Herr's Snack Factory Tour

Yesterday we journeyed to Nottingham, Pennsylvania to visit the Herr's Snack Factory.
Our visit started at the visitor's center. Sadly I don't have many pictures because they do not allow photographs or video on the inside. Each tour begins with a 10 minute video about the history of Herr's snacks. They make it interesting for children by infusing the character "ChipHERR."

After the video we were taken into the actual factory and able to view through glass windows the production of pretzels (which smelled fantastic!), tortilla chips, popcorn, and potato chips. The most interesting portion of the tour was how potato chips are made. The tour guide even goes into the production line and gets fresh, hot potato chips to give to each person. At the end of the tour each person receives a free bag of chips.

The gift shop was filled with interesting snacks and items to buy.

The boys enjoyed their free bag of chips! The Herr's Snack Tour runs Monday-Thursday and is FREE (there were no strings attached!). They do recommend you make a reservation (I think it's easier to call than book online as you can immediately get a confirmation). We arrived for the 9:00 a.m. tour and were the only people on our tour (until about halfway through when another family joined us). We noticed that the 10:00 a.m. tour was crowded and were glad that we had arrived early. Visit their website for more information: www.herrsfactory.com/snackfactorytours.html

Yogi Castle!

I have found my new summer addiction!

A Yogi Castle has just opened in Nottingham Square by the White Marsh Target! Until today I had never been.

It is unlike any other ice cream/frozen yogurt joint I have ever been to in my life. There are 16 soft serve machines/flavors. You make your own bowl/cup. You can mix flavors or stick to just one.

After you make your cup you then put on your own toppings. From fruits I've never heard of to white chocolate chips they have all bases covered.

I wasn't the only one that fell madly in love with this place! Here are Blake and Caleb with the red velvet cake frozen yogurt we had. At 50 cents an ounce it is very reasonable.

How does this fit into my current diet plan you ask? First, it is frozen YOGURT. Second, since you make your own cup you can control the portion size. I had a very small amount and enjoyed every second. Visit www.yogicastle.com for more information including nutritional info.

Easy Turkey Burgers!

Easy but Tasty Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:
1 pound lean turkey (I like Aldi's fit and active brand)
1 pack of Lipton beef flavored soup/dip mix
1 dash of olive oil

Mix all three ingredients above together by hand. Form into 4 "burgers." Grill!

Some helpful tips... we think they turn out better on our Foreman than our actual grill. It also helps them to hold together by placing them in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. :)

Kiddie Crusoe!

After seeing several facebook friends post about visiting a place called "Kiddie Crusoe" with their children, my curiosity peaked and we decided to make the trip this afternoon after church.
Located in Timonium, MD it's an indoor family fun center. I would describe it as the best of Storyville, Bounce Party n Play, and Chuck E Cheese blended together in one location.

Kiddie Crusoe includes a make believe play area where children can pretend to be a teacher in a schoolhouse, a firefighter in a firehouse, or a king in a castle. Next there was a large playground set. Caleb and Blake could have spent hours in this area alone.

A part of the indoor playground included two "kiddie coasters." Blake was scared to go down the first time, but once he realized how fun it was he kept saying "again, again!

Blake also enjoyed the swings.

Caleb was timid about the large skateboard swings but also warmed up quickly.

In the back of Kiddie Crusoe are several bounce houses.

The favorite of all the boys (their father included) was a large ball pit at the bottom of an inflatable slide.

Too cute!

Blake dressed up as a firefighter! They even had little fire trucks that he drove around while howling, "woo woo!"
Kiddie Crusoe also boasts a nice snack bar. The fare included hot dogs, pizza, pb & j, carrot sticks, fruits, ice creams, and desserts. The boys enjoyed watching cartoons on the large screen television screen.

Located on Fox Tail Road (just before Smyth Jewelers on York Road) in Timonium Kiddie Crusoe is a quick drive from where we live. Admission is $12 per child, adults are free. The only negative feedback I have found on the internet is that it can be crowded because of birthday parties, but this was not our experience at all (Sunday mornings are a good time to go!). We were practically the only people there until we got ready to leave. It was so empty that Jason and were able to enjoy bouncing with the kids in the inflatables (yet another thing I couldn't have done before losing weight!). I highly recommend that you check out Kiddie Crusoe soon! Visit their website at http://www.kiddiecrusoe.com/ for more information!

Ranch Pork Chops

Our new lifestyle means no more fast food Fridays! Everyone keeps asking me, "What are you eating?" Well above is an example! I had planned to make pork chops for dinner tonight and as I was watching television this afternoon Hidden Valley had a commercial about using their dry ranch mix with pork chops. I figured it was a sign and gave it a try! I am glad I did, it was FABULOUS! It is almost so easy that I am embarrassed to post it, but it is really tasty!

Original Ranch Pork Chops

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
Salt and pepper
4 boneless pork chops

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour seasoning into a bowl. Lightly season each side of the pork chop. Bake for 20 minutes flipping halfway.

I told you it was so easy it is embarrassing!

Harpers Ferry Adventure :)

Anxious to enjoy our brand new minivan we took a fun road trip to Harpers Ferry, WV. The short 1 hour and 15 minute drive was enjoyable. The boys enjoyed watching movies on the DVD player Mom Mom and Pop Pop Ament gave them for Christmas. I just enjoyed watching while Jason drove, especially once we got close enough to see mountains.

Upon arriving at the Harpers Ferry National Park we parked in the main parking lot by the visitors center. From the vistors center we took the bus down to the main attraction Lower Town. The bus ride was too cute for words. They played bluegrass music about Harpers Ferry and the Shenandoah and described everything we were seeing as we made the 1.5 mile drive. It was too cute for words!

Here is a picture of Caleb on Shenandoah Drive in Lower Town. On the left is a book store. On the right is a Dry Goods store and other neat little historical displays.

In the dry goods store and several other places in lower town there were people dressed in clothing/in character from the 1800s. They explained all of the things that were in the store and the history of the area.

Another main road is High Street. There are several shops with modern day items and cute little restaurants here. There is also John Brown's wax museum.

John Brown's Wax Museum was just okay from my adult point of view. Caleb however enjoyed it. I think was primarily because he enjoyed pressing the buttons to hear a description of what was displayed in each scene. It did also make me realize how horrible my knowledge of history is. I regret not paying more attention in High School and college!

After exploring the town we hung out along the Shenandoah River. The boys enjoyed throwing stones in the river, watching geese, and running. There were people swimming and I envied them!

Entrance into the Harpers Ferry National Park was ridiculously cheap, $6 for the entire car! We packed a lunch and saved even more money. For more information visit: www.nps.gov/hafe

Now that we have a dependable car we can really start road tripping... next on the list are Gettysburg and the new center at Fort McHenry! What are some of your favorite spots in the DE/WV/VA/MD/PA region?