from Danbury, CT

This vacation has been so fun and we've done so many different things! I'm currently writing this from the business center of the Danbury Holiday Inn, which is in the lobby right next to a very LOUD night club...much different then the camping cabin from a few nights ago! Up in our hotel room Mike is sleeping along with the three kids and three of their cousins (don't tell the hotel...I think it is a fire hazard to have that many people in one room)--not to mention the two weeks of vacation geer that we took out of the car to make room for the cousins (5 suitcases, golf clubs, camping stuff, Christmas presents we've purchased on this trip, TONS of books, and a lot of the $65 worth of candy that we bought in Hershey, PA)...you've never seen a more crowded hotel room. Soo...HERSHEY...we went to Chocolate world on Tuesday and had the best time. Milton Hershey was similar to Walt Disney and really a genius. We loved the 3D movie and the tour and ride. The free samples weren't so bad either. If you are reading this and are lucky enough to be a member of the family watching our guinea pig...your family will directly benefit from our visit to Hershey! (and even if you aren't watching the guinea pig...we'll probably have more to share). We left PA on Thursday morning and headed to CT and the marina where R & G's boat is docked. I was still fighting my cold and wasn't sure how 24 hours on a sailboat was going to be, but it turned out to be the highlight of our trip and one of the best days ever!! Jonathan took to sailing immediately and learned how to lift/adjust the sails, steer the boat, and many other things that I have no idea about. We sailed from CT to Port Jefferson, NY on Long Island and spent the night on the boat. Madi wasn't thrilled with the tilting part of sailing (this morning G asked her "what part of the tilting didn't you like?" and she replied "the I'm about to fall in the water part."), but she loved the rest of the time, especially learning to kayak this morning! She was a natural at it! We all loved the kayaking...I think we'll be looking into getting one (or more) in the near future. Jake even went on with me and was amazingly adept at paddling it! He instinctively knew how to turn and everything! We all hated to leave there, but it was time for the final phase of our trip...preparing for the birth of the new baby cousin! We met Mike's brother, sister & kids at a resaurant for an early surprise bday celebration for his mom, then took the kids back to the hotel with us. The cousins have sooo much fun together. They are continuing to write a book that they have worked on the last three times they've been together over the last year. They pick up right where they left off each time. Tonight in the hotel they got to talking about bad words somehow (keep in mind my kids call "stupid" the S word). They (the five big kids--Jake was already asleep) were talking about how they beep out bad words on American Idol which lead to a comment about someone talking about the word Butt, which lead S to say "but the bad word...like harass, but without the har". Then Madi says "like Uranus " then S says "that's JL's favorite planet, but the other kids at school make fun of her for it, so she had to change it" . Then Madi says "not to Pluto I hope that isn't a real planet anymore it is a dwarf planet"....see everything is educational!!! Before all the cousins go to sleep tomorrow there should be a new cousin...baby W!! I will be sleeping with the phone near the bed and could get a call anytime. Aunt J will be induced sometime tomorrow and I will get to be there!! The hospital will call her sometime between 4:30 am and 5 pm...so it will be an interesting day! I guess I should get off the computer now and try to get some sleep...that is if I can squeeze into the very crowded hotel room!