Crayola Factory in Easton, PA

Ever since seeing the Gosselins visit the Crayola Factory a few years ago on "Jon & Kate Plus 8" it has been on my bucket list. Apparently I am not the only one as they survey you to see how you found about the Factory and one of the options is "I saw you on Jon & Kate." Love or hate the show, they go to some pretty awesome places! After not doing anything for several weekends (which is unlike us, we're usually constantly on the move), I decided this would be the weekend to "just do it!" The 3 hour drive made me worry that it wouldn't be worth the effort, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

We started our visit in an area where they encourage you to draw on the clear walls. My only fear is that Blake (who doesn't know better) will try to do this on our living room walls in the near future. Thank goodness for magic erasers if/when it happens!

Next we played in a toddler area where the boys dropped a balls in a machine, they rolled through tracks in the ceiling, and then ended by coming through this maze.

When you arrive they give children personalized bags to hold all of the things they will make and throughout the factory are different crafts children can make. Caleb refused to make a wand because it was too "girly," but dove right into making a wizard hat.

My favorite part of the factory (as an adult) was a show where they lead you through each step of the crayon and marker making process. There were large television screens that gave you a close view of what the presentor was doing. He also talked/interacted with the crowd as he went through the process.

Next we headed to the model magic studio. When you check in at the factory they give you 4 tokens for each person. These tokens can be redeemed for packs of model magic, crayons, and individual markers. You can buy additional tokens, but we didn't find that to be necessary. We actually walked out with 4 extra tokens (if you're going let me know and you can have them!).

The boys enjoyed drawing on the floor with chalk. There was also a neat glow in the dark section where the pens lit up whatever you drew on the wall.

One must do is the dangerous (especially if you're a teacher) Crayola gift shop. Not only do they have the World's Largest Crayon but they had more awesome Crayola products in one place than I've ever seen in my life. It was difficult to only pick a few things, but we bought the boys tee shirts, filled a can with special crayons that we hand selected, and bought a neat art smock to use at home when we paint.

For more information about the Crayola factory visit their website at www.crayola.com/factory Admission is extremely reasonable at $10 a person, with children 2 and under being free. One suggestion (that we wish we would have known in advance) is to bring quarters as all parking is metered.

In addition to the Crayola factory your entrance free includes admission into the Canal museum which is also apparently kid friendly. We honestly spent 2 hours on the Crayola floor and didn't make it upstairs as the kids were whiny and ready for lunch. The factory is located in the city of Easton, PA. It's a funky little town that is stuck in the 1950's, but in a good way. It was fun to explore the local farmer's market which is held each Saturday. There are also other family friendly attractions close by, like the Lost River Caverns (which I will try to blog about soon too). All in all it was a great day! I am so glad I didn't chicken out because of the drive!

COLD Wheels!

This afternoon we celebrated 3 days of Blake not biting by pulling out a new toy I had held out from Christmas. The boys are blessed (or spoiled depending on your prerogative) beyond belief on Christmas. It's overwhelming, so I usually hold back several toys to pull out throughout the year. It was Christmas in May today when I pulled out a new Hot Wheels set! It involves water so I figured it would be best as an outside toy to use when warm weather arrived. It took me nearly 45 minutes to put it together! I am not technically inclined! It's a pretty fun toy though as you put ice water in certain areas and warm water in others and as the cars pass through they change colors!

This is the car in it's yellow state before being shot through a tunnel of icy water.

The car is now a dark red and Caleb sprays and spins it with warm water.

Blake threw in a hug for his big brother. So cute!

My beautiful baby Blake! I am so happy that he hasn't bitten at daycare this week and I hope it continues. Here's to many fun spring and summer afternoons!

Flea Market Fun!

I've heard several good things about a local flea market and decided to check it out. I'm all about anything Amish as many of you know! I was glad that we went.
Joppa Marketplace is located in the same building as the old Kmart and Cmart on Route 40. It's only about 10 minutes from our house!

The boys really enjoyed the Amish farmer's market. Above is Blake enjoying a very cheesy ham and cheese pretzel.

Jason indulged in the chocolate covered bacon. Even if I wasn't on a diet I think you would have a hard time convincing me to touch this, let alone eat it!

In addition to pretzels and chocolate covered bacon they had meats, cheeses, baking goods, pasta, and a lot more. On the healthy side they had pretty good produce. I bought a watermelon, apples, and bananas. The also had 15 calorie "pop"whole wheat bread. I would have taken more pictures but wanted to be sure that I didn't take any close ups of the Amish folk out of respect.

The flea market side still seems to growing, but I found a treasure in the back at a candle booth called "Flicker Scents."


I bought this beautiful electric tart warmer for $20. Well worth it and much nicer than what you would find at Yankee candle right now. I showed my sister and she liked it so much that I actually went back later this afternoon to buy her one for her birthday (she already knows so this blog doesn't spoil anything). They had awesome tarts, my favorite being "chili vanilli." It smells like a good old fashioned snowball. Another neat thing they had was soy tarts that when you melt them can be used as lotion! How cool is that! In fact... I think I will stop blogging, take a bubble bath, and warm up my lotion tart right now! Check this flea mart out soon! :)

Resurrection Eggs

Last year we bought "Resurrection Eggs" after seeing them at church. They are the coolest thing since sliced bread in helping younger children understand the powerful story of Jesus' resurrection.



Here are the eggs! In each egg is a treasure that helps children understand the story of Jesus. The items in order are: Donkey (that Jesus rode on), silver coins (Jesus betrayal), cup (the Last Supper), praying hands (Jesus prayed after the supper), leather whip, crown of thorns, nail (how Jesus was nailed to the cross), die (the guards gambled... I had forgotten this), spear, linen cloth (that Jesus was buried in), and a stone (Jesus' tomb).

Here is Caleb holding the last and most important egg... an empty egg to represent that Jesus rose and the tomb was empty!

In addition to the resurrection eggs this year we found "Benjamin's Box" which walks through the resurrection from the perspective of a little boy.

These eggs have helped bring Easter to life in our home. Caleb truly understands Easter for the first time this year and can explain to you each part of the story because of the eggs. I found both the eggs and the book at the Lifeway Christian bookstore in White Marsh, both reasonably priced.

As much as I love candy, baskets, egg hunts, dying eggs, and the Easter bunny, let us not forget the true meaning of Easter! Jesus died for our sins so that we could live forever with him and his father! He is risen!

Candlelight Dinner

Jason and I do not go out together often for date nights, but have been trying to make an effort to have more "us time" despite our insane schedule. It had been since Valentine's weekend that we had an adult night, so I decided it was time to get a babysitter and have a night out last weekend! I have heard that G & M Restaurant in Pasadena had the best crabcakes and I wanted a good crabcake.

The weather on Saturday was horrible! Jason even asked if we should stay local, but wanting an adventure and something new I dug my heels in and still wanted to go. The drive down was scary between the torrential rain, flooding on the highway, and lightning striking close our car. Fortunately we called ahead and when we arrived we got to bypass the 45 minute wait and go directly to a cute little table. I didn't even need to look at the menu, I wanted crabcakes! :) As we were enjoying our salad and bread the lights flickered on and off several times and then finally the power went out altogether. Initially I got very upset! I had looked forward to this night for weeks and was so disappointed! I thought our food wasn't done and we were going to have to leave. Then I felt a nudge from above and remembered my pastor's words from a few weeks ago, "THINK ETERNITY." In the whole scheme of things this wasn't a big deal, worst case scenario we left and ate somewhere else! At least it would be together! Then waiter set a candle on our table and a few minutes later he walked out with our food! We were the last dishes to come out of the kitchen cooked! It turned out be fabulous food and the candlelight was extremely romantic.

While I feel bad for all of the people that didn't get their food, who were waiting and were asked to leave, and for the people that work there it turned out to be a night to remember for me! I am learning not to sweat the small stuff in life and ask the questions: Will this matter in 10 minutes? 10 months? 10 years? And 99.9% of the time the answer is NO. If we focus on what is good in every situation who knows how beautiful it can turn out!

I Love Build a Bear!

I love the Build a Bear store in Towson! Many of you have probably already been and know how it works, but I figured I would blog about it any way just in case you haven't been! There was recently a coupon in the newspaper for $10 off a $30 purchase and I let this be our excuse for going. This was our third trip as a family and it won't be our last! Each visit starts by picking out an animal stuff at the beginning of the store. Initially Blake picked a monkey and Caleb picked "E.B." from the new movie "Hop." At the last minute Blake changed his mind and wanted the same thing as his brother, something that is happening often lately!

After picking your animal you have to give it a heart. Kids are told to rub it on their heads to give it brains, then rub it on their belly so that it will never be hungry, and then to rub it on their heart so it will always feel loved. Corny? Yes! Right up my alley? Yes!

After giving your stuffed friend a heart you actually have to stuff it. Blake didn't care for this part as it's a little loud. I also think he's still adjusting to the new volume his tubes let him hear.

After stuffing your animal you have to give him a "bath." This is really just a fan and brush, but the kids love it. Next, you stop in the accessory section. This is where things can get ugly and expensive, lol! They have everything from "Hello Kitty" underwear to a wheelchair. I didn't get to take any pictures in this section as I was busy helping the boys dress their bunnies. They both got the same cute outfit, but different shoes so that we could tell them apart. Finally, you stop to print a birth certificate for your stuffed animal. There is also a id tag system so that if their bunnies get lost and someone should turn them back in they would be able to contact us. Craziness!

Each bunny got a "house" to come home in!

The boys held their bunnies for the rest of the day. I am still not sure who had more fun, them or me! :) I wish this place would have been around when I was a kid!

Chocolate Paradise

One of my favorite websites to visit before we travel to new places is igougo.com. Below is the review I posted recently of our trip to Hershey's Chocolate World in PA! To see the whole deal visit: http://www.igougo.com/review-r1385180-What_a_SWEET_trip.html

One thing I didnt't say in my review is how I am on a DIET. I didn't completely deprive myself though and had a bite of each dessert the boys got, HEAVEN!

Each Spring it has become a tradition for us to take the boys to Hershey's Chocolate World, located on the grounds of Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. Usually we go after the park has opened, but in an effort to avoid large crowds and tough parking we decided to go earlier this year. This was an awesome decision! Not only was parking completely free (you get 2 hours for free only when the park is open), but as we had hoped it wasn't crowded.

We started our visit on the free chocolate making tour ride. Though not of a real factory it is a classic. Our 5 year old loves the singing cows and actually remembered the theme song from last year, "It's the milk chocolate HERSHEY'S!" At the end a cow snaps your picture and you have the opportunity to buy the picture at the end of the ride. Even better at the end of the ride is the free chocolate sample you recieve!

At the end you get dumped into a huge gift shop and food court. While some might see this as a tourist trap, we actually really enjoy looking through all of their products. From interesting games to brand new Hershey's candies it's interesting. We also usually indulge in one of the tasty desserts at the food court. The prices are very reasonble, we were able to get two desserts and a cup of chocolate milk for around $5.

This year we decided to try an extra attraction and did the 3D Hershey's show. Prices were reasonable at $6 for adults, $5 for children, and 2 and under were free. While not historical my two little boys loved it! In addition to a 3D cartoon there were special effects from water spraying on you to a chocolate aroma in the air. I was pleasantly surprised that it was Disney caliber reminding us a lot of Philharmagic in the Magic Kingdom.

Other attractions that we did not get to try include a trolley ride and make your own chocolate bar, both reasonably priced (we noticed they dropped the make your own chocolate bar attraction significantly in price since last year and plan to try it on our next visit). From Baltimore it was about a 90 minute enjoyable, scenic ride. For around $30 (not including what we spent in the gift shop or spent on gas) we had an enjoyable afternoon and look forward to next year's Hershey's outing!