Hidden Treasures

It's amazing the history you find in this place, and without even looking for it! When my mom was here when we first moved in, we drove the little ways to find Joanne's Fabrics. We felt like we were driving in the middle of nowhere - beautiful and green amazingness, but no clue where we were! Suddenly, we start seeing houses. Then, a beautiful cathedral appears through some lush green trees! We made sure to stop their after our trip to Joanne's.
The first set of pictures are of when my mom and I found it and explored a little of the area...What and amazing find!
So of course I had to bring Jason back with the girls! We explored even more with the girls, and found so more hidden treasures!




After exploring the cathedral grounds, we made our way to the museum grounds... We circled the building, and discovered a beautiful courtyard!

We weren't able to see the estate, because they were having a private wedding celebration. We'll have to explore it another day!

Let Freedom Rain... I mean Ring

This 4th of July was surely one we'll always remember! Lilly was so adamant about seeing the fireworks, so we were going to make it happen - come swells of high water! Well, rain that is. Lots and lots of rain.
My mom, the girls, and I drove the car to the local High School where the fireworks were being set off, and Jason and his dad walked the mile and a half to meet us there (we didn't have enough seats in the car for all of us to drive together). It started sprinkling, but we were hopeful. We arrived at the school, and it was packed. We looked and looked for a parking spot, but finally a police officer told us there was no space left. By this point, the rain is starting to pick up. As we leave the school, we see Jason and Barry walking. Lilly is crying, because we left the school. We quickly make a plan. Lilly's gets out and walks with Jason and his dad to where the fireworks will be, while mom and I park the car somewhere with Abby. That somewhere was down a steep road, on a side street. We park, and with determination (and mom with an umbrella) we get Abby in her stroller and book it for the school. Pouring rain... steep hill... burning lungs... drenched clothes.  WE DID IT! We meet up with Jason, Lilly, and Grandpa Barry, and watch the 15 minute firework show through the mist of the pouring rain. Then we walked back through the downpour to the car. Poor Jason and Barry had to keep walking the mile and a half back to our Condo.
Enjoy the pics!

    Abby as a little scared of the fireworks...



Jason and Barry are ready for the trek home! (Weird light from the camera flash)



We survived! Soaking wet, and ready to get home for a nice bath/shower...

Our New Home...For Now

Well, we finally made it! We moved in to our new apartment (condo) and absolutely love it! This place is more like a retirement home, with the average age of residents being bout 75 - no joke; but we love it! There are a few families, but most of them reside in the North and West Tower. We are in the South. Beaver Hill Condominiums is/are AMAZING. We have absolutely no worries about safety, and everyone has been kind and friendly. Lilly's school is right across the street, along with a HUGE playground that is accessible to the community! Jason's school is only 0.7 miles away too. Honestly, we could not be more happy with our location, and the quality of our living space. So many blessings!!!

Now for the pictures. As I said, there are three buildings that make up Beaver Hill Condominiums. We live in the South. When you enter the building, there is a doorman that greets you, a lobby, and elevators. Take the elevators up to our floor, and you have three hallways to choose from. It looks like a hotel!

Hey, it just feels like we're on vacation every time we come home - walking through the hotel to our place! This is looking out our door toward where the elevators are. We are towards the end of the hall.














Upon entering our unit, you will be whisked away to the Pacific Northwest as you gaze upon this beautiful photo of Cannon Beach, Oregon... The kitchen is the opening to the right, and we have an amazing pantry to the left. Walk down this entrance, and to the right is our living room to the left the two bedrooms and bathrooms.









We love our kitchen. It has granite counter tops and new stainless steel appliances. As you can see, our dining room is right on the other side.










Here is our dining room...



Our living room....
(We still need to mount our TV)



Hallway leading to the two bedrooms on the right, and the bathroom on the left... (P.S. We found out after moving in that our apartment needed to have 75% of the area covered with carpet/rugs. We did not know this when we moved in and it was all wood floors. Hence, our lovely carpets squares from Home Depot! We're still working on all the decorating and placing of things...)

Guest Bathroom/Girl's Bathroom

Master bathroom. We have closets on both side of the walkway, and a walk-in shower across from the toilet. The sink is also on the left, but hard to see in the picture.

Our rooms are too disorganized for pictures, so I'm not showing those. And there you have it! A little preview of our new home! We're still organizing, decorating, etc., but thought that family and friends would like to see what it's like!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I have a lot of posts to make, but wanted to show some fun pictures of our flight to Philadelphia! We are here now, and getting settle in. I'll make a post describing all those details, but for now - the anticipated PLANE RIDE!

Lilly had been waiting for months to finally get to go on the airplane. Before we left the house, she said goodbye to Esme...

Then we loaded into the car, and we were off to the airport!

The girls had so much fun waiting in the airport and watching the airplanes out the window. They even enjoyed some yummy frozen yogurt, courtesy of Grammie Teri!

Once on the plane, it was pure excitement. Lilly was so excited for take-off, and Abby was just excited to be on a plane.












Poor Abby was so scared during take-off. Lilly was excitedly looking out the window while I was trying to comfort Abby. When she realized Abby was scared, she said, "Awe, are you scared sweetheart? Come here, Lilly will hold you." Melt my heart...

Entertainment on the plane was great! It was Abby's nap time, so she wasn't too interested with keeping the headphones on. But I was able to snap these pics while she was using them...




Soon, after a bit of crabbiness, Abby fell asleep. Lilly was such a sweet big sister, and let Abby put her feet on her while she slept. Eventually, Lilly started getting tired and cuddled up to fall asleep too. It was a long flight - almost four hours! (And we had another flight after this one that was almost three hours long.)

Mom and me feeling successful that the girls fell asleep!





















The girls did so good on both flights, and were happy when we finally arrived at the airport in Philadelphia. What made it even better, was Daddy was there to welcome us! Lilly ran straight to Jason, and Abby didn't even wait for me to lift the tray up on her stroller - she slid underneath lightning fast, and ran to him too. Both were yelling, "Daddy!!!" It was so heartwarming! And of course, Daddy made the trip to the car a fun one. A successful trip indeed!