Adventure #89: Bassetts Come to Visit!

"Family is a gift that lasts forever." - Terri Burrit

November 10-16, 2016

A month after the Brassell family came to visit, my family came! Maria is so lucky to have such a wonderful family! We went to Independence Hall again. We love comparing the interior architecture of this building with the new LDS temple in Philadelphia. It's all beautiful and historic.

Speaking of history, this was the biggest keyhole I've ever seen in my life! Jordan held up our car keys for comparison. haha

We also stopped by the temple (we came back at night to do some baptisms). It was so pretty with all the fall leaves.  :)

The biggest day of their visit was our trip to D.C. Jordan and I LOVE D.C. It's our favorite city to visit, besides Philly of course. ;) We went to a couple of the Smithsonians which are always incredible. 

Maria got to talk to and laugh at the same lion we saw the last time we were there.  :)

The entire National Mall is just amazing. If you haven't visited before, GO! Like right now! You won't regret it!

After the museums we wanted to see the Lincoln Monument because none of us had been there before (Jordan and I didn't make it there with our last trip). As the sun was setting it got a bit chilly, but Maria toughed it out with lots of blankets. And she only lost two binkies during this walk. lol

Can I just take a moment to admire my parents? They were so cute holding hands walking to the Lincoln Monument. <3

I also forgot that the moon was the closest it had been in a long time, so TONS of people were taking pictures along this pool. It was stunning to see the moon, the Washington  Monument, and the reflecting pool. 

The Monument was so packed thanks to the gorgeous moon, but we did get a picture! The person cut off Lincoln's head... but this is the only one where most of us are looking... so ya. haha

I've wanted to see the Vietnam War Memorial for years and I finally got to see it. It was a deeply moving experience. To see yourself on the wall with countless names who gave up their life for YOU, was humbling. Beautiful flowers lined the other side of the path. 

While we were there, there was this man (a Vietnam vet) standing at the wall and weeping. I could only imagine what he had seen and felt, and what he feels now. Other people noticed and lined up to shake his hand to thank him for his service. I can't even explain how beautiful this experience was.

James and Ryan took cold, little Maria back to the car while the rest of us stopped by the World War II Memorial. Last time we went, there was no water and it was during the day. Wow, it was spectacular at dusk with the water and lights.

Each of the stars on this wall represent 100 American military deaths. It is another beautiful and humbling memorial.

After church on Sunday, we drove down to Cape May and climbed up the lighthouse! It had gorgeous views, but boy there were a lot of stairs! lol

We went down to the beach shore (still getting used to East Coast lingo). We found lots of pretty shells and rocks. I think almost everyone in my family collects them. :)

I loved Cape May and I'm excited to go back!

The rest of my family had to go home, but James stayed an extra day and a half. We played at home and then we got to have fun at the park.

We had so much fun, and I was so glad Maria got to spend time with family. She's a people person, so she soaks up all the extra attention. :)

Adventure #88: Poor Maria

"When someone else's happiness is your happiness, that is love." - Unknown

November 1-9, 2016

Poor Maria caught the Jordan's cold. She was really out of it for a few days and probably the sickest I've ever seen her yet. She literally just cuddled with me all day and we watched Disney. She tried to sing along, but her voice kept cracking and her nose was too stuffed.  I also felt bad that she didn't have the energy to run around like she usually does.

Poor Maria, has so many toys and cute clothes she doesn't know what to do with them all!

Poor Maria gets dragged into going shopping with mommy every week.

And poor Maria gets tortured in the form of tickling by her daddy. What a life.  ;)

Adventure #87: Halloween

"There is a magic in the night, when pumpkins glow by moonlight." - Unknown

October 29-30, 2016

Unfortunately Jordan had a terrible cold for Halloween, but that did not stop me and Maria from going to our church Halloween party! Maria's favorite movie at this time was Tangled, so we had her be baby Rapunzel, I was Mother Gothel, and Jordan was supposed to be Flynn Rider, but he played the part of being sick at home instead. :P  Maria was so sad because we were taking pictures inside instead of going outside. Notice the change of mood once we went outside... lol

This girl is such a people person! She loved running around with all of the other kids at the party! And I couldn't get over how cute she was.  :)

Maria ended up getting Jordan's cold, but at least we got this cute fall outfit from my mom to cheer us up!

Adventure #86: Taking Advantage of the Nice October Weather

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile." - William Cullen Bryant

October 12-22, 2016

I have been very happy living in New Jersey. And the seasons have been a huge part of that. It snowed in Utah at the end of September, but here in Jersey we're playing outside with t-shirts. I honestly am so glad that the seasons are three months each here. Nice long fall and a brief winter (at least compared to what we had in Utah). 

I think Maria's got a little of that California blood, too. I catch her all the time just sitting or laying by these doors in our apartment. There are many more pictures of her like this, but I'll just let you enjoy these two. I smile watching her soak up some sun.  :)

We also went to the park a few more times. She looked so grown up to me this day. I took a billion pictures, but again, I narrowed it down for your sanity.  ;)

Another way we took advantage of the nice weather was getting our car roof painted! The whole roof had completely rusted over the past year. We got a great deal and finally got it done! Every time I see the car now I feel like it looks brand new!

This part is totally unrelated to the weather, but I had to share these. The next to pictures are some side-by-sides of myself and Maria at about the same age. Sometimes it's exciting how much she looks like me and sometimes it's creepy. It's mostly fun though.  :)

The last little tidbit for the post came from when I helped drive young women to a devotional in Philadelphia. As we were leaving Elder Renlund walked right behind our car! I was so excited! haha This was the only picture I got. 

Adventure #85: Brassells Come to Visit!

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing." - Unknown

October 8-11, 2016

The highlight of October was when Jordan's family came to visit! It was so much fun to have them stay with and see where we live! The first day they were here we went to the Rocky steps at the Museum of Art. Jordan and Spencer raced up the steps for fun.

After that we went to the temple. Jordan and his family did some temple work while Maria and I hung out on the rooftop garden next door.

For lunch we went to Reading Terminal Market. I got some amazing soup and cornbread, but the best thing I ate was a fried mac n' cheese ball. It was the most delicious form of macaroni I've ever tasted! And of course I didn't get a picture because it was too good to stop eating!

That night we made cannolis and they were even more delicious than the fried mac n cheese ball (mostly because desserts are my favorite and these happen to be the best cannolis on the planet!). It's the same cannoli place I've posted about before. This time we bought a kit and made them at home. It is impossible to get sick of these divine treats.

The next day, Sunday, we drove to Gettysburg. It was very beautiful. Jordan's dad even had an audio tape to narrate the car tour. That was awesome to hear all the stories at each stop. 

We got out at the end to see the cemetery. It was humbling to think about the sacrifices made so that we all can live happy and free. I'm especially grateful for those sacrifices when I look at Maria. She had so much fun playing in the leaves. A beautiful moment for us because of what others gave up years ago.

We also got to go and tour Independence Hall! We've been here for a while now and had never gone inside Independence Hall! It was amazing! I loved seeing the court room because my mom is a court reporter. And of course it was incredible seeing the room where the declaration was signed.

Upstairs they had a harpsichord and I was so excited! I seriously almost stepped over and started playing! Soooooo tempting!

Maria had gotten antsy by the time our tour was over, so we took a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful weather.

After Independence Hall, we went to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. And we had the best donuts in the entire world!!! Seriously, these things are the BEST! My favorite are the Boston Cream and the Apple Fritters! So good!

We enjoyed dinner that night with a Brassell family friend who lives north of Philly. We ate at a place just around the corner from the temple. It was kind of surreal to be in the city, turn the corner and there's the temple! We are so grateful that it's so close to us. It's a wonderful addition to the city of Philadelphia.  :)