Over the years, I have slowly made my way around o Over the years, I have slowly made my way around our house … decorating, renovating and reorganizing it into a soft place to land. The only part that I haven’t touched that much are our yards (except for a fire pit area that went in two years ago, thank you pandemic). I want our outside to be as much as a sanctuary as our inside is, so I plan to spend the next year digging in (no pun intended 😂). I don’t have a green thumb, so feel free to spam me with all your awesome, low maintenance ideas as we create a Japanese-style zen garden. 🤩 I also hate gardening, so there’s that, but am hoping that some #gardentherapy changes my mind as much as it changes the space.
✌🏻 ✌🏻
About last night … we spontaneously decided to m About last night … we spontaneously decided to make a @crumblcookies run at 8:30 and snagged a front seat to Mother Nature’s show. 😍
I took five books with me when we went on a little I took five books with me when we went on a little vacation in May, and got through two of them, one of which was The Magnolia Story. You are, no doubt, familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, but you might not know how they became so popular or how their business exploded. This book, told by both of them, shares their journey from their dating stages to just a few years ago. It’s quite amazing how their path unfolded, with the universe seemingly guiding them every single step of the way. Every time they hit a crossroads, they received clear signs to continue to point them in the right direction. It was interesting to learn more about their story, and a great reminder that you need to trust in yourself and follow your passions, and everything really does just fall into place. Chip has his own book out too, Capital Gaines, which I added to my list after I read this one. If you’re curious about their story or just need confirmation to continue to chase your dreams, read this one. ✨ #catesbookaweek 6/52
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the w “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl ✨
We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister an We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister and her family were away. She has settled into a new routine here (ours 😂), and now doesn’t get up until after 9 am, stays up until well past midnight, eats a very late dinner, knows that the kitchen is where the magic happens and sits for a treat after her morning backyard visit. We’ve broken her in nicely but she will be returning with her continued bad habit of suffering from #fomo, playing tag with the cats, and barking every time she hears a door open or sees someone go up the street. We did our best. 😇
The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Gar The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Garlic butter and bleu cheese butter from @njgarlic (the bleu on steak! 😍), empanadas from @catalina_empanadas_2017, half sour pickles from @pickleculture and the quiche and bread were from a vendor I forgot to get the name of. This was all from the @bernardsvillefarmersmarket. Today I hit the @denvillemarket and added full sour pickles from @pickle_licious and a roasted garlic and duck fat loaf and cheese biscuit from @bobolinkdairyandbakehouse. Basically give us all the bread, cheese, butter and pickles and we’re happy campers! Did you hit up a farmers market this weekend? What’d ya get?
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it is with the gnocchi from Trader Joe’s. Skip what their directions tell you and pan fry them in olive oil, add some of their 4-green bag of vegetables, salt, pepper, drizzles of pesto and a sprinkle of parm. So freaking good and dinner on the table faster than you can order take out. 🤤
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Weekend Photos in Review

September 6, 2010 · Narrative

Hershey Park

When I mention that we’re going to Hershey Park, the response is usually “Again?  You must really like that place.”  I do, but unfortunately the past four times we have attempted to go, we have been thwarted at the last minute.  Call it the O’Malley Curse.  When we went back in October with The Neighbors, we didn’t actually make it to the amusement park because of the lousy weather.  We went back in December, but only planned to do the outside light festival, so I’m not counting that visit.  Then we planned to go in April, and I thought ahead and checked the weather forecast.  With a 90% chance of rain (and it did rain torrents that weekend), we aborted the mission and rescheduled for June.  In June, the family we were supposed to go with had a medical emergency and the trip got canceled at the last minute.  This time, I didn’t believe we were actually going to make it until we checked into the hotel.  For the kids’ sake, thank goodness this was finally a successful mission!

By the numbers:
5 adults
7 kids
4 boys, three of whom were named Nick
Meals for 12 at every stop
My first visit to Waffle House and Bob Evans
Madeline’s 4th visit to Hershey, PA (her first was when she was just 10 months old)
Times we had to stop on the way there? 0
Times we had to stop on the way home?  2
Hours in the park Friday night: 4
Torrential downpour while in the park Friday night: 1
Hours in the park Saturday: 12
Times Madeline rode on the “cow ride”: 2 (it’s a ride in Chocolate World that she loves, complete with happy singing cows that make delicious chocolate)
Times Madeline rode the Carousel: 4
Depth of water Nick swam in: 6 feet (so proud!)
Days my calves might need to recover from all the walking: unknown

And now the pictures…

What Used to be My Favorite Spot

This used to be my favorite section of Chocolate World – all the peanut butter items they sell. Now, unfortunately, in a cruel twist of fate, it’s not. All this clean eating I’ve been doing this year has really done a number on the little sweet tooth I had. Pity.

So Happy

Madeline spied these monkeys in a game booth, and her monkey obsession is still apparently in full force and she was desperate for one. I played the game once with a free voucher and won a small dolphin. Nick went back and played for her, winning something else, and convinced them to trade the two smaller prizes for the equally small monkey. He came tearing across the park with the monkey, so proud to give it to her. And I was bursting with pride on what he did for her. Love him to pieces!

Nick Flying High

Loved It

No fear this one!

My Brave Little Girl

What Used to be My Favorite Candy

My Littles

Rainbow Ice

Clearly not my hand since it is absent of chipped black nail polish!

Getting Inked

My Favorite But I Resisted

Oops

In Six Feet Deep

He swam in six foot deep water – another proud moment for both of us!

Too Cute

This might be my favorite photo of the, um, 285, from the weekend.

The Buddy System

Traveling in Style

Seriousness

Say Cheese

One of Madeline's Favorite Rides

Safety First

If you ask at Guest Services, you can get these “Family Finders” wristbands that you write your cell phone number on the inside, so if you get separated from your kids you can (hopefully) get reconnected easily. Assuming, of course, a parent doesn’t forget their cell phone in the car the first night. Just sayin’. (And no (!), that doesn’t mean we were separated.  Just means I was paranoid the rest of the night.)

Hex Sign

This hex sign is the only one we pass on the trip from our house to Hershey, PA. Every time we go, I try and remember where it is, because I’ve been determined to get a picture of it. This time, I finally succeeded (and for those that are interested, it’s mile marker 33.9 on Rt 78).

Crazy Kids

The boy on the far right is 12 years old, Nicky. Madeline developed a raging crush on him during our trip, holding hands with him for much of the time Friday night, and asking where he was any time he left her sight. Young love.

Dipping Dots

Not quite the same as ice cream, but love the no-mess feature of Dippin’ Dots.

Dinner the First Night

Best Behaved Boys Ever

And then there were the girls

All Smiles

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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Chocolate World, Hershey Park, hex signs

Comments

  1. mandy says

    September 6, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    Sounds and looks like a wonderful weekend! I haven’t been to Hershey Park in years. Dippin Dots are one of my favorite things to get when visiting a park like that.

    Reply
  2. Casey says

    September 6, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    We go to venues multiple times and it doesn’t bother me. With our upcoming move to San Diego, I have no doubt we will be LIVING at the zoo. Who wouldn’t?!

    Great photos as always. Love the dippin dots and the swings.

    Reply
  3. Joanne says

    September 7, 2010 at 6:15 am

    Cute! I’ve never been to Hershey Park even though we don’t really live that far. I will definitely be taking my kids there!

    It must have made things easier if there were so many Nicks! You only had to should one name :P

    Reply
  4. Ramona says

    September 7, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    How sweet of your Nick to get her the monkey.

    Great weekend! Lots of fantastic pictures.

    Will be out the rest of the week for my big horse show. Will have a lot of catching up to do next week!

    Reply
  5. Laura says

    September 7, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    My sister in law lives near the park….in fact she used to work in the hotel there before my nephew was born…..looks like you had so much fun!

    Reply
  6. Sarah Caron says

    September 7, 2010 at 9:16 pm

    OMG, that looks like such a blast!!

    Reply
  7. Meg says

    September 9, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    Aww, I love Hershey Park! We went there on our eighth grade field trip, and that was the first time I was able to walk around an amusement park without adults present (and with my crush, no less!). I have such fond memories of going.

    Looks like you had a lovely time, too! Great photos, and I’m still all about the peanut butter cups. Can’t resist them, no matter how hard I try… (or, OK, I don’t really try that hard at all!).

    Reply

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Over the years, I have slowly made my way around o Over the years, I have slowly made my way around our house … decorating, renovating and reorganizing it into a soft place to land. The only part that I haven’t touched that much are our yards (except for a fire pit area that went in two years ago, thank you pandemic). I want our outside to be as much as a sanctuary as our inside is, so I plan to spend the next year digging in (no pun intended 😂). I don’t have a green thumb, so feel free to spam me with all your awesome, low maintenance ideas as we create a Japanese-style zen garden. 🤩 I also hate gardening, so there’s that, but am hoping that some #gardentherapy changes my mind as much as it changes the space.
✌🏻 ✌🏻
About last night … we spontaneously decided to m About last night … we spontaneously decided to make a @crumblcookies run at 8:30 and snagged a front seat to Mother Nature’s show. 😍
I took five books with me when we went on a little I took five books with me when we went on a little vacation in May, and got through two of them, one of which was The Magnolia Story. You are, no doubt, familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, but you might not know how they became so popular or how their business exploded. This book, told by both of them, shares their journey from their dating stages to just a few years ago. It’s quite amazing how their path unfolded, with the universe seemingly guiding them every single step of the way. Every time they hit a crossroads, they received clear signs to continue to point them in the right direction. It was interesting to learn more about their story, and a great reminder that you need to trust in yourself and follow your passions, and everything really does just fall into place. Chip has his own book out too, Capital Gaines, which I added to my list after I read this one. If you’re curious about their story or just need confirmation to continue to chase your dreams, read this one. ✨ #catesbookaweek 6/52

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Over the years, I have slowly made my way around o Over the years, I have slowly made my way around our house … decorating, renovating and reorganizing it into a soft place to land. The only part that I haven’t touched that much are our yards (except for a fire pit area that went in two years ago, thank you pandemic). I want our outside to be as much as a sanctuary as our inside is, so I plan to spend the next year digging in (no pun intended 😂). I don’t have a green thumb, so feel free to spam me with all your awesome, low maintenance ideas as we create a Japanese-style zen garden. 🤩 I also hate gardening, so there’s that, but am hoping that some #gardentherapy changes my mind as much as it changes the space.
✌🏻 ✌🏻
About last night … we spontaneously decided to m About last night … we spontaneously decided to make a @crumblcookies run at 8:30 and snagged a front seat to Mother Nature’s show. 😍
I took five books with me when we went on a little I took five books with me when we went on a little vacation in May, and got through two of them, one of which was The Magnolia Story. You are, no doubt, familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines, but you might not know how they became so popular or how their business exploded. This book, told by both of them, shares their journey from their dating stages to just a few years ago. It’s quite amazing how their path unfolded, with the universe seemingly guiding them every single step of the way. Every time they hit a crossroads, they received clear signs to continue to point them in the right direction. It was interesting to learn more about their story, and a great reminder that you need to trust in yourself and follow your passions, and everything really does just fall into place. Chip has his own book out too, Capital Gaines, which I added to my list after I read this one. If you’re curious about their story or just need confirmation to continue to chase your dreams, read this one. ✨ #catesbookaweek 6/52
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the w “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl ✨
We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister an We’ve been dog sitting Gracie while my sister and her family were away. She has settled into a new routine here (ours 😂), and now doesn’t get up until after 9 am, stays up until well past midnight, eats a very late dinner, knows that the kitchen is where the magic happens and sits for a treat after her morning backyard visit. We’ve broken her in nicely but she will be returning with her continued bad habit of suffering from #fomo, playing tag with the cats, and barking every time she hears a door open or sees someone go up the street. We did our best. 😇
The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Gar The rewards of a weekend of farmers marketing! Garlic butter and bleu cheese butter from @njgarlic (the bleu on steak! 😍), empanadas from @catalina_empanadas_2017, half sour pickles from @pickleculture and the quiche and bread were from a vendor I forgot to get the name of. This was all from the @bernardsvillefarmersmarket. Today I hit the @denvillemarket and added full sour pickles from @pickle_licious and a roasted garlic and duck fat loaf and cheese biscuit from @bobolinkdairyandbakehouse. Basically give us all the bread, cheese, butter and pickles and we’re happy campers! Did you hit up a farmers market this weekend? What’d ya get?
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, and so it is with the gnocchi from Trader Joe’s. Skip what their directions tell you and pan fry them in olive oil, add some of their 4-green bag of vegetables, salt, pepper, drizzles of pesto and a sprinkle of parm. So freaking good and dinner on the table faster than you can order take out. 🤤

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