Monday, April 30, 2012

Philly Trip: Day 2

Wow, what a whirlwind of a day!  I'm sure we walked at least 10 miles, well maybe not 10, but my hips are telling me we walked a alot!

We started the day by visiting Independence Hall and touring through the Assembly Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed.  We also visited the section of the Hall where congress met and saw some of the original furniture they used in the 1700's!  Here are a few pics:




Next stop was the Liberty Bell.  It's not as big as I thought it would be but boy is it impressive! I did get my picture taken by it but I'll save that one for the scrapbook!



On the way to the Betsy Ross House, we stopped by Ben Franklin's post office and print shop.  The book store was closed but the print shop was very cool.  They even print souvenirs on the old printing presses for a price, of course!  They know a sucker from Oregon when they see one because they got me for $5.



The Betsy Ross House was very cool.  You aren't actually supposed to take pictures in it but shhhh, I did it anyway.  I tried not to use my flash and thank goodness no one kicked me out.  The first picture is of the house which is very tiny. 


The next two pictures are of the inside of her house.  Her craft room looks very similar to mine...messy! lol.  The final picture is of the granite step and walkway in the house.  Very, very old and worn. Just amazing.




After visiting the Betsy Ross House and burial site, we walked over to the Christ Church Burial ground where Ben Franklin and four other Constitution signers are buried.  It truly is a beautiful old cemetary and unfortunately many of the tombstones are so weathered you can't read the head stones any longer.  Still worth the $2 to tour it.


Next stop China Town and then Reading Terminal for lunch and a little shopping.  Reading Terminal is probably one of the coolest places to shop I've been in a very long time. I loved seeing all of the specialty foods and cheese, gifts, and fresh produce.





Ok, couple more stops and then this post will be done! he-he.  After lunch we walked over to the Pennsylvania Hospital and took a self-guided tour of the historic library and the first surgical amphitheatre.  It's hard to believe that they did surgery in that room with as many as 300 people watching the case.  Not only did they not use sterile technique but for many of the years, they didn't even use anesthesia, except on women who they didn't think were as tough as men!


 Behind all of the glass doors are books, many books.  Many are so old that their bindings are falling apart.  Wow, another one of those awe inspiring moments and probably my favorite from the trip so far and I saw alot of cool stuff today!


We did manage to squeeze in a little driving and a quick trip to the Sugarhouse Casino for me to lose $20.  Dinner was at one of my favorite places, ever...Hard Rock Cafe. 



Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Pilly Trip!

We had an amazing first day on our trip to Philadelphia!  I am in absolute awe of the fabulous architecture of the row houses, the old buildings, and the beautiful city.  Today we we toured around the Schuylkill River area, Valley Forge Park, and ate dinner in a fun little Irish pub in Manayunk.  Here are a few pictures from our travels...

The  beautiful Philly skyline


 Japanese Gardens


Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge.  We were able to tour the inside and saw the rooms set up how they think they may have looked back then.  The kitchen was my favorite...especially the brick oven!


These are replicas of the cabins used by Washington's elite guard.  They are super small with tiny little bunks.


 The next few pictures were taken at the Valley Forge Memorial Chapel.  This is another one of those awe inspiring places!




 And finally a few shots along the Schuylkill River.  Boat House row was incredible as many of those buildings had dates from the 1800's on them.  Earlier in the day we saw the rowing teams practicing on the river in the scull boats.


Just a cool pucture of some scull boats..


The backside of the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Water Works along the river at dusk.  Beautiful huh?!


Stay tuned for more tomorrow!!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sharing my new projects

I'm excited to share my new projects as guest designer for Little Red Scrapbook!  The kit was fabulous to work with and packed full of fun embellishments. If you haven't had a chance to swing by the site, I invite you to stop in and say Hi!



The following layout is the one I used for the Guest Designer challenge.  I used the Honey Comb trim from the kit as a stencil for the background.  Fun huh?!



Thanks again Sara for such wonderful opportunity!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

And so it begins...

Today was opening ceremonies for the Jefferson County Little League.  We've been practicing for weeks but the games officially begin next week.  Gabe is on the Giants team coached by his dad and a few assistant coaches. 

Here's to many, many nights of sitting on cold hard benches cheering the kids on...I wouldn't miss it for anything!


 

This is what Gabe really likes to do...swing in the trees!


 Our team minus two players, who couldn't make it for today's ceremonies. 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Super Excited!!

I have some exciting news to share with you all!  I've been asked by Sara at Little Red Scrapbook to be a guest designer for them this month, can you believe it?  I love, love their kits and they are usually packed full of scrappy goodness. 

The kit this month contains Pink Paislee's "Prairie Hill" Patterned papers and lots of other goodies, including a 1/2 yard of Honey Comb Trim aka...Punchinella!  You know I love that stuff and use it in my mixed media art.  Psst...You can't tell by the photo but I also added a little bit of paint to my layout. :)

If you haven't been to LRS, you should stop by...they are having a DT call right now and the deadline is quickly approaching!


Thanks for stopping by!