Family Getaway Part 2

My sister had planned to visit us from Florida sometime in August.  But made some last minute changes and decided to visit us for a week in July instead.  So after spending some time in the Poconos we drove down to the Lehigh Valley (Emmaus, great little town where I grew up) to spend time with my mom, sister, brother, nieces and nephew.

Alissa adores her cousins so much and I wish they didn't live 1,000 miles away! Every morning while we were at my Mom's house, she would wake up and say "downstairs see Cael and Cole" (short for Nicole).  In fact she is still doing that even though they are at home in Florida! Watching them play together was just so amazing to me! And watching my 8 year old niece be my little helper was so awesome! We spent time hanging out at my Mom's letting the kids play, as well as, taking them on various other adventures!

We spent Monday at my sister's girlfriend's house with her family and lots of kids! Great to have friends for Alissa and for Mommy to have some adult conversation!

Playing with her new friend Carter 

The next day we went to Emmaus Community Park to swim and play at the playground.  It had been many years since I was swimming at that pool! It is such a great pool, with 2 water slides, a diving board, huge swimming area, and huge kiddie pool, and the playground is awesome too! The pool was a bit dirty, but I think it was mostly because we had some storms the night before. But it brought back so many great memories! If you live in the Emmaus/Allentown area check it out! 

The kids were exhausted after a day of swimming and sun, and I was on my own with the 3 of them that night! Honestly, was kind of dreading it because I was tired too and wasn't sure how well everyone would go to sleep for me! But they were sooo good! My sister got to visit with her girlfriends and I got some time with the kiddos! And bedtime was a success, of course with some help from my little helper and awesome story reader! 

We all got some shut eye after storytime! (and after I finished The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks, great book!)  We all needed the rest for Wednesday's adventure....Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom! 

Family Getaway Part 1

Had such a crazy and busy week with our families, as I upload all the photos onto our computer, I decided it would be great to share some of the fun activities! Although most of our time was spent in NEPA and the Lehigh Valley, they are both not to far from the Tri County area! 

Part 1 of our family getaway began in the Poconos.  We spent some time with my husbands family and did a lot of swimming at their amazing pool, which was a total plus, seeing that it was another scorching weekend even in the mountains! And of course relaxed in their awesome house. It was like being at an all inclusive resort all weekend! (Thank you Jennifer and Poppy!)

Gorgeous, relaxing, and so much fun! 

Ahhh....this is the life! 

We usually plan our summer visit to the Poconos specifically when the Pocono Township Fire Company Carnival is happening! My husband spent two years as the Carnival chairman while we lived there.  As a Carnival Chairman's wife I learned how much hard work goes into an event like this one! And it is ALOT of work for so many dedicated people.  So we like to pay a visit, support the fire company, and catch up with a great group of friends that we miss so much! And it is a blast for kids of all ages! 

I was also thankful that my sister (who had just landed on her flight from FL) brought her kids up to the Poconos to visit with us too! 

Just a few of the prizes we went home with! 

We had such a great time! And although PTFC is a bit of a drive for many of you, I encourage you all to look into your local fire company's events! Carnivals, Bingo, Egg Hunts, Breakfasts, etc.! The Firefighters and Auxillary's work really hard for their community all year long and to have these events, so show them your support!  (Had to make sure you all read this part!!)