An Adventure with Derek in Phillidelphia

A great, great, great day together.  The weather was great.

One of Derek's favorite characters.  This was so much fun to share with him.

Derek and I on the famous Rocky steps.  This was the reason we came to Phillidelphia.  Derek loves the Rocky movies.  It was great to do this and to be able to see so much more.

Derek and I outside the first "White House" that the presidents lived in before the White House was built.

Yes, this is the actual Liberty Bell.  What a day.  I can't believe all the history we were able to see together.

Inside the old Town Hall

Outside the place the United States Constitution was drafted.

Yet another great tradition.  Our "Elf jumping" together in yet another city. Fun times together.

This is Derek and I (of course, sorry for the obvious) in front of Benjamin Franklin's grave. 

This (as I have probably mentioned once or twice or a million times, sorry if it's been way too much) is a great tradition that the kids and I have.  We have been taking pictures of us with fire trucks all over the United States.  Some day, I'll have to write the list down of all the cities that we have done this in.  I hope that this tradition continues for many more years and many more cities.

This was Betsy Ross's house.  Derek is such an easy person to travel with.  He is so easy going and appreciates everything, except excessive picture taking, which I certainly do have a propensity towards.  Sorry Derek.

This was just a funny picture that we took.  When I grew up we lived in a neighborhood that had about seven thousand filbert trees and each tree had about five hundred thousand filbert nuts on them.  We would pick them up off the ground for fun (just kidding, about the fun part).  So this was more of just a childhood memory that I wanted to help preserve.

This is the oldest church in the United States.  This seemed to be a common phrase here in Phillidelphia, "the oldest..." 

The old street of Elfreth. 

This is the sign post for the oldest residental street in the United States.  It was very, shall we say, quaint. 

Derek and I outside the Mint.  We wish we could have gone in but this trip was a real marathon.  Not much time, but we did see a lot.  We traveled over four thousand miles for just a weekend of adventure together.  Derek was awesome.  We had to wake up before 3 am the next morning to get home.  He was happy to do it.  (Well, sort of, but it didn't stop him from wanting to come out and share a fun time together which I am so grateful for)  Quite a long flight, about 4 hours.  We both slept the best we could.  I was so grateful.  We were able to sit next to eachother on the way there and the way back.

Derek's first lawn job

 David has helped Derek get a lawn job for the spring and summer.  This is his first.  He is so lucky to have a Dad that can help him to learn how to do these things and to help him get the job.  I was so excited I had to go home and get my camera and come back.  What an amazing kid!

Young Woman Medalian Award for Hannah

Hi, its Hannah.

Today I got my Young Women's Medalian.  I am so thankful that I was able to get it.  When mom put it on, I felt the spirit wash over me.  I am so thankful that I am able to feel the spirit and know what it feels like.  I love my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ.  I hope to help the young women to complete their personal progress as well so that they may be able to get the same feelings as I did not only when I got my medalian but throughout the whole experience of getting the medalian. 

Spring Break in Washington D.C.

At the end of our incredible week we just happened to come across a fire truck. This was so amazing. We have a ” thing” about taking our pictures with fire trucks in the different states we've been to. This was the end if our trip & we were just commenting on how we still needed a picture with a local fire truck & wouldn't you know. . . one came along. The fire fighters talked with us & thought that was a great idea.

The pictures are going to go in reverse order. They are going to go from the end of out trip to the beginning.

Hannah took this picture.  This is the U.S. Capital in the back.  We have been in Washington D.C. for five days now.

These are my troopers.We did some SERIOUS walking!  We have walked New York, San Francisco, Disney Land and Disney World but Washington D.C. we walked at least 12 miles one day.  My Mom asked the kids at the end of the trip to rate the vacation with one important caviot, that their feet could not vote.  I thought that was very ingenious and enlightening.  (Which is a very acurate way to desribe my Mother also)  I felt that this helped the kids to see the vacation the way our Heavenly Father wants us to view life.  Not to deny the pain  we have but to put it in perspective and not to let it overshadow the amazing things that we see and experience depsite the pain or annoyance that is inevitable in life.  Well, the kids rated our vacation as a 9 from Hannah and an 8 from Derek.  I was so hapy with their ability to have a broad perspective rather than the narrow perspective we all seem to struggle with during our life.  As usual I learn much from my ulitmate ninja jedi master.

This is us standing outside the front of the Smithsonian Castle.  Like I said, everything is so beautiful.  It is nice to have a place where history, science, and education in general are so beautiful and displayed SO BIG

This is in the back of the Smithsonian Castle.  I don't know what bulding we are loking at but I sure did love the landscape in the back.

Wow, what a beautiful picture.  This is right outside the Supreme Court building

I sure do love the colors that the landscapers choose to put together. 

This is Hannah and Derek inside the Supremem Court

Here we are outside the mamoth Supreme Court.  We had a lot of other family tourists that traded photo shots with us so we could all be together for some of our pictures of our family

Here we are with the Nation's Capital right behind us.  It was HUGE I guess not a real suprise with all the other huge buildings.  I wish we sould have gotten closer but as all buildings are huge , all walks  to and from each bulding are very very long and we were having feet that were under extreme duress and protesting very loudly.  I am so proud of my kids that they were able to keep happy and a smile on their face and their sence of adventure and wonder  with so much walking that we were doing

What a simply stunning building.  This is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in.  This is the Library of Congress.

Here is Mr. Science Fair winner in the Library of Congress.

I love this photo.  It is great to be able to share so many beautiful buildings and places together.  I love the memories we are building

More amazing moments together sharing some of the beauty our country has to offer in teaching us about our history.

Even the celings were amazing with detail and colors and texture.Outside of the Library of Congress

The 3 Amigos, the 3 Musketeers, the 3 Best Buddies

My family outside our Nations Capital.  Wow, what a day.

My spy kids having a great time in spy central city!

What an amazing site.  I talked my adventurous good natured kids into staying later than usual so that we could get some night shots 

Outside the Potomic and the Jefferson Memorial.  My best friends with me to share the experience.

This city was filled with some of the most beautiful architecture that  I have ever seen.  I was so grateful to have seen this

A great time together just before the sun went down.  Derek enjoying an icecream .  We figured that we walked at last 10 to 12 miles that day.  thank you so much Hannah and Derek for  staying out late and walking so much further so that we could get these beautiful photos

What an amazig castle with an amazing boy

We are outside of the Natural Science and History Museum.  This was the favorite museum that we found on this trip.  We hope to come back.

I love this picture of Derek.  Hannah took it, she is becoiming a great photopgrapher

This is Hannah and the hope diamond. 

I love this picture of Derek and Hannah.  This was a fun part of the museum.  We saw the best of the best for the national geographic pictures

This is the Metro station, Foggy Bottom. This area means a lot to me. I have great memories of an incredible trip I took with my Mom and Dad. My Dad and I spent time in this area of the city.

This trip meant a lot to me for a couple of reasons. I have always wanted to go places that I have never been and to go even if family was not there. I tend to not be real sure of myself and not do things because I get too nervous. I have been wanting to go to D.C. for a long time with my kids. I have been there before, but so long ago, I could not remember much. I am glad that I finally had the guts to do this.

I also felt this trip was important to me because I went about 15 1/2 years ago when I was pregnant with Hannah. I went with my Mom and Dad. My Mom used to go to work quite here quite a bit. She also made a lot of presentations to the federal government for education. My Dad and I went with my Mom. We had a fabulous time together and I remember so many good memories. I was so to be able to share those memories and make more with Derek and Hannah. I am so so so grateful for this opportunity.

We left Monday April 2, 2012. Our flight to DCA Regan airport was scheduled to leave at 9:50 am. We were ready to go but from the info that I saw on the computer it did not look like we were going to make it. So I found another option, flying into BWI which is the Baltimore airport. I wanted the most direct flight to get us the closest to the Smithsonians and the White House etc but I thought it would also be good to fly into BWI, as we could get another state visited. My main goal was to get a non stop flight because of the extra time that it would take to get there. I was so grateful we made the DCA/Reagan flight.