Whew, what a weekend! We went on a "mini-vacation," as the kids were calling it, for the weekend to Lancaster, PA. We just needed a big dose of family time. We have definitely been burning the candle on both ends for a while. My semester just ended and Mother's Day weekend seemed like a good time to get away!

1. First a shout out to my mom, not only is she an awesome mom, she helped us get the hotel because she's a traveler extraordinaire. Her generosity definitely touched us!

2. If you have young kids, the Willow Valley Doubletree is where it's at! We had a two bedroom hotel room, which fit us perfectly. The indoor water playground had my kids going nuts. In fact, the woke us up at 5:30am saturday wanting to know if it was time to go back to the pool yet!

3. I had recently purchased discount tickets to Dutch Wonderland through our preschool and boy am I glad I did! Dutch Wonderland became the other fun part of our weekend that made the kids so happy.

Here's the hubs and kiddos before our "preview night" (You can go it after 3 to check out the park until closing and come back for the full next day!)

4. If you missed this embarassment, enjoy your free laugh! For the record, heights don't scare me but getting soaked on a 60 degree breezy day does apparently strike fear into my heart! We laughed so hard seeing this picture we had to purchase it for posterity. Good times...

5. The kids favorite ride other than the log flume was the "mini-whip" where they got whipped around in a circle. I think it was invented by parents who needed a good laugh. When the boys rode together, they could not stop laughing when the squished into each other around the corners. Loved it!

6. We saw an absolutely gorgeous scene as sun was setting Saturday evening... This is just my phone shot. I took pictures with my 'real' camera too but just haven't had time for them yet.

7. Today alone we have already gotten an oil change, gone to Safeway for groceries, went to play at the park, went through the car wash and vacuum...then came home to continue the 5 loads of laundry I have been working on. I looked like a troll all morning in sweats with no earrings but it was TOTALLY a trade off. I didn't look good but darn if I didn't kick butt and take names in the productivity department. Kids were cooperative and willing to be good for bribes like mini-donuts and a trip to the park :)

8. My knee is still on the mend..missing my insanity exercises!

9. I shared a quote last night that is on my heart today "There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one" - Jillian Churchill. I love that sentiment. It's true, not a one of us can be perfect but we can be good. Motherhood has rocked my world in many ways but it's refining me into an entirely different (and i hope better) person.

10. SO THANKFUL for all the moms in my life! I already mentioned my lovely mother but I am also blessed with a great Mother in Law too! She is so generous to me and loves on my kids like no other. I am also beyond thankful for my grandmothers that I still have to spend time with and learn from. Ain't nothing like a mama!!!

Have a great Monday friends!

Emily Troutman Photography