this picture.

Day 2 was hot. Like, insanely hot. The solution? Lots of swimming and ice cream for lunch!

"Woah, this is SO much better than peanut butter and jelly..."

We couldn't resist getting their picture taken here, lol.

 

Before we left the park, we made a stop at Chocolate World. The kids "worked" at the Hershey Kiss factory packaging up Kisses and we took the tour to learn how chocolate is made. Afterwards we hit the gift shop and let the kids pick out a souvenir. Lily was obsessed with the cows we saw on the tour so she selected a stuffed cow. Charlie, of course, chose a car and truck, which he's deemed his "chocolate truck" and "peanut butter car." Yum.

Spotting the giant Hershey bar.

Seeing her beloved cows.

We wrapped up our trip with a little pizza party at Colleen and Joey's. Two thumbs up for Hershey Park! Next up - Wildwood! We're making the most of every second of summer!

 

(Have you checked out Love, Annaleigh yet?!? If not, please visit our site - we're so excited about this new endeavor!)

Love, Annaleigh is here!

Joe and I are proud and excited to announce that Love, Annaleigh is ready to go! Love, Annaleigh is an organization in memory of Annaleigh dedicated to providing much needed items such as toys, blankets and mobiles to the premature and sick infants and children of the St. Peter's University Hospital NICU and PICU. Each summer these items will be collected via donations and on August 22, the anniversary of Annaleigh's passing, Joe, Charlie, Lily and I will deliver them to St. Peter's. Our hope is that through this organization we will keep Annaleigh's memory alive by supporting the hospital that she called home while helping Charlie and Lily to never forget their triplet sister.

Want to get involved? Visit www.loveannaleigh.org to learn more and to donate! And be sure to "like" Love, Annaleigh on Facebook!

Buzz!

Last week, I did what I swore I would never do - I had Charlie's hair buzzed. I've always thought of his shaggy hair as his trade mark, but it's been so hot and he's been getting so sweaty that I knew it was best if we cut his hair short. I cried while the hairdresser was taking it all off, but then I totally fell in love with the new cut. I think he looks adorable - and so grown up - with his new hair. Joe said the hair cut aged Charlie 18 months, lol. 

Celebrate! (3rd Birthday Recap)

July is here and Charlie and Lily's birthday festivities have come to an end. Don't feel bad for them though - they enjoyed every single second of birthday celebration, and there was a lot of celebrating!

Their actual birthday kicked off with Joe and I waking them up with a shower of balloons. They seemed to think it was a nice way to start the day.

Then we crossed the date off on our birthday calendar for the last time and headed to Sesame Place for a birthday breakfast with some Sesame Street friends.

After breakfast they squeezed in some swimming (the water was FREEZING) and some rides before choosing a birthday toy in the gift shop and heading home for nap.

Later that afternoon our family joined us dinner and cake.

For this little party we let Charlie and Lily each choose their own theme. Charlie went with Thomas and Lily selected Dora and Diego. She's recently developed a humungous crush on Diego. Joe got her this giant Diego balloon and she couldn't resist giving it a kiss.

Charlie and Lily got tons of great gifts, including Leap Pads from MomMom and PopPop and retro tricycles from Crackers and Granddad.

Finally, it was time for Charlie's favorite moment - the cake! (I made this cake after seeing it on Pinterest and it was way easier and less time consuming that I imagined!)

On Saturday, it was birthday round two with Charlie and Lily's kid party at Junglerrific. This time we went with a Sesame Street theme, complete with these adorable birthday outfits made by my friend Sara of Peanut and Pumpkin.

I made these Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes, which I also found on Pinterest and which were also much easier than I'd anticipated. Many thanks to Joe for cutting up all the cookies and running out for last minute marshmallows!

The party was so much fun! But look at this place -how could a kid be bored?

Elmo and Diego even paid a visit!

Lily was a happy, happy girl. Isn't Diego dreamy?

The party wrapped up with pizza and cupcakes for everyone.

Charlie and Lily were two very happy three year olds when all was said and done. They were even re-enacting their birthday celebrations last night. Thank you to everyone who made their day(s) so fantastic. Mission Happy Birthday accomplished :)