Philly Trip

Us heading out there. Jeff usually doesn't travel in a suit, but we decided to stop by the Columbus Temple so that he could do a session. 1 more family name done!













The kids did great, playing for a while in the car. They are really good troopers...but hey we did leave at 4:30 in the morning so they slept a lot at first....



















What a beautiful site to drive with!



















View from our Hotel.















































Our Hotel. Double Tree on Broad Street! Downtown Philly....it was amazing!














Ben at Dinner...he's sooo cute!

















I ordered 2 kids meals for dinner, but the waiter was nice enough to mention that they could split it, he was right one meal was HUGE! This is Ben's portion.


















My Huge salad...you get your money's worth here and its yummy!















Ehre is so cute, she is quite the little lady!


























Valley Forge, weapons.
















Who would want to carry this around all day?











Ancient bears...they were huge!
(Dad this photo is for you!)
















My revolutionary soldiers!






























Kids manning the cannon.
















Settlements at Valley Forge

















NO, kids we are not moving in....despite how much fun it looks like!













Ben was a helper, he pushed the stroller (empty) for a while.
















Memorial Bridge.










































Built by the Masons.



















Kids at our picnic while at Valley Forge....Jeff currently was presenting his research (and did really well!!!)























Washington Memorial Church.


















Huge bridge over the Delaware in Philly!



























New Jersey Battleship.







































The Oceanic ship at port.


































Really Cool iron work...maybe one day we can add it to a future home. :)

















A sub in port too!
















A sub isn't complete without a missile.

























This is the sign hanging in front of a tavern...so true!































What a beautiful home....adding it to the wish list.


















Who knew?

We were just strolling down a random street and found this sign.









Ok this is funny... Benjamin accidentally went to the pool with a diaper and not a swim diaper, it was so heavy that when we got back he could only walk around like a sumu wrestler! He he he .....







Ehre took this picuture of Ben and Mommy!





Our indoor pool and hot tub! We went almost every night, it was a lot of fun. The kids loved jumping into the pool (well into our arms) they had a blast!




















Another view from our hotel room.







































Independence Hall
















Constitution Center...didn't go it, it costed an arm and a leg....they may have even kept Ehre for tax.











Liberty Bell
























Benjamin Franklins home had several quotes from letters between his wife and himself. I was suprised to learn that when she died, Benjamin hadn't seen her in 10 years....talk about comitment to his country....but please couldn't you spare a visit to your family?!












Good quote! I should learn from it!










We met "Benjamin Franklin"


















Congress Hall....origonal!!!

















Jeff sitting in a replica of the origonal chairs (that were still there)
































Assembley Hall next to Independence Hall, this is where the senate meet.



















Ehre slept through the whole thing!































Ben....didn't sleep!




















Indpendence Hall Tour.
































First Fire Station (organized) in the USA.

































This is the only residential street maintained soely by residents for the past 300 years! Amazing, and beautiful!



















Ehre and Betsy Ross

















We had a few rain showers at the end of our trip but the view was still beautiful.











On the way home we stopped by the Hershey Factory!




















The kids helped package Hershey kisses.








































































Ehre had too much fun filling her box, it was overflowing by the time she was done, and the lid couldn't fit.



































Shake all those kisses in!






























































































































No one will forget the singing cows! We did this tour 2 x.







































































































3D Movie!


















Ben didn't agree with kissing!







And after all this we finally made it home!

Benjamin and Basketball

He can really dribble a ball its cool! Maybe he's found his sport already!

Trip to UT: Sending Jer into the MTC

Ehre and I went to Temple Square, she loved seeing the temple and the Christus.






































































She was NOT a big fan of the conference waterfall.... to much splashing water she said.










































Hugs with Grandma. She cried all the way to SLC when we left, because she said she didn't want to leave Grandma's fun house, she told me it was boring in Indiana! (Sorry kid we have to go home!)







Grandpa M and Ehre.




















Tasha and I went to breakfast at IHop we had a great time, it was really good to see her and catch up!



































This is what we made the dads for fathers day! They turned out really cute. Just a few potting plants and bases + a fishbowl!




















We had a farwell party for Jemiah at the Hughes home. We played in the pool, had a BBQ and then had a pinata. The kids loved it!





























I worked on my tan!


















Jeremiah, we are really going to miss you!







































Aunty C. and H!






























Ehre was a big girl and was responsible for her little suitcase all through out the airport!





















We had fun traveling together it was a wonderful "girls trip".

































She did really well on the airplanes. I was super impressed with her happy attitude, despite long sitting times.







....of course giving her candy helped make the ride smoother. :)








Benjamin just before we left..... I don't think he realized that we were ditching him.... poor kid.

Happy Mothers Day!

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much. I
never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom...

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom .

Allergies

We went to our stakes adult conference Saturday night, it was really nice and I really enjoyed spending the time with Jeff. Our kids were watched by a friend, and they had a blast as well. When we picked them up we even got to see their new kittens and hold them. I fell in love with this little grey one, and Ehre thought they were cool too. Ben had one fall asleep on his tummy for a few minutes but didn't really like that idea.

It was late so within 10 minutes of picking up the kids we were at home saying bedtime prayers. After Ben's I noticed a scratch on his arm, with some bumps, my brain said to take a peek at his chest......this is what I found....

SPOTS! No Joke, and they just kept on getting worse. Our neighbors helped us out by letting Ehre sleep on their couch so that we could run Ben to the ER. I wasn't sure if this was the cat, or the amoxacillin he's been on for an ear infection, or Chickenpox(apparently that's almost eradicated), Mumps, Measles, or Scarlett fever....

He tried so hard to be happy, but it was really difficult!

The Er Dr. quickly got him some steroids and Benedryl. Then they watched him for a while. Poor kid right before the medicine you could tell he was hurting, his chest, and under his arms were itching and really red and he was getting frustrated.

After the medicine we sang songs for a while, he had his 3 favorite: ABC, Twinkle Twinkle, and Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam. Jeff tried to study for finals, I didn't. Then Ben fell asleep. Two days out and he still has spots, but they are faint. Medicine and Steroids till they are completely gone. Then I need to make some more Dr. Appointments and run allergy tests. Fun huh! Well lets just hope that finals fly by and nothing else happens in the mean time. :)

All our Love,

Ann

PS. Note on Ehre, she is definitely her fathers daughter, she now sings lots and lots of songs, keeps the tune and makes up new words about what she sees going on! Jeff thinks she's amazing, I think that pretty soon we may go by the "Maas Von-Trap Family" Singers . :)