Philly

The last time Nate, Marilyn, and I were in Philly, I was in my first trimester with Ethan. I was sick and don't really remember much of the trip. I definitely don't remember Betsy Ross' house....but mainly because it was closed the day we went. We finally made it yesterday.When we went five years ago, we went in March and there were virtually no tourists. We were able to walk up and tour everything. Yesterday, we learned that was not the case in August. We went to get tickets to tour Independence Hall at 9:30 and the tickets were gone until 4:30. So, we headed over to see the Liberty Bell.
We decided to walk around the streets and see what we see. I can't tell you how many times Nate asked me if I remembered "that house" or "that garden." I sadly didn't remember any of it. We stopped at Washington Square to let the boys walk around and to see the eternal flame. There was a lady telling stories sitting on a bench, so we stopped while she told the boys a story.
We headed back to the hotel to let the boys "nap." HAHA!!! Then we drove back to Independence Hall. The boys were very good during the tour. Our tour guide was very animated. We accidentally parked in a handicapped metered spot and got a HUGE ticket. I think the rest of the night was a downer. This morning we headed to the Rocky statue and steps before heading home.
Nate ran all the way to the top carrying Lincoln. I think that's pretty good.
Before we left Philly, we learned that our GPS took us a CRAZY way on our way there. We plugged HOME into the GPS and headed home. It was taking us out of the way again, so we went 95 anyway. It saved us 45 minutes....crazy GPS! I think is our last summer trip. It has been so fun taking the boys on vacation. Life is good!!!

Day trip????

I have a book that tells you different things to do in D.C. WITH CHILDREN! One chapter is devoted to day trips. I don't know how in the world that they are able to do a day trip to Philadelphia, but they listed it. In fact they listed Hershey, PA....which is an hour from Philly. We left at 3:22 and arrived in Philly (with one fast food stop) at 8:30.
All I have to say is THANK GOD FOR DVD players!!!

Carrying my baby!

Marilyn made up a song while holding Lincoln yesterday. Here it goes:
I'm carrying my baby. I'm carrying my baby. I'm carrying my baby down the road.
It's pretty catchy! The ENTIRE family has been singing it. Lincoln loves it!

Playgrounds

The Abbott boys came over today to play (and wear my boys out). We headed back to the Arlington playground we went to last week. Lincoln wanted to be like the "big" boys soooo bad. He followed them around and imitated everything they said.
"Big" Ethan was a great help today. We did have a little confusion today with both Ethans. It seems everytime I called "Ethan" they both turned around. It reminded me of my college days with my roommate Mandy!
Ethan and Alex became fast friends. They got along so well!! I think Ethan talked his ear off in the car.
I love that these two boys have no fear! They really helped Ethan and Lincoln come out of their shell and get WET!!
After two hours at the playground, we headed back home to play. My boys took a nap, and I took the boys back home. I guess I did my job....they BOTH fell asleep in the car on the way to their house.
Once my boys woke up we headed to the Washington Monument for a tour. We bought tickets for last week, but forgot to go! We reordered the tickets for tonight and made sure we didn't forget.

This may have been the best playground of all!!!!

Brain Freeze

After some hot fun at the playground, I decided to stop off at the new gas station by our house. They have a Dunkin Donut AND a Baskin Robin's in it! :) I thought we would try an icee to cool off. The boys had not had one before. Marilyn told Ethan to be careful when sipping on his straw because he might get a brain freeze. He got the maddest face and just glared at her. When she asked him what was wrong he said, "Just think about it." It was FUNNY. I think he didn't want her telling him he was going to get a brain freeze. After ONE little sip, he was DONE. He did not like it.

Lincoln was a tiny bit more adventurous (as usual). He took about three sips and asked for water. Marilyn and I endured the rest with about 10 brain freezes. They were good.

the LOVE seat

I was relaxing when the family decided to join me on the LOVE SEAT!! They were in a loving mood....ok....they were stalling for naps, but I'll take it when I can!

Friday fun day!

On Friday, we decided to take the boys to a playground and play, play, play! The park we found had a splash park. The boys loved it....for about 15 minutes. Then they wanted to play on the playground.Next time we come, we are bringing sand toys. The park had a great sandbox, but only one digger toy. The digger was really hard for Lincoln, so Ethan helped him! We met Nate for lunch, and then headed home for naps. We all went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and then to Dolce for dessert. Nate ordered the ice cream and decided to share with the boys. I think we ALL could have shared his ice cream. It was HUGE!!!