In case you haven't been able to tell, the time between posts is directly proportional to the degree of "compliance" of the kids. And yes, it's been a few days.
I must say, I have to wonder where is that entire crowd of people who readily dispensed information on how upon the kids reaching 3 years of age, we would find ourselves in a magical era of super behaved kids, sweet as cherubims, with angelic voices and puffy clouds and warm rays of sunshine.... But I digress... That entire crowd of people appear to have taken their promises of such divine life and moved to another planet altogether. Because now, when I stumble into the cafeteria at 9:03 am, lunging for my morning coffee in a desperate attempt to somehow restore normality via a massive caffeine infusion, a whole new set of people wisely nod and with a knowing smile assure me that it is 4 and a half that is the magical milestone. I'm not sure I'm going to fall for that one again...
And it is not the case that when the mood is right (or, perhaps when the moon aligns perfectly with the right leg of a centipede sitting on a rock in the shadow of a coconut tree in Fiji: who knows!?) the kids can't be angelic and fantastic. Don't get me wrong: when that moonbeam hits the centipede just right, they are funny, amusing, entertaining, loving, and full of joy. But the times in between have really really really put my patience to the test, and so far, the score is Kids 194, Patience 2.

We had a fabulous time visiting Hershey Park over the Thanksgiving holidays with Aunt Jackie, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sue, Uncle Dave, Perri, Erin and Ella. Here are a few pictures:

I love this expression on J's face: this was during a tour of how a chocolate factory works.







Of course, a chocolate factory employs happy singing cows to make the chocolate!

In the LadyBug ride.









This one was super fast. But the boys emerged happy. Mommy might consider riding on this one, if offered a million bucks.