After leaving our friends....

we traveled on to Philadelphia where, surprisingly enough, I didn't take many pictures at first.  We have been blessed with a wonderful apartment for this trip.  Unfortunately, the management company messed up and when we arrived on Saturday, our reservations were in perfect order, but there were no keys, access card to the building, parking pass, etc. available for us.  Their main offices were closed over the weekend, but they assured me they could let us in on Monday.  Ummmmm, I just arrived in Philadelphia with 3 children - where am I supposed to go until Monday???  Add that to the fact that my gps exploded (who knew that some couldn't be left in the car?), the new gps kept insisting that we were in Chicago, plus the fact that "brotherly love" is NOT shown in the way people drive around here, and I started to get a bit stressed.

But it all worked out in the end.  Doesn't it always?  Now if I could just remember that in the middle next time :)

While Caitlyn spends her days dancing, Keegan, Kelsey, and I roam around having fun. This cool building is the

,especially for kids.  Kelsey and Keegan were a bit old for some of it, but it's a super neat place and was still a lot of fun.

Kelsey making music with some colorful frogs :)

A lesson in perspective in the Alice in Wonderland area

Let freedom ring ;)

Keegan blowing some feathers

Kelsey blowing her face, haha

Abd first/last but not least... that first picture which for some reason refuses to come to the bottom, is Kelsey in a human hamster exercise wheel.  Who could ask for more than that?

See you next time.

Carnegie Science Center

The gang's all here -

Kelsey checking out the aquarium with a magnifying glass.  She was watching this cool little fish who would pop up out of a hole in the ground, pick up a rock or something in it's mouth, and slide back down into the whole.

This was a favorite display - making and shooting off rockets.

Keegan and Caitlyn watching a rocket fly.

It did not take them long to figure out that ones with fins flew a lot higher!

They even had one or two land on the higher floors :).

 Kelseyas a human yo-yo, haha.  This had a pulley at the top that really did mimic the action of a yo-yo.

 Keegan making a film by arranging figures, then taking pictures of them.  She was very meticulous with this project and made a neat little film!

We toured this submarine.  I loved the tidiness and how they squeezed in everything, but can NOT imagine living on one of these things for months at a time

Makes me appreciate our servicemen even more.

I absolutely LOVE the whole reciprocal museum membership admission deal.
We have gotten into so many places (including this one) free that way!

If you have a museum near you you can join, I highly recommend it.

Bye for now,

Cindy

Fun with Friends

On the way to Philadelphia, we spent a few days with some great friends near Pittsburgh.  Here are 5 of the seven kids - Kelsey, Caitlyn, Emma, Chase, and Keegan.  We loved the chance to spend some time with them, staying at their house with their dogs, chickens, and sheep!  They made grilled sandwiches and s'mores over the fire pit, (obviously) went swimming, and visited the Carnegie Science Museum.  Most importantly, we got to visit with our friends whom we love so much! 

Why we're here

 So why are we traipsing off to Philadelphia in the first place?  Well, first of all, I am always up for a good trip.  It is so fun and educational to experience different people and places.
But our main reason for choosing Philadelphia this year was that Caitlyn got accepted in a dance intensive at The Rock School.  We wanted her to be able to attend, but were not quite ready to send her off on her own. 

 So, here we are.  Caitlyn spends her days dancing here, while Keegan, Kelsey and I roam the city.  Bill came to visit for a few days, but is mostly staying at home, taking care of the animals and working so we can play ;).

We are thrilled to have an apartment just a mile from The Rock, so most days we walk there.  We have also mastered the subway system.

That's Caitlyn, on your right.  We got to observe one class during Parent Observation Week.  However parents are not allowed to photograph the classes.  So I was thrilled when this picture including Caitlyn got posted by The Rock!

We're still here

Or I should say, "we're still around."  The girls and I are in Pennsylvania for a few weeks, doing all sorts of cool stuff :).  I have lots of great stuff to blog about, but have been too busy doing it to post it!

This picture is actually from home, before we left.  Keegan and Kelsey playing in the hose on on of the many HOT days we have experienced.  Love the simple pleasure of water on a hot summer day. 

More coming soon....