Sesame Place

Sesame Place

Did you know that there is an entire theme park in Pennsylvania dedicated to Sesame Street? We went there for last minute day trip last week. It's small, but packed with fun. I actually enjoyed the fact that the park was small. I had all three kids with me by myself, and the park was easy to manage.  

Sesame Place's target audience is families with toddlers. Which makes it great in most ways, but a pain in other ways. For example to get on the lazy river you have to wait in line and the life guard helps every single person. This is perfect if you have young children and need help. If you are like me and have older kids then it stinks to have to stand in line for so long.

The best advice I can give you is bring a bathing suit. I would guess that 65% of this park is water features. 

Again, because the park is toddler friendly most of the water play areas are shallow. I think the deepest water in the park was the lazy river. There were at least two splash pads and one very shallow pool. 

It's definitely worth the wait for the 

large family tube ride, it was so fun.

If you are not into water rides there is still plenty to do. The climbing course was massive, but a bit to difficult for my five year old. Luckily there are lots of rides (including this yellow bounce thing you see in the picture below) right next to the climbing area. This play area is great place for multiple ages. Your older kids can run around while still in sight, while you are nearby with the younger kid.

 

FREE ADMISSION for MILITARY!

If one of your family members is in the military you and your family will receive free 

admission.

This post is part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby, Friday Daydreaming at RWeThereYetMom and BudgetTravelersSandbox.

Unbroken - A must read

Unbroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a true story about Louis Zamperini surviving WWII. He was stationed in the Pacific flying aboard and piloting bombers fighting against Japan. He takes you through his life leading up to the war and how he comes to be a bombardier.

He survives a plane crash, fighting off sharks, and captivity in several Japanese prison camps. This book gives you an in depth look at the Pacific part of WWII.

His story is incredible and it's stunning he lived to share it. He has had a fascinating life and it was entertaining and educational. There were times I literally cried while reading this book. 

I think this book should be required reading in our schools.

6 Things you should NEVER say to a military spouse

You may have a friend that is married to a person in the military, so here's some things you should never say to a military spouse. I know these all by heart, because people say them to me all the time. Especially #1.

1. You must be great at packing! - Is this an actual compliment? Do you think I take pride in my packing abilities? Do you think I enjoy packing? I have had this said to me in some variation at least 200 times. I will never understand why people say this. I've even had people suggest I become a professional packer or moving consultant. Yes, I went to school and got a degree to become a packer. You complimenting my packing skills does not make me feel better about having to move again.

2. It must be so exciting to see the world! - Yes, that does sound exciting, but my husband has never been stationed outside of the United States. I have however moved all over the country. Mostly to desert like areas, where the air force owns the air spaces and nobody lives. That way no one can complain that the planes are to loud. Instead you should ask me, "Is it fun to live in the middle of nowhere? and "Is it true you get excited if you get to live in a town with a mall?"

3. If mom is happy everyone is happy. - This has been said to me several times by someone close to me. Talk about pressure on one person. Moving is stressful. Getting lost every time you leave the house is frustrating. Your kids reaction to stress is depressing. It is hard to just be happy at moments. Military spouses research their new locations and hit the ground running. I always made it a priority to get me kids some friends as fast as possible. If this meant sitting through mom groups where no one ever spoke to me, then that's what I did.

4. I don't know if I want my kids to make friends with your kids, because you are going to move away. - This is probably one of the statements that cut deepest. I've only had it said to me twice, but it always made me wonder are other people thinking the same thing. Ironically one of those people moved away before we did and they were not military.

5. Your life right now with your husband being deployed is no different then my wife taking care of things while I'm at work.  - Where to even begin on this one. Your at work, my husband is deployed to a hazard zone. I went four days last week not hearing from him once. I went a month straight without one break from all three of my kids at the same time. Last year my husband was gone for 7.5 months. This year we consider ourselves lucky because he will only be gone for 4 months.

6. You choose to live far from your family, we could never do that. - What?! Your right when my husband was 17 years old and got accepted to the Air Force Academy we understood exactly what we were getting into. There are tons of bases in Texas and I really thought we would get stationed at one at some point near our family.  Guess what? That never happened and it never gets easier living no where near family.