Dutch Wonderland, Day 1!

It has been a couple of years since our last visit (last year's weekend was cancelled for weather, I am not sure what happened in 2015), but everyone was excited to return to Dutch Wonderland. The kids knew it was happening at some point this season, since the tickets were a Christmas gift, but they didn't know exactly when. Friday was a big night in our house--the three older kids all performed in a school play (blog to follow). They didn't get to bed until almost 10, which is late for our kiddos. However, they were all up by 8. Kara was actually up around 7. Thomas told her about our plans. We wanted her to decide if she wanted to go to her soccer game before we headed to Lancaster. She was happy to skip it and get on the road as soon as possible. Anna was super excited and everyone immediately began gathering bags for the car. We had already packed their clothes and essentials.

By 9:15 we were in the car and on our way, we stopped once at a Pennsylvania Welcome Center for a bathroom break and rolled into the Lancaster Cracker Barrel at 12:30. We had a leisurely lunch and let everyone choose if they wanted a dessert at Cracker Barrel or if they wanted to wait and get a treat at the park. Everyone wisely chose Coke Cake and our (very mini) vacation was off to a good start. After lunch, we browsed the outlets. Jack and Luke played on a small playground while the girls and I went to Children's Place. Anna and Kara have reached the age where they love trying on clothes. They were having an amazing sale of 75% off clearance. We bought 2 dresses, 1 pair of pants, 2 headbands, sunglasses for Luke, and 2 earring cards for $20.15!!! The boys then joined us to look at the Pottery Barn Outlet. We all love Pottery Barn, but they are so overpriced (in my opinion). Not the outlet! Prices were already reduced, and then the entire store was an additional 30% off! Unfortunately, we had the kids, which made browsing hard. We spent a lot of time chasing them around as they sat on chairs, laid on beds and opened and closed drawers. They had a lot of furniture I loved, there was a table and chairs I would have bought if we had any way to get it home. Sadly, the only thing we bought were new lunchboxes for the kids ($24 retail, $10 at the outlet). Still, it was fun.

After a restroom break, we were ready to head to Dutch Wonderland. They have a preview option, which allows you to go into the park 3 hours before closing on the day before your visit. This weekend, that meant we could enter at 3pm. We were at the gate at 2:58, The ticket taker gave me a dirty look and said, "the preview doesn't start until 3," as if we were trying to sneak in hours early. But, I was patient and polite and we calmly waited the remaining 2 minutes.

The park had a camping jamboree where girl scouts camped at their campground and then came to the park, so it was a bit more crowded than we expected for this time of year. But, we still managed to ride most of the rides in the park. Just like the girls had at his age, Luke adored the "whip it" ride, which for some reason, our kids have always called the bumper cars. In fact, he adored just about everything. At one point, he was really mad that he had to wait for the big kids to get off a ride and he threw himself on the ground crying. People just smiled and stepped around him as I waited for the fit to pass. After a minute, I decided to move him to a nearby bench. I picked him while he screamed and as we sat down, he suddenly stopped crying and said, in a very calm voice, "mom, what's that ride???" as something in the distance caught his attention. Just like that, the tantrum was over (to be fair to Luke, he doesn't have many fits, but this was a very long day for him).

The "bumper cars". Anna got off, saying, "it's still really fun!"

A favorite of all Wilson children, but the other 3 are way too tall now.

On the Turtle Whirl with Dad

The big kids still enjoy the little rides

We stayed until the park closed at 6. It took a while to get out of the parking lot. Our plan had been to go to Chick-Fil-A, but like every CFA, it was a zoo. We couldn't even find a parking spot. So, we drove across the street to a KFC. No one was happy. But, we were hungry and tired and didn't want to waste any more time (the hotel pool was calling our names). We ate a meal that no one liked and then went to the hotel. We checked in and then immediately changed into our bathing suits. By now, it was 7:15, so we told the kids they only had 45 minutes, which wasn't near enough time for them, but they were good sports when we told them it was time to go. We played Marco Polo and had a good time. Luke just jumped off the side of the pool into my or Thomas' arms over and over and over and over again.

We got back to the room and got everyone in bed.