Crayola Factory

Darin had this week off from work and we wanted to do some fun family things so we finally made it to the Crayola Factory in Easton.  We joined the Gilstrap and Smith families and about a billion other people!  

Such cute little buddies!

Ya I am thinking it is time to give Nash a haircut!

Our first stop was learning how the factory made crayons and markers.  Tayton was loving it.

Nash loved the free crayon prizes.

The factory has a bunch of different stations where you can try out all the Crayola products.

This was my favorite part.  Nash got to use a marker to draw on glass.  We had him draw us.  He was so serious about it and made sure he got every part of our faces.

This was a fun color wall thing that the kids enjoyed dancing in front of.

Who can't resist a chance to draw with chalk....Nash sure can't!

Play-doh another favorite.  I think we spent most of our time here because it was less crowded.  We lost our group here.

Dirty chalk pants. :)

Then we went to the upper levels which are museums about the railroad and canal boats that were used in this area.  This was less crowded and more enjoyable.

The museum was for kids so everything could be touched and played with.

Nash was naming the boat.

He wasn't to sure about this mule daddy was telling him to feed.  I think he was a little disturbed that it wasn't real.

Darin helped Nash move his boat down the fake canal.

We enjoyed ourselves at the Crayola Factory but we don't think we will be returning anytime soon.

Girls Night

Our ward has grown in the past few months with so many fun new families.  I have become really good friends this summer with most of them especially the new resident wives.  Although, there were a few girls I hadn't been able to get to know.  Thankfully Andrea organized a girls night to Bonefish.  There were 11 of us from our ward and then Andrea invited my friend Christine also, which I was SUPER happy about, Christine is so easy to get along with and one of my closest friends.

(L to R) Christine, Heather, *Andrea, *Alyson, *Stacia, Codi, Brook, *Me, Kristina.  

Not pictured Maria and Jennifer

*the resident wives.

Monday was my 29th birthday so the girls were nice enough to get the waiter to bring me a YUMMY dessert and the table sang Happy Birthday to me. (Thanks Kristina!)  It was a fun night and I am so excited about the next few years we have here in PA.

Carnival at Daddies Hospital

Darin is on an easy rotation right now and is able to get off a little earlier then normal (most days).  He found out there was a carnival outside his hospital in Bethlehem and made sure he got off early to meet us at the festivities.  We invited Emory, CeCe and Christine to join us.  While we were there I received a text from Stacia and they joined us at the last minute as well.  

We started off with the train thinking that would be an easy smooth ride for the little ones.  Emory freaked out and Nash didn't know what to think so he just sat there.  He was the only kid on the train.

We let him go around a couple times before we told the operator to cut it because we could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

Once we got Emory and Nash all smiles again we tried the carousel, something the mommies could ride with them.  They seemed to be okay with that.

Then Nash got a little scared and I had to hold him for the remainder of the ride.

At least CeCe was enjoying herself.

Madden and Tayton were pretty brave and loved the rides.

I am learning to saver these small moments we have together as a family.  It was a short outing but a fun one!  

Nash is growing so fast.  Another year or two he will be riding these rides like a champ!

Macungie Car Shows

It seems that Macungie is ALWAYS having a car show.  It is not odd to see old fancy cars driving around the Valley.  I love having fellow resident wives as friends because when our husbands are gone we can get together and keep each other company.  Kristen Dowling inviting Nash and I to go with her to the car show in Macungie Park.

I randomly took a picture of a door mat...???...

Yes this is a DaLorean the Back to the Future car.  Popular Pennsylvania car it seems.

The crowd that attends these car shows are a bit different.  My favorite part was the people watching.

Of course I had the cutest date in town...

He was so happy when I gave him some money to buy this cute little wooden truck.  He paid the man and said "Thank you."

The Wildland Conservancy

Emmaus has a huge nature park where they have little summer camps for kids to go and learn about nature.  It is open to the public to wander the trails and enjoy nature.  A few weeks ago we had the Ockerman kids hanging out with us while their mom performed her churchly duties at girls camp.  I don't know how excited the kids were to go on this nature walk...actually I know it wasn't their favorite.  We invited the Gilstrap's and Smith's to join us.  This post is for Andrea, Stacia and Brook because the only pictures I took were of your children.  Poor Nash... :)

The bird watching area.  Ya we saw nothing.

Nash tried so hard to keep up with the big kids.

Where ever there are kids that is where you will find Darin.

The beehives.

Yeah this spider web was the only wildlife we saw on our adventure.

The crew.  Doesn't Adam (in the red) look thrilled to be there.

There are some smiles...well from happy Amy.

Then we enjoyed the river.

There's a picture of my boy.  I love how the humidity makes his hair curl.

Baby Dawson had fun dipping his toes and splashing.

I think we are entering the pre-teen stage.  I love having the Ockerman kids over, so does Nash.  They are so well behaved.  I feel bad for them because they have to deal with all my activities.