Spring Break on the East Coast

   Before I do another marathon update, I want to write down all of our adventures we had on the east coast. After all, this blog is about my family and our adventures on the road. My mom lives in Maryland which gives us the opportunity to explore more of our beautiful country with every trip. We primarily made the trip for a wedding, but we always try to make the most of every day together. So here's what we squeezed in.
    My last post, I told you about Nate and his family. They drove 6 hours from their home just to be with us  that week. We decided to do something together with our families that we had never done before, so we rented a minivan and drove to Philadelphia. This was a 3 1/2 hour drive. It was such a hoot being together on that road trip. The van had a dvd player built in  and the kids watched Frozen and Brave. We broke out the girl movies in honor of our time with my niece. The boys were such good sports. The first thing we saw was the Liberty Bell. I had seen  it in 8th grade but since then, they have built an exhibit around the bell to showcase and display more of its history. I could've spent more time there, reading all of the fun facts, but with the four children we had in tow, it was more of a speedy walk down memory lane. The best part was actually seeing the bell. We posed in front of it and got our touristy pictures in and then we all tuned around to walk away. As we turned,  we hear the security guard yell out " DON'T Touch the bell ."You know that feeling you get, when you know it was your kid?.... Yeah .... I saw Houston with that sad look in his eye...filled with  shame and embarrassment. I mean what good is an exhibit of you can't touch it,  right? Never mind the obvious ropes around it....Anyway, Nate was thrilled that Houston touched it. He asked "which part did you touch"  and Houston stated proudly " the crack!" By the time we called Ian to tell him about our day, the touching of the liberty bell had become everyone's favorite part. Houston even said " I meant to touch it!"

Notice the guard rails!

     We went on to take a tour of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution was later ratified. The tour was great I love this picture, it speaks volumes.


Imagine George Washington in the same room with these goofballs

 

Our next important thing to do that day, was obviously get a Philly Cheesesteak. So we literally walked these poor children a mile around Philly looking for this place I found on Yelp. Apparently , there was a Man VS Food episode done here and I am all about those kinds of places. On our way we accidentally passed Benjamin Franklin's grave, how cool is that?

   So we finally got our cheesesteaks, they were huge and delicious. We went to this place called DiNic's which has apparently been a Philadelphia Institution of Cheesesteaks for nearly 100 years. The sandwich was just as mouth watering as it looks, I felt bad that Ian wasn't there to enjoy it because it was right up his ally, but I sent him this picture, kinda the same thing...NOT!  The unexpected topping was a spicy broccoli rabe and the oh so spicy roasted peppers. It was a total gut buster and we loved it.

I should tell you that my wacky children ate a slice of pizza instead. Criminal, I know.

We finished lunch with chocolate from a little place next door that sold odd chocolates. Houston got a chocolate shaped like an ear

   The next evening I got to have a night out with the girls. True, I didn't know these girls, it was Sara's bachlorette, but I will take a night out with the girls anytime, any day and anywhere.  Vironica escorted me there and I had the pleasure of getting to know Sara and her friends better. We had Thai food in Alexandria , Virginia which was the cutest little town with cobblestone streets. I think this is where I hurt my knee, but it was worth it.

I thought I had a better picture, but goofy one's really are more fun

We also had lots of grandma time. We had frozen yogurt ( more than once)  and went to see a movie. We went to Mexican Food one day and she took me to my favorite purse store. I love Spring Break WOO HOO!

      Then there was the wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. It was at a plantation that I had never visited before. It was nestled in between farmland and what I believe is the Patuxent River. It was a beautiful ceremony. The only way to keep Waylon quite though,  was to sacrifice my pearl necklace and tell him it was treasure. ( Don't worry , the necklace was only from Target) It was worth it to see Jon and Sara united in holy matrimony.

How cute is he though, right?

The reception was in a barn. I loved the theme and the decorations. It was beautiful and the  bride and groom were beaming. We took advantage of the surroundings to take some really cool pictures.


Isn't my mom beautiful? I think so

It sounds like a full trip, doesn't it? Oh no , it couldn't end there. My mom seized the opportunity of having all of her grand children in one place and the next day threw the biggest Easter egg hunt ever. Of course there was a jumpy jump there too because grandma's house is magical like that.


all the grandkids

       After a week like that, it's a miracle I squeezed in a run at all! An extra bonus was watching the Cherry Blossom tree's coming into bloom. Every year around this time there is a Cherry Blossom Tree festival in DC. Well,  they have Cherry Trees in Maryland too and they bloom every year around my birthday. I've always wanted to see them in full bloom. Thanks to this never ending winter, I left the day they started to pop. What a treat. We had such a great time. My family is truly blessed to have all of these amazing experiences.

Cherry Blossoms!