Fort Columbia Vacation

Family Picture

Geoff, Langston, LaNita, Ron, Toby, Travis (Back)

Emerson, Tahnee, Wesley, Deb, Stuart, Isabelle, Cara & Gabby 

Silly Picture!

Cousins Eating Lunch

Emerson, Gabriella, and Stuart

Travis and Isabelle

Enjoying the New Backpack

Fort Columbia State Park

Cousins

Gabriella and Langston

Playing in the Water

Wesley and Langston

Girl Cousins Dancing and Having Fun

Uncle Toby Reading a Book

Wesley, Langston, Stuart, Emerson, & Gabriella

Isabelle in the back!

Travis teaching the kiddos- He loved this!

Gabby LOVED this! 

Filling-Out their Activity Books

Learning how to start a fire

Cousins get to practice with flint and steel

Gabriella is a Junior Ranger!

Her Badge and Patch

Laughter, noisy kids, games, a big house, yummy food, and good conversation... a Tebo tradition has been born! We rented the Scarborough House at Fort Columbia State Park near which is right across from Astoria, OR. We had a great time but quickly realized that two nights is not long enough... The highlight for Gabriella was going to Fort Clatsop and learning about nature and earning her Junior Ranger patch and of course-- spending time with all of her cousins! Travis and I enjoyed the late night story-telling about what we've all been up to with our family....

Happy Fourth of July!

Tebo family in front of the 

George and Martha Washington statues

Isabelle loved this statue

Gabriella with Martha Washington

What an awesome look-alike! She read the kids some stories

and answered some questions

Mama and her girls

outside Mt. Vernon

Daddy and his girls

Waiting for the fireworks in back of the house

George Washington's Tomb

Pony!

George Washington, fireworks, the Star-Spangled-Banner... it was a very merry Fourth of July for the Tebo family. We drove to Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington, and braved the 100 degree heat. We got there about 10 am and left around 2:30. We watched people become US citizens, listened to a band play American music, experienced fireworks (during the day time-- who knew?), and learned about George Washington's life.  Gabby asked great questions about war and the significance of George Washington. Isabelle was a real trooper too. We went back to the hotel for a swim, bath time, and dinner. Love my family!

Arlington Cemetary

Travis' Great Uncle

Feel good time at the ole crematorium

We did a TON of walking in 100 degree heat

Silence...

Changing of the Guard

They were like robots!

JFK Memorial Eternal Flame

On Tuesday we went to the Arlington national Cemetery to pay respects to Travis' great Uncle. I couldn't believe how hot it was!

Hershey Park's "Chocolate World"

Travis and Isabelle

She LOVED the free chocolate tour and was

so excited about all the lights and action!

Trolley Bus Tour

Gabriella laughing at the entertainment

You can see the tour guides up front.

They sang and acted out stuff-- it was rad.

View of the Hershey Park

Travis and Isabelle

She was a bit busy, but she did okay. We passed her back

and forth to each other.

Gabriella enjoying the Trolley Bus Tour

Coloring, keeping the girls busy while we listen to the 

history lesson of chocolate

Chocolate Taste Testing and Lesson

Mama and her girls

We got there 10 minutes before it opened

Outside waiting for it to open...

Love how blue the sky is!

Gabriella waiting in line

Isabelle waiting in line

Create your own candy bar!

Our favorite thing we did!

Our fancy DIY chocolate wrappers

Outside the 3D show

I love these shows!

The Tebo family did it right at Hershey Park's, "Chocolate World" and arrived ten minutes before opening and did all the attractions in about four hours. Gabriella and I loved it more then Travis and Isabelle, although she had a blast on the Chocolate Tour. She loved the dancing cows and bright lights but pooped-out during the Trolley Bus tour. Travis and I agreed the trolley bus was pretty cool... they had two tour guides that acted-out parts as they were sharing with us the history of Hershey chocolate and as we were seeing the actual houses, factory, etc. The chocolate tasting session was just okay. The 3D show was pretty cool, but the "Create Your Own" chocolate bar was session was awesome. I chose a milk chocolate bar with pretzel pieces, toffee, and butterscotch chips. Gabby chose white chocolate, raspberry bits, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. We got to see the entire process and you know it was your candy bar because a screen would light-up with your name on in while the bar passed on the conveyor belt. You also get to decorate your candy bar wrapper. Gabby and I loved it (Travis stayed with Isabelle)! We left about 12:30, just in time for lunch and nap time. Sweet!

Tebo Family Visit

Campfire in the backyard

Morning time in the motorhome 

The girls waking-up daddy

View of the deck, pool, and motorhome

Travis, Aunt Deb, Isabelle, Gabriella, and Emily

Lola the dog (missing Gracie)

Gabriella, Cara, Uncle Larry, Travis, & Isabelle

Amherst Fire Department 

(where Uncle Larry works)

After a super quick stop to New Hampshire, just to say we went there, we headed to Amherst, Massachusetts on Friday to see Uncle Larry and Aunt Deb and invade their house. It was an awesome surprise to see cousin Emily as well! Gabby got to meet another second cousin, which makes her super happy. They have a great house and they even have a pool! Yay! It was so crazy hot that we were pretty excited about that. Gabby fell in love with their two dogs (and was even singing to them) while Isabelle ran around as we chased after her-- typical 17 month old phase. So tiring! We stayed in their motor home and had a lovely time at fire department picnic. Travis and I were once again amazed by the enormous portion sizes of food that were offered, but being a pregnant woman--- there was no complaining from me. Ha! Uncle Larry drove me around three college campuses (UMass-Amherst, Amherst College, and Hampshire College) so I can tick that off the list of college campuses I've seen. It was a brief but good visit and we look forward to seeing them again in the future... Thank goodness for Facebook because it's so easy to keep in touch now. :)

Gabriella's 5th Birthday (for real)

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Happy 5th Birthday, Gabriella!

Make a wish

Tebo Family 

Since Gabriella already had a big birthday party in China, it was a low-key celebration with the family.