Wedding

This summer my niece, Tiffany, got married, my first niece to do so :).

Caitlyn, Keegan, and Kelsey kept the book.

 In the bride's room, before the wedding.

Kelsey

Keegan and Brooklin - can you tell we adore this baby?

Keegan, looking awfully pretty and grown up

My handsome nephew, Matthew

A beautiful day - we are so happy for the couple and wish them many years of happiness :).

Keegan is 11!

Recently we had a wonderful/terrible event, depending on your perspective.  Keegan had her 11th birthday.  While she was very excited and of course I can't wait to see her life as an 11 year-old, I am always so sad when one of my girls has a birthday.  They are growing up so quickly!  I love every stage, but am always sad for the part that is ending.  Anyway, I am the only one who feels maudlin around birthdays, the girls choose to celebrate and Keegan definitely wanted to do that!

While in Philadelphia, we bought a book full of party ideas and Keegan planned the activities herself :).  First, we had a gumdrop/marshmallow/toothpick tower building contest.I had read this idea a while back and always thought it sounded fun.  Keegan was the first one I could convince to try it :). 

Just in case you ever wondered, the gumdrops built A LOT sturdier buildings than the marshmallows :).  The highest towers were about 14 inches tall.

 Later we did the cookie tower game, which was in Keegan's book.  The girls' spin a spinner, then added that number of cookies to the tower.  If someone landed on "chomp," she tried to get the top cookie(s) off the tower using only her mouth <grin.>  Karaline, at left, could get 3 cookies without knocking over the tower!

They also played flashlight tag, ride, ride, ride that pony, and did other cool 11 year-old stuff :).

Keegan chose the cutest monkey pinata!

Whack it, Kelsey!

It didn't hurt my feeling that is was mistakenly marked at $.79 and the cashier said, "That's what the price tag says," and sold it to us for that amount :)! (Yes, little things make me happy :).

 It was a tough little thing, too.  We used a wooden baseball bat to beat it, so you would think it wouldn't last very long....,

but it lasted through being whopped and whipped and knocked off of the tree more than once.  Finally we just took it down and let the girls tear into it, haha.  One little girl took home an arm and another the head, lol!

 Wise Keegan chose a chocolate cheesecake - yummmmmm.

See the matching shirts?  Keegan's was her present so they could match.  She LOVED it!

And, of course, a group picture (missing one who had to leave early :( )

 And an optional silly picture - love it!

thanks to the great friends who helped us celebrate and

Happy Birthday, Keegan!!!!

Keegan Quote

"That was an unexpected sneeze."

:)

Ben Franklin's house

Actually Ben Franklin's house is no longer there.  Since they don't have the actualplans, they won't rebuild it.  Philadelphia is very historically accurate :).  BUT, still there are some rental houses and printing equipment that were his.

Here the man is inking the printing press.

This is one of the rental houses he built, near his house.  It was three stories, very tall.  The yellow thing waaaay down there is a chair.

In his later years, as his health deteriorated, Ben Franklin traveled in a hand-carried, mini carraige, like this -

More from Philadelphia soon.

Keegan / Kelsey Quote

When we arrived home a few days ago, a neighbor's bull was grazing in our yard.  He ignored our crazily barking dog, but was not too thrilled to see us walking into the house.
I called Bill to ask for the neighbor's phone number and Keegan, the animal lover, immediately asked him if she could go pet it.  Bill wisely said, "no."
Yesterday this conversation occurred in my car.
Keegan  - I am mad at Daddy.
Kelsey - Because he wouldn't let you pet the bull?
Keegan - Yes.
Kelsey - That wasn't being mean.  That was just good sense.

Haha.  My thoughts exactly :).

Wordless Wednesday - Philadelphia Waterfront

Back to Philadelphia - Pool Party :)!

We are thrilled with and very thankful for our apartment here. The location is perfect - It is in Center City, only a mile from The Rock, and convenient to many other places.

It has a pool (which is not a given here) and there has been record breaking heat this summer.  We are swimming several times a week.

Add to that the fact that suddenly Kelsey, who has always been afraid to put her face in the water, is suddenly crazy for swimming. And she can suddenly swim!

Plus, it is a GREAT pool,

nice and big and enclosed on the roof (45th floor)

with these views

Dancing in the pool

 and doing handstands

Unfortunately, later in the trip, Kelsey was diving for a torpedo toy and hit the ladder coming back up.  She came out of the water with many tears and much blood (especially when it was mixed with the water - yikes!)  We made a trip to Philadelphia Children's Hospital to get her forehead fixed.  She was quite relieved when they decided they could use glue instead of stitches.  Now she has a scar so she can never forget this swimming pool :(.