travel

academy of natural sciences

February 22, 2012 By Melissa 1 Comment

This afternoon we had no school (insert daughters doing cartwheels here) so we hit up the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Now, I would never tell you to play hooky. But if you ever have a random day off, go into Philly and hit the museums when they’re not crowded. Even if you’ve been somewhere twenty times, it is incredible to have it practically to yourselves.

The dinosaurs were awesome of course.

Except when they tried to eat Ellie and Grace…

Then we headed up to our favorite place… the Outside In! We met some new friends. Ellie was watching this cute bird play in the water – and it splashed her right in the face! Hilarious!

We got to pet a legless lizard, a box turtle, this swimming turtle I forget the name of…
and THIS GUY:

Can you believe how brave Grace is??

I was brave enough to touch it with one finger, but if that thing had climbed up my arm, I would have probably shattered glass with the high pitch of my scream! (I am NOT a bug person!! I prefer my wildlife cute and furry, thanks.)

We had so much fun – what an amazing day! The Academy of Natural Sciences remains one of our favorite outings in Philly!

Check out the girls’ blog – they wrote about our visit as well!

disclosure: we received a complimentary admission from visitphilly.com. all opinions are our own.

Filed Under: family fun, philadelphia, travel reviews 1 Comment

philadelphia flower show

February 21, 2012 By Melissa Leave a Comment

Today the kids and I bopped into the city (literally – MMMbop was definitely played at one point) for an event at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for a sneak peek at the 2012 Philadelphia Flower Show. We have gone to the flower show several years now, and it is always a treat. Despite my definitely not being a gardener, I do love flowers.

We arrived and my kids immediately got inspired and started making signs to advertise the flower show. Ellie’s was greeting people at the door:
We watched a sneak preview of the show this year, and the kids were enthralled. They were all asking, “When can we go there?” “Are we going there this year?” “Mom, please can we go?” I don’t blame them. The show looks even more incredible than previous years. Watch this and tell me it doesn’t look amazing:

One thing I appreciate as a parent is how family friendly the Philadelphia Flower Show is. They are partnering with Sprout to bring families some truly unique experiences – kids can meet characters from The Lorax, do crafts, see puppet shows, play with toys, see live performances of their favorite Sprout shows – and more in the totally free Family Lounge. And for an additional charge, kids can meet their favorite Sprout characters in the Sprout Snack! How cool is that? Honestly, if my kids had this much fun at the preview, they’re gong to love the show!

Check out the PHS Family Fun Pack tickets, which includes tickets for the whole family and a one-year family membership to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society!

disclosure: we received a gift bag as a thank you for attending this event. as always, all opinions are our own.

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day in philly

January 2, 2012 By Melissa

We went into Philly on Friday and started the day in one of my favorite places, Reading Terminal Market, for breakfast at the Dutch Eating Place. Best breakfast in Philly.

If you’ve ever had a hankering for a pancake the size of your head, this is the place to go. Seriously – out of control yummy pancakes, french toast and bacon the way it was meant to be – thick, crispy and in abundance.

We wandered around finding all sorts of amazing culinary wonders. Reading Terminal Market is a cook’s paradise. Or a eater’s paradise. If you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist. And discover things you didn’t know existed. Like Bacon Salt. Oh yes, BACON SALT. *cue angels singing*

And hit the Christmas train! Colin could have stood here all day.

Then we headed over to Macy’s for the Holiday Light Show, then took the kids to Chinatown. Grace is in love with China and keeps asking to go there. Since we are a little short on vacation time, we did the next best thing
The kids were fascinated by it – we’ll need to come back when we can spend more time – and we’re not stuffed full of pancakes!

What did you do for New Years?

Filed Under: family fun, philadelphia

baltimore grand prix

September 6, 2011 By Melissa

On Friday we went down to Baltimore to see the Baltimore Grand Prix. It was so exciting – we’ve had tickets for like nine months, so this has been a long time coming. Our gorgeous hotel was right on the race track: Luckily we could see the action from our room, since Colin got sick [...]

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williamsburg stop #6: jamestown settlement

August 17, 2011 By Melissa

Our final stop in Williamsburg on Sunday morning was Jamestown Settlement. “FINALLY!” said Ellie. Ellie had been dying to go to Jamestown Settlement, to see the re-created Powhatan Indian village. It was the part she had been looking most forward to. First we had to see the gallery exhibits and watched the introductory film that [...]

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williamsburg stop #4: busch gardens

August 15, 2011 By Melissa

On Saturday, we headed to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The kids (who love amusement parks) were super excited. We immediately blown away – Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been voted the world’s “Most Beautiful Park” every year since 1990 by the National Amusement Park Historical Association… and it shows. It was gorgeous setting, filled with fun rides [...]

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williamsburg stop #3: colonial williamsburg

August 12, 2011 By Melissa

Well, I can’t include everything, since we took approximately a gazillion pictures during our day in Colonial Williamsburg, but here are a few highlights. It was amazing! I’ve wanted to go there pretty much forever. Colonial Williamsburg is a living museum – there is truly nothing else like it. It is gorgeously restored, utterly unique [...]

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williamsburg stop #2: yorktown victory center

August 12, 2011 By Melissa

Our first peek into history this week was a stop at Yorktown Victory Center. Yorktown played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War and the Yorktown Victory Center now serves as a museum of the American Revolution, offering a unique blend of timelines, film, thematic exhibits and outdoor living history. We started out in touring [...]

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williamsburg stop #1: water country usa

August 11, 2011 By Melissa

Today, we went to Water Country USA in Williamsburg and had such an amazing time. Now first a confession: I hate water parks. I do. Maybe there is something wrong with me. But its true. I only go for the kids. So imagine my surprise when I had a terrific time at Water Country USA. [...]