Goodbye PA... Hello DC

The night we returned from seeing Valley Forge, David and Whit whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Whitney loves David and wanted to play with him ALL THE TIME.

Here's what Shawna was doing..

prepping for her 25 1st-graders.  She hates her job.  Don't worry, she's already resigned.  I don't blame her one bit.  Her job sounded awful.  

Whitney & David, again..

Monday, Sept. 12:
Our family headed over to the Benjamin Franklin Institute.  It's a Science Center.  Hate to break it to you, Philly...
Columbus' Science Center is way better.  Don't worry-- we still had fun.
On our drive to the Science Museum, we got a little "lost" and went on a drive thru the GHETTO.  One word to describe it:  SCARY.
  So sad... SO THANKFUL I don't live there.  Made both Bart and I appreciate the wonderful places we've been blessed to live.

 Love this... here's Whitney's true honest reaction as she is looking up at the enormous Ben Franklin statue... so cute..

Whit, me & Bubbs on a locomotive.  Don't call it a train or the conductor WILL correct you.

Bart and Whit earning their wings on a fighter jet:

And this is that enormous statue:

Well, these are the last two shots from Tuesday morning before we left Philly.  Thanks to Shawna & David for being great hosts.  We had a fun time...

Miss you!!!

10 Years Later..

I remember the morning of September 11, 2001 very clearly.  I was in college, living in the Pillar House.  I woke up to use the bathroom, and could hear one of my roommates' radios saying something about an attack on the US.  I thought I was in some sort of weird drowsy-state where I wasn't sure of what I was hearing.  Then Meggie yelled up the stairs, "You guys wake up!  There's been an attack in New York!"  I ran downstairs to look at the TV.  I saw one tall burning building.  It was one of the twin towers.  I watched the television in sort of a dis-belief, and then watched as the second tower collapsed to the ground.  

Later that morning, we had a devotional at the Marriot Center.  It was really good.  I don't remember what President Bateman said.  However, I do remember the sweet, tender feelings I had that morning.  I felt so sad for the families and friends that lost loved-ones.  I also felt so much pride in being an American.  

Almost a year later, I was able to visit Ground Zero while touring NYC.   My sweet friend, Anne literally walked me all over that city.  

It was pretty neat to be back East for the 10-year anniversary of 9-11.  

It was on 9-11-11, we woke up and got all ready for Church.  Shawna's ward was having Stake Conference.  After church, we came home, had some lunch and then fell asleep for a much needed nap.  

When we all woke up, we decided to go down to Valley Forge, PA.  It was a really neat place to be on September 11.  

All of the flags were like this:

Don't know why Valley Forge is significant?  Well, there were NO battles fought here.  It was during the time of the Revolutionary War, that George Washington held a military camp here.  Many, many soldiers died.  It is incredible to think of those who enlisted to fight for the founding of our country.

One cool fact?  Well, many soldiers were dying from small pox.  George Washington suffered from that illness as a child.  It was during the encampment in Valley Forge where they tried to inoculate ("vaccinate") soldiers from small pox by smearing puss from lesions on a sick soldier into cuts made onto a healthy soldier.  Guess what?  It worked and save many lives.  Pretty cool.

Here's our little family at the monument at the top of the hill in Valley Forge:

Whitney was being a doll and kept asking me to take her picture:

Our fam:

Bart and me:

 Love these two:

 Whit, Shawna & David:

A little irreverent:  We were trying to pose like the lady on the monument with her mouth wide open.  Bart said we looked so dumb.  Shawna has MacKay in her arms in this picture.  She is trying so hard to hold him up.  My thighs were killing me because I was squatting.  

Sisters:

Rows of small bunks like these were built on the grounds at Valley Forge:

Here's Whitney posing like the Statue of Liberty.  She does this all the time now:

Shawna & David inside one of the bunks:

 The calm beauty of Valley Forge cannot be captured by a camera, (at least not my camera, anyway).  It was very peaceful and I loved being there.  What a neat way to remember all those who have suffered and died for this great land.

Independence Mall in PA

 After that long day in NYC we needed to sleep in and hang out for a bit on Saturday morning.  Poor David was trying to study for Med school, and Whitney loved his attention so we needed to skedadle.  Shawna came with us to down town Philly to see Liberty Mall.  It's definitely one of the nicest parts of the city, and I loved it.  Many of the original buildings from the late 1700's are still standing and re-finished to look just like they did during Colonial times.

Here's Bart and me at the old City Hall.  This building was also used as headquarters for politics until the White House was built:

There is Independence Hall:  Where the Constitution & Declaration of Independence were written:

And this is the Liberty Bell.  You can see Independence Hall just behind it.  

Few facts about the Liberty bell:

1.  It never really worked that great.

2.  It originally had a crack, and then was split on purpose to try and repair the bell. 

3.  Those two little "screws" were put in there during that repair.

Shawna, Krista & MacKay

Here's Bart and me on our little tour of Independence Hall.  This is the room where the Declaration of Independence & Constitution were written.  See that chair behind Bart?  Yes, it is the exact one the George Washington sat it.  Pretty cool.

Independence Hall:  It's under construction.  

Our kids did pretty well on this tour.  Here's MacKay trying to get in some pre-nap snuggles with Bart:

Whitney only had one major melt-down during this tour:

Here's Sissy & me in the UPSTAIRS of Independence Hall.  Here is where they had meals and dances.  Only the elite were invited.  Looks like we made the cut:

Then we walked over to the unknown soldiers grave.  This was a square block where over 2,000 unknown soldiers (from the Revolutionary War) were buried.  I can honestly say it was a very Spiritual and sacred place.  I am grateful for those who sacrificed their lives so I could have the freedoms I have.  

And here's a classic Whitney moment.  Trying to snuggle with Bubba while we are taking pics:

Did you know????

Before the "handwritten" copy of the Declaration of Independence was written-out, there were first printed versions?  Yes, 200 of them were printed and sent to the different colonies.  Here is one of those "original copies".  This is actually OLDER and more "original" than the handwritten copy.  Pretty amazing.

Closer shot of G.W's chair:

And this is the original feather-ink "holder" that was used to sign both of those important documents.  I am in awe that our Founding Father's touched these items, and I am able to see them.  

What a neat day.  I am so grateful I was able to see and learn about our Nation's History.  It's really quite amazing.  I am in awe of the sacrifices people made.  They thought nothing of themselves but just went to war.  What an incredible time.  

After we saw these things, we went over to get some Cheesesteaks, had bath-time (Whitney's feet were black), and went to bed.