Philadelphia!

While it has been hard living across the country from most of our family, we have been trying to take advantage of the unique things that come from living on the east coast. We've made a list of places we want to visit and have done our best (weather permitting) to do some day and weekend trips. 

This past weekend, we headed up to Philadelphia. On the way up, we went through Delaware on toll roads and it took us less than 5 hours. Awesome. The way back down, we went through DC  and all in all it took about 7. Not near as fun. 

But we had a great time exploring. My brother's gf goes to U Penn, and he was out here visiting her for a while. So we got a hotel in the city (super swanky thanks to Priceline) and then headed out to meet them at Reading Terminal Market. It was a very cold day (but it was actually the warmest it had been in weeks... about 35 degrees).

 When we got to the market (a huge food court with various food and grocery items), we did not anticipate the crowds, let alone think about the ramifications of pushing around a "double wide" stroller. It was a nightmare. Once we were in, I didn't think we would ever make it out again. We got so many dirty looks and it was just a painful experience. haha. Too bad, because the food looked so good. So as soon as we met up with Jeff and Marina, we high tailed it out of there and found food elsewhere.

 Lunch at a yummy pub. Pete had his first Philly Cheesesteak.

 Then we met up with a guide for a walking tour. It was cold, but fun to see the sights. Our guide was pretty funny (as in he actually attended college for a clown program), and Jeff really befriended him. The boys asked when the tour was going to be over about five minutes into it.

Went into Macy's to see a huge pipe organ.

 "Meet me at the eagle" rendezvous point.

 The Liberty Bell... seeing it through the window was just as effective as waiting in a long line to see it indoors.

 Austin was over it... not impressed by the bell.

 Jeff and Caleb. Best buds.

 Parker was pretty cold.

 In our hotel window. The boys got "cookie coupons" so they could order up cookies and milk at their leisure. They loved it. We also bought some cookies from an Amish place that were sooo good!

 Heading out to dinner. Ended up at Chipotle, because apparently people like going to restaurants on a Saturday night and the wait-times can add up.

 Jeff really enjoyed his massive burrito!

 The next morning I was excited to go pick up some donuts from Federal Donuts. They are a popular stop in the city and based on the reviews, I really thought we were about to have an experience of a lifetime. One word, ew! First off, I don't prefer cake donuts (which these were) and they were so greasy  tasting that they just lacked any appeal whatsoever. Even Jeff, who eats anything, thought they were gross. Fail!

Then we headed out with Jeff and Marina in our van, and we took off for DC to have lunch with my cousin. We enjoyed a lunch at Cafe Rio and endured the long drive home. The upside was that with daylight savings, we still had some light left when we got home at 5:30pm. Pete even washed the cars because the weather had improved so much.

Austin was in a mood from being over tired and over hungry. haha. Three-nager!

 I thought we were going to turn around the attitude once I made him a sandwich, but apparently, it didn't do the trick.

 The boys loved Marina's air mattress.

 On Monday, Parker went to school, then we went out to lunch, drove out to the coast and then went to Target so the boys could pick out a b'day gift from them. Ah... it's excruciating watching kids pick out ONE thing. Jeff tried to convince Parker that he should get rollerblades. Parker is pretty coordinated, but let's just say, this is not his thing.

HAHAHAHAHA!

On Monday night we made dinner and had some birthday cake to celebrate Austin's birthday. So fun! Oh, and we watched the season finale of the Bachelor. So boring. Our final day together will be in the next post:)