Summer Vacation 2008

Whew! What a weekend!

About a month or so ago, Hubby and I decided to plan a mini-vacation weekend before the baby comes. We wanted to take our Peanut to some special places for her to enjoy before 1) I got too large to walk a lot, and 2) before her brother would be born so that it's special just for her.

The weekend started on Friday afternoon when we took off for Baltimore to take in an Orioles game (my Hubby's fav baseball team).

Of course, the evening wasn't complete in Peanut's eyes without seeing the Orioles bird and getting a picture with him...but when I finally chased him down (yes, I ran through the ballpark carrying my 30-pound two year old and my almost eight-month pregnant belly to get a hold of that darn bird) my daughter had a bit of stage fright (notice her keeping a firm hold on my shirt), so I ended up in the picture.

We trudged back to our hotel room (within walking distance of the ballpark...nice!) and finally got to bed around 11pm, which is SUPER late for Peanut's normal 8:30 bedtime. Of course, God worked it all out, and the three of us slept really well...until almost 9am the next morning! Can you believe it?! Hubby and I knew that was a once-in-a-lifetime happening (well, at least when you have kids), and we were just excited that we got to sleep in until that time. :o)

So, we packed up our clothing, got snacks together, and took off to the Maryland Zoo of Baltimore. Peanut has been asked for months for us to take her to a big zoo, and so we surprised her.

The zoo was in need of some maintenance and an upgrade (hence the missing "o" from the word "zoo" in the first picture), but it was so cool to see lots of animals, especially the almost three-month-old baby elephant named Samson. (Sooo cute!) Danae got to feed a giraffe, brush a few goats, and leave happy. The zoo was definitely not as enormous as Philadelphia or others that we know of, but it was just the right size for a two year old to last a couple of hours.

We headed home Saturday afternoon, got home, and the three of us napped until almost 6pm! Oh, glorious naps...don't ever underestimate the power of a good mid-day sleep! :o)

Sunday brought church and another after lunch nap. (YES!) Afterward, we decided to go see Hubby's brother and wife for a little bit and then head to Chocolate World at Hershey Park. Peanut is too little to ride most of the rides or even last a day at Hershey Park, but Chocolate World is a different story. First, parking is free for the first two hours, and second, it's free to get in, see things, and even ride the Hershey history tour ride. PLUS, you get a FREE piece of chocolate at the end...oooh, so worth it.

Ha...you wish this was the free piece of chocolate.

Overall, our much-needed getaway/Father's Day weekend was tons of fun for all three of us and full of lasting memories...exactly what we wanted. :o) To see more pictures, click on "Our Online Albums" to the left.

Have a happy week, and Peanut and I will be back...after we take in a couple of days at the beach with my church small group girls. :o)