Lord Huron In Philly!

Lord Huron on the first day of August... 

What a beautiful, simple yet amazing concert. We were in the outskirts of Philly at the Mann theatre where our view was the skyline. We laid down a blanket on the grass and copped a squat during the first half of the concert and then got up to sit a bit closer to the screen where I can get a better view of it. We didn't need to sit down in the first rows. Where we sat was still magical and a relaxing evening I'll always remember. Even if my back hurt just a bit the next day! 

DeVotchKa In Philly!

On the evening of the first day of school Jon and I went out to see DeVotchKa for the first time! I have been listening to this great band for over a decade and can't believe I finally saw them in person! We had front row seats and it was a quaint and intimate venue where we just sat back and relaxed to listen to their amazing songs and phenomenal playing. They have not lost their touch and Nicks vocals sounds the same and oh my gosh is it the most unique voice I've ever heard! Such a wonderful evening and I hope they never stop touring. I can hear them sing and play their instruments all day long! I recorded so many videos of their performance and wish I can share them with you on here, but I hope that you can one day see them in person! 

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens!

The summer month of July went by so fast and there is so much to document and write about. So much that deals with current events of the world, moving into a new place and of course writing about our adventures. I love keeping up with our day to day and sharing it online particularly with my friends and family who live far away. It's something that I love to do that keeps me sane and is very therapeutic for me. We have so much culture at our fingertips where we live and as long as I am able to find the time I love venturing out with the kids and taking them to the unknown. 

Wisteria!!

So many spring posts have gone amiss and because I Loooooovvvvveeee to write and take pictures wanted to share these. My two youngest kids are getting old enough to the point where they want to read my blog! They have peaked enough interest as to what I did with them throughout their young years as well as how I've aged through the years! LOL! My youngest daughter took these and I think they came out pretty great. I have never taken pictures of wisteria and when I saw this vine of wisteria in Philly I just had to do a mini photo shoot. It was so fun and I even matched with the wisteria. Such a beautiful flower and although I love summer, spring is also my favorite and I'm so glad Chelsea captured a few photos of me with my new favorite spring flower...Wisteria. And for your viewing pleasure here is little video of a ton of wisteria too!

Candytopia in Philadelphia!

For months I've been seeing posts about a place called Candytopia and as I was scrolling through instagam another image popped up and the posts seemed much more elaborate with adults and big kids having way too much fun. I then read about what it was and the fact that they were in Philly decided to check it out and count this fun event as one of their Christmas gifts! 

Temple Day With Noheli!

Going to the temple by yourself can sometimes be needed especially when you need that time to yourself to seriously pray and think about the things that currently need nurturing in your life. Going with your spouse is a plus, and about the closest thing you'll get to feel what heaven would be like...especially when you go with your kids! Attending with members of our congregation is definitely one way to become unified as a "church family" and one of the things I miss the most when it comes to my past wards. It's so important to set aside time to go as a congregation.

A Day At The Smith Playground In Philly!

Although the forecast called for rain on this day, I was hoping that it wouldn't, and that it would hold out until the evening, and it did! We were so lucky to have played all day at Smith Playground without getting rained on. We hadn't been here since last summer, and shame on me for not taking my son to this amazing playground more often! I will always remember the first time we came here, and how much we loved it! We love coming here, and the best part of of it is that it's free! This entire playground is filled with the best for every age, and Noah had so much fun making new friends, and just having a blast! 

Happy Mother's Day!

As I was walking around the streets of Philadelphia the other day I noticed a bunch of blossoms on the ground. It warmed my heart to see that someone really took the time to spell out three wonderful words with blossom petals-"Happy Mother's Day." Being that it was a perfect day in the city with the sun shining seeing this on the ground for everyone to see brought nothing but joy to my face. I saw mommas with their kids walking past it, and some of them paused to take a moment to take a picture.

Philadelphia Temple Youth Cultural Celebration.

I took this photo eight years ago when we first moved to Jersey, and toured the city of Philadelphia. I figured it was a perfect start to this post. 

Last weekend after months of rehearsing for the temple cultural temple celebration 1700 youth from the Philadelphia temple district got to shine in front of a huge audience on camera at the Liacouras center. 

This was something that Lexie had been looking forward to doing, and although I was getting a little weary of all the commuting with going to different areas (thanks to the Kellums for taking her a couple of times) in Pennsylvania to rehearse I too was looking forward to this momentous event. After all...it only happens once in a lifetime. Especially when you live in our neck of the woods. 

The theme "We the People" was absolutely perfect and it totally set the stage in tieing the birth of our nation to our church's history, hence having religious freedom, thanks to William Penn. People talk of the founding fathers, and in my opinion William Penn can also be called one of the founding fathers. Because of his efforts, he was able tot give us the freedoms that we now have, and he laid a lot of the groundwork when it came to religious freedom. 

Candy McNaughton who directed the production did an amazing job in putting it all together. My daughter totally felt the spirit with her, and is so grateful that she never missed one rehearsal, and that she was a part of something special. 

The whole evening was indeed a celebration. It was so nice to see the kids enjoying themselves with music while dancing. I myself was dancing in my seat when all the kids came out with their painted mural representing which area they were from. They were all truly unique. When the mailman dance came into play I could see the grin on Lexie's face as she raised the flag to the beat. Total ear to ear smile! I could tell she was having the time of her life. 

When President Erying made an appearance he told the youth that this will be one of the most memorable moments of their life, and that as they grow older will be something to talk about for years to come, and tell their future posterity. The fact that it fell on Constitution Day made it extra meaningful. 

The whole celebration was amazing, and having the presence of Henry B. Erying, and D. Todd Christofferson was extra special. These are amazing leaders that the youth look up to. They were not just extras sitting in an auditorium, but extra special because of their role in dedicating the Philadelphia temple the next day. How blessed we are to have apostles lead, and guide us in today's world. 

picture via 

The closing number to the celebration gave me goosebumps, and watching the youth putting the bricks one by one on a replica of the temple got me all teary eyed. It reminded me of my life, and how far I have come to having my family for eternity. My life has always been a puzzle, and when all the pieces came together when I joined the LDS church so did my life. Being sealed to my love, and children will be a day that will always be etched in my mind, and heart forever. 

Having a temple in Philadelphia will definitely bless the city, and if we choose to do so, can, and will change the hearts of the people from the surrounding areas in our temple district. Including our children. It is up to us to be the example, and share that special message of "families are forever", and the whole purpose leading up to this entire celebration. 

The temple is an enormous blessing for us all, and because of the history of Philadelphia feel as if this temple is meant to be in the city of brotherly love. The city now feels "complete" now that a temple is built. What an extra blessing it'll be for our youth since they are the generation in which they will be doing most of the work in the temple, and press forward in sharing His gospel.

As we all should! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

SPLASH PAD AT DILWORTH PARK.

When we heard about Dilworth park being renovated with an interactive fountain or as I say it a "splash pad" we just had to go and check it out. These warm summer days have been too perfect to neglect without adding extra energy that requires spending a little bit of our summer in the city, walking, and enjoy what the city of brotherly love has to offer. So this past weekend the kiddos and I took the train into Philly to spend the day, have simple fun, and get a little wet! 

The kids love the city, but I'll tell you they're not used to a lot of walking. We'll mostly drive into Philly, and pay for parking which can be anywhere from 22 to 29 bucks, but not on this day. Noah was telling me how we should take the train more often, and I have to say I agree with him. It's so convenient, and such an adventure. 

An adventure indeed that we did so much walking, but toughed it out in the heat. Every now and then Chelsea and I had to take turns giving Noah piggy back rides. They'd also stop and rest on a stoop for a bit, and make funny faces with each other. I guess that's their way of reenergizing themselves??? Whatever works guys! 

Upon arriving at the splash pad we walked through rittenhouse, and captured all of it's beauty. We finally reached our destination to satisfy our tummies with some shake shack. Can I just tell you how excited I was knowing that they still have crinkle fries! Yum! 

We then walked through Sierra's old stomping ground where she used to attend UARTS, and it was bittersweet walking through familiar territory. Made me miss her terribly! 

We saw this really cool painted sign outside a salon, and because the hashtag is so true I had Chelsea stand smack in front of it to capture all of her beauty. 

Now for the fun part! The interactive fountain at Dilworth park! 

^^^ Taking a little break that lasted for about five seconds, and got up for some more. ^^^

^^^ Let me tell you something about these sandals. They are the perfect water shoe, and very comfortable to walk in around all over the city! ^^^

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had! It didn't matter to me that my clothes got a little wet while capturing these sweet moments. It didn't matter to me that my bag was soaked due to Noah's wet swim trunks, or that I got my phone a little wet (oops!) We hung out here for a little over an hour, and if we lived in the city we could have lingered on a bit longer. We absolutely loved this day, and languished it with simplicity. We look forward to coming here a couple of more times before summer ends. 

And then in the winter time...ice skating! Pretty cool how this fountain turns into an ice skating rink in the winter. Now that'll be something to look forward too! 

But for now...we are soaking up anything that has to do with the sun, and spending our days outdoors! 

Summer, we are in no rush for you to go away, keep inspiring us with the warmth of the sun! We love you! 

Have a wonderful week everyone! 

Philly with Noah.

It's so cliche to say that time is fleeting with our children, but that sentiment is so true. Every winter seems to be flying by especially when my days are spent with Noah. Even on the gloomiest of days he makes winter so much fun. He amazes me in the conversations we've been having lately. He'll ask me questions about his sisters all going to school, and when it'll be his turn so he can finally use his backpack. He gets so excited when he sees both Lexie, and Chelsea doing homework. He'll immediately put pen to paper, and pretend that he's writing a story, or an essay. I explained to him that had to wait another nine months. He's like, "another nine months...why!" I continued to explain to him that he'll be almost six when he starts, and that he'll be the luckiest kid, and probably the smartest because he'll already know how to write his full name, and know his 1,2,3's and a,b,c's. I also mentioned that he'll be starting school in the fall when the weather is cooler, and that he can walk to the bus stop with Chelsea. That made him even more excited. Excited, but not patient! I then told him that we have four more months to do fun things together whether it's local, in the house, or in the city like taking the train in to venture out into places where his tummy, and brain will be fed. That's when he said, "So your taking advantage of me cause you want to go places with me right mommy?" I looked at him and thought to myself...did he really just say the word advantage, because there's so many times when I have talked out loud on the phone, or to Jon as to what I've done today, and my answers usually are, "Yeah...we went here, and we did this, we went to the park, and I took him out because I'm taking advantage of my days with him because before we know it summer will be here, and then he'll be in school, and mommy will be childless during the day!" I swear his mind is a total sponge! 

My goal for the next few months is to make my one on one time with this little dude fun in the most simplest way when it'll just be us (except when Jon has one day off during the week.) There were a couple of days last week when we ventured out to the city to go window shopping, and walk the streets of Chinatown. 

Noah grows tired pretty easily being that it has been super cold lately, but he's a good sport and will tough it out. I think all those times of taking him out to the park since birth has helped him accustom quite well to the cold. I mostly took a few photos of Noah, and food! Here he is in a candy store called Sweet Tooth where there is waayyyyy tooooooo much candy too choose from. His choices...swedish fish, and lego candy!

We had lunch at Reading Terminal Market where they have a variety of places to eat. It doesn't seem that long since we last ate here with the family but on this day we chose to eat some pork sandwiches at Tommy Dinic's...

It was a pretty delicious day with lots of walking. Although I don't mind the quietness in my community, sometimes the city is a perfect remedy for whenever I'm feeling confined in Jersey.

And lots of candy is another remedy for Noah...especially since Valentine's day is just around the corner!

Happy Monday! 

All About The Brain at The Franklin Institute.

Yesterday we took our yearly school trip to the Franklin Institute. This is by far my favorite part of the school year simply because we get to educate our minds as a family, and have fun while walking the streets of Philly. After we arrived we checked ourselves in with our group, and had three hours to spare. The very first thing we wanted to see was the temple, and to see the progress they have made especially on the exterior, and it is looking absolutely beautiful!    

^^^ Philly temple...looking good! ^^^

^^^ Checking out the traffic from above. ^^^

Science and technology have been the two loves in our homes for quite some time now, and I'm not saying that because of social networking, or because of the ability we have to play games on an iPad, iPhones, iMac, or what have you,  but what we can benefit, and truly learn what the "human eye" can see, and how our brain really works when it comes to everything we take in is amazing. 

As usual these two ran straight to the 'giant heart' to trace the path of blood as they walk through. They have an amazing time in this section of the institute, and it is exciting to see them have an interest in how the body, and heart are connected. Seeing the look of excitement on their faces as they go around exploring all about the human heart brings a smile to my face because these kids are always filled with curiosity when it comes to anything that looks complicated. 

As many times as we come here there is always a new exhibit to see, and learn from, and new shows in the Planetarium. Since there are no cameras allowed inside the planetarium I wasn't able to take any photos, and didn't have the desire to because the show was too awesome to put my head down. The show we saw was called "To Space and Back", and this show tells an incredible story of human ingenuity, and engineering. It was amazing to see how the technology that transports us through space is paving the way of the devices and apps we use everyday. It was absolutely amazing! Kind of makes me wonder what technology is going to bring us in the next five years! 

They also have an exhibit called the "The Brain", and it tells you all about how our brain works. There was even a 'fake brain' where you put your finger through to touch, and feel. It wasn't gross, and it felt like Styrofoam to me. 

^^^ This display was pretty cool for the kids. They climbed a two-story tall network of firing neurons." ^^^

The look of fascination on their faces as they learn more about science and technology, and the brain, and human body makes me happy to see that they never get bored when we come here. It brings me so much hope knowing that they could all become a future scientist, engineer, and/or doctor. 

So far I know that Lexie is very interested in the medical field and has been since she was 11. Who knows...but on this night she was fascinated by everything that this institute has to offer, and every time we come here her passion for learning about science expands. We could have spent another hour (or more) in here. 

Grateful to Benjamin Franklin for the spirit he brings for anyone who enters this building in giving them the desire, and passion to learn more about science, and technology. I couldn't stress enough how educational it is for every parent and child to come here.

**You can read more posts on our trips to the institute here, and another post of the Philly temple here.