Checking back in from Philly

So yesterday was a blast!  We maximized the Philadelphia Pass already!  Yesterday's activities included rushing down to Chestnut and 6th to catch the 10am Duck Tour.   We were briefly sweating it out as the Black Lives Matters protesters gathered at Philly City Hall and caused a bit of a traffic jam.  Thankfully our driver knew all the backroad short cuts and we made it in plenty of time.  Our tour guide on the duck tour was hilarious and fantastic so if you ever take a Duck Tour in Philly ask for Andrew - See pic below.
From there we had a relaxed lunch at the Independence Beer Garden.  I know, everyone is laughing cause I don't drink, and I was with 3 underage kids.  BUT, the location was perfect and it was surrounded with greenery, great tables, and they had Jenga games on all the tables which Koen, Tessa, and Bridget played while we waited.

After lunch we boarded the Big Bus right on Arch Street near the Independence Visitor Center.  We were on the top level and it was a super sunny nice day so we really got an amazing very of the city from the top of the bus.  I included a few pix below..

The kids were dying to go over to the Adventure Aquarium after the Bus Tour which stopped in front of our hotel, so we drove over to Camden to check it out.  We all enjoyed the exhibits which included hippos, sharks, touch tanks, and lots of exotic fish.

As if that wasn't enough for the day, we ended our day over at the Spruce Street Harbor Park which also has lots of games for kids (life size checkers, chess, connect four) and most importantly, many hammocks to relax in.  Koen was determined to stay as long as possible and relax in the hammocks.

Today was back to reality for me as I had to attend my work meetings, but thankfully Bridget took the kids to see the Academy of Natural Science which had a big dinosaur exhibit with interactive segments which the kids loved.  They also made it over to the Reading Terminal Market which is similar to Quincy Market in Boston but much bigger.  I was so impressed they made it over there in a cab.  The also ventured out to see Betsy Ross' house but it was already closed for the day.  We will head back there tomorrow...

 Enjoying the Academy of Natural Science.

 Gooballs!

Our goofy Duck Tour guide Andrew!  He was the best!!!

A hippo at the Aquarium!

 Spruce Street Harbor Park.

 Relaxing in the hammock.

Taking Philly By Storm

We whizzed into the city by 12:30, took a quick ride by the hotel to check it out, then headed straight down to the historic district.  Parked right beyond Washington Square, then walked right up 6th, and through the parks to get to the Visitor Center where we needed to pick up our Philadelphia Passes.  Excited that we will be able to use them over the next few days to see a ton of attractions that are all included!  Bridget arrived safe and sound with Colleen around 4pm.  The kids swam then we headed to the Shake Shack for dinner then over to South Street for ice cream at Hagen Daz.  YUM!

Since the DNC is coming up in 2 weeks in Philadelphia there are 57 (50 states, D.C. and the 6 US Territories) painted donkeys all over the city.  We are trying to spot as many as possible while we are here.  So far, Tessa has a running list of what we have seen.  New Hampshire, Ohio, Nevada, and Kansas.  We will let you know when we find Massachusetts.

Kids are pooped and were asleep by 9:30.  Tomorrow we jump on the Duck Boats at 10am and see the city!  Yippee!

 We made it!

 Checking out the dinosaur display for The Academy of Natural Sciences which is right next to our hotel!!!

 Found the New Hampshire Donkey in the Visitor's Center.

 Checking out the Washington Square Park Fountain.

 Swimming at the pool at the hotel.

Found another DNC Donkey on our walk.

 Koen's ice cream cup.  The spoon changes color from blue to Purple with the cold!  They only offered the cool spoons to the kids, though.

 Had to go all the way over to South Street to find an Ice Cream shop that was open!  Cool neighborhood though.

Our view from the Shake Shack.

Off to Philly and Lake Anna

Waking up with an excited feeling inside as we (Me, K & T) are headed to Mormor's house this afternoon to sleep over, then drive to Philly tomorrow morning to explore!  I may have mentioned this previously but Tessa is our resident history buff and is dying to check out all the sites in Philadelphia.  

It all started out as a get together weekend with college roommates down at Colleen's lake house in VA, but then a work trip popped up in Philly.  So we modified the plan slightly and now the kids get check out two places instead of one.  YAY!

Lisa is fully engaged in a graduate program at Lesley University so she will miss the Philly part of the trip but is flying down on Friday morning so she can spend the weekend with all of us at the lake. :-)  I have to hand it to Lisa as she manages to stay so focused on her studies when there is so much going on around her and the family.

Don't worry about Levi, he will be hanging with his peeps (having a blast) in Sudbury.  The kennel provides all day "rough and tumble" play so he gets to be with his pack.  Nothing better to tire him out than all day play!

More later...

 Our sleepy pup, Levi.

Koen and Tessa hanging with their cousins at Mormor's house in CT.

Another Adventure! This time across the ocean

We are finally taking a trip to Sweden this summer as a family!  This will be the kids first trip overseas.  The first leg of the trip was spectacular with snowy mountains out the window.  Reykjavik, Iceland is beautiful even in the middle of the night.  Our flight to Stockholm is delayed 45 minutes so hopefully the kids will keep it together with the wait!!  I FINALLY have time to update the blog!!
Here are a few pix so far...

 Taking the Red Line to the Silver Line...

 On the Silver Line...

Unbelievable view of the snowy mountains!!!  I love it!

More to follow once we arrive in Stockholm.

Easter Sunday a bust

Not sure how this happened, but ALL 4 of us are down for the count today.  Lisa started it with body aches and a fever last Tuesday, then I got a mild case of it Wednesday, then Koen on Thursday, then Tessa today!  :-(  Between the hacking coughs, runny noses, fever, even Levi seems under the weather now.  He has it the worst though, with the cone around his neck and bonking into everything in sight.  Only 3 more nights though and he will be back to himself, we hope.

Easter Sunday is usually our chance to update our family photo, as we have a favorite one from our first year with all of us in 2008, but we will have to do it another day.  Maybe next weekend once everyone is feeling better.  These photos are the most recent I have of the 2 kids together, at least.  Happy to report almost all the snow is now gone in our yard.  Levi was in heaven with all the snow.  Such a handsome pup!

Summer vacation is almost here!

The kids last day of school is this Friday, June 27^th.  I think that is the latest anyone I know has gone to school.  Unfortunately, the return of the Ice Age impacted the length of their summer break.

Lots of good news on Koen and Tessa...  Koen is becoming an expert speller this year!  We had so much fun practicing words with him for his Friday quizzes.   Some of the tough ones…   Chrysalis, Butterfly, and Metamorphosis.  As for athletics, he participated in tennis, soccer, lacrosse, and swimming and he realized lacrosse is not for him, but the other 3 definitely fall into the “possible”  big kid sports.  In soccer he is a defensive star denying his little opponents the rush of a goal.  J  Tennis is fun too, but honestly I need to get out there with him and see if we can make a go of it.  That would be great exercise for me, for sure!  Lastly, Koen is a fantastic swimmer.  He is working on perfecting his forward crawl.  Crossing fingers he passes the swimming test at White Pond so he can swim out to the raft.  For those of you who know my younger years of NOT swimming, that is quite an accomplishment for a 7 year old.  J

Tessa, our other little star, learned how to master a 2 wheel bike on April Fool’s Day!   She is playing softball with other kindergartners and 1^st grade girls and having a blast.  Since her great grandmother Christina was a slugger, we have high expectations for this mini slugger.  So far she is doing fantastic!  Now if you remember, Tessa had a rough transition from Preschool to Kindergarden, but thankfully she figured school out and was flying smoothly by the half year mark.  She is also swimming and is absolutely following in my footsteps.  Great swimmer as long as she can keep her head above water...  Our goal for her this summer is to get her comfortable putting her face in the water.  Please send us some positive vibes on that front.  She has been struggling with that for a while, but honestly, I can completely relate.  I think I was 13 before I really swam well under water.  On another note, we got Tessa a new big girl bike that she absolutely loves.  By the time we get to P-Town for vacation at the end of July, she should be an expert. 

More to follow soon…  Enjoy this beginning of summer!!!

Pix

I am having some internet trouble at the hotel in Syracuse so I am posting a few pix of the dogs then will send a link once I get home since there are too many to put on the blog.  Thought we'd make it all the way home tonight, but it was just too far.  No need to drive at night (all night that is) with 2 kids.  We pulled over and will only have to drive 4 1/2 hours tomorrow.  Look at these beauties.

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