First Week in Philly (6/28/11)

It's hard to believe but Ben and I have already been in Philly for one week. In that span of time we have:

1. Unloaded all of our belongings and lugged them up 2 flights of stairs

2. Attended a Phillies/A's game with the added pleasure of an A's victory

3. Watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 in preparation for the 4th

4. Attempted to attend Proclamation Presbyterian Church but our car battery died and AAA had to replace it. We caught the last 15 minutes or so of the service though, I got to meet Sara Keiper for the first time (I really really love her already) and we had lunch with the pastor and his wife and their daughter. The pastor attended Westminster (where Ben is going to transfer) and the wife studied abroad in France so needless to say, we had lots to talk about. We learned quite a lot from them in an afternoon, hospitality included, and we were so thankful for the opportunity to relax in a home (air-conditioned and not full of boxes) with such lovely people. It was a wonderful day.

5. I started school! I have really loved getting to know the other people in my program and it feels so good to finally just BE in school. This week is an intensive Intro to Nursing course and next week I will start learning actual skills. Penn is a truly amazing school and I am humbled by the opportunity to study here. 

6. Found some great local restaurants, an interesting food co-op, a park where Ben can play basketball and I can shop farmer's markets, and some cool cafes. We have also met many of our neighbors including a Russian couple that lives on the floor beneath us and that we are really excited to get to know better. 

I could go on and on (seriously, I can't believe it's been only a week). Here are some pictures (I can't believe how many I took of the cats but I just keep finding them in funny poses due to the heat and their attempts at cooling off).

Here is Lucy testing out some of our new Ikea pillows (I think they passed the test)

Our kitchen full of boxes. I think by next week I'll be able to post pictures of our apartment all set-up but it's taking some time.

The Yaris made a friend on our street!

Poor guy.

Even for cats, they've been sleeping a lot. Just too hot to do anything else.

Cheesy first day of school shot.

I turned away from my school work for a moment and he had already fallen asleep on it.

Ben finally got his wish. I came home from school today and found this new TV in our family room! Rumor has it I might come home to a bed tomorrow. We discovered 2 things about Delaware this weekend that prompted Ben to drive down there for the tv: 1) Delaware has no sales tax 2) Delaware is only about 20 minutes away. Who knew!

Ben also picked up a little something since we have been missing Millbrae!

Love,

Kristin