A Philadelphia Fourth

Dave and I just got back today from our wonderful trip to visit Mike and Rachel in Philadelphia. We had a fantastic time. While it wasn't our original intention to visit them for the fourth of July, it worked out perfectly for Dave and Mike and their teaching schedules. Rachel was able to take a few days off work, and I was actually granted a break from the coffee shack too!
All in all, it was a fantastic trip filled with good food, good conversation, fun adventures, scrabble games, lots of french press coffee, and staying up way past our bed time. I have picked out some of the best pictures to share. If you are interested in seeing some of the others (I'm thinking mainly of you, Dad) then let me know and I'll send them to you. We hope everyone had as great a holiday as we did. Enjoy!

Mike and Dave chowing down on their authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. We waited about 30 minutes for them, and they were worth every second of anticipation.

The girls and their cheese seaks!

Dave and I in front of the Liberty Bell. It was so crowded the day we went, but it was neat none the less. I kept thinking about how long that bell had been there (centuries!) and how many people had passed by it. Amazing piece of our history.

Mike and Rachel treated us to a wonderful dinner at their favorite resturant in Germantown. Here they are at dinner. It's one of the only pictures I got of Mike where he wasn't hamming it up. We are so alike in that way :>).

And Dave and I at dinner...he seemed to channel his inner ham in this picture too.

We also took a day and drove to the Jersey shore and spent an afternoon on Wildwood Beach. It was perfect weather. Nice and sunny with a cool breeze. It was a relaxing and fun day.

We took a walk one day and I fell in love with this home. One day when Dave is President of some huge educational society and I am the communications director for some huge company (maybe Apple computers or even Starbucks) we are going to live here.


And of course, Fireworks! It happened to rain on the fourth, so it was neat to watch the fireworks show in a slow drizzle. It didn't stop us from playing with sparklers, which I am still afraid of, and having a good time.