"I love his butt cheeks"

This day has been totally crazy.

We actually woke up at a more reasonable time this morning. By more reasonable I mean the sun was up and it was 6am lol.
We got ourselves dressed and headed down for breakfast. There was so much to choose from, the kids didn't know where to start! I showed everyone around the breakfast choices and started to get Ben settled down with his food. As I walked back in to the food area, I notice flames coming from the toaster. That's right folks, my children managed to wedge an english muffin in the toaster and actual flames happened. I just blew on it like the big bad wolf until it all went away.
Breakfast was great, lots of french toast, fruit, eggs, bagle's, cereal and it actually filled up my small hungry gannets.

Then it was time to hit the road and go to the Pittsburgh zoo and ppg aquarium. The roads here are pretty intense. They suddenly turn and branch off. Sometimes you have to drive down the wrong side to get across (no really). There are bridges and tunnels every 5 miles. So the drive there was pretty exciting. The kids said it felt like a rollercoaster. I have to admit, it was very exciting.

We got to the zoo a little before opening, which meant great parking and only a small line.
It was a hot sweaty wait but I did enjoy the nonsense conversation of the people in front of me. The zoo allows members in 30 minutes earlier than regular visitors. The lady in front of us felt that they did this so we could stand surrounded by gates and corrals and reflect on the fact we are all just caged animals at heart... Ermmmm *blink blink* okay :/

Once we got inside, G decided she would be map reader. I figured this could be a good learning opportunity  and indulged her a little. Having her read a map is honestly like having the worlds worst GPS yelling at you. I was ready to ride off on a rhino after about 10 minutes.

You have to ride on a very intense escalator to get in to the main zoo. Everyone loved it except B who panicked at the end, laid down and started rolling around like he was on fire. We managed to get off in one piece. Just..

It was hard to get a good picture of the lynx cubs but they are so adorable.

The rhino on the right is the baby!

So after seeing these critters we came to the lion den. The lion was up high on a rock and not in a great place for pictures or viewing. We stood for a while waiting because this is one of B's favorite animals. 

Out of nowhere G pipes up "Well its  shame he's dead but its cool we got to see him". Ern... "What?!" G (to me and then all the people around us) "Sorry folks, he's dead". B "Yup, he's dead alright". All the children in the area become wide eyed and parents start trying to shuffle their children away from my little fear mongers. I hurry them away trying to explain he is not dead just sleeping... 

Then we finally arrive at the big surprise!

Its impossible to get pictures without someones eyes closed lol.

We were 30 minutes early for the giraffe meet and greet but I decided to stand and wait. Tickets were on a first come, first serve basis and I refused to risk missing it. After 20 minutes we had quite the line behind us. It was hot but we were excited to wait for what was ahead. Then all of a sudden a guy comes over to us, "Would you mind coming in for your giraffe experience a little early so we can film you for Pittsburgh today news". errrrm WHAAAA!???. Ya'll we got to go in for FREE!!!! and meet the giraffes and ask all our questions and hang out. All I had to do was ignore the camera as it filmed the kids and my unwashed, unbrushed crazy purple haired self! IT WAS AMAZING!

Wonder if I needed his permission to take a picture of him filming lol.

Best family picture ever!

Loved his crazy tongue

I think we shared a moment...

Was starting to worry he might think James' hair was hay...

After our awesome encounter we went to find the gorilla's. I was hoping to get a really good view of their giant silverback male but he was laying on a hill with his back to us. B's response was "Oh I love his buttcheeks". Feel like some of the same parents from the lions may have been there to witness our gorilla conversation too.

Everyone was starting to get tired and hungry at this point. We wandered round the zoo without stopping for any more pictures. We saw a crocodile, the polar bear (who roared and was incredible), sea lions, monkeys, ant eaters, alpacas and so many more. We also wondered through the aquarium, the kids were very excited because the penguins decided to get in the water and put on a show. Man are they  fast!!. Benny got excited by the sharks and because he was convinced he "Found Dory Mommy!". They all stopped to pet the stingrays. Oh and we ended the day with a walk through the kangaroos. They are so soft and cuddly! 

We stopped at the gift store and I bough a magnet with the giraffes we saw today but I lost it before we even left the zoo. I was so sad, but I have spent the afternoon hoping a kid found it and got to take it home. That would have made my day as a kid!

On our way back to the hotel our low tire pressure light came one. Thankfully we passed a PEPBOYS and the feller there was kind enough to just top off the tires for us real quick. I was grateful as I was nervouse to try and do it myself. 

All the way home the kids thanked me for a wonderful day. It made my heart feel so full that I almost didn't notice the fact they tried to kill each other and bickered all afternoon.

We got back to the hotel around 2:30 and relaxed for a while and then I got brave and decided to take them down to the pool. We had so much fun! I did not even attempt pictures as I am always super nervous having the kids all in the pool with only me to watch. It went so well though. The kids all put on, or got in to their various floating devices. Even baby F had an inflatable apple to bob about in which produced so many smiles. She worked hard kicking her legs and squealing for joy. G and J enjoyed trying to catch a weight we found at the bottom of the pool. S floated  around in her vest and then even my sweet B who is usually terrified of the water managed to steal him self and come in with us. 

We played ring around the roses and soaked up some awesome family time. 

We played all the way to dinner time. I decided we were all too exhausted to brave a restaurant so we had mexican food delivered. 

Now we are spending the evening watching movies and playing card games. It's been a pretty awesome day.

Oh I forgot to mention that yesterday I actually got to try an authentic philly cheesesteak. It was like kebab meat with cheese and onions in a sub. I was surprised how much we liked it! Gotta try the local food in new places.

    

I also forgot to say that G and J have decided to keep travel journals, completely unprompted! I am so excited. I will ask if they will be willing to let me share it with you all once we get home. 

Anyway, tomorrow we are off to Ohio. We were supposed to be going to a national park but there is heavy thunderstorms in the forcast for the next 3 days and I am not sure its going to happen. Leaves us open to other adventure possabilities. Guess we will see what tomorrow brings.

Thanks for reading all! 

Goodnight. 

- Sophie

Pittsburgh

Day two on the road and I must say it went a lot smoother today.

It took me a long time to get to sleep last night as I was surrounded by a unanimous orchestra of nose flutes. All. The. Snoring... Even baby F!

I woke up before the children and the sun which means I have been a partial mombie most of the day but it did allow us to get a head start on the day.

I must admit I did enjoy watching the sun come up this morning.

We loaded up the car, bid farewell to our hotel and set out for central Philadelphia.

It was absolutely spectacular, and luckily the kids took a million pictures, but I won't be able to upload those images until we get home.

My favorite was a small fishing village we passed, with ornate homes set on the banks of a river, deep in the valley. 

The city is built using a beatiful gray stone. Which reminded my very much of Bath, England. 

The sky line rose up to touch the sky as the mountains stepped back behind us. 

We drove to the liberty bell center. Listening to youtube videos to give us a little more idea of the history.

After a small scary moment where I may or may not have driven down a one way road in the heart of the city. Oh and a spectacular argument with S as to why the spire on top of the distant tower could not possibly be the Eiffel Tower (which she did indeed find in about 300 different locations today). We arrived. The city was just waking up. 

We saw street vendors setting up their carts ready for a day of selling all different kinds of goods. I particularly enjoyed watching a vietnamese couple squabble as they set up their "hot meats" stand. Including hot dogs, hot sausage and hot mash.

The tour busses were also just getting going and it took a lot of restraint not to hop on.

   

I guess it was a little sunny lol.

The liberty Bell center is pretty much the center of the city. It is surrounded by many museums and memorials. I feel it would be impossible to do this magnificent place in one day. We took a look at some of the outdoor exhibits which touched on slavery and the fight for freedom. Also a fascinating archeological site, which has an old kitchen cellar dug up and preserved. 

                           

Then we joined the line for the Bell.

After a pleasant 30 minute wait, enjoying the chitter chatter of fellow patrons they finally allowed us in.

We decided to go right to the back and look at the bell before the rest of the crowed joined us, then work our way back through the exhibits. 

The children we more excited than I thought to actually see the bell. Although J remarked it was rather smaller than he has imagined. S remembered the bell had been rung for George Washington's birthday and G stated she would not appreciate living in a town where she could be summoned frequently by the loud clanging of a bell.

G was absolutely amazed that everything in the exhibit at the Liberty Bell Center was in fact about the Liberty bell... She felt the need to point out all the bells along the way.

Look mum, even the chair has a bell on it!

After our brief detour it was time to get on the road again. I must admit I felt a twinge of sadness over the fact we could only spend one morning there but we had 397 miles to cover today and it was time to head to Pittsburg.

The drive was stunning. We headed out of the city and right in to the heart of the mountains. My GPS took me on to a toll road at which I was most confused. I assumed I would pay my $3 like I had thus far been doing and be on my way, but this one was different. This one required a ticket with the promise of a $40 bill to follow. I took a big gulp and set back in to driving... There was no way out now. 

 We saw the Appilation trail and the beautiful blue ridge mountains. The kids were quite excited that we got to drive through tunnels directly under the the mountains. We of course tried to hold our breath the whole way through but S was distressed that I "MIGHT DIE!!!!!" so we quickly left that behind for want of a quiet ride.

We found a podcast about famous women throughout history and cruised on down the road. I believe it was called something along the lines of Dangerous stories for rebel girls. I highly recommend it.

Eventually we had to stop.

 

All of us desperate for the bathroom we hurried inside as fast as a family of 6 can, when half of its members are 6 and under. 

We scored the family bathroom which is a rare and magnificent treat and S even managed to relax enough she could cope with out her headphones. We all took care of our business and as I went to take baby F from G I suddenly felt something soggy fly at my head. Guess who decided this would be the perfect time to try and use the potty for the first time ever... After ceremoniously throwing his diaper across the room in celebration (I like to think that my head was an accidental target) he proudly plopped himself on the totally unprepared seat of the cute miniature toilet in the rest stop bathroom.  After we waited a further 20 minutes for, absolutely nothing, we all cheered for a jolly good try and then took another 10 minutes of alligator roll type wrestling to stuff the reluctant boy back in to said soggy diaper. I feel the other guests waiting outside possibly contemplated calling the emergency services more than once as there was much squealing, shouting and muttering of choice words rumbling from within.

With a sobbing toddler and the rest of my crew with quickly and quietly exited the building. Outside was a cute little local farmers market so with hopes of cheering up the small boy one we went to check it out. There was all kind of fresh fruit and veggies. Delicious looking peaches and all manners of home made jam's, jelly's and preserves. 

With the mountains looming in the background it took me back to my childhood. Picking blackberry's in the mountains with my mother, and eating the delicious jam she would produce from it.

To my immense joy they actually had a jar of blackberry jam (not something you find quite as frequently here in the USA). I immediately knew I had to buy it to bring home to my mum.

The ride after that was mostly uneventful. Thankfully!

Today we managed to find our hotel the first time. The staff were so welcoming and friendly. They have even given us free breakfast for the next two days (this makes my whole day btw).

We came upstairs to another beautiful room, and this time we didn't have to make as many trips to the car because I was more experienced and prepared. Again all the beds we could possibly need. Although S has suddenly developed a deep and intense fear of "Allarmaclocks". So I did everything just short of cutting the wires off to get it to an acceptable level of presence in the room for her.

Then guys, I had a stroke of genius... tonight for the first time ever I used door dash. Somebody actually went and picked up our food and brought it to us and man was it glorious. I got the kids settled and relaxed, then we all sat down to a yummy hot meal. I AM NEVER LOOKING BACK PEOPLE!

I decided to get them all to bed earlier tonight as we have a full day tomorrow. We are going to the Pittsburgh zoo and aquarium for the day. I am most excited as I found out I have enough children to qualify for the group discount lol.  I know they are also desperate to try out the swimming pool so all in all its going to be busy. Plus we have a rather exciting secret zoo experience on the horizon tomorrow which none of them know about!

I decided we would spend two nights here so we could take a days brake from the driving. honestly two days in a car alone with this many kiddos requires a bit of a breather for all our sanity.

Any way!  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Better be off to sleep now.

Goodnight all

- Sophie

Philadelphia

What a day!
First of all, let me tell you how GLAD I am we are braking this up over 3 days...

Car was packed quickly and ready to go by 7am.

I don't think that looks too bad for a family of 6 out for 2 weeks.

We finally got on the road by 9am!

As a general rule my kids don't eat poptarts. Mostly because they give GanGan the heebie-jeebies lol. But this is vacation, and I needed something quick and easy for the road. G inhaled hers like it was the last meal she would ever eat because this is one of her top 3, all time, most favorite breakfasts.

After much debate I decided to drive us across the Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel. My debate was pay $18 for a toll or add at least an hour on to our journey assuming traffic wasn't insane on I95. 

After some internal deliberation I chose the bridge. I mean, its not every day you have the opportunity to cross a bridge/tunnel that is 18 miles long and was once crowned as one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world.

 It was insanely hard not to try and look for whales and sharks while driving but ya'll I did it. I kept us on the road and my eyes on the prize. Then it happened... halfway across this magnificent bridge. G, who had been reading, started puking all over the back seat. Let me tell you, Poptarts are not natural... they lead to BRIGHT PINK VOMIT! No joke.

Sooo, all children screaming, and G hurling like she was trying for a remake of the exorcist, and me dying in side with the realization this bridge never ends and you cant stop. We eventually made it to the other side. With ZERO moments of enjoyment of our beautiful and expensive scenic route.

Quick stop and clean up and 20 minutes later we were back on our way!

We drove through Maryland and Delaware. We listening to the coolest podcast ever called Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest. A retelling of Grimms fairy tales, but the scary original versions (still suitable for kids). S was in heaven (for the love of all things creepy, weird and gross). We passed endless fields of corn, old farm houses and lost count of the tractors we saw.

I would say it's a pretty straight forward drive, J was most excited by some lifesize model giraffes that are apparently invisible to all other human beings but him. G said she was excited to be going to Japan... Um what? "Well, we crossed a bridge mom". One short horrified geography discussion later and everyone was excited to be going to Pennsylvania. Although S did ask me 4752 times if we were indeed there yet.

Baby F was amazing. She only asked to nurse 3 times on the way. All in all not bad.

So then we get to Pennsylvania... We are driving through what I could only describe as a very... industrial town and something does not feel right. We are passing houses that are boarded up, and falling over. There are cars on cinder blocks and groups of people I question making eye contact with. 

we drive through this for 30 minutes and our hotel is now 5 minutes away. By this point I have decided that unless our hotel is in a building surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire we would not be stopping tonight.

We arrived at a house with no windows, the door hanging off the hinges, and two old men playing checkers, who looked like they may not have moved in about 30 years. The back seat is filled with joyful cries as my wonderfully insane children let out screams of "WE ARE HERE AND THE HOTEL IS HAUNTED YAY!!!". I could see the gleam in S's eyes, she knew now. for sure she would get to actually meet a real live vampire right here in Pennsylvania as she has been determined to do (despite trying to explain she is actually thinking of Transylvania).

A few frantic google searches and I find the correct address. Another 30 minutes on the road and we enter the heart of King of Prussia. It is breath taking. Forest covered mountains on either side of the road with house roofs poking out like some kind of amazing Tolken dream. This is what I longed to see. 

We were all ready to get out of the hot vomit box we call a car and could not contain our excitement as we reached our hotel.

My bestie, who also has many childrens had talked me in to packing all the kids outfits in to individual baggies, and man was I glad. I opened the trunk, grabbed each of the kids their bags, stuffed it in their back packs and with a few more items we were headed inside to our room.

Our room is beautiful. We have all the beds we could ever need and a giant T.V. The kids were so happy and excited. G said this was the next best thing to glamping. Silently I thought, soak it up kid because this is the closest we will ever get to glamping lol.

 

Oh and the kids LOVE, the worlds oldest slowest elevator...

Apparently its the best ride ever... Why do I even bother with Busch gardens, Le Sigh.

The kids all decided that swimming needed to be the first priority. Although B said he just wanted to watch and play with his dinosaurs. I agreed this could be our first port of call and after a 20 minute frantic search for my glasses, (which I might add had somehow ended up buried under all the stuff packed in the trunk of our car) we shuffled off down to the pool.

It was packed but the kids had a blast. B sat with me and played dinos as promised and I enjoyed watching the kids splash and play.

We didn't get to stay too long but it was long enough they were satisfied. 

After some much needed toasty hot showers and the donning of fresh clean pj's, we headed downstairs to grab dinner.

My only real complaint for this hotel is the fact their dining room is staffed with one single lady. She takes the food orders, gets the drinks, COOKS THE FOOD!!!!!, and rings up the checks.

Solo... but she does it all with grace and charm so you can't be too upset. 

Although 45 minutes in to waiting for dinner, I realized this was probably going to be a 5 star microwave job and probably not the yummiest food on the planet.

We sat and waited patiently. J asked me 7 times in a row the practicality of having a small pony live in ones home. My response every time was, no that's not really possible but he is quite a determined soul and was not in the least put off the idea.

Our food came, it was edible, we ate it. The end...

Then it was back to our cozy room for snuggles and T.V and J's turn to play puke fountain. He just doesn't cope well eating food past 8pm. Poor kid, but he was soon back on his feet, building pillow forts like nothing happened.

Anyway, I would call this day a success.

I may have seen more of my children's insides that i'd care to, and taken a small detour but we made it and we had some fun along the way.

Tomorrow's big adventure takes us to see the Liberty Bell, more about that in tomorrows post.

Sleep time now!

Good night all 

- Sophie