Spring Break- Part 1

We had such a fun Spring Break this year, and spent the first part in Philadelphia.  We drove to the City of Brotherly Love and our first stop was Geno's to taste their famous cheesesteaks:

 

After a yummy meal, we checked into our hotel in the historic district, which had beautiful views of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell:

Our hotel, the Kimpton Monaco: street view

Leah and Mark played chess in the lobby and we enjoyed Happy Hour cocktails before setting out to explore the city:

We were able to walk everywhere, and flowers were blooming all over the city:

Liberty Bell

B. Free Franklin Post office: circa 1775

Of course we had to stop for treats at the Franklin Fountain (an adorable, old timey ice cream parlor):

Elfreth's Alley was my favorite historical site.  It's the oldest residential street in North America, and is charming and quaint with its cobblestone and colonial homes:

We also saw the Betsy Ross house before returning to the hotel, and it was a lovely evening for our walking tour of the historic district:

The next morning, we had timed tickets for Independence Hall.  A guide from the National Parks Service gave us a tour of this important site where the second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  Eleven years later, delegates to the Constitutional Convention created and signed the U.S. Constitution here:

In the room where it happened.

The birthplace of the United States.

We also visited Boathouse Row, where 19th century boathouses line the Schuylkill River and house boats for recreational, collegiate, and historic rowing clubs:

Our rower admiring the boathouses.

This air conditioned, state of the art boat storage is a bit different than our club's in NC!

We also went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Rocky statue and climb the steps:

Here's a glimpse of real life, after our teenager refused to be in a photo with us.  I asked him to take a picture of the rest of the family instead and am squawking at him to move his finger from in front of the lens.  Sigh.

Time for another treat, as the kids got cones from the Mr. Softee Truck:

We also visited the Reading Terminal Market and tasted Philadelphia's famous soft pretzels, but somehow I neglected to take a picture there.  

It was a great overnight stop in Philly before joining the rest of our group for Spring Break Part 2.  Here we come, Big Apple!

February/March 2023

 

Greensboro hosted the ACC Men's College Basketball Tournament in early March, and we were able to watch Wake Forest play while the kids were at school.  This was a fantastic day date for us, and the games were exciting!

Backing up a little bit to February, we all enjoyed watching the Super Bowl Puppy Bowl, and even Millie was mesmerized by this annual sporting event:

 Our Valen-doodle was too cute in her festive bandana on Valentine's Day...

... while Leah and her fellow Student Council Representatives visited several nursing homes in our area to deliver over 800 Valentines that were handmade by students at the middle school:

Spring felt like it was just around the corner as tulips bloomed early at Dewberry Farms,

and after months of on-land winter training, Luke was eager to return to the lake as he began his first spring season on the competitive team with North Carolina Rowing Center:

There will be more rowing posts later this spring, but I have to say that we love so many things about this club (including the fact that their mascot is a Doodle!).  Pearl is Coach Scott's dog and rides in the boat with him and attends every practice. She is pictured on the left in the above group photo.

Leah's Middle School Battle of the Books team advanced in their first round of competition and participated in District Finals at UNC-G in March.  The team placed 3rd overall and received medals for their impressive performance!

I chose to commemorate my chemo-versary (3/18/22 was my first infusion) by delivering balloons to all the patients at the cancer center on March 18.  This was a way for me to spread joy and make this date one of gratitude and giving back.  Mark helped me with this special delivery and this date was a big milestone for both of us.

Luke decided in March that after 9 months of growing out his hair, that it was time for a haircut.  He went to a fancy barbershop downtown and was thrilled to be able to see clearly for the first time in months:

Before pic.

After pic.  Still long and shaggy, but SO MUCH BETTER!

This also happened in March.  My baby boy started driving.  Someone hold me, please.

Another March event was our church district's youth middle school gathering in Williamsburg, VA.  This was held at Bean and Poppy's church, and we took a group of youth from our church to attend for the first year:

It was a weekend filled with worship, praise, fellowship, and fun.  The kids played games, had break out sessions, and did an enormous service project, as they packed 22,000 meals for people in need:

Comfort dog!

FOL kids.

Service project.

Free time in Colonial Williamsburg.

Sunday worship service.

 

Lots of fun packed into these 2 months!