Quick weekend adventure

This past week Michael and I were feeling a bit stir-crazy and wanted to get out of dodge for a day or two. We decided to go up to Hershey, Pennsylvania (about three hours away) and visit Chocolate World.

Since Clara had Friday off of school, we left after lunchtime and headed north. However, that afternoon I had been feeling like I had a uti coming on, and I felt like I needed to be seen for it before it got worse. So, we stopped at an urgent care center in Winchester (an hour north), and 45 minutes later I had been tested and had a prescription for antibiotics. Feeling much less anxious, we arrived at our hotel (free thanks to Visa points!) and then headed down to the hotel pool.

It was a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed going back and forth between the pool and the hot tub (well, mostly they just enjoyed the hot tub, but I was paranoid and made sure they only stayed in for brief periods of time). Michael really loves hot tubs. It kind of cracks me up because although I enjoy an occasional bath, being in the hot water for a long period just isn't really appealing to me.

 Splashing the water.

 Chilling in the warm air before heading back to our room.

After enjoying the breakfast buffet and packing up, we headed over to Chocolate World. (Clara complained of an upset stomach and had some digestive issues, but I didn't think much of them.) Although our hotel was pretty empty due to the cold weather and incoming snow storm, the park was very busy. Still, we had a fun time taking the tour, looking at all the candy and enjoying a couple of free samples, and watching a 4-D movie.

 Hershey owns Scharffen Berger Chocolate--did you know that? They also own Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, and Brookside Chocolates. Crazy.

 Getting ready for the 4-D movie.

 Movie stars.

 Check out that huge bar of chocolate!

Clara is a huge fan of "non-talking mascots" and was thrilled to see "Hershey" and "Reese" there. She couldn't watch them enough and was sad when they left.

 After Chocolate World, we got lunch and then drove by a couple of sites from Michael's childhood--the chapel where he was baptized and the house on Bragg Street where he lived for a few years as a boy. We even drove by a (frozen) lake that Michael recognized as the place he caught his first fish as a boy.

We then arrived at Michael's grandparents house and stayed there for a brief visit with Michael catching up on some family history, Robbie playing with marbles, and Clara informing me she was bored and wanting to eat. Overall they did pretty well, but it made me realize that she hasn't learned to just be still and listen. It is hard for her not to have a book in her hand, or to be listening to music, or to be watching something (Sacrament meeting is very hard for her--she has to be doing something). This is something I need to work on with her--ADHD makes it harder, but I know she can learn this important skill.

 Robbie loved Great-Grandpa Weiler (which made his day) and enjoyed sitting on his lap.

 Grandp and Grandma narrated details about various photos as Michael recorded their conversation so he could remember later.

  Hanging out.
 

 We peeked in at Michael's uncle's preparations for a dinner party that evening. He is a chef at Gettysburg College and was doing a cooking class for Valentine's Day for the president of the college and a few other people. Pretty sweet!

On our way home, we headed into some bad snowy/icy weather and Clara continued to complain about her stomach hurting. We were so grateful to get home safely (about 9:40pm instead of my hoped-for 6pm) after a white-knuckle drive trying to avoid several accidents. However, about 10:30 Clara came down to sleep in our room on the floor because she wasn't feeling well and then threw up a ton. After cleaning that up, Michael and I hit the sack again to be awakened an hour or two later for bathroom needs for Clara (ahem), bedding to be changed, and then were awakened by Robbie twice in the night (who wasn't sick but just decided to come downstairs and lie down on his blankets in the living room). Church was canceled due to the ice, and miraculously Robbie slept in until about 7:30. Clara woke up at nearly 9am and informed us, "I feel much better!" I was so thankful she hadn't thrown up in the car and that it was a brief virus.

It was a great getaway and we were glad to be home, too. Sleeping on the hotel bed made me realize how much my pregnant body needs my own bed. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Fun times

Upon the advice of my oldest brother, Matt, we purchased two plasma cars off Amazon after Christmas. I have been trying for years, literally, to find a riding toy that Clara would ride and enjoy. These definitely hit the bill, and at $50 each, have been well worth the price. Robbie loves his, although he doesn't use it properly (propelling with his feet instead), and it is magical having an activity that they can enjoy together that doesn't require my constant presence (although they prefer it when we're down in the basement with them).

 Michael and I can even use them, although my burgeoning belly makes it uncomfortable for me these days.

However, since we have only two cars, Robbie gets to tag along piggy-back while Daddy takes a turn.

I am still wanting to teach Clara how to ride a bike (something we've worked on for the past couple of summers), so hopefully that will happen sometime soon. In the meantime, however, these cars are a pretty sweet ride.

Goodbye diapers . . . for a little while

I have been gearing up mentally for potty training Robbie for several months but have been dreading it. I tried back in August because I thought he was ready, but he definitely was not. I kept postponing it, and finally two weeks ago bit the bullet and did the potty training in a day method that we used with Clara.

The first day was a little rough. Robbie enjoyed the underwear more for their creative and aesthetic appeal at first. However, thanks to M&Ms and other candies, Robbie caught on quickly and has been accident-free for several days now. He enjoys going to the bathroom at any store we go to as well. I was also especially surprised when his diaper was dry after his nap and bedtime after the first couple of days of potty training. That really blew me away, but I was thrilled to no longer use diapers at bedtime either.

He still enjoys running around with as few clothes as possible. I can't get enough of his strong little legs and tiny white bum, even if I often only see it from behind when he's being naughty and running away from me while trying to get him dressed.

Way to go, buddy. We are proud of you! Now we can be diaper free, for a few months, anyway.