Hershey

My kids like to play quizzing games.  They will say, "Which do you like best - choice A or choice B.  You can't pick both!"  The last sentence is always, "You can't pick both!"  For example, tonight's question courtesy of The Pickle was, "Momma, which do you like better - banana bread or pancakes? You can't pick both!"

At the end of January, I heard Elisabeth ask Peter, "Which do you like better - Christmas or Hershey? You can't pick both!"  Peter pondered and answered, "I guess Christmas.  It lasts a little longer."  But honestly, the boy had to think about it.  Last year we were invited to go to Hershey with a group of homeschooling friends - a bunch of moms, a few dads, and a gaggle of kids.

All year long, my children talked about Hershey, how much fun they had, the things they did, the friends they played with, and always, always counted the days until the next Hershey trip.  It must be admitted the momma counted the days until Hershey too.  Hershey is the carrot dangling in front of our noses, calling us to get back into the groove of schoolwork after the holidays, the promise of reward after hitting the books hard.

And so, back to Hershey we went.  We left on Monday, driving through rain and then snow.  We arrived at the hotel in time to unload the vans and toss the kids in the pool.  Tire them out and feed them dinner was pretty much the plan for the evening.

Tuesday morning we made the usual visit to Chocolate World.

The Whole Kit and Kaboodle

The ride was shut down, but we browsed through the gift shop and purchased chocolate.  All except for Noah, who preferred Jolly Ranchers.  What kid chooses Jolly Ranchers over chocolate?  :)

That evening we surprised Elisabeth with a birthday party.  And this is one of the reasons I love this group of people.  My friend Jen, upon hearing Elisabeth's birthday was around the corner, asked if she wouldn't like a surprise party.  Her daughter, Mallie, and Dana's daughter, Bethany, baked a six layer rainbow colored cake for her.  

Six tiers tall...

See the rainbow colors?

The moms usually go out for lunch on Wednesday afternoon and then to a yarn store, but the weather forecast was for an ice storm Wednesday.  The moms opted for lunch out on Tuesday.  We returned to find Mr. Marc had promised the kids a chocolate bar if they would run outside in their bathing suits and make a snow angel.  Both Peter and Elisabeth were the proud owners of  a Hershey bar.  (And I am sure years from now they will still be talking about that time Mr. Marc dared them while they were swimming to run outside and make snow angels.)

Check Peter out...

We did get ice but by Wednesday afternoon, the kids were back at Hershey World with Miss Dana and Isaac.  The other moms hung out, and I got a nap!  Relaxing, knitting, hanging at the pool, spending time with friends...

Good times.  

Thursday we loaded up, headed home, and began counting the days until next February.