The Kennedys

Fun with Elmo.....and then some!

Okay, you can lambaste us again for delaying the posting of the second day of ElmoPalooza, but man has it been busy around the Kennedy household these days! But without further delay, here is the update you may have been waiting on!

Saturday morning the time finally arrived for the girls to begin their big adventure with Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street characters at Sesame Place. The day began with breakfast at the hotel and a ton of pent up excitement. After a short hop to the park via the hotel shuttle we quickly made our way into the park and let the fun begin!

The first stop for the girls was with Cookie Monster on Main Street. At first we thought that Savannah would not want to

meet the characters due to an incident at the local Chick-Fil-A, but that's another story! Much to our surprise Savannah LOVED it! Not only did she meet Cookie Monster, but she met ALL the characters she loves from the show! But the most important meeting of the day came when Savannah saw Elmo! She ran up to Elmo and gave him a hug and was overjoyed to meet him! We had to drag her away saying "Elmo, Elmo, Elmo"! From 10 to 3 we ravaged the park from play areas to swimming pools, all without an afternoon nap! Near 3 the girls started

to wear out so we decided to call it a day and head for the exit, but could not get out the gate without Ann Marie hugging her favorite character Super Grover! A short walk to the van and a quick ride back to the hotel brought everyone to their room exhausted and ready for a nap.

Later that evening we all packed it over to Chili's for dinner where we watched Jillian power down an ear of corn in a way that

would have made any parent proud! After a long day the cold drinks (yes, there were adult beverages on this trip) and great food made everyone very happy! Upon returning to the hotel the girls headed for bed (all but 2!) and the adults adjourned to the hallway to share a laugh and a beer before heading to sleep.

The next morning the Zolteks met us at the hotel for breakfast and we all got to see Leah before we left for home. Seeing

the girls together made everyone feel as sense of completeness as the girls seemed to not miss a beat after a year in the United States. We hope to make this a yearly event and have already started planning for next year!

Leaving Pennsylvania we decided to tag along with Terry, Amy and Jillian to visit a friend of theirs in Baltimore, MD and the National Aquarium located downtown at the Inner Harbour. After trekking down the coast with a quick stop in Turnpike Fuel Plaza for some gas and grub we made it to the Inner Harbour only to find there was a home game for the Oriels and the

NCAA Lacrosse Tournament was in town! Oooopps! BIG MISTAKE! We finally found a place to park then decided to forgo the aquarium due to the long lines and just walked the harbour taking in some great jazz music, a well timed fruit smoothie and just the overall atmosphere. A good time was had by all for several hours before we had to depart for our next stop in Fredricksburg, VA for an overnight stay. Saying goodbye to our friends we headed out for Virginia and hour hotel and then a trip home on Monday.

After a quick meal and a good nights sleep the Kennedy's headed for home and some well deserved rest after a long

weekend. We had a blast seeing all of our friends and making sure that the bonds we formed during our travels in China stayed fresh in our minds and the love for all of our girls stayed ingrained in our hearts.

Well, that's about all I have for now so enjoy the photos and we will see you all soon!

Till then....

Mike (What do you mean a drink is 8 dollars?), Ann Marie (I think I love Grover!), and Savannah (can we do this all again next weekend) Kennedy