road trip, day three and four

Day Three, Thursday

• We started the day in Harrisburg, PA and ended the day checking into our hotel in North Bergen, NJ.
• Along the way we visited Hershey Chocolate World in Hershey, PA. The 3-D show is definitely worth watching. We also took the riding tour twice (have your cameras ready for the singing milk cows) and "made" our own chocolates. Hershey won out as both Jonathan's and Keona's favorite part of the day.
  
• Then we drove to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA. The kids enjoyed watching how crayons were made but their favorite part had NOTHING to do with crayons. The Factory had this motion wave room where you can dance (think Beach Boys) and your motions create art on the big screen.
  
• My favorite quote from the day was from dear Keona. Pointing to the feminine product disposal bin in the bathroom she asked, "What's this mom? Is this for birds to build their nests?"

Day Four, Friday

• A BIG day today. We road the ferry across to the financial district of NYC then walked to Battery Park, waited 30 minutes to purchase Statue of Liberty tickets and then waited 2 hours in line before boarding the ferry again. Louie was in my baby carrier (thank you craftsbypaula.com!) and Jonathan and Keona did their best to be positive about the wait.
• My favorite moment of the day was when our ferry turned a corner and the Statue of Liberty came into view. Without orchestration, the entire ferry group (we were on the top level) became silent and stood. Freedom is a powerful force.
• We went on from there to Ellis Island and then to Ground Zero which was very moving. We had read books about 911 so the kids were ready to see the site. But Jonathan didn't want to take photos because it caused him stress.
• Favorite quotes from today:
• [as we're surrounded by the awe-inspiring skyline of NYC] "Look! There's a pigeon!!!" Jona
• [about the artist's choice of face for the Statue of Liberty] "He made her look like his mom? Was she blue?" Keona
• [with reference to a, uh, shall we say "burly" construction worker] "Is he a caveman?" Keona
• "It's just around the corner." the closing tag to every New Yorker's directions for us
  

road trip, day two

Apart from Little Louie opening his full bottle and spilling it all over his newly made bed...we are all tucked in and ready for sleep here at the end of day two of the road trip. Highlights from today:

1. We started the morning in Indianapolis and ended the day in Harrisburg, PA.
2. Our crafts today were more potholders (God bless whoever invented those nifty looms), pipe cleaners, and felt paintings. We read another book on the Statue of Liberty and one about New York City.
   
3. Tonight we saw the official "biggest shoe in the world". The kids were thrilled! It's is Hallem, PA and our hotel 15 miles away had NEVER heard of it...so it's not quite the major tourist attraction. But we had a blast taking pictures in the rain.
4. My favorite quote from the day came from Jonathan: "Are we there yet? My butt hurts."
5. My favorite memory was Louie chewing simultaneously on a french fry and his big toe.

road trip, day one

I'm typing from Indianapolis tonight. The crew is in bed and I'm in my favorite place (the bathroom) for a few moments of solitude.

Highlights from Day One:

1. 16 month old Louie refusing to nap this morning because he saw us all packing. He just kept running around his room saying, "bye-bye, bye-bye."

2. Dear Keona surrounded by her 3 favorite pillows, her favorite blanket, her favorite teddy bear (all pink, of course)...an HOUR before we were even ready to start up the van.

3. The pride in Jonathan's eyes when my Mom relayed how The Dub Center viewed Jonathan's movie while they were copying it for him--he is taking a copy of his movies to give to Big Bird--and were amazed at what he could do. The owner asked him all sorts of questions and then said that when Jonathan turned 16 he could work there. Jonathan beamed and then added, "But it's not just about making movies, mom. It's about making movies and selling or renting them to raise money for the poor."

4. CRAFTS! Today we made pom-poms, rag dolls, and potholders. We read about the Statue of Liberty and ended the day with the next chapter in Lewis (Diggory and Polly are flying on Fletch to the tree...).

5. Watching all three kids finally fall asleep 15 MILES away from our hotel.