Dutch Wonderland

Last week we went to Dutch Wonderland, a theme park near Lancaster, PA (yes, two trips to Lancaster in one week).  The park is designed for smaller children, so there were some rides that Quinn could ride without an adult.

Quinn putting the moves on Emma

The "Wonder Whip" lives up to its name

Cutest fighter pilots ever!!

Check out the "Wonder Whip" in action:

Here's Quinn (and Caleb and Emma) on the airplanes with a new friend.  The little boy's mom asked if he could ride with Quinn.  Not sure why, since there were plenty of empty planes.  Maybe Quinn looked friendly or like he needed a friend.

On some rides, Quinn needed a little help or supervision:

My seat was behind him on this ride...not sure how I was helping here.

He didn't understand how to pedal with his hands, so I pushed him around the track with a broom-like object

Here we are before riding the "Turtle-Whirl."  I forgot how fast these tilt-a-whirls spin!!  Half-way through, Quinn started to cry and frantically made the "all done" sign repeatedly.  Sorry, son, I wish I could have stopped the ride at that point, too.  We both survived, but don't think I'll be riding it again. Ever.

They had these little carts called "Wiggle Racers" that you could steer with your hands.  Quinn lasted all of 10 seconds on this, which is why I only got half of a picture.  He kept trying to get off.

Cherry Crest Farms

A few weeks ago we went with a friend and 2 of her children to Cherry Crest Farms near Lancaster, PA.  We conquered a corn maze, pet some goats, took a tractor ride, and saw baby chicks. We had a great time!

Camping at Chincoteague

Each year we go camping with friends the weekend after Labor Day.  This year we went to Chincoteague Island in VA.  We were fortunate that our camping trip coincided with a rocket launch at NASA's Wallop's Island Flight Center.  Here is a video of the rocket launch, which was much more amazing in person.  We were able to watch it from a dock at our campground Friday night at 11:27PM.  It was one of the most amazing sites I've seen!

Here's a really neat picture that my friend Laura took of the launch:

Quinn went to bed and didn't watch the launch, so the next day he woke up at his usual 6AM and we got to see the sunrise:

Later that day we went to Assateague Island National Park where we saw wild ponies and posed for a family picture:

And Uncle Adney and Caleb goofed off:

On our way back to the campground, Quinn got to stop at the beach for the first time:

Back at the campground, Caleb and Emma love on each other and goof around:

We took a kayak trip that afternoon, and stopped off at the wildlife refuge, where we saw real live hermit crabs right on the beach!

That evening, we made camper pizzas, and a certain toddler thoroughly enjoyed his:

Thank you, God, for my camper pizza!

That night we played mini golf (I didn't get any pictures because I was too busy chasing Quinn around), and the guys rode go-karts:

Despite Quinn going to bed 3 hours past his bedtime, he still woke up at 6AM the next day.  He apparently thought I should be awake, too, so he threw his stuffed monkey at me, and it hit me square in the back.  But at least we got to enjoy another sunrise: