Ghost Hunters

Yesterday was another fantastic day, filled with Aunt Peggy Adventures. I love summertime when all of the cousins can spend time together without the stress of school assignments and deadlines. The giggles and squeals throughout the day have done wonders to heal my anxious and nervous demeanor. 

We began our day by going bowling. With the Kids Bowl Free program, every cousin is able to bowl two free games every day. Even though none of them are particularly skilled at the sport, they all enjoy playing. With the help of bumpers, Timmy was even able to play along with the big cousins.

After bowling, we headed out on the Ice Cream Trail. Our destination was an hour away, but the kids entertained themselves by singing songs and telling stories. Of course, Timmy chimed in with a spirited rendition of Baby Shark at every opportunity. 

When we finished dinner, the cousins went out to ride bikes (one of Timmy's favorite activities) before the big kids piled into my car for our final adventure of the day. (Timmy stayed back with my Mom because he was too young to participate.) We headed to Gettysburg and went on a ghost walk.

We didn't see any paranormal activity, but we had an excellent tour guide who spun wonderful stories for our hour walk through the town. The kids were entranced by the stories and I think they all have a stronger understanding of the Civil War. After the ghost walk, we stopped by a local ice cream parlor (because there is always room for more ice cream) and the scooper told us about a haunted bridge just outside of town. 

As the story goes, Confederate soldiers were hung from the covered bridge after the battle. Their spirits continue to haunt the bridge, especially at night. According to the scooper, the hauntings are so strong at the bridge that cigarettes placed on the rails will turn without wind. Once the Cousin Crew heard the story, they were begging to investigate. I plugged the bridge in the GPS and we headed to the small covered bridge.

I don't smoke so I refused to buy cigarettes for their paranormal experiment. Thankfully, we were not the only visitors to the bridge, and we quickly found a family with a pack of cigarettes to test the tale. After staring at a lit cigarette for a few minutes, the Cousin Crew screeched as the cigarette moved 180 degrees. Needless to say, they are convinced that the story of the haunted bridge is true. 

Amusement Park Happy

Over the past few years, Robby has struggled with amusement parks. He used to be able to ride all day, but as he has gotten older his ear condition has begun to impact his equilibrium. We spoke to his doctor about his amusement park queasiness and on Friday we gave the suggestions a try.

For the first time in four years, Robby was able to ride all of the rides at Hershey Park without becoming sick!  He spent the entire day riding with his cousins, leaving him simultaneously tired and over-the-moon. While the big kids were riding the tall coasters and adult rides, Timmy and I spent our time on the smaller amusements. My little thrill seeker was delighted when the Cousin Crew returned to the kiddie rides to retrieve him. 

In retrospect, I think that their sudden interest in riding with Timmy was simply a ruse to gain access to my disability fast pass. Realizing that they would receive front of line entrance if they were riding with me, Timmy was part of the package. Regardless of their motivation, Timmy loved going on the rides with his cousins.  

I had the foresight to take the same motion sickness medication recommended for Robby because I suspected that the kids might figure out my riding benefit at some point during the afternoon. I always get sick on the rides, but the motion sickness medication definitely helped. We went on the log flume ride seven times and I never became ill.

After a long day at Hershey Park, we spent Saturday swimming in the pool of my Mom's friend. It was our first time swimming this summer and we all thoroughly enjoyed being in the water. Since I am in a temporary prosthetic situation, I was weary about wearing my leg into the pool. I opted to remove my leg entirely to avoid damaging the prosthesis.  The cool water felt wonderful again my limb, which was mangled and bruised from trudging through Hershey Park in obscenely hot temperatures.  

Tonight I have another Cousin Crew Adventure planned, but first I think we'll hit the ice cream trail. We are motivated to receive all of our stamps.  Have a great day!

Hershey Park

After a difficult and stressful night, today I am determined to lift the weight of the dark cloud that tossed over my head. I'm packing up the Cousin Crew, Timmy included, and we're heading to Hershey Park for the day.  While I don't particularly enjoy amusement parks (the rides make me sick), I know how much all of the kids love to spin, drop and play. I'm looking forward to dutifully following behind, holding the drink cups and water bottles for all of the thrill seekers.

Timmy is ecstatic to be going to Hershey Park with the big kids. I know that he will be able to ride a handful of rides with them, but the majority of the time he will be with me in the kiddie section of the park.  Hopefully, those rides will continue to entertain him because my little guy loves to be spun more than anybody I know!

More pictures to follow, but right now I need to get dressed so we can head to the park.  It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day!

Ice Cream Trail

When the Cousin Crew learned that Pennsylvania had created an ice cream trail they immediately wanted to accept the challenge. Visiting five our of the thirteen slots earns each participant a t-shirt, but completing the challenge with all stamps garners both a t-shirt and a collectible ice cream bowl. Without any hesitation, the Crew vowed to go for the bowl, and our summer ice cream challenge was born.  

Last evening the 12 remaining ice cream stores were carefully plotted on a map. While they are not necessarily close, I think we create a sweeping route to get a few at a time. It's a good thing they like ice cream because they will be eating a lot of it!

In addition to starting the ice cream trail, I took the Cousin Crew bowling. It turns out that Timmy is the best bowler in the group, which doesn't really surprise me. I am looking forward to enrolling him in sports soon, I think he will have a blast. Timmy is shockingly strong for his small frame and he has always been dead accurate with a ball.  Even when the bumpers and ramp were removed, his ball often went straight down the alley towards the center pin. (His celebration dance was adorable!)

Cow Crew

After spending a week at home, Robby began asking me to return to PA so that he could play with his cousins. Lacking any legitimate reason to say no, yesterday afternoon I packed up our bags (again) and drove to Pennsylvania. The cousins ran out of the house to meet our car as we pulled into the driveway, and their squeals at being reunited made the trip worthwhile. (I suppose we will have plenty of time in the house during the school year.)

Almost as soon as we arrived we were all piling back into the car, heading to Chick-Fil-A. Yesterday was "Cow Appreciation Day," one of our summertime traditions. I'm glad I had the foresight to throw the cow costumes into the car before leaving because the Pennsylvania Crew was chomping at the bit to claim their free chicken meal at Chick-Fil-A.  

After enjoying our free Chick-fil-a, the Cousin Crew spent the rest of the evening hanging out, talking and playing games. I'm not quite sure what is on tap for today, but rest assured it will probably be both busy and fun. I love when the Cousin Crew gets together!

The Urinator

Since it was pouring down rain and utterly miserable, we decided to take Timmy to yet another indoor playground. Because of the weather, I was confident that the place would be filled with lots of new buddies. My predictions were correct because the place was packed.

Scott and I assumed our spot in the parent cafe while Timmy ran, climbed and played with assorted buddies throughout the afternoon. After about three hours, an announcement was made that they were closing the play structure for cleaning. Closing the playground in the middle of a busy day could only mean one thing: some sort of body fluid malfunction.  

Because we had been there for three hours already, I took the opportunity to wrangle Timmy to go home. To our surprise, he was rather quick with his agreement to leave. The typical tantrum was replaced with a pleasant "okay Momom" before he went to put on his shoes. It was a small change which felt like a ginormous parenting victory.

During our drive home, while Scott and I were quietly guessing about why the playground had been closed, our little Timmy chimed in with his own theory. "Yellow slide was closed because Timmy pee peed down the slide. Timmy said hey buddy, watch this. Timmy peed down the yellow slide." 

Scott and I were both stone-faced with this admission. Did my sweet little boy, the very one who delighted us by willingly agreeing to leave the playground, just admit to being 'The Urinator?' Or was he just yacking in the back and trying to impress us? Either way, I was mortified.

After a few moments of silence to process, I told Timmy that if he was the one who peed down the slide, that it was a very bad thing to do. Scott reminded him that everybody had to stop playing and that a lot of kids had to leave early because of the dirty slide. During our conversation, Timmy's story continued to morph and change, planting seeds of doubt. At one point he laid claim to pooping down the slide.  He also vehemently denied participation, naming a buddy as the culprit.

Either way, we decided that we needed to follow through an appropriate punishment. It was decided that he was not going to be allowed to ride his bike (the rain had stopped) and would not be permitted to watch cartoons for the remainder of the day. He also needs to apologize to the playground manager the next time we visit (even though I am not thrilled with being identified as the mother of The Urinator.)

Talking between ourselves, Scott and I are unsure if Timmy actually peed down the yellow slide. Honestly, I think it is probably 50-50 that it was him. I'd like to believe that he was only trying to participate in the conversation, but there was a boastful pride in his declaration that makes me worry.

BumbleBee Jungle Gym

Friday we surprised Timmy with a trip to one of his favorite kid places. He loves going to the BumbleBee Jungle Gym ( our nickname because of the colorful bee logo and decor) and he always has a blast running, sliding, climbing and playing for hours. We don't visit to the BumbleBee Jungle Gym often because it is rather pricey and they don't offer punch card options, so it is always a treat when he gets to go. 

Timmy loves the BumbleBee Jungle Gym, but it is not my favorite. I resent being nickeled and dimed in the quest to allow my child to pay. The playground charges "extra" for everything, including for parent admission. Even though I wasn't planning to climb or slide, I was forced to pay an additional $6.95 to supervise. Since children are not permitted without a parent, I resent the fee and it always sticks in my craw every time I have to pay. 

While I was steaming about the fees, Timmy was running and having a blast with new buddies. He played for nearly four hours, leaving me satisfied that we had at least gotten a decent return on our money. By the time we left he was a sweaty and exhausted little mess.

The rest of the weekend was relatively low-key. It was too hot and muggy to spend a lot of time outside. Instead we played inside, watched cartoons and worked on some arts and crafts.  Scott and I were finally able to catch up on laundry from our trip, and everything is now officially unpacked.