A Safari Ride

On one of the last days in Pennsylvania, we went to Tobias Lake.  It's a private-owned zoo with an amazing safari ride.  We had been wanting to take the girls to a zoo for awhile now, so we were excited when we heard about this place.  Even though it was hot and humid, we all had a great time.  The girls loved seeing all the different animals up close and personal.  

We started out like this on the safari ride:

But most of the time, the girls were like this:

After being in the hot sun and hours past her naptime, Makena finally gave in and fell asleep. 

Karis said her favorite animal was the tiger.

Happy Birthday Dad!

While on vacation we celebrated my dad's birthday.  He is a young 75!  He drove up with his wife and spent the afternoon with us.  My sisters made cioppino, grilled vegetables and garlic bread.  It was delish! I made two tarts for dessert.  It was actually the first time I had the opportunity to bake for my dad.  

My brother-in-laws chowing down

Dad and eight of his nine grandkids.  Not pictured was Makena who was napping upstairs.  

Helping Halbogi blow out his candles

Happy chaos

Family Vacation

We just spent two weeks on the east coast in Maryland and Pennsylvania.  The last time Karis was on a plane was when she was 6 months old.  This time around, it was a lot easier to keep her entertained on the five hour flight.  Makena did pretty well too, she just had a harder time sitting still.  The ride back was definitely more challenging after an exciting and exhausting two weeks of vacation.

  Derek and I didn't sleep well as we had to share our bed with Karis for most nights.  At home, we have the luxury of leaving the kids in their rooms until we're ready to get up.  We definitely weren't able to do that while sharing a room with the kiddos.  As most people know, a vacation with toddlers isn't really a vacation.  =)

 But it was definitely fun spending time with family and to see the girls playing every day with their aunts, uncles and cousins.

Brielle and Jessi were inseparable

The "big boys"

Julie with Jacob and Jessi

The girls playing together

Jacob loves Makena.  He often says, "I wish Karis and Makena were my sisters too."

Taking a break from the pool

Patty and Ryan

 Uncle John, Uncle Marzano, and Derek bought some fireworks for the kids to celebrate the 4th of July.

Karis' first sparkler

Makena's First Day at the Beach

I know sad... we live about 30 minutes from the beach and it was the first time we took Makena to the beach.  The last time Karis went was when she was around 6 months old.

I'll be going back to working two days a week for a couple months and then I'll go back to one day a week.  I'll be working on Fridays so we'll no longer have our "family day" and Derek will go back to watching the girls while I am at work.  So we spent our last family day at the beach.

I knew Karis would love the beach, but I wasn't so sure about Makena.  She hasn't been a big fan of the swimming pool up to this point.  But, Makena loved being at the beach and in the water.  She also loved all the snacks I brought.  =)

We had a great time and we'll definitely try to make another trip sometime soon.

Until next time!