Philadelphia Trip, Day 2

Everyone was awake nice and early on Saturday morning. We enjoyed our free hotel breakfast and then headed back into Philadelphia. Our plan for the day consisted of one thing: the Franklin Institute. Some friends of ours had recently done a Philadelphia trip and after hearing about how much they enjoyed the Franklin Institute, we changed some plans around to give it its own complete day (originally, we were going to go to The Constitution Center and Franklin Institute on Friday and the rest of the historical stuff on Saturday). We got there shortly after it opened and bought our passes.

The kids loved it all! We had to drag them out almost every exhibit. Luke was funny, he found something in each area that he liked and just didn't budge. It was pretty cute. My favorite thing was a little paper airplane making station with some wind lift (you had to try and fly them into a recycling bin). I also loved the planetarium. Thomas liked the electricity room, Anna liked the giant heart, Jack loved climbing around the brain and Kara's favorite was the sports area where she and Anna raced repeatedly. Luke also enjoyed the racing, he had a whole pattern, he would race down the track, then into the basketball area where he would interrupt someone who was seeing how high they could jump by racing through their court. Every. Time. We tried to stop him, really, we did.

Early morning wake-up!

Playing with electricity

Flying planes

Luke made us set up these dominoes over and over and over and over

Climbing around the brain, watch out for those synapses!

Choo choo! This area had a really fun activity where you had to look at clues to determine whose fault it was that a train crashed.

Designing their Mars rovers.

On your mark...get set...GO!

We had lunch at the Institute and basically stayed all day. After the museum, we drove around Philadelphia, trying to get more of a feel for the city, before heading back to our hotel. We stopped off for groceries so we could have dinner in our room; one of the definite benefits of staying at a Residence Inn is the kitchen area. By the time we got back and made dinner it was well after 6. Nobody had slept well the night before, so we were anxious for everyone to get a good night's sleep. We had everyone in bed by 7:45 and I think all the kids were asleep by 8:30, with Thomas and I only slightly behind them.

And that concludes Day 2.

Philadelphia Trip, Day 1

I have been wanting to visit Philadelphia for a couple of years. Last weekend, we finally made it happen! The kids always get a Friday off in September for the local fair. We generally use that as an excuse to visit somewhere. The past few years we have gone to Williamsburg, but this year we decided to change it up.

We left around 7 on Friday morning and rolled into Philadelphia shortly after 10. We picked up our tickets for Independence Hall and walked to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. We enjoyed some New York style pizza and sandwiches and walking around to see the amazing offerings. Luke was funny, he didn't like how flopsy the pizza was, and he made me feed it to him. To be more accurate, I should say that he didn't like holding it, because he definitely liked eating it!

From there, we went to the President's House and saw the Liberty Bell. Then, we did our tour of Independence Hall. We had a great, enthusiastic guide and it was fantastic! We got to see the Rising Sun chair that George Washington sat in while he presided over the Constitutional Convention. It was pretty cool to think about all the amazing people who have been in that room. Unfortunately, Thomas had had a cluster headache the night before and he was still in pain. He decided to sit out the tour with Luke, while I took the bigger kids through. I felt really bad for him. After the tour, we debated heading to the hotel, but Thomas' little break served him well and he wanted to push on. We finished up at the visitor's center where the girls completed their Junior Ranger Books and collected their prizes.

With the Liberty Bell

Making notes in their Junior Ranger books about the inkstand that was used to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (how cool is that???)

Standing where President Lincoln stood

Taking their Junior Ranger oaths

Fun picture from the lawn of the National Constitution Center

After the gift shop, we had just enough time to see the Constitution Center. They had a really good show that everyone enjoyed, but the rest of the museum was just okay (at least for the price).

One cool thing was a life-sized gallery of the signers of the Constitution. Luke insisted on having his picture taken with Alexander Hamilton, although Luke said he was "Luke". Luke didn't even know there was a bandwagon to jump on, yet here he is singling out the star of the hit musical.

Kara liked Mr. Wilson from Pennsylvania, for obvious reasons (could be a relative...)

Anna chose Mr. Livingston of New Jersey

When we left, everyone decided to take advantage of the giant frame (check out Luke in each photo, that kid moves fast!)

When they closed, we went to our hotel (which was across the bridge in New Jersey and then to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. It was an incredibly full day!

Labor Day Weekend & Luke's "School"

We were blessed with great weather for Labor Day weekend. There was potential for a tropical storm, but fortunately, it stayed far away, so we were able to enjoy the nice temperatures and finally get outside!

Saturday, we went to Mount Vernon. We got to see Washington's 16-sided barn in action! Every visit, we've seen the barn and heard about how it was one of Washington's inventions. I knew the purpose was to more effectively separate grain from straw. But, I never quite understood how it worked. It was not what I envisioned. Basically, they would put the wheat down on the inside perimeter of the barn and 2-6 horses would run over it and the grain would fall through the slats and be collected below. They let us sit in the barn and brought in two horses to demonstrate.

The horses in action

The "horses" were actually some type of pony, they were super friendly.

Choppy water, thanks to the tropical storm churning somewhere out at sea 

We walked around outside, had lunch and then decide to check out the grist mill and distillery--another place we hadn't been. Unfortunately, Kara (and Anna to a lessor extent) was in rare form, so Thomas stayed outside with Luke and the girls, while Jack and I did the tour. It was impressive! Washington sold his pure flour as far away as Europe and we got to see how the process worked. I was hoping that Thomas could do a tour after me and Jack, but the girls spirits (and behavior) hadn't improved, so we headed home by way of Krispy Kreme.

It's kind of hard to see, but here's Jack with the giant grist mill wheel.

Sunday we went to Fort McHenry. Thomas had been wanting to go back for a while and we decided to take advantage of the nice weather. We left shortly after breakfast. I packed a bag of treats that got lost between the kitchen and the car (and still has not been found). So, we stopped at a gas station on the way and let the kids pick out snacks, probably the highlight of their day. Actually, we all had a good time at Fort McHenry. It was our second time there, but I don't think we saw the movie the first time. At the end, they raise the screen and the blinds and you see Old Glory flying while our National Anthem plays. It was surprisingly effective at evoking some of the feelings Francis Scott Key may have felt. Of course, we toured the fort and everyone had a good time running around and exploring.

Making plans with Major Armistead

Jack guarding Kara

Quite the view!

From there, we went to Six Flags to activate our new season passes. They had an awesome Labor Day weekend renewal deal that we just could not pass up.  I still miss Kings Dominion, but Six Flags has been good to us. It is cheaper, closer and still fun for the kids. I am comfortable taking the kids up during the week while Thomas works in the summer, something I wouldn't want to do with Kings Dominion (just too far and over the scary bridge). Also, I am looking forward to their Christmas event. So,we renewed. We even convinced a few friends to join with us, so I hoping for even more fun in 2017. Anyway, it was on our way home and Luke had been begging to "ride the choo choo," so we braved the crowds, but did not stay long.

Kara was sick Sunday night, so we stayed home on Monday. Some obnoxious stomach bug has been making the rounds through our house. It has not made anyone terribly sick, but it is long-lasting and does make its victims uncomfortable. I think we may finally all be over it (about a month after it started). In other health news, I was convinced Kara had impetigo on Tuesday morning. I made her stay home from school and scheduled a visit with the doctor only to find out it was poison ivy! You'd think with as much poison ivy this family has had, I would learn to recognize the rash. At least I can recognize the plant, although that apparently didn't help this time. Since we were outside all weekend, there is no telling where she got it, but we suspect in the woods near one of her friend's houses. The worst part about it was I got stuck in awful bridge traffic...twice. Yup, twice. I am not smart enough to avoid the same mistake, apparently. I just assumed it would've been cleared up in time for our return trip home. Nope. Somehow a 300-pound manhole cover disappeared and brought traffic in our area to a screeching halt for over 8 hours as a new one was specially made.

It was a lot redder than it looks in this picture. 

In final news, Luke has his first day of pre, pre, pre-K today. I feel guilty about enrolling my two-year old in "school," but I think it will be good for both of us. I used my first 2.5 hours of freedom to go to the gym, take a shower (all by myself, with no interruptions!) and do a quick Target trip. It is only a few hours a week, but I am excited. Luke enjoyed his first day. When I picked him up, his teacher said she wished she had "10 just like him," he was just so "easygoing and happy."