Family Comes to Visit {Round One}

Company. Visitors. Family.  They're always welcome, but even more so when living halfway across the country. 

For the past week, I have been graced by the presence of my dad and his other half, Deb. They arrived last Thursday, and I [less than willingly] returned them to the airport yesterday morning. We had a very fun week filled with road trips, football, exploration, and even birthday celebrations. Oh, and of course a lot of delicious food.

Here's a quick photo recap of some of the highlights of the week.

Beautiful view that's all around this town. The first day we went on a little road-trip to the Amish market and Mennonite store, and this is what the drive was like.

Horses on the hillside

A little Amish farmstead

Mike took us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the new ice arena -- which is what brought us here. It doesn't even open to the public for another week or two, but we got to check it out!

The outside of the men's locker room. Pretty cool!

View of the ice from the club seats.

We thought maybe it would be fun to hike a little of Mt Nittany. It doesn't look that steep, but it's a rough hike! Next time we give it a try, Mike will be on baby-carrying duty :)

Mike & I looking stellar

My dad & Deb enjoying the hike

We even got to go to the Penn State football game on Saturday. Unfortunately they didn't win, but it was a fun game! This is the Blue Band doing their pre-game routine. They're so good!

The team running onto the field

A Nebraska car we saw leaving the game!! 

[maybe i can track them down and make a friend!]

We drove to Hershey, PA to tour the Hershey Factory.

Mike [clearly excited] on the car for the How It's Made tour.

My dad & Deb [actually excited] in the car for the tour

Mike & I [and both my chins] ready to learn how it's made.

These cows help tell the story of how the chocolate is made. 

[a little goofy, if you ask me]

One of the steps of chocolate-making.

Dropping dollops of chocolate to make Kisses!

Just after wrapping and headed to the store.

Hershey Park is an amusement park. We walked around a little, but apparently roller coasters are off-limits when 9 months pregnant. Who knew? [kidding.]

The streetlights of the town of Hershey, PA are shaped like Hershey's Kisses!

The smokestacks of the actual Hershey factory. Unfortunately the factory was closed when we went [over the weekend] so we didn't get to see the real deal, we just toured the replica.

Dad's birthday celebration!

Mike's birthday celebration!

As you can see, we had a very enjoyable week. We did a lot of fun things, and we had plenty of relaxation time too.  I really didn't want to take them back to the airport yesterday, but I guess that's part of the deal. Maybe they'll have to come visit again soon?!  

THANKS FOR COMING TO SEE US!!!!