the sweetest weekend

This weekend Drew, Asher, and I headed north to visit my sisters!  My younger sister, Erin, and her husband Ryan, just moved into their new home last month and graciously offered to host us all. 

Love their brand new place!

Asher was SUPER excited to meet their dog, Phinley.  Unfortunately, Phin was just as excited and had to be corralled a little.  They fed off each other's energy which was inevitably going to lead to a scared Asher, so we didn't get to spend much time with Phin-dog this trip.  Next time Asher will be a little bigger and less able to be bowled over - I hope.  :-)

Our older sister, Jenn, and her family met us there about 15 minutes after we arrived.  Asher was kind of smitten with his Aunt Jenn...

Uncle Chris...

and especially his 7 year old cousin, Owen.  Just look at these little mischief makers.  ha!

Owen was so patient with Asher.  They called him 'baby Godzilla' - everything Owen would build, Asher would smash.

After taking a little time to stretch after being in the car, we took a 10 minute drive to Hershey and Chocolate World!

Oh my, YUM.

Have you been to Hershey?  The whole town smells like chocolate.  I wish I was exaggerating, but it's true.  They pump the smell into the air!

Inside Chocolate World there is an automated ride that tells you the history of Hershey and explains how chocolate is made.  Asher loved it!  He was so enthralled by all of the animatronics and music.

After the ride you are deposited in Chocolate USA - land of candy, home of the sugar coma.

We spotted Mr. Reeses taking photos with people and Asher went biserk when he saw him.  He was SO excited! 

I thought it might be a Chick-Fil-A cow moment all over again where he was excited from a distance, but scared up close, but it wasn't.  We walked up and Asher gave him a high five right away.

After begging Owen to let him 'have at it' in the candy displays {an idea Owen wisely rejected}

we headed out for pizza then home for a nap.  Asher did awesome at sleeping - usually being away from home means sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed, but A went right into his pack 'n play and snoozed out. 

After his nap there was more play time, including a session of Wii bowling that A desperately wanted to participate in.  He would run at the screen every time someone bowled - I think it scared Aunt Erin.  ha!

A day full of this much fun is bound to wear out the hardiest of souls, let alone a little boy.  I finally caught him zoning out on Drew's lap late in the afternoon.  Asher slept amazingly well that night too - YAY!

The next morning we all headed to church, had lunch, and then...headed home.  :-(  It's always hard to leave, but we had SO much fun!!  We need to see you all again soon!