Philadelphia

Today I came home from work to this . . .

I love my girls, and their Daddy too!


Kirk's parents came to visit at the beginning of May. For part of their time here we went sight seeing in Philly. We had a really good time!

Here are some highlights from our trip.

The car ride


We rented a mini van so we could all ride together. The girls did really well! Grandma Dana bought lots of candy so I'm sure that helped.

The Zoo


Fun Fact: The Philadelphia Zoo was the first zoo in the United States.

Both girls loved the zoo. Clara called every animal she saw a dog. It was fun to see how excited she got.

We kept a really good eye on the girls while we were there, but it turns out we should have paid closer attention to the Grandparents. We lost each of them on separate occasions :).

West Philadelphia

I don't think this picture captures how ghetto this area is. Broken windows, vandalism, and burnt down homes are all over. Most of them have been abandoned, but a few have people living in them still. These houses were across the street from where we parked at the zoo.

The Please Touch Museum

This place was awesome! It's like a giant playhouse with all different themed rooms for kids to play in. They even have some sections geared to kids under three for Clara. I'd definitely pay to go here again.
This was a miniature house with a garden out front where you can pull carrots out of the dirt. Clara loved doing this.


This was a grocery store with mini carts and fake food, and a cashier station. We each took turns being the cashier and the customer. Clara wanted to ride in the cart when I was shopping, so we rung her up with my other groceries :)

This one was a mini children's hospital, where the kids can dress up like doctors and take care of new babies.

The Franklin Institute


This museum had a lot of eduational stuff including a giant heart that you can go through like blood. It was a great museum but would be better for Elementary aged kids. We still had a lot of fun, and Clara got in a nice nap.

The Liberty Bell

After the Franklin Institute we waited out in the rain for 20 minutes to catch a tour bus. A bus finally came around and we hopped on, only to realize a few minutes later that it was the wrong one. It ended up taking us right to the Liberty Bell though, so it was perfect!

We had to wait in line for a little while to get in, but Clara had a lot of fun climbing all over the stroller for entertainment.


Even after going through this mini museum, I'm still not quite sure why this bell is so special. Anyone know? It was still neat to say I've seen it though!


A Bus Tour around the city




This was probably my favorite part. I learned more about the whole city on this bus ride than I did at all of the museums. It was also the perfect place for Luci to take a nap. (Poor Luci was sick with diarrhea. She slept in bed with us the night before and we all woke up in the middle of the night, soaked in diarrhea.)

Philly Cheese Steaks


Fun Fact: the authentic version of the Philly Cheese Steak has cheese whiz and onions. I was surprised that I actually liked it, I'm not usually a fan of cheese whiz (I still prefer provolone).