Thrill Ride

I love rollercoasters!  The higher and faster the better.

 

However, now that I'm approaching middle age (WHAT?!?!?!!) and have more than my fair share of gray hair, I have one qualification.  It has to be a smooth ride.

 

Well, we were given 2 free tickets to Hershey Park in August and since my husband wants no part of a rollercoaster, I was free to find a fellow thrill ride enthusiast.

 

I took my younger brother Joe and we started the day off right, with Fahrenheit. 

 

 

After following it with Storm Runner and Great Bear, we went on the Super Dooper Looper for old times sake.  This was the new coaster when I was a high school senior!!!  It had an upside down flip!!!  LOL.

 

We were about to make a Fahrenheit sandwich to end the day but the lines were too long by that point.  But, the lines provided much opportunity to properly catch up on each others lives.

 

Thanks for sharing my love of thrills, Joe!  It's no fun riding coasters by yourself.  Next time we need to go to a park on the West Coast for a sibling trifecta.  Are you game, Ryan?

Lake Tobias Wildlife Park

Someone recommended Lake Tobias Wildlife Park to us as a great place to take kids that was semi-local and affordable, we just can't remember who. But it's been on my radar for awhile now, especially since I acquired 2 coupons for "buy one get one free" safari tour passes that expired end of this month. We had put it on the calendar for this past Saturday and were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous day of weather!

Pete's mother joined us and the five of us spent about 2-3 hours enjoying only part of what Lake Tobias offers. It's located about 10-15 minutes north of Halifax, a little over an hour's drive for us. Admission is $5 for those over the age of 3. The safari tour is an additional $5 but the 45 min. excursion in the camouflaged convertible school bus is so very worth it!

If you go on the safari tour, try to sit right at the front! We didn't plan it, but our front seats offered THE BEST opportunities to touch the animals.

TEXAS LONGHORN CATTLE and OSTRICH

This NORTH AMERICAN BISON was just a baby, but absolutely massive!

ASIAN WATER BUFFALO

A mama YAK with baby that was 3 days old!

An ELAND, the world's largest anteloupe, found in South Africa. They are typically 6 feet tall at the shoulder.

SCOTTISH HIGHLAND CATTLE

A cross between a zebra and a donkey: ZEBKEY, ZEDONK, DONKRA, DONKZE...

ELK (female) She came onboard to retrieve some animal "crackers" from our tour guide.

Lots of deer, llamas, ostriches, and then back at the park were some large cats, bear, camels, armadillos, reptiles, monkeys, birds, farm animals, etc. Both of the kids got to pet a constrictor snake and a caymen alligator.

Not only are the exhibits great, there are playgrounds for the kids, lots of pavilion space and picnic tables. We packed our lunch and enjoy the canopy of pine trees on a little peninsula in the lake.

We will definately go back sometime, probably a weekend in October since the weather isn't so hot and our tour guide said it gets crowded in the summer.

Farm Show

I just love our local Farm Show...and that it is still all about farming.

I appreciate that each food stand sells a different thing, and that they and the carnival rides haven't taken over the feel of the place.

I enjoy being able to pick out familiar faces in the crowded streets, though it's been 16 years.

I take delight in the friendly but competitive fine arts contest...clearly I need to kick it into high gear though. My high school rival bested me!This was the first time I entered something in 16 years...you'd think he'd show some mercy. :-)

And I'm thrilled to see my kids enjoying the parade and the animals as much as I remember doing so.
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This year, since Natalia had school, Adam and I met up with Melanie and her two youngest to enjoy a morning at the Farm Show. Melanie and I became friends way back in the first grade and it was a treat to spend time with her again.

A favorite every year is this table of corn and tractor toys.And of course there are lots of real tractors and things to climb on...till Mommy noticed the new sign that was up this year. :-(

The lawnmowers didn't have a sign on them. Yay!

Horse Girl

Anyone who spends a minute in my daughter's company these days will quickly discern her love for horses. It's her favorite subject to talk about, riding horses her dream, and what she most often will pretend to be, whinying, pawing, snorting, galloping...

In fact, her frequent response to our question about what she wants to do when she grows up is to live at our Amish neighbor's farm and be a "horse girl".

Last week I saw an ad in the local merchandizer announcing a free family event at a nearby church on Saturday: dinner, face painting, games, wagon rides, a juggling act/entertainment and (drumroll, please) PONY RIDES!!! I knew Natalia would be thrilled, but also that I'd be cooking up alot of applesauce that day and would want a break from the kitchen come dinnertime. So, we put it on the calendar.

Natalia was beyond excited to finally ride a horse, but it was forecasted to be a rainy day. I was so hoping that it wouldn't get cancelled. Thankfully, aside from the humidity and fog in the morning it turned out to be a great day weather-wise for the event!

Giddy with anticipation. (She insisted on wearing her "horsey" shirt in honor of the occasion.)

I think it's safe to say that she's even more infatuated with horses now that she's ridden one!

The Rains Came Down As The Floods Came Up

We've had record rainfall and flooding the last few days. Supposedly it's not over either.

Our backyard reservoir is completely flooded, and some of our neighbors have water in their basements, but we have been very fortunate. We have a dry basement and have not lost electricity...very thankful for that! (Especially because we have 2 freezers stocked with meat for the year down there AND our fourth batch of chickies as well! Both would be an investment lost if the basement flooded.)

Some views of our backyard. The water receded a few feet this afternoon. This morning the water was all the way to the treeline and much closer to the houses...

...and that muddy sludge was a river that extended all the way to the left. It reached about a foot from the edge of our flowerbed, which is pretty much level with our house.
My hometown just 10 minutes away has been really hit hard. It has become like an island overnight. Here is a link that shows a number of familiar landmarks (Twin Kiss, Mummau Park) underwater. Schools are closed, shelters have been set up, but so many are unable to get home due to flooded roadways, or stay in their homes because of mandatory evacuations.

Also, about 1/4 mile down the road from our house is this covered bridge that washed away. It is just incredible to see so much water pouring through this area. The bridge, built in the late 1800's, survived Agnes in 1972, but not the effects of Lee. It's so sad to see such historic landmarks gone.

We hope and pray this rain moves out of the area before things get worse. And we think of those whose lives have literally been altered overnight.

I Get Alittle Giddy...

...every time I think of THIS.

Last Friday my family was blessed by my mother-in-law's generosity. She works for a division of Hershey and can get free tickets to Hershey Park. If not for this fact we would not go. It's just too expensive.

We took the tour through Chocolate World first and the adults ate the packed "supper" we each had brought along. The kids wiggled and squirmed and were too wide-eye-excited to think of eating food. The absurdity when such fun was to be had!

We spent awhile in the kiddie sections. Then a group broke off to go to the water park area and my brother Joe and I set off to brave the likes of FAHRENHEIT. Our loved ones said their goodbyes and assured us the life insurance policies were paid up. (!!!)

We chatted leisurely as we waited in the hour-long queue. It wasn't until we were debating where to stash Joe's glasses that any signs of doubt or trepidation were expressed. He accused me of talking him into this. (Let the record state that neither of us had needed ANY encouragement.)

It wasn't until we were in this position that my heart started pounding.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

What a thrill! What a rush! I could not stop LAUGHING the entire ride!

And since I had not been to the Park since 1995, I had to chase it with THE STORMRUNNER.

I <3 rollercoasters. The higher and faster the better!

Photo Shoot---Part 1

Last week the ladies in my Care Group met at Conestoga House & Gardens for the evening. It's become a tradition to enjoy this local gem together once a year.

Located right along Marietta Avenue and just west of downtown Lancaster, Conestoga House is the former estate of the Steinman family. It is only open to the public June 15 to September 28 on Wednesdays, from 1pm-8pm, but it's free. There is an outside area with a few tables and chairs, so we take in tea, fruit and scones with lemon curd. (They have a take in--carry out policy.) And while there, enjoy the beautiful flowers and ideas they generate.

This year I happened to be filing mental notes for this photo shoot more than for my flowerbeds. I try to take some candid shots of the kids at least once a summer since I don't take them for studio pictures. And in the midst of such beautiful scenery, positioning is the least of my concerns. Every background is fantastic.

The kids did pretty well. I was determined not to fuss at them. That never works. I asked my mom to join us, mainly to keep an eye hand on Adam so we wouldn't have to fish him out of the fountains and koi pond.

Both children didn't stay still for more than a few seconds (if that), so I just kept snapping frames. I'm happy with the few "good" shots I did get, AND I ran into an old high school friend too!

Now, which ones do I choose to frame? Help me out here...

(Outtakes will be posted tomorrow.)

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Summer Fun

Once again, we decided to brave the madness and go see Thomas the Tank Engine at Strasburg Railroad.

The kids will earn free passes to ride the train later this summer through the library's reading program, so we did the same as we did last year and just watched Thomas come in and out of the station instead of buy a ticket to ride.

There was plenty of fun things to do at the station. Ride the Cagney Train and Cranky Cars, ($1 per person for each without a train ticket) take pictures with Thomas, eat a packed lunch (or buy fair food) and sit in the spacious eating tents complete with musical entertainment, and of course the big tent of merchandise.

Afterwards we got 2 single dips of handmade ice cream to share at Strasburg's Creamery. YUM!

It was great having Pete along for the day. (One blessing of not finding summer employment yet.)

We don't do things like this often, (ie: focus on commercial characters), but watching our kids enjoy themselves and being creative to stay within our budget ($26 total, ice cream included--not bad!), we had a GREAT time making memories.

Blooms

Yesterday morning I was delighted to open the front door and see my irises had bloomed.

You may remember these periwinkle colored ones from last year.

New magenta and white irises this year, thanks to the wonderful (and upcoming) Memorial Day Flower Sale at the church where I grew up.

With all of the rain we've received this spring, the irises may go on sale 1-2 weekends earlier. (They like to sell them while they're blooming so you know what color you're getting. If you're interested in irises let me know and I'll get you the details.)

Any local readers who would like to check out the sale for themselves, here's the scoop.

ANNUAL MEMORIAL WEEKEND FLOWER SALE

Friday, May 27 (10am--8pm), and Saturday, May 28 (8am--2pm)

Kauffman Mennonite Church (2 miles south of Manheim, along Rt. 72)

Large variety of perennials, bushes, trees, and some house plants.

***The plants are donated by the members of this church from their own yards, so you know you're getting hardy, well-established plants.

GREAT PRICES!

All proceeds will be donated to a missions organization.