June Fun

We've had the busiest month ever.  My mom came to visit and we thought we should cram in as much sightseeing as possible.  First we went down to Lancaster County, PA.  This was just me, my mom, Sariah, and Preston as Dallin was in Florida with his boy scout troop, and James had to work.

Since Sariah had been learning about Pennsylvania history and the Amish, I wanted to continue that with an extended field trip.  First, we visited a recreated Amish farm.

Right after we took this picture, he got his head stuck in the hole and it took awhile to get it out.

Sariah and Preston were both absolutely fascinated watching the blacksmith work.

The next day we went on a buggy ride among the real Amish farms.  Poor Preston was allergic to something in Lancaster County because both days every time we went outside his poor eyes couldn't stop watering.  Sariah had her turn when we went to New York the next week--something was affecting her eyes there.

After our Amish experience, we drove south to Strasburg where we ate lunch in a train car and watched another historic train pass by.  Preston was in heaven!

But the best was yet to come!  We went to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania that afternoon.

He did not want to leave this model train display in the lobby to go into the actual museum.

In a box car.

Making the signal lights work.

The museum had an entire children's section full of various kinds of model and toy trains for the kids to play with.  Preston did not want to leave.

 

Filling the pretend coal hopper.

Back in the lobby watching the model trains again.

After that we went to Gettysburg for a day.  It was hot when we got to the visitors' center, and Preston was not happy to be there.  But that all changed when I signed the kids up for the center's "Be a Civil War Soldier" program for kids.  The did a very fun and informative program where the taught the kids about army life.  At the end, they each got a cap and gun and learned to march and shoot their guns.  He loved it!

He made friends with this little guy too.  The first thing he said when we went into the visitors' center that morning was, "I hope I can find a friend today."  And he did!

That's Sariah on the far left.

 

After this we went into the visitors' center to watch the movie and see the Cyclorama.  Unfortunately the movie was too intense for Prest, and I had to take him out pretty quickly after he started to cry.  He was so upset he insisted he wanted to go home right then and right there.  But when we started touring the actual battlefields he changed his tune and had a lot of fun.

(I didn't know they weren't supposed to climb on the cannons until after I had taken these pictures...)

They especially enjoyed visiting a part of the battlefield called Little Round Top where there were lots of rocks to climb on and hide behind.  I was surprised that both kids enjoyed this so much; I was worried that they would be bored at Gettysburg, but they both loved it.

Our last stop was the Pennsylvania Memorial:

That guy photobombed our picture.

On the way home, we went to a really kitschy little place called Mr.  Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium.  The owner has collected and displayed thousands of elephants of all sizes.  It is combined with a huge candy store.  Of course the kids proclaimed this the best part of the whole trip.

The next week we went north to New York and visited Mormon history sites as well as western New York.

In the Joseph Smith family cabin.

At the Smith family farm.  I think Sariah's allergies must already be starting in this picture.

Moments before a HUGE thunderstorm drenched us.  We were so soaked we had to go back to the hotel 10 miles away to change clothing.

We went to visit the recreated print shop where the original Book of Mormon was published.  They had several antique checker boards on the wall, and since Preston LOVES to play checkers, we had to get a picture.  I took more pictures of him here, but most turned out blurry.  (My camera is on its last legs.)  I think the print shop was Preston's favorite place.  I continually see signs of his mechanical mind and future engineering career possibilities.  They demonstrated the whole process of typesetting, printing pages, and then let the kids fold the pages into a little book, and he was just mesmerized the entire time.

Looking at typeset letters.

Folding pages nice and neat.

Of course, anything technology-related is a hit.  He and Sariah were both entertained with these interactive displays at one of the visitors' centers.

We drove along Lake Ontario to western New York.  My family has always been intrigued by a little town called Olcott right on the lake, so we couldn't pass up the chance to see it in person.  It was really nothing more than a very small boardwalk with some charming shops, but we did stop for ice cream and pictures.

Nobody got their head stuck in this one.

The next day we went to Niagara Falls, which the kids thought was not that exciting at first...

...Until we took the tour where you walk down near the falls and get soaked with spray!  They loved it!

There's Preston trying to adjust his poncho while Dallin has just given up on it and embraced being wet.  Again, we got photobombed by some random stranger.

Tired of pictures and ready to go at this point.

Our last stop was Lockport, New York to watch the boats go through the locks on the Erie Canal.  Once again, Preston was completely fascinated with this.  After everyone else was ready to leave, he wanted to go down the next lock and watch the whole process again.

I believe the locks were closing at this point.

On our home we stopped at Perkins in Bradford, PA, and you'd think Preston never got to eat out.  Pancakes with sprinkles were the ultimate treat in his mind.