We just got back from a 2-day trip to Pennsylvania! Tuesday we spent the whole day at Hershey Park. J and W each grew to the next size requirement and got to go on more rides this year. W got to ride the Comet and J got to ride the Great Bear! My kids can't get enough of those aggressive thrill rides. I love them too and I'm so happy to have them to go with me (B hates them).

We met a sales rep of B's who lives in PA and who provided us with the tickets. We met him in 1995 and have met up with him and his family for the past 4 years for 2 days in PA. His kids are 12, 8, and 6 and my kids had a blast with them. We left the park at around 9:30pm and went for dinner at Applebee's together. I finally got to meet his wife and when she asked about school and I mentioned homeschooling, she said she looked into it as well and even knew all about unschooling! It was great talking with her all day.

After dinner we drove to Lancaster and settled into our hotel room. By this time it was almost midnight and everyone was out cold in about 15 minutes. In the morning we went across the street to Dutch Wonderland for a few hours. They went on a few rides and went in the water area for a little while and we left about 12:30 pm. We left early because I had to be at work at 6, W had his first solo lesson with Ms. S (the studio owner), and the town was closing most of Rte 30 (right outside the amusement park) at 3 because Pres. Bush was going to be 2 doors away speaking at some function. So I'm glad we left when we did.

B dropped me off at work and took the kids to W's first solo lesson. Ms. S is starting him out with 20 minutes at a time and going to try to work up to an hour. She told B that W already picked up what she taught him yesterday and is scheduled again for the same time next week. The girls saw some other kids there and they got to hang out together for a while. Regular dance classes will begin in September. We got a big list of all the new rules and prices and it seem as though things have tripled since last year. Sigh. After breaking everything down into categories (tuition, costumes, private lessons, shoes, tights, accessories, extra choreography, Team Rave, hotels, gas, and fundraising) I'm figuring we'll spend about $10K for K, J, and W this season on dance. Thank goodness I'm working now.

Right now J and W are watercolor painting together on the dining room floor and K is cleaning her room and watching the Movie-Trailer-On-Demand Channel. We're heading out to the supermarket today and maybe a shady spot in the park.