This blog post is brought to you today by the letter "B"

This blog post is brought to you today by the letter "B" because it's Tyler's new favorite letter (along with T, O, E, and X) and because it begins the phrase "best weekend ever."

Because that's what we had.

The Best. Weekend. EVER.

It's taken several days to recuperate and find the time to post all of our pictures, but, believe me when I say, I haven't had as much fun as I had this past weekend in a long time. Which says a lot about me, but that's another post entirely.

Anyway, the Watsons road-tripped the four hours north to Pennsylvania to visit Sesame Place. What a blast! I was raised on Sesame Street (not literally, but you know what I mean), and I felt like a kid in a candy store walking in that place. It was absolutely fabulous from start to finish. There is no reason for anyone with kids in the Sesame Street age range to miss a trip to the Sesame Place park. It is well worth every cent it costs and every minute of planning it takes to get there.

We were excited, too, to be meeting our friends from Texas, the Okohs, at Sesame Place. That made the trip even more exciting for us. Jamala and I spent a great deal of time preparing for this trip, determined to make it special for our boys (and for ourselves because, let's be honest, it's hard to let go of your childhood love of all things Sesame).

When we discovered that Breakfast with Elmo was sold out for the day we were planning to visit, we "settled" for Breakfast with Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby. Let me assure you, Elmo would have had a hard time topping our breakfast experience. Then, we played for a while and hung out at the Cabana we rented (which was completely worth every dime, Danny Watson!). After that, it was time to go to Lunch with Big Bird and Friends where we got our much-desired pictures with "Melmo" (according to Kai) and "Bo" (according to Tyler) which can be translated into "Elmo" for those of you who might not speak toddler. Again, an awesome experience.

I could just go on and on about how amazing our day at the park was. We were concerned about possible rough weather, but, even though the dark clouds loomed for much of the day, we only felt a few minuscule sprinkles as we left the park. The big downpour waited to come that night after the kiddos were tucked in bed. Praise the Lord!

On Sunday, we couldn't resist a stop at The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall on the way out of town. Danny is such a history buff that I knew he'd want to be sure to stop if given the chance, and I felt it was important to see such monumental symbols of America's quest for independence and freedom.

Although, admittedly, I liked Sesame Place better. Isn't that terrible?

Then, as we drove through Baltimore, we were able to stop and visit a dear friend of mine from college. Rachel was in my sorority pledge class and she and her sweet husband, Dustin, have been special to us for many years. We were thrilled to have the chance to see them and meet their brand new baby girl, Sara Beth. Oh, she's a beauty!

Best. Weekend. EVER.

Seriously.

Danny and Bert

Bert has always been Danny's favorite Sesame Street character and, Ravi, one of our Air Force buddies, used to say that Danny actually looked like Bert when he had his hair cut short. In fact, when Danny posted one of our ultrasound pictures of Ty on his office door, Ravi cut out a picture of Bert and taped it to the ultrasound photo. It took Danny a few days to even notice. So, we couldn't resist to snap this photo and send it to Ravi to brighten up the rest of his deployment time. He got a good laugh out of it!

Poor Bert. Ty was pointing to Big Bird. I guess it's hard to miss an 8 foot yellow bird that is sitting within feet of your table.

Ernie with Ty and Kai
Kai was totally enamored all day with all the characters--he was absolutely in love with Abby Cadabby, which was really funny to see, and he chased down the Count when he visited our cabana.
Ty, on the other hand, not so much. His mommy was way more excited than he was.

This was the new attraction of the year--The Count's Splash Castle. It was FREEZING cold in that water, and we couldn't get our child out of there. He was completely in his own little utopia in that water.

I think this might have been the only time all day that Ty and Kai acknowledged each other. I don't think they've gotten used to being apart yet so it didn't surprise them to see one another. They are sweet, sweet boys, and we sure do miss the Okohs being close by.

Can you tell I was fighting with the boy to get him to stay put for the picture? I needed the toddler in my arms to justify all my pictures with the characters!!

Cookie peeked in on a sleeping Lydie.

Ty with "Bo"

Oh, how I love me some Big Bird. He and Snuffy have ALWAYS been my faves.

Lydie and "Bo"

Zoe and Lydie

Very creative landscaping

Unfortunately, the parade was our only Snuffy sighting. Very sad.

Ty figured out very quickly how to make all the spinning rides spin even more. It's a wonder Mommy never puked.

The official party planners

Cookie and The Okohs

(sounds like a band doesn't it??)

Cookie hugging Ty--Ty not hugging Cookie back

I just wish you could have felt my excitement over having my picture taken under the Sesame Street sign. Ridiculous.

Playing on the cash register in Mr. Macintosh's Store

The Liberty Bell

Lydie at the Liberty Bell--she was not impressed.

Independence Hall--front view

Independence Hall--from the back

Danny and the kiddos standing in the first Supreme Court

Hanging with George Washington

Rachel and I and our little ADPi legacies!

Sara Elizabeth (Sara Beth)--one month old

Lydia Rose--three months old