Friday Adventures in PA

Ok so Friday started out with quite an adventure. Our plan was to go to the Philadelphia Zoo which although the weather was a little cold, the sun was out and it was actually a nice day. Unfortunately we drove all the way to Philly and found out the zoo was closed to the public because of all the snow. So onto plan B...the Please Touch Museum. So we look up the name in the GPS and it sends us to the old site...no good. We call Uncle Dave to get the new address and enter that which brings us all the way back over by the zoo. We try to follow the directions from the GPS, but a number of road were closed/unplowed with many detour signs. Long story short...we do eventually make it and it was a lot of fun. Check out the pics below?

This is us in the Space Room all doing our part to get our flying boat spinning:
This was the cool castle that the kids built with these magnetic shapes. We have come to see that Noah loves to build things ... possible architect on our hands :o)

There were so many different rooms and things to explore here...but I just attached a few things. The kids when "shopping" in the Shop Rite they had setup and then proceeded to be the checkout clerks. We then went over to McDonalds where they were able to put together the burgers and serve us. There was also a museum wide scavenger hunt for an old fashioned Fisher Price record player. Kylie was the first to find it!!! Next it was onto an Alice in Wonderland room with the maze of mirrors and then the grass garden to paint the roses with the cards. Below you will see our King.....

And Queen....

Then it was back upstairs where they were able to play in a tree house, dance on a big piano, and play in the big water table room. Aunt Dawn also treated them to a ride on the carosel..

It ended up being a great day. We were able to get home early and Aunt Dawn had some quality time with the kids while Jason & I grabbed some dinner at the shack (Joe's Crab Shack...which Jason has been trying to get to for the last 2 or 3 times we've visited). He was in heaven!

Her First Competition

We survived their first dance competition!! Luckily we got there earlier than we were supposed to because they were actually running significantly ahead of schedule. After the morning awards the girls were the 4th act to go on. There were definitely a lot of nerves - debatable on whether the girls or the moms had more :o) Other than one spot where they got really ahead of themselves and then stood for a couple seconds to wait for the music to catch up they really did a good job! The most important part is they both had fun and can't wait to do another one!!!We took a break to go out to Bugaboo Creek for an early dinner with Maya's family. Food was good and everyone had a good time....then it was back to the competition to wait for the awards ceremony.

After a few hours of watching other routines it was finally time. The girls all went out on stage and they rapidly called out all the awards. The girls were announced as receiving a Gold achievement. They each received a medal & ribbon for their work (although the ribbon says high gold...so we were a little confused...haha). It was a long day and everyone was tired. Next month the competition is right in Bristol so it will be so much closer. Hopefully with a little more practice beforehand and a few less nerves the girls will knock it out of the park!! We are soooo proud of them!!

Special Big Brother Justin Outing

Since we had a big day to honor Makenna on Saturday it was only fitting that her big brother get a little extra fuss too. It was a big surprise outing for the big brother - Aunt Dawn, Gramma, Aunt Dana, Uncle Jason, Kylie, Noah & my mom met down at Crossgates. Aunt Dawn & Aunt Dana wanted to take Justin down to Build-a-Bear and he had a great time. They have a wall filled with all different bears and animals, but right in the middle was Frosty the Snowman and once his eyes saw that there was no turning back. His mind was made up and that little Frosty did not leave his arms :o). So we waited in line to have him filled. Justin was a little unsure about the stuffing machine and definitely wasn't interested in the silly jumping that the girl wanted him to do, but big cousin Noah helped him and the two had a blast. Frosty got to have 3 hearts inside him which they rubbed on their arms to make him strong, their foreheads to make him smart, their hearts to give him love, etc.Once Frosty was stuffed it was off to give him a bath. Justin did a really good job scrubbing every part to get him nice and clean!

We moved on to pick out some clothes for Frosty and let me tell you he is stylin!
Lastly we created a birth certificate for him. When we went up to pay Justin asked the lady if he could please have a house for Frosty...hahaha...so cute!
Once the Build-a-Bear experience was complete we had some lunch and then headed home. Big cousin Kylie had everything under control. What a great afternoon!!

Marion's Shower

We had a great "girls" afternoon celebrating the arrival of our new niece Makenna. This was supposed to be Marion's shower with the little miss still nice and cozy inside, but she decided to surprise everyone with a January birthday rather than March!! This makes Marion one of the skinniest Mommy's that we've thrown a shower for...hahaha!

Many thanks to Betty for taking us out and a yummy lunch at Olive Garden. Below are some pics from the event...as you can see Makenna will be a very well dressed little princess!!

Karate Mini Man

Noah is absolutely loving karate class. He has switched over to regular classes so he goes Monday/Thursday and sometimes Saturday. He is the peanut of the class, but he's catching on pretty well. Tonight he got his sparring equipment which he is so adorable in. They also used nun-chucks for the first time which was hysterical (don't panic Mom...they are only foam) :o) Enjoy the pic below:

Congratulations Gary & Marion!!

We are so happy to hear that our newest niece has arrived safely!!! Makenna is 4lbs 7ozs and 16 1/2". She was born at 2:21pm. I stole the proud daddy's picture from facebook to share with everyone. We can't wait to meet her in person. Stay tuned for more pics and news as soon as we have it!!

Oh yeah...and Kylie's reaction: She saw the picture on facebook and I made her read what Uncle Gary wrote "Makenna is here". Her face lit up like Christmas morning and she turned around "Noah guess what..we have 2 girl cousins now!!" Hahaha

Best Wishes & Prayers

Sending lots of love and good wishes to Gary & Marion. Makenna has decided she wants to have a January birthday rather than March one! Marion was admitted to Bellevue yesterday afternoon after some amino leakage so they could closely monitor the baby. Depending on how today goes it looks like she will have a C section tomorrow. Please keep them in your prayers!