Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

This weekend was the opening of the PA Renaissance Faire.  I had read online that it was listed as one of the top 100 things to do in the country (I don't know who made this 'list').   I really was impressed with how large and involved it was.  It really was a pretty big deal.  I had never seen so many Dungeons and Dragons nerds congregated before!  It was a sight to behold.  Not everyone was pimply and pasty though.  There were many 'modern tourists' like us around.  Although it really got annoying when some characters took their role too seriously and spoke with fake accents, pretended cameras were the devil's boxes, and used 'old English' to speak to my 4 year old who barely understands regular English, let alone their crazy-town version of it.  We played medieval games, checked out a blacksmith making swords, saw too many overweight, over 'busty' wenches, watched the royal parade and jousting tournament.  William got a catapult gun that shoots marshmallows and marbles and rocks or anything small and round.  I already laid down the law on NO shooting anything but mini craft pom pom balls in the house!  I wanted to eat a giant turkey leg like a real wench but the line was way too long.  Overall it was a fun time.  Definitely worth the 2 for 1 price we got in with!

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Pow Pow Power Wheels!

When you were a kid, didn't you wish you had a Power Wheels?  Didn't only the most lucky/spoiled of kids have this most excellent of toys?  My parents would never give in when we begged and begged for one.  They claimed it was a waste of money.  WELL, I guess being a grandparent changes your perspective.  Over the years, my parents have given Power Wheels as gifts to my sister's and brother's kids. Now, William joins the ranks of becoming a proud Power Wheels owner.  It's so funny to see how our parents will completely change their philosophy from raising their own kids to spoiling their grandkids.  I'm not complaining.  Thanks for the spoils!  Better late than never!

Shark Party!!

William had his 4th birthday party and it was a blast!  I had the best time planning and decorating.  I got out my Cricut and went shark crazy!  Most of my inspiration came from this blog.  I made party hats, pom pom balls, shark clothespins (for the game), treat box favors, wall decor, and a cake topper.  I'm a little sad that it's all over because I loved the prep work.  We had 7 friends including cousins come to the party.  We started with a light lunch:

Menu

PB&J and ham and cheese sandwiches (cut into fish and dolphin shapes)

Goldfish Crackers

Shark Jello (with toy sharks swimming around)

Cheese and Crackers

Veggies and Dip

Cucumber Punch

Then we played a childhood favorite party game, Drop the Clothespin in the Jar.  Only, I "sharked" it up by decorating the pins as sharks and had them drop into a fishbowl.  When someone dropped a shark in the bowl we all did a shark "Chomp!"  Then we went back to the kitchen to make a little sea creature craft with foam stickers (I didn't get any pictures because we were all helping the kids with the craft).  Then back to the front room for a game of Musical Fish.  It's like musical chairs but I cut out fish shapes to stand on and had a shark hand puppet to "eat" the kid who didn't get a fish to stand on when the music stopped.  Then they got to pick a shark candy so there was no hurt feelings.  Then it was cake and ice cream time.  It took a few tries for William to blow out the candles but he got the job done.  Then present time.  He got some awesome gifts, but it was a little crazy keeping the other kids back so we could get some pictures.  Then they got a trip to the treat table.

Sweet Shark Treats

 Blue Gummi Sharks

Swedish Fish

Red, Grey, Blue, and Aquamarine M&M's

Hershey's Milk Chocolate and Cookies and Creme Kisses

Soft Peppermints

Blue Raspberry and Cherry Licorice

Then all the kids went down to the basement to play until it was time to go home.  I am so grateful Sean, my sister, Robyn and sister in law, Lynette were there to help out.  They really helped make things go smoothly.  It was such a festive and fun day!  William has already requested a dinosaur party for his 5th birthday.  And I thought I planned ahead!!

The Invitation

Birthday Banner

Party Hats

Pom Pom Balls

Treat Box Favors

Shark Cake

Decorated Plate Decorations

Sweet Treats

William's Shark Bites

Shark Jello

The Party Master

Drop the Shark in the Tank

Shark Clothespins

CHOMP CHOMP!!

Musical Fish

Party Friends

William's First Campout

These pictures are from a while back but I thought it was worth posting.  We went to Deer Run Park which is about 40 minutes south of us and near the Appalachian Trail.  It was a good campsite for a 3 year old.  It had a large grassy field for softball, soccer, running around, etc.  It had a surprisingly clean swimming pool and hot tub, showers and bathrooms, a snack bar, a huge playground, duck/fishing pond, game room, and tattoo parlor (!).  Being pregnant, I was very uncomfortable and didn't sleep well at all but Sean and William had a blast.  Next time, maybe it should be a male bonding experience rather than family time.

Setting up camp

Our huge tent that was just big enough

Sean's scouting skills coming in handy

Roasting hot dogs for dinner

I was not the happiest camper!

William's face painting from the tattoo parlor

Watching the campfire

The huge playground was awesome

Feeding the fish

Cow Appreciation Day!

I know this is very late but Sean has been out of town with the laptop (and my pictures!)  We've been out to visit him so now I can do some updating.

Chick-Fil-A is my all time favorite fast food place.  They are clean and friendly and always have fun promotions.  For Cow Appreciation Day (because they only serve chicken there!), free meals were offered for anyone who dressed up like a cow.  We got all cow-ed up and got us some free chicken sandwich meals.  Yum!