Adventures in Philly

Visiting a new city is exciting, but I love going back again the next time even better.   There's not as much pressure to see and do everything at once and it feels like you can actually enjoy the city for what it is.   

It took us 14-years of living in the east before we visited Philadelphia as a family for the first time.   That was Spring Break 2011 and we jam-packed as much into that trip as we possibly could.   This trip to Philly felt much more relaxed since we'd already seen and done all the big stuff last time.   We had a little more than 24 hours to spend there and I was not interested in waiting in long lines and feeling stressed, so we just planned for fun instead.    

Instead of touring all  the history sites like we'd done before, we decided to listen to stories!   They have 10 storytelling benches set up around the city near historical sites.  Between 11-4 they have professional storytellers sitting there waiting to tell a story for free to anyone who comes by to sit on their bench.   It was very fun and I enjoyed the stories as much as the kids.  Here is the Once Upon a Nation website if you're interested in trying them out:  http://historicphiladelphia.org/once-upon-a-nation/storytelling-benches/  

The only site that my kids were really excited to see again was the Liberty Bell.   

Luckily we got there before 11:00am and missed the crowds.  When we walked by later that day, the lines were around the building!   I highly recommend going in the morning!   

The storytelling benches got us walking all around the historical part of the city and at one point right by this cute little bakery.   The macarons were pretty amazing and my kids were enchanted by the fun fairy tale decor!  

 

 We ended up with an afternoon to spend, so we opted for the Franklin Institute science museum.  We spent five hours there and could have easily spent even longer!  

They played and played and played some more...

 Most of the activities had educational knowledge they could gain...

but mostly they just had fun running around and being together!  

They fought a little over activities that they could only do one at a time like this one where they attempted to create a building with magnets and metal rods that would withstand a fake earthquake.  When their building fell apart, they all wanted to keep trying to build a better building.  They kept fighting over who took whose piece and finally we had to start taking turns! 

There were a couple of activities that had this warning sign in front of them.  

The first time Ellie noticed it, she was almost in tears that she couldn't participate in the activity because of her seizures.    One of the activities I completely understood why it wouldn't work for her to have a seizure on it, but on another one we decided that there was no danger for her to have a seizure while doing it, so we just never mentioned it to the workers and decided to go for it anyway.  

We waited in line for over half-an-hour to try it out and Ellie must have asked me nervously a dozen times whether I was sure it was okay for her to do it with her seizures, but in the end it was a fun experience she was glad to have tried!  

Here is Adam timidly trying it out.   

 Emma doing flips and tricks on it....

 and Ellie just enjoying being up there.  She had that smile glued to her face the entire time she was up in the air (and she did NOT end up having a seizure)!

Our last stop was Reading Terminal Market where we got fresh juice, Philly Cheesesteaks, and a jar of honey.  The kids (especially Ellie) were completely WORN OUT by the time we left there to pick up Cami from her conference.  

We were excited to see her again and spent another hour or two at Valley Forge with her  to allow rush hour to end before trekking home.  

 It was a fun day and I now like Philly more than ever and look forward to our next visit there!  

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Ellie's Ears

My family moved from Vadnais Heights to Blaine the summer between my fifth and sixth grade years.   It was a rough time to change schools and I do not have fond memories of being the new girl for the last year of elementary school.   I'm not sure what the difference between the two schools actually was, but I was very much an innocent little girl in my old school.  I had waist long hair which I wore in piggy tails and  I still wore cutesy sweatshirts with kittens and Holly Hobby.   And most importantly, I felt like I fit right in with the rest of the girls.  

The new school was a different story though!   Maybe it would have been the same had I stayed at the old school, but to me it seemed that Johnsville Elementary was peopled entirely  with mature girls that had  permed hair, pierced ears, and name brand clothes.   Throw a couple of mean girls into the mix and I was turned upside down socially.   Over the course of that year I desperately tried to fit in by cutting off all my hair, getting a home perm, and talking my parents into letting me pierce my ears.  

I hoped that by trying to fit in look-wise that I would finally be a little cool, but as you can see here, I never was really successful at fitting in or being cool.   :)

So, why do I share all this?

Because  my baby got her ears pierced yesterday and it brought back all sorts of memories for me!  It made me think of why I got my ears pierced in the first place and then what a disaster it was thereafter.  I am pretty severely allergic to metal and my ears reacted in a painful way to having metal placed into them.   Any sane person would have realized that they were allergic to metal and instantly decide that it wasn't worth the pain and effort to keep wearing earrings, but not me.  I was convinced that wearing earrings was important  to my social status and I am embarrassed to admit that I suffered with itchy, red, crusty ears for way too many years!

I can't remember exactly how it was that Glen and I decided that nine-years-old was the year we'd let our own girls get theirs pierced, however I'm pretty sure that it may have had something to do with a visit from Grandma Sandy when Cami was nine and them taking a grandma/granddaughter trek to the mall together.

Cami in 2006

After that, whenever our girls turn nine we say yes as soon as they express interest.

Emma in 2009

 Ellie turned nine in March and actually hadn't mentioned it yet.  Then Cami came home from California talking about how their 6-year-old cousin Madeline had her ears pierced and suddenly Ellie couldn't stop talking about anything else!

I told her that she needed to read 3 chapter books before I would take her, but if she did that then I would be more than happy to let her.    This week she finished her 3rd chapter book and yesterday we took a trek to the mall for some ear piercing fun!

She brought along her cousin McKenzie for moral support...

and she held tight to Cami's hand while they poked the holes!

Thankfully none of the girls seem to have inherited my allergy to metals...

which means they get to love every second of earring wearing!  

I, on the other hand,  haven't worn earrings in many years and haven't missed them a bit!  

What's Better....

What's better than finding an awesome new group of homeschoolers to celebrate pioneer day with?  

For Ellie, it's making a great new friend in the process!  

  

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What's better than being silly with the missionaries when they drop by? 

For Adam, it's discovering that there's no need to "grow a foot or two" before his mission, since he's already the same height as Sister Wright! 

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What's better than yet another day of non-humid summer weather with temps a good 10-15 degrees below where they normally are?  

For Lara, it's yet another whole week of it!   

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A Lemonade Stand to Raise Money for Childhood Cancer Research

As part of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Leadership Conference that Cami is participating in this week, they are hosting a virtual lemonade stand to raise money for childhood cancer research.  

http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1117142

Anyone who knows our family well at all, knows that this is a cause that is near and dear to our hearts and I invite you to take a moment and donate to the cause if you can.   Even a small amount makes a difference!

Because cancer is much more common in adults than children, only about 4% of cancer research money  is earmarked for helping children with cancer.  But it's because of childhood cancer research that there are  types of childhood cancer that are highly curable.  Spencer's form of leukemia (AML), however,  was very aggressive and even 10-years ago his chances for survival would have been much lower than they already were.    Even now, well less than 50% achieve long term survival.    Together we can make a difference and improve those odds even more!

Make a donation at:  http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1117142 

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Cami's Trek to Villanova

Early Sunday morning we picked up Cami from the airport after taking the redeye from California.   

We had her home for about 36 glorious hours, before we jumped in the car for a trek to Philadelphia.  

A few miles outside of Philly is the  beautiful campus at Villanova University where we said our goodbyes to Cami and sent her off for yet another adventure!  

This adventure entails a Leadership Academy sponsored by Alex's Lemonade Stand, one of the biggest supporters of childhood cancer research.   I think she was a little sad to be leaving home again so soon, especially still being so jet-lagged, but she definitely was excited about the opportunity to be there! 

After dropping her off we walked around the campus for a while longer, 

then we drove to nearby Valley Forge where we explored for a couple of hours.  We're studying American History for social studies this year, so it was fun to get a little head-start on learning about the amazing people and events that made our country what it is today!  

After that, we headed for a family Philadelphia tradition....dinner at Ruby's Diner!  

The kids got hamburgers and hot dogs...

 while I was good and ate a salad.  

 Now I am in process of planning round #2 of  Philadelphia adventures for when we pick her up from her conference later this week!  

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Every Fish's Worst Nightmare

Meet Adam.

You may know him as the eleven-year-old Lego building, bird-watching, appliance deconstructing, math whiz kid... 

but did you also know that with his dad's help that he is turning into quite the avid fisherman as well? 

Last year Adam's scout troop signed up for a fishing derby.   Glen's always loved to fish and the idea of a contest got him and Adam rather excited.   Despite never having participated in an event like that  before, they ended up finishing 6th place (out of over 100 participants) overall!    

They had such a good time and were tantalized by their strong finish, so Glen immediately marked the 2014 fishing derbies on his calendar and started taking the kids fishing more often!   The kids loved the fun outdoor activity and were immediately hooked (pun totally intended) on the newfound ways to spend  beautiful evenings!   We usually end up fishing at Burke Lake or Lake Fairfax, but a few weeks ago we even went out towards Luray and fished in the Shenandoah (where the above pictures were taken) just to practice for the derby! 

Then on Saturday morning while Emma and I were still at girls' camp, Adam, Ellie, and Glen headed to the lake early and staked out their spot for the July 2014 Derby.    34 fish later (mostly bluegill), Adam was named grand champion of the day (and Ellie was 41st)!    

They were a tiny bit disappointed that the grand prize wasn't an all-expense paid fishing trip in the Chesapeake Bay like it was last year, but he got over $500 worth of fishing gear and lures, so no one at our house is complaining!  

Way to go, Adam!