More summer visitors!!

A few weeks ago we had even more very special visitors. Our friends Peter and Kara and their daughter Annalise drove up from DC. We were so excited to show them Philly and to just hang out for the weekend. It is has been such a treat to watch Annalise grow up over the past year. Each time we see her she's got more words, cuter expressions, new interests. We were warned ahead of this trip that she had taken special interest in our cats and would possibly be more excited to see them than us. We were totally fine with that. Within a few minutes of their arrival, Annalise sat next to me on the couch, rubbed my back and told me she loved me. Melted my heart.

Ben enjoyed reading his childhood books to her with "new bear".

She made waiting in line for this building fun. Note her cute purse.

She wanted me to take this picture of her.

Quick family photo before the room fills up with the tour! 

In the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed!

Prost!

Delicious German food with awesome friends.

Annalise took this one of Ben.

Playing with Lucy.

Lucy loved her new friend.

Peter helped Ben set up an air conditioning unit we are borrowing this summer. It has basically CHANGED. OUR. LIFE.

Someone else really loves the new A/C...or rather its box.

Thank you Peter and Kara for visiting Philly! We still had smiles on long after you left. We can't wait to help welcome the newest Barrett girl into the world! And thank you Annalise for all the hugs. We adore you.

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.