Visit with an Old Friend and Valley Forge

As a teenager, Tammy was one of those cool girls I had long admired from a far-flung ward in my home stake (Anoka).  We got to know each other when we ended up hosting her and some other YW from her ward overnight for a stake activity (that may or may not have included some Dad sanctioned toilet papering escapades). She was friendly and fun and I enjoyed interacting with her at subsequent stake events.   

After high school we both went our separate ways....Tammy to Ricks and me to BYU.  Then a couple years later, I had arranged to live in Alta Apartments with some friends from my freshman year and we had one final space still open in our apartment.  We didn't know anyone else who needed a place, so we left it up to management to fill the last slot.   Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be my long-lost friend from back home...Tammy!  She had just transferred to BYU and somehow ended up in our apartment.  We were only roomies for a semester, since she was already engaged to her sweetheart by the time we lived together, but it was a fun semester reconnecting with her and getting to know her even better. 

Over the years we've kept up with each other via the wonderful tradition of once-yearly Christmas cards.   Through Christmas cards (and more recently Facebook) I discovered that Tammy and her family had recently relocated to the Philadelphia area.  So it was that when we started planning our recent weekend trip, that I made sure that we carved out a little time to meet with her and her cute family! 

Now it is a well-known fact that I bring my camera with me just about everywhere---usually lugged over my shoulder like a purse.  Too bad, with all the lugging that I do,  that I tend to forget to take pictures when it matters most.  For instance, when family comes to town.  I take it with me everywhere and rarely use it.  Part of me doesn't want to subject others to the same paparazzi style picture taking that I subject my own family to and the other part of me just plain forgets in the hubbub of being social. 

And that is also exactly what happened during my visit with Tammy.   I made sure that my camera was right by my side, so I could snap pictures of our teens being social with each other at one table and our little ones being social at the other table, but unfortunately, right by my side, is exactly where my camera stayed during the entire visit until right at the very end. 

Here she is with her sweet little Olivia right as we were walking out the door.... 

And this is us as we're already out the door and our families are waiting for us (nine kids between the two of us).  It was great to catch up with her  and even better to find her healthy, happy, and with a beautiful family! 

After our lunch visit, we went off, with a borrowed audio tour CD,  for a driving tour of Valley Forge which happened to be very near Tammy's home...

It was very similar to Gettysburg tours we'd taken, where you start off at a visitors' center, then drive around while listening to a CD explaining the sites as you go...

We were totally in love with the picturesqueness of the area, like this quaint covered bridge and the stunning hills and trees.

We also very much enjoyed learning more about the experiences George Washington and his army faced while camping there, in Valley Forge. It really reiterated to me  that the formation of our country was nothing other than an inspired event.  There is no other way to explain the overwhelming odds our little untrained and underpaid American army  overcame in defeating the British.  Despite the ugliness of modern-day politics, it helped remind me how truly blessed we are to live in a land based on the principles of freedom and liberty. 

Sorry, but all this philosophizing is making me want to break out into song...

 

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Real Deal Philadelphian Phood

One of the parts of coming to Philadelphia that we were most excited about, was the FOOD!  I know that this pronouncement is probably somewhat of a shocker since you all know what a small part food plays in my life, but we just couldn't wait to see what all the fuss was about.  First on our list was trying out some of the world-famous Philly Cheesesteaks. 

We had several restaurants  recommended  to us, but in the end decided that Spataro's in the Reading Terminal Market was where we wanted to try. 

It was a rather slow process ordering several sandwiches, since they make each one of them fresh right in front of you....

In the end, it turned out to be a gloriously tasty hunk of beefy sandwich....

I still prefer my poultry dishes, but it was unanimously agreed that it was pretty darn excellent for something made with cow....

Afterward, we stopped at the Flying Monkey (also in the Reading Terminal Market) and got us some fresh cupcakes.  They were declared "better-than-average" by us cupcake snobs (Cami and me), but were scarfed down in short enough time, that I would declare them worth another try on another visit. 

The other place we had to stop while we were there was Ruby's Diner.  Glen and Spencer had been taken there by some friends after a BYU football pilgrimage a couple of years ago and Spencer just couldn't stop raving about how they had the best hamburgers AND milkshakes that he'd EVER eaten in his entire life. 

Once again, for something made of beef, I found them pretty enjoyable.  (better than Five Guys, for sure!)

I even stopped on the way and bought some Lact-Aid pills, so that I could indulge in the legendary milkshakes (of which I took no pictures) without subjecting my family to the unpleasant, but unnamed, consequences that milkshakes usually inflict upon their poor lactose intolerant mama....

Ellie was thrilled when she saw her favorite meal of Mac & Cheese was on the menu....

And that, pretty much, is a glimpse at  how we ate for three straight days...

Normally we would declare it time for a crash diet of salads and smoothies, but in this case we got home just in time for the indulgences of Easter and a week with TWO family birthdays and all its accompanying treats, which is why the scale is being avoided for a little while! 

Coming soon....a visit with a long-lost friend and the birthday week. 



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Philly Trip: Part Deux

Glen needs the computer to prepare for his stint as early morning seminary substitute tomorrow morning, so this will be a really, really, really boring quick post.

Next on our walking tour was Elfreth's Alley--one of America's oldest residential streets.  

It was very picturesque and we were surprised to find out that people still actually live in them. 

 I imagine that they don't really love the gazillions of obnoxious tourists who stream by their front doors every day and I don't even want to know what they think of the wall climbers....

The kids loved all the cellar doors....

Next it was off to Betsy Ross' home which just had 2 entire busloads of people dropped off for tours, therefore we opted to stay outside and talk about what we knew of Betsy Ross....

Then it was off to the Friends' Meetinghouse, which was a little anti-climatic.  In addition, we stopped by America's first firestation (founded by Benjamin Franklin), but it was closed for Good Friday.  :(

Next it was off to the Christ Church Cemetery where Benjamin Franklin and other notable historical figures are buried. 


Apparently it was viewed as lucky to throw coins on Benjamin Franklin's gravestone.   I thought that it was a little strange and we were lucky that we didn't have a single coin between us, so I could be an honest party pooper when I denied them coins instead of a grumpy one. 

The kids were getting a little bored by the graves...

A few piggy back rides cheered things up a bit though...

Then it was off to our last Philly tourist spot of the day...the US Mint to see how our US coins are made.  They had signs everywhere threatening criminal prosecution if anyone tried to take any pictures once we were indoors, so I opted to keep my camera put away and this photo of the long lines to get in are all I have.  Everyone was REALLY hungry by that point, so it was good that the tour was quite interesting and kept everyone at bay long enough to hold out for what we really came to Philly for....

Real deal Philadelphian Philly Cheesesteaks (next blog post). 

And now I am handing the computer over to my hunny, so he can prepare a lesson on John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff. 

Good night!


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Philly Trip: Numero Uno

Once again in true Lara-Glen form, our spring break trip was left hanging until the very last  second.  We talked about it all week, but literally didn't know until Thursday morning whether or not Glen was going to be able to finish up what he needed to at work to take the time off.  Ultimately he knocked himself out on the project and last-minute was able to take Thursday and Friday off.  At that point, it took a lot of quick packing and finagling to get ready, especially with some minor car issues to take care of before leaving, but finally we got out the door at about 3:22 in the afternoon. 

Too bad that it meant that the traffic looked like this the entire way....

Instead of being a 2-1/2 hour ride like it should have been, we ended up rolling into Philly after FIVE long hours!!!  Basically that meant that we got there just in time to check into the hotel and go straight to bed! 

The weatherman had said that Friday was going to be a wet, rainy day, so we were all bedecked in raincoats and umbrellas.  Thankfully,  it turned out to be one of those times when the weatherman was a little misinformed and it stayed dry all day, thus making our city explorations much more pleasant. 

The first stop on our walking tour of Philly was Christ Church...a place of worship for many of the Founding Fathers. 

It was a pretty building right in the heart of downtown Philly. 

It was only our first stop of the day, but Ellie was already taking advantage of whoever's arms  were ready and willing....

We were immediately struck by the simplistic beauty and its similarities in pew design to the Kirtland Temple. Since it's still a working Episcopal church, we were supposed to be quiet and respectful while there. 

I was a little worried that the kids would find the church a little boring,  but it actually ended up being fascinating for everyone. 

We thought that this old family bible from the early 1700's was awesome.  The kids loved trying to figure out how the Old English style of writing worked. 

Once my kids started wandering around a little, they started to see what a cool place we were in.  For instance, several of the pews had these little plaques next to them. 

A closer look reveals that that little pew box was the George Washington Family pew.  How cool is that, to sit where George Washington sat 250 years ago?  There were also plaques for Betsy Ross, William Penn, and Benjamin Franklin.  I'm thinking that the LDS church should start with the whole reserved pew system.  I mean it's almost there in practice anyway, why not make it official? 

Ellie found this little cozy corner with some books to read....

 "Mom, look!  They sing hymns too!" 

It was a great way to start our explorations and we ended up glad that we went there first, since it was very uncrowded and the church was closing for Good Friday services starting at noon. 

The Christ Church was something that was unanimously enjoyed by all and at the end of the trip two of my kids even proclaimed this church as their favorite Philly site of the entire trip.   All in all, a great way to get started! 

Coming next.....more Philly adventures, including some culinary delights!



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What Happens....

What happens when Lara goes on a five-day blogging break, including three whole days without her computer? 

Besides Lara starting to refer to herself in third person, she ends up with a backlog of a gazillion pictures and no idea where to start. 

So after consulting with her son's cootie catcher, she's decided to go all out of order and start with the Easter pictures....before covering their exciting weekend and subsequent  day of birth celebrations. 

Since we arrived back into town late on Saturday night, there were no dyed eggs or anything for an egg hunt in the morning, but that didn't stop the Easter Bunny from bringing way too much candy for us to munch on for breakfast, lunch, pre-dinner snack, and dinner. 

The kids, not about to be left out of multi-colored finger stains,  spent the afternoon dyeing eggs, with an old-fashioned dye kit.

While Cami and I tie-dyed eggs....

which were literally dyed using old silk ties from the thrift store. 

After the eggs were colored, the kids wouldn't stop obsessing about having an Easter egg hunt, so we decided that for the sake of family peace that perhaps the Easter bunny should do a little belated hiding....

For dinner we had our traditional Chicken Cordon Blue (made by Glen), mashed potatoes (made by Glen), and some biscuits.  We had intended on making a delicious pie for dessert as well, but in the end decided that the 47 pounds of chocolate we each ate would most likely suffice as a dessert status. 
What was your Easter like?  Do you have any really cool traditions? 



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