Betsy Ross House

 We walked and walked and walked while in Philadelphia.  The boys were such good sports!  I caught this sweet moment on the way to the Betsy Ross house.

 This one too.

 The Democratic National Convention is apperently being held in Philadelphia and they had the donkeys painted for different states hiden all around Philadelphia.  

 They had story telling benches around a lot of the historical places.  It was so fun to hear stories about the places we were visiting. 

 The kids were supposed to get a star at each story station and when they had all been filled up they could take them to the square for a carousel ride (which I thought was totally awesome), but we didn't have enough time to do it.  I'm sad we didn't, what a charming idea!

 The first flag that it is said Betsy Ross sewed.

 I love it when places do things with kids in mind.  The adults had one tour, and the kids had a totally differently (I'm sure much more entertaining) tour.  They totally all listened to it, including McKay.

 I spy with my little eye...

 This is the painting (not the original) that started how people know Betsy Ross.  It was a contest and a man heard a story from one of her ancestors that she sewed the first flag.  People don't know for sure, but we sure liked the story and tour of her house.

 Listening to the tour.

 They got to feel how heavy the water pales are.

 This was a fun area, the kids got to pretend to make pie.  

Cooking a turkey pie.

 Betsy Ross' grave.

It was such a fun experience!

Independence Hall

 I have very dim memories of Independence Hall from when I visited Philadelphia while interning in D.C.  I went for a day with a bunch of other interns and we weren't there very long.  I do however remember such a special feeling in the room where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed.  

 The boys were excited to see it because the love the movie National Treasure and it is in that movie. 

 Our guide has probably said his piece a million times and by the time we got in there he sped through it so fast I have no idea what he said.  Oh well.

 This is the room with such a special sacred feeling.  I felt the same thing this time that I felt 14 years ago.  How amazing to be in the room where such an amazing piece of history was signed by men who were so brave and selfless.  

 I loved sharing this with my kids.  

 So many times I would look over and see my mom or dad snuggling with my boys.  They made such special memories on this trip.

 This was one of my favorite parts of Independence Hall.  That blue is gorgeous.  It's just a back stairway, but totally beautiful. 

 These boys are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents.  

 This guy asked if anyone could name on of the original 13 colonies.  McKay totally knew thanks to the fact we live in one of them (and sad to say I didn't know that until we moved to Georgia).

 He got a card with a founding father on it.  Total highlight for him.

 These two cuites!

 This pictures doesn't do this room justice at all.  I love the bold colors in it!

 This was painted on the ceiling.

Wow this place is so amazing.  I'm so glad that my kids had the opportunity to see it!

Liberty Bell-Philadelphia Pennsylvania

McKay learned about monuments the past year in Kindergarten and in the end they had to say which of the monuments they most wanted to see.  McKay said the Liberty Bell.  That is what got me thinking about going to Philadelphia.  I have been ther before, but only briefly while I lived in D.C.  I recently read the books 1776 and John Adams as well as one about George Washington and those also made me want to get back to Philadelphia.  It isn't too far away from our house, so we decided it was the perfect family vacation.  When I told my parents we were going there they said how much they would also like to go, so we invited them to come along and were thrilled when they accepted our invitation.

 The Liberty Bell was the first thing we saw when getting to Philadelphia.  

 They have done so much for the Liberty Bell since I have seen it.  When I saw it in 2002, it was in the courtyard of Independence Hall.  I remember being a little disappointed about the lackluster of it all.  I really like how it is set up now with a whole thing to educate people about it.  

 Can I tell you how much I loved experiencing it with my parents!!  We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving and it was wonderful to meet up with them.

 I loved this shot of the Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background!  It was a great way to start our trip!

Sweet Lucy's-Wilmington, Delaware

As we had to drive through Delaware to get to Philadelphia for our family vacation this year, we decided to check out Sweet Lucy's for a little ice cream breatk.

 It was so yummy.  As you can tell, Hunter is super into the book he is reading (Percy Jackson series).

 These two are getting to be good friends which I am so grateful for!

 I hope they will all be good buddies in the future.  It was fun to check Delaware off our list of states to visit!