This year during Christian's summer break we decided to take an East Coast trip up to see family. It was SO much FUN! We were able to stop every few hours and get out for an adventure and the boys were terrific!! Seriously, I had to take Tyson's books away so he'd look out the window. They were that good!
Our first stop was to see Ben and Laura in Pittsburgh. It took us the entire day to make this 5 hour trip. The boys had some medical issue and had been up the night before so we weren't able to leave first thing in the morning as planned and missed seeing my dad--sorry! Then, when we finally got there, Neal decided to scream the entire night which made me so nervous about the rest of our trip! We decided to give it another day, went to church and to the park and just enjoyed being with Ben and Laura and 'Nashy-Nash.' They were so kind to not complain of our noise and play with us. We just love them! Monday morning, we continued our trek and our first stop was at the Indian Caves in Pennsylvania. While waiting for the tour, we let the boys pick out their sand bags and search for gems!
They loved it! Neal just got to nurse!
Next, we got to go in the perfect cave for my little guys! Not scary (for kids or adults) and just enough hokey :)
There were also some sweet formations to top it off!
After the tour, we headed to this fun stream where you could feed the rainbow trout--for free (they were insane jumping out of the water to get the food!) My boys were in heaven and let's be honest...so was I!
The boys jumped up and down and would run back for more food. It was so cute!
Here's our yummy lunch!
Cute Neal!
Next we stopped in Hershey, PA and toured (for free) chocolate world!!
This was my boys favorite part. They could not stop talking about chocolate world!
The street lights were kisses and there was one free ride that we went on at least three times (you could tell it was meant for a busier day!) At the end they got two free miniature candies which was just enough for my boys to be delighted! Austin ate them as soon as he got them and Tyson saved all of them for later :) I ate all of them as soon as I got them and Christian saved his for later :)
Here we are on the free ride!
Pennsylvania was incredibly gorgeous. As we drove into the night, Christian stopped to get some Tylenol from a little store. He expected everything to be overpriced but was delighted to find that their pumpkin ice cream which was locally made was only $1 He bought me the whole half gallon and it was so much fun to eat ice cream with my feet on the dash with the little guys sleeping in the back. Did I mention that I love road trips?! Christian is the best!
We got in late to Philadelphia and got to stay with Nancy and Jared Huber. Nancy was my good friend in High school and they were incredible hosts! They let us sleep in their bed, and early the next morning, Jared rode his bike to get us tickets to Independence Hall and then got back in time to make us a waffle breakfast. Then, he personally took us to the Italian market place where he knew many of the people. It was amazing! Here we are in one of the cheese shops! (The lady here REALLY wanted us to buy some cheese). The sample we had of parmesan happened to be the best cheese I have ever ever had. I still think of how yummy that was!
After accompanying us to our tourist destinations, Jared was then our photographer, kid carrier, and even rode his bike to get us Amish donuts. I was telling my sister how nice he was and she went on to tell me that when she came to Utah for Jake's wedding, her kids had thrown up in the car. Jared happened to find out and detail her car for her. I think he's the nicest person I've ever met so I'm really glad he married Nancy who is one of my favorite people in the world!
This was the building the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. It was almost a spiritual experience. Actually, I think it was. There was a definite feeling of reverence inside. This was such an important place and the beginning of our freedom.
After our tour, we went and had lunch on the lawn. It was very peaceful. Jared went to help someone with a move and we made our way to Franklin square. There were story telling stations set up throughout the city and the boys LOVED that. We saw Liberty Bell (through a back window) and the mint. It was really cool!
Nancy got to come and join us for the afternoon and evening! I just love this girl!
The carousel ride was cool! While the boys went through the mint, I walked around and got to see the National church, Benjamin Franklin's grave, a few market places, and then we got sno-cones. Lemon flavored :) After that, we went to dinner at Johnny Rockets and played games while the boys slept. It was so fun to just walk around the city since they lived right down-town. It was by far one of my favorite places I've ever been. Thank you Nancy and Jared for hosting us!!!
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