Valley Forge

Yesterday we decided to keep up the biking trend so we headed out to Valley Forge. For awhile we were afraid we might get rained on but it ended up being a really nice day. We biked another 8-9 miles around the park. Valley Forge is so beautiful. There are deer everywhere. They're so used to people that you can practically walk right up to them without them running away. T thought that was really cool.

Being in a place where 3,000 of our American soldiers died over the course of one winter is very humbling. I am amazed at the sacrifices our forefathers were willing to make for freedom. There was no great battle fought at Valley Forge, our soldiers died from starvation, sickness, or they froze to death. Freedom was so important to them that they were willing to endure unthinkable hardships. Even though they had no food or warm clothing they didn't abandon the cause of freedom. I have a deep respect for those who have paid the price for me. I want to say thank you to family, friends, and complete strangers who continue to pay the price for our freedom.

Let's Try That Again

Since we were rained out last time we tried to go for a bike ride, we decided to try again today. We double checked to make sure that there was no rain in the forecast before we left. We headed back down to the Schuylkill River and set out for an adventure. We stopped along the way and had a picnic, while throwing some rocks in the river of course. We had a great time and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We also racked up 8.56 miles worth of exercise. Not bad huh?

T all ready to go. It's this smile that saves him when he's being a stinker. It's his only defense mechanism. :)

Daddy and T along the way.

Mommy and T stopping for a bite to eat.

T headed down a spiral staircase to throw some rocks in the river.

This is a shot of Boat House Row. At night all of the houses are lit up with white Christmas lights.

I loved the reflection of the bridge in the water.

The water was really calm while we were out. I just love how green everything is.

Just another shot of the Schuylkill River. I can't wait until fall. It is so beautiful here.

Meet Rock

Everyone, meet Rock, our new pet turtle. Since we have not had the best of luck with pets so far, we decided to try a turtle. They're low maintenance and T thinks he is so cool. As you may have guessed, yes, T did name him.

Rock was very cooperative during his photo shoot.

We decided that $8.00 wasn't bad for the turtle and his tank. T is completely fascinated with him and loves it when we let him out to walk around.

He has some pretty cool markings on the bottom of his shell. So far he seems to be working out well. He hasn't tried scavenging for any food in the kitchen yet. This may be our best pet thus far!!!

Silly Kid

Last night we decided to put T to bed early since he was unusually tired and grumpy. He was very cooperative and jumped right into bed. Eric and I both had some classwork to finish so we headed downstairs to work. When I was done and went upstairs to get ready for bed this is what I found...

T had turned on all of the lights and had fallen asleep half on, half off our bed. It doesn't look all that comfortable to me but he was totally out. Too cute.

Excuse Me

Today we went to the zoo. We had a great time watching all of the animals and spending time with friends. T especially liked the elephants.

We watched the elephants forever. As he was watching this elephant he kept saying, "excuse me elephant, do you want to get in the water?" When the elephant didn't do as he requested he got a little frustrated. I kept wanting to say now you know how I feel some days.

He thought it was cool to watch the elephant drink.

After the elephants we played in the tree house.

We finished up our day by riding on a caterpillar.

Bushkill Falls

Monday we spent the day at Bushkill Falls. It is this beautiful little place up in the Poconos that has about eight different waterfalls you can hike around. We had a great time hiking around the two mile trail. The area is absolutely beautiful. T had a great time throwing rocks in the water and picking up sticks. After we finished the hike and since I'd promised T we would see a fish, we decided to rent a fishing pole and try our luck. As you can imagine for the $6.00 we paid to rent a pole, it was not exactly a great setup. The poles were not very nice, the hook was rusted, and we were given a cheap little rubber worm as bait. Eric assured me that no one could catch a fish with what we'd been given. After a brief demonstration on casting T and I tried our luck. It took us awhile to get the hang of it but every time we reeled in the worm it was covered in algae. For whatever reason T thought this was hilarious and absolutely disgusting. He would laugh the greatest belly laugh you've ever heard. Once we got the hang of it we tossed the worm out there and T started to reel it back in. All of a sudden we felt the pull. T immediately realized that we had hooked a fish and he started laughing. He continued to help me reel it in until it got to the point that he could see the fish splashing around in the water. As soon as he saw the fish he started screaming bloody murder and desperately trying to get off of my lap and down from the rock!!! This whole time I'm trying to hang onto T to keep him from falling off the rock into the water and hang onto the fish while I'm laughing hysterically. We must have been causing quite a stir because we soon had a crowd of people wondering what we were doing to our poor son! Eric finally grabbed T and helped him down and we were able to pull the fish out of the water. We caught a big mouth bass that was about 20 inches long and weighed about one pound. Once the fish was out of the water T thought it was totally funny again. What an adventure. And he said that no one could catch a fish with that setup!!! The only other thing we were able to catch was a frog that got a little too curious. After our fishing expedition we rented a paddle boat and put Tayeson to work. He had a great time helping paddle around the pond. We were also able to mine for some gemstones before we left. We finished up our day with a stop at Dairy Queen for some ice cream. We had a great time that we definitely won't forget anytime soon.

More Birthday Presents!

Today we had a surprise visit from the UPS delivery man. He dropped of yet another box of birthday presents!!! As you can image T was so excited. At this rate there may not be any kind of a break in the gifts before Christmas.

T excitedly digging in.

T loved this huge Cars puzzle. Can you tell he dressed himself in a hurry this morning.

We also added another five trucks to our already impressive collection.

As you can tell, he was very excited about his new trucks.

We had a great time putting the puzzle together. T loved that it was almost as big as he is. Thanks Uncle Travis!!!

Exciting News!!!

We're so excited that Eric's younger brother Travis just got engaged to his girlfriend Courtney!!! We've had a chance to get to know her a little bit and we're totally excited to have her join the family. CONGRATULATIONS you guys!!!! (Sorry, this is the only pic I have of the two of you.)

The World Through the Eyes of a 4-Year-Old

Friday we gave T the camera and showed him how to use it. He thought it was so much fun. He spent the next hour taking pictures of everything he could see. So if you've ever wondered how your 4-year-old sees their world, here you go.

Italian Market

Today we went downtown to the Italian Market. You can find any kind of food your little heart desires within three blocks. There are some great little cafes and shops and everything is reasonably priced. We had a great time and found some great deals on fresh produce.

Here is a shot looking down the street. I can't even imagine how crazy this place must be on the weekends. There are tons of vendors and little shops that sell everything you can imagine.

Tayeson and Daddy trying to negotiate their way through the traffic.

Cheese anyone?

Check out this cake that we saw at one of the local bakeries. That's a whole lot of frosting!!!

They had sea food so fresh half of it was still moving.

We decided to grab some lunch at Di Bruno Bros. The food was awesome. We would highly recommend it if you're ever in the neighborhood.

Here is T waiting for his pizza.

I had to get a picture of this car because it totally reminded me of Cruella DeVil.

The Ben Franklin Bridge

Yesterday we walked across the Ben Franklin Bridge. This is one of the MANY bridges that span the Delaware River. We had a great time watching all of the boats, trains, and cars. We also enjoyed the awesome views of the Philly skyline and the Delaware waterfront. The weather was beautiful and we loved having a day to spend with Daddy.

Tayeson and Daddy just starting the climb.

T was so excited about the boats and trains! And believe me there were lots of them to see.

Are you comin' Dad?

The New Jersey Transit train ran right under where we were standing and you could see it through the cracks in the walkway. T was so excited, but it was a little louder than he expected.

T and Mommy checking out the view.

The Philly skyline. Not bad huh?

This was taken right in the middle of the bridge. The Ben Franklin is HUGE as you can see.

It Sounded Like A Good Idea

Today we decided to takes the bikes down to the Schuylkill River. We were so excited that it was a nice cool day with zero humidity. As soon as we got unloaded and rode down to the river it started to rain!!! Eric and I didn't mind so much but since we'd forgotten the cover for T's trailer we started back to the car. Thankfully we were able to get everything loaded up again before the storm hit. I guess we'll just have to try again.

T and Daddy in front of the Schuylkill right as it started to rain. T loves to ride in his trailer.

A shot of the Schuylkill River bank.

While Dad was loading the bikes T wanted to try and ride Mommy's bike. As we went in circles he kept yelling, "I did it!" He was quite proud of himself.

This Is Why I Hate Surprises!!!

Tayeson and I had quite a scare this morning when our security alarm went off at 5:00. Eric was working until 7:00 and wouldn't be home until about 8:00. My initial impression was that it was Eric and he was home early so I called him as I was heading down to the second floor to turn off the alarm. The problem was that he didn't answer and he also had the remote for the alarm so he should be able to turn it off himself!!!! Of course I realized all this as soon as I turned off the alarm. As soon as it was off I could hear someone slamming up against the door on the first floor trying to get in. It finally sunk in that it probably wasn't Eric. I quickly ran upstairs, grabbed Tayeson, locked us both into my room, and called the police. As soon as I got off the phone with the police Eric called and told me that he was downstairs trying to get in the garage door and asked if I could let him in. Apparently he had forgotten which button turned off the alarm and had pushed the panic button instead!!! He had decided to surprise me by coming home early and climbing into bed unannounced. Shortly after I let him in the police showed up and we were able to explain the situation. I'm so grateful that they arrived so quickly!!! All this made for quite the morning and as you can imagine, Tayeson and I weren't able to go back to sleep. I have since written on the remote indicating which button turns it off and which one turns it on. People always wonder why I hate surprises. Because they always seem turn out like this!!! Overall, I'm just grateful that everyone is alright and I guess we got some good practice in so that we're ready in case of the real thing.