4th of July in the Birthplace of America

On Wednesday we made our way down to Old City again to watch the Philly parade. It's a pretty big deal here. That guy on the bench is supposed to be Ben Franklin. We think the gentleman standing next to him might be William....

Lincoln visited Philly a few times in his life. Now he visits every year during the parade.

From Danville, CA to Philadelphia, PA, we've attended a few 4th of July parades together

Termini Brothers in the Italian Market made a birthday cake for America....as well as 1,776 cupcakes. It was awesome! Definitely worth the wait in line.

This is my good friend/running buddy/classmate/neighbor Becca. I was so glad she got to meet my sister.

Later that night we got together with some friends for a delicious dinner. It was so relaxing and just another fun piece of our life here to share with Adam and Mel.

Corn hole in July.

The last night we went out to dinner to Steven Starr's new restaurant, Route 6. Adam shared his Bostonian seafood knowledge with us and they treated us to a delicious dinner. It was bittersweet knowing it was the last dinner together but not long before we'll see them in Cali in August.

Sisters.

Brothers.

I love this pic of them crossing Broad Street with City Hall at the end. That little figurine on the top of the tower is William Penn, founder of PA.

And this girl is just demonstrating how dang hot it was while they were here. 

A/M: we had been looking forward to your visit for so long, it was hard to believe how quickly it came and passed. We love you guys and are so thankful you came to see us and our life in Philly. We can't wait to help welcome your baby girl into the world! xoxo

Amish Paradise

One day we took Adam and Mel out to Lancaster County. Our hopes were to relax in the beauty of scenery and see some Amish people.

Here we are at Mount Hope's tasting room. Their reds aren't anything to call home about but they do have delicious fruit wines, honey mead, and ice wine. And their tastings are free.

Little boo had fun too.

While on our way to Intercourse, we saw some horse buggies on the side of the road. Like a lot of horse buggies. So of course we pulled over to see what was going on. Amish Jackpot.

The local Amish were having an auction for special needs kids in their community. So they were selling a lot of delicious food and auctioning beautiful quilts. It was a cool scene to witness.

Resting in the shade of the refrigerated truck.

Still trying to understand what we stumbled upon.

In the background to the left, those cartons are the chicken dinners that Ben and Adam sampled. Sooooo delicious.

One of the quilts for sale.

The most amazing roasted chicken, potatoes, fresh hot biscuits and whoopee pie and drink. $6.

One thing that struck me about these girls is that none of them had cell phones. They didn't appear to be distracted by anything. They seemed to really enjoy just being with each other. No one came across as self-conscious or insecure. I liked watching them interact.

The rest of the day was spent driving the backroads of Lancaster County. It's hard to believe these wide open spaces are so close to the city where we live. We love living so close to this unique culture and we were really thankful to share the day with Adam and Mel.

Up next: 4th of July in the birthplace of America.

California reunion in Philly

We have had some very special visitors in the past month. 

First, my sister, brother-in-law, and fetal niece showed up. We took them to our local brewery.

Then, we showed them Penn.

Sisterly love.

The next day, some more very special friends arrived. (They are Giants fans)

We finally got to meet this little beauty.

We had a great time showing the Marshes and Monkowskis around Old City.

Josh's contribution to Christ Church.

And this was dinner. 

It was SO hot and humid and they were such troopers. Fortunately, there was a public fountain nearby!

One night we went out to dinner and watched fireworks from my friend's roof.

On Sunday they all came to church with us and got to hear Ben preach for the first time! What great timing. Afterwards we took them out to Valley Forge.

Inside one of the soldiers' cabins

Martha Washington's kitchen

Hey look, George Washington's house.

One of my favorite times was having everyone over for dinner and showing them around our neighborhood. I had never noticed how awesome the sticks are in our neighborhood. We're saving the ones pictured here in our front bushes for their next visit (as promised).

Even Jess King was able to join us! Fun to connect with a fellow Philly friend (sorry my shots are so blurry, I blame the humidity).

Look who found a new friend.

We love you guys so much. Thanks for visiting us and getting a taste of our life in Philly. Means the world to us! 

Group shot 

The visit with Adam and Melanie and little boo goes on but I'm going to bed. To be continued.