We are bad at vacations.

 So, we left on Monday morning for our trip to Philadelphia. We were all excited to get out of Erie for a few days so Cameron could take his Physical Evaluation of Step 2 of the Boards. We reserved a hotel room in King of Prussia, PA (strange name, right?), and off we went. We even brought the dogs.

 Here we are. Happy Campers. Happy, unsuspecting campers.

Little did we know, this would not be what we were anticipating.

 

 It all started when we realized our GPS had taken us to the Toll Roads...and Toll Roads in Pennsylvania are NOT cheap. It cost us nearly $30 in tolls just to make it one way of our destination. The only positive of this was that we got to tunnel through three different mountains. The tunnels were pretty cool. Madilyn loved them.

 So, we finally made it Monday night, met Cameron's Aunt Julie and Uncle Ike for dinner at Outback, and then headed off to our motel. It was Motel 6. Now, I've stayed at my share of Motel 6's, and for the most part, they're just fine. Nothing too fancy, but usually clean and stocked with all of the usual motel amenities. This one, was NOT.
For starters, the our room door looked like someone had pryed it open a time or two. Trashy. The carpet was dirty and stained, the countertops looked like someone had dyed their hair in there, and there was no shampoo. None. We walked in and said, "Oh...........no." Madilyn walked in and said, "Oh.........YES! This is amazing!" haha It's all in your perspective, I guess.
The next day, while Cameron took his test, Madilyn and I met up with Aunt Julie to see some sights. We just did free things since we were trying to save money...but next time, I'm buying the City Pass and seeing all of the historical sights. I was disappointed we weren't able to this time. But, oh well. So....we ate cheesesteaks and pizza at Jerry's Pizza Pie (it was DELICIOUS!) and we drove out to Herr's Potato Chip factory (Make Herr's Yours--haha). On the way, Madilyn threw up in the car. We had been driving a lot, and I thought she might have been carsick. So, we went inside Herr's and bought her a new, clean t-shirt before we took the tour.

 

Here she is, in her new t-shirt, talking to Aunt Julie.

During the tour, we got to eat fresh, hot potato chips. They were delicious!

 After the tour, we headed off to Longwood Gardens. Aunt Julie volunteers there, so we got free tickets to see the plants and flowers. Most of the flowers were still not out yet (it was cold), but we went in the Arboretum, and it was springtime! The smell was glorious. I could live in there all year long.

 Here are Madilyn and Aunt Julie on the "Whispering Bench."

You sit on one end and whisper...and the person at the other end

can hear what you're saying. Kinda cool.

 So, after Longwood Gardens, we went back to the hotel, grabbed Cameron for dinner and headed out. On the way to dinner, we got stuck in traffic, Madilyn threw up again, and we went back to the junky motel. Cameron got us take out and brought it back. We ate and went to bed.
About 30 minutes after we were all asleep, Madilyn threw up in bed. We cleaned her up, went back to sleep, and 20 minutes later, she threw up again. This continued every 20 minutes for 2 hours. Poor baby couldn't stop! We had to take her to the ER. She was sad. She just wanted to go back to the "show and tell" (aka motel).

 They gave her some Zofran and monitored her for a while. She finally fell asleep and we waited to get the discharge papers from the ER dr.

Finally, no more throwing up. So, we were discharged, went to our car, got her hooked in the car seat, and she threw up again. We made it back to the motel room, got her in bed, and she threw up again. Oh, it was so sad and exhausting. By this time, I think it was 3:30 a.m. Thankfully, that was the last of the throwing up. Praise Jesus!

The next morning, we headed back to Erie. As we drove through Lancaster, PA (aka land of the Amish), we saw a few horses and buggies, but honestly by the time I realized it, we were too far away to get a good picture. They do have these road signs, though.

 And, we saw this sweet dad and son walking together through town. So adorable.

 Here is a buggy in the corner of the parking lot.

 Then, as we drove through State College, there were signs to drive two dots apart, and they actually painted the road all the way through town with dots. I've never seen anything like this before.

 We kept our "two dot" distance.

We stopped in Harrisburg, PA at Sonic Drive-in, and I got my favorite--a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper! I've missed Sonic SO MUCH!!!
Other than that, the drive home was pretty uneventful. Poor Madilyn! Traveling when you're sick is NO FUN, but she was a trooper. Then, we drove through lots of snow the whole way to Erie. I am ready for warm weather!!!
We hope our next vacation is a little more uneventful and a little more relaxing. But through it all, I could feel God's presence. He is an ever-present help in time of need.

The Zoo is OPEN!

The Erie Zoo opened again today!

The high was 28 degrees, and yes, it was snowing.

And yes, we went to the zoo :)

 Daddy and Madilyn seeing the polar bear.

 The half-frozen pond.

 Madilyn HAD to bring May Giraffe and Baby Horse

so they could see the zoo. She knew they would love it :)

 The ducks were all underneath the bird feeders eating the fallen bird seed.

 The mighty Mill Creek.

Most of the animals were still indoors, but it was so nice to have family time 

and get some fresh air. And afterwards, we took Madilyn to her favorite fro-yo place--Menchies!

Maybe if we pretend that it's Spring, it will start to feel like it?

Our Sweetest Christmas Moments

We spent Christmas in Erie by ourselves this year. Here are some favorite pictures I have been forgetting to post. Lots of snow. Lots of fun.

And, we're back!

Hello friends!
Well, here we are. Well into 2013, and I still haven't posted pictures from Christmas Day! I will try to get those up soon.
As you can tell, our blog got a facelift! Big thanks to my pal Christie Lee. She so kindly volunteered to help me update the look.
I hope to post a lot this year to keep you updated on our adventures. We have a big year coming up with Cameron's "away rotations" and interviews. Crazy times. Good times.
Thanks for taking the time to visit here.
I hope this post finds you and yours doing well in 2013.
God is so good,
Ashley

Preparing for Christmas

This is the first Christmas we will spend in Erie, and we've been doing a few things to get ready around here. We hung lights outside our home, we've made multiple sets of Christmas cookies and tonight, we went to Tim Hortons for donuts and coffee (and chocolate milk for little Miss M), and then away we went. Off on an adventure to find the best Christmas lights. They weren't really too impressive...but there were a few houses we found that took their time on outdoor decorating. We jammed to Taylor Swift's new album "Red," (Madilyn's suggestion). When she wanted to hear number 13 again, she said she wanted "One-eee-three." hehe Also, we were driving past the power plant, and Madilyn said, "Wow, look at that huge sculpture." :) She's too big for her britches sometimes ;)

Our half-eaten box of donuts. I seriously love Tim Hortons. A little too much. 

Madilyn enjoying the ride in her pj's.

Cameron being the cheery tour guide.

This past Saturday morning, we spent some time making a gingerbread house. 

It didn't last long. We basically decorated it so we could eat it. Yes, yes we did.

In our Saturday morning comfy clothes...but such a nice family morning :) We make a killer gingerbread house. And, it was delicious, too.

Currently, we are watching a Christmas movie and chilling out by the tree. We are doing 7 nights of Christmas movies (Cameron and I) until Christmas. We are trying to make it feel "Christmas-y" around here because without extended family, it's not feeling very normal. But, we are going to enjoy our little Christmas here and look forward to visiting Texas in March! Woo hoo! Now, I hope we get some snow for a white Christmas. Hoping. Hoping. Hoping :) Merry Christmas!